the greatest vintage apple-collection

in black

In 1997, Apple launched the third generation of PowerPC processors, the PowerPC G3, for its desktop models. It was all the more surprising, then, that the G3 soon found its way into the PowerBooks.

The first model was the PowerBook 3500c, better known by its codename Kanga. Technically, it was considered the fastest notebook on the market at the time. In practice, however, it was a disappointment. Apple had simply installed the new G3 in the old chassis of the PowerBook 3400c with its PowerPC processor. The result was heavy, bulky, and like a transitional product – fast, but lacking any elegance.

Just a few months later came the real breakthrough: the PowerBook G3 Wallstreet. This model was a completely new design, beautifully shaped, thoughtfully engineered, and a significant step forward.

I probably bought the first Wallstreet available in Switzerland back then – with a 250 MHz G3 processor, a 14.1-inch display with 1024×768 pixels, and expandable storage. It was incredibly expensive and cost a small fortune. But after just a few hours, it was clear: this was a quantum leap.

With its high-resolution 14.1-inch screen, the PowerBook G3 almost felt like a desktop computer. The device was perfectly designed, superbly crafted, and felt professional in every respect. For the first time, performance, ergonomics, and design truly came together.

To this day, these devices run remarkably smoothly. They show hardly any signs of age and still appear solid and reliable even decades later. The Wallstreet's design was so successful that Apple consistently maintained it in its direct successors, the Lombard and Pismo.

In retrospect, the PowerBook G3 is a true work of design – and one of the notebooks with which Apple definitively proved that mobile computers no longer had to be compromises.