News from category ‘Hardware’

CNet made a quick comparison between two tablets - Apple iPad 3G and Samsung Galaxy Tab. Let's find out who is the winner:

Apple is rumored to plan to launch an all new MacBook Pro in April 2011 alongside an update to Final Cut Pro. The new design seems to be similar to the 2010 MacBook Air. The new MacBook Pros will have solid state storage and 512GB memory. Apple will remove the optical drive and pushed to market Light Peak optical cable interface. Apple is likely not to replace the traditional 13" MacBook Pro and leave only one legacy 15" design in the lineup. Prices will vary from $1,799 for the traditional model with upgrade options available to $1,999 for the new MacBook Pros and scale up according to configuration.

This week Acer revealed that it's going to ship two Android-based tablets in April 2011, and one Windows 7 tablet in February 2011.

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Yesterday Marco Boglione, who is an Italian private collector and businessman, bought at Christie's auction house in London one of the Apple's first computers for $174,000. According to the Associated Press, the Apple I was in superb condition and Boglione will pay something like $210,000 after tax.

When Apple I was released in 1976, its price was $666.66. There were only 200 units made, and only from 30 to 50 are assumed to still exist. Earlier Christie's estimated that their Apple I computer will be bought for $160,000-$240,000. Now it will be shipped to its new owner in the original box and with a signed letter from Apple CEO and cofounder Steve Jobs.

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Finally, Apple released their rumored iOS 4.2. Here is a list of the new features and improvements added in this firmware:

• AirPlay for steaming audio and video content to the Apple’s set-top box Apple TV with access to Netflix streaming.

• Find My iPhone service became free for the current generation iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch.
• AirPrint: the feature allows to print over-the-air directly to certain HP printers. Perhaps, the company is interested in looking into third-party solutions.

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The Telegraph reports that European carriers forced Apple to abandon their plans to introduce integrated SIM-cards in future iPhone handsets. Well it looks like Apple got a little worried over the European carrier’s threats. Carriers recently accused Apple in trying to gain control of carriers’ relationship with their mobile customers, because such built-in SIM card allows customers to switch between operators easily, sign up for mobile service on Apple’s website without having to call a carrier or visit a store. Obviously, nothing has been confirmed, and, doubtfully, will be. Perhaps, Apple will announce their avoidance of implementing an integrated SIM in future iPhone handsets or may be they won’t.

GizChina reports that the genuine white iPhone 4s are being sold by unofficial resells, that means it is being sold on the Chinese gray market. As you can see from the above image, the handsets appear to be real, though it hasn’t yet been confirmed. The boxes, in which the device comes in, are marked with a label warning the phone should be used for internal company use only and not for sale. Currently, the handsets are selling for around $899. This price, obviously, is well above the official retail price of the regular black iPhone 4 in China.

As reported, Apple is developing a built-in SIM card for the Phone. Such embedded SIM card allows users to activate their devices with a broad array of carriers. Moreover, with such card, customers could insist on shorter-term contracts, using the ability to easily switch between carriers as leverage. So, some European carriers (Vodafone in the UK, France Telecom and Telefónica in Spain) are threatening Apple to withhold their iPhone subsidies if the company deploys the technology on the iPhone. Apple was accused in gain control of carriers’ relationship with their mobile customers. This technology allows customers to sign up for mobile service directly on Apple's website. It could allow customers to switch more easily from one to another and even lead to a "war" between operators and Apple. As estimated, Apple’s global iPhone sales could take a 12 percent hit if European carriers carried out their threats.

The Wall Street Journal is predicting that Apple will announce that The Beatles' music will soon be available in the iTunes Store. The magazine confirms that Apple finally made an agreement with The Beatles rights owners. iTunes launched almost 8 years ago, and during this period Apple has been negotiating with the rights owners.

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With the release of iTunes 10.1 Apple’s music service, Ping, comes to the iPad. Good news for Ping addicts! Now you may find all the usual Ping features in the iPad's iTunes app. With Ping for iPad, users can check their friends' activity, see who they're following, or make changes to their profile. The iPad integration also allows users to "like" or comment on posts from people they follow, and quickly purchase recommended music from the iTunes Store. Then, you can use it to find new people to follow and control your news feed.

Multiple developers and users testing out the iOS 4.2 betas claim that the AirPlay functionality was definitely removed from Apple’s iPhone 3G. AirPlay is gone from the golden master version of iOS 4.2. In fact, the AirPlay did work on the iPhone 3G at the previous betas. There are no any reasonable causes why the AirPlay was cut from the GM version.  Perhaps, Apple is trying to get users to upgrade to their latest iPhone model or, on the other hand, it is just an issue in the GM seed. May be the AirPlay functionality will return in iOS 4.2 public release. Anyway, there will undoubtedly be a jailbreak that can re-enable it.

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The Apple I personal computer, the first Apple’s product, will go on sale in Christie's auctions on November 23. The computer was sold out in Jobs’ parents’ garage in 1976. Estimated price range is $160,000-$240,000. In 1999, an Apple I reportedly sold for $50,000. Now the computer will sell for over 60 times its original cost $666.66 apiece. Only 200 of these machines were produced and only 30 to 50 are still in existence. The Apple I will be on sale in its original shipping box that shows that the unit shipped from Jobs' parents' house and with the Apple I cassette interface, as well as a signed letter from Apple cofounder Steve Jobs.

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As we know, Australian state Victoria Premier John Brumby always shows enthusiasm for the Apple’s iPad. He ordered 500 devices for Victorian hospitals and bought over 500 for Victorian schools. Now Australian state Victoria plans to provide iPads to all the doctors working in Australia’s public health system.

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This week third-party warranty provider SquareTrade posted the results of the study of more than 50,000 smartphones, which include Apple's iPhone 3Gs and iPhone 4, Motorola's Cliq, Droid and Droid X, HTC's Nexus One, Droid Incredible and Evo, RIM's Blackberry Curve, Storm and Bold.

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Yesterday, 9th November, the iPad was officially launched in Russia. Six models of the device are now available in three retail chains: M.Video, Bely Veter and re:Store. The iPad will be on sale only in five cities: Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, and Kazan. There are only 3,000 to 4,000 iPads available in the country on launch. But by the end of the year Apple plans to ship forty to fifty thousand units to Russia. Prices range from 19,990 rubles (US$650) for the 16GB WiFi model to 32,990 rubles (US$1,075) for the 64GB WiFi+3G model. However, it seems that those Russians, who wanted to get the iPad in Russia, had already bought the one abroad or in the grey market, where price for the device reached 100,000 rubles, or US$3,256.