RUMOR: GROUPON SHORT ON CASH

In the run up to its recent IPO, a number of outlets reported that the daily deal giant Groupon was running short on cash. Over at the Motley Fool, Evan Niu noted that the company had $243.9 million in cash and equivalents at the end of September, compared with $465.6 million in accrued merchant payables, that is, the money they owed people who ran Groupon deals.

The company ended up raising $700 million, but according to a source familiar with its business, there still isn’t enough cash on hand to make critical structural improvements the company needs to grow. Groupon is shelling out millions every month on hosting costs, and paying a premium to third parties. The company is very eager to construct it own data center, but simply can’t afford it.

Groupon noted in it's IPO prospectus "We have spent and expect to continue to spend substantial amounts on data centers and equipment and related network infrastructure to handle the traffic on our websites and applications. The operation of these systems is expensive and complex and could result in operational failures. In the event that our subscriber base or the amount of traffic on our websites and applications grows more quickly than anticipated, we may be required to incur significant additional costs.”

RUMOR: APPLE TESTING WEARABLE iPOD WITH SIRI INTEGRATION

Apple may be secretly developing wearable iPods that offer full support for voice commands using the company’s Siri software. Details surrounding the supposed project were revealed by The New York Times on Monday. Apple is reportedly working on a “curved-glass iPod that would wrap around the wrist,” which sounds similar to a watch-like device that could replace the iPod nano and shuffle in gyms around the world. Presuming Siri support would be the same as it is on the iPhone 4S, users could command the device to play a specific song, check the weather or more. We’re even imagining deeper Siri integration where a user might be able to ask their iPod how far they have run or what their current heart rate is.

RUMOR: VERIZON TO BUY NETFLIX

Netflix's share price has soared on a rumor that Verizon is in talks with the video company to acquire them. DealReporter is making the claim and is backing it up with some circumstantial evidence.

Last week, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam said that his company wants to offer video streaming, and had even looked at Hulu when it was on the block. He declined to comment on reports Verizon is preparing to team up with Coinstar’s Redbox.

RUMOR: iPAD 3 COMING IN 3 - 4 MONTHS

According to a report on DigiTimes The next generation iPads are expected to be available in the next 3-4 months. DigiTimes reports that makers in the supply chain have started delivering parts and components for the new tablets to OEM contractors while reducing those prepared for iPad 2, according to sources in the supply chain.

Reportedly, Foxconn Electronics will begin to produce the next-generation iPads in January and to ramp up the production volume starting February

RUMOR: APPLE TELEVISION COMING IN 3 SIZES

Citing sources in Japan, Australia's SmartHouse reported this week that the new Apple television will come in an entry-level size of 32 inches and a high-end size if 55 inches. It did not indicate exactly what screen size the third model would feature, falling somewhere between the low end with 32 inches and maximum size of 55 inches.

The report said it's a "major Japanese company" that's involved in manufacturing Apple's rumored television set. Echoing previous claims, the report said that the Apple television will feature Siri integration, allowing users to control the TV set with their voice.

Powering the rumored television will be a new processor expected to debut in Apple's third-generation iPad, which the publication said will arrive "midway through 2012." Presumably that processor will be an "A6" custom-built ARM-based CPU.

Apple's anticipated high-end 55-inch model is expected to compete with "smart TVs" from established television makers like Samsung and LG. Those companies' next-generation TV sets are expected to have new features like faster processors, a "combination of OLED display," and "Super HD" from LG, the report said.

Reports have suggested that Apple's anticipated television set could arrive as early as mid 2012, while others have seen Apple announcing it in late 2012 for an early 2013 sale date.

RUMOR: WINDOWS 8 PUBLIC BETA TO LAUNCH LATE FEBRUARY

Sources close to Microsoft have revealed that the public Windows 8 beta will be released in late February of 2012.

The timing of the public beta launch has been the subject of much debate in the technology community. It is expected that Windows 8 will be released in 2012, but the exact expected date for the completion and shipping of the forthcoming operating system remains undisclosed. However, knowing the release time frame of the beta itself allows us to better project when the work should be done on the Windows 8 project.

Given the milestones for Windows 7 release to manufacturers, it is estimated that Microsoft will release Windows 8 to manufacturers around August, which give OEMs plenty of time to press DVDs and get the new OS onto hardware and in the supply pipe for the 2012 holiday shopping season.

RUMOR: FACEBOOK GOING PUBLIC BETWEEN APRIL AND JUNE 2012

Facebook Inc. is inching closer to an initial public offering that it hopes will value the company at more than $100 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The social networking firm is now targeting a time frame of April to June 2012 for an initial public offering, said people familiar with the matter. The company is exploring raising $10 billion in its IPO, in a deal that might assign Facebook a $100 billion valuation.

A Facebook IPO has been hotly anticipated for several years, and viewed as a defining moment for the latest Web investing boom. The company has been vague about whether it would even make such an offering and silent on timing of an IPO. "We're not going to participate in speculation about an IPO," said Facebook spokesman Larry Yu.
The company now appears poised to go ahead with a deal.

Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has in the past publicly expressed reluctance to do an IPO. And he has opted to keep Facebook private longer than many suspected he would. But he is warming to the idea. Facebook is now in internal discussions over the timing of its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and is considering filing dates as early as this year, said these people. Mr. Zuckerberg hasn't made any final decisions, these people cautioned. [Wall Street Journal]

RUMOR: 15-INCH MACBOOK AIR LAUNCHING Q1 2012

Apple is reportedly planning to launch a brand new 15-inch MacBook Air in the first quarter next year. A new report from DigiTimes cites unnamed sources from within Apple’s parts suppliers in claiming that Apple will launch a completely refreshed MacBook Air lineup in early 2012. Consisting of 11.6-inch, 13.3-inch and 15-inch models, the new Air line of MacBook laptops is already in the early stages of production according to the report.

DigiTimes also says Apple will drop its pricing on current MacBook Air laptops before the new models launch some time next quarter.

APPLE iPAD 3 AND iPHONE 5 RUMORS

Apple reportedly plans to launch a slightly thicker (0.7mm) iPad in March with a dual-backlit display and a new high-resolution screen. It may be shown off in January if it’s ready in time, iLounge reports. In addition, iLounge cites its “most reliable source” in stating that Apple will likely launch the iPhone 5 next summer. In contrast to a number of rumors, the site says that the iPhone 5 does not have a tear-drop design. Instead, it will be 8mm longer than the current model and will sport a metal case as well as a 4-inch display.

RUMOR: AMAZON WORKING ON SMARTPHONE

Amazon could have a smartphone on store shelves by the fourth quarter of next year according to Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney. “Based on our supply chain check, we believe FIH is now jointly developing the phone with Amazon,” Mahaney wrote in a research note. “However, we believe that Amazon will pay NRE to FIH but the device and multiple components will actually be manufactured by Hon Hai’s TMS business group.” Additionally, Mahaney said that Amazon will likely use a Texas Instruments OMAP 4 processor, and that it will adopt Qualcomm’s dual-mode 6-series baseband chip as well. Read on for more.

“For a normal brand like HTC, they need to price the product at US$243 to make 30% gross margin,” Mahaney wrote. “If Amazon is actually willing to lose some money on the device, the price gap could be even bigger,” he explained, noting that Amazon’s device could be sold for between $150 and $170, or about the price it will cost to build the phone.

RUMOR: SONY PREPARING INTERNET TV ALTERNATIVE

The Wall Street Journal reports Sony has approached "several big media companies" about distributing their channels over the internet. This comes on the heels of its report on comments by CEO Howard Stringer about significant R&D efforts going into a "different kind of TV", and the four screen strategy Sony would like to implement. According to the report, Sony's idea is to offer small bundles of channels over the internet to its TVs, Blu-ray players, and the PS3.

Cutting deals with companies like CBS, that doesn't want to jeopardize its cable and satellite TV-based revenue, could be difficult. As for the competition, similar rumors about Microsoft turned into an effort that mostly works with partners like Comcast, U-verse, and FiOS, while Google is also pursuing a route of adding to, but not necessarily replacing, cable TV.

Sony has positioned itself well, adding IPTV services including sports to the PS3 and live TV tuning capability, and its tested the waters of going over the top before, but so far whether it will actually pursue this new plan is unknown.

RUMOR: SILVERLIGHT 5 MAY BE LAST AND ONLY WORK ON INTERNET EXPLORER

Could Microsoft's Silverlight soon be following in the footsteps of Adobe's Flash Player for mobile devices? That's still unconfirmed by Microsoft, but ZDNet's Mary-Jo Foley is reporting that she's heard from several sources who say that Silverlight 5 will be the last version of the rich media platform, and that it's not clear how long it will be supported after it's released later this month. What's more, another source tells Foley that the final version of Silverlight 5 itself might only work with Internet Explorer on Windows, as opposed to earlier versions that have also supported Chrome and Safari on both OS X and Windows. As ZDNet notes, however, the end of Silverlight wouldn't necessarily mean an end to all of the work Microsoft has done on Silverlight -- we've already heard about a Silverlight-like app framework that's coming in a future Xbox update, and many of the same principles can also be found in the Metro-style apps for Windows 8.

RUMOR: NEXT iPAD COMING IN MARCH, iPAD 3 TO LAUNCH Q3 2012

Apple is preparing to launch a slightly upgraded iPad 2 in March of 2012, DigiTimes reported on Thursday. The new iPad is rumored to be thinner and is said to offer better battery life than the current model. It is unclear what Apple will call the device launching in March, but the company reportedly has plans to launch a “real” iPad 3 during the third quarter of 2012. Samsung, Sharp and LG are said to be working on a new Retina Display for the next-generation iPad, which may also pack a faster A6 processor, but rumors of manufacturing issues have suggested it may take Apple longer than originally planned to introduce a model with that equipment.

A report last month from Ticonderoga Securities suggested that Apple is planning a cheaper iPad model that will debut early next year ahead of an iPad 3, which won’t launch until the second quarter.

RUMOR: APPLE DEVELOPING 15-INCH ULTRA THIN MACBOOK

Macotakara is reporting that Apple is designing a new 15-inch Macbook model that will offer an ultra-thin MacBook Air-like design. The rumor initially started in July and had Apple already field testing the device. It remains unclear if Apple will introduce a 15-inch MacBook Air, if it will introduce a thinner but more powerful MacBook Pro or if it will reintroduce the “MacBook” family of computers, which was discontinued this past summer. Apple currently only offers 13-inch and 11-inch MacBook Air models, so it is possible the company is adding a larger laptop to the mix. Apple currently outfits its MacBook Pro computers with an optical drive and beefier hardware that contribute to the bulkier size; a thinner model might mean the company is ditching the optical drive to remove some bulk. The Cupertino-based firm quietly upgraded the MacBook Pro on October 24th, however, so any drastic changes to the computer probably won’t be unveiled until some time next year.

RUMOR: iTUNES CREATOR LEADING APPLE TV EFFORTS

Jeff Robbin, who helped create the iPod in addition to the iTunes media store, is now guiding Apple’s internal development of the new TV effort, said the people, who declined to be identified because his role isn’t public. Robbin’s involvement is a sign of Apple’s commitment to extending its leadership in smartphones and tablets into the living room. Before his Oct. 5 death, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs told biographer Walter Isaacson that he had “finally cracked” how to build an integrated TV with a simple user interface that would wirelessly synchronize content with Apple’s other devices.

“It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine,” Jobs told Isaacson in the biography “Steve Jobs,” released yesterday by CBS Corp. (CBS)’s Simon & Schuster. Trudy Muller, a spokeswoman for Cupertino, California-based Apple, declined to comment.

RUMOR: APPLE TO STREAM MOVIES USING iCLOUD

Apple's iCloud may have only just launched but according to rumors reported by the LA Times and Wall Street Journal, it's already negotiating with Hollywood to add movies to the service.

The timing is particularly curious because Apple, along with Disney, is one of the notable holdouts from the movie studio-backed Ultraviolet scheme, which launches the first two movies on Friday. However, according to "people familiar with the matter" it could allow Ultraviolet access on iDevices via an app, while also bringing its usual media lock-in magic by also throwing in streaming copies of any flicks purchased on iTunes, but only on its own hardware. Recently activated streaming of purchased TV shows to the Apple TV shows the cloud's potential, but we'll have to wait for deals to be signed before that North Carolina datacenter puts Hollywood's best on its to-do list.

RUMOR: SONY BUYING ERICSSON HALF OF SONY ERICSSON

Rumors of Sony’s plan to purchase Ericsson’s stake in the companies’ joint Sony Ericsson venture have come and gone over the years, but a new report claims the deed is nearly done. Sony is nearing a deal to take complete control of the cell phone vendor according to The Wall Street Journal, and analysts estimate that Ericsson’s 50% share of the JV could be worth between $1.3 billion and $1.7 billion. The report states that Sony intends to integrate the Sony Ericsson smartphone business with its tablet, gaming and computer operations in order to save on costs and create more complementary devices. Sony Ericsson reported a net loss of €50 million ($60.3 million US) in the second quarter of 2011.

RUMOR: VODAFONE TO BUY RIM

Shares of Research In Motion stock are popping for the second day in a row on rumors that the company may be looking for a buyer. RIM’s stock was up as much as 14% on Wednesday morning as mysteriously sourced rumors suggested U.K. carrier Vodafone is considering an acquisition. Investors see RIM quickly running out of cash — the vendor burned through more than half of its $2.9 billion in cash during the second fiscal quarter alone — and analysts still aren’t convinced management can right the ship. Some still see promise in RIM’s upcoming QNX lineup however, and the company could certainly hold tremendous value for a potential buyer. Market rumors last week suggested that RIM was pulling the plug on the BlackBerry PlayBook and its tablet efforts in general, but RIM broke character and quickly put the rumors to bed. With the company’s stock on the rise, we doubt RIM will dispel this new round of rumors even if they prove to be inaccurate.

RUMOR: MICROSOFT IN TALKS TO ACQUIRE YAHOO

Rumor has it Microsoft is again toying with the idea of purchasing Yahoo. The Redmond, Washington-based company may partner with another unnamed firm in an effort to make a bid, an anonymous Microsoft executive told Reuters on Wednesday. However, Reuters noted that other divisions inside Microsoft are still not sold on making an offer on the troubled search engine. AllThingsD said rumors about Microsoft’s interest are not true and that the company is not currently interested in acquiring Yahoo. Several other companies are said to be interested in purchasing Yahoo, which recently fired its CEO Carol Bartz, including DST Global, Providence Equity Partners, Alibaba, Hellman & Friedman and Silverlake Partners.

RUMOR: AMAZON IN TALKS TO BUY PALM FROM HP

A well-placed source is saying that HP is currently looking to rid itself of Palm as soon as possible, and that Amazon is the closest to finalizing the deal, among a handful of contenders. There is no word on price or conditions of the sale. When asked for comment, an HP spokesperson said the company doesn’t comment on rumors and speculation. Amazon has ignored all requests for comment.