Now that we’ve seen the new iPhone 4S, which was not an earth shattering reveal, perhaps it’s time for Samsung to wow us finicky folks in the smart phone geekdom.  The next super Droid phone, dubbed the “Nexus Prime,” is rumored to be announced at the Samsung event on October 11th, and the potential wow factors will be it’s curved screen, and the latest Android OS, “Ice Cream Sandwich.”  Enjoy the sneak peek video, and click below for a brief story by CNET, while I go get an ice cream sandwich.  Damn that power of suggestion!

-  via CNET News.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon is working with publishers to provide a Netflix-like subscription service for Kindle books.   This is in the rumor stage, and it’s possible if this deal gets done, that it will be part of the Amazon Prime $79/year membership program, that includes free 2 day shipping on all purchases, as well as instant streaming video access to TV and movies; which will then include a selection of book titles.  The subscription model worked for music, will it work for e-books?  Let’s wait and see.

-via Mashable.

For an Operating System that only has 6% of the market share,  it’s hard to believe that some forecast Windows Phones to become number two, or even number one, within a few years time.  Things change very quickly in the tech world in a short period of time, so I suppose anything is possible.  I just don’t see Apple’s iOS losing that much market share, given the iPhone’s popularity.

Here’s an excerpt from BGR.com:

According to research reports from Gartner and IDC, Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system will grab about 20% of the smartphone market by 2015, enough to propel the OS past Apple’s iOS platform to take the No. 2 spot globally. Research firm Gartner believes Android will have a 49% market share in 2015, followed by Windows Phone at 19.5%, and Apple’s iOS growth will slow so much that it will only maintain a 17% share. IDC believes Windows Phone will have a 20.3 percent share in 2015.

-via BGR.com

mock up from Gizmodo

Looks like the rumors about the Kindle Tablet are true.  MG Seigler of TechCrunch was the lucky guy who had a chance to actually handle the new device, and continue after the break to view a summary of the new tablet’s specs…

Highlight of the new Amazon Kindle Tablet Device:

• It will simply be called “Amazon Kindle.”
• Seven inch capacitive touchscreen, not E-ink
• Two finger multitouch (v. iPad’s 10)
• Retail cost: $250 (like the Nook Color)
• Kindle OS built on top of Android
• Focused on Amazon’s content, no Android App store or built in Google Apps
• Uses Amazon’s Android App Store
• First version is WiFi only (3G versions may be in the works, as well as larger screen version)
• microUSB port
• No camera
• Possible free subscription to Amazon Prime
• 6GB internal storage (not verified)

-via TechCrunch.

hp.com

According to the New York Times report, Hewlett Packard has decided to manufacture another round of its TouchPads.  No word on how many units, but they will be available in “a few weeks” at the original fire sale prices of $99 for the 16GB unit, and $150 for the 32 GB TouchPads.  Let us know if you’re able to get your hands on one!

 - via NYTimes.com.

It’s hard to get excited about a new tablet these days, but since Dell is such a force in the Windows PC/notebook market the Dell Peju is possibly worth a mention.  So here goes.

Purportedly the Streak successor will sport a 10.1-inch panel, front and rear-facing cameras, Gorilla Glass protecting the screen, docking station that provides three USB ports, a gigabit Ethernet jack, HDMI output, audio port and a soft-touch skin with a rubber perimeter bumper protecting the internals from shock.  It’s uncertain exactly what the internals will include, but the external specs and features look pretty solid.  Certainly a dual core processor will be on  board and I wouldn’t count out Windows 8 compatibility.

[via Engadget]

A tipster supposedly revealed to Engadget that the next Apple TV will closely resemble the next iPhone hardware, minus the screen.  The new Apple TV will deliver content via a cloud-based storage solution, with the option to go local using Apple’s Time Capsule.  No word on whether Apps or the App Store will be available, but it seems like a nature fit.

If the $99 price point is to be believed, this could be a truly killer piece of hardware.  Although, given Apple’s control-freak mentality, there’s probably some scary subscription plans for cloud storage built in somewhere.

No word on when official announcement will come though.  With Google TV in the mix though, you can bet that Apple won’t be too far behind.

As most everyone knows Apple is set to make a big announcement next Wednesday, January 27th at 10:00 AM in the  Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco.  Presumably, the event is going to be held for Apple to unveil a new tablet device yet to be determined by speculators.

Mashable has reported through a source (Northeast Securities analyst Ashok Kumar), that the new device will sport a Qualcomm processor and will be available through Apple at full price, which should be around $800 and Verizon at a subsidized price with a service plan.

According to Engadget not only a tablet could be big news, but a new iLife and iPhone OS 4 could make quite a splash.  It would seem logical to show off some new tools and kick out a new iPhone OS.

According to Gizmodo an Apple insider claims the above Flickr image to be the closest rendering to the real thing to date.

Could we also see the presence of a Qualcomm powered iPhone slated for Verizon?  We’ll find out next week and all the madness will be over.

[via Mashable]

[via Engadget]

[via Gizmodo]