Apple rumor roundup: improbable removable battery edition
By Nilay Patel 
posted January 12th 2010 3:21PM
posted January 12th 2010 3:21PM
Now that CES is officially over, it's apparently time for the vague Apple rumor factory to start churning out sketchy reports about tablets, next-gen iPhones, and "vanishing" domain names. Yeah, it's getting silly out there, but judging by our tip box you all can't get enough, so let's do this thing rapid-fire style.The rumor: The Korea Times, citing unnamed sources at Korea Telecom, says the carrier is planning for a 4G iPhone featuring an OLED display, a front-facing video camera, a fast new dual-core CPU, and a removable battery. General launch is expected in June, but corporate clients will be doing a "litmus test" in April.
Our take: We will eat our hats if Apple puts a removable battery in the iPhone. Plus, Apple doesn't do focus group testing, least of all with enterprise customers. This just seems like wishful thinking -- we could have made up a more convincing rumor while eating a hat.
The rumor: 10.1 OLED and LCD display panels are no longer available anywhere, because Apple has "pre-ordered them all" to secure volume discounts and keep the tablet's price down.
Our take: We certainly saw plenty of new 10.1-inch netbooks and slates at CES, including some multitouch LCD units, and no one was complaining. Also, we saw several larger OLED displays at CES, but they were all too expensive and impractical for shipping products, so that's gotta be one hell of a discount.
The rumor: Apple has mysteriously shut down the FingerWorks website, which means something tablet-related because... well, it must mean something, right?
Our take: Apple bought FingerWorks years ago -- we're surprised this hadn't happened sooner. We bet the hosting contract just ran out. Alternatively, Steve Jobs is trying to send us a message by yanking an obscure touch-related domain just weeks before a highly-anticipated product launch, because he is the master of extremely minor hints about nothing.
All in all, a pretty lame set of rumors -- there's barely anything here for pundits and the mass media to conflate and distort into something bigger. At least give us a poorly-translated French telecom executive speaking off the cuff, you know? Have some dignity.
@eka Remember the 3g feature in iPhone... you weren't even able to send mms so I wouldn't expect too much.
who cares
I had an appointment in the US embassy in Frankfurt a few years back. When I entered the security check I was told that I needed to remove the battery from my phone before I entered the embassy. I had an original iphone so had to make another appointment, return to my hotel, drop the phone, then go back. Many government agencies require phone battery removal before entering their premises.
@(Unverified)
It seems to me that if you have to take the battery out of your phone you might as well leave it at home in the first place. I mean you can't use the phone either way, so whether the battery is removable or not is a moot point.
The voice texting on the Nexus one is actually quite good, it is possible that they could implement a version of that.
Me -"Tablet, do you hear me?"
Itablet- "Affirmative, Dave. I read you. "
Me -"Uh, I'm Nitesh"
tablet -"I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that. "
me- "I...Didn't really ask any-"
tablet -" I think you know what the problem is just as well as I do."
Me-"What the shit?!?!"
tablet- "This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it. "
Me - "..."
Tablet - "Naahhh, just playin. Wanna catch a movie sometime?"
Every time that Engadget writes a wishful post about Apple rumors a little cat dies. Please Engadget, stop this massacre.
@Unverified User You need to understand how the Internet works. Web sites crave clicks so they need to generate content that will attract the most readers. Nevermind if the content is a rumor, truth, or half way in between. Objectivism is optional for some (just ask ZDNet). As long as it generates clicks anything is fair game. Apple tablet rumors attract people like you and Engadget makes their money from adSense from your clicks. Basically you are the cash cow without you knowing it. So read on!
@HighestRanked
And this is exactly how they work. Luckily, Apple has a very very vocal fan-base and hate-group exclusively. That's where the myth that alot of people care about Apple news comes from.
The truth is, the buzz generated comes from the flame-wars on MAINSTREAM tech blogs, not niche blogs like TUAW, AppleInsider, RoughlyDrafted, et al. This is because, for the most part there are very little comments when compared to the onslaught of flames that happen on Engadget.
Apple's products are of some of the highest quality and popularity. I don't want to take anything away from what they do. But the idea that alot of people "care" about the Apple Tablet only isnt really reflected in the readership of the blog aforementioned.
For the most part, anything that isnt iPod, or iPhone (what I call new-Apple-ites or PC to Apple Inc converts) gets less than 10-15% of any discernable buzz, marketshare, or news, when compared to the market its in. Apple, is simply the "cool kid in school".
However, my beef is the overwhelming need to post third-bit rumor that noone really cares about. It's not Engadget alone that does. We DO care about the tablet. Let's just wait until we hear from Apple, and leave the wild rumors on the Apple side of the fence.
Thanks for providing us with a "pretty lame set of rumors". You guys are on a roll. But I suppose lame rumors are better than no rumors, no?
Removable battery is an environmental protection requirement by the EU Commission, it will come into effect in 2011. It applies to all devices operated by battery. In Apple's case it has also an unintended effect of improving consumer rights protection assuming not many of us go to an Apple store to get batteries replaced and choose to buy a new device from Apple instead. One may actually be able to use an ipod/iphone longer than the guarantee period (which is 2 years in EU countries).
Actually, Apple has done corporate testing before as rumor #1 states. They did it with Genentech for the iPhone.
FAIL!
Ah Korea it'll be another two years before we get it...