We'll buy all the $199 Surface tablets, please Video

We'll buy all the $199 Surface tablets, please Video Transcript

KARYNE: Hey, I?m Karyne Levy EMILY: And I'm Emily Dreyfuss. And welcome to Rumor Has It! The show where we round up the week's biggest tech rumors. KARYNE: And vote on what sounds legit, and what seems like it'll never ever happen. EMILY: But we?re not only ones passing judgement -- you can vote on all the rumors too. Watch out for the polls in the interactive player that shows up right here by my head if you're watching on CNET. KARYNE: First up is a rumor that's been swirling around for years. Last week, a job posting on Microsoft's site hinted that the next Xbox (some are calling it the 720) is going to be released within 18 months. Although Microsoft fought back with a statement, saying that it's "always looking for talented people to innovate now and in the future," this jibes with the 56-page document that leaked back in June mentioning a $299 Xbox for the 2013 holiday season. Woot! EMILY: In other Xbox-related news, Twitter user SuperDaE posted what is claimed to be an image of a Kinect 2 in action. Why does it look a psychedelic sign warning people at a rave to drink water if they have a headache? KARYNE: Right, I looked at the pic, and it looks like some dudes standing next to each other, doing the pat your head/rub your belly thing. EMILY: According to SuperDaE, the leaked image was captured from Microsoft's "Durango" (the codename of the next Xbox) development kit, and The Verge reports that Microsoft confirmed it. People are concluding that the Kinect 2 will offer greater range and sensitivity. KARYNE: I don't know how they got that from a picture of just colors. Take a look at it. What new features do YOU guys think it's revealing? Post your best guess in the comments section. EMILY: Granddaddy of the tech world IBM is in talks to save struggling RIM -- at least its enterprise services unit, according to a report by Bloomberg. Doesn?t sound exciting, but analysts say the enterprise unit, which operates the servers that store BlackBerry data, is RIM?s crown jewel. Turns out, user data may not sound flashy, but to RIM it's basically like Scrooge McDuck?s vault of gold. KARYNE: What's IBM going to do with that business network? EMILY: It would give IBM control over a popular, fast, and secure e-mail system that's favored by large corporations. But I don't think there'll be any IBM-branded phones in the near future. Bloomberg says that IBM is not likely to buy the whole company, which would be fine with RIM CEO Thorstein Heins, who is hoping the company can keep the lights on long enough to debut the new BB10 OS and turn the company back around. Let?s not hold our breath. KARYNE: Apple told us the big innovations in iOS 6 back at a fancy event in June, but there's plenty the company couldn't tell us because it'd reveal secrets about iPhone 5. The iOS 6 rumor I'm intrigued by most is from 9to5Mac that suggests that if the iPhone 5 is actually taller, the home screen will store 5 rows of apps, instead of 4, which would be amazing for my OCD. Another highlight is that you won't have to put in a password when you get free apps. So that'll save 8 seconds in our lives -- 8 precious seconds. EMILY: And you can prank your friends, by downloading free apps on their phones when they're not looking. EMILY: Remember how kind of exciting the Microsoft Surface tablet announcement was? It was in a secret location in LA! It starred a magic case of many colors! And the Surface?s high-res screen! It can run Word! Oh, but there was just one thing Steve Ballmer left out: the price. No one knows how much will the Windows 8 tablet cost you. Rumors have pegged it as high as a thousand bucks, but the latest has it on par with Amazon?s Kindle Fire, for the low low price of $199. Karyne: Holy tablet wars! EMILY: Here?s the rub, though: this rumor comes from an anonymous tip to Engadget and makes very little sense. First, Amazon?s tablet is so cheap bc it?s subsidized. Microsoft doesn?t have that luxury -- it isn?t trying to get you to buy more books or cat toys; it wants you to buy the Surface tablet. And Windows 8 apps cost money but won?t make enough dough for Microsoft to take hundreds of dollars in a loss on every tablet. Remember the Surface is way more advanced and feature-rich than the Kindle Fire. It?s in the same league as the iPad, and it?ll have a price to reflect that. I don?t buy this at all. But I will buy the Surface, if it goes for $199. See what I did there? KARYNE: I'm going to bet on unicorns and rainbows and say Microsoft will be smart and will undercut Apple on price. It?s really the only way it could hope to succeed, right? EMILY: Let us know what you guys think by voting in the poll right now. We're going to go ask the people of San Francisco what they think... EMILY: And the verdict is: NO. 4 editors to 1 said that it won't be priced at $199. KARYNE: Well, that's a bummer. EMILY: Our comment of the week comes from macewan, who writes about the iPad Mini: "Interesting that nobody is talking about how popular this will be with little kids.... The little hands are used to iPhone, iPod Touch & iPads. An iPad Mini would be icing on the cake for the 5 and 7 year olds." KARYNE: That?s our show everyone, share your rumors at rumorhasit@cnet.com or call us at 1-800-750-CNET. And tweet us! EMILY: Tune in next week for more tech rumors, and thanks to this week?s sponsor, EBAY.