Apple MacBook Air

Apple announced the new MacBook Air as the world's thinnest laptop at MacWorld in San Francisco on January 15th, 2008. Its thickness varies from 0.16" to 0.76" as measured from different points along its edge and weighs about 3 lbs. It features a 13.3" LED backlit display, a full-size backlit keyboard, and an oversized multi-touch trackpad. Apple has made use of several new technologies and design features to create an ultra-thin form factor laptop. It does not include an optical media drive.

Pros & Cons
Pros:

•Extremely thin
•LED backlit display
•Large touchpad with advanced gesture support
•Large backlit keyboard
•802.11n WiFi support
•Intel Core 2 Duo is a great option

Cons:

•Fairly expensive premium for being thin
•No ethernet port
•No optical drive
•Relatively heavy considering how thin it is
•Only 1 USB port
•Recessed USB port makes it hard to connect a 3G USB modem
•Expensive to replace battery. (It is replaceable though)
•Poor battery life (Ars Technica got around 2.5 hours)
•Battery is not replaceable

More information

Specifications

13.3" widescreen LED backlit display
1.6 GHz Standard, 1.8 GHz Option -- Intel Core 2 Duo
2 GB Memory standard
80 GB 1.8" hard disk standard, 64 GB SSD as an option.
5 hours of Battery Life
Multi-touch Trackpad
No optical drive
802.11n + Bluetooth 2.1/EDR
45 Watt MagSafe, 1 USB 2.0 port, Micro-DVI, Audio Out
Magnetic latch
3 lbs
Thickness: 0.16" to 0.76"
it fits inside a envelope

Versions

There are two main options for the MacBook Air (now available for pre-order: 1) a 1.6 GHz CPU with 80 GB standard 1.8" hard drive starting at $1799, and 2) a 1.8 GHz CPU with a 64 GB solid state drive (SSD) starting at $3098.

Apple MacBook Air manufacturer page - http://www.apple.com/macbookair/

Apple iPod Nano

According to Apple the iPod Nano is the most successful portable music player in history. Up until now the device lacked many of the features found in its bigger sibling. The new generation of iPod Nanos remain smaller, thinner but now include video playback and photo viewing features. To accommodate the new display intensive features the form factor of the Nano is substantially different. Known on the street as the "phatpod" the new Nano is wider and stubbier with dimensions coming in at a boxy 2.75 inches high and 2.06 inches wide. The thickness is reduced to a depth of 0.26 inches, or 6.5mm.


Pros & Cons

Pros:


•Now plays video with a high quality screen
•Ridiculously thin
•Good capacity and features for the price
•Cover flow is awesome
•Feels just right in your hand.

Cons:

•Battery still not user replaceable.
•The backside is very easily scratched.
•Some units have a crooked screen (~2mm slant)
•The "manual" is a joke
•More expensive than competitors with similar features
•Cover flow is choppy due to less powerful processor
•Chubby form factor looks lame


Competing products

Apple iPod Nano is ranked 5th. See the top picks in MP3 Players

100%prefer Apple iPod Touch
60% prefer Creative Zen
50% prefer SanDisk Sansa View
50% prefer Archos 405
40% prefer Microsoft Zune 8
25% prefer Slacker Portable Player
25% prefer Cowon iAudio 7
20% prefer iriver clix gen 2

More information

The Nano's screen at 320x240 is the same resolution as the fifth generation iPod Video and the iPod Classic. At a screen size of 2.0" Apple states that the Nano's pixel density is the highest in the world. All iPod compatible videos and photos are viewable on the Nano and are accessed with the new "Enhanced" user interface. Apple has upgraded the interface to make full use of the extra screen real estate. Now there is more information and graphics displayed when browsing through the music, photo, and video library. The unique Cover Flow navigation system where you "flip" between albums is also a new addition.

Similar to the bigger iPods custom games are supported on the Nano. Three different games are bundled with the device stored in the memory, with more games available for purchase from the iTunes store.

Despite the new form factor the Nano retains the same data connection port making it compatible with all current iPod accessories. Furthermore a new arm band will be released for runners to use with the Nike + iPod Sport Kit. Apple rates the battery life for the Nano at 24 hours for audio playback, and 5 hours for video.

iPod Nano Versions

4GB version comes in only one color: silver.
8GB version comes in five different colors: black, red, silver, blue, and green.


• iPod Nano technical specifications - http://www.apple.com/ipodnano/specs.html

• iPod Nano official home page - http://www.apple.com/ipodnano/

Nokia N95

The Nokia N95 is Nokia's flagship smartphone in their Nseries, and is a direct competitor to the Apple iPhone. According to Nokia, the N95 is "an all-in-one multimedia computer." It features an non-QWERTY alphanumeric keypad and belongs to the same family as the QWERTY version Nokia N800. The Nokia N95 runs on a Symbian S60 3rd Edition O/S that includes a web browser, email client, multimedia capabilities (photo/video/music), and GPS mapping. It features a 2.6" or 2.8" display (depending on version), integrated GPS, and a 5 megapixel Carl Zeiss digital camera. It is packaged in a slick slider design, with the numeric keys sliding out from one end and the multimedia controls from the other. Originally released in Europe and Asia, as of early March 2008 it is now for sale in the United States and Canada online or from Nokia's flagship stores.


Pros & Cons
Pros:

•Integrated GPS and mapping
•High quality 5 mpx camera for photos and 30 fps video
•Wi-Fi connectivity
•Great multimedia capabilities
•Decent talk-time battery life (~8 hrs)
•Supports 3G networks as of Aug. 2007

Cons:

•Expensive
•Poor standby battery life (~1 day before requiring charge)
•Lackluster alphanumeric keypad (non-QWERTY)
•Extremely slow GUI
•Poor memory management
•No support for 3G networks

Competing products

Nokia N95 is ranked 3rd. See the top picks in Cell Phones

Apple iPhone
HTC Touch
HTC TyTN II
Samsung Ultra Smart F700
RIM Blackberry 8800
LG Voyager

More information

Features

- form factor: two-way slider
- 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens
- O/S: Symbian OS v9.2, S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 1
- Screen: TFT Matrix, diagonal 2.6" or 2.8", 16 million colours, 240x320 pixels
- CPU: 2 x Texas Instruments OMAP 2420 @ 332 MHz
- RAM: 64 MB or 128 MB (depends on version)
- Flash Memory: 128 MB or 8 GB
- USB 2.0
- Battery: BL-5F (950 mAh)
- Talk time: up to 160 min (WCDMA), up to 240 min (GSM)
- Standby time: up to 215 hours
- Europe: 2100 MHz, North America: 850/1900 MHz 3G
- WiFi enabled, 802.11 b/g


The 2.6-inch QVGA TFT screen can reproduce up to 16 million colors at a 320x240 pixel resolution. Video is recorded at an impressive 640 x 480 resolution at a 30 fps and can be displayed on your TV with its included TV-out cable. In terms of connectivity, the N95 features quad-band GSM, EDGE/GPRS data on its GSM bands, and high-speed HSDPA data on the UMTS band. It also support 802.11b/g WiFi connectivity for a much improved browsing experience over the much slower EDGE and GPRS. The tested talk-time battery life is a fairly impressive 8 hours, but according to CNET's standby battery test, you can expect to have to recharge after only a day.

Versions

- N95 - original version with 64 MB RAM and 128 MB Flash memory (European/Asia), March 2007
- N95 8GB (N95-2) - 128 MB RAM, 2.8" TFT, 8 GB Flash memory, black faceplate (Europe/Asia), August 29, 2007
- N95 NAM (N95-3) - North American (NAM) version of the N95 supporting 850/1900 MHz W-CDMA and 3G networks designed to support AT&T mobility, August 29, 2007
- N95 8GB NAM (N95-4) - the 8GB NAM version of the N95-2, January 7, 2008

Release Information

The Nokia N95 was first made available in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East in March 2007 for around $700. It is now available for sale in the United States and Canada online from Nokia priced at $779 or at one of Nokia's flagship stores in New York, NY or Chicago, IL for $799 as of March 6th, 2008 (approximate date).

• Nokia N95 on Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_N95

• Nokia N95 freeware - http://www.symbiansoftware.us/nokia_n95.freeware

• Nokia N95 review by MobileBurn - http://www.mobileburn.com/review.jsp?Id=3283

• Nokia N95 review by CNET - http://reviews.cnet.com/smart-phones/nokia-n95/4505-6452_7-32085029.html

• Nokia N95 manufacturer page - http://www.nseries.com/index.html#l=products,n95