4GB posts

Apple introduces new iPod shuffle colors, adds a new $59 2GB model

by Joachim Bean (RSS feed) on Sep 10th, 2009

Along with the new iPod nano, iPod touch and iPod classic updates, Apple today also introduced 3 new colors of the iPod shuffle, a special stainless steel edition, and a 2GB model for $59.

The new colors are green, pink and blue, and are available for both the 2GB and 4GB models.

Also, there's a new $99 4GB stainless steel model, available for $99, $20 more than the regular 4GB colors.

Finally, there's a new 2GB model of the 3rd generation shuffle, available for $59, and also comes in black, sliver, green, pink and blue.

Tags: 2GB, 4GB, colors, ipod, iPod shuffle, IpodShuffle, stainless steel, StainlessSteel

Filed under: Hardware, Apple, MacBook

Aluminum MacBooks unstable after 3rd-party RAM upgrade

by Aron Trimble (RSS feed) on Dec 7th, 2008

Lucky enough to have purchased one of those shiny new unibody MacBooks? If you happen to be in the market for a RAM upgrade you may want to hold off for a little while. It seems the latest MacBooks are a little more fickle about the RAM they support than previous models.

Users on the Apple Support Discussion forums are reporting problems with third-party RAM upgrades, noting system instability and lock-ups. Even users who have purchased RAM from providers that pride themselves on Mac compatibility such as Crucial and OWC are seeing the same issues. It seems that the only solution is to take out the third-party RAM and use Apple-branded RAM. International users with no access to an Apple store are currently out of luck.

Of course, Apple will only officially support their own branded RAM from Samsung; upgrade kits of this sort are apparently working without issue. Unfortunately for many, however, acquiring these modules has become somewhat of an act of futility as Apple's online store says the upgrade kits are unavailable for owners of the 2.0 and 2.4 GHz MacBook.

Many are guessing-slash-hoping that the problem is caused by the newness of the DD3 spec. modules in Apple's line of notebooks. Until the situation gets clarified, users are having to swap RAM repeatedly in search of a kit that will work. Hopefully Apple will shed some light on the problem and everyone can go back to getting RAM from third-party sources. Had any luck (good or bad) upgrading RAM in your new MacBook? Let us know in the comments!

[via jkOnTheRun]

Tags: 4gb, macbook, ram, third-party, unibody, upgrade

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, Apple, Macbook Pro, MacBook

New MacBooks and MBPs can handle up to 6GB of RAM

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Nov 3rd, 2008

Is it just me or is it pretty mindblowing what Moore's Law is doing to our computers these days? I remember when 64mb of RAM was great, and even a few years ago, I wondered why anyone would ever use 1GB of RAM (I've got 2GB in my gaming PC, and I still almost think it's too much). But apparently TidBITS has been doing some testing, and they've discovered that not only can the new MacBooks hold 4GB of RAM as Apple recommends for a limit, but stuffing a whopping 6GB in there is possible and doable. There are two DDR3 slots in the new MacBooks and MacBook Pros, and they come with either 1GB or 2GB in each DIMM slot.

TidBITS says you can switch out one of those 2GB DIMMs for a 4GB, and voilà, as long as they're the same speed and type, apparently almost everything is hunky-dory. TidBITS says there are two drawbacks: one, that dual-channel architecture requires identical DIMMs, so that's out if you're running a 4GB and 2GB configuration. Plus, it'll cost you an arm and a leg, especially if your leg is priced at around $600, which is what a 4GB stick runs. Even the DDR2 is pricey at that level (then again, if you don't like memory prices, just wait about five minutes, because that's basically how often they change).

And for some reason, there's an issue with running two 4GB sticks in there (for a total of 8GB), but TidBITS surmises that may be fixed by the time Snow Leopard rolls around. Personally, I'd love to see a program that needs 6GB of RAM -- maybe a high end 3D modeler or a financial simulator of some kind. But it's good to know that if you really need that much memory (and have the cash to spend on it), there you go.

Tags: 4gb, 6gb, macbook, macbook-pro, memory, moores-law, newegg, prices, ram, tidbits

Filed under: iPod nano

New iPod nanos apparently shipping in extra-small

by Michael Rose (RSS feed) on Sep 17th, 2008

It's a mystery: as Engadget reports, there are new iPod nanos showing up at some Dutch retailers... in a 4 gigabyte capacity. Huh? This wasn't part of the announcement last week, and it's not clear why you'd want to pick up a nano in a smaller capacity than the original iPod for actual use, as opposed to for its investment value.

UK gadget site Pocket-lint has word from Apple that 4GB, 4th Gen nanos were produced "in a limited number" for some international markets, but they were never on the overall product roadmap. Were they intended to hit Dutch retail, or only for online sales? Could be a shipping mixup, could be clearing out inventory, could be on purpose -- but perhaps a collector's item for US customers.

Now we have word from Dutch blog One More Thing that indeed the 4GB units are being sold, in all nine colors, for €119. Amazon's German site is also selling the units.

Engadget has a lovely gallery of the low-cap iPods up for your viewing pleasure.

Tags: 4gb, ipod, nano

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