Mac Corner
Apple's recent product announcements
By Larry Grinnell, Palm Beach Phoenix Apple Users Group
Never one to rest on its laurels, Apple Inc. has announced several new products over the last month or so.
The MacBook Pro was refreshed with more powerful versions of the Intel Core family of processors. Starting with the 13-inch MacBook Pro, the base processor has been bumped up to a dual-core 2.3GHz Intel Core i5 and offers an optional 2.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 processor, effectively doubling performance over the previous version. Battery life of up to 7 hours is claimed. Pricing starts at $1199.
The 15-inch MacBook Pro has two processor options: a 2.0GHz and a 2.2GHz Intel Core i7 quad-core processor. These are wikedly powerful processors that Apple claims to double performance over previous models.
With this level of performance, a laptop user need not consider having a desktop machine, unless they need the absolute peak of performance. Battery life of up to 7 hours is claimed. Prices start at $1799.
The 17-inch MacBook Pro offers a 2.2GHz Intel Core i7 quad-core processor. A true desktop replacement, it might not be as portable as its 13- and 15-inch brethren, but it shares the 7-hour battery life of those same siblings. Prices start at $2499.
15- and 17-inch MacBook Pros optionally share a dual graphics system: an on-board Intel HD Graphics 3000 subsystem, and a high-performance AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 1GB of dedicated memory. The base 15-inch MacBook Pro comes with a nearly as good AMD Radeon HD 6490M graphics subsystem with 256MB of dedicated memory.
Other new features of the new MacBook Pros include yet another new video connector, the Thunderbolt, which combines functions of a mini Display Port and HDMI (with the appropriate adapter). Data transfer rates are up to 12 times faster than FireWire 800 and 20 times faster than USB 2.0. It supports 8-channel audio, and up to six Thunderbolt-compatible devices can be daisy-chained. The FaceTime camera system has been upgraded to HD, offering a wider field of view with a resolution of 720p (1280x720 pixels). All three MacBook Pros provide an SD card slot that supports the new SDXC format.
Also recently released is the second-generation iPad, the iPad 2.0. Now 33 percent thinner and 15 percent lighter, and sporting a new dual-core processor, it still has the same 10 hour battery life of the iPad 1.0. After many customer requests, the iPad 2.0 sports two cameras, so you can now use it for the new videoconferencing app called FaceTime, and can be used with applications like Skype.
With the appropriate cable, the iPad 2.0 supports video mirroring—just the thing for doing presentations, and to connect your iPad to your HDTV.
As before, the iPad 2.0 is available in 16, 32, and 64GB models, either with or without 3G support, with prices the same as before, starting at $499 for a 16GB model without 3G support, up to $829 for the top-end 64GB model with 3G support. Models are available for the AT&T and Verizon networks.
Industry pundits predict a new iPhone by summer, and likely there will be an iMac refresh with faster processors and other new features perhaps as early as this spring. Or not. Apple is totally predictable in its unpredictability, so new products come when new products come — and not a moment sooner.
Mac Corner runs every Wednesday only in Palm Beach Business.com. Click to read the previous column.
About Larry Grinnell: Larry has been working with Macintosh and Windows PCs for over 25 years and worked as a senior technical writer and IT support professional for a major midwest-based consumer electronics and telecommunications equipment manufacturer here in South Florida. His musings on a wide variety of topics from computers to jazz guitar to strange foreign cars from the 1950s can be viewed at the MyMac.com website. Click here to reach him by email.
Writers of this column are members of the Palm Beach Phoenix Apple User Group, a nonprofit organization for Apple Computing Device Users, recognized by Apple Inc., with the purpose of providing educational training and coaching to its members (students, professionals and seniors alike) in a cordial social environment. The club meets the second Saturday (1-4 p.m.) and fourth Wednesday (6-8 p.m.) of each month at the Fire Station #2, 4301 Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach (just two block south of Southern Boulevard). Click here to visit their website. Click here to reach them by email.
