Hasta La Gadget!

Not a single day passes since Apple refreshed the MacBook and already the fine folks at iFixit are on the job. For the most part, its full disassembly is business as usual, as only a few components — CPU, GPU and battery — have changed since the last go-round. That last is of special interest, however, because iFixit says the battery is exactly the same shape as its former — all you have to do to get an extra 350 mAh for your existing plastic MacBook is to drop in a refreshed battery. Mind you, the new cells weigh more and it’s likely the new silicon that’s actually responsible for 10 hours of battery life, but should your Li-ion pack fail under warranty, your older MacBook might be returned with more juice than you’d bargained for. See the full teardown at our source link.

10-hour MacBook delicately disassembled, battery transplanted into earlier model originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 May 2010 23:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Save the occasional iPhone leak, everything seems to be coming up roses in Cupertino. According to new numbers from Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster, April was another solid month for Apple computer sales, with a 39 percent increase from a year prior. According to those numbers, Apple managed to move between 3.1 and 3.2 million Macs in that quarter.

Okay, perhaps everything isn’t so rosy–iPod sales have continued to drop off, down 17 percent from a year prior. In the case of the digital music player space, however, it seems that Apple is cannibalizing its own sales, first with the iPhone and now with the iPad, both of which are selling like gangbusters.

According to Munster, “From the early NPD data, it appears that the iPad has a minimal cannibalization impact on Mac sales, and could be slightly cannibalizing iPod sales.”

Weird, but there it is, the leaked MacBook refresh is now official, on Tuesday, just as we thought. The 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo refresh with NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics and longer 10-hour battery life (up from 7 hours) is sitting up, nice and pretty on Apple’s very own store in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Germany, and a few other sites. It’s still $999 making it a better deal for the moment than the similarly spec’d 13-inch MacBook Pro listing for $1,199. Expect it to go global shortly. A few more screengrabs after the break as Apple gets its house in order.

Update: It’s live for purchase in the US, as well as the US education store (starts at $950). Ships within 24 hours, too.

[Thanks, Jose and Peter]

Continue reading MacBook refresh gets official with 10-hour battery

MacBook refresh gets official with 10-hour battery originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 May 2010 04:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re not sure what’s going on in Vietnam these days but it’s suddenly a hot bed for industry leaks. Perhaps it’s due to manufacturers expanding from China to Vietnam’s relatively cheap (but limited) labor pool? Or maybe it’s because the kids at Tinhte are just resourceful as hell? Whatever it is, they’ve just scooped themselves what appears to be an unannounced MacBook update (identifying itself as a MacBook7,1) that includes a faster 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor (up from 2.26GHz) and NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM (an update from the GeForce 9400M found in the current MacBook6,1) — right, the same CPU and GPU as the entry level 13-inch MacBook Pro but for only $999 (assuming Apple maintains the same entry-level pricing). These minor bumps aren’t enough to warrant a model change, however, as we’re still seeing “Model No: A1342” stamped on the box. Of course, this could be an elaborate hoax, but Tinhte has an impressive track record and these MacBook specs are right in line with what we’d expect since the white MacBook was last updated in October 2009. No word on when we’ll see these announced but it’s gotta be soon — Tuesday perhaps, with a refreshed MacBook Air if we’re lucky. Video unboxing after the break and plenty of pics for Zaprudering at the source link below.

Continue reading Apple MacBook refresh leaked in Vietnam (video)

Apple MacBook refresh leaked in Vietnam (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 May 2010 08:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A tipster who apparently correctly predicted the recent MacBook Pro refresh has alerted Australian Macworld to a new SKU making its way through Apple’s systems down under. According to said “well-placed” source, the MC516LL/A K87 BETTER BTR-USA code string identifies an incoming batch of all-new MacBook Air laptops. This makes all the sense in the world given the recent hubbub about Intel offering ULV versions of its 32nm Core 2010 processors and the Air’s overdue need for an upgrade, but there is the proviso that this could also be referring to shipments of new 27-inch LCDs, to match the ones found on the latest iMac generation. Either way, we’re looking at some unannounced hardware rapidly making its way to Australia. Hey, doesn’t Apple make a habit of announcing new goodies on Tuesdays?

MacBook Air feeling the wind of change? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 May 2010 05:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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