We know there are some nice slick metal laptops running Microsoft Windows, but again they have always seemed one step behind Apple in terms of style and a solid build, which is found in MacBook Pro’s and Air’s.

The new ZenBook Prime is a great option for those that love Windows – while most Apple users are thinking new MacBook Air vs. MacBook Pro in 2012, and are waiting for a release date, it seems that the real announcement some Windows users wanted included the name “Asus Zenbook Prime UX32VD“. The specs on this laptop are extremely impressive, which include GeForce GT 620M graphics, a full 1080p IPS display, and a solid build thanks to the brushed aluminum frame as seen in the photo below. You can also see a quick hands-on review in the video below this article. Interestingly some people might consider it looks like a MacBook Air with a quick glance, and while these same people feel most brands are copying Apple in different industries, but we’ll let you debate that one in the comments.

The bottom-line: If you love the way Microsoft Windows 8 is heading then the new ZenBook Prime is a no-brainer for you, although one thing that’s hard for most MacBook users to do is return to Windows, especially considering the love affair some people have with all Apple products. This then leaves Apple users to decide what MacBook is best for them, whether that be the Air or even the new 2012 MacBook Pro, which is rumored to be everything the Air is and a lot more. Think Thin, SSD, more power, memory, a new Retina display, and a slim profile as seen with the air – this could be the best of both worlds.

Are you looking forward to the 2012 MacBook Pro refresh with Ivy Bridge processors? What price would you like to see the new MacBook Pro start from, and is there a minimum battery life you’re looking for?

Watch the video below of the Asus Zenbook Prime UX32VD at a recent press event, and then let us know if you’re thinking more along the lines of MacBook Pro or Zenbook Prime? You might also want to read our recent article on possible Voice Dictation with the next MacBook.

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For those that are not aware, the new iPad doesn’t feature full Siri functionality yet, but it does bring a portion of the assistant’s capabilities with a fairly decent voice dictation mode. This was Apple’s first crack at shifting this over to the tablet community and now it could be extended to Mac OS X users as well.

A report over at 9to5Mac shows that Apple could make this possible, exclusively on Mac OS X Mountain Lion. At the moment, the MacBook Pro and Air models do not come with a separate voice speech button as seen on the new iPad’s virtual keyboard. However, an easy workaround appears to be in place as voice dictation on future MacBook Pro models could be accessible by simply pressing both command buttons simultaneously which are located either side of the space key.

If Apple are indeed planning to do this, we would like to see some improvements to voice dictation accuracy first. If you have used Siri on the iPhone 4 or dictation on the new iPad, you’ll know that it could obviously do with some enhancements in detecting speech more accurately.

Having voice dictation on New MacBook Pro models would obviously imply that Apple plans to make this a viable way of inputting text away from the physical keyboard. It would be fantastic if blog entries or long passages of text could be made via voice dictation on Mac OS X, but the software would obviously need some work first before this becomes a reality. At the moment, trying to input several sentences on the new iPad dictation doesn’t really work and you’ll probably agree if you have tried this out before.

Would you like to see voice dictation extended to Apple’s upcoming MacBook Pro refresh? Hopefully we will see some clarity on this at WWDC 2012 which starts next month.

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This time it is Best Buy deciding to cut the price of the MacBook Pro with lines crossing out old prices on their store, something you rarely see Apple do with their online store, and the new price at the popular electronics retailer has dropped by up to $200. The same thing happened earlier this year shortly before the iPad 3 got a release date, and we saw Best Buy drop $50 off the price of an iPad 2.

Will the new MacBook Pro be worth an upgrade? While we cannot be sure on the final specs for the 2012 model, some details are as solid as they get without Apple confirmation. You can see in our earlier article that the 2012 MacBook Pro is likely to feature a Retina display with simplified modes, and upgrades to ports, hard drive (maybe SSD), memory and of course the processor.

Now that we’re moments from WWDC 2012 and an obvious release for the new MacBook Pro, are you ready to buy one?

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In a recent article on 9To5Mac we noticed they mention not only that the new MacBook Pro will include a Retina display, something most of us have come to expect after the iPhone 4 and iPad 3, but also that these “Retina” modes should be by description and not in resolutions. If their sources are correct, we should see choices like “big“, “optimal“, or “small“. This judgment has been made after looking at the software strings in Mountain Lion beta and OS X Lion 10.7.4, and while we cannot wait for this display upgrade it’s also exciting to think about the improved specs like SSD and USB 3.0.

You can read more insight in this article, or see a video below showing USB 2.0 vs. USB 3.0 for an idea on the speed difference you should expect.

Most Apple MacBook Pro users have an idea of what they want from a redesigned model, and while the new enclosure is welcomed we look forward to a full surface trackpad, which would detect your finger touch vs. palm touch vs. an accidental touch.

We already know Apple have patents in place for cover detection and deeper multitouch is something we’ve wanted for a while, which is something Apple are aiming for not only with the new MacBook Pro but also in other innovative ways. You can see this with this rumor about iPhone 5 and multi-point camera focusing systems.

Do you like the idea of simplistic Retina modes on the 2012 MacBook Pro, or do you have other software and hardware upgrades you’re crying out for? You might also want to read about these benchmarks that tease a worthwhile MacBook Pro upgrade, and more details on possible specs here.

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It seems almost inevitable now that Apple will take to the stage at WWDC 2012 and unveil their latest refresh to the popular MacBook Pro range. With just weeks to go until the event, it’s also a little bit strange that we haven’t heard too many rumors regarding the next iPhone.

Whether that means we’ll see the iPhone 4S successor in October instead remains to be seen, but for now all the new Apple hardware rumors are primary focused on the next MacBook Pro. We know that the next models will be equipped with Intel Ivy Bridge processors and now possibly with 8GB of RAM.

Additionally, we have heard that Apple may have decided to swap out the optical drives for SSD flash drives in order to decrease boot up time. This is one of the best things about the compact MacBook Air and if they decide to do the same thing for their Pro line, this could be Apple’s plan to make the Pro more appealing since the Air is the preferable MacBook choice at the moment.

If that wasn’t good enough, there are also new rumors over at ABCNews, which hint of a major surprise return to NVIDIA graphics. AMD are the current supplier on 15 and 17-inch MacBook Pros models, but in terms of gaming potential a lot of you would be delighted with a switch back to NVIDIA.

It almost sounds like the perfect upgrade with a Retina Display, Ivy Bridge processor, 8GB of RAM, NVIDIA graphics and an SSD drive. On the downside it could mean that Apple decides to bump up the price to accommodate the beastly new specs – hopefully that won’t happen though.

If you currently own the latest MacBook Pro or Air, would these potential specs force you to upgrade once again? The SSD drive would be the turning point for us – what about you?

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With less than one month to go until Apple’s annual WWDC conference, all signs are now pointing to an unveiling at the event in San Francisco. Evidence of a WWDC 2012 announcement could have been hinted in some recent benchmark sightings as not one, but two unannounced Apple products have shown up.

Recent benchmark tests provided by Geekbench have referenced a new MacBook Pro with the build label of ‘MacBook9,1′. Mac sleuths may realize that the current build labels officially are 8,1, 8,2 and 8,3 so 9,1 is definitely a new MacbookPro. The processor highlighted with the benchmark tests is also of interest, as we could be seeing a new MacBook Pro with an Intel Ivy Bridge Core i7-3820QM quad-core processor clocked at 2.7 GHz.

There is also a listing for a whopping 8GB of RAM, so if this turns out to be true, we could be looking at one of the high-end models of Apple’s upcoming 2012 MacBook Pro refresh. The premium MacBook Pro option right now is a 17-inch 2.4Ghz quad-core i7 model, which comes with a respectable 4GB of RAM.

However, if Apple take to the stage at WWDC and unleash an 8GB RAM MacBook Pro with a quad-core 2.7Ghz i7 processor with a 13-inch display – you can imagine how pleased some consumers are going to be. Does this mean that Apple’s MacBook Air range are due for an 8GB upgrade as well? We really hope so, as the Air remains our preference over the Pro.

You can view the benchmark results here, so you can draw your own conclusions of it. It’s safe to say that a new model is coming soon, but what specs upgrade would be the perfect refresh for you?

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Bringing Apple’s Retina display to the 2012 MacBook Pro – the screen is obviously the thing you look at the most on our MacBook’s and other display devices, and after spending many hours with both the Retina display on iPad 3 and the latest iPhone it’s an improvement in everyway from previous generations. The latest OS X 10.7.4 update released this week and followed with some developers/tech blogs noticing a doubling in icon resolution for TextEdit, which had taken a jump to 1024×1024 pixels. This was just one of a few built-in apps that saw an increase in file size, but the others did not see an increase in icon resolution, although a few devs believe this is a solid sign pointing to new Apple MacBook Pros and iMacs with a Retina display.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about icons jumping to 1024×1024 pixels, and the same has been seen for developer previews of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion. If reports from this year and last year are correct then we could see the 15-inch 2012 MacBook Pro double its resolution, which would take the new MacBooks to 2880×1800 pixels.

Last month we also heard from Intel about the new Ivy Bridge processer, which are designed with the Retina display in-mind. This is further confirmation that the future Macs will launch with Retina displays, and now we are just waiting for Apple to confirm these rumors, although they couldn’t get more solid.

Would a new MacBook Pro with SSD and Retina display be a day one purchase for you? You also might want to read about common sense with the new Apple MacBook Pro, and features that shouldn’t be included like two hard drives.

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Dual hard drives are not very Apple – one rumor that spread like wildfire thanks to Reddit included the idea of a dual hard drive setup, which had been suggested by images submitted to the popular social link sharing website. It was pretty obvious this had been fan made thanks to the link stating, “what I think the new MacBook Pro should look like“, and the image (seen below) clearly doesn’t understand Apple.

Apple will not incorporate an SSD and normal HDD, and those that think like this are looking too much at the engineering side of Apple’s MacBook Pro’s. This type of design would hurt both the portability gains most of us are looking for and also battery life, which is needed for professionals and gamers alike. There is absolutely no sense in having two hard drives, especially when you consider what Apple historically aims for with their products.

Common sense with the new 2012 MacBook Pro – you can expect Apple to aim for a bigger battery for more juice, and this means getting smart with SSD for extra space and something like 256GB. Apple will not want two hard drives thanks to their push into using cloud storage, and obviously the need for creating more space from thinner laptops. You can also expect a higher efficiency CPU, no optical drive (some people will hate this idea), and a Retina display for something special.

Where this type of MacBook Pro will upset – those laptop users that want 1TB of internal storage will not like 256GB SSDs, and might feel they are being pushed to pay for cloud storage.

What do you consider as common sense for the Apple MacBook Pro in 2012?

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Titled the “13-inch MacBook Pro + iPad Attaché” and with a clamshell design, so you can use the MacBook Pro while it’s still inside the Thule case. We’ve seen the brand add a few models to its laptop protection line in the past, and Thule has become known for good protection thanks to their experience in cargo carriers and automobile bike racks.

Some of the main selling points include a horizontal elastic band to keep everything in place within the case, a design for all-weather use, a wider base for holding bigger power adapters, and excellent protection for your iPad within compressible foam padding and nylex lining.

Most of your portable gear should fit inside this case, which includes room for multiple power adapters, an iPhone, iPad, and of course the laptop. While many Apple fans are looking for cases that are water and impact resistant, sadly the design that Thule offer is not for everyone, although we find the $79.99 price pretty reasonable.

Have you gone tablet only already? You can see all the main features and a collection of photos on the official product page here, although we’d love to know your thoughts on owning both an iPad and MacBook Pro? In our opinion both are still needed although it’s hoped we, and other users, can make the full jump to tablet only computing within a couple of years. We also included a video of another case/sleeve by Thule, which should give you an idea on the quality this brand offers.

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Having had the iPhone 4S since launch we’ve found Siri pretty useful for a number of tasks, although it hasn’t been used to its full potential on our phone, and could be seen as a novelty by some of our readers. While Siri is far from perfect you cannot doubt the innovation, and we’ve seen a number of forums and comments requesting Siri on Mac desktops and laptops.

Would you like to control your Mac from an iPhone with Siri? You might want a dedicated app for Siri on Mac OS X and while this could be a plan Apple has down the road, it looks like their focus would be more geared towards control via an iPhone for now. It seems Apple want to keep the voice processing exclusive to smartphones, this could be for marketing reasons, although they are certainly looking at bringing Siri to other devices, which is seen via the patent application seen in the image below.

More details can be seen in this PDF file, which shows all the patent pages titled “Voice Control System“. If you get a broken page, this can happen when not cached, you’d need to search for the details of the patent. Just enter the patent number “20120078635” and this should give you extensive details of the U.S. patent publication (dated March 29, 2012). Have a look at the patent via the link above and the images below and let us know what you think – would you prefer a dedicated Siri solution for Mac OS X?

We’ve seen a lot of ideas thrown around since Apple released Siri and also some real solutions, which show how some people are innovating with Siri. You might want to read some details about Siri Proxy, via this page, and this shows how different handlers can be used to control different devices in your home with Siri. In one case we saw a thermostat controlled with Siri, and this let you change the temperature by saying, “set the thermostat” and then state a number in degrees.

What innovation would you like to see that takes advantage of Siri? This is just the start and we can see many other services being developed for Siri, which unleash its true potential. By looking at the patent images on this page you can clearly see that Apple has a plan to involve more than just new MacBook Pro’s and iMac’s, and could see many 3rd party electronics getting Siri integration.

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