Rumours

Programmer tweets Nintendo 3DS release date

Think you’ve had one of those Mondays?  Well spare a thought for Japanese software dev Nocchisan.  The programmer tweeted the at first innocuous “On November 20th, the 11 goods I designed for use with the 3DS will go on sale”, a sentence that admittedly isn’t too bad – unless, like Nocchisan, you add the word “simultaneously” on the end.  Presuming he doesn’t mean simultaneously with something totally unrelated so simultaneously with the hardware the said goods are designed to work with seems more likely.  I’m no expert but this is likely a tiny breach of any NDA he’ll be working under, and Nintendo are not likely to look favourably at his faux-pas. So, is the 3DS going to be this Xmas’s massive hit or will we in the West have to wait the customary long and drawn out months before we can join the autostereoscopy party?  Not long until we find out.  3D Mario without glasses?  Yes please Santa.

Posted by: Ian

Samsung hoist their Windows Phone 7 flag

After recently announcing that Android would be their primary mobile operating system, leaked shots of the GT-i8700 show Samsung isn’t quite ready to commit.  These shots leaked to Gizmodo show a Galaxy S sized device with a generous screen, which to my eyes has that Super OLED depth of contrast.  So while WP7 may not be Samsung’s OS of choice, it’s certainly not giving it a technological stillbirth. 

We know that Redmond has specified WP7 devices to be 1 GHz minimum and from the shots we can make out the device contains an LED flash and likely 8GB of storage, although it’s not clear if that is all onboard or bolstered by SD card.  There also appears several switches on the side of the device, one looking suspiciously akin to a + & – rocker and one the opposite side possibly one for locking and another for photographs.  While it may be the Galaxy family’s WP7 counterpart, it doesn’t look as slim as the flagship S, possibly down to a larger battery, and therefore it may run on a more power hungry CPU than the Hummingbird powering the Galaxy series, or alternatively it may simply have a discreet GPU for the Xbox Live games.

Google Tablet Today?

Giant Chinese phone and tech manufacturer Huawei have been reported as working with Google on a tablet device which may be announced later today.  Details are scant save for the device will run Android 2.2 and may be powered by Nvidia’s Tegra 2 chipset, fast becoming the chipset du jour for the tablet brigade.  So far, so like everyone else, so will we get something special from the teaming up with the fathers of Android? Or will we get the tablet equivalent of HTC’s Nexus One – a vanilla device that’ll get the upgrades to Android first? Certainly if it’s the latter, it could be the tablet of choice for the tinkerers and hackers community.

Either way, all will be revealed tomorrow as Matt & James are attending the event.

Posted by: Ian

New Nano coming, old problem going for Apple?

There’s growing evidence to support the possibility of the imminent release of a sixth generation iPod Nano.  Various leaks over the past few months detailed on Apple blog Appleinsider.com has shown the device to likely be a 1.2″ square device, a hybrid of the Nano’s screen and the Shuffle’s form factor.  With limited physical buttons beyond a + and – set of button and the hold switch, it would appear touch to be the order of the day, and rumours speculate this touch screen to be capacitive and possibly with a simplified iPod touch interface.  It’ll still retain the iPod docking connector but just how well it will sit in the users various docks isn’t clear but leaked silicone cases point towards a slim device which shouldn’t have much of an issue.

Further rumours abound that Apple is to release a revised iPhone 4 device, fixing the antenna non-issue.  Among the first lucky Apple-ites who will get this new wunderphone-that-has-had-a-revision-that-isn’t-really-required-as-there-is-nothing-wrong-with-the-original-design will be those provided for by carrier TelCel in Mexico.  Let’s see if it makes it around the world.

New Nano Case?:

Nokia N9 Rumours

Images of the Nokia N9 were first leaked last week but now some more specs have been posted across the web which allegedly have come from someone in the know.

Still not confirmed by Nokia the N9 is believed to be sporting a 4-inch OLED display, be powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and is running MeeGo . Along with these top end features the device is believed to have 512MB of RAM, 1GB of system storage and 64GB of internal memory!

Sound good, looks real good. We will have to wait for some official news from Nokia but luckily we have Nokia World next month here in London and I am planning to pop in and see what is new.

Posted by: James

LG shows its Windows Phone 7 hand?

We’ve had the HTC end of the Windows Phone 7 rumours recently and very attractive they have been too, but let’s not forget that the smartphone giants aren’t the only cards in Microsoft’s WP7 pack.  As well as Samusung, another Korean tech giant in LG (nee Lucky Goldstar) are also sailing Redmond’s new mobile OS boat, and their handsets are starting to appear.  So far we have the C900 slider and its keyboard-less bretheren the E900.  All are of average size, with the display likely around the 3.5″ or more area.  They both sport the requisite WP7 button layout and should, if MS sticks to its guns, pack at the very least a 1GHz CPU.  While it is difficult to gain much info from the pics and video, we can see it has a headphone jack and a USB port on the righthand side, a possibly capacitive screen, plus a new (and possibly LG exclusive) app called ‘Media Sharing’.  Is this LG’s version of the Galaxy S Allshare app?  All will be revealed before the end of the year.

More photos below and video here.

HTC Desire HD and Desire Z news

If you are waiting for the next round of HTC Android phones you now have not too much longer to wait. Although HTC have said nothing official about the Desire HD and the Desire Z I have been told by a rather reliable source that we can expect shipment in the early part of October.

We have an HTC event to attend on the 15th of September however I think we may get a bonus here in the form of a Windows Phone 7 device. I do hope so. Anyway, roll on October.

Posted by: James

Sony developing PSPhone with Google?

Although the rumours have abated in the past year or so, whispers of a gaming handset have never been too far from Sony, and now it appears that they may be gaining more substance.  Tech site Engadget has reported from "a trusted source" that the Japanese giant may well still be quietly beavering away at a mobile gaming device and furthermore this may be in collaboration with Google using the Android 3.0 Gingerbread.

Certainly the use of Android makes sense as the most flexible and popular open source mobile OS, and devices such as the Galaxy S have proved that given powerful hardware, Android can handle high speed 3D (such as in Asphalt 5) and even PS1 games.  With current high end Android devices already packing superior media and 3D handling capabilities than the ageing PSP, any new Sony device would have to pack some pretty special hardware. The rumoured device is said to be armed with a 3.7"-4.1" screen, 1GHz Snapdragon, a 5MP camera and a slide out game board, much like that of the PSP Go but with "a long touch pad".  Beyond this however, any additional capabilities or hardware (such as 3D acceleration) are not known.

Could this be a job for the Tecra platform? We will have to wait and see.

Posted by: Ian

Cosi Phone Tutti or Are you Mozart in disguise? HTC’s Schubert not as he seems…

Well rock me Amadeus, if it isn’t a case of possible composer concealment in the Windows Phone 7 camp.  The device many had speculated to be the phone known as Schubert has now been given a new identity, it is now likely to be know as HTC Mozart.  It appears that HTC’s codenaming conventions for WP7 devices will be after famous composers, but whether the names are related to the hierarchy of the devices isn’t clear but if so a Mozart, Bach or Beethoven named phone would certainly reside pretty far up the list.  This would also be in keeping with its Desire meets Droid Incredible looks, both up near the top of the Android tree.  Aussie operator Telstra first mentioned a WP7 device called Mozart back in mid-June but pictured with the advert was the regular WP7 stock phone photo, not really giving much away except to confirm a device existed.

Read on for further images:

Is this the first HTC Windows Phone 7?

With Windows Phone 7 launching in the next few months a sighting has been made of what is believed to be HTCs first offering into the ‘7’ camp.

Allegedly called the HTC Schubert (What a funny name!) this device is said to be available from day one when ‘7’ hits the streets. Like the HTC Legend this one is said to be made from a single piece of aluminum which if true should set it apart from its rivals.

You can see the video below, compliments of Solo Palmari, and check out the back of the phone. It looks real sweet.