Now that the iPhone 3G, the 2.0 software, the app store and MobileMe have had time get their kinks worked out, and had a chance to breathe a little easier, the spotlight now is being moved to Apple’s other big seller: Macs. The MacBook line in particular, will finally have it’s day in the spotlight, all by itself – for once.

The rumor mills have kicked into high gear since Apple’s third quarter 2008 conference call, when Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s Chief Financial Officer repeatedly mentioned some new mysterious products in the pipeline that would impact 4th quarter gross margins.

“We are working to develop new products that contains technologies that our competition will not be able to match. I cannot discuss these new products, but we are very confident in our product pipeline.”- Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer

Many of the Apple forums and professional Apple tech sites such as Apple Insider, Venturebeat’s MG Siegler and MacDailyNews began to speculate about what Oppenheimer was hinting at. The possibility of the debut of the i-Tablet, a version of the now famously ugly older step-sister of the iPhone, the Newton. Others have drooled over the prospect of an iPhone Nano, which to me is really putting the cart before the horse.
Why would Apple put out a cheaper, candy-bar size iPhone, so soon after the 3G launch? Makes you wonder what kind of kool-aid they’re drinking.

The better, more solid bet is the MacBook line getting a re-fresh. What kind of re-fresh? Try an entire line of MacBooks with an all aluminum case, possibly glass track-pad, and more curves, taking cues from the MacBook Air. What about the insides? Would you believe no Intel chips at all? That’s the rumor.

Apple Insider explains:

As such, people familiar with these plans say an upcoming generation of Macs, lead by a trio of redesigned notebooks, won’t adopt the Montevina chipset announced as part of Intel’s Centrino 2 mobile platform earlier this month. What’s more, those same people suggest the chipset employed by the new wave of Macs may have little or nothing to do with Intel at all. (This should not be confused with the primary CPU, which will continue to come from Intel.)

Whatever Apple decides, I’m sure it’ll be a smart one that gives a nice swift gut-kick to the competition. Some are also speculating that in order to move that gut-kick in motion, some MacBooks are going to be at a price point of $1,000.00. Mesh that with the new design, solid architecture, and of course the sharp, OS X and you have a nice razor belly rub.

So there you have it: Apple’s mystery products solved. I’ll bet all my chips on the MacBook line being refreshed please!

Church of The Apple Mind | Comments

If you have a iPhone 3G, then you know all too well that the power gets sucked up from the battery over a period of 8 hours. 3 or less if you have the 3G turned off. I haven’t done a scientific survey, so those numbers are just guesstimates.

I knew about this issue before I even got my 3G iPhone, so as I usually do, I started to research the options available for back-up battery options. I looked at many sites, and eventually picked FastMac’s iV battery pack. It has twice the full runtime of the iPhone’s existing power cell, a light on the side the camera is on, (but on the opposite edge) and it was unanimously the Editor’s choice for Best In Show at the 2008 MacWorld.

This was my first official online purchase on my iPhone, which made it that much more sweet. One problem though. I didn’t think about the fact that maybe the 3G wouldn’t fit in the pack. I thought, “Hmm. I’m sure it’ll work, why wouldn’t it?” This was after seeing that the iPod dock I had fit perfectly.

After a week of nothing other than an e-mail stating that now my iV battery pack would ship in “just 7 days!!” – I received a phone call from them to verify my address. I asked, “One question – will this work with the 3G phone?” The guy told me, “well, yes it will work, but if you’re willing to wait 4-8 weeks, we’ll send you the new 3G model at no additional charge.” SWEET!

Of course I went for it. I had already been without battery back-up for 14 or so days, 4-8 weeks will fly by. So, the reason for this post is: I highly recommend FastMac. They “Get It” when it comes to the Apple experience and especially the fan base. Those t-shirts are another testament to that – the one I like best is the black shirt with the official Apple, “Works with iPhone” label.

Now if I could just wrangle them into an affiliate program, I’d be set.

iphone | Comments