Apple Releases New 2011 MacBook Air With Backlit Keyboard, Thunderbolt

Some rumors were true while others were far from it. As expected, Apple has released a refreshed line of ultraportables today. Starting with the new 2011 11" MacBook Air starting at $999 (that's how much a 27" LED Cinema Display costs btw), it now packs Intel's new Sandy Bridge processor, the 1.6Ghz dual-core Intel Core i5 with an optional 1.8Ghz dual-core Intel Core i7 upgrade, 64GB SSD, 2GB of memory and Intel HD Graphics 3000. The new 2011 13" MacBook Air starts at $1,299, packs Intel's 1.7Ghz dual-core Intel Core i5 128GB SSD, Intel HD Graphics 3000 and comes standard with 4GB of memory.

But that's not all, both 11" and 13" 2011 MacBook Airs now have full backlit keyboards - A much requested hardware feature since Apple removed it from the 2010 MacBook Airs, Thunderbolt ports and they come with OS X Lion installed and ready to serve. Head on over to the source link for the full customization options.

Apple Updates 27" LED Cinema Display With Thunderbolt, Ethernet, Firewire

Apple has release quite a few updated products today, one of them is the new 27" LED Cinema Display with the same gorgeous 2560x1440 LED backlit IPS display and appearance, but with a few new added perks. The new 27" LED Cinema Display now comes equipped with a Thunderbolt port for blazing fast 10Gbps transfer speeds and daisy chaining goodness, Gigabit Ethernet port to reduce even more cable clutter on your MacBook Air or Pro, a Firewire 800 port and X3 USB ports. The Thunderbolt cable will replace the USB cable used to transfer audio and video into less cable clutter and saving you an extra USB port on your Mac while the MagSafe charging cable will power up your Mac. The new 27" LED Cinema Display will still set you back $999, available now.

Jays Updates V-Jays Headphones, Slashes Price Too

Jays has announced the re-launch of its popular v-Jays headphones due to their success. The newly released v-Jays headphones are foldable, portable and now sport an entirely new matte exterior finish and completely new packaging. The third update that Jays has done is it lowered the price of the v-Jays from just under $100, down to $69.99. All that without sacrificing quality and sound. 

It's here...or will be: Apple iPhone for Verizon

In today's special press event, Verizon announced a new partnership with Apple, and stated that the iPhone will be coming to the CDMA network early next month. Verizon stores are being stocked with the iPhone 4 this week, and existing customers should be able to pre-order the phone on February 3rd. The iPhone will be available in Apple and Verizon stores on February 10th. Pricing is set at $199 for the 16gb version and $299 for the 32gb version. Verizon has also claimed beefing up their network in preparation for the surge of customers. Time will tell how this combination plays out.

Apple TV Comes Back in Black for $99!

Steve Jobs does the famous "One more Thing" with the long overdue update to the Apple TV. There were rumours that the new Apple TV would look just like an iPhone except without a screen, but as it turns out it is a fourth of the size of the original and it is black, black plastic. Which is most likely one of the reasons why Apple lowered the cost. Apple's A4 processor now powers the new Apple TV for effortless streaming without any stutters or freezes. 

This update is a drastic change from the previous model, as no content is stored on the device, all of it is downloaded straight from iTunes as rentals. On the back of the new Apple TV, there are inputs for one HDMI cable, power cable (no more power brick as the power supply is now built in), optical audio and ethernet. You can control the Apple TV by the supplied aluminum remote or by the Apple Remote app using your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch via AirPlay. You can get all the fine details here. 

To give you an idea of how small this box really is, you can fit it on the palm of your hand.

Google Updates Image Search Results

Not long ago today I needed to search Google thru their image search (no, not for gadget porn), and to my surprise I was blown away by the new and updated search results. The new image grid now packs much more images into one page without any text at first, but once you hover over an image, it will pop out and enlarge with info and links. This new image search result will require getting used too. There is no telling if Google will keep it this way, only time will tell.