Rumors

Gadgets from Apple and Samsung could eventually be getting a little extra star power.

No those companies aren't pulling a MySpace and tapping Justin Timberlake. Instead, it could be the sun--an actual star.

Digitimes reported today that both companies have been "evaluating" solar technologies to power future products, focusing particularly on organic photovoltaic cells, a technology that yields a lower sunlight-to-electricity conversion ratio than large solar panels installed on rooftops, but can be fit into small gadgets.

Samsung already uses solar technologies in some of its gadgets, including two of its phones in 2009, the "Blue … Read more

After dropping the plastic MacBook in favor of the entry-level, 11.6-inch MacBook Air with last week's round of Mac hardware updates, Apple could be planning to fill out its notebook line numbers with yet another ultralight model, according to a new report.

Macrumors suggested this afternoon that Apple is cooking up a 15-inch "ultra-thin Mac notebook," that will come in slimmer than the company's existing 15-inch MacBook Pro model, presumably with the nixing of the optical drive and perhaps even the hard drive as well. … Read more

LG's smartphone lineup for the rest of the year has found its way online, and as one might expect, there's plenty of Android on the horizon. Pocketnow has obtained the images and details for at least six devices scheduled to drop between now and December. Based on these early specifications, it's becoming increasingly obvious that LG likes to cater to new smartphone buyers. Yet, that's not to say it doesn't have any serious contenders in its lineup.

Kicking things off in the short term, the LG Gelato is expected to arrive at Sprint and possibly T-Mobile. … Read more

Like it or not, 3D isn't going anywhere anytime soon, and the feature is only going to find its way into more handsets over time. Case in point: Samsung looks to be the latest manufacturer to hop aboard the 3D train with the rumor of a Galaxy 3D.

According to Korean Web site Etnews, Samsung's first 3D handset will feature a 4.3-inch 3D LCD display, HD TV-output, and dual 8-megapixel cameras for capturing 3D content. By contrast, the HTC Evo 3D and LG Thrill 4G offer a pair of 5-megapixel cameras. The Galaxy 3D may also be … Read more

It's time to put yet another Verizon and Motorola smartphone on your radar. Even as we're still waiting for the long-anticipated Droid Bionic to arrive, rumors have started swirling for the next super phone, the Motorola Dinara.

According to sources close to Droid Life, the Dinara will arrive in late 2011 with a form factor that closely resembles a thinner and lighter Droid Bionic. Specifications are said to include a rear-facing 13-megapixel camera, a front-facing VGA camera, a non-replaceable internal battery, and an "HD" screen. It's possible that the display will be qHD (960x540) as … Read more

The rumored HTC Puccini 10-inch tablet has surfaced once again, and it appears the follow-up to the HTC Flyer is headed to AT&T, possibly later this summer.

This is based on recent FCC filings that show an HTC tablet with support for AT&T's GSM 850 and 1,800MHz frequencies, as well as the carrier's 4G LTE network. AT&T is in the beginning stages of rolling out its LTE network and is expected to launch it in five major markets this summer: Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, and San Antonio.

It's not yet … Read more

The longer the wait for a refresh to Apple's MacBook Air hardware, the more of a machine we may be getting, it seems.

Two separate reports today have suggested that Apple's planning to double up on the amount of built-in storage offered in its entry-level MacBook Air model. One of the two also reiterates that Apple's jumping to 4GB of RAM across the line, an upgrade that previously cost users an extra $100 when buying the machine from Apple.

Based on check-ins with industry sources by Concord Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, AppleInsider this morning noted that Apple was making the important jump from 2GB to 4GB of RAM in part to "improve performance on Mac OS Lion," which is set to ship on the new hardware. Kuo also said that Apple was simplifying the storage offerings by doing away with the 64GB SSD on the 11.6-inch model in favor of the 128GB offering. … Read more

Our CNET UK colleagues have a juicy find today. It centers around job postings for an influx of temporary workers to help sell Apple's iPhone, right around when the iPhone 5 is expected to hit.

The post--there are several in various regions around the U.K.--seeks an "Apple iPhone sales specialist" to work for two and a half months in Apple retail stores beginning in mid-August for what recruiter Gekko calls "an exciting project":

"Our client, Apple, one of the largest consumer electronic hardware and software companies in the world are seeking full-time iPhone Sales Staff for an exciting project to work 5 days a week (Tuesday-Saturday) for the period 16th August - 29th October within key retail stores," the posting reads. … Read more

Alleged part numbers for new versions of Apple's MacBook Air notebook and Mac Pro desktop tower have cropped up, adding to evidence that new iterations of both computer lines are coming soon.

9to5mac, citing a "Mr. X" as their source, suggests that the new versions of both machines are slated for arrival sometime this week. The new models are expected to be sporting Lion, Apple's yet-to-be-released version of Mac OS X, which the company said would be ready to go this month. A gold master version of the software was delivered to developers on July 1.

On the MacBook Air side, there are four models listed with the new part numbers, matching up with Apple's four existing offerings on the 11- and 13-inch versions. For the Mac Pro, there are also four part numbers, which meshes with the existing quad-core, 8-core, 12-core, and server Mac Pro models. … Read more