Showing posts with label may. Show all posts
Showing posts with label may. Show all posts
Friday, May 22, 2015
Apple Reportedly Launching Larger iPad in October 2014 Larger iPhone in May 2014
Apples large-size tablet will be manufactured by Quanta Computer, and was originally expected to adopt either 12.9- or 13.3-inch panels, with recent rumors indicating that 12.9-inch has a better chance to be picked, the sources noted.
The report also states that Apple is planning to release a larger size iPhone in May 2014, using a 20nm processor manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). Reports of a next-generation iPhone featuring a larger screen have surfaced occasionally throughout the past year, while the claim of an A8 processor made by TSMC is follows a report in June stating that the company had struck a three-year deal with Apple to produce A-series chips starting in 2014.
However, a May 2014 release date for the next iPhone would be somewhat of a surprising move by Apple, considering that the most recent reports have stated that the larger-screened iPhone will debut in late 2014. A release then would be in line with the October 2011 launch of the iPhone 4s, the September 2012 launch of the iPhone 5, and the September 2013 launch of the iPhone 5s and 5c.
A report last month from The Korea Times indicated that production of a 12.9-inch Retina Display to be used in a next-generation iPad was already underway at an Apple supplier in Korea, with a target date of early 2014. The larger tablet is also said to carry an improved display nearing ultra high-definition (UHD) quality, which would be significantly bigger and contain more pixels than Apples current 9.7-inch iPad Air.
However, a May 2014 release date for the next iPhone would be somewhat of a surprising move by Apple, considering that the most recent reports have stated that the larger-screened iPhone will debut in late 2014. A release then would be in line with the October 2011 launch of the iPhone 4s, the September 2012 launch of the iPhone 5, and the September 2013 launch of the iPhone 5s and 5c.
A report last month from The Korea Times indicated that production of a 12.9-inch Retina Display to be used in a next-generation iPad was already underway at an Apple supplier in Korea, with a target date of early 2014. The larger tablet is also said to carry an improved display nearing ultra high-definition (UHD) quality, which would be significantly bigger and contain more pixels than Apples current 9.7-inch iPad Air.
Data source: via MacRumors (By Richard Padilla)
Saturday, April 4, 2015
Apple won’t be shutting down Beats Music may alter the brand in future
There was news recently of Apple shutting down the Beats Music streaming service shortly after it was acquired. One would assume Apple might want to do that since Beats Music competed against Apple’s own iTunes, and was also available on Android.
That doesn’t seem to be the case, however. According to Re/code, who spoke with Apple PR and its sources, Apple isn’t shutting down Beats Music any time soon. However, the Beats Music brand might change over time.This means the Beats Music name could likely go away in future and the service might just get rebranded as iTunes streaming service. But as of now and the foreseeable future, the service will continue to operate, despite the fact that it’s not enormously popular.
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Google May Launch 2 Nexus Smartphones This Year Report
While the wild rumours around the Halloween (October 31) release for Nexus are not yet confirmed, another report by Phonearena suggests that Google might release two Nexus devices this year, instead of one. Wed like to remind readers that most recent speculation has revolved around Motorola being the manufacturer of the next Nexus smartphone, with initial reports providing the codename Shamu.
The report is based on recent speculation that Motorola is currently testing 2 Moto S handsets - a 5.2-inch and a 5.9-inch model - that are almost the same device with slightly different software and maybe different cameras. Motorola, which was reported to be aiming to launch 8 new smartphones before Christmas, was also said to be waiting for the publics reaction to the anticipated 5.2-inch Moto X+1 before deciding which variant of the Moto S to release.
The Phonearena report speculates Google will first release a 5.9-inch Nexus Xsmartphone as already rumoured, and then depending on if Motorola releases a 5.9-inch Moto S (a decision thats supposedly based on Moto X+1 adoption), will use or repurpose the already-tested 5.2-inch Moto S devices as the second Nexus smartphone. Notably, Phonearena has not speculated about the name of the smaller Nexus.
The website goes on to say that nothing has been confirmed, and that Google may very well release "two Nexus smartphones and the new Nexus 8.9 tablet" simultaneously at Halloween.
The two alleged 5.9-inch and 5.2-inch display Nexus X devices have been spotted on different listings before. On Best Buy the alleged Motorola Nexus X XT1100 device waslisted with a 5.9-inch Quad-HD (1440x2560 pixels) display and a 2.7GHz quad-core processor, along with Android LMP operating system. The listing had noted that the smartphones two-year contracted price would be a rather steep (for a Nexus smartphone) $499.99 (approximately Rs. 30,000) on Sprint wireless carrier.
(Also see: Nexus 5 Review | Pictures)
The alleged Nexus X device was also listed on AnTuTu website as Google Shamu, this time with a 5.2-inch Quad-HD (1440x2560 pixels) display, a quad-core 2.7GHz (precisely 2649MHz) Snapdragon 805 processor (APQ8084), Adreno 420 GPU, and 3GB of RAM. The primary rear camera was suggested to be a 13-megapixel camera, while there will be a 2.1-megapixel front camera also onboard. The device was also listed to run Android L.
Of course, until Google or Motorola confirm any of the above, we remind readers to take such leaks and speculation with a pinch of salt.
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Apple patent may track weightlifting progress with rumored iWatch
Apple is going all out when it comes to health and fitness. After hiring several healthcare professionals, the company launched Healthkit with iOS 8 at WWDC to help users keep track of all their fitness data.
Even though Apple hasn’t released the much-rumored iWatch yet, it is hard at work developing technology that will work hand-in-hand with a smartwatch. One new patent hints that Apple plans to track your weightlifting progress using a series of sensors; the data would then be transmitted to other mobile devices, including a smartwatch.
According to AppleInsider, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office approved the patent on Tuesday. The document describes a small device with several sensors onboard that you could attach to weightlifting or gym equipment, and thus track your reps. The gadget would feature accelerometers, processors, and its own small display. Using the information gleaned from the sensors, the gadget would then tell you how many reps you did, the quality of your performance, and your overall progress from day to day. In some descriptions, the device is mentioned as a bar clamp or other type of small gym hardware.
This standalone gadget would also have the capability to send your weightlifting data to other mobile devices, including smartphones or smartwatches, which means it should work in concert with the next iPhone and supposed iWatch. If Apple does indeed follow through on the promise of this patent and create the device, it would be a new specialty item for the company, and the first of its kind to target fitness fanatics. The addition of several new fitness tracking devices would broaden Apple’s device portfolio and give Healthkit a nice, big pool of data to pull from when estimating your daily health and fitness values.
At this point, the iWatch seems like a guarantee – it’s really only a matter of when it will debut. When it comes to other devices like the one in this patent, an imminent release seems less likely.
Read more »
Even though Apple hasn’t released the much-rumored iWatch yet, it is hard at work developing technology that will work hand-in-hand with a smartwatch. One new patent hints that Apple plans to track your weightlifting progress using a series of sensors; the data would then be transmitted to other mobile devices, including a smartwatch.
According to AppleInsider, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office approved the patent on Tuesday. The document describes a small device with several sensors onboard that you could attach to weightlifting or gym equipment, and thus track your reps. The gadget would feature accelerometers, processors, and its own small display. Using the information gleaned from the sensors, the gadget would then tell you how many reps you did, the quality of your performance, and your overall progress from day to day. In some descriptions, the device is mentioned as a bar clamp or other type of small gym hardware.
This standalone gadget would also have the capability to send your weightlifting data to other mobile devices, including smartphones or smartwatches, which means it should work in concert with the next iPhone and supposed iWatch. If Apple does indeed follow through on the promise of this patent and create the device, it would be a new specialty item for the company, and the first of its kind to target fitness fanatics. The addition of several new fitness tracking devices would broaden Apple’s device portfolio and give Healthkit a nice, big pool of data to pull from when estimating your daily health and fitness values.
At this point, the iWatch seems like a guarantee – it’s really only a matter of when it will debut. When it comes to other devices like the one in this patent, an imminent release seems less likely.
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Apple Watch May Give a Boost to Wireless Charging
Apple Incs embrace of wireless charging for its new Watch may be a defining moment for a technology thats languished for years amid competing standards and consumer confusion.
Supporters of wireless charging see a future where people no longer worry about topping up their gadgets; are free from tangled power cords and low-battery warnings and where terms like "outlet" and "plugged in" will be as anachronistic as "dialling" a phone.
(Also see: Apple Watch Unveiled as Comprehensive Health and Fitness Companion)
Users seem to like the idea too: in a recent survey by technology consultancy IHS, 83 percent were interested in wireless charging; in China, the figure was 91 percent.
But, while the technology is largely there to do this, competition to set a global standard is getting in the way of delivery. Its reminiscent of the Betamax vs VHS videotape wars of three or four decades ago, or the more recent battle between Blu-ray and HD DVD for supremacy in high definition optical disc format.
For now, there are three alliances, but not much to show. Last year, fewer than 20 million phones were shipped with wireless charging built in, according to IHS - less than 2 percent of the billion smartphones shipped around the world.
"There are a lot of bees around the hive," said Omri Lachman, CEO of Humavox, an Israeli start-up with its own wireless charging technology. "Up to now weve not seen a mass aggregation of wireless charging in devices. Theres a good reason for that: three standards for the same form of technology."
While users clearly see wireless charging - where mobiles, tablets and other devices are charged by laying them on a mat or other surface - as a natural next step, some industry leaders have cautioned that having to still plug in the charging device may prove fiddly for some. "Having to create another device you have to plug into the wall is actually, for most situations, more complicated," Apple senior vice president Phil Schiller said just two years ago.
(Also see: Everything You Need to Know About the Apple Watch)
Beam me up
Maybe, but others say the wireless vision remains compelling. "Look at Star Trek," says Geoff Gordon of the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP), one of the three competing alliances. "They never talk about their batteries dying on any of their devices. If you look far enough into the future were looking at a world where you dont even think about power."
But to catch on, wireless charging has to work seamlessly. That means a user can easily find a wireless charging zone and not have to worry whether their device is compatible, or properly connected or even secure from theft.
Intel Corp, a member of A4WP along with the likes of Samsung Electronics andQualcomm Inc, says wireless charging is a lot like wireless computing. Just as the world has largely ditched network cables for wireless hotspots, so we will leave chargers and cables at home as well never be far from a charging pad.
But getting there, the chipmaker argues, will require someone with its clout to set the global standard for wireless technology. "History will tell you its what it takes to get mainstream lift-off," said Intels Leighton Phillips.
Among the competing standards, A4WP uses something called magnetic resonance, while the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) - which includes tech names such as Nokia and Philips - champions its Qi standard using inductive charging, a method which is also used by the Power Matters Alliance (PMA).
They are all variations of the same technology: a coil inside the device picks up an electrical charge from a transmitter coil in the charging surface. Apple, which sits outside the alliances, appears to have used a version of induction charging in its Watch, further muddying the waters.
$8.5 billion market
Sparring in a battle for leadership in a market that IHS reckons will be worth $8.5 billion by 2018 - as the technology is incorporated into devices, furniture, cars, restaurants - the alliances fling accusations at one another.
The WPC accuses its rivals of trying "to benefit from intellectual property they think they own," in the words of WPC vice president for market development John Perzow, instead of "what benefits the consumer."
The WPCs Qi brand is the only one to have made any real headway on the market, doubling its annual shipments to 20 million devices last year. The PMA has a couple of products out, while the first devices carrying the A4WPs Rezence brand are expected to be shipped this year.
A4WP supporters say the WPC has had its chance and blown it. "Very quickly the momentum behind A4WP will dwarf anything that Qi has accomplished," says Alex Gruzen, CEO of U.S.-based WiTricity.
The PMA, meanwhile, has focused less on the hardware and more on the application programming interface that would allow others to connect to it. Its main backers are companies like Procter & Gamble and Starbucks Corp , which promises to roll out charging surfaces in its U.S. outlets by the end of next year.
The groups all agree on one thing: squabbling over standards has kept smartphone manufacturers, furniture designers and car makers from building wireless charging technology into their products as much as they might if the technologys future were clearer.
The Jeep Cherokee , for example, includes a wireless charging pad, and Cadillac has announced plans to add wireless charging in 2015 models - but drivers will only be able to use the feature if they have compatible phones.
There are signs of progress: the A4WP and the PMA in February agreed to ensure their two standards work well together.
But for wireless charging to take off, Intel says, it not only needs compatible devices and charging mats in homes and offices, but also a broader public infrastructure - coffee shops, hotels, malls.
"The vision we have and that Starbucks has is that it becomes part of the slipstream of your life," says Powermat president Daniel Schreiber. "How do we make power come to you rather than have you think about power?"
"Nothings happening"
There are other issues. One is that the technology still needs to be easier to use. In some cases, a device cant just be dropped anyhow onto a charging pad - it needs to be aligned or it either wont charge, or will charge more slowly.
Also, fitting charging coils into devices isnt as simple as it may sound. "Coils have a physical limitation that wont change with size," said Humavoxs Lachman. "A lot of people have been trying to fit that into the device."
"All the companies are working around the clock to figure out how to pull in that technology and make sure it works," says Pavan Pudipeddi, CEO of PowerSquare, which in July launched a charging pad using Qi which allows users to recharge multiple devices. Pudipeddi welcomed the launch of Apples Watch with wireless charging. "Others will feed off that and its good for the technology in general," he said.
Meanwhile, the dithering over an industry standard is opening up opportunities for others.
Some companies like uBeam, for example, use ultrasound, converting electricity to sound and sending that over the air as ultrasound. Others, like Humavox, use radio frequencies, where the coils are replaced by antennae.
"Our decision to build this technology from the ground up is proving the right choice," said Lachman. "Wireless charging has been out there for five years and nothings happening."
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