Apple Macintosh PowerBook Duo 280c 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 280c compared with PowerBook G4 (17-inch, 1.5GHz)
AppleMacintosh PowerBook Duo 280cApplePowerBook G4 (17-inch, 1.5GHz)
Overview
ReleasedMay 19942004
Display
Screen size8.4″17″
Resolution640 × 4801440 × 900 (better)
TouchscreenNoNo
Display type8.4-inch backlit active-matrix colour LCD; 256 colours at 640 × 480 or thousands of colours at 640 × 40017-inch TFT widescreen; panel technology and refresh unpublished.
Performance
ProcessorMotorola 68LC040 66 MHz (PowerBook 540c)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 MB512 MB or 2 GB (better)
Storage320 MB80 GB (better)
CPUMotorola 68LC040 with 66 MHz internal processor speed and 33 MHz bus interface; integrated memory management without an FPU1.5 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 fitted, expandable to 8 or 12 MB with Apple's memory kits and up to 40 MB using third-party cards512 MB PC2700 DDR333 standard; two SO-DIMM slots, maximum 2 GB.
Storage type320 MB internal SCSI hard drive; optional external 1.4 MB Apple SuperDrive through a floppy adapter or dock80 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 4 hoursUp to 4.5 hours
Battery capacity–58 Wh
Weight2.1 kg (better)3.1 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 figure58 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 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, 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 displaysVideo output through an optional Duo Dock, Duo Dock II or Duo MiniDockDual display/mirroring; external resolution up to 2048 × 1536. DVI-to-VGA and S-video-to-composite adapters included; ADC adapter separate.
Keyboard–Full-size illuminated fibre-optic keyboard with ambient light sensor
Trackpad19 mm trackball with two buttonsTap, double-tap and drag support
SpeakersBuilt-in mono speaker and omnidirectional microphone; 8-bit sound input at 11 or 22 kHzTwo stereo 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 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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