Sam OliverThe new iPod touch is expected to arrive in August or September, when Apple usually refreshes its iPod lineup, while the MacBook Air would arrive in the second half of 2010, according to a new report from Taiwanese industry publication DigiTimes. Mingchi Kuo, senior analyst, said component makers revealed that the redesigned MacBook Air will have an even slimmer and lighter design than the current hardware.
"The technologies used for the design and concept are expected to be broadly used in the company's other product lines to boost their competitiveness," the report said.
Kuo claimed the notebook, which will reportedly sport an 11.6-inch screen, smaller than the current 13.3-inch display, will also be powered by an Intel Core i-series ultra-low voltage processor. Shipment volumes of the new MacBook Air, said to be manufactured by Quanta Computer, are expected to reach just 400,000 units this year.
The MacBook Air was last updated over a year ago, giving it a new entry price of $1,499 with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor.
Quanta is said to also be the manufacturer of Apple's forthcoming iPod touch update, which will allegedly sport a 3-megapixel camera as well as the same A4 processor found inside the iPhone 4. Previous reports claimed that the new handheld device will also include a forward-facing camera for FaceTime video chat, though DigiTimes only mentioned one camera. iPod touch shipments in 2010 are expected to be between 17 million and 18 million.
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59 Comments
So the 11.6" MacBook Air is going to be one expensive netbook. Wow.
So it appears that Apple made the decision (once again), that form is more important than function. They're using the less capable 3 megapixel camera in the iPod touch simply because it's slightly smaller than the 5 megapixel camera in the iPhone 4. They refuse to simply make the case slightly bigger to accomodate the better camera.
So it appears that Apple made the decision (once again), that form is more important than function. They're using the less capable 3 megapixel camera in the iPod touch simply because it's slightly smaller than the 5 megapixel camera in the iPhone 4. They refuse to simply make the case slightly bigger to accomodate the better camera.
It's more likely they're trying to avoid cannibalizing sales of the iPhone 4.
It's more likely they're trying to avoid cannibalizing sales of the iPhone 4.
It seems like they definitely have to hold stuff back from the touch, there's a huge difference in the price between the iPhone without subsidy and the iPod touch.
I expect the new MacBook Air will achieve a thinner form factor by eliminating the HD options and putting the SSD directly on the motherboard. That would also reduce cost and weight, while increasing performance and reliability.
I hope the display is 1280x800 (about 130dpi). Despite having just bought a 15" MacBook Pro with the HD anti-glare display, I will buy an 11.6" MacBook Air if it has 4GB of ram and an HD display.