MacBook Pros Updated to i5/i7

Without much of an announcement, Apple has updated both the 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pros to include Intel’s lateset core i5 and i7 processors. Now, ONLY the 15-inch and 17-inch models have both an option for the i5 or i7 processor and the 13-inch model is left out of all the fun, still rocking the Core 2 Duo it’s had. A little lame Apple. There IS such a thing as a core i3 processor that can probably beat out the Core 2 Duo you’re using in the 13-incher right now. Aside from the processor changes, it seems that Apple has also updated the magsafe on the MacBook Pros to the new sleeker style and upgraded the graphics cards in the laptops. The 13-inch MBP is also claiming 10 hours of battery life (Probably more like 6-8…). Some nice changes and I’ll admit, even though my original 17-inch MacBook Pro is still serving me well, the core i7 15-inch MBP is VERY appealing, but I’ll save my cash for a while. I STILL want Apple to revive the MacBook line a little more and give the Pro series it’s power back. Most consumers don’t need a MacBook Pro, but there really isn’t a good deal with the cheaper MacBook. Oh well, at least they caught up to everyone else with the new processors…

Is the iPad Revolutionary?

There’s been A LOT of talk about the iPad. Some people assert that it’s an amazingly revolutionary product. Some people just call it a jumbo sized iPod touch. And some people who wear black turtle necks call it magical. Is it any of these? Well yes and no. The iPad is defiantly a change in the industry and really something new that will really expand on the tablet market, but will it change the tech industry forever? Read on to find out!

It’s Magical!

Please find another word to describe it...

I just want to remove that word from our vocabulary when describing technology. Nothing is really “magical” unless unicorns are popping out of it. Come on Steve, let’s see some better word choice. Anyways, the rumors leading up to the iPad were very mixed and no one really knew what to expect. After the release of the original iPhone, rumors had never been stronger or crazier. The dimension, size, what it would run, everything was being guessed until the final weeks when things started to solidify and it started to look like a  giant iPod touch. Which, let’s be honest, it is in ways. After the announcement, my inner Apple fanboy cried a little. Apple had done NOTHING interesting AT ALL! It was literally a giant iPod touch that cost a lot more. I thought Apple would fail and the iPad would just flop.

The Launch

iPad Launch

As time went on, my feelings towards the iPad warmed up. The expectations I had for the device faded and I looked at the device how it really was. It was decent, but nothing that I would ever buy. I didn’t really have any iPad envy until Apps started to show up. How people were going to optimize their apps completely changed my mind at how the device would be used. When there were screenshots of the apps running, I could see it as a useful device, but the home screen of widely spaced icons always left those feelings behind.

So, I think we can say launch went pretty well! It’s estimated that 600,00 – 700,000 units were sold on launch day alone. I guess Apple didn’t really fail! But why has it succeeded? What has made it this much of a success? There’s a few reasons why…

The Aftermath

The future of the iPad, Where will it Go?

The iPad has changed things. Maybe not as dramatically as I had wanted them to, but they have. They have once again taken a big step into untested waters of the tech industry and pushed the netbook & tablet markets to a new level.  Yes, I do think it competes with netbooks, but not all the time. Netbooks do allow for far more content creation, but it has been proved that the iPad is capable of it too, just to a much lesser degree; however, most netbooks are for entertainment and content consumption and that’s of course where the iPad shines.

The iPad is computer. That’s the big change. To see a device running a mobile OS, but is a computer. It’s a slick, very well done, and easy experience that most of the world can use without consulting a manual or asking for help. I think we’re going to a see netbooks go in this direction. We don’t really need Windows XP/7 for typing documents, browsing the web, and listening to music. I think this is Apple’s greatest victory with the iPad. They’ve finally broken that mindset. I think that they’ve now defined the way for future device in this price range. And the App Store will continue to drive innovation on this new form factor. Already we’ve seen some REALLY cool apps that I think will win over some people and force the iPad crowd to grow.

The iPad has defined what a low-class computer should be able to do and how they should be executed. The innovation from developers will push this device to grow in potential as they did for the iPhone. Only time will truly show the iPad’s

full effects. Bravo Apple!

Images taken from:

Engadget

Apple

The Telegram

Will We See A Verzon iPhone?

The good old Wall Street Journal has come out and stated that Apple will release a new iPhone this summer (Shocker!) and will release a CDMA version on Verizon. Rumors of  a Verizon iPhone are in no paucity and it seems that with every Apple event, the rumor pops up. The summer iPhone event would make the most sense for Apple to announce this rumored alliance, but does this really make sense for Apple to do? Is there any real truth behind this rumor? Read on to find out…

Back when the iPhone was originally introduced in 2007, the it was rumored that Verizon would carry the new phone that Apple was developing. As history played out, AT&T took the stage and announced their partnership with Apple. Every announcement since then has brought rumors rushing in that Apple was going to switch carriers, but every rumor has failed so far. Even during the announcement of the iPad, the data plan was rumored to be carried by Verizon, but that rumor also turned out to be false.

Now, what makes this iPhone iteration different from the rest? The answer, nothing really. This iteration will bring new features and a new crowd of iPhone owners. So why would Apple switch? It would fragment their user base, break the advertising and mind set they’ve been building up with AT&T against Verizon, and it would drop the iPhone into a very competitive selection of phones already carried by Verizon.

At the same time, most iPhone customers are unhappy with AT&T, AT&T’s 3G coverage is nothing compared to  Verizon’s, and Verizon has a larger subscriber base than AT&T. So, Apple does have some reason to switch, but the question is whether or not they want to take the consequences as well and is it worth it?

It’s hard to say what their decision will be and the WSJ is a big name that doesn’t usually spout a lot of rumors. As a Verizon subscriber myself, I’d love to see a Verizon iPhone. I’d drop my Droid Eris in about two seconds even just for the 3GS, though I’d be surprised if they didn’t offer the updated version. And what about the third option I haven’t heard any discussion of: offer the iPhone on both! That would probably be the best solution and sell the most phones! It’ll be interesting to see what happens in June!

I’m also curious of your opinons! Will we see a Verizon iPhone in June or will they stay with AT&T? Why do you think they should stay/switch? Leave a comment below! And Remember, Think Different!

Rumors have been rampant, speculation over the roof, and Apple stocks growing from a mere rumor. Today, Engadget reported that they’d received an invite to an Apple media event, most likely geared towards their new tablet that’s been rumored for a long time now. From the speculation, I’d guess the tablet will be something like this:

• iPhone OS 4.0/Possibly another variation of OS X
• $600-$1000 (I’d guess towards the higher end)
• 32GB-128GB
• 10-11 inch capacitive touch screen

I’d like to see it go cheaper, about $700, and NOT run iPhone OS 4.0. I think if Apple puts iPhone OS 4.0 on it, it’ll loose a lot of the possibilities of having some movie editing, photoshop stuff, and REAL applications running on it. As much as I can  wish, the rumors seem to point towards just another version of iPhone OS.

What ever happens, I’ll be reading up on it and probably post my thoughts that night or something like that. Since I’m a poor blogger with no media credit, I won’t be able to attend the event. The usual live blogs are

• Engadget
• Gizmodo
• Macrumors

Let’s see what Steve has up his sleeve….

New MacBook

Yesterday, Apple released a few new updates to their computer line, including the new MacBook. The plastic  MacBook has been sitting awkwardly in Apple’s MacBook line. The differentiation between the 13-inch MacBook Pro and the 13-inch MacBook has been pretty weak, and truthfully it still is. Even though that’s bad for Apple, the updated technologies in the MacBook make Apple’s introductory level laptop a better deal for you. Read on for the nitty gritty.

The Changes:

If you want all the details, Apple’s website is more than happy to help you there, but I’m just going to quickly go down all the features. Unibody construction, buttonless trackpad, LED backlit display,  built in “7 hour” battery (I’ve heard four and a half hours so far), better graphics, faster processor, more RAM, more hard drive space, and rubberized bottom.

I also want to shed a tear for the loss of the firewire port. I’m still quite averse to Apple’s decision to cut it out of their laptops! I want my FW 400 & 800!

The End Result:

The differences between Apple’s 13 inch MacBook and MacBook Pro are slim and few, and with this iteration, they’re even less reasons to go for the 13-inch MacBook Pro. The two things that the 13-inch MacBook Pro has going for it is appeal (I do prefer the metal look) and an upgrade to a faster processor (the base model has the same processor as the MacBook). Otherwise, they both offer the same things and one of them being cheaper than the other. The rational for going with the Pro is quite slim at his point.

I would have rather seen Apple introduce a cheaper (I know it would burn their ego, but it’s a better tactic) model that maybe forgoes some of the higher end features. I would definitely let users upgrade and add features, but a lower start price would definitely entice customers more. This, however, is not the reality.

If a user is looking for a powerful laptop on the cheaper end, I would definitely recommend the new MacBook. I would even steer someone away from the 13-inch MacBook Pro unless they needed that little extra power that you can upgrade the MacBook Pro to. Even that difference is probably minimal enough to persuade someone to go with the MacBook.

I think Apple definitely needs to add some power to the 13-inch MacBook Pro in order to actually give users a reason to go pay the extra $200! The graphics are even the same until you bump up to the 15-inch. Even the base model of the MacBook has a 250GB hard drive, while the MacBook Pro only starts off with a 160GB hard drive! Apple needs a firmer wall between their pro line and consumer line.

I would have liked to see a bigger line of MacBooks, the reintroduction of a black MacBook would have been great. If Apple had made it cheaper and expanded the line, I think they could have had a home run, but I just think they made it OK.

The 13-inch MacBook is still a good laptop, one of the best, but it still fails to compete with more competitively priced laptops. Apple has (at least for the moment) failed to give “Pro” users any reason to buy the MacBook Pro over this model. This one is cheaper and is just as fast as its Pro sibling. In the end, the 13-inch MacBook is a great buy for anyone looking for a good value laptop that will get them through everyday use, some power computing, and gaming.

iPod Nano From Apple's Fall iPod Event

launch of the new iPods is about month stale at this point, but I figured I’d put my opinion out there. Apple’s typical Fall iPod event was quite a snooze fest. Between the 3GS launch (which, I do admit, the speed turned out to be a lot nicer than I guessed) and this, I’m quite disappointed with Apple, but Snow Leopard does remind why I love Apple products. There were major possibilities for this event, but it seems like Apple just wants to play it safe, not cool!

iPod Touch DOESN’T Get A Camera??

Even though I’m not at the stage where I’m looking for a replacement to my current touch, I was fairly disappointed that they didn’t add a camera to the iPod touch! I think we have enough evidence to conclude that there were some manufacturing problems with the cameras, but it’s still disappointing to only see minor bumps to the product.

The speed and better graphics are nice, but nothing that’s compelling me to upgrade. I will say that the 32GB is very tempting, but without the inclusion of other features, not enough to get me to upgrade. That’s all they basically did! They added more capacity and a faster processor. Lame!

They also have the funky pricing of 8GB, 32GB, and 64GB. Where’s the 16GB? That is a very reasonable size and one that I’m sure a lot of people would buy, but they don’t offer it! Very weird, I guess they’re trying to force us to get the bigger capcities.

Nanos with Cameras, AWESOME!

This was probably the best part of the announcement, Nanos with Cameras. Definitely a little awkward due to the lack of camera in their flag ship model, the touch. That aside, it’s awesome. I have now personally played with it and it’s very nice. I doubt you’re going to shoot your next full length movie on it, but it’s a great substitute for the market the  Flip is concurring. Never-the-less, I really have to disagree with Apple’s comparisons. The Nano is NO WHERE near the level of the Flip. The quality difference is night and day. Sorry Steve, not so amazing. It still makes the nano a lot stronger compared to the rest of their product line!

The Rest…

Yea, if Apple had just announced the Nanos with cameras and ended the event, I would have left the same impression. The other changes where so negligible that they really don’t matter. The Classics is back up to 160GB and the shuffle got fun colors. Yay?

Yay For Steve!

On a higher note, It was great to see Steve back and in action, but he definitely looks a lot frailer (understandably). But It’s somewhat comforting to know he’s back at Apple HQ and can hopefully stop these Snooze fest! Let’s get some innovation again!

To Recap:

Touch is faster and has higher capacity, Nanos got cameras, Shuffle got new colors, Classic has 160Gb, and that’s it! I really want to have another Apple event where I’m excited to get my hands the products! These last two events have produced nothing innovative, just two bump upgrades. Hopefully having Steve back will get things back in alignment. Remember Apple, you aren’t invincible!

Anyways, I apologize for the lack of posts, but hopefully I can fill that void soon!

Thanks!

Snow Leopard Review

Say goodbye to your good friend Leopard and bring in his brother, Snow Leopard, the next iteration of Apple’s operating system. There’s been talk of it since WWDC in early June, but today the general public got their first chance to grab a copy. Me, being  a mere mortal and not an amazing tech blogger, was confined to picking up my copy today too, but never-the-less, I’ve got Snow Leopard up and running. Apple’s promised a lot of revisions and tweaks to make their operating system more efficient and run better in general. With Grand Central Dispatch, 64-Bit apps, a re-written Finder, and many other performance tweaks, Snow Leopard is a promising release of Mac OS X, but how does it compare to the rest and it’s eternal enemy Windows 7? Read on to find out!

Visual

More "Matte" Feel to SL (Click to Enlarge)

The visual changes in Snow Leopard are the least noticeable. When I was walking through the Apple Store to get my copy of Snow Leopard, I completely missed that all of the Macs there were already upgraded! The only really noticeable change was the background!  Other than some neat backgrounds, Snow Leopard gives you an ever so slightly modified GUI. The “traffic light” window buttons now seem slightly more colorful and a little less glass-like. Some of the GUI elements like sliders and status bar have the same, less reflective effect applied to them. More matte.

You could probably find a few more little changes like that, but the point is, you might mistake it for Leopard a few times!

The New Features

My Desktop (Click to Enlarge)

Even though Snow Leopard doesn’t boast a lot of changes (literally, all of the changes were summed up in a double sided, eight fold paper in the install CD case), there are a few notable ones. Expose has been given a few more ability including some new integration with the dock. If you hold down on an icon in your dock, you’ll see all the windows of the app. The “more options” menu that has appeared in every other version of Mac OS X has been transformed to a sleek, semi-transparent, black menu. Expose also now shows you minimized windows under a little seperator in addition to the maximized windows. These little changes, make Expose a little better, and is a nice addition to Snow Leopard.

Dock Exposé (Click to Enlarge)

Stack have also been tweaked for the better. Now you can scroll through large stack (only in grid view).  You can also dive deep into your stack by going into folder from the stacks. It’s a very useful function, but not a game changer. Another nice addition to the whole operating system.

Quicktime X is nice especially with its new recording and editing capabilities. And FINALLY we can have full-screen video WITHOUT Quicktime Pro!! As point on in other reviews, some functionality is lost in Quicktime X compared with the last version of Quicktime Pro, but for the most part it’s good.

In truth, there are TONS of minor tweaks and other little things, but the point is everything is a little better all around making the experience better. Apple did a good job with their editing.

64-Bit

Great for 4GB of RAM or more...

Another strong point of Snow Leopard is that it’s finally all 64-Bit! As exciting as this sounds, it doesn’t really make a HUGE difference for most users. 64-Bit only REALLY matters when you’re dealing with over 4GB of RAM. Otherwise, 64-Bit is about the same as 32-Bit. Sorry, no magic here! Pro users will almost definitely see a lot of applications begin to use 64-Bit technology more, but the average user probably won’t benefit from this a lot, but they will benefit from…

Grand Central Dispatch (GCD)

Yay for Multi-Core Awesome!

This is truly they key feature of Snow Leopard. If you have an Intel Mac, mostly likely you have multiple cores in your processor (Minus a few early models). Multiple cores are great, but when writing code and you need to process data, what’s the best way to handle these two processors? You can’t just send data to what ever processor is open, some variable might be used at the same time or before they can be used! There are a lot of headaches when it comes to this concept of “Parallel Computing” and Apple is here to save the day!

Grand Central Dispatch is essentially a program that makes it easy for programmers to parallel compute without having to manage the process of it. Instead, Apple manages the crunching of numbers and distributes the data to be crunched evenly and in the most efficient way. GCD is great, but it can’t be magically applied to every single program. Programmers have to specifically make their programs so that they work with GCD. Not a problem (I’m guessing A LOT of devs will get GCD in their programs soon), but at the moment, only Apple’s applications are using GCD, so your non-Apple apps aren’t going to speed up yet.

Speed

Speed!!

The first thing that hit me was speed. Snow Leopard is much more nimble than Leopard was. It has all the functionality of Leopard with the speed of Tiger (which ran faster than Leopard). The redone Finder is a major part of this along with the rest of the OS. Finder loads folders and icons like a snap. I also think (this is just unoffical) that Finder is transferring files A LOT faster. I got a 1.2GB file over from my external hard drive to my internal hard drive in under a minute (Over FW 800). It was awesome. Snow Leopard WILL be faster than its predecessor (It was fairly dramatic for me) and it’s a VERY welcomed change.

As a random side note, I’ve found my battery life with Snow Leopard to be simply AMAZING! Usually, I’m strained (typically forced to dim my display to like three or four blocks) to get over 2 hours on my MacBook Pro 17″. With Snow Leopard, I’m finding that with the screen close to full brightness (three short of max) that I’m getting easily two and half hours to almost three and a half hours between charges! Your mileage may vary, but I’m guessing it’s a reoccurring trend across the board.

Snow Leopard VS Windows 7

Yes, it is time for the comparison between the two OS giants. I’ve been using Windows 7 in bootcamp along with Snow Leopard as my primary OS. Windows 7 is leaps and bounds ahead of XP, but it truly  is only now really on pare with Snow Leopard. Windows 7 has a lot of fun pretty interface tweaks, but in the end I always find my way back to Snow Leopard. Both are good OSes, but I always find the Mac OS X interface to suite me more. I truly think that both of them are fine OSes (Windows 7 is fantastic in comparison to XP), but neither can really beat over the other. It just comes down to person choice.

Exchange Support

It's Exchange....Yay?

I’m not a business guy. Exchange support isn’t something that made me giddy during the Snow Leopard keynote. If you’re a business user, it works fine and will help make your mac a better office machine. Apple also has added a few other syncing options (ones that I’m more happy  with) like Conclusion

Apple was very clear about this release of their OS. It isn’t big. But in all the small ways, it’s a big change of its own. I found Snow Leopard to be far faster than Leopard and the general changes to make the experience better. Snow Leopard has been stripped of the unnecessary “fat” that it didn’t need to have and the leaner Snow Leopard is fantastic upgrade.

Some people have made comparisons to this being only a “service pack” in windows terms, but there is definitely more here than a mere service pack. The core of Snow Leopard is much better than Leopard and that alone makes it worth some money. The rest of the changes just add to the value of this OS.

So is it worth $30? OF COURSE! If you can’t “splurge” $30 for this upgrade, I feel bad for you because you truly in a bad situation. The upgrade is definitely worth your cash! If you’re a Tiger user, it’s time you get the new functionality. Snow Leopard, iLife, and iWork (especially coming from Tiger) is worth the Box Set. But if you don’t care about going to the dark side, it’s been confirmed that Snow Leopard will work for Tiger. You may just have to wipe and install clean (which is probably good from jumping over an OS).

Snow Leopard MAY cause some compatibility issues, especially with Safari plugins. So be wary when upgrading, your software might not be compatible right out of the gate. Check with your software provider to see if your mac software is compatible with this new cat.

Snow Leopard sports more than enough to be worth $30 and it is a must buy for any Intel mac user. So get out there and upgrade to the next generation of Mac OS X!

Snow Leopard is Here!

UPDATE: Check Out Our Review! It’s Rockin! [Review: Snow Leopard]

Snow Leopard comes out tomorrow! Mac fans everywhere will be rushing around grabbing their copy and upgrading! If you’re still on the fence about putting down the money (for most people it’s only $30, so it really isn’t THAT hard of a decision), there are many views from larger tech blogs! For the most part, the all say that Snow Leopard is faster (especially finder), smaller (even though Apple promises 7GB, Engadget reports that they’ve gotten up to 20GB!), and in general better. If you need Exchange, Snow Leopard is a definite MUST, but even if you don’t, the rest of Snow Leopard is a nice refinement from Leopard. In the end, $30 for Snow Leopard isn’t a lot, and I’ll DEFIANTLY be putting down some money to get it. Due to laptop issues (My Mac got wiped), I probably won’t be in 10.6 for a little bit, once I due, you can be sure to get a review from here. But until then, here are the reviews I’ve seen:

Engadget [Link]

Gizmodo [Link]

Cnet [Link]

What Will This Fall's iPod Event Bring?

Get ready for an Apple Fall! With the release of Snow Leopard and an iPod event coming up, it’s going to be a few crazy months! Whispers around the net have predicted an Apple Event for September 9th, which is on track with about when Apple usually does their Fall iPod event. With rumors of tablet and more, what’s heading our way? Read on to find out…

First, I’m going to address the tablet. There has be a plethora of rumors surrounding the mystical Apple Tablet. Usually, event though rumors can’t individually be trusted, the massive amount of rumors means that something IS coming, even if it might be completely different from what everyone has guessed. I give it a 50/50 chance of showing up at THIS event. I could easily see Apple separating the new into two events, one for iPods, one of the tablet. I give the tablet itself a 80% chance of appearance within the year.

The more definite appearance will be new iPods. You can almost guarantee that there WILL be iPods at Apple’s up and coming event, with or without the tablet in there. The shuffle may or may not be updated with the rest of the iPods (it has been updated with and on separate occasions in the past). The nano COULD get a redesign or maybe a slight design tweak with probably some price cuts or capacity upgrades.

I think Apple’s going to really redo the Classic now (just a feeling I have). Possibly a new redesign of the click wheel, Bluetooth for Stero and Headphones (would be pretty cool), and some other things to revive the line.

The touch will probably get a camera as we’ve had a lot of rumors and possible leaks of it. I’m going to guess OLED screen (maybe also in the nano and the classic), capacity upgrades to 64GB max and price drops to accommodate, maybe a mic, and possibly higher quality speakers.

None of this is set in stone AT ALL! The only definite thing is that iPods WILL get upgraded! The specifics will come in September.