Isaiah's Tech

It was rumoured to launch next week but it's actually now available. Apple has quietly released a new 21.5-inch iMac at $999.99 and this one's intended for educational purposes. This all-in-one PC packs a dual-core 3.1GHz Intel Core i3 CPU, AMD Radeon HD 6750 graphics, 2GB of RAM, a 250GB HDD, SuperDrive, and OS X Lion pre-installed. If you're interested then you can head over to Apple's Higher Education online store, according to reports.

[Apple Insider]

Today's the day! It's July 20, 2011 and Apple has released Mac OS X Lion for you Apple users. The new OS has a bunch of new features like Launchpad, Mission Control, and new multitouch gestures. You can check out everything you need to know about it on Apple and go and download it right now via the Mac App Store.

That's certainly not all from Apple. They have also unveiled their slew of refreshes including the MacBook Air, a new 27-inch display, and the new Mac Mini. We'll start talking about the new MacBook Air first which, of course, comes in 11.6 (1,366 x 768 resolution) and 13-inch (1,440 x 900 resolution) models. The smaller model starts at $999 and that'll get you a Core i5 CPU, 2GB of RAM, and a 64GB SSD. There's also a $1,199 model which doubles the RAM and doubles your storage. The 13-inch models starts at $1,299 and features a Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM, and a 128GB SSD. If you want to double your storage then there's a $1,599 model waiting for you. All of the MacBook Air models have integrated Intel HD graphics, webcams, two USB ports, a Thunderbolt port, a backlit keyboard, and the new OS X Lion. Oh yeah, the white MacBook is dead.

Alright, Apple has just outed and released their latest 27-inch Thunderbolt Display which packs a 2,560 x 1,440 resolution. The monitor is LED-backlit, has a webcam, three USB 2.0 ports, Thunderbolt, an Ethernet, and a 2.1-speaker. This one will cost you $999 and will be shipping within the next 60 days so you'll have to be a bit patient if you order this one today.

Last, but not least, is the new and updated Mac Mini. This one starts at $599 and packs a Core i5 CPU, 2GB of RAM, and a 500GB HDD. For $799 you get a speedier Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB HDD. For $999 you can get the Core i7 with the Lion Server and it also has 4GB of RAM and dual 500GB HDDs inside. Of course, all of the models are customizable.

New MacBook Air: Redmond Pie
Apple Releases New 27-Inch Display: This Is My Next
Mac Mini Refresh: Slash Gear

Apple looks like they're going to be starting WWDC 2011 this year on June 6th which is a Monday. Usually, this is where the company unveils the next iPhone but recent rumours suggest that this might not be the case this time around. It says that we'll be joining them "for a preview of the future of iOS and Mac OS X" so we should get another look at Lion as well as iOS 5 - hopefully, release dates on both. We're still crossing our fingers for the next-generation iPhone to be announced.

[Engadget]

Here's an interesting one coming from DigiTimes. They have just mentioned that Apple plans to upgrade the MacBook Pro and the iMac line-up sometime in the first half of 2011. Apparently, there'll be four different sizes for the MacBook Pro. Currently, there's 13, 15, and 17-inch models so what will the new one be? It's unknown right now but I'm thinking an 11 or even a 14-inch model could get squeezed in there, but those are just my guesses (of course, a 12-inch model is also possible). The website also mentions that there'll be a new size for the iMac. That size is also unknown so we'll have to wait for that; Crunch Gear is guessing that it'll be a 24-incher.

All of these models are going to have a touchscreen display because they'll all come pre-installed with the new Mac OS X Lion which is the start to bring together the desktop Mac OS X with iOS so it'll have some touch capabilities if that's your thing.

[Crunch Gear]

At Apple's "Back to the Mac" event today, they introduced something that we knew was coming. Yes, the MacBook Air is now official and there are two models! The first model will be just 0.68-inches thick and 2.9 pounds so it's definitely portable. It's sporting the good ol' unibody construction so it'll be quite durable. The first model they introduced features a 13.3-inch LED-backlit display (1,440 x 900 resolution), a 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, Nvidia GeForce 320m GPU, a full-sized keyboard, a multitouch trackpad, a built-in webcam (for FaceTime / iChat), 2GB of RAM, WiFi 802.11n support, and, of course, doesn't have an optical drive. It has instant-on connectivity along with 7 hours of real-time battery life and 30 days of standby.

Apple also went on to introduce the 11.6-inch MacBook Air and this one's just 2.3 pounds. It has a smaller footprint with the same unibody design so this one's even more portable. The specs are just about the exact same for this notebook except the LED-backlit display sports a smaller 1,366 x 768 resolution, the C2D CPU inside is clocked at just 1.4GHz, and the battery will last just 5 hours in the real world (still 30 days of standby time though). They're both available right now! Prices are below, those are flash storage options by the way. No hard drives inside of these.

They've also given us a sneak peek at their next version of Max OS X and it'll be called Lion. "Mac OS X meets the iPad" they say. This new version will have multitouch capabilities (on screen), the App Store, a Launchpad (gives you a grid of all of your apps - like the iPad), and things that you'd naturally find in iOS. It really brings the best of both worlds (including Expose and Spaces), so this is actually looking pretty good right now. Look out for touchscreen MacBook's and iMac's next year. Mac OS X Lion will be available in the Summer of next year. And in 90 days the App Store for Mac will be available, yes, on Snow Leopard!

At the event Apple also introduced iLife 11, but you can always read about that somewhere else because it wasn't all that exciting to be honest. iLife 11 is available right now and comes free with every new Mac; you'll also be able to upgrade for $49 if you're interested. Furthermore, they've also introduced FaceTime for the Mac, so that's a pretty big step. FaceTime should be integrated with iChat which would make a bit more sense, but it's not. It's available right now in beta form.

[Engadget]