Hasta La Gadget!

Apple asked itself what would happen if an iPad and a MacBook Air “hooked up.” Benefits from the iPad? “Instant on… great battery life, amazing standby time… solid state storage… and it’s thinner and lighter.” It’s 0.68-inches thick at its thickest, 0.11-inches at its thinnest, and weighs 2.9 pounds (the old MacBook Air was 0.76-inches thick and weighed 3 pounds). Naturally, Apple is going unibody construction here, with one of those big new glass trackpads. They’re also sticking with a 13.3-inch screen, running at a 1440 x 900 resolution (with an 11.6-inch “little brother” to boot). There’s SSD storage, a 1.86GHz or 2.13GHz Core 2 Duo processor (the same ones available on existing MacBook Airs, apparently), GeForce 320m graphics, and 2GB of RAM standard. Apple says its new “more stringent” battery life tests offer 7 hours of “wireless web” and 30 days of “standby.” Prices start at $1,299 for 128GB and $1,599 for 256GB of storage; they’re available today.

Be sure to check out our complete live coverage right here!

Continue reading Apple’s new MacBook Air (update: video)

Apple’s new MacBook Air (update: video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 14:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s an Apple event going on today at 10PT, 1ET! We’ll be liveblogging, of course, and we’re starting now. More »

So, we’ve just been discussing the rumored, and long overdue, MacBook Air refresh with a trusted source. This person recently had a working model in their possession for a few minutes and managed to glean quite a bit of detail that would seemingly confirm Apple’s plan to announce an 11-inch MacBook Air at the “Back to the Mac” event later today. Here’s what we’ve been told to expect:

• Smaller 11.6-inch display.
• 2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (with a 2.33GHz option possible).
• 2GB of memory in the base configuration.
• No optical drive, naturally.
• Mini DisplayPort, USB, and SD card reader along the left-hand side and USB and power on the right (that’s 2x USB).
• The trackpad has been updated to match that of the new MacBook Pros.
• Although smaller due to the 11.6-inch display, it’s still about the same thickness as the current MacBook Air.
• A black power key now sits immediately to the right of a smaller eject key on the MBA’s keyboard — the round aluminum power button is gone. A design decision that might support the MBA’s rumored instant-on capabilities though our source didn’t see this functionality exhibited (possibly because it was running OS X 10.6.4).

Unfortunately, our source couldn’t identify the graphics or the storage related to the rumored “SSD Card.” So where does that leave us? Well, it looks like a smaller (and presumably, cheaper) MacBook Air originally rumored by AppleInsider is in the bag for a Steve Jobs announcement later today as is a refresh to the 13.3-inch model we broke last week (pictured nekkid above). So check back in a few hours and watch the reveal live, won’t you?

Update: Reader Lucas F. subimtted a mockup of the new power and eject keys which you can see after the break.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Continue reading 11.6-inch MacBook Air detailed

11.6-inch MacBook Air detailed originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 04:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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More rumored details of a new 11-inch MacBook Air are trickling in. This time, the rather comprehensive list of new features comes from ex-Wired.com editor and Cult of Mac boss Leander Kahney, and even includes some guesses at the price.

According to Kahney’s “well-placed source”, there will be two versions of the new MBA announced this coming Wednesday, a redesigned 13.3-inch model and an all-new 11.6-inch model. Both will be faster and less under-powered than the current sleek-but-slow MacBook Air.

Here’s the list: A bigger battery will give 8-10 hours of use, which is
similar to what is already claimed for the MacBook Pro. The case will be thinner, and will replace the current curves with a “boxier” unibody, looking more like the iPhone 4 than the old MBA.

The lone USB-port will be joined by another, on the other side of the machine, and I’m guessing that this means that the drop-down door will be ditched – it always seemed a little awkward anyway. These ports will be joined by a Mini DisplayPort port.

Inside, RAM is now upgradeable, and the models will ship with 2GB and 4GB depending on size. The SSD, too, will be upgradeable, and storage can be supplemented with an SD card in a new slot on the right-side of the machine.

Kahney is more skeptical of his sources reports of pricing, which puts this hot machine into direct competition with the MacBook. The numbers are $1000 for the 11-inch and $1,100 for the 13-incher. This does seem too low.

But what of form factor? The Cult of Mac post features the mockup above, but I’m guessing that it may be more similar to an iPad with a keyboard attached. The current, full-sized Bluetooth aluminum keyboard from Apple is around an inch and a half wider than the iPad, which has a 9.7-inch screen. Something this size, without the keyboard “bezel” around Apple’s other notebook keyboards, would marry well with a larger iPad-style screen.

Another guess would be that there won’t be an SSD, but instead the storage will be similar to that found in the iPad, which currently maxes out at 64GB. Add an SD-card and that’s not a bad idea. True or false? We only have to wait until Wednesday and all will be revealed.

New MacBook Air: Bigger Battery, Sharper Case [Cult of Mac]

Illustration: Cult of Mac/ Dan Draper

See Also:

• Rumor: Apple to Introduce 11.6-Inch MacBook Next Week
• Tiny MacBook Air Clone Riles Gadget Writer
• Chinese MacBook Air Knockoffs Actually Look Awesome

We just received this shot of what is purportedly the inside of the new MacBook Air. Contrary to popular belief, the machine appears to be another 13.3-incher, with the primary modification being extra room for battery cells and apparently no room for a hard drive. Of course, this is only one SKU, so who knows what else Apple has in store. From what we can tell from the photo, Apple is taking its unibody styling and construction and running with it here, not that the MacBook Air was too far off from the MacBook Pro to begin with. The telltale sign is the black hinge, though it also appears Apple has done away with the drop-down side ports.

Based on our own professional squinting ability, there are USB plugs on the left and right sides, Mini DisplayPort and an SD card reader on the left, and a power plug on the right. Of course, since the screw holes are facing us, we’re probably looking at this from the bottom, so flip all of those around if you want to imagine using this thing (because, of course, the power plug will be on the Apple-standard left side). We also have it on good authority that the rest of the machine has been restyled in modern unibody style, including the large single mouse button, but that the screen is still like the current MacBook Air, instead of the edge-to-edge glass with black edges. Also, it’s apparently running the same Core 2 Duo SL9400 processor of the current generation MacBook Air — possibly further proof that this is a very early prototype (our source says the model dates back to at least April). We’re working on getting more images and information, but for now at least two things seem (relatively) clear: Apple hasn’t forgotten about the MacBook Air, and 13.3-inches isn’t going out of style just yet. Hopefully we’ll know for certain next week!

[Thanks, anonymous]

Is this the new MacBook Air? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 16 Oct 2010 01:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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