World of Apple

During today’s financial conference call, Apple’s chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer noted that Apple will make a “product transition” during the next quarter.

The comment came after concerns that Apple predicted gross margins of just 30% down from 34.8% in the June quarter. According to Apple a future product transition will cause a drop in gross margins.

The chief was short on details but did explain that price will be a significant driving factor. He continued that Apple often introduces products with new technology at a high price, but seeks to drive the price lower over time.

When referring to the unnamed product the CFO described the product as having “technologies and features that others can’t match”.

In today’s press release Steve Jobs spoke of “several more wonderful new products”.

Apple is widely expected to be revising the MacBook Pro and MacBook in the coming quarter. In addition the company is rumoured to introducing a multi-touch tablet sometime in the future.

Apple is beginning to exhibit signs that a notebook refresh may be close, previous reports have pointed towards Apple revising the MacBook in calendar Q308.

The Chinese publication, Commercial Times is now reporting that Apple has increased orders for “notebook-use printed circuit boards” by up to 2% for the forthcoming quarter (July - September).

In addition to this Mac Rumors is noting that Apple has told Best Buy that they will have limited MacBook shipments over the next two weeks.

Intel confirmed yesterday that it will delay shipments of its upcoming Montevina chipset by as much as two months, with a formal launch in late-August. The delay could push the update to the MacBook notebooks to much later in the year.

“There were two minor issues we found during final testing – one with our integrated graphic chipsets, which we have found a workaround for but need to re-screen our parts, and second around our wireless Wi-Fi chip, which was a paperwork and certification mistake we made,” said Bill Kircos, a spokesman for Intel.

“Both of these led us to establishing a launch date for our mobile processors and discrete chipsets of the week of July 14th, and taking a couple of weeks to get the right readiness and volume for the rest of our components,” Kircos added. “We’re looking at early August for that.”

As a result of the delays Apple is unlikely to begin volume shipments of Montevina based notebooks until much later in the back-to-school buying season.

According to previous reports both the MacBook and MacBook Pro are expected to receive updated looks, the MacBook adopting an aluminium enclosure and the MacBook Pro taking some design hints from the MacBook Air.

The transition which began last year appears to be coming to an end with Apple’s remaining notebooks set to receive LED back lit units by 2009.

According to the Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN) Apple plans to use back light unit maker (BLU) Kenmos Technology to help complete a promise Apple made last year to transition all notebooks to LED-lit displays.

Since Steve Jobs’ open letter declaring Apple’s aim to become “greener” the company made LED-lit display standard on the 15-inch MacBook Pro, and an option on the 17-inch MacBook Pro, but in a storming move for the industry introduced the MacBook Air with the brighter and more power efficient LED backlit technology.

A Marketwatch article relays a report from the Commercial Times which points towards MacBook revisions in the July - September quarter.

According to the Commercial Times both AU Optronics Chi Mei Optoelectronics have recieved significant orders for the displays to go in the next MacBook revision.

Taiwan’s top two flat-panel makers by revenue, have obtained flat-panel orders for Apple Inc.’s new MacBook, the Commercial Times reported Friday, citing industry sources.

The target is three million units which will be display evenly between the two display manufacturers.

Latest iPhone OS 2.0 Beta Confirms 3G

Currently no 3G iPhone exists so when activated the current EDGE iPhone crashes but the setting confirms the existence of the long-rumoured 3G iPhone.

2.6GHz MacBook a Typo?

Over the weekend Apple’s Hot News page was cycling an image advertising a 2.6GHz MacBook.

The MacBook was last refreshed in late February so the chances of an update are slim. Also the MacBook Pro does offer a 2.6GHz model so this is most likely a typo.

MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update 1.0 - 2.3MB

This update fixes several issues to improve the stability of MacBook Air computers.

MacBook EFI Firmware Update 1.2 - 1.8MB

This update fixes several issues to improve the stability of MacBook computers.

After the firmware is successfully applied to your Mac, your Boot ROM Version will be:

MB31.008E.B02

MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.5 - 3.1MB

This update fixes several issues to improve the stability of MacBook Pro computers.

After the firmware is successfully applied to your Mac, your Boot ROM Version will be:

MBP21.00A5.B08 or MBP31.0070.B07

iMac EFI Firmware Update 1.3 - 1.6MB

This update fixes several issues to improve the stability of iMac computers.

After the firmware is successfully applied to your Mac, your Boot ROM Version will be:

IM71.007A.B03

Firmware Restoration CD 1.6 - 30MB

The Firmware Restoration CD can restore the firmware of an Intel-based Macintosh computer.

AppleInsider reports that the current MacBook and MacBook Pro designs will be replaced with “major design changes” when they are next revised.

The consumer level MacBook which currently features plastic casing will reportedly gain a aluminium and stainless steel enclosure which will purportedly be more “eco-friendly”.

The MacBook Pro is also rumoured to have borrowed design features from the late-2007 iMacs and the new MacBook Air.

Though precise details are admittedly limited given the ongoing revision process, it’s presumed this will include instances of matte black on portions of the casings, oversized trackpads, and the adoption of the MacBook Air’s keyboard by the MacBook. reports AppleInsider.

Neither the MacBook nor MacBook Pro have seen design changes since their transition to Intel processors in 2006 with the MacBook Pro recieving minor adjustments in January 2006 and the MacBook recieving a complete revamp in May 2006.

Apple has today updated its popular MacBook and MacBook Pro notebooks with the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, larger hard drives and 2GB of memory standard in most models. In addition, MacBook Pro includes the latest NVIDIA graphics processors, now with up to 512MB of video memory, and Apple’s innovative Multi-Touch trackpad.

The new MacBook Pro features the latest Intel Core 2 Duo technology with up to a 2.6 GHz processor with 6MB of shared L2 cache; up to 4GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory and up to a 300GB hard drive, plus NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics with up to 512MB of video memory. Every MacBook Pro now includes a trackpad with Multi-Touch gesture support for pinch, rotate and swipe, making it more intuitive than ever to zoom and rotate photos in iPhoto or Aperture 2 or browse web pages in Safari; an illuminated keyboard that makes it ideal for dimly lit environments such as airplanes, studios or conference halls and a built-in ambient light sensor, which automatically adjusts the brightness of the keys as well as the brightness of the display for optimal visibility.

Featuring a 13-inch glossy widescreen display, and with prices still starting at just $1,099, the new MacBook lineup comes in three models and includes faster processors and larger hard drives across the line; sleek white 2.1 GHz and 2.4 GHz models with 120GB or 160GB 5400 rpm hard drives and a stunning black 2.4 GHz model with a massive 250GB 5400 rpm hard drive, previously only available as an option. The 2.4 GHz MacBook models ship with 2GB of memory standard, expandable up to 4GB across the line.

MacBook Pro

• $1999 (£1299) Macbook Pro 15″ 2.4GHz / 2GB / 200GB 5400RPM / 256MB VRAM
• $2499 (£1599) Macbook Pro 15″ 2.5GHz / 2GB / 250GB 5400RPM / 512MB VRAM
• $2799 (£1799) Macbook Pro 17″ 2.5GHz / 2GB / 250GB 5400RPM / 512MB VRAM

MacBook

• $1099 (£699) Macbook 13″ 2.1GHz / 1GB / 120GB / Combo Drive / White
• $1299 (£829) Macbook 13″ 2.4GHz / 2GB / 160GB / Double-layer SuperDrive / White
• $1499 (£949) Macbook 13″ 2.4GHz / 2GB / 250GB / Double-layer SuperDrive / Black

The US, UK and many other online Apple Stores are currently offline for “maintenance.”

It has been rumoured that Apple will release updated MacBook Pro models today but last minute information points towards the MacBook being updated instead.

Apple is expected to introduce new MacBook models with up to 2.4GHz processors with hard drive configurations on the entry level climbing to 120GB, mid-range 160GB and top-range 250GB.

Prices on the three models are likely to remain at the current price points.

It is unknown whether the MacBook Pro will also receive an update.