iPhone in Europe announcement on September 18th?

Apple have announced a special media event in London on the 18th of September. "Mums is no longer the word" is the tagline for the event.

Basiscally Apple are finally going to announce the iPhone in Europe! For us here in Ireland it looks like Apple are only going to release the phone in the UK, France and Germany to start with. But with the recent release of the free Sim unlock "iUnlock" (with instructions) it won't be that hard to get your iPhone here.

Apple will probably also announce an extended iTunes Store service, definitely for the UK, and possibly for the rest of Europe too.

MacBook Thin, Movie rentals on your iPod?

After the last few weeks frenetic activity of releases from Apple we are now struggling to find the next bunch of "Top 5" rumors.
The old new Mac Mini and iPhone in Europe are still there. The iPhone nano is also expected before the Holiday season. Looking back the most likely new rumors are:

• MacBook Thin
There's been talk about this for years now, but more and more patents from Apple looks like they could be releasing their idea of a "Thin" notebook. Will probably be the thinnest notebook ever released when it does come out.

• iTunes Movie Rentals
With the iPod line now all video (bar the Shuffle obviously), and the iPod touch with WiFi and the iTunes Wifi Store on the way, it looks like Apple are warming up to release a rental feature for movies from the store.

New iPod Lineup

With the release of the new iPod lineup across the range, for the first time since launch, we are struggling to come up with a solid top 5 rumor list and more importantly a rumor homepage image!

Keep posted for an update after the weekend while we look through the archives to find out what's most likely to appear next on the list. November is traditional for iBook upgrades so the MacBook Thin is looking good for the next big thing.

Check back soon...

Apple Launch the new iPod Nano, iPod Touch on September 5th

As predicted by Arstechnica, Apple are indeed hosting a "media" event on Wednesday the 5th of September. The Tagline for the event reads "And the beat goes on" which is a direct reference to the Beatlles.

So we are all looking forward to seeing the new OS X bases iPod Nano (the old iPod only smaller) and the new iPod Touch (the iPhone without the phone bit and more).

Apple have been known to previously announce a media event with a huge amount of hype only for it to announce a "boombox". Let's hope Steve isn't such a big fan of the Beatles that he thinks it's worthy of an event by itself!!

Apple also announced the launch of the "Shows" on the iTunes UK Store. Nothing for us here in Ireland though which doesn't bode well for the iPhone here either. Let's hope the Law Suits get sorted out and we have a full unlock by 3rd parties or even better, by Apple.

If you are interested in the Irish development of the iPhone then please email us (link above). Will be doing every effort to accomodate/supply them if we get the right info!

New iPod Product Line on Sep 5th (iPod Touch and Nano)

Ars is reporting that September 5th is the day for the launch of the new iPod line. This is thought to include the new iPod Touch (iPhone w/o the Phone and a bit HD) and the new iPod Nano (the old iPod Video only smaller and fatter (Christ did I say fat, I meant big boned). This falls in line with Apples releases in Sept 05, and  again in Sept 06, just before the holiday season. 

No news about the Nano, but I'm pretty sure that it will involve a new touch interface without a screen and will be run by OS X in the background (ie the same thing). Prove me wrong....

On a more depressing note, this doesn't bode well for the Apple Expo in Paris on the 25th of September. With news that the iPhone is coming to the UK that doesn't sound very Irish to me so it will probably just be iTunes movies and TV shows. Woopee f'ing do.

PS. 2 mins after posting MacRumors alerted me to this. iPhones for everyone!! Knowing Apple they will have to release an unlocked version over the next week for Europe or they'll be in deep do do.

New iPod Touch Confirmed? Design details revealed...

Looks like the new iPod Touch will indeed be coming out soon. The new iPod is said to have a similar form factor to the iPhone. Presumably it will be thicker (for the HD) and also has a black surround as opposed to a silver cover (see mockup).

The new range (including the Nanos) are expected to be launched in Paris at the Apple Expo (Sep 25th-29th) or else at an earlier Media Event.

New iPod, nano and more to come in Paris?

• New iPod nanos

With new colours (see above), 16gb of memory and a new shorter and fatter form factor the new iPod nano is highly anticipated. It will now play videos and also could use OSX to give the nano an iPhone like interface. 

• iPod with Touchscreen?

Current speculation thinks that Apple could indeed release a widescreen touch iPod with all the trimmings of the iPhone, without the phone.

• iTunes Video Store in Europe

Apple are expected to announce the arrival of the TV shows and movies to Europe's iTunes store at any time now. Paris would seem a fitting location for an announcement.

• iPhone Europe Carrier

Again we are waiting for the official line on who will carry the iPhone in Europe, and where and when it will be released.

New iMac, iWork and iLife

Well yesterdays dust has settled and Apple finally released the "new" iMac after nearly a year since it's last update (intro of 24"). To be fair it's more of a speed bump than a new iMac so it was a bit disappointing to say the least (keep posted for a detailed rant) and the presentation quickly turned into iMBored.

iLife went straight to '08 and got an upgrade. All the apps got new features but most notably some genius Apple engineer (must get his name) redesigned the unusable iMovie and added the Mac touch back in there. Looks great. Can't wait for a spin. Being an avid FCP user I can't wait for iMovies touches to hit Final Cut.

iWork got a few mods as well and we finally saw the release version of "Numbers", Apples attempt at a spreadsheet. Steve obviously doesn't use spreadsheets that much anymore judging by the demo he gave but it does look like they've added that Apple touch and made them look nice to look at. Just wait for an "Annual Report Book" button to appear at the bottom and you'll get a lovely glossy book mailed to you in the post from Apple..

The Mac Mini went Core 2 Duo finally but still has the onboard Intel graphics (albeit the 950 MA). Love the Mini, have one, bought one for my Dad, but it doesn't serve my professional needs. (Rant to be blogged soon!)

So all in all it was a bit disappointing that they didn't go further with the iMac revision. No Mac Mini like super update and ended up being a rant about the i-Suite, which is never pleasing. But hats off to the new iMovie, looks like Vegas without the hassle for the day to day consumer. Fair play.

Thoughts On Thought : Final Tech Sheets Added

In time for tomorrow, the site now has all the big launch item or tech spec pages added (G4s, eMac, iBooks, G5...etc.)

This now brings the site fully up to date except for the odd typo here and there which I will get through slowly but surely!

The site won't be updated with the new pages tomorrow immediately. Going to wait to watch the video stream of the event before I make final comments on the new line.

Speculation: New MacPro Case?

Steve Jobs can't just talk about the new iMac for an hour (we hope). The new Mac-not-so-Mini won't be a surprise but at the same time is not really expected. It's a "Mac only" event so why not introduce a new case for the MacPro that is grossly outdated? The current MacPro cases are big and bulky for no apparent reason. Let's push the boat out and speculate that on Tuesday Apple is going to give us much, much more than an new iMac...

Thoughts On Thought : Sorry for the Delay

My laptop has been hard to get onto since last Wednesday (25th July). Had delivery of new 9lb baby. Her name is Eilbhe (pronounced El-va) and since she was born she's been hogging the MBP to update her blog...

Meanwhile, I ditched the forum as it wasn't working out and changed the rumor mill to Blogger. Had to simplify the update process as my hands are a bit full at the moment!!! Normal service will resume in about 2 weeks!

August 7th Launch Event

Sorry for the delay in updating the rumors. I had a good excuse...

As predicted Apple invited a select group from the media to an event in Cupertino on Tuesday, August 7th at 10am (Pacific Time). Apple have said that this event is an exclusive "Mac" event. So we can definitely expect the long awaited iMac. Probably launched with iLife and possibly the revamp/replacement of the Mac Mini. 

The latest seeds of Leopard have been more than stable and with only minor tweaks appearing in the interface are the Apple going to launch Leopard earlier than thought?

A "Mac only" event means there will be no talk of new iPhones or iPods. Although "just one more thing" could include the new iPod.

The new homepage will be covered in detail when it comes out.

OSX iPod Video Leaked

MacRumors posted a video showing the "new" iPod interface. An hour later "Apple Legal" asked them to remove. That pretty much means rumor confirmed!

The video (now on YouTube, embedded below) shows the new interface. While it is vastly superior to the current iPod interface, it doesn't come close to the lushness of the iPhone. Also, this interface seems to support the current Click-wheel and not a touch interface that many had been hoping for. Can Apple make an interface that like this using the current Click-wheel as the interface and make as intuitive as people expect from them? I don't think so. Hopefully this video is a fake or at best an early sample interface for the new iPod. In any case we will find out in the next few weeks (Aug 7th is being touted).

On a side note, the demo also highlights "The Beatles". People have been waiting for their cataogue to be released since Apple settled their differences with Apple last year! Expect to see "Special Media Event Invites" going out in the next week or 2. There's a lot on the way and I think Steve will want to present them!

Thoughts On Thought : Site Nearly Complete

Well after 2 weeks of hard work and lots of feedback from people (thanks everyone who helped out) the site is nearly done and ready for presentation.

I've updated all the comments on every page right up until now. Fixed the top_frame so that it can be viewed on 1024 screens without having that bloody scroll bar! Forum background has been changed from black to white to make it easier to read (should I do the same to the Blog (it's white on black at the moment!)).

Googles Analytics impressed me so much that I seem oddly addicted to it now. It's very cool. Might post something in more detail about it soon with some images. Well worth if your trying to keep up to date with whats going on with peoples browsers/screens, habits etc.

So I'll end this post now. Intent to start a running commentary on Apple and their website once I have the site 100% complete. Until then though I have to add in the launch and spec pages from all the major releases that are missing.

Thanks again all who helped.

Cheers,

TD

August 7th the Big Day?

Not much happened this week. Alot of the top 5 rumors have simply been getting more and coverage.

• iMac Revision Update
Word around the campfire is that the update will come on August 7th, possibly in conjunction with the new iLife.

• New games coming to Mac
"Gears of War" and "Unreal Tournament 3" are heading towards a Mac near you according to the president of Epic Games, Mark Rein.

• iPhones and iPods as Remote Devices
A patent has turned up from 2005 where Apple intend using the NEW iPods and iPhones to remote control media devices over a network. Basically allow you to change whats playing on iTunes on your Mac, from your phone.

• Vodafone as Europes Carrier?
After looking like they were out for the count, Vodafone have re-emerged into the battle saying "it has to make sense for our shareholders". Sounds like they are setting up to drop it to me and blame on their shareholders. 02 are probably still the strongest. T-Mobile remain the hot favourite in Germany.

Thoughts On Thought : Progress Update

Been busy refining the interface and especially sorting out the RSS feed for the rumors section. Bloody Frames! Couldn’t think of a simpler way to do it though without the CoverFlow having to refresh every page change.

Added in Launch Pages and Tech Specs for the major revisions of all the iMacs and iPods. Hope to do the same with all other major releases. Also updated the pages from 2003 to today.

Am happy with the new ‘rumor’ page with the faked up Apple homepage. Hope to keep that kind of thing going for each future update.

Thoughts On Thought : Test Site Goes Live

Spent the last few weeks working on the site. Now have done enough to upload it and start testing. Probably won’t have it finished for another few days but it’s a start.

I intend adding background information, and extra web pages to all the entries (97 so far) in the archive. Will start with the big launch items and see how it goes. The Quad Core Mac Pro has a rough sample of how it should go.

Also have to tag each page properly with a date and then go through all the content and make sure it’s ok.

Finally for tonight I will finish writing this up and upload it. Then all I have to do is figure out how a blog works!

Current Top 5 Rumors

• iMac Revision
New iMacs are expected any day now. They are thought to have a slim profile and covered in brushed aluminium. Many sources think they will resemble the current Cinema Displays. A new keyboard, similar to the MacBooks, is expected also.

• End of Mac Mini
File under speculation: the Mini's days are apparently numbered. Does this mean we will be getting the long wished for Mid-Range Mac with some expandability?

• iPhone Nano
The web is going crazy with rumors that Apple will have launched a smaller, and cheaper phone by Christmas.

• iPods with OSX
Steve Jobs has already said there are teams porting OSX to the iPod. Should see some iPhone like iPods within months.

• 02 as Europes Carrier?
Vodafone looked like they had it. But anyday now wait for and official announcement by 02 saying they have exclusive rights in parts of Europe.