The PowerBook 2400c (codenamed "Comet" and "Nautilus") is a subnotebook in Apple Computer's PowerBook range of Macintosh computers, weighing 4.4 pounds (2.0 kg). Manufacturing was contracted to IBM Japan.[1] In a return to the PowerBook 100 form factor, it was introduced in May 1997 as a late replacement for the PowerBook Duo 2300c, which had been the last of the subnotebook PowerBook Duo series. The 2400c was discontinued in March 1998, with no immediate replacement; the model that followed it was the much larger PowerBook G3 series (codenamed "Wallstreet"). However, in Japan, a 2400c with a 240 MHz CPU (codenamed "Mighty Cat") was offered shortly after the original model's discontinuation, until the end of the year.
Overview
The 2400c uses the same PowerPC 603e processor as the preceding Duo 2300c, but at a much higher CPU clock of 180 MHz instead of 100 MHz. However, unlike its predecessor, the 2400c is unable to utilize the Duo Dock, making the lack of an internal removable drive much more noticeable. Like the PowerBook 100 and Duo series before it, it was sold with an external floppy drive. Apple did not offer a CD-ROM drive for it which was otherwise standard for all other PowerBooks. Unlike the Duo, reinstated peripheral ports on the machine most closely matched those of the original 100 and included: ADB, one combined serial printer/modem port, floppy port (not HDI-20 but unique to the 2400c), and HDI-30 SCSI port, but added a VGA video out, stereo sound output and input ports, infrared port, and two PCMCIA card slots. While the original 180 MHz model's PCMCIA slots officially accept only two Type II or one Type III PCMCIA card, some users have applied simple motherboard modifications to allow the use of CardBus expansion cards as well, extending the practical life of this subcompact until a replacement was eventually offered by Apple. The Japanese 240 MHz model offered CardBus as standard. The 2400c is built around a 10.4-inch (26 cm) active-matrix color LCD screen, making the computer very compact indeed—it is slightly smaller and lighter, though a bit thicker, than a 12-inch (30 cm) iBook, and the fourth-smallest subnotebook behind the 12-inch (30 cm) PowerBook G4 introduced several years later. Apple's most recent offering in this category was the discontinued 12-inch (30 cm) MacBook.
Due to its processor being located on a detachable daughter card, the PowerBook 2400c saw a small number of PowerPC G3 processor cards created for it. Companies such as Interware (Vimage[2][3]) and Newer Technologies (NUpowr[4]) offered processor upgrades which would swap out the 603e for a G3 ranging from 240 MHz to 400 MHz.
This was also the last Mac to not ship with an internal CD or DVD drive until the MacBook Air in 2008.
