Apple : Purported iPhone 5 case suggests big redesign

Purported iPhone 5 case suggests big redesign
Skype for Mac gets Facebook chat integration
iPad-only paper The Daily lands in the UK
Apple takes Samsung to the UK courts
iMessage coming to iChat?

Purported iPhone 5 case suggests big redesign

Posted:

The race to uncover the new iPhone 5 took a new twist today when accessories manufacturer Case-Mate posted a gallery of new cases promising a radical new form factor

The cases suggest that the hotly-anticipated new iPhone device will boast a curved aluminium back, very similar to the iPad 2's design.

The gallery featuring the cases has now been taken down and replaced by a holding page.

Pinch of salt

While it's interested to see more impressions of what the fifth generation iPhone 5 could look like, it's important not to get too carried away.

iPhone case manufacturers have been successful in predicting designs before now (through illegal means, we might add), so it's not out of the realms of possibility that Case-Mate has the inside scoop.

However, stories continue to emerge asserting with the same conviction that the next iPhone will or will not undergo any design overhaul.

Just today, reports of emerged that the iPhone 5 will have an "elongated home button", which is a new one on us.

Without making any accusations, it also seems fair to assume that the publication of this story has seen Case-Mate enjoy higher than usual traffic than on a regular business day. Just saying.

Skype for Mac gets Facebook chat integration

Posted:

The desktop Skype for Mac client has incorporated Facebook chat into the latest Beta version.

Skype for Mac 5.4 allows users to connect with their Facebook pals and also view their own wall and news feed, reducing the need to constantly switch between browser and Skype client.

It shows an alternate look at your Facebook wall and even allows you to use Skype to call Facebook friends who have their phone numbers listed on their profile.

Users of Skype for Windows 5.5 already offers Facebook connect services, which also allows you to like and comment on status updates.

Facebook and Skype, bedfellows

The move is the latest union between Skype and Facebook, after the companies announced that Skype would power Facebook's video calling service, launched earlier this year.

In order to log-in to Facebook via Skype for Mac you'll need to download the newest version of the client.

Once that's installed, just click on the Connect to Facebook tab and Robert's your father's brother.

iPad-only paper The Daily lands in the UK

Posted:

The Daily has quietly launched in the UK, with the iPad-only newspaper now available from iTunes.

Seemingly landing on the UK iTunes Store without fanfare, the Guardian was the first to notice The Daily's UK launch and is reporting that there's already some teething problems with the e-paper.

According to early reviews, The Daily is still filled with a lot of US content, which isn't going to sit will with those who want to read UK-specific articles.

News, iPad style

The Daily has some powerful media weight behind it. It's run by News Corp, which also publishes ~~The News Of The World~~, the Sun and the Times.

When it launched in the US, Rupert Murdoch said The Daily was targeting the 15 million Americans that were set to buy a tablet in 2011.

If you want to purchase The Daily UK, then it is 69p per issue or £27.99 for an annual subscription.

In TechRadar's review of the iPad newspaper, we noted that The Daily does tablet publishing better than anyone else and it is a "wonderful, glossy experience". But this was hampered with slow load times and the majority of the articles are too short.

The Daily was originally meant to launch in June, so it's better late than never for the paper.

Apple takes Samsung to the UK courts

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Apple has launched a lawsuit against Samsung in the UK, which marks the latest in a long line of court cases between the two electrical giants.

Apple filed the court order this week, according to ZDNet, which brings the total number of patent suits the companies have between them to 20.

While this latest court shenanigan is about potential patent infringement, so far the exact patents it refers to are unknown.

Samsung said that the lawsuit was a countersuit filed against them for its original lawsuit it took out against Apple in June of this year.

Samsung V Apple: take 20

The situation between Apple and Samsung is something of a messy one. Apple is obviously nervous of Samsung's success in the smartphone (and to a lesser degree the tablet) market, but both companies also have a vested interest in staying civil with each other.

Samsung makes a massive amount of the chips Apple uses in its iPhone 4 and iPad, which is a contract Samsung would not want to lose.

At the same time it can't be seen to look as if it agrees it has been using Apple's patents for use in its own products.

The patent war isn't just affecting Samsung; HTC is at loggerheads with Apple and Google has bought out Motorola Mobility for its massive stash of patents.

iMessage coming to iChat?

Posted:

Apple plans to build its new, free instant messaging app for iOS, iMessage, into the desktop iChat client, according to reports.

Back in June, Apple unveiled iMessage as a major part of iOS 5, offering free text and multi-media messaging and group chat between iDevice owners.

An Apple developer has uncovered code within a new version of iChat for Mac OS X, which features the same 'time delivered' and 'time read' notifications Apple has promised to bring to iMessage.

If the discovery does signal iMessage integration into iChat, it would allow iOS device users to exchange messages with Mac OS X users and vice versa and so on.

BBM killer?

Apple's new instant messaging solution promises to pose a greater threat to BlackBerry's remaining market share.

The BlackBerry Messenger app remains hugely popular among RIM's younger users.

However, with iMessage effectively performing the same functionality, with a slicker interface and also offering the lure of the App Store, it's little wonder RIM's shares dropped as soon as Apple's announcement was made.

iMessage will land with iOS, which is expected to arrive in early October for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Yahuui Blog

Thursday, September 15, 2011