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Apple Macintosh PowerBook Duo 280c vs Apple PowerBook G4 (15-inch, Double-Layer SD)

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

Better figure, where one is clearly better

AppleMacintosh PowerBook Duo 280cApplePowerBook G4 (15-inch, Double-Layer SD)
Overview
ReleasedMay 1994October 2005
Display
Screen size8.4″15.2″
Resolution640 × 4801440 × 960
TouchscreenNoNo
Display type8.4-inch backlit active-matrix colour LCD; 256 colours at 640 × 480 or thousands of colours at 640 × 40015.2-inch TFT widescreen, 1440 × 960; panel technology and refresh unpublished.
Performance
ProcessorMotorola 68LC040 66 MHz (PowerBook 540c)PowerPC G4 1.67 GHz (PowerBook 15-inch Late 2005)
CPU cores11
Graphics–ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 (128 MB DDR)
Memory4 MB512 MB or 2 GB
Storage320 MB80 GB to 120 GB
CPUMotorola 68LC040 with 66 MHz internal processor speed and 33 MHz bus interface; integrated memory management without an FPU1.67 GHz PowerPC G4 with 512 KB on-chip L2 and 167 MHz system bus. Exact silicon supplier omitted.
GPU–ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 with 128 MB DDR and dual-link DVI standard
Memory type4 MB fitted, expandable to 8 or 12 MB with Apple's memory kits and up to 40 MB using third-party cards512 MB PC2-4200 DDR2 running at 333 MHz; two SO-DIMM slots support up to 2 GB.
Storage type320 MB internal SCSI hard drive; optional external 1.4 MB Apple SuperDrive through a floppy adapter or dock80 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)Up to 4 hoursUp to 5.5 hours
Weight2.1 kg–
Thickness38 mm–
Width × depth277 × 216 mm–
Battery life detailRemovable high-capacity Type III nickel-metal hydride battery; Apple claims 2–4 hours. Maker TIL gives 2.1 kg and 4.8 lb together; the stated metric weight is retained without converting the inconsistent pounds figureUp 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–Power adapter included; wattage not established for this exact generation in the read family sheet.
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 detail152-pin docking connector, RS-422 serial/LocalTalk, power input and optional internal 14,400 bps fax/data modem; ADB, SCSI, video and floppy connections available through compatible docksTwo 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 displaysVideo output through an optional Duo Dock, Duo Dock II or Duo MiniDockDual-link DVI supports 30-inch Cinema HD display; DVI-to-VGA and S-video-to-composite adapters included.
Keyboard–Full-size illuminated keyboard with ambient light sensor
Trackpad19 mm trackball with two buttonsTwo-finger scrolling/panning, tap, double-tap and drag support
SpeakersBuilt-in mono speaker and omnidirectional microphone; 8-bit sound input at 11 or 22 kHzStereo speakers
Microphones–Internal omnidirectional microphone
In the boxNotebook with 4 MB RAM and 320 MB storage; desktop docking hardware and external floppy drive sold separatelyApple 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.

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