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These days, with new tech products regularly being released and an almost limitless number of websites dedicated to them online, it’s no surprise that the internet is brimming with reviews of the latest technology. Trying to decide which new smartphone to purchase? There are many people online willing to offer you input and advice. Looking for laptop reviews? A quick Google search will bring you thousands upon thousands of results.
Of course, this saturation of information is largely a good thing. Without ever seeing a product, the consumer can learn all of its specs, see pictures of it from every angle, and gauge the opinion of both normal customers and technology experts. A person with very specific interests or needs can almost certainly find someone out there who directly addresses those issues. From a free market, capitalistic, consumer-oriented perspective, the mass of available online reviews is incredibly beneficial.
As Rohan pointed out last week, Apple recently discontinued the production and sale of the white MacBook (not “MacBook Pro”, just “MacBook”) notebook computer amidst the official release of OS X Lion and the unveiling of the company’s new hardware offerings. While some people are critical of this move on Apple’s part, I must say that it really was about time for the MacBook to fade away. That said, Apple has done quite a bit in terms of hardware in the last few years and the need for the baseline laptop really was small. With the more mobile-friendly iPad starting at half of the price of the MacBook white and the MacBook Air sitting pretty at the same price point as the now defunct white MacBook prospective buyers have enough options for Apple to no longer need to offer the MacBook.
While that’s fine and dandy, the removal of the MacBook from Apple’s product line leaves one loose string. The MacBook Pro. You see, when Apple was still selling the plastic unibody MacBook, the MacBook Pro was a very logical name choice for higher end product. But with the plastic unibody computers now off the market it really does seem pointless for Apple to have a “Pro” version of a product line that doesn’t have a baseline product.
In the midst of the much-anticipated release of Mac OS X Lion this morning, Apple has also made some changes to their hardware side of the Mac. Changes such as removing the optical drive on the Mac Mini, some spec improvements to both the 11-inch MacBook Air as well as the 13-inch MacBook Air, and they added a Thunderbolt port onto their Cinema Displays. What Apple didn’t advertise was the removal of the plastic MacBooks off their website.
Apple confirmed the removal with Engadget, and the polycarbonate laptop has officially been discontinued. The cheapest Mac laptop you can get is the 11-inch MacBook Air with a 1.6GHz Core i5 CPU with 2GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The 11-ich Air sure is sexy, but the small screen and limited power could be a problem for some users. The polycarbonate MacBooks had similar specs to the base 13-inch MacBook Pros, which were a good bit more powerful than the base 11-inch Airs, which is why I’m still not too sure why Apple has pulled the plug on the plastic MacBooks, especially since they were once the top-selling Mac.
It seems like only a short time ago Google announced the pilot program for the CR-48 notebook computer; the first consumer device to ever be made available for the general public. For those of you who don’t remember, Google announced in early December that the progress in the highly anticipated Chrome OS had finally gotten to the point that the operating system was finally at a point where it could be used in more real-life situations. However, instead of simply asking users to install Chrome OS on their existing computers, Google opted to send out notebook computers sporting the promising operating system to a lucky 60,000 participants.
Now, three months later, it has now become apparent that all of the CR-48 test devices have been sent out, and anyone that was supposed to receive one has already gotten their hands on it by now.
From the day I first heard about the Google Chrome CR-48 notebook computer, I instantly wanted to get my hands on what Google promised to be a very revolutionary device. Now, after nearly two months of waiting, I finally received my CR-48 notebook via UPS Ground this last Friday. After nearly hugging my UPS driver and giddily tearing the packaging open like a child on Christmas morning, I finally had a CR-48 of my very own.
Being that I got the device on Friday afternoon, I have been using it on and off for the extent of the weekend. This has given me a great deal of time to find various ups and downs with the notebook, and ultimate has allowed me to develop an opinion based on my own experiences.
IDC, a well-known and trusted data analysis firm has recently gathered enough evidence that they say concludes the prediction that the production and sales of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers will surpass that of traditional computers in 2012 – and even as soon as 2011.
A similar conclusion drawn by marketing firm Gartner late last month stated that the mobile market was going to expand at higher rates than the PC market, meaning that the sales of mobile devices would have a higher increase than that of computer sales. However, Gratner’s statement wasn’t as bold in stating that the market for mobile computers would grow to surpass traditional desktops and laptops.
When Apple first announced the iPad earlier this year, many critics acclaimed that the device was going to fail, calling it nothing more than an enlarged iPod Touch. However, since April of this year the iPad has had a tremendous success; selling twice as many units on its debut day than originally expected, and has continued to have steady sales a time has progressed. The success of the iPad has been one of the contributing factors in crippling the once-promising netbook market, and has inspired other traditional PC manufacturers to enter the tablet market as well. This has been a major indicator that the focus on tablets by both the PC manufactures and consumers has been increased, while traditional computer systems have been left in the dust.
Today, Gartner – an analytical firm that specializes in the technology field – drew a conclusion that based on the current trends of the PC and tablet markets, 2011 will see higher sales of tablets; sales that will cut into those of PC’s. What does this mean? While PC’s will still have decent sales numbers, the growth of the tablet market will be greater than that of the PC market.
Notebook computers have the potential to be extremely productive in workplace environments because of their mobility and compact designs. For a traveling business person, there is no tool greater than a laptop, simply because it allows for a personal computing experience regardless of location. However, some workplaces do not opt to provide their employees with laptops. While many employees simply accept this restriction to their productivity, other employees often choose to bring their personal notebook computers to work with them. This raises the question: is this a wise move?
First, any employee who is considering bringing and using a personal computer to work or for work-related duties should consult their employee handbook to see if such practice is allowed. Even the most basic employee handbook should have a section regarding this issue; usually located as a sub-section to the technology or infrastructure policies. However, if you cannot find a definitive answer in your handbook, the best person to ask is usually the person in charge of IT.
