Hasta La Gadget!

Even without Steve Jobs emceeing, this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference sold out in record time. Hopes are running high for products that the secretive corporation will unveil at the conference next week. Rumors about new iPhones, upgraded MacBooks and a highly anticipated touchscreen tablet abound, and there’s even gossip about a possible partnership with Verizon.

But as wonderful as all those items sound, they remain unconfirmed by Apple. And frankly, some of the rumors sound too good to be true.

What should we realistically expect? The following is a list of everything Wired.com has heard about WWDC, accompanied by our analysis on which rumored announcements will or will not become a reality.

New iPhones

There’s a pile of evidence in the blogosphere suggesting Apple will release a lackluster upgrade for its popular iPhone. Likely features include a digital compass, processor and memory upgrades, an improved digital camera with auto-focus and video-recording capabilities, and other minor improvements.

These hardware enhancements don’t add up to much. Instead, Apple seems to be training most of its focus on the previously-announced iPhone 3.0 — a major upgrade to the operating system that will add in-app commerce, tethering, live streaming, the ability to integrate apps with external accessories and push notification, along with a variety of other features such as cut-and-paste.

We’re confident that Apple will introduce an iPhone upgrade at WWDC — it would be a perfectly logical move because Apple announced the current iPhone 3G at WWDC 2008. Also, it would be ideal for Apple to unveil the iPhone at the event so it can hold WWDC sessions on any new hardware APIs (the rumored digital compass, for example).

The latest iPhone-related rumor involves Apple adding a 4-GB model to the line. We’re skeptical about this, because Apple already killed the 4-GB model introduced with the original iPhone just two months after its release in June 2007. Would many people buy one, even if it only costs $100?

It’s more likely that Apple will add a 32-GB model to the iPhone family, because that’d be the next step up from the current 8-GB and 16-GB models.

(See which specific features we predict will appear in the next iPhone in our earlier story “Rumor Round-Up: Everything We’ve Heard About the Next iPhone.”)

No Verizon Deal

BusinessWeek in April reported hearing from two sources “familiar with the matter” that Apple was working with Verizon on two new iPhones, which could be available as soon as this summer. This would be great news for Verizon customers unwilling to switch to AT&T, the exclusive U.S. carrier for the iPhone.

Our thoughts? Not happening — not anytime soon, at least. Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg told the Wall Street Journal he expects Apple to consider sharing the iPhone with Verizon in 2010 — when Verizon begins deploying its fourth-generation network. If Apple is indeed interested in working with Verizon, there is no incentive to make this announcement in mid-2009 — especially when Apple can stretch out the negotiations to shake more money out of its carrier partners. Also, historically Apple does not enjoy making announcements about products until they are finalized.

Also, Apple said in late April it has no plans to change its exclusive relationship with AT&T. Flip-flopping on that statement about six weeks later would make that a blatant lie, wouldn’t it? If any deal happens between Verizon and Apple, we expect it to happen no sooner than 2010.

No Touchscreen Tablet

As much as you might want one now, we don’t see this launching at WWDC. We agree with analyst Gene Munster’s arguments for why an Apple tablet is likely to appear no sooner than 2010. The strongest point raised is that Apple purchased chip company PA Semi in 2008, and Steve Jobs said the purpose of the acquisition was to develop iPhone and iPod chips. Also, Apple has recently been hiring chip designers.

It’s reasonable to infer Apple would wait to introduce its newly developed mobile processor with the release of a highly anticipated touchscreen tablet. There’s no indication this is happening anytime soon.

Incremental Upgrades for MacBook Family

9 to 5 Mac reported a rumor that Apple will roll out incremental upgrades to its unibody MacBooks. We buy that. Apple typically refreshes its notebooks every seven months, and the last upgrades were released in October. WWDC would be an opportune event to announce new MacBooks.

More Details on iPhone 3.0, Mac OS X Snow Leopard Operating Systems

We saved the most obvious for last. Apple said in a press release that it plans to preview new features and APIs for its next-generation operating systems iPhone 3.0 and Mac OS X Snow Leopard. For iPhone, expect Apple to lay out the final roadmap for the iPhone 3.0 software developer kit, speaking more extensively on the features we previously wrote about. For Snow Leopard, Apple will likely nerd out about the OS’ optimization for supporting multi-core processors (i.e., Grand Central).

Agree, disagree or have anything to add? Comment with your WWDC predictions below.

See Also:

• Apple Bestows Cut-and-Paste, MMS on iPhone Users
• iPhone 3.0 Beta Reveals More Clues of Voice Control
• iPhone 3.0: Will the Gold Rush Continue?
• Why Apple Can Afford to Phone It In With the Next iPhone
• Easter Eggs Give Clues to Next-Gen iPhone
• Analyst: No New iPhone at WWDC 2009
• Apple Posts WWDC Details; No Mention of Jobs

Photos: Adam Jackson/Flickr, Jon Snyder/Wired.com, Incendiary Mind/Flickr, blakie/Flickr, vernhart/Flickr, macnerd93/Flickr

This month, the Apple rumor volcano erupted with purported details of the next-generation iPhone. Various blogs claim receiving tips from informed sources about features in the highly anticipated handset, such as a magnetometer (digital compass), a video camera and a speedier processor.

Here, we round up every rumor that’s appeared about Apple’s next iPhone, which many are betting will be announced June 8 at the Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco. We’re also accompanying each rumor with a percentage rating for its probability to be true, as well as our analysis.

When WWDC arrives, we’ll present a report card showing which publications were correct and which were wrong. And of course, we’ll grade ourselves on our predictions, too.

With that said, here’s everything we’ve heard about the next iPhone:

Speedier processor and more RAM
Source: Daring Fireball; Apple iPhone Apps; MacRumors; WeiPhone
Probability: 95%
This is pretty obvious: Any hardware upgrade typically receives a performance boost. Daring Fireball’s John Gruber has historically been one of the most accurate with Apple rumors, and his sources tell him the next iPhone will have a 600MHz processor (up from 400MHz). That would make the next iPhone 1.5 times as fast as the current one. Also, a recent job listing reveals that Apple is hiring a low-level iPhone programmer who is familiar with the ARMv7 Cortex mobile processor, which is much faster than the current iPhone’s ARMv6-based chip. As for memory, we’d expect Apple to increase RAM to complement the processor upgrade.

Magnetometer (digital compass)
Source: The Boy Genius Report; Daring Fireball; WeiPhone
Probability: 90%
A large amount of evidence indicates that the next iPhone will feature a magnetometer, a 3-axis compass that will greatly enhance its global positioning capabilities. Developers testing the iPhone 3.0 beta have found system files and screenshots referring to a magnetometer, which suggests the hardware feature will appear in the next iPhone.

Same industrial design as previous models
Source: WeiPhone; Daring Fireball
Probability: 90%
All the probable rumors suggest this will be an incremental upgrade, so we would not expect Apple to change much in the industrial design. That would mean the screen resolution should remain the same. Also, Apple would hesitate to change much about the overall form factor, as it would require iPhone application developers to dramatically change their apps just for the new phone.

Storage options increased: 16GB and 32GB
Source: Daring Fireball; Apple iPhone Apps
Probability: 80%
The current iPhones come in two models: 8GB and 16GB. Upping the storage to 16GB and 32GB is a small, incremental upgrade, which would allow Apple to maintain the price points for the handset.

$200 and $300 price points to be maintained
Source: Daring Fireball; Apple iPhone Apps
Probability: 75%
Apple’s iPhone 3G was a tremendous success, selling over 10 million units in 2008. Apple relies on hardware upgrades to boost sales numbers, and given the solid performance of the previous iPhone, the company has no strong incentive to reduce the handset’s costs.

Video-recording and editing capabilities
Source: Engadget; MacRumors; BusinessWeek
Probability: 70%
Some developers have published screen captures of a video interface discovered in iPhone 3.0 beta. A major complaint about the current iPhone is its inability to record video, so it would be surprising if Apple didn’t deliver this feature. We would give this rumor a higher rating if there were evidence of video-editing capabilities. Currently, we haven’t seen any.

Sleeker design
Source: Apple iPhone Apps
Probability: 60%
No solid evidence of this, but the traditional evolution of Apple products is they get slimmer and sleeker.

1.5 times the battery life of the current models
Probability: 60%
Source: Apple iPhone Apps
A major complaint about the iPhone 3G is its meager battery life. Therefore, Apple will most likely claim the next iPhone has improved battery life. We’ll have to test the next iPhone’s battery life to see if Apple’s claims are true.

OLED screen
Source: Apple iPhone Apps; Register Hardware
Probability: 20%
An obscure iPhone blog reported a rumor that the next iPhone will feature an OLED screen. However, this is unlikely as OLEDs are expensive and would likely drive the iPhone’s price points higher. Evidence of this feature is scant.

Glowing Apple logo on the back
Probability: 20%
Source: Apple iPhone Apps
Unnecessary. Rumor comes from an obscure blog with little cred.

Discontinuation of the metal band surrounding the edge of the device
Probability: 20%
Source: Apple iPhone Apps
No evidence of this. We’re not sure why Apple would choose to remove this band.

Rubber-tread backing
Probability: 15%
Source: Apple iPhone Apps
Unlikely, as it would be ugly, and Apple likes pretty things. Also, the rumor comes from the same obscure blog as the one above.

Built-in FM transmitter
Source: Apple iPhone Apps
Probability: 10%
We see no compelling reason for Apple to put this in the iPhone, as it is not a feature that users have been demanding, and it hasn’t appeared in other iPods.

What are your bets? Add your predictions in the comments below.

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

For those near and dear to ASUS’ Eee PC netbook line, the 1008HA ‘Seashell’ is definitely a breath of fresh air. It doesn’t look like an Eee, it doesn’t feel like an Eee and it doesn’t boast a replaceable battery like an Eee; needless to say, only two of those three facts were lauded by reviewers across the web. Much like Apple’s MacBook Air, the battery in this here machine is not user-serviceable, and while tests proved that it could last well over three hours with “normal” use, ASUS has yet to make clear what plans it has for offering replacements. In any case, most everything else about the machine was found to be on par or above, with performance being satisfactory for basic tasks and the keyboard / trackpad being exceptionally yummy. Still, it feels as if ASUS is charging a bit much for a familiar lineup of internals, but those willing to pay for style should definitely take a closer look.

Read – Trusted Reviews (“a very refined and classy netbook”)
Read – T3 (“a good all-round package”)
Read – CNET UK (“great styling and a relatively light chassis”)
Read – Bit-Tech (“definitely worth considering, but looks come at a cost”)
Read – WhatLaptop (“a compelling proposition”)
Read – PCPro (“If you don’t mind paying a premium for fine design, then the Seashell is a tantalizing prospect”)

Filed under: Laptops

ASUS Eee PC 1008HA ‘Seashell’ review roundup originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 May 2009 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, last week’s space theme was exciting for readers and staff alike, not least of all because we had a real actual NASA astronaut baring his soul daily. Here are the highlights:

• 15-year veteran NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao’s column about flying in the Space Shuttle and Soyuz, and living on the International Space Station for six months. The little things matter most, and Leroy described the minutiae of zero-g daily life in a way that was both charming and shocking at once. Here are all of his Astroblogger entries.

• In Carmel Hagen’s thrilling heist story about a guy and a girl and a locked-up pile of moon rocks, we learned how an intern stole NASA’s most treasured possession.

• We had a teaser and then a real honest-to-God taste of spaceman food (without the benefit of floating forks and knives).

• We looked back, on heroes like Yuri Gagarin and Alan Shepard, mistakes like the horrifying Nedelin disaster, and all kinds of memorable phenomena ranging from space chimps to space Lego to Space Camp.

• More importantly, we looked ahead to the next space shuttles, the development of space tourism, the next moon mission and our ultimate destiny as interstellar pioneers.

Where didn’t we go? Maybe where no man has gone before—we left that to JJ Abrams and the ghost of Gene Roddenberry. God speed, Giz readers. And stay tuned for the next thrilling theme week. Any guesses? [Get Me Off This Rock]

It’s pretty remarkable the speed at which new DSLRs are emerging these days, so it’s ever more important that you really know what’s what when selecting your first (or next) shooter. Sites around the web have already begun to scrutinize the newest cam from Nikon, the mid-range D5000. DPReview has an outstanding chart that breaks down the features, similarities and differences between this one, the D90 and the D60. It seems the biggest differentiators between the D5000 and the pricier D90 is the complete lack of an in-body focus motor and the pentamirror viewfinder (versus pentaprism on the D90). Oh, and while that 2.7-inch articulating display is nice, it can’t hold a candle to the D90 in terms of resolution. For folks hoping and praying for autofocus in movies, keep on kissing the ground; early reports suggest that the 720p footage looks eerily similar to that put out by the D90 — no shock there. Needless to say, there are far too many nuances to cover here, so dig in below if the D5000 hopped on your short list earlier this morning.

Read – Imaging Resource preview
Read – LetsGoDigital preview
Read – DPReview preview
Read – DPReview sample images

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Nikon D5000 DSLR preview roundup originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Apr 2009 09:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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