(January 8, 2003) - Apple has just unveiled the PowerBook G4, the world’s first notebook computer with a 17-inch display, the largest ever in a notebook. Encased in a durable aluminum alloy enclosure, the new PowerBook measures only 1-inch thin and weighs just 6.8 pounds. It's also the first notebook to offer built-in AirPort Extreme 54 Mbps 802.11g wireless networking, new high-speed FireWire 800, a backlit keyboard with ambient light sensors, and built-in Bluetooth for wirelessly connecting to cell phones and other Bluetooth equipped peripherals. “Many users are going to wonder why they even need a desktop computer anymore,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. The 17-inch PowerBook G4 is the most wirelessly connected notebook ever, with both AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth wireless networking built in. AirPort Extreme is based on the new 802.11g standard and transmits data wirelessly at up to 54 Mbps - almost five times the data rate of previous wireless technologies - yet is fully compatible with the millions of 802.11b devices in use around the world. Built-in Bluetooth provides wireless connections to Bluetooth-enabled peripherals such as cell phones and PDAs. Apple’s new iSync software is included, so customers can automatically synchronize address books and calendars between Macs and Bluetooth capable cell phones. The 17-inch PowerBook delivers the screen space and performance previously found only in desktop computer systems. The 17-inch screen displays 1440-by-900 super-crisp pixels in a widescreen 16:10 aspect ratio. This is the most powerful Apple portable ever with a 1 GHz PowerPC G4 processor, new high-speed architecture, fast NVIDIA graphics and a slot-loading SuperDrive for playing and burning CDs and DVDs. Housed in a lightweight and durable aluminum alloy enclosure just 1-inch thin and weighing only 6.8 pounds, it is the thinnest Apple notebook ever, and it is lighter than most competitors’ 15-inch and 16-inch notebooks. The PowerBook G4 includes a full complement of I/O ports, including two powered FireWire ports, one FireWire 400 port and one FireWire 800 port so customers can quickly transfer uncompressed digital video to high-capacity storage devices. And, it continues to be the only notebook to offer built-in Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000BASE-T). The PowerBook G4 offers 1MB of level 3 cache and 512MB of fast Double Data Rate (DDR) memory running at 333 MHz. Combined with the power of Apple’s UNIX-based Mac® OS X version 10.2 “Jaguar,” the PowerBook G4 runs professional applications including Adobe Photoshop up to 51 percent faster than a 2.2 GHz Pentium 4-based notebook, according to Apple. The PowerBook G4 comes with the NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go graphics processor and 64MB of dedicated video memory capable of delivering 880 million textured pixels per second and advanced transform and lighting. Pre-installed on every 17-inch PowerBook G4, “Jaguar” enhances the mobile experience with features including Instant On, which wakes the PowerBook from sleep in just one second; Automatic Networking, which automatically switches the network connections between Ethernet, 802.11 and modem; and advanced power management through Energy Saver Profiles for industry-leading battery life. Every PowerBook G4 includes Apple's iLife applications, an integrated suite of award-winning software including iTunes 3 for managing digital music, iPhoto 2 for organizing and sharing digital photos, iMovie 3 for digital movie-making, and iDVD 3 for creating and burning Hollywood-style DVDs. The PowerBook G4 is expected to be available in February through the Apple Store (www.apple.com), at Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $3,299 (US).