Apple’s internal policy on acceptable numbers of pixel anomalies was recently updated, a source told BGR. The policy is used as a guideline for Mac Geniuses addressing customer issues that involve Apple displays. It essentially allows them to quickly and easily determine whether or not to repair or replace products with display defects. Apple provides its employees with a table showing the acceptable number of pixel anomalies for each product range. For example, iPhones and iPods with just one pixel anomaly should be repaired or replaced. MacBook Air models, however, can have up to three light pixels, up to five dark pixels or up to seven combined anomalies before they should be repaired or replaced. The table also outlines the allowable numbers of pixel anomalies for Apple’s MacBook, MacBook Pro, iMac and Cinema Display lines.

Of note, Apple’s policy allows Mac Geniuses to offer exchange services even if pixel anomalies are within acceptable ranges. If the customer receives a replacement product with even more anomalies, but it is still within the acceptable range, further exchanges are not permitted.

Apple has made changes to its policy regarding the transferability of AppleCare Protection Plans, a source told BGR. Starting immediately, an Apple customer will have the ability to transfer AppleCare Protection Plan coverage to a new device without having to cancel the current plan and purchase a new one. Though no formal announcement has been made to the public, Apple notified its employees of the new procedure on Monday. The policy change, which applies only to eligible purchases made within the 30-day period prior to a transfer request, simplifies the buying process for customers. AppleCare Protection Plans for the iPhone have been transferable since June of this year, and now the new policy will apply to all Apple products eligible to be covered by a protection plan.

Along with updated iMacs and Mac Pros — not to mention a new Magic Trackpad — Apple announced that it will be updating its Cinema Display to a full 27-inches (the current model is 24-inches). The new screen is LED powered and boasts a built-in iSight camera, microphone, speakers, USB 2.0 hub, and MagSafe connector for Apple laptops. The screens resolution will be 2560 x 1440 and (obviously) in the 16:9 aspect ratio. The display meets Energy Star 5.0 specifications, will be priced at $999, and will be available in “September.” We’ve got the full press release after the bounce.

Apple Unveils New 27-inch LED Cinema Display

CUPERTINO, California-July 27, 2010-Apple® today unveiled a new 27-inch LED Cinema Display with stunning 2560 x 1440 resolution and 60 percent more screen real estate than the 24-inch LED Cinema Display. Featuring a built-in iSight® video camera, microphone and speakers, powered USB 2.0 hub, and universal MagSafe® connector, the new LED Cinema Display is an ideal companion for the MacBook® family or a Mac® desktop, and is available for $999.

“With built-in MagSafe charging, iSight camera, speakers, and USB ports, the LED Cinema Display is ideal for MacBook and MacBook Pro users,”said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With its massive 2560 x 1440 resolution, the new 27-inch LED Cinema Display is a perfect fit with our powerful new Mac Pro, and it gives iMac users an easy way to double their screen real estate.”

The new, larger 27-inch LED Cinema Display features a beautiful 16:9 edge-to-edge glass display on an aluminum stand with an adjustable hinge that makes tilting the display almost effortless. The LED Cinema Display has vivid colors and exceptionally high contrast and uses a premium display technology called in-plane switching (IPS) to provide a brilliant image across an ultra wide 178 degree viewing angle.

Designed as a companion for any Mac notebook or desktop, the 27-inch display includes a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing, an integrated MagSafe charger to keep Mac notebooks charged, built-in Mini DisplayPort connectivity for video and audio input and a powered three-port USB 2.0 hub so customers can charge their iPhone® or iPod® even when they take their MacBook with them.

The new LED Cinema Display now includes a new ambient light sensor which automatically adjusts the display brightness based on external lighting conditions and uses only as much energy as necessary to provide an optimum viewing experience. Made with mercury-free LED technology, arsenic-free glass and highly recyclable materials, the LED Cinema Display meets stringent Energy Star 5.0 requirements and achieves EPEAT Gold status.* The new display contains no brominated flame retardants and all cables and components are PVC-free.

Pricing & Availability
The new LED Cinema Display will be available in September through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $999 (US). The LED Cinema Display requires a Mac with Mini DisplayPort.

*EPEAT is an independent organization that helps customers compare the environmental performance of notebooks and desktops. Products meeting all of the 23 required criteria and at least 75 percent of the optional criteria are recognized as EPEAT Gold products. The EPEAT program was conceived by the US EPA and is based on IEEE 1680 standard for Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products. For more information visit www.epeat.net.

When the Apple Store went down this morning, we were expecting to see several things: an updated Mac Pro, an updated iMac, and a new 27-inch cinema display. Well, the Store is back… and here’s what the gang in Cupertino came up with:

• iMac — Both the 21.5-inch and 27-inch models have received a fairly significant processor bump. The 21.5-inch iMac will be available with a 3.06 GHz or 3.20 GHz Core i3 processor, the 27-inch model will also be available with the 3.20 GHz Core i3 as well as a 2.8 GHz Core i5 quad-core offering. All models will come standard with 4 GB of RAM, at least a 500 GB hard drive, and will have a hand-full of configurable options if ordered online; including a Core i7 processor.
• Magic Trackpad — Rumored some time ago, the Magic Trackpad allows you to click, scroll, and swipe on your desktop machine just as you would on your laptop. The device is 80% larger than the trackpad on the Macbook Pro and runs on two AA batteries. Here’s Apple’s take on the new device: “Magic Trackpad gives you a whole new way to control what’s on your Mac desktop computer. When you perform gestures, you actually interact with what’s on your screen. You feel closer to your content, and moving around feels completely natural. Swiping through pages on screen is just like flipping through pages in a magazine, and inertial scrolling senses the momentum in your fingers as you move up and down a page.” The device ships in 24-hours and is priced at $69.
• Battery Charger — An Apple branded AA battery charger was also released today, for… you know, environmental reasons and stuff. Not to much to report on it, but it looks cute.

There you have it, let us know what you think. Anyone going to be busting out the credit card today?

Read [iMac] Read [Trackpad] Read [Charger]

Happy Tuesday morning everyone. If you’ve wandered over to the online Apple Store today, you may have notice that… well, it’s down. Tuesday typically is the day that Apple will update or refresh products and rumors have been circulating the interwebs about a new 27-inch cinema display, an updated iMac, and a refresh to the aging Mac Pro line. The good news about these rumors? We won’t have to wait very long to figure out if they’re true or not!

Developing…

Apple may be bringing two heavy hitters to the market early this summer according to some rumors fresh from the pages of AppleInsider. First up is a potentially gorgeous 27 inch, 2560 by 1440 resolution LED-backlit Cinema display which will be a handsome upgrade from the current 24 inch model. The 27-incher has reportedly been gracing the halls of Apple for some time now, waiting for market prices to drop to an affordable level for launch. For those with a cash flow that seemingly has no end, there will also reportedly be a new Mac Pro on tap for June which will feature not one, but two Xenon 5600 hexacore chips from Intel. This dodeca-core monster machine will be accompanied by a single chip Mac Pro model which is expected to launch in 2.66GHz, 2.8GHz, 2.93GHz, and 3.33GHz  configurations. Those rumored Core i7-980X Mac Pros are not off the table but that configuration is highly unlikely given the recent release of the Xenon 5600 processor line and the compatibility these processors offer with the current generation of Mac hardware.

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Apple alluded to several upcoming product refreshes in its recent earnings report conference call, and if these rumors hold true, it looks like the Cinema Display line could be amongst the first to go under the knife. Macrumors is reporting that Apple will be releasing a new line of Cinema Displays, possibly to coincide with the annual Macworld conference in January. The improvements and changes will include LED backlighting across the board, which would be a considerable feat considering the sheer size and cost of their current 30″ display. LED backlighting provides significant brightness and energy consumption improvements over LCD screens, so we’d be happy to see this shift, but as of now we’re a bit wary of this coming to fruition.

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