iPhone 5 launching with 3.95-inch display, more pixels?

With each new Apple product launch, there's typically one feature that gets the most attention in the rumor mill. This time around, it's the iPhone 5's display.

According to Apple blog 9to5Mac, citing sources, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company iscurrently testing at its headquarters two iPhones -- only one of which will be released -- boasting larger displays. And although rumors have suggested the device will come with a true 4-inch screen, 9to5Mac claims it'll actually boast a 3.95-inch display.

The new iPhone's screen will be just as wide as that of its predecessor, 9to5Mac claims, but will be slightly taller, allowing Apple to add 176 pixels. The new resolution on the iPhone will be 640x1,136, according to the blog. Apple's current Retina Display on the iPhone 4S features a 640 x 960 resolution.

Although Apple hasn't confirmed it'll even launch a new iPhone, let alone what size screen such a device might have, the rumor mill has been saying for months now that the device will come with a larger display.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal reportedApple is buying 4-inch screens for its next handset. Earlier this month, Apple-focused site iLounge made the same claim 9to5Mac has, saying that the iPhone 5 will have a taller screen measuring about 4 inches.

The larger screen should help Apple make some customizations to iOS 6, according to 9to5Mac. The blog claims Apple is currently considering adding a fifth row of icons to the operating system's home screen, thanks to the additional screen real estate. It might also change the look and feel of built-in applications to accommodate the taller display.

One other tidbit from the 9to5Mac story: its sources say Apple's next iPhone will, in fact, come with the long-rumored smaller Dock connector.

Source : CNET

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Android mini computer selling for just $74

The MK802 is slightly larger than a thumbdrive and has a microSD card slot to add to its built-in 4GB flash storage. Wi-Fi is also supported.

Enthusiasts of embedded computing seem to be spoiled for choices nowadays.

A Chinese-made computer that's slightly larger than a typical thumbdrive can now be purchased online for just $74.

The MK802 is similar to the Cotton Candy computer-on-a-stick. Both are powered by ARM processors and support Android or other ARM-compatible Linux operating systems. It comes with a Mali 400 GPU that enables it to output 1080p video through HDMI.

Despite its small size (it weighs just about 7 ounces), the MK802 has a microSD card slot to add to its built-in 4GB flash storage, together with a full-size USB port and a micro-USB version. Wi-Fi is also supported.

The more expensive $199 Cotton Candy does have better hardware, including a dual-core ARM chip compared with the single-core version on the MK802. The Cotton Candy can also be plugged directly into an HDMI port, while the MK802 requires an HDMI cable.

The low cost of ARM processors coupled with the popularity of Android appear to have led to more embedded computing solutions for hobbyists. The $35 Raspberry Pi is another inexpensive mini computer that seems to be popular among enthusiasts for tasks like programming and video streaming. These devices could also serve as educational tools for children in less developed countries, especially when installed with the right applications.

(Source: Crave Asia via Ars Technica)

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Sprint to start shipping HTC's Evo 4G LTE on Thursday

The new smartphone, along with the One X, have been in limbo for the past week since HTC announced that imports of the devices were being delayed indefinitely by U.S. Customs officials over unresolved patent infringement issues with Apple. The delay stems from a December ruling by the International Trade Commission, a federal agency with the power to enforce bans on products shipping to the U.S.

The ITC ruled that HTC infringed on Apple's patent for data detection, which allows a mobile device to recognize items like e-mail addresses, phone numbers, and addresses in text and automatically move them to a calendar, dialer, or mapping application. The quasi-judicial body said in its ruling that it would impose an import ban on some of HTC's products if the feature wasn't removed by April 19, 2012. Immediately after that ruling, HTC announced it would soon remove the feature from "all of our phones."

The Taiwan handset maker said yesterday that its phones were completing the U.S. Customs inspections and were slowly making their way into the United States.

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Toyota RAV4 EV to make public debut next week

Toyota will officially unveil the RAV4 EV next week, an all-electric SUV that could be an important indicator of electric vehicles sales overall.

The company earlier this week sent out a notice that it will debut the RAV4 EV on Monday May 7 at the International Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS26) in Los Angeles, an important conference for EVs.

Toyota has shown off concept RAV4 EVs already, but important details such as price and availability have not yet been disclosed.

The all-electric SUV is the fruit of a partnership between Toyota and Telsa Motors, which is supplying the electric powertrain for the vehicle. It's expected to have a driving range of about 100 miles.

For Toyota, the RAV4 EV is something of a departure from its focus on hybrids and the company's second attempt at an electric RAV4.

The partnership with Tesla, in which Toyota invested $50 million in Tesla two years ago, is an effort to develop mass-market all-electric vehicles and size up market demand for them. After folding its RAV4 EV program, Toyota began to develop hybrids, which company executives say are more affordable way to improve efficiency than all-electric vehicles.

The RAV4 EV, which is expected to have the same cargo space as the gasoline RAV4, will likely be sold in just a few markets initially, as GM, Ford, and Nissan have done.

interested? waiting wrote ...

source of CNET

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Apple TV May Not Begin Until 2014, Said The Analyst

Consumers waiting for a TV set from Apple may have to sit tight for a couple more years.

Apple won't launch any type of TV this year, says J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz. Instead, the company is likely to build up to such a product in two separate phases.

First, Apple would expand its current TV box by launching a more advanced set-top module sometime in 2013 at the earliest. Then the company could unveil a full-blown TV with a display and speakers in 2014 or later, the analyst said in a research note released today.

Why no Apple TV sooner than 2014? Moskowitz doesn't think the company would turn enough of a profit in the market as it currently stands.

"We believe that the economics of the TV industry are strained, despite there being suitable offerings from the likes of Sony, Sharp, and Samsung," the analyst said. "Overall, we would be surprised to see Apple enter a new market unless the value proposition could support double-digit operating margins. In TVs, that bogey is rather elusive, in our view."

Further, for customers to shell out money for a pricey Apple TV, the typical user interface would have to be redesigned, TV programs and digital content would need to be better integrated, and voice and gesture controls would have to be part of the package.

"Until such time, we are skeptical that end customers would be willing to pay the Apple premium for a TV," Moskowitz added. "Despite our current skepticism, we think that if any company can radically alter the TV landscape, it is Apple."

So, what might Apple focus on next?

The company could finally dive into the world of mobile payments, aka near-field communications.

Moskowitz believes Apple may unveil a mobile payment system, which J.P. Morgan has dubbed "iPay." Such a system would tap into NFC-enabled smartphones and tablets to let Apple users pay for goods and services on the go.

So far, the necessary NFC hardware has popped up in Android phones and is slated for a variety of other devices. Apple has been typically mum about whether it might adopt the mobile payments technology, but reports have suggested the next iPhone could include NFC. Apple has filed a patent application that would let iTunes users send purchases as gifts through NFCor e-mail, according to Patently Apple.

 source of CNET

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Smart Watches With The Application of The Pebble

The Pebble smartwatch is the hottest thing going...that no one can get their hands on yet. The "e-paper watch for iPhone and Android" won't even be available in prototype form until August, but already it's landed its first partner -- the fitness tracking app RunKeeper.

According to a post on the RunKeeper blog, the app's users had been clamoring for Pebble support, so when RunKeepers creators were approached about a partnership, they jumped at the chance:

With Pebble integration, you won't ever have to pull the phone out of your pocket or armband -- you can just see and do everything you need right from your watch (which connects with the phone via bluetooth).

Pebble has become a phenomenon in recent weeks; its Kickstarter project has raised more than $8 million in just 15 days, shattering the previous fundraising record for the crowdfunding platform. Pebble's campaign is only halfway through and the project's momentum seems to be accelerating, even before the first watch ships. Pebble had set an initial goal of raising $100,000 in seed money -- an amount it exceeded in the first few hours the project was live.

Donors to the Pebble Kickstarter project are essentially pre-ordering the watch; so far more than 50,000 people have pledged the minimum of $115 or more to get at least one watch in return. A few hundred backers have gone so far as to pledge enough to get mini-distributors' kits in return.

Pebble promises that its watch will connect to iOS or Android devices via Bluetooth, while also running certain apps on its own platform. RunKeeper is the first third-party app to sign on. Can an e-ink version of Angry Birds be far behind?

source of CNET

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HTC One X Challenge the iPhone 5

The HTC One X is living proof that big processors and LTE don't pair up easily in phones. This may offer a lesson in what to expect in the upcomingiPhone.

Qualcomm has cornered the market -- at the moment -- for putting LTE functionality and the processor on one piece of silicon. Thus, we have the HTC One X (and reportedly the Verizon Galaxy s3) coming to Verizon with dual-core and LTE -- not quad-core as some had hoped.

And we may be seeing a pattern: the same phone (e.g., the HTC One X) being announced in Europewith quad-core, then announced in the U.S. with dual-core.

What does this mean for Apple? Well, the current A5X chip in the third-generation iPad probably wouldn't find a very happy home in the next iPhone if it's packing LTE. The quad-core A5X is relatively big and uses lagging-edge Samsung manufacturing technology (which is one of the reasons it's big).

Of course, things will improve if Apple is able to tap Samsung's more-advanced 32-nanometer manufacturing tech. But will that be enough to package LTE and, let's say, a more demanding A6 or A5X chip into the next iPhone? Remember, fitting quad-core (in the case of the A5X, quad-core graphics) into an iPad is not the same as shoehorning it into a smaller iPhone.

The problem is that Apple uses the same chip ecosystem as everyone else. And it's not immune to the same manufacturing challenges that more seasoned chip companies like Nvidia, Texas Instruments, and Qualcomm face.

"You have to compromise on the processor in the U.S. to get LTE right now. And I do think the Qualcomm S4 is a compromised processor versus a quad-core Tegra," said Patrick Moorhead, president and principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy.

"If you use a large-screen phone as a small tablet there can be a [performance] penalty," he said, referring to the dual-core Qualcomm S4.

That said, the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 "Krait" system-on-a-chip in the One X isn't exactly slow. "[It] is easily the fastest or among the fastest on the market today. Android feels very smooth and snappy on the AT&T One X. Applications load quickly, as do web pages," saidAnandtech.

And rest assured that the solution Apple comes up with for the next iPhone likely won't be wanting in performance. But it will be interesting to see how Apple gets there.

source of : Cnet

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