Mobile Devices - Page 179

Apple's new iPad is all that is really talked about these days, I personally think that an alien ship could land tomorrow in the middle of the White House lawn, or an earth-splitting 10-magnitude earthquake could happen on March 21/22 and it just wouldn't matter: because the new iPad is here.

After that's all said and done, one of the first video unboxings of the new iPad is here, where some folks over in Vietnam have claimed they have their hands on their retail version of the new iPad and have video evidence to prove so. The video above is your proof, and it looks great.

Not much can be understood, as I only speak English, but I have eyes and my eyes were greeted with the new iPad, and that's all I have to see. The video is just a tease of the flood of reviews, unboxings, and thoughts on the new iPad over the next week or so.

Apple announced the new iPad just last week, and people haven't been able to drag their jaws from the floor yet. Once they did, they began the feverish clicking of their mice or tapping of their fingers to pre-order the latest and greatest tablet from Apple.

The original release was slated for March 16th, but Apple have experienced (in the words of Obama, as he uses the word about 3 times every second) unprecedented demand for the iPad 3, and have been forced to now push back delivery times for online buyers. Originally, those who pre-ordered were to expect delivery of their brand new 2048x1536-sporting iPad on launch day, as Apple had set aside stock for pre-order customers.

But they have sold out of this pre-order stock, as demand is "off the charts" according to an Apple spokesperson. For those who ordered online and are based in the US, you'll have to wait until March 19th for delivery, with a two device limit on orders. The lucky people who pre-ordered before stock ran out will receive them on launch day.

The $25 wonderchild that is the Raspberry Pi has been delayed, reportedly due to a manufacturing problem. The company behind the Raspberry Pi have posted on their website saying that they're found a problem in their networking hardware.

The first batch of Raspberry Pi devices have been delayed, with the company citing a hardware parts substitution that was made in the factory by accident. What exactly happened was that the specific jacks with integrated magnetics in the BOM and schematics, the factory had actually soldered in non-magnetic jacks.

Without the magnetics, it means no network connection. They've known about this for a few days now, and haven't been able to say anything about it until they had done proper testing, which they have done now and should start shipping the fixed parts within the next week or two.

If the current estimated BOM (bill of materials) from UBM TechInsights is anything to go by, we're looking at Apple cutting their profit margins ever-so-slightly for the new iPad when compared to the previous two models.

UBM TechInsights estimate shows a BOM of $310 for the new iPad - the 4G LTE 16GB model. The retail pricing on this model is $629, which gives Apple a very nice margin of 51-percent. Compared to previous models, this is down 6-percent or so.

The firm does note that a proper teardown is required to get their numbers more refined, but preliminary estimates typically match more accurate teardowns to within just a few dollars. More precise number should be available by the end of the week when the new iPad ships.

Corsair have just released a new range of SSD series today, the Accelerator. The drive is aimed for caching purposes, and even comes bundled with NVELO's DataPlex caching software. Corsair had shown off the Accelerator series at CES 2012, but the drive has not been made available until today.

The Corsair Accelerator series is available in three sizes: 30, 45 and 60GB. The drive doesn't need to be super-large, as its only used as a cache drive, so it only stores the most frequently accessed data. Caching is aimed toward average users as utilizing two separate drives can be a bit hard for the novice user, whereas advanced users want total control over their data.

Keeping the price of the drive down is important, as it will attract more buyers, especially those who don't yet own an SSD drive. The new drive sports a SATA 3Gbps interface, which Corsair chose to keep the price down. The drives come in two different specs, with two different controllers between the 30GB (SandForce SF-2141 controller) and the 45/60GB drives with the SandForce SF-2181 controllers.

Apple aren't wasting any time with this event and not boring us with facts and figures. We already saw that the new iPad will get Retina Display, but it will also get 4G LTE high-speed internet access.

For comparison, the iPad 2 has 3.1Mbps on EV-DO and 7.2 Mbps on HSPA and the new iPad will get 21Mbps on HSPA+, 42Mbps on HSDPA and a massive 73Mbps on supported LTE networks. According to Engadget, Verizon, Rogers, Bell, Telus and AT&T will be the LTE partners.

In addition the new iPad can be a personal hotspot like the iPhone 4, but it will still depend on if your carrier supports it or not.

VentureBeat has heard the rumbles from reliable sources, and are reporting that the next iPad to hit, won't be called the iPad 3, and will actually be dubbed 'iPad HD'. iPad HD would make sense, as the new iPad sports a high-resolution Retina Display with a 2048x1536-pixel display.

Right now, the current iPads feature 1024x768-pixel screens, so the iPad HD will blow them out of the water. Apple aren't the first ones to hit a homerun in terms of screen resolution for a tablet, but are the first ones to go over 1080p. ASUS' Transformer Prime features a 1080p display, but of course, in the usual Apple tradition, we should expect the high-res display to be a world first somehow. Hopefully we see iTunes HD debut at the same time, or else it will [mostly] be for nothing.

The iPad HD name would also make more sense, considering it will most likely ship with a suped up version of Apple's dual-core A5 processor, dubbed A5X. No quad-core A6 for you, iPad fans! Whilst ASUS and other companies are releasing quad-core tablets, Apple will behind the eight ball this time with a slower dual-core. Yes, most apps and games don't use it, but bragging rights are bragging rights at the end of the day. Other companies will be able to use this against Apple when pushing their products.

We've had a few rumors and posts about Samsung's upcoming sure-to-kick-ass Galaxy S III smartphone, but the closer we get to an actual in-our-hands unit, the more rumors float out from the underbelly of the Internet itself.

Android Authority is now reporting from sources that this time, aren't industry, up-channel, down-channel, up-stream, down-stream, but the advertising company that Samsung has reportedly employed for its Galaxy S III campaign for the summer Olympics in the UK. The UK is also said to be one of the first markets to receive the GSIII and is apparently where the first advertising campaign will be. There are also signs that the same scenario that happened last year, could happen again, where Americans have to wait a few months before receiving the phone ahead of the UK launch.

If the next-gen iPhone does indeed launch in the summer, Samsung only have a small window to gain a head start for this handset, in order to sell as many units as possible. If the phone is indeed a quad-core, Full HD-sporting phone, with a near edge-to-edge display, it could launch at the same time as the iPhone 5 and still get some seriously huge numbers.

ASUS have unveiled their superhero-like Padfone at Mobile World Congress, and what a phone it is. ASUS' Padfone sports a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED qHD display, Snapdragon's new dual-core S4 processor, an Adreno 225 GPU, Android 4.x Ice Cream Sandwich, an 8-megapixel rear-facing with an LED flash and f/2.2, autofocusing lens.

This is all backed up with between 16 and 64GB of internal storage which can be expanded through microSD cards, Bluetooth 4.0, HDMI, GPS, A-GPS, a gyroscope, 1,520mAh battery and a compass. Connectivity-wise we're looking at WCDMA (900, 2100MHz), EDGE/GPRS/GSM (850, 1800 and 1900MHz) and HSPA+, with theoretical download speeds of 42Mbps.

This all slides into a beautiful 9.2mm frame, and that's not all. Apart from a set of steak knives, it does everything, including the near-exclusive way of sliding into a tablet-like device. This will let you use the device like a 10.1-inch tablet, and also extends the battery by, oh, just 9-fold. Yes, 9-fold. ASUS will also be selling a keyboard dock, so you can slide that 10-inch phone-tablet into an actual physical keyboard. In the shot above, you can also see a stylus. Say what!

The smartphone industry is one of the toughest to stand out in, and HTC hope to stand proud with their latest and greatest handset, One. HTC CEO Peter Chou, said in an event in Barcelona:

Chou took a minute to note that taking photos is the second thing that people do on their phones, after making phone calls, and that HTC One will be good enough to replace your standard camera. He continued "it is the one phone you will need, it is the one camera you will need".

We teased of this last week, but ahead of Mobile World Congress next week, Samsung have just announced two new handsets to their mid- and low-end lineup: Galaxy Ace 2 and Galaxy Mini 2. Both of the original phones were among Samsung's most successful phones in 2011, and now each phone gets an increased chunk in power.

First up we have the Galaxy Ace 2, which is a mid-range Android phone sporting a 3.8-inch 800x480-pixel PLS display, which should be powered by an unspecified 800MHz dual-core processor. 4GB of internal storage is to be had, as well as expansion through a microSD slot, it also has 768MB of RAM. Filling the phone out is a 5-megapixel rear-facing snapper, as well as a front-facing 0.3-megapixel camera, a 1500mAh battery, and weighs in at just 122 grams and is 10.5mm thin. Optional NFC support will be made available and it will sport Android 2.3 Gingerbread at launch, and possibly receiving Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich later this year.

The low-end lineup gets a refreshment course found in the form of the Galaxy Mini 2, which sports a 3.27-inch 480x320-pixel display. Processor-wise, we have an 800MHz chip, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage with expansion available through MicroSD, a 3-megapixel rear-facing camera, and will have two models: one with, and one without NFC support. The NFC-enabled Mini 2 will be 0.3mm thicker, and 1.5 grams heavier. Filling out the specs we have a 1300mAh battery, and Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

Even though Samsung and Apple are duking it out in courts across the world when it comes to patents, it is still business as usual when it comes to contracts for displays. Samsung-contracted Apple iPad 3 displays have reportedly been caught on camera, with some shots below as proof.

The shots are from a WePost.me forum contribution, where it shows photos from contractor Radiant Opto-Electronics' plant as it shipped a bunch of new screens. The plant is located in Wujiang, near Shanghai, with the displays labeled and boxed as Samsung displays, and are reportedly shipped to Samsung in Korea, before being sent to Apple.

As usual, blurrycam shots are the only ones available, as security is air-tight. The iPad 3 displays may have been developed by Sharp, but the construction and manufacturing of the displays are being outsourced to Korean-based companies who are able to cope with the type of volume that Apple requires. Samsung and LG both outsource, although they have domestic production and usually try to create an image of most of their factory output being local.

Mobile World Congress 2012 is just over a week away, and Qualcomm are out of the gate with a tease of their Snapdragon S4 SoC which is the world's first mobile processor built on the 28nm process, as well as the first to integrate 4G LTE which is made possible as Qualcomm's chips are custom-designed from the ground up using an ARM instruction set.

Some details on the smaller things found in the S4 have now been revealed by the company, such as the S4's camera, more specifically, the Image Signal Processor (ISP). The ISP sports advanced features that will allow any smartphone or tablet powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 to double as a high-end digital camera.

With the S4 chip, any device can shoot up to 20-megapixel stills, or 1080p @ 30fps video capture. Up to three cameras could be placed on the device, with the third capable of taking 3D shots. The S4's ISP also includes Qualcomm's proprietary 3A camera technology (Autofocus, Auto Exposure and Auto White Balance), which enables practical camera applications such as blink detection, smile degree, and gaze estimation.

Samsung have avoided more lawsuits when it comes to their Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus N, where it has now launched in Germany on Tuesday, albeit, quietly. The changes in the new tablet are the telltale top and bottom borders that German courts have allowed for release, as they aren't "copying" Apple's "technology".

The new Tab 7.0 Plus N 16GB Wi-Fi version is quite expensive, rolling in at 499 euros ($656) with tax, as well as it's 3G brother at 569 euros ($748) with HSPA+ inside. The new 7-inch Galaxy Tab's are the first Samsung 7-inch tablets to arrive in Germany since the original Galaxy Tab launched nearly 18 months ago now. Samsung did unveil the Galaxy Tab 7.7 in Germany, but were forced to rip it away from the IFA floor because Apple objected to the similarity before it had even had time to hit retail shelves.

Samsung's designs sold everywhere else, bar Germany, until final verdicts in relevant trials. Apple successfully argued that the all-black, all-flat front design was too close to design rights for the iPad, and needed to change.

We reported nearly a week ago now that the iPad 3 would launch in the first week of March, but there are some more details leaking out now, that we could expect much, much more from Apple. It seems that the new iPad 3 will sport the high-res 2048x1536 Retina Display, which exceeds the 1080p resolution that high-def content comes in.

Right now, Apple's iTunes Store has a limit of 720p for their video content, and 720p is also the maximum resolution that the current-generation Apple TV supports. Apple have reportedly been asking movie studios to start submitting 1080p content to the iTunes Store, and with the new iPad 3 sporting a higher-than-1080p display, we could finally see a move into years-old technology from Apple.

This means we could, or could not see, 1080p content on the iTunes Store, as well as a 1080p-capable Apple TV. Whatever it is, you can bet your bottom dollar that 1080p from Apple will be pushed as the Second Coming of Jesus Christ himself, and that they'll make the normal users feel like they simply can't get 1080p anywhere else. I'll just be happy that Apple are finally entering into the 1080p era.

We've reported a few times now that the upcoming next-generation Apple iPad 3 would launch in "Q1 2012", or "early-March" or "the first week of March". It now seems that we could expect an announcement of the iPad 3 on March 7th, 2012, to be specific. It was also reported that it would sport a quad-core chip, and LTE support.

This new information comes from iMore, where they've reported that Apple will hold their iPad 3 announcement on March 7th. iMore also reports that the iPad 3 will feature the 2048x1536 Retina Display, as well as the quad-core A6 processor and possibly, 4G LTE support. They cite sources "who have been reliable in the past".

iMore seems certain of LTE support in the iPad 3:

It seems as though Samsung have just announced their first line-up of tablets for 2012, by announcing the Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0). Samsung have said that this is the perfect "personal on-the-go device" and will be made in both 3G and Wi-Fi variants. The Galaxy Tab 2 will launch in the U.K. and then globally in March.

JK Shin, President of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics has said:

Here we go, again. Apple don't even let the dust settle on previous lawsuits against not only Samsung, but others, and today is no different. Apple are bringing a motion for preliminary injunction against Samsung's Ice Cream Sandwich-powered Galaxy Nexus smartphone in the U.S.

The latest motion is based on a handful of very powerful patents, which FOSS Patents have dubbed "the patent equivalent of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse". Quite the title considering it's 2012 and all. FOSS' breakdown:

Really, Apple? Are you that scared of the Galaxy Nexus and Samsung's future, most likely, quad-core phones? That scared that all you can do is patent slap the competition instead of releasing actual ground-breaking new devices instead of "S" variants of 18-month-old smartphones? Release something magical, revolutionary, and I hope with all the power in the universe that the people you've pissed off with patents come back to haunt you.

Everyone is going to want to combat the upcoming slaughterhouse that will be the iPad 3, but Amazon has enjoyed great success with their Kindle Fire tablet. Pacific Crest analyst Char Bartley said this week that:

Amazon have already said they're making more Kindle Fire's to meet demand, as well as reports of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich rocking on the Fire. It seems that the fire the Kindle has burning, just can't be put out.

We started the day off with a RumorTT about the iPod Nano, and toward the end of the news posting day, another RumorTT is here, about the iPad 3. I did originally say that it was weird posting a RumorTT piece about an Apple product that wasn't an iPhone or iPad... but mere hours later, here we are.

A "source claiming to be in possession of an iPad 3 prototype" provided BGR with images that contained juicy details on Apple's next-generation iPad. From the above photo, which contains the output from an iPad 3 using a development and debug tool called iBoot, we can see tonnes of information on the iPad 3.

First, J1 and J2 (iPad3,1 and iPad3,2) are two different models, not different devices. A single iPad 3, available in Wi-Fi-only and another that sports GSM/CDMA/LTE for all carriers. Also spotted in the photo is the first news of the chip being slapped into the iPad 3: an A6 processor with the model number S5L8945X. To compare this to previous Apple chips, the Apple A4 model was S5L8930X and the Apple A5 is the S5L8940X.