It has been rumoured for a while, but only moments ago is it official. There are new Macbooks and Macbook Pro’s on the Apple block, and they got some handy, but not life changing updates. The biggest one is the introduction of the Air’s Multi-Touch pad to the whole Macbook range and the updated processors to Intels flagship Penryn series.
They’re also getting a much more powerful graphics processor, with the introduction of the sweet new Nvidia 8600GT with 512mb of memory onboard, on all the new Pro’s. The new top end processor is the beastly 2.6 GHz processor with 6MB of shared L2 cache.
The rest of the package is pretty standard affair, but is nice to see Apple rolling out the Multi-Touch feature to its minions. Starting from $US1,099, the new Macbooks are available from the Apple website immediately.
For a whole lot more info, click over to Apple Insider.
There are a million articles out there that explain to you what you get in the new Macbook Air, so I’ve decided to skip all that and do a pro’s and con’s on the device. If you don’t believe me or want for more info, go to Apple.
What is the Apple Macbook Air, and what does it mean for Apple? It is another niche product and a shot at the current ultra light notebook market. It is the worlds thinnest notebook, it is also very attractive. The list of features is great with pro’s such as -
- 5 hour battery life with everything running
- LED backlit display
- Minimalist design, means you get what you need
- 802.11n wireless, so fast wireless speeds
- Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, gives you the latest Bluetooth
- Unique multi-touch trackpad
- Core 2 Duo Processor (much smaller design then what other notebooks have)
- Option for SSD (64GB)
- It’s better for the environment (bromide and PVR free, packaging is 56% smaller and mercury and arsenic-free glass)
It is a very interesting feature set and for people who just want ultra small and light, you can’t go past. Not everything is good in Apple town though, because there are issues with this design.
- 1 USB port
- No HDMI
- No removable battery
- No user upgradeable memory
- No user upgradeable HDD
- Built-in speaker is mono
- No built-in mobile internet card (HSDPA or whatever it is called)
- No externel PCi-E connector
The features missing is a gamble for Apple, and seeing that lately they can’t be faulted, hoping the trade off will keep consumer interest. The major problem is the asking price, which is $US1799 (or a ridiculous $AU2499). If Apple didn’t know already, America, your major buyer base, could quite possibly go into recession (if they aren’t already in one) and people will be look to save money.
Apple shares took a dive after the keynote, but I wouldn’t worry to much, Apple fanboys will just go around robbing people to get their crackbook fix. If they could do this for around $US500 cheaper, it would have stormed the market and could become the perfect ultra-portable, unfortunately for Apple for about twice the thickness (which isn’t much really) you can get a whole lot more for your money.