A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since Apple took the decision to shift to Intel. The performance of the previous generation Apple machines consequently increased by a factor of virtually 40 percent, and offered a palpable reason for many new customers to explore the Mac platform.
One of the segments that surprisingly saw a lot of movement was the high-end market. Keeping this in mind, Apple recently decided to upgrade its existing range. Not only did the company upgrade its processor range, it also introduced a new aluminum body and a slimmer keyboard.

How does this compare with the previous generation? Let's find out.One commendable thing about Apple is that the company actually listens to its customers. One of the biggest grouses against the previous range of Apple products was the monotony of the original matte-based all-white finish and the lack of a chrome/aluminum-based model. This has now been addressed with the introduction of an aluminum-based body and a glass-based LCD panel.

How does it look? In a word – STUNNING! The new body is considerably more streamlined (though a little thicker), offers a beautiful combination of colors and contrast in a light shade of silver-gray, and the glossy dark screen sports a black bezel. Another important point to note is that the new Mac is a lot lighter, thanks to the new material used.

Though the LCD panel may have been given a glossy finish, it’s well designed in the sense that it offers a great viewing angle and very sharp colors. The back of the monitor has not changed all that much – the only change is the the smart new black Apple logo. The location of the USB and other connectivity options remain exactly the same.

It’s about time! For too long have we suffered the lack of decent storage space with 2GB capacity cards. Finally Kingston has shone the light and our space problems just took a back seat, with the release of their 4GB Secure Digital High-Capacity (SDHC) memory cards in India. These cards are available in Class 2, 4 and 6 speed ratings.

"As sleeker, more sophisticated mobile phones, PDAs and MP3 players offer digital imaging, music, video, mobile TV and games, the need for higher data transfer rates, increased storage and smaller form factor expansion memory becomes greater," said Rajesh Panicker, Country Manager, India, Kingston Technology. "Kingston is ready with miniSDHC memory to support the popular but storage-hungry advanced features of these next generation digital devices."
Thanks to the higher capacity and speed, rest assured we should have no more of these issues when it comes to some of our electronic devices. Let’s face it, not all can support more than 2GB cards at the moment so we may have a bit of a wait till they do. But who cares at least step one is already completed.

With Kingston’s lifetime warranty and free technical support that’s just another feather in their cap. They’re available in India and are distributed by Avnet India, Ingram Micro, Kobian Electronics and Transtek Infoways. Prices are - Rs. 2800 for the GB Class 2 SDHC, Rs. 2900 for the 4GB Class 4 SDHC and Rs. 3900 for the 4GB Class 6 SDHC.

The Macbook Pro from Apple is barely a year old and has already gotten a platform upgrade. It is now available on the Core2duo platform which was recently unveiled by Intel. Has the platform jump made much a difference? Read on to find out….
The first thing that grabs our attention about Apple is the minimalist design of its products. The Macbook Pro being reviewed today, is built on this same philosophy. Its body comes in a classy silver matte finish. This silver theme is prevalent around the laptop from the lid to the areas around the keyboard and the LCD panel. The Macbook Pro is enclosed in an aluminum frame which is surprisingly light. It may sound like an odd choice but Apple has managed to carry it off to perfection. The laptop feels quite sturdy and will be more resistant to rough usage as compared to the normal plastic that is used on the Macbook.

The laptop’s physical body is built on the same minimalist vein that we have already spoken about. Opening the lid, we were quite pleasantly surprised to find only a single external button i.e. the power button. This is quite unusual as laptops in this size normally have a plethora of function buttons that serve different purposes such as disabling the Wi-Fi radio, switching between external and laptop display and other options. There is a webcam present too namely the iSight which sits above the LCD panel.


The Macbook Pro does not skimp on its comfort factor. In case you are wondering what we are talking about, we are referring to the keyboard and keypad. The keyboard on the Macbook Pro is probably the best we have ever worked on. The keys are actually as soft as silk and provide excellent tactile feedback with the correct amount of elevation. The touchpad in a similar vein is properly recessed and has right balance of smoothness and texture to give you a good experience and not give you wrist pain.The LCD panel on the Macbook Pro is a 15 inch bright panel with a native resolution of 1440x900 (16x10 aspect ratio). This provides an excellent working screen area. The anti-aliasing of fonts offered by OSX is top-notch and this makes web surfing a totally different experience.

In terms of peripheral connectivity the 15-inch Macbook Pro offers fairly comprehensive range of options. It has 2 USB 2.0 ports, 2 Firewire slot (400 and 800 MHz), a mini-Dvi connector with a range of plugs to connect to them to external devices and an Expresscard slot for wireless broadband expansion. Wireless connectivity is rounded up by the Airport extreme Wi-Fi chip and Bluetooth 2.0 +EDR. For wired connectivity there is a 1 GB Ethernet jack that is present. Apple in a good move has unlike other manufacturers chosen to equip the Macbook Pro with a good audio subsystem. The laptop has two large speakers that surround the keyboard and provide great playback.