ZOMG It’s CJ has just published it’s review of the Nokia Booklet 3G, and it’s a very impressive review, covering all areas of the device, with a massive number of pictures too.  It’s well worth a read to find out more about this High End (although only medium spec) stylish netbook.

I was fortunate to be able to spend half an hour with a Nokia Booklet 3G a couple of weeks ago, and was quietly impressed.  The device was light, stylish, and very nice to use.  It’s not perfect though; due to the nicely sized keyboard (with a nice gap between each of the keys), the screen looks quite small in the top, and in fact, I wonder if Nokia will increase the screen size within the current laptop frame sometime soon.

The particular unit I tried also suffered from a small irritant in that the screen hinge was too loose, and allowed the screen to move too easily, making it difficult to walk around with the device in one hand (yes, not the best way to carry a laptop, but something that many people will do).  At times it felt like the screen would not stay put, although it never moved on it’s own it didn’t feel right (and speaking with others, this fault does not appear to afflict other models).

However, the main problem I found was the 1GB of memory made Windows 7 a little sluggish, and again, hopefully a memory upgrade will come soon to improve the device.  I wasn’t able to test the 3G functionality, but having 3G and HDMI built in does make the device very useful, and the battery was rather impressive too.  One other minor issue was that after being used solidly for over an hour, the CPU was making the case a little warm.

All in all, if you are after a very stylish device with a similar design ethos to a Macbook, but running Windows, then this device is worth a look; if you don’t need the latest greatest kit, I would suggest possibly waiting until the next version comes out to make it a truly all round device.

Thanks to the team at WOM World Nokia for letting me have a play with the Booklet (and thanks for the hospitality when I dropped in unannounced).

Apple have announced that their are soon to hit 1 billion apps downloaded from their iTunes App Store.  To celebrate this, Apple is offering a range of prizes.  Anyone who downloads an app from now until that 1 billionth download will be entered into a prize draw, where the single winner prize is a $10,000 iTunes gift card, a 17″ Macbook Pro, 32GB iPod Touch, and an Apple Time Capsule.

To enter, simply download an app from the iTunes store (whether you need to purchase it or not), or fill in an online entry form into the prize drawer; you are limited to 25 entries per day.

Here’s an interesting article by Gizmodo. They’ve reviewed the HP Mini Note 2133, but also included side by side shots with the Asus Eee and a Macbook Air. As such, it allows you to compare the size of these different devices, as well as get more information on the new small notebook.

Fujistu have recently announced their P1620 laptop, which has a 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo processor, upto 2GB RAM, 100GB Hard Disk, an 8.9″ 1280 * 768 display. Although not smaller than the new Apple MacBook Air, it is lighter…

Garmin have created a download page for their new software, codenamed Bobcat. Although they have not yet formally announced the software, we can provide some details on the functionality….

• Bobcat allows you to transfer waypoints, tracks, and routes between your Mac and Garmin device and manage your data using your Garmin maps.
• Bobcat provides the ability to search for points of interest from the convenience of your Mac and then send the locations to your Garmin GPS.
• Bobcat also serves as a backup tool for your Garmin GPS. You can receive all your waypoints, routes, and tracks from your GPS and Bobcat will save them automatically.
• MapManager copies maps and unlock codes into the right place to be accessible by Bobcat and MapInstall. To migrate the maps from your Windows PC, download MapConverter onto your PC and follow the instructions.
• Download and install MapConverter for Windows to convert your unlocked PC maps for use on your Mac. For more information please read this document. (PDF file- 245KB)
• System Requirements:
  Intel-based or PowerPC G3 or later Mac
  OS 10.4 or later
  512 MB RAM
  USB port

The software appears to be a Beta version right now, but this bodes well for the future of Garmin’s Mac support plans.

Screenshot courtesy of GPS Review.

As we mentioned earlier today, Steve Jobs has announced the ultra-thin MacBook Air just now. The device features an 80Gb 1.8″ hard disk (or an optional 64Gb SSD), 2Gb RAM, a trackpad with multi-gesture support, a 13.3″ widescreen LED backlit screen, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, and a full sized backlit keyboard.

The laptop thickness (or should we say thinness?) varies from 0.76″ down to 0.16″.

However, the $1799 turns into £1199, which is a premium compared to the US/UK Dollar exchange rate.

In other points, the MacWorld keynote speech also announced iTunes Movies Rentals ($2.99 to $3.99 for a movie, add an extra dollar for HD versions), a major software update (and price drop) for the Apple TV, new applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch (Mail, Maps, Stocks, Notes and Weather) although this will be a chargeable upgrade on the iPod Touch, the iPhone 1.1.3 firmware update that we’ve already mentioned, and native Office Mac 2008.

Well the rumour mills are in full flow now, with the consensus that Apple will announce a new MacBook range at MacWorld today as we first mentioned here. The main additional information that’s being floated around is that the device will be called MacBook Air.

More news later today / tomorrow once it is formally released by Apple.

Picture courtesy of Engadget.

If you’ve been suffering from keyboard problems with your MacBook or MacBook Pro running Leopard, then Apple has just released a fix which may help. Although it appears to have not fixed all the problems (such as missing the first character typed), the keyboard locking up for minutes on end problem seems to have been fixed.

A lot of rumours are flying around at the moment, but all we can say is that Steve Jobs is said to be giving the keynote speech at MacWorld in January (15th), which seems to support the consensus that Apple will be announcing something at the event. The current best suggestion is the Apple MacBook Nano, a small ultra-portable device.

Update: This AppleInsider article seems to support this too, with Apple apparently now ordering LED Backlight Units for a 13.3″ screen (ie smaller than any MacBook Pro screen today). No information as to whether it’s a tablet device or a traditional laptop yet though.