Big bucks, small bytes

Apple lays out products for the iPod age.

Small is sexy, and well, it sells too. And who better to master small "" or rather mini "" than Apple (think iPod). The company launched a slew of products in the mini genre in India today.

For iPod aficionados, there is the iPod high fidelity home stereo system and an iPod radio remote with FM radio capabilities. "The iPod hi fi is a home stero reinvented the Apple way... best defined as a home stereo reinvented for the iPod age," says Yeo Eng Yiong, product marketing manager (Portables- APAC), Apple.

With superior quality speakers "" they are of a quality higher than any other speakers says Darren Sng, product marketing manager (software), Asia Pacific "" they have an iPod dock built-in, as well as an auxiliary port to connect an iPod Shuffle or any other device.

Apple also upgraded its digital suite of lifestyle applications with the launch of iLife '06 and productivity software suite with iWork '06.

The company also launched, for the first time, Intel-powered CPUs (Mac Mini), notebooks (MacBook Pro) and personal computers (iMac). Mac Mini is being touted as the latest Apple offering to make the transition to Intel-built processors. Apple also announced two new versions of the slimmed-down desktop.

Apple claims the new Intel-powered systems deliver performance up to four times faster than predecessors. "MacBook Pro is up to four times faster than the product it replaces, which is PowerBook G4, another benchmark that was created by Apple," says Sng.

The MacBook Pro is the first notebook that will come with Apple's Front Row Media experience and the apple remote, turning it into a portable theatre. Are the Windows Media Centre guys listening?