Apple Computer Inc yesterday introduced a slew of new products, including its first computers deploying Intel chips and iPod accessories, to woo local Apple lovers.
"The debut of our new iMac desktops and MacBook Pro notebooks, which use new Intel Core Duo microprocessors, was six months ahead of schedule," Kong Yuk-loong (
These products made their first appearance last month in the US at the Macworld Expo -- an annual event in which Apple shows off its latest products and initiatives.
The company said last June that it was abandoning the Power PC processor line from IBM Corp, which it had used for 14 years, and chips from major supplier Freescale Semiconductor Inc.
Starting from NT$46,900 (US$1,452), the new iMacs come in two models, one with a 17-inch display and 1.83 GHz dual processors and another with a 20-inch display and 2 GHz dual processors. They are said to deliver twice the performance of previous models.
The new models will be available next week.
Meanwhile, the MacBook Pro, which it is claimed has four times the performance of the PowerBook G4, will hit stores next month.
Weighing 2.09 kg, the 15-inch laptops feature 1.67 GHz or 1.83 GHz dual processors and start at NT$74,900.
In the last quarter alone, Apple shipped 1.25 million Macintosh computers globally, up from 1.05 million units a year ago.
It also sold 14 million iPods, nearly three times in the same period a year ago.
"Users can also look forward to iPod accessories, since there are now more than 2,000 such devices tailor-made for the digital music players," Kong added.
Among others, the company launched a device combining wired remote control with FM radio capability for iPods. It is set to be launched next month.
However, despite its aggressive product launches, Apple has been hindered by negative news regarding recent product problems.
The company is looking into reports that the new Intel-based iMacs are experiencing video problems which prevent the graphics from being viewed as intended. The video glitch is noticeable when users start the media software Front Row.
Moreover, a lawsuit was filed against Apple last week in the US demanding the company recall and replace allegedly defective iPod nano music players.
also see story:
Apple faces lawsuit over damaged iPod nano music players
Taiwan’s foreign exchange reserves fell below the US$600 billion mark at the end of last month, with the central bank reporting a total of US$596.89 billion — a decline of US$8.6 billion from February — ending a three-month streak of increases. The central bank attributed the drop to a combination of factors such as outflows by foreign institutional investors, currency fluctuations and its own market interventions. “The large-scale outflows disrupted the balance of supply and demand in the foreign exchange market, prompting the central bank to intervene repeatedly by selling US dollars to stabilize the local currency,” Department of Foreign
Intel Corp is joining Elon Musk’s long-shot effort to develop semiconductors for Tesla Inc, Space Exploration Technologies Corp and xAI, marking a surprising twist in the chipmaker’s comeback bid. Intel would help the Terafab project “refactor” the technology in a chip factory, the company said on Tuesday in a post on X, Musk’s social media platform. That is a stage in the development process that typically helps make chips more powerful or reliable. The chipmaker’s shares jumped 4.2 percent to US$52.91 in New York trading on Tuesday. The Terafab project is a grand plan by Musk to eventually manufacture his own chips for
Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) yesterday said it plans to resume operations at two coal-fired power generators for three months to boost security of electricity supply as liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply risks are running high due to the Middle East conflict. The two coal-fired power generators are at Mailiao Power Plant in Yunlin County’s Mailiao Township (麥寮). The plant, operated by Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團), supplied electricity to Taipower’s power grid until the end of last year. Taipower’s decision came about one month after Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) on March 10 said that the nation had no imminent
Some robotaxi passengers were left stranded in the middle of fast-moving traffic in a major Chinese city after their driverless vehicles stopped running, according to police and media reports on Wednesday. A preliminary investigation indicates more than 100 robotaxis came to a halt because of a “system malfunction,” police in the city of Wuhan said in a statement, without elaborating. No injuries were reported. One passenger told Chinese media that their robotaxi stopped after turning a corner. An instruction on a screen read: “Driving system malfunction. Staff are expected to arrive in 5 minutes.” After no one showed up, the passenger pushed
RSS