Is It true? Verizon HTC One tipped for today’s press event

This morning it’s been suggested to SlashGear by a trusted source (the anonymous kind) that the HTC One will be appearing at the Verizon press event taking place at 11AM PST in Las Vegas today during CTIA. This event has been teased as one with a “Special Announcement”, which could mean anything, but given the atmosphere and the suggestion, we have no reason to doubt that the HTC One will be part of the show.

The source we’ve spoken to has been correct in several Verizon-bound tips with devices from Nokia and Samsung as well as information about release dates – and release date changes. We’ve had our fair share of run-ins with the Verizon HTC One in the past, having heard that it both is and isn’t coming to the big red carrier from sources both anonymous and official. Back when the HTC One was first unveiled, groups like AT&T and T-Mobile were quick to spring onto the opportunity to carry it. Based on anonymous information we received back then, it was Verizon that was hesitant, but turned a cheek once the reviews for the device were in. As the HTC One popped up as a major favorite on several publications – including our own – we’re to understand that Verizon decided they liked the device so much that they’d be releasing it with the same name. This means that instead of changing the name to suit their DROID lineup family – like what was done with the HTC J Butterfly turned DROID DNA – they’d be bringing it to the surface as the HTC One, as it has been on each other carrier thus far. This sort of thing was done with the Samsung Galaxy S III and the Samsung GALAXY S 4, but even the Samsung Galaxy Note II was subject to a rather large Verizon logo on its home button. Here with the HTC One, no such logos will be appearing – at least last we heard. The most solid thing about the collection of anonymous tips SlashGear has received is the idea that today will be the day: the Verizon HTC One will be here before you know it! Story Timeline Verizon backtracks on HTC One refusal HTC One Verizon release in question as Tweets disappear HTC One variant appears in code: Verizon may be brewing Verizon HTC One comments make "big deal" of future release Verizon HTC One speculation returns as DROID DNA offer arrives

Is It true? Xbox One release date may appear at E3 in Microsoft’s second wave

Now that the Xbox One has been revealed, it’s time to begin speaking about when the device will actually be released to the market. This week the Xbox One (code-named Durango or otherwise Xbox 720) was shown with several details including those surrounding the device’s innards, but as far as official word of its real final market release goes, Microsoft has been essentially mum.

The company announced thus far that the device will be released “later this year”. If this release is meant to coincide with several games that have been announced for the system already, this timeframe suggests the holiday season – and if it’s prepared to be released at the same time as major titles like Call of Duty: Ghosts, it’ll be out in November. As Ghosts is set to be released on the 5th of November, and that timeframe is essentially perfect for a holiday gift-giving release, gamers can pretty much bank on the idea that they’ll be waiting at least a few more months before the final device is on the market. The fact that the console and peripherals shown yesterday were still being called “prototypes” by Microsoft handlers on-site also lends to the idea that the Xbox One wont be coming extremely soon. Microsoft has made it clear that the showing yesterday – a mere one hour long – was only the first installment of at least 2 showings the device and the games that’ll work with it will be getting. The second showing will be at the gaming convention E3 2013. At E3, not just Microsoft, but gaming developers galore will be showing their wares to the public. This convention traditionally plays host to the largest announcements of the year – but here in 2013, hardware and software companies have begun to get wise about their individual event power in the press. Microsoft and Sony (with their PlayStation 4) have decidedly split things up to have as much potential staying power as possible. Gamescom will also be taking place starting on the 21st of August until the 25th – this is a less likely place for Microsoft and Sony to show off any major announcements, but sits in second place nontheless. E3 will take place June 11th through the 13th, and you can count SlashGear in for the whole lot – stay tuned! Story Timeline Xbox One release date "later this year" Xbox One: Everything you need to know Xbox One vs Xbox 360: What's Changed?

Is It true? Google Top Trends maps our internet obsessions since 2004

Justin Bieber, the Corvette C7, and dogs: Google is distilling its trend results into top ten charts, with a colorful new real-time display of what people are searching for most. The popular queries are subdivided into forty categories – spanning sport, music stars, movies, and more – and will be updated month, Google said.

For a more immediate insight into what’s being searched for, however, there’s also the new visualization tool for hot searches. That flicks through the latest queries in Google’s typically luminous colors. There’s perhaps more to be gleaned from the top trends charts – though the hot searches display might look good as a screensaver – and you can break down the lists by location and date. Interestingly, Google’s results go back to January 2004, when searchers were most interested in Moby, Paris Hilton, and McDonald’s. In the intervening period, Kim Kardashian has knocked Paris from the top spot, and Pizza Hut has ousted its burger-vending rival. Moby has dropped to fourth place, with Skrillex taking pole position. Despite diversions like Glass, search still remains Google’s key focus online. Earlier today, the company activated the next generation of “conversational search” for Chrome users, using its Knowledge Graph technology to give inferential search results, among other things.

Is It true? Apple to build US Macs in Texas, Foxconn most likely to assemble

Apple announced back in December that they would be making some of their Mac computers in the US, but they didn’t specify where exactly the machines would be made. However, during an appearance before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that made-in-USA Macs will be manufactured in Texas.

During the hearing, Cook noted that the company would be “investing $100 million to build a Mac product line here in the US.” Furthermore, “the product will be assembled in Texas, include components made in Illinois and Florida, and rely on equipment produced in Kentucky and Michigan,” hinting that Apple will rely on various manufacturing partners to make the US-made Mac a reality. This means that Apple won’t be building their own manufacturing facilities, but will rely on other companies to do so. For example, Foxconn just recently set up shop in Texas as well, so Apple will most likely continue to use Foxconn to assemble the new Macs, rather than build their own plants to assemble them. Of course, this isn’t too surprising, and while it’s not confirmed that Apple will use Foxconn’s Texas facility, it seems like a viable option at this point. However, we’re curious about Cook’s mention of other partners located in Kentucky, Michigan, Illinois, and Florida. We’re guessing these unmentioned companies will provide various components, which means that Apple won’t be using foreign components from the looks of it. However, it’s still up in the air on what Macs will be made in the US exactly. It’s been rumored that the Mac mini or Mac Pro will be the ones to get the honor, since they’re the least in demand compared to the iMac, which means that Apple won’t need to push out a lot of units. Thus, the company won’t need to pay a lot of money to have them manufactured on domestic soil. VIA: AllThingsD Story Timeline State of the Union includes "making Macs in America" mention Apple to introduce refreshed Mac Pros this month according to source Dear Apple: Where Is My Mac Pro? American-made Mac will be part of an existing product line says Cook

Is It true? HTC Asia CEO latest high-level exec to leave

HTC has lost the CEO of its Asia division, with Lennard Hoornik confirmed to be leaving the firm. The further team-slimming comes after news broke earlier that several high-level members of HTC’s North American team, including Chief Product Officer Kouki Kodera, had left the company, amid its ongoing struggles to rise above Samsung’s vast marketing spend.

HTC Asia confirmed Hoornik’s leaving the company to CNET Asia today. It follows a period of two months when the CEO was described as “on leave”; Hoornik has been South Asia President for the company for just over two year, after a period at Sony Ericsson. According to the company, CFO Chang Chia Lin will be leading the HTC Asia team, until a replacement can be found. The division handles HTC’s smartphone business in Singapore, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines. Reasons behind Hoornik deciding to leave HTC have not been revealed, but nonetheless it’s another blow to the company. In the US, in addition to Kodera, HTC also lost its VP of global communications, Jason Gordon. Earlier in the year, Global retail marketing manager Rebecca Rowland, product manager Eric Lin, and Worldwide director of digital marketing John Starkweather all resigned. HTC is yet to comment about the losses – we’re waiting on a statement from the company – though they arguably couldn’t come at a worse time. The firm has staked its future on the HTC One, which has been receiving impressively positive reviews, but struggling to raise its profile above Samsung’s huge marketing budget for the Galaxy S 4. Meanwhile, HTC is also said to have been stung by Facebook and the Facebook Home launch. The smartphone company had been expecting a period of exclusivity with its HTC First handset, insiders claim, but Facebook hijacked the launch by releasing the free software launcher in the same week.

Is It true? Microsoft Surface to be used on NFL sidelines

Yesterday when Microsoft announced the Xbox One, they also announced a partnership with the NFL that would see an immersive NFL experience come to the new console, as well as some Microsoft technology coming to sidelines next season. However, during the keynote, the company didn’t specify what exactly would be coming to sidelines, but now we that Surface tablets will hitting the NFL in a big way.

The Surface tablets will replace Polaroid photos that are printed out to show quarterbacks and other players what went wrong during a previous play. Surprisingly, this is still the case in 2013 — players don’t have access to instant replay displays on the sidelines, so they’re given printed-out photos instead. It works, but it’s really inefficient. The tablets will not only be more convenient (as well as more interactive) but they’ll also cut down on costs for laminated paper and ink used for the hundreds of photos that are printed out each week. Coaches will also be able to use Surface tablets to replace their playbooks, although it might be a difficult transition for them, as printed-out playbooks have been the way for many years. However, some coaches already use iPads on the sidelines during practices, and the Microsoft partnership won’t stop them from doing so, although they’ll be required to cover-up the Apple logo whenever they use them in a game, while Surface tablets won’t need covering up. In fact, even the replay booths that officials use to make a call will now have Microsoft branding on them. Previously, the NFL had banned any kind of recording device or video player from being on sidelines, which is probably the reason behind all of those Polaroid photos being printed out, so using tablets during games was against the rules, since they can play back video and capture video as well. However, it seems the NFL is coming around to the idea of allowing such devices on the sidelines, and the NFL said that they’re all-in on changing the rules if it means bringing more innovation to the game. SOURCE: BusinessWeek Story Timeline NFL and CBS teaming up to stream Super Bowl XLVII online Madden NFL 13 predicts Baltimore Ravens as Super Bowl XLVII champions Google Maps goes inside NFL stadium for first time Madden NFL 25 cover vote kicks off Xbox One NFL partnership brings live games, fantasy football

Is It true? Scanadu Scout “Medical Tricorder” crowdsources testing for FDA

Real-life tricorder project, the Scanado Scout, has graduated to crowdfunding stage, with the DIY health monitoring tool looking to raise $100,000 and ship to backers by March 2014. The project, by startup Scanado, aims to turn a smartphone into a health tracking device – or “an Emergency Room in your pocket” – with a compact vital-sign reading puck that wirelessly communicates via low-power Bluetooth.

okay The Scout concept was first shown off late last year, the handiwork of a team at the NASA Ames labs. Held to the forehead, it beams information – including heart rate, skin/core body temperature, oxymetry, respiratory rate, blood pressure, ECG, and emotional stress – over to an app on your phone. That data, Scanado suggests, could be interesting to a wide range of people. By preempting health issues, it could mean avoiding periods of sickness (and cutting down on medical insurance bills) by treating conditions early; meanwhile, athletes could use Scout to monitor the effectiveness of their fitness regime. Meanwhile, life-loggers who might be drawn to wearables like Fitbit Flex or Jawbone UP are also a target group for the firm. They’re expected to find the wealth of data – and historical tracking – to be particularly interesting. As for hardware, full details aren’t specified yet, but there’s Bluetooth 4.0 and apps for Android and iOS. It recharges via microUSB, and Scanadu claims that it’ll last for around a week, if used “a few times a day.” Of course, any medical-grade device hoping to reach the market in the US needs to get FDA approval, and that’s the stage Scanadu is up to. The company has kicked off an Indigogo campaign to raise $100,000, but also needs early-adopters who will agree to share their data so that it can be used in clinical studies to demonstrate effectiveness. If it raises its goal amount – and that looks likely, given at time of writing it’s already over $40,000 in – the first units are expected to ship out to backers in March next year. Those in early can get one for $149; when it launches, it’s expected to retail at $199.