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With all the hype surrounding the iMac and Mac mini updates, a quick look on the ‘New to the Store’ section on Apple’s website shows another interesting little addition. They’ve released a wired version of the cut down wireless Keyboard with two USB Ports. Seems a little odd to me, where is the wireless version of the full keyboard…?

Also, the MacBook Pro has seen a minor speed bump, the mid-range model going from a 2.53GHz to a 2.66GHz, with a BTO option of a 2.93GHz for an extra £206. Apple don’t deem this an update worthy of a ‘New’ badge in the corner of the product picture though.

Well it’s been and gone, Apple’s last ever Macworld Keynote, and boy was it not worth waiting for. For those people hoping Apple would go out with a bang, sadly they didn’t. Anyone hoping for a new product or even an updated Mac mini, look away now. We were treated to ’09 updates to the iApps, a new service called iWork.com and finally the predicted Unibody MacBook Pro 17″. Here’s a brief rundown of what you missed.

• iPhoto ’09 – Geotagging now shows a map of the location GPS tagged photos were taken, smart facial recognition lets you tag a persons face and iPhoto automatically groups photo’s of the same person together, pretty cool. iPhoto now also links with Facebook and Flickr.
• iMovie ’09 – Updated Themes, video stabilization, advanced audio editing, GarageBand style action pop up video editing for enhanced precision.
• iWork ‘ 09 – Updates to Keynote, Pages and Numbers. Keynote can now be controlled using an iPhone or iPod Touch. App is available on the Store now for $0.99. Not much else exciting, more themes, more transitions, more formulas, you know the score.
• iWork.com – Online site were people can share Documents, edit and add comments, download files in Microsoft Office, PDF or iWork format.
• Mac Box Set – For Mac users still using OS X Tiger, Apple have a great offer which includes Leopard, iLife ’09 and iWork ’09 all for $169.
• MacBook Pro 17″ – Unibody enclosure, 2.66GHz (option for 2.93GHz), 320GB Hard Drive, 4GB DDR3 (expandable to 8GB), Nvidia chipset, Dual GPU’s (9400m integrated, 9600MT dedicated), Glass Trackpad, new non-removable Battery uses clever on chip technology to constantly monitor cell usage. Promises 8 hours of battery life and up to 1000 charging cycles.
• iTunes DRM Free – Well nearly, 10 million songs on iTunes, of them 8 million are now DRM free, new pricing structure $0.69, $0.99 and $1.29. Entire catalogue to be DRM free by end of quarter.
• iTunes WiFi Store – You no longer need a WiFi connection to access and download songs, a 3G connection is adequate, with a full library still available.

So no sign of the much anticipated Mac mini? Is Apple saving it for it’s own event? Probably. Not even a preview of Snow Leopard, it really was a massive letdown. Here is a rundown of some of the rumors that didn’t make it to Macworld (a lot).

• Mac mini
• iPhone nano
• Apple Cinema Displays
• iPhone tethering
• Apple Netbook
• Mac Pro updates
• iMac updates
• Mac Tablet
• Mac Home Media Server
• Snow Leopard

Mac benchmarking website barefeats.com have posted test results of a new MacBook Pro successfully running stable with 6GB of RAM installed. This is achieved using a 2GB stick and 4GB stick. What is interesting is the MacBook Pro also picks up 8GB of RAM successfully when 2 x 4GB sticks are installed. Problems only arise when the software actually tries to access this RAM, the same problem does not seem to happen with the 6GB configuration. Could this just be a software issue? Maybe a firmware update could address it? Time will tell.

The new MacBook Pro was also announced at the Special Event. The 15″ model has had a total makeover to fit in with the latest iMacs and MacBooks. Interestingly there is no sign of an updated 17″ model, although I’m sure it will come eventually. The Pro laptop inherits similar properties to that of it’s sibling, the MacBook. One clever addition Apple have made howeever is in the Graphics department. The new MacBook Pro has both an NVIDIA 9400m AND a more powerful NVIDIA 9600m GT graphics chipset. Apple state you can switch between the two for battery saving, very nice.

MacBook Pro is brought up to date

Chinese Website Macx.cn has posted more detailed pictures of the new MacBook and MacBook Pro case redesigns. As I have predicted in my earlier post it looks like the MacBook Pro will feature a much bigger trackpad, black keyboard and a magnetic latch.

MacBook Pro 15

MacBook 13

If it’s true and Apple do introduce an all new Aluminum MacBook, it will consolidate their notebooks into one product range of all Aluminum models. These will only be split by product specs, but then what happens with their backlit keyboards? Does that mean the new MacBooks will now sport the highly desirable Apple feature? With the introduction of the MacBook Air, Apple brought the feature to a model other than their Pro line for the very first time. If the MacBook uses the same type of keyboard as the Air, will they bring the backlit keyboard over? I certainly hope so. I can see the MacBook also inheriting the Multi-Touch Trackpad introduced by the Air.

Backlit Keyboard coming to all MacBooks?

So what about the rumors of a cheaper, more affordable Apple notebook? That would certainly go down well in the current economic crisis. Will they lower the price of the existing MacBook design and sell it for $400? Or have they got an ASUS eeePc killer that nobody has seen yet? I’d love to see the latter myself, but there has been no evidence of it’s existence.

Do Apple have an eeePC killer?

Onto the MacBook Air and I think the main upgrade will be the 120GB slim hard drive that Apple are using in the new iPod Classic. We may also see a processor boost, with the 1.8GHz model becoming the base revision, minus the 64GB SSD. Will we see the rumored NVIDIA mGPU also appearing on the Air? Or will they stick to the Intel GMA due to heat restrictions? Only time will tell.

MacBook Air internals to receive a boost?

Then the MacBook Pro, there’s nothing drastic they can really do to the Pro, other than using the new Air styling and a speed bump. It already has the Air’s gesture based trackpad, and the spec isn’t too shabby. Maybe Apple have something up their sleeves though? Could we see the touch dock? I highly doubt it. One thing they need to add though is a magnetic latch.

MacBook Pro needs a makeover

Finally, is there a chance Apple will release a totally new product? What about the long rumored ‘Tablet’ Mac? Does it exist, and will we see it? There have been no signs of it’s existence, no manufacturing hints, no mockups, nothing. I think something this big would be the type of product introduced at MacWorld in January.

So to summarise my predictions..

• MacBook – All new Alumuminum case design, NVIDIA mGPU, Multi-Touch Trackpad, Backlit Keyboard.
• MacBook Air – 120GB slimline Hard drive (up from 80GB), mild Processor boost, NVIDIA mGPU (maybe clocked down compared to MacBook). Cheaper SSD model.
• MacBook Pro – Styling brought into line with range, black keyboard etc. Speed bump including better NVIDIA dedicated GPU’s. Much bigger Multi-Touch Trackpad and finally a Magnetic lid latch.

Well, they’ve left it till the last possible minute, but Apple today sent out invites to the media for an event only described as “the spotlight turns to notebooks”. Three guesses to what they’ll be showing then. If you’ve been following recent rumors they all heavily suggest the imminent release of an NVIDIA powered Aluminum MacBook. Hopefully both rumors will come true and we can say goodbye to the Intel GMA’s!

I smell an Aluminum MacBook

The event will take place in San Francisco at 10AM PST, that’s 6PM for us here in the United Kingdom. I expect a full Keynote stream will be posted a few hours after the event here. As ever I will keep you up to date with the latest developments right here on my blog.