Hasta La Gadget!

4GB to 32GB — that’s one hell of a range, but we’re hearing from a trusted source that new iPhones in 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB capacities just garnered approval by the PCS Type Review Certification Board, the standards body responsible for certificating handsets for use with some carriers (AT&T, for instance). If true, this would lend credence to the belief that Apple will be introducing at least two new models this summer — ostensibly at WWDC, until we’re told otherwise — because it seems unlikely that the company would be looking to wrap high-end hardware around ridiculously light storage or vice versa. If this means AT&T’s going to be able to sell sub-$100 iPhones, it reinforces a precedent set by devices like the E71x that consumers can (and should) expect hot smartphone hardware for shockingly little cash. We’ll drink to that.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

New iPhones approved in capacities from 4GB up to 32GB? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Photographs of the next generation iPhone have shown up on a Chinese forum, and quickly disappeared, only to be preserved virtually everywhere else, most notably on the MacRumors forums where a full, human-made translation of the original thread has been made by Samac92.

The snaps, taken with the traditional “blurry-cam” required for spy-shots, supposedly show the third-gen iPhone hardware, which looks, not surprisingly, almost identical to the current hardware. In fact, the only indication that this isn’t the iPhone 3G comes in the form of a compass and an autofocus camera, the screens for which are clearly visible.

Both of these features require new hardware, and the rumors say that a new iPhone will indeed be getting a 3.2 megapixel, autofocus camera along with a magnetometer-driven compass. The shots look pretty good, and we’re inclined to believe them if only because of the Apple-like interface polish.

The shot above shows the mechanism for autofocus. The blue square is moved with a finger, and that’s where the camera focuses. The shot below shows the difference between pictures taken on an iPhone 3G (right) and the new iPhone. The difference is pretty clear. We also see the option to shoot video using the little on-screen switch at bottom right.

The compass screen could just be a mockup, but even so, it’s a very Apple-like design. Given the colander-like state of Apple secrecy in the last year, we’re certainly expecting some juicy, accurate leaks to spring in the iPhone gen-3 ship, and these might just be the first.

Photos of Next Gen iPhone in Action? Auto-Focus and Compass [MacRumors Forums]

Wii Fit not cutting the fat fast enough? Don’t sweat it, the house of Mario is getting ready to make your weight loss competitive. According to Japan’s Nikkei business daily, Nintendo will be launching its Wii Fit plus in autumn that will let users compete with friends and family over the Internet to “lose weight and other activities” — the latter presumably hinting at cruel taunting Miis with the ability to point and laugh at the fatties. The new balance board is said to feature more precise measurements to better hone your sense of embarrassment and shame. E3 kicks off next week where we’ll undoubtedly hear more if the rumor is true.

Filed under: Gaming

Nikkei: Nintendo’s Wii Fit plus coming to make weight loss competitive, Internet fun originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 May 2009 04:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wholesaler China Ontrade.com has posted parts from the next-generation iPhone 3G 2009: The LCD screen and the middle internal bezel. They even have pictures comparing the new parts to the old ones:

The wholesaler says the following in their site:

This is great honor for China Ontrade (HK) chinaontrade.com to be the 1st started to supply iphone 3gen 2009 parts directly from factory

It looks like the web site and the new parts are legit, but who knows. They also sell every single spare iPhone 3G part you can imagine—as well as original factory parts for Blackberry, Nokia, LG, HTC, MacBooks, and even Nintendo. They claim the new iPhone 3G 2009 parts will ship “within 5 to 12 working days.”

As expected, there is no OLED screen in sight. Unless they have another product using the OLED, which I highly doubt. [Chinaontrade via iPhone-Ticker]

All we’ve got are these model numbers to go by, but it’s pretty clear that Sony’s cooking up a new series of Alpha DSLRs. The screengrab above (which we replicated ourselves) comes courtesy of SonyStyle Canada’s registration page. A field populated by a well-meaning, yet misguided soul since Sony has yet to announce DSLRs carrying the A500, A500S, A550, A550S monikers. It’s just a guess, but Sony’s lineup has a glaring omission when compared to the competition in the consumer DSLR space: HD Video.

[Via PhotoRumors and Dyxum]

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Sony Canada hints at Alpha A500 series of DSLRs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 May 2009 07:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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