Good morning! Here are some of today’s top tech stories so far. We’ll cover a few of these throughout the day but feel free to get a head start.
Apple to expand iPhone screen size to 4-inches
Link: DigiTimes
Oh geez, here’s a doozy. The next iPhone may have a 4-inch screen, according to what “upstream component suppliers” have told DigiTimes. Apple generally rolls out new iPhones around June, so we have plenty of time to stew in this rumor’s juices (and countless others between now and then).
HTC launches 1.5GHz, 7-inch Android 2.4 Flyer into the tablet wars
Link: Engadget
HTC makes nice phone hardware. It now makes an Android tablet. It doesn’t run Google’s new made-for-Android operating system, Honeycomb, though it does have a fast processor and HTC’s custom “Sense” interface.
RIM to offer PlayBook on more high-speed standards
Link: Reuters
The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet hasn’t even hit retail yet but the company’s already prepping versions with built-in 4G chipsets due out this summer.
HTC Adds Facebook Phones, Updates Existing Models
Link: PCWorld
HTC has unveiled two new phones—the Salsa and the ChaCha. Both run on Android and feature dedicated Facebook hardware buttons.
Apple Launches Subscriptions on the App Store
Link: BusinessWire
Apple’s rolling out its subscription model inside the app store. Publishers can still sell subscription-based content outside of the app store but “the same (or better) offer” must be available from directly within the apps themselves.
Recently on Techland:
Apple Prepping Small, Cheap iPhone and Free Online Storage?
Samsung Intros 10-inch Android Tablet, Ultrathin Smartphone
Are E-Readers A Nuisance To Coffee Shop Patrons?
Browser Extension Lets You Block Sites from Google Results
Watson vs. the Humans, Night One [TIME.com]