It’s baaaaack. Last summer Apple ran a trade-up program for PowerBook 190 and 5300 computers. Now the company is offering a new trade-up offer.
Current owners of the PowerBook 5300 and PowerBook 190 can purchase a 400 MHz PowerBook G3 equipped with FireWire for US$1,599. This limited time offer will end on March 23, and is available only while supplies last, Apple told MacCentral.
The PowerBook 190 was the last of the 68040-equipped PowerBook series. The unit went into production in 1995 and was discontinued the following year. The 5300, meanwhile, was the first of Apple’s PowerPC-equipped PowerBooks. Both units were available in a variety of screen options and processor speeds.
The street price of a FireWire-equipped PowerBook G3/400 is around $2,000, and the trade-in value of a PowerBook 190 or 5300 to a used computer dealer is well below $400, so if you have an old 190 or 5300 that’s gathering dust on a shelf some place and you’ve been thinking about replacing it, Apple’s offer may be worth considering. Also bear in mind that Apple’s PowerBook G3 is out of production in favor of the new titanium-encased PowerBook G4 model, so supplies are bound to be limited.
PowerBook 190 and 5300 users who take advantage of this offer will get a PowerBook G3 equipped with 64MB RAM, a 10GB HD, 6x DVD-ROM, and all the other standard accountrements one expects with a PowerBook G3 — 10/100BASE-T Ethernet; 56K modem; AirPort support; IrDA interface; two FireWire ports; two USB ports; 14.1 inch TFT XGA active-matrix display; RAGE Mobility 128 graphics accelerator with 8MB SDRAM; and more.
There’s some online info on the trade-up program, which starts this week. Interested parties should call the Apple Store — 1-800-MY-APPLE(692-7753) — and ask about the upgrade.