Apple has phased out its 15in PowerBook G4. The PowerPC-based notebook has been removed from the company's online stores in the UK and the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific, even as the first Intel-based 15in MacBook Pro machines began to be delivered to buyers.

The end of the 15in PowerBook comes less than a month after the 17in iMac G5 was removed from Apple's product line-up. It took the best part of a month for stocks of the desktop machine to run down after the launch of the Intel-based iMac in early January. The transition between pro-oriented notebook models appears to have happened much more quickly.

Apple has yet to announce x86-based versions of its iBook, Mac Mini and Power Mac machines. It has been suggested that it will unveil new iBooks, and possibly an updated Mac Mini, at next week's product launch. High-end desktops - probably to be called Mac Pros - are likely to arrive last, once Intel has shipped its next-generation chipsets and 'Conroe' desktop CPU. ®