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A Macintosh rumor site has posted pictures and videos of a new Apple device called the “iWalk,” which purports to be a personal digital assistant to be unveiled on Monday at Macworld Expo.
But even though the pictures have a sheen of authenticity, especially the videos, many Macintosh enthusiasts are questioning the credibility of the source, saying it smells more like an elaborate hoax than an elaborate PDA.
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<ac</a>site which often claims to have advanced knowledge of products Apple is about to release, posted eight pictures and three brief videos of the iWalk on Wednesday.</p>
Tsilvery device is seen from several angles and appears to perform several tasks, including handwriting recognition. It appears to be a palm-sized portable, white in color, with a “jog-dial” controller similar to the one on Apple’s <a>i</a>ic player. It looks like an Apple product, especially in the shots showing the iWalk’s screen.</p>
Iach of the videos, which are less than 10 seconds long, a person is shown demonstrating the device. In one, the person jots down “Say Hello to iWalk” on the screen and the device turns the handwriting into text.</p>
Airst glance, the videos look authentic. But to the eyes of many Mac fans — who are gathering in their hordes at discussion boards and rumor sites, trying to guess what’s causing Apple to make <a hgering claims</a>ut what will be released at Macworld next week — the pictures and videos seem fishy.</p>
Ftly, it’s been widely noted that the Spymac site does not have a good track record. Last October, when Apple told reporters that it would release a “breakthrough” device, SpyMac posted a picture of another gadget also called the iWalk.</p>
Tpicture showed a small, gray device with a flip screen and what appeared to be audio controls. But Apple didn’t release the iWalk or anything like it. Instead, the company unveiled the iPod. So Mac fans went back and took another look at SpyMac’s picture and noticed this time that it was actually a 3D-rendering, not a photograph. The light and shadows looked suspect, and the device’s texture seemed a bit off.</p>
Wthe iPod was released, SpyMac claimed that it had been the victim of a hoax.</p>
“y of our readers have been wondering why the pictures of iWalk we presented looked a bit unreal,” <a h the site</a>October. “We apologize, they seem to be fake. We’ve had several good sources on this subject, one of them claiming to be a member of the iWalk design team. This was the one who sent us the pictures we published on our site. We’re not yet sure whether what we got was the 3d model of an early sketch or pure imagination, but we’ve canceled that very source from our list to avoid further misinformation.”</p>
Aa hlash</a>Macintosh discussion board, several other problems with the new photos and videos have been listed.</p>
I<a h</a>itled “Bullet Points on What’s Wrong,” one Mac fan called PunkXRock took issue with several details of each of the pictures — and although none of his points are damning by themselves, taken together they do cast doubt on SpyMac’s story.</p>
Fexample, PunkXRock notes that the videos and pictures appear to originate in Germany. “Prototype units don’t leave the US of A,” he notes.</p>
Hlso pointed out that the device’s screen is color, but icons at the bottom of the screen are monochrome. And although in one picture the device appears to be plugged into a power source, there is no icon indicating its batteries are charging, like the lightning bolt in iPod and Palm devices.</p>
PXRock’s conclusion is that the videos are more likely the product of image-editing skills than spying skills. “Why make a hoax?” he asks. “Like I said, this feeds egos. Look, we’re all idiots, talking about their fake Apple product. Maybe they’ll make Slashdot again. In addition, they want ads. Visitors attract advertisers.”</p>
Ied, the item did make <a hhdot</a>>
Nher SpyMac nor Apple returned requests for comment on this story.</p>
An on Thursday, <a he</a>tured a teaser for Macworld on its site: the show, it said, would be “like a backstage pass to the future.”</p>
