Apple unveils laptop upgrades

CUPERTINO, California: Apple Computer Inc. has introduced new laptop computers in its Titanium PowerBook G4 notebook line, which can play and record both CDs and DVDs and an upgraded iBook line that starts at $999, in time for what may be a muted holiday selling season.

The new Titanium starts at $2,299 and features a 1 gigahertz PowerPC G4 processor, wireless networking and a 15.2-inch screen. It weighs 5.4 pounds and is one inch thick, Apple said.

Apple, which is based in Cupertino, California, said that it has made sizable inroads in the market for laptop computers. Before it introduced its iBook notebook in 1999, about 17 percent of the computers it sold were notebooks, said Greg Joswiak, head of hardware product marketing for Apple.

Now, that figure is up to roughly 33 percent, he said, citing market research that ultimately desktops will account for 50 percent of PC sales, and laptops the other half. Apple, along with other computer makers has already said it does not expect strong holiday sales for the PC industry. Additionally, back-to-school sales were lighter than the industry and analysts had hoped for.

The 867 megahertz Titanium PowerBook G4 is available now, and the 1 gigahertz model, which comes with Apple's SuperDrive standard, is expected to be available in mid-November. The company also announced the upgrade of its notebooks with a G3 processor which can run up to 800 MHz to boost three- dimensional video games performance, burning CDs for music and other data and DVDs for movies.

© Reuters