Apple Releases Slimmer MacBook Air

On October 20, 2010, Apple Inc. released a new, slimmer MacBook Air. The thinner and lighter device features a 13.3-inch screen with 1400 x 900 resolution. The product is 0.68-inches at its thickest, 0.11-inches at its thinnest, and weighs only 2.9 pounds. Apple claims the new MacBook Air also has a battery life of 7 hours.

Consumers who have already purchased the new MacBook Air are giving the product great reviews. “This thing boots up in less than 15 seconds, applications seem to load quicker, files transfer quicker and shuts down in about three seconds,” said MJ Siegler, a TechCrunch product reviewer. Pre-existing heat issues have also seem to have been corrected by Apple.

 With all the praise the MacBook Air has received, there is only one thing that holds back this revolutionary product… storage space.

Digital music, TV shows, movies, and photos take up hundreds of gigabytes of storage space. The price for a MacBook Air with 128GB of storage will sell for $1,299 and the 256GB model will sell for $1,599, experts believe 256GB is still not enough space for today’s average Mac user. Even with this downside many consumers agree that the new MacBook Air performs better than the 13-inch MacBook Pro which has a faster Core 2 Dup processor and double the RAM.

“Here’s how I see it: if storage didn’t matter, I think this 13-inch MacBook Air would almost immediately be Apple’s best-selling Mac. It’s that good,” said Siegler. The size of the new MacBook Air is absolutely incredible. The photo below is a comparison of size between the new MacBook Air (left) and a MacBook Pro (right). 

Even with its criticized storage capabilities, I believe the new MacBook Air is a glimpse of where Apple is headed in terms of their MacBook lineup. 

“The thing is just a dream to use. Apple really has learned a lot from the iPad and iPhones, and they’ve incorporated that into this machine,” said Scott Yates, an Apple blogger. The new MacBook Air will be a big hit this holiday season. 

For more information about Apple’s new MacBook Air visit:

www.apple.com

www.cnet.com

www.engadget.com

www.techcrunch.com

Apple, Target, and Best Buy… OH MY…

For the past four years Apple Inc., has branched out to many retail environments for the purpose of total expansion. Apple Inc., made a wise move here in broadening their market and customer demographic. It seems one of Apple’s goals is to make their once exclusive product completely inclusive for all.

Yesterday, Target announced it will begin selling Apple’s iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS  on November 7. With 846 stores nation-wide, the retail giant promises to offer quick service and on-the-spot iPhone activation.

“At Target we continue to offer our guest the best in electronics, so we’re happy to add iPhone to our Target mobile offerings,” said Mark Schindele, senior vice president of merchandising at Target.

Target also began selling Apple’s iPad in early October. After Target’s announcement yesterday, Best Buy also reported that they will begin selling Apple’s iPhone on November 7.

Best Buy will also expand the iPad to Best Buy Mobile stores on that same day. This expansion comes just in time for the 2010 Holiday season.

“We plan to open an additional 23 mobile stores before Thanksgiving Day. By November 25, 2010 we’ll have a total of 158 Best Buy Mobile stores,” said Jeff Haydock, a spokesman with Best Buy.

Most Apple stores are located in upscale shopping malls and exclusive retail locations. Target, Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores offer Apple’s in-demand products to a wider customer market. This expansion to major retail stores with numerous locations has benefitted Apple.

And so… Apple Inc. continues to conquer the world; one lion, tiger, and beat at a time.

To locate a Best Buy, Target or Apple Inc. retail locations visit bestbuy.com, target.com or apple.com.

For more information about Apple’s products being sold at retail stores visit macrumors.com 

Ni Hao Apple

Apple Inc. announced the debut of its new Chinese online and app store on Tuesday. After years of ignoring the market, Apple Inc. has begun an extreme global expansion.

Chinese customers can now order any Apple Inc. product online and have it delivered to their home. Before the online store debut customers were only allowed to pick up product orders at one of four Apple stores in Beijing and Shanghai.

“We are thrilled to open our newest online store in China,” said Apple COO Tim Cook. “With personalized engraving, configure-to-order options and free shipping on everything, the Apple Store is a great destination for our customers in China.”

Apple Inc. hopes to compete in China’s growing smartphone market, which has gained traction in the past four years. The American technological front runner plans to open 25 Apple stores in China by 2011.

An image of an iPhone, iPad, and iPod nano dressed up as traditional Chinese lanterns promoted the new website release.

Apple's New 'Anti-sexting' Technology

With the growing popularity of Apple Inc., it's easy to notice when new products are released by the technological front-runner. From the iPad, to the mobile giant known as the iPhone, Apple always adapts to the changing technological world. Not only does Apple create innovative products, the company is also interested in doing something good for mankind. 

Over the past four years, mobile devices have taken the technology market by storm. With the increase of users, there is an increase in abusers. 'Sexting' has become a serious issue among adolescents and teenagers. The activity of sending or receiving sexually explicit text messages/images has affected many children in recent years. 

According to a CNN article released on October 13, Apple's new patented technology can be used by parents to prevent their children from sending or receiving sexually explicit text messages. 

Apple's new feature would let an iPhones administrator block an iPhone from sending or receiving text messages with sexually explicit words. What makes Apple's 'sexting'-block unique is that if filters content based on a child's grade level. Apple's feature also searches for abbreviated words and sexual slang that are usually missed by other programs.

Apple says that other programs only block certain words instead of identifying the big picture of a sexually explicit text message. This strategic type of identification can then be applied to a child's age and reading level. 

Other blogs such as TechCrunch have posted questions about Apple's new feature. A subscriber asked if Apple's technology would put an end to 'sexting'. "Yes and no," said Alexia Tsotsis, blogger with TechCrunch. "Those interested in 'sexting' will probably find some clever workaround to express how much they want to bang, screw, hit it or a myriad of other words that don't immediately set off the censorship sensors."

Do you think this new type of technology will help end 'sexting'?



For more information about Apple's new 'Anti-sexting' feature visit:

http://articles.cnn.com/2010-10-13/tech/apple.sexting.patent_1_text-messages-sexting-apple?_s=PM:TECH
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/13/apple-anti-sexting-patent_n_760731.html
http://www.pcworld.com/article/207650/apples_antisexting_patent_approved.html

My take on AppleTV

Despite the criticism against Apple's newly released product, I believe AppleTV will revolutionize the media technology industry. AppleTV allows consumers to wirelessly rent and purchase movies, music, and tv shows with the push of a remote. In this day in age, many Americans will do whatever it takes to have the newest type of media technology in their hands. Whether it's an iPhone 4 or Xbox Kinect, emerging technology drives the American economy. At a price of $99, AppleTV eliminates the need for a Netflix subscription or that trip to the nearest Redbox. AppleTV is the best, cost-saving product on the market today. Why do I want to pay $20 for a round, plastic disc that will take up space? A disc that will probably be broken by my three-year-old cousin. This new product will save tons of space and money. Plus, all of your media files can be saved on a small external hard drive. I won't need to wait a week to receive a rental from Netflix nor will I have to drive to that failure known as Blockbuster. With it's wireless network connection, AppleTV streams all user content from a MacBook Pro, or an iTunes account. Every consumer who purchases AppleTV has the power of the entertainment industry in the palm of their hands. AppleTV even taps in to the ever popular social network Facebook. After a consumer watches a movie or tv show they have the power to rate and post what they just viewed on Facebook. Steve Jobs seems to be traveling on a yellow-brick road getting closer and closer to the emerald city. 

For more information on AppleTv visit: http://www.apple.com/appletv/.

Adios!