Budget iPhone 5C

The budget iPhone is likely to launch as a mid-range, plastic-bodied alternative to the upcoming iPhone 5S. If the rumours are true, its launch date could be rapidly approaching. 

Although Apple’s Senior Vice President, Phillip Schiller, rebuffed claims of a cheaper iPhone model, it hasn’t stopped the rumour mill from generating a lot of gossip about a budget iPhone launch, complete with pictures of the plastic body.

“Despite the popular of cheap smartphones, this will never be the future of Apple’s products,” said Schiller. “Every product that Apple creates, we consider using only the best technology available.”

To whet your appetite pre-launch, we’ve rounded up everything we know so far about the heavily rumoured budget iPhone.

Budget iPhone Release Date

The latest rumour suggests the budget iPhone could be with us on September 18, touching down with the iPhone 5S. According to the source cited by CurrentEditorials, the mid-range smartphone will be a refresh of the existing iPhone to complement the iPhone 5S, but with a new plastic case and a reduced price tag.

Previously tipped to make an appearance in September, the leak was the first to give a specific launch date for the budget iPhone. The rumour also suggested that the launch would be coupled with a September 27 release date.

These launch and release dates sit well with previous iPhone release dates, in that the iPhone 5 was launched on September 12 2012 and then released to the public on September 21 just over a week later.

Budget iPhone Design

The budget iPhone will target the mid-range market currently dominated by Android smartphones, attempting to broaden Apple’s user base. It will do this by using a plastic case rather than the aluminium of the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5S.

Taking design cues from the 5th generation iPod touch and iPhone 3GS, the body of the budget iPhone is said to be a little wider and thicker than the iPhone 5 due to its curvy plastic body.

According to a hands-on video posted on YouTube where the budget iPhone is compared to the iPhone 3GS and iPod touch, the cheaper model has a unibody plastic casing that is made from polycarbonate.

The volume buttons, mute slider, SIM tray and hold buttons will apparently all be made from the same plastic material to keep a cohesive design and reduce costs.

From the leaked rear cases for the budget iPhone it is evident that the cheaper model will have the new lightning connector and a headphone jack on the bottom of the device. It will also have similar speaker grills to the iPod touch 5th generation and the iPhone 5.

The plastic body will reportedly be available in six to eight colours, with five of those already popping up in leaked images – white, yellow, red, green and blue.

Budget iPhone Specs

Potentially launching as one of the first devices running the new iOS 7 due this autumn, the latest budget iPhone rumours suggest that the device will be a reinvented iPhone 5.

“Instead of adding another iPhone to its line-up, Apple has decided to refresh the soon-to-be mid-range iPhone 5 with a selection of colours and a reduced build cost, thanks to some well-placed plastic,” said the source.

This means the budget iPhone could have the same 4-inch 1136 x 640p resolution screen with a 326ppi image density. This could be powered by an Apple A6 processor with the option of 16GB, 32GB and 64GB internal storage options. However, Apple has a history of restricting storage options in its lower-end phones.

On the rear there’s an 8-megapixel camera coupled with a 1.2-megapixel front-facing FaceTime camera.

However, originally the budget iPhone was rumoured to pack a bit of a spec downgrade to reflect the mid-range price, with one source even suggesting that the device could launch in two different price bands due to slightly varying innards.

Rumoured to be codenamed Zenvo and Zagato/Bertone, the two budget iPhone models may well have different processors to mark their differing price tags.

Zenvo is reportedly the cheaper of the two with a Samsung-made H5P dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM, 4G LTE and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity.

The dearer model, Zagato or Bertone, will have another Samsung-made processing chip, the H6P with the same 1GB of RAM and connectivity options.

Budget iPhone Price

Although widely accepted as a cheaper alternative to the iPhone 5S, there hasn’t been any news as to how much the budget iPhone will actually cost.

If you look at the prices of other recently released mid-range handsets from rival manufacturers like Samsung and HTC, you can probably expect the budget iPhone to be priced around £350. The HTC One Mini is £380, the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini is £350 and the Nokia Lumia 820 is £320 in comparison.

Budget iPhone Name

Of course, we don’t actually expect Apple to call their cheaper device the budget iPhone, but with no official name to go by as yet, this will have to do for now.

Other names that have been bandied about include the iPhone mini, following the naming scheme adopted by the 7.9-inch iPad mini, or the iPhone Lite.

In July, a picture of budget iPhone boxes emerged online, revealing the name iPhone 5C in a rather convincing Apple font.

Similar to the S added to the iPhone 3G, iPhone 4 and potentially the iPhone 5 as well, standing for “speed”, the iPhone 5C may represent the word colour, seeing as the smartphone is tipped to launch in a variety of colour options like the newest iPod Touch.

It may also relate to the mid-range pricepoint for the iPhone 5, with the C perhaps standing for “cost” or “cheap”. However, we highly doubt that Apple would want the word cheap associated with any of their products.

Budget iPhone Pictures

A huge number of budget iPhone pictures have leaked online, although so far all we’ve seen is the back panel of the device complete with the component chassis.

Check out the first snaps of the budget iPhone below.

Early Impressions

We’d like to think that Apple could release a viable mid-range option for its iPhone range, but until the specs sheet and pricing details are released, we’re not holding our breath.

Categories: 5c, apple, camera, design, display, hands on, india, iphone 5, iphone 5c, phones, profit, review, rumour, sales, smartphone, specs

Qualcomm Announces New Snapdragon 400 Chip (PR)

Qualcomm’s announced the new Snapdragon 400, a low-power processor aimed at mid-range smartphones and tablets.

Quaclomm detailed the 8926 Snapdragon 400 processor, a new quad-core chip with integrated multimode 3G/4G LTE. That’s in addition to support for TD-SCDMA, 42Mbps HSPA+ and dual SIMs. Rounding out the 8926′s list of features is QuickCharge 1.0, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, FM radio and compatibility with both Android and Windows Phone 8. The 8926 Snapdragon 400 processor is expected to be available starting in late 2013. You can expect it to launch late this year along with their new, and much more sleek, Reference Design tablet.

Additionally, the chip-maker also announced that it is working with Microsoft in order to bring Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processors to Windows RT 8.1 devices. The chips will support the new platform in addition to integrated multimode 3G/4G LTE modem. The CPU clocks at speeds of up to 2.2 GHz per core and also offer USB 3.0 and support for Windows RT 8.1 features and services. Later this year is when you should expect to see devices powered by the new chip and Microsoft Windows RT 8.1.

Categories: apple, blackberry, hands on, htc, india, ipad, iphone 5, iphone 5s, mini, news, nokia, phones, review, sales

iOS 7 Features Conceptualized

Apple’s upcoming iOS 7 unveil will be hugely important. With Scott Forstall no longer asserting his skeuomorphic ideals upon Apple’s ecosystem, Jony Ive has been put in charge of completely revamping the OSes look and feel. That’s a lot of pressure, and many onlookers will be expecting an entirely fresh—yet familiar—experience.

So far, we know iOS 7 will be flatter than previous iterations. That means less gradients and shading replaced by more functional, digital designs. Apple’s analog preference was charming—for awhile—but companies such as Google and Microsoft have proven that a flatter approach is much more flexible in the longterm. A total shift for iOS 7 isn’t in store, but more likely a cleaner, simpler, more minimal looking mobile OS than you’re used to staring at already—maybe something like these.

But aside from rumblings of deeper Vimeo and Flickr integration, what can we expect beyond a simple facelift? The flatter UI is an exciting prospect, but certainly not enough by itself to keep iOS on the same level as Android. Sure, Apple’s fanbase will still faithfully stick by iPhones and iPads even in the event of minor OS changes. But for many, the small nickel and dime additions aren’t satisfying enough.

Something bigger needs to happen.

There are many areas where Apple could improve iOS, and a lot of what we’ll cover have carried over from previous versions. Either Apple doesn’t think they’re valuable suggestions, or the company is completely ignoring customer complaints. Either way, we’re going to reiterate and rehash features we feel Apple should introduce in iOS 7. Simple stuff, stuff that wouldn’t alienate or confuse even the most illiterate tech user.

For a long time iOS was an impregnable force that competitors were trying to catch up with. But that armor is noticeably kinked, and vulnerabilities are revealing an OS that, for that most part, still looks and acts like it’s running on excitement left over from 2007. This year needs to be different.

Quick Settings

It would probably take an Apple engineer an hour to properly implement an easier way to access important phone settings. Put it in the pull down shade, or through a double or triple tap. Put it in a screen beyond Spotlight. Something.

The settings app itself is solid, and offers a nice centralized location for accessing and changing everything. But that ease and simplicity is often sacrificed for convenience. Instead of being able to very quickly turn on something like Airplane mode, or even adjust brightness, users are required go to the app, jump into a menu, and then make the adjustment. It’s not quick, nor is it very functional.

You could argue that settings aren’t toggled very often—maybe once or twice a week. But keeping important ones at the forefront, where you can toggle something at a moment’s notice, isn’t asking much. Frankly, the lack of a more elegant option makes iOS seem elementary almost to a fault. Navigating and getting around the OS is still dead simple, the top of its class. But even the most basic functions aren’t immediately available, which is an embarrassing stain in the Apple ecosystem.

In stock Jelly Bean, settings are available by clicking on a menu toggle in the pull down shade. It’s unobtrusive, and offers quick access you can change from anywhere on the phone—you don’t have to exit the app you’re in, jump into the settings app and then into more menus just to change something super simple. There are concepts and ideas out there for Apple to get inspiration from, and it needs to happen.

Improved iMessage

iMessage is great, but there’s plenty of room for improvement. We’d love improvements in group messaging, particularly by quickly adding a user to an existing chat or letting someone leave a group chat with ease.

Like FaceBook Chat Heads, we would love the ability to reply to a message from within any application. So maybe we could answer an iMessage while playing a game, or from within Safari, for example. It would prevent having to leave an application every single time we just want to provide a quick answer to a friend, and it could, again, make the entire operating system feel much more alive.

iMessage could also take a page out of the MessageMe playbook, which is an amazing third party chat application. You can easily send your location, sketches, previews of iTunes songs, audio clips and more. For now, iMessage allows you to send photos, but the platform has the power to enable so much more.

What about group FaceTime, too? iMessage should allow users to initiate a group FaceTime video chat, sort of like Hangouts, where those who want to participate in the group video call can quickly join in. It seems a bit strange that this isn’t already enabled, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see it added in the future.

Proprietary Google Now

Google has already introduced one of its biggest services to iOS, and it’s great. But it would be even better if Apple developed something of its own. Predictive intelligence is a huge market rife for the taking right now, and Apple already has an enormous userbase to reach with its own home-cooked service. Think of the marketing opportunities. Combine that with Siri and the personal assistant might actually become useful.

If Apple created something of its own, something deeply integrated with stuff like Calendar, Passbook, Weather, Mail and Maps, users on iOS could get info before they even actively ask for it. That’s exactly how it works on Android, and it’s an enormously convenient feature that makes a smartphone, well, smart. A Google Now-like feature won’t be a new concept in the mobile world, but that’s not the point. Google out Apple’d Apple with Google Now—the Cupertino company should swallow its pride and drum up its own solution.

We haven’t heard any reports that Apple is planning on introducing such a feature, and it’s unlikely the company will this generation, or even next. But it’s certainly something Tim Cook should consider. With Google Now only available for a minority of Android devices (but growing everyday), Apple could reach iPhone 5, iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 devices with its own service—not to mention the many iPod touch and iPads on the market. That’s a lot of data collecting.

One possible way Apple’s own predictive intelligence could work is if it takes over the real estate currently dedicated to Spotlight. Quick poll: how many of you actually use Spotlight? I do not, and never have. If you look at the mockup above, Spotlight would still be there, but the screen would be filled with information you could look at quickly, including weather, calendar appointments, Passbook information, traffic, etc. And you can see all that by simply swiping to the left from your home screen.

Better Notification Center

I rarely, if ever, rely on iOS’s Notification Center when using my iPhone. And it’s not because it doesn’t provide the information that I want. But a lot of times the amount of information coming in just becomes too overwhelming, and doing something like X’ing out of the notifications is a huge labor. Notification Center has become more about managing incoming notifications, really undermining the actual functionality.

Apple needs to introduce more granular control by letting users swipe away specific notifications—a perfect example of how Apple could handle this is how the Mailbox app handles email. Instead of getting rid of app notifications in bulk, it would be helpful to be able to swipe away certain ones by themselves. It would make for a cleaner experience, and give much more control back to the user.

If anything, it would be incredibly useful for users to be able to expand and minimize app notifications by clicking on that app’s header (where the small X button is). That would at least make the stream of email, texts, calls and everything else more manageable and easier to address. As it stands, Notification Center isn’t particularly elegant in its current iteration, but making even these minor changes would make it infinitely less frustrating.

One of the other things Apple should fix in Notification Center—and this one would rely on iCloud—is multiple device syncing. If I swipe away or respond to a notification on one device, it should be dismissed on all other devices. From a user perspective, notifications persisting even when it’s dealt with is enormously irritating—you’d think in this day and age Apple would have a solution by now.

Improved Camera App

Apple’s Camera app interface has always been simple, but it’s about time users were given more control. At the moment, the only flexibility the app offers is HDR, a Grid option for better framing and Panorama, which was only just added in iOS 6. Seriously, that’s it—about as bare bones as camera app experiences get. The camera has become one of the iPhone’s most widely used features, yet Apple continues to ignore additions that could make the experience—and results—even more coveted.

Take an app like Camera+ for example. Now I’m not suggesting Apple add built-in filters to its default camera app. But it would be nice if users were given the option to set the exposure and focus independently of each other. In Camera+, it’s super easy to lock the exposure and focus by tapping on the little plus button on the focus square. How hard would it be for Apple to implement something similar?

Beyond that, Camera+ has features like a handy Horizon Level, Live Exposure menu, Stabilizer, Timer and Burst Mode. Those simple additions can add a lot of value to the experience, especially if Apple plans on making the camera such a talked about feature on each successive iPhone. There are countless apps outside of the default Camera app, sure, but Apple’s tight control over iOS means the default is the only one you can launch from the lock screen.

I suppose the amount of third-party options lessens the need for Apple to introduce new features of its own, but that’s not the best excuse in the world for a company as big as Apple. When companies such as Nokia, Samsung and HTC are making the camera software a priority as much as the hardware, it becomes hard to forgive Apple for relying so much on outside developers.

Better Lock Screen

Save from being able to quickly launch the camera or change the background, Apple’s iOS lock screen is incredibly bland, and hasn’t changed much at all over the years. Apple should open it up, make it more flexible—right now, all that space is just being wasted. With a few simple additions, the entire experience can be completely changed for the better, giving users more information and control over what they want to see and launch without having to unlock their phone and then jump into a specific app.

Before we get too far into improving the lock screen, there are obvious privacy concerns when putting more information on a locked device—it’s difficult to get around that. Let’s suspend that for the sake of suggestions. It’s unlikely Apple will ever introduce anything that would compromise a user’s security, so I wouldn’t expect much to change when iOS 7 is unveiled next week. But even adding a simple weather widget would be nice, or getting at-a-glance calendar information.

Beyond making information more immediately available, users should be able to respond to an email or message right from the lock screen without having to completely jump into that app. In Notification Center, Apple gives users the ability to Tweet and post to Facebook without completely jumping into those apps. Why not give that same treatment to messages and email right from the lock screen? Apple could implement a Facebook Home like UI that could overlay and let people see the entire convo while also being able to respond.

If people are concerned with privacy, Apple could simply give users the option to opt out of the additional lock screen features. More than anything, the lock screen needs to feel more alive, like an actual space that is useful rather than just there—a frustrating wall that stands between a users and their device. And, please, if Apple does add quick settings as mentioned above, make them available from the lock screen, weather it be in a screen you swipe in from the side, or an icon you press to bring them up.

Better Multitasking

Apple already allows for easy switching between applications, but right now iOS 6 only shows you an icon representing the application that’s running. There’s a lot of room for improvement in this space.

First, I think Apple should enable live previews of the application that’s running, almost similar to what webOS once offered and what’s available in the Auxo jailbreak tweak. You might be able to see the current track that’s playing in your music player, or the website that’s open in Safari, for example.

We imagine being able to use the current system, but with a tile format. So, basically, we’d like to see a small thumbnail of the open applications, sort of like cards in Safari. Perhaps an easy swipe upward, again similar to webOS, could close out a given application.

iOS doesn’t feel particularly “alive” and we think that live previews in multitasking could help bring a fresh breath of life into the operating system, if even in a rather minimal way.

Open API for Applications

This is a smaller wish, but it’s an important one nonetheless. We’d like to see Apple make it easy to switch the default calendar, email and browser applications. Sure, it means leaving Apple’s ecosystem, but users will love iOS even more if they have more granular control of the operating system.

Google Maps, for example, is far superior to Apple Maps, but if you click a link in a web browser it still opens Apple Maps. We should be able to use Google Maps by default. Same goes for other applications: what if we click a phone number inside of a website? Why can’t we default the phone to use Google Voice or Skype to place the call instead?

The notification shade also needs an open API, as we’ve sort of already discussed, so that other app developers can add widgets. Right now we can only see the weather and a stock ticker, why can’t we see the latest Facebook updates, FourSquare check-ins or sports scores?

Wrap Up

When Apple exists the stage next Monday, and we have time to reflect on the changes to iOS, I really hope the company addresses some of these issues. I’m not asking much, and these ideas really add a lot of value to the platform, especially when a lot of fans are growing tired of the look and feel of the aging OS. Apple will no doubt say iOS 7 is improving in 200 or so different ways, but those improvements need to be tangible—things that will remind people why they loved iOS in the first place.

Really, we’re not asking a lot of Apple’s engineers—all of these ideas have been floating around for awhile, whether in the Cydia community or over on competing platforms. So the company has certainly had a lot of time to consider and figure out ways to make iOS better. Last year didn’t exactly blow people’s hair back, and this year is particularly important since Jony Ive is now in control. We don’t expect an enormous tectonic shift, but we want assurance the platform is headed in the right direction.

Regardless of what’s announced next week, Apple will continue to attract new and returning consumers because of hardware alone. But how long can it sustain that momentum? iOS is still a wonderful platform that offers some of the best—and often exclusive—apps in mobile. But there are obvious areas for improvement, big and small, and these are just some minor adjustments we’d like to see next week.

Categories: apple, camera, design, display, hands on, india, ios 7, iphone 5, iphone 5s, news, phones, rumour, sales, smartphone, WWDC

Apple Now Replacing Broken iPhone 5 Displays In-Store For $150

It’s somewhat needless to say, but the iPhone 5 (or the iPhone in general) is a really popular smartphone. So popular, in fact, that you’d be hard pressed not to see one while out in public. I see them all the time, whether I’m at the movie theaters (which is the last place you want to see one) or dining inside a restaurant. And the one thing I’ve noticed, more than on any other smartphone, is people continue to use their iPhones after the screen has been cracked.

When I ask them why they don’t get their screens fixed they usually say one of two things: It costs too much or I they don’t know how. Well, it looks like Apple is trying to solve both of these problems by offering in-store replacements (or repairs) of iPhone 5 displays for just $150. The best part? This is the cost of repair for those who didn’t buy Apple Care+ when first getting their iPhone, $80 lower than the previous cost of $230. Those who did purchase Apple’s protection plan would simply pay the $50 deductible which brings the total cost to the same $150 ($100 up front, $50 deductible).

Now, before any of you who bought Apple Care+ begin to feel ripped off, don’t worry. Apple Care+ still offers the advantage of covering two incidents with a $50 deductible each time. Meaning, if you break your iPhone’s screen twice (trust me, it happens), it would only cost you a total of $200 with Apple Care+ ($100 upfront, two $50 deductibles). Without it, even with the new lower cost of replacement, you’d still be dishing out $300 ($150 each time). Not just that, but Apple Care+ covers other things like your iPhone’s battery, the USB cable and power adapter, and even the EarPod headphones that come with the phone.

While this move will most likely be welcomed by iPhone users everywhere (at least the ones that didn’t purchase Apple Care+), don’t for a second think that Apple isn’t getting anything out of it. By repairing iPhone displays in-store instead of just offering replacement devices, Apple is projected to save approximately $1,000,000,000. Yeah, that’s one billion dollars. I wrote it with all the zeroes to remind everyone of how big that number really is.

In addition to the screen replacements, Apple is expected to offer in-store repairs for the iPhone’s camera, buttons, and logic boards in the near future. Changes to the Apple Care+ program are also being rumored, with Apple reportedly planning to change to a subscription based model that covers the customer instead of covering just one specific device (kind of how insurance works with the wireless carriers). From what I’ve heard so far, I think I like the changes that Apple has and plans to make. What about you? Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Categories: apple, display, india, iphone 5, iphone 5s, news, phones, sales, smartphone

Apple’s iPad 5 May Be 15% Thinner And 25% Lighter Than The iPad 4

Thinner, lighter, faster and even more magical! What else will be new when the iPad 5 later this year? According to at least one analyst, Apple will stick to form, relying on its tried and true design playbook for its 2013 full-size tablet revision.

Quoting a leading analyst’s note to investors, MacRumors reports that the iPad will be noticeably skinnier — about 15 percent thinner and 25 percent lighter.

We think the tablet will, at 7.5-8.0mm, be 15% thinner than iPad 4. The new device will likely be about 500 grams, or some 25% lighter than iPad 4, run on an A7X processor, and sport cameras with similar specs to the iPad 4’s (front HD, rear 5MP). The casing shape and color (silver and black) and narrow bezel design will be similar to the iPad mini’s — KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo

A big part of Apple’s iPad 5 diet plan is the use of GF2 touch technology, which is already found in the Keira-Knightley-thin iPad mini. By necessity, the iPad 5′s battery will also be smaller and less powerful (15 to 20 percent fewer electrons than the iPad 4), a significant power management challenge.

That said, it’s also believed that Apple will power the iPad 5 with the A7X system-on-chip (SoC) processor. At least initially, the chip will be supplied by Samsung and manufactured using a 24nm process.

Surprisingly, Ming-Chi Kuo claims that the iPad 5 camera will use a 5MP sensor — various rumors posit the iPhone 5S/6 will offer 12MP resolution — or the same res used in the iPad 4. Of course, Apple could improve camera performance by including a better lens and tweaking the software, but it will nonetheless be disappointing if Cupertino doesn’t pack in more pixels.

What specs do hope/expect the iPad 5 to ship with?

Categories: apple, design, display, india, ipad, iphone 5, news, review, smartphone, specs, tablet, WWDC

Apple iPhone 5 Rumors

Sept. 12 -- the day Apple is expected to debut its sixth-generation smartphone, unofficially dubbed the "iPhone 5" -- is less than a month away. Apple is also expected to introduce a new "iPad Mini" to its tablet lineup as well, but most of the focus is deservedly on the phone. Apple's iPhone line drives roughly 46 percent of the company's business, according to its most recent earnings report.

Fans have seen incremental advances in design and technology in each new iPhone since 2007, but it certainly looks like the newest iPhone, the iPhone 5, will be packed with more features than any that's come before it.

More or less, we know what the iPhone 5 looks like, thanks to batches of images released by insiders within Apple's supply chains and repair shops. We expect the iPhone to feature abigger, thinner front plate that stretches the screen just beyond four inches to achieve a 16:9 resolution ratio to watch 1080p HD videos in a widescreen format.

According to the prototypes and images, Apple has also reportedly expanded and redesigned its speaker grills, migrated the FaceTime camera to be directly above the earpiece, moved the earphone jack from the top right corner of the phone to the bottom left corner, and introduced a new camera opening on the backside of the phone between the camera lens and the LED flash, which likely houses a small microphone. Finally, we believe Apple has fixed its iPhone 5 with a unibody metal back instead of an all-glass facade, which could potentially improve call reception, and has also endowed the iPhone with a new, smaller dock connector, which could be as small as 9 pins.

While the presentation of the iPhone is important, most people want to know about the features. "Why should I buy the iPhone 5? What's new about it?"

We don't know the exact features Apple has packed within the iPhone 5, but we have a pretty good idea of what CEO Tim Cook might unveil on the stage on Sept. 12. Over the past year, we've been watching reports, rumors, and the patent department, keeping a keen eye out for possible software features Apple could introduce in its next iPhone. Here are eight new technologies we're hoping to see in the iPhone 5 when it launches.

1. LTE Connectivity: The Long-Term Evolution network (LTE), despite its significantly higher download and upload speeds, previous implementations of the network ravaged battery life in smartphones, which was a major complaint from users. It's been reported that Apple originally wanted LTE in the iPhone 4S, but decided against it, as the chip's presence would have needed a thicker phone with a larger circuit board and a bigger battery, just to retain the company's typical 10-hour battery life. As Apple CEO Tim Cook noted in a company earnings conference call in April 2011, "first-generation LTE chipsets force a lot of design compromises."

But now, with new LTE chips from Qualcomm now available, it's a foregone conclusion that Apple will implement radio bands for 4G LTE in the iPhone 5, given that Apple introduced the high-speed network on its new iPad, released March 16. Since LTE in tablets isn't a feature users were breaking down doors for, its implementation was likely done as a "practice run" for the iPhone 5.

2. NFC (including the iWallet, and iTunes Gifting): Near-field communication is nothing new. In fact, many current smartphones have the chip built-in so owners can use mobile payments solutions such as Google Pay. Apple has held off on implementing NFC technology into its iPhone, but a slew of recently granted patents seem to suggest that will change with the sixth-generation model. Two of the major features said to use NFC rather heavily are the iWallet, andiTunes "Gifting."

Apple won a major patent on March 6 for a piece of technology called the "iWallet," which is a digital system that gives users complete control over their subsidiary financial accounts on their iPhones, and also leverages Near-Field Communication technology to complete credit card transactions directly on the phone as well. The iWallet has many different features, including giving users the ability to see their entire credit card profiles, view statements and messages from their banks, and even set parental controls for their children, should they also want to use their iPhones as digital wallets. Outside of the iPhone, users can keep track of their payments and statements within the iTunes billing system, which keeps credit card information and records safe and secure. There's a possibility that iWallet could also work with other Apple utilities, which could allow users to buy things like movie tickets directly within the apps, but only time will tell with that one.

Another Apple patent unveiled in April described a system for standardized buying, sending, and receiving of media files from a media provider (iTunes) between multiple devices (iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touchs). The process was simply called, "Gifting," and it would certainly work with an NFC-capable iPhone.

Downloading and storing digital media with online service providers has become commonplace -- more so than purchasing DVDs and CDs at physical stores -- but it's not very easy to transfer digital files from one individual to another, usually because of copyright laws. Apple believes "Gifting" is the solution.

One method for gifting requires the sender to authorize a gift charge to their iTunes account, which is then transmitted from the sender's device to the receiver's device -- via tapping, or as long as they're nearby -- thanks to the NFC chip. If the recipient of the gift isn't nearby -- or you want it to be a surprise -- the gift-giver may submit an official request with iTunes, which then processes the request and charges the initiator's account for the given file. The patent also allows for multiple gifts to be sent in a single transaction, as well as certain customization options for the gifts -- including voice greetings and custom gift images, likely to conceal the gift's identity before the recipient opens it.

3. Crack-Proof Glass: Everyone who's ever had a rough Saturday night would certainly love this patent. Granted on Nov. 15, Apple's patent for crack-resistant glass uses the same alumino silicate glass solution used in the iPhone 4 and 4S, but chemically treats it with potassium and sodium ions to achieve greater compression thresholds on the surface and edges of the glass, making it less susceptible to cracks.

Apple also included a handy feature that will appeal to everyone who's ever dropped their iPhone: The patent calls for a shock mount to be placed between the glass and the body of the device, which will instantly inflate if the device senses it's falling. If the iPhone's internal accelerometer senses it's falling, an actuator within the device sucks in the cover glass as it accelerates to the ground, protecting it from damage.

4. 3D Photography. It's possible the iPhone 5 could allow users to finally snap 3D images with their phones. While existing 3D cameras and video recorders gather three-dimensional information from objects, they're generally incapable of getting detailed enough information in relation to the shapes, surfaces and depth of the objects. Apple's patented solution involves a series of systems, tools and methods to capture a 3D image by using multiple sensors and cameras. One sensor would capture a polarizing image, while two other sensors would capture two different non-polarizing images, and Apple's system would combine the images into a composite.

5. Multiplayer Gaming. The iPhone 5 might also be the first phone to feature a new piece of software for multiplayer gaming. On March 15, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that describes a system for multiplayer gaming, which allows groups of people to play the same game together and even see it from different perspectives according to the devices' physical relation to one another. The system actually mimics that of the "Find My Friends" app, in which a user's device detects other nearby devices that it recognizes as "friends," and invites them all to join a common application. The technology also determines the relative position of those devices, so some games -- like turn-based role-playing games or card games -- can be played in a specific order.

6. Audio Sharing Network: The last few months have seen Apple pay increasing attention to audio. It spun off its Podcast application as a completely separate application from the "iPod" app, and now, according to a newly-filed patent for the iPhone, Apple plans to make the iPhone into a "conference telephone," designed to cut out the background noise while recording audio, which can then be packaged and distributed. This feature would certainly appeal to students that want to record their lectures, as well as enterprise professionals that want to hold and record teleconferences with multiple individuals and be able to hear everyone clearly.

7. Advanced Haptics: A recent Apple patent describes a new haptics feedback system, which could allow users to physically interact with the content by touching it, which is accomplished with sensors and actuators working simultaneously. The new multi-tiered system is extremely sophisticated: Using several layers of elastic screens stacked on top of each other, Apple's screen can produce 3D buttons or objects to interact with, as well as give texture to images, like topographical maps, but only when they're needed. This technology is currently being explored by another company, Tactus Technology, which created a video to explain how it all works.

Similar to Tactus' work, Apple's haptic system can respond to and create different types of actions, including vibration, net displacement, bending, deforming, or any combination of those elements. The technology can also work with a secondary display screen or audio system, which would be useful if Apple ever builds its iTV, but the system can also be applied to flexible organic light emitting diode, or OLED, screens. This advanced haptics system would also work with almost every portable Apple device, including iPhones, iPod Touch devices, iPads, MacBooks, and even TVs, video projectors and e-Ink displays.

8. The Photographer's Timer. Traditionally, self-timing cameras are used to take pictures of a big group, or a self-portrait. But in Apple's self-timer, a patent granted March 8, the iDevice's camera can identify the photographer and ask if they want to be in the picture. At that point, the iPhone will simply wait until it detects the photographer's face in the viewfinder before it automatically snaps a photo. If you are the "photographer" who also wants to be in the picture, the iPhone will simply wait until it detects your face to take the picture.

"But what about interruptions? What happens if I get a call after I set the self-timer?" Wonder no more. If you set the timer and then your phone goes off, the timer will still wait until it has detected, recognized and verified that you are the photographer and that you're in place for the photo. Now if only Apple patented a tripod...

Categories: apple, display, iphone 5, news, phones, review, rumour, smartphone, specs

IPHONE 5 RUMORS

iPhone 5 will contain new and thinner “in-cell” technology (Report)

After the news that European carriers have begun stockpiling nano-SIMs to stay ahead of the demand of the next-generation (link with that post), a new report from WSJ (via 9to5mac) states that Apple’s new iPhone will contain a new screen technology. The publication informs the display would become even thinner as a result of this technology. This is likely to make a thinner device as a whole.

The full story informs that LG, Sharp and a new company known as Japan Display are developing this new technology. This new, “in-cell” technology doesn’t separate the touch sensors from the LCD, and thus, makes the screen thinner:

The technology integrates touch sensors into the LCD, making it unnecessary to have a separate touch-screen layer. The absence of the layer, usually about half a millimeter thick, not only makes the whole screen thinner, but the quality of displayed images would improve, said DisplaySearch analyst Hiroshi Hayase.

Furthermore, the report pointed out the dropping of the additional touch sensor later that will make gearing up the supply chain an easier task for the production of the new handset.

For Apple, the new technology would also simplify the supply chain and help cut costs as it would no longer have to buy touch panels and LCD panels from separate suppliers.

Back in April, DisplaySearch analyst David Hsieh crazy August 7th rumor. There are expectations of a four-inch display, a smaller dock connector, LTE-compatibility and maybe a nano-SIM standard. Feel free to comment!

Categories: iphone 5, rumour