We'd heard some rumblings about Sony's plans to introduce a netbook of its own a little while back, but Sony exec Stan Glasgow seemed to put a damper on those the other day when he flat out said that the company was "not looking at competing with Asus." A report from China's Economic Daily News is now adding a bit more confusion to the matter, however, with it claiming that Foxconn will be providing at least some components for, you guessed it, a forthcoming Sony netbook. What's more, that same report also says that a number of other Japanese PC makers, including netbook nay-sayer Fujitsu, are also planning to get in on the low-cost laptop action in the fourth quarter of this year, although they apparently aren't quite ready to disclose any manufacturing partnerships just yet. Of course, it's entirely possible that these low-cost laptops could be just that, and not technically netbooks, but it certainly wouldn't be the first time that companies have jumped on a bandwagon after letting it pass by the first time around.

[Via Electronista]

Although Computex has largely delivered a slew of netbooks to digest, a handful of new pico projectors have also managed to get a little face time. The latest is Foxconn's PD-W1001, which features a 0.3-inch Texas Instruments DLP chip, WVGA (854 x 480) resolution and 25 Lm -- all within a 55- x 46- x 26-millimeter package that weighs just 65-grams. In its current form, we can't see this being much more than a novel concept, but when these critters start inching closer to 1080p, you can color us very much interested.

[Via AboutProjectors]

We've seen some overclockers go to pretty great lengths to keep those chips cool while they crank up the GHz, but Foxconn's demonstration at the company's CeBIT booth is really a sight to behold. They appear to be using copious amounts of liquid nitrogen, along with other black magicks, to boost a Core 2 Extreme processor almost past the 6GHz mark. We're a little short on specifics, but this setup was certainly hot, and by hot we mean cold.

Pocket-link UK is confidently reporting that those 40GB PS3 rumors are true. In fact, they've gone so far as to claim that Sony has turned away from ASUS and in the direction of Foxconn to manufacture their new entry-level console. Pricing is still unknown but formerly pegged at $400 for the US. If there's any truth to this then we should expect a Sony announcement to come during the Tokyo Game show, underway as we speak, or early next week in order to "spoil" Microsoft's Halo 3 launch.

What a tease. The ifixit tear down we've all been waiting for on the iPod touch fails to specifically exclude the existence of Bluetooth silicon or even point out which chip is providing the WiFi. After all, Broadcom, Marvell, and CSR all offer single-chip solutions with combined WiFi and Bluetooth radios. Hell, they'll even integrate an FM radio if you ask real nice. Ah well, perhaps those of you with more IC-focused eyes can take a look at these snaps and bring an end to the Bluetooth in iPod touch mystery once and for all. Otherwise, we're looking at a Foxconn manufactured iPod with Toshiba (not Samsung) flash NAND memory, Wolfson audio chip, and what appears to be a Samsung manufactured ARM processor presumed to be "very, very similar" to the proc found in the iPhone.

As if you need another source "confirming" the launch of new iPods at Apple's September 5th event, along comes DigiTimes riding their wave of Taiwanese component manufacturing insiders. According to the folks who brought us the Powerbook G5, Apple is due to drop a new Inventec Appliances manufactured, flash-based widescreen "iPod video" with touch-interface (widely rumored to carry the iPod Touch brand) sporting WiFi and an iPhone-like UI when it ships "at the end of this month or early October." Also in the cards is a Foxconn manufactured iPod nano with more storage and iPhone-like UI at the same prices as existing models and higher capacity iPod shuffles from Asustek. So yeah, it falls in line with all the other rumors but that doesn't mean we're buying it.

It's been a busy day for tech acquisitions: first, Acer ponied up to acquire Gateway, which in turn was rumored to be interested in Packard Bell, and now we're hearing rumors that Quanta and Hon Hai, two of the biggest device manufacturers around, are ready to tie the knot. The rumor's actually been floating around for a while -- long enough for Hon Hai to have denied it several times -- but Quanta's CEO, Michael Wang, resigned over the weekend, in part because he disagreed with the acquisition plan. Hon Hai (also known as FoxConn) is probably best known for manufacturing the iPod, but the company isn't particularly strong in the laptop segment, where Quanta is the clear leader. Nothing's been announced yet, but it's a dramatic time in the Asian ODM world -- stay tuned.

[Via BloggingStocks]

LG's heading back to US court with another patent dispute. This time, it's not Hitachi they're after impeding, it's laptop OEM Quanta, and their alleged abuse of four LG DVD patents. The suit filed in Wisconsin court seeks monetary compensation and an injunction which prevents Quanta from using their DVD technology in laptops. While Quanta does build laptops for Apple, HP, Dell, and Sony among others, we'd be surprised if a successful injunction request has any effect on laptop availability. After all, nobody is silly enough to sole-source their gear are they? No doubt the kids at Foxconn are snickering with joy right about now.

For those looking for hot, sweaty DirectX 10 action on a shoestring budget, Foxconn has announced a pair of NVIDIA GeForce 8400GS-based graphics cards that should do the trick. The cards will hit stores in a 128MB or 256MB configuration -- both sporting 450MHz / 800MHz core / memory clock speeds -- on an unspecified date for less than $100. That should be the perfect compliment to a basic Vista setup, or a cheap gaming option if you spent all your money on that fancy case.

[Via ExtremeTech]

Ready for some good ol' rumor and speculation related to the iPhone? Sure, after all, we're still a few weeks away from the most optimistic of launch dates. Well, try this one on. A second iPhone manufacturer has been added to the mix. Namely, Apple fave Quanta Computer are rumored to be joining Foxconn (Hon Hai) in the development of the uber phone after winning the contract to deliver 5 million units starting in September. Digitimes, citing a report in the Chinese-language Commercial Times, says that "The iPhone produced by Foxconn is designated for the US market, and those manufactured by Quanta will be similar in function to those from Foxconn but with a different outer design to fit different markets, the paper quoted sources at Taiwan-based component makers as saying." The story was also carried by Taiwan's other leading financial paper, the Economic Daily News for what it's worth. Quanta has issued a response to the rumor on their English language site stating, "Quanta and Apple are building a tighter than ever relationships. Quanta not only manufactures NB and iPod for Apple, but also may have receive the order to make the second generation of the Apple iPhone. iPhone is a smartphone based mobile, and the second generation model shipment is expected in September 2007 with forecast of 5 million units in 2008." What to make of this? Well, the believers amongst you will of course interpret this to mean a 3G iPhone is on the way -- after all, Apple would be testing European patience by delivering a 3G-less phone to the continent in Q4 as originally announced. But that's just speculation on top of rumor which makes an ass out of you and me. Er, or something like that.

Read -- DigiTimes
Read -- Quanta response

Taiwan-based DigiTimes is back this morning with more 15.4-inch MacBook rumors. According to "industry sources in Taiwan," Apple is prepping for a Q2 release of the bigger, badder cousin to their 13.3-inch MacBook -- aligning nicely with the "May 2007" date we heard back in October. However, it's not the manufacturer of the 13.3-inch MacBook -- Asustech Computer -- that won the contract. Nope, instead Apple selected Quanta Computer who along with Foxconn pump out the MacBook Pro line-up. Now move along kids, it's just a rumor, there's nothing more to see here... until May of course.

Big, big week for gadget news (as we all well know). The Zune, the PS3, and the Wii, it's been pretty crazed around the hallowed halls of Engadget HQ. We're not going to spend a lot of time talking about the news surrounding the gadgets since something tells us a lot of you are wondering what they're like, and whether you should buy one. We also briefly touch on some other noteworthy announcements, including the Lenovo X60, Nikon D40, the Core 2 Duo MacBook, and those sweet new Cingular Windows Mobile devices. It's going to be a hell of a holiday season this year.

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Hosts: Peter Rojas and Ryan Block

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It looks like a certain little Taiwanese manufacturer is going to get a stern talking to pretty soon from our pal Stevie J. Just last month, Han Hai (aka Foxconn) spilled the beans in regards to a 15-inch MacBook, and while of course nothing has been confirmed by the suits at Apple, that rumor has been reiterated by this juicy new iPhone story. Apparently Hon Hai has now secured a contract with Apple to manufacture 12 million mobile handsets with music player functionality, sez the Commercial Times. The phone (which sounds like an iPhone if we ever heard of one) is purportedly set to launch in the first half of next year, giving rise to hopes that Apple will announce the handset at Macworld Expo in January. As for the MacBook,contrary to the May 2007 ship date we heard for the 15-inch MacBooks earlier, Hon Hai could be delivering these things as early as next month.

[Thanks, Dave Z.]

The word in Taiwan circles is that Foxconn (yeah, that Foxconn) has an order from Apple for some 15.4-inch MacBooks, which are due to ship in May 2007. Apparently all it takes to get Apple to stop their exclusive use of Asustek for MacBook orders is a few human rights violations and a couple of ensuing investigations. It seems like a 15.4-inch MacBook could put a significant dent in MacBook Pro sales, so hopefully Apple has something fancy up their sleeve to please the aluminum-lovers among us. In other news, Foxconn is also signed up for some PS3 production next February (though the article says February 2006, which seems unlikely), since it's pretty clear by now that Asustek isn't quite hacking it on that front.

[Via TG Daily]