Speaking of rumors of long-awaited products, AppleInsider's got an update on another one that's been evading us all for months: the new PowerBook. And no, we're not counting the current "Pismo" release in this context, because while Pismo did add a few goodies that its predecessor Lombard lacked (such as FireWire and AirPort compatibility), they look almost exactly the same. When the new laptop finally debuted last February, rumors of Pismo's next-generation enclosure turned out to be utterly false-- whether or not that was because Apple ditched the new case at the last minute is a matter of some debate. In any event, we're all still waiting for the PowerBook to catch up to its Mac brethren, stylistically speaking.

Think about it; Apple's consumer products sport both bright colors and muted tones, done in translucent plastics with varied textures and inviting, swoopy curves. On the professional side, you've got slightly more toned-down curves, and Graphite, Platinum, silver, and clear pervading the G4 and the Cube-- but the PowerBook is still all-black, its sole concession to the translucent revolution its "Bronze" keyboard and trackpad button, introduced with last year's model. Sure, the PowerBook is still a thing of understated beauty, but its overly-conservative styling sticks out in Apple's product grid like a three-piece suit at a clambake.

Thank heaven, then, that the PowerBook G4 (reportedly code-named "Mercury") will premiere in a stunning new enclosure that may well turn out to be the envy of the product line. AppleInsider says to expect some iBook-like changes, such as a flat trackpad, a latchless closing mechanism and a slightly rounder shape. But Mercury's overall design, while thinner, is expected to be "only slightly" different than the Lombard/Pismo look-- except in color. Flat black is out, and Mercury will instead boast "dark blue-grey and Graphite" for its grips and accents, while the rest of the case is said to be transparent-over-black just like Apple's Pro Mouse, thus sharing that remarkable peripheral's liquid-metal look. Mmmmm... We can almost taste it from here. Unfortunately, we personally still don't expect to see the PowerBook G4 until January, so until then, black it is. But hey, at least black goes with everything.