News tagged ‘smartphone’

9to5Mac has reanalyzed the previously-obtained code for the next-generation iPhone prototypes and found references indicating that the new smartphone would support NFC technology for mobile payments.

We’ve previously been able to pull data from PreEVT iPhone 5,1 and iPhone 5,2 prototypes codenamed N41AP (5,1) and N42AP (5,2), which leads us to believe that the new iPhone will have a bigger 1136×640 display. We also detailed a lot of the hardware here but forgot one very important little bit. Further investigation into this hardware code dump leads us to believe that these iPhones also have Near Field Communication (NFC) controllers directly connected to the power management unit (PMU).

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Chief Executive Officer Terry Gou of Foxconn told its stockholders during the annual meeting on Monday to disregard Samsung's recently-released Galaxy S III smartphone and wait for the upcoming iPhone 5 instead, mentioning a number of strategies that will allow the company to "beat" Samsung within the next three to five years.

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The Wall Street analyst suggests that Apple could generate the highest annual net income of any publicly traded company in history this year.

As of Monday morning, Apple's market cap was at about $545 billion. Some Wall Street analyst have noted a rather interesting trend amongthe largest companies. Companies that exceed $500 billion in market capitalization have trouble growing much beyond that point.  The analysts are concerned that a similar scenario could happen with Apple.

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ETrade Supply, wireless parts company, posted a video comparison of the next-generation iPhone 5 back cover and the iPhone 4S one. Noteworthy, the back shell of the forthcoming iPhone is identical to a part seen in previously leaked photos.

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Analyst Brian White with Topeka Capital Markets met this week with his contacts in the supply chain  who let him know that Apple is gearing up for what is expected to be an "exciting" September, where the company could launch both its next-generation iPhone, as well as smaller iPad.

White suggests that Apple is likely to launch its next-generation smartphone in September, rather than October. As far as you remember, the iPhone 4S was introduced in October, which was a few months later than the iPhone launch window that Apple had utilized in prior years.

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iFixit in conjunction with chip analysts ChipWorks tore down Samsung's new Galaxy S III smartphone, revealing that the device is sourcing a newer version of the same Sony-made camera used in the iPhone 4S.

ChipWorks confirmed on Friday that the backside-illuminated sensor found in Samsung's new Galaxy S III handset is being sourced from Sony and may be a newer version of the component used in Apple's iPhone 4S. While iFixit initially claimed that the sensor is "basically the same unit" used in the iPhone 4S, further examination of the chip revealed that it could be a slightly refreshed product. It seems that the camera's sensor is where the similarities between the two devices end, however, as Samsung uses its own memory and optics to complete the unit.

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9to5Mac’s source, who has access to the next-generation iPhone prototype, as well as data found out in a build of iOS 6 could report some more details about Apple’s next smartphone.

- Details in the iOS 6 beta indicate that the next-generation iPhone will run an application processor identified as S5L8950X that is still internally being referred to as part of the A5 family.  That processor initially showed up in iOS 5.1 betas alongside the S5L8945X that arrived in the form of the A5X in the current iPad.

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The New York Times claims that Facebook is drawing upon former Apple engineers and has hired "more than half a dozen former Apple software and hardware engineers who worked on the iPhone" to develop its own phone. The New York Times’ report also said that Facebook is interested in buying a smartphone company. It raised $16 billion during its recent IPO, enough to purchase either Research in Motion or HTC.

One tipster suggested that the current effort is the company's third attempt to build a smartphone. People who reportedly worked on the first attempt told the Times that the project fell apart because it proved to be more difficult than expected. As a result, Facebook is believed to have realized that it needs industry-experienced veterans to develop hardware, specifically Apple alumni.

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The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Apple began placing orders for a new, larger screen (it will measure "at least 4 inches diagonally") for the next iPhone. Production of the screens is set to begin in the next few months.

Rumors have suggested for some time that the next iPhone will be a major redesign, overhauling the look of the handset that has remained since the launch of the iPhone 4 in mid-2010. A larger screen would be a major change for the device, and could require developers to update their applications to take advantage of the larger display.

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Apple has changed Siri's answer to the question "What's the best smartphone ever?" after it was discovered that the Nokia Lumia 900 came up as the result.

Now Siri offers the following result:

The website of parts supplier SW-Box posted photos of the parts claimed to be from Apple's sixth-generation iPhone. The components are said to be a headphone jack, earpiece and Wi-Fi cable. The purported iPhone parts suggest the device will have a significantly different internal design, as the headphone jack is attached to the earpiece and Wi-Fi components.

That's a major departure from the current design of the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4, in which the headphone jack is included on a component with the handset's volume buttons and mute switch, all of which are located in the upper left corner of the device.

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HP attracted a considerable amount of attention when it initially wanted to find its niche in the tablet market with webOS, which was acquired along with Palm in 2010. HP introduced its TouchPad running on webOS in early 2011 and launched it on July 1 last year only to exit the smartphone and tablet business six weeks later.

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In May of last year, Apple submitted a proposal for its nano-SIM card design that would replace the current micro-SIM. However, as of couple months ago, the company was fighting with rival mobile phone makers which were pushing their own standards for SIM cards. In an effort to convince other companies to support its design, Apple has even said that they will offer royalty-free patent license to its SIM-card design.

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Fortune has recently published its annual ratings of the 500 largest corporations in America and placed Apple on the 17th place. That means that the company managed to leap 18 spots from the last year 35th place.

According to Fortune, the iPhone maker's performance in the "Computers, Office Equipment" industry was topped only by Hewlett-Packard, which finished 10th overall. HP's revenue totaled over $127 billion compared to Apple's $108 billion, however the percent of change from 2010 was a stark contrast between the two companies which grew 1 percent and 66 percent, respectively. Apple's profit skyrocketed to nearly $26 billion representing an 85 percent change from 2010, while HP saw negative growth of 19 percent with a little over $7 billion in profits.

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CNET reports that iOS U.S. market share dropped by 12 percent in the first quarter, which enable Google’s Android to take almost two-thirds of the market.

According to market research company NPD Group, Android was able to capture 61 percent of the U.S. market, which is a considerable gain from the 49 percent registered in last year’s fourth quarter.

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