Rumor Mill: What you should be saving up for
Howdy. It's Jake, Jason's evil, rumor-mongering twin.
It's Friday, which means that it's time for a peek at the current raft of Apple rumors:
iPhone 3G – This one is getting more persistant, so it's probably getting closer to being real. The latest word is that the 3G iPhone will be launched at WWDC with AMOLED (active matrix organic light-emitting diode) displays, 2.5mm thinner, with prices the same as the current models (US$399/8GB, US$499/16GB). There's even talk of 32GB variant retailing for US$599. I think that they'll drop the 8GB and go with 16GB and 32GB only. It's still undetermined if the 3G iPhone will sport a front-facing camera for video calls.
The iPhone OS 2.0 Beta (5A240d) and SDK Update (Beta 3) have been a treasure trove of hints and leaks at what's to come. From them we've learned that the iPhone 3G may be built on an Infineon-based S-GOLD3H 3G chip, that it may get stereo Bluetooth (A2DP), a Bluetooth remote control, GPS and Google local services. Screenshots also show contact searching and meeting invitations. Wheeeee!
New notebook enclosures – All good things have to come to an end and that may be the case for the current MacBook and MacBook Pro enclosures. AppleInsider reports that the MacBook's may shed its plastic skin in favor of new "eco-friendly" aluminum and stainless steel. The MBP is also due for a refresh according to the report but it's already aluminium (tip of the hat to our British readers) so who knows. My vote is for carbon fiber, to hell with the budget! And please Apple, give me a matte screen option – I detest glossy screens.
Then there's the usual littany of hardware refresh rumors. The current crop of iMacs and Mac minis aren't getting any younger. A round of phone calls to local stores confirms that there are still plenty in stock, so this monger thinks that Apple is waiting to sell down inventory before dropping the new models.
Blu-Ray coming to all Macs – Now that the war is over, Apple will finally drop sweet Blu-Ray drives into their high-end machines. (Apple has been in the Blu-Ray Association since March 2005.) They'll initially be Blu-Ray readers only but expect them to morph into Blu-Ray burners on the high-end within a year or so. As prices come down look for BR drives to trickle-down to consumer level machines as well. Apple wants to be the first one to say that they've got BR drives across their entire lineup. You heard it here first :)
Read my previous installments from 21 March and 04 April.
What are you hearing?