News for Wednesday, 16 January 2008

The video streamng of the MWSF 2008 Keynote is now available online from the Apple website:

Enjoy the keynote, presentation of the MacBook Air starts after 54 minutes.

Following readers' requests, we publish some official and exclusive technical details related to the MacBook Pro:
- The 13.3" LED-backlighted display feature 1280x800 pixels. The graphical chipset is the same as in current MacBook, the GMAX3100, with up to 144MB of RAM taken from the central memory. However we do not know if the chipset frequency is the same as in the MacBook.
- The 2GB of RAM are soldered to the motherboard
- One can not remove the battery (but when disassembling the MacBook Air, one will probably be able to install a new one, still has to be confirmed)
- For the moment, one can not use the MacBook Air in Target mode to transfer data, application or simply a cloned HD when changing notebook hardware.
- The maximal thickness of the SSD or 1.8" HD accepted in the MacBook Air is 5mm. This is the smallest format currently available. Current 1.8"HD with this format are based on a single plate, so they currently top at 80GB and should not be able to increase so much in the future.
All those "negative" points for releasing an extremely thin and light notebook, that’s the price for such an elegant and powerful notebook.

Since its launch yesterday by Steve Jobs, there are numerous reactions about the MacBook Air (Pro and Cons) over the web or on our forum.
Hereafter are photos sent by our team member Moose who is covering the MWSF:


The last one illustrates the difference in Apple notebook offer by comparing the MacBook Pro (on the right) with the MacBook Air (on the left) (photo from one of our sources, taken in London).

It is clear that the MacBook Air is much thinner and lighter than the other MacBook. Of course it has a cost, especially for the number of output/input, but it brings a true value in term of weight, an important point for users on the move. A single USB port might well be the main limiting factor as it will only allow you to extend function with peripherals such as (external SuperDrive, Ethernet adaptor, external HD, 3G+ USB adaptor,...). A USB hub will most likely become quickly necessary when back to the desk. One can also complain that it "only" features 5 hours of battery lifetime, or a hardly replaceable battery, or to be still to heavy for a true sub notebook, or too large, etc...
Nevertheless, according to our information, all people having touched and play with it were convinced that it is a great product, especially our team members who usually carry their notebook in their backpack. The MacBook Air is mostly targeting users on the move, not requiring special peripherals or features, other than having a notebook, light, with good battery lifetime on which one can work with office suite and edit text or data. In other words, it could well be the perfect notebook to be used in Corporate, taking into account the nice Time Capsule released yesterday allowing Mac and PC to share and communicate flawlessly.
Regarding the price, it is balanced considering the technology included in this notebook (LED backlighted display and keyboard). Of course the SSD option is expensive, and one should most likely chose the HD-based model, hoping that third party SSD will become cheaper in the future.

Do miss the new photos from the MWSF sent by our journalist Moose, featuring MacBook Air and other new products.

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