The OS installed is the Mac OS 10.5 Leopard and the iLife 2008 suite. Apple extends the warranty for up to 12 months, which can be upgraded to 36 months for the additional price of €349, which includes support. The price is €90 cheaper than the previous model.

Input Devices

Keyboard

The new keyboard on the MacBook is based on the researches made for the MacBook Air. The round keys were designed exactly to adapt themselves to the fingertips, which results in a very pleasant typing experience. When in darker environments such as planes or conference rooms, the illuminated keyboard allows users to always see what they’re typing. Compared to the MacBook Air, the keys seem even softer. The keyboard layout seems adapted to the Mac OSx. As for the MacBook Pro, the downside on this keyboard is the fact that the cursor keys are rather small, which can be a problem for gamers.

The new glass touchpad

As we have reviewed on the MacBook Pro, one of the main innovations on this new line is the glass touchpad with no buttons. All the touchepad is a button, and users can click wherever they want. We’ve reviewed the possibilities of a buttonless touchpad in our previous MacBook Pro review here. For this model, it’s exactly the same process, which can be a rather good feature, after all.

The unibody aluminium case is very pleasant to the touch and it’s made of high wuality materials. Compared to the previous models, it is also thinner and relatively lighter. The case has a new magnetic closure system that works well, not posing many problems.

In a nutshell, the MacBook seems to have been improved in all aspects. The only thing about this particular model is the lack of the FireWire port, which it’s hard to understand why Apple has decided against featuring it in the first place.

Interfaces

In this model, Apple has reduced the number of interfaces. As we mentioned before, there’s no FireWire port, and when compared to the MacBook Pro, there’s no ExpressCard slot either. The new mini DisplayPort replaces the mini DVI port that are found on previous models. The new resolution is now of a maximum 2560×1600. In order to connect an external model, users need a special adapter (VGA, Video or DVI).

As in the MacBook Pro, there’s a lack of a dockingstation port as well.

Apple has introduced its 13.3″ MacBook with aluminium case. Compared to its “bigger brother”, it doesn’t have a dedicated graphic card, Firewire port or ExpressCard slot. We’ll see, in more detail, the main features on this model during this review.

Case

This notebook seems to aim at taking the place of the Powerbook 12″. The design is the same as the MacBook Pro, in fact, this notebook is a 13.3″ MacBook Pro, after all. Some features, however, remind us much of the MacBook Air, that set up a new standard for Apple’s notebooks in terms of style and quality.

Particularly, the round screen reminds us much of that of the MacBook Air. Also the power button and the keyboard are the same. The aluminium case contrasts pleasantly with the monitor’s black frame and the plastic protection cover (chosen in order to guarantee the WLAN and BlueTooth signals).

The new MacBook line continues to show an unusual issue: the system is slower when the battery isn’t connected. Some tests performed by Gearlog confirm it.

Even though there was an official announcement from the technical support, back in August, that predicted an update on the new notebook line, the new unibody systems seem to noticeably lower the processor performance when only the electric supply is available. The company sustains that “If the battery is removed from a MacBook or MacBook Pro, the computer will automatically reduce the processor speed. This prevents the computer from shutting down if it demands more power than the A/C adaptor alone can provide”. Which seems a rather inconsistant explanation.

During the test made, the performance reduction is considerable: using the CINEBENCH R10 test on a MacBook Pro 2.53GHz, the performance points go from 5549 to 3504. The difference is so noticeable that the system only uses 63% of its true capacity when connected to the electricity.

This problem is unusual to many PC manufacturers, that often work on the contrary, limiting the processor’s performance in case the system is only connected to the battery, in order to extend the battery’s duration.

According to Digitmes, Apple would be waiting for the new Intel chips to update their new iMacs with quad-core processors. The Cupertino company, according to what’s said in the article, will introduce the new desktops next January. The new processors are optimized energy-wise, for the all-in-one Apple computer: low temperatures thanks to the new energy needs (from 95W to 65W). These seem to be the configurations: a 2.33GHz Q8200 with 4MB L2 Cache, a 2.66GHz Q9400 with 6MB L2 cache and a 2.83Ghz Q9550 with 12MB L2 cache.

Additionally to the two extra-cores, that should already enhance the iMac performance greatly, the systems would have a fast bus of 1333MHz and should be cheaper than the previous dual-core processors used until now.

The choice of these new processors for the desktop lines are, in fact, interesting: the low processor temperatures would reduce the cooling system size, and make the iMacs even thinner, but that’s only a supposition.

We’ll wait on official confirmations.

Manufacturers have been fighting for the iPod’s peripheral market for a while now, but Apple has decided to manufacture a full line of certificated peripherals, studied for a perfect integration with the iPod. One of these peripherals is the iPhod Hi-Fi.

It’s known that when Apple does something, it does it well, and the price on this product shows it perfectly. In fact, it would be the only downside to it: not many people are willing to spend €370 for an amplification system, especially if they already have a stereo or any other sort of amplification.

But, in any case, we’ll be reviewing this product in the next few articles.

The Mac Mini Core 3 Duo not only costs less than its previous model, but it’s also faster and it is still a good deal, especially for those who already have a mouse, a keyboard and a monitor. With its faster perormance and the possibility of writing DVD’s, the MC MIni 2.0GHz is worth the €200 difference in price. But if the Super Drive is something not completely essential, the user will find that the Mac Mini 1.8GHz is the Apple computer that has the best quality/price value.

However, if space isn’t a problem, and the user doesn’t have a keyboard, a mouse and a monitor, it would be a better idea to look at the iMac models, which justify the extra cost by providing a better graphic card and better hard disk performances.

The Mac Mini represents an engineering miracle that forced the technicians from Cupertino to try to adapt in order to reach the best performance possible, while keeping a very small size and a reasonable price. Even if many people complain about its limited graphic performance and the optical unit’s capability, there’s a reason why the Mac Pro and other professional computers are as big as they are. Due to the high performance requirements, these computers tend to heat more often, hence, the need for more space, more cooling fans and a higher cost. The Mac Mini is, thus, the result of a balance on costs, performances, size and limitations.

Looking at the results obtained frm tests, it’s noticeable that the Core 2 Duo offered a noticeable enhancement in the most demanding tasks. In the test done with Photoshop, for example, the Mac Mini 1.83 GHz Core 2 Duo has resulted 19% faster than the previous Mini model.

The integrated Intel graphic card, however, doesn’t support the most demanding videogames, for example, those from Electronic Arts developed especially for the Mac Intel. Even other games for Mac, such as Doom 3, don’t reach even an average performance. It doesn’t mean, however, that the Mac Mini doesn’t support games, but users must settle for those titles that have few 3D effects.

Internally, the Mac Mini features the Intel Core 2 Duo Processor with a clock speed of 1.83 GHz, or 2.0 GHz for the more advanced version. This second-generation of Intel’s processors supports twice the amount of L2 cache and RAM, even though only the 2.0 GHz model features 4MB of cache memory. The 1.83 GHz model features 2MB of L2 cache, the same amount as found in the previous generation. Both models have 1GB RAM, which can be upgraded up to 2GB. The graphic card is an integrated Intel GMA 950, sharing 64 MB RAM with the processor, instead of having a dedicated RAM video section as most Mac’s. THe mini has two memory slots with SO-DIMM DDR2-667 MHz memories, each 512MB. If it’s needed to upgrade the RAM to 2GB, Apple can install two 1GB models for an additional cost of €80. Although it is possible to find cheaper RAMs that are compatible, the installation can be complicated and it could break the case.

The Core 2 Duo chipset also includes a 128-bit SSE3 vector engine, able to process data twice as fast as the normal Core Duo. The Mac Mini also features a hard disk with 5400rpm, with a higher storage capability than the previous generation: 80GB for the 1.83 GHz version and 120GB for the 2Ghz. For both models, however, it’s possible to have a 160GB Hard disk for additional €90. The entry-level model also features a combo CD-DVD writer, while the top model has a double-layer Super Drive 8x.

Externally, the Mac Mini still uses the same white case, on aluminum and plastic, that has been used since it was first launched. The mini is still distributed without a keyboard, mouse or monitor, but there are many ways of connecting those peripherals. In fact, on its back, there are four USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire 400 port, the power button and an audio / optical double jack. There’s also a safety slot, a Gigabit Ethernet port and a DVI port for connecting an LCD monitor with resolutions up to 1920×1200 (The same for the 23″ Apple Cinema HD Display).

A DVI-VGA adaptor is also included in the package, in order to connect an analogical LCD display or a CRT mointor. The Mac Mini also includes the Apple Remote remote control for the use with the Front Row, Bluetooth and the Wi-Fi 802.11g. Curiously enough, the MacBook, MacBook Pro and iMac have already been featuring the faster 802.11n wi-fi connection, which is compatible with the g devices, although when connecting a Mac Mini to a N network, the mini will continue to work at the slowest speed and will have a shorter range.