Welcome to the final rumor recap post for January! This is a post we do every weekend here, where we quickly sum up the week's best Android rumors, complete with our commentary. To follow all the exciting rumors and leaks as they come in, we recommend checking out all of the excellent Android blogs listed on the side of this site. Continue reading for the rumors!
First, we have a report from TheNextWeb detailing a new trademark filing HTC has recently made for something called HTC Sensation. The trademark filing specifically says that it's not for a device, but rather for software. Speculation is that Sensation will be a tablet version of HTC's existing Sense interface.
Ryan says: This is definitely possible, though I question why they'd want a different name for their tablet skin as opposed to their phone skin. Sense is a pretty known name in the Android world, and I would think they'd want to keep it. But what do I know. :-)
Shelsy says: I think it's pretty likely that it's their tablet version of Sense, especially given the similarity of the two names. Maybe they want to differentiate that this is designed specifically with tablet functionality in mind.
Next is a rumor from City AM stating that Facebook is set to launch a branded phone at MWC next month. The device is rumored to be manufactured by HTC and run Android with a heavily modified Facebook interface.
Ryan says: Rumors of a Facebook phone have persisted for quite some time now, so there must be some truth to it somewhere. Maybe this will just be a standard Android phone but have a custom HTC Facebook app? The only way a Facebook specific phone would succeed would be if it were very cheap, and didn't require an expensive data plan, neither of which I see happening. So...
Shelsy says: Oh great, a Facebook phone.... I have issues with Facebook as it is, I definitely wouldn't want my phone to be full of it. But, I also realize I'm in the minority there. Given how huge Facebook is, I think a phone designed specifically for them would be a hit.
The next rumor says that Verizon and Motorola have a sequel to the Droid X, creatively called the Droid X2, coming very soon. It is rumored to look identical to the original, except feature a seriously beefed up, dual-core processor. The rumor also suggests that the Droid X2 will not be a 4G device, but that part of the rumor is in dispute.
Ryan says: I find it highly unlikely that this won't be 4G. The Droid X is a hugely successful device for them, and if the sequel adds nothing but a faster processor, then it's not much of an upgrade.
Shelsy says: I agree with Ryan--they shouldn't even waste their time if it's not going to be 4G. I think all the high-end devices coming out from this point on need to be 4G to stay on pace.
Another recent report says that Netflix and Qualcomm have been in discussions to bring streaming video to Snapdragon phones first. Netflix has previously stated that they are working to bring streaming to Android, but that more security measures need to be in place. This rumor suggests that Snapdragon phones might be the first to get streaming due to their secure architecture. It is unknown if this means only future Snapdragon powered phones, or if existing ones will get it, too.
Ryan says: This is somewhat hard to believe, but it's definitely possible. The way I expect Netflix to launch their Android app is to have it preinstalled on new phones, but not work with old ones. But since most of the new phones out there don't use Snapdragon, this seems like an odd choice for them. But since my phone has a Snapdraon chip, I hope it's true just because I want it.
Shelsy says: I don't really get what all is going on with this, but I don't think anything's going to be happening soon, so I'm not going to worry about it yet. I don't know how much streaming I would do from my phone, anyway.
Finally, we have a new report that all but confirms the Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Tab2 will be announced at MWC next month. These devices have been rumored for quite some time, and MWC would make sense as a venue for announcement.
Ryan says: I'm not interested in either one of these...not at all. But I do fully expect to see them announced next month.
Shelsy says: Boo, hiss.
That about wraps it up for this week. Be sure to check back next week, as the rumors will likely intensify as we get closer and closer to MWC. Until then, thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more!
No comments:
Post a Comment