Archive for September 28th, 2011

Apple has reportedly added revised iPhone 4 and iPod touch models to its internal inventory database.  There are three new iPod touch models under the codename N81A that are suggested to be the new white iPod touch in three different capacities. As we know, the original black iPod touch has a N81 codename. The white iPod is expected to have the same SPU as the current model, an improved ambient light sensor and the addition of an oleophobic coating. The new iPod touch is likely to be released on October 13th or 14th.

The revised iPhone 4 has appeared in Apple’s inventory database under N90A codename, suggesting a minor change over the existing N90 device. That might be the rumored "iPhone 4S" that has been seen in a number of parts leaks and bearing a nearly identical appearance to the iPhone 4.

Today Amazon announced their tablet called Kindle Fire. It has 7" IPS display, custom android OS, weights 413g, has 8Gb of storage, Wifi. Unfortunately it does not have 3G. The price is attractive though - $199. Shipments start November 15.

We are not sure that this device can be a real iPad killer. However it will definitely compete with other Android tablets, like Blackberry Playbook, HP Touchpad and others.

More specs:

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Microsoft announced today that it concluded an agreement with Samsung Electronics to cross-license patent portfolios, providing wide coverage for technologies of both companies. According to this agreement, Microsoft will get royalties from Samsung for its mobile phones and tablets based on Android platform. Also two companies agreed to collaborate on the marketing and development of Windows Phone.

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According to TUAW, Apple is about discontinuing the iPod classic and iPod shuffle as a part of “product transition”  this year.

It seems that the "product transition" Apple mentioned on the last earnings call could very well be within the iPod line. Specifically, if you want to buy an iPod shuffle or iPod classic from Apple, you should do it sooner rather than later. We've heard those two iPods are getting the axe this year.

The iPods now only make up for 8% of Apple’s total revenue. As the below graph shows, iPod sales have been falling over the last few quarters and although Apple doesn’t break these figures down model by model, its believed the iPod touch is what has held iPod sales up. The iPod nano also appears to be safe for the time being. The last official word about the iPod Classic came from Steve Jobs over a year ago. He said that they had no plans on discontinuing the iPod Classic at that time. Now, it seems they have changed their plans.

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Gene Munster, Piper Jaffray’s analyst, attributed additional meaning to the “let’s talk” part of the headline on invitations that were sent out for Apple’s media event on October 4th. He said that it is a clue to the Assistant feature of upcoming iPhone. In a note to investors Munster said:

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Facebook is expected to launch its long-awaited iPad application at the media event that Apple is going to held on October 4th alongside iOS 5 and the next-generation iPhone 5.

Facebook will launch its long-awaited iPad app at Apple’s iPhone 5 launch event on Oct. 4, Mashable has learned. In addition to the iPad app, Facebook is also expected to release a revamped version of its iPhone app and may unveil an HTML5-based mobile app marketplace.

Apple and Facebook worked together to integrate Facebook into iOS but due to disagreement, final release of the application was postponed. Now the companies seem to reach consensus. Last week, Robert Scoble also revealed that he had heard that Facebook would be releasing its iPad app at Apple's event on October 4th.  Facebook is also likely to introduce a revamped iPhone application.

M.I.C. Gadget is reporting that iPhone 5 prototype device was lost by Foxconn or possibly stolen. That is why there are lots of iPhone 5 cases in China today. The design could really be the final one since case manufacturers must be very certain to have shipped "thousands" of cases already. Producing a mold for silicone case costs tens of thousands of RMB (thousands of USD) and a mold for hard plastic cases costs even more.

A case supplier told that a device had gone missing from the Foxconn factory in the Shenzhen Futian district. The prototype was disguised in a case to make it look like the current device. It was apparently a test model with a finalized iPhone 5 teardrop chassis but only had slightly modified iPhone 4 internals.

The person who had access to the prototype wiped the phone's software, thus disabling the GPS hardware needed to track it down. It was then allegedly sold to one of the iPhone case manufacturers for RMB ¥20,000 (about $3,100). We were told that Foxconn was aware of the loss and had penalized internal management for the incident. We also heard from another source that the person who "lost" it was paid to do so.

We are very sure that one or more of these case manufacturers have access to what is believed to be the prototype of the iPhone 5 with the finalized design. It is not simply getting tipped on the dimensions and shapes of the next iPhone to make the molds.

By looking at iPhone 5 case photos one can say that the future iPhone 5 has teardrop desing. It is much thinner (33%) than iPhone 4, but a bit larger in height and width. The height of the case is 4.84 inches (12.3 cm), width - 2.72 inches (6.9 см). The dimensions of iPhone 4 are 4.5 x 2.31 x 0.37 inches (115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 mm).

Take a look at the video, where this new iPhone 5 teardrop design case is compared to iPhone 4 and iPod Touch:

Here are the photos:

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AllThingsD reported on an interesting app from Disney that uses iPad’s capabilities in unusual way. So-called Appmates are toy cars that interact with the app via the iPad’s display. Writer of the publication Tricia Duryee explains:

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