Nikon D7000 to be the D90’s spiritual (and actual) successor?

With the Nikon D3100 now official and out in the open, it’s time to tilt the rumor mills back towards a successor to the company’s much-loved D90. Nikon Rumors has a few morsels, including what it’s confident is the official name: D7000. (Rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?) No source is provided, so until we get something official, just use pencil to write it down on your wishlist. Got that? Good. The site also has a few other details that it’s less sure on… but just to tease: 100 percent viewfinder coverage (in contrast, the D90 has 96 percent) and dual memory card slots of some sort. Last we heard, the whispers pointed to a mid-September reveal with a 16 megapixel sensor, 1920 x 1080 HD video, and a $1200 price tag — tempting, but then again, that D3100 is looking mighty nice for the impatient consumer in us.

Nikon D7000 to be the D90’s spiritual (and actual) successor? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 19:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BlackBerry Bold R020 and 9670 Oxford flip outed?

It’s felt almost as if the BlackBerry smartphone rumor mill has been a little too quiet — dare we say burnt out — since the Torch hit the scene (BlackPad notwithstanding, of course). That’s all changed with a pair of interesting leaks care of Boy Genius Report. Behold a successor to the Bold 9700, the R020. The tri-band UMTS / quad-band EDGE device is gonna disappoint some with the same 624MHz clockspeed and 2.44-inch 480 x 360 screen, but it does have twice the RAM (512MB), a 5 megapixel camera with AF and flash, and of course runs on BlackBerry 6. If the purported leaked slides are correct, a device of such magnitude should be launching in the October timeframe. Looking to the CDMA side of things — which means likely both Verizon and Sprint — we’ve got a 9670 “Oxford” (at least by codename) flip phone with a full QWERTY keyboard, 5 megapixel camera, 360 x 400 internal display (240 x 320 for the external), usual amenities like WiFi and GPS, and the hip new BB6. No touchscreen on either phones, as far as we can tell, but perhaps that’s a blessing for those that fret smudged screens.

BlackBerry Bold R020 and 9670 Oxford flip outed? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Aug 2010 18:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple May Be Internally Testing Next-Gen iPod Touch, iPad


Apple appears to be internally testing the next-gen iPod Touch and iPad, along with an unknown mystery device, according to configuration files buried deep inside the latest iOS beta.

Apple blog AppleInsider received purported configuration files of the next iOS beta, iOS 4.1., due to ship in “the coming weeks,” showing strings of code referencing “iPod 4,1″ — an identifier that denotes a fourth-generation device. (A revision of the current third-gen iPod model would be labeled “iPod 3,2.”)

The configuration files also reveal an identifier for “iProd 2,1″ — most likely the second-generation iPad, since the records showed the current iPad was registered as “iPod 1,1.” Most interesting is an identifier for “unknownHardware.” Perhaps this could be the rumored Apple TV upgrade based on the iOS-operating system, as New York Times reported previously.

Apple is expected to hold its annual iPod event in the coming weeks, where we’d likely see the next-generation iPod Touch, which is rumored to sport the same specifications of the iPhone 4 (minus the phone, of course): two cameras, a high-resolution display, an A4 processor and so on. Stay tuned this September.

See Also:


Photo: JoeBaynham/Flickr


Sony’s Alpha A580 and A560 leak out with 1080i video recording mode?

If Sony’s camera division were a ship, the crew would be shiftily eying the rowboats right about now, because yet another pair of Sony Alpha DSLRs have just sprung out another gaping hole. Sony Alpha Rumors brings convincing pictures of two Alpha A550 successors, the A580 and A560, which reportedly feature 16 megapixel and 14 megapixel sensors respectively. Like their predecessor, both feature 100-12,800 ISO ranges, Memory Stick and SD card slots and a fancy tilting LCD display, but now also reportedly sport 15 autofocus points (up from 9) and a 1080i AVCHD video recording mode. Pricing and availability are still in the cards, but don’t fret — we’ll find out soon enough.

Sony’s Alpha A580 and A560 leak out with 1080i video recording mode? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Aug 2010 10:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumor Shootout: Google Tablet Will Be Made by HTC — Or Maybe Motorola

Today’s big rumor, coming from an unnamed single source by way of the Download Squad blog, is that a Google tablet, made by HTC, running Google’s Chrome OS, and available on the Verizon network, will go on sale on Nov. 26th this year. That’s Black Friday.

Or, maybe not: Citing similarly unnamed sources among “upstream component makers,” Digitimes asserts that it’s Motorola, not HTC, that is Google’s first choice for a tablet, which Digitimes says will be based on Android.

The Motorola-made Google tablet will utilize Nvidia’s Tegra 2 processor platform, and will have a 10.1-inch Sharp-manufactured LCD that’s not as bright as the iPad, but is thinner, says Digitimes. It will be in production by the end of 2010, the paper added.

Download Squad goes on to speculate about the Chrome tablet’s hardware, writing that “the device could be based on NVidia’s Tegra 2 platform and sport a 1280×720 multitouch display, 2 GB of RAM, minimum 32-GB SSD, WiFi/Bluetooth/LTE connectivity, GPS, webcam, and possibly expandable storage via a multicard reader,” but that is the author’s guesswork. What of the actual “facts” of the story, though?

HTC would make sense. After all, the hardware maker is behind many Android phones, and worked with Google on the original G1 Googlephone. That part lines up.

Motorola would make sense, too, given the company’s big commitment to Android in the past year.

As for Verizon, that too is a pretty credible pairing given the net-neutrality furor of the past couple weeks, which has seen Verizon and Google clubbing together to dismiss the need for an un-tiered internet for mobile devices. That, and the fact that Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam said back in May that Verizon and Google are “working on tablets together.”

And the launch date? Either genius or incredibly dumb. If Google were to make the announcement ahead of time, it would certainly get a lot of headlines due to the sheer ballsiness of launching a product into the morass of hype that is the busiest shopping day of the year. But once those headlines have come and gone, the product actually could get drowned in that morass and just disappear. Consumer electronics meant for strong holiday sales typically debut earlier in the year, giving distributors and retailers time to stock up before the holiday rush begins.

Adding some credibility to the timing is TechCrunch’s report on Wednesday that Google is planning to launch the Chrome app store in October. That store, which would give web developers a marketplace for selling web-based applications, might play into the app strategy for an Android-based tablet as well as a Chrome-based one: In addition to native Android apps from the Android Market, tablet users in November would be able to purchase web apps from the just-launched Chrome store. The fact that Google is reportedly planning to charge just 5 percent commission on Chrome apps, versus the 30 percent that Apple charges, suggests Google is gearing up to go after the iPad and iPhone in an aggressive way. (Note: Google also charges a 30 percent transaction fee in its Android Market.)

I really don’t know which way to call this. The pieces all fit so well together, but the sources are odd and unconvincing. Is it possible that Google will launch two tablets this year, one based on Chrome and the other on Android?

Either way, the prospect of an HTC/Verizon/Google tablet or a Motorola/Verizon/Google tablet appeals to us.

What do you think?

Google launching a Chrome OS tablet on Verizon, goes on sale November 26 [Download Squad]

Image mockup: Glen Murphy

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Dylan Tweney contributed to this report.


Sony Alpha A55 makes articulating cameo, A33 and some rumored specs tag along

In the market for a Sony shooter or two? The company’s upcoming lineup can’t seem to stay off the internet, which lucky for you serves as a great source for planning holiday gift plans. First up the Alpha A55, pictured above with an apparent articulating display. According to the DChome forums, there’s a 16.7 megapixel APS CMOS sensor, a translucent mirror, 15-point AF, 1080 / 60i video, 10fps continuous shooting, an ISO range of 100 to 25,600, dual memory card slots (we’d guess SD and MemoryStick), and an eventual retail price of $900 to $1,000. Also pictured on the site is the A33 — with an unmoving display — spec’d at a reported 14 megapixels, ISO range of 100 to 12,800, and 1080i video. The expected launch is August 24th, but bear in mind this all is just a rumor for now — keep your wallet and check and don’t do anything rash, k?

Sony Alpha A55 makes articulating cameo, A33 and some rumored specs tag along originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Sony Alpha Rumors  |  sourceDChome (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

Chrome OS tablet coming from Google and Verizon on Black Friday? (update: probably not)

Google might be adding touch to Chrome OS, Chromium developers show us how it might look (video)

We’ve been waiting on pins and needles for Google to announce some official Android tablet plans for so long we’d almost forgotten about Mountain View’s other operating system — but from what we’re hearing, Chrome OS is about to jump to center stage with a tablet debut on Verizon just before the holidays. Our friends at Download Squad are told by a reliable tipster that HTC is building a Tegra 2-based Chrome OS tablet for Google with a 1280 x 720 multitouch display, 2GB of RAM, at least 32GB of storage with the possibility of expansion, GPS, a webcam, and the usual wireless connectivity, including a 3G radio. Launch is pegged for Black Friday on November 26, and apparently the plan is to offer the device for extremely cheap or free on subsidy, which makes sense — it is just a browser, after all, and “free” sounds mighty nice compared to the iPad’s $499 entry point. (Of course, you’ll undoubtedly be tied to a Verizon contract, but we’ll just let that slide for now.) We’ll see how much of this comes true in the next few months — we’re certainly intrigued.

Update: The author of the Download Squad post, Lee Matthews, apparently fabricated all these specs — in comments, he confirms that they’re “pure speculation,” and this his source only provided the launch date and Verizon partnership. That part certainly seems plausible, but we wouldn’t necessarily believe any of this — it’s pretty suspect to just make things up.

Update 2:
One of our own actually proven tipsters just hit us to say this whole thing — including launch date — sounds suspect, and that ARM-based Chrome OS tablets won’t hit until late 2011 at least. It’ll be Atom-based netbooks until then, we’re told. That lines up with everything else we’ve ever heard from Google and its partners, so we’re calling this entirely bunk until we actually see some hardware.

Chrome OS tablet coming from Google and Verizon on Black Friday? (update: probably not) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Aug 2010 11:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung’s YP-MB2 Android PMP spotted again in the wild, inches ever closer to release

It ain’t the first time this chef-d’oeuvre has been spotted in the wild, but it’s the first time that we’re confident in believing the YP-MB2 is legitimate. The smoke that leads to fire is getting harder to duck under, and for all intents and purposes, this here device is a Galaxy S sans cellular connectivity. We’re told that a 4-inch Super AMOLED display, 1GHz processor, WiFi, Bluetooth, 3 megapixel camera and Android OS will be featured, and it sure feels like it’ll be released first in South Korea. Apple may be planning a Fall event for the next big iPod announcement, but at least this go ’round some presumably worthwhile competition will be breathing down its neck. Now, if only we knew a price…

Samsung’s YP-MB2 Android PMP spotted again in the wild, inches ever closer to release originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Aug 2010 09:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Tech Radar  |  sourceSamsung Hub  | Email this | Comments

An Apple Television Is a Very Stupid Idea [Apple]

After the latest Apple TV rumor, an analyst claims—once again—that Apple will make a 40-inch TV for $2,000, perhaps with integrated apps, gaming and iPhones/iPad connectivity. If true, that would be a very stupid idea. More »

San Francisco in Verizon’s initial 30-market LTE rollout?

We’ve already heard how Verizon expects to hit the ground running on LTE, starting this November with a launch in 30 markets — New York, LA, Philadelphia, and so forth. Now it looks like you can add San Francisco to that aggressive list, if Boy Genius Report’s leak proves true. Will it beat WiMAX to the region? Your move, Sprint.

San Francisco in Verizon’s initial 30-market LTE rollout? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 21:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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