News tagged ‘design’

Giga.de has produced a physical prototype mockup of the future iPhone 5. They made it look like in the latest rumors. Everything is done from a solid block of aluminum.

A 3D computer model was created based on leaked CAD designs, hardware components, several leaked hints, cases and other believable mockups. This model was then used to build a very detailed, true prototype iPhone 5, that you can actually hold and feel in your hands.

This prototype width and height are 59.94 mm and 109.98 mm, compared to 115.2 mm x 58.6 mm dimentions of iPhone 4. The prototype is also a bit thinner than its predecessor. Teardrop style with a thickness of 6.86 mm at the top and only 5.33 mm at the bottom.

Here are photos of iPhone 5 Design Prototype compared to iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4:

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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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Dave Salvator, Intel’s representative, said to Macworld that current Macs with Thunderbolt interface will be capable to work with fiber optic cables which will be released next year. This will make possible backwards compatibility of these cables with existing Thunderbolt I/O ports that is designed for work with electrical cables. Slavator said:

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Appleinsider reports that analyst Chris Whitmore from Deutsche Bank is predicting Apple will release two devices next month - a redesigned aluminum unibody iPhone 5 and a low-end iPhone 4S.

The 'iPhone 4S' will have a material cost lower than $150. This will let Apple sell the device for the price between $300 and $350 without a subsidy. The device is described as 8GB iPod touch with a cellular antenna. We've heard these rumors for a long time.

Whitemore also said he expects the iPhone 5 to be a completely redesigned smartphone with an aluminum unibody construction to replace the glass back on the current device. It will have a better camera and slightly larger screen.

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John Paczkowski at AllThingsD claims that the next keynote, where Apple is rumored to announce its next-generation iPhone, will be held on Apple Campus in Cupertino, rather than the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, where Apple usually holds its fall media event. We’ve heard various rumors that Apple might work on two iPhone models: completely redesigned device and a minor update unofficially dubbed “iPhone 4S”. It is widely believed the new device will come with iOS 5, pre-installed and ready to be configured with iCloud.

Perhaps, the company felt a more intimate venue was best for newly installed CEO Tim Cook’s first media event. Perhaps YBCA was simply already booked. Whatever the reason, the world will get it’s first look at the next iPhone at Apple’s Town Hall Auditorium in early October.

Apple has already used Town Hall Auditoriumon several occasions to preview upcoming versions of iOS, OS X, Lion, iLife ’11 and announce updated MacBook Air models.

Multiple sources suggest that Apple is facing constant production and design delays that can result in shortages of iPhone 5 all the way into 2012. DigiTimes has reported additional information which corroborates these rumors and lays the blame on touch panel producer Wintek that is said to supply one-quarter touch panels for iPhone 5. According to the report:

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Keeping to the Apple’s schedule, the company opens six more stores on this weekend. It starts with the Nanjing East store in China opening tomorrow (Friday, September 23) and then the IFC (Hong Kong), Hornsby (Australia), Centro Sicilia (Italy), New Haven (Connecticut) and Metrotownn (Canada) Apple Stores will open on Saturday. The Nanjing East store (shown above) is the third Apple in Shanghai. IFC store is the first store that locates in Hong Kong. ifoApple Store notes that this store features a unique design:

The rear wall of both levels are glass windows looking out towards the city. On the inside, the lower level has two wide stainless steel walls, with a visitor entrance in the middle. The walls include back-lit display cases promoting Apple’s products. The upper level has an all-glass front window visible from the mall hallway.

BGR claims that Apple will introduce only one new iPhone model, the so-called "iPhone 4S", at its October 4th media event. It sounds reasonable because we still have not seen any sights of a redesigned iPhone 5 coming through supply chain. More specifically, there is a complete lack of such new iPhone 5 parts, suggesting that Apple may be planning to launch only the iPhone 4S as its next-generation iPhone model.

“We expect the focus of the new iPhone will be iOS 5, a speedier A5 processor and a higher resolution 8 MP camera with a small possibility of a larger 4 inch screen. We believe the casing will be largely similar to the iPhone with some particular modifications to the antennae [sic]. We don’t expect a second, dramatically different iPhone to accompany this as we don’t think Apple needs to have 3 models in the market to address the high end, mid-tier and low end since the iPhone 4 (with memory lowered to 8 GB) will drop to $99 and effectively attack those markets.”

On Monday, The Korea Times reported that Samsung had asked a ban on the iPhone 5 sales in Korea. Now Reuters claims that the company has gone further and asked an injunction against the iPhone 5 in Europe. The source that is familiar with the matter reports:

Samsung Electronics Co is considering legal action to ban sales of Apple’s new iPhone, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, in what could be its strongest step to defend against claims by the U.S. firm that the South Korean firm had copied its product designs. The source declined to elaborate further on where Samsung planned to take legal actions and the Maeil Business Newspaper reported that the South Korean firm may seek injunction request on Apple’s new iPhone in Europe.

It seems that the Apple’s accusations that Samsung thoroughly copied their iOS mobile devices with the Galaxy smartphone and tablets, initiated a long-lasting confrontation between the companies. And this change in Samsung’s defense only proves that suggestion.

As FinancialPost reports, J.P. Morgan’s analyst Mark Morkowitz suggests that Apple will release two models of iPhone in September. The first is the redesigned iPhone 4 -expected iPhone 5 – and the second is a cheap mass market handset with a tentative name “iPhone 4-plus” or “iPhone 4S”.

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9to5Mac reports that Apple indeed prepares two new iPhone models: the "low-end" iPhone 4-look alike, and the teardrop shaped iPhone 5 (see above). iPhone 5 is said to appear only in 2012 due to design and production delays. However this lower-end iPhone (the iPhone 4S) is already being produced in high quantities, with 10 million expected on launch day.

The iPhone 5 itself is a sight to behold, we’ve been told.  It is impossibly light, yet much firmer than Samsung Galaxy phones which are backed in plastic.  The camera rivals point and shoot cameras and will be a major marketing point for this device. It appears that the tear-drop shaped iPhone 5 with larger screen and thinner, rounder body is seeing continued design and production delays, at least on one assembly line (Apple has multiple production sources – Pegatron, Foxconn, etc). We therefore think that iPhone 5 will be delayed slightly at the very least and may see shortages all the way into 2012.

The New York Times' Nick Bilton has heard that the iPhone 5 will be announced in just few weeks.

We’re just weeks away from the announcement of the new Apple iPhone 5, according to an Apple employee who asked not to be named because he was not allowed to speak publicly for the company.

The report also tells us that the next-generation iPhone design is quite similar to various cases and what we’ve heard from anonymous Apple employees.

From descriptions I’ve heard of the new iPhone from Apple employees, the images seemed potentially authentic.

Bilton claim that there is still no information about whether the iPhone 5 will represent a truly updated form factor, but he echoes a number of previous claims that the next-generation iPhone will receive 8-megapixel camera, possibility of near-field communication (NFC) technology for payments, though, it’s unclear whether NFC will arrive in the iPhone 5 or iPhone 6.

Unwire.hk has posted first photos of a screen protector that has been designed for the iPhone 5, suggesting the elongated home button.

A second shot shows how much bigger the screen protector is than the current generation iPhone 4.

Despite we have seen different cases for the next-generation iPhone, none of them had show a front panel of the device. But we have already heard about the elongated design of the Home button from the leaked designed documents that described areas to be exposed or open to the user. From the image we may see that the hole for the front facing camera was also elongated and camera itself was included in to the hole for the speaker. But we can say for sure that this case is not the accurate image of what the iPhone 5 will look like. Apple is widely expected to release the iPhone 5 in September/October.

According to London-based research company Brand Finance, Apple takes the second position after Google in brand value rating. The 33% increase allowed Apple to overtake Microsoft, Wal-Mart, GE and IBM for the first time. The research firm attributes Apple’s high rating to loyal consumer base, successful marketing activities and innovative design.

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