iFixit has a new MacBook Air. You know what that means.Tearing it open and checking it out. So what did they find. There’s the new Thunderbolt port of course and the fancy new keyboard backlighting. But inside is where all the good stuff is.

There’s an Intel Core i5 processor of course and a Bluetooth 4.0 chip and we also learned that the MacBook Air scores a four out of ten for ease of repair, so it might be best to leave this job to the experts. After all this toy is expensive.

The updated MacBook Air was unveiled today and case manufacturers are already on the case, so to speak. WaterField Designs is launching a new lineup of cases for your new MacBook Air. The Smart Case will protect your MacBook Air and keep it looking great.

It comes in two sizes, 11.6 or 13.1 inches. The case features a nylon exterior that is water-resistant, with a padded interior, an Ultrasuede scratch-free liner and eco-friendly distressed brown leather. You paid quite a bit for your new toy, so you may as well protect it.

Looks like Apple feels the need for speed, and so they have given a speed boost to the solid-state drives in newer MacBook Air models. Most batches were using Toshiba’s X-Gale SSD, but now a more recent model has been spotted using a Samsung-made 470 series drive.

The 128GB drive is of course much faster in reads and writes, taking things from about 210MB per second and 176MB per second in the old Toshiba SSD to 261MB per second and 210MB per second in the Samsung version. The upgraded drive, which Apple identifies as SM128C, also supports Native Command Queuing to optimize how it reads and writes to the drive. The X-Gale lacks that feature. Good news for those looking in a MacBook Air.

Looks like some Germans have gotten their hands on a blurry photograph of the new MacBook Pro specs and posted it online. Spotted in the photograph, Intel’s new Light Peak port, which will transfer files at 10Gbps, has been renamed Thunderbolt.

But if this is the real image, it’s mostly unimpressive, beyond that Thunderbolt port, Intel HD 3000 Graphics, an SDXC slot and FaceTime HD capabilities. Maybe it will feature some great design to make up for it’s unexciting specs.

Apple’s upcoming MacBook Pro update could take some cues from the new MacBook Air. They wouldn’t use SSD-only storage but would get an 8GB or 16GB boot drive for the OS either way. This move would let the MacBook Pros get the quick boot and fast resume support of the Air without sacrificing anything in storage.

They may also be getting larger trackpads than the ones available today. They may also get lighter, by as much as half a pound on average, but we don’t know how this would be accomplished.

Best Buy’s laptop discovery tool is giving away some secrets by listing a set of “new SKU” laptops from Apple before the company has had a chance to even announce them. Well, we already knew something was coming anyway, but it looks like this lends some credence to recent rumors of a MacBook Pro refresh coming next week.

The prices are $1,199, $1,499, $1,799, and $2,199, all of which are presently occupied by current-gen 13- and 15-inch MBP versions. There is also an additional $2,499 price for a laptop shown as “New SKU I,” which is probably an upgrade to Apple’s 17-inch model.

We now have more rumors of new MacBook Pros again, but then again when don’t we? These latest leaks narrow the MacBook Pros down to next week. Previously there was an early March target, According to AppleInsider’s contacts,several Apple divisions were being asked to ready for a “significant product launch.”

This news isn’t official of course, but it does make sense as the device should be ready for an update. Other sources had the systems arriving on Thursday, February 24. They are expected to use Core processors based on Intel’s Sandy Bridge to improve performance.

Could Apple be ready to add MacBook Pro notebooks in a black color? We don’t have any official word on this happening, but Intel’s latest advertisement promoting the 2nd generation of Intel Core processors shows a black notebook that looks like Apple’s MacBook in black.

Apple has offered earlier versions of its MacBook in black, so it’s certainly possible. But who knows. This is just an ad and Intel can take some liberties if they like. It sure makes you wonder though.

Apple announced the new MacBook air back in October, which means we will likely see the 2011 MacBook Air around October of this year, and now it looks like the 2011 MacBook Air may come with 3G. The news comes from Apple conducting a survey among its MacBook Air customers and asking them questions about how much they use 3G, data syncing and more.

So it is looking like Apple is seriously considering putting 3G into the 2011 MacBook Air, which would be great news to many users. I wonder if Apple will also put 3G into the 2011 MacBook Pro’s. We’d love to see that.

If you own a Mac it can be a pain in the neck, or the fingers, always pressing the ‘fn’ key to access the f1-12 keys on the keyboard. But now there is an application called FunctionFlip that allows you to program the keys and their functions to your requirements.

FunctionFlip individually controls your MacBook or MacBook Pro’s function keys, turning special keys back to regular F-keys, or vice-versa. It’s compatible with all MacBooks and MacBook Pros, recent Apple external keyboards, iBooks, and PowerBooks. This will make life just a tad easier.

Man, it is so tough to carry around a Macbook Pro. If only it had some sort of handle that could make you look like a business douche. Well, such a thing actually exists. It’s a new invention posted on the Kickstarter website. The new mBrace adds a carrying handle to your 15″ unibody Macbook Pro to help you carry it around the office.

The handle is made from high quality Acetal plastic and is incredibly strong Uretek fabric. It easily secures to a Macbook and can be left in place without affecting its day to day use.

GelaSkins have been around for a while offering neat skins that prevent scratches on your notebooks and smartphones. Now if you own one of the new MacBook Air ultraportables, GelaSkins has announced that it is now supporting that device as well.

GelaSkins offers many different styles, some plain, some from famous artists. The one pictured above is “Take Me to Your Leader” and they even have some from Frank Miller of 300 and Sin City. There’s a great selection.

Everyone’s ultrathin Apple laptop looks the same as everyone else’s. It’s hard to stand out from the crowd when all your gear looks alike. Enter Colorware. Starting at $1,850 you can get a MacBook Air made in 2010, made exactly to your color specifications.

Sure it’s crazy expensive, but if we could afford it we would all be doing it right? Sadly, there’s no option for repainting an Air if you already have one, so you’ll have to buy it direct from Colorware.

You had better think twice if you want to install flash on your MacBook Air. Arstechnica ran some battery life tests on Apples new MacBook Air and they have discovered that by installing Adobe Flash onto the system the battery life of a full charge can be reduced by as much as 33 percent.

This was originally discovered by accident on a MacBook with Flash installed websites loaded in Safari where Flash-based ads kept the CPU running far more than seemed necessary. Making the battery life last just 4 hours with Flash installed.

The folks over at iFixit have torn apart the new 11.6-inch MacBook Air. It’s just what they do. If you are squeamish about your tech being taken apart, then don’t look at the pics. Still, it’s good that they do this, so that you and I don’t have to.

If you don’t have experienced hands, don’t try it. You will void your warranty if you decide to strip down your new MacBook Air. Anyway, if you are itching to discover what they found, just have a click on the link below.