Tag: 2012

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Mac mini (Late 2012)

Since the first Mac mini was released in 2005, all models have been compact, shipped without a display, keyboard, and mouse, and all have been relatively inexpensive.

The Mac mini (Late 2012) was described by EveryMac: “Compared to its predecessor, this model looks identical, but it has a faster internal architecture with a faster processor, faster graphics, faster RAM, and USB 3.0 ports.”

Its primarily aluminum case has a plastic bottom and measures 1.4 inches (3.6 cm) tall, 7.7 inches x 7.7 inches (19.7 cm) square, and weighs 2.7 pounds (1.22 kg).

The Mac mini (Late 2012) was offered with a 2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 or 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor. It shipped with a 500GB or 1TB (5400-rpm) hard drive.

For a compact case, it had many physical plug options: Thunderbolt, FireWire 800 port, 4 USB 3 ports, HDMI, SDXC card slot, gigabit ethernet port, and audio in/out. Its 3 wireless interfaces included 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and an IR receiver.

This Mac mini shipped with OS X Mountain Lion.

Sources: EveryMac, Wikipedia, Apple

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Apple Store holiday guides collection (2007, 2010, 2012)

This collection includes Apple Store holiday guide brochures from three different years. Two items from 2007 include a gift guide and a brochure. A 2010 and 2012 gift guide are also included.

Apple Store 2007 Holiday Gift Guide (2007)

2007 was the first holiday season with the iPhone, and unsurprisingly, it is featured prominently. Upon opening, the copy reads “Were they really, really good this year?” under a photo of the original iPhone. Inside, an iPhone panel shows eight different accessories including the Apple Bluetooth Headset, an AirPort Extreme base station, an earphone, a cable, a charger, and device protection. The other panels include Mac and iPod along with 16 accessories and software ideas. Folded, this full-color gift guide measures 4.25 x 10 inches.

Let the holidays begin (2007)

Also for 2007, a slightly larger, bright red, two-panel brochure announces a “special one-day Apple shopping event” that occurs on Black Friday, but never mentions “Black Friday.” This brochure measures 4.25 x 10.5 inches.

Apple Store Gift Guide Holiday 2010

The Gift Guide for Holiday 2010 features a colorful arrangement of iPod nano devices (square with a color screen). When first opened, two iPod touch devices are shown with the iPod nano devices with the tag line “If it’s on their list, it’s in our store.” Inside, four panels feature gift categories including iPhone, iPad, Mac, and iPod—each with service, software, and accessory suggestions. This full color brochure measures 4.25 x 10 inches.

Apple Store Holiday Gift Guide (Japan, 2012)

Finally, this 2012 Gift Guide from Japan is bright red and features four iPad devices with red Smart Covers arranged to resemble ribbons wrapping a package with a tag that translates to “Gift Guide.” When opened, iPad and iPod devices are shown with text that translates to “A perfect gift is not limited to one.” Inside, each of four panels is dedicated to iPad, iPhone, iPod, and Mac. Several accessories and services are shown under each product as gift suggestions. This full color brochure measures 4.25 x 10 inches. This Gift Guide is written in Japanese.

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30-pin to USB Cable (1 m, 2012)

Apple’s 30-pin to USB Cable was sold in a variety of packaging options over the years. This cable charged devices with a 30-pin connector, including iPod, iPhone, and iPad.

Apple’s product overview stated, “This USB 2.0 cable connects your iPod, iPhone, or iPad — directly or through a Dock — to your computer’s USB port for efficient syncing and charging or to the Apple USB Power Adapter for convenient charging from a wall outlet.”

Apple also included a list of compatible devices. Although the USB 2.0 is backwards-compatible with USB 1.0 and works with computers with USB 3.0, the specifications only include devices that use USB 2.0: iPhone 4s, iPhone 4, iPhone 3Gs, iPhone 3G, iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (2nd generation), iPod nano (6th generation), iPod nano (5th generation), iPod nano (4th generation), iPod classic 160GB (2009), and iPod classic 120GB (2008).

This example is unopened in retail packaging. Although Apple was no longer selling devices with 30-pin cables, this product was still available on Apple’s website as of January 2021.

Source: Apple

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iPad (Generation 2, Wi-Fi, 16 GB, black, A1395 [EMC 2560], 2012)

This version of the iPad 2 is nearly identical to the original iPad 2, but used a smaller 32 nm A5 processor (the original A5 processor was 45 nm) and had slightly improved battery life.

The iPad 2 represented a major update to the original iPad by allowing the iPad to begin its move from a content-consumption device to a content-creation device, mostly due to the addition of both a front and back camera. Apple’s press release led with its subhead, “All New Design is Thinner, Lighter & Faster with FaceTime, Smart Covers & 10 Hour Battery.”

Like the original iPad, the iPad 2 was described as a “magical device for browsing the web, reading and sending email, enjoying photos, watching videos, listening to music, playing games, reading ebooks and much more.” The iPad 2 added “two cameras, a front-facing VGA camera for FaceTime and Photo Booth, and a rear-facing camera that captures 720p HD video, bringing the innovative FaceTime feature to iPad users for the first time.” The iPad 2 had a silver aluminum back and was available with a white or black front.

The iPad 2 had a 9.7-inch glossy LED backlit display (1024×768 at 132 ppi) and could run both iPhone and iPad-specific apps. It shipped with the A5 processor with storage options including 16, 32, or 64 GB. In addition to its front and rear cameras, it had 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi support, an accelerometer, a three-axis gyroscope, an ambient light sensor, digital compass, a speaker and a built-in microphone. The iPad 2 was 33% thinner than the original iPad and weighed 1.33 pounds.

The iPad 2 was also released with the Smart Cover. The Smart Cover used magnets to attach and, when closed, automatically put the iPad 2 into Sleep mode, and would wake the iPad when opened.

Sources: Everymac, Apple

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iPad (Generation 4, Wi-Fi, black, 2012)

The iPad Generation 4 was referred to by Apple officially as the “iPad with Retina Display.” Similar in many ways to the iPad Generation 3 before it, the iPad Generation 4 replaced the 30-pin dock connector with the Lightning port, and also offered incremental upgrades.

The Retina Display increased the touchscreen resolution to 2048×1536 (at 264 ppi). Internally, the iPad Generation 4 used a dual-core 1.4 GHz A6X processor, 1 GB of RAM, and was offered with 16, 32, 64, or 128 GB of storage. Its back 5-megapixel iSight camera could record video at 1080p, and its front FaceTime HD camera could record video at 720p. Wireless connectivity included 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0.

The iPad Generation 4 was available in black and white (both options had a silver aluminum back). This example is black.

Source: Everymac

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iPad (Generation 4, Wi-Fi, white, 2012)

The iPad Generation 4 was referred to by Apple officially as the “iPad with Retina Display.” Similar in many ways to the iPad Generation 3 before it, the iPad Generation 4 replaced the 30-pin dock connector with the Lightning port, and also offered incremental upgrades.

The Retina Display increased the touchscreen resolution to 2048×1536 (at 264 ppi). Internally, the iPad Generation 4 used a dual-core 1.4 GHz A6X processor, 1 GB of RAM, and was offered with 16, 32, 64, or 128 GB of storage. Its back 5-megapixel iSight camera could record video at 1080p, and its front FaceTime HD camera could record video at 720p. Wireless connectivity included 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0.

The iPad Generation 4 was available in black and white (both options had a silver aluminum back). This Wi-Fi example is in white.

Source: Everymac

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iPod touch Loop (yellow, 2012)

The iPod touch Loop is a custom wristband that shipped with iPod touch Generation 5 models with a capacity above 16 GB. The included iPod touch Loop matched the color of the iPod touch: black (shipped with the slate and later Space Gray models), white (shipped with the silver model), pink, yellow, blue, and red.

For owners of the 16 GB iPod touch Generation 5—or for anyone who wanted to customize their iPod touch—the Loop could also be purchased separately in packs of two including one color (pink, yellow, black, blue, or red) and one white Loop for $9.

The iPod touch Loop attached to a pop-out nub on the lower-left-back corner of the iPod touch. This pop-out nub was unique to the iPod touch Generation 5. The back of the packaging shows an excellent diagram of the installation of the Loop.

When I acquired a 16 GB Generation 5 iPod touch and noticed its pop-out nub, I immediately began looking for an iPod touch Loop to accompany it. I found this one on eBay from a German seller in 2020. I selected the “yellow” option because its unusual shade seems more green to my eye than yellow.

Source: EveryMac

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Apple Gift Cards (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014)

This collection of Apple gift cards spans the years 2005–2014, and includes gift cards for use in Apple Stores, the iTunes Store, and Starbucks. Apple Store gift cards can be redeemed in brick-and-mortar or online Apple Stores for purchases. iTunes Store gift cards can only be used at the iTunes Store for digital music, video, app, or downloaded purchases.

The special Starbucks card in this collection was sold as a standard Starbucks gift card, but it also allowed two free song downloads in the iTunes Store. When I learned about this offer in 2007, I purchased 25 of these cards at $5 each (the minimum amount allowed for this promotion) and received 50 free song downloads on iTunes (and $125 in Starbucks purchases).

All of these cards have been redeemed.