Titanium PowerBook Report Part 1

Part I: A Box Arrives (Finally)

My first glimpse of a Titanium PowerBook G4 was when I opened the box it arrived in -- I'd ordered it sight unseen. Sure, I'd seen the pictures, and I'd read every snippet of news or pseudo review I could find, but until mine arrived, I'd never seen one in person.

Thus I was a little nervous as I cut through the packaging tape. Would the semi-controversial two-tone color bother me? Would I be disappointed at the rigid shape and lack of smooth curves? Would the unusual size -- wider and narrower than the previous models -- throw me off? Would I like the new keyboard and trackpad?

I was also concerned about the notorious "1.0 product" bugs Titanium owners were reporting: problems with DVDs not ejecting, poor alignment of the frame, keyboard frailty, dead pixels on the LCD, etc. I hoped mine would be perfect, and that since it took so long to arrive (41 days) Apple would have had time to fix the notorious problems. I wondered, for the thousandth time, if I would pay for being a greedy early adopter.

My first thought, as I opened the beautiful box and lifted out the Styrofoam accessory tray was, "Is that it?" The box seemed empty. The top contains multiple items: the slim manual, "UFO" power adapter, software CDs and cables, but the bottom only has a slender metal slab about the size and shape of a high school yearbook.

But then, when I thought about it, I realized there wasn't anything missing. The DVD drive was built-in, the battery installed, and there was no external keyboard or mouse. Except for the AC adapter, everything was self-contained. Wow, three point five grand for that?

First Look
I pulled out the metal brick. Hmmm. Solid. Not heavy, but heavy enough to feel secure. I liked the feel already.

The PowerBook G4 was inside a clear plastic sleeve, so I slid it out. The metal surface gleamed beautifully. It wasn't shiny like a mirror, but slightly burnished, very refined. I liked it.

Immediately, though, I noticed that my fingers left prints on the surface. These marks faded in a few seconds, but it was disconcerting. I almost didn't want to touch the new toy, lest I mar its beauty. (Note: I tried to photograph the marks, but they're too subtle to show up.)

But I had to touch it to admire it properly, so I forced myself. I didn't open it but studied it in closed form.

Beautiful. Even closed, the Titanium PowerBook is remarkable. The specs say it isn't that much thinner than a G3 Series, but the reality is more extreme: it's the difference between a paperback and an encyclopedia volume. We're so used to seeing laptops at a certain size that it seems impossible to cram that much stuff into such a small amount of space. I was well aware this wasn't a crippled subnotebook or PDA: this was an extremely compact supercomputer.

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TiBook compared with 1998 "Wallstreet" Model PowerBook G3 Series. (The miniature Ti in the background is the product box.)

I still resisted the urge to open the 'Book. I rotated it on my palm, studying it closely from all angles. Contrary to what the distance shots show, the TiBook is not boxy: there are subtle curves and bumps and recesses. These give the laptop a smooth, comfortable feel close-up. The edges of the screen are curved, so there are no sharp points to jab yourself with. The shades of platinum work: they are similar enough to blend well, yet the differences help define the various pieces of the computer.

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Even the Airport antennae vents on the sides are curved, as is the corner of the unit.

The port cover flap at the back of the TiBook surprised me: it is made of metal, probably titanium like the rest of the exterior. Somehow I'd still been expecting plastic. It feels sturdy compared to the flimsy flaps of old.

Unfortunately, it still unfolds down instead of up: when you've got cables plugged in the door hangs down, which is awkward when you're using the laptop on your lap as your legs press against the dangling door. Perhaps one of these days Apple will include a port cover that unfolds and slides away, like a pocket door. Many times when you're using a PowerBook on a desk you don't care about having the ports covered. An issue unique to the Ti is the bulge of the hinge makes disconnecting an ethernet cable difficult.

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It's difficult getting your finger under the display hinge to disconnect an ethernet cable.

The PC Card cover is very cool looking: a hinged metal grate that opens when you press on it.

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The metal grate of the PC Card is hinged door.

The manual PC Card eject button looks cool, but I later found it has some issues. The first is that Apple has apparently done away with the powered eject system of old. Dragging a mounted PC Card to the trash does not physically eject the card: you must use the manual eject button. I don't like this trend. Apple first brought us powered eject floppies, PC Cards, and slot-loading CDs, and then slowly took away the powered eject with subsequent Mac models. Isn't features like that why we pay extra for Macs?

The second problem with the PC Card eject button is the way it works. It normally sits flush against the side of the computer, but pressing it in releases it, so it sticks out a quarter inch. Then it acts as a manual eject button. To relock it flush against the frame, you must press it in so far it's indented slightly, and then it won't pop out. However the button is so small it's difficult to press that far in without something pointed -- your fingernail might work, but it's questionable. If you do use a sharp object, be careful -- I used the tip of a paper clip and put a dent in the button.

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You can push the button in with your finger, but it's tough, because to get the button to lock it must indent into the case. Tricky.

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Note the slight dent at the top right corner of the button caused when I used the tip of a metal paper clip to lock the button. The metal's extremely soft. In the future I'll use a Q-tip.

A third and potentially serious problem with the PC Card happened while I was writing this report. I spent several hours photographing my Ti and had taken over 100 pictures with my digital camera. When I tried to mount the Compact Flash card using the PC Card adapter in the Titanium, it somehow erased the entire card. I briefly saw the contents flash on the screen, then the Finder window said "0 items - 60.2MB available." Putting the card back into the camera revealed there were no images on the card. Since I'd just taken the photos, I had no backup: there was nothing to do my start my photo session over. (So you'd better appreciate the photos in this report! ;-)

I don't know what happened, and I can't necessarily blame the loss on the Ti, but it worries me: in nearly a year of Compact Flash use and over a thousand photos taken, I've never lost a single image until this incident. It is difficult to push the card into the Ti: it goes in so deep hardly any part of the card sticks out. One theory is I didn't quite get it in all the way, just enough to get it to mount, and somehow that shorted something, wiping the memory. In that case, perhaps that would have happened on my Wallstreet, too. But it certainly makes me think twice about putting in a non-backed up Compact Flash in my Ti. (Update: after first copying the images of Round Two onto my PowerMac using a USB Reader, I tried the Compact Flash in the Ti. It worked fine that time.)

The DVD slot has felt flaps which the disc slips between. What's interesting to me is how the curved ends of the slot match the Airport antenna openings on the sides of the book. Those curves are subtle, but take away much of the boxy feel the Ti would have otherwise.

Next I turned the Titanium upside down to check out the battery. I noticed there are several air vents: one on each side, one on the back, by the input/output ports, and one on the bottom, right near the G4 CPU.

The battery is very nice. When I'd first heard about the Titaniums I heard that the battery was screwed in place and/or difficult to exchange. It certainly sounded less convenient than the drive bays on my Wallstreet, but in reality I like it even better. Unlike the PowerBook G3 Series expansion bay latches, which are prone to catching on something and ejecting the battery while you're using it, the Ti battery has a simple sliding lock. It has a series of charging lights similar to the G3 Series battery.

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The bottom of the case with the battery installed.

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The Ti battery is smaller and lighter than those for my Wallstreet.

The smooth underside of the Titanium has a pleasant utilitarian feel. Flipping the unit over and looking at the top, where the white Apple logo sits surrounded by gray, you are filled with a sense of style. (I later showed a PC friend of mine how the Apple logo glows when the screen is on and his eyes light lit up in amazement. Wonderful reaction to watch!)

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It's alive! The glowing logo is actually useful: when I close the lid I watch for the logo to go dark to confirm the unit is asleep (easier to see than the tiny throbbing sleep light).

Next Segment: In Part II, we'll actually open up the Titanium!

Titanium Report - Part 1
Marc receives his Titanium PowerBook and reports his initial impressions.

Titanium Report - Part 2
Analysis of the exterior of the Titanium PowerBook continues with an exploration of the screen and keyboard.

Titanium Report - Part 3
Marc powers up the TiBook and discovers the first problems.

Titanium Report - Part 4
Marc installs RAM, partitions the hard drive, and begins personalizing his Titanium wonder.

Titanium Report - Part 5
Performance results: Marc benchmarks the Titanium PowerBook against a 500-mhz desktop G4 in a variety of tests.

Titanium Report - Part 6
Should you buy a Titanium PowerBook now or wait for version 1.1? In this final segment, Marc comments on a variety of issues and concludes with his analysis of the Ti's worthiness.

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