The Mac mini has long been the oddball child of the Mac family: it's the only consumer-level machine from Apple that isn't a fully-integrated experience, and it's the only Mac to have had a sub-$1,000 sticker price in some time. But people love this little weirdo, and they love to do weirdly awesome things with it -- we've seen Mac minis stuffed into everything from old G4 Cube shells to volleyball-playing robots to pianos to... DeLoreans. Yes, DeLoreans. And, of course, people have longed been connecting Mac minis to HDTVs and using 'em as a media players -- it's small, quiet, relatively powerful, and it's a real computer, so it can play virtually any video file you throw at it. And now it's gotten even more attractive as a home theater PC, since Apple's given the newest Mac mini a striking unibody makeover, NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics, and -- a first for any Mac -- an HDMI port, making it a dead-simple addition to your HDTV. On the flip side, the base price of the only stock consumer configuration has gone up to $699, and to be blunt, much cheaper PCs have had HDMI ports forever. So is the mini worth the premium? Is it the ultimate small PC for the living room -- and beyond? Read on to find out.


The new mini represents the first major redesign in the product's history since it was first introduced in 2005. That's partially a testament to the minimalist good looks of the previous design, of course -- it's managed to blend in with every Apple design trend of the past five years. By the same token, the new design promises to have equal staying power: it's at once both simpler and more deeply considered. Obviously the major portion of the case is the aluminum unibody, which is thinner than the previous-gen at an inch and a quarter, but slightly bigger around at seven by seven inches square. Apple tells us the new and old minis are essentially the same size by volume; you might think of the new mini as being a flattened-out version of the old. In fact, the new mini looks like nothing so much as the Apple TV -- but we'll get to the heart of that comparison later.


The new mini doesn't actually sit flat on a surface -- it actually rises up off the ground by a few millimeters on a circular pedestal. This is for two reasons: the front lip houses an air intake, which is vented out the back, and it also creatively conceals a WiFi antenna, which would otherwise be stifled by that all-aluminum enclosure. Bluetooth and a second matching WiFi antenna are also located on the plastic back panel for 360-degree coverage. We tried the mini all over the house on our 5GHz WiFi network and suffered zero problems, so it seems like this little trick was effective for us -- we'll see how others with larger or more complex WiFi setups fare.


About that pedestal: as you might have noticed from our hands-on photos, flipping the mini over reveals a circular access door, which you can twist off to get at the RAM. It's hard not to marvel at the sheer Apple-ness of the panel the first time you interact with it -- other companies simply don't make computers like this. Unfortunately, you can't get at anything other than the RAM once the panel is off, as the hard drive isn't user replaceable. That's pretty silly, in our opinion: hard drives have a nasty habit of failing, especially when you run 'em non-stop in servers and video playback machines, and we'd much rather have a hard time upgrading the RAM once at the outset than feel helpless about replacing a glitchy hard drive.


Round back there's a pretty standard array of ports: four USB, FireWire 800, gigabit Ethernet, an SDXC card slot, mini DisplayPort, HDMI, mic in, and audio out, which supports optical out as well. Apple says the idea is for the mini to be able to plug into most everything out of the box, so there's an HDMI-to-DVI adapter packed in the box, and you can obviously score a VGA mini DisplayPort adapter as well. The HDMI port itself is said to be "HDMI 1.3-compliant," and it'll carry up to eight channels of audio and run displays up to 1920 x 1200, although it doesn't support the little-used Deep Color. As with the previous mini, you can use both display outputs simultaneously; the mini DisplayPort supports a max res of 2560 x 1600. Oh, and this is the first time Apple's done an SDXC slot, so that's nice -- expect to see that on other SD-equipped Macs as time goes on.

Inside, the mini is very similar to the $999 MacBook: our tester was the lone standard configuration, with a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo, an NVIDIA GeForce 320M GPU, 2GB of RAM, and a 320GB hard drive. It's not a ton of computer for $699 -- you can get any number of Core i5 PC towers with similar GPUs for the same money -- but as usual, that's not really what Apple's going for, and what you lose in raw computing power you gain in saved power power, as the mini draws less than 10 watts of power at idle, lower than almost every other competitive machine. What's more, the new 85-watt power supply is now built right in, so there's no power brick, which is quite nice, especially for home theater and other nonstandard installations. (In fact, the power plug is the same as the Apple TV, so you can swap in the mini right in place.)

The mini is also exceptionally quiet: we never heard the fan kick in, even while we played games or watched videos. That's not to say the fan wasn't going, but just that we never heard it. Given our recent experiences with incredibly obnoxious MacBook Pro fans, we're marking that in the plus column. The mini was also laudably cool -- we never felt it get even slightly warm after a full day of testing.

Of course, there's one very notable hardware omission here: a Blu-ray drive. It's sort of amazing that Apple will happily sell you a $700 computer with an HDMI port that doesn't support the best, easiest and highest-quality consumer HD playback format available, but for whatever reason the company just doesn't offer any machines that do Blu-ray, even though it's a member of the Blu-ray Disc Association. When we pressed them about it, Apple told us they just don't see customer demand for BD drives because the format has yet to take off. We obviously disagree, but that's the final answer -- maybe the mini's newfound affinity for HDTVs will finally push Apple to offer Blu-ray in the future.

Performance

At this point the performance characteristics of a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo Mac with a 1066MHz bus are pretty familiar territory; Apple's had similar basic hardware in its lineup since 2008. The new mini adds the NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor to the mix, which is a more potent successor to the familiar 9400m from the previous model -- it's still integrated graphics, but it's reasonably fast integrated graphics.

Needless to say, the new Mac mini was more than capable of basic tasks like browsing, word processing, and running iTunes. And unlike the Atom- or Ion-based nettops you might consider putting under your TV, the mini is also more than capable of running HD Flash video without any hesitation -- and it'll be even better when Flash 10.1 "Gala" ships with hardware video acceleration for Mac OS X. The mini can also play virtually every other video file you might throw at it using either QuickTime with the open-source Perian component or other popular video apps like VLC or Movist, which is our new favorite. We didn't have any issues playing 1080p files from a variety of sources, and we wouldn't have any hesitation doing a little light iMovie work on the side. On the straight benchmark front, the mini put up a Geekbench score of 3385, which is right in line with what we'd expect.

Where the mini does struggle is gaming performance. Although the GeForce 320M can handle less taxing games and lower resolutions just fine, it can't hang once you crank things up -- we averaged between 17-20fps running Portal at 1920 x 1200 with the default settings, and about the same when we ran it at 1080p connected to our TV. If you're willing to step it down, though, you should be fine -- we got 30fps running Half-Life 2 Episode 2 at 1280 x 800. Passable, but if you're a hardcore gamer you're probably not looking at Macs anyway.

Read more »

Mac Pro

Apple’s updated 2010 Mac Pro line was a long time coming, but it certainly addressed would-be buyers’ key complaint: the choice of processors. Now offering everything from a single Intel Xeon through to a pair of six-core chips, the new Mac Pro range claims to be “the most powerful, most configurable Mac ever.” We’ve had a dual-processor quadcore Mac Pro on the SlashGear test bench for a couple of weeks; check out our full review after the cut.


Our review unit slots into the middle of the updated Mac Pro range, with two of Intel’s 2.4GHz quadcore Xeon E5620 CPUs, 6GB of 1066MHz DDR3 memory and an ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB video card. With a 1TB 7,200rpm hard-drive it comes in at $3,499 – for $1,000 less you can have a single 2.8GHz Xeon quadcore and half the memory, while for $1,500 more there’s the dual 2.66GHz hexacore Xeon flagship. Still no Blu-ray – not even the option – so it’s a standard 18x SuperDrive, four PCI Express 2.0 slots, five USB 2.0 ports and four FireWire 800 ports. Networking options include two-gigabit Ethernet ports, Bluetooth 2.1 and WiFi a/b/g/n.

Take off the side panel – an easy task with the flip-up (and lockable) latch on the back – and Apple’s unusual interior layout is revealed. Everything is sectioned off, with the processors and memory at the bottom in a pullout tray, the PCI Express 2.0 slots in the middle, and then the four 3.5-inch hard-drive bays slung above. Each bay has a drive carrier that a standard SATA 3Gb/s drive clips into, before slotting – cable free – into place. Our review unit had a single 1TB drive, but you can specify up to 8TB of traditional HDDs or up to four 512GB SSDs and an optional RAID controller for drive redundancy (RAID levels 0, 1, 5 and 0+1 supported).

Slick design, a sensible layout and plenty of ports are no use at all if the core system doesn’t hold up its end of the bargain, and happily the 2010 Mac Pro is capable of some serious crunching. We performed some of our benchmark testing natively in OS X, and then other elements in Windows 7 Ultimate running in either Parallels or Boot Camp. It’s common for Mac Pro owners to spend at least part of their time in a dual-booting or multimode environment, depending on the software tools they’re reliant on, and so we felt this would give a more balanced view of the desktop than OS X figures alone.

We started out with Geekbench, a synthetic test of processor and memory performance. Tested natively in OS X 10.6.4 Snow Leopard (with the latest patches and updates installed), the Mac Pro scored 14,378. In comparison, a 2009 Mac Pro – with a single Xeon 2.66GHz processor but 12GB of DDR3 memory, a configuration costing roughly the same as the machine in today’s review – scored 9,600.

Read more »

iPhone 4s

It was the most anticipated iPhone announcement since iPhones begun. In the 16 months from the launch of the iPhone 4, we've had antennagate, the unveiling of iOS 5 and three versions of Google Android's Honeycomb.  

The world's handset manufacturers have also been playing a fierce game of catch up, releasing a raft of ever-improving smartphones with faster processors and more features. All trying to steal a march over Apple and its seemingly unstoppable freight train of success.

Many T3 readers have told us how they'd forgone the iPhone 4 because of reported signal problems, or were tied into long 3GS contracts. They were itching for something new. Something special. Something worth waiting for. So, when Phil Schiller took to the stage to announce the long-awaited 'iPhone 5' last week, he needed to pull something big out of the iBag.

What we got was the iPhone 4S. The most powerful iPhone Apple has ever made, yet criticised by many as nothing but a cosmetic upgrade.

So how different is it and, crucially, is it worth upgrading? We've been living with the iPhone 4S, iCloud and iOS 5 for a few days. Here's what we think, in a few words...

iPhone 4S Unboxing
Out of the box, the 4S looks identical to its older sibling bar the distinguishing birthmark of a brace of top-mounted incisions signifying that a new antenna design lurks within. Switch on the phone, however, and things are different.

Unless you're restoring the data from an older iTunes backup, the 4S doesn't require a computer for activation. You can restore the phone from an iCloud account, or set up as a new phone. If you don't have an Apple ID, you have the option to create one.

iCloud can also be activated from the phone for storing and wirelessly pushing photos, apps, contacts, calendars to and from your 4S. The whole process, whether restoring from iTunes or setting up fresh, takes less than five minutes. And because it's the same case design, iPhone 4 users can just swap over their SIM card.

Unfortunately, in-app information isn't transferred, so you'll need to re-enter login details, re-download offline Spotify playlists and re-affirm personalised settings in every app that requires it.  An obvious security measure by Apple, but it was these actions that took the longest to complete.


The iPhone 4S hardware changes (processor)
Many iPhone 4 owners will be asking themselves why they need an iPhone 4S when the free iOS 5 upgrade will equip their current phone with most of the new 200-odd features. We'll get into the meat of those features later, but know this: Apple has built its best phone to date.

The new A5 dual-core processor (as seen in the iPad 2) makes things noticeably nippier. Apps launch quicker, web pages load faster, multi-tasking is more fluid and resource-hungry apps like Pages now allow you to edit documents without any lag. Competitors will argue that their phones have been able to produce similar results for months, and they'd be right, but it remains a welcome (if a little late) upgrade.

The processor also supercharges the iPhone 4S's graphical prowess. We tried Real Racing 2 HD and, while the visuals were a little smoother, we didn't notice the 7x improvement as claimed by Apple. This is because games will need to be tuned to take advantage of the new chip. We had a demo of Infinity Blade 2 (confirmed to launch later this year) at the iPhone 4S launch and were blown away by the detail and speed of the polygon pushing. We're talking PSP Vita graphics, if not better.

Another benefit of having the A5 processor is to mirror 4S content over AirPlay. Wirelessly, the 4S will push out 720p to an Apple TV. Over connected HDMI, that will jump to 1080p. The simplicity of pushing small-screen content to the big screen on the fly is a neat trick, especially when you start rotating and zooming. It's also something to brag to iPhone 4 owners; T3 was told that the older model simply can't cope with the demands of such technological wizardry.

The potential for playing games on the big screen from your phone is something Sony and Nintendo should keep an eye on, too. Note that, in our demo, the super-charged Infinity Blade 2 was jumpy over wireless. Tiny Wings has never looked better, though.

The iPhone 4S antenna
Antennagate rocked Apple's world for the wrong reasons after the launch of the iPhone 4, so we were keen to see how the new design 'improves call quality' and 'reduces risk of dropout'.

Both the 4S's antennas, which run around the top of the phone, can transmit and receive data, allowing for faster 3G connections. Apple claims that maximum download speed over HSDPA is 14.4Mbps – twice as fast as the iPhone 4.

In the few days we've been testing, we haven't noticed an improvement in call quality and didn't experience any dropouts. But we have definitely seen faster download speeds over 3G and quicker  web page loading. T3.com took an average of 5 seconds to load on the iPhone 4S, compared to an average of 8 on the iPhone 4.

We also ran the SpeedTest app (on O2-UK network) and got an average of 3.34Mbps download and 1.45Mbps upload. On the older iPhone 4, on the same network in the same location, we achieved average results of 2.32Mbps download and 1.31Mbps upload.

We also tried the death grip (for old times' sake) and didn't see any signal bars dropping off a cliff. Hurrah.

The iPhone 4S camera
The camera's had a major overhaul, now capable of taking eight-megapixel stills and recording 1080p video. Apple claims upgrades to the optics allow for more light, better colours and improved white-balancing. We didn't dismantle the 4S to find out, but did take a range of shots in a variety of conditions to test the assertion.

Photos are crisper, no question, but it can't compete with traditional cameras with bigger lenses in low light. You can now choose to have a grid on the screen when taking shots, perform basic image-editing within the Camera Roll and jump straight to the camera function via a shortcut.

Log into Twitter and you can post photos from the Camera Roll directly to your feed. It's quick and makes a cute tweet sound when sent into cyberspace. Anti-cutes can, however, switch off this slice of audible joy before tucking into their sour-faced sandwiches.

iOS 5 brings with it the option to use the '+'  button as shutter when taking landscape shots. Face detection is also an upgrade and works well.

The 1080p, 30fps camera is impressive. Clarity and detail are excellent and the A5 processor allows for image stabilisation of the go. Shaky hand, be gone. We played back footage on our 47-inch TV and, even in full screen, video quality was great. We can hear the home camcorder industry wincing from here.

Sound quality is limited due to the small in-built microphones, but good enough for most things, especially YouTube where videos can be uploaded directly from the 4S. Which leads us onto a point of compromise; with an upgrade in image quality comes an increase in file size and it's no wonder Apple needed to launch a 64Gb version. You'll also want to do more uploading and sending over wi-fi as not to upset your network operator and/or bank balance.

Let's get Siri-ous
The main talking point of the iPhone 4S, quite literally, is Siri – a voice-controlled in-built app that acts like your own PA. Hold down the home button to launch Siri and then ask it to perform certain tasks. We barked a variety questions and demands, all with varying responses and success rates, which can be seen as follows:

The command “call my wife” resulted in Siri asking who our wife was from our address book. Once confirmed, repeating the same instruction resulted in a call to the wife. 1-0 Siri.

“What is 477 multiplied by the circumference of the moon?” we asked. Siri consulted the Wolfram Alpha engine and presented an accurate and detailed result. It's 6786.03 miles, in case you were wondering. 2-0 Siri.

T3: “Set a reminder to buy some milk tomorrow” Siri: “Calling Simon now” 2-1 Siri

Nevertheless, what makes Siri so clever is how it can maintain a conversation to perform a task. While driving we asked, through our headphone mic,: “what's the weather like in London tomorrow?”, to which Siri dutifully replied. ''Rainy”. We then followed with: “And on Sunday?” and Siri was clever enough to contextualise the conversation and give us a report: “Weather for this Sunday is....Rainy.”

You can also have fun with Siri – asking it things like the meaning of life, the meaning of naughty swear words, why Siri exists, or whether Brian Blessed has the loudest voice in human history. The results can be entertaining. We'll leave you to discover them.

Siri needs at least a 3G connection to operate and we found that Wi-Fi works better. It's presently in beta, so we're expecting some improvement as and when updates are released.

Albeit fascinating and entertaining, we don't think Siri is reason alone to upgrade to a 4S. It's undeniably amazing technology but we just can't see how often people will use it. Asking it to do things like “set the alarm for 6.30am tomorrow morning” will save a few buttons clicks, but most things we asked of it are quicker to do manually. Apart from the moon calculation bit.

If you do decide to form a relationship with Siri, a word of warning: your partner will go mental. Smartphones already come between us and our dearest, so striking up a conversation with a robot rather than talking to your beloved, or Siri being the last person you talk to before falling asleep might just be a step too far in today's society.

iPhone 4S and iCloud
The notion of cloud computing is still a mystery to many and we were pretty skeptical as to how Apple, the maestros of uncomplicated explanation, would decipher this one for the mainstream.  But therein lies the genius, you don't have to understand how iCloud works to get it working or benefit from it. You just need to enter your Apple ID and start using your Apple kit.

Mail, contacts, calendars, reminders, bookmarks, notes, are all updated whenever you make a change. It takes the pain out of worrying where things are and gives you time back. We're amazed Apple is giving everyone 5GB of storage free, but think an upgrade (and accompanying annual subscription) will be all but necessary for those with a half decent media collection.

iTunes in the Cloud isn't currently available in the UK so we haven't been able to test music, movie and app syncing.

PhotoStream is a cool feature of iCloud but we found the time between taking a picture on the 4S and it appearing in our iPhoto stream slow. We'll update as to whether this was a case of teething.

Notifications
Although part of iOS 5, rather than iPhone 4S-specific, notifications are a a great addition to the art of using an iPhone. Run your finger down the top of the screen to bring up a list of your latest feeds from Twitter, Mail, Facebook, calendar and reminders, among others. You can customise what appears in the list and how notifications appear – in the centre of the screen or a banner at the top of the phone. Again, many phones already have this, but it'll be a welcome first for iPhone fans.

iPhone 4S Battery
Battery life has also been improved. Apple claims 8 hours of 3G talk time, upto 9 hours of wifi use, 10 hours video playback and 40 hours of musical pleasure. In our experience, we can say that when compared to the iPhone 4, all of these activities had less of a drain on battery. Whether this will still be the case in six months time, we'll have to see. We did notice the battery draining a little quicker when in standby, however.

Among the 200-odd new features in iOS 5 and other things we've noticed thus far, here's a collection of what's floating our boat on the iPhone 4S. And what isn't...

Read more »

iPod nano

Apple's sixth generation of the iPod nano is essentially the first complete rethinking the product has had since its debut in 2005. The previous form factor -- slim and light with a decently sized display and clickwheel -- has been all but abandoned. The new design is a complete departure; a full touchscreen device that brings to mind something more like a large, living postage stamp than a portable music player. Along with the radical hardware redesign, Apple has infused the media player with a brand new operating system as well -- an interface that looks and plays more like iOS than iPod. We've spent the past week or so knocking the nano around to see if it's worth your hard-earned dollars, and we've got the answers inside -- so read on for our full review.


Size-wise, the iPod nano has never been smaller. The new hardware is slightly wider than the previous nano, but this time it's a tiny square, with a miniature, 1.54-inch 240 x 240 capacitive multitouch LCD display. Around back is a built-in clip, and the whole affair is encased in the same kind of anodized, colored aluminum you've come to expect from an iPod nano. In case you're wondering, this particular model can be had in seven different colors -- which weirdly makes us think that Apple believes someone out there will get one for every day of the week. Though the previous generation device sported a video camera, that's been ditched in the new model along with the physical controls. Anyone who's spent a lot of time on the go with the nano will probably be happy about these changes -- the clickwheel could be a bit hard to navigate with accuracy, say, when jogging.

Other than that, the new nano is considerably lighter than the previous model, weighing in at roughly 21 grams, whereas the older version clocked in at about 36g. In fact, it's so light that when using the clip to attach it to a shirt (or in our case, the strap of a bag), you barely notice it hanging there at all.

The nano boasts just three hardware buttons -- one larger button on the top right for power / sleep, and two smaller, circular ones on the top left for volume controls, another change we appreciate. In the previous nano, in order to adjust the volume you had to unlock the device then navigate with the wheel. Now with actual hardware buttons, you can turn the volume up or down without ever actually looking at the player. It's a minor but welcome improvement. If these buttons are a byproduct of Steve Jobs hating buttons, we like it.

While that screen is small, it's not hard to get around in, and the touch response seemed about as tight as it is on the new touch or iPhone. Multitouch rotation worked just fine, and in general use, moving from place to place with the new nano was considerably faster than on previous models.

Overall, we think the design is a big step forward for this line of players. Eschewing the staid clickwheel for a simple touchscreen interface is a big plus in our book, and the high-end feel to the materials and build quality makes this seem right at home next to something like the new iPhone. Of course, at this size, you're far more likely to lose this thing -- and the price tag will make that sting a bit more than if you misplaced a shuffle.


The iPod nano's strongest suit has always been its simplicity of purpose, and that's never been more evident than in this newest device. If there was ever confusion for buyers about whether to get a nano or something more full-featured, such as the touch -- that argument is dead. Apple's ditched the video camera and the ability to play back video here, along with lots of other "extra" stuff (contacts, calendars, notes, games). With the new nano, you can listen to audio and look at photos -- and that's it.

The new interface is far more intuitive than the classic iPod interface, in our estimation. Though you have just as many playback and sorting options as before, the multitouch, iOS-ness of the experience strips away the feeling of endlessly scrolling through menus (often without context) to get to what you're looking for. The new UI looks and acts just like iOS, but according to Apple the nano is not actually running a build of iOS. We know that previous iPod UIs were built using a handful of components from OS X, so it's safe to assume that this new interface is made up of a hodgepodge of tried and tested frameworks. The results are great -- the nano feels like iOS in all the ways that matter (so much so that we mistakenly call it a "phone" in the video below), including inertial scrolling, the ability to rearrange your homescreens, and general navigation throughout the device.

Getting around the UI is similar, though not exact, to iOS. To navigate you flip through a couple of pages of iPhone-style icons. It's like a micro Springboard. You can hold down on an icon to put it into "jiggly mode," and then move the icons as you would in iOS. When you're using one of the functions of the device, you can long press on the center of the screen to return to your homescreen; swiping to the right when you're listening to music or viewing photos will take you back through your previous screens until you land on home. Lists are scrollable and multi-tiered just like in iOS. There is the occasional hidden dialog in some places that we found odd, like where Apple placed the "add" and "edit" buttons for playlists -- they're unexposed at the top of your playlist screen, and require a scroll up to discover.

Read more »

iMac 2011

The heaviest of heavyweights in the all-in-one field has seen another update, another batch of new internals to liven up the aging (but still classy) chassis. Apple unveiled its latest iMac refresh last week, surprising nobody with a new selection of AMD Radeon HD graphics cards, quad-core Intel Sandy Bridge processors, and solid-state storage options, all designed to do one thing: go faster.

These latest iMacs are quite naturally the speediest yet, as you'd expect, but with the right configuration they can be properly quick. Faster internals plus Thunderbolt ports on the outside turn what's supposed to be a family-friendly and eye-catching machine into an unassuming powerhouse that might just be quick enough for professional users. There's a more important question, though: is this $1,999 system the right choice for you?

Hardware

When Apple refreshed the iMac lineup last year we sampled the 21.5-inch model, svelte and sweet and a good choice for your average household. This time we moved up to the full 27-inch size, sporting a Core i5 processor that hums along at 3.1GHz. This is the processor you get if you opt for the pricier configuration of the bigger model and resist the urge to make any other customizations -- but cycle-hungry users can spend an extra $200 to step into a 3.4GHz Core i7.

Either way you get four cores, ours came paired with 4GB of 1333MHz, DDR3 RAM, installed as two 2GB DIMMs, and a 1TB 7,200RPM, SATA drive. Pushing pixels to that 27-inch, 2,560 x 1,440 resolution IPS panel is an AMD Radeon HD 6970M graphics card with 1GB of GDDR5 memory. That, thanks to the dual Thunderbolt ports tucked around the back, gives users a new-found ability to power a lot of external displays, in theory up to four thanks to the dual-channel nature of each port. We managed to get two additional displays lit up, but the LED-backlit monitor here is more than spacious enough for most use, and is certainly bright and gorgeous enough too -- but you knew that.



In fact you probably already know a lot about how this looks because, other than the faster internals, there isn't a lot new here. It's the same design that Apple's been hawking for a few years now. It still looks good, modern and understated styling matching your modern and understated life, but we're left wanting some updates. That SD card slot is still dangerously close to the DVD-ROM slot (which still won't accept Blu-ray discs), and the power button is still in exactly the right spot to confound new users and frustrate experienced ones as they accidentally hit it every time they reach to tilt the display back.

And we can't help but wish we could get a little more interactive with that hyper-glossy display, which makes for a heck of a good mirror when turned off. Apple of course has patents out for what looks like atouchable iMac and we're a bit disappointed they didn't come to fruition here -- though we would hate to smudge up that surface. There's still no matte option, but at least you can opt out of getting a Magic Mouse and substitute in a Magic Trackpad this time.

Oh, and there's a new FaceTime HD webcam stuck in the bezel, for those about to chat.


This machine has the higher of the two default configurations for the 27-incher, and we found it more than adequate for just about anything we threw at it. Obviously the gaming selection is still a little limited here, but Half-Life 2 and Portal 2 played full-res without a hitch. As you'd expect a 1080p clip loads quickly and cycles just fine -- we had five simultaneous 1080p clips going without a hint of frame drop on any.

In fact about the only the only thing that really caused a stutter was trying to edit a 4K video clip in REDCINE -- it was still workable, but we had to view it at half-res to get the preview render looking smooth. Hardly a deal-breaker. If you're looking for more synthetic benchmarks, we scored 8,465 in Geekbench, a 30-second 720p clip exported from iMovie in 20 seconds, and a 1080p clip took under a minute.

Read more »

iPhone 3GS

If it ain't broke, don't fix it -- right? We know countless reviews of the iPhone 3GS may begin with that cliché, but there's little chance you'd find a better way to describe the strategy that Apple has just put into play with its latest smartphone. In many ways, the 3GS is a mirror image of the iPhone 3G; externally there's no difference. It's inside where all the changes have happened, with Apple issuing a beefed-up CPU, new internal compass, larger capacities for storage, and improved optics for its camera. More to the point, the release of the 3GS coincides with the launch of iPhone OS 3.0, a major jump from previous versions of the system software featuring highly sought after features like cut, copy, and paste, stereo Bluetooth, MMS, tethering, video recording, landscape keyboard options for more applications, and an iPhone version of Spotlight. At a glance, what Apple seems to be doing is less a reinvention of the wheel and more like retreading the wheel it's already got (and what a wheel, right?). So, do the iPhone 3GS and OS 3.0 tweak the details in just the right places, or has Apple gone and gotten lazy on us? Read on to find out.


As we said in the intro, there is nothing visually different about the iPhone 3GS versus the iPhone 3G, save for the lettering on the back, which is now mirrored like the Apple logo. While we had seen leaked images of a matte finish, bezel-free version of the device, when push came to shove, what we got was essentially a carbon copy of the iPhone 3G. In terms of the general elements of the phone -- the plastic casing, mute switch, home and power buttons, etc. -- there is no change at all. In fact, if you were to lay this phone and its predecessor next to one another face up, the new model would be indistinguishable. Of course, the 3GS is not just a clone of the previous device, and Apple has made most of its significant changes inside the phone.


First off, the company has supercharged the CPU of the 3GS (remember, the S is for speed), jacking up the processor numbers from 412MHz to a rumored 600MHz. Additionally, the RAM is said to have doubled from 128MB to 256MB, the phone is offered with 16GB or 32GB of storage, and Apple has swapped out the previous graphics chip for a new version -- dubbed the PowerVR SGX -- which adds support for more robust visuals via OpenGL ES 2.0. All this should mean that end users will see a noticeable difference in app speeds and loading times (Apple claims an average of 2x faster loads, though since the company has been cagey about upgrade details, it's hard to know what the real differences are).

So, do the revamped insides equal an improved experience on the phone? Kinda.

For our oft-used phone actions -- flicking through homescreens, calling up search terms in Spotlight, scrolling through long lists -- we definitely felt like the 3GS was snappier than its predecessor. It wasn't like the doors were flying off, but there was a noticeable bump in speed, particularly when it came to initial data loads (how quickly you see content pop up within an application). When it came to opening apps which pull lots of that kind of content, like Contacts, Calendar, or Messaging, we saw an even more noticeable improvement. Comparing the 3G and 3GS side-by-side yielded small but absolutely palpable differences -- the 3GS does seem to eliminate quite a few of the hangs we find maddening as we go through our day. It's not the perfect salve, but it's a start.

We're excited by the cranked up CPU, but in our experience you'll see lowered load times (though obviously not as drastic) if you take a standard 3G and do a full restore, so there is the lingering question of whether or not the jacked-up feel of the 3GS will last, or will begin to bog down after months of use and heaps of data.

Read more »

iPad

Finally, the Apple iPad review. The name iPad is a killing word -- more than a product -- it's a statement, an idea, and potentially a prime mover in the world of consumer electronics. Before iPad it was called the Apple Tablet, the Slate, Canvas, and a handful of other guesses -- but what was little more than rumor and speculation for nearly ten years is now very much a reality. Announced on January 27th to a middling response, Apple has been readying itself for what could be the most significant product launch in its history; the making (or breaking) of an entirely new class of computer for the company. The iPad is something in between its monumental iPhone and wildly successful MacBook line -- a usurper to the netbook throne, and possibly a sign of things to come for the entire personal computer market... if Apple delivers on its promises. And those are some big promises; the company has been tossing around words like "magical" and "revolutionary" to describe what many have dismissed as nothing more than a larger version of its iPod touch. But is that all there is to this device? Is the hope that Apple promises for this new computing experience nothing more than marketing fluff and strategic hyperbole? Or is this a different beast altogether -- a true sign that change has come to the world of the PC? We have the definitive answers to those questions (and many more) right here, so read on for our full review of the Apple iPad!


The first thing you notice about the iPad is, well, you don't really notice it. In many ways, there is just not much here -- design wise -- to comment on. The bulk of its surface is taken up by a 9.7-inch, 1024 x 768, capacitive, multitouch LED-backlit display surrounded by a glossy black bezel that some will say is too wide but, in practice, is an important design consideration that prevents the touchscreen from being inadvertently activated when handled. There's only Apple's signature "home" button to interact with, and the back of the device is a dutifully simple piece of curved aluminum. Like most Apple products, it's a beauty to behold, but it's not exactly notable for design flourishes; simply put, it's good looking but not terribly exciting. But if the design of the iPad is an exercise in restraint, it only serves to reinforce how formidable this technology feels once it's in your hands. The device has some heft, weighing in at 1.5 pounds, but is still comfortable to hang onto at most angles. Considering the computing power of the tablet, a thickness that tops out at half an inch is pretty impressive, too. But how does it feel in your hands? Well, that matte aluminum on the back surprisingly communicates warmth (though we don't recommend resting this on any bare flesh on a cold morning), and the rest of the design gets out of the way and lets you concentrate on what is really most important: that screen. And that's kind of the point, isn't it?

The iPad does house a few other components you should be aware of: a volume rocker and screen position lock (which forces the device to remain in landscape or portrait mode) on the upper right hand side, a power / sleep button and headphone jack on either side of its top edge, and Apple's famous 30-pin dock connector alongside a single thin speaker on the bottom of the unit. There is nothing outwardly notable about the buttons or layout on the iPad -- if you've used an iPod touch or iPhone, you'll find yourself right at home... and that's exactly how Apple wants it.


As far as ergonomics are concerned, the standard seated-with-iPad-in-lap move is a completely comfortable experience, but there are definitely use cases where handling a flat slab becomes a pain. For instance, single finger typing becomes a bit of a game of hunt-and-peck, and that's the situation you find yourself in if you're ever standing with the iPad or holding the device with your other hand. We mentioned that iPad has some weight to it, and while it's comfortable to hold, it is considerably more of a handful than an iPhone. You'll feel that weight in your arms after extended period of keeping it aloft. Apple promo videos like to show their users happily grabbing the iPad and swinging their legs up onto a table -- Fonz style -- but if you're like us, most of your heavy text entry is done while seated at a standard table or desk, which means that unless you have a dock you're going to be typing on the iPad as a flat surface. The thing is, we actually found the flat-typing experience to be pretty good; it takes a little getting used to, but it's not totally bizarre either. In fact, we'd say it's a much more enjoyable experience than single-hand typing. Still, just as with the iPhone, there is a learning curve here that may diminish some hit-and-run shoppers' interest.

Internals

As you probably know by now, the iPad packs Apple's custom, PA Semi-designed 1GHz A4 system-on-a-chip -- a single Cortex A8 core coupled with a PowerVR SGX GPU. RAM on the iPad hasn't been revealed, but we suspect there's 512MB (at least) inside here -- we'll know more once iFixit or someone else puts the pad under the knife. Also onboard is 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, a digital compass, an accelerometer, microphone, and ambient light sensor. The 3G model that ships at the end of the month will add UMTS / HSDPA data along with an AGPS chip. You can purchase the device in capacities of 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB. We had the 64GB version for this review.

In our testing, the A4 SOC seemed to deal with whatever we threw at it handily. From opening and rendering webpages to playing the most graphically intensive games (including scaled iPhone versions, of course), it didn't miss a beat. The photo app was particularly impressive, allowing for fast scrolling through high resolution pictures without a hiccup, and handling rotation and zooming with no resistance or hesitation. Applications themselves opened quickly -- not instantly. Of course, as many detractors have noted (Engadget included), there's no true multitasking here, so seeing a system with this much power perform admirably one app at a time wasn't a huge surprise, especially since we'd experienced the same thing on an earlier version at the January event (more on this in a moment). Still, it seems like the A4 has power to spare, and that's a good thing if the third party apps we used on the iPad were any indication of where things are headed -- more graphically intensive and packing far more functionality.

The battery -- a 25-watt-hour lithium-polymer (non-removable of course) -- held up surprisingly well in our testing. More on that in the battery section down below.

Read more »

iPad 2

To say Apple's iPad 2 is an easy tablet to review is somewhat of an understatement. The device, a follow up to last year's wildly successful (and currently market-defining) iPad, is nearly identical when it comes to software, and though improved, closely related on the hardware side as well. With a 9.7-inch, 1024 x 768 display, the general size and shape of the device has remained the same, and though inside there's a new dual core A5 CPU, more memory, and a pair of new cameras, most of the iPad 2's changes are cosmetic. Still, the previous tablet soared far above most of its competitors when it came to the quality of both the hardware (if not its raw specs) and its software selection -- something Apple still stands head and shoulders over its adversaries on. So this new model, a thinner, sleeker, faster variant of the original may not be breaking lots of new ground, but it's already at the front of the pack. But is the iPad 2 worth an upgrade for those that took the plunge on the first generation? More importantly, does the device have what it takes to bring new owners into the fold? Those questions -- and more -- are all about to be answered in the full Engadget review, so read on!


The iPad 2 is both all about -- and not about -- the hardware. From an industrial design standpoint, the iPad 2 just seriously raised the bar on sleek, sexy computer hardware. If you're an owner of the original model, you know it was no slouch in the design department, but its latest iteration takes it to a whole other place. The first thing you'll probably notice about the iPad 2 is that it's thin -- unbelievably thin. At its thickest point, the tablet is just 0.34-inches (compared with the first iPad's half an inch of girth). The device is slightly shorter than the previous model (at 9.5-inches tall), but also slightly less wide (just 7.3-inches versus the iPad's 7.47-inches). It looks and feels amazingly sleek when you hold it. As Steve Jobs pointed out at the launch event, the device is thinner than the astoundingly thin iPhone 4 -- quite a feat considering what's packed inside the slate. Of course, it's still not exactly light, weighing in at 1.33 pounds (or 1.34 / 1.35 for the 3G models), just a hair under the original's one and a half pounds.

As with the previous version, the front of the device is all screen, save for a bezel (which appears slightly less broad than the one on the first model), and a home button at the bottom of the display. The iPad 2 does add a camera opposite from that button at the top of the device, but the small dot is barely noticeable. Around back there's the familiar, smooth aluminum of the previous version (it does feel slightly smoother here), a small, dotted speaker grid on the lower left, a camera on the upper left, and depending on what model you get, the 3G antenna along the top back. The volume buttons and mute / rotate switch sit on the back left side of the device, while on the right you'll find the Micro SIM slot (on 3G versions). A standard 30-pin dock connector is along the bottom, while the top reveals a power / sleep button on the upper right side, and a 3.5mm headphone jack on the left. All pretty standard business for an iPad, but smartly put together on this tiny frame.

The device is available with either a white or black bezel -- we reviewed the white model.

In all, it's an incredibly handsome and svelte package. Pictures don't quite do the iPad 2 justice -- it feels really, really great in your hands. Not only does the construction give it a feeling of heft and permanence, but the thin profile combined with the new, tapered edges make holding the device a real joy. Apple is known for its industrial design, and they didn't just chew scenery here; the iPad 2 is beautifully and thoughtfully crafted.

Read more »

iPhone 4

The iPhone 4 is no small thing to review. As most readers of Engadget are well aware, in the gadget world a new piece of Apple hardware is a major event, preceded by rumors, speculation, an over-the-top announcement, and finally days, weeks, or months of anticipation from an ever-widening fan base. The iPhone 4 is certainly no exception -- in fact, it may be Apple's most successful launch yet, despite some bumps on the road. We've already seen Apple and AT&T's servers overloaded on the first day of pre-orders, the ship date for the next set of phones pushed back due to high demand, and die-hard fans in lineoutside of Apple locations a week before the phone is actually available. It's a lot to live up to, and the iPhone 4 is doing its best -- with features like a super-fast A4 CPU, a new front-facing camera and five megapixel shooter on the back, a completely new industrial design, and that outrageous Retina Display, no one would argue that Apple has been asleep at the wheel. So the question turns to whether or not the iPhone 4 can live up to the intense hype. Can it deliver on the promises Steve Jobs made at WWDC, and can it cement Apple's position in the marketplace in the face of mounting competition from the likes of Google and Microsoft? We have the answers to those questions -- and many more -- in our full review, so read on to find out!


In his WWDC keynote, Steve Jobs likened the design of the iPhone 4 to that of a "beautiful, old Leica camera," and as we've said before, he wasn't off the mark. Instead of hewing to the curved, plasticky, silver-bezeled look of the iPhone 3G and 3GS, the company has turned the casing and face of the device into something decidedly more detailed and sophisticated. From the design aesthetic through to the actual build process, Jony Ive and his team have reset what we expect in an iPhone, coming up with something that clearly harkens back to the retro-future Braun designs of Dieter Rams. The iPhone 4 is made up of three basic parts: two pieces of smooth, strengthened glass, and a stainless steel band which wraps around the sides, top, and bottom of the phone. The effect is clean but not simple, and Apple has added little details, like altered volume buttons (what used to be a rocker is now separated into circular clickers labeled + and -), and notches in that metal band which serve to improve radio connections (more on that in a minute). The phone is noticeably thinner than the 3GS at .37 inches compared to .48 inches, but it weighs the same 4.8 ounces, making the whole package seem tighter and denser. It feels great in your hand, with good heft, although it might take a little time to get used to the lack of a rounded back if you're coming from the 3G or 3GS.


We can't overstate how high-end the design of the iPhone 4 is. The 3GS now feels cheap and chubby by comparison, and even a phone like the HTC Droid Incredible -- which just came out -- seems last-generation.

As we said, there are three main pieces of the phone, which together create an effect not wildly dissimilar to that of an ice cream sandwich. You know, but far pricier... and not edible. The face of the device is made up of extremely strong glass which Jony Ive says is "comparable in strength to sapphire crystal, but about 30 times harder than plastic." A small slit for the earpiece and the front-facing camera are embedded in the glass above the display, with the familiar home button towards the bottom -- a button we should note feels much clickier than on our 3GS. On the left side of the phone you've got the new volume buttons, a redesigned mute switch, and a small notch towards the base of the unit. On the right side is the Micro SIM slot and another notch in the band at the bottom, and up top there's the power / sleep button, headphone jack, another notch, and new noise-canceling microphone. Along the bottom is a speaker, microphone, and the 30-pin dock connector port. The backside of the phone is made from the same kind of ultra-strong glass as the front, interrupted only by the new five megapixel camera, its LED flash companion and, of course, the Apple logo.

Read more »

iPod Classic 160GB

Other manufacturers appear to have given up on hard disk-based MP3 players, but not Apple. The latest iPod Classic has a huge 160GB capacity, yet it's no thicker than three £1 coins thanks to its single-platter 1.8in hard disk.

You might think the iPod Classic would have a shorter battery life than flash-based players, but it has one of the best battery lives around we've seen. It lasted an astonishing 43 hours and 14 minutes playing music and nearly nine hours when playing video.

Like other iPods, the Classic can play only MPEG4 and H.264 video files. Both looked bright and sharp on the 2?in screen. There are plenty of free and low-cost video-encoding applications with pre-programmed settings tailored for the Classic. You'll want to use them, too, as iTunes can be laboriously slow at re-encoding incompatible videos.

This model is almost identical to the previous 120GB Classic. Disappointingly, it doesn't have an FM radio like the latest Nano.

Previous hard disk-based iPods have suffered from distortion, especially at the high end when boosting bass using the equaliser. Sadly, this Classic suffers from the same problem, albeit to a lesser extent than previous models. The problem is most clearly apparent on heavily compressed AAC files.

For the best possible audio quality you'll need to invest in a quality set of earphones. The included set sound muddy and weak and will need to be replaced with a better-sounding set as soon as possible. Like all other current iPods, with the exception of the screen-less Shuffle, the Classic can recommend tracks in your music library that would go well with the track you're listening to. This feature, called Genius, depends on iTunes on your computer analysing your music library first, but is useful.

The 160GB iPod Classic has excellent battery life and is the only choice if you want to carry a huge music library around with you. It's disappointing that Apple hasn't completely fixed the audio distortion issues, but if you can live with less than perfect audio quality then the iPod Classic is a good player.

Read more »

iPod touch 2011

At Apple's last event, Steve Jobs called the iPod touch the company's "most popular iPod," and it's easy to understand why. In just a few short years, the iPhone-with-no-phone has kept in lockstep with Cupertino's halo device, benefitting from the same kind of constant hardware and software updating that has helped turned the iPhone into an iconic gadget. The touch has been right alongside the iPhone's meteoric rise in popularity, becoming the go-to second-pocket slab for millions. There are good reasons, too. Apple boasts about gaming on the device -- claiming it beats out both Nintendo's and Sony's offerings in sales... combined. While we can't concede that the device is a dedicated game console, it most definitely games. And it's still an iPod, an internet device, and a thousand other things thanks to Apple's vastly populous App Store. Now the player has once again reaped the rewards of iPhone updates, boasting a new Retina Display, the A4 CPU, two cameras which allow for FaceTime calling and 720p video recording, and all the new features of the company's latest mobile operating system, iOS 4.1. But despite all of the plusses, we still have to ask: is the little do-everything box still worth the premium price tag? We took a deep dive on the latest model and have the verdict, so read on to find out.


If you own the last version of the iPod touch, the design of the latest version shouldn't come as a major surprise. Instead of aping the iPhone's new glass-sandwich looks, the touch hews close to its roots with a super thin profile made up of one part glass screen and one part all-metal back. The device still bears the smudge inviting chrome rear panel, and continues the trend of shrinking the thickness as far down as possible. We thought the iPhone 4 was crazy thin, but the new touch looks like a toothpick by comparison. In our large hands, we might even argue that it's a little too small -- but it should be just right for the legion of teens and tweens that will clamor for this come holiday time.

As with earlier version, hard buttons come in the form of a single home key, a power / sleep button (finally moved to match the iPhone's placement at the top-right of the device, as opposed to the opposite side on previous versions), and two volume buttons on the left. Around back there's now a small camera lens in the upper corner of the device, while a single, VGA shooter peers out from behind the glass on the front of the player. A quick note: we had a little trouble consistently finding the sleep button when using the device -- it's a bit buried in the housing.

All told, we think it's break even in the looks department. The thinness is certainly welcome, but not a game changer. While we like the iPod touch design overall, there's nothing present in the new version that makes it significantly more lust-worthy than previous generations.


Inside the new iPod touch is Apple's A4 CPU, the same engine used to power the iPhone 4 and iPad (and that new Apple TV as well). We assume the device is sporting the same 512MB of RAM that the iPhone has, but we won't know for sure until someone like iFixit gets their hands on it. The 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen is called a Retina Display, which means it had equal resolution (960 x 640) and pixel density (326 ppi) as the iPhone 4, but it's not the same IPS panel that you're used to on the touch's big brother. What does that mean in real world terms? Well in our testing we could see noticeable difference in viewing angles, but only at pretty extreme positions. We also felt like the touch's display was slightly darker than the iPhone 4 screen. In general, we don't see this as a major detractor for the device, but there's no question that the iPhone 4 is sporting a qualitatively better display. It may be an "iPhone with no contract" in many regards, but not when it comes to the screen.

Aside from that you've got WiFi (802.11b/g/n to be exact), Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, and Nike + support built in. No GPS here, and obviously no cell radios.

We're a little confused by Apple's reluctance to add a GPS chip to these devices. Since the App Store is litered with navigation software, and this could easily take the place of a TomTom or Garmin device, it seems like a short walk to paradise for the company. The touch checks a lot of boxes on the list, but true navigation is still blank, and we can't really understand why.

Read more »