Hasta La Gadget!

Rumors of an 11.6-inch MacBook Air refresh are nothing new at this point, but AppleInsider says it’s confirmed a smaller version of Apple’s ultraportable is coming at next week’s “Back to the Mac” event, and that units are rolling off factory lines right now in preparation for near-immediate delivery. AI also says it’s been told that the revised machine will feature a novel new storage system called “SSD Card” that looks like a stick of RAM — a smaller form factor that would obviously allow the new Air to be even smaller, and possibly sport instant-on wake times, something that’s been rumored from other sources this week as well. We’ll be at the event live next week so we’ll see what happens — keep it locked right here.

Update: CNET‘s chiming in with rumors of a “significantly lower” price than the current model’s $1,499 starting point, which is always fun to hear — the catch is that it might still use an older Intel Core 2 Duo chip and NVIDIA chipset, which is far less fun. We’ll see!

AppleInsider: New MacBook Air ‘certain’ to be 11.6-inches, may have flash-based instant-wake ability originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 16:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In the market for a MacBook Air? Well, now may not be the best time. Apple Insider is reporting indirect sales channels (read: non-Apple stores) are running out of the thin-and-light with no indication of a replenishment. Indeed, we just checked Amazon, Best Buy, and a few other online retailers and were consistently greeted by limited- and out-of-stock notices. So, you know what the means — new hardware rumors. Or rather, old ones resurfacing, such as the 11.6-inch display from late September. Compounding the community’s curiosity would be vague tweets from famed company insider John Gruber, who casually mentioned “the imminent” new MacBook Air as a possible reason for the recent Apple Store downtime. Of course, that didn’t turn out to be the case, and for all we know it could just mean some refreshed specs — if even that, really.

AI reminds us that October has been historically the month of refreshed Mac hardware in the lead-up to holiday shopping… but that doesn’t mean it’s the case now. All we really know now is that third-party outlets aren’t currently stocking the Air and it’s unknown if they’re getting anymore shipments of this particular model — which, we know, isn’t nearly as exciting as the imagination. Sorry about that.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

MacBook Air supply dwindling for online retailers, rumor mill raises an eyebrow originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 20:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Perhaps the touch revolution will extend beyond tablets and smartphones and onto our traditional computers. A new patent application shows how Apple might build an iMac or a MacBook with a touchscreen.

It’s a lot more than simply slapping a multitouch screen onto an iMac. Filed earlier this year, the patent application portrays an iMac-like computer that can transition from being used as a traditional mouse- and keyboard-controlled PC into a touchscreen computer. It’s a convertible desktop tablet, so to speak.

The invention described would switch between input modes detecting the position of the screen with an accelerometer or a rotation hinge inside a flexible stand. One input mode would be a high-resolution interface controlled with a mouse and keyboard, and the other method would be a lower-resolution tablet mode for touch controls.

Moving on to notebooks, the patent application says a notebook-like device could transition into a touch-based UI by folding the display, face up, against the keyboard.

To be clear, convertible tablets are nothing new. We’ve seen a handful of convertible tablet notebooks and “kitchen” PCs equipped with touchscreens. However, I’ve had hands-on time with a bunch of them at the Consumer Electronics Show, and they’ve consistently failed to impress, because they’re just touchscreen devices running Windows — a UI designed for keyboards and mice, not ideal for touch controls. Duly, these convertible computers haven’t been popular sellers.

With Apple’s patent application, it sounds like the transition method would involve switching between two operating systems: the Mac OS for PC input and iOS for tablet usage (though they’re technically one OS since they’re carved out of the same core). That important UI transition might actually make a convertible touchscreen computer make sense.

Indeed, Apple appears to be eyeing touchscreens for Macs. Fan blog Patently Apple recently discovered a collection of 10 patent applications covering display technologies, which also allude to a touchscreen display for notebooks. Also, a few rumors emerged earlier this year that Apple was developing a touchscreen iMac.

From Patently Apple

See Also:

• Rumor: Apple to Launch MacBook Touch?
• Review: Modbook Tablet Is a Designer's BFF
• Macworld 2009: Wozniak Demos MacBook Mod

Welcome to Engadget’s Back to School guide! We know that this time of year can be pretty annoying and stressful for everyone, so we’re here to help out with the heartbreaking process of gadget buying for the school-aged crowd. Today, we’ve got laptops and netbooks in our sights — and you can head to the Back to School hub to see the rest of the product guides as they’re added throughout the month.

Continue reading Engadget’s Back to School guide: Netbooks and laptops

Engadget’s Back to School guide: Netbooks and laptops originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Aug 2010 14:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Want to make your 17-inch MacBook Pro look like something a little more literary and a lot less techie? Then head over to Twelve South and pick up one of the new 17-inch BookBook cases. It’s a MacBook case that looks like a book–get it? You can get the BookBook in Classic Black or Vibrant Red. It’s a tough call: the sedateness of the black model is appealing, but the red model has red on the corners, as well.

You’d better hurry if you want one, though, because Twelve South says it has a limited number available at this size. They go for $99.99 each. Twelve South has a gallery of photos up, if you want to see the BookBook in action.