News from category ‘Hardware’

AppleInsider confirms that the lineup of the next-gen MacBook Pros will be officially unveiled this Thursday because this day is also Steve Jobs' birthday. On February 24 Apple's CEO turns 56.

In the first place, previously MacRumors reported that Thursday is the earliest date when Apple can unveil its new models, though next-gen MacBook Pros were originally expected to be released in early March. In the second place, traditionally Apple has been launching its new laptops on Tuesday.

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Rumors suggest that updated MacBook Pros appear later this week, most likely on Thursday. The new MacBook Pros will feature larger glass trackpads than those found on current models for greater flexibility and perhaps for more complex gestures. The lower-end models will have 8GB-16GB solid-state drives to house Mac OS X system files, and will also come equipped with a regular hard drive. This will offer the benefits of SSDs - instant on and super fast performance - while also providing lots of room for heavy users’ files. The idea of separate flash-based storage for system files is not a new one. Intel's "Turbo Memory", in 2006, offered similar functionality. The new machines will be up to a half-pound lighter than current models and there will be five different SKUs.

A new leather case for the next-generation iPad appeared on German website Macerkopf.de. Design of the leaked case confirms all rumors about tapered edges, thinner design, rear-facing camera and flat back, but also provides some details on the actual name of the “iPad 2”. The terms iPad 2 was used by journalists and bloggers for indication of the second-generation iPad. That case comes with packaging with a simple label “For the new iPad” that might mean that iPad 2 will actually be called simply iPad.

It is also noteworthy to say that current iPhone 4 accessories don’t come with labels like “Made for the iPhone 4″. Instead, Apple went for a simple “Made for iPhone” that doesn’t point to the “iPhone 4” name in any way.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izNoF1SWtSg

CNet has recently reported that soon Apple will unveil a new high-speed connection technology for its devices, which is based on Intel's Light Peak technology. The latter should appear in products during the first half of 2011, according to Intel. But though Apple's new technology will be based on Intel's Light Peak, it was reported that Apple will brand it under its own name.

Light Peak allows to transfer information with 10 Gbps, which is almost three times faster than USB 3.0 (3.2 Gbps) and more than 10 times faster than Firewire 800 (800 Mbps). In practice it will allow to copy a full-length Blu-Ray movie in approximately 30 seconds.

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Last weekend Best Buy listed five new SKUs for Mac notebooks with price between $1,199 and $2,499. They can be found as "New SKU" in online Laptop Configuration tool, with availability of "Coming Soon".

Though in the past Best Buy's inventory systems weren't precise, new listings provide information on pricing that did not appear anywhere else yet.

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Today Apple should start delivering its sealed product line of MacBooks Pro to brick-and-mortar stores of its largest European resellers, according to the information sent by the company to those resellers last weekend.

But February, 21st is also a President's Day in the US, and Apple has been avoiding launching major products on federal holidays, so the partners were told that an official announcement will follow shortly after shipments will be delivered, according to AppleInsider that in turn cites a person familiar with the matter. It was also reported that Apple has vocalized its right to cancel reseller licenses from those dealers who will tamper with the sealed shipment before the announcement will be made.

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One more creative photo of possible iPhone Nano or iPhone Mini. Similar fashion to existing iPhone 4, with 3.5-inch screen extended to the left/right edges. This image looks like a "spy" shot, but we believe is just another creative mockup.

There are many rumors about future iPhone 5 lately. One of them is that iPhone 5 will have a bigger 4-inch screen. Here's how it might look like compared to existing 3.5-inch screen iPhone 4:

According to AppleInsider, which in turn cited a person familiar with the matter, Apple will introduce its new MacBook Pro lineup in the next two weeks. Such a delay is caused by the design flaw in Intel's Sandy Bridge processors used in the new laptops.

This information supports previous rumor by Danish blog KennethLund.dk, which on Tuesday identified that March, 1st is the release date for new MacBooks. Though both reports point on Wednesday, history shows Apple may slightly move the date of product launch due to unexpected anomalies in the company's supply chain or manufacturing.

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Apple’s recent customer survey, conducted in order to estimate satisfaction with the new MacBook Airs, contains some questions about 3G data use and connectivity. That fact allows us to suggest that Apple might be planning to add this feature on its future models of laptops.  The current MacBook Airs comes with built-in Wi-Fi module. Now Apple is interested in how often users connect to network via 3G and what type of device they use to connect to a 3G network. Obviously, this option only increases popularity of that already well-known device.

Rumors say that Apple might expand the next generation iPhone’s screen to 4 inches to better compete with Google Android.

The component suppliers noted that the production lines for Apple's next generation iPhone have begun testing, and Apple is interesting in expanding the screen size to 4-inches to support the tablet PC market as the vendor only has a 9.7-inch iPad in the market.

Though, Apple’s prototypes for testing usually have little bit different designs than real products.

Today The U.K.'s Daily Mail also confirmed rumors on iPhone Nano, which is set to be released this summer separately from the iPhone 5. Anonymous sources were cited in the publication to reveal both already known and unknown details on the new device:

• iPhone Nano will cost $200 without a carrier subsidy or contract;
• The device will be a third smaller than the iPhone 4;
• No "Home" button;
• The handset may be delayed or scrapped.

It was also explained why the new device may be popular.

"Phone users on tighter budgets have been shunning the pricey iPhones in favour of less expernsive models which have Google's popular Android software. Apple will now hope to lure away customers from the likes of Nokia".

Besides that, the publication reported that Apple has been working on new iPhone hardware and software that would allow customers to bypass the carriers and choose a network by themselves directly from the handset.

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This is not real, but just a nice beautiful concept photo of future iPhone Nano.

Here's another one:

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As you may remember, this week Bloomberg reported about the fact that Apple is working on a new iPhone with a 2.3" screen. Today this information was also confirmed by the Wall Street Journal.

"One of the people, who saw a prototype of the phone late last year, said the device is intended for sale alongside Apple's existing line. The new device would be about half the size of the iPhone 4, which is the current model. The new phone would be available to carriers at about half the price of the main iPhone repertoire. "

The latter allows to suggest that this summer we'll see iPhone 5 at usual price of $199/$299, discounted iPhone 4 at $99, and iPhone Nano at $49.

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New rumors about possible update of the MacBook Pro line claim that the new laptops might appear on March 1st. March 1st falls on a Tuesday which is typical for Apple's releases. Moreover the previous update of the MacBook Pro was in April 2010 and now some resellers noticed that MacBook Pro models are on tight supply, and all problems with Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors, which are expected to be built in the new notebooks, were solved, so any delay will be minimal. Many also expect that some of the models may take design from the MacBook Airs.