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Decide: Mac Book Pro 13inch vs Mac Book Air 2009

by Geekboy on 13 August, 2009

My friend is looking at getting a Mac, but is having trouble deciding between the Mac Book Pro 13 inch or the Mac Book Air…

Here’s a comparison chart I came up to help with her decision making.

Which MacBook are you? (Specs table courtesy of apple.com.sg)

http://a248.e.akamai.net/7/248/2041/4202/store.apple.com/Catalog/regional/apac/family/mac/compare-macbookpro-13.jpg

13″ MacBook Pro

http://a248.e.akamai.net/7/248/2041/4202/store.apple.com/Catalog/regional/apac/family/mac/compare-macbookair.jpg

MacBook Air

Price

2.26GHz, 160GB S$
1,988.00

2.53GHz,
250GB S$ 2,488.00

1.86GHz, 120GB SATA S$
2,488.00

2.13GHz, 128GB SSD S$
2,988.00

Display

13.3-inch
(viewable) LED-backlit glossy widescreen

1280
x 800 pixels

13.3-inch
(viewable) LED-backlit glossy widescreen

1280
x 800 pixels

Processor

Intel
Core 2 Duo

1066MHz
frontside bus

3MB
shared L2 cache

Intel Core 2 Duo

1066MHz frontside bus

6MB shared L2 cache

Graphics

NVIDIA
GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main
memory

NVIDIA
GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main
memory

Memory

2GB
(two 1GB) or 4GB (two 2GB) of 1066MHz DDR3
SDRAM

Option:
Up to 8GB

2GB
of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM (onboard)

Battery2

Built-in
lithium-polymer battery

Up to 7 hours
of wireless productivity

Built-in
lithium-polymer battery

Up to 5 hours of wireless
productivity

Hard drive1

160GB
or 250GB Serial ATA, 5400 rpm

Options:
Up to 500GB hard drive or 128GB or 256GB solid-state drive

120GB
Serial ATA, 4200 rpm; or 128GB solid-state drive

Optical drive

8x
double-layer SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

Option:
External MacBook Air USB SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

Expansion

Two USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800 port, one SD card slot

One
USB 2.0 port

Video

Built-in
iSight camera

Mini
DisplayPort output with support for DVI, Dual-Link DVI, and VGA video
(requires adapters, sold separately)

Audio

Combined
optical digital/headphone out (with selectable analog line in), microphone,
speakers

Headphone
out, microphone, speaker

Wireless

Built-in AirPort Extreme
(802.11n)3

Built-in
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)

Ethernet

10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit)

Apple
USB Ethernet Adapter [need to buy to collect to hotels/places with no
wifi]

Input

Full-size,
illuminated keyboard with ambient light sensor

Glass
Multi-Touch trackpad

Full-size,
illuminated keyboard with ambient light sensor

Multi-Touch
trackpad

Enclosure

Precision
aluminum unibody

Size(H x W x D)

0.95
x 12.78 x 8.94 inches

2.41
x 32.5 x 22.7 cm

0.16 to 0.76 x 12.8 x 8.94 inches

0.4 to 1.94 x 32.5 x 22.7 cm

Weight4

4.5
pounds

2.04
kg

3.0 pounds

1.36 kg

Mac Book Pro 13inch
Everything you need is built-in, and up to 7 hours of wifi usage. If you get this, go for a total of 4gb RAM(long term investment for a faster system) and at least 250gb HD or 500gb (store more pictures/music/videos) .

Good when you don’t mind the 2kg (not light, plus case or bag?), or have a car or porter to help you carry stuff around.

Mac Book Air
Sleek, sexy, thin.. lighter and you carry the minimum (no DVD, only 1 USB, 128gb HD, need adapter for no wifi internet connections.)

Slightly slower processor and only 2gb RAM but good enough for web surfing – youtube/facebook/emails and photo and simple video editing, for up to 5 hours only.

Sexy enough that you want to carry yourself.

If you get this, you will definitely need the Ethernet Adapter, and optionally ->

  1. external DVD drive,  + S$150
  2. 250gb or more external 2.5inch Harddisk  + S$150
  3. 4 port USB hub (to connect more USB devices). + S$30

Do note, since the Air has only 1 USB port, if you’re in a hotel or place that has no wifi, and you are wired up thru the Ethernet cable, you have no way to connect to other USB devices (e.g. digital camera/ipod).

BOTTOM Line

For price and performance, the mac book pro definitely seems a better deal. Of course at the expense of the additional weight and thickness.

Decide how you will use the device and see which on fits your usage better.

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No Asus Eee PC T91 in Singapore

by Geekboy on 29 July, 2009

NO-asus-eee-pc-t91According to Asia CNET.com, Asus has decided to limit the release of the Eee PC T91 only in Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and Australia for now.

However, they are open to getting business / bulk orders directly if you’re in Singapore or else where.

Here’s the link to the article.

I guess, this may be a wiser decision, since the multi-touch, GPS and digital tuner versions are still being tweaked.

There are other alternatives for those looking for a touch screen netbook.

Like the Gigabyte Touchnote T1028M and Gigabyte Cafe Book M912X.

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Fast web browsing for the Nokia n810/n800 : Tear!

July 10, 2009

The bulit-in web browser on the n810 is good.. its fast, it allows you to visit most websites, even the flash ones.
But it’s terrible at some sites.. e.g. Facebook and other javascript heavy sites.
Mozilla’s port of FireFox over to a mobile platform is still in its beta stage – Fennec.. and though the interface looks [...]

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Quick review of iNo Mobile CP09

June 13, 2009

Here’s a very quick post on the hottest gadget to get this PC Show 2009. The iNo Mobile CP09. It’s a good buy at only SGD $78. Available in white and black only.
I’ll post a more detailed look later.
But first, here’s mylivingtech.com’s first video review of the mobile phone.

General Specification
Key Experiences

Operating Frequency: GSM900/1800MHz
Dimensions (mm): 102*48.5*14.5mm
Talk [...]

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