The future of the PowerBook is going to take some dramatic turns and angles and colors and gadgets

By Andrew Gore

Once upon a time, the PowerBook was the most easily recognized computer in the world --not just because of the rainbow-colored fruit stamped in its plastic but also because of its distinctive chassis. PowerBook industrial design was heralded by all even Wintel users as the most revolutionary to ever come out of Silicon Valley.

Unfortunately, the years have not treated PowerBook design well. The decidedly PC-ish look of the 5300 series was only one of many sins embodied in that most reviled mobile Mac. Apple is only just now emerging from that frumpy downward spiral, and although the 1400 and 3400 weren't much better in the looks department, the recent arrival of the 2400c heralds the return of innovative design in the PowerBook.

Apple's world-renowned Industrial Design Group recently invited PowerBookUser to take an exclusive peek behind the scenes at two concept portables that demonstrate design ideals that may be part of future PowerBooks. For those who feel that even the 2400c's chassis is still a bit staid, take a look at these two machines and be assured that we're only on the on-ramp to a road filled with some serious curves.

Sometimes drama isn't about having a PowerBook with more gadgets than a Swiss-army knife. Sometimes simplicity speaks louder than the most clever engineering. Take, for example, this thin-line PowerBook model. Especially after the long lineage of rotund portable designs out of Apple, this razor-thin notebook makes for some welcome eye relief and still delivers a full complement of ports and even an expansion bay for a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.	A look inside the thin-line PowerBook model reveals even-more-subtle innovation --a positively huge screen cradled in a thin frame, and a keyboard made from a composite of alternately colored plastics. Although it's unlikely Apple would ever ship a portable with a transparent keyboard (the scissors and springs in the keyboard mechanism would ruin the effect), colored plastics, such as the burgundy function keys in the picture above, are definite possibilities. Oh, and don't worry --Apple's not considering adding an IsoPoint in place of trackpads. This was done to demonstrate that PowerBook designs could accommodate all kinds of input devices --even something as retro as a ThinkPad belly button.	There was a time when the coolest thing about a PowerBook wasn't just its looks or nifty color screen but also all the wonderful toys that could be attached to it like tin cans tied to a dog's tail. Apple is looking at ways to help facilitate a return of the dongle-happy days of the first PowerBooks but with perhaps a bit less dangle. Witness these form-fitting speakers that plug into special sockets on either side of this model's chassis.

Great product design isn't just about making something look good --it should also be about making it feel good. Especially with portable products, the tactile user interface is as important as the product's visual impact. In other words, it should be as easy and satisfying to handle as it is to look at. When designing these mouse-ear speakers, Apple decided to form them into a curved shape to fit perfectly in the palm of the user's hand. This not only makes them easy to handle but also helps prevent damage to the speakers due to being dropped. The speakers even snap together, making it harder to lose them in the bottom of a bag.	One of the models Apple's Industrial Design Group showed us embodies several major innovations. For example, the keyboard, which is mounted where the screen normally goes in a traditional portable, comes with snap-lock hinges allowing the user to remove it. When the keyboard is liberated from the screen/CPU/storage module, it doesn't require wires to operate and instead relies on a wireless radio transceiver to communicate with the base station. This means users can operate their portable by remote control, even from behind the main module when using it for presentations.	There are two problems that all portable screens share --they're never big enough, and they don't let users switch resolutions on the fly. Members of the Industrial Design Group had both these challenges in mind when they sat down to design this model's display, and although they couldn't overcome the inherent inability of LCD screens to switch resolutions, they came up with the next-best thing --a huge, 14-inch active-matrix color screen that automatically switches orientation from landscape to portrait mode when the user pivots the portable.