Apple readying iMac, MacBook Air Sandy Bridge refreshes

If you're shopping for new iMac or MacBook Air, it's probably in your best interest to hold off for a few weeks. Current iMac supplies are very constrained and according to 9to5 Mac's sources, Apple stopped shipping iMacs to resellers this week. With the old stock depleting, Apple is supposedly gearing up to unleash a revamped iMac next week, presumably on May 3 as the company tends to favor Tuesday launches

Lending further credence to that timeframe, a 9to5 Mac reader claims the shipment of his recent iMac order was delayed until "on or before" May 2. Meanwhile, the folks at MacRumors have heard that Apple plans to update the promo material in its retail stores for next Tuesday. The late April, early May iMac refresh has been rumored since late March whenCNET's Brian Tong received word from unnamed sources.


Although a new MacBook Air is also rumored to be in the pipeline, most sources seem to agree that updated 11.6 and 13.3-inch units won't enter mass production until late May with a launch expected sometime in June. Nonetheless, it should be worth the wait as Apple is expected to add Thunderbolt connectivity along with Intel's Sandy Bridge processors, which offer more power and efficiency than the Core 2 Do.

Asus refreshes 15.6" Lamborghini VX7 gaming notebook

Asus has unveiled its refreshed Lamborghini VX7, a gaming notebook inspired by the Lamborghini Murcielago LP640. We imagine the system's aesthetics will be a hit or miss with most folks and we tend to find car-themed computers to be unattractive. The 8.42lb machine will be offered with a black or orange "hood" and it's armed with a quad-core 2GHz Intel Core i7-2630QM processor alongside a 3GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 460M discrete graphics chip.

Asus doesn't list any stock configurations online, but the official spec sheet mentions up to 16GB of DDR3 1333MHz RAM, various storage options including an HDD/SSD hybrid and dual drives, a Blu-ray writer, and a 1920x1080 15.6-inch LED-backlit display. You'll also find a 2MP webcam, an 8-in-1 card reader, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet, one USB 3.0 and three USB 2.0 ports, VGA and HDMI-out, and an eight-cell battery.

It's unclear when the system will hit US shores, but "soon" seems likely as it's already available through various European etailers. Unfortunately, if the VX7's appearance doesn't scare you away, its luxury tax probably will. Pricing is around €2,000 (roughly equal to $2,850) for a model that's outfitted with a full 16GB of RAM, dual 750GB 7200RPM HDDs, and Blu-ray. Swapping one of the 750GB HDDs for a 120GB Intel X25-M jacks the price up to €2,200.