Apple Macintosh PowerBook Duo 250 vs Apple PowerBook G4 (17-inch, 1.5GHz)

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

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Macintosh PowerBook Duo 250 compared with PowerBook G4 (17-inch, 1.5GHz)
AppleMacintosh PowerBook Duo 250ApplePowerBook G4 (17-inch, 1.5GHz)
Overview
Released19932004
Display
Screen size9″17″
Resolution640 × 4001440 × 900 (better)
TouchscreenNoNo
Display typeBacklit active-matrix LCD with 16 grey levels. Apple's product description and technical table specify a 9-inch diagonal; the developer note gives a 192 × 120 mm active pixel area17-inch TFT widescreen; panel technology and refresh unpublished.
Performance
ProcessorMotorola 68030 33 MHz (PowerBook 165)PowerPC G4 1.5 GHz (PowerBook 17-inch 2004)
CPU cores11
Graphics–ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 (64 MB DDR) or ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 (128 MB DDR)
Memory4 MB or 12 MB512 MB or 2 GB (better)
Storage200 MB80 GB (better)
CPUMotorola 68030 at 33 MHz, with integrated memory-management unit; no built-in floating-point coprocessor. An optional dock provides a maths coprocessor1.5 GHz PowerPC G4, 512 KB on-chip L2 and 167 MHz bus. Exact silicon supplier omitted.
GPU–ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 with 64 MB DDR; 128 MB video-memory build-to-order option.
Memory type4 MB on the logic board and one Duo expansion-card slot; maximum 24 MB. Apple kits expand to 8 or 12 MB; larger capacities require third-party cards512 MB PC2700 DDR333 standard; two SO-DIMM slots, maximum 2 GB.
Storage typeInternal 200 MB SCSI drive in Apple's 4/200 and 12/200 ordering configurations. The developer note mentions a 120 MB option without an ordering configuration. External floppy drive requires a Duo Floppy Adapter or MiniDock80 GB 4200 rpm Ultra ATA/100 hard drive; 80 GB 5400 rpm build-to-order alternative. 4× DVD-R/CD-RW SuperDrive.
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)Up to 6 hoursUp to 4.5 hours
Battery capacity–58 Wh
Weight1.9 kg (better)3.1 kg
Thickness36 mm–
Width × depth277 × 216 mm–
Battery life detailRemovable Type II nickel-metal hydride battery; Apple's technical table claims 2.5–6 hours. Its later developer-note feature list and block diagram contain conflicting battery, colour-display and memory claims; the exact model's technical table controls these specifications58 Wh lithium-ion, up to 4.5 hours. Maker reference 3.1 kg includes battery and optical drive and varies by configuration/manufacturing. Published dimensions: height 2.6 cm, width 39.2 cm, depth 25.9 cm.
Charger–65 W power adapter
Materials–Aluminium enclosure
Connections
Ports–2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Wi-Fi–AirPort Extreme 802.11g/b
Bluetooth–1.1
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Port detailRS-422 serial/LocalTalk, 152-pin docking connector, power input and optional internal fax/data modem. External video, SCSI and floppy connections require docking accessoriesTwo USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 400 and one FireWire 800, Gigabit Ethernet, 56K V.92 modem, Type I/II PC Card slot, DVI, S-video, audio input and headphone output.
External displaysOptional PowerBook Duo Dock or Duo MiniDock provides external video and desktop connectionsDual display/mirroring; external resolution up to 2048 × 1536. DVI-to-VGA and S-video-to-composite adapters included; ADC adapter separate.
KeyboardBuilt-in keyboard with two-level tilt adjustment and Caps Lock indicatorFull-size illuminated fibre-optic keyboard with ambient light sensor
Trackpad19 mm trackball with two buttonsTap, double-tap and drag support
SpeakersBuilt-in speaker; 8-bit monophonic sound input/output at 11 or 22 kHzTwo stereo speakers
MicrophonesBuilt-in omnidirectional electret microphone, documented in the exact-model technical table despite the support summary's Mic Type noneInternal omnidirectional microphone
In the boxComputer, battery, AC adapter, System 7.1 software and documentation. The 12/200 configuration adds an internal Express Modem. Maker introduction was 21 October 1993; The Mac December 1993 current buying guide confirms retail presence that year without an exact first-sale monthApple announced 19 April 2004 and expected the 17-inch model in early May. Actual first on-sale month unestablished after a bounded search; year precision retained. Mac OS X 10.3 Panther and iLife ’04 supplied.

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