PowerBook 1400
 PowerBook 1400cs/133 | |
| Developer | Apple Computer |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Quanta Computer |
| Type | Laptop |
| Released | November 20, 1996 |
Introductory price | US$2,499 (equivalent to $5,100 in 2025) |
| Discontinued | May 1998 |
| System 7.5.3 - Mac OS 9.1 | |
| CPU | PowerPC 603e @ 117, 133 or 166 MHz |
| Memory | 12 or 16 MB |
| Display | 11.3" |
| Predecessor | PowerBook 190 PowerBook 5300 |
| Successor | PowerBook G3 |
| Related | PowerBook 2400c PowerBook 3400c |
The PowerBook 1400 is a laptop computer designed and manufactured by Quanta Computer for Apple Computer and sold from October 1996 to May 1998. By working with Quanta, Apple was able to bring the 1400 to market on a shorter development schedule to replace the troubled PowerBook 5300 in Apple's PowerBook line. After the high-end PowerBook 3400 was introduced in February 1997, the 1400 was repositioned as an entry-level laptop and was sold alongside the subcompact PowerBook 2400.
Design
[edit]Following the troubled launch of the PowerBook 5300 in August 1995, Apple sought to bring a new PowerBook to market on a shorter development schedule. Phil Baker, Apple's director of entry-level laptops, contracted Quanta Computer, an original design manufacturer, to modify one of its pre-existing notebook designs to become the 1400.[1] Minimal changes were made to the exterior to align it with Apple's design language, while Quanta adapted the 5300's architecture for the new computer.[2]
The design gave the PowerBook 1400 an expansion bay large enough for a CD-ROM drive, a first for a PowerBook. The bay also accepted a floppy drive or Zip drive. The drives could be "warm swapped" while the computer was in sleep mode.[3]
However the reuse of the architecture of the 5300 meant that it retained constraints of the earlier design, including the 117 MHz PowerPC 603e processor without an L2 cache and a 64 MB memory limit.[2][3]
The PowerBook 1400 used removable "BookCover" panels, a feature Apple marketed to home users and students.[3] Each computer included a gray panel matching the computer's case and a clear panel.[4] Users could create custom inserts with a bundled template and place them beneath the clear panel.[5]
The PowerBook 1400 had two PC Card slots, infrared communications, and an internal expansion slot for video-out or Ethernet cards.[6]
Models and specifications
[edit]Apple initially offered the PowerBook 1400 with a 117 MHz PowerPC 603e processor. It added a 133 MHz model in May 1997 and a 166 MHz model in July 1997. While the 117 MHz model lacked an L2 cache; the 133 MHz and 166 MHz models included a 128 KB L2 cache.[7]
Each version was available as a 1400c, with an active matrix LCD, or a 1400cs, with a passive-matrix dual-scan LCD. Both used 11.3-inch (290 mm) color displays with an 800 × 600 resolution.[8]
The initial 1400cs configuration included a 750 MB hard drive and 12 MB of RAM, without a CD-ROM drive, at a price of US$2,499 (equivalent to $5,100 in 2025). An additional 4 MB of RAM soldered to the motherboard and a CD-ROM drive could be added to the 1400cs for US$400 (equivalent to $820 in 2025).[7] The 1400c included a 1 GB hard drive, 16 MB of RAM, and a CD-ROM drive, and sold for US$3,499 (equivalent to $7,200 in 2025).[3]
Reception
[edit]In a contemporary review, Macworld noted the PowerBook 1400's expansion-bay CD-ROM drive, display, keyboard, and trackpad, while criticizing the 117 MHz model's lack of an L2 cache.[9]
MacUser described the 1400 as a reliable basic portable. The review praised its price, configuration range, display, CD-ROM drive, and BookCover panels, while finding its performance unremarkable.[3]
Technical specifications
[edit]According to Apple, all of these models are obsolete.[a][10]
| 1400cs/117 | 1400c/117 | 1400cs/133 | 1400c/133 | 1400cs/166 | 1400c/166 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introduced | October 1, 1996 | May 19, 1997 | October 1, 1996 | October 15, 1997 | July 14, 1997 | ||
| Discontinued | July 14, 1997 | May 1998 | |||||
| Display | Size | 11.3-inch (29 cm) | |||||
| Method | Dual-scan passive | Active | Dual-scan passive | Active | Dual-scan passive | Active | |
| Colors | 15-bit (thousands) | ||||||
| Resolution | 800 × 600 | ||||||
| Storage | Hard drive | 750 MB, 1 GB or 2 GB EIDE | |||||
| Floppy | Removable 1.44 MB SuperDrive | ||||||
| CD-ROM | Removable 6×, 8× or 12× | ||||||
| Performance | CPU | PowerPC 603e | |||||
| CPU speed | 117 MHz | 133 MHz | 166 MHz | ||||
| RAM | 12 or 16 MB on board expandable to 64 MB |
16 MB on board expandable to 64 MB | |||||
| ROM | 4 MB | ||||||
| Graphics controller | Chips and Technologies 65525A[11] | ||||||
| Networking | None (default); Modem & Ethernet available as upgrades | ||||||
| Battery | 1.5–4.0 hours | ||||||
| Dimensions | H × W × D | 11.5 in × 9.0 in × 2.1 in (292 mm × 229 mm × 54 mm) | |||||
| Weight | 6.7 lb (3.0 kg) | 6.6 lb (3.0 kg) | 6.7 lb (3.0 kg) | 6.6 lb (3.0 kg) | 6.7 lb (3.0 kg) | 6.6 lb (3.0 kg) | |
| Port connections | 1 × ADB, 1 × serial, 1 × SCSI (HDI-30), 1 × 3.5 mm audio in, 1 × 3.5 mm audio out | ||||||
| Expansion slots | 2 PC Card slots, 1 RAM slot (piggyback) | ||||||
| Audio | 8-bit stereo | ||||||
| Gestalt ID | 310 | ||||||
| Code name | Epic | ||||||
| Refs | [12][13] | [12][14] | [12][15] | [12][16] | [12][17] | [12][18] | |
Timeline
[edit]| Timeline of portable Macintoshes |
|---|
 |
Notes
[edit]- ↑ Apple products that have been discontinued for 7 years and no longer receive hardware support or spare parts
References
[edit]- ↑ Baker, Phil (October 2008). From Concept to Consumer. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: FT Press. p. 68. ISBN 978-0-13-713747-3.
- 1 2 Wirth, Colin (July 17, 2020). PowerBook 3400c -- When the World's Fastest Laptop Was a Mac! (Video). Retrieved July 20, 2026 – via YouTube.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Gore, Andrew (December 1996). "Road Test: The Apple PowerBook 1400" (PDF). MacUser. pp. 70–80. Retrieved July 20, 2026.
- ↑ "PowerBook 1400 User's Guide" (PDF). Apple Computer.
- ↑ Phin, Christopher (January 20, 2015). "Three cheers for the delightfully personal PowerBook 1400". Macworld. Retrieved July 20, 2026.
- ↑ "PowerBook 1400". apple-history.com. Retrieved July 20, 2026.
- 1 2 "PowerBook 1400". Low End Mac. Retrieved July 20, 2026.
- ↑ "PowerBook 1400 Technical Information" (PDF). Apple Computer.
- ↑ "PowerBook 1400/117" (PDF). Macworld. January 1997. pp. 58–59. Retrieved July 20, 2026.
- ↑ "Obtaining service for your Apple product after an expired warranty". support.apple.com. March 20, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
- ↑ "For users of Linux on NuBus PowerMacs". Archived from the original on June 22, 2015. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Technical Information : Specifications for Macintosh PowerBook 1400 series computers" (PDF). Apple Inc. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 11, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2008.
- ↑ "Macintosh PowerBook 1400cs/117: Technical Specifications". Apple Support. Retrieved July 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Macintosh PowerBook 1400c/117: Technical Specifications". Apple Support. Retrieved July 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Macintosh PowerBook 1400cs/133: Technical Specifications". Apple Support. Retrieved July 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Macintosh PowerBook 1400c/133: Technical Specifications". Apple Support. Retrieved July 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Macintosh PowerBook 1400cs/166: Technical Specifications". Apple Support. Retrieved July 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Macintosh PowerBook 1400c/166: Technical Specifications". Apple Support. Retrieved July 21, 2026.
External links
[edit]- Apple-history.com: 1400 series specs
- Lowendmac.com: 1400 series specs