PowerBook Duo - Features

Features

The Duo line offered an ultraportable design that was light and functional for travel and infinitely expandable via its unique docking connector. However certain compromises were made to achieve this level of portability. The Duo series used an 88% of standard desktop-sized keyboard which was criticized for being difficult to type on. Likewise the trackball was reduced in size from even that used on the PowerBook 100. The only usable port which came standard on the Duo was a dual printer/modem EIA-422 serial port.

There was a slot for an expensive optional built-in 14.4 Express Modem and no provision for built-in Ethernet. This somewhat limited configuration meant the only way to move data in or out of the laptop in a stock configuration without purchasing additional accessories was via a relatively slow AppleTalk connection, which was not practical in the event of hard drive problems. Compensating for these limitations, the initial Duo offering provided for a considerably larger RAM limit of 24 MB (to the 100 series' 14 MB), and a standard 80 MB hard drive (to the 100's 40 MB). The debut year for the duo only offered a passive matrix display on both the mid-level and high-end models. In contrast to the high end of the 100-series line with which the Duos shared the same processors, the PowerBook 170 and 180 with their crisp active matrix displays were both already in great demand over the lower powered models with passive matrix displays. The following year, Apple replaced the earlier models with both an active matrix display and a color active matrix display, the latter becoming the de facto standard of the PowerBook line. The respective Duo models are easily differentiated by their display method and processor. All other features are identical.