rumor

Tackling Apple tablet rumors

I popped by the MSNBC studios on Sunday morning to discuss the latest Apple tablet rumors with anchor Alex Witt. Check out the clip below.

Borders survey presumes future 'iPad' e-reader

This story was updated Tuesday with some clarification about the origin of the iPad reference. See details below.

There are a gazillion rumors swirling out there about a forthcoming Apple tablet of some sort. And while we certainly don't feel the need to point you to each and every supposed leaked photo or tip from a super-secret inside source, this potential clue is too interesting to pass on.

MacLife appears to be the first to have noticed that a survey Borders e-mailed to customers, for which those willing to participate earn a coupon for 20 percent off, referenced a … Read more

Apple tablet may be under wraps until 2010

For all the breathless pontificating and predicting on the worst-kept secret in tech, the Apple tablet, most pundits have pointed to Apple's traditional September press event as the likely launch point for this new product.

Now, some are saying that Apple's unconfirmed September confab will be primarily about music devices, and any tablet PC will remain under wraps until sometime in 2010. According to Mac news site The Loop:

Very reliable sources familiar with the product have said speculation of the tablet being introduced during the September event are flat-out wrong. The Apple tablet, they said, would not … Read more

Is the Apple tablet for cars?

We frequently get tips from readers offering inside information or links to obscure foreign sources. Sometimes they check out, sometimes they feel more like paranoid delusions (and sometimes it's hard to tell the difference).

There was a particularly frenetic message today from a reader offering links to an Russian Apple site called DeepApple, that purported to explain how the still-unconfirmed Apple tablet would in fact be targeted primarily at automotive use. In part, it reads:

"The Tablet itself will be aimed for use in cars (mostly, but not only) as a center of car equipment digital integration... Placing … Read more

Apple planning September event?

It's happened every September for the past few years, and it appears it's on track again: Apple is planning a keynote event rumored to take place the second week of September, according to AllThingsD's Peter Kafka.

He says he has heard from "multiple music industry sources" that there will be an Apple event held sometime during the week of September 7. Now, this isn't a huge surprise since Apple has held an event announcing the latest upgrade to the iPod and iTunes around this same time every year. But this year there are some … Read more

The original Apple tablet: Marketing lessons from the Newton

We all know Apple's original tablet had some hard-core fans, but it bit the dust--hard--back in 1998, not long after Steve Jobs returned to the company. Some say the touch-screen Newton, one of the early "personal digital assistants," was ahead of its time. Maybe, maybe not. Either way, it's interesting to look back at Apple's marketing efforts and wonder if there are any lessons to be learned and how they might be applied to spinning a new tablet, if indeed it's a real product.

Of course, a lot has changed in 10 years. Or has it?

What do you guys think? Will Apple have a hard time selling a new Newton?

Other Newton ads:

What is Newton? Wanted Where is Newton? Most boring meeting in the world Gotham City Who is Newton?

After the break, check out a bonus Newton 2008 mock ad.… Read more

Xbox 360 Elite dropping to $299 (finally)?

Treat this right now as very likely, but still a rumor--a photo of a catalog page posted to Kotaku shows the 120GB hard drive-and-HDMI Xbox 360 Elite going for $299. The Meijer catalog (a Midwest store chain) in question is slated for August 30, which would mean a nice holiday surprise for future Xbox 360 buyers.

Other rumors have it that the price-dropped Elite and the bare-bones, hard-drive-free Arcade system will be the only 360s left on the market. It's a move that makes sense, since 120GB is not exactly a luxurious amount of storage space anymore, and is … Read more

Facebook launching Twitter-like 'Lite' site?

Facebook, it appears, was not about to let Google get this week's award for shadowy new projects. On Tuesday night, a number of users--including Mashable blogger Ben Parr--received notifications that they were beta testers for something called "Facebook Lite."

The notifications, as well as the site hosted on the subdomain lite.facebook.com, disappeared within minutes. It seems to have been rolled out prematurely by mistake.

"Last night, the test was temporarily exposed to a larger set of users by mistake," an e-mailed statement from Facebook representative Brandee Barker read. "We have … Read more

PS3 Slim is real and cheaper, French retailer claims

With rumors that Sony may announce a new PlayStation at the Gamescom expo in Cologne, Germany, on August 18, Europe has been the most fruitful source of PS3 Slim rumors. The latest: in an interview with French gaming site JVN.com, an anonymous French retailer is claiming that the PS3 Slim is real and will cost 100 euros less than the current PS3. The retailer says he's heard the new system will arrive in stores next month, but no firm date has been given.

The interview with the retailer is actually fairly long and covers a lot of ground--including … Read more