Something that occurred to me early on after the new Unibody MacBooks were
introduced last month is that here is about as close as we are likely
to get to a Macintel replacement for the erstwhile, much admired and
loved 12" PowerBook that the MacBook Air wasn't.
![Unibody MacBook]()
Introduced at Macworld Expo in January 2003, the 12" PowerBook represented one
of the most convincing smash-hit model introductions in Apple history
back in 2003. Sharing much of the general layout in engineering and the
12" display of the 12"
iBook, the baby PowerBook added an aluminum housing and G4 power -
plus most (but not all) of the usual slate of PowerBook features.
While the new MacBook with its 13.3" display of necessity has a bit
larger footprint than the old 12-incher, otherwise it compares very
favorably as a machine for serious road warriors. It's thinner at 0.95"
thick, and weighing 4.5 pounds, it's a tenth of a pound lighter than
the 12" PowerBook, arguably making it the Macintel replacement for that
machine - not to mention being a couple of hundred bucks cheaper to buy
than the 12" PowerBook at its least expensive. (Some will argue that
the footprint obligated by its 13.3" display still makes it too large
for a real 12" PowerBook replacement.)
Joe Leo, my columnist colleague at PB Central and a 12" PowerBook owner, says
no way. He'll only accept a machine with a footprint as small as or
smaller than the baby PowerBook as a true replacement machine, but I
expect he'd best not be holding his breath waiting. I would suggest
that for Joe and other purist 12" PowerBook aficionados, this is
probably as good as it's going to get - unless Apple
takes my advice and engineers a netbook Mac.
I very much hope Apple will eventually address the netbook market,
but a netbook would have power limitations that would rule it out as a
true successor to the 12" PowerBook, while the new MacBook's only major
deficiencies are its lack of FireWire, its slightly larger footprint,
and, for some, its glossy display in certain lighting environments one
might encounter on the road such as aboard aircraft.
The new MacBook, which shares the all-metal unibody enclosure motif
with the MacBook
Pro, for all intents and purposes is a downsized MacBook Pro in
everything but name. No, it doesn't have FireWire (an Apple blunder,
IMHO), and there is no ExpressCard slot, but the 12" PowerBook differed
from its larger PowerBook siblings in not having a CardBus slot, so
that aspect is a wash. I think it's small, light, trim, and cool enough
to stop my griping about no Macintel 12" PowerBook successor, and I
expect a lot of others' discontent on that score will feel the same
way.
Here are the respective specs of the new Unibody MacBook, the 12"
PowerBook, and the old MacBook:
13" Unibody MacBook
- Height: 0.95 inch (2.41 cm)
- Width: 12.78 inches (32.5 cm)
- Depth: 8.94 inches (22.7 cm)
- Volume: 108.5 cu. in.
- Weight: 4.5 pounds (2.04 kg)
|
12" PowerBook
- Height: 1.18 inches (3.0 cm)
- Width: 10.9 inches (27.7 cm)
- Depth: 8.6 inches (21.9 cm)
- Volume: 110.6 cu. in.
- Weight: 4.6 pounds (2.1 kg)
|
13" Plastic MacBook
- Height: 1.08 inches (2.75 cm)
- Width: 12.78 inches (32.5 cm)
- Depth: 8.92 inches (22.7 cm)
- Volume: 123.1 cu. in.
- Weight: 5.2 pounds (2.36 kg)
|
In all aspects except the nearly two inches greater width, the
MacBook stands in very favorable light in this comparison. And, of
course, in terms of performance the MacBook blows the fastest 12"
PowerBook into the weeds.
Computerworld's Scot Finnie posted a commentary
this week suggesting that the 13" MacBook could turn out to be an Apple
Trojan horse for the medium to large enterprise market, noting that
unlike the old MacBook, the new one looks and feels like a business
machine.
"I'm not predicting wholesale adoption of Macs by larger enterprises
anytime soon," says Finnie, "but the new MacBook will make the most
significant inroads into the enterprise market of any Apple product,
probably ever. It comes down to price/performance, price point, design
focus, durability, suitability to task and market timing."
Finnie further notes that "unlike the old MacBook, the new one looks
and feels like a business machine. Instead of a cheap plastic
enclosure, it has a slimmer, stronger one-piece aluminum case
. . . It blends power and portability, with its design more
carefully balancing the primary needs of the average business
user."
Or the sort of user that found the old 12" PowerBook an ideal
compromise between size, weight, features, and price. So if you've been
waiting for Apple to replace the 12" PowerBook G4 with a Macintel
machine, wait no longer - it's here.
Appendix: 13" Unibody MacBook vs. 12"
PowerBook
|
12" PowerBook G4/1.5 GHz
|
13" Unibody MacBook
|
|
Processor
|
1.5 GHz PowerPC G4
|
2.0 GHz or 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
|
|
Processor Cache
|
512 KB L2 cache @ 1.5 GHz |
3 MB shared L2 cache @ CPU speed
|
|
System Bus
|
133 MHz frontside bus, 167 MHz system bus
|
1066 MHz frontside bus
|
|
Memory
|
512 MB, expandable to 1.25 GB
|
2 GB, expandable to 4 GB
|
|
Standard Hard Drive
|
60 GB Ultra ATA/1004 5400 RPM
|
160 GB or 250 GB serial ATA hard drive running at
5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor ( 128 GB Solid State Drive (SSD)
$700 extra on the 2.0 GHz model, or $600 extra on the 2.4 GHz
model)
|
|
Optical Drive
|
Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) optical drive; optional
slot-loading SuperDrive.
|
8x SuperDrive with double-layer support
|
|
Display
|
12.1" 1024 x 768 active-matrix matte display
|
13.3" LED-backlit 1280 x 800 glossy display
|
|
Supported Resolutions
|
1024 x 768 (native), 800 x 600 and 640 x 480 with
resolution scaling
|
1280 x 800 (native), 1152 x 720, 1024 x 640, and 800
x 500 pixels at 16:10 aspect ratio; 1024 x 768, 800 x 600, and 640 x
480 pixels at 4:3 aspect ratio; 720 x 480 pixels at 3:2 aspect
ratio.
|
|
Graphics Processor
|
Nvidia GeForce FX Go5200 graphics with 64 MB of
video memory
|
Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256 MB
of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory
|
|
USB Port
|
2 USB 2.0 ports
|
2 USB 2.0 ports
|
|
Ethernet
|
10/100 ethernet
|
gigabit ethernet
|
|
FireWire
|
1 FireWire 400 port
|
none
|
|
Video Out
|
mini DVI: DVI and VGA support with included
adapters. S-video with mini-DVI to video adapter (sold separately).
Composite video output using included Apple Video Adapter.
|
Mini DisplayPort. DVI output using Mini DisplayPort
to DVI Adapter. VGA output using Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter.
Dual-link DVI output using Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter.
Adapters sold separately
|
|
Dual Display Modes
|
Extended desktop and video mirroring: Simultaneously
supports up to 1024 x 768 pixels on the built-in display and up to 2048
x 1536 pixels on an external display, both at millions of colors
|
Extended desktop and video mirroring: Simultaneously
supports up to 1280 x 800 on the built-in display and up to 2560 x 1600
pixels on an external display, both at millions of colors
|
|
Audio
|
- Audio line in (minijack)
- Headphone out (minijack)
- Built-in stereo speakers with midrange-enhancing third speaker
- Internal omnidirectional microphone
- Support for external USB audio devices such as microphones and
speakers
|
- Built-in stereo speakers
- Built-in omnidirectional microphone
- Combined optical digital input/analog line in (minijack)
- Combined optical digital output/analog line out (minijack)
- Supports Apple Stereo Headset with microphone
- Environmental Status Report
- Support for external USB audio devices such as microphones and
speakers
|
|
Built-in Webcam
|
none
|
iSight camera
|
|
Modem
|
Built-in 56K V.92 modem
|
external USB modem (optional)
|
|
WiFi
|
AirPort Extreme 54 Mbps 802.11g
|
AirPort Extreme 802.11n draft
|
|
Bluetooth
|
Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
|
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
|
|
Battery
|
50-watt-hour lithium-ion battery (with integrated
charge indicator LEDs) providing up to 5 hours of battery life
|
45-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery provides up to
5 hours of battery life on a single charge
|
|
Size
|
8.6" x 10.9" x 1.18" (110.6 cu. in.)
|
8.94" x 12.78" x 0.95" (108.5 cu. in.)
|
|
Weight
|
4.6 pounds
|
4.5 pounds
|
|
Bundled Software
|
Mac OS X 10.3, Mail, iChat, Safari, Sherlock,
Address Book, QuickTime, iLife (includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie HD,
GarageBand and iDVD), iSync, iCal, DVD Player, Classic environment,
Acrobat Reader, Art Directors Toolkit, EarthLink TotalAccess (includes
30 days of free dialup service with EarthLink activation), FileMaker
Pro Trial, GraphicConverter, OmniGraffle, OmniOutliner, QuickBooks for
Mac New User Edition, Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac Test Drive, Zinio
Reader, Xcode Developer Tools and Apple Hardware Test.
|
Mac OS X 10.5 (includes Time Machine, Quick
Look, Spaces, Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat, Safari, Address Book,
QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Photo Booth, Front Row, d Developer
Tools). iLife '08 (includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb,
GarageBand)
|
