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Apple · PowerBook

Macintosh PowerBook 150

Released July 1994

The PowerBook 150 is a 33 MHz notebook with a passive-matrix greyscale display, trackball and internal IDE hard drive.

Size
9.5″
Display
–
Processor
Motorola 68030 33 MHz (PowerBook 165)
Memory
4 MB – 8 MB
Weight
2.5 kg
Battery
4 h

Specifications

Report a wrong or missing spec

Display

Screen size
9.5″
Resolution
640 × 480
Touchscreen
No
Display type
9.5-inch backlit FSTN passive-matrix LCD with four grey shades; Apple's Japanese sheet and April 1995 Apple Facts give 640 × 480, while its English support table lists 640 × 400

Performance

Processor
Motorola 68030 33 MHz (PowerBook 165)
CPU cores
1
Memory
4 MB or 8 MB
Storage
120 MB to 250 MB
CPU
33 MHz Motorola 68030, with no floating-point unit
Memory type
Apple's Japanese configuration has 8 MB and lists a 24 MB maximum; the English support sheet and April 1995 Apple Facts give 4 MB on the logic board and a 40 MB maximum
Storage type
Internal IDE hard drive and 1.4 MB Apple SuperDrive floppy drive; Japanese bundled configuration has 120 MB, while April 1995 Apple Facts specifies a 250 MB drive with 4 MB RAM

Battery and size

Battery life (maker's claim)
Up to 4 hours
Weight
2.5 kg
Thickness
57 mm
Width × depth
286 × 236 mm
Battery life detail
Removable nickel-cadmium battery; Apple claims 2–4 hours. Backup battery preserves RAM for up to four minutes while swapping the main battery in sleep. Japanese maker dimensions and 2.5 kg weight used; English support lists 5.8 lb, while Apple Facts lists 5.5 lb (2.5 kg)

Connections

Operating system
macOS
Port detail
RS-422 serial/LocalTalk, HDI-30 SCSI, power input and optional internal modem slot; no ADB, Ethernet or video port
Trackpad
30 mm trackball with two buttons
Speakers
Built-in mono speaker
In the box
Japanese 8 MB/120 MB bundle includes battery, battery case, power adapter, KanjiTalk 7 CD-ROM and preinstalled ClarisWorks and PowerBook Mobility Bundle

Configurations

ProcessorMemoryStorage
Motorola 68030 33 MHz (PowerBook 165)8 MB120 MB
Motorola 68030 33 MHz (PowerBook 165)4 MB250 MB

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Built-in trackball and floppy drive
  • Internal IDE hard drive
  • SCSI and serial connections

Cons

  • Four-shade passive-matrix display
  • No ADB or external video port
  • No built-in Ethernet

Closest rivals

Model
SizeDisplayProcessorMemoryWeightBatteryReleased
AppleMacintosh PowerBook 190
9.5″–Motorola 68LC040 66 MHz (PowerBook 190)8 MB2.7 kg5 hAug 1995
AppleMacintosh PowerBook 5300/100
9.5″–PowerPC 603e 100 MHz (PowerBook 5300c)16 MB2.8 kg4.5 hAug 1995
AppleMacintosh PowerBook Duo 2300c/100
9.5″–PowerPC 603e 100 MHz (PowerBook Duo 2300c/100)20 MB2.2 kg4 hAug 1995

Sources

  1. support.apple.com/ja-jp/112152
  2. support.apple.com/en-us/112152
  3. vintageapple.org/applefacts/pdf/Apple_Facts_9504_4.95_April_1995.pdf

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