IT168 Product Trial Apple once made a great turnaround with iMac, which had a great impact on the PC lineup. For the NoteBook market, Apple’s weapon is undoubtedly the iBook, but it’s a pity. Since the iBook with PowerPC G3 was launched in 1997, there has been no news about the launch of new products, which has made many iBook users anxious. It was not until the end of last month that Apple finally announced that the iBook with PowerPC G4 was officially launched, named iBook G4. Let’s take a look at this product right away.

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1. Product Introduction

This notebook computer "iBook G4" equipped with a "Power PC G4" processor, the price starts from 1099 USD starts. According to the display size, it can be divided into two models: 12 inches and 14.1 inches. The standard configuration is 256MB memory and a slot loading DVD-ROM/CD-RW dual-use Herba optical drive. The operating system is "Mac OS X version 10.3 (Panther)". In addition, the graphics card is equipped with "ATI Mobility Radeon 9200" with 32MB of dedicated DDR video memory.

iBook G4 also has relatively complete network capabilities, based on the wireless connection function "AirPort Extreme" based on the 802.11g specification certified by Wi-Fi. In terms of expansion capabilities, it is equipped with FireWire 400 port, USB 2.0 port, built-in 56K v.92 modem and Ethernet (10/100BASE-T) port, and a built-in Bluetooth module as a user option. In addition, the battery's continuous working time is up to 6 hours.

The iBook G4 we are going to review this time is the highest model in the series, and the configuration is as follows.

Configuration model: 14.1-inch display, 1.0GHz CPU

Reference price: US$1,499

Configuration CPU: PowerPC G4 operating frequency 1.0GHz

Display effect: 14.1-inch TFT LCD display, maximum resolution is 1024×768

Configuration memory: 256MB memory

Hard drive capacity: 60GB Ultra ATA hard drive

Basic interface: 2 USB 2.0 ports, support FireWire 400, VGA video output, S-Video and composite video output

Basic weight: 2.7kg

In addition, you You can also choose the BTO (Build to Order) option according to your own needs. The memory can be expanded to 640MB and the hard disk capacity can be converted to 40GB.

2. Appearance Review

Let’s first look at the packaging of iBook G4. It seems to maintain the style of the host inside, using a pure white packaging box, which feels quite noble and unlike... The general packaging box is full of information about various products and promotional statements. This time the packaging of iBook G4 is obviously much simpler. It only looks like iBook G4 on the front and nothing else. This greatly increases our curiosity. So I quickly unpacked it.

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Although we expect that iBook G4 will bring more in appearance It is innovative, but when we took out the iBook G4, we were a little surprised. The iBook G4 still maintains most of the style of the previous iBook G3. The outer shell is still made of white polycarbonate, and the milky white color has a somewhat transparent feel. Although the effect is still quite good, it seems to lack some innovative ideas. Let’s compare it with the previous G3, as shown in the picture below.

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If we didn’t tell you that the one on the left is a brand new G4, you You must not be able to tell. Yes, the designs displayed by the two are almost the same, the same color and the Apple logo. Now let's open the G4, which is still a milky white design. It uses a 14.1-inch TFT LCD screen. Above the key area, you can see speaker equipment on the left and right sides. Below the key area is our commonly used touchpad. Basically The settings are the same as the G3, except for some changes in the keys. Although the size and shape of the keyboard still maintain the design of the original G3, the keys of the keyboard have changed from the original translucent texture material to an opaque milky white material. The color of the keyboard and the color of the wrist rest and touchpad are consistent.

If you just look at iBook G4, you may not feel it, but compared with the old model, the difference is still quite obvious, as shown in the picture below. As for the tactility of the keys, we didn't find any difference. It still feels more comfortable. The keys are still a little shallow and it takes some time to get used to.

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Let’s take a look On the left side of iBook G4, most of the interfaces are concentrated here. The location design of the interfaces is basically the same as that of G3, including MODEM interface, network cable interface, 2 sets of USB2.0 interfaces, IEEE1394 interface, RGB interface and Headphone jack. The only difference from G3 is that the USB interface has been upgraded from 1.1 to 2.0, there is no other difference. As shown in the picture below, the one above is G4.

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The right side of iBook G4 is a bit simpler, with only A slot-loading optical drive. Unlike the pop-up type of the previous G3, you can freely choose to use SuperDrive or ComboDrive for this slot-loading optical drive. Of course, the prices are different. Generally speaking, the slot-loading optical drive is more convenient. As shown in the picture below, the one above is G4.

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In addition, the characteristics of previous iBooks are maintained, and G4 can also pass The keyboard can be disassembled to access the inside of the fuselage, thereby adding memory to the system. In addition, AirMac Extreme can also be added here. As shown below.

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Generally speaking, this product is not very good in appearance design. There is no big breakthrough, which makes us feel a little disappointed. After all, Apple is a company with strong appearance design capabilities. It seems to be a little lazy this time.

3. Function Trial

This time Apple brings you this new iBook G4. The biggest surprise for us is that it is equipped with the new PowerPC G4 processor, the frequency reached 1GHz. Don't use the traditional PC frequency concept to estimate the speed of this product, because PowerPC G4 has a very advanced architecture and runs specialized software, so the speed will be very high. Of course, a series of other configuration upgrades are also inevitable. The graphics card is conveniently matched with ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9200 (32MB memory), and its performance has also been enhanced. In terms of memory, it comes standard with 256MB PC2100 DDR memory, which can support up to 640MB, and the expansion capability is okay. As for the hard drive, you can choose from 30GB, 40GB, or 60GB. You can consider it yourself according to different needs. Below we will comment on this G4 in several points.

Operational feel: basically good

The size of the iBook G4 we reviewed, which uses a 14.1-inch LCD screen, is 3.4CM × 25.9CM × 32.3CM, which is larger than the previous one. The iBook notebook, which also uses a 14.1-inch display, is slightly smaller and weighs only 2.7kg. This is already considered lightweight among Apple's notebook products, but if compared with the NoteBook with similar configuration, Obviously it's still a little heavier, but it won't have much impact on portability.

What we like most is the design of the keyboard. Due to the new colors, the keyboard looks more coordinated and clear. As long as you spend some time getting used to it, you will feel that this keyboard is even better than The desktop keyboard is easy to use. It feels nice and responsive, and doesn't feel sluggish even after long-term use. Since the size of the iBook G4 is relatively large, both the space between the keys and the position of the up and down movements during the key pressing process are quite sufficient, and the location of each key has been carefully considered. of. The only pity is that the keyboard does not have a backlight function, it might be cooler if it had it. In addition, we also tried the touchpad. This touchpad is also large and has high sensitivity. However, this touchpad only provides one button. It would definitely be better if it could provide a right mouse button. After all, in the current Mac OS operating system, the right-click menu function is still frequently used.

Increased functions and enhanced configuration

This time iBook G4 is much more powerful than its predecessor. After all, it has been trained for six years and is equipped with the faster 1GHz G4. processor, and ATI's MOBILITY RADEON 9200 graphics card with 32MB DDR SDRAM memory. The memory is equipped with 256MB DDR memory, but the maximum total memory can only be expanded to 640MB. This may be somewhat insufficient, especially when running some programs that require more memory. When using high-speed applications, the speed will slow down. For example, when running Photoshop, iDVD, and virtual PC, the system memory is likely to become a bottleneck.

In terms of expansion capabilities, the configuration of the iBook G4 this time is basically the same as the previous G3, except that the USB interface has been upgraded to 2.0, and it is also concentrated on the left side of the fuselage. In terms of the expansion capabilities of the G4, we feel it is lacking because we cannot find any DVI or AGP interface for connecting an external monitor or an Apple flat-panel display. After all, for a notebook focused on graphics applications As for computers, the expansion capabilities of iBook G4 should be further enhanced.

Of course, iBook G4 also has some more advanced features, such as the expansion slot that can use the AirMac Extreme card, which allows you to connect to an 802.11b-compatible wireless network at high speed. Now, ibook series products have more powerful wireless LAN functions. In addition, iBook G4 comes standard with a slot-loading CD-RW/DVD-R SuperDrive, which has a wider range of applications. ?

iBook G4 also has built-in Bluetooth function, which allows you to wirelessly access your handheld computer or the Internet. In addition, it also has a pair of stereo speakers and a third speaker to enhance the midrange. With it, you can hear the dialogue in the movie very clearly. Finally, there is the hard drive with a capacity of 60GB. This capacity is just the mainstream configuration, and it can also provide abundant storage space for the iTunes music library. ?

Apple has pre-installed a very rich set of software on the hard drive of this laptop. The most eye-catching one is of course the operating system Mac OS X v.10.3, which has a more beautiful interface and more functions. Powerful, in addition, iMovie3.0, iPhoto2, iTunes, iChat AV software will also bring you a wonderful multimedia experience. Let's take a look at the interface diagrams of these software.

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Good performance

In our tests, due to the use of Powerful G4 processor, so this iBook with a 14.1-inch LCD screen easily surpasses the iBook with a G3 processor. However, on the other hand, due to its small memory, this limits the performance of this notebook to a certain extent. In order to accurately test the performance of this iBook G4, we used three different applications, namely image software Photoshop7.0, video software iMovie3.0 and music software iTunes, which can fully test the multimedia performance of iBook G4. Speed ??in terms of software and applications. In Photoshop, we run a lot of processor-demanding instructions and call a lot of textures; in iMovie, we convert a large movie file to QuickTime format; and in iTunes, we convert a Convert music files to MP3 format. We recorded the time it took for all the laptops that participated in the test to complete each task, and drew the comparison chart below. You can refer to it. Of course, the lower the time, the higher the performance of the product.

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As can be seen from the above table, among these three software In the test, this iBook with a 14.1-inch LCD screen gave full play to the advantages of its 1GHz G4 processor, leaving the cheaper iBook with an 800MHz G3 processor far behind, and its performance was also better than that of the 867Mhz G4 processor. on the laptop. However, the iBook G4's small 256MB memory hindered its performance, so in the test, we expanded the memory to 512MB to get such performance. It can be seen that memory expansion is very important to the performance of iBook G4.

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Usage time and after-sales service

The iBook G4 is not a fuel-efficient lamp. After our testing, we found that under normal use, the G4 can usually work for 2 and a half hours. Or so, the so-called normal use means using the internal software at will. The time obtained by taking the average value after five tests. If you play movies, the time will be slightly longer, reaching 3 hours. This performance is acceptable for a full-featured laptop.

In terms of after-sales service, Apple has always performed well. Especially for such high-end products, the after-sales service is even more comprehensive. All accessories of the whole machine are provided with a three-year warranty. However, What we are worried about is that the corresponding warranty service in China may not be very complete, because this model is not currently fully rolled out in China, which causes warranty troubles.

In addition, this laptop comes with a thick, illustrated printed user manual, which can provide you with very clear and rich information, such as installation and use. Instructions for replacing the battery, some simple troubleshooting, and how to install expanded memory and AirMac Extreme cards. If you think that's not enough, you can also get a wealth of information on Apple's website, including help information for various products, software upgrades, and communication with other users. However, you must register through the help page. before you can use this help.

4. Product Summary

We found that the internal upgrade of this iBook G4 is quite comprehensive, but the appearance of iBook G4 has not changed much. The iBook has almost no difference in comparison, which makes us feel a little disappointed. However, judging from the performance and trial situation, iBook G4 still maintains the smooth operation characteristics of the iBook series, and the performance has been tested and found to be much better than previous products, and it also strengthens the interaction with digital products, so We expect it to perform well in the market.

Product: Apple iBook G4

Advantages: Soft appearance, comprehensive functions, and improved performance compared to the previous series.

Disadvantages: The appearance is not creative enough, the display expansion capability is not comprehensive, and the performance is still lacking compared to NB.

Recommended: Notebook users who have special needs for G4 processor.

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