NewsMacBook Air vs 12-inch PowerBook G4
It’s time for the big fight everyone has been waiting for… pitting a new MacBook Air against a three-year-old 12-inch PowerBook G4. Notice, when Apple launched the MacBook Air, they did not compare it to the product it was perceived to have replaced. Users have been clamoring Apple to make a 12-inch MacBook Pro since the line’s introduction. In recent months, some have gone as far as to make a faux product page for a faux future offering. Clearly, many aren’t happy with the Air as a replacement for the 12-inch wonder.
But, just for fun, let’s put a fork in it and show how the 12-inch PowerBook G4, being three years old, is still better than the MacBook Air. After that, I’ll look at how to make things right.
Performance
Let’s break it down in terms that Apple touts: Performance & Mobility… and one they don’t like, Price.
Processing
The MacBook Air beats the 12-inch PowerBook G4 in this regard clearly. The 12-inch, at its height three years ago, featured a 1.5 GHz PowerPC G4 7447A processor. The Air features either 1.6 or 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo “Merom” processor. Considering these chips mimic performance of the Mac mini (PowerPC and Intel generations, respectively), the Air is two-to-four times faster in raw processing power.
This is also supplemented by memory. RAM is even more clear. The Air has 2 GB of DDR2 memory. The 12-inch has a maximum of 1.25 GB of DDR memory.
Graphics
This is where the 12-inch PowerBook G4 (again, three years old mind you), blows the MacBook Air out of the water. The MacBook Air features an Intel GMA X3100 with 64 MB of shared memory (meaning, it takes away from the system memory to supply the graphics chip with memory). The 12-inch PowerBook G4 features an NVIDIA GeForce FX Go 5200 with 64 MB of dedicated memory.
While both systems support standard Apple features (Core Image, Core Animation, Quartz 2D Extreme), the PowerBook G4 does so with gusto. In fact, Apple’s own system requirements prohibit the MacBook Air from running Final Cut Studio 2… while allowing the 12-inch PowerBook G4. That’s right, Apple’s three-year-old ultraportable can run FCS2… but the Air can’t.
And I like my Motion.
With the OpenGL updates recently released for Mac OS X Leopard, improvements are made to the Air’s performance… but they have also been made to the 12-inch PowerBook G4. Straight benchmarks can be run, but I’ll defer that to professionals in the arena.
Mobility
Here’s a bit of a toss-up. The MacBook Air is the world’s thinnest laptop. The 12-inch PowerBook is Apple’s second lightest laptop… and has an optical drive built-in.
The MacBook Air weighs 3.0 pounds. The 12-inch PowerBook weighs 4.6 pounds. Yeah, only a 1.6 pound difference. The Air ranges from .16 to .76 inches thick. The 12-inch PowerBook is 1.1 inches thick all the way across. Also, the 12-inch PowerBook G4 has less width thanks to its 12-inch display.
We can go tit-for-tat on this all day. The 12-inch PowerBook has a removable battery, the Air has a backlit keyboard. The point I’m trying to make is… in terms of mobility… there’s no clear winner.
I should note, that the MacBook Air Superdrive weighs .71 pounds… adding to the 3.0 pounds the Air weighs, the combined weight puts the Air + SuperDrive at less than a pound different than the 12-inch PowerBook G4.
Price
And, here’s again where the 12-inch PowerBook G4 shines. Did I mention it’s three years old in its current generation? With depreciation, a unit in stellar condition runs between $400 and $600. Add in the cost of a new battery, you’re looking at around $500 to $700 for one in like-new condition.
That’s over $1,000 less than the MacBook Air. I like my wallet full.
Conclusions, Moving Forward at Apple
I’ve painted a pretty clear picture here, the MacBook Air is no 12-inch Pro portable. However, it is an excellent ultraportable, Apple did a good job in making one.
The point that I am trying to make however is that there is plenty of room in Apple’s lineup for a 12-inch MacBook Pro. This is a professional system that takes the guts of a 15-inch MacBook Pro, and makes them travel-friendly. Sony has made great strides in this market in recent years, offering highly-portable systems that do not make tradeoffs like integrated graphics and a sacraficed optical drive.
Customers are willing to pay a premium for power, combined with portability. Hopefully, Apple will recognize that there is a market for a 12-inch MacBook Pro, and that it won’t cannibalize sales as much as it will increase profit margins.
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Correction: The 12-inch has a maximum of 1.25 GB of DDR memory, not 1.5 GB.
Right you are, corrected. I forgot the 2 in the middle.
Just to explain why though, the 12-inch PowerBook has 256 MB on-board, with a single RAM slot.
Theoretically you could use a 2 GB PC-2700 SO-DIMM… besting the MacBook Air with a total of 2.25 GB, but I’ve never heard of anyone pulling it off. The 2 GB SO-DIMMs post-dated the 12-inch’s release… so Apple didn’t address if it would work or not.
I’m using a 4 year old 12″ G4 and I LOVE it. Having recently had it tuned up and installed a new battery, I hope it lives much longer. 12″ is really about a perfect screen size for me and I spend a lot of hours on the computer.
My only complaint, though, is weight. Being disabled and doing quite a bit of traveling, I’d give a lot for a lighter laptop — even without an optical drive.
So why haven’t I gotten an Air? I’m hoping that a later version will have a couple more ports, a battery I can change, and SSD prices come ‘way down!
FIREWIRE???
Greetings. I live in a large family with 10+ macs and run a business with 25+ macs. I personally own 3 portables including an awesome Macbook Pro decked out with 7200 rpm drive, etc.
My computer of choice? The one I use ever day, and dearly love? 12″ PB G4!!! You can’t beat it for every day use, and it performs admirably for web development, video work, and of course, writing!
I sold my first 12″ a few months ago, and found that I missed it too much, and bought another one a month ago for $675 (maxed out, like new 1.5 Ghz SD). Since I’ve had this, my MBP-15 just stays at home and rests. I occasionally use it for music production, but it has now become just another “desktop” workstation.
Why can’t Apple get it right? I would buy a new 12″ MBP in a heart beat!
And … something no one else here has talked about … ports and FIREWIRE???! That omission alone would tilt this comparison in the Powerbook G4-12’s favor! What was Apple thinking???!!!
Thank you for this interesting discussion.
I have now sold my almost 3 year-old 12″ G4 1.5 GHZ 1.25GB RAM 100GB HD (including one extra battery and 3 months Applecare) for USD 932.-
I have ordered the MacBook Air as a replacement. The reason is the weight. I carry the PB to work and back every day and I feel the weight on my shoulders. Then there are other benefits from the MacBook Air: the very bright screen (as compared to the dim PB display), the 13.3″ compared to the 12″, the backlit keyboard and the space saved by the thinness of the MBA. Also I don’t need to burn or rip CDs or DVDs on the road, nor will I import DV movies with FW from my digital movie camera while mobile.
So I guess I fit the profile for the MBA perfectly.
You will have to pry my 12″ PowerBook out of my cold, dead hands. I travel more than 100K actual air miles a year and work from hotels, coffee shops, planes and airport lounges. My laptop’s uber-portability is important, but so is its ability to work hard and long (um, battery…).
I could have afforded to buy a new MBP, but don’t want to trade the 12″‘ portability. I had hoped the Air would be my aging PB’s replacement.
No such luck.
The Air doesn’t seem to have the guts I need to handle web and collateral design as well as the basic writing, email, and accounting software. Let’s hope Apple listens to those of us who need one computer with power to match the portability. I’d pay $3k for that.
Man…I stumbled upon this site while figuring out whether or not I should part with my PB 12″ and just stick with my 15″ MB Pro. I use the 15″ at home as a desktop workhorse and the 12″ is my on-the-go machine.
I was heading towards selling the PB while I could still get decent value for it, but this post reminded me why I got it in the first place.
So, I’m back to square one.
And why doesn’t Apple offer a 12 inch Air?
I too was about to buy an Air to replace an as-new top of the range 12″ Powerbook bought used for $575.
Upon researching the issue I’m sticking to the PB until the foreseeable.
i love my 12″powerbook. i wish apple would make a 12″mbp.
I have 12-inch PowerBook and 13.3-inch MacBook.
I prefer the former.
There are several things I’d wish for it, though.
1. Brighter screen
2. Intel CPU
3. Camera
4. 2 finger touch pad scroll (3rd party driver doesn’t work smoothly.)
5. Backlight keyboard
I’d buy 12-inch MBP.
Please………..
[...] It’s for those reasons that a MacBook Air can’t run Final Cut Studio 2, yet a three-year-old PowerBook G4 can. [...]
By the way, I wrote a user review on the MacBook Air that also mentions how it compares to the 12″ PowerBook.
http://www.notebooks.com/2008/05/29/macbook-air-user-review/
[...] few months ago while I was working to reorganize my life, I was looking for a tiny laptop (12” PB, MacBook Air, Eee PC, etc.) that would let me keep organized on the road without dragging around a bunch of dead [...]
[...] does ultimately go to Apple. I’d like to like the MacBook Air, so here’s hoping they get it right the second time around. Trackback | Permalink [...]