Hasta La Gadget!

Apple just introduced its second Retina display MacBook: the 13-inch MacBook Pro, which starts at $1,699 and is shipping today. Just months after the 15-incher was gifted with a display that packs more pixels than your existing HDTV, the 13-inch sibling is receiving similar treatment. Unveiled today in San Jose alongside the iPad mini, the intensely dense 13-inch MBP is true to the rumors — there’s a 2,560 x 1,600 panel, a pair of Thunderbolt ports, a full-size HDMI socket and a MagSafe 2 power connector. Unfortunately, those yearning for a Retina-equipped MacBook Air won’t find their dreams fulfilled just yet, but you can bet that holdouts will most certainly give this guy a look.

For starters, it’s wildly thin. No, not manilla envelope thin, but thin enough to slip into most briefcases and backpacks without the consumer even noticing. Outside of that, it’s mostly a shrunken version of the 15-incher let loose over the summer. The unibody design is as tight as ever, with the fit and finish continuing to impress. In my estimation, this is Apple’s most deliberate move yet to differentiate the 13-inch MacBook Pro from the 13-inch MacBook Air. On one hand, power users longing for a highly portable laptop can rejoice; on the other, this could be seen as reason for Apple to restrict the use of Retina displays to its Pro range for the foreseeable future.

Compared to the 1,280 x 800 resolution of the non-Retina 13-inch MBP, the new display is particularly stunning. Text has never looked more crisp, and colors are stupendously vibrant. Of course, apps, websites and graphics that haven’t been optimized for Retina still look like utter rubbish, and as more Apple machines transition to these panels, the outcry is going to get even louder. But, hopefully, it’ll light a fire under developers to get with the program.

Continue reading Apple 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro hands-on!

Filed under: Laptops, Apple

Apple 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro hands-on! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 14:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

So, the iPad mini is here at last! Smaller tablets have already carved out a real niche for themselves, and if you’ve always wanted an iPad but were scared off by its size, then maybe this is the day you’ve been waiting for. More »

Today Apple has finally announced the all new iPad mini. While they are still talking on stage about their new mini model, they’re also taking the moment to take a few shots at Google’s extremely popular Nexus 7. As we already knew, the iPad mini is thinner, lighter, and comes with a 7.9-inch display. Below are a few talking points Apple’s making vs the Nexus 7.

While we can’t actually go down and compare everything until we know more, and get our own hands-on time. Apple’s already quickly jumping at the heels of Google. Showing us their larger display, smaller bezels, thinner and more durable aluminum design and more. While the resolution is only the same as the iPad 2, being 1024 x 768, we still get a display that looks gorgeous. Here’s a few images right from Apple.

As you see above, they were quick to mention the bezel. Showing the iPad mini has a much smaller bezel while still having a larger display and staying thinner. Pretty impressive right? The image above shows Google’s Nexus 7 without the on-screen keys, without the browser tabs up top, and as an end result you get a much smaller display for actually viewing and enjoying HD content. From browsing the web, enjoying movies, playing games and more the iPad mini and its 7.9-inch display just does more — according to Apple.

Apple’s new iPad mini comes with an A5 dual-core processor, an HD display, iOS 6, and of course they’ve confirmed 4G LTE as well. For full details you’ll want to check out our iPad mini announcement post. Starting at just $329 for the 16GB WiFi model, it still costs more than Google’s Nexus 7. Stay tuned for more details and hands-on coming soon!

Apple compares the iPad mini to Google’s Nexus 7 is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple today officially revealed the latest addition to the iPad line, a slimmed-down new model with a 7.9-inch display called the iPad Mini. The new tablet is aimed squarely at the lower end of the market, looking to undermine Amazon’s Kindle success and to deal a blow to other small tablets, such as Google’s Nexus 7 that are significantly less expensive than the current iPad.

The new iPad mini is built to be slim and lightweight, and measures just 7.2mm thick and weighs .68 pounds – about half what the 10-incher weighs, and much easier to hold with one hand.

Under the hood, it’s similar to the iPad 2, running the same A5 dual-core chipset, and offering a 1024×768 touchscreen display at 163ppi, which is lower than “retina” density, but still looks sharper than the displays in the original iPad and iPad 2, and ensuring full backwards compatibility with existing apps.

It’s all packed into a svelte aluminum case with similar design cues to that of the recently-released iPhone 5, with a skinny bezel that helps pack more display into a smaller package. It sports Apple’s tiny, 8-pin Lightning connector to help keep things slim. It will ship with either a black or white version with an anodized aluminum case, just like the iPhone 5 too. Connectivity is 802.11 a/b/g/n wi-fi, with Bluetooth 4.0 and optional 4G LTE connectivity.

Just like its big brother, battery life is rated at 10 hours, and the mini sports a front-facing FaceTime camera at 720p resolution and a rear-facing camera that can shoot 1080p video or 5-megapixel stills. It’s also got the requisite three-axis gyro, accelerometer, compass, and ambient light sensor. The 4G LTE model also offers A-GPS.

Of course, the iPad mini ships with the recently-released iOS 6, along with all of its new bells and whistles. Of course, it can take advantage of the over 275,000 iPad apps already available through the App Store too. Also announced today was an updated version of iBooks, which supports continuous-scrolling, posting of excerpts to Facebook and Twitter, and iCloud page syncing, and support for 40 languages. The update will be available from the App Store later today.

And for those of you who take your iPad on the road, the iPad mini even supports Siri.

Pricing for the iPad mini starts at just $329 for 16GB wi-fi and $429 for the 32GB Wi-fi model and $519 for 64GB. As for the 4G LTE version, you’re looking at $459 for 16GB, $559 for 16GB, and $649 for the 32GB model.

The iPad mini will be available for pre-order starting this Friday, October 26th, and the Wi-Fi version will ship starting on November 2nd. No word yet on which countries will get the device on that date, nor the exact date for the LTE variants. You should be able to find more details on the iPad mini over on Apple’s website now.

Personally, I prefer the larger screen of the regular iPad models, and someday I’d love an even bigger tablet – maybe 15 inches. But for those of you who want something more compact, still want Apple’s massive library of iOS apps, and are looking to save on their tablet purchase, the iPad mini looks pretty nice.

Sure, today’s mostly about the iPad Mini, but Apple just announced a new fourth generation full sized iPad. It’s a lot the same, but some key things have changed. Here’s everything you’ll want to know about it. More »