(FORTUNE Magazine) – Leave it to Apple to list "power and sex" among the many attributes of the sleek new PowerBook G4 notebook computer. But guess what? Apple's 5.3-pound, one-inch-thick, titanium-clad, wide-screen portable Mac did inspire techno-lust among the faithful when it was introduced at the recent Macworld trade show and revival meeting, along with a collection of other innovative but less sexy products.

If innovation and hyperbole were the main measuring sticks of computer companies, Apple would be atop the industry. The PowerBook G4 portable is a very impressive piece of technology, and it may in fact be the "sexiest portable around," as Steve Jobs describes it. (Call me old-fashioned, but some of us still equate sexiness with carbon-based life forms instead of silicon-based machines.) The new top-of-the-line Power Mac G4 desktop, running at 733 megahertz and equipped with a SuperDrive that lets users create their own DVD videodisks, appears to be a dream machine for Apple's core constituency of creative digital artists, students, and teachers. And the new iTunes software, which Apple gives away on its Website, is simply the best software anywhere for creating, organizing, playing, transferring, and enjoying digital music.

There's no doubt: Apple makes more cool products than any other PC company. But for the fuddy-duddies out there who evaluate companies on such mundane things as sales, profits, and market share, that may not be enough. They point to last year's elegant Power Mac G4 Cube computer, which was more popular among reviewers than among paying customers. The titanium-hard truth is that Apple needs all the innovation, sex appeal, and, well, luck that it can muster if it is to gain market share in a world dominated by the Microsoft Windows operating system.

I think the new PowerBook G4 Titanium is the most impressive notebook computer ever. And it's about time that Apple delivered. The company had not significantly updated its PowerBook line in more than two years. It still lacks a subnotebook model to compete with the three- and four-pound Windows machines, like the Sony Vaio, that are popular among business travelers. True, Apple has a valid argument that the 5.3-pound PowerBook G4 actually has a lower travel weight than a Vaio tricked out with all the extras--a high-performance battery, an external DVD drive and power supply, and a port replicator--needed to match the features of the new PowerBook. Even so, lots of folks would give up the PowerBook's cinema-wide screen and DVD drive for a two-pound weight savings.

As for sexy...well, some early users of the PowerBook G4 say it incites a fire in their loins, or at least a warm glow, when they use it for extended periods on their laps. The G4 processor definitely runs hot, but not much hotter than the G3s that preceded it.

The PowerBook G4 comes in two main configurations. The entry-level system, which starts at $2,599, has a 400MHz PowerPC G4 chip, 128 MB of RAM, a 10-gigabyte hard drive, a slot-loading DVD drive, an ATI Rage Mobility 128 video system with 8 MB of video memory, and a very usable array of ports, including built-in Ethernet, FireWire, USB, VGA, S-Video, and 56K modem plugs.

The better model, which starts at $3,499, has a 500MHz G4 chip, 256 MB of memory, and a 20-gig hard drive, plus the standard DVD drive and all the ports. For those who plan to use the PowerBook as a desktop replacement or as a mobile multimedia studio, options include an almost mandatory 30GB hard drive and up to 1 GB of system memory--but not, alas, the recordable DVD/CD SuperDrive introduced for the desktop models.

The titanium hull of the G4 is composed of the same metal used in unsexy applications like artificial hips and golf clubs. Titanium is, ounce for ounce, stronger than steel. But the PowerBook's superthin design makes it seem fragile, particularly when it comes to the extravagantly wide, 15.2-inch LCD screen that is in effect the lid of the laptop. Running a finger lightly over the lid of the computer causes distortions on the screen, which is disconcerting. The full-sized keyboard is plush to the touch, but it, too, is hold-your-breath delicate when it is lifted out to gain access to the machine's innards, which users must do to add an Airport wireless networking card or extra memory.

This is not just the coolest (or hottest) laptop computer on the market but also the most impressive portable DVD player anywhere. The wide-screen, high-resolution display is ideally suited for showcasing DVD movies, and the laptop's battery life, while falling a bit short of the five hours claimed by Apple, is more than adequate to last through a long movie. Remaining battery life is cleverly displayed by an LED readout on the bottom of the laptop. (Bummer: The PowerBook has a new power port, and as of this writing there are no airline power adapters available.)

Only the most disturbed geeks will see the new pillow-shaped Power Mac G4 desktop PCs as sexy. Apple had not made its new 667MHz or 733MHz Power Mac G4s available for review when this was written, but the processor benchmarks are impressive. Apple's challenge is to convince consumers that the new desktop machines are as powerful as rival Windows machines that use faster chips from Intel and AMD.

All the new G4 desktop machines will have CD-RW drives for the first time, allowing users to create (or "burn") their own audio and data CDs. CD-RW drives are pretty much standard issue on new Windows-based PCs today. Apple is late to this game, which makes one wonder whether a new crop of CD-RW-based iMacs is coming soon.

Its new SuperDrive, on the other hand, is a breakthrough product. Available at first only on the most expensive 733MHz desktop Mac, the SuperDrive both reads and writes audio CDs and video DVDs. Given that until now stand-alone DVD recorders have cost thousands of dollars, and that the Power Mac 733 will have a $3,500 base price when it arrives in late March, Apple could argue that it is practically giving away a free computer with each SuperDrive it sells. The big question is how many consumers will want to burn their own DVD disks, given that recordable DVD disks cost $10 to $30 each. Anyway, Apple's SuperDrive is actually a Pioneer recordable CD/DVD drive that Compaq was first to embrace, for its Presario 7000 line of home computers, and it will be a race to see whether Compaq or Apple gets it to market first.

Owners of recent-vintage Macs can use the new iTunes music management software, available free from www.apple.com, to organize and play MP3 files, rip audio CDs into MP3 files, move music between the computer and portable MP3 devices, and listen to more than 100 Internet streaming radio channels. Windows users may wonder what the fuss is about, and Mac users may recognize many of the features from Casady & Greene's SoundJam software. Apple deserves credit, however, for making iTunes refreshingly easy to use. It's definitely the most user-friendly digital music program I've encountered. The software is free, but it requires Mac OS 9.0.4. I'm particularly enamored of a button in the corner of the brushed-metal iTunes interface that generates psychedelic images to accompany the tunes being played. It's the digital equivalent of a lava lamp, and it's, well, groovy.

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