spring

We have our hands on the new 13-inch MacBook Pro here at CNET, and have been putting it through its benchmark paces. In the meantime, we've been eager to see what differentiates this 2010 update from the 2009 version. While we had a wish list of features we wanted to see included and were disappointed that a handful were omitted, there are some key improvements that we're glad to see.

The 2009 13-inch MacBook Pro was one of our favorite laptops, and we were greatly hoping that the 2010 update would feature Intel's new Core processor series. It turned out that Core i5 and i7 CPUs are only in the 15-inch and 17-inch 2010 MacBook Pros, while the new 13-incher still has a Core 2 Duo processor that's been bumped to slightly faster versions.

It's a bit disappointing, as it puts the aluminum 13-incher a step behind its older brothers for the time being, and makes the 2010 MacBook Pro 15-inch the leader of the new MacBook pack.

On the other hand, there are other modest but notable improvements. The integrated Nvidia graphics have been updated to Nvidia's new GeForce 320M processor. It's an improvement over the already serviceable GeForce 9400M integrated graphics the 13-inch MacBook Pro has had since fall 2008, and should help this MacBook keep pace with current games. It's not a high-level processor, but it's far more than any thin portable laptop in this range usually has.

Most importantly, the battery life on this new MacBook Pro has been boosted again. This year's boosts, according to Apple, come from a combination of CPU efficiency and new battery chemistry, despite having a similar-size integrated battery in the same slim chassis. Our early benchmarks show six hours of run time on our video playback battery drain test, approaching an hour longer than last year's model. … Read more

A few weeks ago we wrote that Spring Design's Alex eReader was going to be available two weeks after Apple's iPad was released. Well, true to its word, Spring has officially started shipping the product, which comes in a black or white finish.

As we said in our earlier post, this is one of those products that probably would have gotten a lot more attention had it managed to come out before the iPad. However, as it stands, the $399 Android-powered device--which features both a 6-inch e-ink display and a 3.5-inch, 16-bit color touch-screen LCD--has been overshadowed … Read more

The 17-inch MacBook Pro has always been the domain for a special subset of people: desktop-replacement connoisseurs, fans of higher-res screens, and graphic designers in particular. The spring 2010 17-inch MacBook Pro retains nearly all of the design features from the 2009 version, but the internal components have at last received a significant boost.

As we had expected and hoped, Apple's new 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pros have made the shift to Intel Core i5 and i7 processors, matching a move that the rest of the industry has rapidly made. The 17-inch Pro comes in a single 2.53GHz … Read more

If you're a MacBook user, you've likely been waiting on pins and needles as the rest of the industry has been unleashing Intel's new Core i3, i5 and i7 processors everywhere. There's good news and bad news here: while Apple has updated its MacBook Pro line to Core i5 and i7 processors, the new spring 2010 13-inch MacBook Pro still runs off an Intel Core 2 Duo processor. We can't say we weren't expecting a new processor here, and we're mildly disappointed. After all, we really loved the 2009 13-inch MacBook Pro, and … Read more

It might be thirty years since you've even thought about Pong, the earliest video arcade game, but believe it or not, the ancient two-dimensional tennis sports game is making a comeback in 2010.

On today's episode of The 404 Podcast, we discuss the future of video games and how students at the Imperial College in London are developing a pair of special glasses that allows players to control paddle movement using their eye movements! The new technology holds particular promise for people with physical disabilities that might soon get the chance to join the gaming community. The glasses are fitted with infrared light sensors and a webcam that links a laptop to the player's eyes, and although the hardware only costs $35 to make, the eye movement system itself costs around $36,000, so don't expect to control Modern Warfare with your eyes anytime soon.

The big news of CTIA 2010 is Sprint announcing the HTC Evo 4g, the first available handset to run 4G in the US. Its list of accolades is impressive and blows away the competition: 4.3-inch display, micro-USB port, 8.3-megapixel rear facing camera in addition to a VGA lens on the front for video calls, and perhaps the most impressive--a kickstand! So far Sprint has rolled out its 4g network in 27 cities and plans to expand to NYC, Boston, D.C., SF, and more by the end of the year. The HTC Evo 4g certainly grabs our interests, but Jeff is shaking at the prospect of a phone worthy of replacing his 8th Palm Pre. Could this be the one? We'll get CNET's Cell Phone Editor Bonnie Cha in the studio soon to get the inside scoop.

Both of those stories plus an family-sized Calls From The Public on today's episode of The 404 Podcast!

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Sprint Nextel is using Wi-Fi to sell its 4G WiMax wireless broadband service.

The nation's third largest wireless carrier has at least a year-and-a-half head start over its closest competitor, Verizon Wireless, when it comes to 4G. But to capitalize on that lead, the company has to win as many subscribers for its service as quickly as it can. Verizon plans to launch its 4G network later this year.

In its race against the clock, Sprint is leveraging a tried-and-true technology, Wi-Fi, to help entice consumers to sign up for its service. The reason is simple. There are millions … Read more

PALM DESERT, Calif.--The 2010 Demo Spring conference has come to an end, and in its wake we have a new crop of companies new and old with ideas that promise to make our cars, pockets, businesses, and living rooms better.

Prior to the start of the conference, we wrote up a few of the top companies to watch. And after seeing their presentations, we're naming our favorite pitches and products from the two-day conference.

Exaudios makes technology that can tell a person's mood by the tone in their voice. It's a potentially huge product for call … Read more

Why would anyone launch yet another e-book format? That's the obvious question we had at DemoSpring when watching the short pitch by Neverend Media's Chris Kubica. His new format is quite different from existing e-books, because it's designed to support subscribing to a book the way you can sign up for an RSS feed, and it has a return channel to the author built into the format. Plus it has a smart social component.

Years ago, Kubica wrote a book about Filemaker but got frustrated when, nearing the end of it, he realized that software updates had … Read more