Typical Apple, the Macbook pro’s presentation was as meticulously done as the beauty of this device. Popping the box open was a breeze and there she was, the 2010 13-inch Macbook Pro wrapped in box perfection and guarded by a thin layer of plastic. The box and the wrapping speaks of obsessiveness for perfection. It didn’t take too long to breach that. A casual observer would find the plastic and the keyboard guard in a pile.

It was cold. The slab of unibody aluminum was great to the touch. The edges were almost sharp. It felt like a slab, which after all it was. That is, until one popped the lid open, and pressing the power button the machine quickly lit up.

About this MacThe process was quiet. The 2010 Macbook pro is as quiet as a ninja. And like all virgin Macs, the registration process rolled in. It asked if it should pickup from a time machine backup, or upgrade from an existing mac. Far from the cave, the choice was obvious one that no, this wouldn’t be about migrating from one mac to the next. In less than five minutes, Mac OS X’s introduction video flew in.

Nearly a year has passed since Apple released its updated 15-inch MacBook Pro , featuring a unibody aluminum construction, SD Card slot, and a longer-lasting lithium ion battery. Now, the Cupertino-based company has  incorporated a few important upgrades under the hood to supercharge this elegant machine (starting at $1,799; $2,199 as configured). These enhancements include the long-awaited Intel Core i7 processor, capable of overclocking on the fly, and automatic graphics-switching technology that makes moving from integrated to discrete graphics mode all but invisible to the user. Best of all, even with the jump from Core 2 Duo to Core i7, Apple has managed to deliver all-day battery life. These are collectively welcome improvements, but are they enough to justify the premium? Yup.

With the new iPhone 2.0 software and the recent introduction of the iPhone App Store, extending the features of your iPhone 3G becomes almost limitless. Thousands of applications and games were developed and available for free or a fee (as low as $0.99 each). The wealth of games found in the iPhone via the App Store makes gaming on the mobile phone like the second coming of Snakes on the Nokia phone over a decade ago.
In many ways, the iPhone 3GS delivers on its promises. The battery, which could sometimes deplete in less than a day on the iPhone 3G, lasted longer in our preliminary tests, and the phone’s software ran noticeably faster. Yet, we still have some concerns. A faster AT&T 3G network isn’t going to happen overnight, and some features, like tethering and multimedia messaging, aren’t scheduled until later in summer 2009. We also struggled to see any change in call quality, which, as any iPhone owner can tell you, remains far from perfect.

So should you buy it? That will depend on how much you’ll have to pay for the privilege. If you don’t own an iPhone yet, and you’ve been waiting for the right model, now is the time to go for it. The same goes for iPhone Classic owners who never made the jump to the iPhone 3G. But, if you’re a current iPhone 3G owner, the answer isn’t so clear. If you’re eligible to upgrade at the cheapest prices ($199 for the 16GB model and $299 for the 32GB model), we suggest doing so, as long as you don’t mind the required two-year contract. If you own an iPhone 3G, but are not yet eligible for the upgrade, we recommend upgrading to the new iPhone OS 3.0 operating system, and then waiting. As much as the iPhone 3GS brings, it’s not worth the extra $200 that the 16GB and 32GB models cost.

The iPhone 3GS looks exactly like the previous model. It shares the shape and the same external controls, but the iPhone 3GS is unique in a handful of ways. You can get both memory sizes in white or black, and the iPhone 3GS display sports a fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating that is supposed to attract fewer fingerprints and smudges. The new model shares the same dimensions as its predecessor, but it’s slightly heavier (4.76 ounces versus 4.7 ounces), a virtually unnoticeable difference.

The first thing you’ll notice about the third-generation Apple iPod Nano ($199 for the 8GB version as of 9/7/2007) is its 2-inch display. How can you not? The display occupies more than half of the device–fitting considering that one of the big selling points of the Nano is it can now play video in addition to music. The second thing you’ll notice is its new shape: The Nano’s long, thin stick design has been replaced by a wider, stouter design that accommodates both the generous screen and Apple’s signature scroll wheel. And it delivers all this in the same impressively thin profile–about a quarter-of-an-inch thick–as the previous Nano.

The body is now a two piece affair — an anodised aluminium front with a chrome back — instead of the all aluminium version seen in second-gen unit, which we still prefer. Naturally the shiny back was a fingerprint magnet — Apple should really include a cleaning cloth with all chrome-backed iPods. Worse though was its lack of scratch resistance, after just a week the back was scuffed worse than a rugby player’s knee after sliding in for a try.

In terms of cutting edge features Apple has been behind the game for some time now. The past year has seen virtually every single other major manufacturer build in some form of video capability into their premium flash memory based players, so it’s good to see that this third generation nano has finally caught up.