As with the 15-inch PowerBook, the 17-inch screen will amaze you in dark conditions, because the screen brightness adjusts and the characters on the keyboard illuminate-both automatically. The display produces bright, sharp images with stunning colors. At 15.4 by 10.2 inches, this PowerBook is a bit large for lugging through airports, but it's light enough (6.9 pounds) and cool enough to keep on your lap. There's also a generous, responsive, 4-inch-wide trackpad. The wide-screen display delivers a 1,440x900 resolution, the same as the 17-inch iMac, which is big enough to have two documents open side by side without having to squint.
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At a mere 1 inch thick, the 17-inch PowerBook is the thinnest of Apple's PowerBooks. Still, the 17-inch PowerBook is one of the best desktop replacements around. Sure, at $3,000, it costs $400 more than the HP and Apple's 15-inch PowerBook. Plus, this top-of-the-line PowerBook sports the same sleek anodized aluminum found on the smaller PowerBooks and is packed with features. For instance, at 6.9 pounds, it's 2.7 pounds lighter than the HP Pavilion zd7000, and it runs cooler. But the revamped 17-inch PowerBook G4 holds its own against the competition, with its unique backlit keyboard, gorgeous display, and relatively light weight. Since Apple introduced the world's first 17-inch notebook earlier this year, other wide-screen portables have appeared on the scene. Editors' note: The exact configuration of the 17-inch Apple PowerBook that CNET originally reviewed is no longer for sale, but you can find prices and specs for a similar version here.