Rumors

DigiTimes is back again, adding fuel to a fire that doesn't want to die. According to the site's sources, HTC is said to be readying not one, but three Android tablets for the first part of the year.

The first device, the Flyer, may begin shipping in the United States in March, with the other two devices following in June. The Flyer should resemble a large HTC Desire and run a pre-Honeycomb version of Android. As for the other models, they will make their debut with Gingerbread (Android 3.0).

It's worth pointing out that the information … Read more

Apple has been accused by a coalition of 36 Chinese environmental groups of ignoring hazardous and unhealthy conditions at the factories in China where its components are assembled.

Released yesterday by the Institute of Environmental and Public Affairs (IPE), the report "The Other Side of Apple" ranked the iPhone maker dead last among 29 other tech companies for their responsiveness to health and environmental concerns in China.

Specifically, the report claims that Apple ignored concerns at Wintek, a factory that makes touch screens for the iPhone and iPad as well as components for other companies. Wintek came under … Read more

Microsoft is reportedly putting together drivers and a software development kit that would allow its Kinect motion sensor to work with Windows, according to WinRumors.

Citing the usual sources familiar with the situation, WinRumors says the drivers and SDK would give third-party developers the ability to create software titles that can use a Kinect plugged directly into a Windows PC.

Since its official launch last November, the Kinect has proven fertile ground for developers and hackers eager to stretch it beyond its Xbox 360 roots. People clever enough to write their own drivers have already been tinkering with the product, … Read more

Is Apple moving to a new wireless chipset supplier for the next iPad and iPhone?

An unnamed but "reliable" source is quoted by Engadget today saying that Apple is going to ditch the current Infineon chipsets used in both devices and move to Qualcomm instead. The report seems entirely plausible.

Verizon already let it slip that it's going to have an iPad that runs on its network. It's very likely that will be for its CDMA network, and not LTE. The current iPad model only works on GSM networks. Apple probably doesn't want to have … Read more

As the race for carriers and phone manufacturers surges to push out LTE 4G-enabled phones of the likes that poured from CES last week, we've seen some rumors that Samsung is prepping to release a new LTE phone with MetroPCS.

The photos of the phone information clearly show that the phone is the Samsung SCH-R910 running LTE (look under Baseband version.) It also appears to run Android 2.2 (Froyo; look under Firmware version.)

If that's the case, the Samsung SCH-R910 would be MetroPCS' first LTE smartphone, after the regional, contract-free carrier released the Samsung Craft, a feature … Read more

The long-awaited Windows Phone 7 software update that will bring copy-paste functionality as well as a handful of bug fixes is said to be arriving next month.

That's according to Paul Thurrott over at Windows Phone Secrets, who says that the update is being released to manufacturers this month, with users getting it in the form of a software update pending carrier approval shortly thereafter. Furthermore, Thurrott says the update will bring support for Qualcomm's 7x30 smartphone chipset and a CDMA location stack, which could put the OS onto a more diverse set of hardware.

What about the … Read more

With CES fast-approaching, the rumor mill is at full bore, and one of the latest items to come out of it is that Microsoft will be rolling out a "stripped-down version of Windows" that will run on set-top boxes and upcoming TV sets.

The report comes courtesy of The Seattle Times, which says the boxes will cost somewhere in the ballpark of $200, will run the Windows Media Center interface, and will be on the market sometime this year.

As The Times points out, the version of Windows that will be running this TV-friendly interface is not a … Read more

Next week at CES T-Mobile and Motorola may unveil the successor to their 2009 handset, the Cliq.

A handful of images of the Cliq 2 made their way onto Cell Phone Signal's site yesterday. The photos show a device that looks nearly identical to its predecessor outside of a redesigned keyboard and a shinier bezel around the screen.

As you can see from the pictures, the phone will run Motorola's custom MotoBlur user interface, although the version of Android isn't certain. I would certainly hope for at least 2.2 Froyo, but wouldn't be surprised if … Read more

Apple will introduce an iPhone powered by the Verizon network "sometime after the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in early January." That's according to Bloomberg Businessweek, citing "a person familiar with Apple's plans."

Although we've heard countless similar reports and rumors in the past, there's mounting evidence that 2011 will be the year iPhone customers finally get a carrier option other than AT&T.

For starters, the Businessweek story comes on the heels of a DigiTimes report indicating Apple plans to ship 5 million to 6 million CDMA iPhones in … Read more