News tagged ‘Thunderbolt’
Thinner 15-Inch MacBook Pro Coming with Retina Display and USB 3.0
Apple's much-rumored 15-inch MacBook Pro will reportedly receive a new design that will be considerably thinner than the existing MacBook Pro due to the removal of the optical drive.
While many have speculated that the new 15-inch MacBook Pro will pickup the design from the late-2010/mid-2011 MacBook Air, sources familiar with the prototype units say that this is untrue. Instead, the new 15-inch MacBook Pro is described as being an ultra-thin version of the current MacBook Pro. Basically, the prototype design is a thinner, yet more robust, version of the late-2008 design. It has no tapering like the MacBook Airs.
Apple TV Set To Have Face-Tracking Camera And Siri For Face Time Calls
Cult of Mac
Intel Is Shipping Next-Gen Thunderbolt Controllers Ahead Of April 23 Ivy Bridge Launch
Last month CPU World reported that Ivy Bridge CPUs would launch between April 22 and April 29. Today
Intel Working to Boost Thunderbolt Speeds with Move to PCI-Express 3.0
In a new report IDG News claims that Intel is currently working on shifting its Thunderbolt standard to the PCI-Express 3.0 protocol. Such move means that the company could double data transfer speeds comparing with the existing implementations based on PCIe 2.0 protocol.
Intel in the future will support the PCI-Express 3.0 protocol to shuttle data faster between host devices and peripherals, an Intel spokesman said in an email. Computers with Thunderbolt interconnect currently communicate with external devices using the older PCI-Express 2.0 technology.
The company will incorporate PCI-Express 3.0 in Thunderbolt, but could not provide a time frame for when it will be accomplished.
Suppliers gearing up for Apple's launch of new MacBook Air models
MacBook Air lineup was last updated in July of 2011, when Apple added high-speed Thunderbolt ports and backlit keyboards to both the 11.6- and 13.3-inch models, and now sources from Apple's supply chain are waiting for the refreshed notebooks.
The anticipated MacBook Air update was mentioned on Tuesday by DigiTimes, which said that assembler Quanta Computer is expected to see its revenues grow thanks to the new product launch. It was said that Apple is "set to launch a new MacBook Air model," but a specific timeline for its release was not given.
Apple's New Patents Describe Various Aspects Of Thunderbolt Technology
United States Patent and Trademark Office published a series of patents (
Thunderbolt-supported PCs, Motherboards And Notebooks Will Be Released In April 2012
According to
Ivy Bridge to Bring Triple Display Support to MacBook Air
Intel intends to launch its mobile Ivy Bridge processors in April and May of next year. The report posted yesterday ttracts special attention to the fact that the Ivy Bridge platform, both mobile and desktop, will provide support up to three independent displays. Noteworthy, one of those displays will be an internal one.
While we're talking about graphics, as with the desktop Ivy Bridge processors, the mobile processors also support up to three independent displays, although one of these will be the built in display in the notebook, but hopefully we'll see notebooks with a DisplayPort connector as standard come next year.
The current Sandy Bridge platform supports only two independent displays. For example, the 13-inch MacBook Pro can only drive two external displays by turning off its internal display. More powerful MacBook Pro models can currently drive two external displays in addition to the internal one. But Ivy Bridge opens door to a direct support of three displays. Users of the MacBook Air will be able to connect to two external displays.
Intel Is Developing Standardized Docking Solution For Upcoming Ultrabooks
According to VR-Zone's
Three Best Technologies, According To Popular Science Magazine, Are Found In Apple Macs
Popular Science Magazine has once again
Rumors: Apple ‘Questioning’ The Future Of Mac Pro Line
Last week it was reported that after pricing information on Intel's upcoming Sandy Bridge E processors surfaced, Apple’s potential options for Mac Pro line update in early 2012 began to clear up. Apple has not updated the Mac Pro line since mid-2010, and Intel’s delays in new processors have pushed their update out from this year to first quarter of 2012.
32-GB iPhone 4S estimated at $203
UBM TechInsights posted their estimates on price of the major components of the iPhone 4S. They suggest that the value of the components used to make the Apple iPhone 4S comes to $203 for the 32GB model which will be sold for $299 on a subisidized basis.
The most expensive part is the flash memory which costs $38. The second most expensive component is Retina display wearing a $31 price tag. That is followed by the dual-core A5 processor, which costs $26. Making the new iteration of the iPhone a World Phone added $6 to the cost of a GSM-only unit, while the updated 8MP camera added only $3 to the price of the components.
iPhone’s rival HTC ThunderBolt was valued at $262 according to TechInsights. It includes such components as a LTE chipset, bigger battery, but lower resolution screen, and slightly slower processor, comparing with the iPhone 4S’.
The recently-announced 8GB Apple iPhone 4 indicated that Apple now offers the phone with small margin. Its component cost is $156 and the company is going to sell it for $99 with a signed 2-year contract.
Apple Thunderbolt Display Teardown Reveals Plethora of Hardware Inside
Apple's new Thunderbolt display was torn down by iFixit. Surprisingly, but this time it was very easy to disassemble the new display. iFixit found inside plethora of hardware to support normal work of display and docking station functions, which the display performs. iFixit told that both sides of the logic board were packed with different chips so that it was hard to believe that there was no computer inside the display.
The new display includes:
- Pericom PI7C9X440SL PCIe-to-USB 2.0 host controller
- L129NB11 EFL, which looks to be the Thunderbolt port controller
- Analog Devices ADAV4601 audio processor
- NXP LPC2144 USB 2.0 microcontroller
- Delta LFE9249 10/100/1000 Base-T LAN filter
- SMSC USB2517-JZX USB 2.0 hub controller
- Maxim MAX9736B Mono/Stereo high-power Class D amplifier
- LSI L-FW643E-2 open host controller interface
- Broadcom BCM57761 Gigabit ethernet controller
- Supertex HV9982 3-channel switch-mode LED driver IC
Intel: Existing Macs With Thunderbolt Will Support Fiber Optical Cables
Dave Salvator, Intel’s representative, said to
LaCie’s Little Big Disk Have Already Arrived At Apple Stores
After Apple and Intel made joint announcement of the new Thunderbolt input/output technology, one of the highly anticipated products to work with this technology has been the Little Big Disk from LaCie. This drive, which comes in SSD and HDD variants, in February was announced to be launched in summer, however only now it have eventually arrived at Apple Stores worldwide. LaCie notes: