Rating: 
Summary: A functional and industrial-design masterpiece.
Review: Where other computer manufacturers make beige boxes, or, in the case of laptops, functional devices that can hardly be described as aesthetic trendsetters, Apple Computer revels in turning out eye-catching (and head-turning) industrial designs, time after time. Such is the case for the Titanium G4 Powerbook, an example of which I've had for nearly a year now. And, each time I remove this Powerbook from my carrying case and open it up in the presence of others, it never fails to generate 'oohs' and 'ahhs' from them, such is the mystique of Apple's proficiency at sleek styling and stunning display and performance.I was an 'early adaptor' to the Macintosh, dating back to the late-1984 512K 'fat Mac.' Since then, the Mac has been my preferred platform, and I only use Wintel machines when I have no choice in the matter (for example, at my business, which is run on a Wintel LAN). Typically, a Mac design will last me approximately five years (some three times the industry average), so that, when it is time to upgrade, the improvements in performance become truly meaningful (and dramatically noticeable). The Titanium G4 Powerbook certainly didn't disappoint me in this respect. It has blazing speed ' in terms of both display of files and web pages and read/write performance ' and it has a 'killer' color LCD display that is the envy of all who see it. With its titanium and carbon fibre construction, it is robustly built to last forever (certainly well past my typical five-year upgrade cycle). Equally important, the choice of construction materials ' and the industrial design ' seem simply perfect. The keyboard has a perfect tactile feel to it, and the built-in CD/DVD drive can create more than its fair share of envy when one inserts a 'letterbox' DVD to watch a movie. This construction (and these features) come at a very modest weight cost. While the G4 Powebook weighs in at slightly over 5 lb, it offers integrated features that other, lighter, laptops simply cannot match without adding peripherals (and of course weight). There isn't much NOT to like about this one-inch-thick masterpiece. The thickness has reduced the PCMCIA slots from two to one (but so many other ports are built in that this is hardly a concern), the CD/DVD drive is of the slot, rather than drawer, variety, and there is no Audio-In jack (despite there being plenty of space for it). This last is common to all recent-vintage Macs, for which users will need to obtain a third-party USB audio-in adapter. Macintoshes had pretty much always come at a price premium: If you want the industrial design, the features, and the OS, you should be prepared to pay for these. But, with this latest laptop, the playing field is much more level. While it is true that the Titanium G4 Powerbook is not 'cheap,' it is no more expensive than a Wintel alternative that has the same features. That is, if you could find a Wintel laptop that has this quality of industrial design and construction and this magnificent display. The fact is, simply, that you can't. This machine is in a class by itself.
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