Austin360 blogs > Digital Savant > Archives > 2009 > October > 21 > Entry
Apple fires across the bow before Windows 7 launch
Yesterday, Apple followed up its strongest quarterly earnings ever with a salvo of product tweaks aimed at continuing the company’s momentum going as Microsoft rolls out its new operating system, Windows 7, on Thursday.
Among the new stuff was “Magic Mouse,” a wireless computer mouse that has no physical buttons, but instead relies on the same kind of multi-touch technology users have become accustomed to on the iPhone and on the trackpads of Mac laptops.
Apple also tweaked the design of its white MacBook, making it a “Unibody” design that uses one piece of plastic for the main case (similar to the aluminum cases on its MacBook Pros.)
The iMac computer got a new design with widescreen monitors at new screen sizes (21.5” and 27”), with upgraded specs that go all the way up to a quad-core processor with an upgraded ATI graphics card (the highest-end 27” model starts at $2,000).
The Mac Mini also got some love with speed upgrades and a new “Mac Mini Server” that can be used to stream video and other content. It costs $1,000.
There were also upgrades to the company’s Time Capsule and Airport Extreme products (slight Wi-Fi speed increases from a tweaked antenna design) and a new version of the $19 Apple remote, now available in an aluminum design.
I went to check out the new products yesterday at the Apple Store at the Domain, but unfortunately, none were on the floor. The new MacBooks had arrived, a store associate told me, but they weren’t on display yet. The other products, including Magic Mouse were still being shipped to the store.
The mouse is certainly tantalizing (if it works as promised), but these are mostly small upgrades designed to make those considering a new Windows 7 PC think twice. And they should — although I’m a fan of Windows 7 (I’ll have a full review posted by tomorrow), Mac OS is still a powerful, refined operating system and with every hardware refresh, Apple makes its Macs more desirable at their respective prices.
If you’re shopping for a new PC or Mac, there’s no sense in rushing. Wait a week or two and see what kind of offers the Windows 7 rollout brings and take a look at Apple’s new crop. It’s a pretty good time to buy a computer, but we’ll probably be seeing even better deals from both sides before the holidays.
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Comments
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By Omar Gallaga
October 21, 2009 1:44 PM | Link to this
You can buy the mouse without buying a Mac.
And it should work on a PC, too. Not sure if all the multi-touch gestures would work in Windows, though.
By Bernard
October 21, 2009 10:43 AM | Link to this
A new mouse design should make me want to buy an Imac?? No way. I have a Mac. Overrated and over priced.