Intel Mac mini and iPod Hi-Fi continued

Mac on Intel reports that Apple's senior director of desktops reported that the new graphics system in the Intel Mac mini is a significant upgrade. The graphics chipset in the new minis supports Tiger's Core Image which lets the minis have 10 to 40% higher frame rates as compared to the G4 minis.

An Intel Mac mini 1.5GHz has been upgraded to 2.16GHz.

Macenstein has posted numbers from their preliminary tests on their new Mac mini with Core Duo. The full review will come later.

A TUAW writer is returning his 1.5GHz Mac mini Core Solo because it's suffering an identity crisis, thinking it's a Core Duo. Problems with Safari and FrontRow have also been encountered. Apple might have been just too excited to release the Mac minis. He writes in another article that the Core Solo simply isn't a good switcher machine." (Update: C.K. Sample, III has decided to keep his Mac mini Core Solo and not return it, albeit the problems he's encountered. Sample has upgraded his RAM to 768MB and is currently tinkering with it. More updates soon.)

Ars Technica, which pretty much chewed up the Macbok Pro because it didn't fit well in the reviewer's bag, gives the Mac mini Core Solo good marks. The mini with the Core Solo performed well in their benchmarks, even outshining the Macbook Pro in some cases. There were some problems during testing of FrontRow with Bonjour which the reviewer felt might have stumped an ordinary consumer. The reviewer also takes issue on the integrated graphics in the Intel Mac mini. Whether the lack of the modem port would really matter depends on the type of user. Ars Technica gives the Mac mini Core Solo a solid "8".

Eric Gwinn of the Chicago Tribune confidently says that the new Intel-based Mac mini will have Windows users seriously think of switching. " For most people, the well-behaved, low-maintenance Mac Mini will run circles around a Windows-based system," Gwinn states.

PC Magazine gave the Mac mini Core Duo a "very good" rating (4 out of 5), listing the lack of a TV tuner, a paltry 512MB RAM, incompatibility of Classic applications, and no bundled keyboard and mouse as cons.

Macworld gives both Core Solo and Core Duo Mac minis 4 mices. The $100 increase is justifiable with new add-ons and performance improvements. The reviewer advises would-be buyers to upgrade the RAM if they plan to do RAM-intensive tasks.

Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal considers the Mac mini a "solid addition to any entertainment center," but with some caveats.

Bare Feats does GPU crunching on the Mac mini Core Duo. Concludes that the Mac mini Core Duo is a poor investment and the consumer should go for the iMac Core Duo.

Geek Patrol's benchmarks show both the Mac mini Core Solo and Core Duo outperform the 1.5 GHz PowerPC Mac mini in all but one test. Geek Patrol also mentioned that both Intel Mac minis were for the most part faster than their 1.6GHz G5 PowerMac.

CNet's posted round 1 of their Mac mini vs Windows Media Center shootout, with the Mac mini being the winner for this round. The Mac mini, as well as its third-party tuner, was easier to hook up to the LCD TV than the Windows Media Center. More to come in the following weeks.

Pictures the iPod Hi-Fi porn from a German blogger. Love this stuff! (He also has iMac porn.)

The iPod Hi-Fi fared the worst when compared to three other speaker systems namely: Altec Lansing's inMotion iM7, Bose's SoundDock, and JBL's On Time ($299.95). JBL's On Time was rated the best by three testers. The inMotion iM7 came in second, the Sounddock third, and the iPod Hi-Fi last. Music from different genres, jazz, soundtrack instrumental, opera, and hip-hop/RnB, were listened to by the testers. JBL has the clearest sound though it muffled some instruments. AppleTalk Australia, however, rated the iPod Hi-Fi best when compared to Bose's SoundDock and Altec Lansing's iM7. AppleTalk discounts the possibility of real audiophiles ditching their system in favor of the iPod Hi-Fi. Russell Beattie won't buy the Hi-Fi because it doesn't have a video out port. The iPod Observer suggests spending the $350 on the Audioengine A5 for those who are looking for the quality in-home listening experience. The iPod Hi-Fi trumps the Audioengine A5 on being portable as well as having an all-in-one design.

Mike Wendland from the Detroit Free Press recently bought an iPod Hi-Fi, and he likes the room-filling sound and the looks of Apple's all-in-one speaker system. Reviewing sound quality from a speaker system is very subjective and some people will like how the Hi-Fi plays the kind of music they like to hear often. For those who likes to listen to classical and opera, the Hi-Fi probably will never live to their expectations. Other genres might fare better. Wendland also made a brief video review.

With all the hubbub about whether the iPod Hi-Fi is really all it's cracked up to be, iPod Garage has its Speaker System Extravagnza, reviewing speakers that cost more than $100. The list is continuously being updated.

I have stopped thinking of ABS-CBN as a news company. I treat them more as a tabloid or supermarket paper and nothing exemplifies this point than their feature on the new Intel Mac mini and iPod Hi-Fi. The write-up actually reads like a brochure riddled full of typograhical errors, and misleading and incorrect statements. I sincerely doubt that the writer has gotten his hands on the iPod Hi-Fi but he confidently states "With iPod Hi-Fi, you can ‘picture’ the relative placement of each instrument or voice in space," even though real reviews have
not mentioned such a quality from the Hi-Fi. He also states that the Hi-Fi "...should put high-end and more expensive stereos out of business." What is this guy smoking? Where did he get this idea? The piece is really poorly written with statements that are not based on fact but on preconceptions. Then again what can you expect from a company who cares more on making the news rather than on reporting it. I guess in ABS-CBN, as long as you're a Lopez, you can write anything and get away with it.

With Apple going dipping more than just a finger into the iPod accessories market, there is the fear of Apple shouldering the competitions aside by unfairly making the iPod's firmware to only enhance Apple's own products.