Motorola's chip division isn't Freescale yet, but it's managed to squeeze out one more iteration of the G4 before it goes indie. We know, we know-- nothing about a new G4 quickens your pulse anymore, and these days your techno-lust is strictly G5-centric. Fair enough. But do try to keep in mind that, at least for now, the G5 is strictly a Power Mac (and Xserve) processor; the vast majority of Macs being sold-- all consumer Macs and even the pro laptop-- still rely on the G4 you now find so soul-killingly boring. So when Motorola announces that it's managed to bump the G4's clock speed another 13%, we do our best to look interested.

We don't always succeed, mind you, but we try. Surely that counts for something.

Anyway, faithful viewer Chris McDevitt sent us an article from The Register which reveals that almost-but-not-quite-Freescale has just announced a new G4-class processor, the 7447A, which can run at speeds of up to 1.5 GHz while burning a smidge less power. The 7447A also supports frequency cycling, which means that the chip can throttle back its speed (and, consequently, its power consumption) during light workloads in order to prolong battery life. Sounds like a decent chip for revised iBooks, right? And maybe even PowerBooks, too, assuming that Apple might want one more G4 revision before it manages to shoehorn a G5 into a PowerBook chassis later this year.

And hey, with faithful viewer and laptop shopper Mitch telling us that both PowerBooks and iBooks are currently scarcer than scarce in his neck of the woods (north of the border, down Canada way), there's at least some sketchy anecdotal evidence that Apple's been flushing the channel in preparation for a speed bump. Then again, the Apple Store lists iBook lead times as just 1-3 business days and PowerBooks as "Same Business Day," so we wouldn't necessarily put a whole lot of stock in that indicator; for all we know Steve declared a laptop embargo on Canada because he's really upset that they keep calling ham "bacon." But we have heard a few whispers here and there that zippier portables, both consumer and pro, are due sooner rather than later. How's that for vague?

Ooooh, see? News of a slightly faster G4 chip may not float your boat directly, but turn it into the prospect of revised 'Books and that boat starts getting a little buoyant. Because you never know; alongside a processor boost, Apple might also increase RAM and hard drive sizes, and maybe even trim prices a little. Faster G4s are just a teensy piece of the puzzle. Heck, suddenly the whole thing even seems exciting! Sort of. A little.

Doesn't it?

Sigh. Okay, fine-- come back when there's G5 news. We understand.