News from category ‘Hardware’

New report by MacOtakara claims that Apple may release the "iPhone 4S" that will sport hybrid GSM-CDMA functionality and a special SIM card slot for countries other than United States.

Besides that, the new smartphone will supposedly have a smaller hole for FaceTime camera and a "more narrow front receiver slit". It will also get a 5 GHz antenna for 802.11n wireless networking support.

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There is white iPhone. Why not make a white iPod Touch? Would you buy one?

According to The Wall St. Journal report, which in turn refers to Asian CLSA’s research note, Apple is working on an LTE-iPad for the holiday shopping season.

“While most vendors appear fixated on matching the specs and features of iPad2, our checks suggest Apple will release iPad3 in time for the holiday season, sporting a better display and LTE capabilities.”

AT&T’s LTE network is going to roll out later this year, while users of Verizon can already enjoy its amazing download speeds around the country.

On 2nd of June thinner and lighter Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 was announced. The company announced it will support fast Verizon’s network in the coming weeks.

The Wall St. Journal also reported iPhone won’t get LTE support this year.

Apple reportedly could release new versions of Time Capsule next week, during WWDC. Rumors claim that Time Capsule will receive some important updates: the Time Capsule would recognize known devices on a network, check for software updates available, download them in the background, and later seed them to all devices in a few seconds without having to wait for a download process. Such process would allow users to store content on iCloud. The new Time Capsule is said to run the A4 or A5 processors, just like the second-generation of Apple TV, and iOS operating  system.

Such Time Capsule that will run iOS and be capable of caching content for other devices, will allow iPhones and iPads to connect to iCloud, as well as will increase streaming speed and overall quality of media content. iOS-based Time Capsule could also be used for a broader set of functionalities such as serving content to Apple TVs or enabling additional options in Lion’s.

Apple reportedly started the certification process for components that will be used in the iPad 3 set to be released in 2012 (despite some rumors concerning that Apple could release two iPad in 2011). Some component suppliers have already landed certifications; others will do it in the upcoming months.

Taiwan-based component makers for backlight modules and light bars have received certification from Apple, however, the certification of panels is still in progress, added industry sources. According to component makers, the timing for the launch of iPad 3 should be in 2012.

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This Saturday, price of MacBook Air refurbs at the Apple Store dropped. Now, the price of the base model is just $829, which is $30 lower than it was before. There is an opinion that Apple is preparing for refresh by means of clearing some inventory out. It should be noted that there is a big difference between such notions as "used" and "refurbished". The latter is supported by Apple one-year warranty, can hardly be distinguished from a new one and can serve you almost as long as an unused model.

On the recent investor event in London Intel CFO Stacy Smith hinted that Intel negotiates with Apple about production of the ARM-based chips for iPhones and iPads.

"If Apple or Sony came to us and said 'I want to do a product that involves your IA (Intel architecture) core and put some of my IP around it,' I wouldn't blink. That would be fantastic business for us,"

said Smith during the Q&A session.

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Japanese blog Macotakara  in its latest story claims that an A5-powered MacBook Air with Thunderbolt I/O is being tested in Apple’s labs. The machine could be manufactured by Quanta Computer, the story has it. The article quotes a source who allegedly saw an early prototype:

According to this source who saw live A5 MacBook Air actually, this test machine performed better than expected. Though it’s not clear which Mac OS X or iOS is pre-installed on this A5 MacBook Air, iOS seems to have difficulty to use features of Thunderbolt without Finder. And even if Mac OS X is installed, developer should spend time to support A5 on Universal Binary Applications. As considering these situation, this A5 MacBook Air seems to be made just for experiment.

This news comes weeks after another rumor claiming that Apple is planning on transitioning from Intel to ARM-based processors on their laptops in the not too distant future. Another major issue is that while ARM processors are more power efficient, they presently offer significantly lower performance than their Intel counterparts.

In a recent visit to South Korea Tim Cook, temporary Apple’s CEO, has discussed with Samsung the possibility of implementing AMOLED displays in the next-generation iPad, dubbed iPad 3. Apple would be interested in the technology for an “upgraded version” of the iPad 2.

“Apple wants to tap into Samsung’s AMOLED technology for an upgraded version of the iPad 2, considered as many by the iPad 3 that is likely to be launched toward the end of this year,” a source told The Korea Herald on Wednesday on condition of anonymity. During Cook’s trip last week, Apple seems to have offered Samsung an advance for the AMOLED displays, the source said.

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AppleInsider has recently found new Apple’s application, which reveals the company has developed new unique liquid-crystal display. The document entitled “Display that Emits Circularly-Polarized Light” was first filed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in January 2011. It describes a liquid-crystal display in its essence, due to which the image is not distorted even when you look at the display through dark glasses of your sunshades.

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Any user regardless of his profession will be able to choose a notebook to his taste from the Apple notebook family.  The entry-level MacBook will be a perfect choice for casual users; MacBook Air will fit someone who travels a lot; MacBook Pro will definitely satisfy everyone’s needs. This statement was supported by the ranking in Consumer Reports special computer issue.

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iPad 2 glass is quite strong, but could be broken easily. SquareTrade performed several iPad 2 drop tests:

We bought two brand-new iPads and equipped one with Apple's smart cover and one without. We did some drop tests from waist and shoulder height to see if Apple's smart cover can protect your iPad.

Take a look at the video below:

According to Chinese newspaper Commercial Times an explosion at Foxconn manufacturing plant in Chengdu, China, which happened on May, 20, has already took 3 lives and 9 people remain in hospital because of various injuries. Totally there were 15 people injured in the incident.

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Samsung Nexus S

Today DigiTimes reported that Apple may adopt a "curved cover glass" for its iPhone 5.

The publication's industry sources revealed makers of cover glass will reluctantly invest into glass cutting equipment because of the high capital involved. They also told Apple has already purchased approximately 200-300 cutting machines for glass makers. However, the company hasn't yet created a timetable for iPhone 5, as it is still working with suppliers to improve yield rates.

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A prototype “iTV” of the device that eventually shipped as the first-generation Apple TV is now available on eBay for a “Buy Now” price of $350. The device, resembling the original Apple TV with only an Apple logo on top but lacking the “TV” branding, is still functional and also managed to receive Apple TV software updates throughout the years, in spite of its internal and not-for-release nature that would suggest the device is not capable of running the latest software. However, the iTV is apparently working correctly and showing the 3.0 software update from 2007. The iTV also has a couple of labels on its back, depicting the DVT (device verification test) status and the “Apple Development Team” that originally owned it and somehow gave it to someone else.

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