Here's some more in-depth goods on what Montevina offers. The processor soul is the 45nm Penryn—while last year it mainly offered a battery boost, thanks to Montevina's faster 1066 front-side bus, you'll see some real performance gains this time around. (Intel says up to 50 percent). In that same vein, not only are Intel's integrated graphics faster with the new GMA 4500MHD, it'll let you switch between integrated and discrete graphics (like a card from ATI or Nvidia) on the fly, so you can pick performance when you need it and save juice when you don't. Sony and Lenovo are the first to have notebooks with this tech. On the wireless front, it makes wireless N standard with its new WiFi Link 5000 modules. WiMax is optional, and you'll see that in Centrino 2 notebooks later this year. Finally, it (and Penryn) are totally engineered to simply sip power, like an anorexic model with a venti skim half-decaf no-whip mocha (really, check out Lenovo's X200's retardedly awesome battery life).

BTW, to keep the naming deal straight (damn you, Intel), Montevina is the codename for Intel's new mobile platform, which will be marketed as Centrino 2. It's probable that the next mobile platform, Calpella, due next year, will also be known as Centrino 2 to your mom, if she's sorta tech savvy, so the codenames are still necessary for differentiation (there were actually four different chipsets to carry the Centrino brand). The original Centrino and the accompanying Pentium M processor was actually a paradigm shift in Intel's approach to notebooks, and eventually informed all of their processor designs—energy efficiency as the order of the day. (Or as my friend says, "It was Intel going, 'oh shit' and throwing out NetBurst and going back to the old P6 core design.")

That's Centrino, in a nutshell. Bottom line, it's gonna be the best year ever to buy a notebook.

Something we missed, or you still wanna know? Send any questions about Centrinos, chips, Pringles or anything else to tips@gizmodo.com, with "Giz Explains" in the subject line.

The U330, which is the cousin to the U110, also has an integrated webcam with facial recognition software, touch sensitive media controls, HDMI out, and an LED-backlit display. Lenovo is also dropping a couple other consumer notebooks: Y730 and Y530 update the Y710 and Y510, while Y430 throws in a 14-inch version. Lenovo expects to release the U330 in the fall.

IdeaPad U330
Lenovo designed its "U" series to be all about expressing ideas with style. The IdeaPad U330 notebook is a super-slim ultra-light addition to the widely-acclaimed IdeaPad U110 notebook, introduced in the spring. Available in a glossy Indigo blue and Bold black, the notebook starts at 0.9 inches thin and weighs just over four pounds. Equipped with the latest version of VeriFace™ facial recognition technology, consumers can now access encrypted files and record a 30-second video message for other users. Designed with Dolby® Home Theatre and touch-sensitive multimedia controls, the notebook comes equipped with HDMI and an optional built-in DVD burner.

The IdeaPad U330 notebook also includes switchable graphics. This enables the user to run energy efficient integrated graphics while on battery power and then switch to discrete graphics for more powerful performance when "plugged in." The notebook also includes an LED backlit display, five hours of battery life and Lenovo's Active Protection System (APS), a feature pioneered on ThinkPad notebooks. Lenovo's APS technology helps protect the data on the hard drive if the notebook should fall. And if the operating system should crash, users can recover their data at the touch of a button with the One-Key Rescue System1.

IdeaPad U330

Black/Blue

Display – 13.3 WXGA LED AG panel

Graphics – ATI M82SCE-256M

Processor – Penryn P7350, GM45 chipset

H2G (1066) DR3

320G (SATA-9MM/5400)

Wireless card – Intel 5100 a/g/n

Optical – Rambo tray in (9.5mm)

Vista Home Premium 32

Lenovo Active Protection System

Fixed camera

Array mic

HDMI

Bluetooth, 10/100M Ethernet

IdeaPad Y430

Black/Red

Display – 14.1 WXGA

Graphics – Intel integrated

Processor – Intel GM45

250 or 320 GB hard drive

Wireless card – Intel 802.11n

Optical – DVD + RW

Fixed camera

6-in-1 card reader

HDMI

IdeaPad Y530

Black

Display – 15.4 WXGA (anti-glare)

Graphics – NB9M-GS-256M

Processor – Penryn P7350

Memory – 1G + 2G (667) DDR2

Hard Drive – 250G (SATA-9MM/54)

Wireless card – Intel 5100 a/g/n

Optical – Rambo tray in (12.7 mm)

Vista Home Premium 32 – SP 1

Fixed camera

Array microphone

Bluetooth, 10/100 Ethernet, modem

6-cell battery – 2.6 A

90 watt adapter

IdeaPad Y730

Blue, Game Zone models come in Valencia orange

Display – 17.1 in WUXGA glossy

Graphics – ATI M86-ME-512M

Processor – Penryn P8400

Memory – 2*2G or 1 + 2G (1066)

Hard Drive – 320G (SATA-9MM/5400)

Wireless card – Intel 5100 a/g/n

Optical – Rambo tray in (12.7mm)

Vista Home Premium 32-SP 1

Fixed camera

Bluetooth, 10/100M Ethernet, modem

Fixed camera

Array microphone

GameZone has secondary display

6 cell battery – 2.6A

135 watt adapter

[Lenovo]

Gallium is apparently critical for making LCDs. We'll be out of it in a few years. Hafnium (part of Intel's breakthrough with Penryn) will be gone by 2017 says Dr. Reller. We're also blowing through our supplies of zinc and copper, even though we have a shitload of it. Obviously, it would seriously cramp our gadget style, since copper is in like, everything. Oh yeah, and an element going extinct might not be good for the environment. [Asimovs via Valleywag]

The next die shrink is the 32nm Westmere chips next year, followed by 14nm a few years later and then the crazy sub-10nm chips after that. But they're probably going to have to make use of something like carbon nanotubes or spintronics to get below 10. The result of all that processing power, says Gelsinger, will be "a dramatic restructuring of the user interface." Yes! I've always wanted true 3D computing goggles. [CRN]

The Price: $3300 as tested.

The Verdict: The Vaio LT is a solid computer with a lot of good features. It's easy enough on the eyes that it could be placed in a kitchen or bedroom (it can also be VESA mounted), but it is hardly underpowered. Blu-ray playback provided a nice picture, and watching HD via CableCard was crisp and clear. Rarely, if ever, did I experience slowdown while using many of the media features, showing the hardware is up to the task.

The integrated 1.3 MP webcam is up to par with similar offerings, and the speakers provide good audio in most settings. Despite its TV-esque appearance, there are no inputs for VGA or component video, meaning hooking up a game console or laptop is out of the question.

But looks and power come with a price. The low-end model does start as low as $2000, but it only has a 1.6 GHz processor and 3GB RAM. The high-end model, with the Penryn processor, Cable card tuner and 4GB RAM, will run you $3300. But as hardware alone, the VAIO LT is a solid choice for a media PC.

Intel
Like it or not, Intel's the biggest player in the game, so they've got essentially two major entries for mobile. First up is Montevina, soon to be known to your mother as Centrino 2. It was supposed to launch this month, but was delayed until August for a full rollout. It's a "platform" for notebooks, so it's got a few different components, like a Penryn Core 2 Duo processor and a wireless module (two options, one flavor has WiMax). It's basically nimbler all around than the preceding Santa Rosa platform—speedier front-side bus, faster RAM, better integrated graphics—but solid emphasis on battery life too. It'll basically be in any of the full-sized notebooks worth buying after this summer, and probably in the next MacBook/MacBook Pro release.

The ballyhooed Atom chips actually cover two classes of devices: so called "mobile internet devices"' (a vague category between a smartphone and a tiny laptop) and budget, smaller notebooks ("netbooks," "mini-notebooks," whatever you like), including the Eee PC 901 and MSI's Wind, with chips running from 800MHz to 1.86GHz, and an average power use of 160 to 220mW. As Jon at Ars sums up in his nitty gritty coverage, it's not quite "there" yet, but it's just a foot in the door for Intel.

AMD
I've been feeling so bad for AMD lately. Hopefully, its just-launched mobile platform, Puma, will help start turning things around. Its CPU soul is a Turion X2 Ultra, which has the nifty feature of adjusting power levels on the fly for each core. Another winning aspect is the integrated Radeon 3000 graphics, which AMD believes totally pwns Intel's, with three times the 3D performance and five times the HD quality (maybe something useful came out of the AMD/ATI merger after all?) Also, it can flip between using integrated and discrete graphics to save juice or ramp up performance. Tom's Hardware isn't too hot on it, though.

Nvidia
Nvidia is a relative noob in the mobile platform space, with Tegra being its first real charge. It's a system on a chip, with memory, a graphics processor, a CPU (from ARM) and more on a single chip. While they reference Intel's Atom a whole bunch, it's not really a competitor—these are just for more of those mobile internet devices. No hard products use it yet, either, but here are some videos depicting what Nvidia's got in mind. Neat, but I'm not sure who's gonna buy 'em. Also, new 9M notebook graphics cards—faster than the 8M series that's in decent notebooks now, we mayyyy see 'em in new MacBook Pros in August (crosses fingers).

Via
Via's Nano processor follows up the C7 used in stuff like the OQO UMPC and Cloudbook. It's mo' powerful, but it also uses more juice than the C7 or Intel's Atom. So, as Ars points out, it doesn't quite compete with Atom, just cause of the power differential. That's cool though, since Via's planning on using the Nano to break into powering bigger, badder notebooks that'll do HD video, and the C7 isn't going anywhere. You might see it replace the C7 in some stuff though, like HP's Mini-note, since physically it'll fit anywhere the C7 did.

That should bring ya up to speed.

Something we missed, or you still wanna know? Send any questions about chips, Pringles or anything else to tips@gizmodo.com, with "Giz Explains" in the subject line. [Giz Explains]

Soon joined by the 12-inch X200, the 14.1-inch X400 and the 15.4-inch X500 (all armed with 45nm Penryn processors), customers will be able to pick the precise display size of their choice on one of the most lust-worthy laptops on the market. The X-Series will also feature HSDPA and EVDO, 25% improved battery life, beefy 6MB L2 cache and lots of fanboy drool.

Here's the rest on Lenovo's new ThinkPad line-up:

R-Series (refreshed)
This line will continue representing the entry level. We're light on specs, but we know it will include the R400 (5.1lbs) and R500 (6.4lbs). Expect these to be refreshed in July 2008.

T-Series (refreshed)
This line will continue to represent the mid-range, featuring 256 or 512MB ATI HD3650 discreet graphics that can be turned off to conserve battery life. We don't have sizes, but the T400 will weight 4.3lbs and the T500 will clock in at 5.8lbs. Shipping starts June 3rd, 2008.

W-Series (brand new)
The W-Series is a completely new line. Where the "W" used to stand for "Widescreen," now it stands for "workstation replacement." Described to us as less bulky than similar machines from Dell, the 15-inch W900 will feature the same discreet graphics as the T-Series. A 17-inch version is in the works for the future.

And here's the good stuff:

Many or All Models Will Have:
• 6MB of L2 cache
• Turbo Memory option (think Ready Boost, up to 2GB)
• Blu-ray drive option
• Two PCI Express Slots
• 1.6GHz DDR3 RAM
• LED Backlighting (excludes R Series)
• HSDPA and EVDO (Lenovo claims to have no deals with Sprint)
• 9 cell batteries (same form factor as former 6-cell, 25% more life)
• GPS, WiMAX, and wireless USB are scattered through models
• The x300's solid state hard drive option (excludes W)

Lenovo is starting new ThinkPad manufacturing in May so that there are plenty of units to fuel demand. And from the sound of it, some of the X300's most appealing features are making their way to the entire ThinkPad line. We're just wondering what the pricing will look like between the X200 and X300. Will we be paying a premium for size or for screen space?

Thanks Odd Job!

The Penryn-based Q9300 "owned the night," with the Q6600 trailing, and Phenom in back of both. It wasn't "so far behind as to be dead in the water" but "it doesn't quite go head-to-head with the Penryn lite." (They call the Q9300 Penryn-lite because it has half the cache of the higher-end Penryn quad-cores.)

The 9850 X4 is the fastest AM2 chip around, however, so if you're sticking with that board "it's a pretty good upgrade." The bigger problem is that AMD still has nothing to touch Intel's top quad cores, and won't for months, at least. [Maximum PC]

The current 65nm chips will be tossed in favor of 45nm Core 2 Duos, starting with 2.1GHz, 3MB of shared L2 cache, 800MHz front-side bus and a better integrated graphics processor, namely the same Intel GMA X3100 found in today's 13" MacBooks. (Kasper is also reporting rumors of a similar bump up for iMacs, which would get pimp Penryns as nice as the 2.8GHz Core 2 Extreme.)

We have to ask, though, who still wants a mini? And more importantly, will the price ever drop below $500? I'd probably rather take an older $400 mini than a brand new Intel-awesome-o-fied $700 one. [AppleInsider]

The platform will scale from two to eight cores, and eventually from "notebooks to servers." That's the scalable part, so you'll see it everywhere. Simultaneous Multi-Threading will let each core run two threads at once, plus it quadruples the memory-bandwidth of the current top-o'-the-line Xeons. It's also got an 8MB level-3 cache, Quickpath interconnects (up to 25.6GB per second), integrated memory controller (AMD what?) and supports up to DDR3-1333 memory, plus a bunch of other hardcore geek stuff, which you can scope out at Intel. [Intel]

On the other hand, AMD's refusal to specify when in the second half of '08 they'll launch is a bit worrying—December would basically put them a year behind Intel, and it wouldn't be the first time they've been late. Come on AMD, be awesome again, please. Update: Press release below.

AMD Demos 45nm Native Quad-Core Processors for Server, Desktop

— Customer Testing of Product Samples Underway —

HANNOVER, Germany. — March 4, 2008 —AMD (NYSE: AMD) demonstrated at the CeBit electronics exhibition its first 45nm quad-core chips running multiple operating systems and a range of processing intensive applications. The processors were produced in Dresden, Germany, in AMD's Fab 36 300mm manufacturing facility, using an advanced 45nm process co-developed with IBM.

AMD 45nm transistors are engineered to enable greater performance-per-watt capabilities in AMD processors and platforms. AMD combines new processes and materials with leading edge technologies, such as immersion lithography and AMD's fourth-generation strained silicon, for a highly-manufacturable, highly-efficient production process.

This important milestone is the first of many as AMD moves toward delivery of 45nm products later this year. The first 45nm chips demonstrated by AMD include the "Shanghai" product for server and "Deneb" for desktop platforms.

Otherwise, the computer has pretty standard specs:

Starting at $1,129.99, you'll score a Core 2 Duo (Penryn) processor, 14.1" widescreen display, NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS 128MB video card, up to 4GB RAM, up to a 250GB hard drive, DVD burner or HD-DVD ROM (heh), Bluetooth and built-in webcam.

So it's a nice looking machine, but the whole package sounds a bit too matchy-matchy for our tastes. And while it looks a lot better than another silver box, why not just make more designs? Until then, we'll opt to stick with the absolutely fantastic GelaSkins.

Oh, but one little message to HP—when you make an artist edition laptop, there's no need to slap the logo on the design. This is not a commercial; it's a laptop. We think. [product via notebook info]

"The draw: Most guys are natural gadget lovers, and with sales of iPods and MacBooks skyrocketing, more men than ever are stopping by Apple boutiques. The vibe at the stores is conducive to man meeting too: You can check your email among cuties, take a free workshop on anything from Photoshop to podcasting (a great opportunity to strike up a conversation), or just survey the, ahem, good-looking merchandise."

Reasonably, summer wouldn't be a bad time to expect them to come through, especially with the even more efficient Montevina chipset to offset Blu-ray's battery-killing nature. But, Apple's official support for Blu-ray has been completely non-existent despite its exceedingly long rumor half-life.

On the other hand, Blu-ray's victory logically means we'll see them populating more computers in (sorta) short order, now that the risk of shipping machines with $300 drink holders is gone. [AppleInsider]

Multi-Touch Trackpad
After a month of getting used to the Multi-Touch touchpad on the MacBook Air, I have to say that the Pro's touchpad is not quite as good in comparison. Comparatively, the Pro's touchpad is slightly narrower in width and a whole half of an inch shorter in height. (It's identical to the touchpad on the last Gen MBP's pad.) My initial thoughts were that the smaller touchpad would make using Multi-Touch more difficult, but that wasn't exactly the case.

Initially, in iPhoto, Multi-Touch on the smaller pad was more difficult, but after a few minutes we realized we were trying to use fingers in the same fashion as we did on the Air, where we had more room to gesture. For example, on the Air we skipped through photos with our fingers vertically but because of the Pro's size it's not comfortable to do this. So we placed our three fingers horizontally and it worked perfectly.

We came to the same conclusion with the rotate function. Instead of trying to move our rotate finger from the top of the touchpad to the bottom, we realized that by simply doing the rotate movement with more of a flick, iPhoto and Preview correctly rotated our photo to the next layout.

For testing zoom, we did a side-by-side comparison with the Air and found that the Pro's smaller touchpad actually zoomed into the same position as it did using the Air.

Screen
One thing to note though is that the LED matte screen on the version we got was less bright than the glossy screen on the MacBook Air. This might be the matte vs. glossy difference, or it might be that the MacBook Air's screen is just brighter.

Keyboard
The updated keyboard now has the F-key functions, same as the MacBook Air, and we think the additional Dashboard and Expose buttons use the F-keys nicely. We might not actually use buttons for these features but we think it's cool that the buttons are now clearly labeled.

Benchmark
The Penryn MacBook Pro has already been benched and compared to the previous generation MBP, and its clear it's about the same performance, per GHz. With that in mind we tested the new Penryn MBP agaisnt a year old Merom MBP and found a slight increase in speed. Also not surprising.

In a video encoding test, the Penryn MBP exported a 2.5min HD trailer in 11 minutes, where as the older Merom MBP took 13 min. (The basic config on the older machine included a 2.33GHz processor and 2GB of RAM; the Penryn had a 2.6GHz processor and 4GB of RAM, so this test is just a rough guide.) As noted in the temperature section, the Penryn did use much more of its power to accomplish the encoding which produced more heat. If you would like to see the Xbench results and compare it to your own machine you can check them out here.

Temperature
While idling, the Penryn MBP's CPU was running at 127 F—slightly cooler than the Merom MBP which had 133 F. But as for the actual experience, the new Penryn MBP felt much cooler on your lap than the older Merom.

While performing a video encode in iMovie with the new Penryn MBP CPU was operating at a temperature of 170 F; actually warmer than the older Merom MBP at 165 F. The increase in operating temperature during a video encode is likely because the more efficient machine is still doing more work every second at its higher clock rate.

Battery
So why do Apple's battery ratings look the same or lower in comparison to the last generation's Macbook Pro ratings? Simple: They made the tests harder. Again, according to numbers provided by Apple, for this and the last generation's MacBook Pro's battery life, you get about half an hour more due to the Penryn redesign, and half an hour more from the LED backlights. As with the AirBook ratings, your mileage will definitely vary. Downwards. But relative to the older books, these are more miserly.

Conclusion
Overall this MacBook Pro update is nothing amazing. The Multi-Touch touchpad and the Penryn processor are nice upgrades, but not necessarily something that a previous generation MacBook Pro user would feel an urgency to upgrade to. This update is more about efficiency than power gains.

According to Primate Labs, the overall performance in Geekbench is lower on the January 2008's MacBook Pro (with Intel Core 2 Duo T8300 running at 2.4GHz) than the June 2007 model (with Core 2 Duo T7700 at 2.4GHz) because the new machine "has less L2 cache than processor in the old MacBook Pro." However, they say that in theory the new Penryn-based notebook will give you more battery mileage as well as reduced heat at a lower price than the previous generation. [Primate Labs]

Previously (and depreciated):
I just spoke with Apple and found out why the new test numbers are lower when in fact, the actual absolute battery life in these models are higher. It has to do with their testing methodology. Instead of reporting the battery life as the longest of three tests (one test being DVD playback, one test being standard Wi-Fi usage and web browsing, and one test being absolute power saving mode doing just Text Editing), Apple's just reporting the middle test, which approximates average usage much better than the other two. Previously, they reported numbers for the unlikely scenario that you'd just be editing a text document while not connected to the internet. If you ran the same tests in the three models, the newest laptops would actually rate higher than before, says Apple. – Jason Chen

Before that (and depreciated):
The battery life of the new MacBooks and the MacBook Pro 17" has dropped dramatically in the new revision. From being the top battery performer with 5.75 hours, the 2.6GHz MacBook Pro 17" has fallen to 4.5 hours. There are some explanations, but none of them can explain the change because the number don't add up:

First is Apple's new "Wireless Productivity" battery life. According to Apple, this measures the battery life under typical Wi-Fi use, browsing web pages, working with mail and other internet-related applications. It seems like if Apple is now being a lot more conservative and strict in their battery performance tests. But while this may explain the drop, it doesn't seem that simple.

The MacBook Pro 15 battery life, for example, remains unchanged across all CPU speeds even with the new battery test method. Apple sources point out that the use of LED screen backlighting saves about 30 minutes of battery life. But is that enough to compensate against the drop in battery life of the MacBook Pro 17?
[MacBook and MacBook Pro]

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iPhone 1.1.4 Update is Out (95 comments), MacBook Pro Now With Penryn Processors, Multitouch Trackpad (72) and Japanese Whisky Brewer Invents a Fake Soil for Rooftop Forests (57).

The good
• New Core 2 Duo versions across the board, which are supposed to be about 50% faster and more power efficient.
• New GeForce 8600M GT with 512MB.
• Multitouch pad on MacBook Pro.
• New LED option on top of the line 17" screen.

The bad
• No multitouch or LED on MacBooks.
• Multitouch trackpad on MacBook Pro is smaller than Air.
• Apple Remote is now a $19 option.

The Ugly
• Design whores like me will have to wait for the next generation for a new chassis. Clearly, this is a minor bump as we wait for the real things.

CUPERTINO, Calif., Feb. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple(R) today updated its popular MacBook(R) 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(TM) trackpad, first introduced in MacBook Air(TM). All Mac(R) notebooks include a built-in iSight(R) video camera for video conferencing on-the-go*, Apple's MagSafe(R) 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(R) or Aperture(TM) 2 or browse web pages in Safari(TM); 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(R) and a built-in SuperDrive(R).

Every Mac in the Apple lineup comes with iLife(R) '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(R), both seamlessly integrated with the new .Mac Web Gallery for online photo and video sharing***. Every Mac also includes Leopard(R), the sixth major release of the world's most advanced operating system which introduces Time Machine(TM), an effortless way to automatically back up everything on a Mac; a redesigned Finder(TM) 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(R). .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.

Prices
The 2.1 GHz, 13-inch white MacBook $1,099 (US)
The 2.4 GHz, 13-inch white MacBook $1,299 (US)
The 2.4 GHz, 13-inch black MacBook $1,499 (US)
The 2.4 GHz, 15-inch MacBook Pro $1,999 (US)
The 2.5 GHz, 15-inch MacBook Pro $2,499 (US)
The 2.5 GHz, 17-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $2,799 (US)

The Dunnington is for the server line, as a successor for the Xeon Tigerton, and will be "Intel's first Core 2 Duo processor with three dual-core banks." The Nehalem should be of more interest to most of our readers, as it's the Intel Penryn successor (consumer line), and will have on-die memory controllers for "the first time in 18 years," along with tri-channel DDR3 memory. This means it'll be quite a bit faster than what you're currently running in terms of memory bandwidth. [Daily Tech]

According to AppleInsider, the new MacBook Pros will have Intel Core 2 Duo Penryn mobile processors running up to 2.6 GHz, a MacBook Air-style multi-touch trackpad and prices that are exactly $1,999, $2,499 and $2,799.

However, I'd guess that we won't see new external designs, just new guts. If anything new was coming out of Jobs and Ive's kitchen, we would have been subjected to a boomtastic special Apple event. No? [AppleInsider]

The smaller of the duo, the Satellite A300, features a 15.4-inch display, Harman Kardon speakers, a built-in fingerprint reader, and a 1.3-megapixel integrated webcam. €999 ($1,480) will get you 2GB RAM, a 160GB hard drive and either the Core 2 Duo T5550 or the Core 2 Duo T8100 Penryn. If you opt for a Satellite A300 with the AMD Turion TL-60 and a 250 GB hard drive instead, the price drops to €799 ($1,184).

Details on the larger Satellite P300 notebook were comparatively sparse, but it will have a 17-inch screen and most likely boast many of the same specs. Pricing information was not yet available.

Considering the sizes of these two new entrants, it's probably safe to say they're going to be used as portable entertainment centers so... What do you think the chances are that Toshiba'll take a shuddering breath, steel itself and, wincing through the pain of its all too recent defeat, add a Blu-Ray drive? [notebookitalia via engadget]

- Elaine Chow

The six-core beast will be succeeded by the even meatier, Nehalem micro-architecture, which will support greater than eight cores. The work regarding the Dunnington project is still under wraps, but our friends at EDJ insist Intel has already put together a die, the size of a postage stamp, with three dual-core 45nm Penryn chips on it sharing a 16MB L3 cache. Allegedly, we'll see the Dunnington in either Q2 or Q3, this year—we'll be sure to keep you posted on any developments. [EDJ via The Inquirer]

Apparently the date was finalized after Apple pulled out of the National Association of Broadcasters show, which means they might save the Final Cut Pro server announcement (if there is one) for the Feb 26 event as well. Remember, no one can confirm what Apple's announcing until they announce it, but this is what we know so far. [9to5Mac]

It's about as powerful as the first Pentium M chips (Banias), but while those idled at 5W and averaged 24.5W, this little guy sips as little as 0.1W in its idle state, with peaks up to just 2W on the 2GHz model. It's really cheap to pump out too, tapped for the $200 OLPC at one point.

It comes in a couple different flavors up to that 2GHz version. To get athletic performance—it's a full-fledged x86 chip, not a half-baked cutdown—out of an anorexic processor, Intel worked all kinds of design mojo, like a new quick-wake deep sleep state. It's still a bit too hungry for smartphones, though. So, while it's a neat piece of silicon, as Ars says, it's still got a ways to go, especfially with stiff competition from ARM and TI. But that's a good thing.

Because the MacBook Air's coolest feature—other than its anorexia—is the multitouch trackpad, and Jobs knows it will probably pop up in a MacBook Pro refresh in just a few months. It's a simple formula:

Multitouch trackpad + green components + PowerBook-like black keyboard + redesigned case = dream machine.

Let's not forget Penryn chips, either, which mean more speed and less power suckage. Actually, since the inevitable MBP update is now at least a few months out, we'll probably see it launch with Intel's Montevina platform, the successor to Santa Rosa which is expected in May.

Though these are all reasons to wait for the next wave of MacBook Pros, I can't help but worry that a smaller MBP may never come. Apple likes to keep things nice and differentiated. I want a tight little beast of a machine, but there's already a small MacBook and now here comes the Air, with its feather-light weight and fairy specs. This reminds me of the iPod crisis last fall: Apple, why can't you give us one machine that does it all?

MacWorld January 2008 Keynote Rough Outline; draft 5

Greetings! Welcome to Moscone Center

Quick Overview: iPod/iTunes

- Today: 30 indie labels releasing their entire catalogs in iTunes Plus

- iTunes doing extremely well (sales figures/market share)

- Another new game today: Chess

- 3 iPod games released last month accidentally (supposed to be for today)

- Our new models are doing better than ever

- Sales figures, market share

- iPod has been extremely profitable for us this holiday season

- Many more to follow in the next few months

iPhone

- SDK is unveiled!

- iPhone is coming to Japan in March with NTT DoCoMo

- Four times the memory as original iPhone for the same price

- Starting today: 8GB $399, 16GB $499

- Much more than the 1% market share we asked for in January

- Sales beyond our wildest dreams

- Sales figures, market share

- Best iPod ever

iPhone/iPod Touch SDK

- Automatic updating wirelessly or docked

- Users buy/download in iTunes Wi-Fi Store / iTunes Store (Mac/PC)

- Set your own price: Apps $0-$6.99, Widgets $0-$2.99

- Specify iPhone or both iPhone/Touch (certain features iPhone only)

- Developers submit programs as source code, not executable

- Using Cocoa with Objective-C

- Apps and Widgets

- If using microphone or GSM, iPhone only; otherwise, available for both iPhone and iPod Touch

- Submits source code to Apple for validation (make sure that people aren't abusing the system, prevent malware and viruses)

- Demonstration of exporting from XCode 3 to iTunes Store

- Apps can be free or up to $6.99; Widgets free or up to $2.99

- Developers recieve 70% of revenue for their products

- Licensed under Apple Mobile Software License

- Can download wirelessly from iTunes Wi-Fi Store or docked to computer from iTunes Store

- Demonstration of wirelessly downloading (and running) the app submitted earlier

- Apps and widgets can be rearranged on front screen; front screen scrolls to show all apps/widgets

- Resubmit updated versions of apps; when added to store, iPhone/Touch will ask you to update it next time you use it (or next time you dock the iPhone/Touch)

- Developers can get their hands on a beta version of the SDK tomorrow on ADC and start developing; final version due early February

- iTunes 7.6 and iPhone/iPod Touch Software update 1.3 allowing for Apps mid-February

Example apps/widgets

Apps:

- One of our partners made something cool: Last.fm (scrobble tracks played on iPhone/touch wirelessly without syncing w/ computer)

- RSS Feed Reader (coming with 1.3 update) (read feeds online or off)

- iChat (coming with 1.3 update) (AIM, Jabber/Google Talk)

- Quick demonstration

Widgets:

- Another partner: Twitter (update your Twitter on the fly, see your friends tweets)

- Sports Ticker (coming with 1.3 update) (choose your sports and teams, get updates on their progress)

- Yellow/White Book (coming with 1.3 update) (search for contacts, add them to your address book directly from the app, will sync back with address book on your Mac/PC)

- Dictionary (coming with 1.3 update) (quickly look up words, translate, use wikipedia)

- Quick demonstration

- Try these out on the show floor today

Mac

- Selling extremely well; estimated to overtake Tiger in terms of marketshare by June if you only count the new Macs that come with it preinstalled; even quicker if you include boxed copies

- Sales figures/market share

- Hardware sales figures/market share

- Sales are getting better and better every day

- Leopard released October; doing spectacularly

- 10.5.2 out today - many bug fixes, also addressing a lot of issues and complaints users had such as list view with stacks and certain HIG non-compliance issues

New MacBooks!

- What would MacWorld be without a new Mac? (sorry about last year)

- Completely redesigned MacBook

- Completely aluminum body like MacBook Pro

- 13″ screen at 1440×900

- Two colors: Black and Silver

- Looks gorgeous at 0.8″ thin

- A major feat of engineering - patents abound

- DVD drive pops open on side when eject button is pressed

- New on all notebooks and iMac: iSight HD (720p)

- New backlit keyboard based on recent Apple Keyboard revisions (keys slightly lighter than that of laptop casing, colorwise)

- New matching MagSafe cable (Aluminum ends, cord color matches that of keyboard)

- New matching Apple Remote (slightly smaller with larger overall buttons)

- Intel GMA X3100 graphics

- 3 models

- Completely phasing out the combo drive on all product lines today

- BTO models can upgrade all the way to 2.6GHz/4GB Memory/320GB hard drive

- 4.5 hours of battery life

- Starting at $1199

Product Refreshes

- Refreshing Mac Pro and Mac mini today

- Mac Pro now with Penryn!

- Base model 2×2.8GHz dual-core/1GB/NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB/250GB(1×250GB)/1×16x double-layer SuperDrive

- Upgradeable to 2×3.2GHz quad-core/16GB/NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 512MB/4TB(4×1TB)/2×16x double-layer SuperDrives

- Starting at $2,499

- Mac mini gets slight speed bumps and double-layer SuperDrive in all models

- Base model 2.0GHz IC2D/1GB/100GB

- BTO Upgradeable to 2.4GHz IC2D/4GB/320GB

- Starting at $599

One More Thing

- Been brewing for a while

- YouTube's been in Apple TV and iPhone/iPod touch: now it's in iTunes

- Download YouTube videos straight to iTunes or from iPhone/iPod Touch for later offline viewing (sync back to computer)

- Coming in iTunes 7.6 and iPhone/iPod Touch 1.3 updates

Media Alert: Sony Transforms PCs into Ultimate Dream Machines

Subject: New VAIO PCs Feature Supercharged Models

Body: Sony today announced it would be shipping super-charged versions of its VAIO® PCs. Dubbed VAIO Premium, these units will empower users with lighting-fast processing speeds, massive amounts of storage, and innovative technologies to improve performance.

Fueling these dream machines will be the new Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processors— T9000 and T8000 series. Among the very first to ship with these chipsets, these PCs will provide business travelers and multimedia enthusiasts alike with unparalleled power and multi-tasking capabilities. The result: high-definition content management, fast-paced gaming and performance like never before.

VAIO SZ791N/X Premium Notebook: Equipped with the new Intel Core2 Processor T9300, this model features 4 gigabytes of RAM, 250 gigabytes of storage and 13.3-inch widescreen display. It is housed in a premium, light-weight carbon fiber chassis featuring a stylish embedded criss-cross pattern. The SZ notebook is priced at about $2,500 and is ideal for those who demand performance, portability and style.

Media Alert: Sony Transforms PCs into Ultimate Dream Machines

Subject: New VAIO PCs Feature Supercharged Models

Body: Sony today announced it would be shipping super-charged versions of its VAIO® PCs. Dubbed VAIO Premium, these units will empower users with lighting-fast processing speeds, massive amounts of storage, and innovative technologies to improve performance.

Fueling these dream machines will be the new Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processors— T9000 and T8000 series. Among the very first to ship with these chipsets, these PCs will provide business travelers and multimedia enthusiasts alike with unparalleled power and multi-tasking capabilities. The result: high-definition content management, fast-paced gaming and performance like never before.

High Performance High-Def

VAIO FZ485U Premium Notebook: This portable, multimedia notebook features a 15.4-inch XBRITE-HiColor™ widescreen display and is HDMI equipped to output to HDTV in Full HD 1080. Doubling as a mobile high-definition movie studio, it utilizes the latest Intel Core2 Processor T8100, 4 gigabytes of RAM, a 256 megabytes dedicated graphics card and Blu-ray Disc technology for viewing and managing HD content. The FZ notebook is priced at about $2,200.

Media Alert: Sony Transforms PCs into Ultimate Dream Machines

Subject: New VAIO PCs Feature Supercharged Models

Body: Sony today announced it would be shipping super-charged versions of its VAIO® PCs. Dubbed VAIO Premium, these units will empower users with lighting-fast processing speeds, massive amounts of storage, and innovative technologies to improve performance.

Fueling these dream machines will be the new Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processors— T9000 and T8000 series. Among the very first to ship with these chipsets, these PCs will provide business travelers and multimedia enthusiasts alike with unparalleled power and multi-tasking capabilities. The result: high-definition content management, fast-paced gaming and performance like never before.

High Performance High-Def

VAIO LT29U Premium HD PC/TV: This all-in-one model incorporates an unrivaled terabyte of storage so it can record up to 100 hours of HDTV programming - five times more than a standard DVR. It is equipped with 4 gigabytes of RAM and powered by the new Intel Core2 Processor T9300. Sporting a 22-inch XBRITE-HiColor™ widescreen display, it also features an external CableCARD compliant TV tuner and Blu-ray technology. The LT model is priced at about $3,300.

Media Alert: Sony Transforms PCs into Ultimate Dream Machines

Subject: New VAIO PCs Feature Supercharged Models

Body: Sony today announced it would be shipping super-charged versions of its VAIO® PCs. Dubbed VAIO Premium, these units will empower users with lighting-fast processing speeds, massive amounts of storage, and innovative technologies to improve performance.

Fueling these dream machines will be the new Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processors— T9000 and T8000 series. Among the very first to ship with these chipsets, these PCs will provide business travelers and multimedia enthusiasts alike with unparalleled power and multi-tasking capabilities. The result: high-definition content management, fast-paced gaming and performance like never before.

High Performance High-Def

VAIO AR790U Premium Notebook: Featuring a 17-inch XBRITE-HiColor™ Full HD 1080 widescreen display, the AR model is powered by the new Intel Core2 Processor T9300 for mind-blowing, high-definition content management and gaming. It comes loaded with 4 gigabytes of RAM, a massive 400 gigabytes of storage, a 512 megabytes dedicated graphics card, and Blu-ray® Disc technology. Priced at about $3,300, this PC also has an external CableCARD™ compliant TV tuner for viewing or recording HDTV programming.

SONY'S WELL-ROUNDED HOME THEATER PC GOES HIGH-DEF

LAS VEGAS (CES, Booth #14200), Jan. 6, 2008 ⎯ Sony today introduced a new high-definition version of its stunning, spherical digital living system— the VAIO® TP Home Theater PC.
A unique approach to the home PC design, the new model's round chassis serves as an entire entertainment center, where you can watch and record analog, digital and cable TV, including premium HD channels (CableCARD™ required). It can also access the Internet so you can play back online TV programming on a compatible big-screen television.
The VAIO HTPC comes in both a standard and a premium configuration. Both versions feature a Blu-ray Disc™ optical drive to enjoy high-definition movies. The premium model comes with two external CableCARD compatible TV tuners so you can view and record two HD television programs simultaneously.
With built-in DVR functionality, each unit can record up to 50 hours of HD television programming and pause and rewind live TV for on-demand playback.
Engineered to be easy to use, the models connect to compatible high-definition televisions via an included HDMI™ cable for playback in full HD 1080 resolution through a single cable. And with integrated BRAVIA® Sync™ technology, based on HDMI-CEC functionality, you can power on connected devices, at the touch of a button, eliminating the need for multiple remote controls (on certain BRAVIA HDTV models only).
-more-
"We're defining the digital home by integrating the latest HD technologies into a one-of-a-kind showpiece," said Mike Abary, senior vice president of VAIO product marketing at Sony Electronics. "This new unit will revolutionize the way you watch TV, allowing you to turn your entertainment center into an eye-popping, high-definition media hub."
Designed to Compliment Any Home
The console's small, circular shape is engineered to fit into areas of the house not typically known for having a PC, such as the living room, without the added network cables. With its built-in wireless LAN technology and a wireless router, it can be positioned virtually anywhere in the house and still access your home network.
The model also comes with a remote control and a matching, wireless keyboard ergonomically designed to fit on your lap so you can surf the Web from the comfort of your couch without the restraint of tangled cords.
Power of the PC for Your Living Room
The unit is equipped with a powerful Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T8100, allowing for high performance while maintaining a smaller, cooler form factor— making it ideal for a living room setting. It also employs the Windows Vista® Home Premium operating system, discrete graphics and a half-terabyte hard drive.
The VAIO TP Home Theater PC standard model, available in polar white, will start at about $1,600, while the premium model, available in piano black, will go for around $3,000. Both will be available online at HYPERLINK "http://www.sony.com/pr/tphd" www.sony.com/pr/tphd and sold at Sony Style stores and select retailers around the country starting later this month.

•Acer will be adding to their Aspire line with five new models (2920, 4920, 5920, 7720 and 9920). Their Travelmate line will also gain two new machines (6492 and 6592G.)

•Fujitsu-Siemens will join the parade with the Amilo Xi 2550 / 2428

•Sony will have a piece of the Penryn pie with five new VAIO lappies (FZ31, TZ2, SZ71, CR31 and AR61.)

[Notebook Italia; Aspire, Travelmate, Amilo, Vaio via Engadget]

As soon as Intel released these 5400 series Penryn processors this month, HP sent us this top-of-the-line xw8600 workstation with two of them inside. This expensive machine—aimed at oil and gas explorers, video editors