Tag Archives | Rumors

Apple Tablet in 2010? Maybe! And Maybe Not!

When analysts predict Apple’s plans, I’m instantly, incorrigibly skeptical. With that in mind, I’m regarding Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster’s theory that Apple will release a tablet device next year for $500-$700 as just that: a theory. Munster pieced together his prediction based on multiple pieces of interesting evidence, ranging from rumors coming out of Asian component supplies to Apple’s acquisition of chip company PA Semi to the company’s portfolio of multi-touch patents. I don’t think anyone on the planet has a decent record of assembling reliable predictions based on these types of hints.

On the grand scale, I think some of the clues that Munster is looking at mean something: If the next few years pass without Apple releasing devices that bridge the gap between an iPhone and a MacBook, I’d be shocked. I also assume that the iPhone OS, or its descendants, will power larger, more powerful devices than the iPhone or iPod Touch–and that it’s the form of OS X that’ll be around even after Apple no longer makes any devices that look much like today’s Macs. (Note: I don’t mean to suggest that Macs are going away any time soon.)

One other thing about Munster and his Apple predictions: He recently said that he thinks that there will be no new iPhones at Apple’s WWDC keynote on June 6th, but that Steve Jobs will return from his medical leave to headline a new-iPhone press event in late June.   As Daring Fireball’s John Gruber points out, a new iPhone will likely have new hardware features that Apple will have to explain to third-party developers, so you’d think the company would want to unveil said new phone at WWDC.

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Most. Boring. Apple. Rumor. Ever.

DagwoodWeird but true: Writing the guide to judging Apple rumors which I posted last week was both cathartic and disillusioning. Ultimately, it left me feeling that the best response to about seventy percent of Apple-related gossip is to ignore it: Chances are that it’s wrong, and devoting even a little time to thinking and writing about it is a waste of perfectly good brain cells and electrons. Better to devote energy to that minority of scuttlebutt that rings true–and even then, it makes sense to regard it from a safe, dispassionate distance, being careful to avoid being sucked into any frenzies that may break out.

Tonight, though, there’s buzz about a rumor which I find kinda fascinating…because it’s so damn boring. MacRumors and AppleInsider have posted a photo that purports to be the backside of a new Mac Mini:

New Mac Mini

If the photo’s legit, all it tells us is that the new Mini has five USB ports, Mini-DVI and Mini-DisplayPort, and FireWire 800, among other connectors. If you can summon the energy to be excited by any of this, you’re a more dedicated Mac fan than I am…or maybe you’re just hungry for any available scrap of pseudo-news about the Mini, a computer which has seen no hardware upgrades of any sort since August of 2007, and whose basic industrial design is unchanged since it first appeared more than four years ago.

Actually, the most notable thing about the photo may be the possibility that it’s fake. 9 to 5 Mac and other sites are theorizing that there are telltale signs that it’s a not terribly artful bit of Photoshopping. (Note to self: If you ever go rogue and start whipping up Apple-related hoaxes, at least make ’em interesting ones.)

Rumors about a new Mac Mini have been particularly rampant for eons, ranging from one that has it encased in black plastic to one that said there won’t be a new Mac Mini. The only way this particular zit will get popped is when Apple upgrades the machine (or discontinues it, although that seems unlikely in a day when there’s presumably a pretty good market for a low-cost Mac).

I think there’s a good chance there will be news of some sort about new Macs within the next few weeks, but I’m not going to hazard any guesses about whether it’ll include a new Mac Mini–or, if it does, just how many USB ports that machine will offer…

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A Consumer’s Guide to Apple Rumors

Apple RumorsThere are many unique things about Apple, Inc. And one of the oddest of all is the degree to which straightforward reporting about the company’s activities has been drowned out in recent years by a surging sea of rumor, speculation, prediction, and–increasingly—wishful thinking. Everybody, it seems, wants to spoil the surprise of Apple product launches by revealing the secrets which the company works so very hard to keep. But a remarkable percentage of the these soothsayers are just plain terrible at their chosen profession. They’ve become the Gang That Couldn’t Predict Straight.

As the quality of Apple scuttlebutt has nosedived, I’ve become more interested in the culture of Apple rumors than in most of the rumors themselves. With this article, I’m beginning a series on the Apple Rumor Game. And it makes sense to begin with a no-nonsense guide to judging those rumors as they crop up.

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