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Facebook to host new product launch on June 20th
In case you're interested, June 20th is a Thursday. It's more than that to Facebook, though: apparently that is the day the social network will show off a new product, or as the company puts it, a "big idea" coming from a small team. As to what this particular event -- to be held in Menlo Park -- could bring to the table, you now know exactly as much as we do; with recent talk regarding Facebook's interest in building an RSS reader, that rumor would certainly be a good stab in the dark. What's even more odd, however, is the method by which the press is receiving the invitation: the good old-fashioned postal service. Let us know in the comments if you have any particular theories on what it could all mean.
Sony Mobile event invites tease sizable surprise, could mean Xperia Z Ultra
Several French sites report receiving invites (shown above) to a Sony Mobile press event promising a surprise of size while showing off a device's slender side profile and a stylus. The reference could be a teaser for the rumored Xperia Z Ultra, believed to be a Sony competitor to the Galaxy Notes of the world featuring a 6.44-inch 1080p display and possibly a Snapdragon 800 CPU inside. The buttons also seem to match another leaked image, and invites have also gone out for events in Germany and China on June 25th, while the message itself encourages recipients to "note" it in their calendar.
LG invites press to 'share the genius' event on May 1st
We're not quite sure what it is yet, but LG has just invited us to save the date May 1st for a special event held in New York city, in which it asks us to "share the genius" and "capture the spotlight in true brilliance." If this is indeed a new device, it alludes to a higher-res display and greater sound; is this a US version of the Optimus G Pro or simply the next-generation Optimus G? Hard to say at this point, but we're keeping a pretty close eye out for more details. In the meantime, this is at least one more thing to look forward to in a couple weeks.
OUYA holding official unveiling on March 28th in San Francisco
We're getting closer and closer to the launch of the much-hyped OUYA console. The Android-powered gaming machine will start shipping to backers on March 28th and to celebrate the company is having a little shindig in San Francisco that will serve as a proper "unveiling." The invite just arrived in our inbox and hopefully this will be our chance to see the final hardware ahead of the June retail launch. The startup doesn't seem to just be pitching this as a massive media event either. The tagline on the invite reads, "there would be no OUYA without you." And apparently simply "saying thank you isn't enough." Aw, shucks, you're welcome OUYA.
Facebook invites the media to 'come and see what we're building' next week
And the CES disruptions begin. Facebook has just broken into an absolute blitz of news out of Las Vegas in order to invite select members of the press to its California headquarters next week. The reason? Predictably, minimal clues are given out in the invite itself -- we're simply told to show up on January 15th and "see what [Facebook] is building." You know what... we think we just might, thanks! P.S. - Any educated guesses on the "what" can be tossed in comments below.
Apple announces 'Special Event' for October 23rd -- we'll be there live!
Apple has just invited members of the press to attend a product launch on October 23rd, where we assume the long-rumored iPad mini will be unveiled. The event will go down merely weeks after Apple took the wraps off of the iPhone 5 (and strangely enough, the Foo Fighters played their last show for the foreseeable future). It's quite unlike Apple to throw two product parties in the fall, but if an entirely new iPad is being revealed, it may be a scenario that becomes more familiar in years to come. At this point, we're left with far more questions than answers: will the iPad mini really ship with a Lightning port, while the Retina iPad -- which was only introduced in March -- continues to ship with the "old" Dock Connector? Will Apple really continue to refresh its two iPad products at different intervals? Will the (presumed) AT&T iPad mini actually include mobile hotspot functionality? And while we're at it, is Apple really going to throw a "one more thing" into the mix by bumping its 13-inch MacBook Pro into Retina territory? After all, tossing "little" into the invite could allude to a smaller iPad and an update to an already-small laptop. We'll be there to bring you the blow-by-blow as it happens, so feel free to go ahead and take next Tuesday off. We'll sign the approval form.
Samsung confirms October 24th event is for the US Galaxy Note II, removes what doubt was left
Ever since Samsung issued invitations for its October 24th event, it's become increasingly clearer that the New York City gathering would center on the Galaxy Note II. After all, we've tried almost every US version so far, and nothing else has loomed on the horizon. Just in case there was any lingering uncertainty, though, Samsung sent us that promised formal invitation with exact details of what's going on: it's the US stop for the Galaxy Note II World Tour, with a press event that night followed by a "consumer celebration" later on that might bring a public side to the affair. Most American editions of the phablet have been announced or re-announced, which suggests to us that we'll primarily get firmer release dates and prices while we're busy hobnobbing.
Samsung asks us to witness 'The Next Big Thing' at an October 24th event in New York City
We're starting to suspect that Samsung has a thing for special events. The company just asked us to clear our calendars for an evening presentation in New York City on October 24th, teasing that the "Next Big Thing" has arrived. It's easy to make the connection to the Galaxy Note line with a stylus front and center in the teaser, although just what's entailed is left to the imagination: is it a more formal launch for American Galaxy Note II variants? A new tablet beyond the Galaxy Note 10.1? All we know is that we plan to be there to find out.
Is Motorola announcing an Intel Medfield-powered phone on September 18th?
Our calendar in September is starting to fill up rather rapidly, with Motorola asking us to come to its second announcement in a month on September 18th. Intel's co-signed the ticket, with the partnership offering to "take us to the edge" for an exciting announcement from the pair. We're kinda assuming it's got something to do with Santa Clara's mobile chip offerings, since the companies teamed up for a "multi-year, multi-device" partnership in January that promised fresh hardware from the pair arrive in the second half of 2012.
Google wants you to join the party, announces Google+ Events (video)
At the tail end of today's Google I/O keynote, the company demoed Google+ Events, which, as you might imagine, let's you invite your virtual buds to an in-person hangout. You've probably already guessed that there's some pretty tight integration with Mountain View's other virtual properties, including Calendar, which means that sending your friends or coworkers a "save the date" to brunch or brainstorming no longer requires clunky email, or a phone call. That's not to say that your contacts need to opt-in to the search giant's social networking site to join the fun -- email invites are still available by typing your friend's address alongside your circles, or individual friends should you wish to plan an awkward inter-group soiree. You can choose from a variety of themes for your e-vite, which integrate motion or static banners. Once the fun begins, you can hop into Party Mode from your mobile, and photos you shoot during the event will appear beside the invite -- friends can add pics to the page as well, which you can later download. For now, please accept our invitation to jump past the break, where a Google demo video awaits. Check out our full coverage of Google I/O 2012's opening keynote at our event hub! %Gallery-159279%
Samsung's new Galaxy Phone gets official teaser (video)
The countdown is over and Samsung's not offering much to whet our appetite. A medley of opaque angles of galactic travel are meant to represent next week's big news story, alongside some brief claims of technology that fits easily in your hand. It finishes all too soon on those glossy enamel puddles shown above. The second trailer reveals more of the same, with Samsung promising the device will become "a natural side of life", throwing in a quick jibe at those rival smartphone-carrying "sheep". While we reckon we broadly know what to expect when it comes to internal hardware, we're still itching see how Samsung's looking to reinvigorate its phone design following HTC's stylish smartphone salvo. Well, at least it's just over a week left to wait.
Samsung countdown teases next Galaxy phone with anagram
Sammy's latest marketing ploy kicked off with a string of nonsense that could just as easily have come from the Sunday morning jumble: "Destination: tgeltaayehxnx," declared the Samsung Mobile Twitter account. Anagram wizards will read that as, "the next Galaxy," and wouldn't you know it, it's also the URL for an auspicious countdown clock. Sammy promises to let visitors take "the next step" in about 17 hours and counting. Bonafide internet sleuths can find an extra carrot strung up in the site's source, reading, "discover how Samsung is about to challenge the way you view the Galaxy once more." Is Samsung about to break its own May 3rd unveiling? We'll let you know in 16 hours and change. Update: It seems like that ticker just might be counting down to some sort of anagram guessing game, according to an Engadget tipster who partook in some directory diving. Among a series of assets of different colored lettered tiles he found images with instructions warnings, reading "Click on the letters in the correct order to reveal your real destination," and "Following technology blindly often gets you nowhere." Ominous. Update 2: And there it is. Samsung's revealed two (well, one and a half) teaser videos -- but they don't reveal much. [Thanks, Naor]
Samsung will unveil the next Galaxy phone May 3rd in London
After months of rumors Samsung has officially announced the world will meet the next Galaxy phone in London on May 3rd with this invite, first received by Dutch site Tweakers.net. While most speculation will immediately focus around something we're expecting to arrive as the Galaxy S III, the BlackBerry World-spoiling invite we received is conspicuously devoid of details like name or specifications. While we'll keep the address of the Samsung Unpacked event to ourselves, the only other information included is the date / time (2PM ET) and the address for a live stream on Facebook. The original Galaxy S and GS2 are already million unit sellers many times over since first launching two years ago and have led the Android pack for most of this time, so what will Samsung do to top itself this time? (Answer: not 3D, and it's probably a little too late for another Continuum-like gimmicky split display.) There are just 17 days left until we find out for sure.
T-Mobile hands out press invites to One S event on April 18th
We knew T-Mobile has been planning to release its version of the HTC One S sometime in the near future, but we haven't received any official word on exactly when that desired release date will be. That should all change soon, because we just received invites to a shindig being held on April 18th in which we can hang out with the coveted smartphone, which likely means we'll finally get confirmation on when we should expect to see it available in stores and online. It seems as though the rumored April 25th launch may actually be spot-on, but we only have another week to wait before we find out.
Apple's iPad event announcement cuts into Schmidt's MWC Android groove
Apple's mastery of timing is impeccable. This morning, I was listening to Eric Schmidt ramble on about Android and Google during his Mobile World Congress keynote. As someone who follows technology, I found his talk mildly intriguing, until the iPad 3 invites began pouring out. Right then, Schmidt went on mute and he became a mere talking head in the background. I hopped on IRC and Twitter and have been talking about the iPad 3 even since. At a time when the tech world was focusing on new Android devices and Windows Phone handsets, everyone will now focus on Apple and the iPad. Everything from missing home buttons to selling our iPad 2s will dominate our conversation over the next week. So, did Apple time its announcement as a deliberate in-your-face or was it a happy coincidence? You tell us in the comments below.
Nokia reveals CES 2012 press event, Windows Phone the obvious focal point
"The exciting thing is, we've only just begun." That was the closing remark of then-CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo as he wrapped up Nokia's 2010 CES keynote, and while the words ring true today, we're guessing that what has transpired in Espoo between then and now wasn't exactly on his radar at the time. After laying low through the 2011 episode, Nokia will be making a triumphant return at next year's Consumer Electronics Show, even going so far as to reserve a block of time for a Metro-themed press event. The fun kicks off at 3:00PM PT on January 9th, and if you couldn't tell by the invite, we're guessing Windows Phone will be somewhere in the discussion. Naturally, we'll be bringing you every moment of it right here on the site -- nothing wrong with blocking out some vacation time to be here, you know?
LG and Prada invites us to see its 2012 collection in London, we dust off the tux
No sooner had the LG and Prada partnership reappeared in benchmark tests did this glossy JPEG arrive at our inbox. Vowing to show us "the new Prada Phone by LG 3.0," we're undergoing a rigorous fashion transformation in preparation, and will be there next Wednesday night to clue you in on what the collaboration's got up its perfectly-ironed sleeves.
T-Mobile and Nokia announce December 14th event, Windows Phone cometh?
Big news from Bellevue, as T-Mobile and Nokia have just announced that a special event will be held the evening of December 14th, promising something "special in the works." The companies were too smart for us this time, choosing not to reveal any code names via the image file; however, the tiled design of the invite seems to be a rather strong indication that Windows Phone is in the mix here. Could it be an existing Lumia device, or will it be something completely new? We have precisely one week to mull over the prospects.
Spotify wants to show us 'what's next' on November 30th
Hey, we like Spotify quite a bit already, but we're not ones to begrudge a music streaming site for working on bettering itself. The site sent out an invite this morning for an event that will be held on the 30th, presided over by none other than CEO Daniel Ek and "a special guest or two." If the above image is any indication, the big news isn't a new logo. Either way, we'll find out for sure next week.
HTC invites us to 'celebrate in style,' we try to squeeze into our prom tuxedos
Well, we know where we'll be on September 20th -- hanging out with HTC in our classiest threads. The handset manufacturer sent out an invite for an upcoming event in NYC. So, what's on the agenda? The Bliss? The Holiday? The Vigor? The Amaze? Some kind of wind machine for blowing red curtains around? Your guess is as good as ours, but feel free to mark your own calendar -- we'll be bringing you the blow-by-blow as it happens.
