Aug 02

Engadget’s Back to School guide: Netbooks and laptops

Posted in: laptop, Laptops, macbook, macbook pro, MacbookPro, netbook, netbooks, Today's Chili

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.

You didn’t think we’d let back to school season roll around without rounding up the latest gear, did you? Good, because here at Engadget we understand that not only is heading off to college nerve wracking, but picking out the best gadgets can as equally scary. We couldn’t think of kicking off our back to school guide with anything but our top netbook / laptop choices since, you know, a good performing and well-rounded machine is absolutely essential for those hours of Facebook stalking, err of homework and studying. No matter what your budget, we’ve got you covered with recommendations and loads of mobile computing options. Now, on to the laptops…

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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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Jun 17

Clearwire intros new WiMAX mobile hotspots, Mac-friendly 3G / 4G USB WWAN modem

Posted in: 4G, Apple, cdma, Mac, macbook pro, MacbookPro, mobile broadband, mobile internet, MobileBroadband, MobileInternet, Today's Chili, WiMAX, wwan

Lookin’ for yet another avenue to hop on the 4G superhighway? Fret not, as Clearwire has just doled out a trio of new products intended to help you do just that. Prior to today, you had only a smattering of options to actually tap into Clear’s WiMAX network, but the Clear Spot 4G (WiMAX only), Clear Spot 4G+ (dual-mode with 3G / 4G support) and Clear 4G+ Mobile USB stick have all arrived to give choosy moms more choices. The prior two are simply mobile broadband hotspots (think MiFi, but for 4G), with the 4G+ offering support for Sprint’s 3G network if you happen to leave one of those few WiMAX zones already lit. The USB stick is particularly interesting, as it’s the first dual-mode device hawked by Clear that’s fully compatible with Apple OS X. The Clear Spot 4G will be made by InfoMark and available to purchase for $99.99 next month; those who hate committing can also lease one for $4.99 per month. The Sierra Wireless-built Spot 4G+ (a rebadged Overdrive; shown left) demands a hefty premium for that 3G support, with an MSRP of $224.99 (or least for $5.99 per month) and a similar July ship date. The 4G+ Mobile USB stick (shown right) will support OS X 10.5.x and 10.6.x (along with Windows, of course), and can be snapped up today for $114.99 or leased monthly for $5.99. Head on past the break if you’re thirsty for more.

Gallery: Clearwire new WiMAX products

Continue reading Clearwire intros new WiMAX mobile hotspots, Mac-friendly 3G / 4G USB WWAN modem

Clearwire intros new WiMAX mobile hotspots, Mac-friendly 3G / 4G USB WWAN modem originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 10:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 31

Feuding analysts argue about whether the iPad is boosting Mac sales

Posted in: Apple, apple ipad, AppleIpad, ipad, macbook pro, MacbookPro, Today's Chili
Fueding analysis argue about whether the iPad is boosting Mac sales

Think it’s only Apple faithful who are adding an iPad to their gadget cache? According to Chitika Research, that’s not true. The online advertising firm keeps a close eye on which platforms are downloading its ads the most, and it says that Mac computers accounted for 10.3 percent of wasted bandwidth in April. That’s up from 7.4 percent in the January – March timeframe (you know, the pre-iPad era), and Chitika Research Director Daniel Ruby says “90% of that increase was due to the iPad halo effect.” Meanwhile, NPD analyst Stephen Baker believes that the boost is instead thanks to the new MacBook Pro models that were released at the same time, and Technology Business Research analyst Ezra Gottheil says “early data on the iPad indicated that most buyers were already in the Apple club.” Who is right? Survey says… your guess is as good as ours, and any of theirs, apparently.

Feuding analysts argue about whether the iPad is boosting Mac sales originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 May 2010 10:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 28

How would you change Apple’s Core i7 MacBook Pro?

Posted in: Apple, CoreI7, Features, HowWouldYouChange, HWYC, intel, laptop, macbook pro, MacbookPro, processor, Today's Chili

Apple’s secrets have been getting out a bit more than usual over the past couple of months, and few were shocked when Intel’s newest slabs of silicon slithered beneath the unibody shells of the freshest MacBook Pros. The Core i7 rig in particular drew attention, as this was the first MBP to surface with components within capable of rivaling Wintel machines from half a year ago. One thing that struck us in our own review of the unit was the lack of change outside of the CPU; you’re still dealing with the same underwhelming arrangement of ports, and unless you opt for the 17-incher, you’re still wondering why Apple ganked your ExpressCard slot. Enough of our ranting — we’re here to hear what exactly you have to say about Apple’s newest MacBook Pro. Would you have added in USB 3.0 ports? Finally caved and threw in a Blu-ray option? Added a “Flash-capable” sticker in the palm rest? Go on, get creative in comments below.

How would you change Apple’s Core i7 MacBook Pro? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 May 2010 01:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 12

MacBook Pro i7 in a ‘command’ performance

Posted in: Apple, keyboard, macbook, macbook pro, MacbookPro, Today's Chili

This isn’t the first keyboard assembly snafu we’ve seen and it certainly won’t be the last. But once again it’s time to point and laugh at Apple after its new Core i7-equipped MacBook Pro was accidentally fitted with three command keys in Japan. Funny, knowing Steve Jobs you’d think he’d opt for more ctrl.

MacBook Pro i7 in a ‘command’ performance originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 May 2010 05:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 08

MacBook Pros with NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics get (unofficial) discrete switching utility

Posted in: Apple, macbook pro, MacbookPro, NVIDIA, Today's Chili

We’ve lamented the way Apple’s latest MacBook Pros switch between their integrated Intel graphics and the NVIDIA-sourced, power-sapping discrete silicon pretty much since day one (we’re sorry, but Tweetie just doesn’t need all the horsepower our systems have to offer). Apple has yet to pony up an official solution, but a neat little utility — Cody Krieger’s gfxCardStatus — has been quietly evolving over the past few weeks into a decent substitute. Originally designed simply to let you know which chipset’s currently in use, the latest version, 1.6.1, now allows you to toggle amongst them by hand. It’s said to still be a little bit on the buggy side, but we’re delighted (and not really surprised) to see that the community came to the rescue in short order when Cupertino didn’t.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

MacBook Pros with NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics get (unofficial) discrete switching utility originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 May 2010 12:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 29

Keepin’ it real fake: MacBook Pro knockoff rocks Ion 2, thinks itself fly

Posted in: Apple, kirf, macbook, macbook pro, MacbookPro, nvidia ion, NvidiaIon, Today's Chili

We’ve stumbled across any number of MacBook Air KIRFs, but it’s not often we see a worthy representation of Cupertino’s heftier model. Never underestimate Shenzhen. This “Dragonfly QT Pro” not only features a familiar aluminum alloy shell, the 14-inch, 1366 x 768 netbook’s also got Ion 2 switchable graphics ahead of its Acer and ASUS cousins. A 1.66GHz Atom D410 and 1GB of memory help pump out 1080p video while keeping case temperatures at a lap-happy 36 degrees Celsius, while a 160GB hard drive, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and HDMI (take that, Mini DisplayPort) round out a 4.2 pound, roughly $3000 RMB (about $440) package. Shame it only gets 2 hours of battery life, eh?

Keepin’ it real fake: MacBook Pro knockoff rocks Ion 2, thinks itself fly originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 22:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 28

Adobe’s Flash Player ‘Gala’ OS X preview tested: results may vary

Posted in: adobe, Apple, CoreI5, CoreI7, flash, macbook pro, MacbookPro, NVIDIA, Today's Chili

Gala1Flash 101

2.40GHz Core i5, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M 256MB2
Safari 4.0.595.4 – 152.874.2 – 123.5
Firefox 3.6.483.5 – 148.489.4 – 130.5
2.66GHz Core i7, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M 512MB2
Safari 4.0.559 – 6496 – 132
Firefox 3.6.469 – 79111 – 140


So we just put a few minutes aside to put Adobe’s new “Gala” build of Flash 10.1 through its paces on our latest-generation Core i5 and i7 15-inch MacBook Pros here, and the results are a little confusing to say the least. On our i7 equipped with the high-res display and 512MB GeForce GT 330M, processor utilization playing a 1080p sample video on YouTube dropped by a third to a half on average — not bad — with Safari 4.0.5 besting Firefox 3.6.4 by a smidge. Our i5 saw strangely different numbers, though, with Gala actually increasing the load on the CPU by as much as about 20 percent. Adobe is quick to note that this is nothing more than a rough preview release; Apple just unlocked access to the necessary hardware a few days ago, after all, and we’re sure the company still has plenty of optimization to do. Ultimately, if our i7 figures are realistic, it should make high-def Hulu a decidedly less drama-packed experience down the road.

Notes:
1 Performance measured by processor utilization (note that numbers greater than 100 are possible on multi-core machines).
2 15.4-inch high resolution display, 256GB SSD, 4GB RAM

Adobe’s Flash Player ‘Gala’ OS X preview tested: results may vary originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 26

Core i7-equipped MacBook Pro hits 100 degrees Celsius, your lap cowers in fear

Posted in: Apple, CoreI7, macbook, macbook pro, MacbookPro, Today's Chili

Hydrocarbon fuel cell? 600 degrees Celsius. Large Hadron Collider? -271 degrees. Microwave drill? 2,000. Your run of the mill Core i7 MacBook Pro can’t compete with these extreme temperatures, but that won’t keep it from burning your lap. PC Authority recently put the latest edition of Apple’s sleek silver classic through a series of torture tests, and found that running Cinebench could cause the CPU temperature to climb over 100 degrees Celsius. The metal shell proved ineffective at dissipating the heat as well as the similarly equipped Fujitsu Lifebook SH760, which finished the same test at 81 degrees, and actually required PC Authority to run the MacBook Pro on its side (see pic above) to complete certain tests. The site thinks that Apple’s cooling solution may be inadequate for a Core i7, but these results could be a fluke — in our experience with the machine, we actually noticed an improvement over the egg-cooking solutions of yesteryear.

Core i7-equipped MacBook Pro hits 100 degrees Celsius, your lap cowers in fear originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Apr 2010 07:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 21

MacBook Pros with NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M silicon making questionable graphics switching decisions

Posted in: Apple, macbook pro, MacbookPro, NVIDIA, Today's Chili

“With every choice you make, ask yourself: is this a good choice, or is this a bad choice?” That’s the sage advice we were constantly given as tykes — and it’s advice that replays in our feeble brains every day as we write news. Turns out it’s also a piece of wisdom Apple’s latest round of MacBook Pros would be wise to heed, because currently, they’re making some awful decisions about when to turn on that power-sapping NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M discrete chipset. Read on to see what we mean.

[Thanks, Tom]

Continue reading MacBook Pros with NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M silicon making questionable graphics switching decisions

MacBook Pros with NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M silicon making questionable graphics switching decisions originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Apr 2010 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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