Apple MacBook Air survey gets chatty about 3G

Apple isn’t much of one for customer surveys, but this recent missive to select MacBook Air owners has all sorts of goodies inside it. Most notable is the large amount of questions on 3G data connectivity, a feature that Apple has so far avoided adding to any of its laptops, even though it sells a tablet computer with the functionality. Interestingly, Apple has waited so long on this feature that its primary objection — the need to pick a specific carrier over another — has disappeared thanks to Qualcomm’s Gobi chipset. On the other hand, most people get 3G data onto their laptops these days through tethering, whether it be with their phone or a dedicated MiFi-style device, and Apple’s survey seems to be designed to pick up on the prevalence of all these tendencies. Other aspects of the survey deal with data storage and syncing (MobileMe and Dropbox get shout outs), missing functionality that keeps the Air from being a primary computer, and other miscellany. If you want to get overanalytical with the whole thing, Apple might actually be trying to feel out the dividing line between an iPad and a MacBook Air, instead of the dividing line between a MacBook Pro. Perhaps this year’s expected Sandy Bridge or (we wish) Fusion refresh of the MacBook Air could have something more in store? Check out the source link for the whole thing.

Apple MacBook Air survey gets chatty about 3G originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 12:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceAppleInsider  | Email this | Comments

Twelve South’s BookArc for Air stand cozies up around your MacBook Air

Twelve South’s made somewhat of a name for itself by crafting unexpected (and generally visually pleasing) accessories for everything Apple, but the ouftit’s latest just seems particularly superfluous. The BookAir for Air is described as a vertical stand for the MacBook Air, enabling you to hoist your new ultraportable upright for use with a desktop monitor and keyboard. ‘Course, we have to believe that only a smattering of individuals have any real interest in using their MBA as a desktop replacement, but hey, at least there’s now a stand should you fit into that category. She’ll be on sale soon for $39.99, with initial shipments to head out next month.

Continue reading Twelve South’s BookArc for Air stand cozies up around your MacBook Air

Twelve South’s BookArc for Air stand cozies up around your MacBook Air originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 15:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceTwelve South  | Email this | Comments

Magic Box MagSafe mod kit brings the external battery back to your Mac (some assembly required)

It ain’t exactly soldering guns at dawn, but it looks like HyperMac is going through a few somersaults to ensure that its products stay on the market without offending the legal team at Apple. First there was the HyperJuice auto / airline adapter, and now the Magic Box takes things to an even more invasive level. First step: cut the power cord of your Mac’s MagSafe power adapter in half. Second step: feed the cable that you cut in half into the MagicBox… and you now have your very own HyperMac battery pack for those extra-long liveblogging sessions. Seems dead simple, right? And for the time being, the company is throwing in a free car charger to sweeten the deal. Available for $50 in March.

Magic Box MagSafe mod kit brings the external battery back to your Mac (some assembly required) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 15:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Gizmodo  |  sourceHyperMac  | Email this | Comments

How would you change Apple’s 11-inch MacBook Air?

Apple may not be much on the idea of a 7-inch tablet, but an 11-inch ultraportable? Now that’s an idea even the engineers in Cupertino could dig. When we reviewed the 11-inch MacBook Air, we found an awful lot to love — that all-Flash design is definitely a boon, and the more-mobile-than-mobile design is sure to be loved by road warriors and light packers everywhere. But it’s still (comparatively) sluggish, and it’s lacking a backlit keyboard. Enough from us, though — we’re here to hear what kind of changes you would make. Would you have thrown a faster chip in there at the expense of the case? Boosted the screen resolution? Added an SD card slot? Bit the bullet and tossed in USB 3.0? Comments are open below — dive on it!

How would you change Apple’s 11-inch MacBook Air? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 22:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Dell Adamo now even cheaper, slightly less powerful

It looks like Dell isn’t quite sure what to do with Adamo. First, the MacBook Air competitor was bumped from Dell’s marketing roster, then it was reduced from $999 to $899, and now it’s got a price tag of $799. Unfortunately, the price isn’t all Dell is slashing: last October the Adamo was sporting a 2.1GHz Core 2 Duo SL9600 processor and 4GB of DDR3-800 memory, now we’re told it’s functioning on a 1.4GHz Core Duo 2 SU9400 and 2GB of DDR3-800 (with no upgrade option that we can find). Everything else is basically the same for the little guy, and Dell’s Adamo page still offers the suggestion, “Prepare to Fall in Love,” but we’re not entirely sure we’re the ones who need convincing.

Dell Adamo now even cheaper, slightly less powerful originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 Jan 2011 23:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink CNet  |  sourceDell  | Email this | Comments

OWC aims SandForce-based Mercury Aura Pro SSD at 2008 / 2009 MacBook Air

Own a first generation MacBook Air? If you’re perfectly fine with hanging onto it for awhile, Other World Computing is now offering a tempting upgrade in the storage department. The newly announced Mercury Aura Pro is promised to deliver up to 275MB/sec, which equates to right around 3x faster than the factory SSD on 2008 – 2009 MacBook Air models. It’s said to be the first SandForce-based SSD available for those machines, with 60GB, 120GB, 240GB and 480GB models available. The foursome is available today for $199.99, $299.99, $579.99 and $TBA. Curious, but true.

Continue reading OWC aims SandForce-based Mercury Aura Pro SSD at 2008 / 2009 MacBook Air

OWC aims SandForce-based Mercury Aura Pro SSD at 2008 / 2009 MacBook Air originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 11:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceOWC  | Email this | Comments

Apple announces firmware update to relieve those nagging MacBook Air display issues

Looks like relief is in sight for new school MacBook Air owners suffering from display issues: you know, with the faulty logic boards, and the flickerin’ and the freezin’, and so on and so forth. MacBook Air EFI firmware update 2.0 comes highly recommended by Apple itself for all 2010 MacBook Air owners, with the company saying it will “resolves a rare issue where MacBook Air boots or wakes to a black screen or becomes unresponsive.” Sounds like a no-brainer to us! Hit up the source link to download this bad boy for yourself.

Apple announces firmware update to relieve those nagging MacBook Air display issues originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 13:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Apple Insider  |  sourceApple  | Email this | Comments

Apple forces PhotoFast to abandon 256GB upgrade kit for MacBook Airs

Remember that peppy aftermarket 256GB SSD upgrade from PhotoFast that easily smoked (on paper anyway) the SSD found in Apple’s latest MacBook Air? It’s been halted upon Apple’s request before it ever went on sale, similarly to those HyperMac batteries before it. 9to5Mac first reported the news based on a source close to the company and we just confirmed it directly with the PhotoFast GM2_SFV1_Air product manager. The risk of losing access to Apple’s product licensing program was just too grave a threat to ignore. So, enjoy your 160MBps max SSD transfer rate and 128GB top-end capacity MBA 11 owners, you’ll get your storage and 250MBps sequential read/write speed bumps only when Apple’s good and ready to provide it themselves — possibly sooner, we’re told, if PhotoFast is given the green light to start sales after Toshiba’s SSD modules (Apple’s MBA partner) are available for purchase.

Apple forces PhotoFast to abandon 256GB upgrade kit for MacBook Airs originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 04:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink 9to5Mac  |   | Email this | Comments

Apple’s Australian Store discounts most things by around 10 percent, foreshadows Black Friday deals

Just like last year and the year before, Apple’s kicking off its Black Friday sale in the land of Oz first. Australian Mac lovers can now buy the iMac, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air for A$121 less than their usual price, while the iPad and iPod touch dip down by A$51 apiece and the iPod nano is now A$25 cheaper. It’s all for today only, but should also be followed by similar discounts in the US and Europe.

Apple’s Australian Store discounts most things by around 10 percent, foreshadows Black Friday deals originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Nov 2010 08:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceApple Store (AU)  | Email this | Comments

MacBook Air 2010 meets Colorware, births skinny rainbow children

Not feeling like enough of an individual owning the same ultrathin Apple laptop as everyone else? We feel your pain, you need something more in your status symbol hardware. This is where Colorware enters, asking for (at least) $1,850 in exchange for a MacBook Air — made in 2010, exactly to your chromatic specifications. Come on, we can mock and we can decry the price, but if this were ever within the disposable income portion of your budget, wouldn’t you jump at the opportunity? Alas, there’s no option for repainting an Air if you’ve already bought one, so whether you want the 11.6-inch or 13-inch version, you’ll have to buy it directly from Colorware.

Update: It originally seemed as if the 11-inch Air wasn’t available, but it is, hence the body of the post has been updated accordingly.

Continue reading MacBook Air 2010 meets Colorware, births skinny rainbow children

MacBook Air 2010 meets Colorware, births skinny rainbow children originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Nov 2010 15:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceColorware  | Email this | Comments