Apple 15-inch PowerBook G4

Intro of Apple 15-inch PowerBook G4

Three years after the popular Titanium PowerBook debuted, Apple's new 15-inch PowerBook G4 improves on the original in nearly all areas except battery life. The notebook has the same sleek design as the titanium model but with an anodized-aluminum case and faster hardware. The $2,600 version includes a backlit keyboard that turns on when a room gets dark, a feature previously available on only the 17-inch PowerBook. In fact, this new model offers such an excellent combination of features and price that we wouldn't hesitate to recommend it were it not for reports from some early customers of display problems, specifically faint white spots on the screen. We didn't encounter this issue on our test system, and Apple says that it is investigating, but once it is sorted out, the 15-inch PowerBook will secure a position high atop our list of recommended desktop replacements.