With no GC titles being played, you won’t need those Gamecube memory card slots either, so they are gone too. No worries though, Gamecube controller ports are still there for Wii games like Super Smash Bros Brawl.

For now, this new console has been confirmed for the UK market only, but I’m sure it will make it’s way to the U.S. eventually. The question is, how much will it cost? The Wii is already the cheapest you can buy, so how much cheaper does it get when you drop Gamecube compatibility?

[via TGDaily]

Companies like Apple redesign their phones annually or biannually, introducing hardware upgrades per iteration and upgrading the aesthetics, making the previous generation look like crap in the consumers’ eyes, even though the phone itself still works fine. The idea behind Revive is the exact opposite of that – KD wants to create a sustainable electronic product, and they want people to hold on to the Revive smartphone for as long as possible. How? By awarding points to users based on how long they keep the current hardware. These points can then be used to upgrade the phone:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Clever eh? If you noticed, the Revive’s back is protected by leather, a material that gets better with age. This is a deliberate move on KD’s part – if you can’t replace the part, you might as well make it durable and have a more or less long lasting appeal. The smartphone’s UI is intended to endear the phone to the user as well:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

This is really an admirable concept, one that shouldn’t take consumers a lot of convincing if done right. It’s environment-friendly, its upgradeable nature appeals to hardcore users and the gamification of upgrading – i.e. the points system – is a brilliant move to convince users to hold on to their phones instead of springing for other, newer models.

That said, I think the software and UI should be upgradeable and customizable as well. I know the intent behind the UI, but I don’t think it will appeal to everyone. What will appeal to everyone? Nothing, which is why the customizability should extend to the software component of Revive as well. Overall, it’s a wonderful concept, and I really hope it gets turned into reality.

[Kinneir Dufort via NotCot]

Wedgie Wedge Partners also thinks that Apple will have another round of price cuts along with the release of the new Macs, as a response to the impending release of Windows 7, Microsoft’s well-received OS, this October. Apple does follow a fairly regular hardware update cycle, so I guess the first part of the rumor is no surprise, but  price cuts?  Want. Maybe Apple will release a 13″ Unibody MacBook with a removable battery for $1,000. Hah! I wish.

What would you like to see in the next Macbook & iMac? What the hell does “organic design” mean? And what exactly does a “research firm” do? So many questions.

[via Tech Trader Daily via MacRumors]

Microsoft says it will discontinue the current 20GB 360 Premium, and has immediately dropped its price to $299 to make way for the new model. The 360 Arcade ($279/no hard drive) and the 360 Elite ($449/120GB hard drive), will continue to be produced, and there’s no word on price drops for those models.

[UPDATE: It looks like Amazon is already offering the Elite for just $399, a $50 cut].

No images of the new model have been revealed yet, but it’s thought that it will retain the familiar white design as the earlier models. (C’mon Redmond, isn’t it time for that svelte Xbox 360 Mini we’ve all been dying for?)

[Press Release]

Aimed squarely at Sony’s Playstation 3 high-end hardware features, the Ultimate console is rumored to include built-in HD-DVD playback, Wi-Fi, improved audio circuitry, a 65nm chipset, and a 320GB hard drive so you’ll have plenty of storage space for Microsoft’s upcoming Xbox IPTV service and other downloaded content. Perhaps my favorite part of the rumor is an improved cooling system that’ll allow for virtually silent operation — fan noise being one of my pet peeves with the current 360 series.

Stuff believes the Xbox 360 Ultimate will hit stores in Autumn 2008. Only time will tell if the rumors are true. Stay tuned.

[via eXophase]

“GM-XBOX 360 (black/ 120GB) $479.99 NEW $439.99 USED.” It’s also listing a release date of 5/1/2007.

If this is true, it would put an end to the rampant rumors of the impending new model. There’s no word at this point if it includes any other new rumored features such as HDMI or a built-in HD DVD drive, but based on that pricepoint, I’d guess it’s just the bigger hard drive and maybe the HDMI port at most. With this information out on the street, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before Microsoft fills in the details.

[via Kotaku]

(Photo shown is from an Xbox Black Case mod, not from the rumored Microsoft model.)