It's difficult to fault a company when the seemingly only downside to their product is that they weren't able to wrap it in an even more stunning enclosure, but that's exactly what the case is with Apple's latest PowerBook G3s.
On the outside, the new PowerBooks sport only very small differences compared to their predecessors. The bronze keyboard remains but the trackpad is closer to black in color. The Macintosh PowerBook G3 label has been shortened to simply read PowerBook in a slightly larger point size, and the sleep light now emits Apple's trademark pulse instead of blinking. The keyboard and trackpad button have a snappier, more pleasant feel and the unit as whole is slightly lighter. The new PowerBooks can also use their predecessor's expansion bay modules, although not necessarily vice versa.
Under the hood, however, it's a whole new PowerBook. The 2000 (FireWire) PowerBooks are the first to make use of Apple's Unified Motherboard Architecture (UMA), something that Apple's consumer iBook featured half a year ago. This new architecture gives the new PowerBooks three key performance advantages over the 1999 PowerBooks: a 100 MHz system bus compared to the previous models' 66 MHz that improves system-wide performance, a Rage 128 Mobility AGP 2x graphics chip that provides a significant boost in graphics performance, and an UltraATA/66 hard drive for improved disk performance.
The UMA architecture also allows the PowerBook to sleep and wake up significantly faster, and a preference can also be set in the energy saver control panel for the PowerBook to wake up automatically when opened.
Additionally, the new PowerBooks offer support for all of Apple's modern technologies, including two built-in FireWire ports and an internal AirPort card slot, and a standard 6x DVD-ROM drive. The FireWire implementation makes use of the latest Boot ROM, allowing the PowerBooks to startup from an external FireWire drive, a feature that the latest Power Macintosh G4s also offer. Unfortunately, at this time no FireWire device vendor has released drivers for their products that support booting so we were unable to test what is bound to be a popular feature.
Speed, and plenty of it
While they may not carry the classification of a supercomputer like the G4 desktops, the PowerBook G3 nonetheless offers tremendous performance in both 400 and 500 MHz configurations.
CPU performance is on par with what would be expected of the new configurations, with the 400 MHz version performing similarly to its 400 MHz predecessor, but where the new PowerBooks really shine is in the graphics department. The new PowerBooks performed twice as quickly as their predecessors in MacBench tests, and that carried over in real-world tasks as well. 3D games especially benefited from the Rage 128 Mobility chipset with improved graphics and produced unheard of frame-rates for a laptop.
Apple did away with the hardware DVD video decoder found in previous DVD PowerBooks and opted for software decoding. Fortunately, the combination of Mac OS 9.0.2, DVD Player 2.1, and Sound Manager 3.6.3 means that the new PowerBooks aren't plagued by the audio sync issue that Power Macs and iMac DVs have experienced. The player still skips a few times during the course of a movie, but only for a split second.
FireWire Heaven
The new PowerBook supports FireWire Target Disk mode, which allows it to be connected to a FireWire based Mac, called the host in this case, with a standard FireWire cable. The PowerBook then acts like any external FireWire hard drive would. Invoking FireWire Target Disk mode is a simple process that involves powering down the PowerBook, connecting it to the FireWire-based Mac (which does not need to be shut down), and then powering up the PowerBook while holding down the T key. Within seconds the PowerBook's hard drive mounts like a shared volume.
Theoretically, this should allow files to be transferred at speeds significantly faster than over a network since FireWire supports transfer rates of up to 400 Mb/sec (four times faster than a 100 Base-T network). In our testing, however, FireWire Target Disk mode proved to be only marginally faster than a 100 Base-T network connection. Transferring a 458.2 MB file over the network to the PowerBook took 5 minutes 38 seconds (1.36 MB/sec, or 10.88 Mb/sec) while it took the same file 4 minutes 59 seconds to be transferred with FireWire Target Disk Mode (1.53 MB/sec, or 12.24 Mb/sec).
Currently there is a small inconvenience with FireWire Target Disk mode as it requires the host Mac to be using version 2.3 of Apple's FireWire drivers, which Apple has yet to make available to download. Fortunately the PowerBook ships with FireWire 2.3, which you can then copy and use with any FireWire equipped Mac.
"Portable movie studio"
While Apple bills the new PowerBook G3s with their built-in FireWire/DV support as "portable movie studios," the company fails to include any video editing software. Instead, Apple expects consumers to spend $999 for its Final Cut Pro software on top of spending $2,500-$4,000 for the new PowerBook, and $1,000-$2,000+ on a DV camera. It would be nice to see Apple offer for sale its iMovie software at an affordable price, or better yet, include it with the PowerBooks.
Apple offers the new PowerBooks in two basic configurations with a 400 MHz and 500 MHz G3 processor. Without question, the 400 MHz version that carries a price tag of $2,499 represents the most value ever squeezed into a laptop, regardless of platform. The included 64 MB of RAM and 6 GB hard drive is plenty for this price point while the built-in features, including FireWire and DVD, coupled with the overall performance make the PowerBook G3/400 one of the best deals in mobile computing.
For $3,499 you can opt for the 500 MHz configuration with 128 MB of RAM and a 12 GB hard drive; otherwise the configuration is identical to the 400 MHz model. Speed freaks will appreciate the 500 MHz G3, a $500 upgrade from the 400 MHz chip if you choose to build your own PowerBook at the Apple Store, which is the fastest G3 Apple has ever used in one of its systems. But the additional $500 for the extra 64 MB of RAM and 6 GB of hard drive space is rather pricey, reducing the overall value of the configuration.
For yet another $500 you can choose the highest-end configuration that features an 18 GB drive, an extra battery and an extra AC adapter.
The bottom line
Apple's latest PowerBooks continue the company's tradition of providing well-rounded, professional mobile solutions. Apart from the lack of DV software there's little to be desired on the performance or value front. In fact, the 2000 PowerBooks may represent the biggest improvement over a previous model year in Apple's history, assuming you can look beyond the recycled plastics.
