mini

Apple customers awaiting their new MacBook Airs may have to wait a little longer than they had thought, but potential Mac Mini customers should sit tight.

That seems to the state of the Mac this Wednesday, according to AppleInsider. The site notes that customers who ordered the new MacBook Airs with the 120GB hard drive option are receiving notices from Apple apologizing for a shipping delay.

The systems were expected to go out this week, but now won't go out until the end of November. Those who ordered the more expensive solid-state drive option have already started getting their … Read more

Forecasters see 2010 as the big year for Europe's manufacturers of stop-start systems, which turn the engine off when a vehicle stops and restarts it when the driver's foot leaves the brake.

An estimated 2.8 million vehicles with stop-start will be made globally that year. About 2.5 million of those vehicles will be made in Europe and the rest in Asia, according to consultancy IHS Global Insight. That's up dramatically from last year, when about 54,000 stop-stop-equipped vehicles were made, an estimated 53,350 in Europe.

Stop-start maker Valeo SA is looking forward to the surge because it does not make a profit on the system at current volumes. "Today we manufacture 1,000 a month, so it doesn't make sense. But we knew that," Valeo CEO Thierry Morin told Automotive News Europe earlier this year. "It will be a profitable business by 2011, when we have the volumes, in particular from PSA."

The French supplier has a contract with PSA/Peugeot-Citroen to equip more than 1 million vehicles with a stop-start system by 2011. Valeo says the contract is worth 700 million euros, or $897.4 million at current exchange rates. Valeo now supplies stop-start for Citroen, Mercedes, and Smart vehicles.… Read more

Apple has quashed the rumor mill's latest obsession, declaring that no new Macs will be released before the holidays.

Earlier Monday, reports surfaced that Apple was getting ready to release an updated version of the iMac and the Mac Mini next week. But a company representative told Macworld, "our holiday lineup is set," in a rare move to dampen the speculation regarding the new products.

As Macworld's Jim Dalrymple points out, the iMac and Mac Mini seem overdue for a hardware update, making it quite plausible that new versions would be along some time soon. But … Read more

UPDATED 4:20pm: Apple has denied that new systems are on the way. See new story, "Apple debunks Mac Mini, iMac rumor"

Apple may clear up the confusion regarding the future of the Mac Mini a week from Tuesday.

That's what MacNN thinks, reporting Monday that Apple will have refreshed versions of the Mac Mini and iMac desktops to announce next Tuesday, Apple's traditional day of the week for product launches. Both systems could be in line for refreshes with new Intel hardware, but it doesn't sound like any drastic changes will be made to … Read more

A day after rolling out a new line of Netbooks, Hewlett-Packard says it's looking at selling them in conjunction with wireless service providers.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Kevin Frost, who heads up HP's consumer notebook division, said the company is considering selling Netbooks at a deep discount to customers who sign a wireless service contract.

On Wednesday, HP introduced a new line of Netbooks called the HP Mini 1000.

Frost said, "The big picture for these Netbooks is that kind of model," but described it as a "longer-term" plan. He … Read more

Update: This blog has been corrected to reflect that the Mini 1000 will be available Wednesday on HP.com, and in retail stores later.

After a brief experiment in the education market, Hewlett-Packard on Wednesday is set to introduce a whole line of Netbooks for mainstream consumers.

The HP Mini 1000 comes in three versions, with starting prices ranging from $379 to $699, and will be available on HP.com starting Wednesday, with worldwide retailers to be announced later.

HP first dipped its toe into the mini-notebook market back in April with the Mini-Note 2133, which it claimed was strictly for K through 12 students and some business travelers. At the time, HP was adamant that this was not meant to play in the same arena as the consumer-oriented Netbook from Asus, the Eee PC. Though it won't break out the numbers, HP now says the sales of the 2133 "exceeded all expectations."

But the new HP Mini 1000, Mini 1000 MIE, and the Mini 1000 Vivienne Tam Edition are very much intended for consumers. So what's changed in just six months? The look and feel of the Mini 1000 line isn't drastically different from the 2133, but the Netbook market has had a dramatic makeover, though it's more noticeable abroad than here in the U.S. … Read more

We'd like to say we were pleasantly surprised to see HP announce its new Mini 1000 Netbook Tuesday. Of course we can't, since HP accidentally put a big picture of the new system up on its Web site over the weekend for several hours. Blown surprise aside, the Mini 1000 is now available for online ordering, and we've got a full review and video.

The system wisely cribs from HP's previous Netbook, the business-oriented Mini-Note 2133, using the same wide format to fit in a nearly full-size keyboard that dwarfs every other similar system. It trades … Read more

In the market for a Netbook? Amazon has the baseline HP 2133 on sale for $299, down from $499. Right away that solves one of the HP's main problems: its high price. Best of all, this is a new unit--not a refurb--and you don't have to deal with any rebates.

The HP 2133 is the one Netbook I've actually reviewed, and I liked it well enough, except for two issues: price and performance. But my eval unit came with Windows Vista and a $799 price tag; the model Amazon is selling has SUSE Linux and costs $299. … Read more

Just last week, we were able to best the Honda Fit's claimed 33 highway mpg to achieve just a bit more than 40 combined mpg (and that was with lead-footed me behind the wheel for about a quarter of a tank). Now, the Fit is a fairly economically tuned car, but how would we have handled a less docile vehicle? U.K. magazine Auto Express entered a John Cooper Works Mini--the hottest, fastest Mini Cooper available--in a MPG Marathon. How did they fair?

Surprisingly for a turbocharged hot-hatch with enough moxie to sprint from 0-60mph in only 6.5 … Read more