MacBook

Apple takes inspiration from MacBook Pro for updated MacBook

By Darren Quick

01:10 October 21, 2009 PDT

Apple’s new MacBook update finds the notebook borrowing a few things from its bigger brother. Like the MacBook Pro, the new MacBook features a unibody enclosure, albeit polycarbonate instead of aluminum, an LED-backlit display, a glass multi-touch trackpad, and a built-in battery designed to deliver up to seven hours of battery life. Read More

Apple adds a bit of zip and grunt to latest MacBook Pro line-up

By Paul Best

22:19 June 8, 2009 PDT

Apple has given its MacBook Pro line a quick touch up, most notably increasing processing speeds, hard-drive capacity and battery life, as well as adding SD card slots to the 13 and 15-inch models. The 13-inch model has also undergone a name change – the MacBook now joins the MacBook Pro family – and has had its Firewire port restored.

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17-inch unibody MacBook Pro gets disassembled, photographed

By Tim Hanlon

20:25 February 17, 2009 PST

Most sane people wouldn't even think about grabbing a Torx screwdriver, cracking open a brand new 17-inch unibody MacBook Pro, and completely disassembling it...that is, unless they work for iFixit, who do that kind of thing for a living. Read More

Macworld '09: new 17-inch Macbook Pro features 8 hour battery life

By Noel McKeegan

12:29 January 6, 2009 PST

In what might be seen as somewhat of an anticlimax by those still yearning for a Mac entry into the netbook space, the key hardware announcement to emerge from this morning's keynote address at Macworld 2009 is a new 17-inch MacBook® Pro featuring a built-in battery that delivers up to an impressive eight hours of use and up to 1,000 recharges. Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, introduced the new flagship notebook along with a number of new software innovations including the new iLife® ’09, which brings major upgrades to iPhoto®, iMovie® and GarageBand®. The new 17-inch MacBook features the unibody aluminum enclosure and glass Multi-Touch™ trackpad introduced with the MacBook family in October 2008 and its slimline (0.98-inch) profile and weight of just 6.6 pounds make it the world’s thinnest and lightest 17-inch notebook according to Apple. It's also the most powerful Mac® notebook yet - 2.93 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processors and 8GB DDR3 main memory at its highest spec. Read More

US$15 Pogo Sketch turns MacBook Trackpad into pen tablet

By Mike Hanlon

20:13 December 23, 2008 PST

December 24, 2008 It’s not often we report about potentially disruptive technology in a US$15 package, but that’s the way we see the Pogo Sketch. Made specifically for use with the newest MacBook multi-touch trackpad, the stylus is claimed to transform the notebook into a pen tablet for premium drawing programs and artistic applications. Without trying it, we can’t be sure it’s the real deal, but we acknowledge the massive potential of adding tablet functionality to any computer for just US$14.95. We recently raved about Ten One Design’s Pogo Stylus for the iPhone and iPod touch which uses the same special conductive tip to transfer the signal from the user’s hand to the capacitive touch screen display. Indeed, the Pogo Sketch can also be used on an iPhone and iPod touch too, so it’s potentially a game changer in our humble opinion. Read More

The (fake) MacBook Nano

By Noel McKeegan

14:24 November 12, 2008 PST

For some, one of the disappointing aspects of last month's raft of Notebook announcements from Apple was the absence of even a sniff of a sub-notebook model in the offing. Well it looks like someone has taken matters into their own hands, turning wishful thinking into a blatant rip-off with a fake "MacBook Nano" fashioned from an MSI U100 netbook running Mac OS X. Read More

FEATURE: How Apple killed the MacBook, and crippled the MacBook Pro

By Tim Hanlon

23:18 October 21, 2008 PDT

October 22, 2008 For those of you hoping Apple's October notebook event would see the announcement of a recession-priced, sub-12" MacBook, the new MacBooks might have already been a little disappointing. For others, the lack of a single port has completely killed the MacBook, and crippled the MacBook Pro when compared to previous generations. Gizmag's Tim Hanlon takes a closer look. Read More

Apple’s new MacBook Family

By Jack Martin

13:47 October 14, 2008 PDT

October 14, 2008 Apple today unveiled an all new MacBook family with a new construction method (from a single block of aluminum), high-performance NVIDIA graphics, instant-on LED-backlit displays with the most significant being the introduction of large glass trackpads that support an array of multi-touch gestures that will further enhance Apple’s advanced notebook interface, making the traditional button part of the trackpad. There was also a 24-inch widescreen LED Cinema Display designed to easily connect a MacBook and desktop peripherals. Read More

BookEndz Docking Station for the MacBook, MacBook Pro

By Tim Hanlon

00:32 July 24, 2008 PDT

July 24, 2008 Is the mStand a little too "form over function" for your taste? The BookEndz Docking Station allows you to plug your PowerBook, MacBook or MacBook Pro into (or out of) everything on your desk with one pull of a lever. Read More

Review: Rain Design mStand for the MacBook, MacBook Pro

By Tim Hanlon

00:25 July 24, 2008 PDT

July 24, 2008 Prolonged use of a laptop placed flat on a desk is guaranteed to lead to neck and back strain. The mStand is an attractive way to bring your MacBook or MacBook Pro six inches off your desk and closer to your eyes. Read More

Apple's tiny new 802.11n AirPort Express

By Darren Quick

17:26 March 18, 2008 PDT

March 19, 2008 Apple has updated its AirPort Express mobile base station with 802.11n to deliver up to five times the performance and twice the range of the previous model. With its single-piece, compact design weighing just 190 grams, the updated Airport Express is claiming the title of the world’s smallest 802.11n-based mobile base station. It can be plugged directly into the wall for wireless Internet connectivity and USB printing and is compact enough to be taken on the road for wireless freedom wherever there is an Internet connection. Read More

New MacBook Pro gets Multi-Touch Trackpad

By Noel McKeegan

19:44 February 26, 2008 PST

February 27, 2008 Bigger hard drives and faster processors are on offer in Apple's latest update to its notebook line-up. The MacBook Pro also gets a Multi-Touch™ trackpad as seen on the MacBook Air which enables more sophisticated web browsing and navigation of photos by supporting pinch, rotate and swipe inputs. Read More

Apple’s US$1800 MacBook Air becomes the World’s thinnest Notebook

By Mike Hanlon

12:13 January 15, 2008 PST

January 15, 2008 Apple’s Steve Jobs unveiled the world’s thinnest notebook (0.16 inches at its thinnest point, 0.76 inches at its thickest) at MacWorld today. The new US$1800 MacBook Air is powered by Intel Core 2 Duo processors running at 1.6 GHz or 1.8 Ghz, has a full-size, back-lit keyboard, a 13.3-inch display, five hours of battery life, 802.11n Wi-Fi, and a large trackpad designed for multi-touch gesture support. It comes standard with 2GB of memory and an 80GB 1.8-inch hard drive, with an optional 64GB solid state drive. Countless features make the MacBook Air a compelling proposition for road warriors, including its 3 pound (1.36 kg) weight and "instant on" start-up. Read More

Axiotron ships Modbook Mac tablet computer

By Noel McKeegan

21:20 January 1, 2008 PST

January 2, 2008 Following its unveiling at last year's Macworld Conference & Expo, Californian based hardware manufacturer Axiotron has announced that the much anticipated Mobdbook™ tablet Mac solution is now available to consumers. Recently designated as an Apple-authorized product, the ModBook is the only Mac-based tablet computer on the market and comes pre-installed with Mac OS X Leopard™ and Inkwell® handwriting recognition software. Featuring a durable aircraft quality magnesium alloy structure, the 13.3" widescreen tablet incorporates Wacom® digitized pen-sensitive hardware with 512 levels of pressure sensitivity for responsive, intuitive onscreen writing and drawing, plus an in-built iSight® camera, a 2.0 GHz or 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, integrated 24x DVD Combo drive or 8x DVD SuperDrive and Global Positioning System (GPS) functionality. Read More

New MacBook Pro models are finally here - Santa Rosa, LED-backlit displays

By Tim Hanlon

June 5, 2007 Apple have lifted the lid on the new Santa Rosa-based MacBook Pro models, with 2.2GHz or 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo processors, NVIDIA 8600M GT graphics, and 2GB of DDR2 RAM as standard. Only the 15-inch models get the new LED-backlit displays, with the 17-inch model now having an optional display capable of a 1920x1200 resolution - now that's a lot of screen real estate for a mobile machine. Prices remain the same as the previous models. Read More

MacBook Pro goes Core 2 Duo

By Tim Hanlon

October 24, 2006 Apple has updated its entire range of MacBook Pro laptops, all of which are now powered by Intel's new Core 2 Duo line of dual-core CPU's. A choice of 2.16 or 2.33GHz CPU, up to three gigabytes of RAM, an ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 (capable of driving a 30" Apple display), and the ability to dual-boot Windows and OS X legally - all in a 1 inch thick case. With the grunt, compatibility, and portability offered here, it's clear why more professionals than ever are realising the futility of remaining subscribed to just one side of the platform wars, and buying their first Mac. Read More

Apple introduces (4X faster) MacBook Pro with Intel Core Duo Processor

By Mike Hanlon

January 11, 2006 After months of speculation, Apple today unveiled its new MacBook Pro notebook computer featuring the new Intel Core Duo processor – more importantly, it confirmed what everyone already had read, that the new computer delivers up to four times the performance of the PowerBook G4. The new MacBook Pro, the first Mac notebook based on an Intel processor, features an aluminum enclosure just one inch thin, weighs 5.6 pounds, includes a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing on-the-go, and the Apple Remote and Front Row software for a simple, intuitive and powerful way for users to enjoy their content wherever they go. The new MacBook Pro will be available in February. Read More