Apple to Revamp Portable Line in November

By Kasper Jade

Sources indicate that a revision to Apple's portable lines is on the horizon and will likely arrive during the next two weeks -- possibly on November 5. Details are sparse at this point, but the updates are said to be relatively minor, consisting of speed bumps and a possible increase in hard drive capacity. Talk of Bluetooth being added on-board to the PowerBook G4 has also been heard.

Unknown at this point is whether the PowerBook G4 will come equipped with a SuperDrive; the first PC laptops to ship with DVD recorders debuted last month. Apple is apparently facing difficulties again with the Titanium enclosure's slim profile, which cannot accommodate standard sized optical drives for laptops. The company ran into similar problems at the start of this year, when it was unable to spec a DVD/CD-RW combo drive in the PowerBook G4 until several months after PC laptops had been shipping with the drive.

Also rumored to be on tap for press event in early November is a 19\" Apple LCD display. Recently, the company quietly discontinued their 15\" LCD display offering. Stay tuned for more details.