tablet

What iPhone news might January 27 bring?

Though the long-awaited Apple tablet is expected to take center stage at Wednesday's Apple event, we can't discount the possibility that the company will drop some iPhone news as well. After all, January has brought us updates to Apple's handset ever since the very first iPhone was unveiled at MacWorld 2007. And now that Apple is no longer attending the MacWorld party--that event has been moved to February--the January 27 jamboree would serve as a natural forum for any iPhone news.

So what can we expect? Now that we have multimedia messaging, the list of missing "must-have features" is narrowing. But even so, we still have an iPhone wish list and many people still hope that the iPhone will jump to another U.S. carrier.

For your convenience we've wrapped up the most rampant speculation here. As of now, all of these rumors remain just rumors, but that doesn't mean it's not fun to spread them around. After you're done reading the dish, be sure to click on the poll to tell us what you expect to happen.

New OS If any iPhone news breaks on Wednesday we expect that this will be it. Apple hasn't unveiled a major iPhone update since last march (that was iPhone 3.0) so we're certainly due for an upgrade. The most probable scenario is that the iPhone could see its user interface revamped to go along with the mythical tablet. And on a related note, AT&T could finally enable tethering so the iPhone could connect to the tablet.

Outside of the tablet, other OS changes are very possible. The Boy Genius Report is predicting we'll get multitasking, expanded multitouch functionality, syncing changes for calendars and contacts, and more graphical UI enhancements. We also could see more home screens and better app organization on the device.

A new handset We consider this prediction somewhat less plausible. Over the past two years, Apple waited until June and its annual Worldwide Developer's Conference to introduce new hardware and we expect that the company will do the same in 2010. But then again, Apple loves pulling "one more thing" surprises out of its hat, so anything can happen. Among the rumored features for a fourth-generation device are a 5-megapixel camera, a camera flash, and an OLED display. We've heard of a removable battery as well, but we're pretty doubtful that will ever happen.… Read more

HP Compaq AirLife 100 almost official

While slate tablets seem to be all the rage these days, let's not forget that there exists a majority who feel lost without a physical keyboard. The HP Compaq AirLife 100 is rumored to be a Qualcomm Snapdragon-equipped, Android-powered "smartbook" with the battery life of a PDA-phone. However, it lacks compatibility with Windows operating systems.

Besides battery life, the advantages of using a smartphone platform can override the fact that most users are still more comfortable with the Windows environment. For one, the AirLife will probably have access to the Android app store with applications optimized for … Read more

Buzz Out Loud Podcast 1150: Up the creek without a Bible

The FCC is coming for the schools and churches just like that crazy guy on the corner told you! On June 12, it'll require anybody using a wireless microphone that operators in the 700 MHZ spectrum to stop using that mic. That's right. The purge is coming! For microphones!. Actually, it'll affect Broadway shows, too. Will the FCC be able to round up the ne'er-do-wells? Will Google ruin U.S.-China relations? Well, that's another story. Literally.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 1150 … Read more

More Apple tablet rumors: 3G, dock connector

The Apple tablet rumors are going to keep coming until the company finally releases this thing. Tech bloggers, and now even the mainstream media, can't help themselves from wondering what Apple will or won't do with the forthcoming device, which is widely anticipated to be introduced at Apple's media event scheduled for Wednesday.

Here's the latest roundup of speculation about the tablet.

• The tablet will have a 3G connection, and there are two carriers being considered for it, says Fox News. Apple is in talks with AT&T and Verizon, but the details are still … Read more

New Kindle coming soon?

Most of the talk recently has been about Apple's looming event on January 27, where it's been widely reported that the company will unveil a tablet PC of some undetermined size. Whether this device is a game-changer along the lines of the original iPod or iPhone remains to be seen, but lost in the shuffle is the possibility that Amazon's breakthrough e-reader, the Kindle, may be on the verge of an upgrade.

To be clear, I don't have any inside information or anonymous sources telling me that Amazon's bought thousands of parts from some Taiwanese manufacturer. But let's speculate for a moment on the possibilities for a new Kindle and what it might look like.

For starters, the Kindle 2 (now called the Kindle, U.S. and international wireless, latest edition), was launched on February 9 of last year. That's relevant because in recent years Amazon has been doing its best to imitate Apple, and Apple tends to be fairly regimented in rolling out updates to its major products. For instance, new iPods tend to be announced in the fall, and new iPhones have been released in June.

You could argue that while Kindle has had upgrades to its wireless service (Amazon added an international option by moving from Sprint to AT&T) over the year--and the Kindle DX was released in May of 2009--the Kindle, now approaching a year old, is due for a bigger refresh in February, especially if Apple's slate proves to be the e-reader on steroids that many are positing it will. (As has been widely discussed, the potential big strike against the Apple tablet could be price. If it ends up being in $750-$1000 range, that's rather expensive for someone looking for a device you plan on primarily using as an e-reader).

In the last couple of days, Amazon has also made a few announcements pointing to the possibility that a new device is coming. In describing the terms of its new higher 70 percent royalty for authors using its Digital Text Platform for publishing content in the Kindle Store, Amazon said that it was planning on adding new features to both the store and the Kindle.

The next day it followed up with an announcement that it was releasing a new software development kit (SDK) so developers could create new apps for the Kindle. In its release, the company referred to the new apps being tested on the simulators for the current 6-inch Kindle and Kindle DX, but it's debatable how suitable the current Kindles are for running apps, particularly when you factor in the lag times of E-ink.

The release also has a quote from an EA Games executive talking about developing games for the Kindle platform.… Read more

Long battery life, 3G, under $700 top Apple tablet wish list

For all the hubbub about the Apple tablet, it's still not totally clear what we're supposed to do with this device if and when it does arrive.

Details have leaked out about its potential as an all-encompassing device for accessing media--videos, music, games, books, magazines, and newspapers--and we have a good idea that it is a 10-inch touch-screen slate-style form factor with a virtual keyboard for text input. But whether we need yet another potentially expensive device is still a question mark for many.

The idea of slate or tablet computing has been done before, and so far it hasn't clicked with consumers. It's also true that we already have smartphones, music players, laptops, and e-readers to do all the things that the tablet will reportedly do. So while many mainstream gadget shoppers still puzzle over whether they would buy such a device (sight unseen for now) it is interesting to see the results of consumer surveys on the topic. And it also highlights the outsized expectations Apple faces when it comes to any of its new products.

ChangeWave and Retrevo have each put out their findings from polling consumers about their interest in an Apple tablet and their expectations for it.

ChangeWave gauged the interest of 3,314 respondents earlier this month of buying an Apple tablet for themselves or someone else. Four percent said they were "very likely" and 14 percent "somewhat likely" to buy a device they've never seen. ChangeWave is a research network that regularly polls early adopters on technology. … Read more

Would you share your tablet?

This week's Apple tablet rumors are incessant and ever-mounting, but a big rumor rundown from the Wall Street Journal that posted late last night introduced several new wrinkles to the expected Apple tablet, the most notable in my eyes being the use of the tablet as a "shared media device."

According to sources, not only will the tablet (or iWhatHaveYou) aim to reinvent the concept of shared media, but the device will focus on multi-user sharing, with concepts such as sticky notes and a camera that could identify the user and, possibly, bring up their personalized content. … Read more

Report: Apple tablet is a shared media device

As the date of the Apple event next week approaches, more details about the device are leaking out.

On Wednesday night, the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple's newest gadget could be a hub for all kinds of media: magazines, newspapers, books, text books, music, games, and video. All of that has been speculated about before, but the target demographic and the primary use for the device--which falls somewhere between a smartphone and a laptop--has been more of a mystery. Now it seems we're starting to have a clearer picture: the device has been purposely designed to be … Read more

Buzz Out Loud Podcast 1148: Verizon cuts off alleged illegal downloaders

Breaking news during the show has Verizon admitting to cutting off the Internet access of people accused of illegal downloading. But hey, they don't throttle,they say. Great! Except for cutting off people is really an extreme from of throttling. And also, Verizon isn't getting proof for this, just accusations. The problems with this policy are immeasurable and we discuss them. Oh and Bing may oust Google on the iPhone.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 1148

The Times to Charge for Frequent Access to Its Web … Read more