release

Hang on to your hats, because there's another rumored release date for Apple's next-generation iPhone.

The latest comes from the China Times (translation), which says that Apple plans to produce 4 million units of the device following a production run of 400,000 test units. That's all to ready the device for a release in the second week of September.

Other tidbits from the report, which was picked up this morning by Macrumors, include Apple purportedly working to ready another version of the iPad to bring to market "before Thanksgiving." That would give Apple a late-year product launch that--as the last two iPad launches have proven--would make for a tough-to-get gadget during the frenzied holiday shopping season.

The China Times report has some weight in terms of timing. Apple has made a habit of holding its annual iPod-focused music event in September, usually during that first or second week of the month. Apple has also promised to release iOS 5 in "the fall," which officially begins a few weeks later. … Read more

Real or not? That's the question we always ask when we see design schematics, drawings, or mockups of upcoming cases for upcoming Apple products. But in the past, a few of those schematics have proved to be reliable previews of the design of next iPhone or iPad.

In this instance, the source of the alleged CAD drawing for a new case design for the iPhone 5 comes from a U.K. blog, Mobile Fun, which says a Chinese case manufacturer passed it on. Then Mobile Fun separately received a mockup (below) from another case manufacturer.

Google has canceled its toolbar for the current and future versions of Firefox, and Mozilla is scrambling to help users who might be left in the lurch and postponing their browser upgrades.

The toolbar offers a variety of services, including a search box, a way to use bookmarks stored on a server, and a measurement of a Web site's PageRank--a score Google gives that measures its influence in Google search results. But Google has chosen to do in the Firefox version.

"As we all know, over the past few years, there has been a tremendous amount of innovation … Read more

Our CNET UK colleagues have a juicy find today. It centers around job postings for an influx of temporary workers to help sell Apple's iPhone, right around when the iPhone 5 is expected to hit.

The post--there are several in various regions around the U.K.--seeks an "Apple iPhone sales specialist" to work for two and a half months in Apple retail stores beginning in mid-August for what recruiter Gekko calls "an exciting project":

"Our client, Apple, one of the largest consumer electronic hardware and software companies in the world are seeking full-time iPhone Sales Staff for an exciting project to work 5 days a week (Tuesday-Saturday) for the period 16th August - 29th October within key retail stores," the posting reads. … Read more

Stability and bug fixes marked yesterday's debut of Thunderbird 5, which like its better-known relation Firefox has adopted a rapid-release cycle. Version-number hawks will notice that Thunderbird 5, available to download for Windows, Mac, and Linux, has skipped version 4 entirely so it can keep pace with Firefox. The new Thunderbird also follows some of Firefox's feature leads by incorporating version 5 of the Mozilla Gecko engine, supporting dragging to reorder tabs, and adding the in-tab add-on manager that launched in Firefox 4 back in March.

By and large, the Thunderbird 5 release is more about keeping pace … Read more

It's not as nimble as the Kia Soul and its quirky looks have been outweirded by the Nissan Cube, but there's something about the 2011 Scion xB that merits a second look. Maybe it's the crazy paint on our Release Series 8.0 tester, maybe it's finally been around long enough to distance itself from the first-generation Scion xB in my mind, but the second-generation xB is starting to grow on me; I think that I'm starting to like it.

Where the xB wins hands down is in spaciousness. Where the Scion tC feels claustrophobic … Read more

Windows 8 could be released to manufacturing by April, according to a "not so crazy" rumor offered by Mary Jo Foley of CNET sister site ZDNet.

In her column yesterday, Foley cited a "trusted source," who says that Microsoft is currently on track for Windows 8 to be released to manufacturing by April. RTM, or release to manufacturing, is the final version of a product just before it reaches consumers. For example, Windows 7 was released to manufacturing in July 2009 and then officially launched a few months later in October.

According to Foley's source, … Read more

Scion likes to attract attention to its brand with yearly Release Series special editions of its tC, xB, and xD models. Usually, that means a fresh coat of exclusive paint, color-matched interior trim, a set of nice wheels, and a body kit, but the upcoming Scion tC Release Series 7.0 also gets some new cabin tech.

Let's start with the standard-fare Release Series upgrades. In addition to the retina-searing High Voltage yellow paint, this limited-edition tC also gets 18-inch gloss black alloy rims and a Toyota Racing Development (TRD) five-piece body kit that adds a honeycomb lower grille … Read more

What exactly is Firefox for?

With a new Mozilla chief executive, a new six-week rapid-release cycle, and new Firefox management, apparently the organization has concluded there's no time like the present to pin down an answer.

"Now that we have a solid base to work from, and greatly improved agility, it's a good time to look at the quickly-evolving landscape and chart our path forward," Jay Sullivan, Mozilla's vice president of product, said in a mailing list message on Friday. "To that end, I've tried to synthesize and distill countless discussions and ideas … Read more