Apple next-generation MacBook Pro (with Retina display) hands-on at WWDC 2012

Not satisfied looking at the latest and best Mac that Apple has ever made under glass? Neither were we, so we tracked one down, ripped it out of its box and stacked it up against the last-generation MacBook Pro 15-inch. How does it compare? Can it compare? Is the new MagSafe 2 connector going to mean you need all new adapters? And, just how amazing is that Retina display? You'll have to join us after the break to find out.

It's immediately apparent that this thing isn't the 15-inch MacBook Air that we've all been hoping for. But, then again, neither is it a traditional MacBook Pro. This is something that slots in between the two current devices and, we'd say, does so quite cleanly -- though honestly we can't imagine anyone wanting the O.G. Pro with an optical drive after touching this thing.

It's 0.71-inches thick, or roughly 25 percent thinner than the current generation Pros (which, by the way, live on -- except for the 17-incher). That's just .03-inches thicker than the 13-inch MacBook Air, but it feels like quite a bit more. Where the Air is tapered, this has a constant thickness throughout. So, again, it doesn't feel like an Air, but it's a big improvement over the Pro.

On the right side you have an SD card reader, full-size HDMI port and the first USB 3.0 port. (Which, by the way, is not blue -- Apple just made all the ports 3.0 and they're all naturally white.) On the other side is the other USB 3.0 port along with dual Thunderbolt ports, a headphone jack and the new MagSafe 2 connector.

Now, about that connector. Your old power adapters will not work with the new MacBook Pro and your new MacBook Pro adapter will not work with your old Macs. That's a little irritating but, hey, it's progress, folks, get with it -- or buy the $9.99 adapter that will let you use your old plugs with your new Macs.

And that display? It's gorgeous. If you've had the opportunity to compare the new iPad to the old iPad you'll know the kind of leap forward we're talking about here. It's that much better, but it isn't just resolution. Contrast seems greater and viewing angles too. We'll need more time to do a thorough analysis but we can say with confidence this display doesn't disappoint.

Neither does the rest of the machine. We have a lot of benchmarking to go and we can't wait to get to it, so we'll call this to a close and dig in with this, the next-generation MacBook Pro.

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Posted on 21.01 / 0 komentar / Read More

ViewSonic VCD22 22-inch Android Smart Display hands-on (video)

Call it what you will: a 22-inch Android tablet or an ARM-based desktop. Whatever nomenclature you prefer, this much is true: the Viewsonic VCD22 is an odd bird. Though it looks like just another all-in-one desktop, it packs a TI OMAP processor and runs Android 4.0, making it one of the largest mother-loving slates we've ever seen. With a starting price of $479, ViewSonic is hoping budget-minded families will snap it up, or maybe schools looking for a simple system to host interactive lessons for the kiddies. Is this ultimately a better option for classrooms than that new Chromebox we reviewed this week? We'll save that debate for another day but for now, we've got hands-on photos and video of this guy in action. Meet us past the break for a closer look.

Where else would we begin this hands-on but with that 22-inch display? The resolution is 1920 x 1080, which is about what you'd expect on a machine this size, and with a price this low. Though it doesn't have IPS to improve the viewing angles, we actually had no problem following along with an onscreen demonstration while standing a few feet away, and off to the side. That bodes well for schools that are thinking of installing these in classrooms.

Lying underneath that slim frame is an ARM processor -- not exactly what you'd expect to find inside an all-in-one desktop. That chip is part of TI's dual-core OMAP 4000 series, and it's helped by 1GB of RAM. As modest as those specs sound, they're plenty sufficient for powering Ice Cream Sandwich, so far as we can tell. The screen responded very smoothly to our various taps and swipes, and the machine was quick to launch and minimize apps.

From a software standpoint, that is Android 4.0, as we mentioned, though it's still not clear to what extent ViewSonic is going to customize the snot out of it. The demo unit we saw had lots of widgets peppering the home screen, including some tailored toward kids and families. Still, Android fans will appreciate that the core OS itself has remained unchanged; it's just more cluttered than your Nexus handset. A company rep also told us that ViewSonic plans on bundling the machine with educational apps such as audio story books, but that might well vary depending on whether the system is being sold to schools or individual consumers.

Zach Honig contributed to this report.

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Posted on 03.01 / 0 komentar / Read More

New Spotify for Android preview (hands-on)

In case you hadn't heard, Spotify's finally given its Android app the update love it deserves. It's looking for feedback in the form of an app preview, available to download now -- if you're willing to install from "unknown sources". The update is a top-to-bottom refresh, bringing the sort of functions (lockscreen player?) we've been patiently waiting for, all wrapped up in Android's Holo theme. How does it all fare? Step beyond the break to see.

There's some fundamental changes that are instantly recognizable. Tapping play within the app didn't thrust us to the Now Playing window -- we remained exactly where we were within the app. While the Now Playing album art view still exists, we soon got used to the bar at the bottom telegraphing exactly what we were listening to. The whole navigation of the app is similarly cleaner and faster. Menu items have been corralled into a side menu similar to that found on the Android Facebook app, while playlists are now prioritized by offline play capability -- which eliminated another niggle of the old app. Downloading those offline playlists has also been given a boost even in this more precarious preview version. We found huge playlists zoomed onto our HTC One S through WiFi much faster than before, and the "extreme" option for audio quality already found on the iOS version has finally made its way to Android. Album and artist artwork have both been beefed up visually with high resolution pictures now populating the app, while we could now swipe through our own top artists and overall top-ranking albums on the main Spotify screen. Artist pages are eminently more navigable, as we were able to swipe between the overview, related artists and biography screens. It all results in an app that's looking a lot slicker and more modern.

For us, it's the lockscreen player that's already our favorite addition. Previously a huge oversight, there's now no need to potter through a locked-down wallpaper and reload the Spotify app just to skip a track. The controls are simple; there's pause, forward and back track, but with a volume rocker on the hardware, that's largely all that's needed. On the sidelines, search and social functions have both been boosted -- whether we wanted to accidentally display all of our karaoke favorites to frosty indie friends or not. Tracks, albums and artists all pack a share button to connect with plenty of Android apps and social networks, while we could check on our friend's latest discoveries and compilations in an instant. Search results are now stratified by type and include album, artist and stand-alone tracks.

We've been promised even more functionality before it officially arrives on Google Play, including Last.fm scrobbling -- crossing those musical streams like the desktop version -- but this is a great teaser of what we can expect. It solves plenty of the problems we've had with the existing Android version and, for a preview, the app was surprisingly stable. We suffered no crashes, unlike the existing version, which has died on us during syncing on more than one occasion. In fact, we had no problems at all during our testing over the last eight hours -- that is, aside from the lack of a widget. You can try it out at the source link below.

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Posted on 01.18 / 0 komentar / Read More