Crisp new displays that expand your view. Longer battery life to fuel your work (or play) as you fly cross-country. A DVD-burning SuperDrive on every system. The PowerBook G4 packs loads of pro features in a slim enclosure with a slim new price. Choose from the exquisite 12-inch model, the versatile 15-inch powerhouse or the ultimate 17-inch stunner. Systems start at us$1499.

12-inch A crisp, clear XGA display provides exquisite detail and high saturation for rich, vivid colours. 15-inch Enjoy 1.3 million pixels at a resolution of 1440 by 960 - that's 26% more pixels than the previous generation. 17-inch With over 1.7 million pixels, this 1680-by-1050-pixel display is 36% more spacious and 46% brighter than its predecessor.

The Future is Bright

With millions more pixels, the new 15-inch and 17-inch PowerBook models give you a brilliant workspace that rivals many desktop monitors. Spread out your tools, palettes, and timelines. Bounce from one productivity application to another. View your work from the top or side - easily share your work with clients or team members. Now you have a whole new reason to love your PowerBook.

Going the Extra Mile

The PowerBook G4 is ready to work whenever you are. The new 15-inch and 17-inch models boast a healthy 5.5 hours of battery life - an additional hour over the previous generation. Learn about ways to extend battery life.

DVD Burning Across the Line

It's easy to warm up to the SuperDrive-equipped PowerBook G4 computers. With fast DVD burning on every system - and double-layer burning on the new 15- and 17-inch models - you'll quickly discover new ways to package your data and your media. Extremely versatile, the slot-loading SuperDrive works hand-in-hand with Mac OS X, so you can burn data CDs, music CDs and DVDs - right from the desktop.

Drive in the Fast Lane

With more files - and bigger files - you need a hard drive that can handle the load. That's why the PowerBook G4 offers 5400-rpm drives standard across the line: 80GB on 12- and 15-inch models and 120GB on 17-inch models. (1) Need to get at those files fast? Through the Apple Store, you can configure your new 15- or 17-inch PowerBook with a 100GB 7200-rpm internal hard drive that gives you room for huge files - and speedy access too.

Hearing Is Believing

Connect your new 15- or 17-inch PowerBook to decks, receivers, digital instruments and 5.1 surround sound systems. Thanks to built-in optical digital audio input and output, you can enjoy true noise-free, pristine sound - without ground loop interference caused by copper wiring. Of course, all PowerBook systems have built-in stereo speakers for easy listening and an integrated microphone, handy for making calls using iChat AV. A standard minijack provides audio line-input for plugging in a powered microphone, and with a headphone-out port, you can plug in headphones and listen to music, watch a movie, play games or compose a new song in complete privacy.

Portable Performance

Thanks to the PowerPC G4 processor with Velocity Engine, every PowerBook packs a tremendous punch for doing everything from numerical computations to editing video and designing show-stopping presentations. The 15-inch and 17-inch models boast processor speeds of 1.67GHz, and the 12-inch model crunches away at 1.5GHz.

Working with multiple RAM-hungry applications? All PowerBook G4 systems ship standard with 512MB of fast DDR memory. If you're feeling expansive, you can quadruple that to 2GB on both the 15- and 17-inch models. Even the 12-inch PowerBook allows you to pack in up to 1.25GB of RAM, more than enough to store an entire graphics project in main memory for fast image manipulations.

Featherweight Champ

Light enough to carry around all day, the PowerBook G4 starts at just 2.1 kg. Housed in a lightweight aluminium alloy enclosure, these sleek notebooks resist stains and scratches. They're also perfectly smooth on all surfaces, with no doors, protruding latches or levers to break, and no sharp edges to catch on your clothing.

• 1GB = 1 billion bytes; actual formatted capacity less.

The PowerBook G4 is well loved for its sleek portable design and comprehensive feature set. Less well known are the special touches that make it a surprisingly accommodating companion at a conference, in a hotel or on a cross-country flight. Find out how to get the most from your PowerBook G4.

Swap Batteries Without Shutting Down

Running low on power? Your 15-inch or 17-inch PowerBook is so accommodating, you can swap out batteries with minimal interruption. Put the PowerBook to sleep. Remove the current battery. Pop in the new battery. And then wake your PowerBook up. You don't even need to save your work.

Your Own Portable Network

Ever notice that hotels tend to place Ethernet jacks in the least comfortable locations? But you don't have to stand for it. Not when you can easily carry an AirPort Express Base Station with you when you travel. Just plug the base station into the power outlet and connect it to the Ethernet port using an Ethernet cable. Boot your PowerBook and turn on AirPort (if it's not already on). You'll be on the Internet in seconds with the freedom to work from anywhere in the room (and beyond, perhaps).

Work Longer Unplugged

From the factory, the PowerBook is set to offer "Normal" energy savings when running off the battery. Want to work more hours untethered? It's easy. Just select Better Battery Life from the Energy Saver preference pane to optimise your PowerBook for the best conservation of power. Of course, when you need to bump up your performance levels - and battery life is a secondary concern - you can always switch to Better Performance.

Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime?

Don't you hate paying those additional fees hotels charge for making phone calls? With PowerBook, you can avoid them - and mobile phone charges, too - and still have lively conversations with colleagues in the office or the family back home. Using iChat AV , of course. It's part of Tiger, so every new PowerBook has it. And since your PowerBook also has a built-in mic, you can simply select a buddy and speak your mind.

Transfer Data Quickly and Easily

Using just a FireWire cable, you can quickly transfer data from another computer to your PowerBook. First turn the other computer off. Then, connect the two via FireWire. Turn the other computer on, holding down the "T" key until the FireWire icon appears. Open the hard drive of the other computer - it should be on your desktop - and copy away. When you're done, select the hard drive and choose Eject from the File menu. Power the other computer down and disconnect the FireWire cables. Yes, Target Disk Mode works great with PowerBook.

Share Files Wirelessly

Got info on your PDA you need desperately on your PowerBook? Or vice versa? Use built-in Bluetooth to effect the transfer quickly and wirelessly. Just pair the two devices using the handy Bluetooth menu icon. Then choose Send File from the Bluetooth menu, and select the file you'd like to send to your PDA. Got a file coming in? The PowerBook lets you choose the folder in which to place the file and the application with which to open it.

Open a Big Window on the World

Want to see how easy it is to connect an external display to a PowerBook? Want to see that again? Seriously, with the PowerBook you just connect an external display and it works. First time, every time. You can even choose what you'll see on the second display: the same image you see on the built-in display (that's called video mirroring) or - the default - an extension of your Mac OS X desktop (called dual-display mode). Want to toggle between the two modes? Just use the F7 key. By the way, PowerBook offers five ways to connect an external display: DVI, ADC, VGA, S-video and composite.