Apple PowerBook G4 15.2 in. (Z07E) Mac Notebook

I recieved the new G4 15.2 inch 1.25Ghz Powerbook for Christmas. I've always liked Macs better so there is my bias disclaimer upfront.

My wife uses a Sony Laptop and I was envious about the portability she had using our wireless network I set up last year and had been wanting my very own laptop for well over a year now. I shied away from them due to the lack of power, limited options and prices but once the new Powerbook G4 came out over 1Ghz I knew my days without one were numbered.

Not settling for anything less than the best, I wanted the fully loaded model with the Superdrive, built in airport extreme and bluetooth. The Powerbook has a refined feel to it. The brushed aluminum exterior to the crisp keyboard make the Powerbook look futuristic in a professional manner.

The Powerbook is opened using a small push button on the front that releases the magnetic latch. Upon opening the powerbook you'll find the brilliant flat screen. I found the screen to be bright, clear and highly detailed.
The keyboard is normal size and keystrokes respond with a crispness that I found pleasing. The ambient backlight on the keyboard is a nice feature although not really of any use that I know of at this time. OS X works well and I do find that I like it better than OS 9 but it does take a little getting used to. OS X simplifies the set up. I was up and running and accessed into my wireless network within 5 minutes. I won't go into OS X too much because I feel it should be a seperate review but I will say that it's a worthy upgrade from OS 9. Especially if you need to force quit stubborn programs and hate having to reboot. The way it isolates the problem program and allows to only force quit what you want is a godsend.

I've used my Canon A70 to upload pictures and it works flawlessly. The software included (iPhoto) makes a lot of projects simple and walks you thru them easily. As usual with the Mac, you could probably figure out most of the features on your own without a manual, but it's better to read it anyway.

I'm still learning more about the Powerbook so I'll try and do a followup after I've had a chance to do some DVD or iMovie projects. iTunes plays my music with a full sound. The 2 speakers make a good stereo sound but remember that it is still a laptop and there's only so much you can do with the speakers.

The speed so far seems very good. My wifes Sony is a 1.3 Ghz processor and this thing blows it away!
The Powerbook comes with more ports (1 firewire 800, 2 USB 2.0, VGA and more) than most other notebooks and is lighter to boot! The only problem I've had was I've shut down the Powerbook a few times and when I went to use it again I found it had only gone into sleep mode instead of shutdown. A minor issue but this can drain the battery. Also, there have been a few times when one shift key seems to be stuck and if it continues I may have to have that checked out. If you use it on your lap, make sure to have something under it as it tends to get hot on the underside after prolonged use.

Battery life is above average. Compared to my wifes Sony it is easily longer and averages about 3-4 hrs. You can set the processor to a more efficient setting but that may affect the processor speed, although I found the difference negligible.

Other than that I love my new Powerbook and look forward to putting it thru it's paces with video rendering.
My only real complaint is the price. Fully loaded it ran us over $2700.00. It would be nice to be able to get this type of laptop for closer to $2000. with all the same features in order to be more competitive to the PC versions. You pay a premium for buying Apple and it's getting to where it may be too expensive for the preference especially when newer, faster models arrive every 6 months.