CUPERTINO, Calif., April 19 -- Apple today updated its popular iBook G4 lineup for consumers and education customers with PowerPC G4 processors running at up to 1.2 GHz and an optional DVD-burning SuperDrive(TM). The new iBook G4 lineup includes support for advanced wireless connectivity with AirPort Extreme* 54 Mbps 802.11g wireless networking and Bluetooth, and a slot-load Combo drive for burning CDs and watching DVDs. The new iBook G4 can now hold up to twice as much fast DDR memory for even greater performance. "The iBook G4 was built from the ground up for consumers and students living their digital life on the go," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "The new iBook G4 is an incredible value with faster G4 processors, twice the memory expansion and iLife '04, Apple's award-winning suite of applications for creating and managing digital photos, music and movies." The new 12- and 14-inch iBooks offer a perfect mix of portability, performance and affordability, with faster PowerPC G4 processors and up to six hours of battery life for all-day mobile use in the classroom or on the road. Providing best-in-class graphics capabilities, each iBook G4 offers ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 graphics with 32MB of dedicated DDR memory and AGP 4X support for gaming and watching DVDs. The iBook G4, with a sleek polycarbonate plastic enclosure weighing as little as 4.9 pounds, is made even more durable with slot-load optical drives. The iBook lineup offers the latest in wireless connectivity with every model supporting optional AirPort Extreme 54 Mbps 802.11g wireless networking, an advanced feature that comes built-in on the 1.2 GHz 14-inch configuration. Customers can also choose to include an internal Bluetooth module for wirelessly connecting peripherals such as the Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple Wireless Mouse. All iBook G4 models also offer a full complement of I/O ports, including FireWire 400, USB 2.0 and a built-in 56K v.92 modem and Ethernet (10/100BASE-T) that enable connectivity to today's popular peripherals. Every new iBook G4 includes iLife '04, Apple's award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications including iTunes for managing digital music, iPhoto for organizing and sharing digital photos, iMovie for digital movie making, iDVD for creating and burning Hollywood-style DVDs and GarageBand, a revolutionary new music application that turns a Mac into a professional-quality musical instrument and recording studio. The iBook G4 comes with Apple's latest operating system pre-installed. Mac OS X version 10.3 "Panther" delivers more than 150 breakthrough features including iChat AV, an easy to use desktop video conferencing solution; FileVault, which uses the latest security standards and 128-bit encryption technology to ensure that data in the home directory is kept secure; Expose(TM), a revolutionary new way to instantly view all open windows; Instant On, which wakes the iBook from sleep in just one second; and Automatic Networking, which automatically switches the network connections between Ethernet, 802.11 and modem. With enhanced Windows compatibility, files, printers and network services can easily be shared with Windows users. iBook G4 also comes with a collection of productivity and entertainment titles including AppleWorks, Quicken 2004 for Mac, WorldBook Encyclopedia 2004 Edition and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4. Pricing & Availability The new iBook lineup is immediately available through The Apple Store (www.apple.com), Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers in three standard configurations. The 1.0 GHz PowerPC G4 iBook, weighing just 4.9 pounds, has a suggested retail price of $1,099 (US) and includes: -- a crisp 12.1-inch (diagonal) active-matrix TFT display; -- 256MB DDR SDRAM expandable to up to 1.25GB maximum memory; -- a 30GB Ultra ATA hard drive; -- two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400; -- VGA video out, S-video and composite video out support; -- Ethernet (10/100BASE-T); and -- a slot-load Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) drive. The 1.0 GHz PowerPC G4 iBook, weighing just 5.9 pounds, has a suggested retail price of $1,299 (US) and includes: -- a crisp 14.1-inch (diagonal) active-matrix TFT display; -- 256MB DDR SDRAM expandable to up to 1.25GB maximum memory; -- a 40GB Ultra ATA hard drive; -- two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400; -- VGA video out, S-video and composite video out support; -- Ethernet (10/100BASE-T); and -- a slot-load Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) drive. The 1.2 GHz PowerPC G4 iBook, weighing just 5.9 pounds, has a suggested retail price of $1,499 (US) and includes: -- a brilliant 14.1-inch (diagonal) active-matrix TFT display; -- 256MB DDR SDRAM expandable to up to 1.25GB maximum memory; -- a 60GB Ultra ATA hard drive; -- AirPort Extreme wireless networking; -- two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400; -- VGA video out, S-video and composite video out support; -- Ethernet (10/100BASE-T); and -- a slot-load Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) drive. Additional build-to-order options for the new iBook G4 include the ability to upgrade to up to 1.25GB of DDR SDRAM, the 4x SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW) optical drive on the 14-inch models, a 40GB or 60GB Ultra ATA/100 hard drive, internal Bluetooth module, AirPort Extreme Base Station, AirPort Extreme Card and the AppleCare Protection Plan. Actual speed will vary based on range from the base station, environmental conditions and other factors. Actual weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.