PowerBook Buyer's Guide

PowerBook 180c

by Steve Hildreth

The 180c was the first active-matrix color PowerBook. For the time period, the screen was bright and gorgeous. But at 8.4", the screen was just too small for any kind of serious work, and certainly not large enough to replace a desktop system, even with the 640x480 resolution. This is also the last of the PowerBooks (not including the Duo's) with a 68030 processor running at 33MHz. With a full complement of ports on the back, the 180c is versatile and pleasant to use. Even in this age of 300 MHz+ processors, the 180c can still hold its own when using basic applications, and the serial port on back can accept 56k modems. Outside of hard drive space, the only major limitation is the size of available memory, which is limited to 14MB.

Rating:

At the time: A-

Ports:
ADB
2 serial
video out
audio out
audio in
HDI-30 SCSI
internal modem

Display:
Active-matrix 256 colors
8.4"
640x480 resolution

Weight: 7 pounds

Apple's Specifications:

Logic Board Ports Power
Processor: 68030, 33 MHz
PMMU: integrated
FPU: 68882
Data Path: 32-bit, 33 MHz
L1 Cache: 0.5K
L2 Cache: none
2nd Processor: none
Slots: modem
ADB: 1
Video: mini-15
Floppy: none
SCSI: HDI-30
Geoports: none
Ethernet: none
FireWire:
Mic Type: Omni
Other Ports: Printer, Modem, Speaker,
Max Watts: 24
Amps: 3.20
BTU per Hr: 82.08
Voltage: 100-240
Freq Range: 50-60 Hz
Battery Type: PB1XX, NiCd
Soft Power: yes
Memory Video Memory
Logic Board: 4 MB
RAM Slots: 1, PB1xx
Min - Max RAM: 4 MB - 14 MB
Min RAM Speed: 85 ns
RAM Sizes: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 MB
Install in Groups of: 1
Resolution Video Memory
built-in LCD screen
(built in)
Video Memory
512K VRAM (ext. only)
(built in)
512 x 384 n/a-bit 8-bit
640 x 400 n/a-bit 8-bit
640 x 480 8-bit 8-bit
800 x 600 n/a-bit 8-bit
832 x 624 n/a-bit 8-bit
1024 x 768 n/a-bit n/a-bit
1152 x 870 n/a-bit n/a-bit
1280 x 1024 n/a-bit n/a-bit
Physical Software Storage
Introduced: 6/7/1993
Discontinued: 3/14/1994
Form Factor: PowerBook 140
Gestalt ID: 71
Weight (lbs): 7.1
Dimensions (in): 2.34 H x 11.25 W x 9.3 D
Addressing Modes: 24-, 32-bit
Orig SSW: 7.1
Orig Enabler: System Enabler 131 v1.0
ROM ID: $067C
ROM Ver: n/a
ROM Size: 1MB
AppleTalk Ver: 57.0.4
Mac OS
Supported:
7.1
7.5
7.1.1 (Pro)
7.5.1
7.5.3
7.5.5
7.6
7.6.1
Floppy Size: 1.44MB
Floppy Inject: manual
Min. Int HD Size: 80-160MB
Int HD Interface: SCSI
Orig CD Speed n/a
Int CD Support:



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