Thanks to the popular XDA Forums, we now have a pretty good idea of what HTC is planning for new Google Android handsets in 2010. Among them are new designs that differ from the company's standard touch-screen candy bar models that we've seen this year.
The images scanned from a brochure indicate that the Taiwanese manufacturer is grouping its handsets into targeted demographic categories. While the Legend appears to be a descendant of the Hero and Droid Eris, the Salsa brings a BlackBerry feel to Android with its four-row portrait QWERTY design. Both phones fall into HTC's … Read more
Apple will ramp up production on its long-rumored tablet in February with an eye toward a spring launch.
That's the word from Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner who says his checks into Apple's supply chain indicate that "the manufacturing cogs for the [device] are creaking into action." According to Reiner, the tablet will have a 10.1-inch multitouch LCD display and a price point of $1,000.
Apple plans to produce as many as 1 million units per month. So assuming it needs five to six weeks of inventory before launch, we can expect it to arrive at market sometime in March or April. In preparation for that day, the company has evidently been evangelizing the device to the publishing industry.
"Contacts in the U.S. tell us Apple is approaching book publishers with a very attractive proposal for distributing their content," Reiner wrote in a note to clients today. "Apple will split revenue 30/70 (Apple/publisher); give the same deal to all comers; and not request exclusivity. We believe the typical Kindle/publisher split is 50/50, rising to 30/70 if Kindle is given ebook exclusivity."
Noting dissension in the ranks, Reiner adds, "As innovative as it is, we believe the Kindle has disgruntled the publishing industry (book, newspaper, and magazine) by demanding exclusivity, disallowing advertising, and demanding a wolfish cut of revenue. The tablet is set to change that. It should also make e-books more relevant for education by simplifying functions such as scribbling marginalia."… Read more
Although a judge recently ruled in favor of Apple in its copyright infringement case against Psystar, the two companies have reached a new settlement, according to Computerworld and other reports.
Details are sketchy at this point, and there's no confirmation from Apple, but Psystar claimed in a motion filed Monday that a partial settlement has been reached.
"Psystar has agreed on certain amounts to be awarded as statutory damages on Apple's copyright claims in exchange for Apple's agreement not to execute on these awards until all appeals in this matter have been concluded," noted Psystar'… Read more
A new report from Digitimes on Thursday says Apple's anticipated tablet will not be released in the first part of 2010 as originally thought, but rather in the second half of the year. One industry analyst said the timing of the release is irrelevant to Wall Street.
According to Digitimes, Apple will delay the release of the long rumored tablet because it has decided to change some of its components. Citing unnamed sources, the report says Apple will launch a model using a 9.7-inch OLED from LG.
Financial analysts don't seem to be concerned about the report … Read more
We've seen the Motorola Droid and the HTC Droid Eris from Verizon Wireless so far, but apparently there is a third Verizon Android handset waiting in the wings, if rumors are to be believed.
Rumors are that it will be the HTC Passion, which is supposedly powered by a 1GHz Snapdragon chipset (the Passion might also be called the Dragon). The rumor mill (from Boy Genius, Phone Arena, and elsewhere) claims that the HTC Passion will feature a 5-megapixel camera, a large WVGA-resolution screen with multitouch, a 3.5mm headset jack, 256MB RAM, and it's said to run … Read more
Also called the HTC Desire, the Eris (and the Moto Droid) will be a part of a series of Google Android devices for Verizon Wireless. According to Gdgt, preliminary specs include a 5-megapixel camera, a microSD card slot, EV-DO, a 3.2-inch display, and (thanks to the Boy Genius Report) a 528MHz processor. Official photos are nonexistent at this point, but the Eris should have a HTC Hero-like a trackball for navigation.
I don't remember hearing so much talk over a product that nobody has even seen, but the scuttlebutt continues, this time from Australia.
Apple is reportedly shopping its rumored tablet to media companies in Australia to gauge interest in having their products available on the device when its released, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. While specifications of the device were reportedly sent to the companies, nobody would confirm it on the record.
One thing to come out of the Australian talks that we haven't heard before focuses on pricing, and more importantly for the media companies, how … Read more
It's no secret that newspapers in the U.S. are having their share of difficulties during this economic downturn, but New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller is looking to the future and that future includes an Apple tablet.
Keller's remarks came during a presentation earlier this month to the digital staff at The New York Times. Video of the "off-the-record" meeting was obtained by the Nieman Journalism Lab and posted on its site. At the meeting, Keller addressed some of the things the newspaper needs to do to succeed, including preparing for platforms of the … Read more
While the Motorola Droid might be hogging the spotlight at the moment, rumors of Verizon's second Google Android device are starting to bubble to the surface.
According to the Boy Genius Report, a handset code-named the Motorola Calgary will be the carrier's other Android smartphone. It'll be a lower-end device than the Droid and have a lower-resolution touch screen and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard that BGR calls "workable."
Below the display, there will be three touch-sensitive buttons while the traditional d-pad will be replaced by an optical trackpad. Other reported features include a 3-megapixel camera, … Read more
Just when you thought the Google Android news couldn't get any stranger, Ashok Kumar, an analyst at Northeast securities, told InternetNews.com and TheStreet.com today that Google itself is planning to release a handset with the operating system.
Details are sketchy, but according to Kumar the device will be unlocked and will be available directly through retailers. Though unlocked phones typically are more expensive than carrier-branded phones, they are also free of any carrier restrictions. Google hasn't commented on the rumor, but I'm taking this one with a healthy dose of speculation.
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