MacBook Air

I’ve already done details about MacBook Air in my previous article.

Time Capsule

Gone will be the days of the hassle of plugin in a USB/FireWire drive just to get your Time Machine working. At the MacWorld Expo, Apple unveiled Time Capsule, a hardware companion to Time Machine which will automatic backup of your whole drive wirelessly.

Time Capsule combines an 802.11n network access point and a hard disk drive. Time Capsule is a Full Airport Extreme Base Station plus a server-grade hard drive.

With Time Capsule, users will be able to go back through archived backups to find lost files, photos, digital media, and other data. Once the missing file is found, users can restore it wireless from Time Capsule; they can also restore an entire system from a Time Machine backup stored on the device.

The Time Capsule sports some amazing features –

• dual-band antennas for 2.4GHz or 5GHz frequencies
• one USB 2.0
• one Gigabit Ethernet
• three Gigabit LAN ports
• built-in power supply
• can connect to print wirelessly from a USB printer

In addition, Time Machine offers Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA/WPA-2), 128-bit WEP encryption, and a built-in NAAT firewall that support NAT-PMP for Leopard’s Back to My Mac feature. Apple will start shipping Time Capsule in February and will initially be available in two capacities — 500GB model for $299, and a 1TB version for $499.

iPhone – powerful maps, multi-person SMS

Apple CEO Steve Jobs also unveiled the latest iPhone features. Apple expanded the iPhone’s capabilities with a free software update that adds a location finder to the Maps feature, customized home screens, multi-person SMS chats, and the ability to add Web sites to the home screen. In addition, video playback on the phone has been enhanced, with support for chapters, subtitles and languages, and lyrics support has been added for music tracks.

Read more details of the new iPhone features at MacWorld.

iPod touch – add more apps for a price

Just as iPhone users were getting new capabilities via an iPhone software update announced during Steve Jobs’ Macworld Expo keynote, iPod touch users will get new features for their handheld device, too. But unlike the free iPhone update, iPod users will have to pay for their new capabilities, to the tune of a $19.99 fee.

So, what new features do you get for the upgrade fee?

You’ll get five new mobile apps that match those already on the iPhone. With the update, the iPhone touch adds Mail, Maps, Stocks, Weather, and Notes features—essentially giving the music player the same capabilities as the iPhone, with the notable exception of calling features.

More about iPod Touch features and updates at MacWorld.

Apple TV – price drop and untethers from the Mac

The new and improved Apple TV software will be available in about two weeks as a free update to existing Apple TV devices. The entry-level 40GB model had its price dropped to $229, while the 160GB version now costs $329, a $70 price reduction for both. The Apple TV will sport a completely changed and enhanced interface adding numerous new features — most notably the ability to rent movies and purchase music and TV shows directly via the device.

The upgraded Apple TV operates as a standalone device. While it will still synchronize content with your computer, no computer is required to operate it. Once it’s connected to your television and your computer network, you can rent movies directly on your widescreen TV, using Apple’s new iTunes Movie Rentals feature, navigating using the Apple TV’s remote. iTunes Movie Rentals cost $4.99 for new high-definition releases, $3.99 for older high-definition films and new standard-definition releases, and $2.99 for older standard-definition releases.

Apple TV will be able to play at HD – 720p resolution with many available Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. Standard-definition films purchased on the Apple TV are of “DVD quality” and will not play back on Macs, PCs, or iPods. However, the Apple TV is also able to play back rentals purchased on a Mac or PC, albeit at reduced “near-DVD quality.”

The Apple TV can also now be used to directly purchase TV shows and music, which will also automatically sync back to a Mac or PC via iTunes. A new podcast browser allows users to browse Apple’s podcast directory and pick certain podcasts as “favorites” for quick access at a later time.

iTunes Movie Rentals

Apple also introduces iTunes Movie Rentals, a new feature of the iTunes Store that enables users to download movies and watch them for a short time rather than having to buy them.

The new feature is dependent on iTunes 7.6, a new release of Apple’s jukebox, music, TV and movie software that’s available for download from Apple’s Web site. It also requires an update to QuickTime.

Apple is supported by all the major movie studios — Fox, WB, Disney, Paramount, Universal and Sony, along with Touchstone, Miramax, MGM, New Line and Lions Gate. Apple CEO Steve Jobs said that the new service will launch shortly, and by the end of February will contain over 1,000 movies. Movies will become available for rental on iTunes 30 days after they are released on DVD.

Movie rentals will be priced at $3.99 for new releases and $2.99 for older films. High Definition (HD) movies will be downloadable only via Apple TV and will cost $4.99 for new releases and $3.99 for older films.

Google, after reviewing lots of meaningful and insightful feedback from iPhone users, have addressed some of them in the current version –

1. Customization of tabs: ow you can customize the tabs you want on Google. Go to the More tab and press “Custom tabs” to select your favorite three Google mobile products.
2. New and improved Gmail: The latest version of Gmail delivers messages to your inbox without the need for you to refresh it. Also, if you need to write an email, we help you complete the address — you only need to type out the first few letters of your contact.
3. New and improved Calendar: A calendar can be one of the most important things on a phone. Now Google Calendar is faster and has a month view.
4. iGoogle for the iPhone: One of the most common requests to date has been to include personalized modules. Google have announced a new iPhone-optimized version of iGoogle that mobilizes all of the modules you know and love.

Here is an excerpt from the Google Mobile Blog;

Some of you have been wondering why we’ve made this only for the iPhone. The entire experience is made possible by the iPhone’s general usability (touch and high-resolution) and the capabilities of its web browser (AJAX, CSS). It’s also pretty cool that the iPhone has an unlimited data plan so you never have to worry about cost when you’re browsing the web. And we’re working on making this version of Google.com available outside the U.S.

This fabulous gadget – 3 in 1 – as was defined by her creator Steve Jobs, should never be called “iPhone”. Why?

It’s simple. The company, Cisco Systems Incorporated, is the owner of the iPhone brand from the year 2000 when they became owners of Infogear Technology Corporation. This was the one that originally registered the brand. Even, the Cisco division – Linksys – released a telephone with access to the internet called the “iPhone”, a VOIP Phone.

Regardless, Steve Jobs the president of Apple had the guts to announce the release of the “Apple iPhone” in January 2007 despite knowing the fact that the iPhone was a registered trademark of Cisco. Excellent!

Immediately after the announcement, Cisco filed a lawsuit against Apple for illegal use of a registered trademark. Unbelievably, Steve Jobs made an agreement with Cisco to use the “desired” brand iPhone. How did they do it? We really don’t know. Everything seemed as if from the beginning the agreement was established behind scenes.

Mark Shandler, vice-president of Cisco commented, “Indisputably the new iPhone is a wonderful gadget, it is bad that one is using a registered trademark without permission”.

Well, fans of the iPhone can stop using tablets and take a breath. Cisco not only will allow Apple use iPhone name but both corporations announced an agreement to make technology together and develop some cool applications.

Gizmodo has an all-out bare-all No BS iPhone Review. There is even a massive iPhone hands on guide and is perhaps one of the best review that you will ever need to read about the iPhone. The reivew summarizes much of the important hands on research from the reviewing community.

Very soon, you’ll also have the option to buy a cheaper, perhaps much slimmer, smaller and higher iPhone. Apple plans to launch a cheaper version of the iPhone in the fourth quarter that could be based on the ultra-slim iPod Nano music player.

Apple filed a patent application document that refers to a multifunctional handheld device with a circular touch pad control, similar to the Nano’s scroll wheel. The iPhone Nano would be priced around $300 or lower. The iPhone sells for $500 and $600, depending on storage space.