Today's deals from DealNN include discounted MacBook Pros, webcams, and more. Macmall.com still has the 2.3GHz MacBook Pro on sale this week, which includes a 17-inch widescreen display, 4GB of RAM, a 750GB hard drive, and quad-core Intel Core i7 processor. Currently featured at DealNN, the MacBook Pro has dropped to $2,099.99 in price and offers savings of up to $549.
Rumors of a new line of Apple Macintosh MacBook Pros with an enhanced Retina Display are making the rounds this week. According to CNet, NPD DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim said that super-high resolution 13.3 and 15.4 inch panels suitable for Retina Display usage are available now from component manufacturers. The increased resolution may come at an higher cost to Apple, and possibly to consumers.
Two new reports may reinforce claims that Apple is switching back to NVIDIA GPUs for the new MacBook Pro. The Verge cites a "trusted source" as saying Apple is migrating away from AMD video. ABC News is echoing the same view from its own sources, but further suggesting that Apple will use the GeForce GT 650M.
At Apple's online store today save on refurbished MacBook Airs, MacBook Pros and more. The refurb. 11.6-inch MacBook Air with a 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM and a 128GB of flash storage is now only $799 after a $300 price cut. A $180 price cut is offered on the refub. 13.3-inch MacBook Pro with a 2.4GHz Intel dual-core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive, now $1019.
Recent rumors of a refresh in Apple's MacBook Pro line received a bit of support today, with Bloomberg now reporting that the new line is indeed on its way. Bloomberg has the new line of MacBooks arriving in June, sporting many of the features earlier rumors have suggested.
Apple will finally announce updated MacBooks in June, DigiTimes claims. The site quotes supply chain sources, who say that parts shipments are expected to pick up significantly that month as Apple escalates MacBook production. Shipments are predicted to peak in July, once capacity is reached; industry sources suggest that Apple will grow MacBook shipments by as much as 50 percent in 2012, vastly outdoing the pace of Windows PCs, even if the latter will likely still be the most dominant computer platform by far.
More details have emerged about the next-generation 15-inch MacBook Pro, if 9to5Mac’s sources are correct. As with the first unibody MacBook Pro range, where the 15-inch model led the redesign, Apple is expected to reveal its latest MacBook Pro reboot with a 15-inch model. The inclusion of Intel’s Ivy Bridge processors will allow a thinner design, that will drop its optical drive, center on a new ‘jaw-dropping’ super high resolution Retina Display and also incorporate USB 3.0 ports.
Purported MacBook Pro and iMac benchmarks have surfaced on Geekbench showing the Macs running Intel’s next-gen Ivy Bridge processors. Giving a further hint that the specs are indeed for two of Apple’s latest Macs, the MacBook Pro carries the model designation 9,1, while the 27-inch iMac carries the designation 13,2. Interestingly, Best Buy has also marked down its whole Mac range in a further sign that Apple’s Mac line refresh is impending.
Who wants a FREE MacBook Pro? Expercom is celebrating their fifteen-year anniversary by giving away one 13.3-inch MacBook Pro. This MacBook Pro includes features like a 2.4GHz Intel dual-core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, and comes pre-installed with OS X Lion, read on to find out how you can win.
Today in the MacNN forums, Forum Regular Nassifer has a question about the album artwork that shows in iTunes, read more here. "Is anyone else tired of waiting?" is the question posed by one Fresh-Faced Recruit who want's to see a MacBook Pro update.
Today's deals from DealNN include discounted MacBook Pros, iPhone cases, and more. Apple.com has a wide variety of refurbished MacBook Pros available this week, one of which is the refurb. 2.53GHz Intel Core i5 MacBook Pro, complete with a 17-inch LED-backlit widescreen display, 4GB of RAM, 8x double-layer SuperDrive, and 500GB hard drive. Currently featured at DealNN, this MacBook Pro has now dropped to only $1,719 in price and offers savings of up to $580.
At Apple's online store today save on refurbished iMacs, MacBook Pros and more. The bargain priced refurb. 21.5-inch iMac with a 3.06GHz Intel core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive is now $929 after a $170 price cut. Or save $250 on the refurb. 21.5-inch iMac with a 2.7GHz Quad-Core Intel i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 1TB hard drive, now $1249.
Today at Apple's online store save on a variety of refurbished Macs. The refurb. 11.6-inch MacBook Air with a 1.6GHz Intel dual-core i5 processor, 2GB of RAM and 64GB of flash storage along with a Thunderbolt port with support for up to 2560 x 1600 resolution, is now $849 after a $150 price drop. A $400 price cut is offered on the 13.3-inch MacBook Air with a 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM and 256GB of flash storage, now $1099.
Today's deals from DealNN include discounted MacBook Pros, iPad cases, and more. Macmall.com has recently lowered the cost of the 15.4-inch, 2.2GHz MacBook Pro, sporting a quad-core Intel-Core i7 processor, 750GB hard drive, 4GB of RAM, and Mac OS X Lion operating system. Currently featured at DealNN, the MacBook Pro can now be purchased for only $1,639.99 and offers savings of up to $559.
Intel continued its Ivy Bridge deployment on Monday by providing extensive detail of the 13 processors that would make up the initial group. The line includes six quad Core i7 processors, including Intel's first truly moderate-power example. The 2.1GHz Core i7-3612QM uses 35W like Intel's usual dual-core notebook processors but still has up to eight program threads (using Hyperthreading), 6MB of cache, and up to a 3.1GHz Turbo Boost when streamlining itself to a single core.
Apple will probably discontinue the 17-inch MacBook Pro sometime this year, argues KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. "While adding new products, Apple is likely to stop making the 17" MacBook Pro this year due to falling shipments, in order to maintain a lean product line strategy," he writes in a new memo. He estimates that Apple sold about 3.1 million MacBooks in the March quarter, but almost 1.5 million of these are expected to be 13-inch MacBook Pros, sitting ahead of 1.1 million MacBook Airs. 15-inch Pros could represent just 500,000 units, but 17-inch systems may account for as little as 50,000 units.
Today in the MacNN forums Fresh-Faced Recruit AtomicGTR started a thread looking for help with a slow graphics card in their MacBook Pro, click here to read more. Also today moderator P was looking for advice on what to do with an iMac G5 that doesn't boot, read more here.
Today's deals from DealNN include price breaks on MacBook Pros, USB drives, and more. Apple's online store recently lowered the cost of the refurbished 2.53GHz MacBook Pro, which contains an Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, 500GB hard drive, 15.4-inch display, and NVIDIA GeForxe GT 330M graphics processor with 256MB of GDDR3 memory. Currently featured at DealNN, the MacBook Pro is now on sale for only $1289 and offers savings of up to $410.
Autodesk reworked its video editing and post-shot visual effects tool specifically for Mac users. Smoke 2013 brings a new, unified interface that mixes traditional, editorial track-based editing with Autodesk's own interface elements. A node-based compositing tool, ConnectFX, lets editors insert advanced effects without having to jump to a separate interface.
Intel's Developer Forum in Beijing has seen the company make predictions as to the long-term future of computer displays. A presentation caught by Liliputing saw "Rich Displays" with very high resolutions likely becoming mainstream from 2013 onwards. These wouldn't just exist in smartphones or tablets, Intel said, but would extend even from the smallest ultrabooks through to at least smaller all-in-one desktops.
Intel may move up the launch of its Ivy Bridge processors by nearly a week. Notebook builders claimed early Thursday to Digitimes that the formal release would occur April 23, six days earlier than widely leaked. Why wasn't mentioned, but it would imply better supply than anticipated.
A number of third-party vendors are running out of the 15-inch MacBook Pro, AppleInsider notes. J&R is listing 2.2GHz systems as "out of stock," and 2.4GHz machines are "on order." Best Buy's online storefront has stopped doing home deliveries of 2.4GHz Pros, and while it is continuing to sell them at retail, many outlets in US cities like Austin and Chicago may not have units available. Another reseller, MacConnection, briefly ran out of 2.2GHz Pros earlier this week but now has units again.
Mac users expecting a spring refresh of some notebook and desktop models may have to wait a bit longer, if the latest rumors are to be believed. DigiTimes, quoting a report from China's Economic Daily News, says that supplier checks now indicate that due to late April availability of some Ivy Bridge chips, Apple plans to launched refreshed iMac and MacBook Pro models near the end of the company's fiscal second quarter, which ends in June.
This week at Apple's online store prices have been cut on refurbished iPads, iPods and more. The second generation iPad now starts as low as $449 for a 32GB model with Wi-Fi. For $479 is the refurb. 16GB iPad 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G, and on the higher end of the pricing scale is the refurb. 64GB iPad 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G, now $679 after a $50 price drop.
Intel's Ivy Bridge has had its mobile side tested early in unofficial benchmarks. Bulgaria's Laptop.bg was given a reference notebook with the unreleased 2.3GHz, quad Core i7-3610QM and overall saw a clear performance edge over the current 2.2GHz Core i7-2670QM. In CPU tests for Cinebench 10 and 11, the difference was between eight and 22 percent, respectively.
Apple is set to begin production of an updated MacBook Pro in mid-April, a DigiTimes report claims. Early shipments are expected to amount to 200,000 units per month. Mass production of 13-inch systems will allegedly have to wait until June, but with numbers starting at around 300,000 to 400,000 per month.
A report appearing in the Taiwanese trade industry publication DigiTimes suggests that Apple's next model of 13.3-inch MacBook Pro notebooks may not enter the mass-production stage until June, delaying a rumored spring refresh that would see the pro line gain Intel's latest mobile processors, codenamed Ivy Bridge. Early June is also the planned debut for the dual-core versions of the chips that would likely be used in the 13.3-inch models.
Today's deals from DealNN include price breaks on MacBook Pros, cameras, and more. Macmall.com has recently announced its Mac Blowout Sale, which lowers the cost of the 2.2GHz MacBook Pro with 15.4-inch glossy widescreen display, 4GB of Ram, 740GB hard drive, Mac OS X Lion operating system, and quad-core Intel Core i7 processor. Currently featured at DealNN, this MacBook Pro has now dropped to $1,679.99 in price and offers savings of up to $519.
NVIDIA has paired up the GeForce GTX 680 launched Thursday with its first notebook graphics sharing the same Kepler architecture. The GeForce GT 640M LE, GT 640M, GT 650M, and GTX 660M all use the new 28-nanometer building process both to be smaller and cooler than their ancestors as well as up the core count and clock speeds. They peak at 384 cores on the 640M, 650M and 660M and up to either 735MHz or 850MHz on the 660M, depending on whether or not it's using GDDR5 or DDR3 memory.
The often-rumored slim MacBook Pro may already be in production, but only in smaller models. Rumors from part suppliers speaking to Digitimes had 13- and 15-inch models coming in an initial batch of 100,000 to 150,000 units a month, but no mention of a 17-inch system. No reason was given as to why it was excluded, nor was there an indication as to whether or not it would come later or was gone altogether.
Apple is planning to ship a thinner version of the 15-inch MacBook Pro by the end of next month, How To Arena claims. The information is said to come from "a reliable source in [the] Far East Asian supply chain." The person also indicates that models will be equipped with Ivy Bridge-level Core i5 and i7 processors, and be "thicker than currently available MacBook Airs but thinner than MacBook Pros."
Today at Apple's online store save on refurbished MacBook Pros, iPads and more. The 13.3-inch MacBook Pro with a 2.4GHz Intel dual-core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive is now $1019 after a $180 price cut. Save $540 on the refurb. 15.4-inch MacBook Pro with a 2.2GHz Intel quad-core i7 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 750GB hard drive, now $1659. Or for $1719, after a $580 price drop, is the 17-inch MacBook Pro with a 2.53GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive.
Intel stated Thursday to PCWorld that its Thunderbolt implementation would get a faster back infrastructure with its Ivy Bridge processor era. New Thunderbolt chipsets will use PCI Express 3.0 as its interface with the system instead of PCIe 2.0, boosting the bandwidth from five gigatransfers per second to eight. The upgrade won't change the 10Gbps external speed but will reduce any bottlenecks past the initial interface.
Yesterday Grizzled Veteran abbaZaba started a thread looking for some advice on how to replace a bad AirPort card in a MacBook Pro, click here to read more. Also yesterday one member asks "why is this Mac crashing" in reference to an iBook running 10.4.11, click here to read more.
Today's deals from DealNN include price breaks on MacBook Pros, speaker systems, and more. Apple.com has recently lowered the cost of the refurbished 2.4GHz MacBook Pro, which includes a 15.4-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display, maximum image resolution of 1440 x 900, 4GB of RAM, and a 750GB hard drive. Currently featured at DealNN, this MacBook Pro is now priced at $1,869 and offers savings of up to $330.
Today at Apple's online store save on refurbished iMacs, iPads and more. The refurb. 21.5-inch iMac with a 2.5GHz Intel quad-core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive is now $999 after a $200 price break. For just a little more, $1019, is the refurb. 13.3-inch MacBook Pro with a 2.4GHz Intel dual-core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive.
Updated MacBook Pros will ship in April "at the soonest," according to Digitimes. Upstream supply chain sources suggest that about 900,000 units will roll out at launch. Only 13- and 15-inch Pros are mentioned though, which may imply that 17-inch systems will arrive at a later date.
Following on from recent EFI updates for various MacBook Pro models, Apple this afternoon issued one specifically for the 15-inch, late 2008 model that resolves a graphics issue that can cause the internal display to flicker. The late 2008 MacBook Pro, also known as MacBookPro5,1 or MB470*/A or MB471*/A, was the first of the 15-inch "unibody" MacBook Pros with tapered sides like the MacBook Air.
At Apple's online store today save on refurbished iPads starting at $399 for the first generation 16GB iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G after a $130 price cut. Refurbished iPad 2 models start at $419 for the 16GB current generation iPad 2, or $499 for a 64GB iPad 2. Or save $100 for the refurb. 64GB iPad 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G, now $729.
Today at Apple's online store refurbished Mac mini models start as low as $519 for a Mac mini originally released in July of 2011 with a 2.3GHz Intel dual-core i5 processor, 2GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive. For a little more $699, is the refurb. Mac mini with a 2.5GHz Intel dual-core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive. Also priced low is the refurb. Mac mini with Snow Leopard Server, a 2.66GHz Intel core 2 duo processor, 4GB of RAM and dual 500GB hard drives, now only $749.
Apple has released four separate EFI firmware updates for Macs. These include Mac mini EFI Firmware Update 1.6, iMac EFI Firmware Update 1.9, MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update 2.4, and MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 2.7. In all cases, the downloads deal with the same core problems.
HP reported results for its quarter ended January that reflected a bruising in the PC business regardless of category. Its net earnings dropped 44 percent to $1.5 billion following a seven-point loss in revenue to exactly $30 billion after the core Personal Systems Group saw its revenue down 15 percent versus a year ago; the enterprise server group dipped 10 percent. The PSG's losses were mostly pinned on home users, as mainstream PCs made 25 percent less revenue while pro workstations were flat.
At Apple's online store today save big on refurbished Macs, like this $300 price break on the 11.6-inch MacBook Air with a 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM and 128GB of flash storage, now $799. For $999 is the refurb. 21.5-inch iMac with a 2.5GHz Intel Quad-Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive.
Today's deals from DealNN include price breaks MacBook Pros, notebooks, and more. Macmall.com is still offering a discount on the 17-inch, 2.2GHz MacBook Pro, complete with glossy widescreen display, 4GB of RAM and 750GB hard drive, quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, and choice between Mac OS X Snow Leopard or Mac OS X Lion operating systems. Currently featured at DealNN, this MacBook Pro has now dropped 25% off its once $2499 list price, and can be purchased for only $1,879.99.
Intel's claimed delay of Ivy Bridge processors may have been limited and contextualized in a rumor on Sunday. The company still planned to ship desktop and quad-core mobile processors on time, VR-Zone heard, and was mostly keeping the June delays to dual-core mobile processors. Supporting the earlier rumor, the new tips cast it as a move to clear unsold stock of current-generation Sandy Bridge processors, both for raw chips and for unsold (primarily Windows-based) PCs.
Apple's Messages beta may have been a further clue as to Apple's possible plans for high-resolution Mac displays. Multiple images in the app package are designated "@2x," a new designation usually seen only in recent pre-release iOS code. Even the normally small chat tab icon for a contact is 82x82.
The 13- to 14-inch notebook screen size is currently one of the hottest areas of competition right now: it's where Apple, HP, and others start off their higher-end models. Dell has certainly been one of the most active in this space and has brought its high-end XPS line to that space through the 14z. We'll check in our Dell XPS 14z review whether the 13-inch MacBook Pro, the Sony VAIO S, or comparable rivals will feel the strain.
On and off rumors of a major MacBook Pro redesign were supported on Friday with leaks supporting a complete overhaul. The AppleInsider hints had Apple's high-end notebooks being overhauled over the course of 2012 to more closely resemble the MacBook Air, dropping optical drives and slimming down. Rumors of a 15-inch Air were more likely references to Apple repeating what it did with the unibody MacBook Pro, where the 15-inch model led the redesign and other sizes followed later.
[Update: MacBook Pro eligibility corrected] Apple late today issued further EFI firmware updates to allow previous-generation MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and iMacs to access Lion Internet Recovery, a technology that lets users re-download and reinstall Lion when the hard drive containing the recovery partition has completely failed and no other backup medium is available. The models updated today include the MacBook Air (late 2010), the mid-2010 aluminum iMacs and the mid 2010 MacBook Pros.
Skulking in Apple's Mac OS X 10.7.3 update has raised possibilities that Apple's on-again, off-again high-DPI support may be more established in the final version. Art assets found for mouse pointers by Marc Edwards both look different and scale to large sizes without the usual pixelated look. One claim had a Mac mini using HDMI kick into the normally hidden HiDPI mode after 10.7.3 was installed.
