We’ve been busy here at SlashGear getting reviews of some exciting new products for you, as well as covering all of the crazy Palm Pre, iPhone, Apple and BlackBerry rumors for you. If you missed anything last week, here’s your chance to catch up on the important stuff.
Apple is counting down to the 1 BILLIONTH download of an application on the iTunes App store. Every application you download enters you into the contest to win a $10,000 iTunes gift card, an iPod Touch, a Time Capsule, and a MacBook Pro. You’re allowed 25 entries per day, or you can fill out an entry form HERE to enter without downloading an App.
The 17-inch MacBook Pro was the last of the Apple notebook range to get a unibody update, but for those looking for superlative media editing and general processing grunt it more than delivers. Apple shipped over the new MacBook Pro just after it launched, and we’ve been spending the last few weeks getting to grips with the new notebook and putting it through its paces. After the cut, anti-glare screens, NVIDIA’s GeForce 9600M and portability from the thinnest, lightest 17-incher around.
The MacBook Pro is never going to be an impulse purchase, not for most people, but you can rely on Apple to offer the sort of upgrade options that will make even the well-heeled pause for thought. An 8GB DDR3 upgrade is now available for the notebook, but it’ll set you back a cool $1,200.
Apple have released a firmware update – version 1.0 – for 17-inch unibody MacBook Pro owners, which is intended to fix the display errors some users have observed. Apple have not detailed exactly what the update does, only suggested that all owners should install it.
As busy weeks go, this one has certainly been something to write home about (or at least a Week in Review about), with CeBIT, PMA and an Apple mega-announcement all taking place. ASUS arguably stole the former show in Germany, with the Eee PC 1008HA “Shell” once again proving that netbooks needn’t be the ugly cousins to expensive ultraportable notebooks. For our full CeBIT 2009 coverage, hit the tag.
Reports of 17-inch Apple MacBook Pro visual artifacts and display glitches continue, with the latest suspicion being that the notebook’s heat management system, not the NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GPU, could be at fault. After the cut, NVIDIA’s statement to SlashGear on the issue, and the fan test results that suggest it’s poor cooling not the chipset that’s undermining the MacBook Pro.
Apple don’t seem to be able to catch a break with their displays recently, perhaps as a result of being on the cutting edge of NVIDIA’s latest GPU technology. Latest to cause Cupertino headaches is the 17-inch unibody MacBook Pro, which according to some owners will demonstrate green and purple banding and visual artifacts when using the NVIDIA GeForce 9600M.
iFixIt disassembled the new 17-inch MacBook Pro and found out that the battery is actually removable. While it requires bottom chassis access, the battery was not difficult to replace or remove. Apple secured the battery with three tri-wing battery inside the case. Users can definitely replace the battery by themselves but it might break Apple’s warranty. iFixIt plans to sell replacement battery for the 17-inch Unibody MacBook Pro, which usually is cheaper than Apple’s $180 battery replacement program.
Apple’s new 17-inch MacBook Pro promises a lot: unibody style, the “world’s thinnest and lightest” notebook of its screen-size, not to mention eight hours of battery life from the non-user-replaceable battery. In fact it looks like even Apple are having trouble delivering on their promises, at least not according to their original schedule; the SlashGear inbox this morning has a couple of disappointed 17-inch Pro buyers who have just been informed they’ll have to wait until at least February 19th for their new toy to be shipped.
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