Apple Mac HQ

If you’re a Mac loving pessimist who likes to save money, I’ve got good news for you. The piece of mind that is AppleCare, can be purchased for less than retail price. While this may not be news to some, it was to me.

For those that don’t know, AppleCare is basically an extended warranty with telephone technical support, web-based support resources, and some free diagnostic software. The complimentary coverage that you get when you purchase a Mac is 90 days of phone support and one year of service coverage (hardware repair). AppleCare extends both phone support and service coverage to three years. When you purchase AppleCare it does not extend your warranty three years, it extends your warranty to three years from your date of purchase.

I won’t go into the debate if AppleCare is worth the money or not. Any Mac user that’s had to use AppleCare though will likely tell you that it is worth the money. I’ve never bought an extended warranty for a computer but I’m going to purchase AppleCare for my Macbook Pro. My MBP travels a good deal, and with all that movement comes the chance that one day something might happen to it.

You can purchase AppleCare up to one year from the date of your Mac purchase. Once that one year mark passes, you can no longer purchase AppleCare. Amazon is currently (maybe always?) selling AppleCare for less than the Apple price. The Macbook Pro plan will set you back $300 ($50 less than retail). The Macbook plan costs $200 ($50 less than retail). The iMac and Mac Pro plans will set you back $150 ($20 less than retail) and $250 respectively. Oddly, the Mac Pro plan is the only Mac AppleCare plan that is not less than retail price. I guess if you can afford a Mac Pro you can afford AppleCare at retail price?

Popularity: 45% [?]

I’m not sure when this happened (edit: some research leads to December 14th), but I noticed today that the Macworld website has received a refresh. Macworld was last redesigned in 2003, before Intel, iPhone, Tiger, Leopard, and more. As is fashionable recently, you’ll notice the word “Beta” in the new Macworld header image.

Old Design

Some of the new features include voting buttons on every story. The voting feature will float the most popular stories to the top of the “Top User Rated” tab on the home page. Also changed is that comments are now seen on the same page as the story. Previously the comments were kept in the forum which was tucked away from the story itself. The Playlist website has been folded back into Macworld as well.

New Design

I can’t be certain, but it looks like less content is displayed on the new home page. The new design is certainly in line with current design trends too. My first impression is to give it a thumbs up.

Popularity: 42% [?]

Citing sources in Asia, CNBC says (video link) Apple will release a sub-portable notebook at MacWorld in January. Though a little lite on details, CNBC reports the notebook will cost $1500, be 50% thinner than current notebooks, and be flash memory based. This would likely include the introduction of solid state drives (SSD) to the Apple lineup.

With the sub-portable 50% thinner than the current Macbook Pro, the device is likely to have no optical media drive and reduced USB/Firewire ports. So Apple is going to sell me a smaller screen, less features, and less storage for $1500? No thanks. I know some people have been salivating over this for some time, but I just don’t want a notebook with less features than the one I currently own. I love my Macbook Pro and couldn’t image using a computer smaller than the Macbook, which I previously owned. When did CNBC get on the Apple rumor mill too?

[Via Switch To A Mac]

Popularity: 32% [?]

It’s no secret that we love Apple here at AMHQ. Part of the reason this website was started was to get all the great Apple, Inc information out to everyone on the interwebs. We’re trying to cover things that we ourselves would want to hear about and we hope you do too. As we bring you everything Apple, we are starting something new at Apple Mac HQ next month.

If you take pictures and put them online, changes are pretty good you’ve visited Flickr at some point. We started a new Flickr group recently and we want you to add your pictures to it. The group is called Apple Office, and it’s a place where we want you to put your Apple themed office pictures. Do you have a sweet picture of your office space showing off your 30″ Apple Cinema Display next to your Macbook Pro, right beside your new aluminum keyboard? Maybe you have an Apple logo neon sign right above your Mac Pro?

We want to feature one or two Apple themed offices each month here at Apple Mac HQ. Add your Apple themed office pictures to our Flickr group and you’re automatically entered to be featured on Apple Mac HQ. We’ll give you full credit for the picture and link to your website if you have one. We’ll pick our first office in a few weeks, so go ahead and add your picture to the Apple Office Flickr group!

Popularity: 28% [?]

If you want to watch TV on your Mac, Amazon has an amazing deal going on right now. It looks like it’s one of the Black Friday special deals so take advantage of it while you can. For just $75 USD (after $30 rebate), you can pick up the Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-950 from Amazon. The regular price is nearly $150 so you’re saving close to 50%.

The Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-950 looks amazingly similar to the Elgato EyeTV Hybrid which I own and love (a review is coming soon). In fact, the WinTV-HVR-950 even comes with the EyeTV Lite software package. Included is software that will work with PC’s too. The Hauppaugge will receive HD ATSC (over the air) and analog cable TV signals. The WinTV-HVR-950 even comes with a portable TV antenna capable of receiving HD signals, the Elgato EyeTV Hybrid does not include a antenna. You’ll need a fairly recent Mac to use the WinTV-HVR-950, but if you want to watch TV cheaply on your Mac this is one of the best deals I’ve seen.

Popularity: 49% [?]

If you would like a free iMac and don’t mind filling out a survey, then I’ve got a link for you. Macworld is giving away a free iMac to someone who completes this survey by January 31st, 2008. The contest is limited to US residents 18 years old and older. For the official rules, visit the link above and click the drawing rules link. Good luck to everyone who enters!

Popularity: 46% [?]

Apple released their 4th quarter financial results today after the market closed. If you don’t want to listen to the entire report, here are some numbers or points I found interesting. My comments are in parentheses.

B = Billion
M = Million
FY = Fiscal Year

Revenue/Financials
-Revenue of 6.22B; a 29% increase over year ago quarter
-Net income of 904M, up 67% over year ago quarter
-Mac products and services accounted for 62% of total quarterly revenue
-36% of quarterly revenue were from music related products
-Revenue of 118M was recognized from iPhone sales, iPhone accessories, and payments from AT&T
-Apple Stores averaged revenue of 6.6M based on an average of 190 stores
-33.6% total company gross margin
-Capitalized 22M of software development expense related to Leopard in 4Q
-15.4B in cash balance to end the quarter
-24B in revenue FY 2007
-3.5B in net income for FY 2007
-Direct sales were 57% of total company revenue in 4Q

Mac
-Shipped 2.16M Macs in 4Q; which is a new quarterly record
-34% Mac growth over year ago quarter
-Driven by the iMac redesign; 31% year over year growth in desktop systems
-Sales of Macbook and Macbook Pro increased 37% over year ago quarter
-62% of Macs sold were Macbook and Macbook Pro
-Q4 ended with less than 3 weeks channel inventory; which is below average
-7M Macs sold in FY 2007
-Around 8700 Mac sales points

iPhone
-Sold 1.1M iPhones during 4Q; 1.4M to date
-iPhone was the fourth highest selling handset in the US during the 4Q according to market research
-Apple anticipates most iPhone $100 credits to be recorded by end of calendar year 2007
-Working with Salesforce.com on their iPhone software
-On target to enter Asia in 2008 with iPhone
-Apple estimates 250K iPhones sold to individuals wishing to unlock them
-No update on previously mentioned iPhone testing in the Enterprise (maybe with Active Sync?)
-No news on new iPhone model. Apple did not comment on entering Asia with a 2.5G phone. (Could this point to the Asia 2008 launch for a 3G iPhone?)

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 53% [?]