After the numerous MSI X-Slim models and the sneak teaser of Dell’s upcoming 9.99mm-thick Adamo XPS, we’re actually a little bored of would-be MacBook Air clones. Unfortunately that news obviously hasn’t reached China, because there the fakery continues apace; today’s model is from Hua Yi, a 12-inch ultraportable that the Google translation tells us is called “Little White One”.
I used to be a total Macintosh user; however, over time, various places I worked depended on Microsoft Windows and other MSFT technologies so that I was forced to use Windows for much of what I do. I still kept using a Mac, mostly for creative work and where business use allowed, but I had to have Windows in my life. Over the last few years, Apple has created a new line of machines that more closely match my laptop needs and have made a lot of changes to their core platform OS X. The result is a combination that makes for a very compelling argument to use Macintosh full time.
We’ve heard from TwelveSouth before, and so we figured we should keep our eyes on these crazy designers. Looks like it paid off. Much like the first iteration of their crafty designs we saw, the BookArc is meant to keep your desk nice and tidy. And let’s face it, you probably need it. But unlike the BackPack, the BookArc is meant for bigger and better things: your Macbook.
UK retailer Dixons is preparing its own MacBook Air rival for the holiday shopping season, in the shape of the Advent Altro. The 13.3-inch CULV ultraportable measures 21mm thick and weighs 1.6kg, and packs 3GB of RAM and an Intel Celeron processor. Unlike the Air, however, the Altro will start at just £600 ($987; the Air retails from £1,149 in the UK).
We’re over the surprise of seeing new MacBook Pro models arrive at Apple’s WWDC keynote, and on paper the new 13- and 15-inch notebooks certainly tick most of the consumer boxes. Our first-impressions – which you can find with our video unboxing – were that the new Pros have emphasized the most-used functionality at the expense of dropping some of the more marginally used features. Have those opinions changed? Check out our full review after the cut.
Apple has updated its MacBook Pro range, announcing a new 15-inch MBP with a built-in battery that is apparently good for up to 7hrs of runtime. It also drops the ExpressCard slot of the previous model and replaces it with a far more user-friendly SD card slot. Meanwhile the 17-inch MacBook Pro gets a price cut to $2,499, while the 13-inch MacBook now graduates to the Pro line with integrated 7hr battery among other things. Full details after the cut, plus a big price-cut for the MacBook Air.
Apple are tipped to be preparing a new, cheaper MacBook Air range, complete with integrated 3G. The rumor, currently uncorroborated, suggests that the new ultraportables would be priced between $1,300 and $1,500, considerably less than the $1,799 the MacBook Air presently starts at.
Rumors that Apple is planning a new integrated 3G option for its MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air laptop ranges have once again been ignited, after a job advert for the company sought a communications engineer responsible for wireless testing including 3G WAN. The advert, since taken down from Apple’s own pages but still available here, described an individual who would be responsible for “testing and reporting hardware, software, and device driver bugs for Communications technologies including AirPort (802.11a/b/g/n), Bluetooth v2.0, gigabit Ethernet, and/or 3G Wireless WAN in a detailed, timely manner.”
Computers can be frustrating things, Macs just as much as PCs, but most people manage to get through the day without recreating Psycho with their laptop. Unfortunately the MacBook Air in this video wasn’t so lucky: seemingly so frustrated by the broken hinge on his laptop, the owner was driven to attacking the screen with a kitchen knife.
MacBook Air knife-attack video after the cut
Apple’s MacBook Air envelope advert is probably one of the most iconic pieces of ultraportable branding from the past few years, and it set a bar that new notebooks love to take pot-shots at. Given the striking similarity between the Air and MSI’s X-Slim X340, it seems all too appropriate that the 13-inch notebook should try an envelope test of its own.
Video after the cut
JP
