It wouldn't feel like the start of a new year without a fresh batch of Apple gossip. So to kick things off, let's talk about a recent report which claims that Apple's holding a media-related event in January — in New York City.

Word of this event first came to us via AllThingsD's Kara Swisher — who got wind of the whole thing thanks to "sources close to the situation." Swisher explains that the event is to be held in New York at the end of the month, and will not focus on the next generation of the iPad.

Instead, Swisher suggests, that "leaves some kind of advertising or even publishing announcement, which might be the case, since Apple SVP of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue is reportedly involved."

TechCrunch's Alexia Tsotsis says that line of reasoning is right on the money, according to her own source:

[T]he event will not involve any hardware at all and instead will focus on publishing and eBooks (sold through Apple’s iBooks platform) rather than iAds. Attendance will also be more publishing industry-oriented than consumer-focused.

The event will unveil improvements to the iBooks platform, according to the same source, and is not “major.”

So what might such an announcement mean, in the grand scheme of things? According to GeekWire's Todd Bishop, it boils down to three little words: Watch out, Amazon.

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9to5 Mac

Each year, the day after Thanksgiving — better known as Black Friday — brings us a little gift from Apple: A one-day sale on popular gear. This year is no different and — if a leaked ad turns out to be real — the discounts are very similar to prior offerings.

The folks at 9to5 Mac have gotten their hands on what they believe is a list of Apple's Black Friday 2011 deals. We wouldn't be surprised if they turned out to be correct in that assumption as the leaked price breaks are on par with what we've seen in prior years.

The leaked ad suggests you'll be able to save $101 on an iMac, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air. It lists discounts of $41-$61 on an iPad (depending on capacity), $11 on an iPod Nano, and $21-$41 on an iPod Touch (depending on capacity).

There are also various deals on accessories such as $11 savings on the iPad 2 Smart Cover, Apple Wireless Keyboard, and Apple Wireless Magic Trackpad. Many third-party products will also see little price breaks.

Whether this leaked ad turns out to be the real thing or not, it's worth noting Best Buy has confirmed that it will offer a $45 discount on the 16GB Wi-Fi-only iPad 2. In the meantime, we've reached out to Apple for confirmation of the ad's authenticity and will update if there is a response.

UPDATE: Apple responded to our query. The company confirmed there will be a one-day sale-price event, as in past years, but would not comment on this list of allegedly leaked deals.

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Want more tech news, silly puns, or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.

Google

The Gmail service is great. The iPhone is great. But the two products don't work together as well as they could right now. Where are push notifications? Where's one-click starring? What about that great priority inbox? Don't worry. Google may have a solution in the works.

Tech columnist MG Siegler reports that Google is "on the verge of" launching its own native iPhone app. Based on information he has gathered from multiple sources, Siegler infers that the app may even be going through the Apple App Store approval process right now.

A native iPhone app would offer features not available through Gmail's mobile Web interface, like those I mentioned up top. But it's difficult to imagine that Apple might allow another mail app onto its mobile devices — there was talk that it would never do such a thing in the past — and the company's relationship with Google has been strained over the years.

Still Siegler has a solid track record when it comes to uncovering apps that are in the pipeline — such as the Facebook iPad app which was finally released in the beginning of October — and several other unlikely Google apps (including Google Voice) have gotten the thumbs up from Apple already.

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Want more tech news, silly puns or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.

We've heard plenty of whispers that the next generation iPhone will hit store shelves sometime in the next few weeks, but now we're reading that the device may be officially announced on October 4.

This particular date comes to us via John Paczkowski at All Things D. He explains that it is "the day Apple is currently expected to hold its next big media event, according to sources close to the situation." Paczkowski adds that the new device would then probably ship "within a few weeks after the announcement."

If correct, this would mean that the rumored mid- to late-October shipping dates are right on the nose — and that we'll have a shiny new Apple gadget in our hands within a month.

It's worth noting that the unveiling date would certainly fit with many of the rumors we've been hearing and that it would also maintain Apple's pattern of holding major media events on Tuesdays. On top of that, The Loop's Jim Dalrymple — a man with a consistently solid track record when it comes to Apple rumors — gave Paczkowski's story a nod of approval. 

Does all this mean that we'll see Apple's new CEO Tim Cook make his first big product introduction on October 4? Maybe. After all, nothing's certain until Apple starts sending out invitations.

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Want more tech news, silly puns, or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.

Apple recently released brand-new MacBook Air models and some were disappointed to hear that the slender laptops are still only available in 11-inch and 13-inch versions. There's some good news for those individuals though: Apple may be making some new ultra-thin 15-inch laptops — and it may offer 17-inch models, too!

The folks at MacRumors say they've learned — from an anonymous source, based on what we can tell — that Apple has a 15-inch ultra-thin laptop in the "late testing stages." There aren't any specific details about the device — only speculation that it will probably lack an optical drive — but TUAW did add on some more information from its own source: 

This 15" Air-esque rumor corresponds pretty well with what we're hearing, but with a few additional tidbits: Chances are these will be the next MacBook Pros, not oversized Airs. There's also a 17" model in the works. And we might see them under Christmas trees, with a few weeks to spare.

Ultra-thin MacBook Pro laptops by Christmas? What on earth will we do with our newly purchased MacBook Air notebooks then?

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Rosa Golijan writes about tech here and there. She's obsessed with Twitter and loves to be liked on Facebook. Oh, and she can be found on Google+, too.

If your introduction to social networking involved MySpace or Facebook, then you may struggle to imagine services like that existing without games such as MafiaWars or FarmVille — and you also probably won't be surprised to hear that games may be coming to Google+ as well.

The folks at SlashGear spotted a Google+ help page with a casual reference to something called the "Games Stream" which — when combined with confirmation that third-party developers will be welcome on Google+ —  leaves us thinking that it won't be long before we start getting tagged in various Google+ game requests.

Google

Of course — as SlashDot's Chris Davies points out — it is also possible that the plan is to use Google+ "to pull in Android game results, turning the site into an online leaderboard of sorts" instead of torturing us with yet another bunch of web-based games.

No matter which way things go though, we're rather glad to see that Google is choosing to offer a separate "Games Stream." This makes us optimistic that even if Google+ is infiltrated by games, they'll stay out of sight and away from our main content streams.

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Rosa Golijan writes about tech here and there. She's obsessed with Twitter and loves to be liked on Facebook. Oh, and she can be found on Google+, too.

Apple

Apple told us that Mac OS X Lion — the next version of the company's popular operating system — will become available sometime this month. Rumors had our hopes up with assumptions that it'd be here last week. But now? Now reports are telling us that it's coming tomorrow.

According to MacRumors, Apple's retail stores are already receiving final copies of Mac OS X Lion which will be used to upgrade the in-store demo units once the magical moment has arrived:

The installations have come on hard drive and are meant for the Apple Retail demo computers on the store floor. This, of course, doesn't guarantee a specific launch date, but brings Apple one step closer to launch. 

Now, while we agree that the mere presence of Mac OS X Lion inside Apple stores doesn't indicate that the operating system will launch soon, some of the gossip heard by the folks at 9to5 Mac definitely gives us a little bit of hope that we might wake up to a roar tomorrow morning:

We’re hearing from multiple retail sources across the world that Apple’s retail chain will be holding employee overnights Tuesday night. The likely topic? Lion.

It is not uncommon for Apple to hold overnight training sessions for its retail employees on the eve of a product launch. The time is often used to upgrade in-store demo computers, familiarize staff with the new products, and cover launch procedures. Or at least that's what we hear — for all we know, the Apple shroud of secrecy could simply be covering up a series of geeky pajama parties.

Either way, we're slightly optimistic that we might get to sign in to the Mac App Store and download our copies of Lion tomorrow morning. And if we don't? Then the wait still can't be too long — because there aren't many days left to July.

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Rosa Golijan writes about tech here and there. She's obsessed with Twitter and loves to be liked on Facebook. Oh, and she can be found on Google+, too.

We've heard rumors that Apple might give the next generation iPad — frequently referred to as the iPad 3 or the iPad HD — a high-resolution display, but now there are reports that the company may already be testing screen parts for the upcoming device.

9to5 Mac pointed out a story in The Korea Times which claims that Apple is currently quality-testing LCD parts made by Samsung and LG in order to determine which will work best for its next generation tablet. The technical specifications suggested for the device are similar to what we've seen in prior reports:

"Apple’s upcoming iPad 3 will feature an improved display to support quad extended graphics (QXGA), a display resolution of 2048×1536 pixels with a 4:3 aspect ratio to provide full high definition (HD) viewing experience," said a source close to the talks. 

Such a display would mean that the next generation iPad would have a resolution twice that of the model currently on the market, but — as MacStories notes — this still doesn't mean that it would catch up with the iPhone 4 Retina Display's quality entirely:

Such a resolution for a 9.7″ display would mean the display has roughly 260 DPI and would likely fit under the ‘Retina Display’ marketing term – despite the fact that for the iPhone it was specified to be above 300 DPI, this is because the iPad is normally held further away from the eyes, and thus the DPI requirement is lower.

Those details aside, the report of a high-resolution display still fits in with suggestions that there might be two next generation iPad models which will co-exist in the future — a "pro" device with an HD display and a simpler lower-cost device. This would seem like a logical move for Apple to consider since it offers high-end and low-end versions of most of its current generation products — except the iPhone and iPad — and is probably eager to make such a pattern apply to all of its product lines.

Of course, it's worth noting that we've only got gossip, reports with unnamed sources, and rumors to work with at this point, so we do suggest that all the speculation be taken with a generous serving of salt until we have something straight from Apple itself.

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Rosa Golijan writes about tech here and there. She's obsessed with Twitter and loves to be liked on Facebook. Oh, and she can be found on Google+, too.

Fusible

Fusible's J.B. came across this mysterious splash screen when he accessed socl.com, a Microsoft-owned domain.

Microsoft is working on something called "Tulalip" right now. The company claims that it's simply an internal design project, but there's suspicion that there could be more to the story — such as a new social search.

The folks at Fusible were the first ones to notice that Microsoft was using the socl.com domain for some sort of project when they spotted the teaser landing page pictured on the right. Once a WHOIS record search confirmed that the domain is in fact owned by the Redmond-based company, the analysis and speculation began. (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

The "see how it works,” “terms of service," “privacy statement” and Facebook log-in links on the landing page weren't functional, but  — as Matt McGee of Search Engine Land discovered — the Twitter sign-in button did work. Clicking on it led to a little bit more information:

 In fact, the Twitter sign-in/authorization page confirms further that Tulalip is an “experimental app” from Microsoft Research.

The Twitter authorization screen says that Tulalip will be able to “update your profile” and “post tweets for you,” among other things — which sounds like the service may offer some kind of social networking management tools. 

Combined with the sparse description on the Tulalip landing page — "With Tulalip you can Find what you need and Share what you know easier than ever” — these details would indicate that the mysterious service is a social search of some sort. 

That's about all that is known about this project right now though, because Microsoft decided to make an attempt to nip the rumors in the bud by replacing the Tulalip landing page with the equivalent of "these aren't the droids you're looking for" shortly after the gossip began:

socl.com

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Rosa Golijan writes about tech here and there. She's obsessed with Twitter and loves to be liked on Facebook. Oh, and she can be found on Google+, too.

Yesterday there was a report which claimed that Apple would be updating its line of Mac Pro desktop computers soon, but today we're hearing a different story. It turns out that it's not the Mac Pro which might be getting a refresh, but the Mac Mini. Oh, and there are whispers that a new white MacBook could be on its way, too.

The folks at 9to5 Mac — who originally reported on the Mac Pro refresh based on leaked Apple part numbers — explain that they've received new information from their mysterious source:

[W]e have obtained some new information from our source, Mr. X, about Apple’s next Macs. Now that we have this info, we have determined that part numbers for new Mac Pros are not yet available. Instead, these part numbers are actually for an upgraded white MacBook and new Mac mini line.

Of course, just because the part numbers for the Mac Pro aren't available yet doesn't mean that the desktop line won't get an update. Based on Apple's product refresh pattern, we are likely to see some shiny new Mac towers around this month.

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Rosa Golijan writes about tech here and there. She's obsessed with Twitter and loves to be liked on Facebook. Oh, and she can be found on Google+, too.

We've already heard rumors that there'll be new MacBook Airs this week, but now there are whispers that another Apple product might get a refresh soon. Based on the company's internal part numbers, shiny new Mac Pros are on their way.

9to5 Mac reports that a source — dubbed Mr. X — came forward with a listing of new Apple part numbers which reveal that there'll be four new MacBook Air models as well as four new Mac Pros — one of which is a server model — in the near future. (Yes, Mac Pros — not MacBook Pros. It's the desktops which are getting an update, not the laptops.)

According to the source, the new MacBook Airs will be speedier and more powerful than the current models — which shouldn't exactly be a surprise — but not have any "noticeable exterior changes." The Mac Pros, on the other hand, "may feature a re-designed enclosure that is both narrower and rack-mountable" as well as a speed boost.

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Rosa Golijan writes about tech here and there. She's obsessed with Twitter and loves to be liked on Facebook. Oh, and she can be found on Google+, too.

We've already heard rumors that Apple is making a slightly upgraded iPad — the iPad 2 Plus — but now there are further reports about the mysterious next generation device. And this time it's being dubbed the "iPad HD."

This Is My Next reports that this new iPad won't simply replace the Apple tablets on the market, but that it will instead co-exist with another model:

Our sources are saying that not only will there be a newly designed iPhone coming in the fall, but there is going to be a new entry into the iPad family as well. As hard as it might be to believe, the new tablet is said to sport a double resolution screen (2048 x 1536), and will be dubbed the “iPad HD.” The idea behind the product is apparently that it will be a “pro” device aimed at a higher end market — folks who work in video and photo production possibly — and will be introduced alongside something like an iPad version of Final Cut or Aperture. This product is specifically said tonot be the iPad 3, rather a complimentary piece of the iPad 2 line. Think MacBook and MacBook Pro.

While this rumor might sound a bit outlandish at first glance, it does make quite a bit of sense — especially considering another report which claims that there will soon be two distinct iPhone models. Apple offers high-end and low-end versions of most of its current generation products — except the iPhone and iPad — and is probably eager to make such a pattern apply to all of its product lines. After all, who wouldn't want to appeal to as many potential customers as possible?

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Rosa Golijan writes about tech here and there. She's obsessed with Twitter and loves to be liked on Facebook. Oh, and she can be found on Google+, too.