Tepple: Mobile Version

Today, we are pleased to announce the mobile version of Tepple!  We have a normal version of the site (pictured here) and an iPhone version (pictured above).  It's powered by MoFuse, and the address is tepple.mofuse.mobi.  If you click the link now on your computer, it will take you to a preview of the site.  We've also added a nifty little link to the mobile site on the left of the normal Tepple (it says Mobile friendly).  If you're on your phone and you get the normal version, just click the link and it will take you straight to the mobile site.  Enjoy!

Last Macworld for Apple, no Keynote by Steve Jobs

Apple has announced that this will be there last year participating in the annual Macworld trade show, and instead of Steve Jobs delivering the keynote adress, it will be Philip Schiller, Apple's senoir vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing.  The reason for bailing on Macworld, you might ask?  Acording to Apple, "Apple is reaching more people in more ways than ever before, so like many companies, trade shows have become a very minor part of how Apple reaches its customers. The increasing popularity of Apple’s Retail Stores, which more than 3.5 million people visit every week, and the Apple.com website enable Apple to directly reach more than a hundred million customers around the world in innovative new ways."  With Steve Jobs not delivering the keynote, it's almost certain that he will begin to transition the company to other people, and take a back seat.  I don't know if he'll go as far to retire, but if he does, Apple would have lost it's co-founder, and the person who got Apple to be the giant it is.  Without Steve Jobs, Apple would definatly not be in the position it is today.  Farewell Steve, farewell.

OS X Leopard 10.6.5 Update

 

Quick!  Run to your Macs!  The new OS X Leopard update is out, OS X 10.6.5.  Most of it is made up of graphics improvements for games and other programs.  It also improves support and compatibility for the AT&T 3G laptop cards.  The Chess program will get some needed performance and reliability updates.  Safari gets " compatibility with web proxy servers," and the new MacBooks now have a Trackpad System Preferences pane.  MobileMe also now syncs any changes (contacts, calender, bookmarks) within a minute.  The iPhone gets some love too; the update improves the reliability of Adress Book syncing with the iPhone and other devices.

The Apple Quilt

 

Take a look at this quilt.  It was found on eBay, and is made up of 20 Apple t-shirts.  The current bid is $227.50, so if you feel like blowing over $227.50 on a quilt made of (probably) uncomfortable t-shirts, go ahead and make a bid at eBay.  You've got about 3 days to bid, so go waste your money! 

The iPhone Nano

According to iDealsChina.com, Apple has plans to produce and release an iPhone Nano, or the Nanophone as they call it.  The site claims "its has 3 sensors, camera, mirror screen, but no 3G.  It is the same height as the just release Nano but wider and thicker and with the same iPhone 3G contours."  The site claims that it will be revealed at MacWorld in January.  iDealsChina says that a new iPod shuffle will also be revealed, and claims that they will have pictures of the Nanophone and new iPod shuffle by the 20th.  Take this with a grain of salt, but we will nevertheless follow this story closely.

"iPhone is a Gaming Console"

According to an apparently extremly reliable source at Engadget, John Geleynse, the Director, Technology Evangelism at Apple Inc., made some pretty big staments at an iPhone event today in San Jose.  He claimed that the iPhone was a "gaming console."  He also said that "it's not a phone, it's a console experience."  He even went as far to say that the iPhone was a serious compitor to the Nintendo DS.  Those are some pretty bold words John.  The iPhone (and iPod Touch) do have some games that could help pass the time on a long car journey or something to that extent, but a "console experience?"  Not in my lifetime...

MacBook Pro has faulty Nvidia graphics cards?

According to the Inquirer, the new MacBook Pros may have Nvidia graphics cards that are made of the same material that caused the failing chips that we've been hearing about all summer. Check it out to get the full technical anaylisis and why those faulty graphics cards are defective. The image you see above this post is a picture the Inquirer found of the MacBook Pro's Nvidia G96 chip. That poor, poor MacBook Pro. It's hard to see a graphics card like this cut in half... *sniff sniff*

$99 iPhone at WalMart?

Many rumors have been circulating around the Net that the iPhone will be sold at WalMart.  We know that this is going to happen, but what we didn't expect is that the iPhone might get a "WalMartification."  Various sites claim that the iPhone will drop down to 4GB for WalMart, and have a price point of $99.  A few WalMart iPhone activation guides have been seen like the one pictured above, so is it possible?  Yes.  Likely?  No.

iPhone now rules (16.6%) of the (smartphone) world!

Congratulations iPhone! You have now just stolen 16.6% of the world's smartphone market. And you stole that 16.6% from Nokia! Nokia used to own 63.3% of the market, but then that tricky little "Jesus phone" came out and now, Nokia only owns 43.6%. The iPhone continues it's successful campaign to rule the world. Next stop, 16.6% of the overall cell phone market. Woohoo, iPhone for evil world dictator 2009!

The Apple Holiday Guide

It's that time of year again.  And Tepple's go your back.  In this guide, we're going to cover all your options for getting one person on your list an Apple product.  Here we.  Take a look at all the goodies we've got inside!
First up, the iPods!

iPod Shuffle- the iPod Shuffle is a like a "mini" iPod that has no screen and plays all your songs at random.  They come cheap ($49 for the 1GB, $69 for the 2GB in 5 different colors) and are great for either a little kid who's just getting into music, or a elderly person




iPod Nano- this is more like it!  The new iPod Nano now comes in 9 colors, and has a bunch of new built in features, like an accelerometer, the Genius feature, which selects playlists based around certain songs, and a "shake to shuffle" feature.  Of course they come ready to play music, games, and videos.  You can get the 8GB for $149 and the 16GB for $199.  They're perfect for teens or the person who likes music, but just doesn't love it.

iPod Classic- ah, the iPod Classic.  This thing will NEVER die.  I've had an iPod classic since 2005, and it's been thrown down stairs, washed twice, and even stepped on multiple times.  It still runs perfectly (except for the annoying little dead pixel on the screen that never goes away.  ARRRRRG it annoys me so).   If you want durability, you need to go out and get this iPod.  Although a bit heavy and bulky, this beast can hold up to 120GB of music and videos.  For $250, you can get the 120GB in either black or white.  This is the iPod for your music guru, the collector of music who has 500 CDs on the walls of his room.


iPod Touch- the iPod Touch (or the iTouch as some call it) is basically an iPhone without the Phone part.  It uses all the same technology, and even looks the same!  But this iPod is totally different than any other you've seen before.  With an internet browser and e-mail, plus full access to the App Store and built in Wi-Fi, this will become the last iPod you'll ever need.  And, it's the hottest new trend.  I guarentee you that the iPod Touch will be one of the most sold items this holiday season, and for good reason.  You can pick up this iPod for any member of your family (preferably teenagers and young adults) for $229 for a 8GB, $299 for the 16GB, and $399 for the 32GB.

Next up, the Macs!


Mac Mini- let's start off with the baby stuff.  The Mac Mini.  Wait, you've never heard of the Mac Mini?  A super small computer you can carry around quite easily?  Really?  Never?  Well, the Mini is a real computer.  It may not come with a monitor, keyboard, or mouse, but it comes with OS X Leopard and everything you'd expect from an Apple computer.  It will run you about $599 for an 80GB hard drive and 1GB of memory and $799 for a 120GB hard drive and 1GB of memory.  This computer is for someone who doesn't really use computers that much, or doesn't really like them.

MacBook- behold!  The beauty!  This new MacBook is basically a mini MacBook Pro.  It has an LED backlit screen, a graphics card by NVIDIA, a new multi-touch trackpad, and the eco-friendly aluminum uni-body construction.  This laptop is for everyone.  For $1,299 you'll get a 160GB hard drive with 2GB of memory and $1,599 for a 250GB hard drive with 2GB of memory.
MacBook Air- the MacBook Air.  Kind of like the MacBook's baby cousin.  This little laptop is only .76 inches thin at it's widest point, but has no CD drive.    The new version boasts the multi-touch trackpad and a NVIDIA graphics card.  Great for people who travel a lot, and can't afford to give up space in their suitcases.  For $1,799 you can get a 120GB hard drive and for $2,499 you can get a 128GB solid state hard drive.


MacBook Pro-  The big brother of all the MacBooks.  This beast of a laptop has all the same features of the MacBook on the outside, but has a lot more hardware on the inside.  With 15 inch LED-backlit screen, 2 to 4GB of memory, an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and two NVIDIA graphics cards, the MacBook Pro is perfect for that creative talent in the family.  A 250GB hard drive with 2GB of memory will run you $1,999, while the 320GB hard drive with 4GB of memory costs $2,499.

iMac-  the first desktop on the list, the iMac is a perfect gift for the whole family.  All the inner workings and processor of the iMac is behind the screen, giving it a slim and clean look.  It comes with a keyboard and mouse, and the 24 inch screen with a 250GB hard drive and 1GB of memory clocks in at $1,199.  The 26 inch screen with 2GB of memory and a 500GB hard drive comes out at $2,199.  You can configure the memory and hard drive to your liking while you shop for it online.  This is the perfect gift your whole family will enjoy.

Mac Pro- now for my favorite Mac.  This computer is an absolute monster.  It starts with the standard configuration, 2GB of memory with a 320GB hard drive for $2,799.  But, if you're super rich, you can configure this beast to have 4 Terabytes of hard drive space with a 32GB memory for about $26,000.  What other computer can hold 4 Terabytes of data with a memory of 32 GB?

And that concludes our holiday gift guide.  Happy shopping and have a wonderful holiday!

Update

Just another update.  We'll post our first impressions of the new MacBook this week, and have a holiday buyers guide to Apple products up either this or next week.  We should be starting our first newsletter soon, so remember to check those inboxes.  As always, thanks for staying with Tepple, the place for anything and everything Apple.

Apple's Gone Green?

Oh Apple, Apple, Apple.  When will you ever learn?  You start bragging about how you've become green and want to save the environment .  You boast how your new MacBook boxes are "41% smaller than the previous generation" and how you can "fit 25% more boxes on a shipping pallet to save CO2 emissions."  Then, you turn around a ship a 5 inch; INCH; Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter in a box big enough to fit a 13 inch MacBook, and goodies.  Apple's gone green?  Not until they stop shipping products like this in packaging like that.  Another image  here:

Free SMS Messages on the iPhone

From the crafty maker of TouchType, comes a new app for your iPhone that could pay for itself very quickly.  The app,  called SMS Touch, is actually very clever.  You can avoid the $15 unlimited text messaging fee from AT&T by sending the SMS message to another phone through your email using this handy app.  Then, when the phone you "e-mailed" responds, the message shows up in your E-mail.  For $5, you have no excuse not to buy this extremely handy app.

Apple University?

Today, Apple announced its plans for the "Apple School."  They are hiring Mr. Joel Podolny, the dean of Yale's School of Management.  The school will be like a training ground for new Apple employees, like the Pixar University and McDonald's Hamburger University.  Podolny will step down as dean on November 1st, but will begin teaching at the Apple University in early 2009.

MacBook Nano Caught Online

John Markoff at the New York Times has updated his article about the possiblity of an Apple netbook, now claiming that he spotted the "MacBook Nano/iPhone Slate" from the logs of an "unamed search engine."  Take a look at this quote from the article.

"That would seem to confirm findings that a search engine company shared with me on condition that I not reveal its name: The company spotted Web visits from an unannounced Apple product with a display somewhere between an iPhone and a MacBook. Is it the iPhone 3.0 or the NetMac 1.0?"

We can only dream...

And Here...We...GO: Apple's Quarterly Earnings

 

First of all, I would like to apologize for not getting the MacBook review in.  Unfortunately, we had a slight predicament come up and was not able to get the review done.  But, we'll have it soon!  And now to the article.  Yes, it's that time of the year, the quarterly earnings!  And the results are in... 6.9 million iPhones, 2.6 million Macs, and 11 million iPods for a total of... *drum roll* $7.9 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.14 billion, or $1.26 per diluted share.

Review of MacBook

I will have the review of the new MacBook published on Sunday at the latest. The new MacBook Pro I'll probably review by Sunday, but no promises. If I don't review the MacBook Pro by this Sunday, I'll have it up on Tepple by next Sunday. The new Macs look very promising, and I can't wait to get my hands on them!

Apple's Full MacBook Event

Here's the link to watch the full MacBook Event.  It's worth it just to hear Jonathan Ive say "aluminum."  Trust me, it's worth it!

The New MacBooks

These are the new MacBooks.  The first is the MacBook, which I like to call the MacBook Pro Mini, because that's basically what it is.  The next is the MacBook Pro.  New improvements to both models are great improvements.  The first is that they both have a glass multi-touch pad, which is a trackpad (the thing at the bottom of a laptop) with no button for clicking and can sense movements like pinching, sliding, etc.  The next is that the aluminum and "brick" rumors were right.  Both MacBooks are made out of aluminum from one body, called a Unibody.  Also, both screens are now backlight lit with LEDs.  The MacBook starts at $1,299 and the MacBook Pro starts at $1,999.  

Here's Apple's Page for the new MacBooks

New MacBook Pro "Spy Shot"

This picture on top was supposedly a picture of the new MacBook Pro taken by a spy.  This "spy' was also the one who leaked pictures of the new iPod Nano, which turned out to be true.  According to "JR" all the new MacBooks (the regular, Air, and Pro) will feature the NVIDIA 9400M GPU and the MacBook Pro will also have a 9600M GT GPU.  The current MacBook will stay in the lineup but will be reduced to $999.  The Air will get a 120GB hard drive.  The MacBook Pro will have a button-less glass trackpad.  All of this is according to the spy "JR."  The picture on the bottom is a computer mock up of what the MacBook Pro will probably look like, according to the leaked spy shot.  Pretty, isn't it?  Also, a $899 product is showing up in Apple's databases.  There are two things it is speculated to be.  The $899 product, labeled MB382LL/A could be either a Apple 24" Cinema Display, or a new MacBook.  Here's the spy's breakdown of the new prices: 

MB382LL/A $899.00 (K29) (could be the display or could be MacBook)
MB466LL/A $1,299.00 (M97) (could be MacBook)
MB467LL/A $1,599.00 (M97) (could be MacBook)
MB543LL/A $1,799.00 (M96) (could be MacBook Air)
MB940LL/A $2,499.00 (M96) (could be MacBook Air)
MB470LL/A $1,999.00 (M98) (could be 15-inch MacBook Pro)
MB471LL/A $2,499.00 (M98) (could be 15-inch MacBook Pro)
MB766LL/A $2,799.00 (M88) (could be 15- or 17-inch MacBook Pro)

No MacBook Price Drop According to Best Buy Tipster *Update*

*Update*: It turns out that we were right to be skeptical of this rumor. It turns out that the pictures here are real, the computers wouldn't show any new information about the product (in this case the MacBook) until that information is released. Essentially, this means that even if their is a price drop for the new MacBook, it won't show up in Best Buy's computer system until we already know about it.

This picture was sent in to Gizmodo by a tipster from Best Buy. If this tipster is to be believed, it shows that the the new MacBooks and MacBook Pros will not get a price drop. The colors are really just codenames. Here's the tipster's breakdown of the models:

GREEN = $1,999.99 - 15" MacBook Pro base model
PURPLE = $2,799.99 - 17" MacBook Pro base model
YELLOW = $1,499.99 - 13" MacBook top end model
BLUE = $2,499.99 - 15" MacBook Pro mid model
ORANGE = $1,299.99 - 13" MacBook mid Model
RED = $1,099.99 - 13" MacBook base model

I really doubt the truth in this tipster. This document could have easily been forged, so take this with a grain of salt.

More images here and here.

New MacBooks and MacBook Pros Confirmed for Tuesday

Take a look at this leaked picture from Apple. "What's so special about a stupid AirPort Card Installation Reminder?" you may ask. Well, take a look at the top right corner. It says "MacBook/MacBook Pro (Late 2008). This pretty much confirms what we were expecting on Tuesday, which were new models of the MacBook and MacBook Pro.

Apple Store "Field Trips"

Apple has begun offering kid "Field Trips" to your local Apple Store.  This is obviously to get the younger generation accustomed to Macs and free them from the evil clutches of the empire that is Microsoft.  Here's the quote from Apple's official page, "Take your students on a Field Trip to an Apple Store for an unforgettable learning experience. On their Field Trip, students can create something amazing right on the spot. Or they can bring in a project they’ve already created and turn our store into a theater, sharing their achievements with parents, teachers, and friends. No matter which option you choose, everyone will have a great time."  Plus, they get a sweet t-shirt and it's "free"!  That would be the best field trip ever, but it's only for one hour.  And, I would bet my life that one poor iPhone is destroyed...

WalMart Selling iPhone 3G

As WalMart continues it's plan for world domination, it has; in the process; picked up the iPhone 3G so that the smiley faced rulers of the earth can browse the web at up to 3G speeds!  WalMart will start selling the iPhone 3G on November 15.

Apple LCD HDTV Rumor

Recently, rumors have surfaced that Apple may be working on a LCD HDTV with the built in features of Apple TV.  This comes from a credible source, but I have doubt in this rumor.  Why would Apple enter the volatile and dangerous TV market?  No doubt that this Apple iTV (I don't know, it sounds like a good name, right?) will be just as expensive as other Apple products, which means it will be in the higher end of the TV pricing spectrum.  I know a lot of people who would buy an Apple LCD HDTV, but will the normal consumer?  If they can get the same TV without the Apple TV for less, I think they'll jump on the cheaper TV, especially the way the economy is acting.  Even if this rumor turns out to be true, I doubt we'll see it at the upcoming Apple Event on Tuesday, more like early 2009.  

Apple MacBook Event October 14

Two days ago, Apple sent out this enigmatic invitation with only the quote "The spotlight turns to notebooks" and what appears to be an image of a black MacBook.  Now, if the Apple logo in the invitation is a 1.5" standard logo (like they are on all MacBooks), it is believed that the size of the notebook shown is 13.3", which is the same as the MacBooks right now.  If that's true, it adds more believability to the new "metal" MacBooks and the new "brick" manufacturing process rumors.  The date says October 14, 2008 at Apple's Headquarters in California.  The event starts at 1:00 PM EST (10:00 AM PST).  Once (sorry, if) the new MacBook and MacBook Pro are announced, we will have a review of both up by the 19th at the latest.  Let's see what good ole' Steve has in store for us this time!

Welcom to Tepple!

Hello and welcome to Tepple, your one stop source for all the latest Apple rumors, reviews, hands-on previews, and news!  Your first question for Tepple is probably, "What's with the name?  Tepple?"  Well, the name Tepple comes from two words.  The first is Tech.  The second is (you guessed it) Apple.  We took the Te from tech and the pple from Apple, and *tadaa* you have the name Tepple!

You second should be "Why should I read Tepple?"  Tepple is the only place where you can get the best news, reviews, previews, and rumors about anything and everything Apple.  Happy reading!