As expected, Apple's new PowerBook G4 Titanium is built around an 800 MHz G4 processor from Motorola.

Tech Upgrades

In addition to a 133 MHz clock speed boost, the new high-end PowerBook adds 1 MB of level 3 cache, which has been shown to deliver significant speed improvement in Apple's desktop line.

The new PowerBooks also pack a revamped graphics subsystem based on ATI's Radeon 7500 chipset, indicating that Apple opted to maintain its relationship with ATI rather than make a full switch to Nvidia. The 7500 card is outfitted with AGP 4X support and 32MB of fast DDR video memory.

Enhanced graphics horsepower also allowed Apple to increase the viewable resolution on the Titanium PowerBook's 15.2-inch screen to 1280-by-854 pixels, 23 percent more than previous models allowed. According to the company, its new display system also delivers more brightness and higher color saturation.

"E" is for Education

By packing a 17-inch display into an all-in-one enclosure for the first time, Apple surprised education customers with its new eMac, or education Mac, unit.

The new system sports a 700 MHz G4 processor and gets its graphics power from the Nvidia GeForce2 MX 3D AGP 2X graphics chip with 32MB of DDR video memory.

Although it borrows heavily from both the original iMac and the ill-fated G3 All-in-One, Apple's eMac has gone on a diet, measuring 8 millimeters less deep than the original iMac, which had a 15-inch CRT display.

Multiple USB Ports

Aside from its new screen and case design, the eMac sports additional education-enhanced differences from the original iMac. The machine includes five USB ports rather than the usual two. It also has two FireWire ports and integrated 16-watt digital amplifier and stereo.

Priced at US$1,249, the base model eMac includes 128 MB of SDRAM, a CD-ROM drive and a 40 GB ATA hard drive. For $1,516, users get 512 MB of SDRAM, a combination CD-RW/DVD drive and a purpose-built stand.

Apple also announced a DVI-to-ADC adapter that enables customers to use the company's line of digital flat-panel displays with the new PowerBook G4 via its integrated Digital Visual Interface (DVI) port.