Friday, July 19, 2013

Apple : Is Apple seeing double? Budget iPhone could arrive in two flavours

Apple : Is Apple seeing double? Budget iPhone could arrive in two flavours

Is Apple seeing double? Budget iPhone could arrive in two flavours

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Is Apple seeing double? Budget iPhone could arrive in two flavours

A selection of brightly coloured bodies won't be the only option presented to buyers of the fabled 'cheap iPhone' if and when Apple launches said device, according to word on the street today.

Leaked documents, courtesy of Chinese social network Weibo, have sparked talk that Apple is working on two variants of the device with different specs, connectivity options and price points.

According to the docs, a device codenamed iPhone Zagato will be the cheaper of the two and will pack a Samsung 'HP5' dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, FDD 4G LTE and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity.

The second iteration, apparently codenamed Bertone, will be more expensive due to a 'HP6' processor and TDD 4G LTE, which is an alternative standard developed for the Chinese market.

Both handsets will pack the same 4-inch screen size as the iPhone 5, the documents state, but it seems unlikely the cheaper devices would get the Retina display treatment.

Shady goings on

Today's report follow a number of leaks and rumours that have focusing the devices purported colour options.

Several leaked photos have showcased cases in five shades, including yellow, pink, blue, green and white, while Apple is reportedly turning to polycarbonate plastic for the build materials.

It's expected in many corners that the device will be mainly targeted towards emerging markets and go on sale before the end of the year.

Has Apple finally found out how to fix Maps?

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Has Apple finally found out how to fix Maps?

Ah, Apple's 'maptastrophe'. The less said about it the better. However, at least we know that Cupertino is making strides to improve its mapping service situation, with news that it's has just bagged a significant new weapon.

Apple's latest acquisition, Canadian location data startup Locationary, crowdsources and collates the most up to date information to ensure that everything is recent and accurate.

Locationary not only verifies that something is still in the place its supposed to be, but also if it's temporarily inaccessible - if a shop is closed for redecorating or whatever, for example.

Watch out Google, Apple's coming to getcha

The word came from "multiple sources" speaking to AllThingsD, with Apple strongly suggesting the news was true by issuing the following statement:

"Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."

There's no verification that this is for Apple's map service, but come on now, what else could it possibly be for? Apple promised that it would be making efforts to improve the service, with Tim Cook even issuing an apology back in September last year. It's alright Tim, we have faith.

The 2013 MacBook Air's Wi-Fi woes should end with Apple patch

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The 2013 MacBook Air's Wi-Fi woes should end with Apple patch

The new MacBook Air for 2013 has outstanding battery life thanks to its Haswell processor, but those power-sipping capabilities are no use when matched with Wi-Fi problems.

Apple is hoping to solve users' Wi-Fi complaints starting today with a patch that is supposed to correct the MacBook Air's spotty wireless reception.

The notes for MacBook Air Software Update 1.0 describe the issues as happening in "rare instances" and may "cause an intermittent loss in wireless connectivity."

With the most popular Wi-Fi troubleshooting thread on the Apple Support forums now running 50 pages deep, these "rare instances" seem to have gotten under a lot of MacBook Air 2013 owners' skin.

Other MacBook Air problems, fixes

The Wi-Fi patch is joined by a Photoshop fix that caused occasional screen flickering when running Adobe's premier image editing program.

Finally, MacBook Air owners suffering from audio problems will be happy to know that this update also takes care of the volume fluctuation glitch that could occur during video playback.

New laptop launches from Apple haven't been flawless, but it's positive to see the company address issues it deems "rare instances."

This update comes a little more than a month after the 2013 MBA's launch, when Apple could have easily ignored the problems until the Mac OS X 10.9 Maverick release this fall.

Is Apple eyeing LG's Ultra HD panels for its own iTV set?

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Is Apple eyeing LG's Ultra HD panels for its own iTV set?

Whispers relating to the fabled Apple iTV set have been so few and far between in recent months we were starting to think there were no more grapes growing on that particular vine.

However, one of the tech world's most intriguing subjects reemerged with a vengeance today, with reports claiming the device is not only still in the works, but will now be Ultra HD-ready.

We have a dumpster truck full of salt ready to douse these reports, but the often sketchy DigiTimes site claimed the company is in talks with LG to buy up a stack of 55- and 65-inch 4K panels.

Citing "rumours" rather than direct info from the usual supply chain sources, the report claimed no deal has been finalised, with Sharp listed as another potential supplier being considered by Apple.

The 4K resolution?

For what it's worth, another DigiTimes report from March indicated that Apple was indeed looking to equip its TV boxes with 4K screens, with a launch pegged by the end of the year.

Talk of the iTV has been relatively quiet since then, and perhaps Apple has spent time thinking how it future-proof the device with a screen resolution four times greater than current HD sets.

While this would make the Apple iTV a more intriguing proposition from a technological standpoint, it would surely, depending on the launch timeframe, bump the price tag up considerably.

That could limit Apple's ability to make a sales splash with much of its existing user base, who may be used to paying a little extra for phones, tablets and computers, but are less likely to shell out several thousands on a TV.
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