Mac OS 10.7 Lion, New MacBook Air, iLife ’11, and more

By
Elijah Rotholtz
– October 20, 2010Posted in: Apple, Apple news!, AT&T, Geekerie, Hacking, iOS, iPad, iPhone, Mac, Science, Technology

Almost everyone of my predictions was correct. A new MacBook Air, iLife ’11 Mac OS X Lion, and a Mac App Store. However there were some things that did not get presented today. Like the new iPad, the Verizon iPhone, iWork ’11 (which was weird). The iPad and iPhone I can see but no iWork? Apple did make up for it though, the introduced Mac OS X Lion which has a ton of new features including a Mac App Store, a new iPad-like home screen that lets you see all of your apps in one view, FaceTime for Mac OS 10.7, and 10.6, A new MacBook Air, and iLife ’11.

Availability:

Mac OS X Lion is scheduled to come out this summer (summer ’11). iLife ’11 is out today, the MacBook Air is also available today, the Mac App Store is going to be available within 90 days (Apple is accepting app submissions in the next month). FaceTime is also available today, although it is in beta (download link).

Pricing:

The MacBook Air will range from $999 to $1599 (see chart below). iLife ’11 will come free on all new Macs. With an upgrade cost of $49. There was no word on what Mac OS Lion will cost, but I’m guessing $149.

MacBook Air Specs:

The MacBook Air was the biggest release today (maybe second compared to Mac OS Lion), and it truly amazed. It has a 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo processor in the 13″, and a 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo processor in the 11.6″. Probably the best thing about the new MacBook Air is it’s flash memory. Why? Well for staters no more worrying about magnets, and no more worrying about it jostling around in your bag.

It also has FaceTime capabilities, and will come with iLife ’11 pre-installed. Pricing and specs below. The MacBook Air also comes with a software reinstall drive, which is pretty much a hyped up USB thumb drive.

11-inch : 64GB

  • 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
  • 2GB memory
  • 64GB flash storage1
  • NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics
  • Ships: 1-2 business days
  • Free Shipping
  • $999.00

11-inch : 128GB

  • 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
  • 2GB memory
  • 128GB flash storage1
  • NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics
  • Ships: 1-2 business days
  • Free Shipping
  • $1,199.00

13-inch : 128GB

  • 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
  • 2GB memory
  • 128GB flash storage1
  • NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics
  • Ships: 1-2 business days
  • Free Shipping
  • $1,299.00

13-inch : 256GB

  • 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
  • 2GB memory
  • 256GB flash storage1
  • NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics
  • Ships: 1-2 business days
  • Free Shipping
  • $1,599.00

Mac OS X Lion:

Mac OS X Lion the long awaited update to the OS. It will most likely retail for about $149, and will be available this coming summer.

Some of the new features include, FaceTime, Mac App Store, iPad-like homepages (called LaunchPad) for your apps, fullscreen apps, and Mission Control, which lets you see all open apps in one view.

The best new feature is the App Store. Followed closely by multitouch gestures which. Last but not least is the iPad-esc view of apps.

You can watch all of the videos on Apple’s website. According to Steve more details will become available as it gets nearer to launch.

FaceTime:

The addition of FaceTime for Mac is really a great thing, it allows you to connect with anyone, anywhere (kind of) from the comfort of your Mac. It has a really nice clean, and simple interface. You can connect with iPod Touches, iPhones, or other Macs. It’s available now for free on Apple’s website. However it is currently in beta, so expect a few rough edges.

iLife ’11:

iLife ’11 got some great updates today. The new version adds features such as fullscreen viewing of everything iPhoto has to offer, the ability to make great movie trailers automatically in iMovie, GarageBand also got an update with features like FlexTime, GrooveMatching, and more.

iLife ’11 is available now for $49 or free with the purchase of a new Mac.

Wrap-up:

I think this was a great day for Apple, but I think we’ll see some really cool things in the coming months (like a new iPad, and a Verizon iPhone). I believe that the best thing that they released today was the MacBook Air. It has some major improvements, and I think that it will make people think twice before buying a netbook.

You can find more information by going to Apple’s website and perusing the aisles.

What do you think was the best thing Apple released today? Tell us your thoughts below.

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About Elijah Rotholtz