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Palm Pre cameo on Dutch carrier Hi's website much ado about nothing, says spokesman

Alright, move along folks, nothing to see here. Remember that Palm Pre support page that showed up on Dutch provider Hi's website? Seems like that'd indicative a possible future collaboration, but according to a spokesman for KPN (of which Hi is a part), it's all a misunderstanding. While not meant for public viewing at this time, the page in question was apparently intended to explain what settings you'd need for using a Hi SIM card, whether you got the device from them or via another provider. Still seems fishy, if you ask us. Of course, he added the company is very interested in the Pre (as if we thought otherwise), but that nothing's been announced at this time anywhere in Europe. Let's just hope that rumored UK announcement pans out this week, and maybe the rest of the continent will follow suit.

[Thanks, Wesley]

Microsoft's "Pink" smartphone to be Microsoft-branded?

Ready for even more rumors about Windows Mobile 7 and Microsoft's mysterious "Pink" smartphone project? Good, cause we've got a few -- and the first is potentially huge. ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley says her best understanding of "Pink" is now that it's a Microsoft-branded phone running a custom UI on top of Windows Mobile 7, developed by what's left of the Danger team and targeted at the Sidekick market. Yep, Microsoft-branded -- as in, the exact thing Microsoft has been denying for ages now. What's more, Redmond wouldn't be letting third parties use this new UI -- Pink would be manufactured only by Sharp or Motorola, who've made Sidekicks in the past. It all makes sense, even if it does feel a bit like MS is knifing its partners in the back -- companies like HTC and Samsung have been equally aggressive in layering their own UIs like TouchFLO 3D and TouchWiz on top of WinMo, but it's another thing entirely to compete against Microsoft itself, especially now that AdWeek says Microsoft's selected an agency to develop a Pink ad campaign. Yeah, things are starting to get a little wild -- we haven't even mentioned the open questions of whether the Zune HD is running Tegra because it's based on Windows Mobile 7 Chassis 1, or whether Pink will launch on Verizon, or whether Zune will appear on other phones, or... you get the idea. Hey Microsoft -- you want to clear any of this up by shipping some products?

Read - ZDNet
Read - AdWeek

Sony placing PS3 slim manufacturing orders for delivery in July?


We haven't heard much about the PS3 slim since E3, but that doesn't mean it's been entirely quiet out there -- the hot rumor today is that Sony's signed manufacturing agreements with both Foxconn and Pegatron to build the revised model in time for July delivery. That much we believe, since it's been backed up by a couple different credible reports, but here's where it gets totally insane: there's a suggestion that the slim will be the last PS3 model of this generation, and that a next-gen console based on Sony's motion controller is due in spring 2010. We don't buy that at all, since the PS3 is just entering its prime and Sony was clear that the motion controller was for the existing console, so we think this rumor is getting garbled down the wire -- it's far more likely that the slim is being prepped for an August launch to coincide with those rumored price cuts, and that new PS3 bundles that include the motion controller are set to drop next year. That's just our take on the matter, though -- we'll see how things shake out.

Nikon D3000, D300s images materialize

What's this? An as of yet unannounced Nikon D3000 camera has allegedly popped up in press photo format, flaunting itself as what appears to be a slimmed down entry level DSLR. The gang LensTip have analyzed the pic pretty thoroughly against the D5000 and have concluded it's got a smaller body, no HDMI connector, no microphone (so much for a movie mode), and likely no articulating display. Additionally, we've got from Nikon Rumors what's purported to be our first glimpse at the D300s body. Given the angle of the shot, the only difference we can spot is the inclusion of a microphone -- then again, it could just be some subtle image manipulation trickery from a rabid fan. See it and decide for yourself after the break.

[Via Electronista]

Read - Nikon D3000 is coming
Read - Another Nikon D300s picture

HTC Hero approved by Global Certification Forum, rocking GSM and HSPA

We're unfortunately light on details here, but The Unwired is reporting that HTC's Hero has been approved by the Global Certification Forum, listed here as "HERO100," with support for quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE and dualband UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA at 1800/2100 MHz. With the company's touted London event just around the corner -- this Wednesday, to be exact -- we wouldn't be surprised to see the phone and its oft-rumored "Rosie" Android UI take center stage, in possibly two variations. Other than frequency bands and the associative name, the GCF isn't giving us anything else to work with, so for now just sit back and hope this uncertainty is cleared up sooner rather than later.

Leaked Lenovo roadmap shows Calpella laptops coming January 2010?

Our compatriots at Engadget Chinese have happened upon what looks to be a roadmap for Lenovo's upcoming laptops between now and March 2010. Recently in the wild T400s is on there, slated for mid-July or so, with a pair of new SL models following in August. More interesting than all that, however, is the sheer number of new X, T, W, SL, and SLc laptops listed for the beginning of 2010 that utilize Intel's upcoming Calpella platform. We're not gonna put too much stock into these pictures right now, but it definitely raises a few eyebrows. More slides after the break.

DJ Hero spinning a $120 price tag, October 27th ship date?

While far from being a confirmation, major online retailers Gamestop and Amazon have independently of one another put up listings for the DJ Hero / turntable bundle with the same October 27th ship date and $119.99 price tag for Wii, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 owners -- the PS2 version is either the same price or $20 cheaper, depending on which site you trust. That's a good $70 less than the two-instrument Guitar Hero World Tour package, but of course you're paying for a more single-player setup. Again, we haven't heard word one from Activision, and with over four months until this supposed date, things are likely subject to change (assuming these even came from the publisher in the first place, and weren't just magically pulled out of a large, black cap with frilly edges). We wouldn't be surprised to see this being the final price, though, and either way, it serves as a nagging reminder that the life of a fake plastic musician doesn't come cheap.

[Via Joystiq]

Read
- Gamestop listing
Read - Amazon listing

Tegra might power Zune HD, definitely does augmented zombie reality

Ready for a double dose of Tegra newsbits? We've been wondering what's packed in the Zune HD for some time now, but apparently PC Perspective has had the answer since Computex and didn't realize the newsworthiness until now. According to the article, NVIDIA staffers told the site that its uber-powerful Tegra processor will be the heart and soul of Microsoft's revised PMP. There's been no official word from anyone, and for all we know it might've been some (possibly misinformed) employee mouthing off for kicks. If true, however, it'd be one helluva 'screw you' from Microsoft to Windows Mobile fans, who've been waiting over a year at this point to see some retail hardware running on NVIDIA's mobile platform. We've put in calls to both companies for some sort of statement, but we're not getting our hopes up.

In other news, a group of researchers from Georgia Tech and Savannah College of Art and Design are showing off some of CPU's impressive potential with an augmented reality game ARhrrrr. Using a Tegra-powered mobile dev kit, the game projects a 3D town based on a two-dimensional diagram where you tap the screen to shoot zombies, or lay Skittles in real life to serve as virtual bombs. We've seen similar implementations before, but we're admittedly quite infatuated with this one, and as a bonus, there's video of the demo after the break.

Read - Zune HD uses NVIDIA Tegra processor
Read - Augmented Environments Lab: ARhrrrr!

Like weeds: new Natal Xbox rumor shot down, 3D Xbox rumor pops up to take its place


Rumor mongers seem hell bent on Microsoft building a brand new Xbox, despite what we assumed was wonderful news that current Xbox owners wouldn't have to shell out for new hardware to handle Project Natal. Well, Microsoft has already hit back against 1UP's rumor of a new Xbox coming in Fall 2010, calling the report "nonsense." Others have pointed out that the camera hardware actually does almost all of its own processing, so a slight hardware bump to the 360 would be kind of pointless -- though most seem to agree that Microsoft will package Natal with the 360 in a new SKU akin to the Arcade or Elite.

Meanwhile, TeamXbox, the ones who seemed to think the Zune HD was a portable game console of sorts, have a new rumor in the works: the next Xbox 360 won't be out in 2010 because Microsoft is going to wait for 3D-capable TVs to become more commonplace and launch a stereoscopic 3D console at that time. It sounds enticing, but given the fact that the Wii has succeeded directly in the face of its next-gen television empowering PS3 and Xbox 360 competition, we can't say it's the most likely of ideas -- if anything, Microsoft will need to have some solid backwards compatibility for us 2D "Take On Me" types.

[Via PC World]

Read - Microsoft sources play down reports of new Xbox
Read - TeamXbox predicts 3D Xbox

Samsung Omnia Pro to be the Louvre B7610?


We're actually surprised we didn't make the connection earlier, but word on the street today is the the rumored Samsung Omnia Pro will actually be a renamed Louvre B7610, a set that's been popping up a lot lately. Makes sense -- the Louvre's 3.5-inch WVGA AMOLED screen, 800MHz processor, and 5.1 megapixel camera match up nicely with the Omnia line. It's running Windows Mobile 6.1 right now, but we wouldn't be too surprised if the rumored August release date is held back to September or October to coincide with WinMo 6.5. One more pic after the break, couple more at the read links.

[Via Unwired View]

Read - Connect-UTB post
Read - Beyond3D forum post

Nokia E72 leaks out in promo video form


Looks like the E71 is about to be upstaged as Nokia's premier business-class smartphone -- someone in Espoo's just hit the corporate YouTube account with this promo video for an E72. Upgrades include a five megapixel camera, a relocated headphone jack, and what looks to be an optical mouse instead of a D-pad -- a welcome upgrade for click-happy S60. That's all we know for now, but we're digging for more -- check the video after the break.

Update: The YouTube video's been pulled, but luckily the guys from IntoMobile snagged it.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Nikon D300S screen leaks out


It's been removed now, but Nikon Rumors says this screenshot from a supposed Nikon D300S was briefly posted on Nikon USA's site earlier today. There's not much to go on here, but that SD icon in the corner seemingly implies the update to the D300 will somehow feature an SD slot -- whether it's in addition to CF as previously rumored is obviously up in the air. Either way, it seems like we'll find out soon enough -- stay tuned.

Dell and Samsung placing orders for 11.6-inch netbook screens?


We've known for a while that Dell's planning to follow the Mini 10 and Mini 12 with a Mini 11 at some point, and it sounds like that day isn't far off -- word out of the always-poppin' Display Taiwan 2009 tradeshow is that the company's placed a large order for 11.6-inch displays from noted party supplier Chunghwa Picture Tubes. We're also hearing that Samsung's getting in the action, so we'd assume there's a new CULV thin-and-light coming our from Korea sometime as well, but we'll see when we see.

[Via Electronista]

Six-core Intel Nehalem processors in the works?

It's a bit of a whisper on the wind, but bit-tech says Intel's got six-core Nehalem processors in the works for later this year. The chips are said to be compatible with existing Nehalem mobos, so you crazy builders out there will be able to just drop it in and go. If you've got the scratch, of course -- pricing hasn't been revealed, but we'd expect the new part to be more expensive than the quad-core Core i7 975, which runs about a grand.

[Via TrustedReviews]

iPhone 3GS: Apple's codename for tomorrow's unveiling?

It's pretty much the eve of Apple's big WWDC press conference, and Daring Fireball's John Gruber is back at the eleventh hour to chime in some more on his previous (and perhaps well-informed) iPhone predictions. He sticks to his previous wagers -- twice the CPU speed, twice the RAM, a heavy emphasis on a new video camera (no word on if there's an additional front-facing one), and $199 / $299 for the 16GB and 32GB models, respectively -- but additionally chimes in that the new device's codename is... drumroll, please... the iPhone 3GS, which he surmises is probably going to be the final product name, as well. Kind of a yawner, if you ask us, but it'd sell like gangbusters no matter what it was called. As for that lowered-tiered iPhone, he's expecting it to be the current 3G model with a price drop to $99. Also on the table is iPhone tethering, which we already know was built into OS 3.0, likely for a fee chosen by each carrier. Teasing farther into the future, he suggests "Marble," codename for an OS X visual overhaul, and the tablet are very much real projects but that there's little to no chance it'll be at WWDC. No clue what the "S" stands for (speed, perhaps?), but at this point we're pretty much counting the minutes to tomorrow's keynote, and our clocks can't tick much faster.




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