The Mac news sites are alive this morning with news of a revision (known in the vernacular as a "speed bump," for reasons unknown) to Apple's line of portable Macs. Both the iBook and the Titanium Powerbook received a modest increase in speed and amount of RAM, as well as slight price reductions in some configurations.

However, we are interested in one angle only -- are these revised machines improved as portable gaming rigs? The answer is a very enthusiastic "Yes!" As has been requested more times than we can count, the TiBook has finally been bumped up to a 16 MB Mobility Radeon chipset mounted on a 4X AGP bus, giving the TiBook equal graphics performance as Apple's tower models.

With Gigabit Ethernet and a 667 Mhz processor hooked to a revised 133 MHz system bus, the new TiBook is a serious LAN gaming machine at last. The "flagship" model even comes with an AirPort card installed, for those occasions when a wireless network is available.

The iBook still features the Rage 128 chipset, but now with a full 8 MB of VRAM, but the bump to 600 Mhz will certainly make 2D and modest 3D gaming an exciting experience. Modest increases in hard drive size are also included, as expected, and for a limited time you can double your RAM on purchase (though Apple's memory prices are still outrageous compared to "street" list price). A CD-RW drive is still optional on both systems, which seems to run counter to Apple's "Rip. Mix. Burn." marketing campaign.

In any case, it is clear that Apple wants to maintain the forward momentum of their portable line, and motivate students who have just returned to school to add a portable to that overstuffed backpack. Check out the official press releases below.

Apple Titanium Powerbook PR

Apple iBook PR

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