Presentation duo: PowerBook G4 12 and Keynote

Apple’s smallest professional laptop is the anodized aluminum encased PowerBook G4 with a 12-inch screen. This thin and lightweight but sturdy PowerBook looks almost identical to Apple’s iconoclastic white iBook, except for reduced weight and dimensions as well as the shiny aluminum exterior and the slot-loading CDRW-DVD combo drive.

Geared toward business users who need a suitably powerful yet lightweight laptop solution, the PowerBook is also powerful enough to serve as a desktop replacement.

The PowerBook 12 is well-built and feels sturdier than it looks. It is also one of the most attractive laptops in the market today. We were able to test it by taking it to a real presentation and almost everyone instantly flocked to it.

Most wanted to touch and feel the aluminum body, others were amazed at the crisp screen and the sleek, lightweight body. Needless to say, the PowerBook stole the show and made a positive impact on clients on its appearance alone.

Under the hood

While small in size, the PowerBook 12 has some features that appeal to professional users. Its G4 processor runs at an ample 867Mhz , its graphics card is a fierce 32MB NVIDIA Geoforce GO coupled with AGP 4X support which ensures that images, video games and DVDs are crisp with no video lag whatsoever.

It also comes with 256Mb basic RAM which could be upgraded to a maximum of 640MB; this is highly suggested since Mac OS X is RAM-hungry

It also comes with built-in Bluetooth and AirPort Extreme, Apple’s Wi-Fi standard that can link through wireless LANs at 54-Mbps, which is an improvement over the earlier 11-Mbps of AirPort standards.

The stock 40GB hard drive is more than enough for most storage needs and the PowerBook’s combo drive burns CDRW’s reasonably quick – a great feature that allows CDs to be burned even when on the go. We had very little luck getting the DVD function to work, perhaps due to a built-in regional lockout feature.

With a battery rated at five hours (usually 3:30 of average real-world usage), traveling executives can watch a DVD while in transit. If you can justify that the PowerBook 12 is more than just a great laptop (it can be a mobile MP3 jukebox and a traveling theater as well), then the P120,000 ++ gadget is well worth it.

Early adopter feedback

Scouring the Internet for feedback on actual usage and early adopter problems has raised some questions about the diminutive G4’s heat. It seems that the compact size as well as the anodized aluminum do little to dissipate the heat generated by the G4 processor.

When used on a lap, there is sufficient and almost uncomfortable heat at the unit’s bottom. Likewise, the area above the keyboard where the speakers are gets hot to the touch. This was a common condition with the earlier G4 Titanium PowerBook as well which improved in later models.

Another annoyance cited by users is the disappearance of the little rubber feet at the PowerBook’s base. Despite these small issues, most PowerBook 12 owners swear by their machines in both the performance and looks departments.

It is highly recommended though that those planning to purchase new PowerBooks consider getting the AppleCare insurance plan, which guarantees free service and parts for up to three years after the machine’s one-year warranty. Laptops are more susceptible to breakage than desktops, and Mac laptops need very specialized attention when it comes to repairs.

Silent partner

Apple recently launched its Keynote presentation application targeted to compete head-on with Microsoft’s PowerPoint application.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs, it is said, tested Keynote himself.

Keynote aims to bring Apple’s renowned ease of use into the presentation app space.

Less robust and complex than the now legendary PowerPoint, Keynote does have some very strong features. The most evident: the theme wizards that make designing and timing your presentations absolutely easy. Dragging and dropping text, images and even Flash and QuickTime multimedia content is child’s play with Keynote.

Keynote is also compatible with PowerPoint presentations, at least in their most basic forms (no transitions or animations) and can easily be exported to other platforms. The only downside is that Keynote is Mac OS X native, which means users of Macs running older versions of the OS will not be able to use Keynote.

Keynote is surprisingly easy to learn and requires less fussing about and tweaking than PowerPoint. Together with any of Apple’s laptops, it would make a perfect presentation partner since it allows users to fashion impressive presentations in a relatively short amount of time and present them easily.