Apple has reportedly already started production of its next-generation iPad 3 tablet. Bloomberg broke the news on Twitter on Friday afternoon, though it did not immediately provide any further details. The iPad 3 is expected to feature a slightly thicker case, twice the battery life of the current iPad 2 model, and a 1,536 x 2,048-pixel HD display. The most recent rumors have suggested that Apple will release the new tablet in March.UPDATE: Bloomberg flushed out its preliminary report, claiming that the iPa...

In a Congressional appearance last week, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse explained just why his company objects to the proposed $39 billion AT&T and T-Mobile merger. Aside from his previously expressed grievances — that the merger would create a wireless duopoly and stifle competition — Hesse also noted another possible paradigm: the deal could lead to Sprint being bought or acquired as well. “The most likely buyer is CenturyLink, the biggest company in telecommunications without a wireless unit,R...

Multiple cities have signed on to celebrate “Foursquare Day” on April 16th, but none as prominently as New York City. NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg has declared April 16th “Foursquare Day” in New York City to celebrate the company and its success — but also to attract new startups to the area. “There is no better place than New York City to start a business,” Bloomberg’s office said. “We are the most exciting and most dynamic place on the market, an internationa...

A report filed by Bloomberg paints a grim picture for Nokia Oyj workers the world over. With an announced and looming restructuring in the works, the publication writes that “a reduction in research and development activities is set to be announced by the end of the month” and that “as many as 6,000 jobs” could be cut. Back in February — just days before Mobile World Congress — the company’s new CEO, Stephen Elop, announced that Nokia would adopt Microsoft’s recently ...

Over the weekend, Bloomberg filed a very brief report stating that electronics manufacturer Sony will soon test the Android-tablet waters. Citing statements made by the company’s CEO to Japanese newspaper Nikkei, the publication writes: “Sony Corp. plans to release a tablet computer by the end of summer [...] the tablet will run Google Inc.’s Android 3.0 Honeycomb software, and will be sold in the U.S. market first.” The company, through its partnership with Ericsson, has plenty of expe...

According to a report filed by Bloomberg Businessweek, Google is beginning to shorten the proverbial leash that Android licensees are currently attached to. Citing “dozens” of industry executives working at “key companies in the Android ecosystem,” the publication writes that Google will need to approve the future Android-plans of its software partners in exchange for early access to upcoming builds of the mobile operating system. “There will be no more willy-nilly tweaks to th...

According to Bloomberg, Microsoft is working on a Windows Phone update that will bring mobile payments to its fledgling smartphone operating system. Citing two anonymous sources, the publications writes that the company “plans to include mobile-payment technology in new versions of its operating system for smartphones as part of an effort to narrow Google Inc.’s lead in handset software,” and “the first devices boasting these features may be released this year.” The report suggest...

According to Bloomberg’s Dina Bass, Microsoft will discontinue selling its Zune music player sometime this year. Launched in 2006, the Zune was Microsoft’s response to Apple’s iPod music player and offered us our first look at the Metro UI — the user interface now present on Windows Phone devices. According to Bass, the company will refocus its efforts on the Zune software; working to improve its functionality and usefulness on devices running Microsoft’s new mobile operating sy...

According to a report filed by Bloomberg, Windows Phone maker Microsoft will pay Finnish handset manufacturer Nokia more than $1 billion as part of the two companies “smartphone software agreement.” The publication cites “two people with knowledge of the terms,” and goes on to note that Nokia will be responsible for paying Microsoft a “fee for each copy of Windows [Phone] used.” It’s widely assumed that the purported agreement, and fee, were part of Microsoft’s ...

Bloomberg is reporting that Apple, Inc. is working on a smaller, cheaper iPhone model to compete with the army of affordable handsets currently utilizing Google’s Android operating system. The report cites several anonymous sources “briefed on the matter” and claims that the company is looking to sell this new device for around $200 unsubsidized. The article also notes that Apple could be working on “technology that makes it easier to use the iPhone on multiple wireless networks̶...

According to Bloomberg, citing “two people familiar with the matter,” Sony and Sony Ericsson will be releasing the PSP2 and Xperia Play smartphone in January and February respectively. The publication writes that the updated iteration of the company’s popular mobile gaming console will be released on January 27th; the company will also “outline a strategy to use its networked entertainment services to share games, movies and music among handheld products, TVs and other devices.”...

Bloomberg is reporting that RIM’s Co-CEO, Jim Balsillie, indicated his company’s Playbook tablet would be available in North American markets in Q1 of 2011 for under $500. The $500 price point is notable for the industry as it is where Apple’s 16GB Wi-Fi iPad currently sits. The report also noted that “RIM may sell the Playbook through retail stores of Target Corp. and Best Buy Co.” and that the device would be available globally in Q2 of 2011. There you have it, a sub-$500, Blac...

If ever there were two contemporary corporate giants worthy of the title “game changer”, Google Co-Founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page fit the bill. Those interested in the story that started as a research project at Stanford University in 1996 and exploded into the behemoth Internet (and beyond) company we know, love and fear today, Bloomberg Television has you covered. Bloomberg TV’s original 11-part documentary series “Bloomberg Game Changers” will cover the two Googlers this ...

Bloomberg is reporting that Apple is “preparing to announce a new set-top box that delivers TV to consumers” and that the aforementioned box “will include [streaming] movies from Netflix.” Bloomberg cites “three people with knowledge of the plans and continues: “The streaming service would be available on the revamped version of Apple TV, due to be introduced tomorrow in San Francisco. [...] Users would pay a subscription fee to Netflix for the service.” Speculation f...