Unusual rumors on Monday had Apple negotiating for fabled TV set with Canadian telecom providers Bell and Rogers. The respective satellite and cable TV providers were said by the Globe and Mail to be Apple targets as they had "wireless and broadband capabilities" that could be used for launch partners. The two allegedly even had prototypes in their labs.
Last month's leak of the ZTE Optik 3G tablet coming to Sprint this month proved true. The seven-inch, Android 3.2 tablet has a 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor and will cost just under $100 on a two-year data plan from the carrier. The screen has a resolution of 1280x800, which is high for its size.
A leaked Sprint document appears to show an unannounced ZTE tablet, the Optik, that may be headed to the carrier next month. The internal document, which was posted by Androidcentral, suggests the device will feature a seven-inch display, a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 16GB of integrated memory and Android 3.2.
Comcast revealed Wednesday that it was testing a TV-over-IP system for its network. A dry run on MIT's grounds in the fall would prove it can deliver its regular TV service using Internet protocol in a way that would simplify delivering it beyond TV sets. The move as cast by the Wall Street Journal would simplify watching real-time broadcasts on tablets like the iPad, Xbox 360s, and other devices that Comcast can't normally reach.
Telus staked out a first for the Xbox 360 today as it became the first TV broadcaster in North America to push digital TV through Microsoft's console. Optik TV customers can use Microsoft's Mediaroom to turn the Xbox into a set-top box and gives access to all of the fiber optic network's channels in HD. They also get full control over the DVR: a viewer can watch shows, pause them in one area and resume them elsewhere, and record as many as three at once.
