News from category ‘Hardware’

Rumors say that display of future iPad 2 will be updated to Super PLS. It does not mean it will have a better resolution. iPad 2 will utilize the same 1024 x 768 display as the current iPad, Super PLS is just a different technology and it is better.

Current iPad, as well as the iPhone 4, use a technology called IPS. It provides outstanding viewing angles. However Samsung’s PLS technology is even better. The viewing angles provided by PLS are improved. In addition to that Super PLS display is generally 10% brighter than the IPS technology. And the best part is that they cost around 15% less to manufacture than IPS displays.

iPad 2 is expected to launch sometime this quarter.

Recent rumors claim that Apple plans to update its MacBook Air line with Intel's new Sandy Bridge processors. The company is going to replace the Core 2 Duo chip, found in the current generation of MacBook Air, which is two generations behind Intel's processor. So it will be a significant upgrade for Apple's MacBook Air. The refreshed is expected in June, sometime during the WWDC 2011. Remind you that last fall the MacBook Air was already updated. It received a new, thinner design, and flash memory drive.

If you want to look cool to the opposite sex becasue of your gadgets, you should first buy an iPhone, than a cool MacBook, than a regular book. And only after that you can consider buying an iPad. This is becasue according to the Retrevo Gadgetology study using an iPad is lower on the list of things men and women find attractive than even reading a book.

We’re not sure why this is so, perhaps there is an element of resentment toward iPad owners among those unfortunate to be iPad-deprived. 50% of men under 35 say they find people with cool phones more interesting, 46% say they are more interested in people with cool laptops. Women under 35 on the other hand, are less impressed by people’s gadgets. Only 36% saying they find cool cell phones impressive while 38% of the same group of women like people with cool laptops more.

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New iPhone Nano rumors! Bloomberg is reporting that Apple is working on a smaller, cheaper version of the iPhone. The prototype is about one-third smaller than the iPhone 4. Rumors say it will be sold without any contract for just $200.

This sounds more like a fairy tale. Currently iPhone 4 costs approximately $600 without a contract.

This Wednesday HP announced its three new webOS-based devices - the TouchPad tablet and two smartphones named Pre 3 and Veer. Before they were unveiled general manager and senior vice president for the Palm Global Business Unit at HP Jon Rubistein told that the company is at the beginning of new epoch.

"Today we're embarking on a new era of webOS with the goal of linking a wide family of HP products through the best mobile experience available. The flexibility of the webOS platform makes it ideal for creating a range of innovative devices that work together to keep you better connected to your world."

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Engadget have posed a very interesting comparison table of the most interesting tablets that are known today. Have a look at specifications for HP TouchPad, Apple iPad, Motorola Xoom and BlackBerry PlayBook. Unfortunately there is no Apple iPad 2 in this table, becasue iPad 2 specs are all just rumors for now.

HP TouchPad

Apple iPad

Motorola Xoom

BlackBerry PlayBook

Wall Street Journal reports that the next version of the iPad is now in production. The new iPad will be available through both Verizon and AT&T but not Sprint or T-Mobile, according to the newspaper.

The new device will be thinner, lighter and will come with a faster processor, more memory and a more powerful graphics processor, said the people familiar with the matter. It will have a front-facing camera for the first time for features like video-conferencing, but the resolution of the new iPad's display will be similar to the first iPad, they said.

iLounge has discovered that despite having a brand new antenna, the Verizon iPhone 4 also has antenna issues when held in a “Death Hug”. The “Death Hug” is when the phone is cupped by both hands and held in landscape orientation. A position is common when playing games or using the widescreen keyboard. The CDMA iPhone 4 still lose substantial cellular signal strength, as well as Wi-Fi signal when loading web pages.

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iFixit tore down the Verizon iPhone 4 and fond out inside a Qualcomm MDM6600 chip that supports HSPA+ data rates of up to 14.4 Mbps, as well as CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Rev. A/Rev. B. The same chipset has the Droid Pro that supports both GSM and CDMA - which means that Apple could support GSM! Apple of course has not included a SIM-card slot in the Verizon iPhone, and thus the device can not actually be used on GSM networks. The use of this particular chip signifies that the iPhone 5 will surely be dual-mode, allowing Apple to ship one handset for both Verizon and AT&T, as well as every other carrier in every other country.

The new Windows PCs both, HP’s latest TouchSmart series, look exactly like Apple’s multitouch iMac. Some Apple’s patents over the past year suggest that the company has been experimenting with multitouch-capable iMacs with pivoting displays that pull down to a more appropriate horizontal orientation when a user wants to interact with on-screen elements directly. HP’s multitouch computers feature a pull-down design that drops the multitouch display into a horizontal position to reduce arm fatigue. Just like the Apple’s patent!

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Macotakara, Japanese blog, reports that Apple is planning to conduct a smaller than usual event to launch the next generation iPad. The site thinks that such event appears to be on track for March. It is believed that the device may only see an announcement during that time frame in the United States Shipments and international availability possibly will follow at a later date. Moreover, the site posted one more exclusive photo of the second generation iPad display (see above).

iLounge claims that got some details about what may be in store for the second-generation iPad. So the new device’s shell will be made from a carbon fiber that would allow reducing the weight of the second-generation iPad.  Moreover Apple has not yet abandoned the idea of a smaller iPad carrying a 7-inch display, contrary to Steve Jobs saying that 7-inch tablets were dead on arrival, and Apple's suppliers has been asked to manufacture a component that would be used in a 7-inch iPad. About NFC, iLounge mostly quotes the previous Bloomberg report:

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Apple yesterday added a new feature in the iPad App Store. The new search filters appear as a toolbar at the top of search results pages. The filters allow users to search by category, release date, customer rating, price, and device compatibility. These filters also aren't yet available on the desktop version of the App Store, so right now the iPad seems like the best way to search for apps. The second change shows the previously-purchased applications. Typically, results have been displayed with a button showing the price of the app.  Now the results for apps already installed on the device are displayed with an inactive button simply saying "installed".

A new rumor about release of the next-generation iPad hit the web. The rumor claims that Apple is going to announce the new device during a special event which will be held to introduce in-app subscriptions with iOS 4.3 next week. MacNotes.de reported yesterday that the second-generation iPad could be presented as the famous "one more thing" at the end of the event. Moreover, one more thing proving that suggestion is that the iOS 4.3 is currently being tested with developers and has reached the beta 3 status, which may lead to a release of a GM seed next week. Rumors of Apple's second-generation iPad have spread up in recent weeks, as Apple approaches the one-year mark since the device was launched in April 2010.

Reuters claims that its “eyewitness” saw yesterday at a press conference to mark the debut of News Corp's Daily online paper (еру first newspaper for the iPad) a working model of the next iPad with a front-facing camera at the top edge of the glass screen. Comically, Reuters tells that in a room full of tech journalists, somebody was apparently playing around on an iPad 2. Reuters says "a source with knowledge of the device" confirmed its existence and that the real iPad 2 will have the camera along with other features.