Apple’s new iPhone, which is currently rumored to launch in September or October, is reportedly going to be the first iPhone to have a larger display. Multiple reports have suggested that the new iPhone will feature a 4-inch screen, and iLounge’s Jeremy Horowitz is throwing his weight behind it as well. Additionally, he’s reporting that the device will be taller and 20% thinner than the current iPhone 4S. The back of the device will have a metal panel according to the report, though it won’t cover the entire back of the phone. This seems a little strange, especially with iLounge’s rendering. What about the white version? Lastly, there will indeed be a new dock connector to make room for the thinner case, so no doubt third-party accessory manufacturers are going to be thrilled about that, but Apple’s move to introduce a thinner and smaller dock connector is likely a necessary step toward making the iPhone insanely thin. One barrier that Apple has not yet tackled is the 3.5 mm headset jack, which some day might disappear completely in favor of Bluetooth and AirPlay streaming. One more mockup of the new iPhone from iLounge is after the break.

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Last week, a Motorola engineer's Picasa album all but confirmed the existence of the Motorola Droid RAZR HD. And while we can't say his job has a future, it looks like this handset does. The latest leak includes some newly discovered blurry cam photos from China showing Motorola model MT887 running ICS. This matches the EXIF data posted by that errant engineer, which listed the RAZR HD's build as 4.0.3. According to the latest images, the RAZR HD sports a 4.3-inch display -- with an upgraded resolution of 720p -- though the other specs appear to match the current batch of RAZRs. As Android Community points out, that relatively bulky body could mean there's a 3,300mAH battery inside. That's all well and good -- unless Motorola also has a Droid HD RAZR Maxx set to launch a month after this guy. Then again, who would be so cruel as to pit your hopes for a higher-res RAZR against your dreams of an even longer-lasting smartphone?

Motorola RAZR HD running ICS spotted in the wild, 720p display in tow originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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5GB, huh? Not quite enough for you? If you were wise enough to up the capacity of your Gmail inbox + Picasa allotment before today, your Google Drive experience just got a lot more awesome. A trio of editors here at Engadget HQ managed to upgrade their Gmail boxes a couple of years ago, and at the time (read: it's no longer an available option), Google was offering an extra 20GB for use across its properties for a mere $5 per year. Upon loading Google Drive today, we each found a healthy 25GB waiting to be filled, with no expectation of additional payments to Google. Be sure to let us know if you're seeing a similar boost in capaciousness down in comments below, particularly for those who splurged on one of the more current Gmail add-on plans.

PSA: If you purchased extra Gmail storage, your Google Drive just got bigger originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC may be looking to follow in Samsung and Apple’s footsteps in developing its own processors, according to a rumor from China Times. The Taiwanese vendor has reportedly signed a “memorandum of cooperation” with ST-Ericsson to co-develop a new dedicated chip for low-end smartphones that will come out in 2013. The joint venture will help HTC reduce its reliance on Qualcomm and NVIDIA processors, which are predominantly featured in the company’s current smartphone offerings. HTC, which has seen slumping sales, focused previously on the high-end market. The company’s market share has declined by more than 60% in the past five months, however, forcing the manufacturer to rethink its mobile strategy.

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Encroaching into the semiconductor business might not seem the most obvious move for a phone manufacturer that's trying to unify its efforts. Nevertheless, China Times reports that HTC has signed a "memorandum of cooperation" with ST-Ericsson to co-develop a new dedicated chip for low-end handsets coming out next year. Since ST-Ericsson is a fabless chip designer, HTC won't risk getting silicon between its fingernails. Instead, if this agreement is what it seems, the Taiwanese manufacturer may simply want more direct control over its supply chains and to reduce its current reliance on ready-made designs from Qualcomm or NVIDIA. After all, it can't be easy for HTC's new CFO, looking on while others gobbles up those margins.

China Times: HTC wants to develop its own processors for low-end phones originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Apr 2012 05:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Nokia Lumia 900 is now available for pre-order. The handset features a 4.3-inch ClearBlack AMOLED display, a 1.4GHz single-core processor, 4G LTE, an 8-megapixel rear camera with Carl Zeiss optics and the Windows Phone 7.5 operating system. When the Lumia 900 launches on April 8th for $99.99, it will be one of the most affordable flagship devices AT&T has ever offered. To make this sleek smartphone even harder to resist for current AT&T customers, Walmart is already offering the device for half off — $49.99 with a new two-year agreement. For new customers, order through AT&T’s website and you’ll get your new Lumia 900 for free.

Read [AT&T] Read [Walmart]

One of many reasons to still be excited about Ivy Bridge is the integrated HD4000 graphics, which are zippy enough to handle Skyrim at modest settings. Desktoppers may not be so enthused if they stick to discrete GPUs anyway, but the potential for better graphics in cheaper, low-power mobile PCs is huge. That's why we're hyped to hear talk of a forthcoming 22nm "ValleyView" processor, described by Intel insider Jesse Barnes as a "CedarView-like chip but with an Ivy Bridge graphics core". That implies HD4000 may not only be destined for desktops, laptops and Project Fionas, but for future netbooks too. Meanwhile, leaked slides (shown above and after the break) from an outfit called Advantech spill more beans. Listed under a chipset codenamed "Balboa Pier", the Cedar Trail successor is described as fanless, packing "4x Gfx performance" compared to current PowerVR-equipped Atoms, and scheduled to arrive early next year. Will it be enough to bring netbooks back into vogue? It can't hurt.

Continue reading Intel leaks: ValleyView chip could bring 4x graphics boost to netbooks in 2013

Intel leaks: ValleyView chip could bring 4x graphics boost to netbooks in 2013 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Mar 2012 07:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One of many reasons to still be excited about Ivy Bridge is the integrated HD4000 graphics, which are zippy enough to handle Skyrim at modest settings. Desktoppers may not be so enthused if they stick to discrete GPUs anyway, but the potential for better graphics in cheaper, low-power mobile PCs is huge. That's why we're hyped to hear talk of a forthcoming 22nm "ValleyView" processor, described by Intel insider Jesse Barnes as a "CedarView-like chip but with an Ivy Bridge graphics core". That implies HD4000 may not only be destined for desktops, laptops and Project Fionas, but for future netbooks too. Meanwhile, leaked slides (shown above and after the break) from an outfit called Advantech spill more beans. Listed under a chipset codenamed "Balboa Pier", the Cedar Trail successor is described as fanless, packing "4x Gfx performance" compared to current PowerVR-equipped Atoms, and scheduled to arrive early next year. Will it be enough to bring netbooks back into vogue? It can't hurt.

Continue reading Intel leaks: ValleyView chip could bring 4x graphics boost to netbooks in 2013

Intel leaks: ValleyView chip could bring 4x graphics boost to netbooks in 2013 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Mar 2012 07:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Seagate's latest hard drive has hit a milestone: it manages to squeeze in a data density of one terabit per square inch. It uses some extremely complex heat-assisted magnetic recording to do that, and in the process doubles the storage capacity of current hard disks. If that's not enough to get your head round, how about this: the hard disk contains more bits in a single square inch than the Milky Way has stars. [Segate] More »

Now, anyone can play one of the biggest modular synthesizers in the world, thanks to a new project, code-named "PatchWerk." With PatchWerk's simple web interface, users around the world can control the colossal rig in real time, from its current home at the MIT Museum. More »

AT&T wants customers who are still using 2G phones to upgrade to the company’s faster 3G and 4G networks, MarketWatch reported last week. The carrier is in the process of sending notices to customers asking them to upgrade their devices. “Your current, older-model 2G phone might not be able to make or receive calls and you may experience degradation of your wireless service in certain areas,” AT&T said in the letter. Mark Siegel, an AT&T spokesman, said the company is looking to use some of the 2G spectrum for newer technologies. “We’re simply urging them to upgrade to a new device if they want to,” he said. Siegel confirmed that the carrier sent notices to customers in the New York metropolitan area and may soon send them to other customers. He noted, however, that the program was voluntary and only affected a small number of subscribers. He also noted that most 2G phones will continue to work. “We are still supporting the 2G network,” Siegel said, although he did state that customers who continue to use 2G cell phones that operate on AT&T’s 1900-megahertz band will eventually lose service.

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Following LG’s statement that the company is “heavily in discussions” with Google to become the next Nexus partner, HTC said it too is in discussions with the software giant. According to a new report from TechRadar, the Taiwanese handset maker is in talks with Google in hopes of being selected to design the company’s next flagship smartphone. Google previously worked with HTC to craft the original Nexus One. “Google hasn’t chosen its Nexus partner for (Android) Jellybean as yet. So right now all the manufacturers are crossing their fingers,” HTC’s global online communications manager Jeff Gordon said in a statement that has since been removed. Gordon said that the notion of being the next Nexus partner is “still very attractive to all OEMs, despite the imminent takeover of Motorola.” Gordon didn’t give an exact date as to when Android 5.0 would be released, but stated the company’s current priority is to bring Ice Cream Sandwich to its current device lineup.

[Via Droid-Life]

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Samsung has a number of new devices on hand at this year’s Mobile World Congress, and one of them was the Galaxy S Blaze 4G set to launch on T-Mobile later this year. We got a chance to check out the Blaze 4G, and we left relatively unimpressed. To be fair, the Blaze is a lightning-fast smartphone on par with a number of recent additions to Samsung’s Galaxy line, but it’s hard to get excited over a phone that is only a modest upgrade compared to T-Mobile’s current Galaxy S II. The Blaze 4G features a 1.5Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon chip, a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen, a 5-megapixel camera and Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread. It’s certainly a solid phone but with HTC’s One S heading to T-Mobile in April and Samsung’s full-HD Galaxy S III on the way as well, T-Mobile subscribers looking for the latest and greatest may want to sit tight and wait another month or so. The Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G launches in March for $149.99 on contract, and our hands-on photos of the handset follow below.

In the aftermath of company losses that passed $9 billion, Panasonic has announced that Fumio Ohtsubo is to step down as company president. He'll be replaced by current CEO Kazuhiro Tsuga in an executive reshuffle that'll take place in June, when Ohtsubo will step up to become chairman of the board, replacing Kunio Nakamura who is taking an "advisory role." Tsuga was formerly an executive at Matsushita, where he spent a lot of time thumbing his nose at HD DVD and promising that Blu-Ray would win the last format war -- so we know his instincts are at least halfway decent.

Panasonic names Kazuhiro Tsuga as new president after old one loses $9 billion originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Feb 2012 03:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A new proposal set forth by the FCC would modify the Commission's licensing requirements of the 800MHz band by replacing its current site-based model with more contemporary geographic guidelines. Commissioners argue the change is needed, as site-based rules were originally established to consider the propagation of analog signals -- now obsolete by anyone's standards. The move would bring the licensing requirements of the 800MHz spectrum to parity with the 700MHz, AWS and PCS bands and reduce a boatload of paperwork along the way by eliminating current data collection requirements. The proposal would also create a new, two-stage auction process for the unlicensed areas, based on the new geographic approach. The FCC is now seeking public comment, and its PR can be found after the break.

[Tower photo via Shutterstock]

Continue reading FCC seeks to streamline licensing requirements for 800MHz band

FCC seeks to streamline licensing requirements for 800MHz band originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Details are still fairly light at the moment, but The Wall Street Journal is reporting today that Google could be about to make big push into the hardware business. Citing people briefed on the company's plans, the WSJ says that Google is now developing a home entertainment system that would stream music wirelessly throughout the home (including to web-connected devices and "Google-made speakers"), and be able to be controlled using a smartphone or tablet -- making it sound a whole lot like a Sonos competitor. What's more, unlike current Android and Google TV devices, this system will reportedly be marketed under Google's own brand. An attempt to really turn it up to eleven, perhaps?

Google reportedly working on wireless home entertainment system to be sold under its own brand originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rdio Android app gets a refresh, adds ICS support and new design originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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