Coming soon: G4 PowerBook

Apple Computer is reportedly preparing the first line of portable computers to use Motorola's PowerPC G4 processor.

The new professional PowerBook, code-named Mercury, will be both slimmer and lighter than its predecessors, with a larger, wider screen and a slick, new industrial design, sources said. Prototypes feature a single G4 chip running at between 400 and 500MHz, but the new model could ship in configurations as fast as 750MHz. The company reportedly hopes to deliver the device in time for next January's Macworld Expo in San Francisco.

A complete report is posted online at www.zdnn.com.