KARYNE: Hey, Im 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 were
pretty sure is someones pipe dream.
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.
EMILY: First up in rumorland, Motorola is having a mystery
event September 5th (7 days before the iPhone 5 is
expected to be announced). The invite tries to tantalize us
by saying: Motorola. On Display. Forgiving the incorrect
usage of periods in that statement, it seems the emphasis is
on visual display...so could this be where well see the Droid
Razr HD? Probably. We noticed over the weekend that a
handful of tutorial videos for the phone posted on YouTube,
only to be taken down when the rumormill started asking
questions. The videos taught us that the Droid Razr HD is
going to be a whole lot like the Atrix HD, big, crisp, and Ice
Cream Sandwichy.
KARYNE: Our next rumor comes from Engadget, which
picked up a leaked RadioShack document.
Emily: Ahem, isnt it just The Shack now?
KARYNE: No, they realized that was the worst and changed
it back... Anyway, the document indicates that RadioShack
will launch a no-contract wireless service on September 5.
The service will be powered by Cricket and will offer "an
exclusive 8GB SD memory card with all Muve Music
phones."
So wow, now RadioShack will have everything...except
relevance.
EMILY: The deal was suggested after someone asked, "Hey,
who wants to buy a phone from RadioShack, where
everyone is on commission and so is always up in your
grill?" *crickets*
KARYNE: Next up, according to a Wall Street Journal report,
Apple wants its streaming set-top box to double as a cable
box. According to the report, which cites "people familiar
with the matter."
EMILY: Drink! According to the anonymous sources, no
deals have yet been made, but Apple s CEO Tim Cook has
at least talked with cable provider Time Warner, and the
conversation took place in my home town in Idaho, at one of
6 restaurants I used to eat at as a kid, according to my local
spies.
KARYNE: Emily, the Internet doesnt care about Iowa.
EMILY: IDAHO!
KARYNE: Whatever. Then the Internet blew up and everyone
freaked out. People are speculating that THIS is what Apple
has up its sleeves. Not an HDTV, but an updated Apple TV
that's your one-stop shop for cable, streaming movies,
buying movies, etc. And I agree. I was all into the HDTV
rumor, but I actually think this makes more sense -- at least
in the short term. The Apple TV is due for a major refresh,
and this seems like the perfect way to do that.
EMILY: I dont think this precludes a full-on Retina Display
Apple television set from happening in the future. In fact, it
would be a nice way for the company to dip its toes in the
muddy waters of cable television, try out an interface with
minimum risk, and then take what it learns here and
implement it in the big million dollar television they hope we
all go into debt for next year.
KARYNE: We asked people this question at our Rumor Has
It Launch Party at CNET headquarters.
EMILY: Which was so much fun. Lets see what CNETers
and our fans had to say.
EMILY: And the verdict is: Yes! Four out of five editors think
that the Apple TV could double as a cable box.
KARYNE: Our comment of the week comes from Applerod,
who writes about the Surface tablet: "If it goes for less than
$350, I'll eat my hat."
EMILY: We asked our guests at the Rumor Has It launch
party to come up with what they think the next iPhone will
look like. Here's the winner!
KARYNE: Thats our show everyone, send us your drawing
of what the iPhone 5 will look like to rumorhasit@cnet.com.
And tweet us!
EMILY: Tune in next week for more tech rumors. And thanks
to this week's sponsor, eBay.
