The W520 was first announced back in February and will cost at least $1,449 to start with, which includes the Intel Core-i7 processor. Also to start with it includes the NVIDIA Quadro 1000M Optimus graphics, 4GB RAM and its chip is a 2.7GHz Core i7-2620M.

If you’re willing to pay a little extra you get to experience the Quadcore 2.2GHz Core i7-2720QM processor. This will set you back an extra $200 however with the basic W520 costing $1,449 and this version costing $1,649.

Other options available include integrated WWAN and Bluetooth 3.0, 160GB SSD or up to 500GB HDD, as much as 8GB RAM and up to 1920 x 1080 display with the standard being 1366 x 768. A standard model will also include Wi-Fi, a 6-cell battery and a DVD burner.

The ThinkPad W520’s nearest competitor is the popular 15” MacBook Pro which is also equipped with the Quadcore processor, except it has a few advantages including more hard-drive capacity as standard, that’s if you’re willing to pay $2,199 for the basic device.

More details can be found in the article at Slashgear. What do you think of the ThinkPad W520? Would you get one instead of the MacBook Pro? Let us know in the comments below.

The clocking speeds that this CPU is capable of are 3.4GHz but at the moment the speeds are struggling to reach over 2.7GHz. This news comes from one of a few separate reviews that that featured the new 13“ Apple laptop.

It is thought that safety issues and high temperatures are the reason for this. Reviewers said that the MacBook Pro was reaching temperatures above 90 degrees Celsius, which is why it’s now thought that Apple intentionally disabled the boosting function, to stop components melting while on your lap.

More details can be found in the review at PCPro. What do you think could be the reason these problems are occurring? Let us know your thoughts below.

We spoke about this new interface a few days ago, however since then Apple has released fully detailed information regarding this technology, check out this link for full details.

As we previously suggested Thunderbolt offers 10Gbps throughput in both directions, this makes it 12x faster than FireWire 800 and up to 20x faster than USB 2.0, USB 3.0 operates at a maximum of 5Gbps, therefore Thunderbolt is twice as fast, you can see a chart comparing all of the major technologies below, also the image shows a Thunderbolt lead, port and its logo.

One other major advantage it has over USB 3.0 is the fact that the two 10Gbps channels allow you to daisy-chain devices, also as Thunderbolt is based on PCI Express and DisplayPort you can link to a HDTV without the use of a hub and without any reduction in performance.

You can find out fully detailed information regarding Thunderbolt here, it has to be said that this could be a major game-changer especially for video, music and photo editors, let’s just hope that Thunderbolt compliant devices and cables do not cost too much, I wouldn’t hold my breath on that…..

Will you use Thunderbolt? Or is Firewire 800 still fast enough for you?

According to the Digitimes, there are plans for four upgraded MacBook Pro’s and a new iMac. The iMac will feature a different panel size and will have a different price point, perhaps Apple are looking to attack the mainstream market next.

If these rumors are true about the planned releases, then it would seem that Apple are truly trying to take over the world! In addition to the new releases we are discussing above they have another popular device being updated; the iPad. Most are expecting the next generation of iPad, the iPad 2, to appear early in 2011.

In total, they must be looking at releasing approximately 7 new devices in the first half of 2011. This is an expensive plan that will undoubtedly pay off. If you look at it from a perspective that they will have a new Tablet PC, a set of 4 new laptops and a new iMac, they have pretty much covered all bases. Not forgetting the rumors surrounding the next generation iPhone.

What do you think of the rumors? Do you think they are true? Let us know in the comments below.

So we know they have previous, so when they predict that the iPad 2 will be launched in January and a new range of MacBook Pro devices with SSD instead of a hard drive in April; you cannot help but believe in it. This will not be a simple refresh; according to T-GAAP it will be a completely new design – but what?

We can only speculate as to the new design, but it could be like a slightly thicker version than the previous MacBook Air. So it is believed that the new 2011 MacBook Pros will change over to a 512GB SSD, and will be much lighter than the current design.

Not much was mentioned regarding the iPad 2, just that it would launch in January. I believe that this has some merit; no way will Apple want to release the iPad 2nd generation around the same time as the RIM BlackBerry PlayBook and the three upcoming Acer tablets. Read what five new features the iPad 2 is likely to have.

What do you think of these latest rumors, is there any credit to them?

In total it is thought that Apple are claiming that six patents have been violated, apparently Sanho has developed and sold products that use Apple’s unique MagSafe and iPod 30-pin connectors.

Products that use the magnetic power connectors include chargers for the MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, all of which were sold under the HyperMac brand. Interestingly Sanho use recycled official MagSafe products made by Apple.

Also other accessories for the iPhone, iPad and iPod utilize Apple’s 30-pin dock connector, according to Apple these products infringe Apple patents.

Sanho’s products include external batteries which are very popular with consumers as they give your Apple products extra juice at a relatively low price, you can see their full range of products here.

If you would like to find out in-depth information regarding the patent infringement check out the source link below.

Source: AppleInsider

The Core i7 chips are the faster of the two and are available in the 15-inch and 17-inch models, the particular Core i7 chip available has four 2.66GHz cores, which makes it great for performance, but apparently not so good for keeping cool.

When PCAuthority recently tested the Core i7-based MacBook they noticed that its chassis was extremely warm, when they investigated the excessive heat they noticed it was running at 100 degrees Celcius, which as you can imagine is not at all acceptable.

It would appear as if for once Apple have got the design wrong, as a Fujitsu Lifebook running the same benchmark tests with the same processor managed to keep 20 degrees cooler than the Apple device, in the end PCAuthorty had to resort to standing the MacBook on its side to keep it from overheating.

Apparently unless they stood the MacBook Pro on its side it failed to perform consistently during benchmark tests, which pretty much confirms that the combination of the Pro’s airflow, chassis and heat-pipe may need a redesign.

Does your Core i7 MacBook Pro run hot? If so have you contacted Apple regarding the issue? Did they help?

Source: PCAuthority

As reported from Apple Insider, the disassembly was performed on the new 15-inch Core i5 MacBook Pro model. The specialists over at iFixit uncovered that Apple’s redesigned MacBook Pro no longer requires wireless connections to be integrated into the camera cable.

It was with this that they discovered the addition of an antenna that is mounted on the frame of the optical drive opening. Apple has also made further tweaks to the speaker assemby, as well as the Intel HM55 chipset.

Hopefully the inclusion of this antenna will improve wireless performance for customers, as this has often been a problem in the past with the old setup.

What are your thoughts on this? More details and pictures over at Apple Insider.

The article suggests that Microcenter has received these new part numbers for four different MacBook Pros in the 15-icn and 17-inch range. See the part numbers and price list below.

• Apple System Good-USA $1799.99
• Mac system Better-USA $1999.99
• Mac system #1 Best-USA $2199.99
• Mac system #2 Best-USA $2299.99

It is thought that these new laptops from Apple will use Intel Core i7 and i5 processors, so proof of a huge performance. We are still uncertain of a final release date, but there is a consensus that it will be on April 13 – so just two days to wait.

Details regarding the new MacBooks are unknown so far, however it is thought that they will be powered by the latest Intel Core processors.

Currently the highest-end MacBook Pro available features an Intel Core 2 Duo 3.06GHz processor, therefore a few Core i5 or Core i7 additions could prove to be popular.

A recent article posted on Macworld Australia seems to suggest that Apple will begin offering these new MacBooks next Tuesday. As we hear information which confirms/refutes these rumors we will keep you posted, for more information check out the link below.

Source: SlashGear