Apple Apple is priming the Asia-based supply chain for production of its next-generation smartphone, according to a report from Digitimes. Simplo Technology and Desay Battery Technology have received orders related to the future iPhone, according to a report Wednesday from the Taiwan-based media outlet, citing sources. The report also indicated that “mass production” of the …

Apple The iPhone 6 will arrive as early as September in two screen sizes, according to Japan’s largest business daily. The next-generation iPhone 6 “will likely be offered in 4.7- and 5.5-inch versions,” Nikkei reported in its Friday edition. The current iPhone 5S has a 4-inch screen. The displays will be made in Japan by Sharp at its Kameyama factory …

Basis Health Tracker Watch Intel has acquired Basis Science, a startup that makes a high-end fitness tracker called the Basis band, adding to its stable of wearable devices acquisitions. The Basis band is larger and more expensive than some other fitness trackers on the market, but it also offers more features. “[Basis Health Tracker] has five sensors running all the …

Google is planning an 8.9-inch Nexus tablet for release later this year, IHS Technology tells CNET. The product is expected to be “high-performance,” said Rhoda Alexander, director tablet and monitor research at IHS Technology in an email to CNET. “Volume production is expected to start in July or August,” she said. “The expectation is [that] this will be a lower …

Sony is looking to streamline product development as it prepares to make a hard run at Apple and Samsung in the wake its PC business sell-off, according to a Japan-based report. The Japanese electronics maker will pare the number of component suppliers to 250 from the current 1,000, Nikkei reported on Thursday. The problem, as Sony sees it, is competing …

Samsung made the A7 processor. Who’s making the A8? Apple One thing is certain about Apple’s next-gen processor. Both Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung claim they’re making it. On Monday, Samsung laid claim to its participation, according to a report from ZDNet Korea. Related story Apple-Samsung silicon union still strong, chip expert says Samsung has signed a “foundry” agreement …

The HP ElitePad 1000 inside its ‘security jacket.’ It is one of the first tablets to run 64-bit Windows 8.1 on Intel’s quad-core Bay Trail processor. Hewlett-Packard Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft think the tablet is more lean-forward than lean back. Are they right? The PC has one (at least) distinct advantage over Apple. Windows 8.1 isn’t a mobile operating system like …

A Google executive claimed Wednesday that Android has seen the fastest and most successful adoption of any operating system in history. Speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference, Nikesh Arora, senior vice president at Google, said the following, courtesy of Seeking Alpha: I mean, look, in the history of operating systems, I think Android has been the …

Speaking at a technology conference this week, Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman said she is surprised by the appeal of the Chromebook. “Chromebooks have surprised us in the breadth of their field. It is not just education, it is small business,” she said, in response to a question at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in San Francisco on …

Is a dual Android-Windows device just a pipe dream? And are these devices doomed in general? We don’t have an answer to that yet, but there are signs that not everything is copacetic. A report last week from Asia claimed that Asus may be “forced” to give up the Transformer Book Duet TD300, a novel laptop-tablet hybrid that can instantly …