Apple Macintosh PowerBook 100 vs Apple PowerBook G4 (15-inch, Double-Layer SD)

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

Only show differences

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Share comparison

Macintosh PowerBook 100 compared with PowerBook G4 (15-inch, Double-Layer SD)

	AppleMacintosh PowerBook 100	ApplePowerBook G4 (15-inch, Double-Layer SD)
Overview
Released
Released	October 1991	October 2005
Display
Screen size
Screen size	9″	15.2″
Resolution
Resolution	640 × 400	1440 × 960 (better)
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	9-inch backlit FSTN monochrome LCD, 640 × 400 pixels at 1-bit colour (Apple service guide).	15.2-inch TFT widescreen, 1440 × 960; panel technology and refresh unpublished.
Performance
Processor
Processor	68000 16 MHz (PowerBook 100)	PowerPC G4 1.67 GHz (PowerBook 15-inch Late 2005)
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	1
Graphics
Graphics	–	ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 (128 MB DDR)
Memory
Memory	2 MB	512 MB or 2 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	20 MB to 40 MB	80 GB to 120 GB (better)
CPU
CPU	16 MHz Motorola 68000; no FPU or processor cache.	1.67 GHz PowerPC G4 with 512 KB on-chip L2 and 167 MHz system bus. Exact silicon supplier omitted.
GPU
GPU	–	ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 with 128 MB DDR and dual-link DVI standard
Memory type
Memory type	2 MB on the logic board and one expansion slot; 8 MB maximum.	512 MB PC2-4200 DDR2 running at 333 MHz; two SO-DIMM slots support up to 2 GB.
Storage type
Storage type	20 MB or 40 MB internal SCSI hard drive; no built-in floppy drive. The HDI-20 port accepts an external floppy drive.	80 GB 5400 rpm Ultra ATA/100 standard with Sudden Motion Sensor. Build-to-order: 100 GB 5400 or 7200 rpm, or 120 GB 5400 rpm. 8× SuperDrive with 2.4× double-layer DVD+R support; optional Combo drive. Speed/optical alternatives retained here rather than duplicate capacity rows.
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 4 hours	Up to 5.5 hours
Weight
Weight	2.3 kg	–
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Sealed lead-acid battery; Apple claimed 2–4 hours of use before recharging.	Up to 5.5 hours, dependent on configuration and use. Retained maker family sheet publishes 15-inch reference weight 5.6 pounds, footprint 13.7 × 9.5 inches and thickness 1.1 inches; no calculated metric main values. Its detailed 58 Wh battery section is explicitly 17-inch and is not borrowed.
Charger
Charger	–	Power adapter included; wattage not established for this exact generation in the read family sheet.
Materials
Materials	–	Aluminium enclosure
Connections
Ports
Ports	–	2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	–	AirPort Extreme 802.11g/b
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	–	2.0 + EDR
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	One Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) port, HDI-20 external floppy connector, HDI-30 SCSI connector, printer serial port and speaker output. No built-in Ethernet or video output.	Two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400 and 800, Gigabit Ethernet, 56K V.92 modem, DVI, S-video and Type I/II PC Card slot. Combined analogue/optical digital input and output.
External displays
External displays	–	Dual-link DVI supports 30-inch Cinema HD display; DVI-to-VGA and S-video-to-composite adapters included.
Keyboard
Keyboard	–	Full-size illuminated keyboard with ambient light sensor
Trackpad
Trackpad	Built-in trackball.	Two-finger scrolling/panning, tap, double-tap and drag support
Speakers
Speakers	–	Stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	–	Internal omnidirectional microphone
In the box
In the box	Original system software was System 7.0.1. Apple dates the model's introduction to 21 October 1991; its technical sheet does not state a separate first-sale day.	Apple UK confirms immediate availability on 19 October 2005. Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger and iLife ’05 supplied. The retained sheet’s configuration table covers all sizes but its detailed specification section describes the 17-inch; only the 15-inch table and explicit build-to-order fields are used here.