Hertz

13 'Hertz' stories September 2011 - April 2015

1.3 GHz, built-to-order MacBooks begin preparing to ship following charges

Mark Gurman Apr 22 2015 - 9:20 am PT

Apple has started to charge the credit cards of customers who ordered the highest-end 1.3GHz version of the 12-inch MacBook, according to emails from 9to5Mac readers. The customized, built-to-order MacBook went on sale earlier this month with 3-4 week shipping times for even the earliest orders, and Apple originally promised a delivery timeframe of May 8th to May 15th. As we saw with Apple Watch credit card charges earlier this week, it seems plausible that Apple already charging customers for the 1.3 GHz MacBook could indicate that shipments of the new laptop will begin occurring sooner than originally expected. However, readers have yet to report any signs of UPS or FedEx tracking numbers, or their Apple Online Store status pages moving from “Processing” to “Preparing for Shipment.”

Update: Several readers reporting that their MacBooks are now preparing to ship, several weeks early:

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple releases new cheaper iMac with low-end processor, priced at $1099

Benjamin Mayo Jun 18 2014 - 5:05 am PT

43 Comments

As rumored last week, Apple has today released a new model of iMac. These machines are considerably cheaper than their predecessors, priced at $1099. Previously, the cheapest iMac SKU was priced at $1299 (which is now the mid-range model).

The cheaper iMac features a 1.4 GHz dual-core i5 CPU, which represents a significant worsening in performance over the previous base model of iMac, which featured a processor clocked at 2.7 GHz. The CPU does Turbo Boost up to 2.7 GHz however, which does make up some of the difference.

Aside from the CPU, the hard drive has also been cut to 500 GB. The new model also features a lower-end integrated graphics chip. All other iMac models continue to use either Iris Pro integrated graphics or dedicated Nvidia cards. Otherwise, the internals of the new machine are unchanged.

Apple’s Press release below…

Expand
Expanding
Close

Report: Apple to launch 11- and 13-inch Retina MacBook Air in Q3

Jordan Kahn Feb 19 2013 - 7:15 am PT

0 Comments

According to a translated report from Taiwanese publication Economic Daily (via Macotakara), Apple is apparently in the process of preparing suppliers for the launch of a Retina MacBook Air in Q3 2013. The report appears to claim that both 11- and 13-inch variants of the MacBook Air will launch with Retina displays in addition to an upgrade from Intel’s new Haswell platform. Apple supplier Quanta is expected to begin receiving shipments of the new components in the second quarter, according to Economic Daily.

Today’s report of course goes against recent claims from analysts predicting the next-gen MacBook Air would land in Q2 or Q3 without a Retina display. We heard last year that Apple was working on MacBook Airs with Retina displays, but sources indicated the power drawn from the Retina Displays combined with the thin and light form factor of the MacBook Air may pose challenges for Apple and its product manufacturers.
Expand
Expanding
Close

T-Mobile rolls out iPhone-compatible HSPA+ to Chicago, Reno, Sacramento, Fresno, Southern Calif., now accessible to 100 million people

Jordan Kahn Dec 13 2012 - 12:41 pm PT

0 Comments

T-Mobile-iPhone On Monday, we told you that T-Mobile was enhancing its 4G network in Atlanta, Seattle, and Minneapolis to provide access to its iPhone-compatible 1900 MHz spectrum for more users. Chief Technology Officer for T-Mobile USA Neville Ray announced more enhancements to the network today, including the roll out of more iPhone-compatible 4G HSPA+ to five major metro areas, such as: Chicago; Reno, Nev.; and Fresno, Sacramento and Southern Calif.

A spokesperson confirmed to us that the launch of the enhanced network in these new areas brings T-Mobile’s total covered for iPhone compatible 1900 MHz PCS spectrum to 100 million people.

Internal tests of unlocked iPhone 4S devices running over 4G (HSPA+) on our 1900 MHz network recorded on average 70% faster download speeds than iPhone 4S devices on AT&T’s network. Savings based on comparison of T-Mobile $69.99/month Unlimited Talk, Text and Data plan against AT&T Unlimited Talk, Text, and 3GB Smartphone Data plan.

T-Mobile also said more enhancements to the network are on the way to “Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, the New York metro area, Philadelphia, and San Diego,” with many customers already experiencing unlocked iPhone “speed sightings.”

A full list of areas included in the rollout is below:

Expand
Expanding
Close

OWC offering RAM upgrades for new Mac minis: $50 (8GB), $85 (12GB), $115 (16GB)

Jordan Kahn Oct 24 2012 - 8:14 am PT

0 Comments

Apple’s new Mac mini lineup that unveiled yesterday comes with 4GB of RAM stock for all three models, but it now allows for up to 16GB of RAM across its two slots. Today, OWC announced some pretty attractive RAM upgrades that offer big savings on factory upgrades and one configuration not available through Apple. OWC sells similar RAM upgrades for iMacs. Unfortunately, though, the new 21-inch model does not provide user accessible memory.

OWC Memory Upgrades for 2012 Mac mini 2.3GHz, 2.5GHz, or 2.6GHz Intel i5 or i7 models:

OWC 8GB DDR3L Memory Kit (2 x 4GB memory modules) – $49.99

Replaces existing factory installed 2 x 2GB memory modules with 8GB total memory at 50 percent lower cost vs. same sized factory 8GB option costing $100

OWC 12GB DDR3L Memory Kit (4GB + 8GB memory modules) – $85.99

Replaces existing factory installed 2 x 2GB memory modules with 12GB total memory. This kit offers 50 percent more RAM at 14 percent lower cost vs. factory 8GB option costing $100.

Upgrade not available as a factory option.

OWC 16GB DDR3L Memory Kit (2 x 8GB memory modules) – $114.99

Replaces existing factory installed 2 x 2GB memory modules with 16GB total memory at 67 percent lower cost vs. same sized factory 16GB option costing $300.

OWC has full details here.

T-Mobile RF engineer answers questions about iPhone traffic and LTE plans

Jordan Kahn Aug 8 2012 - 10:33 am PT

0 Comments

A T-Mobile RF engineer, claiming to be “heavily involved” in the carrier’s LTE upgrades and network modernization plans, started an AMA on Reddit this morning. Not surprisingly, many of the questions were iPhone and Apple-related. The questions ranged from how much 2G/EDGE traffic the carrier’s network sees from iPhone customers as it begins to transition that spectrum to WCDMA to where T-Mobile plans to upgrade its network coverage next:

Q: Can you talk briefly about how much traffic on GERAN you see from iPhone customers? How much of a catch-22 is that situation for moving that PCS spectrum dedicated to it over to WCDMA?

Expand
Expanding
Close

T-Mobile signs AWS spectrum agreement with Verizon

Jordan Kahn Jun 25 2012 - 8:23 am PT

0 Comments

T-Mobile just announced plans to exchange and purchase spectrum from Verizon Wireless in a deal the carrier claimed would improve its “spectrum position in 15 of the top 25 markets” that covers 60 million people. T-Mobile said the spectrum would help enhance its 4G network and advance the rollout of its LTE service. The agreement includes spectrum that Verizon planned to acquire from several cable companies, so T-Mobile will first have to wait for the Federal Communications Commission and U.S. Department of Justice to approve the deal:

“This agreement will provide T-Mobile with critical AWS spectrum, enhancing both network capacity and performance and allowing us to meet the growing consumer demand for 4G mobile broadband,” T-Mobile CEO and President Philipp Humm said. “This is good for T-Mobile and good for consumers because it will enable T-Mobile to compete even more vigorously with other wireless carriers. We anticipate FCC approval later this summer, in time for us to incorporate this new spectrum into our network modernization and the rollout of LTE services next year.”

We recently updated you on the rollout of T-Mobile’s $4 billion 4G-network plan, including its plan to rollout 4G HSPA+ in the 1900 MHz spectrum to iPhone users “in a large number of markets later this year.” T-Mobile mentioned a few of the cities that would benefit if the agreement goes through:

T-Mobile will gain spectrum covering 60 million people — notably in Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; Detroit; Minneapolis; Seattle; Cleveland; Columbus, Ohio; Milwaukee; Charlotte, N.C.; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Greensboro, N.C.; Memphis, Tenn.; and Rochester, N.Y

How to build a Hackintosh with Mac Pro specs for $1,148

Jake Smith Jun 18 2012 - 5:01 pm PT

0 Comments

We told you about our affection for Hackintoshs before. With the recent Mac Pro spec refresh disappointing many and not taking advantage of modern technology such as Thunderbolt, USB3, SATA3 or just about anything less than three-years-old, maybe it is time to consider building one.

Lifehacker’s Adam Dachis compiled a long list of parts that will allow you to build a Hackintosh that matches or exceeds the new Mac Pro’s specs on the cheap (though we are not sure how a Core i7 3.4GHzis going to do versus a Mac Pro Xeon!). Here are the parts to build the base Mac Pro for only $1,148 instead of $2,499:

Cooler Master RC-692-KKN2 Case ($90)
Gigabyte GA-Z77-DS3H Motherboard ($99)
Intel Core i7 3770 3.4 GHz CPU ($317)
MSI NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti (448 Cores) PCI-E 16X Graphics Card ($300)
8GB Corsair DDR3 1600 MHz RAM, 2x4GB ($50)
1TB Western Digital Caviar Black 7200 RPM Hard Drive ($100)
Corsair Professional Series 650W Modular Power Supply ($117)
Asus 24x DVD-RW Serial ATA Internal Drive ($17)
SYBA FireWire 400/800 Card ($28)
Mac OS X Lion Download ($30) or Thumb Drive ($69)

Check out Lifehacker’s post for the mid-range and high-range prices. Or, head over to Tonyx86 and formulate your own Mac PRO.
Expand
Expanding
Close

T-Mobile details progress of 4G network rollout, continues testing iPhone compatible 1900MHz HSPA+

Jordan Kahn Jun 14 2012 - 11:02 am PT

0 Comments

Following a keynote from T-Mobile’s Chief Technology Officer Neville Ray at the NGMN conference this morning, Senior Vice President of Technology Dave Mayo provided an update today regarding the company’s $4 billion 4G-network plan.

We already knew T-Mobile would be make its 4G HSPA+ in the 1900 MHz band available to iPhone users later this year as its new network equipment gets installed. It recently confirmed that it began testing the network on a small scale. Today, we get an update on the progress of the carrier’s 4G rollout with Mayo confirming installations of new equipment at the first 400 modernized GSM / HSPA+ sites, which will be complete by the end of June, with the number growing to 2,500 sites a month after. He also noted the carrier was approved for 19,500 additional sites. This indicates the LTE network is on track for its 2013 rollout.

Expand
Expanding
Close

iFixit delves inside refreshed 13-inch MacBook Air [Photos]

Élyse Betters Jun 12 2012 - 11:26 am PT

0 Comments

iFixit is hardcore when it comes to breaking open our favorite electronics to see what’s inside, and the website did it again today with the refreshed MacBook Air that unveiled at the Worldwide Developers Conference yesterday.

The updated 13-inch MacBook Air, equipped with USB 3.0 and MagSafe 2, sports a few new sizes for those pentalobe screws on the back. It also houses the same battery found in the preceding MacBook Air. Moreover, at first sight, its 128 GB SSD looks strikingly similar to the mid-2011 module:

“But upon closer inspection, the connector for this model’s flash memory module is slightly different than last year!”

The adjusted SSD form factor also shifted to a fresh flash controller. The current unit is SandForce SATA-III controller chip-based, but displays Toshiba marks. The tweaked notebook further boasts Intel Ivy Bridge Core i5 processor, Intel HD Graphics 4000, 128 GB flash memory, 4 GB 1600 MHz DDR3L RAM, and Broadcom BCM 943224. iFixit said, again, that the wireless board is identical to the mid-2011 flavor, but this one carries rotated stickers (sarcasm intended).

Lastly, the RAM is still not upgradeable. Oh, and that MagSafe 2 connector is thinner and wider, and it is not compatible with Apple’s current Cinema displays unless paired with its $10 adapter.

Go to iFixit for the entire teardown.

Expand
Expanding
Close

ChipWorks dives into the Samsung Galaxy SIII, discovers the Sony iPhone 4S camera

Élyse Betters Jun 1 2012 - 2:27 pm PT

0 Comments

ChipWorks and iFixit are hardcore when it comes to breaking open our favorite devices to see what is inside. The two websites decided to take it up a notch today by joining forces to publish a live teardown of the non-LTE Samsung Galaxy SIII. ChipWorks looked at the—you guessed—chips, while iFixit focused on repair aspects.

This is what the ChipWorks dissection unearthed:

Yep, that is Samsung’s Exynos 4412, 32 nm CMOS, 1.4 GHz quad core ARM processor.

“The Exynos is in a standard PoP (Package-on-Package) assembly with a Samsung LP DDR2 Green Memory K3PE7E700M-XGC2,” explained ChipWorks. “It is notable that this is the same process generation as we documented in the Apple A5 rev 2, APL2498, also fabricated by Samsung and for which you can see the general structure.”

The device also features the Sony IMX145 is an 8-megapixel, 1.4 um pixel pitch, back illuminated CMOS image sensor. Sony designs and manufactures this image sensor, which the Apple iPhone 4S also boasts. Samsung provides its own storage, however, with the KMVTU000LM. According to ChipWorks, it is a multi-chip Samsung MOVI N and memory module.

Go to 9to5Google for more information.

Expand
Expanding
Close

800MHz iPhone 4S browser powers past the 1.5GHz Samsung Galaxy S II

Seth Weintraub Oct 11 2011 - 7:43 pm PT

0 Comments

[vodpod id=Video.15538873&w=650&h=420&fv=config%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fasset.slashgear.tv%2Fsgtv.php%3Fvkey%3Dd1b237565d8813a34d8a]

Slashgear ran the browser on the dual-core 800MHz A5 iPhone 4S against the latest and greatest Galaxy S II with dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm processor (skip ahead 4:30). From the video it looks like the iPhone 4S was faster (as expected). However, in their words…

…from initial results the iPhone 4S performs quite well, I’m sure everyone expected that as the original held its own pretty well too. One of the fastest processors around currently, the 1.5 GHz Qualcomm in the Galaxy S II performs very well but is just barely by a hair beat by the new A5 dual-core iPhone 4S in most tests. We could argue about this all day, or try other sites but when it really comes down to it iOS is highly efficient — not to mention many many websites are designed with iOS in mind.

Damn that is a huge screen.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Samsung Galaxy S II clocks the fastest GPU in any current smartphone, but it likely won’t be a match for iPhone 4S

9to5 Staff Sep 12 2011 - 6:18 am PT

0 Comments

Image courtesy of Anandtech

Anandtech has published some interesting findings based on their extensive Samsung Galaxy S II review. It’s the first smartphone to use the graphics processing unit based on the Mali-400 core from ARM Holdings, a fables chip maker from the UK. In fact, Samsung has engineered and manufactured its own system-on-a-chip solution for the handset.

They call it the Exynos 4210 and it combines a dual-core Cortex-A9 CPU core and the aforementioned Mali-400 GPU sporting four cores. The resulting performance, says Anandtech, is comparable to Texas Instruments OMAP 4 chip that incorporates Imagination Technologies’ PowerVR SGX540 GPU core. However, the quad-core 1.2GHz Exynos 4210 probably won’t hold a candle to iPhone 4S, which will likely carry the same dual-core processor-GPU combo as the iPad 2’s 1GHz A5 chip:

Samsung implemented a 4-core version of the Mali-400 in the 4210 and its resulting performance is staggering as you can see above. Although it’s still not as fast as the PowerVR SGX 543MP2 found in the iPad 2, it’s anywhere from 1.7 – 4x faster than anything that’s shipping in a smartphone today.

Interestingly, and per the GL Benchmark included below, the Exynos 4210 is more than twice as fast compared to the Galaxy Tab 10.1 that runs Nvidia’s Tegra 2 chip and nearly four times speedier than iPhone 4’s 800 MHz A4 chip that sports the PowerVT SGX535 GPU core. However, the 4210 falls short in the triangle throughput department, a big disadvantage over the iPad 2’s A5 processor that clocks nine times the graphics performance of the original iPad’s A4 chip.

Triangle throughput is important in graphics-intensive games and will become key in “future games that may scale along that vector rather than simply increasing pixel shader complexity”. The video of Anandtech’s Samsung Galaxy S II review is right after the break.

Cross-posted on 9to5Google.com.

Expand
Expanding
Close