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Tech Spec: This month's tech rumors

Microsoft Word's application. Photo courtesy of
Microsoft Word's application. Photo courtesy of

'Tis the season… for rumors! Now that fall is finally upon us, companies are beginning to roll out their devices for the holiday season. The rumor mill has been abuzz lately on some of the products that consumers could see in the very near future. Here are some of the rumors that have gained popularity recently:

iPad Mini: The latest news that has been bouncing around the internet with Apple is that they are planning to release a 7” rendition of the hit iPad. Their reason for this adaptation is obvious, their main competitors, the Nexus 7 and the Kindle Fire HD, have already released hit 7” tablets and Apple does not yet have a footing in this demographic. According to the Los Angeles Times, the newest rumor is that the iPad Mini will only support Wi-Fi and not 3G. That is an interesting move, seeing as one of the perks from the iPad is that you can get built-in 3G/4G LTE support. An event invite from Apple is supposed to be released to the press in the coming days, so maybe we will find out more soon.

Microsoft Office App: I had almost forgotten about this rumor until it popped back up on Wednesday. Microsoft might be creating an app version of their highly popular Office Suite of programs for both Android and iOS. Wednesday’s rumor, in which the app would release in March of 2013, was quickly nullified by Microsoft, further adding mystery to the situation. With their upcoming release of Windows 8 on tablets, the decision of whether to release an Office app for other OSes could hurt sales drastically. I look forward to hearing more on this as time passes.

Microsoft Word's application display. Photo courtesy of Courtland Jeffrey.

Nexus 4: Websites and blogs are popping with information on Google’s next Nexus smartphone (the possible name is the LG Nexus 4). Similar specs have been floating around about the device: a Snapdragon S4 processor, 2GB RAM and a 4.7” HD screen. Nothing has been confirmed yet, but a leak from Carphone Warehouse supports the “LG Nexus 4” name and hints towards a black or white option. One rumor says that the global launch of this device will happen on October 29. A few sources are coming to the conclusion that Google is trying to follow the same concept that they did with the Nexus 7 tablet, in making it a high-end device. This is while considerably cutting the cost.

I am guessing that official information on the next iteration of the Nexus and the iPad Mini will be released very soon, as the hype for the two devices have quickly grown. Anyone who has invested in mobile devices by Apple/Google and loves the Office programs (me) is probably crossing their fingers in hopes that Microsoft will release an app in the future. But for now, it is too hard to tell if this dream will become reality.

 

If you have any story ideas or want suggestions about future products, message me on Twitter @Court_Jeffrey or email me at cejeffre@asu.edu. Enjoy!


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