Apple have quietly updated their entry-level white plastic MacBook, giving it a slight processor boost, more storage and faster memory. The 13-inch model remains at $999, but gets an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.13GHz versus the previous iteration’s 2.0GHz chip.
Touchscreen MacBook conversions aren’t new, and in fact if you’ve got the money then we’ll be the first to say that the Axiotron ModBook is a great off-the-shelf OS X tablet. If, though, you don’t have the money and you want the accuracy of a Wacom active digitizer, you might have to replicate Wei’s iTab project: merging a Wacom Intuos tablet with a first-gen 1.83GHz MacBook.
Video demo after the cut
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.”
It may look like an Apple MacBook – albeit one pretty thoroughly bleached – but this is actually a school project. Kyle Buckner crafted this 3/4-scale MacBook model out of wood, with a hand-cut working hinge, and then filled in the details with a pencil.
OCZ Vertex Series has been getting the thumbs up by many reviewers for its speed and non-shuttering operation. OCZ has announced its new Vertex series SSD targeted towards Mac systems with the fullest compatibility for MacBooks family.
Apple is being sued by Elan Microelectronics, a Taiwanese chip designer, over alleged infringement of two touchscreen patents by its MacBook, iPhone and iPod touch ranges. According to Elan, the contended IP covers technology used to recognize the position of a finger on a touchscreen or trackpad; they’re now pushing for an injunction against the contentious products, which – if granted – would freeze much of Apple’s range.
After astounding, delighting and generally mesmerizing all around with his LCD MacBook Logo mod, Eddie Zarick has bowed to public demand and put together a tutorial explaining how he did it. As you might expect, it’s not exactly a surprising system – take USB LCD panel, squeeze it into lid, hope everything works – but if you’re more than a little anxious about which bit to solder to where, it’s useful stuff.
First things first, we’re calling April Fools’ Day on this. Nonetheless, someone has gone to some serious Photoshop effort for this MacBook mini as featured in a Russian magazine. Purported specs include a 10.4-inch WXGA display, Intel Atom Z740 1.83GHz processor (with 1MB L2 cache), 2GB of DDR3 RAM and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics.
Orange UK are expected to begin offering heavily-subsidized Apple MacBook laptops with two-year mobile broadband contracts, according to industry site Mobile. The deal – which would be the first time Apple’s notebooks had been offered in this way in the UK – is believed to begin at some point over the summer, thanks to a “volume commitment” from Orange.
A deal with Kodak isn’t the only LG OLED rumor around today; according to Australian site Smarthouse, LG will be providing Apple with a whole range of OLED displays for use in their desktop, media device and portable device ranges. Quoting sources inside LG Korea, they claim the OLED panels will see service in a new iPhone and iPod touch later this year.
SlashGear Japan
