Isaiah's Tech

What you see above was leaked this morning and it's said to be Apple-branded. It's a mini-touchscreen display measure 3 x 3cm in size and could be for a bunch of different products. It could be a new iPod Touch Nano, an iPod Shuffle, an iPhone Nano (which doesn't really make sense), an iWatch, or even for a touchscreen-touchpad. The touchscreen touchpad is what I'm betting this will be for. I think that this mini-touchscreen could actually be running iOS and could be implemented somehow. We'll really just have to see what happens because it does seem a bit small to be a touchpad. Maybe it'll be something on the side.

[9 to 5 Mac, iPodnn]

Off to the rumour mill we go and what do we find? Why, of course, new Apple rumours!! Apparently, they have placed an order for 4 million next-gen iPhones. In these orders there are 3 different / new models: one with EDGE, one with 3G, and one for the Chinese market. The report also states that "There will not be iPhone Nano and the new iPhone 2009 will be similar to the current iPhone 3G." Although it's not exactly grammatically correct, I think that this would be a huge let-down for some people. The same design for the next iPhone? If that is true, it looks like Apple ran out of designs for their next iPhone; they're going to have to do some explaining for that. Anyways, these next-gen iPhones are expected to be released by the end of this second quarter. We'll see how accurate this speculation is.

[Mac Rumors]

Obviously a knock-off, so don't get your hopes up. Below is a 9-minute video on the CECT M188 MINI aka a fake iPhone Nano. It's the unboxing of the CECT handset and shows off some of its menus, y'know, the Works. It looks extremely similar to the iPhone but just just a bit smaller, looks thicker, and has sub-par specs. The M188 has Bluetooth, FM radio, and a VGA camera - just when you thought the iPhone 3G's camera was bad at 2 megapixels. A good thing about the iPhone Nano is that it is only $103 USD, so go and try to get your hands on it if you want... Watch the video below, if you want to.



[Crunch Gear]

This is the comparison shot. Clearly, the Samsung Instinct Mini is not so "Mini" beside its older brother. The Mini is actually a bit larger than the original Instinct, sporting a 3.2-inch screen compared to the Instinct's 3.1-inch screen. It also has some software updates so the Mini is basically just a slightly larger - in size - upgrade. I just thought I'd clarify that. Maybe that's what they'll do with the iPhone Nano too? It's a joke.

[Gizmodo]

Let's get right down to it. 6 topics to do.

We'll start it off with some Gmail news. Gmail is, currently, the 4th most popular e-mail service being used (even though it should be higher). Anyways, Gmail grew 43% in 2008, compared to Yahoo Mail, which grew 11% and also compared to Hotmail, which actually declined 5%. Techcrunch says that Gmail must be growing at such a fast rate compared to other e-mail services because "Gmail is evolving at a faster rate." If you look above, you will see a chart, showing the growth of Gmail (in blue), AOL Email (in red) and Windows Live Hotmail (in green). It seems that everything that Google puts out is trying to come from behind, to take the first spot. It must be because Google is going to, one day, take over the world! Okay, just the Internet.

First, i will talk about Dell and then after, i will talk about Samsung. So, Dell is releasing 2 new widescreen flat-panel LED monitors. The 2 models: 22 inches (G2210) and 24 inches (G2410), are expected to be released in late February. Some specs of these 2 monitors are: 1000:1 contrast ratio, 5ms response time, uses 18 - 20 watts and uses "more than 25 percent post-consumer recycled materials." The G2210 will go for $279 and the G2410 will go for $359. Next up is the Samsung P2370L. This arises the question as to why all these model numbers are so weird. Anyways, staying on topic now, this Samsung monitor / HDTV (pictured above) also uses LED technology, is 16.55 mm thin and has a 1080p resolution. This sexy monitor will go for around $400 USD, which is a bit more than the Dell monitors. Judging from the model number (P2370L), Gizmodo mentions that it may be a 23-inch model. Oh yes, it's also Eco-friendly.

For the first rumour of the day, i'll head over to the Google camp. In order to take over the Internet, Google will have to start somewhere. PC World states that the same Android OS that is running in some mobile phones, like the G1, may be heading to netbooks. If you remember my blog post about the Possible Google OS, it tells us that some of Google's employees were using an unknown OS on their systems. PC World suspects that "if Google were developing an operating system based on Android, netbooks would be the logical target. They require a lightweight operating system, which an Android-based operating system would be." PC World goes on, mentioning that netbooks are "the fastest growing segment of the PC market, so it could immediately boost a new OS's market share." The famous Android OS, was actually able to run on the Asus netbook after only 4 hours of programming. I hope that PC World is headed in the right direction with this rumour because i hope that in a couple years, i'll be running a Google OS (that will be better than the current Windows OS of the time, right Nikki?).

There is a rumour that Grand Theft Auto 5 will be out this year, around November. That is all.

The last rumour is the iPhone Nano. I found this article on The Apple Blog and the title said, "iPhone Nano Spoiling Pre's Party?" There are rumours swirling that Apple will release their iPhone Nano (if true) around June. The Palm Pre, on the other hand, will be released sometime in the first half of this year, 2009. I think that this will impact Palm Pre's sales. The Apple Blog states 2 reason why the iPhone Nano will hurt the Palm Pre. It will be in the hype and the price department. This is where my opinion will now come in. These are actually the same reasons that i was going to write down today in my blog. Obviously, Apple has the hype going towards all of their products and it's kind of annoying. The other reason is because the iPhone Nano will be significantly cheaper than the, recently announced, Palm Pre. So, those are clearly 2 advantages leaning towards the iPhone Nano's favour. Let's talk about the Palm Pre's now, shall we? The Palm Pre is a new device and has an innovative and new OS. The phone looks decent, but if you can get passed that you will realize that it has more to offer because of the phone's Web OS. It has amazing multi-tasking capability and has the Synergy thing going for them. Looking at the picture above, i had an epiphany. What if Apple decided to put a QWERTY keyboard in the iPhone Nano? Now, this is very unlikely, but it just came to me. The iPhone Nano would look like the Palm Pre, plus it has the Applications too. Although, you may be missing out on the awesome OS, you still get the QWERTY keyboard. The QWERTY keyboard will, most likely, be a necessity because the iPhone Nano's on-screen keyboard would be too small for some fingers to type on. Anyways, i really hope the Palm Pre does well because it's good to see more [decent] competition and because Palm was one of the early pioneers of the PDA, so it would be good to see them make a comeback. That's all i had to say, i don't want to rant anymore.

I hope you enjoyed that.

Gmail Grows 43% (and picture): http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/14/gmail-grew-43-percent-last-year-aol-mail-and-hotmail-need-to-start-worrying/
Dell Monitors: http://blogs.zdnet.com/green/?p=1656
Samsung Monitor (and picture): http://i.gizmodo.com/5130967/samsung-p2370l-23+inch-lcd-display-led-backlight-great-design-a-steal-for-400
Google OS: http://www.pcworld.com/article/157094/google_os_netbooks.html?tk=rss_news
Grand Theft Auto 5 Rumour: http://kotaku.com/5131392/rumor-next-grand-theft-auto-could-hit-by-the-holidays
iPhone Nano Rumour (and picture): http://theappleblog.com/2009/01/14/iphone-nano-spoiling-pres-party/

Let's start off the news with PC World's 5 best Macworld Rumours.

Numero Uno on the list is the talk of the iPhone Nano (see left side). Will Apple talk about the new iPhone Nano tomorrow at Macworld? I don't know, but, first of all, would it be a good idea? Everyone has their own opinion and i'm going to have to say that, hopefully, they don't announce an iPhone Nano. Why? Because i don't want to use a smaller version of the iPhone, i feel that the screen really sets it apart from it's competitors. If the iPhone had a smaller screen it would be harder to play games via application and it would be strenuous on your eyes trying to browse the Internet. Moving along.

Number 2 is the iMac Upgrades (see left side). A new rumour surfaced today about a new iMac with a "magnesium-aluminum alloy chassis, a new cooling system and a 65W, quad-core chip set ... with Snow Leopard-the next version of OSX-in mind. The new OS is supposed to optimize multi-processor cores." Wow, that was a lot of information. But, it does sound very good for the Mac. If this does end up being released, i expect that Mac's market share will increase even more then it has. Personally, i do not like the Mac's, but some people do and i'll respect that.

Number 3. Talks of a 32GB iPhone. It's self-explanatory what this is and it sounds good. More space for apps, but will cost more.

Number 4. This is regarding Picasa for the Mac. Talks about Google finally releasing Picasa for Mac's are stirring up. Picasa is a place where you can store a bunch of photos. Hey, i love Google, so why not do this? [Edited on Monday at 7:20 p.m.: Looks like Google didn't even wait until Macworld. Google has just released a beta version of Picasa on the Macs, courtesy of ZDnet.com. (link here)]

Last, but not least, number 5. An iPhone Elite or Pro. PC World mentions that this actually isn't a rumour and that it is a "fantasy." I blogged about it a couple of days ago (link). The iPhone Pro (concept) has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard that also has a D-pad and 2 buttons, A and B. Lots of GB's of space for apps and such, a better camera and a bunch of other stuff to make the ultimate iPhone. This most likely won't get announced tomorrow. But, it's a good idea and maybe one day, we'll see something like it unfold before our eyes. Maybe even literally.

I've already talked about Samsung's new LCD TV's that they are going to be unveiling at this year's CES. But, to add to that, it looks like they'll also be showing a new Blu-ray player that is only 1.5 inches thick (39 mm). This year's CES looks to be an exciting one and, like i've said many times before, i hope i'll be able to watch some live streaming of the event. I think that G4 TV will be showing CES 2009 on their channel. Unfortunately, i don't have satellite and i don't have it on Rogers... so i can't watch it. I'm hoping it's on the Internet somewhere, cross your fingers. If i do get to watch it, be prepared for a bombardment of blog posts, just like a bunch of other websites will be doing.

The Dell Inspiron 15 notebook is scheduled to be released for the end of this month starting at $600 USD. Finally, something affordable that i'm actually talking about. This notebook will have a 15.6 inch screen, will have up to 4 GB of RAM and up to 320 GB of hard drive space. It will sport Intel's Core 2 Duo and has an integrated webcam. Unforutnately though, it's Blu-ray drive is optional, meaning that if you want that on your Inspiron, you'll have to pay extra. I feel that this is a pretty good 'bang for your buck.'

Some new news regarding the brand MSI. This is actually the first day i've looked into exactly what MSI is all about. It turns out that MSI stands for Micro-Star International and is a brand, just like HP, Sony or Dell. I don't if it's just me or maybe i've been living under a rock for a while, but it was the first time i've actually heard of this company. Anyways, MSI is working on 2 different notebooks / netbooks. One being the MSI Wind U-Series and the MSI X-Slim 320. They are showing both of these models at this week's CES. "Their U-Series Netbooks include the U115 that will be capable of running both a SSD (Solid State Drive) and HDD (Hard Drisk Drive) at the same time using hybrid storage technology." The netbook itself will sport a 10 inch screen and will have a battery life of 12 hours. The other netbook, the U120, "will feature Intel WiMAX (which, i think, is faster than Wi-Fi) or 3.5G wireless solutions for mobile connectivity." The top picture on the left is the MSI Wind U115. The picture underneath the U115 is a side view of the MSI X-Slim 320. As you can see, it is really thin. At it's thickest point it is 1.98 cm and weighs about 2.87 pounds. It is very light, but still manages to pull off a 13.4 inch display. The MSI netbooks / notebooks seem to be consistent in keeping the battery life high, as this laptop will have a battery life of up to 10 hours. There are no official specs for this laptop, but it is rumoured to have "a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 processor, 1366 x 768 resolution, up to 2GB DDR2 RAM, Bluetooth, [and a] 3.5G network card," just to name a few things. "It's coming second quarter of 2009 for about $800," of course, USD. I'll get you some more information about this on the weekend, if i can.

That was a pretty long post, it should keep you occupied for a bit. CES in a couple of days and Macworld tomorrow. How sweet is this week?

5 Best Macworld Rumours (and pictures): http://www.pcworld.com/article/156328/macworld_expo_preview.html?tk=rss_news
Samsung Blu-ray Player (and picture): http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/05/samsung-to-launch-1-5-inch-thin-blu-ray-player-at-ces/
Dell 15.6 inch Inspiron 15: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/05/dell-introduces-15-6-inch-inspiron-15-notebook-starts-at-600/
MSI Wind: http://blogs.zdnet.com/mobile-gadgeteer/?p=1567
MSI X-Slim 320: http://www.engadget.com/tag/msi/

I've already told you all about my amazing day [last night] with my girlfriend and today i'm going to wish you all a Merry Christmas Eve! Last night, i played a bit of WoW, just PvP'ing. I slept kind of early, since my girlfriend fell asleep already. This morning i've done pretty much nothing. I've just slacked around, waiting for my girlfriend to wake up. I signed up for a technorati.com profile and claimed my blog on there. Anyways, yes, it's time for my [amazing] post.

I'll start this paragraph off with a quote pulled off of kotaku.com. "iZ3D plan to show off a new line of 3D monitors at next month's Consumer Electronics show. The line-up includes a 22-inch monitor with a custom paint job." This is pretty cool news, but i think that after playing WoW for about the 16th hour of the day [no exaggeration] and seeing it in 3D, would somewhat make me dizzy. Fortunately, you can change the settings to standard 2D mode. These monitors will also cause your regular PC, PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 games to project in 3D by using special software and some [cool] viewing glasses. The price range for these monitors will be about $400 - $550 USD. These models will be shown at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) and i'll talk about it more when that comes around.

Dell has confirmed that they started the Adamo 'leak.' They did this by posting an advertisement on the website uptownlife.net and had a text tagline of "rival the Macbook Air." Dell spokesperson, Bob Kaufman said, "We did this to wake up the personal computing category and create some buzz." Hopefully we'll see more of the Dell Adamo in the upcoming year, preferably, early next year. Watch out Macbook Air, computing powerhouse, Dell, coming through.

This iPhone Nano rumour has not died yet [and probably won't anytime soon]. It started off with leaks of photos revealing a new skin (cover) for the iPhone Nano. Now, there are pictures of the actual product (see left side), in this case, the iPhone Nano. These photos were submitted anonymously, of course, so the pictures may be fake. But, at least you have a look at what it may look like. Surprisingly (insert exaggeration), it looks to me like a small clone of the original iPhone. Everything looks the exact same and it could easily be done in Photoshop. Obviously though, not by me, since my Photoshop skills are terrible. So, macrumors.com states that, "At this point, we have no reason to believe this photo is real and are labeling it a 'concept' design for the sake of discussion and debate." So there you have it, the leaked "concept" photo of the rumoured iPhone Nano.

iZ3D 3D Gaming Monitors (and picture): http://kotaku.com/5117645/customized-3d-gaming-monitors-coming-to-ces
Dell Adamo: http://www.pcworld.com/article/156027/dell_adamo.html?tk=rss
iPhone Nano Rumours (and picture): http://www.macrumors.com/2008/12/22/iphone-nano-concept-photo/