Apple Updates the Mac Mini with a Major Redesign June 15, 2010
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Apple , add a comment
Looking for a new computer, but not necessarily sure you want a laptop? Want a Mac but don’t want to pay $1000 for one? If your interested in either of those two questions then your gonna wanna check this out– Apple’s latest updates to their Mac Mini line, and boy do they look nice.
As you can see in the pic above, Apple is finally bringing the aluminum design found on the iPad, iMac and MacBook Pro lines to the Mac Mini– and it looks like a match made in heaven. Seriously, look at the pic above. Thinner, sleeker– heck it looks like something you’d wanna put in a living room like a media center, this looks nothing like a small desktop computer at all. And maybe that was the point. Apple not only gave the new Mini a better look, but some media friendly (and frankly long awaited) features like an HDMI port (for hooking up to screens like say an HDTV) and an SD card slot. Yeah, way more media friendly and it looks to me like an Apple TV on some crazy awesome steroids.
The new Mini also got some nice spec updates like the ones the MacBook received recently, with the base $699.99 model offering a 2.4 GHZ Intel Core 2 Duo processor (able to be bumped up to 2.66 GHZ), 2 GB of RAM (customizable to 8 GB), 320 GB hard drive (can be customized to 500 GB), and much improved graphics thanks to the NVIDIA 320M graphics card. Oh, and unlike older Mac Minis, Apple somehow was able to get the power supply built into the casing, something that not only adds to the sleekness but also makes it even more energy efficient (which is remarkable considering that they made it so much smaller). In other words– there is no longer a giant power brick needed (another seemingly underrated but still huge improvement).
The new Mac Minis are available now from Apple’s site starting at $699.
New MacBooks and Other Fun Stuff! October 21, 2009
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Apple, Computers , 3comments
Let there be Shinyness!
Whoa. Apple today decided to unleash a whole slew of new stuff. Foremost among them, an updated unibody white plastic MacBook (see above pic). Like the 13″ MacBook Pro, its now carved out of a single hunk of plastic, and is packing the new LED screen, glass multitouch trackpad, slimed down design, and updated specs, starting at 2.26 Intel Core 2 Duo processors, 2 gigs of RAM, 250 GB hard drive, at the same price of $1000. Not bad at all.
Next! New Mac Minis. The little Mac has gotten yet another specs boost (it got one earlier this year as well. You can see our review on the early 2009 Mac Mini here), with now at $600 you get an upgraded 2.26 Core 2 Duo processor, 2 GB of RAM, and an 160 GB hard drive, and at $700 you get an even faster 2.53 GHZ C2D, 4 GB RAM, and 320 GB hard drive, making the Mac Mini, as it was, the cheapest way to go Mac. (kinda… provided you aren’t gonna spend money, on, you know, screens, mice and keyboards… if you need some of those, well then this next Mac is the way to go). Also announced was a Mini Server Edition, with no disk drive and instead a 1 TB (or 1000 GB) hard drive, meant for small business owners (any teenaged small business owners out there…?)
The new awesome iMac
But the big player, (and big is very much intended here) is the new updated iMacs, at 21.5 inch and a MONSTER 27 inch beast. Notable is the option for Intel’s new i7 chips in a quad core configuration which is awesome (basically you’ll be getting great speed and power for your Mac while not killing your electric bill. Apple uses the same Core i7 chips found in new laptops in the iMacs– helps keep the sleek design and low power usage– and you can check out our post on the HP Envy 15 and Pavilion dv8 laptops from IDF for full details on all the greatness that is Intel’s new Core i7). Also interesting, is that the screens on the new iMacs support video-in. So you can use your lovely, massive LED widescreen display on say, your new MacBook. Specs on these things are beastly – check ‘em out here.
The new “Magic Mouse”
Finally, peripherals. Apple’s got two new ones here – a new mouse, this time dubbed “The Magic Mouse”, which looks like it fell out of Star Trek, and eliminates the trackball for, you guessed it, multitouch gestures. Haven’t had a chance to try it yet, but it looks pretty cool. Also added was a new, sleek and aluminum Apple Remote, to match the current line of aluminum iMacs and MacBook Pros.
…Phew. That’s everything. Anyone out there buying new Mac stuff now? Sound off below readers!
Review: Apple Mac Mini '09 Update March 12, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Apple, Computers, First Look/Reviews , 2comments
Last week Apple decided to finally release some long awaited updates to its Mac desktops: the Mac Mini, the iMac, and the Mac Pro.
These updates were more for the specs of the systems than anything else; bigger hard drives, more memory (aka RAM- something you need to make your computer run fast, the more the better both on Windows and Mac), and, in cases like the Mac Mini, an additional USB port.
Today, we got our hands on the Mac Mini (special thanks to my younger bro Josh, who just so happened to need a new computer now after his old one died) and we decided to put it through its paces and see if it is worth the money. In short, this thing is awesome and great even for someone who never owned a Mac before, and only briefly used one (like me).