Apple Launch iTunes 10 & New Apple TV - September 2010. News of the new iTunes 10 and Apple TV including photos and pricing, plus my opinion.
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Today, 1st September 2010, Apple Inc launched all new iPods. The new iPod Shuffle, Nano and touch are all detailed complete with photos and pricing in this very video, along with some opinion about the tiny Nano from me. Check the channel later for more Apple News.
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Since the iPad was launched we have experienced shortages, followed by waits for shipping from the Apple Store online. Now things have improved, with all models of the iPad now shipping within 24 hours of placing your order. This has been reflected on many of the Apple online stores worldwide, including both the UK & US. Apple have been striving to ramp up production on their successful tablet device and it seems like they have finally caught up and have a plentiful supply.
I posted a little earlier about Apple's new iMac line-up that the company launched today. What follows is the full details in their official press release.
Apple® today updated its all-in-one iMac® line, widely praised as the world's best desktop computers, with the latest Intel Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 processors and powerful new graphics. Starting at £999, the new iMac line is the fastest ever with dual-core processor speeds up to 3.6 GHz, quad-core speeds up to 2.93 GHz and discrete graphics including the powerful ATI Radeon HD 5750. The new Magic Trackpad, with a smooth glass and aluminium design, gives iMac users the same intuitive Multi-Touch™ gestures that Mac® notebook customers have come to love and is available separately for £59 inc VAT.
“We took the world’s best all-in-one and made it even better,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With the latest processors, high-performance graphics and signature aluminium and glass design, customers are going to love the latest iMac.”
Dual-core Intel Core i3 and Core i5, and quad-core Core i5 and Core i7 processors set a new benchmark for iMac performance. The processors feature an integrated memory controller to access the system memory directly, allowing the new iMac to take full advantage of its faster 1333 MHz memory. New discrete ATI Radeon HD processors deliver incredibly smooth, crisp graphics for the most demanding 3D games, creative software and technical applications. iMac displays feature IPS technology to deliver a brilliant image across a wide 178 degree viewing angle. The SD card slot on the iMac now supports the SDXC format to handle the latest high-capacity storage cards. Customers of the 27-inch iMac have the option to order a 256GB solid state drive (SSD) as a primary or secondary drive. The iMac SSD supports up to 215 MB/s data transfer rates for faster startup and application launch times.
Every iMac comes with Apple’s innovative Magic Mouse and customers can also order the new Magic Trackpad as an option. The Magic Trackpad brings the intuitive Multi-Touch gestures of Mac notebook trackpads to the desktop. With its glass surface, the wireless Magic Trackpad enables users to scroll smoothly up and down a page with inertial scrolling, pinch to zoom in and out, rotate an image with their fingertips and swipe three fingers to flip through a collection of web pages or photos. The Magic Trackpad can be configured to support single button or two button commands and supports tap-to-click as well as a physical click.
Continuing Apple’s commitment to the environment, Apple’s desktop lineup is a leader in green design. The iMac meets stringent Energy Star 5.0 requirements and achieves EPEAT Gold status.* iMac features LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. iMac uses PVC-free components and cables, contains no brominated flame retardants, uses highly recyclable materials and features material-efficient system and packaging designs. A new Apple Battery Charger provides a convenient and environmentally friendly way to always have a fresh set of batteries for your Magic Trackpad, Magic Mouse and Wireless Keyboard. The Apple Battery Charger is available for £25 inc VAT and comes with six long shelf life rechargeable batteries.
Every Mac also comes with Mac OS® X Snow Leopard®, the world’s most advanced operating system, and iLife®, Apple’s innovative suite of applications for managing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music. Snow Leopard builds on a decade of OS X innovation and success with hundreds of refinements, core technologies and out of the box support for Microsoft Exchange. iLife features iPhoto®, with breakthrough ways to organise and manage your photos by who appears in them and where they were taken; iMovie® with powerful easy-to-use features such as Precision Editor, video stabilisation and advanced drag and drop; and GarageBand® which offers a whole new way to help you learn to play piano and guitar.
Pricing & Availability
The new iMac line is shipping now and available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com/uk), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorised Resellers.
The new 21.5-inch 3.06 GHz Intel Core i3 iMac, for a suggested retail price of £999 inc VAT (£850.21 ex VAT), includes:
Configure-to-order options include up to 8GB of RAM.
The new 21.5-inch 3.2 GHz Intel Core i3 iMac, for a suggested retail price of £1249 inc VAT (£1062.98 ex VAT), includes:
Configure-to-order options include a faster 3.6 GHz Core i5 processor, 2TB hard drive and up to 8GB of RAM.
The new 27-inch 3.2 GHz Intel Core i3 iMac, for a suggested retail price of £1399 inc VAT (£1190.64 ex VAT), includes:
Configure-to-order options include a 3.6 GHz Core i5 processor, 2TB hard drive, 256GB solid state drive (SSD) and up to 16GB of RAM.
The new 27-inch 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 iMac, for a suggested retail price of £1649 inc VAT (£1403.40 ex VAT), includes:
Configure-to-order options include a 2.93 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 processor, a 2TB hard drive, 256GB solid state drive (SSD) and up to 16GB of RAM.
For a long time now I have loved Apple's trackpads on their MacBook and MacBook Pro lines. I have also enjoyed the touch screens of the iPod touch, iPhone and of course the iPad. Today, Apple went one step further and want us all to go touchy feely with our desktop computers. They did this by launching their new Magic Trackpad.
The new device (pictured) is a slanted multi-touch surface, the same depth as the standard Apple desktop keyboard. It offers all the touch goodness of clicking, scrolling, swiping and rotating and connects to your Mac via bluetooth. Think of it as Apple bringing the MacBook trackpad to your desktop. This new device is £59 and shipping now. Expect to see a review real soon.
Apple also announced that a new 27-inch Cinema Display will be available in September. Exactly as my prediction this size will be a perfect match for the 27-inch iMac, or indeed a Mac Pro, or as pictured it'll dwarf the Mac Mini. In my opinion a bit too much for the Mac Mini!
Glossy with black bezel is the way Apple have stayed. With a massive 2560x1440 resolution (the same as the large iMac), this display is sure to impress. With 178 degree viewing angle, LED backlighting, built in iSight and microphone (at last) and 49 watts of stereo sound this new beast sounds superb. I cannot wait to get hold of one.
Apple today launched, or more appropriately revamped its iMac lineup. There are still two sizes, both 21.5-inch and 27-inch models, but the minimum processor speed is now a 3.2GHz Core i3 processor.
On the Core i3 machines you can upgrade the processor to a 3.6GHz Core i5, for around £150 more. This is quite a nice offering if you want a smaller 21.5-inch screen with quite a speedy processor. With all models you get 4GB of RAM as standard and can go up to a maximum of 16GB internal memory.
The 27-inch models go all the way up to a 2.93GHz Core i7 processor. Most noteworthy though is the inclusion of space in there for both a 2TB SATA hard drive and a second SSD drive of 256GB capacity. Wow, that is a nice inclusion, this will mean super fast start up times if you put the OS and your applications on the SSD and keep the SATA hard drive for data. The other sideline update that impressed me was the SD slot accepts SDXC (=very high capacity) memory cards.
At the time of writing this I cannot comment on pricing, as the store was not playing fair with me. I could only gain access to educational pricing which starts at £938 for the base 21.5-inch model, up to £1,549 for the 2.8GHZ Core i7 27-inch model.
Update: The base model 21.5-inch iMac starts at £999 inc VAT.
The Apple Store is currently unavailable, ahead of rumoured new iMacs, Mac Pros and Cinema Displays. It seems pretty obvious that we will see something new from Apple today. For starters, the Cinema Displays definitely need to reflect the current iMac sizing. I think we will see a 21.5-inch model and 27-inch model for sure, making it uber cool to run dual display iMac setups. For those who run a Mac Pro, yes I know you want to see a 30-inch model too.
On the iMac front, I predict that we will see Core i3 processors as the base specification. Let's hope that prices stay the same too. If this does happen, they can count me in for an order. I didn't want the high end i7 really (or at least the price associated with it), but a Core i3 27-inch would do me nicely to replace my current 3.06GHz Core2Duo machine.
As for the Mac Pros, well, when I am a bit richer then I would show more interest. Sorry guys (and gals) but this is not my bag.
Surprises… well one would like to think so, but is a Mac Mini Tower every really going to happen?
The Two Techies is a weekly podcast, hosted by Jamie Bunting and Aaron Fisher they discuss the latest and most interesting technology news with the occasional guest on every few episodes. On today's show the guys invited me along to share my views on the tech news of the week. It certainly was a pleasant experience, with a very relaxed format and I am sure you will enjoy a listen. There is some great coverage on this podcast, so I urge you to check it out and subscribe in iTunes. You can also find more information here.
Apple iPhone 4 Press Conference - Adam Christianson Maccast Interview. The internet, YouTube and the news has been filled with the reported reception issue on the iPhone 4. Today, 16th July 2010, Apple held a press conference to address the issue.
In this video I bring you an interview with Adam Christianson from The Maccast, held just after the press conference ended. We discuss what Apple announced with some great insight into what has been offered.
You can catch The Maccast at http://www.maccast.com
iPhone 4 Signal Issues and Viewer Feedback. In this video I discuss the iPhone 4 issues along with a special announcement for tomorrow. Plus I need some feedback :)
It really is great to hear from viewers that enjoy my videos and just recently I got this superb email with a little article from George. If you would like to share your set-up or opinion about the Geekanoids Channel, please do get in touch.