Mid-July Apple line up refresh a no-go?

Remember back in mid-June when folks were reporting possible Mac Pro and Mac Mini refreshes for mid-July or August? And let's not forget about this gem from late June: MacBook Air to be refreshed in mid-July from the Washington Post; well I hate to break it to you but a source has advised us to not hold our collective breath.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, our source came forward and clearly put those rumors to bed, stating that rumored refresh was "a false alarm." In fact a lot of the buzz about new SKU's lend credence to what was actually going on this week: Apple's point-of-sale handhelds received a major upgrade last night.

Sure it doesn't sound nowhere near as sexy a refreshed Mac Pro or MacBook Air, but according to our source this update will probably make your next trip to the Apple Store a bit more pleasant. "It's a firmware update. Split credit cards, accept checks, receipt lookups etc," says our

source and since we're about halfway done with the day (7/14) I'm leaning towards this being the only change we can expect for now.

That said, on the retail side, Apple seems to be interested in keeping buyers moving on their sales floors versus having them stand in line to take care of most transactions. Keeping the faithful's gazes fixed on shiny new gear and making it easier than ever to accept various payments is probably a win-win for both consumer and retailer.

Sadly we weren't able to pin our source down with a date on when to expect new gear.

Apple to release mid-range, contract-free iPhone says Deutsche Bank analyst

Oh you number-crunching analyst. Always with speculating all kinds of iPhones to be announced, released, or introduced, however, considering that the it's an analyst from Duetshe Bank, a $350 unlocked iPhone specifically for the pre-paid market doesn't seem far fetched.

The speculated iPhone would be similar in dimensions to an iPod Touch (obviously maybe a little thicker due to the addition of a wireless antenna) and would be offered without a contract. After reviewing the numbers, at a 53% profit margin and entry into the global pre-paid market, it is totally possible for Apple to pursue such a device. That said, I'd highly doubt we'll see on Stateside in the near future.

via AppleInsider

Best Buy's MacBook Air out of stock; New MBA's coming soon?

Well by now the MacBook Air refresh is a stale rumor, but adding more fuel to the speculation fire is the above screen cap from BestBuy.com indicating that the current MBA is no longer shipping. Macrumors is reporting that Best Buy is focusing their stock in their brick and mortar stores but have not made mention when a new shipment will be available.

Honestly, I can't wait to see the refreshed line. Especially if it looks anything like this.

via Macrumors

Verizon iPad Imminent

Image via 9-to-5 Mac.

Yesterday we gathered 'round the interwebz to watch Verizon dryly announce the CDMA iPhone 4. Today, we get news that the iPad 2 will also come with a CDMA option. So if you thought of buying a 16GB wifi iPad with Verizon's MiFi service you may want to wait a little bit longer.

via Techtree - India

iPad and iPhone to Lose Home Button?

A BGR exclusive says that the phone Steve Jobs had envisioned, a phone without any buttons, may soon be a reality. According to their source, the news of 4 and 5-finger multitouch gestures being supported in iOS4.3 was designed for devices without a Home Button.

Bigger still are reports from this same source, that Apple is testing iPads and iPhones without Home Buttons at the Apple campus.

Though I'm sure a redesign of this scope would take into account that iOS devices occasionally tend to freeze - not that Apple would ever release anything that wasn't 100% ready to go.

Still with news like this, and this, I can't help but to be a little excited what's going to be unveiled in just a few short weeks.

via BGR

iPad 2 Ads Shot & Ready For Post Production

We knew it was coming, but now reports of an ad being shot at New York's Pier 59 by David Sims means that it's officially a matter of 'when' and not 'if.' According to 9 to 5 Mac's report, the photographer used current gen models for the shoot and the new models will be rendered in during post production.

Clearly the new iPad 2 will be of similar dimensions to the current one; goodbye rumors of a 7-inch iPad. Since we know that an iPad 2 is forthcoming, is it too early to get started on the fake iPad 2 rumors? I'm going with full Flash support and Verizon exclusivity.

via 9to5 Mac

New iPads with FaceTime Due Out Q1 2011?

Here we go again with more rumors of a camera equipped iPad coming out in the very near future. Ars Technica brings us FaceTime ready iPad tease, citing Digi Times that various component manufacturers have begun testing a 9.7-inch iPad, pressumably with a camera for use with FaceTime.

Though no new info has really been announced in this latest rumor, the time frame - First Quarter 2011 - is spot on for the usual 1 year refresh rate of most Apple products (the iPad was announced in March 2010). Although sources have told AppleInsider that we can expect to see a new FaceTime compatible iPad in stores in time for the holiday season, I'm sticking to the conservative Q1 2011 guestimate.

via Ars Technica

iPhone 3GS headed to T-Mobile

Another day, another iPhone on x carrier rumor.

AppleInsider reports of a fresh rumor citing an unnamed T-Mobile manager "casually" mentioning the iPhone 3GS was coming to T-Mobile to Wired's Chris Anderson. Just as Anderson and AppleInsider are carefully filling this as a rumor, we at PMB will as well.

Do keep in mind though that the likelihood of the iPhone coming to T-Mobile is highly probable in terms of hardware restrictions/requirements. Sure a lot of Verizon folks would love to see it sporting that red V (or red check mark), just keep in mind that T-Mobile didn't drop $100 Million bashing the iPhone.

via AppleInsider

Rumor Time: iPod Nano - Touch?

We're two days away from Apple's "Music" event (scheduled for Wednesday September 1st) and that can only mean: more rumors!

We've already glossed over an iPod Touch sporting a Retina Display and dual cameras (for Facetime without an iPhone), 99-cent movie/tv show rentals on iTunes, a more cloud-centric iTunes, and now all but confirmed, a new touchscreen iPod Nano.

Last week Engadget had reported the emergence of a new iPod Nano or iPod Shuffle that was only a 1.7-inch touchscreen. The case above from Alibaba.com suggests that this mysterious micro version of the Touch may be real.

PMB feels it could be a new touchscreen Shuffle as it's about due for a refresh and the tiny, no button interface of the current Shuffle was less than a hit. Also, trading the Nano's video camera (which at the $150 price range) that allows Apple to compete with the Flip camcorder for a 1.7-inch touchscreen would be a step backwards in our opinion.

Alibaba via Engadget

Rumor Time: iPod Touch Getting Retina Display and Dual Cameras

Well we're officially well into August, which can only mean one thing: iPod Rumor Time! John Gruber of Daring Fireball casually mentioned an iPod Touch with Retina Display and dual display.
Oh yeah, there's also something there about a Dell something or another.

via Daring Fireball

Rumor: iPhone on Verizon in 2010

So first, let's file this one under cloudy with a chance of pandering. AppleInsider reports a smaller bodied iPhone may be released by Verizon as early as Q3 2010.

The new Verizon iPhone is rumored to use a UMTS/CDMA hybrid radio that will allow it to run on Verizon's CDMA network AND still be able to use UMTS 3G networks - like AT&T. There is, as pictured, a rumored reduction in screen size from a 3.2" display to a smaller 2.8" display.

All this info comes from an overseas analyst, OTR Global, that is providing this info to AppleInsider; so I wouldn't get my hopes up just yet. Some of the possible bits of recent information that may lend some credibility to these rumors are the new early termination fees that are being imposed by Verizon for "advanced devices".

We'll keep an eye on this one nonetheless.

via AppleInsider

Pink Kills the Sidekick

Though technically this isn't an Apple related post it's one hell of a story. It has all the elements of a great spy drama - a spy, a business catastrophe, and hundreds of people at least one person crying bloody murder.

For about a week now Sidekick users have found themselves without access to their precious data, contacts, and after Apple Insider published an alleged disgruntled Danger employee's take on it; folks now "know" that Microsoft seems to be the culprit.

Money quote from AppleInsider's spy:

"What's worse is that apparently Microsoft has been lying to [T-Mobile] this whole time about the amount of resources that they've been putting behind Sidekick development and support (in reality, it was cut down to a handful of people in Palo Alto managing some contractors in Romania, Ukraine, etc.)."

Now keep in mind this has explicitly been filed as a RUMOR simply cuz there's no proof that Microsoft is sabotaging a division they paid a lot of money for but there seems to be enough folks out there that think this could be a possibility.

Why Killing the Sidekick is Believable:
Although there are many customers that are quite content with their Sidekicks (my teenage cousins for one), the platform requires maintenance, development for new devices, and above all resources. Microsoft picked up Danger for the purpose of working on Project Pink - a rumored MS branded phone; killing the Sidekick would be a natural step in consolidating resources and efforts on one project.

A system-wide failure of the Sidekick would create outrage from subscribers; everyone was going to blame T-Mobile. It sucks being the front office as customers know you and not necessarily all the moving parts. Purposely creating this kind of failure or even failing to address the issue within a couple of days would put a lot of pressure on a company to find an alternative product to use; a wholly Microsoft branded phone or even phones running a Microsoft branded OS not only fills this need but gives customers assurance of an already existing product.

So is the blogosphere grasping at straws here? Maybe, but sometimes an idea may be so crazy that it may just be right.