rumor

Citing ever-shadowy "sources," PaidContent reported Sunday that oft-maligned cable giant Comcast is in the process of acquiring television fandom site BuddyTV.com. No financial details were specified.

PaidContent blogger Joseph Weisenthal speculates that BuddyTV will be integrated in one way or another into Comcast's still-in-beta Fancast site, a Web video and community hub that it launched in August. Comcast, whose Comcast Interactive Media division has been attempting to craft an extensive Web 2.0-savvy social media strategy, also purchased movie ticket site Fandango in April.

BuddyTV representatives allegedly denied the allegation initially and then clammed up; we'… Read more

I recently wrote about interesting rumors of a Google browser, and now there are strong rumblings of a Google phone. Of course, just like the browser, this is something that has bubbled to the surface several times over the years, but equally like the browser, the newest rumors seem to have the strongest merit yet.

Tech gadget sites Gizmodo and CrunchGear are reporting that the alleged "Gphone" will be produced in Taiwan and is expected launch sometime in the first quarter of 2008. Alleged functionality -- and this would make total sense -- includes Gmail and calendar functions; … Read more

Do we really need another social networking site? Apparently so, and we're not talking about start-ups here.

What we're hearing--and this is industry cocktail-party gossip, albeit a very believable variety thereof--is that MTV Networks is working on its own social network and we'll be hearing more about it pretty soon. We don't have a name, or a target demographic (Teens? College kids? Young adults?) or any semblance of screenshots. This is so hush-hush, in fact, that we aren't even sure whether it's an MTV Networks (as in MTV, VH1, MTV2, Spike TV and the … Read more

Ooooweee--those are some pretty enticing photos. It seems Engadget Mobile got its hands on some marketing material from Sprint about the carrier's upcoming portfolio of smart phones and cell phones for Q4, and if true, we think a lot of Sprint customers will be pleased by it.

On tap, we've got the HTC Touch with its innovative touch screen; the RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8130 (aka BlackBerry Pearl 2), rocking EV-DO and GPS; the Palm Centro, the company's slimmest smart phone with EV-DO support; and finally, the LG Rumor, a slide-out QWERTY device with a focus on social … Read more

Another day, another clump of Facebook financial dirt.

Kara Swisher at All Things Digital wrote early Tuesday that "according to sources," Facebook is considering the possibility of a massive new investment round. If this turns out to be true, it could lift the company's much-talked-about valuation even further into the stratosphere. Facebook's last investment round, a $25 million bounty in 2006, pushed its pre-money valuation to about $525 million. This rumored new round, which Swisher claims is "well beyond" that scope, could solidify Facebook's position in the $6 billion to $10 billion club (… Read more

With rumors of new iPods heating up, fresh news comes of a trademarked Apple "special event" to be held in two weeks.

Ars Technica's Infinite Loop is reporting that unidentified Apple sources have brought word of an upcoming Apple event scheduled for September 5. While Infinite Loop's sources were unable to specify the exact details of what is coming, they signed off on a general reading of AppleInsider's recent report that a series of new iPods are on tap.

There will be at least one new iPod, according to Infinite Loop's sources, but details … Read more

Throughout Facebook's recent and meteoric rise, one of the detractors raised by skeptics has continually been the social networking site's failure to show concrete proof of a strong revenue model.

But that all might change very soon.

According to a report on the Wall Street Journal's Web site, the social network is "quietly" assembling a new advertising model that will take advantage of the copious personal information that its members post on their profiles. These new advertisements would not be in the form of traditional graphical advertisements but would rather pepper the "news feed&… Read more

This post has been updated to include the Facebook app creator's statement on the issue.

Ouch, here's a zinger: contrary to reports, travel site TripAdvisor apparently did not purchase the Facebook Platform application Where I've Been for $3 million. The news was originally reported on Inside Facebook on Thursday night.

A statement from a TripAdvisor representative read, "This is untrue. Beyond that, we do not have any comment."

The company isn't saying any more, obviously. You could really dig into the nuances of the statement, implying it to mean that either the entire rumor … Read more

Update 9:37 a.m. PDT: It turns out TripAdvisor apparently did not purchase the Facebook Platform application Where I've Been for $3 million. Here's our follow-up story.

Who knew that Facebook Platform applications might one day be million-dollar acquisition targets?

Inside Facebook is reporting that Where I've Been, a third-party application developed with the Facebook Platform APIs, has been acquired by online travel company TripAdvisor for somewhere in the ballpark of $3 million. Inside Facebook blogger Justin Smith did not cite any sources; we have sent requests to both Smith and TripAdvisor for comment.

Where I'… Read more