Photo: ArnoldReinhold / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons · source
PowerBook Duo 230
An ultralight notebook that docked into a full desktop.
Overview
The PowerBook Duo was built around one idea: carry a thin, light computer on the road and slide it into a dock at the office to regain a floppy drive, extra ports and the ability to drive an external display. The 230 was the speedier launch model, using a 33 MHz 68030 processor, alongside the 25 MHz Duo 210.
The screen was a 9.1-inch passive grayscale panel, and a 4 MB memory configuration with an 80 MB disk was typical. The slim body had no floppy drive or many ports of its own, which was an unusual choice at the time.
The Duo concept lived on for years and shaped the later thin notebooks, including the idea of a computer that combined a travel machine with a desktop base.
Why it mattered
Pioneered the dock-based ultraportable approach that later thin Apple notebooks revisited.
At a glance
- Announced
- October 5, 1992
- Released
- October 5, 1992
- Discontinued
- July 1, 1993
- Launch price
- Not available
- Chip / processor
- Motorola 68030, 33 MHz
- Display
- 9.1"
- Storage
- 80 MB
- Status
- Vintage
Highlights
- 33 MHz 68030
- Thin, light chassis
- Dock for desktop use
- Passive grayscale display
- Sibling of the Duo 210
Tech specs
Specifications as published at launch. Some values (like battery life) are manufacturer estimates.
Display
- Size
- 9.1-inch
- Type
- Passive-matrix LCD, grayscale
- Resolution
- 640 x 400
Chip
- Chip
- Motorola 68030, 33 MHz
Memory
- RAM
- 4 MB, expandable to 24 MB
- Storage options
- 80 MB hard drive
Software
- Launch OS
- System 7.1
How it compares
More in the PowerBook family
PowerBook 100
A slim, light Mac that defined how laptops are laid out.
PowerBook 140
The mainstream PowerBook with a faster 68030 and a built-in floppy.
PowerBook 170
Top of the first PowerBook line with an active-matrix screen.
PowerBook 180
The fast 68030 PowerBook with the sharpest grayscale screen yet.
PowerBook 540c
A redesigned flagship with a trackpad and a color screen.
PowerBook 5300
The first PowerPC PowerBook, famous for lithium-ion woes.
PowerBook 1400
A rugged workhorse with a bay for a CD-ROM drive.
PowerBook 3400
Billed as the fastest notebook in the world when it launched.