Rumor – CyberSurge

“Publish Video” Screen Found in iPhone Firmware 3.0

Engadget Mobile has discovered a screen in iPhone firmware 3.0 labeled “Publish Video.” Engadget Mobile dismisses this as an interesting typo but AppleInisder has heard from an “extremely reliable source” that the next hardware revision of the iPhone will feature video recording capabilities.

These of course are all still rumors but both AppleInsider and Engadget Mobile seem reliable enough to me. Video recording is (to me) the last feature left before there is no need to take any other devices with me. I would still like a better camera in the iPhone but it is still good enough.

Apple has consistently improved the iPhone since its initial release and it amazes me that it has taken this long before a cell phone company actually appeared to care about their products user experience.

USB tethering, Publish Video and Find my iPhone found in OS 3.0.

Apple announces 17″ iMac for $899

Meet Your New 17″ iMac

In Apple’s March email focused on education users Apple has (possibly inadvertently) announced plans to offer a 17″ iMac starting at $899.

It is possible that this was a typo but it seems unlikely. It is much more likely that Apple had finally heard enough complaining from education customers regarding the pricing of the low end iMac.

The new 17″ iMac will probably be much like the eMac in which it will be available in larger quantities to education customers but most likely not to regular consumers, unless purchased through a reseller.

This new 17″ model has only been mentioned on the email newsletter and isn’t referenced at all on Apple’s website or any other reseller websites.

AppleInsider | Apple announces 17″ iMac for $899.

Kevin Rose Claims Copy and Paste Coming to iPhone 3.0

With the announcement of iPhone 3.0 this Tuesday, Apple could be talking about the most heavily requested software feature copy and paste.

Kevin Rose revealed in a live taping of Diggnation at Austin’s South by Southwest festival that he has “confirmation” that copy and paste would be coming to the iPhone.

He also says that his source, a “friend” that has been correct in the past had explained to him how copy and paste would work.

A user would double tap a word to bring up a magnifying glass, the user would then use their fingers to extend the “quotes” to cover the necessary text and either cut, copy, or paste.

Kevin also says that iPhone 3.0 will include all of the features necessary to bring it on par with the feature set of the Palm Pre. Kevin does begin to mention something about multitasking but is interrupted before finishing.

Two rumors that Kevin dismisses during the segment are the addition of MMS which wasn’t mentioned to him and video recording which was said to be technically difficult because of the way the iPhones memory works.

Kevin Rose has a mixed track record so before all of you get your hopes up about copy and paste do remember that according to Kevin the iPhone was supposed to be released for Verizon and was going to have 2 batteries.

AppleInsider | Late rumor has iPhone 3.0 getting copy-and-paste, multitasking.

On an slightly related note, here is my wishlist for iPhone 3.0:

MMS
Tethering
Notes syncing
The ability to hide unused default apps (contacts, stocks, etc.)
Push Notifications
Syncing over Wifi
Video Recording
Turn-by-Turn GPS
Support for the volume buttons on Apple’s new headphones
Copy and paste

App Store Premium Section Rumor Resurfaces

Wired is reviving rumors from late January regarding a premium section in Apple’s App Store. The premium section would allow hand picked developers to sell games and other more sophisticated apps for $20 or more without being lost in the crowd of free and $0.99 apps.

We’re hearing rumors that Apple could introduce a “premium” section in the store, in order to sell more expensive third-party programs. The premium section would largely be focused on games, giving game makers a channel to offer more in-depth (and pricier) titles without getting lost in the clutter of free and $1 apps.

Of course Wired was unable to get any large 3rd party developers or Apple to comment on the story.

Although many developers have been able to make a substantial amount of money selling apps in the App Store there still haven’t been any large scale development done for the iPhone. The premium section would allow a large 3rd party developer to put more resources behind an app and still be able to actually make their money back by selling more than just a few copies.

The original rumor from late January caused many to speculate a June release date (at WWDC) for the premium section, but with the announcement of an iPhone event this Tuesday it is possible we will get a sneak peak at the new feature at the event.

Rumor: iPhone to Get a Premium App Store | Gadget Lab from Wired.com.

Two Sources Claim Apple is Working on a Netbook

Apple Inc. (AAPL) is planning to launch a netbook computer with a touch screen monitor as early as the second half of this year, two people close to the situation told Dow Jones Newswires Tuesday.
The mini laptop computers will likely have monitor screens that are between 9.7-inches and 10-inches, one person, who declined to be named, said.
Another person said other specifications and functions are still under evaluation.

I wonder if Apple finally figured out how to make a $500 computer that wasn’t a piece of junk?

UPDATE:Apple Plans To Launch Netbook With Touch Screen-Sources.

March 24 Apple Event May Still Be On

World Of Apple and My Apple Guide previously broke that Apple would be holding a media event on March 24. Although the rumored announcements for the March 24 event have already happened (Mac Minis, Mac Pros, iMacs, etc.) it is possible that two rumors might have been a little mixed and a March 24 event might still be in the works.

Sevenmac.de is sourcing an anonymous tip suggesting that the March 24 event would be used for Apple pro video applications.

I find it hard to believe that Apple would use a media event to announce new pro video applications but then again since Apple isn’t attending NAB anymore (the natural place for such an announcement) it may seem logical that the features in these apps would warrent a demo, at least to the type of media that would be interested in such applicaitons.

Wintek Supplying Touch Panels For Apple Netbook?

According to a Comercial Times report Wintek is supplying touch panels for an upcoming Apple netbook which should ship in 3Q 2009.

Wintek revealed that it is currently working with Apple to develop some new products, but it said it does not know what applications the new products are for.

There doesn’t seem to be any real indication that it is going to be a netbook other than what DigiTimes titles their article, so although it could be a netbook there isn’t any reason I have to believe that it isn’t for a tablet device.

Other than tablet form factor devices (iPod Touch and iPhone) Apple hasn’t shown any interest in touchscreen devices. The only other touch based devices that they have are the touchpads on their notebooks and I think Apple has realized that if you are going to be using a touchscreen you want it on a flat surface, not proped up like a monitor or notebook display.

I just can’t see myself reaching over my keyboard and mouse to touch the screen, that just isn’t how I use a computer and I don’t see any other computer maker coming up with any innovative way to change that.

Bottom line is, unless Apple comes up with a radically new way of doing touchscreen netbooks I don’t think Apple is going to release one.

Wintek to supply touch panels for Apple netbook, says paper.

Asus Eee Keyboard Priced and Dated

The Eee Keyboard that was shown off at CES is finally getting some more solid (albeit not completely solid) details on release date and pricing.

The Eee Keyboard, which now features a silver on aluminum design will have a 1.6GHz Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, and a 16GB or 32GB solid state disk.

A rep at CeBIT told CrunchGear that it would be priced between $400-$600 and should be released sometime in mid-2009.

Eee Keyboard priced and dated, somewhat.

Apple May Be Holding a Media Event On March 24

World of Apple and My Apple Guide have both heard from sources that Apple is planning to hold a special event on March 24 to release new desktop hardware.

Only My Apple Guide claims to have any specifics as to what Apple will announce, they are expecting a new Mac Mini, iMacs with Nvidia chipsets, Mac Pros, and a pleasant “surprise.” Neither one of these websites are known for leaking news but if it is true I would expect to see all of the above along with at least a mention of Snow Leopard (although the appearance of Mac Pros seems a little sketchy to me).

If I was to tell you what I want (not what I’m expecting) it would be a cheaper Mac Mini. When the Mac Mini was initially released it was priced at $499 and stayed at that price until the transition to Intel processors, I really hope Apple decides to move back to that price point.

Is the Latest Mac Mini Image a Fake?

On the same day as the recent leaked Mac Mini photo is deemed a fake by an image analysis a video of the rumored Mac Mini surfaces.

I don’t claim to know a whole lot about spotting photoshopped images but the the analysis done below does seem to make some sense, the only problem is that now we have a video of the same Mac Mini that these analyzers say isn’t real.

The jury is still out as to whether or not this is the new Mac Mini but we won’t know until Apple actually announces it themselves.

Is the 5-USB Mac Mini a fake? | 9 to 5 Mac.

Photo of Next Generation Mac Mini

The image above shows the rear of a Mac Mini that has 5 USB ports, FireWire 800, both Mini DisplayPort and mini DVI, Ethernet, along with audio in and out.

The port configuration on this new photo does seem to confirm previous rumors about the upcoming Mac Mini revision.

The image was posted on the MacRumors forums and it seems that they are the originator of the image. The forum member also claims the system will ship with a 2GHz Core 2 Duo with 3MB of L2 cache, 2GB DDR3 RAM, and an ATA Super Drive. The user didn’t comment on the rumors of the new Mac Mini featuring a chipset made by Nvidia, as the new MacBooks have.

I’m considering purchasing a Mac Mini in June to be used as a media server, I plan on connecting a Turbo.264, an Elgato EyeTV Hybrid, and maybe even an external hard drive so all of those USB ports will be greatly appreciated.

There has been some question on the AppleInsider forums as to why Apple would have FireWire 800 in the Mac Mini instead of FireWire 400, claiming that 400 is more consumer level. But, I see Apple attempting to completely remove FireWire from its products over the next few years and one of those steps is to move all of their products that will have FireWire up to the highest standard so that the idea of having an adapter might convince some people that FireWire won’t be around forever. It is a simple mind trick that will probably get people to start buying USB drives just because they don’t want to mess with adapters.

AppleInsider | Photo of next-gen Apple Mac mini in the wild.

Nvidia is trying to make an x86 chip – The Inquirer

Word reached us a bit ago that Nvidia is definitely working on an x86 chip and the firm is heavily recruiting x86 engineers all over Silicon Valley.

Seems like an odd thing for Nvidia to do but with the recent dreams of building a GPU into a CPU it is something many of people have predicted.

The worry of course is that Nvidia doesn’t have a license to the x86 instruction set and from what I’ve read there is little chance that any company who could license it to Nvidia would license it. Now obviously this is a rumor and the idea that Nvidia would blatantly ignore the law is a little silly but weirder things have happened in this crazy place we call the technology sector.

Nvidia is trying to make an x86 chip – The Inquirer.