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Kasper Jade hears the whispers:

Once rumored for extinction, Apple’s entry-level polycarbonate MacBooks are on the verge of a refresh that will solidify them at the base of the Mac maker’s notebook offerings for the foreseeable future. … The 13-inch portables are presently undergoing an industrial design overhaul that will see them reemerge in the coming months with a slimmer, lighter enclosure and restructured internal architecture.

…
The white MacBook is outselling all other [portable] Macs. … Sales of the sub-$1000 system have remained surprisingly brisk amid the economic crunch, leaving management little choice but to allocate R&D expenses in its favor. … Apple is well-positioned to begin offering a model at considerable discount to the $999 entry-level model that exists today. MORE
Chris Foresman can’t resist:

The lonely white polycarbonate MacBook that still remains in Apple’s otherwise all-aluminum notebook lineup hasn’t changed significantly over the years. … Apple would likely use lower-end Core 2 Duo chips from Intel and could likely ditch the FireWire ports. We wouldn’t be surprised to see Apple dump the optical drive too, adding further cost and weight savings, nor would it be unusual if Apple designed in a non-removeable battery. (Heck, throw in a physically smaller screen, and you’d pretty much have yourself an Apple netbook.)

…

With nearly 60 percent of back-to-school shoppers looking to spend less than $750 on a new laptop, though, shaving a couple hundred bucks off the MacBook might make even more students and budget shoppers lean towards a Mac instead of a Windows- or Linux-based alternative. MORE
Harry McCracken joins in the fun , and even adds a car analogy:

It wouldn’t stun me if … Apple knocked $100 or so off the pricetag to make it into an upscale alternative to a netbook. … Only a matter of time until Apple ships a non-Air MacBook with no DVD drive–in part to save money, in part to make the system thinner, and hey, maybe even to encourage consumption of movies and music from the iTunes store.

…

One thing I hope Apple doesn’t do is to give the white MacBook’s replacement an aluminum case. … I’m not so sure that plastic-clad notebooks don’t preserve their good looks better than their aluminum cousins, at least if you drop computers as often as I do. (Hey, I used to own a Saturn car, in part because of the plastic body.) MORE
Robert Evans speaks of “Consumer Ultra-Low Voltage” (CULV) devices:

Apple needs to get prices down substantially in order to make their notebooks more competitive with the variety of netbooks and CULVs that have come down the pipe as of late. Increasing battery life by a large margin is believed to be a major priority of Apple’s when it comes to redesigning the MacBook. It’s also likely that, by using last-generation processors and components, they will be able to cut down on costs while offering a solid boost in computing power over the last generation of MacBooks.
This recession has really changed up Apple’s game. They’re focusing less and less on high cost computers and gadgets, and more on affordable, reliable products for budget consumers. The $99 iPhone, the cost reduction for the MacBook Pro line, the revamping of the MacBook line, and the upcoming iTablet are all examples of this. MORE
Dieri Castrejon can’t wait:

I long for the return of glossy white in future Macs. Aluminum (as well as the combination of grey/black) seems too bleak & uber-industrial. Very Windows-esque. MORE

If Apple’s mythical tablet is real-and given the spate of rumors from multiple sources, it certainly appears to be — the device could be a natural-born book reader, ready to compete with Amazon, Sony, and soon Barnes & Noble in the burgeoning e-book market.
In fact, “compete” may be too soft a term. Apple could easily clean its opponents’ clock. It could quickly dominate e-books much as it conquered e-music with the launch of iTunes in 2003.

 
This is a concept image of a Mac tablet by MacFormat and is illustrated by Adam Benton.Yes, it’s time for a boilerplate caveat. This is sheer speculation. My assumptions are based on what we’ve heard about the Apple tablet, and on what many users see as shortcomings of the Amazon and Sony e-readers.
First off, let’s assume the tablet — or at least the larger version of it — has a 10-inch backlit display, wireless broadband, a touchscreen, and a Web browser. If so, it would provide a better ergonomic experience than the Amazon Kindle 2, which lacks backlighting and a touchscreen. Let’s also assume the tablet’s display will have a higher screen resolution than the Kindle’s 600 by 800 pixels, and that it’ll do a better job of managing PDF files. Add it all up, and the tablet is a better user experience, excluding battery life. It’s highly unlikely that Apple’s multifunction device would outlast the Amazon or Kindle reader in that competition.
What about the Kindle DX, Amazon’s larger e-reader with a 9.7-inch display? It suffers from many of the Kindle 2’s shortcomings, and seems more like a niche player destined for the education/textbook market.
And the Sony Reader? Well, it’s improving rapidly. The Reader Touch Edition has a 6-inch touchscreen; the Reader Daily Edition has AT&T’s 3G mobile broadband. But like the Kindle, the Reader is essentially a single-use appliance. And with prices ranging from $200 to $400, it’s a fairly expensive one at that. While reports indicate the Apple tablet may cost more — probably in the $600 to $800 range — it’ll do a lot more too, perhaps even double as a notebook PC.
Apple has one big edge over Sony: Its iTunes store is an established online marketplace that already sells music, movies, TV shows, and, of course, iPhone apps. Cupertino doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel to add e-books to its online retail mix. (Amazon, of course, is no slouch when it comes to online retailing either.)
To me, Apple’s biggest advantage in the e-book reader market would be the versatility of its tablet. Given a choice between an Apple tablet as described above, a Kindle 2, and a Sony Reader Daily Edition (the one with built-in 3G), I’d be willing to pay a little more for the tablet.
Will Apple enter the e-book market? We may find out as early as next month.

Contact Jeff Bertolucci via Twitter (@jbertolucci ) or at jbertolucci.blogspot.com .

Steve Jobs isn’t one to let a little thing like a liver transplant slow him down. Some of us would take it easy: catch up on our reading, maybe even take up a therapeutic hobby like painting or music. Not Jobs, though–he’s the kind of guy who does best when he throws himself into his work.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Jobs is personally overseeing the details of the continually-rumored Apple tablet device. This is, of course, a bit like the Emperor personally overseeing the construction of the Death Star, except apparently the Emperor only rarely shoots bolts of purple lightning through his fearful underlings. The Journal says that Jobs’s concern is focused primarily on the device’s marketing and advertising strategy–little surprise, given his penchant for crafting the perfect message for the company’s products.

This is hardly the first project to which the CEO has given his undivided attention: the iPhone, for example, merited a similar level of scrutiny from Jobs during its development. Despite working only a few days a week, Jobs is apparently present enough to cause unrest among his employees–the Journal describes the attention as “jarring” for Apple employees who had gotten used to having a little more leeway on their projects during Jobs’s absence.

If nothing else, though, Jobs is apparently taking advantage of his lighter work schedule to answer his e-mail, replying to the Journal’s Yukari Iwatani Kane request for comment by saying, “much of your information is incorrect.” In typical Jobs fashion, he went into no further detail.

With terse missives like that one, we’d suggest Steve take advantage of his newfound spare time to start up a Twitter account.

Apple’s latest MacBook Pro lineup has been getting rave reviews. And deservedly so. Of course, as with any new hardware, these models are prone to a few minor hiccups that don’t affect older MacBook models. Here are two of the oddest ones:

Unusual optical disk drive noises. As first reported by Apple last month, the optical drives in these new laptops may exhibit an “unusual series of noises” when starting up or waking from sleep, even though no disc is in the drive. For those wondering exactly what “unusual” means here, Apple provides a recording of the noise. Out of context, I found the noise to be a bit funny; I’ve even thought about using it as a wacky ringtone.

To banish these sounds from your MacBook Pro, insert a disc “almost all the way” into the slot-loading drive (not releasing it from your hand). Then remove the disc and reinsert it, this time letting it go all the way. This unlikely procedure, dubbed by Apple as “resetting the drive,” should eliminate the problem.

Unexpected sleep. If you are lucky enough to have more than one mid-2009 MacBook Pro (or Late 2008 13-inch aluminum MacBook), Apple advises not stacking them on top of each other (at least not with their magnetic latches all facing the same way). If you do, the top computer may go to sleep unexpectedly, even in the middle of a startup.

While not likely to be a common problem, I found it interesting to learn exactly why it can occur. It can happen because “the magnet in the bottom computer may activate the magnetic switch in the top computer.” Apple considers this to be “normal behavior,” because this is how sleep onset is normally activated when you close the lid of an unstacked MacBook. Sleep is triggered when the magnet in the laptop’s display clamshell gets close enough to the magnetic “Hall Effect” switch in the MacBook body. By the way, Apple didn’t make up the name for this switch; you can check out various Web sites, including this Wikipedia page, to learn more about Hall Effect switches.

Asus and Apple were the most reliable PC vendors in the U.S. during the second quarter this year, according to a survey released by Rescuecom on Tuesday.

Rescuecom, a third-party computer repair firm, fielded the fewest support calls to repair Asus and Apple PCs on average, said David Milman, Rescuecom’s CEO. The companies offered PCs with high-quality components and excellent support, reducing the need for consumers to service PCs through third-party support companies.

The ratings were based on 11,560 support calls fielded by Rescuecom during the second quarter and adjusted to take into account the market share of each PC maker. Lenovo, Toshiba and Hewlett-Packard held the third, fourth and fifth spot respectively in the PC reliability survey.

The study was released on the same day the University of Michigan and other organizations issued the American Consumer Satisfaction Index, which measures user satisfaction with products including cars and PCs. Apple topped the survey with a score of 85, followed by Dell at 75, and a three-way tie between Hewlett-Packard, HP’s Compaq brand, and Acer/Gateway, which scored 74.

Consumers want PCs that require minimal repairs and good support, so the calls provide a good snapshot of PC reliability, Milman said. Companies that provide high-quality components tend to rate higher, while bad components and bad support may force PC owners to call third-party repair companies.

“We review … a combination of how reliable the components are and how good the support is from the manufacturer,” Milman said. Multiple PC components, including motherboards, memory and video cards were factored into the survey. The quality of software bundled by PC makers, including security and office suites, was also part of the survey.

“If a manufacturer provides quality software that is less trialware, especially in the area of [security]… it is certainly something that makes their computer less necessary to be supported,” Milman said. Many PC makers are also bundling one-touch data restore options in PCs, which reduces the need for customer support.

Asus is relatively new to the study and is reaping the benefit of the recent craze for products like netbooks in the U.S., Milman said. Many users are buying Eee PC netbooks, but the company’s PC reliability ratings might change as components start to break down, Milman said.

“Their quality has held up from the last study, but it will be interesting in two years once the machines age a little bit,” he said. Increased support calls for Asus products may help better evaluate the company’s support, Milman said.

Among the top five PC makers in the U.S., Apple has offered a steady stream of PCs with quality components and support services, Milman said.

“With the introduction of their Apple Genius [Bar] in retail stores, they are offering support that many other manufacturers aren’t offering,” Milman said. Apple’s margins on the Mac desktop and laptop PCs are much larger compared to competitors, so Apple can afford to offer free support, Milman said. Many Rescuecom technicians are certified by Apple to repair Mac computers, Milman said.

Rescuecom received more support calls for Dell and HP PCs, which were the top two PC vendors in the U.S. during the second quarter, according to IDC. Dell rated seventh in Rescuecom’s study, with 22.1 percent of the repair calls. Though HP and Dell held close market shares in PC shipments, Rescuecom received 18 percent more support calls on Dell PCs than HP.

Rescuecom established a baseline to rate reliability by balancing the number of support calls with the market share of PC vendors, Milman said. The study was not commissioned by PC makers, and the company has no support ties with PC makers.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer recently confirmed that the company will limit Windows 7 Starter, the edition expected to end up on netbooks, to systems that sport small screens and low-powered processors.

During Microsoft’s annual financial analyst day, Ballmer got more specific than other executives in describing the limitations computer makers must abide by if they’re to install Starter on their machines. Starter is the least feature-rich edition of the operating system available worldwide, and will not be sold direct to consumers or businesses. It will be available only to OEMs, or “original equipment manufacturers,” such as Acer, ASUS, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Toshiba.

“Our license tells you what a netbook is,” said Ballmer at the Microsoft-hosted day with Wall Street analysts. “Our license says it’s got to have a super-small screen, which means it probably has a super-small keyboard, and it has to have a certain processor and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.”

Although other Microsoft executives earlier this year said that the company would place restrictions on the kinds of processors and screen resolutions supported by Starter, Ballmer is the highest computer official yet to spell out Starter’s limitations, if only in the broadest terms.

Last May, the Malaysian Web site TechARP.com, which regularly leaks information provided to computer makers by Microsoft, reported that the company would restrict Starter to specific netbook configurations. According to TechARP, Microsoft will only sell Starter to OEMs for use on netbooks that have a 10.2-in. or smaller screen, no more than 1GB of memory, a hard disk drive of 250GB or less (or a solid-state drive no larger than 64GB) and a single-core processor no faster than 2GHz.

Ballmer was frank with analysts about Microsoft’s rationale for setting Starter’s limitations. “We want people to be able to get the advantages of lightweight performance and be able to spend more money with us, with Intel, with HP, with Dell and with many, many others,” he said.

“With today’s netbooks, we sell you XP at a price,” Ballmer continued. “When we launch Windows 7, an OEM can put XP on the machine at one price, Windows 7 Starter Edition at a higher price, Windows 7 Home Edition at a higher price, and Windows 7 Professional at a higher price.”

Microsoft has not disclosed pricing for Starter, since the edition will be sold only in volume to OEMs, and will not be available to end users at retail. However, Ballmer made it plain that Microsoft hopes to coax users into purchasing PCs with higher-priced versions of Windows 7. “It’s not just what are our prices — that’s partly in here — but it’s also a function of how well do we do getting, in any segment, people to buy the more expensive offering,” he told analysts.

“They’re trying to force people into higher-end SKUs,” said Allan Krans, an analyst with Technology Business Research. “Selling XP at a low price to OEMs hurt them financially, and they’re trying to figure out a way to stem that.”

Last month, Microsoft said revenues for the Windows client division were down 29% year over year for the company’s fiscal fourth quarter, which ended June 30. Microsoft blamed the fall-off on the increased sales of netbooks and a global slow-down of PC purchases.

Ballmer acknowledged that Microsoft made a mistake pricing licenses of Windows XP Home that it’s been selling only to netbook makers since April 2008. “[Windows revenues are] down primarily because we did a program this year to cut prices in emerging markets with a theory that the lower price would lead to higher attach and higher total revenue,” Ballmer said.

“The theory was wrong. It’s not that it was untested, but it turns out the theory was wrong, and you will see us address the theory in the Windows 7 time frame. We’re going to readjust those prices north, so to say, and I think with our Windows 7 SKU lineup, we also have a great chance to do some up-sell … to Windows 7 Starter, Windows 7 Home….”

“They’re trying to rectify the mistake,” noted Krans. “But that will be very difficult for them to do. Netbook prices are low already, and adding another $20 or $30 for Windows 7 Starter will make it too tight for [OEMs[ to operate.”

Microsoft doesn’t divulge Windows prices to OEMs, but earlier this year the Wall Street Journal cited sources that claimed the company receives less than $15 per netbook for Windows XP, considerably less than the estimated $50 to $60 it gets for a Vista license.

Krans said higher prices for Windows 7 — $30 to $40 more than XP Home — would be a tough sell to netbook makers. “OEMs don’t have a lot of wiggle room on price, since price points seem to be the most important feature for netbooks,” said Krans.

The best Microsoft can hope for is to make a case for more capable, but still-inexpensive laptops that run one of the “premium” editions of Windows 7, like Home Premium or Professional. “Netbooks have their place, but low-end notebooks are a more compelling value,” Krans said. “For $500 or less, low-end notebooks are going to have a much more usable keyboard and a more usable screen. They’re better for the OEMs and for Microsoft, because there’s more pricing flexibility there than in netbooks to make some sustainable margins.”

Microsoft has committed to continue selling Windows XP Home to netbook makers for at least 12 months after the launch of Windows 7, or through October 2010.

Lenovo is offering to replace certain batteries sold with its ThinkPad line of laptops, warning users that they may be permanently damaged due to errors.

The company is offering free replacements for batteries that do not recharge or suffer from “irreparable damage,” according to Lenovo’s support Web site.

Users need to run a diagnostics tool to see if batteries show any of those symptoms. The tool can be downloaded from Lenovo’s support site. If it indicates the battery is either damaged, shows sudden drops in the fuel gauge or fails to recharge, then the battery may need to be replaced.

Eligibility for a free replacement also depends on the laptop model and specific battery installed. Only a limited number of ThinkPad batteries qualify for a free replacement, the company said on its support site. The replacement offer applies to worldwide customers.

Lenovo did not respond to requests for comment on the cause of the error. However, the company wrote on its support site that this was “not a safety recall and does not pose a safety hazard.”

The U.S. Consumer Safety Protection Commission in June 2007 asked Lenovo to recall about 100,000 ThinkPad batteries that could overheat and cause a fire. Those batteries were manufactured by Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd.

The laptops affected by this issue include the ThinkPad R60, R61, T60, T61, X60, X61 models with battery part numbers 42T4546, 42T4566, 92P1141, 42T4550, 42T4567, 42T4568, 92P1169, 92P1173, 93P5028, 93P5030.

Editor’s Note: This story was corrected at 6:28 p.m. on Aug. 14, 2009.

Lenovo is offering to replace certain batteries sold with its ThinkPad line of laptops, warning users that they may be permanently damaged due to errors.

The company is offering free replacements for batteries that do not recharge or suffer from “irreparable damage,” according to Lenovo’s support Web site.

Users need to run a diagnostics tool to see if batteries show any of those symptoms. The tool can be downloaded from Lenovo’s support site. If it indicates the battery is either damaged, shows sudden drops in the fuel gauge or fails to recharge, then the battery may need to be replaced.

Eligibility for a free replacement also depends on the laptop model and specific battery installed. Only a limited number of ThinkPad batteries qualify for a free replacement, the company said on its support site. The replacement offer applies to worldwide customers.

Lenovo did not respond to requests for comment on the cause of the error. However, the company wrote on its support site that this was “not a safety recall and does not pose a safety hazard.”

The U.S. Consumer Safety Protection Commission in June 2007 asked Lenovo to recall about 100,000 ThinkPad batteries that could overheat and cause a fire. Those batteries were manufactured by Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd.

The laptops affected by this issue include the ThinkPad R60, R61, T60, T61, X60, X61 models with battery part numbers 42T4546, 42T4566, 92P1141, 42T4550, 42T4567, 42T4568, 92P1169, 92P1173, 93P5028, 93P5030.

Editor’s Note: This story was corrected at 6:28 p.m. on Aug. 14, 2009.