• apple,  rumors

    Rumor: 5th Generation iPod nano to be a Cross Between iPod touch and Previous iPod Nano

    The rumor mill is showing equal amounts of love for the iPhone, iPad, and now the iPod.

    Japanese language blog, Macotakara, has a conceptual rendering of what the a fifth generation iPod nano might look like.  The rumor suggests that the new design is a blending of previous iPod nano designs (the skinny, tall variety, not the boring square designs) and the iPod touch.
    Not too bad.  I’d buy one.  But I’ve always liked the tall iPod nano designs.
  • apple,  ipad,  iphone,  rumors

    Rumor: iPhone 5, iPad Mini Engineering Samples Surface

    “Silly Season” is in full swing as we get closer to the rumored fall launch of the newest iPhone iteration and possible “iPad Mini” unveiling.

    Today’s rumor de jure is that engineering sample “bricks” have surfaced to allegedly validate recent rumors about the footprint change to the next iPhone and the moving toward mass production iPad Mini device that has been rumored ever since Steve Jobs walked off stage from the iPad launch event in 2010.

    Take these photos with a grain of salt.  A Morton’s salt canister is now taking up residence at the corner of my desk.

    Photos courtesy of GottaBeMobile.com.

    [Via AppleInsider.com…]

  • apple,  mac,  mac os x,  macbook pro

    Apple Releases Golden Master OS X Mountain Lion to Developers

    Earlier today, Apple released what is intended to be the final version of the next major OS X upgrade to developers.

    The “golden master” release of Mac OS X Mountain Lion, now more hiply referred to simply as “OS X Mountain Lion”, was released to developers for their final review.  The release has no know issues and is largely expected to be the version that will ship to customers later this month when he software goes on sale in the Mac App Store for $19.99.

    A list of major features can be found on the Apple website.  As with Lion before it, the “iOS-ification” of Mac OS X continues as Apple further blends the familiar interfaced used on the iPhone and iPad into their desktop and notebook Macintosh system software.

    When Mountain Lion goes on sale, it will support the following Macintosh models.

    • iMac mid-2007 and newer
    • MacBook late 2008 Aluminum or early 2009 and newer
    • MacBook Pro mid and late-2007 and newer
    • Xserve 2009
    • MacBook Air late 2008 and newer
    • Mac mini early 2009 and newer
    • Mac Pro early 2008 and newer

    Be advised that not all models of hardware will be able to take advantage of all of the new features such as AirPlay.  AirPlay will only work on mid-2011 models of Macs and the second and third generation Apple TV boxes. Bummer.

    For the full list of hardware and feature specific feature requirements, visit the Mountain Lion technical specifications page for more details.

  • hp,  pre,  touchpad,  web os

    HP/Palm TouchPad Unboxing

    My refurbished HP Palm TouchPad 32GB unit arrived yesterday afternoon.  About all I was able to do with it was unbox it and charge it up.  I’ve started playing with it today and I’ll be blogging more about it over the next few days, but for now, here are my unboxing photos.  They may not be sexy, but at least I have a TouchPad now.

    If you had forgotten that you purchased a refurbished unit, HP will remind you.

    Refurbished packing material is so unsexy.  The TouchPad is held in place by two foam blocks and the accessories are stuffed in to the slot on the left.

    At least the TouchPad is shipped in the same protective film that new units are shipped in.  If you’ve unpacked an iPad, it’s the same kind of plastic film.

    Here we have the TouchPad, the power adapter and sync cable (similar to the ones shipped with the Pre series smartphones) and a cardboard box that contains the getting started guides, and obligatory legalese documents.  The box reads, “Now comes the fun part.”

  • hp,  palm os,  pre,  tungsten,  web os

    HP WindsorNot webOS Smartphone

    I liked my original Sprint Pre, but I would have much preferred a device like the unreleased WindsorNot.  This is just another shadow of a device that we’ll never get to play with.  Sad, so sad.

    I was never a huge fan of Palm’s sliders, despite having purchased the Palm Pre, Tungsten T3 and Tungsten T on launch day for all three devices.  (I also built my own Tungsten T2 from OEM spare parts!!)

    On second though, the WindsorNot looks a lot like a Pre3 without the slider.

    [Via WebOSNation.com…]

  • apple,  ipad,  rumors

    Why Apple Will Make a 7-inch iPad

    If you were around in 2010, you probably watched, or at least read about, Steve Jobs launching the iPad.  And let’s face it, who didn’t?

    Back then in 2010, however, during the introduction of the iPad, Steve Jobs said that 7-inch tablets were DOA and that the 9.7-inch iPad was the optimal size for a magical touch interface.

    Even with word coming down from on high that Apple wasn’t about to release a smaller version of the iPad, rumors continued to persist since 2010 to today that deep in their super secret lab, Apple in fact had a 7-inch iPad prototype.  And now it looks like Apple is getting ready to release the tablet that Jobs said they would never do.  Back then.

    So why the sudden change in heart from that early stance in 2010?

    Rene Ritchie of iMore.com has an editorial up that I read last night and found myself agreeing with his position that the time is right for Apple to enter the 7-inch, low end tablet market.

    “[E]ven considering the current iPad’s incredible market lead, some customers are still choosing between it and a smaller and/or less expensive tablet.”

    And let’s face it, there are a number of cheap 7-inch crappy Android powered tablets floating around out there.  But there are a few 7-inch tablets that are starting to gain some traction in the marketplace, namely the Barnes & Noble Nook, the Amazon Kindle Fire, and most recently, the Google Nexus 7 that will go on sale in a few short weeks.

    If there was ever a time for Apple to jump into lower cost 7-inch tablet market, it’s now.

    Check out Mr. Ritchie’s full article on iMore.com.

    [Via iMore.com…]

  • apple,  next,  pixar,  steve jobs

    Rent a 1995 Jobs Interview on iTunes

    Looking for something to watch this weekend?  Why not check out “Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview”?

    Originally released in theaters in a limited run, The Lost Interview gives us a look at Steve while he was still running NeXT Computer and a little computer animation studio called Pixar.

    According to an article that appeared in FOX News’ The Daily earlier this week, Apple considers this interview “too controversial” which is in stark contrast to their promotion of Jobs All Things Digital interviews released by the Wall Street Journal.

    You can rent the video from the iTunes Store for $3.99.  There is no option to purchase the video.  You’ll also have to search for the video manually, or click this handy iTunes Store link.

    [Via The Daily…]

  • android,  google,  hp,  touchpad,  web os

    My TouchPad is Spending Independence Day in Independence, KY

    You all know that I’m a Palm junkie.  I have at least two dozen Palm devices in my collection of mobile gear.  My latest acquisition is the ‘super natural’ HP/Palm TouchPad.  I wrote about Walmart.com having a stock of refurbished units for sale in their online store.  Well, fittingly enough, my TouchPad is spending the 4th of July holiday in Independence, KY waiting to complete it’s cross country trek from the left coast to the right coast.

    Android on Your TouchPad

    In other news, the CyanogenMod team, the folks who have been hard at working porting Google’s Android OS to the HP TouchPad, have posted a new nightly build of their Android port that has enabled TouchPad microphone support.

    Once I get my TouchPad and start playing with it, I’ll blog about my experience installing the dual-boot software and Android.  I’ve only done a little reading on the subject, as in I know its possible and talked to WyreNut about his experience installing Android.

    Stay tuned.