Toshiba abandoning plans for Windows 7 tablet, Chromebook?

We were expecting Toshiba to launch its Windows 7 tablet during the second half of this year, but rumor has it that the company may be abandoning the slate altogether. DigiTimes is reporting that both the 11.6-inch slab and a forthcoming Chromebook have disappeared from Toshiba's product launchpad, according to sources within the industry. The Chromebook will reportedly be slashed due to disappointing netbook sales in 2010, whereas the reasons behind the tablet's cancellation remain less clear. DigiTimes suggests that Toshiba may be throwing all of its weight behind its new Honeycomb-powered Thrive slate, meaning that its Windows 7 counterpart could either be delayed even further, or simply relinquished. There's obviously plenty of speculation swirling around, but we'll let you know as soon as we receive more concrete reports.

DigiTimes

HP thinks the TouchPad will be 'better than number one,' if that's even possible

HP's expectations for its new TouchPad tablet are running pretty high -- so high, in fact, that they can only be expressed with a make-believe number. During a recent press conference in Cannes, HP's Eric Cador boldly declared that his company's new slate won't just be the best on the market, it'll be the bestest. Cador explained:

"In the PC world, with fewer ways of differentiating HP's products from our competitors, we became number one; in the tablet world we're going to become better than number one. We call it number one plus."

A spokesman later confirmed that the device will launch in the UK with apps from the Guardian, Sky and Last.fm, but promised that "thousands" of other apps are on the way. The metrics might sound a bit optimistic, but the message is clear: HP thinks the TouchPad will annihilate the iPad and blow our minds to smithereens. We'll just have to wait and see whether it's as explosive as advertised.

The Daily Telegraph

Explosion at Foxconn's Chengdu plant injures several, could affect iPad 2 production (update: video)

An explosion occurred at Foxconn's Chengdu plant earlier today, with reports claiming several workers have been injured. The Taiwanese company has yet to release a statement regarding figures and the cause of this tragedy, but according to 21st Century Business Herald, witnesses saw a lightning hit the A05 building before the explosion took place -- it is believed that this is a case of dust explosion, and security guards were allegedly telling evacuees that the smoke was toxic. At the time, hundreds of workers were present in the affected building which houses an iPad 2 assembly line, and it's not immediately clear how this will impact Apple's shipment. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families.

Update: Sina Tech is reporting two deaths and sixteen injured people, with three in critical condition. We've also added a video from the scene after the break, courtesy of Sohu.

M.I.C. Gadget 21st Century Business Hearld

Microsoft shutters Pioneer Studios, we pour one out for J Allard

It's been about a year since he left Microsoft, but the J Allard era came to a more definitive close yesterday, with the shuttering of his brainchild, Pioneer Studios. Microsoft opened the incubation lab more than three years ago as an entrepreneurial space where designers could toy around with new consumer technologies. The tragically shelved Courier tablet was first developed within Pioneer's exposed brick walls, where Allard and his Alchemy Ventures team also worked on the Xbox, Zune and Windows Phone 7. Now, however, a Microsoft spokeswoman has confirmed that the downtown Seattle office is no longer occupied, telling CNET that many of the lab's employees have either left, or moved on to different positions within the company. Pioneer co-founder Georg Petschnigg left Microsoft in April to pursue an "undisclosed new venture," while fellow godfather Jonathan Harris is still at Redmond, where he serves as "principle experience director," according to their respective LinkedIn profiles. The spokeswoman didn't offer a specific reason for the decision, but in a now-ominous video posted to Microsoft's developer site back in October, Petschnigg acknowledged that the unit's innovative spirit would frequently lead to dead ends. "Often times our work just doesn't go anywhere," he explained, adding that Pioneer would only pursue projects expected to bring in more than $100 million a year. "That's one of the perils of being an entrepreneur." See the full video after the break.

PC World

CNET

Ericsson to manage Clearwire's 4G network as part of cost-cutting deal

Now that Clearwire definitely isn't producing its own smartphone, the company has apparently decided to focus its efforts on maintaining its WiMAX network -- with the help of Ericsson. Yesterday, the 4G operator announced that it had struck a seven-year deal with the Swedish telecom firm, just a few months after fighting a brief trademark lawsuit filed by Sony Ericsson. Under the arrangement, Ericsson will assume all network engineering, operations, and maintenance responsibilities, allowing Clearwire to concentrate on cutting costs and increasing efficiency. Clearwire will retain ownership over its technology and will still handle all customer relations, but about 700 of its employees will be transferred to Ericsson. The Kirkland-based company says its decision was at least partially influenced by new best friend Sprint, which forged a similar partnership with Ericsson back in 2009. Financial details on the new deal remain fuzzy, though Clearwire says it expects to see a major reduction in operating costs -- which sounds like the right prescription. Full presser after the break.

Clearwire

Eldar Murtazin: Microsoft will enter negotiations to buy Nokia's mobile division next week

Yes, this is a rumor, and by golly it strains the limits of credulity, but take note of its source. Firstly, the details: according to Eldar Murtazin, Microsoft and Nokia will enter talks next week to discuss the potential for the American software giant to purchase the Finnish company's mobile arm, meaning the part that makes all those delectable smartphones. Eldar's not been able to dig up any further intel, but expects a deal could be closed as early as the end of this year. We're inclined to believe there's at least some semblance of truth to Eldar's words because of his track record. Way back in December of last year, when nobody believed Nokia would deviate from its Symbian strategy, Eldar reported the similarly incredible-sounding news that Microsoft and Nokia were in discussions about the latter using Windows Phone as its main smartphone OS. That turned into reality this February, and more recently, the Russian mobile spy managed to also accurately predict Nokia killing off the Ovi brand in favor of an eponymous naming scheme for its services. And that's all on top of Eldar's knack for obtaining Nokia prototypes way ahead of release.

So, assuming for a moment that Microsoft does indeed have its eyes set on turning Nokia's handset business into its own mobile hardware division, what would it all mean? Well, we can only see this making sense for Espoo if underwritten by a humongous check from Microsoft, but that might not be a problem. The Redmond camp has recently shown its determination to get what it wants by spending $8.5 billion on Skype, and previously offered north of $44 billion for Yahoo, a good deal more than Nokia's total market cap of around $32 billion. Let's not forget, Nokia once used to manufacture galoshes and tires, so it already has a history of transformative change. And hey, having an ex-Microsoft guy at the top means that if this kind of move were to ever happen, now might just be the right time for it.

MrMurtazin.com, @eldarmurtazin (Twitter)