Some big-wigs over at AT&T have apparently confirmed some juicy (we’re not certain that’s the best word to describe it, but we’re going to use it) rumors about Apple’s plans for this summer. The word is that it’s going to be big and it’s going to revolve around a new iPhone coming out in mid-June. Yeah, it’s closer than we realized. Based on what we’ve heard, it looks there are some things you should take note of.
First, of course, is that AT&T has said that the new-iPhone-June-release is about to become an annual holiday just below Christmas in marketing and hype potential. The new iPhone will be faster and have a more “seamless experience” (probably because it will have the new 3.0 OS, but that doesn’t sound as good as “seamless” and “experience”). There will also be a UVerse iPhone application that will allow control of your home DVR. Kind of cool.
The supposed source from AT&T also said the $99 3G netbook will also hit stands this summer. They say it won’t have a Windows OS, so we’re thinking Linux. Kind of a given, but still something to speculate about. We’re certain there will be plenty more rumors before June comes so you can check back often to get the latest juicy details.
For more information, see the smartphone review site. For more Applicious news and rumors, check out these other blog posts:
Apple Rumor Follow-Up: Throwing LG & OLED in the Mix
iTunes to Offer Video and Movie Titles in HD
Apple Rumor: New iPhone, iPod, IFPGA, & iPr
New iPhone to Be Released in Mid-June?
Asus Ready to Rid World of Keyboards
Keyboards have apparently become such a hassle for people. How else do we explain the growing popularity of touchscreen devices, from smartphones to portable video players to even computers and Apple’s potential netbook sans keyboard. But Asus wants to take it one step farther. Forget typing, even on a virtual keyboard, Asus plans to have voice-controlled Eee PCs out by the end of 2009.
Along with their Fold/ Unfold concept laptops, Asus is working to implement new technology that will rid the world of keyboards. In fact, Jerry Shen, CEO of the Taiwan-based company, said Asus wants to see “the end of the keyboard.” Why the aversion to keyboards? We doubt it’s because of the noise. Switching to voice-controlled PCs wouldn’t solve that problem at all. In fact, if everyone here started dictating their blogs to their computers, I’m quite certain I would go mad. And how would the computer pick my voice out of hundreds of others or even over the noise or the train?
Despite the questions of how the technology will work in the real world, the concept may have some real meat behind it. We think the real reason Shen wants to get rid of the keyboard is because he is mostly likely suffering from carpal tunnel. Thinking of it that way, we’re more than happy to bid a non-tearful adieu to the pain inducing and hand crippling keyboards and start jabbering away. Forget the noise, we’ll dictate all the witty and newsy blogs without any fear of what it will do to our forearms.
Play Xbox Games on Your Cell Phone?
And the gaming alternatives keep coming today. Mobile gaming isn’t anything new, but the quality has never been up to par with the latest generation consoles. ARM plans to change that, as early as the end of this year.
ARM graphics product manager Remi Pederson recently promised that their new mobile GPUs, slated to come out at the end of this year, will make Xbox 360 gaming possible on a cell phone. The Mali-200 and Mali-400 are said to bring 4x to 16x anti-aliasing, and soon OpenGL ES 2.0 to mobile handsets. Purported to run 16 million triangles a second and 275 million pixels a second, the Mali-200 GPU certainly won’t have a problem running Flash and Java games.
The Mali-400 will come in single-core on up to quad-core GPU configuration, supposedly able to scale to 1080p resolution. HD viewing on a mobile phone sounds pretty sweet. The good news is ARM isn’t (yet) tethered to any specific manufacturer, so we could see this functionality and performance in multiple cell- and smartphone brands by later this year or early next year.
Panasonic updates ToughBook 19 and 30 Rugged Laptops
The Panasonic Toughbook 19 Convertible Tablet PC is powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo SU9300 1.2GHz processor, up to 4GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive. It has a 10.4-inch LED backlit display with Circular polarization and 4 to 1000 nit LCD brightness.
On the other hand, Panasonic Toughbook 30 Clamshell Laptop is more powerful thanks to the Core 2 Duo SL9300 1.6GHz processor, up to 4GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive and integrated GMA 4500MHD graphics. It has a 13.3-inch LCD screen with Circular polarization and 1000 nit LCD brightness.
Both laptops supports WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n and Bluetooth and offers optional Gobi 3G Global Mobile Internet module for HSPA and EV-DO Rev. A connectivity. 32GB SSD option is available for both rugged laptops.
Panasonic’s Mil-Spec-certified notebooks has magnesium alloy cases.Their screens, cases, ports, and keyboards are IP54-rated for particulates and water. They have also achieved UL1604 Class 1 / Div. 2 certification for use in hazardous environments.
The new Toughbook 19 is priced at $3749 while the new Toughbook 30 costs $3649.
Nokia N86 8MP Slider Phone
The N86 8MP has a 2.6-inch 240 x 320 QVGA OLED display, onboard Assisted GPS with Nokia Maps, WiFi 802.11b/g support and Bluetooth. It comes with 8GB internal storage capacity. You can expect a 3.5mm headphone jack and built-in stereo speakers. The phone runs S60 3rd Edition, FP2.
Nokia N86 8MP supports tri-band 3G HSDPA/HSUPA networks. There are 900/1900/2100 and 850/1900/2100 versions, that will be available in Q2 2009 for about Euro 375.
MSI Wind U110 ECO Power-Saving Netbook
Transcend SDHC HD Video Cards
