Hasta La Gadget!

Rumor has it NVIDIA is currently talking to VIA Technologies about purchasing a large stake in the company, to the tune of around 300 million new shares each priced somewhere in the range of NT$9 and NT$12 ($0.27 and $0.35 US equivalent) apiece, for a grand total of approximately US $81 million to $105 million. Don’t put too much stock into this at the moment, as none of this is confirmed — indeed, the last time we heard such murmurings was also sourced from DigiTimes, who doesn’t have the best of track records. That said, the two companies have worked together before and do have the Ion platform connection. With Intel talking a lot of sass and litigation lately, we wouldn’t put past NVIDIA to cuddle up with a close friend.

[Via Electronista]

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

NVIDIA to buy significant stake in VIA? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Mar 2009 04:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We have two shiny new Apple rumors for you today, one hot but unlikely, and one fairly straightforward. First, the obvious one: the new, improved version of Mac OS X – Snow Leopard – will be shipping on June 8th.

This predictive magic has been worked by the Baltimore Sun’s Apple expert and fortune teller David Zeiler. His sleuthing took mixture of facts and combined them into this tasty rumor — Amazon has a lot of Snow Leopard books scheduled to go on sale in June, Apple WWDC (a developer conference) will “probably” start on June 8th and lastly, at last year’s WWDC Steve Jobs promised the new OS in around a year.

Add to the the rumblings that come through Gadget Lab every day (other than those from Priya before her first Red Bull of the morning), which indicate that builds of the new OS are being seeded to developers with an increasing frequency over the past months, and we have rather convincing piece of speculation. But speculation is all it is right now.

Next up, and far more juicy (although far less likely) is the long wished-for Apple tablet, which is either a giant iPhone with a real keyboard or a tiny MacBook, depending on your point of view. Digitimes has discovered that Taiwan-based manufacturer Wintek "is currently working with Apple to develop some new products". These are, apparently, touch-sensitive screens which are "for Apple’s new netbook" which will start shipping in the third quarter of the year.

We’re skeptical, but hopeful. I’d love a bigger iPod Touch, especially if it had a keyboard. At least I think I would — right now the 13” MacBook has the perfect size, balanced for portability and usability, and my iPod Touch slips unnoticeably into my jeans pocket. One thing is sure, though. If Apple does make a netbook, it won’t be called a netbook, and it won’t be anything like what we might predict.

Prediction: Snow Leopard release date is June 8 [Baltimore Sun]

Wintek to supply touch panels for Apple netbook, says paper [DigiTimes]

Fake image credit [Frato]

Various blogs claim receiving confirmation of new iMacs and Mac Minis launching Tuesday.

Hardmac posted product numbers purporting to reference four iMac models and two Mac Mini models (from low- to high-end).

Hardmac and OneMoreThing both claim reliable sources said the new Macs are set for release tomorrow. OneMoreThing also provided an incomplete list of specifications (translated by a MacRumors forum member):

Mac Mini

• Ports: USB (five), FireWire 800, Mini DVI, Display port
• Graphics: Nvidia chipset
• CPU: Starts at 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• Memory: 1 or 2 GB DDR3 memory (max 4 GB)
• Storage: 120 GB hard disk (max 320 GB)

iMac

• Screen size: one 20-inch model; three 24-inch models
• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo (not a quad core): 2.66GHz, 2.93GHz and 3.06GHz
• Ports: Display port
• Memory: 2GB DDR3 memory in the 20-inch model; 4GB DDR3 memory in the 24-inch model (max 8 GB)

We find this very believable: Apple traditionally launches hardware upgrades on Tuesdays. Also, upgrades for both of these Macs are long overdue, and many were anticipating a March release. 

Yowza. Those are some pretty fast iMacs, huh? Keep an eye on the Apple Store online in the early hours of Tuesday.

Mac Mini and iMac Product Part Numbers? Available Tomorrow? [MacRumors]

Photo: Stephen Hackett/Flickr

About two weeks ago a blurry photo purporting to capture Apple’s next Mac Mini had us calling BS. But then a day later, a video appeared showing off the fabled device, and we were a little more convinced. Today another image is making its rounds on the web, this time claiming to represent the packaging of the Mac Mini.

In the image, the device appears to match the Mac Mini in the previous photo. (Note the five USB ports and Mini Display port). And above the fabled Mac Mini is the Nvidia logo, which suggests the device will ship with an Nvidia chipset. Though some might have doubts about the image because the packaging shows the back of the Mac Mini, the box of the current Mac Mini flashes its derriere, too.

At this point we’re 90 percent convinced that this is the new Mac Mini. And to that we have to say — snore. We wanted a form factor upgrade, dammit.

See Also:

• Rumor: New Mac Mini Coming to Macworld 2009
• Video: Is This the New Mac Mini?
• Leaked Mac Mini Photo Shows Many New Ports
• Does the New Mac Mini Have 17 USB Ports?
• Atom-Powered Mac Mini in March? Probably Not
• Apple Slows Down Mac Upgrades, in Sync With Economy

New Mac Mini Packaging Spy Shot [MacRumors]

Photo: MacRumors

Lots of Apple rumors today following the weekend whispers of a March 24 desktop hardware event, and they fall neatly along the plausibility spectrum:

• First up, we’d say a bump of the Mac Pro to Intel’s upcoming Nehalem-EP Xeon processors is looking quite likely — famed OS X hacker netkas was poking around in a test build of OS X 10.5.7 and found support files for i7 chips lurking about, as well as drivers for ATI’s Radeon 4000-series GPUs. If you’re making a chart, this one’s right up there with an NVIDIA-powered iMac refresh — it’s a pretty obvious move.
• Second, new entries for the Airport Extreme and Time Capsule have popped up in the FCC, and while the listed dimensions are exactly the same as the current editions, there are no model numbers and something internal has to have changed enough to raise ol’ Sammy’s brows. That could be as simple as a new radio hardware supplier or bigger drives, but if we were placing bets, we’d say both units are getting updated for simultaneous 5GHz and 2.4GHz operation — Apple’s really high on 5GHz for laptops and Apple TV, but the iPhone and iPod touch are 2.4GHz-only. Let’s call this one even odds, shall we?
• Lastly, a new picture of that improbable five USB port Mac mini has surfaced, this time purporting to show the outside of the box. Considering the Photoshop wars the last image of this thing set off, we’d say this is the least likely candidate for a Philly Schills reveal, but then again, Apple’s been pretty leaky lately.

That’s everything we know — anyone else have something to share with the group?

Read – Ars Technica on the Mac Pro
Read – New Airport Extreme FCC listing
Read – New Time Capsule FCC listing
Read – One More Thing Mac mini image [Via TUAW]

Filed under: Desktops, Wireless

Apple rumor Monday: Nehalem Mac Pro, new Airport Extreme and Time Capsule in FCC, Mac mini box originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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