The pre-WWDC Apple rumor mill has finally churned out something that doesn’t have the words “3G” and “iPhone” involved — sources have told both Ars Technica and our friends at TUAW that Steve will also use his keynote to introduce the next major version of OS X, codenamed “Snow Leopard.” As the derivative release name indicates, there aren’t many changes in store from 10.5 Leopard — Apple’s said to instead be focusing on tightening up speed and stability as it starts producing more mobile devices. What’s more, this could be the end of PowerPC and Universal support in OS X, as Snow Leopard is said to be Intel-only. That’s bound to ruffle a few feathers, but things could get even more heated if Carbon is deprecated as is also being rumored. We’ll see when we see — Monday can’t get here fast enough.

Read - TUAW post
Read - Ars post

Verizon has certainly courted Alltel before, but this time, the two could finally be rounding third base. According to a breaking report at CNBC, Verizon is “in deep in talks to acquire Alltel,” which of course is America’s fifth largest wireless carrier. It’s no secret that Alltel has been riding fairly high of late, and unless your memory is totally shot, you’ll likely recall that it was just recently “taken private by TPG and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners in a $27.5 billion deal.” Not surprisingly, officials at both outfits refused to comment on the rumblings, but if this does indeed go down, analysts are expecting Verizon to pay around 8x Alltel’s current EBITDA, whereas TPG / Goldman Sachs paid 9.2x. We’ll keep you posted on any developments.

Update: The talks have been confirmed by Vodafone which owns a 45% stake in VZW.

This whole “it’s web video, on your TV!” space is getting crowded fast, but we’d say there’s certainly room from this new “PoD” device from Verismo Networks. Not content to merely concentrate on one form of content, the PoD can handle content from YouTube, BitTorrent, vTap, Amazon Unbox, CinemaNow, you name it. It’s a pretty simple box, with an Ethernet plug, a couple of USB ports for flash storage, some sort of wireless (we’re guessing WiFi), and outputs for S-Video or HDMI, up to HD resolutions. It’ll sell later this summer for $99, with a bit of a marketing push from YouTube, so this probably won’t be the last you hear of PoD.

We’ve been hearing about ATI’s external graphics schemes for years, but apparently XGP is finally ready to go. The platform houses an external graphics card — ATI-branded, of course — which connects to your laptop via a proprietary 4.0Gbps PCIe 2.0 connector. The new tech is being initially launched with AMD’s new ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3800, which can work in a multi-GPU CrossFireX configuration with your laptop’s internal graphics card. The first out of the gate with the tech is Fujitsu’s AMILO Sa 3650, which packages a Mobility Radeon HD 3870 cardbut there’s still no word pricing or exactly when or where this all is shipping. XGP also supports some extra USB 2.0 ports, Blu-ray decoding, and outputs over HDMI with integrated audio and DVI, powering up to four displays.

So, what is the HTC CONV100? Looks like we might finally have our answer after the freakin’ Bluetooth SIG left us all scratching our heads a few months back. The answer lies in this grainy picture that the FCC somehow passes as an official filing document, in this case used to identify the location of the Bluetooth antenna relative to the exterior of the device. Those with sharp memories will recall that this looks suspiciously like the spy picture we saw of the supposed Shadow II for T-Mobile, and the lack of WCDMA 850 / 1900 in the test documentation would certainly jibe with that theory. The white casing looks like it could really pan out, too, so we’re kinda hoping T-Mob ends up offering at least a couple colors when this one inevitably gets official in the next few weeks, months, years, or decades.

[Via Cell Phone Signal]

Poor, poor client number 9, Eliot Spitzer. Having suffered a humiliating week in the US press, corporate Canada is now taking its shot at the disgraced New York governor. That’s the actual print ad which Virgin Mobile will run in Toronto newspapers this week with the following subtext:

“At Virgin Mobile, you’re more than just a number. When you call us we’ll treat you like a person, not a client. Whether you’re #9 or #900, you’ll get hooked up with somebody who’ll finally treat you just how you want to be treated.”

Let’s just see if Spitzer swallows the jab, or comes out fighting this unauthorized use of his image. Full text blow-up after the break.

[Via Textually]

AMD plans to launch two Phenom X4 and three X2 models within the next three quarters

AMD’s latest roadmap reveals the company’s model numbers for the performance and mainstream Phenom X4 and X2 processors. Despite AMD issuing model numbers, the clock speeds are still ballpark figures and not yet set in stone. AMD has two Phenom X4 and three X2 models planned. Three of the models are set for a Q4’2007 launch.

The Agena-based Phenom X4 processors carry the GP-7xxx model number. There will be two Phenom X4 GP-7xxx processors at launch – the GP-7100 and the GP-7000. AMD plans to clock the Phenom X4 GP-7100 from 2.2-to-2.4 GHz. The Phenom X4 GP-7100 has a 3600 MHz HyperTransport 3.0, or HT3, bus speed. The lesser Phenom X4 GP-7000 has a targeted clock speed between 2.0-to-2.2 GHz and a lesser HT3 bus speed in excess of 3200 MHz. The two quad-core processors will have 89-watt thermal ratings.

AMD plans to launch one Phenom X2 GP-6xxx model by the end of the year. The Phenom X2 GP-6550 joins the Phenom line up next quarter clocked somewhere between 2.0-to-2.4 GHz. The first Phenom X2 to launch has a 3600 MHz HT3 bus speed. This model has a TDP of 65 watts.

Two more Phenom X2 GP-6xxx models will join the lineup in Q1’2008. The Phenom X2 GP-6650 will launch first between 2.2-to-2.6 GHz with a 3600 MHz HT3 bus speed. This model has a 65-watt TDP, similar to the GP-6550. The next Phenom X2 GP-6xxx model to launch is the GP-6800. This model has a higher 89-watt TDP, but still a dual-core processor. AMD aims for a 2.4-to-2.8 GHz clock speed with a 4000 MHz HT3 bus speed.

In Q2’2008, AMD plans to launch one more Stars processor based on the Rana core. This model does not carry the Phenom name because it’s a lower end mainstream processor without L3 cache. The Athlon X2 LS-2350 aims to clock in at 2.0-to-2.2 GHz with a 3200 MHz HT3 bus speed.

The 3.0 GHz Phenom processor that AMD demonstrated last week during its Analyst Day does not appear anywhere in the most recent desktop roadmap.

AMD’s latest guidance explains that sample availability for AM2 Phenom will begin in the “September/October” window, with box stock during “November/December.”

If you reckoned that Sony’s VPL-EX4 and VPL-ES4 were getting a bit long in the tooth, we suppose Sony agrees. Across the way (in Asia-Pacific, to be precise), Sony has launched four new PJs on us: the VPL-EW5, VPL-EX50, VPL-EX5 and VPL-ES5. According to the company, the whole lot is aimed at boardroom masters, but these 3LCD units and their 2,500 ANSI lumens would certainly hold their own after hours. Additionally, the first three incorporate Sony’s BrightEra imaging technology, and you’ll find resolutions as high as WXGA (1,280 x 800) and contrast ratios up to 900:1. For more specifics on each, check out the nitty-gritty in the read link below.

[Via AboutProjectors]

It looks like the multitude of problems stemming from the recent slicing and dicing of five undersea cables could soon be eased significantly, with Reuters now reporting that three of the cables should be repaired by this weekend. Those include the FLAG Europe-Asia cable between Egypt and Italy and the FALCON cable system between Dubai and Oman, which are each expected to be fixed by February 10th, and SEA-ME-WE 4 cable near Egypt, which should be fixed by Saturday at the latest. What’s more, while the causes for most of those cuts and outages remain a mystery, the culprit behind the cut to the FALCON cable between the UAE and Oman has now apparently been determined to be a ship’s anchor, which was reportedly found abandoned near the cable. That’ll likely do little to put most folks at completely at ease, however, and we’re guessing they won’t be until everything is back up and running, and stays that way.

Read - Reuters, “Three undersea cables seen fixed by weekend”
Read - Physorg, “One Internet cut explained, but four others still a mystery”

[Image courtesy of I Love Bonnie]

If our description from CES of the perplexing (and frankly inconvenient) navigation associated with E-Lead’s Noahpad wasn’t enough to truly depict what is going on with this thing, then perhaps these videos will help. Sure, they’ve gotten a British guy to do voice-overs, and the company is playing some interesting angles with the multi-use concept, but we’re not sold that anyone could really get used to that keyboard. Take a look for yourself… you’ll see what we mean.

[Thanks, Tom]