Archive for November 12th, 2011

Rumors about “iPhone 5” have been still circulating, even despite the fact that Apple launched last month updated iPhone 4S. The next-generation iPhone is expected to be released next year and will be redesigned significantly. Business Insider now reports that it has received information from the source who have had access to an iPhone 5 prototype, providing the following details on the device:

We've been told this by an industry source who has been right about future Apple products in the past. We have not been able to verify what he told us with a second source. So we're still treating these details as rumors. You should probably still read this post with a nice fat dose of salt.

The source confirmed that Apple planned to launch the iPhone 5 this year but was forced to change its plans. The source mentioned the following details of the next-generation iPhone:

• 4-inch screen
• Aluminum back
• Capacitive home button
• "Flatter" form factor
• Much faster than current hardware, but poor battery life
• 10-megapixel rear camera
• Siri prototype known as "Assistant", which had been the rumored name for the feature until its introduction

Apple reported that the battery in the first-generation iPod nano may overheat and pose a safety risk. Although, Apple had previously said that less than 0.001 percent of first-generation iPod nanos experienced the overheating issue, Apple has recently initiated a replacement program for the first-generation iPod nano. The company recommended users of the first-generation iPod nano to stop using the device and replace it for free.

The defect was firstly traced in 2008, when several customers experienced overheating on their first-generation iPod nano. South Korea, Japan and Europe international government agencies even initiated a special investigation and as a result the trade ministry in Japan ordered Apple to publicize the replacement offer on its Japanese website in 2010. Now Apple is notifying purchasers of the first-generation iPod nano about the replacement program, sending out emails.

"Apple has determined that, in very rare cases, the battery in the iPod nano (1st generation) may overheat and pose a safety risk. Affected iPod nanos were sold between September 2005 and December 2006," the company wrote. "This issue has been traced to a single battery supplier that produced batteries with a manufacturing defect. While the possibility of an incident is rare, the likelihood increases as the battery ages."

Greenpeace ranked 15 companies across three areas: energy, greener products and sustainable operations and released its "Guide to Greener Electronics" on Wednesday. This time Apple took fourth place in the rating up five places from the previous report. Nokia (4.9/10), Dell (5.1/10), and HP (5.9/10) were on the third, second and first places respectively. Immediately below Apple were Philips (4.5/10), Sony Ericsson (4.2/10), Samsung (4.1/10) and Lenovo (3.8/10).

The organization criticized Apple for the fact that Apple has not specified any target to reduce emissions. Nevertheless, Greenpeace gave the company credit for use of renewable energy and improved energy efficiency. Apple is also very demanding for product criteria. So all of the company's devices are free of PVC vinyl plastic and brominated flame retardants.

But Apple’s relationships with Greenpeace are not limited by positive experience only. "For years now Apple has pushed the environmentally friendly aspects of its products, countering a dispute that began with Greenpeace in August of 2006, when the organization issued a report condemning Apple for the use of toxic chemicals in its devices. Greenpeace also pulled a number of publicity stunts, such as a "Green My Apple" campaign in London in October of 2006, and a "greening" of Apple's flagship Fifth Avenue glass cube in January of 2007."

Aside from pressing the home button to activate Siri, this Siri hack reported by IntoMobile is absolutely thought-controlled. The developers who initiated Project Black Mirror recorded activity of brain waves with ECG sensors,  matched them to pre-saved patterns on a MacBook and then direct the matched commands to a chip that translates them to Siri. The developers linked about 25 brain wave patterns to different functions controlled by Siri, and they hope to bypass the need to press the home button with a completely automated solution. You can see on the video above how a developer initiates a call using Siri without pressing the Home button.

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Soon after Apple proposed a smaller SIM card standard, a German company Giesecke & Devrient made a proposal of its own standard. The German company that developed the first SIM card in the world has proposed a standard for “nano-SIM ” cards that are 15 percent thinner and one-third smaller than the current smallest micro-SIM cards used in the iPhone 4S, iPhone 4 and 3G iPad.

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