PreCentral.net’s Derek Kessler reports that the developer of Cloud Hopper for webOS has noticed something interesting in their application logs. A new device running webOS 2.0, identifying itself as “Roadrunner HD,” with a display resolution of 640×960.

The name “Roadrunner” has appeared in logs before but never with the HD moniker and certainly without a 640×960 display resolution.

webOS is dying for new hardware and a device with a higher resolution display wouldn’t hurt. Nothing else is known about the Roadrunner HD at this point but I’m anxiously awaiting more leaked details in the future.

Kevin Rose writing on his weblog:

From what I hear we should expect to see the iTV launch in September.

He expects there to be an iTV App Store, simple photo and image sharing from your iPhone, and the ability to control the iTV from your iPad.

It’s hard to tell how much of his predictions are wishful thinking and he has been hit-and-miss with his previous rumors. But, I personally believe the iTV will be announced in September and I do expect there to be a new section in the App Store to go along with it.

Engadget has published a great preview of the Xbox Live experience on Windows Phone 7. Microsoft is making the right move by putting their Xbox Live brand on Windows Phone 7. This is exactly the sort of thing Microsoft needs to be doing.

Franchises like Castlevania, Halo: Waypoint, Star Wars, Crackdown, and Guitar Hero will be included in the 60 or so titles available at launch.

Joshua Toposlky sums up his opinions nicely:

All in all, it’s a promising picture for Microsoft. The company has the clout, the community, and most importantly the cash to pull this off, but as with all modern smartphone platforms, success can’t be judged on one aspect alone. To make Windows Phone 7 really work, the folks in Redmond will have to hit the right note on not just gaming, but the basic user experience, hardware, applications, and carrier partnerships. Based on what we’ve seen of Xbox Live on these devices, we think the company can check at least one of those boxes off.

Xbox Live on Windows Phone 7 will in no way sway me towards the platform. But, I can completely understand why someone who lives in that world would want to continue living in it. If you spend a lot of time playing games on your Xbox 360 you’ll want to start paying attention to Windows Phone 7.

The wonderful folks at iXyr Media (of Smoking Apples and Beautiful Pixels fame) have launched their third project entitled “Homescreen.me.” It’s a new site designed to help iOS device owners share their home screens online. It’s like First & 20 for the rest of us.

The site is invite-only at the moment, although you can look at many public profiles on the site (such as Milind Alvares, Preshit Deorukhkar, and Tinu Cleatus). I haven’t received an invitation yet, however I have thrown my email address at the form on the homepage.

Homescreen.me’s launch comes at an interesting time. Coincidentally I’m currently writing a detailed description of my current setup, it will end up being published as a two parter splitting my entertainment stuff into it’s own separate piece.

This has happened several times over the last four years. Whether it be to get an iOS beta to sync in a friendly manner with iTunes or it’s one of those brief periods of time where I want to learn how to code, I install Xcode on my system.

After a few weeks with the Developer folder left untouched I decide to uninstall the tools but inevitably I forget how to do it and where to find out how (inside the included “About Xcode” PDF). After a bit of Google searching I always find the answer but in order to save myself a little trouble (and maybe save some of you the trouble as well) the Terminal command to uninstall Xcode is as follows:

sudo /Developer/Library/uninstall-devtools --mode=all

And for anyone who might ask, yes after running the uninstall script you can delete the Developer folder. But, I suggest performing a reboot before doing so.

Engadget’s Joshua Topolsky reports that Sony Ericsson is planning to introduce a new Android gaming platform:

We now know (via a trusted source) that the company is actively and heavily developing a brand new gaming platform, ecosystem, and device (possibly alongside Google) which are already in the late stages of planning. And we’ve got the goods on it.

The device that will launch alongside the new platform has been described to them as a landscape slider with game controls in place of the typical QWERTY keyboard (think PSP go). The display will be between 3.7 and 4.1-inches with WVGA or better resolution.

The handset will run Android 3.0 with a new area of the Android Market specifically for their high-end PSP-quality games. God of War, Call of Duty, and LittleBigPlanet are all possible titles for the platform.

This could pose a real threat to Apple. Games is one area that iOS has excelled at, but if Engadget is right with their assertion that this new platform could launch as early as October, Apple’s going to have a serious fight on their hands.

The always well-informed Yukari Iwatani Kane and Ian Sherr, reporting for the Wall Street Journal:

Several people familiar with Mr. Papermaster’s situation said his departure was driven by a broader cultural incompatibility.

Mr. Papermaster had lost the confidence of Mr. Jobs months ago and hasn’t been part of the decision-making process for some time, these people said. They added that Mr. Papermaster didn’t appear to have the type of creative thinking expected at Apple and wasn’t used to Apple’s corporate culture, where even senior executives are expected to keep on top of the smallest details of their areas of responsibility and often have to handle many tasks directly, as opposed to delegating them.

Well, that explains it nicely. Papermaster failed with the iPhone 4 antenna but that wasn’t the only reason he got canned, just the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Nilay Patel gives a great overview of Google and Verizon’s net neutrality proposal. If you’re interested in their proposal I suggest you read Nilay’s whole piece where he goes into greater detail. But, here’s Nilay’s condensed explanation of the proposal:

Now, we don’t know for sure what happened, but we’ve got a theory: the proposal reads to us like Verizon’s basically agreeing to trade neutrality on its wired networks for the right to control its wireless network any way it wants — apart from requiring wireless carriers and ISPs to be “transparent” about network management, none of the neutrality principles that govern wired networks will apply to wireless networks. That’s a big deal — it’s pretty obvious that wireless broadband will be the defining access technology for the next generation of devices and services.

Hugo Miller reporting for Bloomberg:

Research In Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry smartphone, plans to introduce a tablet computer in November to compete with Apple Inc.’s iPad, according to two people familiar with the company’s plans. […]

RIM plans to call the tablet Blackpad, according to one of the people familiar with the company’s plans. RIM, based in Waterloo, Ontario, acquired the Internet rights to blackpad.com this month, according to the Whois database of domain names.

It’s unfortunate for RIM that they won’t be able to push this thing out earlier than November, that leaves an extra couple of months in the holiday shopping season where the iPad is the only tablet in town. But, at least they plan on getting it out before the end of the year, HP isn’t planning to release their webOS tablet until early next year.

Engadget has another fantastic scoop regarding the upcoming iOS-based Apple TV. Joshua Topolsky had this to say regarding video playback capabilities of the new box:

Apparently the box won’t be capable of handling (or enabled to handle) 1080i or 1080p video. Instead it will only push out 720p clips. The word — and cause for much internal debate, we’re told — is that this has something to do with the A4′s inability to crank on higher resolution content

The current Apple TV is not capable of playing back 1080p or 1080i content however the rumor that Engadget reported on a few months ago stated that the new set-top box would be capable of 1080p playback. Apparently, that is now off the table.

The folks at Engadget have also heard that the upcoming Apple TV will be getting applications and will be renamed to the Apple TV’s original name, “iTV.”

I’m anxiously awaiting Apple’s iTV announcement, which could happen anytime between now and the end of September.

Interestingly, this release could finally push me to purchase a new television for the bedroom. My current bedroom TV is an old 27-inch CRT that would need to be replaced if I stick with my current plan of retiring my current Apple TV to the bedroom when the iTV is released. If anybody has any suggestions in the 32 to 37-inch range I’d love to hear about them.