parts

Last fall the Internet was abuzz about Apple's apparent iPhone redesign for what eventually became the iPhone 4S. Much to the dismay of the media and some louder consumers, the iPhone 4S retained the same design profile as the previous-generation iPhone 4.

At the time, the redesign was expected to feature a teardrop back casing, a bigger screen and, among other things, an ovular home button. If the shape of the home button is any indication of a complete redesign, the latest part leak from Chinese supplier TVC-Mall.com (via Apple Bitch) may not win over many of the … Read more

Apple is widely expected to unveil the iPad 3 later this week, but a gadget blog has gotten its hands on what are purportedly pieces of the new device and assembled them to give us an idea of what the new device might look like.

M.I.C. Gadget, a China-based blog, says it has obtained the front glass, rear shell, and cases for Apple's next tablet and shot a video (see below) of the device's near-final exterior.

The parts suggest that the iPad 3 will be a little thicker than its predecessor but will feature tapered edges … Read more

Was last week's smoldering imagery of the front glass panel allegedly belonging to Apple's iPad 3 not enough for you? Good news, there's more.

Gadget repair service Repair Labs today (via MacRumors) posts images of a pair of digitizers, the front panel that includes the glass and the touch sensitive layer it says belongs to the iPad 3. The images represent what look like a part that's further along than the one from last week, which appeared unfinished.

Besides the black and white color options, the big takeaway here is that the front of the device … Read more

Now that the iPhone 4S is rapidly becoming Apple's best-selling device, the rumor mill turns its attention to the forthcoming iPad 3, widely expected in the first quarter of 2012. Today's rumor offering comes from a part leaked on TVC Mall's site that reportedly is a replacement microphone unit for the iPad 3.

The unit (originally discovered by Cydia Blog), when compared with the iPad 2's current part, shows a major change in the shape of the device. With a change this major, one might assume that the entire interior of the iPad 3 could be … Read more

Alleged part numbers for new versions of Apple's MacBook Air notebook and Mac Pro desktop tower have cropped up, adding to evidence that new iterations of both computer lines are coming soon.

9to5mac, citing a "Mr. X" as their source, suggests that the new versions of both machines are slated for arrival sometime this week. The new models are expected to be sporting Lion, Apple's yet-to-be-released version of Mac OS X, which the company said would be ready to go this month. A gold master version of the software was delivered to developers on July 1.

On the MacBook Air side, there are four models listed with the new part numbers, matching up with Apple's four existing offerings on the 11- and 13-inch versions. For the Mac Pro, there are also four part numbers, which meshes with the existing quad-core, 8-core, 12-core, and server Mac Pro models. … Read more

The nice folks at Parts Express sent over an amazing-sounding little amplifier, the $129 Topping TP30. It's a tiny desktop Class T amp design, with one analog RCA stereo input and one USB connection (the TP30 has a built-in digital-to-analog converter). The amp delivers 15 watts per channel to 4 ohm-rated speakers (10 watts into 8 ohms), and has a 3.5 mm headphone jack on the front panel.

With its extruded aluminum chassis, 8mm thick, CNC-machined front panel, and solid-metal volume control knob the TP30 wouldn't look out of place in a high-end system. It even feels expensive, but I have just one nitpick: the illuminated blue LED ring surrounding the volume control knob is too bright. I wish there was a way to dim it or turn it off. The amp measures a tidy 4.13 inches by 1.77 inches by 8.07 inches.

The USB interface utilizes standard Windows audio class 1 drivers (it worked fine with my Mac mini). Internal parts quality is superb; the TP30 boasts Elna capacitors, Dale resistors, and an ALPS volume control. The Burr-Brown USB digital-to analog converter chip accepts up to 48 kHz sampling rates with 16-bit resolution.

I compared the sound of the TP30 with my Audioengine N22 amp ($199), and they're both pretty good. The N22 has a fuller, warmer tonal balance, but the TP30 has a more immediate, detailed sound with more tightly controlled bass. I used my Audioengine P4 speakers for all of my speaker-based listening tests. It's interesting, the TP30 is a digital amp and takes digital signals "straight-in" via its USB port; the N22 is analog-only and is a more traditional Class A/B amplifier design. It sounded softer, and a wee bit less defined than the TP30.… Read more

After several blockbuster films have been leaked to the Web and generated lots of press for the movies, the public is increasingly suspicious about whether the studios are orchestrating the piracy.

The most recent example came Tuesday evening, when 36 minutes of the upcoming Warner Bros. Pictures film, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1," turned up on file-sharing services. Blogs and online forums overflowed with theories about who leaked the film. "It may be going a little bit too far to suggest that Warner Bros. leaked the film intentionally, but from a business perspective it … Read more

Like many teenagers, when we first started driving we got a lecture from our father about the importance of vehicle maintenance. We figured that we ought to listen to a guy who's kept most of his vehicles well past the 200,000-mile mark. But it's not always easy to keep up with vehicle maintenance, especially in households with multiple vehicles and drivers. Fortunately for collectors, gearheads, and families with teenagers, there's Vehicle Manager 2010, a simple way to track vehicle and fuel use, maintenance and repairs, automotive expenses, and more.

Vehicle Manager Fleet has a well-designed, intuitive … Read more

The average car owner often has trouble keeping up with basic maintenance, so it goes without saying that managing an entire fleet of vehicles is no easy task. Vehicle Manager Fleet Network Edition is a simple way to track vehicle and fuel use, maintenance and repairs, expenses, and more. Best of all, this version of the program makes it easy to set up a network so that the same database can be shared between multiple computers.

Vehicle Manager Fleet has a well-designed, intuitive interface, with large graphic buttons that represent its main features. We found it quite easy to add … Read more