Apple Debuts Lower-Priced iBooks

Apple Computer rolled out new G4-powered iBook notebooks Wednesday at prices starting at $1,099, joining the trend of lower-priced laptops leading the charge to increased PC sales.

The new iBook line boasts either a 12.1-inch display, available immediately, or a 14.1-inch screen. The laptops with larger screens will debut next week, Apple said.

Priced beginning at $1,099 with a 12.1-inch LCD, and starting at $1,299 for those equipped with a 14.1-inch display, the iBooks include Apple's latest operating system, Mac OS X 10.3, dubbed "Panther;" 256 Mbytes of memory; support for Apple's Wi-Fi implementation, called AirPort Extreme; and built-in Ethernet, USB 2.0, and FireWire ports.

The new iBooks have PowerPC G4 processors running at speeds from 800 MHz to 1GHz.