Rumors

Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S4 will offer a Smart Scroll feature, at least according to a series of screenshots leaked by blog site Sammobile.

Images posted on the site show a settings screen for Smart Scroll, a feature that allows users to scroll through the screen and perform certain tasks merely by moving their eyes up and down.

Citing information from a person who has used the yet-to-be-announced phone, the New York Times reported on Monday that Smart Scroll would be built into the S4. The feature would monitor the movement of users' eyes and move the screen accordingly. As … Read more

I've lived with a smartwatch, in one form or another, for several periods over the past few years. Recently, with the Martian Passport. Further back, with the iPod Nano and a Hex wristband. Before that, a SPOT watch.

I love the idea of a smartwatch. Certainly, so does the media as of late. Bloomberg reports and iWatch rumors galore, plus various wearable watch-type items at January's CES, have started to give this territory the sense of a category.

Between the Martian and the Nano watch, I loved aspects of each -- and also found them both lacking. There'… Read more

Verizon Wireless may be the first U.S. carrier to offer one of LG's brand-spankin'-new Optimus F5 Android smarphones.

According to a set of alleged press photos obtained by UnwiredView, Verizon will carry the Optimus F5 as a followup to the LG Lucid. Introduced just last week at Mobile World Congress, the LG Optimus F5 features a 4.3-inch qHD display, a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 1GB RAM, and 8GB internal storage. The handset, powered by Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, will likely be priced low to attract new smartphone buyers.

Reportedly, Verizon will announce the … Read more

The iPhone and iPad rumor mill continues to heat up.

Apple is reportedly prepping the iPhone 5S for a summer release, mostly likely in August, "sources familiar with the plans" told blog site iMore. The next iPhone would sport the same design as its predecessor but with a beefier processor and better camera.

People awaiting a new iPad could get some satisfaction as early as next month, according to the sources.

An "April-ish" launch for the next-generation iPads, most likely the iPad 5 and the iPad Mini 2, is seriously being considered by Apple. From that … Read more

Microsoft's Surface tablet may surface in Japan as early as next month, according to a story from the Nikkei news service, as reported by the Wall Street Journal's MarketWatch.

A Microsoft spokeswoman confirmed to CNET that Surface will reach Japan in the near future but didn't specify a launch date.

"As part of our phased approach to Surface availability, Surface will be coming to Japan in the near future," the rep said, promising to provide more details soon.

Microsoft is expected to sell the Surface RT edition to Japanese consumers. That version can run certain … Read more

A new Pantech smartphone may be headed to Verizon Wireless.

Documents found on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Web site reveal the Pantech Perception, which has not been announced by Verizon.

The Pantech Perception appears to be a standard slab touch smartphone with an 8-megapixel rear camera. Additional details confirmed in the FCC filing include NFC, 4G LTE, as well as CDMA and GSM roaming. A glance through the drafted user manual also yields references to microSD expansion, DLNA, HDMI, and Wi-Fi Direct. Judging by the screenshots, the Perception will run at least Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Based … Read more

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