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Product: Laptop computer

Developer: Apple

System Specs: 1.5GHz PowerPC G4, 17-inch TFT Display (1440x900 resolution), 512K L2 cache, 512MB DDR333 SDRAM, 80GB Ultra ATA/100, ATI Mobility RADEON 9700 (64MB DDR), backlit keyboard, gigabit ethernet, FireWire 400 & 800, AirPort Extreme built-in, DVI & S-Video out

Retail Price: $2,799.00

Availability: Out now

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Nobody denies that the 17" Powerbook is one of Apple's hottest products. In addition to its sleek, stunning design, it's also one of the hottest products Apple has ever released.

As in, uncomfortably hot. As in, if you use this laptop on top of your lap, you risk greatly reducing your chances of being able to produce children. As in, "Ooh, it's a little chilly this morning, I think I'll put my computer on my feet while I make the coffee." As in, "Time to get a little work done, oh my God, my hand is blistering!"

I joke, but not much. The product's ultra-thin design combined with its metal case and high-speed processor and graphics card makes this extremely powerful laptop put out a lot of heat. But, this amazing amount of power, flexibility, and gorgeous design also make it an incredible tool for doing just about any kind of work you can think of.

If you're used to using laptops as a satellite—taking notes, collecting data, having on-the-go e-mail and web access, but then bringing the real work back to a desktop to crunch the data—the 17" Powerbook will change your perceptions. The 1.5GHz processor combined with the crystal-clear, gigantic screen obliterates the shortcomings of all the laptops that came before it. Granted, we now have the G5 PowerMac and iMac with greater processors, but after weeks of putting together images with Photoshop or Illustrator, designing DTP projects with Quark or InDesign, or designing websites using GoLive, I've been amazed at how well this laptop handles itself.

Project after project, it runs smoothly, even with multiple applications open, chewing through filter operations while playing iTunes and allowing me to surf the internet wirelessly. Yet, it handles it all with aplomb.

Let's break this down into components. The 17" screen is a dream. Whether playing DVDs (which the machine also burns in its 4x SuperDrive) or examining images, you'll be amazed by both the quality of the display and by the amount of "real estate" it gives you. I'm used to docking my menu bars at the extreme ends of the screen when using applications like Photoshop so that I have as much room left for the image as possible. But with the 17" screen, I almost have more space than I need, and have to move the palettes in from the edges, to make them easier to get to, without having to travel from one side of the screen to the other. The one problem the screen did present is that it was sometimes difficult to find an angle where the colors didn't appear to change from top to bottom of the screen. Unlike the screens of the Apple Studio Displays or the new iMacs, colors on the PowerBook would appear darker in certain areas depending upon my viewing angle.

The keyboard is, regrettably, the same size as those for the 12" and 15" Powerbook. I do wish that Apple had devoted some of the 17's huge space to a larger keyboard, or perhaps a full keypad (with the ever-important back-delete key), but instead they float the keys in between two larger speakers. Still, the keyboard is snappy and responsive, so it's hard to complain about them too much. They do include the nifty backlighting feature, which senses how dark the room is in which you're working and then illuminates the keys accordingly. If you're finding that the brightness of the screen is spoiling the usefulness and the "cool factor" of the backlighting, you can adjust the brightness of both the screen and the keyboard backlighting from directly on the keyboard to find a good balance.

As for the speakers on the 17" Powerbook, they're very, very good...for a laptop. Which means, they're tinny and not really useful for anything, but they're a lot less tinny and a lot less not really useful than any other laptop speaker you've ever heard.

The Powerbook also comes with a PMCIA card slot, which can give you additional expandability (is that a redundancy?). The problem, though, is finding a PMCIA card that actually adds something to the Book. Bluetooth? Got it. Firewire? Yep. USB 2.0? Check. Audio and video out? Uh, yeah. High-speed ethernet, modem, and 802.11g wireless? Built in.

After scanning through pages of compatible PMCIA cards, I did manage to find one thing that the Powerbook doesn't have: a memory stick reader. Damn you, Steve Jobs!

Actually, that's not my biggest complaint about the Powerbook 17". My biggest complaint is the heat, as I mentioned before. But even this is a sporadic problem. If you're doing word processing, e-mail, or web surfing, the Powerbook will remain cool. Start to work in more powerful applications, and it will most definitely get noticeably warm.

But, if you decide to play games on your 17" Powerbook—and given the power of the machine, both in it's G4 processor and its ATI Mobility RADEON 9700 graphics card, you certainly can play the latest cutting-edge games at an acceptably geeky level—you need to realize...well, let me put it this way. You will feel pain. Remember when the waitress at Chi-Chi's told you the plate was very hot, and you decided to test that information? Like that. If you play high-end, graphically intense applications like games on this machine for a long time, do not sit it on your lap. Do not pick it up right away. It hurts. Your hand will turn red, and your brain will tell you to immediately let it go, possibly before it also realizes that you've just dropped three grand on this piece of metal which is causing you great discomfort.

Another thing to remember about the 17" is that since it's freakin' huge, it's freakin' heavy. At just under seven pounds, strapping this thing onto your shoulder will quickly lead to that sharp, tingly pain that tells you you've either pinched a nerve or are falling in love. Assuming, of course, you can find a way to strap this to your shoulder: the large size of the Powerbook means you'll need an extra-large bag or case to port the monster around.

Don't get me wrong. If you've got the cash and you want the most incredibly designed product Apple's ever produced, with the power to handle any assignment and the flexibility that a laptop will give you to work in different environments, get this one. Beyond the drool factor of the large, perfect screen (well, perfect depending upon viewing angle), this is without a doubt my favorite Apple product ever. It does everything, and it does it everywhere.

And after playing Knights of the Old Republic, it can even double as a griddle to cook your breakfast. Whether this is a bug or a feature, I leave that as an exercise to the reader.

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Bill's been using Macs since the late 80s. When he's not making smartass remarks to amuse Kirk Hiner, he enjoys fighting for the user.

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