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News & Opinion
Apple Updates
Tech Trends
News & Opinion
Record Mac Sales 'Almost Unbelievable' in Face of
iPad Cannibalization
Mac Rumors' Eric Slivka notes that notwithstanding analyst
disappointment over lower-than-forecast Apple iDevice sales, one of the
high points of Apple's fourth fiscal quarter earnings was Mac sales,
which came in well above expectations at a record 4.89 million units,
which calculates to a 26% increase year-over-year. On Apple's earnings
conference call, even Apple CEO Tim Cook noted that the strong Mac
system sales were "almost unbelievable" considering continued growth in
the iPad market, and that while that some customers are indisputably
electing to purchase iPads instead of Macs, which has to be
cannibalizing potential Mac sales, cannibalization of Windows PCs by
the iPad opens up a tremendous opportunity for Apple.
For more on Apple's financials, see Apple's Quarterly Results: All-Time Record
Mac and iPad Sales and Best
Ever Mac and iPad Sales Help Apple Turn in Record Quarter in this
week's Mac News Review.
Link: Apple's
Record Mac Sales Quarter 'Almost Unbelievable' in Face of iPad
Cannibalization
MacBook Pro Revision References Appear on Apple
Store
Electronista reports that an unusual listing in Apple's online store
- not currently active - may support rumors of a MacBook Pro refresh
coming in the next few weeks, with one of the current listings for an
unidentified "MacBook Pro Memory Model," with availability quoted as
"Coming in November" and appearing to reference different clock speeds,
of 2.33 and 2.4 GHz - possible quad-core Core i7 processors.
Publisher's note: Historically, Apple has introduced updated MacBook
Pro models an average of 8-9 months apart. The latest revision arrived
in April, which would normally point to an early 2012 revision, but an
October or November release is not unprecedented. dk
Link: Possible New
MacBook Pro Revision References Appear on Apple Online Store
Clues to New MacBook Pros on Apple Website
9 to 5 Mac's Seth Weintraub says the site is expecting a minor
refresh for the MacBook Pro line with modest CPU bumps and possibly
improved Bluetooth wireless networking, and has found more evidence for
such a refresh in Apple's own online store, with two mysterious entries
for MacBook Pro Memory Model with the caption "Ships: Coming in
November," and links to two URLs that aren't currently active.
Link: Apple Leaks
Clues to New MacBook Pros on Its Own Website?
Details of New MacBook Pro Laptops Leaked on Apple
Site
V3's Rosalie Marshall also reports that Apple product pages appear
to show that there could be a 15" model with a 2.33 GHz processor, and
another with a 2.66 GHz Processor and a 1066 MHz DDR3 memory module,
and that rumors that Apple will soon update its MacBook Pro range
gathering momentum.
Link: Details of
New MacBook Pro Laptops Leaked on Apple Site
MacBook Pro Supplies Constrained, New Models Appear
in Apple's Inventory System
We're just about to the midpoint in October, so historically we're
entering the time envelope where Apple has traditionally slotted laptop
model updates and new product announcements.
It looks like history will repeat itself in 2011 with a MacBook Pro
update imminent. 9 to 5 Mac's Mark Gurman is reporting that Apple's
current line of MacBook Pros is heavily constrained in the distribution
and retail channels with all models appearing to be nearly out of
stock.
Electronista reports that three new inventory code names are in use:
K90IA for 13", K91A for 15", and K92A for 17", contradicting
speculation that the 13-incher might be dropped in light of the
13" MacBook Air's
market popularity.
Gurman advises not to expect any major redesign, projecting that
what's likely is some modest speed bumps, the Bluetooth 4.0 technology
Apple's been shipping in MacBook Airs since last summer's Air upgrade
as well as in the new iPhone 4S, and doesn't speculate beyond that.
Link: MacBook Pro
Supplies Constrained, New Models Appear in Apple's Inventory
System, 9 to 5 Mac
Link: New MacBook Pros Appear in Apple
Inventory System, Electronista
Ivy Bridge CPUs to Reduce Power Consumption
Hardware.fr's Marc Prieur has posted some waypoints from the latest
Intel roadmap, noting that that Intel will continue to use the i7/i5/i3
nomenclature, but change model numbers from 2000 series to 3000
series.
As for power consumption, of crucial interest to portable users, the
high-end quad-core Core i7/i5 will have a targeted TDP (thermal design
power) of 77W (vs. 95W currently with Sandy Bridge units) thanks to the
new chip family's 22nm technology. The Core i3 dual-core will have a
TDP of 55W compared with 65W currently, and special low power
consumption variants will also be offered in addition, with 65W or 45W
quad-core TDPs and 35W for the dual-cores.
The versions themselves will remain very close to current with a
top-of-the-line Core i7, the Core i5 sans the i7's 2 MB cache and
hyperthreading, and the Core i3 compared with the Core i5 having
3 MB less cache, two fewer cores, and no Turbo.
Link: Ivy
Bridge, TDP de 77w pour l'i7 (French-to-English
translation by Google Translate)
MacBook Chassis Maker Kicks Up a Stink
The Register's Brid-Aine Parnell reports that Taiwanese parts
supplier Catcher Technology has been forced to close down some of its
production systems in China's Suzhou province after local residents
complained to the authorities about "odours" coming from its
factories.
Catcher's announcement to the stock exchange on Sunday, followed by
clarification on Monday, said that it would speed up its "improving
process" to try to get production back online before it starts to lose
out on revenues.
Catcher supplies enclosure casings for PCs, smartphones, and other
devices, with Apple, Dell, Acer, Motorola, LG, and Samsung among its
customers. It supplies Apple with magnesium-aluminium alloy chassis
used on MacBook Airs and Pros.
Link: MacBook Case
Fabs Kick Up a Right Stink
Apple Updates
Apple Acknowledges Intermittent Lost Video Problem
with 15" 2010 MacBook Pro
A new Apple Knowledge Base article says that Apple has determined
that a small number of 15" Mid 2010 MacBook
Pros may intermittently stop displaying video on the built-in
display or on an external display connected to them. In this situation,
you may see a restart warning message before the video is lost or the
display turns black or gray. Affected computers were manufactured
between April 2010 and February 2011.
Resolution: Apple is aware of the issue and is working on a
solution. In the meantime, they advise keeping your software up-to-date
using Software Update.
Link: MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010):
Intermittent Black Screen or Loss of Video
Tech Trends
Ultrabooks Will Be Intel 's Biggest 2012
Campaign
Forbes' Elizabeth Woyke notes that the launch of two ultrabooks from
Taiwan's Asus officially kicked off Intel's bid to redefine mobile
computing, with the new Asus laptops, the UX21 and UX31, representing
more than "just another product launch" for the already-prolific PC
industry, according to Intel Senior Vice President Tom Kilroy, who at a
New York press conference said Intel believes the thin and light
ultrabooks and "instant-on" bootup will become a sizable new genre of
mobile computers.
Ergo, Intel plans to make ultrabooks the focus of its "single
biggest marketing campaign in 2012," Kilroy told Ms. Woyke in an
interview. "When we create a new category, we do it big."
Link: Intel:
Ultrabooks Will Be Company's Biggest 2012 Campaign
Ultrabook Players to Adopt Hybrid Hard Drives to
Save Cost
DigiTimes' Ocean Chen and Joseph Tsai, report that hybrid hard disk
drives, which combine a solid state drive (SSD) and a hard drive in
single device, have recently become a popular choice among notebook
brand vendors for new Ultrabook models.
With storage components accounting for about 10-15% of an
Ultrabook's total cost, to fulfill Intel's goal of launching Ultrabooks
priced below US$1,000 and its demand of having a bootup time in between
8-45 seconds and physical size smaller than a standard 9.5mm thick
laptop hard drive, notebook brand vendors are eyeing hybrid hard drives
as their storage choice.
Chen and Tsai note that hybrid hard drives cost less than standard
solid state drives but can still allow an ultrabook to have a fast
bootup time and storage efficiency, fulfilling Intel's guidelines, and
consequently many Ultrabook vendors have been evaluating related
solutions. For example, Acer has already launched an S3 model featuring
a 320 GB hard drives combined with a 20 GB SSD. While the initial wave
of ultrabook models is mainly adopting SSDs, more models with hybrid
hard drives may start appearing soon.
Link: Ultrabook Players
to Adopt Hybrid HDDs to Save Cost (subscription required)
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