RUMOR: MICROSOFT TO LAUNCH OWN TABLET NEXT YEAR

According to a report on Wednesday from DigiTimes, Microsoft is hard at work on a tablet. The Redmond-based software company is said to be cooperating with Texas Instruments and multiple Taiwan-based manufacturers in an attempt to push a Microsoft-branded Windows 8 tablet out to market by the end of 2012.

Outside of the Xbox gaming console, Microsoft has not had much luck with consumer hardware in recent years. The company’s line of Zune media players were never widely adopted and its KIN line of messaging phones were cancelled shortly after their release before later returning to Verizon shelves with barely any fanfare. DigiTimes’ sources suggest those failures won’t stop the company from trying, however, and the buzzing tablet space is an obvious next point of attack.

RUMOR: AMAZON TABLET SHIPPING LATER THIS YEAR

We've got a pretty good inkling that it's coming, the big question is when will Amazon finally ship an LCD tablet. According to DigiTimes, and its occasionally trusty sources at upstream component makers, whenis defined by the second half of 2011.

What's more, the media tablet will feature a Fringe Field Switching LCD display and touch panel from Amazon fave E Ink Holdings, a company better known for the technology behind the Kindle's EPD e-paper displays. According to DigiTimes, Quanta has received the manufacturing honors with production expected to peak at about 700,000 - 800,000 units per month. So yeah, the Amazon Kindle tablet won't be sporting a Mirasol display according to this gossip.

ENTRY LEVEL ANDROID HANDSETS TO TOP 20 MILLION IN 2011

Budget Android handsets are poised to takeoff in 2011, a new report from Digitimes suggests. The firm states that it expects 20 million to 25 million entry-level Android handsets – defined as devices priced below $150 – will be sold globally in 2011. That figure is up from the 2.5 million to 3 million that were sold in 2010. Digitimes suggests that chips designed in China and Taiwan will drive white box OEMs to create budget-conscious handsets that will be attractive in emerging markets. An estimated 10 million to 13 million of those handsets are expected to be sold in China alone. Digitimes is known for having a mixed track record, but we do know that Android handsets — such as LG’s Optimus — were priced in the $100 range on many U.S. carriers.

RUMOR: ALL THINGS iPHONE 5

iPhone 5 Concept

As we approach mid-year the rumors surrounding the upcoming iPhone 5 are swirling everywhere. According to a source at Foxconn, the manufacturer of Apple's iPhone, the next gen phone will sport a metal type back. If true, Apple is backing away from the glass backs used in the iPhone 4. The source didn't know what type of metal it was, so it could be aluminum or possibly Liquid Metal.

The source also stated the screen will be larger and edge to edge, but couldn't confirm the actual size. DigiTimes is reporting the screen size to be 4", which would match many of the popular Android devices currently on the market.

We are also hearing Apple will be using a dual-core processor to match the iPad 2. All of this, of course, is rumor at this point.

APPLE TOUCHSCREEN iMAC RUMOR AGAIN!

It seems the Apple iMac Touchscreen rumor just won't die.  DigiTimes is citing industry sources saying that Sintek Photonics is shipping touchscreens to Apple for testing in future 20 plus-inch iMacs.  The panels according to these sources are projected capacitance the same type used in the iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch.  It will integrate the touch sensor with the glass cover for reduced weight and thickness, while exhibiting good viewing angles and brightness.  Of course Apple, like any other company, does a lot of R&D with the products not making it out of the lab. [Engadget]