The PowerBook Zone reports on a trackpad issue with Apple’s latest PowerBooks and describes the problem, “at certain points and intervals, the trackpad either becomes almost completely unresponsive, or moves so erratically, it is completely unusable. This can last for between a few seconds to even a few minutes, based on reader accounts and our own experience. Aside from all this, the trackpads found in these new models, some of the first to be designed by Apple themselves, and not by Synaptics, are often generally sluggish compared to earlier models.”
What to do if you are having problems? The PowerBook Zone explains, “In the vast majority of cases we’ve heard about, it appears that Apple is simply replacing these machines. Whether this will continue to be the case is unclear, as once Apple figures out what the problem is, it might simply be more economical to replace the offending part(s). If you are within two weeks of the purchase date, you should simply be able to return the PowerBook as DOA, and receive a new computer for no charge. If you are outside of this period, the best thing to do is simply call Apple. They’ll likely have you try and reset the power manager and PRAM, and also run the extended hardware test. You can go through these before you call Apple, if you’d like to try and save some time. If you describe the symptoms, though, you’ll likely be escalated to a second tier of support, where they’ll offer to replace or repair the machine. They will send you shipping tags for FedEx, DHL, etc., and after receiving your old PowerBook via overnight shipping, a new PowerBook will be sent to you. Keep in mind, though, that this is the situation as it stands today, Apple could very well begin to simply repair the units, in which case it could take a day or two fewer or more before you receive your PowerBook back.”
More info on possible causes and other details here.
MacFixIt also has a report here.