Posted 11/19/09 at 11:27:38 AM by Paul Lilly

It looks like the ever-elusive Apple tablet will stay out of sight a little longer than last planned. According to the latest chatter from component makers, Apple plans to postpone the launch from next March to sometime in the second half of 2010.

Apparently Apple has decided to fiddle with its component selection, including a model that will launch with a 9.7-inch OLED panel from LG. Another model said to be in the works will sport a 10.6-inch TFT LCD panel.

Outside of the rumored panel choices, we still don't have any information on what hardware Apple plans to use, but the chatty sources were able to estimate a price. Most 9.7-inch OLED panels run about $500, which typically makes up about 30 percent of the device's total cost. That being the case, Apple's tablet could end up commanding $1,500 to $1,700, the sources say. However, those figures are based on today's prices, and OLED panels are dropping in costs. By the time the second half of 2010 rolls around, the Apple tablet could drop to $1,200 to $1,500, based on the above scenario.

As for the 10.6-inch LCD tablet, sources expect the device to cost anywhere from $800 to $1,000.

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Posted 11/18/09 at 04:38:56 PM by Bart Salisbury

Michael Arrington, of TechCrunch, is not giving up. Google, according to him, is readying to release its own Android phone. Google says no. IntoMobile, Daring Fireball, and PC World all say no. But Arrington still says yes.

Why? Because Google’s Andy Rubin said there will be no Google phone. That’d seem pretty conclusive, despite the practice of companies’ denying the existence of a product until the product actually ships. But there’s a loophole here that Arrington sniffs out. And it has to do with with the simple question: when is a phone not a phone?

Answer: when it’s a data device. Arrington suspects the focus on a phone as a phone is where others have it wrong. After all, a data device is capable of carrying voice over VoIP. Which makes any computer equipped with Skype, for example, a phone while not being a phone. Arrington points out that Google even said as much when it was bidding for chunks of the 700 Mhz spectrum back in 2007.

Arrington says his sources tell him AT&T is bidding on a service. Google would make block purchases of data from AT&T, and will sell access to purchasers of its data device. Conditions will apply, Arrington suspects, as the target price is $20 a month. He also suggests that U.S. GSM carriers, as well as TMobile, could support the device.

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Posted 11/13/09 at 12:00:21 PM by Paul Lilly

We almost made it halfway through November without a Chrome OS rumor, and if the latest inside tip turns out to be true, the oft talked about OS will launch next week so we never have to hear another related rumor again.

At least, that's the word coming from Michael Arrington over at TechCrunch, who says a "reliable" birdie told him we'll all be able to download the lean OS within a week. When and if that does happen, expect sketchy driver support, as Google engineers continue to work around the clock building hardware drivers. Or, according to other rumors, it will be up to hardware manufacturers to get their drivers in line. Whichever the case might be, expected a bit of busted support out of the box.

TechCrunch says the launch will probably be a cautious one in terms of which platform the OS supports. Netbooks will be the most obvious candidates, and it's unlikely Google will tout Chrome as being ready for notebooks and desktops in general. The search-giant-gone-OS-developer might even list specific makes and models that Chrome is known to work with.

Think we'll see Chrome OS next week? Hit the jump and place your bets. 

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Posted 11/13/09 at 07:14:25 AM by Paul Lilly

Motorola has put the word out that it wants to sell off its "Home and Network Mobility" unit. The unit, which makes equipment for cable and wireless companies, is Motorola's largest division, Businessweek.com reports.

According to the latest tech chatter, a deal worth $4.5 billion could be on the table. It's unknown exactly who the potential buyer(s) might be, but the most likely bet would include private-equity firms and makers of telecommunications equipment, like Samsung, the Wall Street Journal speculated.

Should Motorola find a buyer, it would be left with two other divisions: Mobile Devices, which makes cell phones, and Enterprise Mobility, with makes bar code scanners and other equipment for corporate use,

Motorola had no comment on the rumor.

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Posted 11/10/09 at 04:08:09 PM by Pulkit Chandna

A day after NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang was snapped with what clearly resembled a tablet, the company shed some light on the mysterious device. According to Engadget, the graphics chip maker has revealed to it the true identity of the tablet. It is actually a Tegra prototype developed by original design manufacturer (ODM) called ICD.

The site also claims to have been tipped about some of the tablet's specs. According to Engadget's "credible" sources, the tablet currently runs Windows CE and features a resistive touchscreen. It went on to add that an Android-based variant, also featuring a capacitive touchscreen, is in the works. Apparently, the plan is to have the tablet ready for a March 2010 launch. The site even named T-Mobile as a likely carrier.

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Posted 11/10/09 at 11:20:46 AM by Paul Lilly

While giving a speech at the American University of Dubai, Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang held nothing back in declaring his affection for Macs (while taking a dig at Intel in the process).

"Apple uses the best technology for their [computers]," Huang said. "Apple says to their customers: 'If you buy a computer from us, you can be sure we have selected the best technology inside for you.' Their promise to consumers isn't 'we've selected the best technology for you with the exception of what Intel allows us to use'. And that's why I'm all Apple! At home it's just Macs everywhere. It's Nvidia's technology in all of them but I use Macs. My son has two Macs, my daughter has a Mac, there's an extra Mac just in case, and my wife has a Mac. It's just Mac, Mac, Mac!"

Call us crazy, but we get th feeling Huang likes Macs. And that's well and good, so long as Nvidia keeps churning out high-powered videocards for those of us content to be controlled by Intel on the Windows-based PC platform.

On a side note, there's been a bit of buzz over the slick looking tablet pictured in front of Huang. The outspoken CEO didn't say a word about it -- or at least no one's reporting that he did -- leaving us to speculate. Could it be the long-rumored Apple tablet? Is it a Tegra-powered handheld? Maybe both.

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Posted 11/09/09 at 07:15:16 AM by Paul Lilly

No matter what we've been hearing, a x86 CPU just doesn't appear to be in the cards for Nvidia, at least according to the company's outspoken CEO Jen-Hsun Huang.

"No," he said when asked if there was any truth to the rumor. "Nvidia's strategy is very, very clear. I'm very straightforward about it. Right now, more than ever, we have to focus on visual and parallel computing."

Rather than allocate resources into developing a x86 chip to, say, compete at the low end where Intel's Atom processors have the market nearly all to themselves, Huang says the best opportunities for growth will come from pushing the GPU "into all kinds of platforms," such as servers for parallel computing, super-computing, and cloud-based computing, and in lower power platforms, like the Zune HD.

Speculation about Nvidia taking on Intel in the x86 market began much earlier in the year when Micheal Hara, Nvidia's senior VP of investor relations and communications, said getting into the x86 business was a matter of 'when,' and not 'if.'

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Posted 11/04/09 at 03:31:21 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Digitimes claims to have got the inside scoop on AMD's desktop strategy in 2010 from its sources at motherboard makers. The world's second-largest supplier of microprocessors is said to be working on two new desktop platforms, called the Leo (high-end) and the Dorado (mainstream), which the informants say will be unveiled in May 2010.

The Leo will reportedly combine a 45nm Phenom II series processor with either the 890FX or 890GX (RD890) northbridge and SB850 southbridge chipsets and an ATI Radeon HD 5000 series graphics card. This high-end desktop platform will also support AMD's upcoming six-core Thuban CPU, as per the report.

Moving on to the other platform, the sources said that the Dorado will bring together an Athlon II CPU, 880G (RS880P) northbridge and SB810 southbridge and HD 5000 series GPU. AMD refused to comment when contacted by Digitimes, saying that it cannot comment on unannounced products.

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