Apple PowerBook

The PowerBook is a line of Apple Macintosh laptop computers that was designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from 1991 to 2006. more...

Home
Apple Components
Apple Desktops
Apple Drives, Media
Apple Input Devices
Apple Laptops, Notebooks
Apple iBook
Apple MacBook
Apple MacBook Pro
Apple PowerBook
Other PowerBooks
PowerBook G3
Bronze, Lombard
Other G3 Laptops
Pismo
WallStreet
PowerBook G4
Other Apple Laptops,...
Apple Monitors/Displays
Apple Networking
Apple Parts & Accessories
Other Apple Products
Printers, Scanners & Ink
Vintage Apple/Macintosh
Wholesale Lots

During its lifetime, the PowerBook went through several major revisions and redesigns, often being the first to incorporate features that would later become standard in competing laptops. The PowerBook line was targeted at the professional market, and received numerous awards, especially in the second half of its life, such as the 2001 Industrial Design Excellence Awards "Gold" status, and Engadget's 2005 "Laptop of the Year".

In 2006, the line was discontinued, its replacements being the Intel-based MacBook and MacBook Pro, the latter retaining much of the design of the last generation of PowerBook.

Apple's pre-PowerBook laptop

In the early 90's, laptop computers were becoming increasingly sophisticated, powerful, and useful, especially with the release of Microsoft Windows 3.0.

Apple Computer's co-founder, Steve Jobs, had originally said he wanted "Mac In A Book" by 1985, but technological limitations put him off by a few years. Apple eventually built the Macintosh Portable. Its specifications resembled those of a Macintosh SE, but with the faster CPU, an active-matrix LCD, and a very heavy sealed lead-acid battery, which provided it with up to 10 hours of use. Despite being a nice computer to use, it was heavy at 15.8 lb or 7.2 kg. Possibly because of this, it did not sell well.

Some machines, such as the Outbound Laptop introduced in 1989, would run Macintosh software. However, for copyright reasons, these machines needed the ROMs from a new or used Macintosh (e.g. Macintosh Plus), making the Outbound far more expensive than an equivalent Windows laptop, although price-competitive with the Macintosh Portable. Other portable Mac-compatible computers essentially re-packaged a Plus or SE/30 in a case with an LCD screen and batteries.

Early PowerBooks

In October 1991 Apple released the first three PowerBooks: the low-end PowerBook 100, the more powerful PowerBook 140, and the high end PowerBook 170. These machines caused a stir in the industry with their compact dark grey cases, use of a trackball, and the clever positioning of the keyboard which left room for palmrests. Portable PC computers at the time tended to have the keyboard forward towards the user, with empty space behind it, so this was a surprising innovation. The PowerBook 140 and 170 were original designs, while the PowerBook 100 had an interesting pedigree: Apple had sent the schematics of the Mac Portable to Sony, who miniaturised the components. Hence the PowerBook 100's design does not match those of the rest of the series. The PowerBook 100 did not sell well until Apple dropped the price substantially.

Read more at Wikipedia.org