The latest rumors out of the Far East indicate that Apple’s next-generation iPhone will launch in the fall, as will a new 10-inch iPad. Apple supplier Pegatron Technology has reportedly landed orders for the Cupertino-based company’s latest handset and according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers, the device is slated for a September launch, Digitimes reported. The publication also claims Pegatron has received orders for a new 10-inch iPad to be released in the fourth quarter of 2012. John Gruber of Daring Fireball has previously called the fourth quarter iPad report “completely made-up nonsense,” however. Pegatron currently manufacturers both the iPhone 4S and the new iPad, but Digitimes claims the long rumored 7-inch iPad, which will supposedly be released in August, will be manufactured by Foxconn.

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A Texas electronics company has allegedly begun production on Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox gaming console, according to a report from IGN. Production of the Xbox 720 is reportedly underway at the Austin, Texas branch of Flextronics, the same electronics company responsible for manufacturing the Xbox 360 and the original Xbox. Despite these reports, however, Microsoft firmly stated that the next-generation Xbox will not debut at this year’s E3 gaming convention. The hardware currently being manufactured may instead be development kits for top-tier game developers that will get early access to Microsoft’s next-generation hardware in order to prepare new titles. The “Xbox 720″ is rumored to be six times more powerful than the current Xbox. It has been reported that the console will be equipped with a GPU based on ATI’s Radeon HD 6670 and should offer support for 3D technology, 1080p HD output, multiple displays and DirectX 11. Microsoft may also be looking to use online downloads and swappable solid state cards rather than a traditional disc drive.

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During Samsung’s announcement of its flagship Galaxy S III smartphone, the manufacturer did not reveal which U.S. carriers would offer the device. According to The Verge’s anonymous sources, however, Sprint will launch the highly anticipated handset later this year. The nation’s third-largest carrier has previously offered a variant of the Galaxy S, Galaxy S II, Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus smartphones. While details surrounding a Sprint-specific model are unavailable at this time, the device will most likely run on the carrier’s upcoming 4G LTE network.

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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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Not only will Samsung’s Galaxy S III event see the company launch its latest flagship smartphone and its S-Cloud service, but the latest rumors suggest we may even see a new Galaxy Tab. CNET Asia cites an unnamed source in reporting that the South Korea-based manufacturer will unveil a new 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab to complement its latest handset. The tablet will reportedly include a dual-core processor, and will not be the Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1), which was recently rumored to be getting a quad-core upgrade. Additional details are scarce, but but perhaps we’ll finally see Samsung unveil the high-definition slate we were hoping to see at Mobile World Congress.

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When Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, it wasn’t the high-definition tablet we’re still waiting for the manufacturer to announce. In fact, it was nearly identical to the original Galaxy Tab 10.1, but that may change ahead of the tablet’s launch. NetBookNews on Wednesday cited a Korean Samsung insider who claims the company has halted production of the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 so that it can be upgraded with a quad-core processor. Pre-sales were originally scheduled for May 4th and the device was supposed to launch on May 13th for $399.99, but it is unclear if these dates will be pushed back. Earlier reports suggested the Galaxy Note 10.1 has also been delayed to allow Samsung to make revisions to the device.

UPDATE: Samsung has denied NetBookNews’s report, stating that the new 10-inch tablet will come to market with unchanged specs. “The Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 will come to market worldwide as planned with a dual-core processor,” Samsung spokesman Ethan Rasiel said to BGR in an emailed statement. ”Rumors about production delays or changes to the product are false.”

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A new reported out of South Korea claims that Apple is planning to use Liquidmetal alloys in the next-generation iPhone in place of the glass case on the current model. The new material will allow the device to be both thinner and lighter, and it will also be more resistant to impact damage. The Cupertino-based company acquired the rights to Liquidmetal Technologies’ “amorphous metal alloys” in August 2010, and soon after was looking to hire engineers to work with the material. According to sources speaking with ETNews, the next iPhone is expected to be unveiled at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco this June. The South Korean news site also states that Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S III smartphone will feature a ceramic main body for a light and comfortable grip, a claim that aligns with BGR’s exclusive report from this past February.

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While we may finally have pricing and release dates for a majority of Samsung’s updated Galaxy line of music players and tablets, launch details for the Galaxy Note 10.1 that debuted at Mobile World Congress in February has remained a mystery. A company spokesperson told The Verge on Wednesday that Samsung has no release date to announce for the device yet, but the slate that was revealed in February may not match the final product that will will ship to end users. The “original” Galaxy Note 10.1 featured a 10.1-inch 1280 x 800-pixel display and was equipped with a dual-core Exynos processor clocked at 1.4GHz, 1GB of RAM and a 3-megapixel rear camera. Earlier rumors have suggested that Samsung may upgrade the slate to a quad-core Exynos 4412 processor clocked at 1.5GHz.

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Intel is expected to move up the announcement of its next-generation Ivy Bridge processors from the original date of April 29th to April 23rd, Digitimes reported on Thursday. ASUS, Acer, Lenovo and Hewlett-Packard are all preparing to release their second generation of ultrabooks in May, with average prices expected to “rapidly” drop from $999 to $699. To promote ultrabooks, Intel has also reportedly set up a $300 million fund to assist its partners in ultrabook design as well as research and development. Earlier rumors have suggested that Apple is planning to refresh its iMac family of computers with Intel’s 22nm-based Core i5 and Core i7 Ivy Bridge processors in June or July. The Cupertino-based company is also said to be ramping up production in preparation for thinner 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro models.

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The first images of Verizon and HTC’s upcoming Incredible 4G were leaked on Wednesday. The images were published by Android Police, and they reveal a handful of previously unknown information. The Incredible 4G will reportedly feature a 4-inch qHD display, a dual-core Snapdragon processor clocked at 1.2GHz, 1GB of RAM, an 8-megapixel rear camera with zero shutter lag, a microSD slot and run Sense 4.0 atop Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The handset is also reportedly equipped with an NFC chip, LTE connectivity and Beats Audio. HTC’s upcoming device is said to be “very light” and it seems to resemble a cross between the HTC Rezound and HTC’s One series of smartphones. The blog’s sources suggested a price tag between $99.99 and $149.99 with a two-year agreement, though details regarding a possible launch date were revealed. Read on for two additional images.

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Sony will reportedly cut 10,000 jobs, or roughly 6% of its global workforce, in an effort to bring the electronics giant back to profit, Nikkei reported on Monday. The majority of the layoffs will apparently come from consolidating the company’s chemicals and small and mid-size LCD operations, and are expected to be made over the next two years.  The report claims Sony’s new CEO Kazuo Hirai will announce his restructuring plan on April 12th, and the company may also ask seven executive directors, including Hirai and former CEO Howard Stringer, to give up their bonuses for the fiscal year that ended in March. Sony has denied the report.

[Via The Wall Street Journal]

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Skyhook Wireless CEO Ted Morgan claims that a “major” non-Google Android smartphone will be released at the end of this year. The handset will reportedly be based on the Android operating system, however it will not be controlled by Google — similar to Amazon’s Kindle Fire. “I’m spending a lot of time with companies forking Android,” Morgan said to Technology Review. “Nobody wants to just be a manufacturer for Google. You see that with what Amazon has done, where they made it their own, and you also see a whole host of manufacturers taking Android down their own path.” Read on for more.

Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet runs a highly modified version of Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Because Android is open source, companies can take the Android code and use it however they please. Non-Google Android devices do not have access to the Mountain View-based company’s closed-source apps and Google Play marketplace, however, but thanks to Amazon’s Appstore for Android, non-Google devices finally have a decent alternative.

“[Google] really [does] restrict anything a device maker can do to stand out, for their own purposes,” Morgan argued. “It’s very unappealing to a device maker. They don’t want to be just a commodity hardware maker because they’ll all lose out to cheaper players in China. Everyone’s emboldened by the success of Amazon. Everyone’s saying ‘we need to go our own way.’”

While Morgan may have a personal vendetta against Google, reports have surfaced time after time claiming both Facebook and Amazon are looking to release their own smartphones.

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Apple is reportedly “noodling with” a smaller 7.85-inch iPad model in its labs, according to John Gruber of Daring Fireball. Gruber revealed the information on an episode of The Talk Show after host Dan Benjamin asked if Apple was going to come out with a smaller tablet. “Well, I don’t know. What I do know is that they have one in the lab…a 7.85 inch iPad that runs at 1024×768… it’s just like the regular iPad shrunk down a bit,” Gruber said. “I’ve heard from multiple people that this is something that they’re kind of noodling with.” He went on to say that he has not heard anything regarding Apple’s plans to release the smaller model, and it is unclear if it will ever make it to market. Gruber speculated that Apple may have prepared the prototype in response to the Kindle Fire. He also suggested that it could possibly be unveiled at the Cupertino-based company’s Worldwide Developers Conference, since it’s unlikely that Apple will unveil a new iPhone at the event. We have seen numerous rumors regarding a smaller 7.85-inch iPad in the past. The slate is expected to be priced in the $249 to $299 range and could launch in the third quarter of 2012.

[Via TheNextWeb]

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Apple is reportedly planning to refresh its iMac family of computers with Intel’s 22nm-based Core i5 and Core i7 Ivy Bridge processors in June or July, How To Arena reported on Wednesday, citing a “reliable tipster” in Apple’s supply chain. The Cupertino-based company is also reportedly ramping up production in preparation for thinner 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro models, which will use the same Ivy Bridge processors. Previous rumors have suggested that Apple’s redesigned iMac would feature an anti-reflective glass display, and it should be slimmer and lighter than the current units. Apple’s iMac lineup was last updated in May 2011 with Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors, a high-speed Thunderbolt port and a high-definition FaceTime camera.

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Sprint’s version of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus may launch on April 22nd according to a purported internal document obtained by The Verge. In terms of hardware, the handset is identical to the Verizon Wireless version, however Sprint customers will have access to Google Wallet. The internal document also points to Sprint’s first 4G LTE phone being the LG Viper, which will be available just ahead of the Galaxy Nexus on April 15th. The handset features a 4-inch WVGA display with a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and a 5-megapixel rear camera. The Viper comes equipped with an NFC chip and will also have Google Wallet access as well. Sprint’s LTE network is expected to launch in mid-2012 in San Antonio, Houston, Dallas and Atlanta.

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