All prices are in US dollars unless otherwise noted.
General Apple and Mac desktops is covered in The Mac News Review. iPod, iPhone, and Apple
TV news is covered in The iNews
Review.
News & Opinion
Tech Trends
Software
News & Opinion
HP Dominates Worldwide Notebook Market; Apple Grows
61%
PR: DisplaySearch, the worldwide leader in display market
research and consulting, revealed in its recent release of the
Quarterly Notebook PC Shipment and Forecast Report that the notebook PC
market shrank 6% Q/Q but was up 35% Y/Y in Q1'08 to 31 million units.
HP remained #1 in the notebook PC market for the seventh consecutive
quarter, maintaining a lead of almost 2 million units over #2 Dell.
HP's share of the market was over 20% for the sixth consecutive
quarter. As a result of an increased focus on retail sales and a
substantial focus on growing their business in China, Dell grew to 15%
share, a mark they last held in Q4'06. However, Dell's lead over Acer
is small, and with Acer's acquisitions of Gateway and Packard Bell, we
can expect to see them put renewed effort on growing those brands.
There has also been a significant shift among the smaller brands.
Apple, after four quarters as the #8 notebook brand, surged to #7 in
Q1'08, while Asus grew to #8. Most of the other top ten brands have
maintained their ranking over the past several quarters, with the
exception of Sony. As recently as Q3'07, Sony was #6; however they slid
to #7 in Q4'07 and now to #9 in Q1'08.
Although Sony's notebook shipment volumes have increased by more
than 40% Y/Y in North America, DisplaySearch analysis indicates that
their volumes have declined by 27% in EMEA and more than 40% in APAC
and Japan. By contrast, Acer, Dell, and HP have all grown by 50% or
more in EMEA and APAC.
Q1'08 Notebook PC Shipments by Brand
Rank Brand Q1'07 Q1'08 Y/Y Change Q1'08 Share
1 HP 4.608M 6.460M +40% 20.8%
2 Dell 3.228M 4.683M +45% 15.1%
3 Acer 3.415M 4.527M +33% 14.6%
4 Toshiba 2.399M 2.890M +21% 9.3%
5 Lenovo 1.473M 2.321M +58% 7.5%
6 Fujitsu-Siemens 1.275M 1.612M +26% 5.2%
7 Apple 0.891M 1.433M +61% 4.6%
8 Asus 0.796M 1.330M +67% 4.3%
9 Sony 1.281M 1.321M +3% 4.2%
Others 3.759M 4.529M +21% 14.5%
Total 23.124M 31.108M +35% 100%
Note: Acer's Q1'08 Y/Y growth compares Acer's volume
with Q1'07 volumes from Acer, Gateway, and Packard Bell.
The most popular panel size and resolution continues to be 15.4"
1280 x 800, which accounted for almost 50% of all notebook PCs shipped
in the quarter. In a distant second position was 14.1" 1280 x 800 with
22% share.
There are significant regional differences in notebook panel size.
In Greater China and the Asia Pacific countries, 14.1" notebook PCs
have twice as much share (45% or more). By contrast, 15.4" 1280 x
800-equipped notebooks have approximately 60% share in the EMEA and
Latin America regions. Many brands have recognized this trend and have
regional sales product strategies based on panel size preference.
"Historically, notebook volumes decline Q/Q in the first quarter of
the year, and Q1'08 was no exception. However, not all brands followed
this trend in 2008. Dell, perhaps as a result of an increased focus on
retail and Greater China, as well as Toshiba, avoided this trend. Also
of particular note were Apple's 7% and Samsung's 15% Q/Q growth.
Apple's entry-level notebook starts at more than $1,000, while Samsung,
at present, only sells notebooks in APAC, EMEA and greater China," said
John Jacobs, Director of Notebook Market Research at DisplaySearch.
Looking at 2008, DisplaySearch expects notebook PC shipments to
continue to grow, with total notebook PC shipments exceeding 135M units
for the year.
For more information on the Quarterly Notebook PC Shipment and
Forecast Report, please contact sales@displaysearch.com, or contact
your regional DisplaySearch offices in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and
China.
Link:
HP Maintains Dominance of Notebook PC Market in Q1'08; Dell Recaptures
#2 Spot from Acer; Sony Slips to #9
5400 rpm 160 GB 1.8" Toshiba Hard Drive
PR:
Toshiba, the pioneer in small form factor hard disk drives (HDDs),
continues to deliver innovative storage solutions with the industry's
highest-capacity series of SATA 1.8" HDDs. The new 5400 rpm HDDs come
in single-platter 80 GB and dual-platter 160 GB models, which deliver
market-leading capacity, high-performance, and durability in compact
packages for space-efficient mobile PC systems.
The storage capacities offered by the MK**17GSG series mirror
those of larger form factor HDDs, while reducing the storage footprint
by nearly 40 percent. Combined with the new micro-SATA connector,
Serial-ATA 1.5 Gb/s interface and 5400 rpm spin speed, the MK**176GSG
series offers small and lightweight solutions at increased data
transfer rates for enhanced performance in subnotebook PCs.
Key Features
- 1.8" Footprint with up to 160 Gigabytes* of Capacity
- 5400 rpm Spin Speed
- Host Transfer Rate up to 1.5 Gb/s
- Serial ATA 2.6 / ATA-8 Interface
- Micro-SATA Connector
- 8 MB Cache Buffer For User Data
- 571 Megabit per Second Media Transfer Rate
- Ultra-Lightweight One and Two Platter Design
Editor's note: It will be interesting to see if the single-platter
80 GB unit will fit in the MacBook Air. The twin-platter
drive will almost certainly not, alas. cm
Editor's note: Even if this won't fit inside the MacBook Air, it
could be the heart of a very small bus-powered USB 2.0 drive to
complement the MBA. dk
Link:
80/160 GB Toshiba 1.8" SATA Hard Drive
Poor AirPort Throughput on MacBook Pros Linked to
Real Player 11
MacFixIt
reports:
"For some MacBook Pro users, even though the number of bars in the
airport indicator shows the signal is at full strength, the internet
connection is very slow and choppy. Since other computers on the same
network appear to connect and run just fine, the problem appears to be
with the software configuration of the affected computer...."
Link: Poor
AirPort Throughput on MacBook Pros Linked to Real Player 11
High Pitched Noise Coming from Some MacBook
Pros
MacFixIt
reports:
"Some MacBook Pro users are noticing a high pitched ring-like noise
coming from their computers, and has been described as sounding like a
constant tone or like someone has turned on a TV....
"For some users the computer locks up and hangs for a while when the
noise occurs, and for others it will come and go in a random
manner....
"Unfortunately for now there are no known fixes, and while it's
uncertain whether or not this occurrence is hardware or software
based...."
Link: High
Pitched Noise Coming from Some MacBook Pro Computers
Dim the Penryn MacBook Pro's Sleep Light
Mac OS X Hints
contributor macfan001 says:
"I'm not sure on how many laptops this works on, but on my early 2008 MacBook
Pro, when the computer is asleep with the screen down, the
pulsating sleep light is quite bright...."
Link: Dim
the (Early 2008) MacBook Pro's Sleep Light
Update That Wish List: 3 Pound MacBook Air Very
Portable
Teacher and ZD Net blogger
Christopher Dawson says:
"I took a group of students to Cambridge yesterday for a field trip.
I turned them loose in Harvard Square for a while, we wandered around
MIT, and took in the Museum of Science. The most interesting part of
the trip for me, however, was a stop at the Cambridge Mac Store (it was
on the way from the MIT T station to the Museum of Science
. . . no, really...). The Mac store is a nice place to be no
matter what and all of the students have added Macs and iPhones to
their own graduation wishlist.
"However, this was the first time I'd had a chance to play with the
MacBook Air. Media reports, I'm afraid, don't do it much
justice...."
Link: Update That Wishlist - I Just
Tried a MacBook Air
Tech Trends
Small, Cheap Notebook Sales to Soar as Intel Boosts
Atom Supply
Register Hardware's
Tony Smith reports:
"Computex Asus' President, Jerry Shen, has forecast sales of Small,
Cheap Computers™ will top 10m units this year, presumably having
been encouraged by Intel bigwig Sean Maloney's promise of 'very, very
high volumes' of Atom CPUs by September.
"What a week for this emerging market segment it's been. On Monday,
Shen was reported to have indicated a shortage of Intel's Atom N270 and
230 processor, aimed at small laptops and desktops, respectively."
Link: Small,
Cheap Computer Sales to Soar as Intel Boosts Atom Supply
AMD Set to Take on Intel and Apple Laptops
PC Advisor's
Tom Yager reports:
"At the logic level, MacBook, the benchmark for
success in mainstream notebooks, is unremarkable - indistinguishable
from every PC notebook built on Intel Core 2 and its chipset-integrated
graphics.
"Why, then, can't anyone with the same parts list emulate Apple's
growth in an otherwise stagnant notebook market?
"Because Apple painstakingly hand-optimised its OS for a tiny
variety of hardware architectures, presently Intel Core 2, while
Microsoft wrote Vista to run on absolutely everything. No PC notebook
maker can take the proprietary route that Apple plays to such
advantage....
"That radical objective drove AMD's design for the total notebook
platform nicknamed Puma, and now dubbed, temporarily I hope, AMD's Next
Generation Notebook Platform."
Link: AMD
Set to Take on Intel and Apple Laptops
Software
2-Finger Scrolling for pre-2005 PowerBooks and
iBooks
PR: iScroll2 is a modified trackpad driver that adds
two-finger scrolling capabilities to supported pre-2005 PowerBooks and
iBooks on OS X 10.3 and up.
Supported models include most aluminum PowerBooks introduced from
2003 to 2004 as well as most G4 iBooks.
Note: Models that have two-finger scrolling already built-in are not
supported! These use a completely different, USB-based trackpad, the
driver or which is not available as open source.
iScroll2 is based on Apple's AppleADBMouse-209.0.10 driver for the
ADB-based trackpads found on older models, which is available as part
of the publicly released Darwin source code (and covered by the APSL).
The code added for supporting two-finger scrolling was written from
scratch.
The installer will tell you whether your machine is supported or
not. Alternatively, you can use this little script. Just unpack and
double-click in Finder.
Note: Both the driver and this check may not work if you have
another alternative trackpad driver (such as SideTrack or FingaMIDI)
installed.
Models that are known not to be supported include all G3 and
Titanium PowerBooks, the very first 12" PowerBook model, all G3 iBooks,
and all newer machines that come with two-finger-scrolling built-in:
The trackpads of the older machines simply lack two-finger detection
capabilities completely, whereas the models that have scrolling
built-in use a completely different, USB-based trackpad, the driver for
which is not available as open source.
Note: As should be obvious from the version numbers, iScroll2 is
still in its early stages of development, and thus likely contains
bugs. If you encounter any issues, please don't hesitate to let me
know. Please include a detailed description of the problem you're
encountering, how to reproduce it, the relevant version numbers
(iScroll2, OS X), the PowerBook or iBook model you're using and
anything else that might be related to the issue you're reporting.
With that said, please get the current release from the download
page.
The binary package includes a GUI installer. Just unzip the archive,
double-click on the installer package and follow the onscreen
instructions.
iScroll2 includes a preference pane that allows you to fine-tune the
driver to your specific needs. Settings should be remembered across
reboots and sleep, and on a per user basis (i.e. each user on a machine
can configure iScroll2 individually).
Unlike the "official" two-finger functionality available on later
Apple laptops, all scrolling-related settings for iScroll2 can be found
in the iScroll2 preference pane. iScroll2 will not enable the
additional controls in the Keyboard & Mouse preference pane.
To scroll, just place two fingers on your trackpad instead of one.
Both fingers need to be placed next to each other horizontally (not
vertically, the trackpad cannot detect that). Some people get better
results with their finger spaced a little bit apart, while others
prefer having the fingers right next to each other.
iScroll2 provides two scrolling modes: Linear and circular
scrolling.
For linear scrolling, move the two fingers up/down or left/right in
a straight line, respectively, to scroll in that direction.
Circular scrolling works in a way similar to the iPod's scroll
wheel: Move the two fingers in a circle to scroll up or down, depending
on whether you move in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction.
In addition to scrolling, iScroll2 also supports mapping the
trackpad button and the tap gesture to a specific mouse button. The
trackpad button can also be remapped dynamically depending on whether
two fingers are on the trackpad. This can be configured in the included
preference pane.
Link: iScroll2
Bargain 'Books
Bargain 'Books are used unless otherwise indicated. New and
refurbished units have a one-year Apple warranty and are eligible for
AppleCare.
There are two different versions of WallStreet running at 233 MHz,
the cacheless MainStreet version and the
later Series II with
a level 2 cache. It's not always possible to determine from the
vendor's listing which is being offered, so we've included links within
this paragraph to the two models. The same goes for the PowerBook G4/667 (VGA) and
G4/667 (DVI), the
titanium vs. aluminum 15" PowerBook G4 at 1 GHz, and 1.25 GHz to 1.5
GHz 15" PowerBooks.
PowerBook, iBook, and MacBook profiles linked in our Portable Mac Index.
New this week: much bigger selection of MacBook Pros, fewer
MacBooks. Each model comes with an Apple one-year warranty, and ground
shipping is free.
- refurb 2.1 GHz Penryn MacBook, white, 1 GB/120/Combo, $949
- refurb 2.2 GHz Santa Rosa MacBook, white, 1 GB/120/SD, $999
- refurb 2.4 GHz Penryn MacBook, black, 2 GB/250/SD, $1,299
- refurb 1.6 GHz MacBook Air, 2 GB/80, $1,549
- refurb 1.8 GHz MacBook Air, 2 GB/64 SSD, $2,699
- refurb 15" 2.2 GHz Santa Rosa MacBook Pro, 2 GB/120/SD, $1,449
- refurb 15" 2.4 GHz Santa Rosa MacBook Pro, 2 GB/160/SD, $1,699
- refurb 15" 2.4 GHz Penryn MacBook Pro, 2 GB/200/SD, $1,699
- refurb 15" 2.5 GHz Penryn MacBook Pro, 2 GB/250/SD, $2,149
- refurb 15" 2.6 GHz Santa Rosa MacBook Pro, 2 GB/200/SD, $2,399
- refurb 17" 2.4 GHz Santa Rosa MacBook Pro, 2 GB/160/SD, $2,099
- refurb 17" 2.4 GHz hi-res Santa Rosa MacBook Pro, 2 GB/160/SD,
$2,299
- refurb 17" 2.5 GHz Penryn MacBook Pro, 2 GB/250/SD, $2,399
- refurb 17" hi-res 2.5 GHz Penryn MacBook Pro, 2 GB/250/SD,
$2,499
- refurb 17" 2.6 GHz Penryn MacBook Pro, 2 GB/200/SD, $2,649
- refurb 17" hi-res 2.6 GHz Penryn MacBook Pro, 2 GB/200/SD,
$2,749
- 12" iBook G3/700, 256/20/Combo, $419.99
- 15" PowerBook G4/667 (VGA), 256/30/Combo, $629.99
- 1.6 GHz MacBook Air, 2 GB/80, $1,699.99
- 15" 2.16 GHz Core Duo MacBook Pro, 1 GB/120/SD, $1,399.99
- Pismo PowerBook G3/400, 128/6/DVD, $299.99
- Pismo PowerBook G3/400, 256/40/DVD, $399.99
- Pismo PowerBook G3/400, 256/60/DVD, $419.99
- Pismo PowerBook G3/500, 128/6/DVD, $349.99
- Pismo PowerBook G3/500, 256/40/DVD, $439.99
- Pismo PowerBook G3/500, 256/60/DVD, $449.99
- 12" PowerBook G4/867 MHz, 256/40/Combo, $469.99
- 12" PowerBook G4/1 GHz, 256/40/Combo, $509.99
- 15" titanium PowerBook G4/867 MHz, 256/30/Combo, $549.99
- 15" titanium PowerBook G4/1 GHz, 256/60/Combo, $699.99
- 15" aluminum PowerBook G4/1 GHz, 256/60/Combo, $599.99
- 15" aluminum PowerBook G4/1.25 GHz, 256/60/Combo, $629.99
- 15" aluminum PowerBook G4/1.33 GHz, 256/60/Combo, $679.99
- 15" aluminum PowerBook G4/1.5 GHz, 512/80/Combo, $699.99
- 15" aluminum PowerBook G4/1.67 GHz, 1 GB/80/SD, $739.99
- 15" hi-res PowerBook G4/1.67 GHz, 512/80/SD, $799.99
- 15" PowerBook G4/1.5 GHz, 1 GB/80/Combo, APX, $689
- 15" PowerBook G4/1.67 GHz, 1 GB/80/Combo, APX, $799
- 15" 2.0 GHz Core Duo MacBook Pro, 512/80/SD, APX, $1,129
- open box 1.6 GHz MacBook Air, 2 GB/80, warranty started,
$1,699
- open box 1.6 GHz MacBook Air, 2 GB/80, $1,749
- open box 2.1 GHz Core 2 MacBook, white, 1 GB/120/SD, $1,049
- open box 2.16 GHz Core 2 MacBook, white, 2 GB/120/SD, warranty
started, $1,049
- open box 2.2 GHz Core 2 MacBook, black, 2 GB/160/SD, $1,249
- open box 2.4 GHz Core 2 MacBook, white, 2 GB/160/SD, $1,249
- open box 2.4 GHz Core 2 MacBook, black, 2 GB/250/SD, $1,449
- 15" 2.4 GHz Core 2 MacBook Pro, warranty started, 2/160/SD,
$1,799
- 15" 2.4 GHz Core 2 MacBook Pro, warranty started, 2/200/SD,
$1,949
- open box 17" 2.33 GHz Core 2 MacBook Pro, 2 GB/160/SD, $2,288
- refurb 17" 2.4 GHz Core 2 MacBook Pro, 2 GB/160/SD, warranty
started, $2,049
- open box 17" 2.4 GHz Core 2 MacBook Pro, 2 GB/160/SD, warranty
started, $2,349
- 17" 2.4 GHz Core 2 MacBook Pro, 2 GB/160/SD, $2,449
- open box 17" 2.5 GHz Core 2 MacBook Pro, 2 GB/160/SD, $2,688
- 17" 2.6 GHz Core 2 MacBook Pro, 2 GB/160/SD, $2,688
- Blueberry clamshell iBook G3/300 MHz, 64/3/CD, $149.95
- Tangerine clamshell iBook G3/300 MHz, 64/3/CD, $159.95
- 12" iBook G3/500, 192/10/DVD, $249.95
- 12" iBook G3/600, 128/20/CD, $229.95
- 12" iBook G3/600, 256/30/CD, $289.95
- 12" iBook G4/1 GHz, 768 MB/30/CD, $479.95
- Lombard PowerBook G3/400, 128/10/Zip, $199.95
- Pismo PowerBook G3/400, 192/6/Zip, $269.95
- 15" 2.16 GHz Core 2 MacBook Pro, 1 GB/120/SD, $1,599.95
For deals on current and discontinued 'Books, see our 13" MacBook and MacBook Pro,
MacBook Air, 13" MacBook Pro, 15" MacBook Pro, 17" MacBook Pro, 12" PowerBook G4, 15" PowerBook G4, 17" PowerBook G4, titanium PowerBook G4,
iBook G4, PowerBook G3, and iBook G3 deals.
We also track iPad,
iPhone, iPod touch, iPod classic, iPod nano, and iPod shuffle deals.
