Breaking Down the Latest Verizon iPhone Rumors July 2, 2010
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Apple, Cell Phones, Rumors , add a comment
Unless you’ve been living under a rock the past couple of weeks, you’ve probably heard that Apple has released a new iPhone and that this new iPhone has been having some problems with keeping a signal when you hold it in your left hand. Of course, any new iPhone– and particularly any new iPhone problems– brings out the rumors of Apple finally adding another carrier to their cell phone world, with most of the rumors focusing on a particular carrier that’s red and rhymes with Shmerizon.
Yes, the Verizon iPhone rumors are alive and hotter than ever; with many top, well-respected publications (like the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg) chiming in by saying that a Verizon iPhone is on the way– and really soon.
So what are these rumors and what do we think of them? Read on for the full scoop.
AT&T Bumping Up iPhone Upgrades To… Now? June 7, 2010
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Apple, Cell Phones , 1 comment so far
Well this was a very nice surprise…. apparently AT&T is bumping up iPhone users upgrade dates a few months, possibly in anticipation of a new iPhone announcement?
I can confirm first hand AT&T bumped up dates, because when I checked today I noticed my upgrade was bumped up for a new iPhone from October to now (as you can see in the screenshot above. You can check yourself by calling *639# from your phone, which will get a text sent to you with your upgrade status a min later).
Now why AT&T is doing this I’m not sure. It could be a preemptive move to avoid the same problems the last few times there were new iPhones and is even more proof we’ll see a new iPhone today (if you remember, the last two iPhone upgrades, first for the 3G and then for the 3GS, were met with a lot of angry people who were only one year into contract, forcing Apple and AT&T to allow those users to upgrade for the cheaper price). It could be a move to keep iPhone users from jumping to another carrier (if another carrier is in fact getting the iPhone), or it could be because AT&T is just feeling really generous to iPhone users this morning. Whatever it is, I’m sure we’ll know soon enough.
So anyone else noticing an earlier iPhone (or just general AT&T) upgrade date?
Reminder: Apple’s WWDC is Tomorrow June 6, 2010
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Apple, Rumors , add a comment
Is that new iPhone that we’ve seen so many pix of over the last few weeks finally going to become official tomorrow? Are we finally going to learn when iPhone OS 4 going to drop? Will MobileMe become free for all? Are there going to be the long awaited updated Mac Minis and MacBook Airs? Will Verizon, T-Mobile and/or Sprint be announced as new iPhone and/or iPad carriers, officially ending AT&T’s exclusivity? The answers to those pressing questions (which are some of the hottest rumors flying around– though again, before we get some hopes up, these are just rumors) and more should all be revealed in a few hours when Apple CEO Steve Jobs takes the stage for Apple’s annual WWDC conference at around 1 PM Eastern time tomorrow (June 7th).
It will no doubt be a big day no matter what Apple announces, so remember to check back here tomorrow where we’ll have all of Apple’s announcements broken down with everything you need to know. In the meantime, what are you thinking/hoping/wishing to see Apple announce tomorrow?
(And in case you were wondering, now would probably be the worst time to go and buy an iPhone 3GS).
Walmart Drops the iPhone 3GS 16 GB to $97– Why You Shouldn’t Buy it May 30, 2010
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Apple, Cell Phones, Rumors , add a comment
If you’ve been waiting on an iPhone, you probably heard of Walmart’s dropping of the iPhone 3GS 16 GB’s price to $97 this week and went “wow, I can get double the iPhone than the 8 GB iPhone 3G and save $100! This is amazing!”
If I were you I’d wait before rushing out to the nearest Walmart, as you may have buyer’s remorse VERY QUICKLY. Why? Read on.
More Details On the Mysterious BlackBerry Slider Leak Out– Coming to AT&T in the Summer? May 25, 2010
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Cell Phones, Rumors , add a comment
Wow, in summer already shaping up to be awesome for buying new phones with the releases of the EVO 4G and new iPhone, we can now possibly add to that list a new BlackBerry– that really cool touchscreen slider BlackBerry Bold 9800 we first saw a couple of months earlier.
The pix are much clearer than the ones we’ve seen in the past, and show off a couple of pretty big things, such as BlackBerry OS 6 (see above pic), the latest major update providing, among other things, a real web browser, improved media player (with its own version of Cover Flow), as well as a true multi-touch OS. Its worth noting here that the phone is also said to just be using a “normal” multi-touch screen and not the SurePress touchscreen seen on the Storm line.
The pic below is shot of the phone booting up to an AT&T screen, implying as Boy Genius Report claims, that AT&T is slated to get this monster new phone this summer!
RIM is still keeping quiet and hasn’t confirmed (or even said) anything about this phone so for the time being it’s still a rumor, but don’t worry– we’ll make sure to keep you up to date as we learn more.
Pix from TheBerryFix (here and here), and The Cellular Guru.
The iPhone 4 is Real April 19, 2010
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Apple, Cell Phones , 2comments
Wow that was quick. In a span of 3 days that rumored pic of the iPhone 4, we saw has gone from rumor to apparently real deal (though until Apple confirms it, it still technically is rumor and could also be a prototype which while looking near a final version, may be subject still to some changes)– even throwing in some more info in the process. Gizmodo was able to get a hands on with this new iPhone, and while it didn’t power on (thanks to most likely a remote wipe of the device by Apple), they have confirmed that it’s indeed made by Apple. How? They cracked it open and an Apple quality machine is easy to distinguish from a Chinese knockoff.
So what else have we found it about this next generation iPhone? Actually, for a phone that didn’t even power on– a whole lot.
- Flash for the back camera!– Something a lot of us have been waiting for, and that back camera, according to Gizmodo, has also been improved from the 3GS’s current 3 megapixel (they mention how the lens is larger than the 3GS’s, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see 5 or even 8 megapixels, particularly because this will be going head-to-head with some really enticing offerings like the upcoming HTC Droid Incredible for Verizon and the HTC EVO 4G for Sprint– both of which offer 8 megapixel cameras).
The front camera on the iPhone 4
- Improved screen resolution– Which they were able to tell by turning on the new iPhone, and comparing it’s “Connect to iTunes” screen to that of a 3GS’s. If you notice, things looking clearer and better there, and so we wouldn’t be surprised to see things look better all around the phone. (While a beta copy of the iPhone OS 4 is available for testing, it naturally only is designed for the iPhone 3G and 3GS, which have different software).
- New design– We saw this in the pix from the other day, but the new iPhone looks to finally be bringing some real changes to the design of iPhones. We’re obviously talking more than just making the Apple and iPhone logos more shiny, like the back of the 3GS’s upgrade from the 3G. The new bezel– or silver border around the iPhone’s screen– is now aluminum instead of the previous plastic (a welcome step up no doubt), the volume buttons are now 2 separate buttons as opposed to one (leading Gizmodo to think this is because you can use one of the buttons as a camera key in addition to the option to tap on the screen to take a pic. Again, very welcome), a second mic for noise cancellation at the top of the phone, and a Micro-SIM card slot instead of the usual SIM card slot (the microSIM as you may know, is the same type of SIM card used in the iPad WiFi+3G, this making the components in the new iPhone even smaller). Additionally, the back of the phone is now flat, and made of possibly glass or other material as opposed to the 3G and 3GS’s plastic backs. Now this means the iPhone 4 is in fact thinner than the 3GS, though it is slightly heavier (though don’t worry, it’s still mighty light). Also, the screen appears to be slightly smaller than the 3GS (though it does have that higher resolution) but there is a larger battery (which will hopefully add some much needed extra juice to help get through the day).
New iPhone 4 next to old iPhone 3GS (iPhone 4 on left, 3GS on right)
In my opinion, this really looks like the real deal, further proven by what the insides look like inside the iPhone 4. I don’t care how great you are at making knock-offs, no one is that good (and seriously, who beyond Apple has currently announced the use of a Micro-SIM instead of a traditional SIM card). This all seems to further make sense with what some of the code (tech talk for programming apps and programs) of features like iChat, which as we all unfortunately know is sadly missing from the iPhones we have today. Apple is also rumored to have booked the same place where they announced the iPhone 3G and 3GS for early June (the Yerba Buena Center in San Fransisco), which make sense as the time to unveil yet another iPhone.
As I said before, I can’t wait for June.
Video of the iPhone 4 after the break. More info, photos and videos can be found at Gizmodo.
Is this the Next iPhone? April 18, 2010
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Apple, Cell Phones, Rumors , add a comment
Rumored shots of the iPhone HD (aka iPhone 4– this pic from Twitter user TUDream)
We know that Apple is working on a new iPhone (both history and common sense tell us that– I mean, Apple has updated the iPhone every summer since it was released, and what makes this one to be an exception to that precedent). But here is something we didn’t expect to see so soon– pix of a supposed 4th Generation iPhone (the 4th iPhone, not necessarily an iPhone that runs on 4G).
This 4th iPhone (rumored to be called the iPhone HD), if these shots are to be believed, is made out of aluminum (or some metal like material), which would make sense seeing Apple’s new love of the material (used on Macs, MacBooks, iPod Shuffles, and of course the iPad), and packs a video for iChat videocalling (YES!). Also noticeable on these pix is the location of a SIM card slot, which, while not 100% confirming (again we still don’t even know if these are even close to what the 4th iPhone looks like), seems to indicate another AT&T or maybe even a T-Mobile release as well, but less of hope for Verizon and Sprint. Engadget has gotten a few pix of the device (said to be found on the floor of a bar in San Jose of all places– and wow, if this is real, somebody is gonna learn very quickly to stop drinking on the job), and it is said to be packing a rather odd 80GB of storage (which would be great but strange, considering the flash storage found in the past iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches are in capacities like 16, 32 and 64 GB so we’d think the new iPhone would double the current 3GS’s 32 GB to say 64, but hey, we wouldn’t mind an extra 16 GB).
Also of note, Boy Genius Report has said AT&T has told employees that they can’t vacation in June. Only other times they did this? The last iPhone releases.
All I know is, I really can’t wait for June.
HP Slate – the iPad Killer? April 13, 2010
Posted by Zev Rosenbaum in : Computers, Microsoft, Tablets , comments closed
Back in January, we caught a short glimpse of the HP Slate, HP’s new tablet. Last week, Engadget uncovered some “unofficial” specs of the new tablet compared to the iPad. Later that day HP released a trailer of the Slate doing things that the iPad can’t do, including video chatting and taking pictures (that’s right, two cameras– one on the front for video chatting and one on the back for taking regular pictures), as well as:
- 8.9 inch multi-touch screen, with stylus support– While this is a drop smaller than the iPad’s bigger 9.7 inch screen, the ability to use a stylus for writing on it is very interesting, particularly for use in school.
- A USB slot– shown ironically through connecting an iPod cable to the Slate, which can run iTunes because…
- The Slate runs on Windows 7 (with some custom HP Touch software thrown in as well)
- Available with either 32 or 64 GB of storage– Like the iPad, just you can also add even more storage via an SD card slot with room to add up to a massive 128 GB! (Though don’t run for that 128 GB yet, as it probably right now costs about as much as the whole tablet, though still awesome for future use.)
- WiFi and optional 3G for $50 more– meaning that for $600 you get a 32 GB Slate with 3G, compared to $730 for a 32 GB iPad WiFi+3G (this is even cheaper than the 16 GB WiFi+3G which starts at $630). No word on what data plans for this will be like (if they’ll be like the iPads $15 for 250 MB a month and $30 for unlimited or like the usual $60 for a laptop data plan).
- Output to an HDTV through some sort of dock– so you can share your photos and videos on your big HDTV.
- A base price of $549 for 32 GB Slate and $599 for the 64 GB model (both without the optional 3G), whereas with the WiFi only 32 GB iPad starts at $600 and the 64 GB start out at $700.
Obviously, the Skype and camera features could make the HP Slate a thorn in the iPad’s side and we will see if these features will make the HP Slate more customer-friendly than the iPad (just as a note: HP hasn’t officially released a spec sheet of the Slate nor announced pricing, things– like pricing– is still very much rumor and subject to change). Check out one of the HP promo videos of the Slate, as well as the leaked iPad-Slate comparison sheet after the break.