Appletell

Apple’s redesigned MacBooks that were scheduled to use Intel’s upcoming Montevina Centrino 2 chip will have to wait until late summer to be launched due to a delay in volume shipments of the product.  This platform was expected to be launched at the end of this month, and one reason for this delay according to a Wall Street analyst was due to trouble getting the chip passed by the FCC.  Bill Kircos, an Intel spokesman, added, “There were two minor issues we found during final testing – one with our integrated graphic chipsets, which we have found a workaround for but need to re-screen our parts, and second around our wireless WiFi chip, which was a paperwork and certification mistake we made.”

The two key technologies for this chip are 802.11n and WiMAX which are both still relatively new technologies, so this delay hasn’t come as a big hit to Intel.  However, it is still disappointing to see that the new Apple MacBooks will have to be delayed for so long.  Thankfully, they will (hopefully) be available in time for the end of the school shopping season so they will still be able to get a lot of sales.  Until then, you’re just going to have to stick with the one you have now, so I hope you weren’t waiting for this update.

In an odd move for Apple, they today released the new Airport Express, with 802.11n networking. Usually, Apple releases products on a Tuesday, and it seems that they may have decided to release the product early due to Saturday’s leak.

The new Airport Express units are no different from previous iterations other than the new 802.11n wireless networking capabilities. It also remains with one 10/100 ethernet port, which is slower and older technology compared to the gigabit ethernet offered on all Macs and all other Airport products.

The Airport Express is priced at $99.

See the Airport Express product page at [Apple.com]

Visitors of the Airport Express Page on Switzerland’s online Apple Store may notice that they are greeted with a description of the Airport Express that clearly identifies it as a new model, as reported by MacGeneration.

“Connect to the Internet, print, and share music from iTunes with any room in the house. Everything without wires. Now with 802.11n as standard,” the description (which has now been removed) read, translated from its original French.

Apple promises as much as five times the speed as the earlier 802.11g standard with the new Airport Express, which is used by the current model for sale from Apple. The price, core USB printing, and disk sharing features also appear to be the same as the older model.

Apple is not known to make mistakes on any of its online stores, and while this possible leak is potentially real, it can also be some sort of joke or error on Apple’s part. Apple has now removed most of the “leaked” information, meaning that they might not have meant to display it in the first place.

The (accidental?) slip has not appeared on any of Apple’s other international online stores but would signal the likely change of the Airport Express hardware, which has remained the same since it was introduced by Apple in June 2004.

The Airport Express page on the Swiss Apple Store Online has been preemptively updated to show that the Airport Express has been updated with 802.11n wireless capabilities. As of now, all products in the Mac and Airport lines except for the Airport Express are wireless N compatible.

The 802.11n wireless networking protocol allows for more stable, secure and faster internet. 802.11n provides a greater range and speed of up to more than four times faster than 802.11g, it’s predecessor. It is currently available in Airport Extreme and Time Capsule, and has taken it’s good old time in getting to the Airport Express. Most likely, we will see this update on Tuesday.

Via [MacRumors]

In light of all the iMac news we received today, there was a little more than to today than what Steve talked about on stage. The Mac Mini quietly got refreshed after the press event. Instead of cutting the Mac Mini out of their product line, Apple upgraded their entry level Mac behind the scenes. It didn’t get a mention in the Stevenote, or on the homepage, so this update may have flown under your radar.

The Mac Mini is now up to speed with Intel Core 2 Duo processors. The pricing has not changed, there is still a $599 and $799 model. The speed has been bumped up to 1.83 and 2.0Ghz up from 1.67 and 1.83Ghz respectively. That was probably the biggest improvement in the Minis, though 1GB is now standard for RAM, and you can store up to 120GB. One of the biggest disappointments of the upgrade is that the Tech Specs page still lists the Mini as having it’s wireless based on 802.11g. I’m not sure why Apple didn’t up the wireless specs, as they have 802.11n in all their other computers. I guess there always has to be something that the Minis don’t have the the rest of Apple’s line do.

If you have a Mini, the processor boost maybe a reason to upgrade, depending on what your needs for it are. Though now that the iMacs have been updated, you might get more bang for your buck by purchasing one of them.