MacBook

If you were tantalized by the razor-thin MacBook Air when it debuted a year ago but disheartened by its price, here's good news: the online Apple Store is selling refurbished MacBook Air laptops for as little as $999 shipped. To put that in perspective, the least-expensive new Air sells for $1,799.

The $999 model sports a 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive, and all the other standard Air features: 802.11n, a built-in Webcam, a 13.3-inch display, and so on. Read CNET's review for all the details.

Needless … Read more

For all of you who weren't able to follow our live coverage of Apple's keynote address at Macworld 2009 earlier Tuesday from San Francisco's Moscone Center, here's a quick recap of the highlights.

•  DRM-free iTunes: As first reported last night by CNET News' Greg Sandoval, Apple announced plans to lift DRM technology from its entire catalog of 10 million iTunes songs by the end of April. Eight million songs are DRM-free as of today, and labels will be allowed to charge different prices for their songs, in a departure from the previous iTunes Store policies.… Read more

A few blocks away at Macworld here in San Francisco, the "one more thing" in Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller's keynote is a unibody 17-inch MacBook Pro notebook. Also announced: iLife '09 is getting geotagging, face recognition, guitar lessons. Click here to read CNET News reporter Tom Krazit's live blog from the event.

Visit this link for full coverage of the Macworld Expo. And stay tuned. CNET News has many more Macworld photos, plus analysis, on the way.

Updated at 11:05 p.m. PST with additional information throughout.

Another Netbook? No, not exactly. Hewlett-Packard's new Pavilion dv2 is an ultraportable, thank you. And the new Athlon Neo silicon inside from Advanced Micro Devices will try to prove that point.

AMD is introducing new chips at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that target the no-man's land between Netbooks and notebooks. Typically, these designs are referred to as ultraportables--the most salient examples being Apple's MacBook Air, the Toshiba Portege, and the Sony Vaio TT series.

So what makes AMD's platform different? In one … Read more

We'll come right and say it--we love 13-inch laptops. One point we're fond of making is that in a world where we have 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and even 20-inch laptops, the 13-inch size is the biggest we'd consider carrying around on a regular basis, as well as the smallest we'd be able to use as a full-time work machine.

Hewlett-Packard is debuting a new 13-inch model, powered by a variety of AMD CPU options (although, not the new low-power Athlon Neo). We've always liked HP's snazzy dv-series designs, with their glossy finishes, metallic accents, and subtle imprint patterns. HP describes this new model as having, "an argyle-like pattern for subtle contrast to the liquid appearance of the metallic finish." Then again, matte black works for us, too.

While the new dv3 is reasonably svelte, starting at 3.8 pounds and about 1.3-inches thick at its thickest part, we're most excited about the backlit keyboard--an extra we'd point out only comes with the more expensive $1,699 version of the 13-inch MacBook (and you can't even get the dv3's Express Card/34 slot in a 13-inch MacBook).

Look for the HP Pavilion dv3 later in January. Check out some more photos after the jump.… Read more

It appears Apple is getting ready to expand its MacBook Pro lineup.

The Mac maker plans to unveil a 17-inch MacBook Pro, possibly as early as this week at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco, according to reports on 9to5Mac and AppleInsider. Like the 13- and 15-inch models, the 17-incher is expected to sport a unibody construction. But unlike those smaller models, the new MacBook Pro will have a fixed internal battery, much like the MacBook Air's battery setup, according to the report.

The site also reported that we can expect a Mac Mini makeover that will include the … Read more

Here's a radical idea: a 2009 Apple computer with an AMD processor.

Maybe this isn't in the cards, but it should be. Especially in light of Advanced Micro Devices' upcoming ultraportable platforms.

I see an upscale Netbook-like Apple computer with, let's say, a slightly smaller form factor than the Apple MacBook Air. Maybe an 11-inch or 12-inch design packing low-power (and relatively inexpensive) AMD Yukon or Congo silicon. This would not be a Netbook clone--and would offer much better graphics silicon than a Netbook--allowing Apple to sufficiently differentiate itself.

Or what about an Apple laptop with an … Read more

Intel sneaked out a new low-cost quad-core mobile processor on Monday, prompting some observers to wonder if Apple will finally release a quad-core laptop.

The lack of fanfare surrounding the 2.53GHz Core 2 Quad Mobile Processor Q9000's introduction--it was merely added to Intel's CPU price list--is certainly interesting. It's a slow news week between Christmas and New Year's, so why not play it up?, is how the logic goes.

APCMag.com says it's possible Apple's been waiting for the processor to arrive from Intel, and it just happens to coincide with Macworld … Read more

I was in the early crowd of MacBook Air buyers and for the first month I absolutely loved it. I originally bought the Air after a trip to Japan where I lugged around the 15 inch MacBook Pro on all the trains and subways until my back couldn't take it. The Air's weight and form factor are near-perfect if you commute or travel and when I was in the office a USB hub and power supply were always available.

However, once I started hitting the road, the MacBook Air disappointed on many occasions. Hands down the biggest issue is the terrible battery life. Despite trying every setting, even custom configurations, I was never able to get more than two and one-half hours of battery and in some cases couldn't get more than one hour. I'm not going to dwell on the performance except to say it was weak. I knew what I was getting into with a low-horsepower processor and limited (2GB) memory.

Battery life is embarrassingly bad My first really annoying experience was when I rented Lars and the Real Girl from iTunes and tried to watch it flying from SFO-NYC. However, watching it in full-screen mode made the machine die in about 45 minutes. The movie wasn't great so I figured I would wait until I got to NYC and charge the machine. But, by the time I got there my 24 hours had elapsed and I couldn't finish it.

I had a similar experience flying from San Diego to SFO trying to calm my crazed infant with videos. The damn Air died after 45 minutes of full screen Elmo, which was just ridiculous for everyone around us. … Read more