Apple iBook G4

The iBook G4 was Apple's successor to the iBook G3 "Snow" models. It was the last of Apple's product lines to be upgraded to the G4 processor.


Specifications

Spec iBook G4 (Late 2003) iBook G4 (Early 2004) iBook G4 (Late 2004) iBook G4 (Mid 2005)
Release Date October 2003 April 2004 October 2004 July 2005
Discontinuation Date April 2004 October 2004 July 2005 May 2006
Processor PowerPC G4 @800MHz, 933MHz, or 1.0GHz PowerPC G4 @1.0 or 1.2GHz PowerPC G4 @1.2GHz (12-inch) or 1.33GHz (14-inch) PowerPC G4 @1.33GHz (12-inch) or 1.42GHz (14-inch)
RAM PC2100 DDR, 1 slot
Standard: 128MB Soldered
Maximum: 1.12GB
PC2100 DDR, 1 slot
Standard: 256MB Soldered
Maximum: 1.25GB
PC2700 DDR, 1 slot
Standard: 512MB Soldered
Maximum: 1.5GB
Hard Disk 2.5" IDE
Standard: 30, 40, or 60GB
2.5" IDE
Standard: 30, 60, or 80GB
2.5" IDE
Standard: 40, 60, 80, or 100GB
Display - 12.1" TFT LCD @1024x768
- 14.1" TFT LCD @1024x768
GPU ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 (32MB VRAM) ATI Mobility Radeon 9550 (32MB VRAM)
Main Battery Lithium Ion (50Wh on 12-inch model, 61Wh on 14-inch model)
PRAM Battery Soldered Supercapacitor
Power Supply 24V Mini RCA-Style Jack
Disk Drives Slot-Loading DVD/CD-RW Drive One of the following:
- Slot-Loading DVD/CD-RW Drive
- Slot-Loading DVD-R/CD-RW SuperDrive
PC Cards None
Networking - 56k Modem
- 10/100 Ethernet
- 802.11b/g AirPort Extreme WiFi (Optional)
- Bluetooth 1.1 (Optional)
- 56k Modem
- 10/100 Ethernet
- 802.11b/g AirPort Extreme WiFi
- Bluetooth 2.0
Other I/O - 2x USB 2.0
- 1x FireWire 400
- 1x Mini-VGA Out
- 1x Line Out
Pointing Device Trackpad
Minimum Mac OS Mac OS X 10.3.0 Mac OS X 10.3.3 Mac OS X 10.3.5 Mac OS X 10.4.2
Maximum Mac OS Mac OS X 10.5.8

Upgrades

SSD Upgrades

While a pain to take apart, once you get an iBook G4 apart, SSD upgrades are easy. I would recommend going with an IDE-mSata adapter.


Resources


Service Manual (12-inch Late 03)

Service Manual (12-inch Early 04)

Service Manual (12-inch Late 04)

Service Manual (12-inch Mid 05)

Service Manual (14-inch Late 03)

Service Manual (14-inch Late 04)

Service Manual (14-inch Mid 05)

Common Faults & Maintenance

iBook G4s are generally reliable. The only real common fault that I know of on these is that the AirPort cards in the final revision models can occasionally fail and cause kernel panics.


Gallery

Coming soon.