PowerBook

PowerBook is a line of portable Macintosh computers produced by Apple Inc. from 1991 to 2006. The PowerBook family helped define the modern notebook, introducing a compact, keyboard-centered chassis with a spacious palm rest, a built-in pointing device, and side-mounted ports in a single, integrated package.

The original PowerBooks, including models such as the PowerBook 100, 140, and 170, established the landmark form factor that would influence laptop design for years. Over the mid-to-late 1990s, the range expanded with improvements in display quality, memory, and expansion capabilities, including the PowerBook 500 series.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s Apple released the PowerBook G3 line, followed by the PowerBook G4 family. The Titanium PowerBook G4 (introduced in 2001) featured a lightweight titanium chassis, while the subsequent aluminum PowerBook G4 models (introduced in 2003) adopted an all-metal enclosure and larger screens, culminating in high-end configurations with 15 and 17-inch displays.

In 2006 Apple transitioned portable Macintosh computing to the Intel-based MacBook Pro, and the PowerBook brand was discontinued. The PowerBook lineage remains notable for shaping the expectations of laptop ergonomics and aesthetics and for its role in Apple's broader transition to modern notebook computing.