Waterfield Designs Racer-X Laptop Bag Review
Friday, August 31, 2007
We are very pleased to bring you our video review of the Racer-X laptop bag from Waterfield Designs. This nicely designed bag is available in a variety of sizes, we take a look at the Apple MacBook version in a rather fetching black/red combo.Update: In the video we mention not knowing what the zip on the rear of the bag is for. Oooops, this is our mistake, the exterior pocket on the back has a zippered bottom so it can be slipped over handles on wheeled carry-on bags, a very nice idea, sorry we missed it.
We liked the Racer-X, a lot, very high quality material and superb manufacturing quality. The Racer-X should be high on your list if you need to carry your laptop around.
Product: Racer-X Laptop Bag
Price: $169 to $189
Supplied by: SFBags
Contact: 877-546-1040
Outside the US: +1-415-546-1040
Labels: Mac Peripherals, Reviews
Apple Official UK iTunes TV Programme Announcement
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
The Walt Disney Company’s ABC Studios & Disney Channel, MTV, Nickelodeon & Paramount Comedy Offer Wide Range of Programmes on iTunes
Apple® today announced that hit television programming from ABC Studios, Disney Channel, MTV, Nickelodeon and Paramount Comedy is now available for £1.89 an episode from the iTunes® Store in the UK. iTunes customers can choose from a wide range of popular primetime programming including the Emmy Award-winning series “Lost,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Ugly Betty” and locally-produced UK series such as MTV’s “Barrio 19,” Nickelodeon’s “Genie in the House” and Paramount Comedy’s “Comedy Blue.” The iTunes Store in the UK currently offers 28 television programmes for purchase and download which can be viewed on a PC or Mac®, fifth generation iPod®, or on a widescreen TV with Apple TV™.“We’re thrilled to bring TV programming to the iTunes Store in the UK,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “We’ve got 28 shows and expect to continue to add more great programming.”
The complete list of television programming on the iTunes Store in the UK includes:
• Disney’s ABC Studios’ dramas and comedy-dramas “Lost,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Ugly Betty,” “Commander in Chief” and “Nightstalker;”
• Disney Channel’s renowned children’s programming including “Jake Long: American Dragon,” “Kim Possible,” “That’s So Raven,” “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” and Playhouse Disney titles “Handy Manny,” “Little Einsteins” and “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse;”
• MTV’s reality favourites “Pimp My Ride,” “Barrio 19,” “Bam’s Unholy Union,” “Laguna Beach,” and “My Sweet Sixteen;”
• Nickelodeon children’s programming “Avatar: The Legend of Aang,” “Drake and Josh,” “Dora the Explorer,” “Genie in the House” and “SpongeBob SquarePants;” and
• Paramount Comedy hits “South Park,” “Comedy Blue,” “Jongleurs Unleashed: Part I,” “That 70’s Show” and “The World Stands Up.”
With Apple’s legendary ease of use, pioneering features such as Cover Flow, integrated podcasting support, iMix playlist sharing, seamless integration with iPod and iPhone™* and the ability to turn previously purchased songs into completed albums at reduced prices, the iTunes Store is the best way for PC and Mac users to legally discover, purchase and download music and video online.
Pricing & Availability
iTunes 7 for Mac and Windows includes the iTunes Store and is available as a free download. You can purchase and download of songs and videos from the iTunes Store requires a valid credit card from a financial institution in the country of purchase. Television shows are available in the US and UK only, and video availability varies by country. Television shows are £1.89 per episode in the UK. TV shows from the iTunes Store are downloaded in near-DVD quality at a resolution of 640x480 (up to 480, depending on the aspect ratio) and can be viewed on a computer, fifth generation iPod or widescreen TV with Apple TV.
Labels: Apple iPod, Apple News, AppleTV
NeverWinter Nights 2 - coming to the Mac
Aspyr Media, Inc. announced today they will publish NeverWinter Nights™ 2 for Mac, the computer role-playing game set in the fantasy world of the Forgotten Realms, one of the popular campaign settings of Dungeons & Dragons. NeverWinter Nights™ 2, licensed to Atari by HPG, the licensing division of Hasbro, Inc.,is expected to hit stores for Mac in December 2007. The ESRB rating of the game is T for Teen.In the game you can build a character that suits your style of play - good or evil, chaotic or lawful, with any number of skills, feats and professions available at the click of a button. Whether lobbing fireballs and researching forgotten spells as a powerful Wizard, hacking a trail through legions of orcs as a Fighter armed only with a battle axe and your courage, or taking on the role of a Rogue that can slip into the shadows at a moment's notice, the choice is yours. Choose your alignment, your allies, your companions, and how you want your character to develop... design the character you want, role-play the way you want, and carry the battle to the enemy.
NeverWinter Nights™ 2 will be available for preorder through Aspyr's website soon. For more information, fans can also visit the official website.
Labels: Mac Games
UK iTunes gets TV Shows - at last a reason to buy an AppleTV
Well, well, well, here in the UK we finally get an excuse to purchase an AppleTV. The good guys at Apple HQ have finally given us some TV shows. This is great news, as here in the UK we have waited a long time for this type of content. There is not a lot of British made content, maybe this will follow. Apple should really be working with the likes of the BBC (sans Mac iPlayer) to bring some true classics to the iTunes Store.Shows include;
- Night Stalker
- Drake and Josh
- That's So Raven
- Pimp My Ride
- Grey's Anatomy
- Laguna Beach
- Jongleurs Unleashed
- South Park
- Lost
- Ugly Betty
- Desperate Housewives
- Kim Possible
- SpongeBob SquarePants
Labels: Apple iPod, Apple News, AppleTV
Apple Event is confirmed September 5th; iPod?
Those guys over at Engadget have confirmed the rumored event on Wednesday September 5th is true. They have received an invitation (where is mine Apple, plus my plane ticket?) that shows a coverflow graphic. We have given you a rundown of what we expect in our earlier posts, but this seems to confirm that we will definitely be seeing something iPod related. Now I am really excited!Labels: Apple iPod, Apple News
Cherry Marlin Wireless Keyboard Mouse Combi
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
The Cherry Marlin keyboard and mouse set has been around for some while now, but it skipped my radar, so about a year late here is the heads up. This combo looks very sleek indeed, with a low profile keyboard and 800dpi mouse, that connects to your computer via a wireless dongle. A really neat feature is the scroll wheel of the mouse indicates it charge status, cool!The Cherry Marlin comes with driver software, which is no doubt for the PC, but I am hoping to bring you a review real soon and let you know if and how it works with the Mac.
Labels: PC Peripherals
Lego Mindstorms NXT for Intel Mac
Ever wanted to play with those cool looking Mindstorms NXT robots from Lego? Well, if you have an Intel based Mac, you have something to smile about. National Instruments, the publishers of the software side of things, have released version 1.1 of their software and it works with the latest Mac computers. It uses a cool drag and drop interface, allowing you to assign functions to your build. Check it out, this is very cool.Labels: Mac Software
Apple Premium Reseller Events for Adobe CS3
Apple has published (here) details of some events that let you get a look at how Adobe CS3 suite of applications could be good for you. They are being held at Apple Premium Resellers across the country in Bournemouth, Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham, Brighton, Chester, Edinburgh and London, running August through September.Labels: Apple News
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Review
Monday, August 27, 2007
I must admit to never really getting into the whole Harry Potter thing, yes, shame on me! For some strange reason, when EA released 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' for the Sony PS3, I was drawn to it like a magnet and just had to take a look.Previous incarnations of the Harry Potter games seemed to lack something in the magic department, they just seemed to try and do too much magic. In this latest offering EA have nailed it right on the head, the atmosphere of the whole game is spot on, you really feel like you are right there with Harry and the gang in Hogwarts. This feeling is mainly due to the superb graphics and textures that are very detailed and accurate.
To keep the game moving along you have to complete over 30 tasks, learning spells along the way. You also unlock discovery points which in turn make your spells even more powerful. This allows you to unlock even more secrets and certainly kept my interest locked in. There are plenty of battles to be won, which have you twirling your wand, casting spells to defeat nasty kids and even the Dark Lord. During these spell casting battles, you will be impressed by the graphics, and the animation of Harry who reacts in some really cool ways to victory or defeat. Of course the main objective is to defeat your opponent, but paralyzing them is very effective.The PS3 adds some six-axis controller features, and although they don't seem that accurate, being able to wave your controller to wave Harry's wand is a nice touch. I do not think Sony's six-axis will ever be that accurate, so it was nice to see EA at least implement it in some way.
In summary, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a nice rounded game. Interesting game play, different on-screen battles (rather than awful cut scenes), a nice control method and good sound. Above all, what really stands out is the atmosphere of the game. It really makes you feel part of it, and has you coming back for more. This is certainly one you won't put down until you have finished it.
Product: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Price: £49.99
Street Price: £34.96
Supplied by: Electronic Arts
Contact: 0870 2432435
Case Mod Contest 2007
From a Digg PC to Optimus Prime some nice mods.Some of the mods are fantastic, check them out via extremetech.com
read more | digg story
Labels: PC Hardware
Microsoft's new gaming "5,000 mice in one"; retail $79
At the GDC, Microsoft has announced their SideWinder mouse, built from the ground up specifically with gamers in mind. Featuring just about everything you could ever want (and things you'll never ever need), it's the "ultimate" in gaming mice. The mouse features a new "Quick Turn" feature, adjustable weight, adjustable glide, an LCD... via gamernode.com
read more | digg story
Labels: PC Peripherals
New iPod... thoughts!
With rumours flying left, right and centre that a new iPod will be announced on Wednesday, 5th September, Mac fans are getting pretty excited. For me, I have split feelings about this.Part of me wants things to stay as they are. Not only does it give me an excuse to buy an iPhone when they hit the UK, but why fix something that isn't broken. The current iPod works flawlessly, has a good battery life, does what it was designed for very well (music) and has a few other abilities to add value (movies, games etc). If Apple launch a new device, similar to the iPhone (sans Phone) then that will disgruntle a lot of iPhone owners and will surely confuse their market. That is unless they make it a very different affair.
The other part of me really wants this new device. I do not need a new phone, so could give the iPhone a miss. What I do keep looking at is the Archos line-up. With their larger screens, sleek silver looks, touch screen and wi-fi for internet access. If Apple could update the iPod with these features and introduce some streaming ability and maybe syncing over wi-fi, then that would be real cool. One less chore for me to do (docking my iPod) is a must have, albeit a lazy one. So when Wednesday the 5th comes, let's hope we get some things off our wish list, here is mine;
- 4.5-inch widescreen touch sensitive TFT
- Different, but complimenting design to the iPhone
- Wi-fi connectivity
- Streaming from YouTube
- Syncing over wi-fi connection
- Safari internet browser
- Bluetooth (supporting A2DP) for cool heaphones
- 16GB or 32GB flash versions
- 3 Megapixel Camera (maybe, maybe not)
- OS X to retain the click wheel, albeit virtual
Labels: Apple iPod
September 5th could be New iPod Day
Friday, August 24, 2007
ArsTechnica are reporting that there could well be an Apple Special Event next Wednesday (5th September), which supports earlier claims by AppleInsider. It seems pretty obvious that at some stage we will get a new iPod, based on the iPhone, with OSX software, but no phone capability. This'll be great in my book, as I don't really want the phone part. Let us just hope that we get larger capacities than the iPhone. It would be nice to get a 16GB or 32GB flash based player, and maybe a top-of-the-range 120GB model.Labels: Apple iPod
iPhone Unlocked
Great news for everyone with news from Engadget that the iPhone can now be completely unlocked via software to work with any sim. iphonesimfree.com have been working since the launch of the iPhone, until today, when they cracked it. The software will be available to the general public very soon, starting next week. This means that we could now import into the UK (if you are brave enough)... I might be!Labels: Apple iPhone
Google Earth add Stars - Astronomy Alert
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Head on over the BBC website, where they have a nice report on Google Sky. This is a 3D add-on for Google Earth, that is best described as turning things upside down.Quote: "Sky will allow astronomers a chance to glide through images of more than one million stars and 200 million galaxies. Optional layers allow users to explore images from the Hubble Space Telescope as well as animations of lunar cycles. "
Labels: General News
Canon UK - multitude of new Pixma Printers
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Here in the UK we get even more to choose from when it comes to multifunction printers from Canon. We also get the MX300 and MX310 mentioned in our previous post, but also get the MP210 (£59), MP220 (£79), MP610 (£159), and the MP970 (£249), all of which are due to be available in either September or October this year. Hit the links above for the full specification, but especially check out the top of the range MP970 (pictured) which not only looks fantastic, but offers up ethernet connectivity, a massive 8.8cm colour screen, CD & DVD printing, and and amazing 9600 x 2400dpi resolution.Labels: Mac Peripherals, PC Peripherals
Canon launch three new all-in-one inkjets
Canon have launched three new all-in-one inkjet printers. Here follows the USA models, details of the UK newbies will follow shortly.The Pixma MX700 (pictured) is a networkable 5-in-1 is all business, able to quickly produce beautiful photos and bold, professional-quality text. You can print photos right from compatible memory cards — selecting and enhancing images on the 1.8" color LCD display - or directly from a digital camera or DV camcorder. The Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) holds up to 30 originals, and two paper trays can store both plain and photo paper. You'll achieve up to Super G3 fax speed in colour and B&W, and the expanded memory can store 40 speed dial codes and receive 100 incoming pages. Copies will be remarkably true to the originals, and when scanning photos you'll produce impressive 2400-dpi results, with vibrant 48-bit colour depth.
Next up is the Pixma MX310, which has a colour resolution up to 4800 x 1200 color dpi; a borderless 4" x 6" photo takes only about 46 seconds2 The Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) holds up to 30 originals, so it's much easier to copy, scan or fax large documents. Copies will be remarkably true to the originals, and documents will feature bold, laser-quality text. You'll produce 1200-dpi scans with vibrant 48-bit colour depth, and achieve Super G3 fax speed in color and B&W.
Last, but not least, the Pixma MX300 again had a resolution up to 4800 x 1200 color dpi — and quickly, too: A borderless 4" x 6" photo takes only about 46 seconds. You can also print photos directly from a camera DV camcorder or camera phone3, without a computer. Your documents will feature bold, laser-quality text, and copies will be remarkably true to your originals. This All-In-One produces 600-dpi scans with vibrant 48-bit colour depth. Plus, it achieves Super G3 fax speed in color and B&W, and its memory can store 20 speed dial codes and receive 50 incoming pages.
These models will retail at $199, $129 and $99 respectively.
Labels: Mac Peripherals, PC Peripherals
Elgato turbo.264 Review Coming Soon
We have been testing the turbo.264 for some time now, and this speed gadget from Elgato has impressed us so far. The full review will be up online in the next 48 hours, so check back soon.
Labels: Mac Peripherals, Reviews
Webtalker 5000 Video Review - Skype Goodness
Skype is used by a lot of computer users, but if you use it a lot then you really shouldn't be crouched over your keyboard with a sweaty headset on. Why not add some class to your Skype experience and check out our video review of the Webt@lker 5000 from Topcom.Update: I wanted to add something I forgot to mention in the video review (silly me), the most important part. The Webt@lker 5000 has a fantastic quality screen, probably the best I have seen on this type of product. It is very sharp and the colours are great. Call quality was equally superb, this probably had something to do with it being hard-wired (rather than a wireless device), but the voice clarity was very noticeable.
Product: Webt@lker 5000 with Skype
Price: £109.99 - £122.00
Supplied by: Topcom
Contact: info@topcom.net
Labels: Mac Peripherals, Reviews
Miglia TVMini Express Review
You have never previously had so much choice for recording TV to your Mac, so when something is done well, it needs to be recognised. The TVMini Express from Miglia, really is a miniature package, from the moment you receive the tiny box, you will wonder just how it will all work.In the box you get the TVMini Express tuner. A white USB stick, not much bigger than a flash drive, but designed in white to compliment most of the Mac range. You also get a portable antenna, USB 2 cable and a CD containing a PDF user guide and the included 'The Tube' software.
Hooking the kit up is really easy, just install the software, plug in the tuner to a USB 2 port (if this is hard to get to, you can use the included cable to extend your port to an accessible location). The antenna is a different matter, and in my case I could not get a Freeview signal with the tiny portable one that is included. This will vary depending on your area. Plugging into my main roof aerial sorted the problem.
Once everything was auto-tuned in, this little device simply works, and does things very well. You can record to your hard drive, move recordings across to your iTunes library to later sync with your iPod, iPhone or AppleTV. Of course watch recordings or live TV on your Mac. It is even possible to have TheTube software float the TV viewer on top of all other applications. So you can carry on working whilst watching TV. Another nice feature is the ability to see in a single window, what is on the other channels, without having to switch over, this is a real timesaver. To round things off, the EPG is superb, it allows you to easily find programmes and schedule recordings with ease. For this bargain price, you really can bring TV to your Mac with ease.
Product: TVMini Express
Price: £34.00
Supplied by: Miglia
Contact: +44 (0)1442 827222
Labels: Mac Peripherals, Reviews
Adobe to launch Office rival
Monday, August 20, 2007
Check out the news over on CNet, where it reports that Adobe may be readying a rival to Microsoft Office. This is great news, as competition is always good for us all. For me, the new iWork may just be what I was looking for, but if Adobe come out with something better (and fresh) who knows.
Labels: General News
New Mac Mini & Geekanoids Upgrade Fever
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Soon after the latest batch of Apple announcements, a new Mac Mini was winging its way to sunny Kent. It landed, was tested, and before you could blink an eye, it was down to the business of upping the memory. The reason for this post, is just to share some wisdom gained through the process, so that if you choose to undertake (at your own risk) such an upgrade, it may go a little smoother.The first task was to get the case off the Mini. I had read horror stories of taking a wallpaper stripping tool to the case, and this was not the way I wanted to go. I like my Mac kit in good condition, so the fear of scratching it up was a no no. Stumbling across an article that involved feeding thin wires into the case and over the retaining pegs sounded just the trick. Ninety minutes later I had it all wired up, and then when I tried to pull the pegs, it would not work, what a total waste of time. So a trip to my local DIY shop soon had me going full circle on my earlier decision, as I returned home with two wallpaper stripping tools.
The tools were very sharp and went in the side of the case really easily. I then padded things out with some plastic credit cards, and gently coaxed the case off. It was easier than I expected and no damage whatsoever. The airport received pops off, then one tiny wire, and four screws, the whole gubbins then sort of hinges backwards, allowing access to the memory.
I used the two 1GB sodimm modules that had come out of the Geekanoids MacBook Pro, so no cost was involved (just time). Installing them from this point was a breeze. Re-assembly was very easy indeed and before snapping the case back on, I carefully powered up the Mini to check it recognised the new memory, which it did. This is a good idea, as if it hadn't worked, getting the case off again would have been an ordeal to say the least. Getting the case back on was really easy, so I was very happy. Then comes my next tip…
The Mac Mini was behaving really weird. My mouse pointer would not go where I wanted, it also kept insisting I had a button pressed down. The dock would not resize, or magnify, or auto-hide. This was weird, but then I remembered the most fundamental thing to do when performing any type of memory upgrade, and that was resetting the PRAM. I did this, but still had problems, so then I reset the PMU, after which things returned right back to normal. So heed this advice and upgrade with care.
Labels: Apple Hardware
Skype launch 2.7 Beta for Mac
Thursday, August 16, 2007
I love Skype, so it comes as good news that you can now try out the new 2.7 Beta version. This introduces integration with your Address Book, plus the ability to organise your contacts into groups. There is also a handy icon for tweaking your sound during a call. Check it out here.Labels: Mac Software
Griffin California Roll iPod Case Review
Monday, August 13, 2007
Griffin Technology were kind enough to send us a California Roll iPod Case to review. This is not your normal hard case or rubbery silicone affair, so check out the video review to see exactly what we thought.
Product: Griffin Technology California Roll
Price: $19.99
UK Street Price: £8.99 to £12.99
Supplied by: Griffin Technology
Contact: +1 (615) 399-7000
Labels: Apple iPod, Reviews
Pixelmator - a PhotoShop alternative
Friday, August 10, 2007
Head on over to the Viddler link here, and you can see Pixelmator in action. This exciting new application, which is due to begin a private beta later this month, looks very polished indeed. It looks as though it will give us all a very cost effective alternative to PhotoShop.Labels: Mac Software
Crucial - new website design
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Crucial today announced the launch of its completely redesigned Web site, located at www.crucial.com, www.crucial.com/uk, and www.crucial.com/eu. The new Crucial.com site offers customers improved functionality, more robust online tools, and an expedited order process. Crucial.com offers over 240,000 memory upgrades for more than 30,000 desktops, notebooks, servers, printers, routers, and other electronic devices.The Crucial Memory Advisor™ tool, which takes the guesswork out of finding compatible memory upgrade options, now allows users to select their systems’ manufacturer, product line, and model on a single page—making it even easier for customers to find 100%-compatible memory upgrades. Additionally, a simplified order process saves customers valuable time during checkout.
“At Crucial, our goal is to deliver the best customer experience possible -- outstanding online tools, information and support, as well as product recommendations – so users find everything they need for memory upgrades in one place,” said Rick D’Ambrosio, e-business manager for Crucial. “We want our customers to have an effortless experience from start to finish.”
Labels: General News
iMac Keyboard iWork 08 iLife 08... my thoughts
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
The announcements Apple made yesterday made a lot of people happy, disgruntled a few and for myself, well, it was mixed feelings. As promised, I would love to share my thoughts, it may leave you wanting to add something in the comments, so feel free.Well, to kick things off, Steve Jobs did a grand job, nothing could have made me happier than seeing how Steve delivered the news. Sitting at my desk, the iMac amazed me. Great specification, better pricing, well worth while to upgrade with the new graphics and processor power. Then Steve delivered a big blow, that word 'glossy'. Do not get me wrong, the MacBook glossy screen was fine, so why not on the iMac. I suppose it was just that my screen of choice is matte. Although I will most likely buy an iMac, it would be great if there was a matte option, but there is not, so I could never see myself using it for pro type work.
The keyboard that now accompanies the all new Macs (except the mini) is fantastic. I love the slimline design and having had a MacBook, the flat keys are nice and very easy to get used to. Two USB 2.0 ports is also a welcome addition, as are the quick keys that have been added. The wireless Bluetooth 2.0 version is also great, and due to its compact size will be a great companion for laptops.The Mac Mini also got a revision, but nothing to really shout about. Speed bumping the Mini at least means it'll be around a bit longer. Shame it didn't get some graphics love, maybe a dedicated GPU, even at 64MB would have attracted a lot of users. If Apple ever added dual display capability this little wonder would be an even greater success.
On the software front, at last we got iLife and iWork 08. The new iLife adds some fantastic new features. For myself, iMovie sounds fantastic, having just got a lot more involved in video work for Geekanoids, I am very keen to try it out. The improvements to iPhoto also sound very interesting. In the past I have only ever used it to quickly import photos and never really organised my photos properly, so my task when my software arrives, is to really get organised using the new Events and better Keyword features.
iWork 08 is also on my review list. I used previous versions, but never really stuck with them. This was really due to using Quark Xpress for my page layout and TextEdit for everything else. Another promise to Apple coming up, that apart from the review of iWork, I will stick with it and give it a chance to shine. The addition of Numbers also made perfect sense, and if it works in the style I would expect, should negate the need for anyone to invest in the new MS Office, when/if it ever arrives.Yesterday was a great day for Apple and they really delivered on all fronts what all Mac users have been waiting for. At last we can sit back and start enjoying the new software and hardware, content that the software will be safe for a while, and that new hardware is just around the corner. Many thanks Steve and the rest of the Apple team, on behalf of all your fans.
Labels: Apple News, Opinion
New Apple iMacs - the full details
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Apple® today unveiled an all new all-in-one iMac® line featuring gorgeous 20- and 24-inch widescreen displays encased in elegant and professional aluminium and glass enclosures. The entire new iMac line features the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors and a new, ultra-thin aluminium Apple Keyboard, built-in iSight® video camera for video conferencing and iLife® ’08, making it the ultimate digital lifestyle desktop computer for both consumers and professionals. The 20-inch iMac now starts at just £799 (inc VAT), £200 less than the previous 20-inch model, and the 24-inch iMac starts at just £1,349 (inc VAT), £200 less than the previous 24-inch model.“This new iMac is the most incredible desktop computer we’ve ever made,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Our new design features the innovative use of materials, including professional-grade aluminium and glass, that are highly recyclable."
Redefining Apple’s signature all-in-one design, the new iMac integrates the entire computer system into a sleek, professional aluminium enclosure for a striking, clutter-free desktop. An elegant glass cover joins precisely to the aluminium enclosure creating a virtually seamless front surface. The new iMac’s 20- and 24-inch glossy widescreen displays provide incredibly crisp images, ideal for photos and movies using the all new iLife ’08 suite of digital lifestyle applications that are included. The new ultra-thin aluminium Apple Keyboard is just 0.33 inches thin at its front edge. A new optional Apple Wireless Keyboard is a compact design that, with Apple’s wireless Mighty Mouse, offers a cable-free desktop.
Packing professional performance into the convenience of an all-in-one design, the new iMac includes the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors running up to 2.8 GHz with 4MB of shared L2 cache and up to 4GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory. The iMac line features ATI’s next generation of graphics with the ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB of GDDR3 memory and the ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128MB of GDDR3 memory. The new iMac now offers up to 1TB of internal storage to accommodate a user’s growing library of digital photos, movies and music.
Providing the latest in high-performance connectivity options to quickly and conveniently transfer digital photos, music and video, the iMac includes built-in AirPort Extreme® 802.11n Wi-Fi networking, delivering up to five times the performance and twice the range of 802.11g;* Gigabit Ethernet; a total of five USB 2.0 ports (including two on the new Apple Keyboard); and one FireWire® 400 and one FireWire 800 port.
The new iMac, with its stunning design, features highly recyclable and durable materials including scratch-resistant glass and professional grade aluminium. The power-efficient iMac also meets the stringent new Energy Star 4.0 requirements.
Every iMac also includes iLife ’08, the most significant update ever to Apple’s award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications, featuring a major new version of iPhoto® and a completely reinvented iMovie®, both seamlessly integrated with the new .Mac Web Gallery for online photo and video sharing. The new iMac also comes with the world’s most advanced operating system, Mac OS® X version 10.4.10 Tiger, including Safari™, Mail, iCal®, iChat AV, Front Row and Photo Booth.
Pricing & Availability
The new iMac line is available immediately through the Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorised Resellers. The new Apple Wireless Keyboard will ship by the end of August and will be available as a build-to-order option with the new iMac through the Apple Store (http://www.apple.com/uk/) for a suggested retail price of £20 (inc VAT) or £34 (inc VAT) when purchased along with the wireless Mighty Mouse, and as a standalone purchase for a suggested retail price of £49 (inc VAT) through the Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorised Resellers.
The new 20-inch 2.0 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of £799 (inc VAT), includes:
• 20-inch widescreen LCD display;
• 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor;
• 1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM expandable to 4GB;
• a slot-load 8x SuperDrive® with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128MB GDDR3 memory;
• built-in iSight video camera;
• built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
• 250GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• mini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and Composite/S-Video sold separately);
• built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
• the new Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse and infrared Apple Remote.
The new 20-inch 2.4 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of £949 (inc VAT), includes:
• 20-inch widescreen LCD display;
• 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor;
• 1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM expandable to 4GB;
• a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB GDDR3 memory;
• built-in iSight video camera;
• built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
• 320GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• mini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and Composite/S-Video sold separately);
• built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
• the new Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse and infrared Apple Remote.
The new 24-inch 2.4 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of £1,149 (inc VAT), includes:
• 24-inch widescreen LCD display;
• 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor;
• 1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM expandable to 4GB;
• a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB GDDR3 memory;
• built-in iSight video camera;
• built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
• 320GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• mini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and Composite/S-Video sold separately);
• built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
• the new Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse and infrared Apple Remote.
Build-to-order options and accessories include: a 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme processor, up to 4GB DDR2 SDRAM and up to a 1TB Serial ATA hard drive on the 24-inch iMac; up to 4GB DDR2 SDRAM and up to 750GB Serial ATA hard drive on the 2.4 GHz 20-inch iMac; and up to 4GB of DDR2 SDRAM and up to 500GB Serial ATA hard drive on the 2.0 GHz 20-inch iMac. Additional options include: new Apple Wireless Keyboard and wireless Mighty Mouse; AirPort Express® and AirPort Extreme Base Station (now with Gigabit Ethernet); the AppleCare Protection Plan; and pre-installed copies of iWork™ ’08, Logic® Express 7, Final Cut® Express HD 3.5 and Aperture 1.5.
Labels: Apple Hardware, Apple News
Apple launch new Mac Mini
Amidst all the new announcements today, Steve Jobs only mentioned the new revision Mac Mini in the Q&A section at the end of the event.The new models sport either a 1.83GHz Intel Core2Duo or a 2.0GHZ, both have 1GB of RAM, and you get either an 80GB hard drive or a 120GB. Intel GMA 950 graphics remains unchanged. Oh, and you get iLife '08 with it too.
Labels: Apple Hardware, Apple News
Apple detailing new iMacs and iLife 08 today
Early reports from various websites attending the Apple Special Event confirm that new iMacs are being launched. They will have 20-inch or 24-inch displays, aluminium enclosures and glossy GLASS displays. They look very thin, black on the back, with a full compliment of ports. More news as we have it.
Update 1: Models will have up to a 2.4GHz Core 2 Extreme processor, up to 4GB of memory. ATI Radeon HD graphics card, and up to 1TB of hard drive storage. 802.11n wifi and Bluetooth 2.0 built-in. The keyboard will also be wireless, nice thin design (0.33-inches thin), like the one we reported on last week. All models available starting today (not sure of the lead time until the AppleStore is back online).
Early opinion: The new iMacs look pretty darn cool. It seems like Apple has not re-invented the iMac, rather it has evolved it. The materials used look like they are really top quality, aluminium, glass and superb finish plastics. This looks very exciting.
Update 2: iLife '08 also being detailed. One of the apps in the suite is being replaced.
iPhoto gets new 'Events' organising, so photos taken on particular days or shoots (like a Birthday party) are put into these 'Events' so they can easily be retrieved. Improved editing also allows you to copy changes you made on one photo onto other photos. Another new feature allows you to hide photos, which is pretty cool.
Update 3: Looks like .Mac is getting the rumored upgrade. With .Mac Web Gallery you can do one button publishing of galleries from iPhoto, or… from your iPhone. You can then download print quality images from this new 'Web 2.0' application. At last, there is a way to get photos out of your iPhone without syncing, so the iPhone talks to .Mac all in time for the UK launch, yippee. Photos sent to your .Mac from the iPhone can then sync with iPhoto. Other users that you authorise can also send photos to your .Mac Web Gallery.
Update 4: iMovie is next, with a new way to edit your movies. Works with AVCHD hi-def camcorder. One click encoding for iPod, iPhone, Web Gallery, Apple TV, YouTube etc. With the YouTube option, you can also upload direct from within iMovie.
Update 5: iWeb now has Live Web Widgets, you can grab content from the likes of YouTube, Google Maps, AdSense etc and drag it right into iWeb. The Media Index page allows you to drag photos and videos onto the page and it'll build itself.
Update 6: iDVD gets ten new animated themes and professional grade encoding.
Update 7: Magic GarageBand, sort of seems like a modern day Bontempi organ. You pick your genre, piece of music, change instruments. It is all simplified and you play around until you have something you like for the project you are working on.
Pricing: iLife 08 for $79 available today, and starting today it ships with all new Macs.
Update 7: Big one this, well in size at least. The .Mac storage has been bumped to a massive 10GB, up from 1GB. No doubt this is to allow for all those photos from your iPhone and HD video content. This makes me happy.
Update 8: iWork 08. Wow, Steve, you are giving us the whole caboodle today :-) Starting off with Keynote with new transitions and text effects.
Update 9: Pages, now with two new modes, a word processing and separate page layout mode. 140 new templates and compatible with Microsoft Word documents (no word on if this includes 2008 versions, but I expect it will). Plus they added change tracking.
Update 10: New application time ladies and gentlemen. Numbers is Apple's new spreadsheet application. (Sidenote, probably too much info, but I am nearly wetting my pants with all these announcements). Numbers can import from Excel and has customisable templates and works in the same fashion as Pages and Keynote.
Pricing: iWork '08 available today for $79.
Update 11: Q&A session, Steve invites Tim Cook (Apple COO) and Phil Schiller (EVP Product Marketing) up on stage. Various questions to follow;
Q: How thin are the iMacs?
A: They're really thin. You can measure it in the next room in just a few minutes. But they're appreciably thinner.
How is the Mac Mini doing? And are you updating it? A: We are refreshing the Mac Mini and making it even faster. It's already in the online store.
Comment: What the ?@£! does this mean when the store comes back online we will have a new Mac Mini? Come on store, go live again!
Q: What's the relationship between Apple and Google/YouTube?
A: We like their products. It's a good relationship. We like working with them.
Questions an answers from Gizmodo.com (so don't expect too many, I don't want to steal their limelight).
Q: Will the iPhone use both EDGE and wifi to upload pictures?
A: Yes, both.
Why not support HD uploads to .Mac?
A: The camcorders right now don't capture in HD, just slightly less than HD. That's the resolution we support.
Q: Apple is known for premium priced products, and has a notion of being for the elite. Is it your goal to overtake the PC in marketshare?
A: I'll tell you what our goal is. Our goal is to make the best personal computer in the world and to make products we are proud to sell and recommend to our family and friends. There are some stuff in the industry that we wouldn't be proud to ship and recommend. THere are thresholds we can't cross because of who we are, so there is a very significant slice of the industry that wants that too. Our products are usually not premium priced, you add the features you have to add to make them useful, and in some cases they are more expensive than our products. THe difference is we don't offer stripped down, lousy products. If you move those aside and compare us to our competitors, we compare favorably.
Looks like that's it. Check back soon for Geekanoids thoughts on what Apple has announced today.
Labels: Apple Hardware, Apple News
Gear4 HouseParty Blu Review
Monday, August 06, 2007
Gear4 have a nice range of iPod related products now, but with the HouseParty Blu they certainly seem to have upped the design ante. This sleek unit has a nice grill to the front, with some backlit touch sensitive controls. Yes, this is an iPod speaker system, with the mandatory dock, but it goes one step further by adding bluetooth.OK, so the iPod does not have bluetooth as standard, although this can be added afterwards. Where the 'Blu' scores is that you can hook up any A2DP Bluetooth device, like your mobile phone and stream your tunes to it. In practice this work brilliantly. I am not a big mobile phone user, as I use my iPod all the time, but for the purposes of this review some of my fave tunes were transferred to my mobile. The quality was pretty darn good, not as good as docking my iPod, but certainly detailed and very usable.
The volume of this unit is pretty astounding too, with 30W of output it certainly goes loud and keeps the distortion in check too. There is also a line-in, so you can connect other audio devices to the HouseParty Blu. The supplied remote control is pretty much functional, as with most devices of this type, there is no need for an expensive remote.
On the iPod front, you can use the 'Blu' with any dock connecting iPod, as far back as the Mini. Docking adapters, which snap neatly into place, are supplied in the box.
Overall, this is a very nice package. It goes very loud, has a nice quality sound reproduction, and a very pleasing design. Add to this the flexibility of easily connecting a Bluetooth mobile phone, and you have a product that offers that little bit extra over the competition. Well done Gear4.
Product: HouseParty Blu
Price: £79.99
Supplied by: Gear4
Contact: support@gear4.com
Many thanks to Simms International Accessories for sponsoring the MacBook Pro used to create this review… Crumpler bags remain bold, fresh and super ergonomic, utilising durable high tech materials and offering the kind of unique features you won’t even know you need till you’ve tried them. And did I mention the ‘colourful’ names?
Labels: Apple iPod, Reviews
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Dave
Dave has been in the graphic design industry for 14 years. Long time reviewer of technology related products, he is Owner/Editor of Geekanoids.
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