Rumors
New MacBook Pros Coming This Week? Best Buy Seems to Think So
Feb 20th
A sign of a new MacBook Pro coming this week?
If you’re looking for a new MacBook Pro you may wanna wait a couple of days as a big update is set to be coming this Thursday, February 24th.
Now what exactly is in this update is still largely a mystery. Rumors have this being anything from a major update to Intel’s latest processors (codenamed “Sandy Bridge”– the latest and greatest in Intel’s Core line), a major update to the design (dropping the DVD drive in favor of a more MacBook Air like design), support for the next generation of USB based on Intel’s Light Peak tech (which is so much faster than the current USB 2.0 that its ridiculous. Think of transferring a whole Blu-ray movie in 30 seconds!!! This stuff is blazing fast), and even better battery life. Yeah, this should be huge. And this update looks to be across all the MacBook Pro lines– with the 13, 15, and 17 inches all getting updated.
Now how do we know this is coming? Well, for one Best Buy has a whole bunch of pages up on their site for some new MacBook Pros (like the one above) with prices of $1199 and $1499 for new 13 inch (same prices as current 13 inch MacBook Pro), $1799 and $2199 for new 15 inch (same prices as current 15 inch), and $2499 for a new 17 inch model (again, same price as the current 17 inch MacBook Pro). We also called up Best Buy for more info and while even they couldn’t find out actual specs, the reps we spoke to seemed to confirm that Apple plans to release these new models this Thursday.
We’re gonna keep digging for more and will let you know what we find.
More Xperia Play Details Leak– Coming to Verizon?
Feb 9th
File this under MAJOR RUMOR. One of the bigger cell phone stores on the web, Wirefly.com, has today published some very interesting details about the Xperia Play– which some of you may know as the PlayStation Phone. And if this is true (which we are inclined to really believe it might be considering that these guys are one of the top sellers of phones online and would therefore have access to this type of info), boy would it answer a whole bunch of questions about this highly anticipated phone. In a comparison post with the Verizon iPhone 4, Wirefly revealed a whole bunch of never before seen details on the Xperia Play including some truly impressive specs such as:
- 4 inch high-resolution screen– This fits in with all the other rumors we’ve heard about the phone, and with a resolution of 854×480 expect games to look really awesome on here.
- Android 2.3 Gingerbread out of the box– Yes, this will be running the latest and greatest of Android for phones which is definitely something to get excited about because it’s the best version of Android for phones ever released (faster, updated Google Apps, support for game controllers *cough* *cough*)
- 1 GHZ processor with 512 MB of RAM– To make sure all those PlayStation games run smoothly.
- GPS and WiFi– With support for WiFi N networks and the ability to use the phone as a portable WiFi hotspot.
- 5 megapixel back camera with flash and HD video recording with second front camera for video chat– Just like the iPhone 4, Nexus S, Samsung Epic 4G etc.
- 8 GB of built-in memory with support for more via microSD card slot
Yeah, if true then it’s pretty solid indeed. Of course, many details such as price, release date and if it will be 3G only or support Verizon’s new 4G LTE network all have yet be revealed, but that hopefully will come on Sunday when Sony holds their MWC press conference. As always, we’ll have it all broken down for you right here, but assuming the above is true and that this is coming to Verizon, what will it be: iPhone 4 or PlayStation Phone?
Motorola Atrix 4G and HTC Inspire 4G Appear on Amazon– Releases Getting Closer?
Jan 27th
Well that was quick. Yesterday Motorola’s CEO Sanjay Jha said that the Atrix 4G will be coming sometime next month, and today we’ve got an appearance on Amazon– with a possible price and release date to boot. And it gets even better. The price? $149.99, which is ridiculously awesome for a phone like this (we for sure thought it would be the standard high-end smartphone price of $199.99, or possibly more considering all the power that’s in here). Oh, and the release is pegged at possibly February 11th, which is a lot earlier than the “late February” said by Motorola yesterday. Perhaps this is AT&T’s way of countering some other big cell phone launch a day earlier?
Oh, and HTC’s new 4G phone for AT&T, the Inspire 4G, has also been spied today on Amazon, and while we haven’t gotten a release date on this bad boy, a leaked possible price of $99.99 makes this one heck of a choice for a new phone too.
We’ve reached out to Motorola and HTC for comment and will update if we hear anything back. Until then, consider all of this to be just rumors and very subject to change. But if the Atrix and Inspire did launch for these prices would you go for it as your next AT&T phone (and if your thinking of switching to Verizon for the iPhone 4, will this help you to stay with AT&T)?
New Info on Four New BlackBerrys Leak, Look Awesome!
Jan 23rd
We know, a lot of you want a new BlackBerry. You want to BBM your friends who all seem to have one. Thing is, you look at a phone like an iPhone, Droid or Windows Phone 7 and really want something, well, faster, with a cool OS, a lot of apps, and that is well, more 2011. If this describes your dream BlackBerry, then listen up, as thanks to BGR a whole bunch of info on four (count’em FOUR!) new BlackBerrys– major updates to the Bold, Curve, Storm and Torch lines– have come out and they look incredible!
More >
The Verizon iPhone is Coming Tomorrow: What We Know (and Don’t Know) Right Now
Jan 10th
It’s almost time. In under 24 hours the 4 year-long wait for Verizon to get the iPhone is expected to finally be over (with respected news outlets like the Wall Street Journal already confirming that the iPhone will be what Verizon announces tomorrow). While it’s been one heck of a ride, there are a lot of questions regarding how things will work for a Verizon iPhone. Questions like which iPhone will it be, when will it be available and what kinda of data plans will be available.
We’ve got all those answers and more, Q&A style, after the break.
More >
Verizon Holding Big Event in NYC On Tuesday– Is this for the Verizon iPhone?
Jan 7th
You’d think Verizon would have gotten all of its major phone announcements done yesterday with their big 4G phone unveiling at CES. Nope, word is that they’ve just sent out invites for an event next Tuesday that would just so happen to be almost 4 years to the date that Apple introduced the first iPhone (January 9th back in 2007, January 11th here. Both also Tuesdays). Is this coincidence or a hint of some kind?
Apple noticeably has always had their own January events after CES in years past to introduce major new products (like the iPad last year), but holding a special event for what’s said to be just a Verizon version of the current iPhone 4 doesn’t seem to make much sense for them. Verizon on the other hand, yeah, we can see why they’d want a big event for this.
Throw in videos leaking this week supposedly containing new iPhone 4 parts possibly for a Verizon iPhone (with noticeable changes to where the antennas are on the outside of the phone so as not to have the same antenna problems the AT&T iPhone was plagued with), Apple banning vacations for employees in the first week of February (something they’ve done previously right before they were about to announce a new iPhone, iPad or other huge product), and things look to be pointing more and more to a Verizon iPhone being announced any minute now.
You can make sure that whatever happens we’ll have it all covered back here, so make sure to check back. In the meantime, who’s excited for what might happen on Tuesday?
Is This Verizon’s First 4G Phone– the HTC Thunderbolt 4G?
Jan 2nd
Is this the amazing HTC Thunderbolt 4G for Verizon?
HTC was the first to 4G phones for Sprint and T-Mobile (first two for T-Mobile actually with the myTouch 4G and G2), and by all accounts they look to be the first to jump on the Verizon 4G train. They’ve already gotten preview pages up on their site and ads beginning to appear across the internet (which is where the name Thunderbolt 4G was found. You can see the link for yourself here, with the proof being in the URL for page). And boy, like the EVO 4G for Sprint, HTC is rumored to have gone all out here on the specs. Not only is there that amazing Verizon 4G LTE awesomeness, but the Thunderbolt (also known as Incredible HD) is rumored to pack an 8 megapixel camera with dual flash (which seems to be confirmed from ads we’ve seen on the web featuring this “masked” phone from HTC’s 4G page in one of their classic “YOU” ads. See a pic of what we mean after the break), kickstand, 4.3 inch screen, Android 2.3 (which we’re pulling for. Some rumors say that it will launch with the older 2.2, but with 2.3 out since the Nexus S, we gotta hope HTC puts it on this beast from the start), and a front camera for video chat (all just like the EVO– just with this front camera RUMORed to possibly be an insane 5 megapixels! If this 5 megapixel piece is true and not just some dream rumor, then were talking about HD video chat!).
Throw in additional rumors of an even more powerful dual core 1.2 GHZ Snapdragon processor (meaning the most amazing mobile processor to date– think full computer power brought down into your phone. Not only will things be running incredibly fast, but games and graphics will also look ridiculous!), and we’re looking at possibly one of the greatest phones in 2011, no matter what else comes out!
The HTC preview site lists January 6th (which just so happens to be the first day of CES– 4 days away!) as the day all will be revealed– and you can bet that whatever happens, we’ll be all over it.
A couple more pix of the Thunderbolt 4G (via Droid-Life) and the pics of the ads for video chat and the 8 megapixel camera after the break.
Skype Video Calling Finally Coming to the iPhone Next Year? Is it because of Verizon?
Dec 24th
This has been one of the biggest things anyone with an iPhone 4 or 4th gen iPod Touch have been waiting for– the ability to make video calls from your iDevice to anyone, anywhere on Skype. Today, Engadget got hold of a “Help” document from the Skype site detailing this long-awaited feature, which if we had to guess, we’d probably here a lot more of in the coming weeks at the big CES show in Vegas in 2 weeks.
Now what can we expect in this new app? Well, looking through the now pulled doc., we came across this awesome little bit of info:
The quality of the video you send and receive from your iPhone will depend upon the quality and bandwidth available on the WiFi or 3G network you are connected to (emphasis ours).
Yes, this is 3G video calling– something Apple’s own Facetime can’t yet do (though Apple did say it was coming in 2011). There also is mention of video chat working on the iDevices that lack front cameras like the iPad, iPhone 3GS (which will use the rear camera) and older 3rd generation iPod Touch as long as they have iOS 4.0 or later– meaning you can even have one way video chats on your older iDevice (which is also quite awesome that they’re spreading the video chat love).
And just one other little rumor to throw out there– could Skype for iPhone video calling have anything to do with Skype and Verizon’s big agreement and a Verizon iPhone being finally on the way? Looking through this doc, I did come across some interesting lines of text–
wapl_referenceKey=SKYPE_FOR_IPHONE&wapl_referenceKeyDesc=Skype Mobile For Verizon
which weren’t on the normal source version of the current Skype page for the iPhone.
Let’s hope all of this is answered soon, but in the meantime check out the doc for yourself here (note: the page is in text as Skype pulled the full-page after it all got leaked. When you web browser asks you what to open the .php file in choose Internet Explorer or other web browser).
More Info on the PlayStation Phone Leaks Out– Including a Quick Look at the PlayStation App
Dec 6th
Remember that PlayStation Phone from a couple of weeks back? Well, now there are a few new videos leaking out online– and this new PS Phone looks even better than before. What’s new about this long-awaited phone that we didn’t know before? For one, there now looks to be conformation that the PS Phone will be running the latest and greatest version of Android when it comes out– version 2.3 or Gingerbread (which is said to be coming before the end of the year with a whole bunch of improvements to make Android even better), have at least a 5 megapixel camera with flash (this from photos taken with the phone that also appeared over the weekend), and as we mentioned above– pack that PlayStation app.
The PlayStation App on the PlayStation phone– look familiar?
Now the PlayStation app was only very briefly demoed, so briefly that you can only see the basics of what the app will look like. From what we can tell though, it looks like it will be very similar to what we’ve seen on the PSP for all these years (heck, the app looks like the current PSP homescreen). Let’s just hope the game graphics and gameplay are also on this level.
We’re still in the dark on price, release date, carrier, confirmed specs etc.– but things sure look to be almost done here so let’s hope Sony makes this all official real soon.
Hit the jump for two of the videos showing off the PlayStation Phone and let us know what you think of it in the comments.
PlayStation Phone Photos Leak Out- the PSP Finally Gets a True Successor
Oct 26th
The PlayStation Phone
There have been rumors of Sony cooking up a PlayStation phone as the true next version of the PSP (which really hasn’t changed much in the 6– yes 6!– years it’s been out), and today Engadget has gotten some pix of what exactly all this hard work from Sony has brought. And if this is the PlayStation Phone, the mobile video game wars just got a whole lot more interesting.
The phone is said to be pretty nicely spec’d, with a 1 GHZ processor, a 3.7-4.1 inch screen (somewhere in that range), full PlayStation slide out controls with a multitouch touch pad in the middle, PlayStation “shoulder” buttons (the right and left buttons), a back camera with flash (and possibly from what we can tell, a front camera as well), microSD card slot and possibly even Android 3.0 with a special Sony Marketplace for downloading games. Yeah, if this is Android’s version of mobile gaming, then Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7′s Xbox Live and Apple’s iOS Game Center look to be in for an even bigger fight for mobile gaming domination.
The device Engadget got pix of looks to be a prototype (supposedly it is still very buggy with no custom Sony interface like HTC has done with their Android phones and Sense UI. Though with what we’ve been hearing about Android 3.0, it may not need any custom software to make it easy to use), and obviously Sony has yet to officially comment on these pix and info so we’re still without solid facts or a price and release date (rumors are that we might see this before the end of this year or early next year).
We’ll of course be following this very closely, but in the meantime we wanna know– if you’re looking for a gaming phone, which of these would you go with– Windows Phone 7 with Xbox Live, an iPhone with Game Center or this PlayStation Phone?
For more pix and info see Engadget
UPDATE (12/06): More pix and info are out! See our post here for all the info.
