Filed under: Gaming, Portable Video, Wireless

Apparently dishing out surveys to garner potential interest in (hopefully) forthcoming products and services is the fad of the month, as Microsoft barely received back all the results in its latest Xbox 360 questionnaire before Sony threw down a few of its own. Most recently, however, a question was posed to PSP owners that piqued our interest, and it involved the possibility of receiving TV streams on that oh-so-sexy widescreen LCD. The higher-ups at Sony HQ seemingly have streaming video on the brain, as users were asked to choose which scenario they’d prefer when kicking back and catching a show on their handheld. The choices involved a “Sony LocationFree TV box” that would stream content directly to the PSP using a local WiFi connection, or a subscription-based service that would broadcast TV shows using “always on cellular technology” for $9.99 per month. Considering Sony can hardly pay folks to take those dust-gathering UMD flicks, we don’t think that making a move in the television realm would be such a bad idea — so, what’s up Sony? Inquisitive minds (and PSP / DS Lite fence-sitters) are yearning for an answer.

[Thanks, Simon V.]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

We don’t know much about this guy, or what he’s holding (or why the hell he was hired to make people like us want to buy Cowon devices), but he’s the same dude we saw earlier modeling (with) their new N3, and the device he’s holding sure looks a helluva lot more likely to be the followup to the A2 than that not-quite-a-UMPC. We’ll keep you posted, but not before we too get prep and throw our head back with abandon.

[Via iAudiophile]

 

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: Gaming

When the rumor mill gets a’turnin’ you’re bound to have a few false-starts, and it seems the new black Xbox 360 meme is no exception. The snazzy “black Xbox” seen above might look quite black and Xboxy, but we’re sorry to report that it’s just a developer box, plenty of which have been out since before launch for testing out pre-release games. Also, if when Microsoft does actually build a black version, we’re kind of hoping they stick with that chrome drive tray from the regular 360, and maybe go with a truer black instead of this piddling smoke color. We’re definitely not writing off the rumor entirely, according to some “leaked info” from Microsoft’s planned X06 announcements this week, they’ll be announcing Xbox 360 Black for the holidays, along with 1080p Halo3 and other fanboy pleasers. We also got a tip from somebody who claims to have a friend at GAME that says the black Xbox 360 will be a premium only color, and might even come with an integrated or bundled HD DVD drive and possibly a larger HDD. We suppose we’ll know soon enough — X06 is over tomorrow — but that doesn’t mean we can’t stay busy drumming up the hype and unrealistic expectations until then.

[Thanks to everyone who sent these in]

Read – Black Xbox at Microsoft event
Read – X06 info leaked

 

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Video

The New York Post came out hard yesterday with a piece about how Wal-Mart is threatening movie studios over the iTunes Movie Store, to which the retail giant quickly responded with a statement denying the claims. The NYP claims that Wal-Mart is telling studios that they’ll start ordering fewer DVD movies if the studios jump aboard the iTMS bandwagon, similar to their temporary reaction when TV shows started being sold by Apple. Wal-Mart quickly disputed the claims, saying “While we recognize there are various current and potential providers of this service, we are not dissuading studios from conducting business with other providers.” According to Reuters, a source “familiar with the situation” says that while Wal-Mart “freaked out” over TV show sales, the online sales haven’t impacted their own, and they’re not too concerned over iTunes movie sales. None of this really confirms or denies rumours of Wal-Mart prepping their own download store, but we’re definitely not giving up hope of a price-slasher moving to the online space.

[Via Slashdot]

Read – New York Post (is)
Read – Reuters (isn’t)

 

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: Laptops

The funny thing that happened when Apple decided to make the switch to Intel was they couldn’t any longer espouse the merits of their typically non-standard processor architectures as, um, apples and oranges with PCs. In other words, Apple had to start keeping up with the jonses in a very flat, discernible, and easily quantifiable way: PC speed benchmarks (which were made even easier with Boot Camp). So yeah, you could say we find it a little odd that since being announced in late July (i.e. two months in real-life time, or six years in Engadget time) and shipping in August, we’ve yet to see only one prominent manufacturer neglect to launch some Core 2 Duo laptops of their own. So it’s on shaky faith we tell you that the latest in an already irritatingly long line of C2D MacBook (Pro) rumors has Cupertino’s entire line of laptops done with the damned upgrades, and company just waiting on the marketing department to line ‘em up and knock ‘em out. Of course, it would be market-suicide if they didn’t launch these before the holiday season (unless they wanted to bundle them with Vista that is — we kid!), so don’t be surprised if you wake up to some new Apple laptops any day now.

[Thanks, Chris]

 

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

It’s the stuff fanboy dreams are made of: Google and Apple, sittin’ in a tree. In fact, if you nearly passed out when Stevie J. walked onto the stage the other day sans mock turtleneck, or started into hysterics when Larry Page rode into CES on the back of that SUV, you might want to sit down for this one. Google and Apple are supposedly, maybe, possibly talking up video interoperability with Google Video and Apple’s forthcoming iTV device. All we’ve got to go on so far is a quote from Google’s consumer product chief, Marissa Mayer, who has confirmed the two companies are “engaged in talks.” What level of iTV integration this indicates, if any, is yet to be seen, and with the usual amount of tight-lipped action we normal get out of Apple and Google, we don’t expect to know much more until the feature is upon us, but the addition of Eric Schmidt to Apple’s board of directors is a good sign of things to come. Plus, we’re sure good, video-ey things can happen with these two companies putting their heads together, and a bit of internet video can’t hurt a device that so far doesn’t look to have much more than DRM interoperability to set it apart.

[Via BBC News]

 

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Man, Steve really must have people in a tizzy, the rumor mill is still glowing bright even at two in the damn morning. Up today we have:

• Apple New Zealand supposedly leaks 50GB / 80GB iPod dock adapter kit for Universal Dock system. Oook.
• TUAW has what could be (but probably isn’t) Steve’s itinerary, which highlights a new nano, widescreen video iPod, and the TubePort, a streaming home theater movie device that connects your TV to your computer via USB and grabs movies hosted by Apple.
• Core 2 Duo MacBook Pros, of course. (We were really trying not to say natch that time.)
• Updated nanos with larger capacities, battery lives, differing colors, and aluminum posteriors.
• iTunes 7 and 10.4.8 will be released.
• Ok, that’s more or less it right now.

So that’s not a lot, but we weren’t going to write those up (even though they’re a little too good to leave alone). Stick close for more, it’s gonna be a busy day — and feel free to hit us up with your late breaking rumors in comments!

[Thanks, Graham & dawnraid]

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Last time we saw a banner shown at an Apple event was, well, last month for the WWDC 2006 extravaganza. But this banner, supposedly taken at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco for the event intended this Tuesday the 12th, pretty clearly depicts what appears to be the touchscreen (true) video iPod — that is, if it’s real. Of course, we can confirm nor deny anything, but obviously the churning machine that is the Apple rumor mill right now should not be discounted, friends. Two days until we all find out!

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Filed under: Desktops

You know how the industry loves a good Apple rumor or two (or ten, or a thousand), but when you start getting some synchronicity between the menagerie of rumor sites out there, it’s bound to rise to the top. Today’s hit: September will see the entry of a 23-inch iMac, as well as a line revamp for the all-in-ones over to Merom Core 2 Duo mobile (i.e. not desktop) processors. (Our staff of twelve interns gave it a quick mock right upstairs there.) We’ve seen our fair share of Merom launches this week, so it stands to reason that if the spec bump is on target, then the MacBook Pro may get that upgrade as well — certainly Apple wouldn’t want to feel left behind now that they’re competing mano-a-mano with all those PC manufacturers, now would they? Oh, and while we’re at it, we’ll tack on one more for ya: at the same time, reports are starting to come in regarding sly Mac mini upgrades from Core Solo to Core Duo processors, perhaps in anticipation of bumping those specs up a little, too. Apple has indeed been known to upgrade to their customers’ pleasant surprise (see: MacBook Pros going up with nary a word, for example), but then again perhaps they’re just out of the Core Solo parts, and needed to get those units out the door.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read – 23-inch Merom iMacs (via MacRumors)
Read – Mac mini

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Filed under: Gaming

Saywha? The Wii — yes, the Wii made by Nintendo, not to be referred to as the Nintendo Wii — is going to retail for way less than $200 clams? Well, we wouldn’t have given it a moment’s thought if it wasn’t a source so high and mighty in the industry as EA’s EVP / COO of worldwide studios, David Gardner; then again, even here we’ve got a bit of rumor and speculation going down. Apparently Gardner said, “I’ve heard in Japan that the price is about $170, but I don’t know if the price has been set in Europe yet.” We know that the device will go for less than $250, but typically when these guys say “less than x amount of dollars,” that value is a something closer to a single red penny below the bespoke price. Still, a $170 Wii? You’d really have to hand it to Nintendo for having the chutzpah to so severely undercut the competition on price you’d almost be obligated to buy their console out of sheer value alone. Then again it’s a bit hard to imagine the Wii costing only $40 more than their hottie hot DS Lite, so something tells us we might have to file this one back on the rumors-not-to-come-true shelf.

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Filed under: Laptops

If there’s anything we’ve learned about Apple, it’s that when Stevie J. takes the stage, expect the unexpected. This time, unfortunately, the unexpected took the form of significantly fewer real announcements than had previously been prognosticated by man; still no iPhone (figures), still no iTunes movie support (same); neither were very surprising, but we were really taken aback when Apple didn’t give their MacBook Pros some Core 2 Duo processor upgrades, being that every other laptop manufacturer has either done it or is lining it up. So, be that as it may, it should come as no surprise that the Commercial Times is supposedly reporting Asustek and Quanta are prepping to ship somewhere to the tune of 200,000-300,000 MacBook Pros and MacBooks with Core 2 Duo as of next month. Will it happen? Well, Apple is due for fall consumer product announcements (last year’s was in October), so this is one we’re not counting out.

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Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Apple rumor dredgin’ site AppleInsider just hocked-up another canard for those of you feeling a bit shorted following WWDC 2006. AI reports that the obsessively closed-mouthed Steve Jobs is so giddy about the oft speculated iPod cellphone that he’s been blow-harding its merits amongst personal acquaintances. Sources touting an “unblemished track record” in predicting Apple’s future and familiar with the device’s “ongoings” claim that prototypes have already been released to two potential OEM manufacturing partners with a “big bang” launch coming earlier than expected — catching even industry insiders (such as themselves?) off-guard. Certainly analysts and believers alike have all but convinced themselves that some kind of iPhone device (like that pictured to the right) with or without an MVNO is a certainty. Still, it’s hard to believe that Jobs would break character in such loose-lipped fashion even if they weren’t sitting around doing nothing.

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

We already knew the Zune was going to come in a triad of colors, but we didn’t have much of any idea as to the price they were going to stick you for. Common sense would dictate it would be at or slightly below what the iPod is asking for their device — but not above — and if TWiCE is correct with their information, the Zune will run for an on-par $299. They’re also reporting the Zune won’t allow for music purchases on the go, which kind of flies in the face of that whole “connected entertainment” thing, as well as the idea of putting WiFi in a portable, so we’re looking at it somewhat skeptically for the time being.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Filed under: Handsets, Others

Alright, dear readers, you know the drill: proceed with caution. We have no confirmation here, but sometimes a tip is too juicy not to share, no matter how suspect it might be. A reader is reporting to us that a coworker’s tech-unsavvy friend, who is regularly hired by Apple to do marketing photo shoots, was recently brought on to take some shots of “the sleekest, sexiest damn phone he’s ever seen.” The launch date? “Some time in August.” Yeah, not a typo — August. Now, to be perfectly clear, we don’t know what the iPhone (if it exists) will be actually called, we’ve never seen a real pic of the elusive beast, and this doesn’t really jive with the time frame suggested by Peter Oppenheimer’s recent comments — but we want to believe, and we don’t have to wait very long for this one to get debunked or confirmed.

[Thanks, Frazer]

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Filed under: Handhelds, Portable Audio, Portable Video

We tend to field a lot of inside information here at Engadget HQ, but we've gotten not one, but two bits from separate, trustworthy insiders that Apple's not satisfied merely vending Audible's books-on-digital-audio solution. With the iRex iLiad and Sony PRS-500 Portable Reader both right around the corner, is it possible the next iPod might catch the eBook bug? We'd say the possibility is very real, since according to a source at a major publishing house, they were just ordered to archive all their manuscripts -- every single one -- and send them over to Apple's Cupertino HQ. A separate trusted source let us know that the next iPod will have a substantial amount of screen real estate (as we'd all suspected), as well as a book reading mode that pumps up the contrast and drops into monochrome for easy reading. It's no e-ink, sure, but a widescreen iPod would be well suited for the purpose, and according to our source, the books you'd buy (presumably through iTunes) won't have an expiration -- kind of like Apple-bought music, as well, but contradictory to the movie rental scheme we've heard rumored. Could they please just rename it the iTunes Music, Movies, and Book Store and get it over with already?

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Dream, fanboys, dream. Here’s the formula for a rumor: Add in the July 27th launch date for Intel’s Core 2 Duo chips (redundant name? yes, and yes.) Add the approach of Apple’s Developer Conference in early August. Bake at 300 degrees, no, wait, 150 degrees, and instantly arrive at the idea that the new chips would show in new a Macbook Pro next month. While we’re cooking up speculation, it would be fair to drool. Those chips are supposed to be a great deal faster than the originals inside of today’s MBPs; a great deal more than what we get in an average game of CPU-speed leap frog.– Brian Lam

New Macbook’s in August(?)[ MacRumors ]
Core 2 Duo: Zippy [ Internal ]

Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds, Portable Audio

For a product that Microsoft hasn't even officially confirmed, there sure is a whole lot of Zune info to be getting on with. The latest leaks are from Digital Music News, who has been reviewing some of the presentation material that Microsoft shared with top-level execs of partner companies. The biggest detail that they've unveiled is that the Zune will indeed be basing its social networking capabilities on Microsoft's Live Anywhere platform. Not an incredibly huge surprise, given the functions we've already heard described and the Xbox roots of the device, but it should give the Zune a good boost in the direction of its 18-28 year old demographic, which Microsoft claims will skew a bet younger than that of the iPod. The social aspects, including that trusty friends list from Xbox Live, is purportedly taking some cues from MySpace, which seems to go beyond the functions we spied at our E3 demo of Live Anywhere. DMN also reveals that the 30GB Zune will have the "same pricing, look and feel as the 60GB iPod," which was $399 the last time we checked. That, of course, is the same price as an Xbox 360 Platinum, which might put the hurt on the cashflow of their younger target demographic. As rumored, the Zune should come in three colors, and that round button is indeed a scroll wheel to work the menus. WiFi functionality will be able to share music with up to 10 friends in a close-range peer to peer fashion, but to share a protected track your friend will have to "bookmark" the song for purchasing later. The player will be incompatible with other PlaysForSure services, focusing, we suppose, exclusively on their URGE store. There's still no word on non-DRMed MP3 sharing, but the outlook isn't good. Microsoft is aiming for a November release in the US, to be followed by a global launch next year. We would promise you more info as the release looms nearer, but we're not sure what else we could say.

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Wireless

Palm's sieve-like reputation for keeping a lid on unreleased devices continues to the current round of Treos in the pipeline, and we're happy to feed the fire today with possible specs of the upcoming "Hollywood" accompanied by the obligatory hastily-snapped shot (blurred here to protect our valiant tipster). Though we still don't fully understand the relationship between this bad boy and Cingular's upcoming "Nitro" and "Lennon," it's said that we're looking at an antenna-less GSM Treo rocking Windows Mobile 5, 128MB of internal storage, and a 412MHz XScale core, all gussied up in a package "considerably lighter" than its 700w stablemate. If our source is accurate, all this goodness will drop sometime this September -- not a moment too soon for Treo fans on GSM carriers getting a little jealous of their CDMA brethren. Naturally, skepticism is in order here, but the engraving on the device lends some validity to the thought that it's a prototype, and this all lines up pretty nicely with Cingular's roadmap, no?

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

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Filed under: Handsets, Palm, Cingular, Palm OS, GSM

Palm's sieve-like reputation for keeping a lid on unreleased devices continues to the current round of Treos in the pipeline, and we're happy to feed the fire today with possible specs of the upcoming "Hollywood" accompanied by the obligatory hastily-snapped shot (blurred here to protect our valiant tipster). Though we still don't fully understand the relationship between this bad boy and Cingular's upcoming "Nitro" and "Lennon," it's said that we're looking at an antenna-less GSM Treo rocking Windows Mobile 5, 128MB of internal storage, and a 412MHz XScale core, all gussied up in a package "considerably lighter" than its 700w stablemate. If our source is accurate, all this goodness will drop sometime this September -- not a moment too soon for Treo fans on GSM carriers getting a little jealous of their CDMA brethren. Naturally, skepticism is in order here, but the engraving on the device lends some validity to the thought that it's a prototype, and this all lines up pretty nicely with Cingular's roadmap, no?

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

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Filed under: Gaming, HDTV

We've been wondering when we'd see HDMI for the Xbox 360. Partly for the future HDCP needs of HD DVD (though for now we're safe on that front), and partly for the sheer convenience of it. Microsoft has stayed fairly silent on the subject, but this week's blurry image-based rumor points to its inclusion in a future version of the console. Tipped by an anonymous source, the image shows an HDMI port firmly ensconced on an Xbox 360 motherboard. If it's real, this probably rules out the possibility of an HDMI cable adapter providing this functionality, leaving current 360 owners SOL. But minus the fanboy outcry, it could be a nice little jab at Sony if Microsoft has an HDMI version of their console just in time to compete with the high-end HDMI PS3. Of course, there's no word if this will come as a third configuration, or if it'll just act as a spec bump to the current Premium package, but again, there's no word if this is real at all. We'll keep you posted.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Nothing starts the day like a freshly squeezed Apple rumor, right? Well you’re looking at 10 supposed iPod (and one iPhone?) “redesigns” which AppleInsider extracted from the bowels of a European trademark and design office. Credited to Andre K. Bartley, an Apple interface designer with several iPod-related patent filings in the US and Europe under his belt, these designs were registered in January 2006 without any descriptive data. We don’t doubt the authenticity of this filing, however, what’s hard to stuff down the ol’ pie-hole is the idea of Apple walking away from its much loved, and oft imitated, click-wheel interface for the iPod as AI suggests. And certainly not in favor of a Gigabeat e(S)que cross-hair controller or uh, Creative’s scroll strip. Considering Apple’s long history of litigation over interface design, we’re probably just looking at some legal maneuvering here. Next.

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Filed under: Handsets, Palm, Palm OS, GSM

Alright, dear readers, proceed with caution. It’s with a healthy dose of skepticism that we present to you some slightly clearer pictures (allegedly straight off Cingular’s site) of Palm’s “Lennon” and “Nitro” GSM devices that our resident rumor MC, The Boy Genius, scooped for us not long ago. Now, we’ll plainly admit that these look pretty much like what we’d expect them to look like — but these would also be fairly trivial ‘Shops to throw together based off the 700w and 700p. Either way, if Palm’s track record is any indication, we can look forward to plenty more leaked shots in the near future to keep us occupied before (hopefully) a late-2006 release.

[Thanks, Jon]

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Filed under: Desktops

The Apple rumor-mill is all but certain that new Power Mac G5 replacements will be unveiled during Steve Jobs' WWDC keynote on August 7th. Now, Think Secret has "confirmed" that unlike the other Mactel's released to date, Apple's new top-of-the-line desktops, likely dubbed the Mac Pro, will sport a "substantially different" enclosure from their ancestry. The new boxes are also said to sport Intel's Core 2 Duo (Conroe) chips in configurations similar to the most recent Power Mac G5s; a single, dual-core proc in the low-to-mid range systems with top-end systems going 2 x dual-core for some hot, quad-core action. No word on clock speeds, unfortunately. TS' sources also claim that the MacBook Pro will also see a redesign when the mobile version of those Core 2 Duo (Merom) chips are released around August. And, uh, no we don't have any pics of the new designs -- a statement sure to incite graphic designers everywhere into a development frenzy of purported spy-shots. Of course, if you've got the real deal, well, you know where to find us.

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Filed under: Gaming, HDTV, Home Entertainment

If you were hoping to reduce some living room clutter by slapping an internal HD DVD drive in that Xbox 360, think again, jack. Microsoft just put the kibosh on a certain Toshiba exec’s “prediction” that those external HD DVD drives Microsoft was showing off at E3 would find their way integrated into future 360 consoles. In an official statement, Microsoft says they have no plans to integrate the HD DVD drive because they “feel that offering the drive externally is the best way to give consumers the ultimate choice to create their own high definition experiences.” Well, that’s pretty clear. However, BD believers could interpret that statement to hint at possible support for an external Blu-ray Disc drive — afterall, that would be the ultimate choice, right? Hell, the next-gen format war is anybody’s game at this point so why lock yourself into a format which might lose, or even morph into a unified offering? It’s not like Microsoft’s alone in hedging their bets now are they?

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

What can we say -- iPod rumors are a hot commodity, and we find it quite tantalizing when the Chairman of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. -- one of the largest electronics manufacturers in the world and an Apple contractor on iPod manufacturing -- starts talking about Apple's next player. According to a Bloomberg report, Chairman Terry Gou said, "Apple is about to unveil the next generation of iPod, the best-selling music player in the U.S., using a 'none-touch' concept." Ok, well, how much of that is paraphrased and lost in translation is yet to be seen, but before we take that "none-touch" concept business away and start dissecting it (obviously we're totally hoping it's a brain-interface that doesn't require touching the precious, easily-scratched surface), we'd like to at least hone in on that bit about Apple getting ready to unveil the next iPod shortly. Enjoy, fanboys and haters.

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