Speculations About New MacBook Release Date and Specs

There are rumors that Apple is set to release the new MacBook any day, and most insiders feel that it will be available within the next week.

Both MacRumors and AppleInsider point out that users who installed Mac OS X Leopard this past weekend saw that the software included drivers for the newer Intel GMA X3100 integrated graphics chip. AppleInsider claims, “This is only supported by notebook-based logic-board designs conforming to the chipmaker’s relatively new Santa Rosa platform. ”

The current MacBook chip is the Intel GMA 950. This change fuels the speculation that the new MacBook will be upgraded to the Santa Rosa chipset, which will employ more advanced pixel and vertex shaders, hardware transform and lighting acceleration, as well as better video decoding.

It has not been Apple’s practice to ever include drivers for unsupported or unreleased hardware with its standard operating system distributions. This fact leads to still further belief that the MacBooks will see an upgrade to the Santa Rosa architecture.

Of course, a bit of patience and time will reveal all. The MacBook was last updated in May of 2007.

Apple Announces Over Two Million Copies of Mac OS X Leopard Sold in the First Weekend

On Tuesday, Apple announced that it sold or delivered over two million copies of Mac OS X Leopard since the release at the end of the day last Friday. MacDailyNews reports that the sales recorded included copies sold at Apple retail stores, Apple Authorized Resellers, the online Apple Store, under maintenance agreements and systems bundled with new Mac computers.

Leopard, the sixth major release of Mac OS X, is filled with over 300 new features. “Early indications are that Leopard will be a huge hit with customers,” Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs, stated in the press release. “Leopard’s innovative features are getting great reviews and making more people than ever think about switching to the Mac.”

That seems like an understatement, since the sales have already far outpaced the first-weekend sales of the last OS X, Tiger, which up until now had been the most successful OS release in Apple’s history. In fact, it took 43 days from Friday, April 29, 2005 when Mac OS X Tiger was released, _to mid-June of 2005, to sell two million copies of Tiger. It’s taken three days to hit that mark with Leopard.

Apple Airs New iPod Touch Ad Created by British Student

It’s a trend that the marketing industry calls Consumer Generated Content. Nick Haley of Warwick, a life-long Apple devotee, claims that he got his first Macintosh when he was three years old. Now 18, he created and uploaded a 30-second spot about the iPod Touch on YouTube His spot offers a speed-tour of iPod Touch’s abilities, set to “Music Is My Hot, Hot Sex” by Brazilian band, CSS. Mr. Haley said he was inspired by the lyric, “My music is where I’d like you to touch.”

In short time, his video was seen by over 2,000 viewers. Among them were marketing employees at the Cupertino, California Headquarters of Apple. They contacted Apple’s longtime ad agency, TBWA/Chiat/Day, who contacted Mr. Haley about producing a professional version of his video.

“I was sitting on the bus and I got this e-mail on my phone,” said Haley. The message said, “We represent Apple and we’ve seen what you have produced and we’d like a chat with you.”Haley, a first-year student studying politics at Leeds University, didn’t believe it was for real. “This seemed ridiculous and far-fetched,” he said.

By the time he was being flown to L.A., however, Haley knew it was for real. What was it like working with L.A. ad execs?
“….overwhelming, surreal and fantastic, all in one,” he said. How faithful was the new version of the ad to his original? “My input was totally respected,” Haley said. He felt that the agency’s version was “pretty similar”. The agency representative agrees, saying that they didn’t change the content because, “it has a charm to it, a youthful fun.”

The professional version is now playing on Apple’s website and will be aired as a commercial in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

“That’s the whole point of advertising,” Haley said. “it needs to get to the user. If you get the user to make the ads, who better?”

Stuff names iPhone “Gadget of the Year”

The British technology magazine, Stuff, has named Apple’s iPhone “the coolest gadget of the year”. The iPhone, which will launch in the UK on November 9, took the top spot in Stuff’s Cool List 2007. The magazine claims, “The mobile to end all mobiles pipped all the other top-name entries to earn the planet’s biggest gadget accolade. The touchscreen device redefined how humans interact with their phones as well as offering almost every feature no self-respecting mobile should be without. How could we resist?”

The iPhone, which will become available in a few weeks through an exclusive agreement with O2, also took the reader’s choice award. “It’s the coolest gadget of the year by a country mile,” the judges said. “It remains the most impressive piece of technology we’ve seen this decade - it really must be seen to be believed.”

Not to be overlooked, Apple’s iPod was given the “greatest gadget ever” award by readers of Stuff and Telegraph’s Digital Life. “The stylish digital music player has dominated the market since its first incarnation in 2001. The odds are you own one, or the person next to you owns one, anyway.” Tom Dunsmore, Spin’s Editor-in-Chief, said that the magazine chose their favorite gadgets based not on sales, functionality or value for money, but on what he called their “stand- out” quality. “Gadgets are getting more stylish and more desirable every year. This year’s list is packed with must-have Christmas gifts so beautifully designed and such a joy to use that they’ll appeal to technophobes as well as gadget-lovers,” he said.

Let’s all hope that Santa Claus reads Stuff.

Buy the Apple iPhone from:
Apple UK
O2
Carphone Warehouse

Leopard Is Loose In The UK

MacWorld’s Jonny Evans reported that hundreds of Mac users all over the UK queued excitedly to be the among the first to see and purchase Leopard, the OS X upgrade released on Friday.

Apple had closed its shops in advance of the 6 p.m. release time, to allow their staff to install the new system on the demo Macs throughout each store. After weeks of building anticipation, eager customers waited outside the shops for the doors to open and for the celebration to begin.

The community of loyal and enthusiastic Apple customers is nowhere more evident than at an event like the Leopard launch. Total strangers chat warmly with each other about the new operating system, about their favorite Apple products, and most frequently, about their affection and admiration for the Apple corporation itself. There is a camaraderie among Apple users that is truly unique.

Evans claims that analysts estimate Leopard’s release could put as much as $240 million (U.S.) into Apple’s coffers. It’s harder, however, to estimate the even more extensive value of such steadfast customer loyalty.

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