News tagged ‘sed’
Amazon announced iPad killer: Kindle Fire
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 And Samsung Enter Into Cross-Licensing Agreement
Microsoft
Apple to Discontinue iPod Classic and iPod Shuffle
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.
Gene Munster: ‘Let’s talk iPhone’ Hints At New Voice-controlled Assistant Feature
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:
Facebook iPad App to Launch at iOS 5 and iPhone 5 Event
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.
The secret of iPhone 5 design is revealed
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:
Skype Released Updates For Its Native iPad, iPhone and iPod touch Apps
Today Skype updated its app for
Intel: Existing Macs With Thunderbolt Will Support Fiber Optical Cables
Dave Salvator, Intel’s representative, said to
Apple has been denied trademark for Multi-Touch
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has denied an Apple’s application for a trademark on the term Multi-Touch, applied by the company on January 9, 2007, the day the iPhone was introduced. Receiving deny, Apple appealed to the Appeal Board. The board also refused to grant the trademark, noting that the term "multitouch" has taken on generic meaning, being used by a wide variety of publications to describe the touchscreen technology on Android phones, tablets, and notebooks.
Thus, from the foregoing, we find that “multi-touch” not only identifies the technology, but also describes how a user of the goods operates the device. Based on the evidence discussed above, as well as other evidence in the record, we agree with the examining attorney that MULTI-TOUCH indeed is highly descriptive of a feature of the identified goods. We now consider whether applicant has submitted sufficient evidence to establish acquired distinctiveness of this highly descriptive term.
Apple Updates Anti-Malware Tools to Address New Trojan Threat
Blurred screenshot of PDF file deployed by OSX/Revir.A
Late last week, a new trojan threat has targeted Mac users. It consists of two parts, with the first being a trojan downloader known as "OSX/Revir.A" that downloads and opens a PDF document containing "offensive political statements" written in Chinese, and installs a a backdoor known as OSX/Imuler.A that allows to get access to the user's machine.
When the backdoor is installed, it will set up a launch agent on the system that is used to continually keep the malware active on the system. It will then connect to a remote server and send the system's current username and MAC address to the server, after which the server will instruct it to either archive files and upload them, or take screenshots and upload them to the server.
Apple has quickly responded having updated its malware definitions for Snow Leopard and Lion systems so that they can recognize the trojan.
CNET has also reported that another trojan horse, known as OSX/flashback.A, has been discovered. The new trojan masquerades as a Flash Player installer to trick users into installing the package.
Samsung copied Apple's power adapter
Well, this is just amazing. Samsung indeed released a phone and a tablet that look similar to Apple's iPhone and iPad. Similar, but not a 100% copy. We cannot say the same about the USB AC power adapter from Galaxy S II. It is almost an exact replica, within a millimeter in every direction. I guess Apple will have one more reasonto ban Samsung products in courts all over the worls. By the way the previous Samsung USB power adapter looked very different.
Take a look at more photos:
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October 4th Event To Be Held On Apple Campus
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.
Comcast Plans To Launch iPad TV Streaming Service
Comcast, the U.S. largest internet and cable provider, plans to release a television streaming service for iPads. The company will compete in this market segment with Time Warner and Cablevision. The details of this product and its release dates haven’t been disclosed until now.
Apple joins coalition lobbying for electronic privacy rights
Apple has joined the Digital Due Process coalition, which is focused on pressing Congress to update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA).
ECPA was passed by Congress in 1986, before the World Wide Web was even invented and when cell phones were still a rarity. Yet to this day, ECPA is the primary law governing how and when law enforcement can access personal information and private communications stored by communications providers like Google, Facebook, your cell phone company or your ISP.
The aim of the Digital Due Process group is to "simplify, clarify, and unify the ECPA standards, providing stronger privacy protections for communications and associated data in response to changes in technology and new services and usage patterns, while preserving the legal tools necessary for government agencies to enforce the laws, respond to emergency circumstances and protect the public." Digital Due Process highlights email, mobile location, cloud computing and social networking as new technologies that need to be included in the law. Other coalition members include Amazon, Intel, AT&T, Google and many more.
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Defect On Wintek Touch Panels May Affect Initial Shipments Of iPhone 5
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