Apple Macintosh PowerBook 170 vs Apple PowerBook G4 (12-inch, 1.5GHz)

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Macintosh PowerBook 170 compared with PowerBook G4 (12-inch, 1.5GHz)

	AppleMacintosh PowerBook 170	ApplePowerBook G4 (12-inch, 1.5GHz)
Overview
Released
Released	October 1991	2005
Display
Screen size
Screen size	10″	12.1″
Resolution
Resolution	640 × 400	1024 × 768 (better)
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	10-inch backlit active-matrix monochrome LCD, 640 × 400 pixels at 1-bit colour. Apple's 1991 product information rounds the diagonal to 10 inches; some later catalogues call it 9.8 inches.	12.1-inch TFT XGA active-matrix display; panel technology and refresh unpublished.
Performance
Processor
Processor	68030 25 MHz (PowerBook 170)	PowerPC G4 1.5 GHz (PowerBook 12-inch 2005)
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	1
Graphics
Graphics	–	NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 (64 MB DDR)
Memory
Memory	4 MB	512 MB or 1.25 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	40 MB	60 GB to 100 GB (better)
CPU
CPU	25 MHz Motorola 68030 and 25 MHz Motorola 68882 floating-point coprocessor; a Power Saver mode could run the processor at 16 MHz on battery.	1.5 GHz PowerPC G4, 512 KB on-chip L2 and 167 MHz system bus. Exact silicon supplier omitted.
GPU
GPU	–	NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 with 64 MB DDR video memory and AGP 4×.
Memory type
Memory type	4 MB original configuration, comprising 2 MB on the logic board and a 2 MB expansion card; 8 MB maximum. Apple's later support sheet lists 2 MB as the minimum across its service configurations.	512 MB PC2700 DDR333 standard; one SO-DIMM slot, maximum 1.25 GB.
Storage type
Storage type	Original 40 MB internal SCSI hard drive with a built-in 1.4 MB SuperDrive floppy drive. Apple's later support sheet lists 40–80 MB drives.	5400 rpm Ultra ATA/100 hard drive with Sudden Motion Sensor. Combo base60GB; SuperDrive base80GB; 100GB build-to-order on either. 8× DVD±RW/CD-RW SuperDrive; optical-drive differences retained in details.
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 3 hours	Up to 5 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	–	50 Wh
Weight
Weight	3.03 kg	2.1 kg (better)
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Removable nickel-cadmium battery; Apple claimed 2–3 hours of use, with about 30 minutes more in its 16 MHz Power Saver mode.	50 Wh lithium-ion, up to five hours. Published reference weight 2.1 kg with battery and optical drive; varies by configuration/manufacturing. Published dimensions: height 3.0 cm, width 27.7 cm, depth 21.9 cm.
Charger
Charger	–	45 W power adapter
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-30 SCSI connector, two RS-422 serial ports, mono audio input and stereo output. A 2400-baud internal modem was standard.	Two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400, 10/100 Ethernet, 56K V.92 modem, mini-DVI, audio input and headphone output. Mini-DVI-to-DVI and mini-DVI-to-VGA adapters included; television adapter separate.
External displays
External displays	–	Dual display and mirroring; external resolution up to 2048 × 1536.
Keyboard
Keyboard	Built-in keyboard with a centred 30 mm trackball below the keys.	Full-size keyboard with embedded numeric keypad
Trackpad
Trackpad	Built-in trackball.	Two-finger scrolling/panning, tap, double-tap and drag support
Speakers
Speakers	–	Stereo speakers with midrange-enhancing third speaker
Microphones
Microphones	–	Internal omnidirectional microphone
In the box
In the box	System 7.0.1, battery and AC adapter. Apple dates the model's introduction to 21 October 1991; the technical sheet does not state a separate first-sale day.	Apple announced 31 January 2005 with availability planned later that week. Actual first on-sale month unestablished after a bounded search; year precision retained. Launch Mac OS X 10.3 Panther and iLife ’05; later units shipped Tiger.