As it usually happens when Apple makes a drastic decision regarding the removal or replacement of a specific piece of hardware on their new computer models, there were many people that didn’t quite understand the replacement of the slot ExpressCard with an SD slot on the latest MacBook Pro 13″ and 15″ models.

Other people might have taken it a little suspiciously. With a document published on their website, Apple has decided to explain things, and mentioned one of the reasons why the replacement was made in the first place.

The SD has become one of the most common storage standards on the digital photocameras, but not only there. Many other multimedia devices, such as cellphone, smartphones and the latest videogaming consoles use this standard to store data, and more and more different models with different storage capacities are being launched on the market.

On the document, Apple answers to many questions on this matter (also redirecting users to the official site for the association that promotes the SD cards), and explains that it’s possible to use cards with storage capacity superior to 32Gb and that it’s possible to format them in HFS+ to use as a boot disc for the Mac OS X. That definitely opens more possibilities there, besides common storage and usage with digital photocameras.

Last week, Apple has silently updated the “white” MacBook, giving it a 2.13GHz processor, a hard-disk with more space and faster RAM. The guys from MacRumors have tested the improved model and got to a very unexpected conclusion: The white MacBook offers better performances than the Unibody that is sold for €250 more.

The white MacBook resulted better than the Unibody one in almost all benchmark tests done by MacRumors. The testing was done using Adobe Photoshop CS3, iMovie HD, Cinema 4D XL 10.5 and other applications with functions that stress the CPU or the graphic card. The MacBook Unibody won only with Quake 4.

Even if the MacBook Unibody has a better case and other advantages such as a better display, the situation is kind of strange for Apple now that they have a notebook that costs €949 and performs better than the “better” model that costs €1199. It would be easy to say that it’s likely that the MacBook Unibody will (or should) be updated soon.

The new MacBook Air models will feature integrated cards for 3G connections, and the entry-level models will cost less, around $1300 and $1500, according to Silicon Rumors.

Besides that, the base model will also feature SSD disks, the same as the top-level models. Less likely, but still pointed out by the website, it’s the presence of an integrated GPS model inside the laptop.

The implementation of a 3G model is a further proof of what has appeared weeks ago, when a trace of the WWAN inside Snow Leopart’s System Profiler was spotted, and it would seem like the natural evolution of a product that aims at portability and offering decent notebook specifications.

If the price for the entry-level model will indeed be lower, Apple will probably have more chances to acquire new customers as well. But, we’re treating it all as a rumor, until more confirmations can be found.

Apple has released a firmware update for the graphic chipset that is featured on the latest MacBook Pro 17″. The update corrects some visualization problems, like vertical lines or image distortion, and hence it’s advised to all of those that have a new MacBook Pro 17″.

The update is donwloadable as usual through Software Update or through Apple’s dedicated page, and it’s less than 1Mb in size. More information can be found on Apple’s Support Page.

Apple has released a new web advertisement spot for the new MacBook Pro 17″ unibody. The campaign’s motto is, obviously, the ecology.

The ad is currently present on the ArsTechnica’s home page, but it seems that it was also seen on the New York Times, and it describes all the technological features on the new Apple’s notebook, such as the battery duration and lifespan, concluding the ad with the motto: “The greenest family of notebooks”.

Here’s the ad. Enjoy!

According to what was published by Fudzilla, Intel will renew their Centrino 2 line with two new Core 2 Duo processors made for the notebook world. And rumors say that in June the MacBook Pro will go over the 3GHz mark.

There are three new models that should be introduced by Intel: the Core 2 Duo T9900, 3,06GHz, 6 MB Cache; Core 2 Duo P9700, 2,8Ghz, 6Mb cache and the Core 2 Duo P8800, 2,66Ghz, 2Mb cache.

MacBidouille says that it’s probable that Apple will review their notebook line in June and will apply the new processors from Intel, at least on the professional-entry level laptops. That would keep the computers updated up to around 2010, when the Nehalem architecture should allow a new generation to be proposed.

Surprisingly, Apple has updated the entry-level MacBooks. These are the hardware updates:

- Intel Core 2 Duo with 2.0 GHz
- 1066Mhz Frontside bus (previously it had 800 Mhz)
- 2GB RAM (previously only 1GB)
- nVidia GeForce 9400 instead of the Intel GMA X3100

The Hard Disk is still the 120GB one, the FireWire port still remains, and the price remains unchanged. The new configuration can be found on the American Apple Store. No announcements on the availability for other regions yet.

The introduction of the miniDisplayPort connector in the new laptops and the 24″ Cinema Display by Apple made many people frown, due to the impossibility (or in some cases, the need for an extra adaptor) to connect different devices. The true problem, especially in some situations, is represented by the incredible variety of connections that are present in the many devices in the market: VGA, DVI, HDMI, miniDVI, ComponentVideo and recently, miniDisplayPort.

It’s an array of choices that is too large not to be confusing, and there’s the risk of having peripherals that can’t communicate with each other. According to Apple, however, the future is represented by the DisplayPort technology, or better yet, by its small version, the miniDisplayPort. The idea from the company is to make the miniDisplayPort a standard by all means: in order to reach this goal, a new free licensing program has been launched for all the OEMs that want to integrate this type of connection with their products.

In this way, the miniDisplayPort should be available for everyone, and at the same time, remanining in Apple’s possession, which would increase its diffusion. Whether the move will be successful, it remains to be seen.

Apple has deposited another patent at the “United States Patent and Trademark Office”. This time, it’s a liquid cooling system for the MacBook line. Here’s an extract of the text that can be found on this patent:

“The computational performance of electronic devices has increased significantly in recent years. This increased performance has been accompanied by an increase in power consumption and associated heat generation. Furthermore, this additional heat generation has made it harder to maintain acceptable internal and external operational temperatures in these devices.”

The system requires the use of a high-density liquid cooling complex that runs through a tube system connected to a heat dissipator and allows for the complete elimination of fans. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the pratical application of this new system in the new MacBook generations.

BATTERY DURATION

According to Apple, the battery should last up to 5 hours. During the first test, it was possible to navigate in Internet with the WLAN connection for 4 hours without having to recharge the battery.

Good results, the only downside is that Apple doesn’t allow the user to replace the battery for one with more capacity.

CONCLUSIONS

The new MacBook is clearly a great product. The new aluminium cover is made of high-quality materials and its design and hardness are impressive. The new trackpad is also a wonderful feature. The performances are great, and users should keep in mind that the 9400M chip is the fastest on the market so far.

On a negative side: the number of interfaces. We think Apple reduced the number of interfaces on the MacBook 13.3″ in order not to allow any competition between it and the MacBook Pro.

It would have been good to have the possibility of choosing an opaque screen as well. It would always depend on the usage of the laptop, but for some situations, the opaque screen would have been more useful.

In a nutshell, the MacBook 13.3″ is a great alternative to the MacBook Pro.