Apple release of Mac OS X Lion as having more than 200 new features

Mac OS X Lion

Mac OS X Lion's well-known All My Files smart folder gives a bird's-eye view of everything on your Mac with files separated by type -- images, PDFs, text-based documents, spreadsheets and so forth. Each type of file displays preview icons of various files that you can scroll through, much as you would using cover flow view in the Finder or iTunes.

This file grouping option is the default for All My Files, but you can use it for any folder you're looking at in icon view (but not in list, column or cover flow views).

Grouping files by type is useful, but the Finder's new Arrange menu in the Finder window toolbar also lets you group files and subfolders by several different criteria, including by the application that created each file (or that is associated with the file if that application isn't installed on your Mac); by the date they were last opened, added, modified or created; by the file sizes; and by the Finder label assigned to them.

Some Special features of  Apple Mac OS X Lion

Like the iPod touch and Wi-Fi-only iPads, Mac OS X Lion can use known Wi-Fi networks to determine the approximate geographical location of your Mac. This information can be requested by websites and other applications, as well as used with iCloud's Find My Mac feature. The new Privacy tab in the Security & Privacy pane in System Preferences lets you choose whether your Mac can determine your location and, if so, which apps are allowed to use your location information.

The Privacy tab also lets you control whether or not your Mac can send diagnostic details (such as from application or system crashes) to Apple Mac OS X Lion for analysis.

iPad 3 coming in March with high res screen

The new display is capable of greater resolution than the current iPad, with more pixels on its screen than some high- definition televisions, the person said. The pixels are small enough to make the images look like printed material, according to the person.

Apple is also expected to cut pricing on its earlier iPad models, perhaps to as low as $299 or $399, to keep up with intensifying competition. Currently, iPad pricing starts at $499, while the Kindle Fire tablet starts at $199, though reviewers consistently label the iPad as a premium product.

Bloomberg reported that Apple's "manufacturing partners in Asia started ramping up production of the iPad 3 this month and plan to reach full volumes by February." The news agency cited one of its three sources for that information, saying they "asked not to be named because the details aren't public."

Bloomberg also reported that the new iPad 3 tablet will "use a quad-core chip, an enhancement that lets users jump more quickly between applications." Two sources who asked not to be named were cited for that information, the news agency reported.

Some stock analysts are scaling back their estimates for iPad sales

Another reason for a possible slowdown in growth is because some buyers are waiting for the iPad 3, expected early in 2012. Some analysts also speculate that Apple has won the early adopter market but will find it harder to entice the next round of buyers.

ANALYSIS: Tablet throwdown: Amazon Kindle Fire vs. Apple iPad 2

So far this month, three analysts have trimmed their iPad forecasts for the current quarter, according to Investor's Business Daily. Keep in mind that all three expect strong iPad sales for this period, just not as much as they expected previously. Shaw Wu, of Sterne Agee, dropped his forecast to 13.5 million units from 15 million, the largest cutback. Michael Walkley, of Canaddord Genuity, lowered his target to 13 million, from 14 million. Mark Moskowitz, of J.P. Morgan, trimmed his estimate the least: to 13 million, from 13.3 million.

"Maybe the tablet market is not as big as people had thought," Wu said, quoted in the IBD story. "Remember all the talk about how tablets are going to take over PCs? I'm not in that camp. A lot of people were. Maybe not anymore."

Another variable is the expected success of Amazon's new Kindle Fire media tablet, despite having received mixed reviews by pundits and tech analysts. This week, Morgan Stanley analyst Scott Devitt said that many reviewers "strategically misunderstood" the new tablet. Amazon is not trying to match the iPad, he says. Instead, it's creating a "large content ecosystem" that plays well with the low-priced Kindle. That combination, he says, "will more than make up for its technical inferiority to the iPad."

Part of the appeal is the price difference. The Kindle Fire, with a 7-inch screen, is $199; the 9.7-inch iPad 2 starts at $499.

But Forrester Research recently predicted that Amazon would sell about 5 million of the new models by Jan. 31, 2012, less than half of projected iPad sales, but enough to make it a very distant No. 2 in the tablet market behind Apple.

Analysts are still bullish on Apple's current quarter. Several, according to the IBD story, have boosted their profit and sales projections due to stronger sales of iPhones and Mac computers.