After what has seemed to some like an eternity, Apple today opened the floodgates to the usual laud, and inevitable criticisms, as updates to the MacBook Pro line were announced.

The flavour of the month, currently doing the rounds of the Valley, is that of Intel’s new range of ‘Core’ processors, three of which are named Core i3, i5, and i7; they preach higher efficiency and greater performance especially in notebooks.

There has been an unusually loud call for updates over the last few weeks; it seems to have been less than half a year since the last updates. However as technology progresses at exponential rates, these updates need to be more and more frequent for Apple to keep its head above the competitors.

This editor is a big fan of the 13-inch MacBook Pro. I live with one every day and it stands up to the worst I throw at it. However Apple’s decision to hold Core updates on the thirteen-incher will be hard to swallow; the two editions of Apple’s smallest Pro model receive speedbumps to 2.4GHz and 2.66GHz, respectively. The news isn’t all bad; mobile graphics professionals benefit from the inclusion of the new GeForce 320M from NVIDIA in both models. Ten hour battery life is now standard fare here.

While ten hours may be on offer for 13-inch buyers, the fifteen- and seventeen-inch Pros manage a smaller eight to nine hours of juice. The big boost in performance that is afforded by the standard Core i5 and optional Core i7 processors, as well as a monster graphics card, the GeForce 330M (which is, according to our friends at Engadget, around twice as fast as the 320M in the 13-inch), takes a toll on battery efficiency. No matter; it’s still class-leading.

The benefits afforded by NVIDIA’s new Optimus technology, rebranded as automatic graphics switching by Apple, are present on the 15-inch (commonly thought of as the sweet spot in the range) and 17-inch (behemoth) models. Basically, this tech can change, on-the-fly, the direction of the graphics processor – high performance or efficiency. In older 15- and 17-inch models, you could change this setting but it required you to log out and back in.

In the United States, as expected, prices have been raised on some models. US buyers feel little impact with some variants showing a US$100 bump from the last revision’s base price, while 13-inch models remain inexpensive as ever starting at US$1,199.

BUT, Australian buyers (a large stake in the readership of this very blog) will be extremely pleased to note that prices have indeed fallen in our home market. The 13-inch models now fall at A$1,499 and A$1,899 respectively with the base 15-incher at A$2,199 and the 17-inch at just A$2,899.

What a steal. As ever, these are decent, but not overwhelming, mid-life updates for the Pro range. These updates have kept the MacBook Pro solid and modern as ever, and I have no hesitation in recommending them to home and small business users any day.

Apple’s Boot Camp software, which has been included with Macs since the debut of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, and allows users to run a native copy of Windows alongside their Mac OS install, has finally been updated to officially support Microsoft’s latest-and-greatest operating system, Windows 7.

Of course, the software has unofficially supported version 7 of the Windows system for quite a while, but it always feels better to do things by the book – and we all know Apple’s a stickler for voiding warranties for hacked, or, shall we say, tweaked setups.

Although it’s taken Apple more than quite a while to release support for 7, it’s no surprise – Apple has been more than content to let users suffer through the pain of the previous iteration of Windows, ‘Vista’, which was mocked by the Cupertino Mac-maker through its three years of existence.

Time moves on, though, so Boot Camp as of today has been updated to version 3.1, and can be found through Software Update on a Mac.

Users of the latest 27-inch iMac, though, will benefit from downloading an extra utility from Apple directly. The 27-inch desktop variant, which has been plagued by display problems since its launch a few months ago, is suffering from Windows 7 install problems caused by the ATi video drivers. You can find that extra software here.

LG’s new offering to this competitive prosumer category, the Xnote X300 notebook, is aiming to catch a free ride on the dying embers of the memory of that advertisement – or perhaps, to wake people up to the fact this type of laptop does still exist.

Anyway, as you’ll see below, LG’s ad is not dissimilar to Apple’s original creation – right down to a ‘la la’ jingle. You’ll see, though, that the critical YouTube community isn’t amused, rating the LG version a paltry one star. Further down, we’ve included that first-time ad for the MacBook Air just for kicks – and of course, comparison.

[video credits to LG and Apple]

While Toshiba is a respected member of the corporate laptop industry with their inexpensive, no-nonsense business models, Toshiba’s corporate notebook division has been on a mission for a very, very long time, to figure out the right formula on how to design a laptop. A laptop that people would actually want, that is.

Today at CES Toshiba have unveiled their new Satellite T135D, a 13.3-inch, glossy white middle-of-the-road laptop that usually, you wouldn’t take a second look at. However, it looks like Toshiba’s quest for weight loss has finally paid off with this model. Finally, we have a thin Toshiba laptop. Hurrah! This model weighs in at 1.75 kg (3.88 lb).

Apart from this new-found form for the company, the T135D actually includes some decent specs as well. Toshiba are bundling an LED-backlit 13.3-inch glossy display, a 320 GB hard drive, 4 GB of RAM, and ATI Radeon 3200 graphics (on selected models, of course).

Connectivity comes in the form of Wireless-N WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, and Megabit Ethernet (no Gigabit, Toshiba?). It’s looking like Toshiba are finally ditching the 56k modem port to free up some side space. Good move. It’s also looking like HDMI may be the only video-out option here – we’ll clarify when more details emerge.

Other creature comforts include a webcam with facial recognition, hard drive impact sensors, a multi-touch trackpad, a memory card reader, and a 6-cell battery that affords up to 6 hours of use away from the mains. The USB ports also work as Sleep-and-Charge outlets so your gadgets will stay powered even when in sleep or turned off.

The Toshiba Satellite T135D will be on sale starting January 17, starting at US$599 Stateside. No word for Australians as yet.

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At the introduction of the Google Nexus One on January 6, it was mentioned that the Nexus will be headed not only to T-Mobile USA, but also to Vodafone in Europe in the coming months. This is great for European customers, a continent where Vodafone’s service stretches far, and wide.

However, Vodafone does not operate solely in Europe. It also has bases in Asia, and a significant market in Australia. The 3G network bands in Asia and Australia match those in Europe, too – making network compatibility a non-issue.

While Google did announce the US, Britain, and Hong Kong as the test markets for this device, launch dates for anywhere outside the US were not announced, and any future plans – in terms of getting the Nexus One further into the world – were not detailed.

What is very encouraging is that the deal made between Vodafone and Google includes the international Vodafone partnership – which clearly includes our Australian market. And while Vodafone bosses are only saying that the Nexus One will be launching for Vodafone Europe this year, Australians should expect to see the Nexus One appearing on our shores in Q3 or Q4 2010, subsidised with Vodafone Australia.

[Photos courtesy of Gizmodo]

Some would say that Sony represents the archetypal Japanese technology company: big, powerful, rich, and largely uncaring about the environment. Sony are looking to change this image today, though, with the introduction of a new model of their recent W-Series netbook line, in the form of the Sony Vaio W Eco Edition 212AX.

The Eco Edition moves away from the older, standard W-Series netbook with the introduction of environmentally-friendly packaging made from recycled plastic bottles – which is apparently reusable (for what, we ask?) – plus a chassis that is made of 23% recycled plastic. Don’t worry about flimsiness, though – Sony’s sure the Eco Edition retains their trademark build quality.

Just to remind users that they are in fact using an environmentally-friendly computer, the Eco Edition 212AX is offered in a friendly white and light lime green colour combination. While this should appeal to younger or eco-conscious users, it may be a turnoff for otherwise professional or power users.

Apart from the feel-good eco features, though, the Vaio W Eco Edition 212AX offers some really useful tech, as well. There’s a nice 10.1-inch LED backlit display, which cuts down on power use but also improves lighting, and a generous 250 GB hard drive – no standard SSDs here unlike its big brother, the Vaio Z.

The Vaio W 212AX will include Windows 7 Starter Edition, and it will weigh in at around 1.17 kg (2.6 lb) with the standard battery. While it’s available for pre-sale at Sony Style stores in the USA, you’ll also find it online retailing for US$480.

In a rash of notebook announcements today at the International CES, Sony have started the party by issuing a revitalised model of their business staple, the Vaio Z series. It’s a thin-and-light 13-incher that offers a choice of speed or stamina (literally – through a switch).

The Z-Series is updated from the similar 2009 model, but shares similar integral specifications. The Z remains equipped with a 13.1-inch 16:9 LED backlit display, an optional Blu-Ray drive, and user-switchable power consumption modes for choosing between performance or battery stamina.

Sony’s typically impressive design remains with the Z – it might not be as thin as some competitors, but the smart chicklet keyboard, solid construction, and the Z-hallmark power button in the hinge set it apart. There’s even a choice of colour between silver or dark grey.

Where the Vaio Z differentiates between its competitors for this year is mainly with the inclusion of a standard solid state storage drive, succeeding once-and-for-all in this model line, previous hard-drive based storage. The solid state drives available on the Z provide capacity up to an optional 512 GB drive.

In terms of connectivity, Sony is offering built-in Wireless-N spec wireless networking, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, and the inclusion of 3G Mobile Broadband which will be provided by Verizon Wireless in the US.

Release dates for the Australian market aren’t confirmed as yet, but the updated Vaio Z line will launch in Q2 2010, retailing for “about US$1,900″ in the USA. Australians should expect to pay at least A$2,499 when this baby hits stores later this year.

Palm, the American smartphone manufacturer, who turned around its fortunes last year with the introduction of the highly popular Pre smartphone for the Sprint wireless service in the USA, have expanded their carrier portfolio today at CES.

Today Palm has announced that they have new deals with two extra carriers: Verizon Wireless in the USA, and Vodafone-owned SFR, a French carrier.

Verizon will score big-time from the new deal with Palm; they have scored an updated version of the popular Pre slider-smartphone, dubbed the Pre Plus. While the Pre Plus looks nearly identical to last year’s Pre, power-users will enjoy the doubling of internal memory to 16 GB, a standard back cover that works with Palm’s wireless Touchstone charging platform, and of course service from Verizon – a carrier that offers very good coverage across the contiguous United States.

The other noticeable change for the Pre Plus is the deletion of the spherical navigation button below the display that featured on the original Pre. The front of the rounded display is now free of clutter, save for the sharp, 3.1-inch 320×480 display and the in-call speaker.

Engadget reports that the Pre Plus has an improved slider mechanism, a ‘snappier and clickier’ keyboard, and fairly impressive 3D graphics performance.

The other news, product-wise, is the announcement of an update to the (already very new) Palm Pixi. Also dubbed ‘Plus’, the Pixi Plus retains the same shape and feature-set as the Pixi that debuted for the Sprint service, but the Plus offers WiFi connectivity – a nice bonus for users with home or office wireless internet.

There’s no word yet on what SFR, the French wireless operator, that also signed a deal with Palm recently, will receive after today’s announcements.

Both the Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus will be offered on the Verizon service starting January 25. There’s no word on price, yet, but it should arrive in the next couple of days.

Palm Pre Plus press shots

Palm Pixi Plus press shots

Clearly, this ad is targeted at a number of people: regular phone users, tech-minded consumers, and developers – with a quiet, but perhaps a little cheap shot at Apple with the “developer freedom” slide.

There have been a few phones in the last decade that have offered truly distinctive form factors. Think the Nokia E70, or the LG EnV series, which were massively popular with the texting-teen generation, in the days PCIB (Pre Cheap iPhone & BlackBerry).

Devices to feature Google’s Android smartphone operating system have thus far been fairly regular in terms of form. Of course, at the time, the T-Mobile G1 (the original Android phone) had a cool form factor (a horizontal sliding QWERTY keyboard). But since that time, we’ve seen only a mix of candybar, slate, and slider style Android phones.

Today, Motorola is changing all that with the introduction of their third Android-based smartphone, the Motorola Backflip. It took me a while to understand the form factor, but the story goes like this. The Backflip folds – and when closed, it has the keyboard on the front and touchscreen on the back. To open, you slide the screen up and ‘backflip’ it around to face you.

Motorola assures us that the keyboard is durable enough to take a few knocks, but according to sources on the scene, the keyboard has worse travel than the flat-keyed, and more famous, Motorola Droid (the first ‘super’ Android phone which debuted in November)

The Backflip must have missed the Android 2.0 / 2.1 boat, as it currently includes Android 1.5 with the Motoblur skin. Don’t worry – Motorola’s Sanjay Jha says Android 2.1 is coming to each Motorola Android phone. The Motorola Backflip also features a 5-megapixel camera, WiFi, and a black and silver colour scheme.

Most likely, the Backflip will launch first on Canada’s Bell Mobility network, in the not-so-distant future. If an educated guess suffices on pricing (details aren’t available just yet), Bell should subsidise the Backflip for around CAD$99.

Samsung’s line of touchscreen phones is populated heavily with phones in many shades, feature-sets, and even operating systems. However, the Samsung Anycall W9600, which was announced today, adds a layer of tangible usefulness to the usually average Anycall line.

The projection given by the Anycall W9600.

The W9600 includes a mini, Pico Projector for sharing media with friends or colleagues. Still doesn’t entirely make sense, but projection is a better idea than a group crowding around the small screen. The projector can display videos, pictures, and even the regular old user interface.

Details are scant at this point in time, but the Anycall W9600 also includes a 5-megapixel camera, Samsung’s trademark, bright AMOLED display. Pricing and dates are not available at the moment, and we’ve read that the test model of the W9600 at CES didn’t feel like a finished product.

We’d expect this project to launch not before Q3 2009 and to retail for at least US$499. If more details arrive during CES, you’ll read about it here.

[Hands-on photo credit to Engadget]

It’s all very well to have your iPhone sitting in Apple’s pretty-but-basic iPhone 3G dock. At least Apple’s own Universal Dock offers IR-remote capability. Buffalo, a computer accessory maker, has destroyed this farce of sophistication with their latest iPhone dock, the nicely-named Dualie.

The Buffalo Dualie dock not only lets your iPhone sit in a rather dapper black-and-silver holder, but the Dualie also includes a 500 GB external hard drive in the rear – and connects both through just one USB cable. In this generous mindset, the Dualie will even accept iPod touch models. Now that’s a useful dock.

Of course, such convenience will add up. The Dualie will retail for US$250 when it launches in the US very soon.

[Hands-on photo by Engadget]

TomTom are known for making solid personal navigation devices that offer value and decent connectivity. Of course as the PND market has become more accessible over the last few years, TomTom devices have developed with this. However, that company is taking things to a new level for 2010 with the announcement of the new TomTom Ease.

The Ease, which will be marketed as a very entry-level plug-on sat nav, will include a 3.5-inch display running at a paltry-but-acceptable 320×240 display, 2GB of internal memory for preloaded maps – which will be provided by TeleAtlas in the USA – text-to-speech, Map Share, and an integrated rechargeable battery. Connectivity will flow through TomTom’s proprietary Fold+Go port mount.

As you’ll see from the included photo below, though, TomTom have fallen into the unfortunate trap so many PND makers find themselves in. We still don’t understand why anyone would use an ABCDE-layout keyboard on any typing-orientated device in the year 2010. It’s counter-intuitive as we are surrounded by QWERTY-type ‘boards.

Available colours at launch will be a simple choice of black or white. The TomTom Ease will weigh in at just 170 grams which should make this device equally attractive to both drivers, riders, and walkers.

Price and introduction dates, you ask? We can answer one. TomTom hope to ship the Ease within Q2 2010. In terms of pricing, all our friends at TomTom are saying now is “[the Ease will be] priced very competitively”.

[Hands-on photos by Engadget]

When designing a fairly large, touch-based, slate-type device, is it really a winning formula to rely solely on a glossy black screen and brushed-aluminium trim? Or is this so Apple, and so 2007?

HP doesn’t think so, and in another day of exciting announcements from the Palo Alto, CA based company, HP has announced a new product, the Slate tablet PC. And guess what – it’s a no-keyboard slate style tablet. And it’s running Windows 7, which is renowned for it’s new tablet- and touch-friendly features. Apart from our previously said opinion on the design, this is about all we know of this new HP Slate device.

Our educated guess would be that the Slate will be running an optimised mobile processor – be that the new Atom N450 Pine Trail from Intel, the NVIDIA Ion type, or a new technology from ATI. Expect around 1 GB of RAM and a solid-state storage drive to be included. Pricing should start under US$1,000.

What we do know is that the Slate is Microsoft’s flagship mobile device for the 2010 CES. Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, demoed the Slate at the Microsoft Keynote – Steve showed off the Amazon.com Kindle app for PC on the device, and a game of Frogger. Hardly showering us in detail, but this short display does tell us two ways HP wants us to use this device – e-reading, and mobile gaming.

Check out some photos from our friends at Engadget of Steve Ballmer showing the HP Slate off on stage. And stay tuned here at TB Tech for the forthcoming details of this exciting new product, when the eventually materialise.

[Photo credit: HP Press / Engadget]

The folk who organise the annual International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) had a bright spark this year by re-inviting Microsoft’s eccentric CEO, Steve Ballmer, to give the keynote speech at the event. And while the man himself is undeniably creepy, he certainly captures the attention of viewing press and generates some controversy.

It’s a pity that the said controversy is usually of a negative kind. This year’s CES keynote by Ballmer was marred in a number of way. First, the numerous PCs on stage (including some connected to huge projectors) were knocked into Windows recovery mode when the power went out – an eerily similar feeling to the launch of Microsoft’s Windows 98 over a decade ago. Then-CEO of Microsoft Bill Gates was humbled there, too.

The second rather catastrophic event to occur to poor Steve Ballmer this year was an unfortunate leak of Microsoft’s PR package before the keynote. So, we’ve found out that, yes, an HP tablet will be launched. And no, it’s not the rumoured Microsoft Courier tablet PC that everyone hoped for. Disappointment all round. In other news, the HTC HD2 will be carrier-subsidised, heading to T-Mobile USA, and Microsoft’s Project Natal venture will be launching in time for the 2010 holiday season.

Further details of the Slate follow later on today.

If there’s one BlackBerry device we love, it’s the candy-bar style BlackBerry Pearl. We’ve done two reviews on this device, and I’ve owned one myself. For some time, there were no updates on the Pearl front, but recently, there has been a flurry of rumour – confounded by photos, and videos – of a new Pearl 9100 model, which brings the Pearl into line with the updated Bold and Curve lines.

This video, posted by our friends at CrackBerry only moments ago, shows the new, unreleased Pearl 9100 in action, on video – compared to a full-size Bold 9700, a model which we at TB Tech are currently reviewing.

Typically, BlackBerry Pearl devices use a keyboard known as SureType, which incorporates two letters onto one key, forming a narrower version of a standard QWERTY keyboard. Pearls were the first BlackBerries to incorporate a camera and other consumer features like a full-featured media player.

The original BlackBerry Pearl 8100

On this new version, though, the old name of Pearl doesn’t really suit anymore. When the original Pearl debuted, the navigational interface was a glowing white ‘pearl’ that the user rolled to select items on-screen. Now, though, in line with the changing BlackBerry interface, the unreleased Pearl will most likely feature an optical trackpad.

This would be a ripe time for Research in Motion to launch a new consumer-orientated handset. Of course, the Consumer Electronics Show is ongoing in Las Vegas, NV. We look forward to any announcement from RIM.

[Photo credit CrackBerry.com / SlashGear]

Kodak is something of an enigma in the overpopulated world of consumer cameras. One would expect Kodak to produce fairly fantastic cameras; after all, they are perhaps the most recognised name in film photography. But, after all, this is the digital age. We occasionally see updates to Kodak’s camera line but thus far, models have been pretty underwhelming.

CES this year marks the first occasion to launch new cameras; the larger, second event is the PMA camera trade show in March. Anyway, Kodak have chosen this occasion to launch their new Slice digicam, along with a ton of new EasyShare consumer models. However, the Slice is far more interesting, and represents the Kodak’s first foray into touchscreen cameras.

The Slice includes a 3.5-inch touchscreen with a handy photo-search function on the rear, and some decent-sounding internal specifications too. As always with Kodak, a Schneider-Kreuznach lens features. There’s a fair bit of internal memory – but it’s an indeterminate number at present – but apparently up to 5,000 photos can be stored sans memory card. We’re also seeing a 14-megapixel sensor, 5x optical zoom, built in optical stabilisation and 720p high-def video capture with sound, at 30 frames per second.

Three colours will be available at the April launch – black, nickel, and ‘radish’. When available later this year, the Slice will retail Stateside for US$349.95. We await with glee.

HP’s subsidiary Compaq tends to take the models designed and produced by its older, better, bigger brother, slightly lessen the quality, use slightly inferior materials, and slash the price tag on products that are by-and-large simply HP models on a tight budget.

While their nomenclature is scarily alike, the Compaq 201 and its more expensive cousin the HP Mini 210 are not that similar in terms of design or specification. The Compaq 201 is a remodel of the previous HP Mini, the Mini 110 – a model we looked fondly upon.

Unfortunately, the Compaq doesn’t splash out on the updated Intel Atom netbook processors coined Pine Trail, unlike the new HP Mini line. Instead, users will have to make do with the 2009 Atom processors – and in this one, it’s a 1.66GHz Atom N270.

Slightly more appealing is the inclusion of a whole gigabyte of RAM standard – great at this price point – and Windows 7, at least, although it is Windows 7 Starter Edition, which is fairly crippled in terms of power usage and multitasking. But at a retail price of only US$229, we’re certainly not complaining.

[Photo credit: HP Press via Engadget]

When Lenovo, a Chinese computing corporation, acquired IBM’s PC Company division in 2005, they also acquired the right to sell IBM’s ThinkPad-branded notebooks for five years – until 2010. It’s likely that those rights will be extended, of course; but until now, Lenovo have kept the design of the former IBM’s ThinkPad notebooks relatively similar to the pre-2005 years.

This strategy has been a hit with the corporate market, who make up the overwhelming majority of ThinkPad owners. At the end of the day, what businesses need, right from a small company to the enterprise level, is durability, stability, performance and longevity in an investment like a notebook computer.

Lenovo are introducing a new variant to the ThinkPad line – the so-called ThinkPad Edge. This model will be available in 13-, 14-, and 15-inch sizes. It will be aimed at small-to-medium business customers, and makes a true break from previous ThinkPad models in a number of ways – the least of which is the option of a bright red colour choice.

The ThinkPad Edge eschews the all-matte design of previous ThinkPads by only offering a glossy lid cover. As a business-technology enthusiast and consultant, I would have to say this is a negative effect. Corporate users rarely get time to sit around polishing their much-needed tech – so, fingerprints and scratches will certainly build.

The Edge also breaks from an established Lenovo ThinkPad tradition of offering only Intel processors in the notebooks; AMD processors will be offered as custom options. The Edge also introduces a new island- / chiclet-style keyboard to the ThinkPad line. This is massive – the previous traditional-style ThinkPad keyboard is recognised as the best in the business. However, early reports from Engadget and Notebooks.com assert that the feeling, travel and feedback is the same or better.

Once again, though, this new style of keyboard will be another factor that larger businesses will have to think about when their current ThinkPad lineups become due for update in the next 1-3 years.

Also standard is the ThinkPad dual input configuration featuring the traditional pointer-stick (TrackPoint) and a multi-touch trackpad.

The 13-inch Edge is available now from Lenovo. The base configuration is retailing in the USA for US$549. The upcoming 14-inch model is slated to be available at Best Buy retail stores. Expect that model to begin around US$749.