Sealed-Battery Macs Earn High Marks

Laptop-browsing spot may be boosting Microsoft's 'value perception'

(NEWSER) - Apple demanded Microsoft ditch TV ads featuring shoppers mulling the relative value of PCs and Macs, CNET reports. In the ads, which Microsoft’s chief operating officer calls “completely unscripted,” shoppers get to keep money they save by choosing a PC over a Mac. “We got a call from the Apple legal department,” Kevin Turner told conference attendees this week, “saying, ‘Hey, you need to stop running those ads, we lowered our prices.’” More»

But $300 price bump may be too much for some

(NEWSER) - The redesigned MacBook adds several nice features to an already top-selling laptop line, writes Walt Mossberg in the Wall Street Journal. The most striking difference from the old models is the trackpad: rather than tacky plastic, the controller is slick glass like the screen of an iPhone, and users depress the screen to click, rather than a button below the trackpad. "The whole thing is a big button," Mossberg writes. More»

Critics love the awesome camera, screen, and new features

(NEWSER) - The iPhone 4 hits tomorrow, and tech reviewers everywhere are incredibly impressed. Here's what they're saying:

• The iPhone 4 is “a major leap over its already excellent predecessor,” writes Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal . The new features work very well, and the redesign “manages to make the 3GS appear bulbous by comparison.”
• David Pogue of the New York Times almost doesn’t bother reviewing it. “What’s the point?” he writes. They’ve already sold tons of these. “The public seems perfectly capable of sniffing out a winner without the help of tech critics.” But for the record, yes, the iPhone 4 is "sweet."

Walt Mossberg reviews 3 cutting-edge laptops

(NEWSER) - Cheap netbooks aren't profitable for PC makers, so it’s logical they're trying to lure consumers toward laptops that are just as thin, but have bigger screens, more features—and a heftier price tag. Walt Mossberg reviews three such models for the Wall Street Journal, and finds pros and cons for each but no clear winner:

• Toshiba Satellite T135, $600. This model boasts the best battery life of the three and is the cheapest, but it has a slippery, hard-to-use keyboard and touchpad.

New 'magic mouse' offers touchpad scrolling, right-click funtionality

(NEWSER) - After grabbing attention with its blockbuster earnings report—a sizable chunk of it driven by sales of the Mac PC—Apple has announced upgrades to the Mac product lines. Here’s the rundown from BusinessWeek:

• The MacBook, which remains $999, now has the “unibody” shell and 7-hour non-removeable battery already featured on the MacBook Pro, as well as a backlit LED-based display.