The app will support multitrack audio recording, same-timeline scrubbing and clipping, gesture support, and even a waveform editor for audio. A voice-over track can be added via the iPad's built-in microphone.

Instant video sharing support includes YouTube, FaceBook, Vimeo, CNN iReport, and iTunes. The app also supports AirPlay for direct streaming to an Apple TV, and has a built-in set of themes, like its Mac iLife big brother.

The new iMovie app be available March 11 for US$4.99, and will be a universal app that will support the iPhone 4, 4th-generation iPod Touch and iPad 2.

Now that this and GarageBand are finally heading to the iPad, when will iPhoto make its way over?

Via CNET

• Apple iLife '11
• Apple MacBook Air 11 (late 2010)
• Apple iLife '11: photo tour
• Apple takes covers off iPad 2

What are your favourite freebies - or otherwise - on the Mac App Store thus far, assuming you've been using it? And if you're a Mac fan and haven't used the App Store much yet, tell us why not!

Via CNET

• Apple's Mac App Store to open January 7
• Apple launches Mac App Store
• Apple iTunes 9
• Nokia Ovi Store

Now here's a new idea how about a tablet that runs on Windows instead of Android? Samsung's newly announced Sliding PC 7 is a funky hybrid touchscreen device with its own slide-out keyboard. It's a revamp on the idea of a netbook and an attempt to finally make a Windows tablet work a little bit better.

The 10.1-inch mini-laptop has a striking design and has a multi-touch screen so it can operate in both tablet and netbook-esque format.

Specs are netbook-esque: an Intel Atom Z670 CPU, 2GB DDR2 RAM, 32GB or 64GB SSD drive and a 1366x768 10-inch screen, along with 3G and WiMax connectivity. It weighs less than 1kg and at 26.6x17.58x1.9cm, it's larger than an iPad but smaller than many 10-inch netbooks.

• Tablets of CES 2011
• Asus Eee PC T91
• Samsung N120
• Asus Eee PC 1000HE

• Acer Aspire 5738PZG
• Acer Aspire 1820PT
• Acer Aspire 8930G (Core 2 Duo T9400 processor 2.53GHz, 4GB RAM)
• Acer Extensa 5635Z

• Exact same feel as classic Wii Remote
• no added bulk
• integrated Motion Plus gyroscope
• more affordable than buying a Remote and Motion Plus accessory separately

• Someone who already owns a ton of Wii Remotes and Motion Plus dongles doesn't really need to spend an extra for this
• Motion Plus technology still undersupported in Wii games

While Microsoft and Sony are exploring motion-based gaming for the first time this holiday season, Nintendo's already been there and done that for years. While the Wii debuted in 2006 with its iconic Wii Remote, an upgrade to the Wii Remote technology called Wii Motion Plus was unveiled mid-last year, adding true 1:1 mapping to Nintendo's motion controller via an AU$34.95 white dongle that plugged into existing remotes. The device came packed in with Wii Sports Resort and offered some promise for future Wii games, but it also added weight and length to the Wii Remote.

Nintendo's latest iteration of the Wii Remote is called the Wii Remote Plus, and it integrates the new technology as seamlessly as we always hoped it would. Third-party manufacturers have already taken a stab at their own controllers with integrated Motion Plus, including Nyko's Wand+, but their construction quality has varied compared with the relatively rock-solid first-party Nintendo hardware.

At first glance, the remote looks indistinguishable from a standard Wii Remote. Button placement and overall design are identical, except for a curved logo on the bottom identifying it differently. The weight's even exactly the same as a regular Wii Remote, at 0.3 pounds. Even after all these years, the Wii Remote's design remains both striking and effective, but we'd prefer a bit more ergonomic consideration for the tiny 1 and 2 buttons, which are used for an increasing number of games.

AA batteries load in the back the same way batteries did before; Nintendo hasn't made any other engineering improvements to the Wii Remote as we know it. That also means it's compatible with third-party charging accessories such as battery packs and docks, which is welcome news.

The Wii Remote Plus comes on its own in four different colors for AU$69.95, or bundled in with the Wii console for AU$299.95 - the same price as the Wii on its own. If you don't already have a Wii, this bundle is a pretty sweet deal.

While the gyroscopic technology Motion Plus provides theoretically adds accuracy to the Wii controls, very few Wii games actually make use of it. Wii Sports Resort and Tiger Woods are among the very few notables, along with the forthcoming Zelda sequel in 2011. It's becoming ubiquitous in all Wii hardware currently sold, but older Wii owners can live without it unless they're playing one of the aforementioned games.

AU$69.95 amounts to the same cost that the Wii Remote used to be, and in its more compact form, the Remote Plus comes across as a relative win. Still, it's a lot to pay for anyone who already has a set of Wii Remotes with Motion Plus. The clearest advantages come down to the Wii Remote Plus' more compact size and weight. Nintendo has stated that the Remote Plus is the only Wii Remote that will be available going forward-it's also the pack-in controller in the new Nintendo Wii bundles available this holiday. So, in a sense, you have no choice anyway when it comes to selecting a first-party controller. That's what makes the Remote Plus a no-brainer for Wii owners: the good news is that it's also the perfect Wii Remote, at long last. This controller won't be one-upped anytime soon.

• Wii MotionPlus
• Wii Fit Plus
• Wii Sports Resort
• Sony PlayStation Move Controller

• Excellent keyboard
• Bright, crisp screen
• Improved graphics performance for a netbook

• Old Atom N270 processor
• High price

Long, long ago in the year 2009, we first heard news about the forthcoming Nvidia Ion GPU for netbooks and got excited. At long last, netbooks would be more capable of graphics processing and handling HD video. One of the first frontrunners claiming an Ion netbook was Lenovo, and the IdeaPad S12 seemed like the perfect mini-notebook to contain it.

After initially launching with Intel graphics, at long last we have received the Nvidia Ion-packing S12, far, far later than the original target date. It does have 256MB of discrete graphics, a 2GB RAM and a large 320GB hard drive, plus 32-bit Windows 7 Home Premium and Bluetooth. On the other hand, it also costs AU$839. That's a bit of a problem.

Ultra-low-voltage processor thin-and-lights offer better performance minus the graphics at similar or even more affordable price points, and the aging N270 processor in this S12 configuration is practically on the verge of extinction. That's not to say the IdeaPad S12 doesn't have its advantages. It still has a great keyboard, good sound, solid design and a very bright screen, it's just that the portability segment is incredibly competitive, and even if you decide on a 12-inch netbook the likes of Asus' Eee PC 1201N offer more for a lower price.

From a design standpoint, the S12 looks like a larger brother of its smaller 2009 sibling, the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2. Compact and well-proportioned, the outer matte black plastic case (white is also available) is topped with a glossy plastic lid patterned in a subtle series of varying polka-dots. It's a smudge-collector, but attractive. Inside, smooth matte black plastic surrounds the keyboard, and the 12-inch glossy screen is surrounded in glossy plastic. It looks professional and stylishly austere, not unlike a ThinkPad. The full keyboard feels great, and the touch pad is an improvement on the S10-2 in terms of size. It feels like a "real" laptop. It might be the most comfortable and solid keyboard we've experienced on a netbook.

Above the keyboard are a few dedicated buttons for volume control and muting, along with a QuickStart button that launches a Splashtop instant-on OS. The browser, music player and photo viewer in this OS are serviceable and load faster than booting up Windows 7, but the fastest way to "boot" is still keeping the S12 in standby and reawakening as needed. Facial recognition security software that operates off the webcam and a one key backup/data recovery hot button are also included.

The 12.1-inch glossy LCD has a 1280x800-pixel native resolution, which is standard for a screen this size. The effect of having a larger screen, especially in the vertical dimension, is critical for ease of use when browsing the web and working on office documents. The added screen real estate really made a difference on our productivity, as opposed to the 10.2-inch IdeaPad S10-2. Though the additional screen and keyboard size obviously add to the unit's bulk, it's a trade-off that really makes the netbook far more usable. It's up to you whether portability or productivity matters more, but it's a distinction that's a key defining point between the two models' philosophies.

Three USB ports are better than average for a netbook, but the S12 is closer in size to a thin-and-light, so one's expectations might be closer to that territory for ports. Bluetooth is an appreciated add-on, but the S12 still doesn't have 802.11n Wi-Fi.

The included 1.6GHz Atom N270 processor is very familiar to us at CNET; it's the chip that's been in nearly every netbook this year. Not surprisingly, this meant netbook-level performance in our benchmark tests. Adding an Ion processor did help significantly with multimedia multitasking, and also sped up Photoshop and iTunes performance somewhat.

The chief advantage of the Nvidia Ion is its enhancement of HD graphics and gaming, and we were indeed able to play games on this laptop. The Nvidia Ion is similar in design to the 9400M processor in Apple's older MacBooks, which should equate to good graphics performance - on the other hand, however, the S12 has an Atom processor, not a Core 2 Duo, or for that matter, a Core i series CPU.

We'd advise some curbing of enthusiasm: Unreal Tournament 3 in 1200x800 pixels with normal graphics settings ran at 16.5fps, which is barely functional. Lowering the settings to 800x600 pixels netted us a much better 21.2fps, but it wasn't better than the HP Mini 311, which also has an Nvidia Ion - this was surprising, especially since this S12 has double the RAM. HD playback was definitely improved, but most notably for HD video files. Streaming video, including full-screen 480p Flash playback had some stutter, even with Flash 10.1 installed. Sadly, the Atom processor is the real bottleneck here. We'd love to see Ion processors paired with improved Atoms or ULV processors - as it currently stands, the IdeaPad S12 offers too little for its high price.

The included six-cell battery delivered three hours and 45 minutes in our video playback test. That's about an hour less than the IdeaPad S12 without Ion, and brings battery performance to an acceptable but not spectacular number. We've seen netbooks and thin-and-lights get well over six hours of life more often than not nowadays.

(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Via CNET

• Asus Eee PC 1005PE
• HP Mini 311
• Sony Vaio W
• Acer Aspire One 532h

• Compact body
• Excellent keyboard

• Awkward touch pad
• Cramped palm rest

Despite an across-the-board upgrade of the Intel Atom processor line just a few short months ago, the netbook landscape since has quickly settled down into sameness and predictability once again. Most manufacturers are offering similarly-specced products at similar prices. What makes one superior to another? It all comes down to fine details, and more often than not, design.

The Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3 is the third-generation update to the IdeaPad netbook line, a successor to the IdeaPad S10-2. A lot has changed since then, and yet, not much has changed at all. Cosmetically, the S10-3 features a more compact shape, cleaner lines and, of course, it has an Atom N450 processor. It also has a great new keyboard, which we'll get to in a moment. We think the S10-3 is a great upgrade to the S10-2, and the current market cost is actually quite appealing, depending on where you get it from, and if you get the Atom N450, N455 or N475 processor inside.

The Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3 has undergone some serious redesigns since we reviewed its ancestor, the S10-2, and nearly all have been for good. Whereas the S10-2 had a seriously protruding battery to go with its thin case, the S10-3 has integrated the battery with much less bulge into the centre of the hinge, letting some of the pack stick out at the bottom. This creates a bit of a keyboard riser. The whole netbook looks thinner and, in particular, much less deep than other competitors, with the whole of the S10-3 easily able to be palmed in the hand. It's a bit bigger than a larger-size soft-cover book.

The chequered finish on the back lid, available in either red or black, minimises fingerprints and adds a race-car-style look to the exterior, attractive and minimal. Inside, the plastic around the keyboard has a veneer resembling brushed metal, giving the IdeaPad a more professional look without actually using higher-end materials. The chassis feels slightly lightweight and plastic, especially when opening up the lid, but the overall feel is quite sturdy despite some flex when pressing down on the top of the IdeaPad with its lid closed.

Opened up, it's even clearer that the S10-3 is wider than it is deep; the 10.1-inch screen feels tightly framed on the top and bottom, with a little extra bezel room on the left and right. That sensation carries over to the keyboard, too. The roomy, full-size keys on the S10-3 are a complete redesign as well, incorporating Lenovo's new raised chiclet-style keyboard that we first tried on the ThinkPad Edge. They feel great, and might be our favourite keyboard in a netbook ever, were it not for the reduced room in the cramped palm-rest area. Our hands felt like they were scrambling for purchase a little, although placing the S10-3 on a desktop helped a lot.

The touch pad on the S10-3 is now a click pad, adding clickable areas to the left and right that forego the need for space-occupying discrete buttons. While this is a great idea in a netbook, the touch pad in the S10-3 is, despite looking depressed from the palm rest is slightly raised up from its base, giving the surface a springy and slightly floaty feel. The pad was slightly skittish in its default settings, and the clickable zones were hard to press without accidentally moving the mouse cursor as well.

The 10.1-inch LED screen on the IdeaPad S10-3 has a 1024x600-pixel native resolution, standard for most netbooks, although we are increasingly seeing 1366x768-pixel screens offering more laptop-standard aspect ratios. Icons and graphics look crisp, but web browsing can get a little cramped with the reduced vertical pixels. The Dolby-enhanced speakers, located under the laptop and facing forward, offer better volume than some netbooks but aren't superlative.

You aren't getting much more than any other netbook when it comes to internal specs and ports - 1GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive and plain VGA-out are included. The lone point of note is an extra USB port.

The IdeaPad S10-3 does have one other feature that's not common in netbooks: a quick-start OS. The S10-3's power button is located on the upper lid to the left of the screen, but to the right is a small, black "QS" key that launches Splashtop 2.0 software. It's much like other quick-start OS environments we've seen in other laptops, offering a web browser, email, Skype and a few other icons like Twitter and Facebook that turn out to just be web links. While the idea of an "instant-on" OS is a nice idea for an ultraportable, the Splashtop software simply doesn't boot as fast as a sleeping iPhone, nor does it offer a significant advantage to merely waking up a hibernating Windows 7-booted machine.

The Atom N450 processor in the IdeaPad S10-3 is the same as every other N450 we've seen now in every manufacturer's netbook reboot. Performance was comparable in terms of our standard benchmark tasks, which is to say mediocre at single tasks, and slow at multitasking, but Atom netbooks are still fine choices for anyone looking to accomplish basic office tasks or simple web browsing and media-viewing functions. Casual games, provided they aren't graphics-intensive, also run fine. HD video files up to 720p can be played reasonably well, but streaming via YouTube gets choppy in HD and full screen.

(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

(Longer bars indicate better performance)

The six-cell battery in the IdeaPad S10-3 netted us four hours and 44 minutes using our video-playback battery-drain test. While our test is more intense than what we'd call standard usage conditions, it's a useful conservative indication of what should be expected during continuous media consumption. While nearly five hours isn't bad, it's hours behind similarly priced netbooks from Toshiba and Asus.

Via CNET

• HP Mini 5101
• HP Mini 311
• Dell Mini 10v
• Asus Eee PC 1005PE

Starting at AU$1199 and AU$1599 respectively for the base configurations, the new range is lighter and thinner than the previous version.

Our US colleagues at CNET got their hands on the new range.

• Apple MacBook Pro (Core 2 Duo 2.53GHz)
• Apple MacBook (June 2009)
• Apple MacBook Pro (13-inch, June 2009)
• The gap in Apple's MacBook line-up