Apple Macbook Pro small laptop

Features:

• Intel Core i5-2415M Processor, 2.30 GHz, Dual core
• 4 GB DDR3 RAM
• Wi-fi, Bluetooth

PROS:

• Thin and compact
• HD camera
• Up to 7 hrs battery life

CONS:

• The price starts from £999 ($1639)

Detailed Specification:

Expert Review:

Apple Macbook Pro small laptop

Apple has released an improved version of the popular Macbook laptop through the Macbook Pro which is now powered by the latest Intel Dual Core i5-2415M processor. Thin and compact, the Macbook Pro has ample 4 GB DDR3 RAM and 320 GB capacity hard disk. For backup storage there is a 8x Super Drive DVD player.

The OS is Mac X10.6 Snow Leopard and the display is 13.3” widescreen LCD with LED backlight and 1280 x 800 pixels resolution. The connectivity is well taken care of with Wi-fi, Bluetooth and Gigabit Ethernet. But there are only 2 USB 2.0 ports. Additional features include FaceTimeHD webcam, mini DisplayPort VGA/HDMI interface that uses thunderbolt technology, stereo speakers, microphone etc.

Apple Macbook Pro small laptop

The small laptop is powered by 63.5 WHr capacity Li-polymer battery that lasts up to 7 hours of continuous usage. Apple provides a no. of useful software tools like iTunes, iChat, iCal, iLife etc. with this lightweight laptop. To sum up Apple Macbook Pro is a high end laptop with plenty of features suitable for experienced users.

Apple iPad

Ever since Apple introduced iPad into the US market in a big way in April, gadget enthusiasts have wondered whether it would replace the netbook and create a new category between the computer and the mobile phone as claimed by Apple during its marketing blitz prior to its launch. A recent iPad users’ survey by Yahoo has revealed interesting facts regarding iPad usage.

Men outnumber women by 2 to 1 among iPad users. International traffic accounts for 10% of the total even though iPad has primarily been released in the US market. Age wise, those in the 35 – 44 years category form about 36% of the total with those aged below 30 forming a negligible percentage. Further 48% of iPad users already own an iPhone and 94% have solid income i.e. those that can be included in ‘well-to-do’ list. Use of Flickr, Finance, News and Sports in that order is predominant among iPad users. Though the sample size of this survey may not be large as the device itself is a little over a month old in the market, it however gives a general indication of what to expect regarding iPad usage: it is mostly used by men with high disposable income and browsing forms a significant part of the usage.

Another poll on Mashable indicated that 55% of the pollsters preferred iPad while 35% preferred netbook with the rest showing no preference. But these figures cannot be overstretched as iPad itself is very young and what happens over a significant period of time is anybody’s guess.

Apple iPad

The much awaited Apple’s iPad was released in the U.S. market earlier this month and sold more than 450,000 pieces in less than a week. Apple is claiming iPad as something more than a smartphone, positioning it between a mobile phone and a PC.  Whether the users also feel the same about it is a million dollar question. According to an online poll by Mashable, more than half the respondents preferred iPad over a netbook.

iPad is also expected to pose a stiff challenge to existing E-readers like Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader etc. According to a prelaunch survey, 40% of would be buyers of an E-reader prefer iPad over Kindle (28%) and Nook (6%). Apart from being a mobile phone, iPad is also a potent device for surfing the internet.

Portable gaming is another possible popular application of iPad giving Nintendo and Sony a challenge in their domain. According to Apple’s Steve Jobs there are 3500 iPad specific apps available out of the total of 185,000 apps available across all devices for download. A total of 3.5 million apps and 600,000 iBooks have already been downloaded to iPads since launch. Overall iPad is expected to stir the mass market for tablet computing capable of handling a no. of apps catering to a wide audience.

Features:

• Intel Core 2 Duo processor
• 160/250/320 GB hard drive
• Optional 128 GB solid state drive
• Wifi network connection and Bluetooth
• Li polymer battery

PROS:

• Lightweight (just 4.5lbs), and thin (0.95″)
• Battery lasts up to 5 hours
• Environmental friendly design
• Made to order configuration

CONS:

• Price starts from £799 and higher depending on configuration.

Detailed Specification:

Expert Review:

With the release of new Macbook, Apple has brought another innovative product to the laptop market. The environmental friendly laptop is made of recyclable aluminium body, energy efficient backlit LED display that is both mercury and arsenic free, internal cables that are PVC free and satisfy the stringent Energy Star 4.0 specifications.

The new MacBook small laptop is light in weight (4.5 lbs) and compact with external dimensions of 12.78 x 8.94 x 0.95 in. The 13.3 in (diagonal) wide screen LED backlit display has a native resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. Other than a full size keyboard, the laptop has a multi touch track pad which supports 2 finger scrolling, 3 & 4 finger swipe, tap and double taps and drag facilities. The track pad has no traditional buttons.

The MacBook is powered by custom built Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB on chip shared L2 cache and 1066 MHz FSB. The CPU speed is 2.0 GHz with optional 2.4 GHz. It has 2 GB, 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM and 160GB 5400 rpm serial ATA hard disk with optional higher capacity hard disk as well as solid state flash drive. Optical storage is taken care of by a 8x slot loading SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW).

The graphics is handled by NVIDIA GE Force 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory. The audio system consists of analogue audio output / headphone, built-in stereo speakers and omni directional microphone. There is also built in i-Sight video camera.

The external connectivity of the Macbook small laptop is taken care of by 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1; 10/100 Gigabit Ethernet and I/O ports include 2 USB 2.0 ports, a MagSafe power port and a Kensington lock The laptop is powered by 45-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery that can last up to 5 hours under normal usage.

The operating system is Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard (includes Time Machine, Quick Look, Spaces, Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Photo Booth, Front Row, Xcode Developer Tools). Other software provided includes iLife ’08 (with iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb, GarageBand).

To summarize, the new MacBook small laptop has many features similar to Macbook Pro at considerably lesser price.

Features:

• Intel Core 2 Duo processor
• Environmental friendly design
• Wifi network connection and Bluetooth
• Li Polymer battery
• The price starts from £950 and goes up to £1600 depending on the configuration

PROS:

• Lightweight (just 3lbs), and ultra thin (0.16 to 0.76″), claimed to be world’s thinnest
• Battery lasts up to 5 hours
• Powered by Intel Core 2 Duo processor
• Has intelligent wireless networking card and blue tooth for connecting peripherals without cables

CONS:

• No traditional Ethernet card or optical storage drive.

Detailed Specification:

Expert Review: 

Apple is back in the news as a leader in innovation with the release of the super thin MacBook Air at the Mac World of January 2008 held in San Francisco. It is claimed to be world’s thinnest laptop with the maximum thickness, just 0.76in. It has rightly branded the release as ‘Thinnovation’. The slimness has come at a cost: there is only one USB port, no built in CD / DVD drive and Ethernet port.
Despite its thinness, the MacBook Air has normal size screen and keyboard. The 13.3 in (diagonal) wide screen LED display consumes minimal power while still providing sharp pictures with up to 1280 x 800 pixels resolution in built in display and 1920 by 1200 pixels on external display. The full size keyboard is backlit with ambient light sensor for automatic adjustment of keyboard illumination and screen brightness. The overall dimensions are 12.8 x 8.94 x 0.76 in and it weighs just 3 lbs.

The MacBook Air is powered by custom built Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB on chip shared L2 cache and 800 MHz front side bus. It has 2 GB, 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM on board and is available with 1.6 GHz CPU cycle as standard and 1.8 GHz optional. The 80GB 4200 rpm parallel ATA hard disk may be a little short on speed as well as size for video buffs and music lovers. It has optional 64 GB solid state drive with no moving parts and optional external USB 8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW).

The graphics is handled by Intel GMA X3100 processor with 144MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory. The audio system includes analogue audio output / headphone, built-in mono speaker and omni directional microphone. There is also a built-in iSight camera.

Apple has adapted the multi-touch innovations of the iPhone in the multifunctional trackpad of MacBook Air. It has retained Mac’s two finger scroll and tap feature. The I/O ports include a USB 2.0 port, a headphone jack, a micro DVI port for video output and a power adapter connection. The single USB port is an obvious handicap. The laptop is powered by 37-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery that can last up to 5 hours with normal usage. The charging is done through 45W MagSafe power adapter with cable management system.

The operating system is Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard which includes a host of software packages like Time Machine, Quick Look, Spaces, Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Photo Booth, Front Row, Xcode Developer Tools and for handling music, photos and videos, iLife ’08 which includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb, GarageBand. Time machine allows wireless backup of files to an external drive – a hard drive with a Wifi base station, called Time Capsule. All in all a bunch of useful application packages that make life easy even for a novice user.

To summarize, MacBook Air has innovative features and great design but it comes with a price tag of over $3000 with all the accessories included.