iOS Devices

These things must be so cheap to make that they’re worth giving away ($9.99 retail) to bring in iPhone 4 customers. via Engadget

Delays delivering those white iPhone 4 models may be related to light leakage problems, according to Scott Moritz at The Street.

“Apparently, the back light from the iPhone display screen is leaking out around the edges of the glass and seeping through the back of the white phone, according to a person familiar with the manufacturing process,” he writes.

Apple last week said the white models were proving to be, “more challenging to manufacture than we originally expected.”

The Street continues to tell us that Apple’s iPhone 4 is made like a “glass sandwich”. The company uses Corning’s Gorilla glass on the front and back of the iPhone and there’s that metal antenna (shhh) running around the outside.

But the light leakage problem is a biggie. “As the source described it, if it were a metal or plastic material, a simple coating would fill in the gaps and block the internal light. Glass is an entirely different issue.”

I’ve a feeling about this….

The iPad is everything I actually enjoy doing on my computer, boosted by apps which do more than I ever could have done. The iPad really does seem able to do anything, but there’s some features it really is missing. I pick three. And dream up solutions to each one.

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Got an iPod touch and want to turn it into a phone? No problem (perhaps) if this particular slice of vaporware emerges, blinking, into reality. See, this add-on gizmo has got what it takes to turn your iPod touch into a no-VoIP phone, cool.

This thing comes from Yosion and is called the Apple Peel 520. Effectively it is a case which contains a SIM card and an Infineon baseband chip so you can use iPod touch for calls and SMS messaging. You also get a built-in battery in this device, which might cost $44-$74, if it ever emerges at all.

Via: Engadget

Those clever artist types over at Core77 (via Gizmodo) have put together something really rather nice — they’ve overlaid the official Apple-released CAD drawings of the iPhone onto images of the Phone itself. They’re very cool and worth noting for the effort.

Add: They should also be pretty useful for anyone looking to make products for the iPhone 4, cases, for example… More images here.

Just in case you were hoping the iPad hubbub would quieten down, take heed for major UK high street retailer, the Dixon’s International, (DSGi), where senior figures fully expect iPad will be the gift of the year.

DSGi) owns 670 Currys and PC World stores in the UK. The company’s Jeremy Fennell at DSGi said:

“There is no doubt the iPad is going to be the number one Christmas gift this year… with even more accessories launching it’s only going to make a must-have technology even more attractive.”

This reflects the pattern as the giant iPod touch proves itself to be far more than many critics expected it to be — a book to some, a games console to another, a newspaper, a film, a magazine.

“Surging popularity of Apple’s iPad temporarily cannibalised mini-notebooks, as well as consumer notebook sales to some degree,” she said, but cautiously questioned whether this will continue given how much more expensive such media-centric tablets are in comparison to netbooks,” said Gartner principal analyst Mikako Kitagawa, in what seems to be a plea for the netbook industry.

“My phone is ringing off the hook with calls from people who want more supply,” said Apple COO, Tim Cook, last week.

iSuppli pegs 2010 iPad sales at 12.9 million units.

Sources familier with the matter have informed the Wall Street Journal that Google is in talks with several game development companies, in a process of developing a social-network based gaming community. This online gaming platform’s first competitor is Facebook as it is the home to thousands of popular online games which are played via the social network’s already-existing community. Google seems very serious about this as they’ve reportedly been in serious talks with Zynga, makers of Farmville and Zynga Poker, and Electronic Art’s subsidiary, PlayFish. They also may own $100-200million dollars worth of Zynga’s shares.

Google CEO, Eric Schmidt denied that a potential social network of theirs would resemble Facebook with his statement, “the world doesn’t need a copy of the same thing.” This upcoming social gaming network, already dubbed Google Games, would be a Game Center competitor as it will most likely make a push to the mobile space, as Zynga and Electronic Arts games have already. Game Center will bring together the games available on the App Store into a community similar to offerings from full-on game consoles such as Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. There will be trophies and awards for those who score the highest in multiplayer games, as well as leaderboards and even virtual prizes along the way for fulfilling achievements.   

Additionally, we have already seen the inclusion of a friends list in Game Center, and this is a standard characteristic of any social networking environment. It is unknown if Google intended to compete with Apple’s imminent entry into the social gaming space, but if history repeats itself, Google really likes following Apple’s trends. 

It’s known that some iPhone 4 users are experiencing issues with its proximity sensor, including myself. People find themselves inadvertently ending and muting calls, punching in keys, and sending FaceTime requests. Jobs and company promised a fix to this, and it seems iOS 4.1 might just be the magical savior of the proximity sensor. This is based on non-scientific tests on two iPhone 4s as well as reader submissions. 

Let us know in the comments if iOS 4.1 beta 2 solved your proximity sensor issues. 

Apple really seems to be getting Game Center ready for prime time. They first gave the application an all new look in beta 1, and beta 2 brings support for the iPhone 4’s Retina Display to the table. The image below is not full-resolution, but you can download the full-resolution version here from beta 2 and here from beta 1. 

Retina support on top, not so much on the bottom, and oh.. they moved the status and account bars up a bit, Yes!

Apple has just released beta 2 of their upcoming iOS 4.1. We’re installing now and will update with findings. 

We got our anxious hands-on all over Apple’s Magic Trackpad today, and it’s certainly a thing of beauty. Check out the video below for our walkthrough and first impressions:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Txx3CnIiDvQ&w=640&h=385]

We’ll take some questions in the comments. 

Supposedly picked up at some “recycling place” in California, this appears to be another “next-gen” iPod touch in the wild. It looks the same as the ones we see almost bi/tri-monthly with the iPod touch 2nd and 3rd generation design, camera, and hundreds of scratches. 

The device is said to still be in working condition, and it is apparently running iOS 3.1.3. There is no front-facing camera and there does not appear to be a higher-resolution display, faster processor chip, or a camera application. This seems to definitely be a third-gen prototype, but hey.. who knows? We’ll update with more once we get. 

via RazorianFly

Apple claims that their magically magical Magic Trackpad is 80% larger than the standard glass multi-touch trackpad found on their current line of notebooks. Here’s what 80% actually looks like:

If you purchased a Magic trackpad today, you’ll need to do a good old fashioned Software Update to get the software working on it properly. You’ll also need 10.6.4 to get inertial scrolling and the three-finger drag gesturing working properly as well. More info including manual update here.

Oh, and if you have a MacBook/Pro, you get inertial scrolling and the three-finger drag gesturing as well.

This morning’s announcement of the stunning 27 inch LED Display not only brought along a great new product, but ended production of the 30 inch Cinema Display and the 24 inch LED Display. Apple surely still has some of those obsolete monitors in their warehouses so they’ll be selling them until they’re out of them. On a mission to get these older screens to sell like hotcakes, Apple has lowered price of the LED 24 inch-er a whole Benjamin to $799. — That’s way cheaper than Dell’s competing offering.

As for the 30 inch Cinema Display, it’s still hanging at that *great* deal of $1799. Either way, the 27 inch LED is taking over town and Apple’s older display offerings will be gone soon. 

Apple’s latest Mac upgrades are the fastest desktops yet, while introduction of the long-anticipated Magic Trackpad underlines the importance the company attaches to touch interfaces across its product range.

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Apple has just released their Magic Trackpad which has been anticipated since October ’09. It’s just like the spy shots from June, and packs all the features of the MacBook/MacBook Pro trackpads, except it’s larger. It’s ergonomic and is the same height as the wireless keyboard for ease of use. It requires 2 AA batteries, includes preferences, and ships today. 

Apple’s dropped another product today, and that’s a device to recharge your rechargeable AA batteries. It’s pretty simple; it takes 2 AA’s at a time and charges them via a wall outlet. It costs $29 and ships in 2-4 business days. Neat!

The iPhone Apple Store app already got the goods: 

via MR

Ooh – following yesterday’s shock victory for the jailbreaking community in the US, in comes more news saying the non-open days of the iPhone may be slowly coming to a close — the iPhone 4 will be sold unlocked in Canada when it goes on sale on Friday.

This means the device, sold through Bell, Rogers and Telus will be available unlocked from the Apple store, that’s so Canadian users can choose their carrier.

Customers will also be able to switch providers whenever they like and use the phone in other countries with SIM cards from local carriers, which will allow them to avoid roaming charges from Canadian providers.

The catch, though, is the phone’s price. The 16-gigabyte unit will sell for $659 while the 32-GB version will cost $779.

A relatively pleasant start to the day boosted by a good news story about the jolly old iPad and its use as a wireless wine catalogue for use in a swanky NYC restaurant.

Siure, it may be that the South Gate restaurant just off Central Park (154 Central Park South between 6th and 7th Avenues, NYC) may be well beyond my meager budget, but it is nice to think of all those NY socialites buzzing and cooing as they choose their wines using an Apple iPad.

See, South Gate has created its own custom wireless iPad wine tablets exclusively designed to navigate its extensive wine list. The new iPad wine tablet features the SmartCellar application designed by the New York-based company Incentient.

Diners get to choose from 650 choice vintages with detailed info on all the wines and regions. and lots of pretty pictures, as you’d expect from the restaurant with its design credits and “seasonally-inspired modern American menu”.

That’s the story, now let’s all go an hit refresh on the AAPL store, just in case, you know, anything happens there…