For the first time, Apple offered a SuperDrive as an option on the iBook, making the 14″ 1.0 GHz model (actually 1.07 GHz) a very affordable, very portable way to burn DVDs.

The “1 GHz” model is often sold on the used market as a 1.07 GHz iBook G4. Despite the fact that the CPU actually runs at 1.07 GHz, Apple marketed it as a 1 GHz model, making the 1.2 GHz version seem that much faster. Benchmarks bear out the 1.07 GHz speed.

In addition to a 12-15% speed bump, the Early 2004 iBook uses a G4 processor with a 512 MB level 2 cache – twice as big as on the previous iBook G4. Another improvement is 256 MB of RAM on the system board (twice as much) and maximum RAM is now rated at 1.25 GB, twice as much as the 2003 iBook officially supported.

The video remains the same Mobility Radeon 9200 chipset found in the earlier iBook. An internal Bluetooth module is a new option.

• Got a G4 PowerBook or iBook? Join our G4 ‘Books Group or PowerBooks and iBooks Forum.
• Got an iBook? Join the iBook Talk List.
• Our Mac OS 9 Group is for those using Mac OS 9, either natively or in Classic Mode.
• Our Panther Group is for those using Mac OS X 10.3.
• Our Tiger Group is for those using Mac OS X 10.4.
• Our Leopard Group is for those using Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6.

Details

• introduced 2004.04.19 at US$1,299 (1 GHz) and $1,499 (1.2 GHz); replaced by 1.33 GHz model 2004.10.19
• requires Mac OS X 10.3 Panther through 10.5 Leopard
• CPU: 1.07/1.2 GHz G4
• Bus: 133 MHz
• Performance:
  • Geekbench 2 (Tiger): 640 (1.2 GHz)
  • Geekbench 2 (Tiger): 574 (1.07 GHz)
• ROM: 4 MB, NewWorld ROM in RAM architecture
• RAM: 256 MB of SDRAM soldered in place, expandable to 1.25 GB using one PC2100 module (PC2700 compatible)
• Level 2 cache: 512 KB on-chip cache
• Video: ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 4x AGP
• VRAM: 32 MB
• display: 14.1″ 24-bit 1024 x 768 91 ppi color active matrix, resolution scaling for 640 x 480 and 800 x 600 modes
• Video out: VGA and composite video
• Hard drive: 40/60 GB 4200 rpm ATA/100
• optical drive: Combo drive, 4x SuperDrive optional
  • Combo drive writes CD-R discs at up to 24x, CD-RW at up to 16x, reads DVD-ROM at up to 8x, CD-ROM at up to 24x
  • SuperDrive writes DVD-R discs at up to 4x, reads DVDs at up to 8x, writes CD-R at up to 16x, writes CD-RW at up to 8x, reads CDs at up to 24x
• floppy drive: external USB only
• expansions bays: none
• USB: 2 2.0 ports
• FireWire: 1 FW400 port
• Ethernet: 10/100Base-T
• Modem: v.92 56k
• wireless networking: 54 Mbps AirPort Extreme, optional on 1 GHz model, standard on 1.2 GHz model
• Microphone: built in
• PC Card slots: none
• Battery: rated at 6 hours
• size: 12.7 x 10.2 x 1.35″ (32.3 x 25.9 x 3.4 cm)
• Weight: 5.9 pounds (2.7 kg) with battery

Online Resources

• Low End Mac’s Compleat Guide to the iBook G4, Charles W Moore, ‘Book Value, 2008.07.09. Replacing the G3 iBook in October 2003, the iBook G4 was and remains a value leader until it was replaced by the MacBook in 2006.
• PRAM and Battery Issues in iBooks and 12″ PowerBooks, Low End Mac Tech Journal, 2018.02.09
• What’s the best Mac OS for your iBook, PowerBook, or MacBook?, Charles W Moore, ‘Book Value, 2008.08.19. Tips on choosing the best OS for your PowerBook 500 Series or newer Mac notebook.
• What’s the Best Version of OS X for My Mac?, Ian R Campbell, The Sensible Mac, 2008.02.28. Which version of Mac OS X is best for your hardware depends on several factors.
• The Future of Up-to-Date Browsers for PowerPC Macs, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2009.08.31. With Intel-only “Snow Leopard” shipping, software support for PPC Macs will continue its decline. Also, a look at SeaMonkey 2 and Camino 1.6.9.
• Optimized Software Builds Bring Out the Best in Your Mac, Dan Knight, Low End Mac’s Online Tech Journal, 2009.06.30. Applications compiled for your Mac’s CPU can load more quickly and run faster than ones compiled for universal use.
• Low End Mac’s Safe Sleep FAQ, Dan Knight, Online Tech Journal, 2009.06.15. What is Safe Sleep mode? Which Macs support it? How can you enable or disable it? And more.
• The Safe Sleep Mailbag, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2009.06.15. Safe Sleep mode is enabled by default on modern MacBooks. How it works, and how to change how it works.
• Tips for Installing or Reinstalling Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, Adam Rosen, Adam’s Apple, 2009.06.10. Mac OS X 10.4 uses less memory than Leopard, supports Classic Mode on PowerPC Macs, and, unlike Leopard, is supported on G3 Macs.
• MacBook White updated, DIY Mac tablet, danger of ‘Safe Sleep’, $350 80 GB SSD kit, and more, The ‘Book Review, 2009.05.29. Also Apple tablet ‘confirmed’, 3G and lower cost MacBook Air models rumored, 500 GB bus powered hard drive, Mini DisplayPort adapters, bargain ‘Books from $179 to $2,299, and more.
• Salvaging parts from a dead iBook, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 2009.05.26. With a broken power plug, the iBook was unusable – but the RAM, hard drive, and optical drive can live on.
• The iBook Can’t Replace the Hard Drive Blues, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 2009.04.28. Replacing the hard drive in a Pismo PowerBook or polycarbonate MacBook is easy. But those iBooks are another thing entirely.
• Is Leopard Slower than Tiger on G4 Macs?, Simon Royal, Tech Spectrum, 2009.04.17. Truth be told, when you have 1 GB of RAM, Leopard benchmarks an insigificant 4% slower than Tiger.
• Is It Worth Maxing the RAM in Old G3 and G4 Macs?, Simon Royal, Tech Spectrum, 2009.04.15. Increasing memory can make your old Mac faster and make you more productive, but it probably won’t improve resale value by the amount you spend.
• Making the switch from a G4 PowerBook to a Unibody MacBook, Charles W Moore, ‘Book Value, 2009.03.17. The transition to an Intel-based Mac hasn’t been without its problems – slow dialup performance, incompatibility with Eudora, and no real gain in speed with standby apps.
• 2 compact portable USB 2.0 hubs, Charles W Moore, ‘Book Value, 2009.01.12. Compact hubs from Targus and Proporta make a great complement to your notebook computer. Each accepts a third-party AC adapter to provide bus power.
• The ‘Better Safe Than Sorry’ Guide to Installing Mac OS X Updates, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2008.12.16. Most users encounter no problems using Software Update, but some preflight work and using the Combo updater means far less chance of trouble.
• Why You Should Partition Your Mac’s Hard Drive, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 2008.12.11. “At the very least, it makes sense to have a second partition with a bootable version of the Mac OS, so if you have problems with your work partition, you can boot from the ’emergency’ partition to run Disk Utility and other diagnostics.”
• Leopard runs very nicely on PowerPC Macs, Simon Royal, Tech Spectrum, 2008.11.19. Some claim that Mac OS X 10.5 is so optimized for Intel Macs that it runs poorly on PowerPC hardware. That’s simply not the case.
• The future of PowerPC Macs and software as ‘Snow Leopard’ approaches, Simon Royal, Tech Spectrum, 2008.11.13. Apple phased out Classic Mode and G3 support with ‘Leopard’ last year, and next year’s OS X 10.6 won’t support any PowerPC Macs. Will other developers abandon PowerPC as well?
• 9 browsers for G3 and older G4 Macs compared, Simon Royal, Tech Spectrum, 2008.09.26. The latest versions of Opera, Safari, Shiira, iCab, Radon, Firefox, Demeter, Sunrise, and Camino that run on Mac OS X 10.4 “Tiger”.
• Tiger vs. Leopard: Which is best for you?, Simon Royal, Tech Spectrum, 2008.09.22. Two great versions of Mac OS X, but unless your Mac is well above the minimum spec for Leopard and has lots of RAM, stick with Tiger.
• Does running OS X system maintenance routines really do any good?, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2008.08.26. Mac OS X is designed to run certain maintenance routines daily, weekly, and monthly – but can’t if your Mac is off or asleep.
• TruePower AC adapter for iBooks and PowerBooks is rugged, reliable, and affordable, Charles W Moore, ‘Book Value, 2008.08.14. Apple’s track record with AC adapters is spotty, but the TruePower adapter is tough enough to survive being run over by a truck.
• Tricking out your notebook for superior desktop duty, Charles W Moore, ‘Book Value, 2008.07.29. For desktop use, you don’t need to be limited by the built-in trackpad, keyboard, and display or a notebook’s compromised ergonomics.
• The Compressed Air Keyboard Repair, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2008.07.24. If your keyboard isn’t working as well as it once did, blasting under the keys with compressed air may be the cure.
• Leopard best OS for G4 PowerBooks, support expectations from Apple, back to Opera, and more, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2008.07.09. Leopard features worth a little performance compromise, depreciation and the best value Macs, voice dication software for PowerPC Macs, and more.
• Can Linux replace OS X on older Macs?, Carl Nygren, Classic Macs in the Intel Age, 2008.06.30. Looking at Ubuntu 8.04 on a 1 GHz PowerBook and Kubuntu 5.04 on a clamshell iBook.
• Praise for Opera, low cost iBook mobo replacement, IrDA and IRtalk, WaMCom recommended, and more, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2008.06.18. Also the use of ‘compleat’, booting from CD, new Toshiba 1.8″ drives too thick for MBA, and PowerPC support and Snow Leopard.
• SheepShaver brings Classic Mac OS to Intel Macs and Leopard, Alan Zisman, Mac2Windows, 2008.05.20. Mac OS X 10.5 doesn’t support Classic Mode. Neither does Leopard. But SheepShaver lets you emulate a PowerPC Mac and run the Classic Mac OS.
• Macintosh peace of mind, PA Semi and the iPhone, $40 802.11g PCI card, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2008.05.01. Also Power Mac vs. Mac mini, more on DVD User Op Patch, 12″ vs. 14″ iBook, and VGA for a Power Mac 6100.
• 2.6 GHz MacBook Pro worth it?, iBook video fixed, Compact Flash vs. SSD, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2008.03.13. Also buying a used Power Mac G4, a Power Mac 7600 still in daily use, OCR software for modern Macs, and Leopard on a Blue and White G3.
• Weak AirPort Extreme, Open Firmware hack, deleting old Systems, and spacing problems in Pages, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2007.12.07. Fixing a weak signal in AirPort Extreme, thoughts on the Open Firmware Leopard install hack, when it’s safe to delete an old System, and line spacing issues in Pages.
• Leopard DVD Player requires 1.6 GHz CPU, dual processor questions, and dual boot Macs, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 2007.10.24. DVD Player currently runs on any G3 that supports Tiger, but the new version needs 1.6 GHz of power and other bloat in Leopard.
• Is a used iBook still a sensible low-end option?, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2007.10.15. From 500 MHz G3s through 1.4 GHz G4s, used iBooks range in price from under $200 to over $700. Are they a good choice, or do reliability issues say otherwise?
• The future of G4 iBooks in the Age of Leopard, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 2007.10.22. Almost all of the G4 iBooks are supported by Mac OS X 10.5, but 4200 rpm drives could be a real bottleneck.
• External $100 Sony DVD burner likes Macs, Brian Gray, Fruitful Editing, 2007.10.10. The box and manual say nothing about Mac compatibility, but this 18x USB 2.0 DVD burner is plug-and-play (at least with Tiger).
• Danes refunded for defective G4 iBooks, rumored Mac minitablet, handle for MacBooks, and more, The ‘Book Review, 2007.10.01. Also software update for MacBook and MacBook Pro, Give 1 Get 1 XO laptop program, CardBus adapter for ExpressCard notebooks, and bargain ‘Books from $130 to $2,688.
• iBook unreliability, iBook G4 AirPort problems, RAM for a PowerBook 1400, and more, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2007.08.27. Pismo vs. iBook as the more reliable portable, catastrophic iBook failure, and a Pismo that won’t recognize new hardware.
• Are the white iBooks still a good bet or should you steer clear of them?, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2007.08.20. The dual USB iBooks have the worst repair record in Mac history, yet some are exceptionally reliable. Should you consider buying one or avoid them?
• The TiBook marches on: 400 MHz productivity in the 2 GHz era, Neil Hokanson, My Turn, 2007.07.26. “Even though my PowerBook isn’t the fastest or latest and greatest, it works, and the low-end marches on.”
• Operation FlashBook: Running Tiger from flash on a PowerBook G4, John Muir, Mac Daniel, 2007.05.29. With the hard drive failing and Compact Flash prices falling, it was time to consider running the PowerBook G4 from flash. Looking back at 6 months, was it worth it?
• Apple on mini CDs, 74 minute CD-Rs more compatible, iBook G4 reliability, and more, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2007.05.14. Also installing OS X using Target Disk Mode, partitioning your hard drive, Google’s tool to simplify web pages, Canada and copyright law, and more.
• LED backlight coming to MacBooks, Intel’s new Centrino CPUs, Danish iBook G4 complaint, and more, The ‘Book Review, 2007.05.11. Also different drive sizes, manganese could double battery life, using a MacBook with the display turned off, bargain ‘Books from $170 to $2,299, and more.
• 11 No Cost Tips for Optimizing Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger Performance, Ed Eubanks Jr, The Efficient Mac User, 2007.03.12. If your Mac is getting sluggish, here are 11 tips that can help restore its original performance.
• OS 10.4.8 making PowerBook run cooler?, Charles W. Moore, OS X Odyssey, Applelinks, 2006.10.24. “…I haven’t restarted, and the ‘Book is still running in the high 40°s – low 50°s most of the time. The fan has only activated sporadically while doing heavy multitasking.”
• Better laptop performance: What’s the best upgrade?, Andrew J Fishkin, The Mobile Mac, 2006.10.09. Memory, CPU, bus speed, and hard drives all impact performance and battery life. Which upgrades will give you the most up time in the field?
• Region Free DVD Viewing Options for Intel and PowerPC Macs, Andrew J Fishkin, The Mobile Mac, 2006.09.12. Several hardware and software options that will let your view ‘wrong region’ DVDs on your PowerPC or Intel Mac.
• Inside your notebook’s battery: Ordinary AA Li-Ion cells, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 2006.09.08. That expensive battery in your notebook computer probably holds less than $30 worth of off-the-shelf AA Li-Ion batteries.
• Apple updates battery recall, MacBook ‘best computer for school’, random MacBook shutdown, and more, The ‘Book Review, 2006.09.01. Also more on battery safety, high capacity battery for 14″ iBooks, low-cost USB 2.0 PC Cards, turn your ‘Book into a reading light, bargain ‘Books from $380 to $2,399, and more.
• 7 tools for keeping your laptop (uh, notebook) cool, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2006.07.24. A quick look at the Podium CoolPad, ChillMat, ChillHubs, Laptop Desk, Xpad, iLap, and iBreeze – seven stands designed to keep you ‘Books running cooler.
• Macs take away Microsoft pain, Macs revive James Bond, iMac king of all media, iWoofer, and more, Mac News Review, 2006.06.16. Also Windows users guide to switching to the Mac, Bluetooth firmware update for PPC Macs, universal USB 2.0 drive adapter, waterproof case for video iPod, and more.
• Power strategies for using your ‘Book in the field: Batteries and AC adapters, Andrew J Fishkin, The Mobile Mac, 2006.06.05. One or two extra batteries and at least one spare AC adapter can be essential when you’re traveling and need to get hours and hours of use from your ‘Book.
• End of G4 models points to unprecedented value for used G4 Macs, Leaman Crews, Plays Well with Others, 2006.06.02. The PowerPC G4 may no longer have a place in Apple’s product line, but that’s a far cry from saying G4-based Macs are obsolete. If anything, their value is going to increase.
• The iBook 2004 value equation: Good deals all around, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 2004.04.20. As expected, the new iBooks offer more value for the dollar than last year’s models, but what about refurbs?
• SCSI and FireWire Disk Modes, Paulo Rodrigues, Tangerine Fusion, 2000.11.29. How to use SCSI Disk Mode and FireWire Target Disk Mode for ultrafast file transfers.
• iBook Talk List
• iBook G4 (Early 2004) – Technical Specifications, Apple

Cautions

• Portable Computers: Models Which Do Not Have a Backup Battery notes the iBook has no backup battery to retain time and other settings when the main battery is removed. A small capacitor holds enough energy to maintain PRAM contents for 20 seconds, so switch batteries quickly.

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