PowerBook
- Family
- PowerBook
series of Apple laptops based on PowerPC
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PowerBook 100
laptop by Apple The PowerBook 100 was a big step forward from the Mac Portable . First and foremost, it was just one-third as heavy at 5.1 pounds. Secondly, it was several thousand dollars less expensive. The weight reduction was accomplished by using lighter plastics, eliminating the internal floppy drive, and using a smaller (2 hour, 7V) lead-acid battery. Cost savings were achieved by eliminating the internal floppy drive (a $200 accessory), using a physically smaller hard drive (20 MB 2.5″), building around a 9″ (640 x 400 1-bit) passive-matrix screen, and having Sony manufacture it. (Sony designed the 100 by starting with the Mac Portable and reducing the size and weight of components as much as possible.) Although the PowerBook 100 uses a standard 2.5″ SCSI hard drive, there just isn’t room for a 2.5″ IDE drive plus a SCSI-to-IDE adapter (the solution for most SCSI PowerBooks). You can only use a real SCSI hard drive in the PB 100. Specs (via Low End Mac)
PowerBook 140
laptop by Apple The PowerBook 140 had a physically larger passive-matrix screen than the PowerBook 100 (although it displayed the same 640 x 400 pixels), a more efficient CPU, and a 2-hour NiCad battery (the same one used on all PowerBook models from the 140 to the 180). It was replaced by the 25 MHz PowerBook 145 in August 1992. As with all early PowerBooks, when buying one be sure it has all the memory you need (new PowerBook RAM is very difficult to locate, especially at reasonable prices). The PB 140 has an 8 MB memory ceiling, although you can go beyond that by using Virtual Memory (slow and free) or RAM Doubler (faster, not free, and discontinued). A third option is RAM Charger 8.1 , which offers better memory management than the Mac OS. Specs (via Low End Mac)
PowerBook 1400c/cs
PowerBook 145
The PowerBook 145 replaced the 16 MHz PB 140 , using a 25 MHz 68030 CPU that made it significantly faster than the previous model. As with all early PowerBooks, when buying one be sure it has all the memory you need (new PowerBook RAM is getting difficult to locate, especially at reasonable prices). The PB 145 has an 8 MB memory ceiling, although you can go beyond that by using Virtual Memory (slow and free) or RAM Doubler (faster, not free, and discontinued). Another option is RAM Charger 8.1 , which offers better memory management than the Mac OS. Specs (via Low End Mac)
PowerBook 145B
The PowerBook 145b replaced the PowerBook 145 . It offered the same performance at a lower price. It was replaced by the 33 MHz PowerBook 150 in mid 1994. The PB 145 has an 8 MB memory ceiling, although you can go beyond that by using Virtual Memory (slow and free) or RAM Doubler (faster, not free, and discontinued). Another option is RAM Charger 8.1 , which offers better memory management than the Mac OS. As with all early PowerBooks, when buying used be sure it has all the memory you need (new PB RAM is getting more difficult to locate, especially at reasonable prices). Specs (via Low End Mac)
PowerBook 150
laptop by Apple The 33 MHz PowerBook 150 replaced the 25 MHz PowerBook 145b in July 1994. It offered faster performance at a lower price and was the final model in the 140 / 145 / 145b /150 line of economical PowerBooks. The 150 was also the lightest of the line, and its battery was rated at 2.5 hours, about 30 minutes longer than previous models. Finally, the 150 sports a 640 x 480 display, the same size number of pixels as a standard monitor in those days. Using the same memory modules as the PowerBook Duos, the PB 150 was far more expandable (to 40 MB!) than other PowerBooks in the 100-180 series. The 150 was the first PowerBook to use an IDE hard drive instead of the more costly SCSI drives found in previous PowerBooks. Specs (via Low End Mac)
PowerBook 160
The PowerBook 160 introduced grayscale video to the PowerBook line with its 4-bit (16 shade) internal grayscale video and support for 8-bit (256-color) video on an external monitor with up to 832 x 624 resolution. With the PowerBook 180, it was the first PowerBook to support an external monitor (using Apple’s proprietary VID-14 connector with an adapter) and the first to allow more than 8 MB RAM. Other than that, this is much the same as the PowerBook 145 . The 160 reintroduced SCSI Disk Mode to the PowerBook line, a feature previously found only on the PowerBook 100 . Specs (via Low End Mac)
PowerBook 165
Essentially a PowerBook 180 with a color display, the 165c brought the first color screen to the PowerBook line. It was also the first notebook computer from any manufacturer with 256 colors on its internal display. The passive-matrix screen supports 8-bit video at 640 x 400 pixels. Other than the color screen and faster CPU, it is identical to the PowerBook 160 . Because of the color screen, a fully charged battery lasts about one hour. “…it’s the best-looking passive-matrix color display I’ve seen on a notebook computer.” MacUser, April 1993 Specs (via Low End Mac)
PowerBook 165c
Essentially a PowerBook 180 with a color display, the 165c brought the first color screen to the PowerBook line. It was also the first notebook computer from any manufacturer with 256 colors on its internal display. The passive-matrix screen supports 8-bit video at 640 x 400 pixels. Other than the color screen and faster CPU, it is identical to the PowerBook 160 . Because of the color screen, a fully charged battery lasts about one hour. “…it’s the best-looking passive-matrix color display I’ve seen on a notebook computer.” MacUser, April 1993 Specs (via Low End Mac)
PowerBook 170
laptop by Apple The PowerBook 170 was the only first generation PowerBook to sport an active matrix screen. With a 25 MHz 68030, it was 2/3 faster than the PowerBook 140 . Between the faster CPU, faster screen, and addition of a floating point unit, the 170 was nearly twice as fast as the 140. It was replaced by the popular PowerBook 180 in October 1992. Apple released two special editions of the PowerBook 170: a multicolored version for the Japan LPGA and a white “10th Anniversary Mac” version in 1994. As with all early PowerBooks, when buying one be sure it has all the memory you need (new PB RAM is difficult to locate, especially at reasonable prices). Specs (via Low End Mac)
PowerBook 180
laptop by Apple The PowerBook 180 was the first portable Mac with a 4-bit (16-shade) active matrix display. With a 33 MHz CPU and improved screen, it replaced the 25 MHz PowerBook 170 and was in very high demand through its six-month life. Like the PowerBook 160 , the 180 has a video out port supporting an external 13″ to 16″ monitor. With the 160, it was the first PowerBook to support an external monitor (using Apple’s proprietary VID-14 connector with an adapter) and the first PowerBook to support more than 8 MB of RAM. The 180 reintroduced SCSI Disk Mode to the PowerBook line, a feature previously found only on the PowerBook 100 . Specs (via Low End Mac)
PowerBook 180c
The PowerBook 180c added an active matrix 256-color screen to the already popular PowerBook 180 . The color screen took its toll on the battery, reducing usable life to aboone1 hour. The PB 180c has a 14 MB memory ceiling, although you can go beyond that by using Virtual Memory (slow and free) or RAM Doubler (faster, not free, and discontinued). Another option is RAM Charger 8.1 , which offers better memory management than the Mac OS. As with all early PowerBooks, when buying one be sure it has all the memory you need – new PB RAM is difficult to locate, especially at reasonable prices. Specs (via Low End Mac)
PowerBook 190
The PowerBook 190 was Apple’s last model based on a Motorola 68040 CPU. The base model has a 640 x 480 4-bit passive matrix grayscale display; the 190cs has an 8-bit color display. Apple eliminated the internal modem bay and the ethernet port found in the PowerBook 500 series that preceded the 190, forcing buyers to acquire these items separately. Because the PC Card uses a 16-bit bus, ethernet performance is roughly 25% slower than on the PowerBook 540 . Because the 190 and 5300 share the same case any many other enclosures, it is possible to upgrade your 190 with 5300 components by swapping in the video card (which adds support for an external monitor) and/or an active matrix screen. You can also install the infrared circuitry if you have a reason to. (Thanks to Jonathan Fletcher for sending in this tip!) Specs (via Low End Mac)
PowerBook 190cs
The PowerBook 190 was Apple’s last model based on a Motorola 68040 CPU. The 190cs has an 8-bit dual-scan passive matrix color display. Apple eliminated the internal modem bay and the ethernet port found in the previous 500 series, forcing buyers to acquire these items separately. Because the PC Card uses a 16-bit bus, ethernet performance is roughly 25% slower than on the PowerBook 540 . Because the 190 and 5300 share the same case any many other enclosures, it is possible to upgrade your 190 with 5300 components by swapping in the video card (which adds support for an external monitor) and/or an active matrix screen. You can also install the infrared circuitry if you have a reason to. (Thanks to Jonathan Fletcher for sending in this tip!) Specs (via Low End Mac)
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