Apple has released an additional MacBook Pro with a Matte Display.  In the US Apple offers a Matte Display option for additional $50. “MacBook Pro 15-inch Antiglare Widescreen Display [Add $50.00]“

For more information about Antiglare Widescreen Displays and our own findings take a look at our own review :Apple MacBook Pro Glare (Glossy) Vs. Non-Glare (Matte)

We have our MacBook Pro now since a month and we love it. That we selected the Non-Glare (Matte) was the best choice we could make here at StrongMocha.

For a long time we though about adding a MAC to our range of PCs to be able for example able to do work with Final Cut Pro and other MAC OS software. So far we did only have a Mac Mini available which is good for the living room and such but has it drawbacks when you compare it with a more powerful Mac. However the number one reason for a new MacBook Pro was that my wife did need a new notebook in her main job as an Editor.

It as pretty clear that the largest Macbook Pro would be the selepcted model, we just  have not been sure if we should buy the Glare (Glossy) or the  Non-Glare (Matte) LCD display that is available as an option with these model. So we went ahead and bought both models given that you could return them to our local Munich Apple store within 14 days.

We did expect a  huge different when it comes to the colors on both screens. Good news is that on both screens colors appear vibrant and highly luminous. We got the impression that the color space is practically identical. Friends we showed both MacBooks did lean towards different models, but generally could not see a huge difference.

If the presentation of the colors is not a selection criteria and you overlook that one screen frame is silver and the other is black we did make the decision based on how easy you can work with either of the screen under different light conditions.

When you work mainly indoor with optimal lighting conditions ( low surrounding illumination, no light behind the user) you can see some reflection on the glare screen, but your really have to look closely to find those. (see above picture)

Working outside is a different story. You get reflections on both screens, however we recognized more reflections on the glare version.

A quick comparison video shoot on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Two Apple MacBooks Pro, one Glare (Glossy) and one Non-Glare (Matte).

Apple MacBook Pro Glare (Glossy) Vs. Non-Glare (Matte) from StrongMocha on Vimeo.

When you take a closer look you see that outside the non-glare version still allows you to work for some time, however reflections are not ideal and can cause all kind things (or pain) including headache or tiring you. You don’t work many hours with such reflections.

Where with the glare screen you may have to move around and get tiered faster then with the non-glare version.

If you have friends or colleagues that want to look at your screen while you use it they may see this standing at the left. As you see you can hit the limits of a non-glare outside as well, but your friend would see more on the non-glare version.

We decided to keep the non-glare version as a professional users who spend a whole, long day in front of the device you really want to work with as least reflection as possible.

Apple® unveiled an all new MacBook® family that redefines notebook design, and at the same time dramatically lowers the entry price for advanced notebook features including all-metal enclosures and pro-performance notebook graphics. Apple has posted the Quicktime video stream of the Notebook release event.

“Apple has invented a whole new way of building notebooks from a single block of aluminum. And, just as important, they are the industry’s greenest notebooks,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “The new MacBooks offer incredible features our users will love —like their stunning all-metal design, great 3D graphics and LED backlit displays—at prices up to $700 less than before.”

The new smooth glass Multi-Touch trackpad on the MacBook and 15-inch MacBook Pro gives users almost 40 percent more tracking area than before, making it even easier to use Multi-Touch gestures like pinch, rotate and swipe. New gestures allow users to activate Exposé® or switch between applications at the touch of a fingertip. The entire trackpad surface is also a button, allowing users to both track and click virtually anywhere on the trackpad. Users can easily enable multiple virtual buttons in software, such as right-clicking.

Engadget posted a video which shows the new trackpad.

Technical Specifications

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Key features of the new iPhone 3G:

• Location based services
  • Location based social networking, I think that this feature has the most potential to drive iPhone sale on large scale for consumers. This will drive the mayor sale of new iPhones
  • Location based service will allow blogging with location based information. A blogger could post a image with embedded GPS information which could be show on a map on the bloggers web site
  • iPhone 3G finds your location via GPS or by triangulating your position using Wi-Fi and cellular towers. It also finds points of interest by keyword: Search for “coffee” and iPhone shows you every cafe nearby.
  • Get directions to wherever from wherever. View turn-by-turn directions or watch your progress with live GPS tracking.
  • Nearby contacts: iPhone shows you nearby contacts based on your location. You can find based on your location nearby friends
• Enterprise integration
  According to Apple, 35% of the Fortune 500, including the top 5 commercial banks, top 5 securities firms, 6 of 7 top airlines, 8 of 10 top Pharmaceutical companies, and 8 of 10 top Entertainment companies, and higher education customers have all contacted Apple regarding the capabilities presented.
  • Push email
  • Push contacts
  • Push calendar
  • Global Address List (GAL) support
  • Certificates and identities
  • WPA2/802.1X
  • Enforced security policies
  • More VPN protocols
  • Device configuration
  • Remote wipe
• MobileMe Support (Watch Apples mobileme guided tour)
  
  • Push Email, calendar, and contacts
  • Synchronization between iPhone, Mac and PC (Outlook for Windows integration)
  • “Desktop-like” Web Applications for Mail, Contacts, Calendar, photo gallery, and iDisk online storage available via me.com.
    
• App Store
  • The place to buy and download new iPhone Applications
• iPhone 2.0 software
  • Many applications that have been show at the WWDC 2008 show the great value add they bring to an mobile device. iPhone 2.0 extend the capabilities of your iPhone with innovative applications.
  • The new SDK seems to make it very easy to develop new application.
• 3G support
  • 3G-capable UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) with HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) which is up to 2.4 times faster than EDGE.
  • iPhone switches between 3G, Wi-Fi and EDGE
  • Phone 3G delivers UMTS, HSDPA, GSM, Wi-Fi, EDGE, GPS, and Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
• Apple will no longer receive the revenue
  • This will allow to subsidy iPhones wich could be offered now at a lower price

From the press release:

Apple® today introduced the new iPhone™ 3G, combining all the revolutionary features of iPhone with 3G networking that is twice as fast* as the first generation iPhone, built-in GPS for expanded location based mobile services, and iPhone 2.0 software which includes support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and runs the hundreds of third party applications already built with the recently released iPhone SDK. In the US the new iPhone 3G is priced at a stunning $199 for the 8GB model, and just $299 for the 16GB model.** iPhone 3G will be available in more than 70 countries later this year, beginning with customer availability in 22 countries—Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and the US—on July 11.

iPhone 3G gives users ever faster access to the Internet and email over their cellular network with quad-band GSM and tri-band HSDPA for voice and data connectivity around the world. iPhone 3G supports Wi-Fi, 3G and EDGE networks and automatically switches between them to ensure the fastest possible download speeds. The new iPhone 3G also makes it easier to multi-task with simultaneous voice and data communications, so with iPhone 3G you can browse the web, get map directions, or check your email while you are on a call.

iPhone 3G includes the new iPhone 2.0 software with both the iPhone SDK and key enterprise features such as support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync to provide over-the-air push email, contact and calendar syncing as well as remote wipe and Cisco IPsec VPN for encrypted access to corporate networks. The iPhone SDK allows developers to create amazing applications that leverage the iPhone’s groundbreaking Multi-Touch™ user interface, animation technology, accelerometer and GPS technology on the world’s most advanced mobile platform.

iPhone 3G includes the new App Store, providing iPhone users with native applications in a variety of categories including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel. The App Store on iPhone works over cellular networks and Wi-Fi, which means it is accessible from just about anywhere, so you can purchase and download applications wirelessly and start using them instantly. Some applications are even free and the App Store notifies you when application updates are available. The App Store will be available in 62 countries at launch.

iPhone3G maps: Maps on iPhone 3G use GPS to help you get from point A to point B. Find a location, get directions, and, if you like, follow your progress along a highlighted route with live GPS tracking.

GPS (Global Positioning System) technology uses information from earth-orbiting satellites to find locations. A receiver estimates the distance to GPS satellites based on the time it takes for signals to reach it, then uses that information to identify its location. But the A-GPS (Assisted GPS) solution on iPhone 3G goes a step further, using a unique approach to find the closest satellites and more quickly identify your position. That gives you a faster fix on your location than with regular GPS.

Apple thought that you just couldn’t get enough of that “Vista blues” song that was in the latest Get a Mac ad. Apple is right about that. In the longer version “Sad Song Long” PC just keeps singing, despite Mac’s look of amazement that PC could sing that long. Nice end where the dog is doing his interpretation of the song.

The more powerful iMac, now running at speeds up to 3.06GHz.

The new 20-inch 2.4 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,199 (US), includes:

• 20-inch widescreen LCD display;
• 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with a 1066 MHz front-side bus;
• 1GB of 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM expandable to 4GB;
• 250GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• a slot-load 8x SuperDrive® with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128MB GDDR3 memory;
• built-in iSight video camera;
• built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
• mini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and Composite/S-Video sold separately);
• built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
• the Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse and infrared Apple Remote.

The new 20-inch 2.66 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,499 (US), includes:

• 20-inch widescreen LCD display;
• 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with a 1066 MHz front-side bus;
• 2GB of 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM expandable to 4GB;
• 320GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB GDDR3 memory;
• built-in iSight video camera;
• built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
• mini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and Composite/S-Video sold separately);
• built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
• the Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse and infrared Apple Remote.

The new 24-inch 2.8 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,799 (US), includes:

• 24-inch widescreen LCD display;
• 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with a 1066 MHz front-side bus;
• 2GB of 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM expandable to 4GB;
• 320GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB GDDR3 memory;
• built-in iSight video camera;
• built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
• mini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and Composite/S-Video sold separately);
• built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
• the Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse and infrared Apple Remote.

Now with Faster Processors & Faster Graphics Option

CUPERTINO, California—April 28, 2008—Apple® today updated its all-in-one iMac® line with the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors and the most powerful graphics ever available in an iMac. With prices starting at just $1,199, iMac includes faster processors with 6MB L2 cache and a faster 1066 MHz front-side bus across the entire line, and 2GB of memory standard in most models. The 24-inch iMac now offers a 3.06 GHz Intel processor and the high-performance NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS graphics as options, extending iMac’s lead as the ultimate all-in-one desktop computer for both consumers and professionals. (read the rest of the press announcement here).

Apple® today introduced Aperture^TM 2, the next major release of its groundbreaking photo editing and management software with over 100 new features that make it faster, easier to use and more powerful. With a streamlined user interface and entirely new image processing engine, Aperture 2 also introduces new imaging tools for highlight recovery, color vibrancy, local contrast definition, soft-edged retouching, vignetting and RAW fine-tuning, and lets users directly post their portfolios on the .Mac Web Gallery* for viewing on the web, iPhone^TM, iPod® touch and Apple TV®.

Featuring a new, easier user interface designed to be more intuitive and accessible, Aperture 2 now lets users navigate between Viewer and Browser modes with a single key command. Screen real estate is maximized for images with an all-in-one heads up display that allows users to toggle between library, metadata and adjustment controls in a single tabbed inspector. The All Projects view, modeled after iPhoto’s Events view, provides a poster photo for every project and the ability to quickly skim through the photos inside, and the integrated iPhoto® Browser offers direct access to all the events and images in the iPhoto library.

Performance has been enhanced in Aperture 2 so it’s faster to import, browse and search large volumes of images. Embedded previews let photographers caption, keyword and rate images as they are being imported, and with the ability to export images in the background, photographers can continue working while images are processed to JPEG, TIFF, PNG and PSD file formats. Quick Preview allows users to browse RAW images in rapid succession without having to wait for files to load, and the Aperture library database has been re-architected to provide fast project switching and near instantaneous search results, even when working with extremely large libraries of 500,000 images or more.

Aperture 2 delivers powerful new imaging tools for getting the most out of each photograph. Apple’s next-generation RAW image processing is at the core of Aperture 2 offering uncompromising image quality and precision controls that let users fine-tune the image profile for each of their cameras. New tools for improving and enhancing images include Recovery for pulling back “blown” highlights, Vibrancy for selectively boosting saturation without adversely affecting skin tones, Definition, which offers local contrast for adding clarity to images, Vignette & Devignette filters for providing professional visual effects and a true soft-edged Repair and Retouch brush for quickly and easily removing blemishes, cleaning up sensor dust and cloning away problem areas.

Aperture 2 works seamlessly with Mac OS® X, iLife®, iWork^TM, .Mac and Apple print products, so any image in the Aperture library can be accessed directly from within other applications, such as iMovie®, Keynote® and Pages®, and even from within Leopard^TM Mail. Now with .Mac Web Gallery support, Aperture users can publish their photos once to view them on the web, iPhone, iPod touch and Apple TV. Books in Aperture 2 feature new theme designs, layout tools, customized dust jackets (including full-bleed) and foil stamped covers.

Pricing & Availability
Aperture 2 is available immediately through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. Owners of previous versions of Aperture can upgrade to Aperture 2. Full system requirements and more information on Aperture 2 can be found at www.apple.com/aperture.

* The .Mac service is available to persons aged 13 and older. Annual membership fee and Internet access required. Terms and conditions apply.