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CUPERTINO, California — Apple on Wednesday released a major upgrade for its mini notebook, the MacBook Air, splitting it into two sizes.

The MacBook Air will come in two flavors: a 13.3-inch model and an 11.6-incher. They both will come thinner and lighter than their predecessor, with improved battery life that’s similar to the iPad’s, the company said.

“We asked ourselves what would happen if a MacBook and an iPad hooked up?” Apple CEO Steve Jobs said. “It’s one of the most amazing things we’ve ever created: It is our new MacBook Air, and we think it’s the future of notebooks.”

Hands-On With the New MacBook Airs

“The Airs are mighty light,” Wired’s Brian X. Chen notes in his initial report. “Immediately you’ll notice that launching an app is extremely fast on both of these notebooks, thanks to the usage of flash storage.”

Read more…

Coupled with mobile-inspired enhancements to the computers’ operating systems, such as a planned Mac App Store (due to launch in 90 days) and multitouch enhancements for the next version of Mac OS X, aka “Lion,” the new MacBook Air models show that Apple is trying to redefine the PC market the same way it has tackled the tablet and smartphone markets.

Instead of merely selling hardware, the company seems to be positioning itself as a vertically integrated vendor of mobile devices, selling hardware and software, as well as controlling the marketplace through which customers purchase software.

“We think all notebooks are going to be like this one day,” Jobs said.

Despite its position as an underdog in the PC industry, the Mac has shown rapid growth relative to Windows-powered machines in recent years. According to an NPD Group retail sales report cited by Apple chief operating officer Tim Cook, Apple dominates the premium end of the PC market: For instance, 91 percent of $1,000+ computers sold in June 2009 were Macs. And in Apple’s latest Q4 earnings call, the company reported record-breaking sales of Macs and iPhones, resulting in its most successful quarter ever.

It also suggests that Apple is far from ready to cede the PC market to the likes of HP, Dell and Acer.

“Although the bulk of its revenues come from mobile products Apple still considers Mac a critical business,” said Avi Greengart, an analyst with research firm Current Analysis.

Cook claimed that one in five PCs sold in the United States are now made by Apple — a claim sure to be contested by other PC makers. Recent reports by IDC and Gartner show that Apple’s U.S. market share is slightly above 10 percent. That is higher than it’s been in years, but just half of what Apple is claiming.

NPD confirmed the 20 percent figure to Wired, which comes from its retail tracking service, but noted that it applied only to a single month: August, 2010.

The MacBook Airs will include flash storage, 802.11-N Wi-Fi and a Core 2 Duo processor. Apple increased the size of the battery to provide five to seven hours of battery life when surfing the web over Wi-Fi, and 30 days on standby time like the iPad.

The models start at $1,000 and begin shipping today.

See Also:

• Rumor: Apple to Introduce 11.6-Inch MacBook Next Week
• New MacBook Pro: 10-Hour Battery, Hi-Res Screen, i7 CPU
• New MacBook Air Will Come in 11 and 13-Inch Flavors
• Netbook Sales Shrivel as Apple Rolls Out iPad
• Apple Still Oblivious to Netbook Opportunity

Photo: Brian X. Chen/Wired.com

Hoo boy, our tipster was spot on with this one, Apple’s adding an 11.6-inch sibling to its newly redesigned 13.3-inch MacBook Air. It’ll have a dual-core 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU (upgradeable to 1.6GHz on the more expensive model), 1366 x 768 resolution, and a $999 starting price for the 64GB SSD model, with the 128GB version setting you back $1,199. It carries over the aluminum unibody construction from the 13-incher, along with the same 2GB or 4GB DDR3 RAM options and NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics, but has to settle for a briefer 5-hour battery life. Full PR and Apple’s first ad for this new hotness both await after the break.

Update: We’ve got our very first hands-on pictures with the new machine. Enjoy!

Continue reading Apple introduces 11.6-inch MacBook Air, available today for $999

Apple introduces 11.6-inch MacBook Air, available today for $999 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 14:11:00 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 »

If you ever wanted a backup battery that plugs straight into your MacBook, now is your last chance to get one.

HyperMac, a third-party accessory maker, announced on Monday that it’s pulling the plug on sales of its external MacBook battery chargers in response to a lawsuit filed by Apple. HyperMac’s news release doubled as a “last call” to generate sales for its MacBook accessory, which will be discontinued Nov. 2.

HyperMac’s external battery, which costs between $200 and $500 depending on the capacity, includes Apple’s original MagSafe adapter as well as a connector for iOS devices to serve as a multi-device charger. In a lawsuit filed September, Apple claimed that HyperMac’s design was a violation of its MagSafe and iPod connector patents.

Apple owns a patent on the MagSafe connector for MacBooks and has not licensed the technology to third parties, forcing vendors to hack together alternatives, as Dan Frakes mentioned in an earlier Macworld post.

While HyperMac will continue selling the battery accessories with a 30-pin connector for iOS devices, the company will no longer include the MagSafe adapter cable, meaning they will no longer be compatible with MacBooks.

Via AppleInsider

See Also:

• HyperMac Crams 16-Hour Battery into iPad Stand
• Battery Pack Boosts iPad Life to 99-Hours

Image: HyperMac

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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