News tagged ‘Apple’

According to Japanese blog Macotakara, Apple held a MFI Conference for iPod / iPhone / iPad for accessory manufacturers in Shenzen, China this past week.  During the conference Apple reported that the company was going to introduce a new chip for MFI program ("MFI" means Apple's Made iPod / iPhone / iPad certification program) in order to encourage manufactures to produce more iOS-compatible accessories. The rumored chip will provide access to devices running iOS via AirPlay, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. The current program for iOS devices is limited to physical dock accessories.

TouchArcade has confirmed these rumors by its recent article telling us about iOS gaming accessories. TouchArcade explains that the reason why all the current gaming accessories rely on Bluetooth keyboard emulation is due to the restrictions Apple has placed over bluetooth connections and with the new chip such restrictions seems to be loosed opening the way to analog control sticks for iOS devices.

Moreover, Apple has recently revealed that the company would be adding support for AirPlay over Bluetooth. It is unclear what advantages this will offer.

Pod2g has recently announced that he has successfully performed an untethered jailbreak on an iPhone 4 running iOS 5.0.1.

Got an untethered iPhone 4 running iOS 5.0.1. Feel free to update.

Of course, if you want to SIM unlock, don't update using Apple's original FW nor update OTA.

This means jailbreakers can update to iOS 5.0.1. Previously it was recommended to stay on iOS 5. Unlockers as usual should stay away from Apple's firmwares and from iOS 5.0.1.

We strongly recommend that everyone use TinyUmbrella to save their iOS 5.0.1 SHSH Blobs.

Pod2g writes in his blog, that next devices he will try to untehter jailbreak are iPod 3G, iPod 4G and iPad 1.

Today EA Mobile is offering both Flight Control and Mirror's Edge ($9.99) for free. Both regular (iPod/iPhone) and HD (iPad) versions are free. Hurry up. This is the first time that both of these iOS games have been free.

Here are the direct iTunes links:

• Flight Control
• Flight Control HD
• Mirror's Edge
• Mirror's Edge HD

Take a look at games videos:

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BGR reports that Samsung is preparing to launch its own high resolution tablet that will carry a 2560 x 1600 resolution screen that would beat the 2048x1536 display that the iPad 3 has been rumored to have.

Even though the tablet features a larger display than Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1, we’re told that the tablet is “barely larger” due to the fact the slate will have a thinner bezel with a whopping 2560 x 1600 resolution, 11.6-inch screen with a 16:10 aspect ratio.

Samsung introduced a similar 2560x1600 screen that uses the less conventional PenTile technology to achieve its high resolution back in May at SID Display Week 2011 International Symposium.

The PenTile display uses a series of local filter operations to convert the underlying image into display intensities, including convolution, thresholding, color curve adjustment, and postprocessing with locally-adaptive filters. In practice, this means the display blurs the red and blue channels by dispersing these color intensities to the nearest subpixel element of the right color, and then also implements subpixel positioning to increase the apparent resolution again. However, subpixel spacing is not constant across the display, making the real apparent resolution complicated to estimate.

Rumors that Apple has been working on the high resolution display have been circulating about a year. Apple's iPad 3 is expected to carry a resolution of 2048x1536 both vertical and horizontal ones. Rumors have suggested that there have been production constrains on creating these high resolution screens in quantities that are enough to satisfy Apple’s needs.

Businessweek suggests that in the coming year TV industry will move towards voice-activated TV remotes, because of Apple's plans to enter the TV market in the near future. Many analysts believe that Apple’s TV will have Siri voice recognition system to simplify user interaction with the TV and provide users to control their TVs with voice.

Whether the rumors are true that Apple is planning to release a TV set by 2013, Siri-like voice recognition is headed for the living room. Microsoft (MSFT) is already there, via its Xbox 360 game console, and Comcast (CMCSA), Samsung Electronics (SHCAY), LG, and Sharp are working on voice-enabled features for TV sets, set-top boxes, and related products.

Businessweek believes that simple voice command as "Record the next episode of Modern Family" are much needed to improve user experience. Jakob Nielsen of Nielsen Norman Group goes on to say "Anything would be better than what we have now."

The remotes for such voice-controlled TV are said to look more like iPhones than traditional remotes, with possibly a single physical button to activate the microphone. Nuance suggests that 5% of TVs could be voice controlled by Christmas 2012.

Apple has posted a new iTunes Beatles ad entitled, 'Covers'.

Let iTunes take you on a journey through The Beatles, from Please, Please Me, all the way to Abbey Road.

The ongoing competition between Apple and Samsung may become more intense in February. According to BGR report, Samsung is going to launch 11.6 inch tablet that will have 2560 x 1600 resolution display.

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According to a research note issued by Citi analyst Richard Gardner, the next-generation iPad will be introduced in February.

According to "several sources" the next iPad will launch in February, and it will sport a screen with double the resolution of the current model.

Gardner says, "there do not appear to be any significant technical hurdles remaining" to prevent a launch of a high-resolution iPad, despite rumors to the contrary.

Some of the prior reports of a mid-winter launch for the iPad 3 suggested that Apple's display suppliers were struggling with mass production of the higher-resolution 2048x1536 displays.  It still unclear is whether the next-generation Apple’s tablet will be thinner or slightly thicker than the iPad 2. Some sources claim that it will be slightly thicker due to use a dual light bar system that is necessary for the Retina Display. But others suggest that Apple will use a new technology that will allow the iPad 3 to be slightly thinner than the current model.

According to Reuters, on Tuesday the first-instance court for all French patent litigation ruled against Samsung's request for a preliminary injunction against the iPhone 4S because the court found that Samsung's arguments against the iPhone 4S, so-called FRAND patents, were exhausted. That means that the South Korean company's use of 3G-essential patents against Apple will see worldwide failure.

"The court furthermore held that Samsung's request for an injunction was "disproportionate" and stated that this fact was apparent, without citing particular reasons for this finding," Reuters says. "Some of what the French ruling says indicates that Samsung's use of 3G-essential patents is going to fail everywhere at least as far as the iPhone 4S is concerned."

The French judge who rejected to issue the ban on Apple’s iPhone 4S made clear that Samsung was mishandling its FRAND obligations, noting that a holder of standards-essential patents is not allowed to capitalize on its "necessarily dominant position." "The French ruling makes it clear that there's every indication that Samsung's patent rights are exhausted and Apple is, therefore, effectively licensed," Reuters writes.

Now Apple and Samsung's global disputes over patent infringements have seen more than 30 filings in at least 12 courts in 9 countries that span over 4 continents. And it seems that the battle is far from the end, because patent cases are complex, and courts prefer not to make such decisions on the fast track.

Wedge Partners analyst Brian Blair suggests that Apple may bring some functionality of its rumored television set to the iMac with a revision in the first half of next year.

Blair envisions the company pushing the largest screen sizes of the iMac toward the TV market by integrating Apple TV and iCloud features into a slimmer all-in-one PC with TV capabilities.

“We think this makes sense because while we typically think about the newest TV’s hanging on the wall in large form factors, Apple could effectively start with what they already have on the manufacturing line and slowly push their offering from 27 inches and scale up from there to 32 inches and then move on to the 42, 50 and 55 inch market,” he writes. “In short, we believe the initial Apple TV is their iMac computer that can function as a TV, over the iCloud platform.”

Apple previous offered its "Front Row" software for OS X debuted on the iMac in 2005. The software provided users with an easy access to content while interacting with their Mac via the remote control previously included with most Macs.

Apple took down the tarps covering the front of its soon-to-open Grand Central Terminal Store. Visitors may see now the entrance to one of Apple’s largest retail locations in the world, the stairs leading up to the store that were previously blocked off by a large black display with digital sign teasing the forthcoming grand opening, as well as a glowing Apple logo, on the east balcony. The store is lit by chandeliers hanging overhead. Apple’s products are placed on the maple wood tables. 315 employees will serve customers.

The 23,000-square-foot store will be one of Apple's largest retail locations in the world. It sits in a prime location in Grand Central Terminal, though which an estimated 700,000 people pass every day. Apple sent out a press release on Wednesday, announcing that the new Grand Central store will open at 10 a.m. this Friday, Dec. 9. It noted that the store overlooks the historic Main concourse from the East and North East balconies of Grand Central Terminal, and features two Genius Bars.

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The pioneer of cloud gaming OnLive has announced the release of its playable app for tablets and mobile devices. Now top-tier, console-class games that was previously limited only to computers and consoles are available for playing through the free OnLive app on more than half a million mobile devices over mobile networks and Wi-Fi in the UK and US.

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UBS (Investment Firm) analyst Maynard Um now believes Apple will sell as many as 30 million iPhones in the December quarter, up from a previous estimate of 28 million. The firm changed its expectations for the iPhone sales because of AT&T's announcement that it expects its best smartphone quarter ever thanks to the iPhone 4S.

The firm didn’t change its predictions for the iPad. It still expects that Apple will sell 12 million units in the fourth quarter of 2012 and may achieve 13 million iPads because of seasonal boost during the holidays. UBS numbers are quite conservative due to its belief that "there might be a slight shift in consumer preference to the company's Macbook computers." Um said customers may not be able to buy multiple Apple products simultaneously and could instead elect to purchase larger ticket items with more functionality.

In light of the expected iPhone upside, UBS raised its revenue estimates to $38.5 billion, up from $37.2 billion. The firm now expects earnings per share to reach $9.90, compared to a previous projection of $9.47. For fiscal 2012, Um sees Apple bringing in $142.7 billion in revenue and $35.83 EPS.

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Citing an Asian supplier who is allegedly crafting components for Apple's next iPad, Japanese blog Macotakara claims that Apple's third-generation iPad will be slightly thicker than the iPad 2 for an "unknown reason." That means that third-party cases that cover the back side of the device won’t fit to the iPad 3, but Apple’s Smart Covers will remain compatible with the next-generation Apple’s tablet.

The screen of the iPad 3 will have the same 9.7-inch screen size as the iPad 2, but Apple is rumored to implement the Retina Display technology into the next-generation iPad. One reason for a thicker frame on the iPad 3 could be the components necessary to include a high-resolution Retina Display.

In order to include a Retina Display, Apple may adopt entirely new display technology. One report in November suggested Apple would use IGZO displays from Sharp to reach a 330 dots-per-inch screen resolution. But that report claimed the IGZO display would also allow for a future iPad to be thinner, not thicker. Other reports, however, claimed that Apple would utilize a dual-LED light bar system to illuminate the Retina Display of a third-generation iPad. Apple's apparent difficulties with the higher resolution displays and new LED backlight designs were said to have already affected the launch schedule of the next iPad.

The Retina Display technology was firstly introduced by Apple with the 2010 iPhone 4. Apple boasts that an individual pixel on such screen is so small that cannot be distinguished by the human eye.

Apple has reportedly submitted revised plans for their so-called "Spaceship" campus. The company plans to break ground on the project next year and open the facility in 2015. This mega-campus in Cupertino, Calif., is expected to provide Apple with approximately 2.8 million square feet for up to 13,000 employees. Late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs personally presented the original plans for the campus to the City of Cupertino in June. Following Jobs' presentation, city officials quickly voiced support for the project. Jobs described it as follows:

It's a pretty amazing building. It's a little like a spaceship landed. It's got this gorgeous courtyard in the middle... It's a circle. It's curved all the way around. If you build things, this is not the cheapest way to build something. There is not a straight piece of glass in this building. It's all curved. We've used our experience making retail buildings all over the world now, and we know how to make the biggest pieces of glass in the world for architectural use. And, we want to make the glass specifically for this building here. We can make it curve all the way around the building... It's pretty cool.

The City of Cupertino posted an update to the company's "Apple Campus 2 Project" on Tuesday evening. Though most of the new renderings are higher-quality versions of the original design, some of the images show a darker color for the structure's roof. Other changes include addition of parking plans, drawings for a private jogging path and a proposed expansion of the corporate fitness center from the original proposal of 25,000 square feet to 45,000 square feet.

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