Apple's iMac annuncement and sweet juicy info

For the guys out there that haven't got hold on Apple's announcement this morning, I will split it quickly through. The new more speedier iMacs will be going up to a 3.06Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and Nvidia 8800 GS. The full specs below:

The two 20" models are at 2.4GHz and 2.6GHz, respectively. The former features 1GB memory, 250GB hard drive, 8x double-layer SuperDrive and a ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128MB memory, while the later bumps the standard memory to 2GB, the drive to 320GB and the video card to a ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB memory (priced at $1199US and $1499US). You can also get a 750GB hard drive as an option on the higher-end 20" model (the entry-level maxes out with a 500GB BTO drive).

Here's where it actually gets interesting. The top-of-the-line 24" model features a 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB memory standard, a 500GB hard drive, an 8x double-layer SuperDrive and a NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS with 512MB memory.

RAM maxes out at 4GB on that machine, and additional hard drive options (for both 24" models) are 750GB and 1TB. The starting price is $2199US.

Its slightly less brawny sibling offers a 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB memory standard, 320GB hard drive (500/750/1TB options), 8x double-layer SuperDrive and an ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB memory for $1799US. All models include both a FireWire 400 and 800 port standard and 3 USB ports.

MEANWHILE:
The chinese language Commercial Times is reporting that Foxconn, maker of iPhones is getting their 3 million units of next gen iPhones ready by end of may and to be sold in June this year. Yup, more solid proofs.

Second Gen iPhone specs leaked

A trusted source is telling Engadget that the next gen iPhone will be having a lot of physical changes instead of just inside changes. He reported:

The first thing people will notice: the 2nd gen iPhone will be about the same size and shape as the first gen.
It will, of course, have 3G. And proper GPS!
The most noticeable physical difference is back of the phone is no longer metal -- the whole thing is glossy black, from top to bottom. The volume buttons are now chrome.
Because it's got a little less metal to deal with, it doesn't have quite as many angular edges. The battery is (still) not removable.
The phone itself will be slightly thicker than the first gen device.
The headphone jack will no longer be recessed, and will finally be flush with the body.
The device itself uses roughly the same size and resolution screen as the first generation product.
No solid word on battery life or storage capacity.

It should be releasing around July this year but everything above are subject to change.

Fourth release of the iPhone SDK

Apple have just released the fourth version of the SDK beta. Now, as reported by Apple, it will include OpenGL ES support. As quoted,
The fourth beta version of the iPhone SDK includes Xcode IDE, iPhone simulator with Open GL ES support, Interface Builder, Instruments, frameworks and samples, compilers, and Shark analysis tool.

It will be a 1.15GB file and developers can snag one up at the iPhone Dev Centre.

Apple buys P.A. Semi!!

Forbes has reported that Apple have acquired the small Santa Clara chip company, P.A. Semi. What is interesting about this company is their ability of creating chips that are 300% more power efficient than other comparable chips out there, claimed by the company itself. Of course, this might lead Apple to make a full transition of their mobile platform devices to the above kind of chips , more like what they did to their Macs in the past. There is no stopping for Apple to create the best of all device, maybe the iPhone.

New phones from HTC and Sony Ericsson

Today, HTC have been showing preparing work for their new Raphael and Diamond, which will be replacements for their current models, which is Raphael for Mogul. According to some documents, Diamond will be having a large screen for user input but no physical keyboard. Raphael is going to be spotting a QWERTY keyboard. The two models will be featuring wi-fi, Windows Mobile and 3 megapixel. SHOCKINGLY, it will be getting VGA displays.The Raphael is currently lined up to be the first out of the gate, hitting the streets in September if everything goes well, with the Diamond following on in November. 

Apple files for iPhone instant messaging patent

Apple Insider is reporting a newly granted patent that was filed August last year. It seems to be Apple is developing a native instant messaging app for the iPhone as this feature has been highly demanded. The app should be able to provide users messages during or when iPhone is asleep. It looks to be almost like the SMS app in the iPhone.Apple Insider also claims that it may be a substitute player for MMS for the iPhone.

Italian may get iPhone 3G on Telekom Italia

According to La Republicca, they are claiming of a upcoming 3G iPhone from Telekom Italia without a revenue sharing or an exclusive deal. It would be cool in this way which would lead to every other carriers around the world. Engadget apparently contacted Telekom Italia and they refused for a comment on this matter.

Western Digital unveils world's fastest SATA disk

What can you call for more than Western Digital's newest 3.5 inch VelociRaptor. It will be packing in 10,000 RPM drive features a 3Gbps SATA interface, 16MB cache, and impressive 1.4 million hour MTBF thanks in part to the IcePack Mounting Frame. The IcePack heat sink keeps the drive cool at all times and thus makes the size bumped to a 3.5 inch form factor. It's also promised to be 35% faster than current Raptors series. Check out some benchmark tests below...

MaximumPC

Techreport

Windows XP SP3 confirmed to be in your hands by April 29

Eventhough the release of Windows Vista SP1 did not made such an impact, Microsoft have confirmed that the XP Service Pack 3 have been released for manufacturing and will be in Microsoft's download centre or Windows Update. We all now just have to wait for it. By the way, no word on OEM yet.

Could It Be Dream??

A new HTC spy shot have been taken and dropped to some people's hands and this is interesting. We should be familiar with the top row of phones which are from left the HTC TyTn II, P3470, HTC Touch Cruise and the Touch. Meanwhile, taking a look at the bottom row give some unexpected appearances. We still have no official information on what these bottom row phones are but we can see it is running Windows Mobile. However, the far right one seems to be not showing anything, maybe Android, who knows??Engadget just got information that the two far right on the bottom row could be the MDA Compact IV for T-Mobile.

Via Engadget

Apple files head mounted laser display patent!

Apple have just filed today a MyVu kind of head mounted glasses. The magic of processing image are all done in a belt clipped processing box and images will be transferred to the wedge optics through a fibre optic cable. The glasses could be cool cause most of the hardware are situated at the processing box instead on the glasses. The real product should take pretty long to reveal.

Super future concept device has it all!

I'm very grateful and appreciate all of my readers support out there. This will be my 150th posts. So, you all still can keep voting on my blog's poll. Anyways, I would really ike to share with you this "Scroll" concept device.

The "Scroll" is a device which packs in a touch media player, touch phone, router, wi-fi and Bluetooth, 10 megapixel camera and also a full Windows of your choice(XP or Vista) that reveals once you open up the scroll. It's created and designed by 13 Tech Design. It's still a reality to be, but who knows what our future will be.

Asus Eee PC 900 specs and more details revealed!!!

Asus have just reported more on their new prepping Asus 8.9 inch Eee PC 900.The model will be coming in a dual storage system, one flash card built on the motherboard and other one which flies in the PCIE slot. The available configurations are a 12GB for the Windows version(4GB on motherboard, 8GB on slot) while 20GB model for Linux(4GB on mother.., 16GB on PCIE slot). Besides getting that, the Eee PC 900 comes with FingerSlide which enables two finger zooming ala Apple's Multi Touch. The model will be arriving today for Hong Kong and UK customers, while France should join the fun on the 17th, Taiwan and Singapore later this month, and Australia, Germany and Italy will all have to wait until May. It will cost merely around $500 to $650. Specs after the break..

Display
8.9" Display, 1024 x 600 resolution

Color

Pearl White, Black

CPU

Intel® Mobile CPU

Processor

Intel Mobile Chipset

Memory

DDR II 1GB

Display Card

Intel UMA

Storage

12GB (4GB built-in + 8GB flash) SSD (Microsoft Windows OS Version)
20GB (4GB built-in +16GB flash) SSD (Linux OS Version)

Audio

HD audio / built-in speakers

Wireless

Built-in 802.11b/g

Camera

1.3M Pixel webcam

Storage Cards

SD / MMC (SDHC)

Input / Output

3xUSB / VGA-out (D-Sub, 15pin) / earphone jack / mic / RJ45 10/100 Mbps

Power

Output: 12V, 36W;
Input: 100-240V AC, 50/60Hz universal

Tracking Control

Utilizes FingerGlide

Operating System

Windows XP Home / Linux

Dimensions

22.5cm(W) x 17.0cm(D) x 2cm~3.38cm(H)

Weight

0.99 kg

Fring! comes to iPhone, brings VoIP and chatting

Fring has just released a new native app for the iPhone(jailbreakers only). The app can offer Skype functions and also as an extra, support chatting options with MSN,ICQ,Gtalk, SIP, Twitter, AIM and Yahoo. Whoever interested can sang a copy from Installer which are for jailbroken iPhone.

Eee PC 900 processor revealed, not Atom!!

Guess what??Asus Eee PC 900 have been revealed and Engadget got their hands on a video at YouTube that proves the above Asus model is not prepping an Atom processor but the normal Celeron 900 MHz processor. Still, there could be future models with higher specs , maybe near June. Meanwhile, this is a video of the Asus Eee PC 900 with a demo of the multi touch trackpad at the end of the video.

Third release of iPhone 2.0 beta firmware more surprises..

You might have heard that the latest iPhone 2.0 beta firmware allows users to save web images to its running camera roll for later download to its host machine (or sharing via email). Well, a reliable source let us know that the image capturing good times don't end there: the iPhone now capable of taking full screen caps (like the one above) simply by holding the sleep button, then tapping the home button. We haven't personally tested either technique (we already know what you're thinking: we can't say whether it captures screens from a video), but apparently it flashes white to indicate the cap's been taken and the image has been added to your roll. Let's hope these two neato features make it to the release firmware.

BD Touch App now to iPhone!

NetBlender has officially unveiled their BD Touch app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Bringing the devices and BD Live internet connection will enable video transferring from the disc menu, viewing fan content and maybe acting as a remote control.  The disc authoring end of the tool is built into NetBlender's DoStudio software, while there are two iPhone SDKs (the Connect SDK is free, while the Premiere Blend/In SDK adds functionality but requires certification and licensing) available. Videos available at Engadget Mobile.

The casing that keeps friendly touching out!! Introducing Ivyskin's Xylo T2 case

The Xyloskin's Xylo T2 case is certainly one of  a kind. It is the first one to lay a hard cover atop the iPhone and still can be operated without removing it. The Surface Xylo Wave technology enables ultrasonic waves to permeate through the cover and to the iPhone's screen thus you won't feel a firm touch on the screen at all. Cool!! Retailing at $34.99.

iPhone contact search and meeting invitation feature landed!

Back at the March 6th presentation from Apple's Town Hall, everybody were screaming when they saw a picture of the contact search icon. As you know curiously, developers didn't see it at all in the firmware 2.0. Well, it turns out to be in the Enterprise version of firmware 2.0. We can clearly see the usable contact search feature and now, the little drawer icon in Calendar app is actually a meeting invitation feature, which displays how many requests you have. Lastly, Enterprise users sadly won't get the App Store or even the iTunes store icon.

Could this be the Nokia's S60 touch Tube?

That's the supposed first picture of Nokia's Tube which we've enhanced a bit to see all the detail. According to Symbian-Freak, the device code-named "Tube" will be Nokia's first touch S60 device but will not be a flagship phone. Another higher spec'd phone will ship "shortly after." The display is said to be between 3- and 3.5-inches with a 16:9 aspect ratio and a camera (with another up front based on the picture) which they say is "way better" than the iPhone's but not on par with the existing N-series shooters. The phone is said to ride atop quad-band GSM/EDGE, UMTS/HSDPA radios with built-in Bluetooth, WiFi, uPnP support and a stylus. 

iPhone 3G's Baseband chip here?? Third release of iPhone SDK!!!

Is it here already?? Maybe. What you guys see above will probably be the baseband chip for Apple's upcoming 3G iPhone. The iPhone 2.0 firmware SDK suggests that the above Infineon chip, named SGOLD3(PMB8878) could be the follow up version to the current iPhone chip, which is SGOLD2. The chip model was found in the 2.0 SDK firmware code. This chip is  a 7.2Mbps HSDPA chip with all the video acceleration and media playback features iPhone users have come to expect. Advantages over its predecessor include higher resolution camera support (5 megapixels instead of 2), a 2x speed MMC / SD interface and DVB-H module support, but that doesn't necessarily mean any of those specs will end up in the ensuing iPhone 3G -- S-GOLD2 has plenty of features the current iPhone doesn't take advantage of.

Apple has finally released their third release of the iPhone SDK. The 1.4GB update is reported to be able to re-vitalizes PSOD iPhones and some 501 errors that developers are facing.

Windows 7 still to be released officially in 2010!!

A few weeks ago, Bill Gates told developers that Windows 7 to be released generally to users by  next year. Turned out that Bill was just talking to developers that there will be early builds of Windows 7 to release to probably(Developers) to get their testing feedback. Microsoft also claims they have no plans of releasing Windows 7 any earlier than June 2010. That makes us to continue seating here..

Yahoo! responds to Microsoft and says more money please!!!

As expected, Yahoo has responded to Microsoft's 3 week ultimatum this morning. The bottom line is pretty clear in a letter signed by Jerry Yang (CEO) and Roy Bostock (chairman). In the "Dear Steve" response to Ballmer they state, "we will not allow you or anyone else to acquire the company for anything less than its full value." They go on to state that, "We consider your threat to commence an unsolicited offer and proxy contest to displace our independent Board members to be counterproductive and inconsistent with your stated objective of a friendly transaction." Make no mistake about it, this is corporate war and will likely end with Yahoo's best engineers working for Google.

Windows 7 appears to be a change of date, says Bill Gates

As much we like it, It was much confirmed that Windows 7(successor to Windows Vista) will release in 2010. Well, Microsoft's decision yesterday was rather confusing as Engadget reports that Windows XP should extend its sales till June 2010 or one year after Windows 7 release which would be 2009 instead. Ok, it is confusing. Let's say if Microsoft is planning to release Windows 7 in 2009 instead of 2010 now. Change of plans. Bill Gates has taken his step by informing investors that Windows 7 to release in 2009. There is still no change of official timeline release from Microsoft yet. We will just have to wait and see the "Wow" to come. 

Pwnage Tool Released and Apple iTunes now top!

The Pwnage tool that were created and developed by the iPhone Dev Team have been finally released onto the net. You guys who want to know more of how it works can head down to Engadget for the hands on and process video. For those want to download the application(only for Mac, Windows soon), http://theiphoneproject.org/

Apple have just confirmed that the #1 music retailer now is the Apple's iTunes. This would put Wal-Mart down to #2 spot. However, this year has just begun and Wally may climb back up in the Q3 or Q4. For more detailed info of the PR, head down to http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2008/04/03itunes.html?sr=hotnews

Microsoft Surface finally pushing out with AT&T on April 17th

Yes, you heard it! April's fool is over , so what it seems is real. Microsoft apparently will be launching their 30 inch multi -touch Surface machine to AT&T retail stores in New York, Atlanta, San Antonio, and San Francisco. Customers can experience a new and revolutionary way of shopping for phones as you can take hold of the Surface like exploring maps, dragging and placing contents into your phone and even viewing specs and prices for any phones by simply placing any phone like the BlackJack II (picture from Engadget) on the top of the Surface. However, consumers still can't get hold on Surface as the price for this monster still cost a lot but may see price drops by a few years time as Microsoft claims to. You can check out the video of the Surface working at http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/02/video-atandts-surface-makes-comparing-phones-transmitting-illne

Intel's Atom Processors Specs

These are the Atom specs:

Z500 - 800MHz, 0.65W TDP power, 400MHz FSB, 512K L2 cache ($45)
Z510 - 1.1GHz, 2W TDP power, 400MHz FSB, 512K L2 cache ($45)
Z520 - 1.33GHz, 2W TDP power, 533MHz FSB, 512K L2 cache ($65)
Z530 - 1.6GHz, 2W TDP power, 533MHz FSB, 512K L2 cache ($95)
Z540 - 1.86GHz, 2.4W TDP power, 533MHz FSB, 512K L2 cache ($160) That's the pricing per 1,000 units, and is a little bit more than that $30 1.6GHz Atom 230 we were hearing about, but it does include the CPU plus the System Controller Hub with integrated graphics, HD video playback, HD audio and other nifty I/O things like support for WiFi, WiMAX and cellular radios.

NVIDIA GeFprce 9800 GTX officially launched

You all out there gaming fans should probably heard about the almighty NVIDIA's graphic card which is the GeForce 9800 GTX. This high speed, all perfecto card will run any possible games out there including Crysis, Doom or Overlords. It will cost you around $329.99 from NewEgg while for other countries pricing is yet to be confirmed.

Delaying my postings

I love blogging about gadget and so stuff. But, sometimes, as a student, I will be hung up by stuff like studying. So, just a short explanation to all my dear readers. I may be sometimes delaying my postings, but you can always get hold on latest news and coverage about gadgets at Engadget, Gizmodo, TUAW, Cnet, and my personal favourite Boy Genius Report(BGR)!!!

iPhone 2.0 firmware features YouTube plugin

A few days ago, Apple seeded the 2.0 firmware beta(previously 1.2) to developers. Apparently, BGR is reporting that they have found a YouTube plugin in the mobilesafari.app.BGR still have no word on whether the plugin is using the same method from the native YouTube app that works in Safari or maybe a new Flash support. Will keep you posted.

PS3 homebrew hack found!!

Dragula96 , a well known PSP hacker, has claimed that he found a exploit in the PS3 console that will open it to the Hello World concept. No word yet on how he did it but the hack should work on 40GB and 60GB PS3 which runs the current firmware 2.20.