'7 series'

CNET TV's Brian Tong discusses evidence that Apple is about to update its line of MacBook Pros. Also discussed in this edition: the Mobile World Congress gives Steve Jobs the Person of the Year in Mobile; Microsoft introduces the Windows 7 Series Phone; and a how-to tip for syncing your iTunes Library with multiple computers.

Be sure to check us out on Twitter and the CNET Mac forums. Do you have questions, issues, or stories you would like to see on MacFixIt? E-mail Us.

Those iPhones really are awful.

Who could possibly imagine people wanting to buy those ridiculous little objects? You know, the ones that only allow you to open one app at a time. The ones that simply don't believe in the quintessential togetherness of apps.

No, no, I wouldn't dream of offering such outlandish besmirchment. But you'd be forgiven for imagining that these were the exact sentiments expressed by Microsoft in a little film the company presented at the Barcelona launch of its possibly, maybe, surely excellent Windows Phone 7 Series.

It seems this ultimate phoning machine's … Read more

For those resigned to 30 years of Apple dominance in the mobile market, think again. While Apple clearly hit a home run with the iPhone, it's now under several serious threats from the Linux camp, and it seems Microsoft might finally have its act together with Windows Phone 7 Series.

Time to kiss your iPhone goodbye?

Maybe. Google had already been giving the iPhone serious competition with its Linux-based Android platform, but Monday Intel and Nokia joined forces with their own Linux initiative, MeeGo.

MeeGo is an amalgamation of Intel's Moblin and Nokia's Maemo, two initiatives that … Read more

At long last, the Zune Phone is here. Microsoft isn't calling it that--apparently it thought the name Windows Phone 7 Series rolled off the tongue a bit more easily--but the next generation of Microsoft's smartphone software not only features the entire Zune HD software and services experience (just like the iPod became a component of the iPhone), but the entire user interface itself bears a close resemblance to the Zune HD.

To be clear, Microsoft isn't building the hardware like it did with Zune--rather, partners like HTC, LG, and Samsung will do that work. But a lot of what the company learned from several iterations of Zune design has been rolled into its mobile platform.

Microsoft introduced Windows Phone 7 Series Monday morning at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and there's a lot to wrap your head around. I'll leave the full rundown to others at CNET, but one of the most interesting aspects is the way Microsoft seems to be trying to get rid of the notion of "apps," which have become the iPhone's calling card and are widely imitated by every other smart phone OS out there.

I don't mean that Windows Phone 7 Series phones won't support third-party applications--of course they will. But you won't interact with those applications by selecting a specific icon, opening an app, doing whatever you want to do, then closing it and moving on to something else. … Read more

As someone who has watched Windows Mobile for a long time (and been critical for just as long), I must say my curiosity has been piqued.

What Microsoft has shown of its new mobile operating system looks nothing like the tired Windows interface of old; instead it looks like the much more enjoyable Zune HD. The idea of putting people and photos in one place where one can do multiple things is a good one. The connection to Xbox Live could help Microsoft appeal to a whole new area, while a pervasive connection to social networks like Facebook is also … Read more

While CEO Steve Ballmer is the one who will get top billing at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, it is Microsoft veteran Andy Lees who is largely responsible for shepherding the long-delayed software project to completion.

Ballmer and Lees, who came from Microsoft's server unit in March 2008, will be showing the fruits of that work--a ground-up redesign of the phone operating system into something that looks a lot more like the Zune HD than it does any prior version of Windows Mobile.

While Microsoft won't be building the phones itself, it is being pretty strict about both the components that must be included (think FM radio and capacitive touch screen) as well as also prohibiting phone makers from putting their own skin over the user interface, something that many had taken to doing to hide Windows Mobile in recent generations.

In an interview just before he headed to Barcelona, Lees talked about Microsoft's different approach with the new software, the role of Zune and Xbox in the product, as well as why Microsoft still believes it can catch up to leaders like Apple, Google and Research In Motion.

There is also a separate Microsoft-designed phone effort, code-named Pink, that is due out this year, ahead of the first crop of third-party Windows Phone 7 Series devices, although Lees wouldn't talk about those.

Here's an edited transcript of our conversation:

Q: So essentially what is Windows Mobile 7, or whatever it's being called? Andy Lees: Windows Phone 7 Series. As you may remember, we about 18 months ago decided that we're going to re-evaluate our mobile strategy, and what we're doing in the mobile space. That was based on the inflection point that was happening in a number of ways, both in terms of convergence of different industries colliding together, and also the technologies of what is becoming possible, of course, driven by Moore's Law in the hardware, connectivity, and new-user paradigms, people using their phones in concert with the Web, and their PCs, and TVs, and things. And so that really created the impetus to go through it. … Read more

It won't ship until late 2010, but the 2011 Audi A8 looks really good. The all-new fourth-generation A8 full-size luxury sedan has a 372 hp 4.2-liter V-8 with eight-speed transmission under the hood, and all-wheel drive.

This 8-minute video includes driving scenes and exterior shots, plus close-up detail shots.

The $75,000 car will compete with the Mercedes-Benz S-class, Maserati Quattroporte, Lexus LS460, Jaguar XJ/XJL, BMW 7-series.

I'm a big fan of "German engineering"--that combined focus on power and precision that distinguishes the better automobiles designed or manufactured in Germany.

At Frankfurt's International Motor Show, BMW will be showing off two new hybrid cars intended to deliver the full promise of German engineering. This is no small thing because most hybrid cars to date have been lightly built and somewhat underpowered in order to improve fuel economy.

The two new BMWs are more like previous offerings from that company: big, solid cars with lots of power to maintain performance in spite of … Read more

BMW announced today the production versions of the BMW ActiveHybrid X6 and ActiveHybrid 7, two very different hybrid models with very different drive trains. Both vehicles will make their world premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. The Hybrid X6 will reach U.S. BMW Centers in fourth quarter 2009; and the BMW Hybrid 7 will reach America shores in spring 2010.

The BMW ActiveHybrid X6's power train starts with a 400 hp twin-turbocharged V8 gasoline engine and adds two electric synchronous motors delivering 91 hp/192 lb-ft and 86 hp/206 lb-ft, respectively. Maximum system output is … Read more