Apple iBook 14-inch (Late 2002) vs Apple PowerBook G4 17-inch (Early 2003)

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Better figure, where one is clearly better

iBook 14-inch (Late 2002) compared with PowerBook G4 17-inch (Early 2003)
AppleiBook 14-inch (Late 2002)ApplePowerBook G4 17-inch (Early 2003)
Overview
ReleasedNovember 2002March 2003
Display
Screen size14.1″17″
Resolution1024 × 7681440 × 900 (better)
TouchscreenNoNo
Display type14.1-inch TFT XGA active-matrix display supporting millions of colours. Exact panel technology, brightness and refresh unpublished.17-inch TFT widescreen; exact panel technology, brightness and built-in refresh unpublished.
Performance
ProcessorPowerPC G3 800 MHz (iBook Late 2002)PowerPC G4 1 GHz (PowerBook 17-inch Early 2003)
CPU cores11
GraphicsATI Mobility Radeon 7500 (32 MB VRAM)NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go (64 MB DDR)
Memory256 MB or 640 MB512 MB or 1 GB (better)
Storage30 GB60 GB (better)
CPU800 MHz PowerPC G3; 512 KB on-chip L2 cache at processor clock and 100 MHz system bus. Exact silicon supplier/model omitted.1 GHz PowerPC G4 with Velocity Engine, 1 MB DDR SRAM L3 cache and 167 MHz system bus. Exact silicon supplier/SKU omitted.
GPUATI Mobility Radeon 7500 with 32 MB dedicated VRAM and AGP 2 ×.NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go, AGP 4 × with 64 MB DDR video memory.
Memory type256 MB PC100 SDRAM stock (128 MB onboard plus 128 MB SO-DIMM), supporting a 512 MB module for 640 MB total.512 MB PC2700 DDR333 standard; two SO-DIMM slots and maker-supported maximum 1 GB. Unofficial 2 GB in EveryMac is excluded from configurations.
Storage type30 GB Ultra ATA and Combo drive:16 × CD-R write, 8 × CD-RW write, 8 × DVD read, 24 × CD read. Larger factory drive options mentioned without capacities; no unconfirmed matrix added.60 GB 4200 rpm Ultra ATA/100 and slot-loading SuperDrive. Maker UK launch sheet specifies DVD-R 1 × write/8 × read, CD-R 8 × write, CD-RW 4 × write and CD 24 × read; later EveryMac 2 × DVD-R and Macworld 16 × CD-R figures differ, so launch maker specification retained.
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)Up to 6 hoursUp to 4.5 hours
Battery capacity55 Wh55 Wh
Weight2.7 kg (better)3.1 kg
Thickness34 mm26 mm (better)
Width × depth323 × 259 mm392 × 259 mm
Battery life detail55 Wh lithium-ion; maker claim up to six hours. Published 2.7 kg reference weight varies by configuration/manufacturing process. Dimensions use maker-published 32.3 × 25.9 × 3.4 cm.55 Wh lithium-ion, up to 4.5 hours maker claim. Published 3.1 kg includes battery and optical drive and varies by configuration/manufacturing process; closed metric dimensions 39.2 × 25.9 × 2.6 cm.
Materials–Anodised aluminium enclosure
Connections
Ports2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Wi-FiOptional AirPort 802.11bAirPort Extreme 802.11b/g
Bluetooth–1.1
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Port detailTwo 12 Mbps USB ports, one 400 Mbps FireWire port, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, internal 56K V.92 modem and stereo headphone output. Optional 11 Mbps AirPort card; Bluetooth available through an optional external USB adapter, not built in.Two 12 Mbps USB 1.1 ports, one FireWire 400 and one FireWire 800, Gigabit Ethernet, 56K V.92 modem, Type I/II PC Card/CardBus, DVI, S-video, line input and headphone output. Support table mislabels FireWire MBps; UK sheet explicitly states Mbps.
External displaysVGA mirroring with included adapter; S-video and composite video through an optional Apple Video Adapter.Dual display or mirroring up to 2048 × 1536 externally; DVI and included VGA/composite adapters.
Keyboard77 US or 78 ISO keys, including 12 function keys, four arrows and embedded numeric keypad.Full-size keyboard with fibre-optic backlighting and ambient light control; 79 ISO keys and embedded numeric keypad.
TrackpadTap, double-tap and drag support–
SpeakersBuilt-in stereo speakersTwo built-in stereo speakers
MicrophonesBuilt-in microphone; external USB audio devices supportedInternal omnidirectional microphone under left speaker grille
In the boxVGA display adapter, power adapter with wall plug/power cord; Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar, Mac OS 9 and bundled digital lifestyle/productivity software. The 6 November maker release states that the new range is available through stores/resellers.65 W power adapter, cord, modem cable, DVI-to-VGA and S-video-to-composite adapters. January announcement expected February; Macworld reported actual customer arrivals in March 2003. Month retained without inventing first delivery day.

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