The artwork shows the new Assassin wearing what appears to be an 18th-century military jacket and holding matching weapons. There’s also the flag in case those clues weren’t enough. Some are also saying that the face of the character looks native American, but I’m not sure how you can tell that from the picture.

Ubisoft is keeping silent for the moment and hasn’t confirmed anything yet. We will know in due time though as Assassin’s Creed III will be out on October 30th on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and the PC. I for one, would welcome a game set in this era, since it seems pretty rare. What do you guys think?

[via Kotaku via Geeky Gadgets]

The guys over at Macotakara[JP] and iLab Factory[JP] have posted images of a new aluminum case which appears to have a slightly different depth for its LCD panel, adding 1mm to the thickness of the back panel, but making adjustments for a slightly thinner LCD panel – reportedly this 2048×1536 panel from Sharp – which fits into the case perfectly. The images do nothing to confirm rumors of a Retina Display, but the changes to the case depth indicate there is clearly a change coming to the display panel itself.

In addition, it looks like the camera opening has changed, possibly to support a new, higher quality (and possibly wide-screen) camera.

It also looks like refinements have been made to the dock connector, improving its rigidity – which should make it less likely that you’ll accidentally yank out the dock connector.

So are these images of parts from the actual iPad 3? Will there be an iPad 2S first, with minor refinements to the iPad 2? Or is this just some knock-off clone being made in China? Only time will tell.

[via iLab via Macotakara]

The console rumors also point to a significantly faster CPU/GPA/APU system-on-a-chip package called “Oban“, plus a switch to Blu-ray for the internal drive. Besides downloaded HD content, the only HD media the Xbox 360 ever supported was HD DVD back during the format wars, and that was through an add-on drive. The final new rumor says that when the next gen Xbox lands, a next-gen Kinect will be built into the unit.

One of the more unusual rumors floating around is disturbing to those out there that enjoy buying used games. According to a source cited by Kotaku, the Xbox 720 will in some way block the play of used games. Not only would that really hurt businesses like Gamestop, but it would force gamers to buy new or nothing – presumably in order to encourage new game sales.

I can believe most of these rumors, but I really hope the no used games one is false.

[via Kotaku]

The camera is also said to have integrated Ethernet, presumably to allow the streaming of live video, and perhaps the sending content to your computer faster. Storage is to a CF card, and the D4 should support the new XQD standard – which offers significantly improved throughput and a small form-factor.

Other features include Face Detection, video recording in 1080p (only 30fps?), and uncompressed video output via the HDMI port. These specs were picked up by Nikonrumors from a variety of sources, but the site thinks that they are 90% accurate based on experience. They expect that all will be revealed about the D4 in January 2012.

The high-end version, rumored to be called the “Xbox 720″ or codename “Loop” would be closer to what we have now, with a disk drive and a hard drive. It would also be backwards compatible with 360 games. There is speculation that it could have two separate graphics chips as well, but that may be wishful thinking.

These rumors make a lot of sense. Not everyone needs an Xbox for hardcore games. Chances are they would sell a ton of cheaper units, adding up to more sales overall.

[via SlashGear and Geeks Are Sexy]

Artist Guilherme M. Schasiepen took a stab at what he envisions the iTV to look like, and it actually looks pretty slick in his concept renderings.

The so-called “iTV” Apple TV was mentioned as a possibility in Steve Jobs’ recent biography, and rumors have surfaced from time-to-time of Apple trying to crack the living room more holistically than its current Apple TV set-top box.

Guilherme’s concept design melds the slim aluminum and glass industrial look of today’s iMac with the brains and UI found in the latest iOS devices like the iPhone 4S and iPad 2. You can also check out an animated 3D rendering of Guilherme’s design here.

The Apple iTV in these concepts has an interface very reminiscent of the current Apple TV, but with a full applications interface, a multi-touch screen, and Siri voice-activated remote control. Pretty much all technologies readily available, and within reach of Apple. About the only part of the concept design I’m not sold on yet is the idea of glasses-free 3D. Thus far, such displays are wildly expensive at large sizes, have poor viewing angles and bad artifacts. I’m unconvinced that Apple will dive into the 3D space until the technology has advanced more, and 3D glasses aren’t Apple’s style.

According to the Jobs bio, the Apple TV would “seamlessly sync with all of your devices and iCloud,” and would “have the simplest user interface you could imagine.” Frankly, I’d just be happy with a TV that looks this good, has a great picture and Apple TV built in. The rest of the features are a bonus. That said, I’m still not 100% convinced that Apple wants to play in the low-margin, slow-turnover business of HDTVs. It’s not like with phones where people want to upgrade every 2 years. Even with today’s advancements, most of us keep our TVs at least 5 years if not much longer.

[via 9to5Mac via SlashGear]

Reports indicate that everyone from processor chip manufacturers to middleware firms have been actively working with Microsoft and they expect the new console to be unveiled at E3 2013. Many rumors about what gaming companies have been working on have also led to speculation that an Xbox 720 is in fact in development. For instance, Lionhead is supposedly working on a project named Fable NExt, which will launch on a new console and another rumor says that an EA studio already has rudimentary new Xbox console technology in-house. I guess time will tell.

Whether you call it Xbox 720, Xbox Next, Nextbox, or whatever, it will hit eventually and we will all buy one. Does anyone care to predict some launch dates?

[via Gamezone]

Interestingly we have heard rumors of an iPad mini with the “mini” part being the price, not the screen. A new rumor is making rounds today that claims Apple has received screen samples from LG display and AU Optronics that are smallish 7.85-inch units for the iPad mini – compared to the 9.7-inch displays in the original iPad and iPad 2.

The same sources claim that the new smaller iPad will ship early next year. I think a smaller and cheaper iPad would sell very well. I also think that Apple is selling enough iPad 2 tablets that it really doesn’t need to offer another tablet unless it has eyes on dominating the tablet world and crushing Samsung, HP, Dell, Motorola and RIM’s tablet dreams more than it already has.

[via UnwiredView]

The tip that a Google Music store is coming comes from an anonymous source cited by the New York Times. I think if anyone could get hoards of content on its store for people to buy, it would be Google. They already sell movies, games and books in their Android Market, so offering music would only broaden its reach. I would think that Google would also have the best shot at competing with the iTunes store. Amazon is already trying to beat Apple at the music sales game, but it is favored more by Android users today.

I don’t think it will be anytime soon that an digital music seller can beat iTunes, as the store has too much going for it – especially device integration with  hundreds of millions of iOS devices. I would think that before someone could truly challenge them, iTunes would consider allowing other devices to buy tracks and content on iTunes.

[via NYT]

The sources tip that the increase is in part due to early production runs of the iPad 3. The iPad 2 landed in March of this year, and Apple will undoubtedly sell hoards of the next iPad so getting it into production early makes sense. The analyst figures that anywhere from 600,000 to a million of those extra iPad orders are the iPad 3. There’s no possibility the iPad 3 production is for release this year, but they could be getting an early jump on components to be released in Q1 2012.

Of course, this could all be wrong and the extra production numbers might just be stock for an expected hot product for the holiday season. What do you think? Could the iPad 3 be hitting production already? The time frames match with a March launch pretty well.

[via AllThingsD]

HP, a few TouchPad buyers, and some developers are now baffled by reports that a few of the TouchPads shipped out arrived to the buyers packing Android on board rather than WebOS. Some devs contacted HP and wanted to know what version of Android was on the devices and HP played the dumb card.

HP claims it never authorized the shipping of Android on the TouchPad, and went so far as to say there was no chance that those tablets shipped from HP with Android on them. HP is investigating how Android ended up on the tablets and for now, we don’t know anything. I bet this is a big hoax, but if it’s not let’s be honest, getting a TouchPad with Android already on it saves a bit of time with the hack.

[via PCWorld]

According to the rumors, the soldiers were using night vision contact lenses. The lenses are claimed to get power by magnetic induction. The wearer would put a gel with a strong magnet on the eyelids and each time they blink the lenses would be charged. That is so awesome – assuming it’s more than a rumor.

Contacts for night vision would be very cool because the wearer would get their peripheral vision back. Peripheral vision is lost with the wearing of normal night vision goggles. This may well have no truth to it, but I could see the army fielding some straight up Pitch Black sci-fi contacts.

[via kitup]

Apparently, the scuttlebutt is that this year WWDC will be all about iOS and Mac OS X only. Further supporting this, Apple’s Phil Schiller said, “At this year’s conference we are going to unveil the future of iOS and Mac OS. If you are an iOS or Mac OS X software developer, this is the event that you do not want to miss.” No new hardware will make for a boring WWDC, if you ask me. AllThingsD thinks that the timing of the iPhone 5 unveil might be pushed a bit to this summer so that it lines up with AT&T’s LTE plans. 

AT&T is expected to start rolling out their next-gen LTE networks by the middle of the year. You never know though, Apple usually does a good job of keeping a lid on its plans for future products. 

Presumably, the mockup is based on Apple’s specs given to case makers. If the mockup design is to believed, it’s clearly thinner and more tapered in design than the 1st-gen iPad, and there’s much larger speaker on the back right corner of the iPad, presumably for improving on the iPad’s tinny sound.

Of course, the much anticipated front-and rear-facing cameras are there, as well as some sort of slot opposite the volume and mute buttons. There’s also something that looks like it could be an infrared port on the top – perhaps for controlling your TV or home electronics? And what’s the deal with that white strip on the back? I’m assuming that’s the 3G antenna under there, but I could be wrong. I’m also a little skeptical about the angled headset jack – I can’t imagine another debacle like the original iPhone and its custom headphone jack, so I hope this part isn’t true.

The full set of images can be found over on Flickr. That said, the shelf-life on these images will be very short indeed, with the real deal being revealed around 1pm Eastern time, tomorrow, March 2.

[via M.I.C. Gadget ]

Earlier this month there were rumors flying that an iPhone nano would be coming soon, that it would be $199 without a contract, and be about a third smaller than the existing iPhone. The New York Times cites sources today that say the next iPhone will be cheaper than the current model, but will be the same size.

The reason they site for no smaller device is easy for me to believe – usability. The source claims that Apple feels a smaller device would be difficult to use and would not necessarily be any cheaper to build than the existing phone.

The prototype is said to be about a third smaller than the existing iPhone 4 and lack the home button of the iPhone. The upside of the missing button and smaller screen is the price according to the mysterious source.

Apple is said to be eyeing a price of $200 for the smaller iPhone – unlocked, without any contracts. That’s right, $200 outright and the thing is yours. That price would go a long way towards getting Apple an even larger share of the market and keeping Android at bay.

[via Bloomberg]

The Wall Street Journal reports that sources are telling it that Apple is already making the new version of the iPad. The same sources claim that the new version will be thinner, lighter and have a camera on the front for video conferencing. These same sources claim that the screen will have a resolution similar to the current iPad. Earlier rumors had a higher resolution screen coming to the tablet. Other things that are said to be changing are a better GPU, more memory, and a more powerful graphics processor. All of these are consistent with our earlier iPad 2 rumor roundup back in December.

The mysterious sources also claim the new iPad will sell on AT&T and Verizon. I hope the next iPad has more than incremental updates or at least the updates had better be really good. The existing iPad isn’t heavy and runs just fine with current hardware, so it’ll take a lot to get current users to upgrade.

The guys over at Japanese blog Macotakara (translated from Japanese) have theorized that an upcoming iPod Touch will get the same sort of 3D display found in the Nintendo 3DS. According to the site, Apple has filed several patents for 3D related technologies since 2006 (but I can’t find any of them directly mention portable devices.) In addition an unnamed source at an LCD panel manufacturer who provides displays for Apple claims they are preparing for production of a small glasses-free 3D LCD panel for use in the next iPod Touch.

As a result of one particular patent, titled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ADJUSTING A DISPLAY BASED ON THE USER’S POSITION,” Macotakara suggests that the gadget would support 3-dimensional head-tracking interactions that take advantage of the motion sensors and gyroscope in the gadget, and have even go so far as to put together a video showing off how they think the 3D iPod Touch might work:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Frankly, I’m suspicious of this particular rumor, as I think if Apple were to jump on the portable 3D bandwagon, they’d wait until the Nintendo 3DS comes out and they see how it fares. With 3D being such a gimmick up until now, I doubt that Apple would  jump at such a feature without more evidence that the market really wants it. That said, if they did do it, it would strike another blow against Nintendo, as Apple’s dominance in the handheld gaming market continues to grow.

Just think how less than 3 years ago, Apple hadn’t even opened the App Store yet, and had never sold a handheld game. Now there are hundreds of millions of  game downloads each year. I certainly play my Nintendo DS way less since the iPhone and iPad came out, so I wouldn’t put it past Apple to take another shot at Nintendo if the 3DS is successful.

Here’s the video:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

I’m sure you noticed the camera pinhole as well, but I think a camera is pretty much guaranteed for the 2nd gen iPad. I’m not sure but it also seems like the current iPad is slightly larger or more rounded than the 2nd gen iPad, since the former doesn’t quite fit in the case. If (and this is still a big if) the case is indeed for the next iPad, what do you think are those bottom holes for? Speakers? SD card slots? USB ports? An HDMI port perhaps?

[via TUAW]

After scouring the web for the various rumors about the iPad 2, these are my best guesses of what we’ll see in the iPad 2 when it is announced:

• Front-facing 640×480 camera with FaceTime chat support
• High-res camera on the back (resolution unknown, probably the same 5MP as the iPhone 4)
• Dual-core CPU based on A9 ARM Cortex platform at 1GHz per core (likely to be branded “A5″ by Apple, just to confuse consumers)
• Improved sound, with a larger speaker on the back left corner of the iPad
• Addition of a 3-axis gyroscope to improve gaming and interactivity
• RAM increase from 256MB to 512MB
• Screen size will remain at 9.7-inches – no 7-inch or smaller version plannes
• Possible increase in screen resolution, leveraging “Retina display” tech from iPhone 4 (I have my doubts on the ability to do this on a cost-effective basis yet)
• Slightly reduced body size and a flat back instead of a curved one (time to buy some new cases)
• MicroUSB port to meet European regulations on mobile device chargers
• Announcement likely to come at MacWorld Expo between Jan. 26 and 29th, with the iPad 2 shipping sometime in February or March 2011.
• Pricing likely to remain the same as 1st gen models

Several of the rumors (rear camera, speaker cutout and size change) are reaffirmed by this video of a supposed “Crystal Case for iPad 2nd Generation” in the works in China:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

As is always the case with rumors and speculation, there’s a chance I could be completely wrong, but check back here at the end of January, and let’s tally up how many I got right.

It all sounds great to me, but what I really want – and know we won’t get – is an SD card slot, 4G data network, and Flash support.

[sources: MaxConsole, Ubergizmo, iLounge and Device]