Apple Unveils New iBook, PowerBook and Power Mac G4 Lines

New iBook Special Edition in Stunning Graphite Leads New iBook Lineup

Mac OS X to Include Highest-Quality Japanese Fonts

Macworld Expo Tokyo —February 16, 2000—In a keynote presentation here, Apple® today unveiled new iBook™, PowerBook® and Power Mac™ G4 lines, and announced that the forthcoming Mac® OS X operating system will include the highest-quality Japanese fonts available.

The new iBook line builds upon the success of the most popular consumer portable on the market* and includes the debut of iBook Special Edition. Featuring double the memory and hard drive size, all three new iBook models come standard with 64MB of memory and a 6GB hard drive. iBook Special Edition features a faster 366 MHz PowerPC G3 processor and, like iMac® DV Special Edition, comes in a stunning Graphite-color enclosure.

PowerBook, Apple’s incredibly successful portable for creative professionals, is now the fastest portable ever**. Powered by PowerPC G3 processors running at up to 500 MHz, PowerBook features up to 10 hours of battery life*** and two built-in FireWire® ports, which let users easily transfer pro-quality digital video with DV camcorders or external hard drives. With Apple’s Final Cut Pro™ 1.2 software installed, the new PowerBook is a complete pro-quality mobile video editing system.

Apple also announced it has increased the performance of its industry-leading Power Mac G4 line with faster processors running at 400-, 450-, and 500 MHz. The Power Mac G4, which features the PowerPC G4 processor with its remarkable Velocity Engine™, runs professional applications like Adobe Photoshop over 50 percent faster than 800 MHz Pentium III-based PCs****.

All the new hardware products support Apple’s revolutionary AirPort wireless networking solution which provides totally untethered Internet access at speeds of up to 11 megabits per second. Apple’s AirPort solution includes the AirPort Card, which fits easily inside iBook, PowerBook and the Power Mac G4, and the AirPort Base Station, which contains a 56K modem and a 10BASE-T Ethernet port for connecting to a phone line, cable modem, DSL modem or local area network.

The new iBook, PowerBook and Power Mac G4 products are available immediately via the Apple Store (www.apple.com) and through Apple Authorized Resellers.

In addition to the significant hardware announcements, Apple today also announced that its forthcoming Mac OS X will include the highest-quality Japanese fonts available and the largest character set ever on personal computers, through an agreement with Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co., Ltd., the premier font developer in Japan. The fonts, made up of 17,000 characters in each of six typefaces, will let all Mac OS X users—from publishing professionals to first-time users—easily create the highest-quality documents in Japanese, both on screen and in print.

Mac OS X is a completely new implementation of the Macintosh® operating system, featuring state-of-the-art technology throughout, including an entirely new user interface called “Aqua.” Mac OS X is designed to make computing even easier for consumers while simultaneously extending the functionality for professional users.

*According to PC Data’s Portables Hardware Tracking Service (October-December 1999).
**Based on 16 actions in Adobe Photoshop 5.5 when running on battery and AC power.
***Up to 10 hours using the system’s dual-battery capability.
****Based on select tests published by Intel to demonstrate the speed of the 800 MHz Pentium III processor.
 

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings.

Press Contacts:
Matt Hutchison
Apple
(408) 974-6877
hutchison@apple.com

Bob Berger
Edelman Worldwide
(650) 968-4033, ext.2752
bob_berger@edelman.com

NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit Apple's PR website (www.apple.com/pr/), call Apple's Media Helpline at (408) 974-2042.

Apple, the Apple logo, AirPort, Final Cut Pro, FireWire, iBook, iMac, Mac OS, PowerBook, The Apple Store and Velocity Engine are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.