KARYNE: Hey, I?m Karyne Levy
EMILY: And I'm Emily Dreyfuss.
KARYNE: Welcome to Rumor Has It! The show where we round up the
week's biggest tech rumors.
EMILY: And vote on what sounds legit, and what seems like it'll never ever
happen.
KARYNE: And remember: you can vote on all the rumors! Keep your eye
out for the poll in the interactive player, if you're watching on CNET.
KARYNE: First up is a rumor about the Sony PlayStation 4, which we've
been talking about since the Rumor Has It podcast: based on the recent
announcement of the super-slim PlayStation 3 and some very scientific
calculations...
EMILY: MATH!
KARYNE: ? Rumor mongers are concluding that the next iteration of
Sony's slam-dunk console will hit store shelves in 2014.
Here's how the math works: The PS2 Slim was released 8 years ago. The
PS3 was released 6 years ago. Add 2, carry the 1, and you've got a 2014
release date for the PS4.
EMILY: We?ve been saying 2014 since 2011, when that seemed like eons in
the future, now it?s basically next year and i still think it?s true. The Slim
was their last best hope of selling PS3s to the 4 gamers in the world who
didn?t already have one, and now they?re tapped out.
KARYNE: I think 2014 sounds about right, even though the next Xbox is
rumored to be announced in 2013. The PS3 was released after the Xbox
360, but that didn't affect its bottom line.
EMILY: We have a new rumor that Amazon is going to start
selling....something crazy and specific and outside its comfort zone.
KARYNE: Amazon selling a new thing is basically its own meme.
EMILY: This week?s crazy new product is the best and worst idea in the
world: Wine.
Why is this awesome? Because wine delivered to my house, on the cheap,
at the click of a button! Why is this the worst? Because wine, delivered to
my house, at the click of a button, free the next day thanks to Prime?
(Cut to EMILY lying on the ground with a bottle of wine.)
KARYNE: Oh god, this is the end of Emily. But seriously, you might have
assumed Amazon already sold wine.
Emily: It?s an obvious fit. Especially since it sells caviar.
KARYNE: But it?s harder than you think to sell wine across state lines.
Amazon actually entered the wine business in '99 with a stake in
Wineshopper.com, but closed down 10 years later because the business
did not perform to expectations. Maybe they have a new plan this time.
KARYNE: Oh iPad Mini. I hope this next rumor comes true because we've
been talking about it for a year and we're sick of it. Citing an unnamed
"major Apple investor," Fortune says that Apple's invites for an iPad Mini-
specific event will be sent out next week, presumably for an unveiling the
following week.
As you may already know, the iPad Mini is speculated to be 7 inches, and
according to new leaked pictures, it will come in a white version, as well.
EMILY: Another report popped up this week, which says that the iPad Mini
is, in fact, already in production! Citing an anonymous source, our favorite
Japanese blog Macotakara said that production of the product is under way
in a "Brazilian factory."
KARYNE: I've been saying yes to this rumor since October 2011 -- the iPad
is a great product. It would make sense for Apple to make it in different
sizes, just like it did with the iPod. Plus, I have a Humiliation Day bet riding
on this one.
EMILY: I?ve been voting no on this rumor since we first heard Steve Jobs'
say you?d have to ?file down your fingers? in order to use the thing, but the
timing is incredibly suspicious, and the persistence of the rumor has my
confidence wavering. It would be a perfect infusion into the holiday market,
plus I like to imagine it being built in some hidden factory in the Brazilian
Amazon, workers toiling away as monkeys swing from vines above the
factory roof. Also, once we get to specific dates for an invite being sent
out, things start to sound less like a rumor and more like a coordinated PR
leak. But whatever, my dignity is riding on it not happening, so I?ll stick
with no. Jungle Book and logic be damned.
KARYNE: What do you guys think? Don't forget to vote! We're going to go
ask the people of San Francisco what they think...
EMILY: And the CNET Council's verdict is: yay. Four editors to one think
that the iPad Mini invites will go out next week.
KARYNE: Yay!
EMILY: Our comment of the week comes from cisco2k, who writes: Google
will provide a map for the IOS 6 and it will be the best map they ever
created.....and they will charge for it! lets see 85 million Iphones sold and
35 million iPads @ $2. that is some sweet pocket change.
KARYNE: Our other comment of the week comes from tapper562, who
writes: Apple Maps got me lost!!
EMILY: We hope you're OK, Tapper!
KARYNE: That?s our show everyone, share your rumors at
rumorhasit@cnet.com or call us at 1-800-750-CNET. And tweet us!
EMILY: Tune in next week for more tech rumors.
