Wize Blog

No Price Drop for Nintendo's Wii

While Sony and Microsoft continue to plan and announce for various price cuts and bundles of their consoles this holiday season, Nintendo says, "No way, Jose."  That is at least for now.

Speaking to Reuters, Nintendo senior marketing VP George Harrison said that the Wii's price isn't budging. "We'll stay at $249 for the foreseeable future. We are still selling everything we can make," he said. 

That's some confidence, which in fact is quite well founded.  Nintendo Wii inventory has and continues to sell out immediately as it hits the shelf, and likely the demand will not meet supply this holiday season.  Well, let the console games begin!

Apple to Annouce Official iPhone Approved Apps

While Apple is remaining tight sealed and still not budging on opening up their latest and greatest toy/smart phone/the hottest item all the "cool people" crave, they are going to release a list of "Apple approved" applications.  The list is said to appear on the Apple website as soon as today.

If this is the case, this does indicate that a real Apple SDK is still quite a long way off.

Despite this news, I assume 3rd party developers will continue the good fight waiting for the day Apple gets a clue from Facebook and opens up the elusive iPhone.

Microsoft Xbox 360 Bundle Heading to Stores for the Holidays

Today, at Wize.com I learned that Microsoft has plans to bundle Forza 2 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance at no added cost to the elusive Xbox system that will be ready this holiday season.

Both the $350 Premium console and the $450 Elite console will have the privilege of getting these additions bundled, and will hit stores late October. 

My guess is this release will exactly coincide with the lower budget-priced Xbox 360 Arcade console, although Microsoft is keeping their lips sealed on that one. 

Apple's iPhone with 1.1.1 Has Been Officially Hacked

Wize.com has learned that faster than a blink of the eye, two hackers have successfully unlocked Apple's new iPhone software version 1.1.1.   

The two hackers in question, "dinopio" and "Edgan" recorded the following in their blog:

10:26 AM: Your iPhone has been updated, and is restarting. Activate iPhone, connect to iTunes.

10:27 AM: Wrong SIM!!!!! Oh man. (Trust me, it's a pure AT&T SIM on a pure AT&T account.)

10:28 AM: I pull the phone out of the dock and then I reconnect to iTunes. iTunes could not connect to the iPhone "Bologna" because of an unknown error occurred.

10:29 AM: Switching to my Intel Mac from my G4 Mac

10:32 AM: I have the full tree. Getting screen shot now.

Granted, the hack of 1.1.1 seems to be beyond what any average person would be able to easily accomplish, still the Apple iPhone is already hacked.

Rumors are beginning to spread, and bets are being placed that within one weeks time we should see a few hacks commercially available within weeks.

Samsung Provides Pricing Info on the Y2-P2 and YP-T10 MP3 Players

After announcing the first details of Samsung's Y2-P2 and YP-T10 MP3 players back on September 24th, we have an update. 

To recap, the Y2-P2 and YP-T10 MP3 players are another company aiming to take a stab at the illusive Apple iPod Touch with large touch screen. 

The Update... Both models will hit stored in the US later this month, and carry price points of $199 for the 4GB version, and $249 for the 8GB.  As for the YP-T10, which is a slightly less sophisticated model, the 4GB version will run $149, and the larger 8GB version will cost $199. 

These prices are slightly less than the iPod Nano which has a Wize Rank of 75. 

Wize Rumor Report: Sony Back on with PS3 Announcement

Wize.com has learned according to Pocket-link, who has confirmed from multiple sources that Sony is back on to announce their 40GB PS3 tomorrow, October 5, 2007.  According to the sources, Sony will also give details into the price which stands at $399, as we report this past week, and will place the street date perfectly in time for the holiday shopping season.

The 40GB PS3 is expected to feature WiFi, Blu-ray, and SIXAXIS controller but will lose 2x USB slots, the memory card reader, and backward compatibility chip. 

More details to come...

Apple Backlash Date Set in Stone Says "The Onion"

Cheeky periodical, "The Onion" released details today that has us here at Wize.com setting our skeptical alarm for what is reported to be an enormous backlash against the brand and gadget giant, Apple. 

That alarm is said to go off at some point between the dates of March 20th and March 22nd, leaving skeptics to believe Wall Street analysts are referring to March 21st.  That however, is only speculation. 

The article goes on to reiterate:

"At the current rate, we believe that at this time a sea change will occur in which people will look down at their glossy white or black devices and feel a sense of embarrassment and gullibility," Goldman Sachs analyst Steven Shore said. "They will realize that, despite all the sleek design, they got caught up in a wave of hype that made them shell out additional hundreds of dollars for options and features they didn't need. Until then, I would like to point out that my iPhone is awesome."

Personally, we question if "The Onion" isn't simply grumpy that it is a smelly vegetable and not a sweet delicious fruit. 

Wize Rumor Report: BestBuy Leaks News of Sony $399 PS3

Wize.com has learned that a tipster close to Engadget.com has revealed the news detailing a $399 PS3 with a 40GB hard drive.  In addition, the Superman 3 with Blu-ray is expected to be included, and states so in the documents revealed. 

Set you calendars and start looking for Sony PS3 rumors, because the stock-date is expected to be October 28th, which is sooner than previously anticipated.  However, the more important street-date is still yet to be determined. 

October 12th will be the day of reckoning when we hope to all learn when exactly we can get our hands on the coveted new PS3 player.  Until then, we'll keep the updates coming...

Wize.com Rumor Report: Apple to release a "slim" MacBook

This week has been filled with rumors, and today Wize.com learns that according to 9to5mac (who has been quite accurate in recent past, hitting the ipod nano news first), Apple is tossing us one more.  Could it be true?

According to the online pub, we could have an Apple MacBook "slim" black and aluminum laptop available.  Of course, rumors are rumors, and time will only tell, but it sounds like lighter and thinner are the key new features here, along with screens which fill the entire top to the edges, and keyboards like the Apple Blue Tooth models.  As one would expect, these rumored Apple MacBooks are to be priced "extremely aggressively."

To add just a bit of mystery, which I always love, the report states that "there is something strange about the touch pad."  Ooohhh.... Engadget.com is speculating that this could mean "some sort of multi-touch functionality, or it could mean nothing at all."  I would have to concur here.

XBOX 360 Update: Will have HD DVD Drive in 2008

Wize.com has learned from Personal Computer World that in 2008 the Xbox 360 will indeed have a HD DVD Drive.  This coming from Mark Bennett, Microsoft's European Business Director for HD DVD. 

This is the only news that has come out thus far about next year's Xbox 360, but our guess is you will continue to hear the murmurs of rumors surrounding the addition of an HD DVD Drive in the months to come.