Rumors

Sprint may soon announce an entry-level Android smartphone, the Sprint Force LTE, according to Engadget. Manufactured by ZTE, the phone should run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and feature modest hardware specifications.

Details include a 4-inch display, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage and a 5-megapixel rear camera. Additionally, the Sprint Force LTE could have a 1-megapixel front-facing camera, a 1,730mAh battery, and support for Sprint's growing LTE network.

Sprint and ZTE have become quite cozy over the last few years, most recently collaborating on the Sprint Flash. With but a … Read more

An iPhone Mini priced at $330 in China would provide a healthy shot in the arm to Apple's Chinese smartphone sales, according to Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty.

A low-priced iPhone would add another 20 percent to the 10 percent Chinese market share currently addressed by the iPhone 5, the analyst said today. Smartphone prices are starting to stabilize in China, which will open up the market for such a phone. But a deal with China Mobile is also key.

Apple currently sells the iPhone to Chinese consumers through China Unicom and China Telecom. The company has been trying … Read more

Apple may be prepping iOS 6.1.2 for launch early next week. At least, that's the claim from German Apple blog site iFun.

In a blog out today, iFun cited evidence that the next iOS update would probably be available before Wednesday.

Courtesy of Google, the English translation of the German page reads a bit rusty. But the information was apparently based on checks with different mobile carriers, according to 9to5Mac.

This sounds like something strictly for the rumor mill. However, iFun correctly pegged the launch of iOS 6.1.1 based on intel from the same sources, … Read more

Apple products will soon be showing up at Staples stores, according to tweets from employees at the office supply store chain.

Regis Mulot, the vice president of international human resources at Staples, made the announcement this afternoon:

After Canada, #Apple products arecoming to #Staples in US. Great news!

In addition to Mulot's tweet, Erin LaFlamme, a Strategic Accounts coordinator at Staples, tweeted her joy at the deal (and the apparent gift of Apple pie):

Thanks #Apple for letting #Staples sell you...oh, and for the delicious apple products to celebrate at... instagr.am/p/Vuezsgk6_t/… Read more

LG, seemingly unable to keep a secret, today teased a 5.5-inch version of the Optimus G Pro.

Presumably arriving in late February at Mobile World Congress, the handset aims to take on the Samsung Galaxy Note 2.

A teaser image posted on an LG Facebook page provides an early glimpse of the larger, yet familiar design. Although the official details for the 5.5-inch handset are light, early rumors suggest that a quad-core 1.7GHz processor, 2GB RAM, and a 13-megapixel camera are in order. For all practical purposes, the new phone looks to be a larger take on … Read more

As the Apple "iWatch" rumor mill gets wound up, a new report holds that Apple already has a team of 100 people working on the rumored smart wristwatch, including some prominent Apple employees.

Following a spate of reports that Apple is developing an iOS-based wristwatch, unnamed sources tell Bloomberg that the team working on just such a device has grown over the past year and includes employees from its marketing, software, and hardware units who had previously worked on the iPhone and iPad.

Key members of the team are said to include James Foster, Apple's senior director … Read more

The highly anticipated HTC M7 is rumored to shed its code name for the more formal, "HTC One" branding next week, according to various reports.

Details surfaced this past weekend suggesting that HTC will stick with a familiar "HTC One" naming convention for the flagship device, with the twist that the moniker stops there.

However, the "One" name, if accurate, may do little to help differentiate it from other models in HTC's One series of phones, first introduced a year ago at Mobile World Congress.

If true, would the average consumer know that … Read more

Like hands on a clock, rumors that Apple is developing a Dick Tracy-like wristwatch have come around again.

The New York Times reports today that Apple is experimenting with wristwatch-like iOS devices that sport curved glass. The advantage of the "iWatch," as some have labeled it, is said to be in the company's expertise with curved glass.

The smart wristwatch notion isn't exactly groundbreaking: a lot of smartwatches, fitness bands, or some hybrid of the two, were talked up last month at CES. Some of those devices include the long-awaited Pebble wristwatch, which made its debut … Read more

HTC's rumored M7 smartphone will usher in cutting-edge audio and photography features, if recent clues are an accurate indicator. A close look at an official HTC infographic teases a "new sound and camera experience" and provides hints of what to expect.

While the last line of the infographic might be the most fun to read, it is the lead-up that tells us where HTC is focused. HTC makes a point of saying that Apple did not change the image sensor size for the iPhone 4S in 2011.

What's more, the handset maker opines that it doesn'… Read more