The PowerBook 2400c was designed to replace the discontinued Duo series – particularly the 2300c – with something very small and light (just 4.4 lb./2.0 kg). Although the keyboard is slightly smaller than usual, those who have 2400s just love these small PowerBooks. And with its 8.5″ x 10.5″ dimensions, the 2400c had the smallest footprint of any Apple notebook to date (89.25 square inches vs. 93.5 for the PowerBook 100).
Memory expansion is limited to 112 MB, which can be extended by the use of RAM Doubler or Virtual Memory. Using a hard drive larger than 3 GB may preclude the use of SCSI Disk Mode, according to PowerBook Hard Drives: The Essential Upgrade .
Although the 2400c doesn’t natively support CardBus , it can be modified to support it.
Specs (via Low End Mac)
Cpu: 180/240 MHz PPC 603e
Bus: 40 MHz
Performance: 294, MacBench 4
Ram: 16 MB, expandable to 112 MB
Rom: 4 MB
Hard Drive: 1.3 GB EIDE
Vram: 1 MB
Display: 10.4″ 16-bit 800 x 600 96 ppi color dual-scan or active matrix
Adb: 1 port for keyboard and mouse
Scsi: HDI30 connector on back of computer
Serial: 1 DIN-8 RS-422 port on back of computer
Weight: 4.4 pounds with battery
Level 2 Cache: 256 KB
Video Out: VGA port
Cd-Rom: none
Pc Card Slots: 2 (CardBus compliant on the Japanese 2400c, and the US version can be modded to support CardBus.)
Infrared: supports IrDA and Apple’s IRtalk protocol
Gestalt: 307
Size: 1.9″ x 10.5″ x 8.5″
Power Supply: M5937
See: Online resources and links for the PowerBook 2400c
The PowerBook 3400c, running a PowerPC 603e processor at 180 to -240 MHz, was designed as a no compromise laptop and was billed as the world’s fastest notebook computer when it was introduced in early 1997. It was also the basis for the first PowerBook G3 .
The 3400c was the first PowerBook based on Intel’s PCI architecture, although it obviously doesn’t include PCI expansion slots. This made it the first PowerBook to support 33 MHz CardBus devices, although that requires a special software driver.
Memory is expandable to 144 MB. Using a hard drive larger than 3 GB precludes the use of SCSI Disk Mode, according to PowerBook Hard Drives: The Essential Upgrade .
Display: 12.1″ 16-bit 800 x 600 83 ppi color active matrix
Code Name: Hooper
Adb: 1 port for keyboard and mouse
Scsi: HDI30 connector on back of computer
Serial: 1 DIN-8 RS-422 port on back of computer
Weight: 6.9-7.4 pounds with battery
Level 2 Cache: 256 KB
Video Out: VGA port
Expansion Bay: same as PowerBook 190 and 5300
Cd-Rom: 6x or 12x, removable, optional on 180 MHz model
Infrared: supports IrDA and Apple’s IRtalk protocol
Pc Card Slots: 2, CardBus compliant with USB Card Support patch (see CardBus for Your PowerBook 3400c or Kanga G3! for details and links
Size: 2.4″ H x 11.5″ W x 9.5″ D
Power Supply: M4896 or M4895
See: Online resources and links for the PowerBook 3400c
Warning: According to the Road Warrior and Other World Computing , the drive controller in pre-G4 PowerBooks is incompatible with some ATA-6/Ultra ATA-100 hard drives.
The PowerBook 3400c, running a PowerPC 603e processor at 180 to -240 MHz, was designed as a no compromise laptop and was billed as the world’s fastest notebook computer when it was introduced in early 1997. It was also the basis for the first PowerBook G3 .
The 3400c was the first PowerBook based on Intel’s PCI architecture, although it obviously doesn’t include PCI expansion slots. This made it the first PowerBook to support 33 MHz CardBus devices, although that requires a special software driver.
Memory is expandable to 144 MB. Using a hard drive larger than 3 GB precludes the use of SCSI Disk Mode, according to PowerBook Hard Drives: The Essential Upgrade .
Display: 12.1″ 16-bit 800 x 600 83 ppi color active matrix
Code Name: Hooper
Adb: 1 port for keyboard and mouse
Scsi: HDI30 connector on back of computer
Serial: 1 DIN-8 RS-422 port on back of computer
Weight: 6.9-7.4 pounds with battery
Level 2 Cache: 256 KB
Video Out: VGA port
Expansion Bay: same as PowerBook 190 and 5300
Cd-Rom: 6x or 12x, removable, optional on 180 MHz model
Infrared: supports IrDA and Apple’s IRtalk protocol
Pc Card Slots: 2, CardBus compliant with USB Card Support patch (see CardBus for Your PowerBook 3400c or Kanga G3! for details and links
Size: 2.4″ H x 11.5″ W x 9.5″ D
Power Supply: M4896 or M4895
See: Online resources and links for the PowerBook 3400c
Warning: According to the Road Warrior and Other World Computing , the drive controller in pre-G4 PowerBooks is incompatible with some ATA-6/Ultra ATA-100 hard drives.
Blackbird was Apple’s code name for its first line of PowerBooks based on the 68LC040 processor. (The LC version of the 68040 draws less power and has no FPU.) The 500 series included several firsts: the first portable with a trackpad, the first with a PCMCIA (later PC Card) slot, the first with stereo speakers, the first with built-in ethernet, the first with an “intelligent” NiMH battery, the first with an expansion bay, and the first to automatically go to sleep when the lid was shut.
In the field, users raved about the dual battery slots, allowing up to 4 hours from a charged pair of batteries.
These PowerBooks also introduced a full-sized keyboard (with 12 function keys), had a 640 x 480 screen, and were designed so they could be upgraded with a PowerPC processor.
Specs (via Low End Mac)
Cpu: 25 MHz 68LC040
Fpu: none
Ram: 4 MB, expandable to 36 MB using a special 100ns pseudostatic RAM card
Rom: 2 MB
Video: 512 KB VRAM, VID-14 port, supports 8-bit external video at 512 x 384, 640 x 480, 800 x 600, and 832 x 624 with video adapter
Vram: 512 KB
Display: 9.5″ 640 x 480 84 ppi 8-bit dual-scan passive matrix
Gestalt Id: 72
Code Name: Blackbird
Adb Ports: 1 port for keyboard and mouse
Ethernet: AAUI connector, requires adapter
Weight: 7.1 lb. with both batteries, 6.4 lb. with one battery
Serial Ports: 1 DIN-8 RS-422 port on back of computer
Scsi Ports: HDI30 connector on back of computer
Power Supply: M1893 or M1910
See: Online resources and links for the PowerBook 520c
Blackbird was Apple’s code name for its first line of PowerBooks based on the 68LC040 processor. (The LC version of the 68040 draws less power and has no FPU.) The 500 series included several firsts: the first portable with a trackpad, the first with a PCMCIA (later PC Card) slot, the first with stereo speakers, the first with built-in ethernet, the first with an “intelligent” NiMH battery, the first with an expansion bay, and the first to automatically go to sleep when the lid was shut.
In the field, users raved about the dual battery slots, allowing up to 4 hours from a charged pair of batteries.
These PowerBooks also introduced a full-sized keyboard (with 12 function keys), had a 640 x 480 screen, and were designed so they could be upgraded with a PowerPC processor.
Specs (via Low End Mac)
Cpu: 25 MHz 68LC040
Fpu: none
Ram: 4 MB, expandable to 36 MB using a special 100ns pseudostatic RAM card
Rom: 2 MB
Video: 512 KB VRAM, VID-14 port, supports 8-bit external video at 512 x 384, 640 x 480, 800 x 600, and 832 x 624 with video adapter
Vram: 512 KB
Display: 9.5″ 640 x 480 84 ppi 8-bit dual-scan passive matrix
Gestalt Id: 72
Code Name: Blackbird
Adb Ports: 1 port for keyboard and mouse
Ethernet: AAUI connector, requires adapter
Weight: 7.1 lb. with both batteries, 6.4 lb. with one battery
Serial Ports: 1 DIN-8 RS-422 port on back of computer
Scsi Ports: HDI30 connector on back of computer
Power Supply: M1893 or M1910
See: Online resources and links for the PowerBook 520c
Blackbird was Apple’s code name for its first line of PowerBooks based on the 68LC040 processor. (The LC version of the 68040 draws less power and has no FPU.) The 500 series included several firsts: the first portable with a trackpad, the first with a PCMCIA (later PC Card) slot, the first with stereo speakers, the first with built-in ethernet, the first with an “intelligent” NiMH battery, the first with an expansion bay, and the first to automatically go to sleep when the lid was shut.
In the field, users raved about the dual battery slots, allowing up to 4 hours from a charged pair of batteries.
These PowerBooks also introduced a full-sized keyboard (with 12 function keys), had a 640 x 480 screen, and were designed so they could be upgraded with a PowerPC processor.
Specs (via Low End Mac)
Cpu: 33 MHz 68LC040
Fpu: none
Ram: 4 MB, expandable to 36 MB using a special 100ns pseudostatic RAM card
Rom: 2 MB
Video: 512 KB VRAM, VID-14 port, supports 8-bit external video at 512 x 384, 640 x 480, 800 x 600, and 832 x 624 with video adapter
Vram: 512 KB
Display: 9.5″ 640 x 480 84 ppi 8-bit color active matrix
Gestalt Id: 72
Code Name: Blackbird
Adb Ports: 1 port for keyboard and mouse
Ethernet: AAUI connector, requires adapter
Weight: 7.3 lb. with both batteries, 6.6 lb. with one battery
Cpu Performance: 1.18, Speedometer 4.02 (Quadra 605 = 1.0), see our benchmark page
Blackbird was Apple’s code name for its first line of PowerBooks based on the 68LC040 processor. (The LC version of the 68040 draws less power and has no FPU.) The 500 series included several firsts: the first portable with a trackpad, the first with a PCMCIA (later PC Card) slot, the first with stereo speakers, the first with built-in ethernet, the first with an “intelligent” NiMH battery, the first with an expansion bay, and the first to automatically go to sleep when the lid was shut.
In the field, users raved about the dual battery slots, allowing up to 4 hours from a charged pair of batteries.
These PowerBooks also introduced a full-sized keyboard (with 12 function keys), had a 640 x 480 screen, and were designed so they could be upgraded with a PowerPC processor.
Specs (via Low End Mac)
Cpu: 33 MHz 68LC040
Fpu: none
Ram: 4 MB, expandable to 36 MB using a special 100ns pseudostatic RAM card
Rom: 2 MB
Video: 512 KB VRAM, VID-14 port, supports 8-bit external video at 512 x 384, 640 x 480, 800 x 600, and 832 x 624 with video adapter
Vram: 512 KB
Display: 9.5″ 640 x 480 84 ppi 8-bit color active matrix
Gestalt Id: 72
Code Name: Blackbird
Adb Ports: 1 port for keyboard and mouse
Ethernet: AAUI connector, requires adapter
Weight: 7.3 lb. with both batteries, 6.6 lb. with one battery
Cpu Performance: 1.18, Speedometer 4.02 (Quadra 605 = 1.0), see our benchmark page
Blackbird was Apple’s code name for a line of PowerBooks based on Motorola’s 68LC040 and 68040 processors. (The LC version draws less power and has no FPU.) The PowerBook 550c was available only in Japan. Differences from the rest of the 500-series include use of regular 68040 (not the stripped down 68LC040), a 750 MB hard drive, and a larger screen.
The 500 series included several firsts: the first portable with a trackpad, the first with a PCMCIA (later PC Card) slot, the first with stereo speakers, the first with built-in ethernet, the first with an “intelligent” NiMH battery, the first with an expansion bay, and the first to automatically go to sleep when the lid was shut.
In the field, users raved about the dual battery slots, allowing up to 4 hours from a charged pair of batteries.
Specs (via Low End Mac)
Cpu: 33 MHz 68040
Fpu: part of CPU
Ram: 8 MB, expandable to 36 MB
Rom: 2 MB
Video: 512 KB VRAM, VID-14 port, supports 8-bit external video at 512 x 384, 640 x 480, 800 x 600, and 832 x 624 with video adapter
Vram: 512 KB
Display: 10.4″ 640 x 480 77 ppi 8-bit color active matrix
Gestalt Id: 72
Code Name: Blackbird
Adb Ports: 1 port for keyboard and mouse
Weight: 6.8 lb.
Serial Ports: 1 DIN-8 RS-422 port on back of computer
Scsi Ports: HDI30 connector on back of computer
Power Supply: M1893 or M1910
See: Online resources and links for the PowerBook 550c
