Appletell

As the rumors predicted, the Apple Store was down this morning, and new MacBooks were announced. The MacBooks now use Intel’s latest Core 2 Duo (Penryn) chipset, and have been upgraded across the board. While prices remain the same, the processors have been bumped up from 2.0Ghz and 2.2Ghz to 2.1Ghz and 2.4Ghz respectively. Also, the two upper end MacBooks now come with 2GB of RAM standard, and the whole MacBook line has been updated to 3MB L2 cache.

Click for the full tech specs after the break.

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Finally, after weeks of intense rumoring, the new updated MacBook Pros are here. Featuring new Penryn chips with bumped clock speeds, and the latest Nvidia Graphics with up to 512MB of VRAM, the new MacBook Pros are beasts. They continue to widen the gap between the consumer MacBooks and the MacBook Pros with new multi-touch capability that was first seen in the MacBook Air. The new MBPs also come with larger and faster hard drives with 200GB and 250GB of storage, and a new option for a 200GB 7200rpm HD for pro users.

Click for the full MBP specs after the break.

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If you have recently updated your iPhone to 1.1.3, and are experiencing some minor SMS issues, you are note alone. Apparently, many UK-based iPhone users are reporting on Apple’s own Discussion forums that SMS updates are appearing out of order. The topic has grown quite large with 200 responses and over 11 000 views. Most of the people that appear to be having the problem are O2, UK iPhone users. Apple has published a knowledge base article acknowledging this problem. They wrote:

When sending or receiving text messages on the iPhone, the SMS messages may be displayed out of sequence. This can occur if the iPhone is not displaying the same date and time setting as the carrier network time.”

A potential fix for the issue is to check in the iPhone Settings to see if the “Set Time Automatically” option is on. This may not be ideal for those in different time zones, and may not be accessible to everyone. Apple is clearly aware of the problem and is working on it. Most likely the bug will be addressed in the next iPhone firmware update.

Via [MacNN]

We’ve heard the whiners. We’ve heard all the people making fun. “No Ethernet port?” “No optical drive?” “Only one USB port?” “No FIREWIRE??” Well, flickr user nybras.rodrigo has heard your pleas. The solution is something he likes to call the MacBook Aircraft. Three USB ports, three FireWire 400 ports, and two FireWire 800 ports.  You also get a full DVI port, built-in iPod Shuffle and Ethernet port. Of course the computer comes with all the necessities such as a floppy drive for those 1.44MB disk drives and a Superdrive. However, no matter how awesome this Aircraft looks, it’s just not going to do it for me. I mean, come on, where on earth is the modem port for dial-up??

Via [Flickr]

There’s nothing better than waking up to the Today Show where a bunch of non-geeks try to talk about technology that they know absolutely nothing about. Surprisingly, Apple has allowed the NBC Today Show to try out the new MacBook Airs. The overall consensus is that in the eyes of rich people, the MacBook Air looks good - really good. They rave about how thin and small it is, and then Meredith Viera licks the MacBook Air in an attempt to “claim what is hers”. However, the funniest part of the video is when Al Roker, the technology guy, informs everyone that they can have the SSD option for “a little more”.

Click to view the video after the break.

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Some people actually enjoy having the slimmest notebook in the world, and others, just want to tear it apart. Gizmodo has gotten their hands on Apple’s new MacBook Air, and have decided to take it apart. The innards of this sleek sub-notebook are almost cooler than the outside (at least for a geek). All you need is a Phillips #00 screwdriver, and you are 10 screws away from voiding your warranty. Inside the Air there is an easily replaceable HD, and RAM that appears to be soldered to the board (in other words it’s not working out). From inside the notebook, you can see that the battery is very easy to replace. You can also replace your battery for $129 and Apple will unscrew the 10 screws for you.

Via [Macrumors]

On Saturday, Deutsche Telekom, or T-Mobile Germany, said that they have activated 70 000 iPhones in the first 11 weeks. They originally launched the iPhone in Germany and in the UK on November 9th, 2007. While O2, the UK iPhone carrier, has activated 190 000 phones in the first 2 months, and Orange, the iPhone carrier in France, has reported 70 000 phone sold in the first month, Deutsche Telekom remains confident in the iPhone. The head of T-Mobile Germany, Philipp Hum, said that “the iPhone is by far the most sold multimedia device in T-Mobile’s portfolio.” Many attribute this slowing in sales to the fact that customers are waiting for the 3G iPhone promised to be coming in 2008.

Via [Looprumors]

Steve Jobs said 2 weeks. Two weeks and the MacBook Airs would be shipping to the world. And now Boy Genius is reporting exclusive knowledge that the MBAs have arrived at the Apple Stores on Friday/Saturday, and are getting ready to go on sale. Rumor has it that the Apple Genius’ will be getting their training on Monday, and then putting up all the banners and signs Monday night to prepare for the Tuesday MBA launch. However, if you absolutely cannot wait to go plunk $1800 down on this thing, you might want to wait a day or so, because Boy Genius is now saying that the launch may be delayed to this Wednesday.

Via [Boy Genius]

The new MyLocation feature on the Google Maps application in the iPhone and iPod Touch allow users to find their location. Many thought that this technology only uses cell triangulation to locate where the phone is. However, Apple has partnered with Skyhook Wireless to allow iPod Touch users to find their location as well. Skyhook uses a database of Wifi hotspots to determine your location.

“Every Wi-Fi access point, whether public or private, sends out a signal every second or so, like a lighthouse. We pick up those signals and use our technology to calculate your exact location.”

Skyhook has been driving around North America documenting all the wifi hotspots in both Canada and the US. So far, they believe they have documented 70% of North America, and are planning to expand to Europe and Asia in the future. Also, Skyhook charges a one-time fee for usage of their technology which may have something to do with the $20 fee charged to iPod Touch users for the January Software Upgrade.

Via [Macrumors]

MacHeads: The Movie. When I first saw the trailer for this I thought it was a joke. But this is real. MacHeads is a documentary that shows the lives of the mac addicts and members of the “Cult of Mac”. They interview normal Mac geeks, as well as respected technology journalists like Andy Ihnatko. Many compare this movie to “Trekkies” which documented much of the same, but for sci-fi Star Trek geeks. No one knows when the movie is planned to be released, or if it will be available for rental on the AppleTV through the iTunes Store so that Apple geeks around the world can watch other Apple geeks talk about their cult. If you want to see the official trailer, you can check it out here.

Via [TUAW]