Interactive Gallery: Click here for photos, key stats and reviews of laptop models manufacturerd by Apple, Dell, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, and Toshiba. • Feature Story -- Muscle Power: Reporter Mike Musgrove looks at state of innovation (or lack thereof) in the laptop industry. • Fast Forward -- The Rightness of Lightness: Columnist Rob Pegoraro wonders why manufacturers keep making laptops to be desktop replacements. • Live Online -- Monday, 2 p.m. ET: Columnist Rob Pegoraro will be online to take your questions about this year's laptop shopping guide.
Expansion: One six-pin FireWire port, two USB 2.0 ports, one VGA monitor/composite video/S-video port.
Support: One-year warranty. 90 days of 9 a.m.-9 p.m., toll-free phone support; $49 per issue afterward.
What to say about the Apple iBook G4? It's an Apple -- well put together, good fit and finish, with better software integration than you're likely to see on a Windows machine and great battery life. It also features Apple's characteristic little design refinements, such as a subtle, barely visible apple logo on the lid that glows when the laptop is in sleep mode and a charging light around the power connector plug.
And, of course, it's white.
The iBook is a relatively light, at just under five pounds without the AC adapter (which itself adds just half a pound, much less than most laptops' power bricks). It has fewer expansion options than many competitors -- no PC Card slot and two USB 2.0 ports instead of three -- but many users may not notice the difference.
Apple iBook G4
(Courtesy Apple)
