 ThePowerBook 150, the second last model of the series | |
| Developer | Apple Computer |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Apple Computer |
| Product family | PowerBook |
| Type | Laptop |
| Generation | Macintosh PowerBook |
| Release date | October 1991; 34 years ago (1991-10) |
| Lifespan | 4.9 years |
| Discontinued | September 1, 1996 (1996-09-01) |
| Operating system | System 6,System 7,Mac OS 8 |
| CPU | Motorola 68000,Motorola 68030,Motorola 68LC040 |
| Memory | 2–40 MB |
| Storage | 20–500 MB |
| Controller input | Trackball |
| Camera | None |
| Touchpad | None |
| Platform | Macintosh |
| Weight | 5.1–7.0 lb. |
| Predecessor | Macintosh Portable |
| Successor | PowerBook 500 series |
ThePowerBook 100 series is a line oflaptop PCs produced byApple Computer.
In October 1991, Apple released the first three PowerBooks: the low-endPowerBook 100, the more powerfulPowerBook 140, and the high-endPowerBook 170, the only one with anactive matrix display.
These machines caused a stir in the industry with their compact dark grey cases, use of atrackball, and the clever positioning of the keyboard which left room for palmrests on either side of thepointing device. Portable PC computers at the time tended to have the keyboard forward towards the user, with empty space behind it, so this was a surprising innovation and set the standard layout all future notebook computers would follow.
The PowerBook 140 and 170 were designed first. The 100 benefited from their development and by components miniaturized by Sony after Apple sent them schematics of theMac Portable. The 100, however, did not sell well until Apple dropped the price substantially.
The 100 and 200 series PowerBooks were intended to tie into the rest of the Apple desktop products using the corporateSnow White design language incorporated into all product designs since 1986. However, unlike the Macintosh Portable which was essentially a battery-powered desktop in weight and size, the light colors and decorative recessed lines did not seem appropriate for the scaled-down designs. In addition to adopting the darker-gray color scheme which co-ordinated with the official corporate look, they also adopted a raised series of ridges mimicking the indented lines on the desktops. The innovative look not only unified their entire product line, but set Apple apart in the marketplace and had the added benefit of masking fingerprints, while the ridges provided added traction with which to grip the PowerBook. These early series would be the last to use the aging Snow White look; a new look was debuted on the 190 and the 500 series.[1]
The first series of PowerBooks were hugely successful, capturing 40% of all laptop sales. But several factors hampered Apple's efforts to introduce newer models and keep ahead of competitors. One was the departure of the original PowerBook team to work atCompaq.[2][failed verification] Another was that Apple's plans to move on from the68000 and68030 CPUs were thwarted by overheating problems with the68040. The 100-series PowerBook were stuck with chips that could not compete withIntel 80486-based PC laptops introduced in 1994. For many years, new PowerBook and PowerBook Duo computers were introduced which featured incremental improvements, including color screens, but by mid-decade, most other companies had copied the majority of the PowerBook's features, and Apple was unable to regain their lead.
The original PowerBook 100, 140, and 170 were replaced by the145 (updated to the145B in 1993),160, and180 in 1992, with the 160 and 180 having video output allowing them to drive an external monitor. The PowerBook 180 had a superb-for-the-time active-matrix grayscale display, making it popular. In 1993, thePowerBook 165c was the first PowerBook with a color screen, later followed by the180c. In 1994, the last true member of the 100-series form factor introduced was thePowerBook 150, targeted at value-minded consumers and students.
ThePowerBook 190, released in 1995, bears no resemblance to the rest of the PowerBook 100 series, and is in fact simply aMotorola 68LC040-based version of thePowerBook 5300, and the last PowerBook model to be manufactured using aMotorola68k-family processor). However, like the 190, the 150 also used the 5300IDE-based logic-board architecture. From the 100's68000 processor, to the 190's68LC040 processor, the 100 series PowerBooks span the entire Apple 68K line, with the 190 even upgradable to aPowerPC processor. The PowerBook Duo spanned the68030 line of processors and sold through the PowerPC transition to thePowerPC 603e processor with the2300, also based on the 5300's internal architecture.
In February 2005,Mobile PC magazine named the PowerBook 100 its choice as the “#1 gadget of all time.”[3]
Listed chronologically, by release date
| Models | PowerBook 100[4] | PowerBook 140[5][6] | PowerBook 170[7] | PowerBook 145[8][9] | PowerBook 160[10] | PowerBook 180[11][12] | PowerBook 165c[13] | PowerBook 145B[14][15] | PowerBook 180c[16][17] | PowerBook 165[18] | PowerBook 150[19] | PowerBook 190[20][21] | PowerBook 190cs[22][23] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Timetable | Introduced | October 21, 1991 | August 3, 1992 | October 19, 1992 | February 10, 1993 | June 7, 1993 | August 16, 1993 | July 18, 1994 | August 28, 1995 | |||||
| Discontinued | September 3, 1992 | August 3, 1992 | October 19, 1992 | June 7, 1993 | August 16, 1993 | May 16, 1994 | December 13, 1993 | July 18, 1994 | March 14, 1994 | July 18, 1994 | October 14, 1995 | April 1, 1996 | September 1, 1996 | |
| Ordering info. | Gestalt ID | 24 | 25 | 21 | 25/54 | 34 | 33 | 50 | 54 | 71 | 84 | 115 | 122 | |
| Order number | M0567 | M0511 | M1057 | M4630 | M4500 | M4400 | M4990 | M1592 | M7950 | M1641 | M2794 | M3530 | M4073 | |
| Model | M1506 | M5416 | M5409 | M5409 | M4550 | M4400 | M4490 | M5409 | M7940 | M4440 | M2740 | M3047 | M3047 | |
| Performance | Processor | Motorola 68000 | Motorola 68030 | Motorola 68LC040 | ||||||||||
| Processor speed | 16 MHz | 25 MHz | 33 MHz | 25 MHz | 33 MHz | 33 MHz ("66 MHz") | ||||||||
| FPU | No | Motorola 68882 | No | Motorola 68882 | No | Motorola 68882 | No | |||||||
| ROM | 256 KB | 1 MB | 2 MB | |||||||||||
| RAM | 2 MB, expandable to 8 MB | 4 MB, expandable to 8 MB | 2 MB, expandable to 8 MB | 4 MB, expandable to 14 MB | 4 MB, expandable to 8 MB | 4 MB, expandable to 14 MB | 4 MB, expandable to 36 MB | 4 MB, expandable to 40 MB | ||||||
| Storage | Hard drive | 20–40 MBSCSI | 40–80 MBSCSI | 80–160 MBSCSI | 40–120 MBSCSI | 80–120 MBSCSI | 80–160 MBSCSI | 80–120 MBSCSI | 80–160 MBSCSI | 120–250 MBIDE | 500 MBIDE | |||
| Floppy drive | None | 1.44 MB Superdrive | 1.44 MB removable module | |||||||||||
| Display | Size | 9-inch (23 cm) | 9.8-inch (25 cm) | 8.9-inch (23 cm) | 9.8-inch (25 cm) | 8.4-inch (21 cm) | 9.8-inch (25 cm) | 9.5-inch (24 cm) | 10.4-inch (26 cm) | |||||
| Colors | 1-bitMonochrome | 4-bit Grayscale (16 grays) | 8-bit color (256 colors) | 1-bitMonochrome | 8-bit color (256 colors) | 4-bit Grayscale (16 grays) | 2-bit Grayscale (4 grays) | 4-bit Grayscale (16 grays) | 8-bit color (256 colors) | |||||
| Method | Passive matrix (FSTN)[24]LCD (backlit) | Passive matrix | Active matrix | Passive matrix | Active matrix | Passive matrix | Active matrix | Passive matrix | Passive matrix/dual-scan | |||||
| Resolution | 640 × 400 | 640 x 480 | 640 x 400 | 640 × 480 | ||||||||||
| Dimensions | H × W × D | 1.8 in (4.57 cm) × 11 in (27.94 cm) × 8.5 in (21.59 cm) | 2.25 in (5.72 cm) x 11.25 in (28.58 cm) x 9.3 in (23.62 cm) | 2.0 in (5.08 cm) x 11.5 in (29.21 cm) x 8.5 in (21.59 cm) | ||||||||||
| Weight | 5.1 lb (2.31 kg) | 6.8 lb (3.08 kg) | 7.0 lb (3.18 kg) | 6.8 lb (3.08 kg) | 6.0 lb (2.72 kg) | 6.3 lb (2.86 kg) | ||||||||
| Operating systems | Original | System 6.0.8 | System 7.0.1 | System 7.1 | System 7.5.2 | |||||||||
| Maximum | System 7.5.5 | System 7.6.1 | System 7.5.5 | System 7.6.1 | System 7.5.5 | System 7.6.1 | System 7.5.5 | System 7.6.1 | Mac OS 8.1 | |||||
| Timeline of portable Macintoshes |
|---|
 See also:List of Mac models |
