Categories
Apple Gadgets

MacBook Pro 2010 Memory Modules Spotted?

Rumors are doing the rounds that the RAM modules for the upcoming MacBook Pro has been spotted in the wild. This was first reported by Greek website ThesMac.

However, there appear to be some inconsistencies in what we have been expecting and what is apparently available. For instance, the leaked pictures claim to run on a Core 2 Duo processor and a bus speed of 1.33 GHz. However, we have heard that MacBook Pro 2010 will be coming with Core 1.7 M 620 processor  running at 2.66 GHz.

So, we would like to take this with a bit of skepticism, though the rumors should be cleared anytime now since Apple is expected to launch the new MacBook Pro pretty soon.

[via MacRumors]

Categories
Gadgets Miscellaneous

T-Mobile Entering Netbook Arena With Dell Mini 10

Speculations surrounding T-Mobile’s foray into the Netbook market has been doing the rounds for quite a while now. However, it is only now that the actual product behind the rumors is coming to light.

Quoting trusted sources, folks at TmoNews claim that the carrier could be partnering with Dell to bring its newly unveiled Dell Mini 10 netbook to the market. No information regarding the price or launch date is known as yet, though a roll-out is expected by the end of March.

Dell Mini 10 was unveiled earlier this year during the Consumer Electronics Show at Las Vegas and has since then garnered overtly positive reviews.  In fact, Dell Mini has been a popular choice among the carriers. After Sprint Nextel introduced the device, AT&T Mobility too has jumped in. T-Mobile’s entry while later than the other major players could still be a significant business decision moving forward in 2010.

What do you think?

[via TmoNews]

Categories
Apple Gadgets

iPad Wi-Fi Pre-Order In USA Starting On February 25th

The iPad is not scheduled to arrive anytime before March 27th. During the unveiling of the device at the Yerba Buena Center for Arts, Steve Jobs had promised to bring the device within 60 days of the announcement.

Now, rumors are doing the rounds that pre-orders for the Wi-Fi only model of the iPad could start as early as this week. According to sources that folks at App Advice have spoken to, the pre-orders for US customers could begin on February 25.  Deliveries could happen in a month’s time.

We are not very enthused by this rumor and so would advice you to take this with a grain of salt. Nevertheless, tell us. Will you be pre-ordering if the rumors are true?

[via App Advice]

Categories
Apple Gadgets

Video Chat On iPad/iPhone Coming Soon

There has been lot of evidence in the past couple of weeks to suggest that Apple has been purposefully delaying the launch of video chat facilities for the iPhone and iPad even though most of the backend seems to be already ready.

Developers have reported evidences of references to a forward facing camera and video chat functionalities being present on the iPhone OS 3.2 SDK. Now folks at 9to5Mac have dug out more evidences pointing towards the same. A few icons built specifically for the iPhone OS 3.2 SDK show dedicated icons for video chat functionality. Also, the script has references to iChat which is another indication of the imminent video chat feature.

The question now is has Apple deliberately decided to delay the launch of the feature in order to spice up the sale of iPad 2.0 or was the decision to include video calling functionality called off at the last minute owing to potential bugs.

Knowing how Apple goes about its business, the former scenario is pretty much possible.

[via 9to5Mac]

Categories
Gadgets Sony

Sony Develops A Universal Game Console Controller

In an attempt to tackle competition from the likes of Microsoft and Nintendo, Sony is reportedly working on a game controller that can serve as a universal controller; capable of also being used with Xbox or Nintendo.

A patent regarding this was recently filed by the Sony at the USPTO. According to this, the game controller will be an LCD display based device that will display different key layouts depending on the console being used. The inventors write

“A game console controller includes a hand-holdable housing and a touch sensitive liquid crystal display (LCD) on the housing. The LCD is caused to present, depending on what type of game console a user has selected, a controller key layout for a first type of game console or a controller key layout for a second type of game console. A key layout includes plural keys selectable by a user to input commands to a game console.”

Sony Universal Game Controller for Playstation

With increasing number of households going for multiple game consoles, it is evident that Sony wants Playstation to be at least one of them. By providing a universal controller, it can ensure that PS remains the default console in the house with the second device being one of Nintendo or Xbox.

What do you think of this strategy?

Categories
Apple Gadgets

Price of eBooks On iPad Could Be As Low As $9.99

There has been a lot of speculation over the pricing of ebooks on Apple’s iBookstore. This comes especially after the standoff between Amazon and Macmillan; one of the publishers signed up for the Apple iPad.

However, according to a new report on the New York Times, the price of ebooks might not actually be as high as anticipated. The article claims inside sources as revealing that Apple intends to offer “discounts” on best-sellers bringing the price of these publications to as less as $9.99. In other words, the marked price of $12.99 – $14.99 on ebooks could just be the upper ceiling.

This is not all. The report also claims that other publications not on the bestseller list could also see drop in prices if their respective hardcover versions are priced below the typical $26.

Apple executives have refused to comment on the issue. However, this appears to be a master strategy that will appease both the customers and the publishers alike. We will update you on the prices when they are revealed.

[via NY Times]

Categories
Gadgets Sony

Sony PS4 Could Come With Flexible TouchScreen Technology

This might sound extremely futuristic and some might call this cost prohibitive, but according to educated speculations, the next version of Sony Playstation could come equipped with flexible touch-screen tech.

This was communicated by Tai Chiem, a freelance designer known for his renderings of Sony products. According to Tai, while it may be too expensive to bring flexible touchscreen in the present day scenario, it should be pretty likely in 5-10 years.

Now this is neither from an official source nor is from an insider; so take this with as much skepticism as you would want. However, what do you think? Is flexible touchscreen a possibility in PS4 or even PS5? Let us know what you think.

[via Game Thirst]

Categories
Gadgets Google

iPad eBooks To Be Protected By FairPlay DRM?

Apple might continue to exercise the one-sided control that they are always not known to hold with partners with the newly unveiled iPad as well.

According to sources reported by the LA Times, the ebooks sold on iPad may come protected with FairPlay DRM which means the ebooks would be readable only on Apple approved hardware. Also, such a clause would give Apple unrestricted powers in deciding which of the competitors’ books make it to the iBooks store.

It is not clear if all ebooks on the iBooks store would be protected by this DRM since publishers like O’Reilly have been vocal against the use of DRM for their ebooks. However, considering the iPad can open up a lot of opportunity for smaller publishers, it is likely that a lot of publishers would still grudgingly cave in.

What are your thoughts on this?

[via LA Times]

Categories
Apple Gadgets

AT&T To Sell iPad From Its Stores

This sounds like a no-brainer to me, but Boy Genius Report has just revealed that their AT&T source has claimed that the company might be selling the iPad 3G version from their stores when the device goes on sale in April of this year.

The iPad is slated to come in two versions – WiFi only and WiFi+3G. Apple has announced that AT&T shall be partnering the company in the sale of latter.  It was hence quite likely that AT&T could be ramping its stores up to dedicate a section to the iPad. BGR writes

“We’re told that the general plan is to convert one or two existing netbook display sections in each corporate AT&T location into a pretty substantial iPad display area.”

However, unlike earlier speculated a subsidy based contract model doesn’t appear likely at the moment though.

[via BGR]

Categories
Gadgets Samsung

Samsung Chrome-OS Netbook Launching Later This Year

Samsung could be launching a 10.1 inch netbook running on Google’s Chrome OS later this year. Hints about this was given by Samsung Australia’s Phil Newton to the local Channel News.

According to these rumors, the Samsung netbook will have a 10.1″ display, run a 1.5 GHz Snapdragon processor and come with 2GB RAM and 64GB flash storage. Other features like 3G, Wi-Fi are also likely.

Phil Newton also commented that the new netbook will be similar to the new Samsung N210.

[via Channel News, Engadget]