Hasta La Gadget!

We just received this shot of what is purportedly the inside of the new MacBook Air. Contrary to popular belief, the machine appears to be another 13.3-incher, with the primary modification being extra room for battery cells and apparently no room for a hard drive. Of course, this is only one SKU, so who knows what else Apple has in store. From what we can tell from the photo, Apple is taking its unibody styling and construction and running with it here, not that the MacBook Air was too far off from the MacBook Pro to begin with. The telltale sign is the black hinge, though it also appears Apple has done away with the drop-down side ports.

Based on our own professional squinting ability, there are USB plugs on the left and right sides, Mini DisplayPort and an SD card reader on the left, and a power plug on the right. Of course, since the screw holes are facing us, we’re probably looking at this from the bottom, so flip all of those around if you want to imagine using this thing (because, of course, the power plug will be on the Apple-standard left side). We also have it on good authority that the rest of the machine has been restyled in modern unibody style, including the large single mouse button, but that the screen is still like the current MacBook Air, instead of the edge-to-edge glass with black edges. Also, it’s apparently running the same Core 2 Duo SL9400 processor of the current generation MacBook Air — possibly further proof that this is a very early prototype (our source says the model dates back to at least April). We’re working on getting more images and information, but for now at least two things seem (relatively) clear: Apple hasn’t forgotten about the MacBook Air, and 13.3-inches isn’t going out of style just yet. Hopefully we’ll know for certain next week!

[Thanks, anonymous]

Is this the new MacBook Air? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 16 Oct 2010 01:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stop us if you’ve heard these specs before: 4.3-inch WVGA (800 x 480) TFT screen, 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8250 system-on-chip, 576MB of RAM, 5 megapixel camera with dual-LED flash, and Microsoft’s latest mobile OS on board. Yes, the HTC HD7 is almost a carbon copy of the much-loved HD2, albeit with a major upgrade to Windows Phone 7 software and an appreciated bump to 720/24p video recording. Beyond those enhancements, American buyers will be greeted with preinstalled Netflix, Slacker, and T-Mobile TV entertainment apps, along with 16GB of built-in storage.

T-Mobile gets the honor of being the exclusive US carrier, with exclusives also going out to O2 in the UK and Ireland and Telstra in Australia. O2 Germany will also distribute the phone, along with Movistar in Spain, Bouygues Telecom in France, and a choice of carriers in Italy. Bear in mind that the non-US HD7s are likely to come with a less capacious 8GB of storage. The phone is scheduled for an October 21 retail debut in Europe, to be followed by a mid-November arrival on US shelves. You’ll find the full press release after the break, although you shouldn’t bother if you expect it to explain why the nearly identical HD2 isn’t getting a WP7 upgrade.

Continue reading HTC HD7 is a HD2 lookalike with Windows Phone 7 and 720p video, exclusive to T-Mobile in US

HTC HD7 is a HD2 lookalike with Windows Phone 7 and 720p video, exclusive to T-Mobile in US originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 09:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s now little doubt that Amazon — for reasons that may or may not be borne of sound mind — is hard at work setting up its own app store ecosystem for Android devices. We’ve got a tiny bit more evidence of that today in the form of the complete welcome kit being sent out to prospective developers; there’s not anything too mind-boggling in here, but let’s break down some of the key points:

• From the wording, there’s no question that the system is exclusive to Android — at least initially.
• Amazon is already accepting submissions, but only of promotional materials and other non-app assets; presumably, they’re trying to make sure they’ve got critical mass before deploying.
• Oh, and here’s another reason they’re only taking non-app assets right now: the “App Packaging Tool” that binaries will need to be run through prior to submission isn’t yet ready. The nuts and bolts of the tool aren’t yet clear, but Amazon says that it will “ensure that the apps will install properly on customers’ devices and… enable the digital rights management (DRM) policies outlined in the developer agreement.”
• Speaking of DRM, turns out it’s not required. It’s up to the developer whether to enable it.
• Developer-submitted videos will be supported in the app product pages, which is kind of nice — neither the Android Market nor the iOS App Store support that.
• Naturally, it’s at Amazon’s sole discretion what will be allowed and disallowed in the store; “offensive content” won’t be permitted, and the company says that “what [it deems] offensive is probably about what you would expect.” Neither pornography nor “hard-core material” are cool.

So there you have it — Amazon is expecting to ingest actual app binaries “in a few weeks,” so it looks like this will be ready in time for the holidays. App store fragmentation seems like the last thing any mobile platform needs right now, but we’re sure that these guys — with the huge opportunity for showcasing apps on a site network that gets tens of millions of views per day — would just love a slice of that multi-billion dollar pie.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

Amazon sends ‘welcome packet’ to prospective app store devs originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 02:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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By now you may have seen some photos of an alleged iPad casing doing the rounds that is purported to be the next generation of Apple’s tablet. In the pics, you can clearly see that there are two distinct slots for the company’s 30 pin dock connector, which would allow you to plant the iPad in either landscape or portrait mode. Unfortunately, this isn’t a sign of things to come — it’s a future that never was. According to a trusted Engadget source, what the image actually shows is a rejected concept from the current generation iPad. The story goes that originally there had been plans to feature two dock connections, but close to the last minute a design decision was made to kill the landscape port.

It’s still possible that Apple has decided to go back to the two-port design, but in all likelihood this is a piece of a prototype which has found its way into the world. If the story we’ve been told is correct, then there would likely be dozens if not hundreds of these back pieces floating around China. From what we can suss out, this is not the direction Apple is going in for the next version, but hey, if come January we see a new iPad with two dock connectors — drinks are on us.

Debunk: Leaked iPad photo doesn’t show next gen design originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Oct 2010 17:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This is Jungle. It’s the first portable gaming console designed exclusively for online gaming and MMORPGs. And it’s from the company who gave us the 3DO nearly 20 years ago. More »