The elements of Apple style

Apple’s computers are elegantly styled by anyone’s measure, and the careful—one might say obsessive—design extends even to the out of box experience. The packaging is ergonomically designed to smooth and guide the setup process. On the newest iMacs, each provided part is snugly wrapped in clear plastic with easy-to-peel tabs for removal. (This contrasts with the fingernail-defying protective film on a lot of other PCs; an HP all-in-one we are testing had six separate peel-off pieces on the mouse alone, and eight on the main unit.)

The manual and system DVDs are cached in two DVD-sized slipcases, one labeled “Everything Mac” and the other “Everything Else.” The silicone power cord unrolls with no kinks, and the back of the system unit is as clean-looking as the front. No brand names, feature lists, or “Designed for Windows 7” or “Intel inside” type stickers distract you from the basic functionality, save for the understated Apple logo. There’s a luxurious feel to the whole package.

That’s not to say there haven’t been notable gaffes in Apple’s designs through the years. The puck mouse on the original iMac was universally derided, and some people don’t like other Apple mice for various reasons. Some Mac laptops got much too hot in use, or had their wrist-rest surface discolor. And before Apple improved their batteries, there were lots of complaints of premature failures or even batteries puffing up like balloons. Their keyboards lack a number pad and have small cursor keys. And the iMac’s minimalistic design places all connections on the rear, making it a bit of a chore to plug in a USB flash drive or an audio headset.

But Apple’s product design is still a tough act to follow, if the industry’s clamor to create Apple-look-alikes is any measure. We have yet to see an MP3 player as coveted as the iPod line, nor have the bulk of iPhone users longed for much besides possibly better cell coverage. And, Mac computers remain the alternative to the Windows PC world that people choose most. —Dean Gallea

A look at Apple’s new MacBook and Mac mini

The new Macbook 13-inch laptop

Continuing my look at Apple’s newest computers, here’s my take on the new Macbook 13-inch and Mac mini.

MacBook 13-inch

Apple’s replacement for the 13” plastic-case MacBook keeps the price at an entry-level (for Apple) $1,000. They’ve given it the large glass-surface, multi-touch, gesture-enabled trackpad of its bigger siblings. They’ve also rounded the case’s edges, switched to an LED-backlit screen, and installed a non-user-replaceable, 10 percent higher-capacity battery with twice the claimed service life (1000 charges) and two hours longer claimed charge life (7 hours).

A couple things were dropped from the previous model: the external battery-charge indicator, the FireWire port, and the remote-control pickup. I guess Apple doesn’t consider this a media-centric laptop.

Under the hood, Apple has bumped up the processor from 2.13 GHz to a 2.26 GHz Core-2 Duo. The hard drive went up from 160 GB to 250 GB. The weight has gone down about 5 ounces to 4.7 lbs.

Some nice touches: The cover snaps closed magnetically, and has a thin, soft-plastic gasket around the edge that might help keep moisture from reaching the keyboard in transit. The seamless bottom panel is actually plastic-coated aluminum, which should help spread out the heat and reduce hot spots on your lap. The top surface of the wrist-rest area stayed cool in our tests.

All in all, this MacBook is a better value than the prior one: a little faster, a little lighter, a little longer running, and able to hold more stuff.

The new Mac mini

Mac mini

Apple’s latest entry in the compact desktop arena hasn’t changed on the outside, but has the expected configuration improvements inside. The Mac mini $600 model goes up from the previous 2 GHz to a 2.26 GHz Core-2 Duo processor, doubles the memory to 2 GB, and expands the hard drive from 120GB to 160GB. It keeps the FireWire 800 port, the generous 5 USB ports (though two are taken if you use a wired keyboard and mouse), and the mini-DVI port along with the adapter needed to connect a DVI display (you can buy a $19 adaptor for a VGA display.) Apple has added a mini-DisplayPort connector, now standard on Apple PCs, for Apple displays and the few non-Apple displays that can fit it.

For $200 more, the sibling model has a 10 percent faster processor (2.53 GHz), doubles the hard drive to 320GB, and doubles the memory to 4 GB.

The Mac mini remains an enigma, being shipped without a keyboard and mouse, presumably to keep the price low. If you add Apple’s wired ones, the price goes up $100, or you can go wireless for $40 more. You’ll also want speakers if you plan to play music, since the mini’s internal speaker is insipid.

In my next post, I’ll take a further look at the design and style of Apple’s new computers. —Dean Gallea

Apple’s new iMacs: A closer look

The new iMac

Amid the hoopla surrounding the release of Windows 7, Apple introduced refreshed lines of iMac computers. We took a look at the 21-1/2 inch model ($1,200 to $1,500) and the 27 inch one ($1,700 to $2,000). (See how we rated previous iMac models in our desktop computer Ratings, available to subscribers.)

Both iMacs have larger displays than their predecessors (20-inch and 24-inch respectively) and come with the latest Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard operating system. They include a newly-designed wireless “Magic Mouse,” and a wireless keyboard, both of which use a Bluetooth connection. (For a glossary of standard computer features, see our free Computer Buying Guide.)

Magic Mouse. This has a touch-sensitive top surface that senses left and right clicks and lets you slide your finger around to scroll a window’s content in any direction. Slide your finger up and down for a normal scroll, or with the “control” key depressed to zoom the whole screen for a closer look. It takes a bit of practice and some independent finger dexterity to use the scrolling, but we were able to get pretty good at it.

The mouse also lets you use a two-finger swipe to navigate back and forth in the Safari web browser, and browse album covers in iTunes and photos in iPhoto. But we couldn’t get that feature to work on either of our iMacs. Apple’s helpline wasn’t able to help us—the products are apparently too new. But we found an Oct 27th software update for the Magic Mouse on Apple’s “support downloads” website that fixed the problem when installed.

Apple updates iMac, MacBook, and mini: Coincidence or challenge?

Just about 48 hours before Microsoft is set to release Windows 7, its new operating system, Apple grabs the spotlight with the launch of new iMac desktops, new versions of the Mac mini, and an updated MacBook laptop.

The new iMacs start at $1,199 with a 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, but are also available with i5 or i7 processors. New display sizes are 21.5 inches and 27 inches. The base model also comes with 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive.

The popular 13-inch MacBook now uses an LED-backlit display like that on the MacBook Pro, as well as a unibody design for lighter weight. It’s $999 with a 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of memory, and a 250GB hard drive.

The Mac mini has also been updated, with two models available. One includes a 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo processor,  2GB of memory, and a 160GB hard drive for $599. The higher-end version is $799 and has a 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB of memory, and a 320GB hard drive. Don’t forget that you’ll need to add your own monitor, keyboard, mouse, and external speakers. —Donna Tapellini

Extra Extra: Consumer Reports Electronics Buying Guide is on sale

(Click to enlarge.)

It may be a tad early to start your holiday shopping, but there’s a good chance you’ve at least been thinking about it. Maybe you’ve had a big-ticket gift—like a new TV or home theater—in mind for a while now, but are putting off the purchase till November or December. If it’s sales you’re waiting for, you probably know what you want and how much you’re willing to pay. On the other hand, you might just a teeny bit leery of throwing so much cash at something you know very little about. Which is better: a plasma or LCD TV? Should you upgrade to a Blu-ray player or stick with standard-def DVDs?

If you find yourself in need of expert advice, consider the newest edition of the Consumer Reports Electronics Buying Guide. Inside you’ll find a wealth of information on everything from televisions and computers to smart phones, GPS units, and much more. For each product, the Consumer Reports editors walk you through the basics, explaining what’s available, which features matter, brand profiles, and offering tried-and-true shopping tips.

In addition to product information, the guide offers advice on how to shop smarter, including:

• Netting the best deals online, and protecting yourself when you shop on the Web


• When to repair and when to replace a broken item


• How to haggle effectively


• Finding the best electronics retailer based on our comprehensive annual survey


• How to save—and what to be wary of—with refurbished or open-box products on store shelves


• Where to get free office software, free computer security programs, and more useful freeware

New iPod Nano: Video, radio, and features galore

Here's a First Look at Apple’s new, fifth-generation iPod Nano, the first iPod with an FM radio and the ability to take videos. It’s the same size and weight as the old Nano, though the display has been enlarged slightly, to 2.2 inches. Claimed playback time is five hours for video, 24 hours for music. The 8GB Nano costs only $149; the 16GB version costs $179.

"Smile, you're on Nanocam." Taking videos on the Nano is fun and fairly easy, as the video first look (at right) shows. The wide-angle lens gets in lots of background, convenient if you're in a tight space with lots of people. After synching with iTunes on your computer, you can easily e-mail your videos to friends, post them on Facebook and Youtube, or edit them in iPhoto.

You don't need to have iTunes running to see your videos. The Nano shows up as an additional drive on your computer, so you can just drag them off the Nano. However you manage content, you’ll need to ensure you leave sufficient capacity for shooting video after loading music and other content; as with other iPods, when you’re away from the computer, you can’t delete songs from the Nano to free up space for more video recordings.

In terms of quality, we found the Nano cam comparable to standard-definition pocket camcorders such as the Flip Ultra. That is, they’re fine for casual viewing and posting online but fall short of the quality you’ll get from a full-sized standard-def camcorder. Also like pocket camcorders, the Nano records only in mono. At normal sound levels, such as conversations, the sound quality was decent. But as our subject got louder, as in laughing and screaming, the audio became noticeably distorted.

Smart radio. The Nano is a latecomer to FM on MP3 players, but its Live Pause feature, also shown in the video, records the station you're listening to slightly ahead of the live broadcast, so when you hit the pause button, the program pauses. Hit play and it picks up from where you left off, or you can rewind up to 15 minutes, or fast-forward to catch up to the live broadcast. Another plus—you can see the name of the current song and artist on the display. On the downside, when in Live Pause mode, it’s nearly impossible to switch to another channel.

Tag, you're it. Another convenient feature is iTunes tagging, which allows you to tag a song that’s playing on the radio so you can order it later from iTunes. Great idea, but the station has to support iTunes tagging for the feature to work. And in our tests, we were only able to find one station that did—a local "lite FM” station.

Not-so-smart DJ. Music player updates include Genius Mixes, which scours your collection according to genre and makes up play lists that . Nice idea, but some mixes we ordered up weren’t that smart, as we also cover in the video. —Mike Gikas

New iPods expected from Apple's conference

[PHOTO: Courtesy of marco.ziero]

September is the time of year when Apple refreshes its iPod line, so it's fairly safe to assume the press conference Apple is holding Wednesday, starting at 10 am Pacific time, will include news on the company’s media players.

We'll report on the event later in the day. Meantime, here are my predictions on what those announcements will be:

Higher-capacity iPods. Probably double the capacity of what's available now, for about the same price. That means a 64-gigabyte (GB) Touch, 32GB Nano, and 8GB Shuffle.

A camera and GPS capability for the iPod Touch. Speculators have been disappointed before on this topic, but this time the stars are properly aligned for adding a camera to at least one iPod. The company’s iPod Touch, essentially an iPhone without the cell-phone carrier connection or camera, is the natural first candidate, especially given that the latest iPhone boasts a 3.0-megapixel camera with editing capability. Also, the multiple GPS apps now available for the iPhone, including one from TomTom, could work on the Touch, were it to add a GPS chip, which reads position via satellite without need for a cell network connection.

Goodbye hard-drive models. Except for some niche portable video players made by Archos and iRiver, hard-drive MP3 players have all but disappeared from the marketplace. (Microsoft is dropping hard-drive models from the refresh of its Zune line, scheduled for mid-September.) The demise of Apple’s 120-GB Classic iPod seems likely.

An update to iTunes. Apple often combines iPod announcements with updates to its music-management software. Back in July, the Financial Times reported that Apple was working with major record labels, whose CD sales have steadily slipped, to spice up album downloads with more compelling extras that include "interactive" album material. Look for an announcement of iTunes album downloads that will insert a digital booklet of photos, lyric sheets and liner notes.

There’s also been speculation that the Apple event, being the same day as the Beatles catalog is re-released in remastered form (more on that in another post), will include a long-awaited announcement that the Fab Four’s music is being added to the iTunes Store.

Anything’s possible tomorrow from Apple (including announcements unrelated to iPods or iTunes), but it’s worth noting that the invitations for the event include the line “It’s Only Rock and Roll But We Like It.” Borrowing from a Rolling Stones song to help in announcing a Beatles deal seems odd, to say the least. —Mike Gikas

iPhone to get multimedia messaging, as AT&T network concerns grow

Allowing photos and video clips to be attached to text messages, a.k.a. multimedia messaging (MMS), is standard on most phones these days. Yet, ironically, it’s been slow to come to the iPhone, despite the phone’s multimedia prowess.

Finally, AT&T, the exclusive carrier for iPhone, this week announced that that it would make good on its promise to offer MMS. It will be available by September 25 to owners of the iPhone 3G and 3G S.

Despite the promise, there are growing signs that the carrier’s data network may already be overstretched, suffering more than the usual network congestion. As the New York Times noted this week, AT&T is facing increasing ire from iPhone users, especially in certain cities, as networks slow as iPhone owners swell in numbers and employ a growing range of apps and functions.

Things are so tight that back in July, AT&T 3G data service went offline, leaving iPhone users stranded on the much slower 2G network. Apparently, the New York Times reports, the network slowdowns primarily affect users in large cities, where there is a higher concentration of iPhone users vying for the same resources.

Tip of the week: Get free tech support online

[Image: Courtesy of Ivan Petrov]

We recently blogged about the frustration many of us feel when we can't figure out how to get balky electronics gear to do what we want it to. Here are some ideas on where to get help.

The user guide that came with the TV, digital camera, or other gadget is the obvious place to start—provided you can find it. If you can't locate a hard copy, see if the manufacturer has an electronic copy on its Web site. Many companies do. We quickly located downloadable manuals for Nikon cameras, Nokia phones, and Sharp Blu-ray players simply by searching for "product manual Nikon cameras" and so on. You can also get manuals from some retailers, such as online retailer Crutchfield, and third-party sites such as Fixya, Retrevo, and DiploDocs.

See what other support services the manufacturer might offer. Many have quite a bit. Samsung's online support center, for instance, has FAQs and troubleshooting and how-to guides. It's possible the answer to your question or solution for your problem might already be addressed. Sony's eSupport center online has much the same. Panasonic, meanwhile, has set up a Concierge service for users of its flat-panel TVs.

Apple’s Snow Leopard: What you need to know

[PHOTO: Courtesy of Apple]

Tomorrow, Apple is releasing “Snow Leopard,” a new version (10.6) of its OS X operating system. That the newcomer’s name is merely a variant of the previous version, “Leopard,” suggests that this is less of a major upgrade than Leopard was. Even the pricing indicates that: a single upgrade license costs only $29, compared with Apple’s usual $129 for major upgrades.

The most significant improvement Apple has been claiming for Snow Leopard is that the speed of many of the operating system’s components have been improved and that there is improved stability and security, plus better compatibility between the Safari browser and third-party plug-ins. Snow Leopard is supposed to require half as much hard drive space as Leopard, once the installation is complete.

In our brief testing of the recent version released to developers, using a late model MacBook Pro laptop in our labs, Snow Leopard’s default installation took about 6 GB less hard-drive space than Leopard (after updating), a reduction of about 38 percent. Snow Leopard booted up 15 percent faster, and ran our speed benchmarks about 5 percent faster than its predecessor. Loading complex web pages (like ConsumerReports.org ) was noticeably faster in the new version of Safari. We also encountered an oddity: To get the full benefit of the 64-bit mode of the operating system, you must hold down the “6” and “4” keys on the keyboard while booting. We think Apple should make 64-bit boot-up a settable option.

Here are some other improvements in Snow Leopard that Apple has been crowing about:

• An improved developer interface that will make it easier for developers to take better advantage of multi-core processors and large memory size, and a new development environment that allows the graphics processor to perform multiple complex tasks.