powerbook G4 aluminium

In 2003, apple launched both the largest-screen laptop in the world and apple's smallest full-featured notebook computer. Both machines were made of anodized aluminum, featured DVD-burning capabilities, airport extreme networking, bluetooth, and 12.1-inch or 17-inch LCD displays. The 17-inch model included a fiber optic-illuminated keyboard, which eventually became standard on all 15-inch and 17-inch powerbooks. Two ambient light sensors, located under each speaker grille, adjusted the brightness of the backlit keyboard and the display according to the light level.

Later in 2003, the 15-inch powerbooks were redesigned and featured the same aluminum body style as their smaller and larger siblings, and with the same feature set as the 17-inch model (including the backlit keyboard). This basic design would carry through the transition to the Intel-based macbookpro, lasting until late 2008.

In april 2004, the aluminum powerbooks were upgraded. The superdrive was upgraded to 4× burning speed for dvds, the fastest processor available was upgraded to 1.5 GHz, and the graphics cards were replaced with newer models, offering up to 128 MB of video memory.

In january 2005, the specifications of the aluminum powerbooks were revised once more to accompany a price decrease. Processor speeds were increased to a maximum of 1.67 GHz on the higher specification 15-inch and all 17-inch versions, while the lower specification 15-inch model and the 12-inch unit saw an increase in speed to 1.5 GHz.  The superdrive now included DVD+R capability.