Apple Macintosh PowerBook 540 vs Apple PowerBook G4 (12-inch, 1.5GHz)

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

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Macintosh PowerBook 540 compared with PowerBook G4 (12-inch, 1.5GHz)
AppleMacintosh PowerBook 540ApplePowerBook G4 (12-inch, 1.5GHz)
Overview
ReleasedMay 19942005
Display
Screen size9.5″12.1″
Resolution640 × 4801024 × 768 (better)
TouchscreenNoNo
Display type9.5-inch active-matrix greyscale LCD with 64 grey levels at 640 × 48012.1-inch TFT XGA active-matrix display; panel technology and refresh unpublished.
Performance
ProcessorMotorola 68LC040 66 MHz (PowerBook 540c)PowerPC G4 1.5 GHz (PowerBook 12-inch 2005)
CPU cores11
Graphics–NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 (64 MB DDR)
Memory4 MB512 MB or 1.25 GB (better)
Storage240 MB60 GB to 100 GB (better)
CPUMotorola 68LC040 with 66 MHz internal processor speed and 33 MHz bus interface; 8 KB L1 cache and no floating-point unit1.5 GHz PowerPC G4, 512 KB on-chip L2 and 167 MHz system bus. Exact silicon supplier omitted.
GPU–NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 with 64 MB DDR video memory and AGP 4×.
Memory type4 MB on the logic board, expandable to 36 MB through one memory expansion slot512 MB PC2700 DDR333 standard; one SO-DIMM slot, maximum 1.25 GB.
Storage type240 MB internal SCSI hard drive and Apple SuperDrive floppy drive5400 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)Up to 3 hoursUp to 5 hours
Battery capacity–50 Wh
Weight3.2 kg2.1 kg (better)
Thickness58 mm–
Width × depth292 × 246 mm–
Battery life detailTwo high-capacity Type II nickel-metal hydride batteries supplied; Apple claims 1.5–3 hours on one battery or 3–6 hours on two50 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–45 W power adapter
Materials–Aluminium enclosure
Connections
Ports–2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Wi-Fi–AirPort Extreme 802.11g/b
Bluetooth–2.0 + EDR
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Port detailADB, serial/LocalTalk, AAUI Ethernet, HDI-30 SCSI, external video, stereo sound input/output and power input; optional internal modem and processor-direct PCMCIA expansion moduleTwo 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 displaysVideo output supports compatible external Apple displays through an adapter; built-in greyscale display can be upgraded to active-matrix colour with Apple's optional upgradeDual display and mirroring; external resolution up to 2048 × 1536.
Keyboard–Full-size keyboard with embedded numeric keypad
TrackpadBuilt-in solid-state trackpadTwo-finger scrolling/panning, tap, double-tap and drag support
SpeakersTwo built-in speakers and microphone with 16-bit stereo soundStereo speakers with midrange-enhancing third speaker
Microphones–Internal omnidirectional microphone
In the boxNotebook, two batteries and power adapter; preinstalled PowerBook Mobility Bundle. Dimensions and metric weight come from Apple's October 1994 Apple FactsApple 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.

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