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speculation
Verizon Hints They've Won the 700MHz Auction
Kicking off their Open Development Conference, the first thing Verizon did was throw up a massive disclaimer about the FCC's anti-collusion rule on the 700MHz auction, which prevents them from talking about their bid. The presenter's smirk and chit-chat about the disclaimer definitely seems to imply they won at least something at the auction. Update: At the end of the ODC keynote, Verizon's CEO name-checks the 700MHz band as somewhere they saw a great potential for innovation. Safe to assume they got some piece of that action.
speculation
20 Percent of SSD Notebooks Failing?
The whole reason to pay the obscene premium for a SSD is because it's supposed to be way more reliable than your average spinny hard drive. According to an analyst at Avian Securities, however, an unnamed "large computer manufacturer" is having 10 to 20 percent of its flash-based notebooks sent back because of technical failure—and still more are being sent back for not matching purchasers' expectations for a total of 20 to 30 percent of SSD-based notebooks getting the heave-ho. Update: Dell flat-out denies the return rates claimed by Avian Securities, saying "it's just not true." More »
speculation
Draw your own conclusions.
A Word About the Canon EOS 5D Successor
Interesting bit just tossed our way by the Canon rep when we asked about a 5D follow-up, slightly paraphrased: The EOS-1Ds line (their full-frame pro DSLRs) is on a three-year upgrade cycle. The 1Ds Mark II came out in 2004, and the Mark III dropped in 2007. The EOS 5D came out in 2005.Draw your own conclusions.
hd dvd
Are Black Friday HD DVD Adopters Returning Players? [Updated: Toshiba Responds]
We've heard from reputable sources at CES 2008 that people are returning HD DVD players they bought at low prices over the holidays because of all the crap that's gone down in the HD DVD camp this past week. UPDATE: We've got a response back from Jodi Sally, Toshiba's VP of Digital A/V Marketing regarding the rumors.I have not heard of one single report from any of [Toshiba's retailers] indicating returns, in fact our meetings went well and retailers will continue to offer our HD DVD players as a choice for high definition.[CES 2008]
unconfirmed
Nikon D40x Replacement, D60, to Ship in Spring, 2008?
Info is sketchy thus far, but Nikon lovers will be interested to know that the next lower-end digital SLR from the company might be called the D60, and reportedly will make its debut in Spring 2008. More »
speculation
Are Xbox 360s Interfering with 2.4GHz?
According to the IT staff at Morrisville State College, Microsoft's Xbox 360 console—without the use of a Wi-Fi adapter—seems to be interfering with 2.4GHz signals like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on campus. Aside from loads of anecdotal evidence of computers not connecting to the school's wireless LAN network and Bluetooth headsets needing to physically touch phones to pair, they started analyzing the 2.4GHz spectrum and made an interesting finding. More »
speculation
Google Going It Alone in Wireless Spectrum Auction to Open Own Wireless Network
The Wall Street Journal details a lot of the "strong signals" Google's going to bid in the upcoming 700MHz spectrum auction in order to launch a wireless network of its own. Aside from openly declaring "we are making all the necessary preparations to become an applicant to bid," what's really compelling is thatback at its headquarters, Google is already operating an advanced high-speed wireless network under a test license from the FCC, according to people familiar with the matter. The company has erected transmission towers on its campus for the network. Prototype mobile handsets powered by the Android software are currently running on it.More »
12:55 PM on Fri Nov 16 2007
By Matt Buchanan
2,841 views,
16 comments
Latest by qb0ibids: Google is making some big movs with Android ( [www.androidapps.org] ), OpenSocial, bidding on the wireless spectrum, etc. It will be interesting to see if the could succeed in these areas the way they did with search. more »
rumor
Hint of Coming Xvid and Divx Support Slipped Into PS3 Firmware 2.00?
Kotaku's editor from down under notes an interesting but totally unannounced feature following the update to the PS3's freshly baked 2.0 firmware. Previously unsupported file formats (specifically Xvid and Divx) are not only detected by the PS3 now, but it magically has thumbnails and running times for the files. They still won't play, so it might not mean anything, but Luke says it best: "Sony wouldn't have increased the compatibility in there for shits and giggles. Would they?" Well, it is Sony. Who knows why they do anything anymore? Have you guys had similar revelatory experiences? [Kotaku]
speculation
Sprint WiMax Changes Afoot, Including Possible Merger With Clearwire
Okay, maybe the sky is falling for Sprint. According to the WSJ, Sprint's board is looking at several hard choices regarding their risk-laden WiMax venture, one of which is to spin off the WiMax unit to merge with frenemy Clearwire, forming an entirely new public company. For investors, this might be a sweet spot because it'd ease WiMax doubters' minds (and wallets) while the more daring money-flingers can throw capital at it to their hearts' content. More »
speculation
Comcast "Assessing" Wireless Field, Sprint Looking Good for Acquisition?
During their luster-lacking quarterly earnings call, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts responded vaguely enough to a question about wireless strategy (i.e., investment or acquisition)—"It is something we are constantly assessing," although "there is no new news today"—to stoke the speculation fires about a possible Comcast entrance into the mobile space. On the less-than-denial, WSJ's Deal Journal proffered: "We would also note that Sprint stock in particular, having been battered by operational woes that led to the ouster of its CEO this month, is in a depressed state that could lure a bargain hunter." AT&T and Verizon's size make them virtual non-possibilities, even if Comcast took the road of teaming up with Time Warner on a wireless venture. If it sounds messy to you, you're not alone—investors aren't exactly lit on fire at the possibility. [WSJ via Electronista, Flickr]
5:20 PM on Fri Oct 26 2007
By Matt Buchanan
901 views,
11 comments
Latest by jamar0303: I liked the rumor of SK Telecom buying Sprint a lot better than this rumor. Please, Sprint doesn't need to be degraded to Comcast's level. However, it would be great if they became as high-tech as SKT. more »
rumor
Sony Planning Price Drop for 80GB PS3, New $399 40GB Model?
Citing their mole with a proven track record, Opposable Thumbs is reporting that the PS3 will re-emerge with two SKUs this holiday season: a $499 80GB model and a $399 40GB model. So if you want a $499 PS3, you might actually want to wait for it. The $100 cheaper 40GB model would be a great move, since it might just hit the sweet spot Sony's been missing since the launch. If this goes official, it'd be the best news we've heard about the PS3 in a while. Oh, and they might have Spidey 3 as the Blu-ray pack-in. Hurrah? [Opposable Thumbs]
unconfirmed
After being teased with that supposedly upcoming Nikon D3 flagship DSLR yesterday, now we're hearing rumors of a second camera body about to be introduced at the same time, perhaps as soon as Thursday (August 23). Take a look at that admittedly fake picture above, and you'll see an artist's conception of the Nikon D300. Its major difference from the D3 is allegedly its DX format sensor, about two thirds the size of the full-frame D3's FX format. That sensor is still said to be a 12-megapixel CMOS chip, though, but not quite as capable of that of the D3.
More »
Nikon Also Preparing D300 for Thursday Launch?
After being teased with that supposedly upcoming Nikon D3 flagship DSLR yesterday, now we're hearing rumors of a second camera body about to be introduced at the same time, perhaps as soon as Thursday (August 23). Take a look at that admittedly fake picture above, and you'll see an artist's conception of the Nikon D300. Its major difference from the D3 is allegedly its DX format sensor, about two thirds the size of the full-frame D3's FX format. That sensor is still said to be a 12-megapixel CMOS chip, though, but not quite as capable of that of the D3.
More »
speculation
DirectX 10.1 Leaving DirectX 10 Cards in the Dust?
British site The Inquirer is reporting from Siggraph 2007 that the next version of DirectX, 10.1, requires spanking new hardware to support its sort of spanking new features.The spec revision basically makes a number of things that are optional in DX10 compulsory under the new standard - such as 32-bit floating point filtering, as opposed to the 16-bit current. 4xAA is a compulsory standard to support in 10.1, whereas graphics vendors can pick and choose their anti-aliasing support currently.More »
rumor wrangling
Daily Dubious iPod Rumor: 6G Launching Next Month, Won't Have Touchscreen or OS X
Sources—the best kind, unnamed ones—are telling Think Secret that the next version of the video iPod could hit as early as next month, but won't sport rampantly presumed features like a 16:9 touchscreen or OS X. Rather, it'll keep the same resolution screen (320x240) and run the updated OS we pegged as a pre-iPhone prototype. All of this will be crammed in a new, shorter body with Blackberry-like proportions. We're not buying it beyond the headline. More »
ipods tasty
Apple Earnings Call Behind the Highlights: iPhone Cannibalizing iPod Sales? (Update: Probably Not)
While we already tossed the rather rosy raw numbers at you, one tidbit lost in the general hubbub over Apple's obscenely profitable quarter is the fact that iPod sales are in fact down 7 percent from last quarter both in the number sold (10.55 million to 9.815 million) and revenue ($1.7 billion to $1.57 billion). More »
3:45 AM on Thu Jul 26 2007
By Matt Buchanan
2,822 views,
6 comments
the new good friday
What Will Happen On iPhoneDay?
Speculation runs rampant about what's going to happen on Friday when the coveted iPhones are released in malls and stores across the land. No, Jesus is not going to descend from the clouds to personally bestow iPhones into the hands of the multitudes. But we are hearing some chatter about what might happen. Leakers of these info bits claim to be store employees and mall concierges. Here's the scuttlebutt so far: More »
analyst antics
Break Out the Fire Hoses: Only 4 Million iPhones Shipping This Year
Remember all the fun you had standing in line to get a Wii because Nintendo couldn't put them out fast enough? Sweet, because if you want an iPhone, you're going to get to do it all over again. More »
11:05 AM on Sat Jun 2 2007
By Matt Buchanan
5,975 views,
45 comments
