RUMOR: RIM CREATING APPLE TV COMPETITOR

Research In Motion is currently working on a media box codenamed “BlackBerry Cyclone” that will launch later this fall, BlackBerry news site NerdBerry.net reports. The rumored media hub is said to be similar to Apple’s iOS-based Apple TV box, which connects to a television and plays streaming video content from iTunes. The BlackBerry Cyclone’s purported capabilities include Netflix streaming, YouTube streaming and streaming from media devices connected to the same Wi-Fi network. The unit will also reportedly feature an HDMI-out port.

The move would be a peculiar one from RIM, as it does not have an iTunes competitor to speak of and even with the extremely popular multimedia market, the Apple TV has not been an overly successful device for Apple. The Cupertino-based company announced the million-unit milestone for its refreshed Apple TV late last year, but we haven’t heard much about it since that time. RIM is also in the midst of prepping its first QNX-powered smartphone for release in 2012, not to mention seven BlackBerry handsets due to launch later this year,

LEAKED: LG STAR

More photos of the LG Star have emerged.  These show an HDMI out port and Froyo.  It is expected the Star will ship with Gingerbread.  The leaker, over at AndroidForums, also claims the Star has a 480x800 resolution screen, a Tegra 2 chip and forward-facing camera. [Gizmodo]

RUMOR: TOSHIBA TABLET MAKES APPEARANCE

We already know what the Toshiba tablet is going to look like, technically anyway.  It was waved around briefly in Australia and these shots seem to confirm it, however complete confirmation is a little light.  

According to Toshiba, the Smart Pad will have HDMI and USB ports along with an attractive slender profile.    The four buttons on the right indicate an Android OS.  

According to Notebookitalia(Google translated), Toshiba will unveil this at IFA this year.