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PowerBook G4 Q&A - Updated February 25, 2007
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Who designed the PowerBook G4?
Apple's industrial design for the last several years has been performed entirely in-house by Apple's Industrial Design Group, led by Jonathan Ive.
Are the early PowerBook G4 models really made of Titanium?
Yes. The cases used by early PowerBook G4 models -- designated by "Ti" after the name -- are made of 99.5% pure grade CP1 (commercially-pure) Titanium with a ridgid carbon fiber frame.
In promotional materials, Apple said that "titanium's superior tensile strength and low density give it the greatest strength-to-weight ratio of any of today's structural materials. . . [which] enabled us to build the thinnest and lightest full-featured portable supercomputer on the planet -- without having to make the kinds of tradeoffs that would compromise its performance."
However, cases used by PowerBook G4 models starting on January 7, 2003 -- designated by "Al" after the name -- use less expensive aluminium rather than titanium.
Was the 12-Inch PowerBook G4 truly the smallest Apple notebook at the time of its release?
Sort of. Apple stated that the PowerBook G4/867 12" (Al) was its "smallest notebook ever", which as some have noted, is true if one measures the volume of the notebook, but compared to the long-discontinued PowerBook Duo 210, the 12" PowerBook G4 is thinner (by 0.22 inches), but it is slightly deeper (by 0.1 inch) and heavier (by 0.4 pounds).
All 12-Inch PowerBook G4 systems use the same case.
Where can I buy a PowerBook G4?
There are any number of places to purchase a used Mac, although the PowerBook G4 largely is of interest to collectors these days and available primarily on online auction sites.
To purchase upgrades, please visit site sponsor Other World Computing, which sells memory, hard drives, and more for the Titanium and Aluminum PowerBook G4 models as well as every other Mac.
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