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Apple's Pismo Four Months Later: A Second Look

Perhaps it was the way Steve Jobs introduced the latest incarnation of Apple's professional PowerBook, codenamed Pismo, that would leave the impression it wasn't anything special. We reported the introduction at 10 p.m., CST on February 15, since Jobs unveiled the machine halfway around the world, at MacWorld Tokyo in Japan. Was Pismo something to hide? Or was it the next step in Apple's never-ending quest to produce the perfect portable workstation?

Taking a second look at Pismo nearing four months after its introduction, we're inclined to declare Pismo a worthy successor to Apple's previous PowerBook G3 Series ("Lombard," "bronze keyboard," "1999 PowerBook G3 Series," whatever...). Introduced on May 10, 1999, as a follow-up to Apple's groundbreaking Wallstreet PowerBook, the original "bronze keyboard" PB was in the company's lineup for 10 months as its brethen received exciting new technologies: FireWire and AirPort. Furthermore, it had a sometimes-faulty implementation of USB, and was notoriously late shipping to customers.

Apple took a look at these issues, and resolved to correct each. AirPort and FireWire were added, without changing the form factor of the case substantially. The USB was greatly improved, with none of the reports of freezes on wakeup from sleep that plagued the previous machine. Lastly, Apple surprised customers, actually shipping the PowerBook in a decent time frame, something PowerBook buyers had not enjoyed in quite some time.

That was Pismo at introduction: a cheaper, more refined, and more powerful update to Apple's award-winning industrial design, held over from the previous model. Sure, it looked good on paper, but how would it measure up after thousands of units shipped to consumers?

Running a user-oriented PowerBook site, we're ground zero for problems associated with new models. Surprisingly, there were no issues like the previous PowerBook's USB issues noticed immediately. Additionally, there have been no widespread issues noted with the PowerBook, other than the pattern of marks on the LCD screen caused by the keyboard pressing up against the screen. This is a known issue associated with the thin design, and is seen on PC and Mac laptops alike. Resourceful users have taken to putting thin sheets of paper or fabric between the keyboard and screen when transporting the PowerBook. The only problem Apple should set itself to fixing is very minor: the four rubber "feet" on the bottom of the PowerBook fall off, probably due to the repeated heating/cooling of the adhesive used to affix them to the plastic of the chassis. This was a problem with the PowerBooks before Pismo, and continues to be a problem. However, if this is the biggest issue we can come up with, obviously Apple's done a great job.

Pismo has a lot of things going for it. It packs an amazing amount of power and versatility for the size of the laptop, as well as the price. It further refined each one of its predecessor's problems, including shipping on time. Lastly, and most importantly, no major engineering issues have come up after the PowerBook's widespread use. Given all these facts, many have declared Pismo the best PowerBook Apple's produced. Reader Matt Vaughn says, "I've owned four Macintoshes, two of them Powerbooks, and the Pismo is, by far, the best system I've laid hands on. It epitomizes the Macintosh experience: fast and efficient, stylish yet unobtrusive." We wholeheartedly agree. Wallstreet was a revolution in PowerBook design. The original "bronze keyboard" PowerBook improved on Wallstreet immensely, introducing a much sleeker case design. Pismo is the cutting edge, the next step in Apple's refinement of the PowerBook. We can't wait for what's next.....

We invite you to comment on this article in the PowerBook forum of MacDebate.com.