There were rumors about a possible Mac Pro with six-core processors, thanks to the introduction of the i7 980X and Core i7 970 from Intel. The rumors now speak of a possible launch next Tuesday, in fact.

The first Mac Pro model to be launched next week according to rumors would be based on the six-core Core i7 980x, with this specifications:

• 3.33 Ghz (with TurboBoost up to 3.6 Ghz)
• 6 cores / 12 threads
• 32nm Architecture
• LGA 1366 socket
• 130W TDP

The usage of such powerful technologies could mean a real change for Apple’s professional computers. There’s no word about the graphics used for now, but previous rumors spoke about the Radeon HD 5870 as the most possible choice.

According to an analysis from Morgan Stanley, the next iPhone model, the iPhone 4G will be cheaper than the previous models. The analysts claim that the possibility comes from the fact that Apple has now almost completely regained the money used in development and research to create the iPhone, and that now they can afford to use a more aggressive marketing campaign.

Also, a lower cost for the iPhone would bring to more units sold, which could bring to more songs downloaded from iTunes Store or applications from the Apple store. It could also influence customers to buy other Mac products. It would be a good move for the company.

The fourth generation of iPhones (iPhone 4G) are likely to be around in May. The rumors were brought forward by the French magazine Challenges. The magazine claims that the news came from a non-identified mobile operator. If that rumor comes true, it’d be the second time that a French phone company leaks information about Apple products.

Unfortunately the news don’t reveal anything else about the new iPhone, although it’s easy to think that the anticipated May launch, contrarily from the usual June/July launch that Apple follows since 2007, is a reply to Google’s new market strategy.

Stay tuned on our Iphone 4G news.

Rumors are rumors and we always treat them as such, but should this one come to pass, it should be an interesting possibility for the future. According to 9to5ac, Einar Rosenberg from Nearfield Communications has declared that Apple would be working in testing the RFID technology on the next generation of iPhones. Those were the exact words:

“A highly reliable source has informed me that Apple has built some prototypes of the next gen iPhone with an RFID reader built in and they have seen it in action. So its not full NFC but its a start for real service discovery and I’m told that the reaction was very positive that we can expect this in the next gen iPhone.”

In a nutshell, then, the RFID implementation should allow the devices to notice the distance and start pre-determined actions automatically, such as synchronization (through WiFi perhaps) or the payment authorization by putting the credit card in contact with the phone display. Of course, in order for that to work, the card must have an integrated RFID chip, but it’s becoming more and more common now, especially in the USA.

We’ll have to wait and see.

The guys from MacBidouille have released some interesting rumors about the new generation of Mac Pros that should be launched in the beginning of 2010. According to the French site, Apple would already be at the later development stages of its top-series computers. In particular, the testing of the Intel Xeon Gulftown processors would be underway. The Intel CPUs should be launched in the second quarter of 2010, but apparently the Mac Pro will have it before the launch.

It’s still not clear if all the Mac Pro line will have the powerful new processor or if it’ll be reserved for the top of the line. In any case, the rumor confirms a new motherboard that will support 10 Gbits/s Ethernet ports and compatible with 8 and 16GB RAMs.

According to the Digitimes website, the rumors of the Mac Tablet are true and the product should be launched on the first trimester of 2010. We’ll still treat that as a rumor, of course, but the website has been quite accurate in the past, so we’ll have to see.

The confirmation has apparently come from Foxconn Electronics, which will be one of Apple’s manufacturing partners on this new venture. Foxconn has also released two new details: the first is about the number of units produced on this first wave: around 300.000-400.000. The second is about the display: a 10.6″.

We’ll have to wait and see.

An interesting rumor released by Gizmodo reinforces the previous rumors for the tablet Apple: the possibility of becoming the newest information pad on the market. Apparently, Apple would have contacted the New York Times, Oberlin Press and McGraw Hill to reach an agreement, so far. Those agreements would be based on the possibility of releasing contents (information and books) through iTunes and a new hardware. Seems very much like the tablet to me.

This fact would switch the attention of developers to a new, innovative information management, perhaps with ad-hoc solutions. Then, maybe, the new tablet could become the new reading iPod.

The guys from iLounge have found a scoop about the iTablet, or better, the iPad. Although they claim that the information came from a reliable source, we’ll file it as a rumor for now and wait for official information. But, in any case, here it is.

According to the rumors, Apple has created three different prototypes for the iPad with different hardware features: the first, for example, had a 7″ display that was considered too small and that prototype was discarded. The second version has a 10.7″ display with 5 to 6 times the iPhone resolution, and a multi-touch surface that is 7 times larger, capable of showing a full newspaper page or a high-resolution video.

The OS seems to be the iPhone OS and also the aspect ressembles the iPhone, including the curved back. Two models should be available, one with 3D connectivity and one without, something similar to a big iPhone or iPod Touch. It’s not aiming to be a competition to laptops, more exactly to be a mix of a telephone and a laptop, becoming a big multimedia device with a touch of communications as well.

The announcement of the iPad should arrive on January 2010 and the actual launch only on May or June, in order to create the same hype that pushed the iPhone so much. And everything should be ready, and waiting for Steve Job’s approval.

We’ll have to wait and see if those rumors confirm themselves.

According to Appleinsider, the new iMac models are already been manufactured by the Taiwanese factories that supply Apple with their products. There were already rumors about the launch of the new all-in-one desktop generation, but unfortunately the hardware details are still unknown at this point.

Appleinsider says that the new iMacs should have a lower price and a “thinner” design, probably inspired by the LED-lit Cinema Displays. The rumor site also sustains another rumor that says that the new iMacs should have two new mysterious innovations, one that could be a Blu-Ray drive and another on the audio/video editing field.

The new models would be ready from next week, according to the rumor, or by the second half of October. Another proof of the upcoming launch would come from Apple’s behavior: the company is giving discounts, going from $100 to $200 on the current models for companies that buy computers in bulk or customers on the educational field.

MacRumors apparently has received and published the pictures of the disk and packaging for the upcoming Snow Leopard OS. If these images aren’t fake, which is probable, the OS could be launched earlier than what was expected. The images seem to show the Portuguese version of the OS, with the picture of a Snow Leopard and the sentence:

“The world’s most advanced operating system. Perfectly optimized.”

Although there are many conflicting rumors about Snow Leopard at the moment, one of them claims that the OS will be launched on August 28th. We’ll have to wait and see.

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