Wedgie Wedge Partners also thinks that Apple will have another round of price cuts along with the release of the new Macs, as a response to the impending release of Windows 7, Microsoft’s well-received OS, this October. Apple does follow a fairly regular hardware update cycle, so I guess the first part of the rumor is no surprise, but  price cuts?  Want. Maybe Apple will release a 13″ Unibody MacBook with a removable battery for $1,000. Hah! I wish.

What would you like to see in the next Macbook & iMac? What the hell does “organic design” mean? And what exactly does a “research firm” do? So many questions.

[via Tech Trader Daily via MacRumors]

I guess not.

The Financial Times reports that Apple is “racing to offer a portable, fully-featured, tablet-sized computer in time for the Christmas shopping season.” Of course, this is considerably less rumor and a lot more… inevitability. It’s no secret that Apple has been working on a tablet, and talk of it has persisted for, what, almost two years now? Steve Jobs himself has admitted to canning Apple’s tablet project twice, the first time due to its battery life and the second time due to “insufficient memory.”

As to what this tablet is, exactly, some suspect it’s a multimedia device — the perfect mobile movie companion — like an iPod Touch x2. Or maybe x3 or x4. But according to a source of Gizmodo’s, one they claim “has always been 100% reliable,” this 10-inch Apple tablet would also come in the 13-inch and 15-inch variety and run Mac OS X.

If this thing sports Apple’s usual design tropes, it’ll look like something from J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, which means I’ll have to buy it. But if anyone were to perfect a sleek, stylish, touch-interface tablet, it’d be Apple. Can you say MacBook Touch?

Guess we’ll find out soon enough. Or maybe not. Who knows? I don’t.

[via Gizmodo]

The centerpiece of this geeky cakestravaganza is an aluminum MacBook Pro laptop, complete with a highly detailed keyboard, and LCD (that’s Lickable Candy Deliciousity) display with an on-screen message to its lucky recipient, Victoria – who apparently is a fan of the SuperFriends, too. There’s even a matching Mighty Mouse, and a few other random desktop accessories – including pens made out of sugar. Yum. Be sure to check out all of the pics in the gallery below:

Despite my rabid sweet tooth, I’d have a hard time cutting into this masterpiece. So if you’re in the market for a custom cake creation in New York, B sure to check out BCake’s website.

[via Flickr]

That’s got a beautiful gloss–moreso, in fact, than my actual Macbook. But to be fair, this one probably hasn’t been dropped on concrete several times. I’m not so good with the coordination, you know?

I guess that means I probably couldn’t create a wooden Macbook, either.

I almost wish my dock looked like this one. The details are all painstakingly drawn on, and they’re surprisingly accurate.

[via Cult of Mac]

Let’s look at the first Laptop Hunter ad. Basically, Lauren the laptop hunter is looking for a decent laptop with a comfortable keyboard and a 17-in. screen. For under $1,000 USD.   So she visits an Apple store first. Oops.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Several months ago Gizmodo released a pricing chart that reveals the Apple tax, or just how much extra a customer is paying for Apple laptops. Based on their chart, the lower-end Macbooks are the ones that have the lowest value for money. Although I think that’s changed over the Macbook spec bumps that have occurred since that chart was released, the chart also points out one other thing: yes there is an Apple tax, but at the same time it doesn’t necessarily mean that all the other PC or laptop makers offer better value for money; it still varies from brand to brand.

So I guess that was one mistake that Microsoft made with the ad, treating all PC makers as one giant, unified team against Apple. Lauren’s requirements were pretty vague as well, but hey, I think a lot of people do shop for a laptop and go “I need something with speed, a comfortable keyboard and a big screen.”As for the two operating systems, I think it’s up for debate, especially with Windows 7’s well-received beta edition.

As the Daily Show puts it, we’re on a clusterfrak to the poor house, so the ad gets it message across: Apple has a great 17-in. laptop at $2799, but at the same time you can get a decent 17-in. laptop for $699. A friendly reminder from the Microsoft Says Apple Sux Research Foundation.

[via newlaunches]

The most obvious upgrade is the GPU, which is now an NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (256MB), quite a substantial leap from the Intel GMA X3100 (144MB). The standard RAM’s also been upped to 2GB from 1GB, although it’s still DDR2 and not DDR3 like the ones that the Aluminum MacBooks have. If you check out the MacBook’s Wikipedia page, you’ll also see that the Core 2 Duo chip has been updated with a 1066MHz FSB from 800MHz. Bluetooth is now 2.1, and the bundled OS X is now 10.5.6. And it’s still $999 (USD). So if you’ve been holding off on purchasing the $1,299 Aluminum MacBook because of the glossy screen, you now have a matte and cheaper alternative.

My Seashore skills are phenomenal. I’m so proud of myself.

[via I4U News]

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

What could be simpler than a single giant button?

I’m looking forward to the next next MacBook, the one that’s 4 oz. lighter because it’s been rid of heavy stuff like the screen and the hard drive. MacBook Nanothing.

[via Shiny Shiny]

The MacBook Paper is about twice the thickness of a sheet of paper, and it too fits inside of an envelope. Be sure to check out the video clip below to see the new micro laptop in action.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Best of all, you can get your own for free. Just head on over to apcommunity to grab yours. And no, this isn’t real.

[via TUAW]

The new MacBook Air features a striking aluminum case design, and is skinny enough to fit inside of a standard manilla envelope. To put it’s size in perspective, the iPhone is about 0.45″ thick, so the average thickness of the MacBook Air is virtually the same as the iPhone.

In addition to its gorgeous exterior, the Air features a 13.3-inch widescreen (1280×800) display with LED backlighting, which minimizes power consumption, as well as providing an instant-on picture when the lid is opened.

Despite its slim form-factor, the MacBook Air manages to include a full-size keyboard, with solid tactile feedback. What’s super-cool is the fact that the keyboard offers backlighting which automatically turns on in darkened locations. There’s also a huge trackpad that’s the first to offer multi-touch capabilities similar to those found on the iPhone. Apple also managed to squeeze in a built in iSight camera for online video chat sessions.

The system runs on a brand new Intel Core 2 Duo processor, available in either a 1.6GHz or 1.8GHz speeds. In order to cram all those brains into such a tiny body, Apple worked with Intel to shrink the size of the processor by about 60% from previous models. Both models include 2GB of RAM, which does not appear to be expandable at this point.

Battery life is rated at 5 hours, with Wi-Fi active, but in order to keep things thin, the battery is built in and not user-replaceable (let’s hope these batteries last a really long time). Connectivity includes 802.11n wireless, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate), a single USB 2.0 port and a micro-DVI connector for hooking up an external monitor. Apple also left out the DVD drive to help lighten the load. If you must use CDs or DVDs, you can either pick up a $99 external DVD burner (the Air SuperDrive), or mount discs wirelessly from another computer.

Pricing for the MacBook Air starts at $1799 for the base model with a 1.6GHz CPU and an 80GB hard drive. For an additional $1300, you can upgrade to a 1.8GHz CPU and a super-speedy 64GB solid state drive, but the $3098 price tag makes that model cost-prohibitive. Apple is taking pre-orders now, and they should start shipping orders by 1/31/2008.

The patent application describes a modified Apple Cinema Display with a docking slot in the side for a portable computer (presumably a new, slimmed down MacBook). Specifically, they’re attempting to patent the idea that the computer would be concealed by the LCD monitor once docked.

It’s really a brilliantly simple design concept, and would eliminate the need for bulky docking stations on the desktop. The way things look in the diagrams, it looks like some progress will need to be made with the thickness of the LCD panel before we’ll see these in the market.

…but I want one NOW!

Other than the diamond-encrusted Apple logo and the LCD screen, every surface of this shiny spectacle is covered in gold. Kudos to gang at Computer Choppers for another amazing case design!

They’ve even gone so far to color-match the keyboard, then re-engrave the letters for a seamless, professional design.

The company can do the same for you, but it’ll cost ya. The estimated cost for the plating, painting and etching work will set you back between $1200 and $1500. For a bit extra, they’ll customize the Apple logo cutout with a custom design of your choice.

The first one is still a work-in-progress, but looks like it’s very close to complete. Be sure to check the Computer Choppers website to see the finished system.

Each of the Pros features a beautiful 1-inch thick aluminum case and is powered by a workhorse Intel Core 2 Duo CPU. The 15.4-inch model comes in either 2.2GHz or 2.4GHz variants, while the 17-inch model only comes with the faster processor. They all run on Intel’s Santa Rosa platform, which has a speedy 800MHz front side bus, but automatically switches speeds to conserve power as needed.

Both displays are widescreen, with the 15.4-inch display running at a 1440 x 900 resolution and the 17-inch featuring a whopping 1680 x 1050 pixels. If that’s not enough detail for you, Apple offers a $100 upgrade to full 1080p resolution. As an added bonus, these are the first Macs to feature LED backlights in their displays. You’ll also get your choice of a glossy or anti-glare surface for your screen.

All of the new models start with 2GB of RAM, expandable to 4GB and feature NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT video processing. The two more expensive models get 256MB of video RAM vs. the 128MB in the cheapest model. The new MacBook Pros also pack in Airport Extreme 802.11n WiFi and Bluetooth for fast and flexible wireless connectivity.

If you’ve been holding out for a powerful portable Mac, now is as good a time as ever to pick one up.