On the eve of Windows 7’s launch, Apple not only announced its most profitable quarter ever – the company chose to steal Microsoft’s thunder with several new product announcements. Enter a new MacBook with an LED-backlit display, longer 7-hour battery and glass multi-touch trackpad in addition to newer, faster iMacs starting at $1199 that use Intel Core 2 Duo and Core i5 and i7 quad-core processors and feature 21.5- and 27-inch LED-backlit widescreen displays. Also revealed were revamped versions of the Mac mini with more speed, storage and double the memory, as well as the Magic Mouse, which employs novel multi-touch technology. Here’s a look at these new additions to the firm’s celebrated product line.
Tag Archive: Mac Mini
Apple Updates iMacs, Gives MacBooks a Seven-Hour Battery
Fresh off wowing Wall Street with its its fourth quarter financial results, Apple is rolling out updates to its consumer-oriented desktop and notebook lines just in time for the holiday buying season…plus introduced a new multi-touch “Magic Mouse” that handles multi-finger gestures for things like scrolling and panning—without the need for gizmos like scroll wheels.
Gadgets: Great Value For The Money
From touchscreen-enabled smartphones to high-definition television sets, today’s hottest gadgets and consumer electronics may seem like a ridiculous extravagance. But in reality, they’re not. Call it a recession optical illusion: Our economic woes have warped our pricing perception. New gadgets only seem pricier because we no longer have the disposable income to blow on them.
Don’t believe me? Check out this chart, comparing the cost of some suddenly cheap gear to its average selling price five years ago (stats courtesy of the Consumer Electronics Industry, the folks who put on CES every year). As you can clearly see, price trends are definitely working in our favor, as costs plummet on many of the most popular gizmos on the market today.
Finding the Perfect Bluetooth Headset
I just got in what are likely the two best Bluetooth Headsets in the market: the Plantronics Voyager Pro, and the third-generation Aliph Jawbone, which will start shipping next month. In many states, including California where I live, you are required to use a hands-free device for talking on the phone while driving, or you get a ticket. I’ve been a first-generation Jawbone fan since I got my first one a couple years back at CES, and up until now, haven’t found one I like better. Suddenly I have two, and each has its own unique advantages and disadvantages. Let’s talk about both products as we search for the perfect Bluetooth Headset.
Is the Mac Mini Apple’s Best Value, or Irrelevant?
Nvidia has been aggressively moving behind the scenes to capture Apple, and today announced that its GeForce cards are the new standard for the firm. In conjunction with this, Apple quietly launched a brand new Mac line (kind of a dull announcement without Steve Jobs though). Apple is a bellwether company: PC OEMs watch them closely now, because they are gaining share, and still retain one the most profitable PC lines (short of the pure gaming companies) on the planet.
Systemax Launches Impact Mini-PC Line
Niche computer maker Systemax today announced its new Impact Mini-PC line, aiming at hoome users who want a living-room friendly PC but who are frustrated by the Mac mini (or its current inability to function as a fully-fledged media center). Three new Impact Mini-PCs range from economical home-use systems to Media Center-eqipped units with TV Tuners, remote controls, S-Video, and S/PDIF. Plus, you know, they’ve got cool blue blinky lights.
Iomega Delivers Mac mini HD Companion
Iomega yesterday announced a new external hard drive geared towards the Apple Mac mini crowd. The Iomega MiniMax Desktop Hard Drive is available now in 160GB ($199.95) and 250GB ($249.95) storage capacity sizes.
The MiniMax, said Iomega, mirrors the look of the Apple Mac mini, coming in at 6.5 inches square and 2 inches tall. Stackable with the Mac Mini, it comes equipped with a three port USB 2.0 hub and a three port FireWire hub. A “smart power switch†allows the drive to stay in sync with Mac mini’s power status and a active/passive cooling system runs very quietly.
Intel Copies the Apples Mac Mini
“Working prototypes of the Mac mini look-alike running Microsoft Windows and based on Intel’s Pentium M CPU have already been built by Taiwan-based PC maker AOpen, according to two sources in Taiwan’s PC manufacturing industry who have seen them. These sources added that the prototype was built at Intel’s request, and will be unveiled here at the Computex trade show, which runs May 31 through June 4. “
Analysts are saying that Intel will have a tough time matching Apple’s Mac Mini price point of $499 due to the high cost of the Windows operating system.
Intel’s Concept Mini PC
“It’s unlikely that Intel itself would build such a device. The chipmaker often uses its twice-yearly developer events to try to spur creativity among computer makers. Past efforts have seen PCs twisted into all sorts of shapes and even embedded in an Ottoman foot rest.
An Apple representative declined to comment on Intel’s concept PC. “
The system features both FireWire and USB ports with a clock located on the front. The design concept is a way for Intel to show companies like HP, Gateway and Dell what the company is capable of supporting. A lot of sites are saying that this design looks very similiar to Apple’s new Mac Mini, but we would have to say that is looks more like a home theather component than a computer system.
Target Pulls Mac mini From Online Store
Apple Insider is reporting that while Target is citing availability concerns, but there may be more going on. A 10% off coupon is apparently floating around the net allowing customers to purchase the Mac mini at below Target’s assumed cost. Of course this is only speculation.
Target had the following to say to its customers:
“We appreciate your interest in purchasing the Mac Mini. We can’t offer a definite date when it will be on hand again, and because of this, we’re not able to make it available for ordering at this time,” the retailer said.
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