Vinko’s Thoughts On…

Apple today released the brand new MacBook Pro 17″.

This new version of the Intel® based Macintosh notebook has again surprised the analysts who did not think Apple would be able to release a new MacBook Pro that is the same thickness as the current MacBook Pro 15″, while bringing back the old 8x SuperDrive with DVD-DL write capability.

Also another surprise to the analysts is Apple’s decision to bring back the long depended on professional FireWire 800 port to the new MacBook 17″.

To make it even more attractive, Apple have released this new Mac at the same price as the current MacBook Pro 15″ 2.16GHz, so with the extra screen size, FireWire 800 and DVD-DL writable SuperDrive, other than buyer who really do not want the extra screen space will definitely purchase the MacBook Pro 17″.

I personally hope that this aggressive pricing of Apple is a sign that Apple will lower the price of the MacBook Pro 15″ and/or bring back the 8x SuperDrive writable DVD-DL to the MacBook Pro 15″.

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Finally the official method of allowing a Macintel to run Microsoft’s Windows XP has been made public by Apple Computer. The software is called “Boot Camp” for the time being.

On March 13 I wrote in my My Weblog about “Running Windows XP on an Intel Macintosh (aka. “Macintel”)“. Where that method by two individuals from an open contest was a hack, today’s announcement, from Apple, demonstrates Apple’s elegance method of doing the same thing. It also explains why Apple never commented on the hack solution when it was made public back in March.

Please be aware that this is a “beta” class software from Apple, introducing functionalities that will be part of Apple’s Mac OS 10.5 software update to be available later this year.

With any beta class software, users must keep in mind the standard warning of backing up all data before trying, and because of its “beta” class it is not recommended for use on mission critical systems.

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Apple launched a new Apple Store Japan for mobile phones users in Japan from their AU and NTT handsets. To be able to use this new Apple Store, you will need to be within service coverage of the NTT and AU handsets, since Apple had programatically blocked access to this new store from users other then the ones with the correct browser.

According to reports (IT Media), Apple had made the full line of iPod devices and the Mac Mini available for purchase on this new site. Whether there is a discount or special offer compares to the regular Apple Store Japan I do not know. May be some of the Japanese readers can comment on this article and share this with my readers.

So, if you are one of the lucky users of the following handsets you can go check it out:

• AU:
  • Wｼﾘｰｽﾞ(W01K除く)
  • INFOBARｼﾘｰｽﾞ
  • A5000ｼﾘｰｽﾞ
  • C5000ｼﾘｰｽﾞ
  • A3000ｼﾘｰｽﾞ
  • C3000ｼﾘｰｽﾞ
  • A1400ｼﾘｰｽﾞ
  • A1300ｼﾘｰｽﾞ
  • A1100ｼﾘｰｽﾞ
• NTT:
  • 210i以降
  • 503is以降
  • FOMA

I realized that Japan has one of the largest, if not “the largest”, mobile content consumers in the world, but the rest of Asia also have a very big intake of mobile technology. For example:

• Hong Kong citizens changes their mobile phone the most frequent in the world.
• South Korean citizens is the most wired [to the Internet] in the world.
• Philipine citizens sends the most SMS in the world.
• China citizens now make up the largest population within a country of installed cellular phone.
• India citizens has the highest density (based on spending power) of potential cellular phone user base.

Are we (the rest of Asia, Hong Kong in particular) always going to be playing “second fiddle” to the Japanese consumers? Are we really that phobic towards mobile content? I am sure Apple’s Marketing and Product Development teams had done their homework before launching the site in Japan, but please don’t leave the rest of Asia out.

SImilarly, the news of iTunes Music Store for Japan had been in the air for over a year now; ever since the rumors of a EU specific Store 2 years ago. Recent news place the launch date of the iTunes Music Store - Japan for end of 2005.

Throughout these rumors and announcements, no one seem to want to comment about the rest of Asia. Yes, during the recent rumors there is also news of a iTunes Music Store for Australia by end of April 2005, but what about the other large non-English speaking music consumers: Cantonese/Mandarin (Chinese), Hindu (Indian), Korean, Barhasa and Thai.

Apple’s iTunes Music Store for US already have some foreign languages music listed, but speaking to local [Hong Kong] record companies (Avex, EMI, etc.) individuals, it seems that over the past 2.5 years they have grown to accept the inevitable of music download and online distribution for Hong Kong and rest of Asia. Of course like many other things that Apple does they do not comment on unannounced products or service offerings, but I hope they are already well on its way discussing with these regional record companies (Apple, if you’re reading, please send me a personal note and I will forward some of these “record companies individuals” to you… :P).

WE WANT OUR iTUNES MUSIC STORE - HONG KONG!!!

Back in 1999 Apple introduced the first affordable and easy to use WiFi (802.11b) solution to the average consumers with its Airport Base Station. Then it brought WiFi (802.11g) connection with its Airport Extreme Base Station.

Now Apple again doing its part in bringing WiFi or WLAN to as many individuals as possible with the introduction of Airport Express. See my short review in My Mac Forum.