Filed under: Laptops

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/Latest_Breaking_Macbook_Pro_Pic_for_October_Release’; Well, maybe — we’re not calling it official until Steve pulls the cloth off himself tomorrow morning . Still, there’s no denying the similarities between this image and all those other case leaks we’ve seen, and the list of specs we’ve been given matches up as well — that “metal and glass” enclosure now houses an NVIDIA GPU, but no FireWire 400, and video-out is apparently through a connector “more compact” than MicroDVI. We’ll find out soon enough — oh, and just to amp up expectations, Boy Genius says he’s confirmed the existence of an $899 part number in Apple’s retail systems. Counting down…

Update: Our source just hit us with another pic, this time from the side — it’s after the break. We’re also told that there’s not one, but two NVIDIA GPUs inside — we’re guessing an integrated / discrete setup like in the VAIO Z, but we’ll find out for sure tomorrow.

Update 2: Our source just hit us again to say that it’s two full-on NVIDIA GPUs — wild. Wilder still, they say the MacBook and 17-inch MacBook Pro aren’t getting refreshed tomorrow, which we find hard to believe, but we’ll see when we see.

Continue reading Mr. Blurrycam reveals the updated MacBook Pro, $899 laptop model shows up in Apple inventory systems

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Filed under: Laptops

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/Latest_Breaking_Macbook_Pro_Pic_for_October_Release’; Well, maybe — we’re not calling it official until Steve pulls the cloth off himself tomorrow morning . Still, there’s no denying the similarities between this image and all those other case leaks we’ve seen, and the list of specs we’ve been given matches up as well — that “metal and glass” enclosure now houses an NVIDIA GPU, but no FireWire 400, and video-out is apparently through a connector “more compact” than MicroDVI. We’ll find out soon enough — oh, and just to amp up expectations, Boy Genius says he’s confirmed the existence of an $899 part number in Apple’s retail systems. Counting down…

Update: Our source just hit us with another pic, this time from the side — it’s after the break. We’re also told that there’s not one, but two NVIDIA GPUs inside — we’re guessing an integrated / discrete setup like in the VAIO Z, but we’ll find out for sure tomorrow.

Update 2: Our source just hit us again to say that it’s two full-on NVIDIA GPUs — sounds like a hybrid SLI setup to us, which is pretty wild. Wilder still, they say the MacBook and 17-inch MacBook Pro aren’t getting refreshed tomorrow, which we find hard to believe, but we’ll see when we see.

Update 3: John Gruber over at Daring Fireball, the first to accurately predict today’s launch event, has confidentally chimed in with many more details. The button-less trackpad is indeed glass, and “is a button itself” which opens the door for a few hours of trouser-heated speculation about the trackpad doubling as a BlackBerry Storm-like display (Gruber doesn’t say and it doesn’t appear to be in that image above so don’t count on it). Gruber also claims that none of the new laptops will reach the rumored $899 price point — the part number spotted earlier seems to be associated with a new 24-inch LED Apple Cinema Display with DisplayPort according to MacRumors, not a low-end MacBook. To support this, Gruber says that the MacBooks will indeed be announced in $1,299 (2GHz, 2GB memory, 160GB disk) and $1,499 (2.4GHz, 2GB memory, 250GB disk) configs and will ship by the end of the week along with new 120GB HDD and 128GB SSD configurations of the MacBook Air. While CPU clocks will remain pretty much the same, all new MacBooks — regular, Pro, and Air — will feature the new NVIDIA 9400M GPU — the 15-inch MacBook Pro (the 17-inch will remain unchanged albeit with 4GB of memory and bigger 320GB disk) will feature a second 9600M GT GPU making it a true graphics powerhouse as previously speculated.

Continue reading Mr. Blurrycam reveals the updated MacBook Pro, $899 laptop model shows up in Apple inventory systems (Updated)

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Filed under: Laptops

Well the rumoratti has certainly been working overtime today when it comes to Apple, so we’ve decided to bundle all the news that’s currently doing the rounds into one tasty and nutritious post.

First up, there are new — and quite detailed — pictures out of what appears to be those MacBook and MacBook Pro casings we saw during the week. Again, we can’t 100 percent confirm that these are the real deal, but they certainly have that Air-meets-MacBook hybrid quality to them that would suggest we’re looking at the next iteration of the line.

Secondly, Apple has gone and published a support document for the “MacBook/MacBook Pro (Late 2008)” — which suggests (gasp!) that there might be some late 2008 refreshes in our future. Oh really? Weird.

Rounding out the excitement, AppleInsider “confirms” the rumor that the new MacBooks will jettison the integrated Intel graphics which previous models have used in favor of NVIDIA’s MCP79 platform. The new GPUs apparently use a new set of GeForce 9300 and 9400 chips that will make previous performance look archaic by comparison. Additionally, according to hotshot Mac rumor specialist Kevin Rose, the new systems will support Blu-ray drives, thus finally allowing you to watch season 4 of Lost the way the lord intended it.

As with all rumors, you can never really know which one of these is going to stick, but luckily we won’t have to wait very long to get to the bottom of it. In the meantime, feel free to peruse the various links below and soak in the sweet, sweet gossip.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read - Leaked MacBook / MacBook Pro casing photos
Read - Apple Document Confirms MacBook/MacBook Pro (Late 2008)
Read - Apple dumping Intel chipsets for NVIDIA’s in new MacBooks
Read - Kevin Rose drops MacBook Blu-Ray Rumor at Live Diggnation event

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Filed under: Gaming

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime sat down with VentureBeat on the heels of last week’s DSi announcement, and while he didn’t drop any major bombshells, he did put the kibosh on those Wii HD rumors, saying that they were “pure rumor and speculation” and that Nintendo wouldn’t show off upcoming models to devs as the rumors claimed. Reggie also downplayed the talk that Nintendo is going head to head against Apple, saying that Ninty’s always “viewed ourselves as competing in a larger entertainment space.” That’s the end of that for now, we suppose — but Reggie didn’t close the door on either rumor entirely, and his closing comment that Nintendo’s good fortunes “makes us the most paranoid people in the world” certainly keeps possibilities open. Hit the read link for the full interview.

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

Man, the DSLR rumor mill never stops, does it? This time we’re being treated to some leaked Japanese Nikon ads, which feature a shadowy DSLR body that’s somewhat different than the D700 and D3 and the word “big” in Japanese. Of course, it could be totally fake, but we’re not going to say we’re not hoping for a compact full-frame camera — but we’re clearly dreamers. Anyone else have any guesses?

Read - First ad
Read - Second ad
Read - Sensor size comparison

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Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

You know how it goes — first comes the far-out rumor, then comes something a touch more believable, and then the company itself issues an all-too-familiar non-denial denial. According to MCV sources, the next step in the process will happen tomorrow, as a revamped DS storms into action at 5:00AM GMT on the 2nd of October. As for specifics, we’ll have to wait for Iwata’s supposed announcement to find out more, but we’d be utterly shocked to see this ship after Christmas. That is, if this isn’t just some elaborate scheme from the Big N to distract us all from realizing that Wiis will still be impossible to find this holiday season two full years after launch.

[Image courtesy of Parade, thanks Michael]

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Filed under: Gaming

Nintendo seems to be tripping all over itself denying the rumors that broke over the weekend of a new camera-packing DS, but it’s not exactly doing the greatest job — “While Nintendo is always working on new hardware, we have not made any announcement about a DS and we cannot comment on the Nikkei story” is exactly the sort of not-quite-a-no that has our new-hardware piggy bank cowering in fear. We’ll see soon, hopefully — Ninty prez Satoru Iwata is scheduled to give his fall presentation on Wednesday.

[Via Joystiq; image courtesy of Techeblog]

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Filed under: Laptops

Well, the VAIO TT didn’t make its rumored appearance today, but specs for the TZ replacement showed up on Sony’s VAIO Adviser tool, and things are looking good — particularly the top-of-the-line VGN-TT190UBX, which sports a 1.4GHz SU9400 Core 2 Duo, 4GB of RAM, Blu-ray burner, HDMI out and 128GBx2 RAID SSD storage in a 2.87-pound package. Yeah, we’ll take three. The other configs aren’t quite as smoking hot, but you’re looking at 11.1-inch screens, 160GB hard drives, 1.2GHz SU9300 Core 2 Duo processors, and Vista Home Premium all the way around. Too bad we don’t have prices, pictures, or release dates yet, but we’re guessing we’ll find out lots more soon.

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Filed under: Cellphones

We’re not particularly inclined to believe them, but the whispers that Apple is about to bump the top-end iPhone capacity to 32GB are getting harder to ignore — especially since 8GB inventory is drying up, leading to speculation that’s it’s going to be dropped as soon as next week. We think the timing’s a little odd on the heels of the Let’s Rock iPod refresh, but considering the rampant speculation that Apple was forced to bump the nano to 16GB and drop the “limited edition” 4GB model entirely at the last minute in response to the new Zune lineup we suppose it makes competitive sense. AppleInsider also says customers will once again get the option to activate in-home, but we haven’t heard anything about that — we’ll see what happens in the next few days.

[Thanks, Harry]

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Filed under: Cellphones

We’re not particularly inclined to believe them, but the whispers that Apple is about to bump the top-end iPhone capacity to 32GB are getting harder to ignore — especially since 8GB inventory is drying up, leading to speculation that’s it’s going to be dropped as soon as next week. We think the timing’s a little odd on the heels of the Let’s Rock iPod refresh, but considering the rampant speculation that Apple was forced to bump the nano to 16GB and drop the “limited edition” 4GB model entirely at the last minute in response to the new Zune lineup we suppose it makes competitive sense. AppleInsider also says customers will once again get the option to activate in-home, but we haven’t heard anything about that — we’ll see what happens in the next few days.

[Thanks, Harry]

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Filed under: Laptops

Sony’s recent netbook angst doesn’t seem to be slowing the spate of VAIO updates we’ve been seeing lately — word on the street is that we’ll be seeing the new VAIO TT replace the super-hot VAIO TZ on Monday. There’s not much to go on other than some FCC docs which confirm WiFi, Bluetooth and an EV-DO option, but expect the same 11.1-inch screen as the TZ. Now the real question — does anyone want Monday to actually get here?

Read - Sony Insider post
Read - FCC docs [PDF]

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Yep, there’s another 4G iPod Nano case, this time apparently accompanied by official-looking PR — we think it’s probably safe to assume we’ll be seeing this bad boy make its debut tomorrow. We’re also hearing that current-gen iPod touches are being pulled from store shelves with instructions not to sell them, anyone else hear or see anything similar?

[Via Gearlog]

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Filed under: Cellphones

We don’t have any idea where this information came from, but the Telegraph is reporting today that the HTC Dream will launch on T-Mobile UK sometime in November. That’s the same time frame we’ve heard before, and it certainly seems like El Goog’s first Android phone is close to its debut, so it’s definitely plausible, but we’d still take this one with a grain of salt — even though we want this thing yesterday.

[Via Talk Android; thanks Chris]

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Filed under: Gaming

Nintendo might be cranking out new DS Lite colors left and right, but IGN says something bigger’s brewing in Kyoto — a third iteration of the DS with dual touchscreen displays, one of them widescreen. Those are pretty significant changes, so we’d actually say that sounds more like a second-gen DS rather than another rev of the current hardware, but IGN says the rumored release date of April or May 2009 doesn’t jive with a whole new unit. We’ll see when we see — hopefully we won’t be waiting long.

PS.- That’s just IGN’s mockup, don’t get too excited.

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

It’s no secret that a 120GB Zune is on the way, and thanks to B&H Photo, it looks like we also know how much it’ll cost: $249. That’s right in the range (and more bang for the buck than a certain fruit company’s large-capacity player), so we can’t say we’re too surprised — but what’s this listed right under it? A blue flash Zune for $149? Indeed it is — and with the most mythical of Zune colors about to make its debut along with those rumored media and software / social services updates, we’re guessing the Zune Guy is rethinking that whole “f***ing bulls**t” assessment. Then again, probably not.

Update: More intrigue. Zunerama just posted this shot of a Wal-Mart stock system showing the 80GB and 4GB Zunes as discontinued. Yeah, something’s up — hopefully we’ll find out soon.

[Via Zunerama]

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Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

We sort of figured Dell’s Studio branding would come to the XPS line sooner or later — the family resemblance between the Studio laptops and the XPS m1330 and m1530 is hard to ignore, after all — and it looks like we don’t have much longer to wait, if you believe these slides discovered by Jayson in the NotebookReview forums. The Studio XPS 13 and 16, due in November, will be Intel Centrino 2-based machines with hybrid SLI support, slot-loading Blu-ray drives, edge-to-edge glass displays with optional LED backlighting, backlit keyboards, and WiMAX and UWB support. We’re digging the funky woodgrain on the Studio XPS 16, but it’ll be interesting to see how much these cost if and when they hit — the Studio line was supposed to sit in between the Inspiron and XPS lines, so we’re hoping these’ll also come in below the current XPS price tags. Check the other four slides, including the Studio XPS 13, after the break.

[Thanks, L. Rawlins]

Continue reading Dell Studio XPS 13 and 16 leak out, due in November?

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Man, Apple’s lockdown on product leaks just isn’t as tight as it used to be — remember when having new iPod designs leaked by case manufacturers seemed totally unthinkable? Yeah, those times are over — check out these silicone cases for a fourth-gen iPod nano and second-gen iPod touch that just appeared on Alibaba. We’re not totally sold on the touch cases, but the nanos look way more legit, especially since we’ve seen some others matching this general look before; while nano KIRFs in this form factor aren’t uncommon, we’d say it’s pretty unlikely that anyone’s making several different types of silicone cases for them. We’re not calling this anywhere near 100 percent yet, but let’s just say we’re hoping Apple’s press photographers can make the new nano look a whole lot better than our pal Mr. Blurrycam by the time September 9th rolls around. More case photos after the break.

[Thanks, Samm]

Read - iPod nano case
Read - iPod nano case
Read - iPod touch case
Read - iPod touch case

Continue reading New iPod nano and touch revealed by case manufacturers?

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

There’s been a lot of iPod chatter in the air lately and now MacRumors and Ars Technica say that we’ll be seeing El Steve boom-boom some new gear on September 9th. No specifics on what’s in store, but new nanos are obviously on the table, as is that rumored subscription service and possibly a new iPod touch at a lower price. Anything you guys hoping for?

Read - MacRumors
Read - Ars Technica

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Sure, magic man and all-around seer Kevin Rose delivered the “news” that a refreshed iPod nano is coming in the form that slimmed up, tapered in, longish tube of a device — but you might be looking for harder evidence. We’ve just come across two case-related designs supposedly destined for Apple’s next PMP, but both raise as many questions as they answer. Chinese accessory-maker Beelan apparently has a silicon sleeve ready to drop ship to a location of your choice via Alibaba, and iDealsChina is showing off renders of the 4th gen nano and another case from “some unknown Canadian company.” Unfortunately, neither design can really be verified, and as they’ve just appeared on the heels of last night’s Rose rumor, the timing seems a touch suspect. We’re wondering what the Engadget hive-mind thinks — any meat on these bones?

[Via PMPToday; Thanks Joel]

Read - for iPod nano 4G Silicon Skin Case
Read - New! iPod Nano 4TH Gen Touch Screen

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

With apologies to Shakespeare, something is brewing at VUDU. With CEDIA just around the corner, the company has laid off some of its staff, most notably some of its marketing higher-ups. Additionally, rumors are swirling regarding just about every aspect of the upstart company’s future. CEPro got some talk-time with the VUDU’s national dealer channel manager, and a theme of decreased emphasis on the retail channel seems to run throughout the conversation, punctuated by a end-of-life status on the VUDU X100. Meanwhile, the company is making some CEDIA promises for its custom-install-targeted VUDU XL: more HD content (1,000 titles), more connectivity (HD over component) and lifetime warranties on purchased titles. It’s all rumor, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see VUDU move exclusively into the custom-install market where it seems to have a toe-hold. So what say ye — is something rotten in VUDU, or should we hang up the codpiece and get back to work?

[Image courtesy Blog of Wishes]

Read - CEPro’s VUDU interview
Read - VUDU CEDIA plans

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