Apple Introduces New MacBook and MacBook Pro Models

Apple® today updated its popular MacBook® and MacBook Pro notebook lines with the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, larger hard drives and 2GB of memory standard in most models. In addition, MacBook Pro includes the latest NVIDIA graphics processors, now with up to 512MB of video memory, and Apple’s innovative Multi-Touch™ trackpad, first introduced in MacBook Air™. All Mac® notebooks include a built-in iSight® video camera for video conferencing on-the-go*, Apple’s MagSafe® Power Adapter that safely disconnects when under strain and built-in 802.11n wireless networking for up to five times the performance and twice the range of 802.11g.**

The new MacBook Pro features the latest Intel Core 2 Duo technology with up to a 2.6 GHz processor with 6MB of shared L2 cache; up to 4GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory and up to a 300GB hard drive, plus NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics with up to 512MB of video memory. Every MacBook Pro now includes a trackpad with Multi-Touch gesture support for pinch, rotate and swipe, making it more intuitive than ever to zoom and rotate photos in iPhoto® or Aperture™ 2 or browse web pages in Safari™; an illuminated keyboard that makes it ideal for dimly lit environments such as airplanes, studios or conference halls and a built-in ambient light sensor, which automatically adjusts the brightness of the keys as well as the brightness of the display for optimal visibility.

Featuring a gorgeous 13-inch glossy widescreen display, and with prices still starting at just $1,099, the new MacBook lineup comes in three models and includes faster processors and larger hard drives across the line; sleek white 2.1 GHz and 2.4 GHz models with 120GB or 160GB 5400 rpm hard drives and a stunning black 2.4 GHz model with a massive 250GB 5400 rpm hard drive, previously only available as an option. The 2.4 GHz MacBook models ship with 2GB of memory standard, expandable up to 4GB across the line.

Every MacBook and MacBook Pro includes a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing on-the-go; Apple’s MagSafe Power Adapter that magnetically connects the power cord and safely disconnects when under strain; the latest generation of 802.11n wireless networking for up to five times the performance and twice the range of 802.11g; built-in 10/100/1000 BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet for high-speed networking; Bluetooth; analog and digital audio inputs and outputs; USB 2.0; FireWire®.

Every Mac in the Apple lineup comes with iLife® ‘08, the most significant update ever to Apple’s award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications, featuring a major new version of iPhoto and a completely reinvented iMovie®, both seamlessly integrated with the new .Mac Web Gallery for online photo and video sharing***. Every Mac also includes Leopard®, the sixth major release of the world’s most advanced operating system which introduces Time Machine™, an effortless way to automatically back up everything on a Mac; a redesigned Finder™ that lets users quickly browse and share files between multiple Macs; Quick Look, a new way to instantly see files without opening an application; Spaces, an intuitive new feature used to create groups of applications and instantly switch between them; a brand new desktop with Stacks, a new way to easily access files from the Dock and major enhancements to Mail and iChat®. .Mac members can use the new Back to My Mac feature to browse and access files on their home computer from a Mac over the Internet while out on the road.

iPhone 2.2 Hidden Features: Google Street View, Emoji, Auto-Correction Off

It seems that Apple is taking further care in hiding new iPhone features in their beta releases. The most recent firmware beta seeded to developers listed "compatibility testing" in its release notes as the only change.

We've since heard of a couple of new features buried within the iPhone 2.2 beta. Apple has apparently made underlying changes to the iPhone's frameworks that are not yet exposed to the end user. These findings include:

- Support for Japanese emoji icons (screenshot) -- a popular feature for Japanese phones. The lack of emoji support has been blamed as part of the reason for slow iPhone adoption in Japan.
- Support for Google Street View for the Google Maps application. Street View allows users to view panoramic street level photographs in select cities within the Google Maps application. The feature was recently demoed on Google's Android phone.

Finally, Apple has also addressed one common request within the iPhone's Keyboard settings, allowing users to disable the iPhone's auto-correction.

Apple Inc.

Apple, the quirky Silicon Valley company that became an icon of personal computing, has risen to its greatest heights in the decade since Steven P. Jobs returned to its helm and opened horizons beyond the desktop.

Founded in 1976 by Mr. Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Apple came of age as one of a wave of firms -- including Atari, Radio Shack and Texas Instruments -- that were looking for ways to transform the digital computer into a home appliance. Of that first personal computing generation, it is Apple and the charismatic Mr. Jobs that have consistently found a way to touch the zeitgeist. Apple’s microprocessor-based consumer products have found expanding consumer markets around the world, beginning with the Apple II computer, widely adopted in education during the 1970s.

In 1979, Mr. Jobs made a legendary visit to Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center, where he saw a prototype personal computer called the Alto. He took away a range of ideas about computer design and graphical user interface and developed two families of computers, the Lisa and the Macintosh. Aiming to make Apple’s products “insanely great,” Mr. Jobs was convinced that they could change the world.