Archive for the ‘Tablets and E-Readers’ Category

iPhone 5, iPad Mini Photos Surface — But Are They Real?

A purported engineering sample of the next-generation iPhone. Photo: GottaBeMobile

As Apple’s fall product event looms ever closer, more details about the company’s upcoming mobile devices could possibly be leaking out. The latest revelations are purported images of iPhone 5 and iPad mini engineering samples, reportedly “straight from a factory in China.” The blog GottaBeMobile says it received the photos from a supply chain source.

The iPhone engineering sample in the images does seem to line up with the specs that various news outlets are reporting for Apple’s next smartphone. The next iPhone is expected to sport a 4-inch display and a “new, sleek look.” It could also feature a chassis largely composed of an interesting metal alloy called liquidmetal.

The engineering samples show the next iPhone being approximately 4.72 inches long and 2.3 inches wide — the same width as the current iPhone 4 and 4S, but about 0.2 inches longer. Aesthetically, the sample in the new image looks very similar to what was seen in a video of the alleged rear cover of the next iPhone, which emerged in early June.

“I think the iPhone 5 is going to be one of the biggest consumer events we’ve ever seen in our lifetime,” Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney told Wired. “There are so many people waiting for the device, wanting the 4-inch screen and 4G.” Indeed, if Apple can deliver a longer, taller iPhone (the new phone’s width notwithstanding), the company could increase its diagonal screen dimensions from 3.5 inches to 4 inches.
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Incompetent or Shrewd? 7 Tech Companies That Leaked Their Own Secrets

Just 90 minutes prior to the grand unveiling of Nexus Q at Google I/O, Google actually outed the media streaming hardware on its own digital storefront. Photo: Ariel Zambelich/Wired

Not only inside sources leak secret information to the press. Oftentimes companies themselves — and sometimes their partners — will unwittingly reveal secret product launches through their own digital slip-ups. On Monday, a bug in Apple’s iOS 6 beta revealed a major upcoming upgrade for Twitter’s iOS app. It was discovered only a day before Twitter’s official announcement, but still diminished what could have been a more sizzling product launch.

Twitter’s slip-up is by no means rare. Major tech companies like Google, Apple and Microsoft have all posted information about a new product or software update prior to launch. Considering how often it happens, you might think the companies are breaking their own information embargoes on purpose.

“In some sense [companies] are worried that others will copy their products. But the reality is that few would want to copy their competitors — they would like to be different. But they really want to keep [products] secret because they want to surprise the market,” Forrester analyst Ken Dulaney told Wired in an e-mail.

Even though companies sacrifice the element of surprise when they leak their own information, Dulaney doesn’t think it puts a new product or service at that much of a disadvantage.

“Leaks are okay because they increase mystery,” he said. “No one knows for sure whether they’re accurate but it inflates the publicity machine. It’s a byproduct of implementing secrecy.”

With Dulaney’s advisory as a backdrop, let’s take a look at some recent “we broke our own press embargo!” goof-ups, and whether they ultimately hurt or helped the companies that made them.

Twitter’s latest app update was unintentionally leaked in iOS 6 beta. Image: Apple

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Report: Next Kindle Fire Will Look Better, Weigh Less

Say goodbye to the current Kindle Fire display and hello to more pixels. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired

Another day passes, and a new bit of information concerning Amazon’s next-gen Kindle Fire leaks onto the internet. The yet-to-be-announced tablet is becoming the worst-kept secret in technology — assuming, of course, that all these information leaks are true.

On Sunday, AllThingsD reported that Amazon was working on a higher-resolution Kindle Fire that would be lighter than the current tablet. The easier-to-look-at-and-hold Fire is expected to launch late in the third quarter, ATD reports, according to “sources familiar with Amazon’s plans.”

The display of the summer-bound tablet will reportedly leap from 1024×600 to 1280×800. This resolution increase would put the Fire on par with the display of the Nexus 7, which we’ve lauded as the best 7-inch tablet available. The new display would deliver a crisp 216 pixels per inch, representing a 67 percent increase in total pixel density. It’s not a Retina display, but it’s a significant upgrade.

The upgraded display, however, wouldn’t be without its issues: The tablet’s aspect ratio would change from 10:6 to 16:10, but Amazon has reportedly reached out to developers to get them ready for the update.

While developers figure out the native resolution of their apps, customers will be happy to learn that Amazon is reportedly working on reducing the weight of the Kindle Fire, making it thinner. Recent rumors also have the Kindle Fire dropping its plastic external chassis for a metal case.

With the Nexus 7 shipping from Google in July, and a rumored 7-inch iPad on the way this fall, it’s in Amazon’s best interest to step up its Kindle Fire offering.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab ‘Not as Cool’ as iPad, Judge Rules

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 has been ruled “not as cool” as Apple’s iPad in a UK court. Image: Samsung

Samsung won a patent dispute with Apple on Monday, but the reason for the victory is something the company likely won’t want to brag about: British High Court Judge Colin Birss said Samsung’s Galaxy Tab tablets are simply “not as cool” as Apple’s iPad and thus consumers won’t mistake the two devices when shopping.

The Galaxy Tab and iPad are both tablets dominated by touchscreens. They do look similar — much like any two tablet families might — but Samsung’s slates are “very thin, almost insubstantial members of that family with unusual details on the back,” Birss said in his ruling. “They do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design,” Birss stated. “They are not as cool. The overall impression produced is different.”

Ouch.

In its UK suit against Samsung, Apple argues that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 infringes on the patented look and feel of the iPad, making it difficult for consumers to discern between the two devices. The UK victory follows a small win in the U.S. for Samsung: On Friday, a U.S. appeals court overturned an earlier ruling from a lower federal court that banned the sale of the Galaxy Nexus smartphone. However, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is currently under a temporary sales ban in the U.S. in the same stateside suit.

Apple and Samsung are involved in similar patent disputes in about 10 other countries as well. It’s a strange predicament, given that Apple maintains strong business relationships with non-tablet-related Samsung arms.

Officials at Samsung and Apple were unavailable for comment at press time.

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Kindle Fire 2 Will Arrive Within Two Months, Report Says

The Kindle Fire, shown here, could be updated with a snazzier metal case. Photo: Victor J. Blue/Wired

With Google’s Nexus 7 tablet set for a July release, Amazon is fast-tracking the production of its next-generation Kindle Fire. This is the message from China Times, which reports Amazon has already ordered 2 million Kindle Fire 2s from Quanta, and the tablets could arrive sometime in July or August. This information lines up with a recent report from BGR concerning a quad-core Kindle Fire arriving in July.

Both BGR and China Times point to a higher-quality metal casing replacing the plastic enclosure of the current Kindle Fire. BGR expects a 10-inch Kindle Fire while the China Times article points to three possible screen sizes: 7 inches, 8.9 inches and 10 inches. China Times reports that components for the 7-inch version began shipping in June. If this is true, it would put the Kindle Fire 2 development and release time at under a year.

The first Kindle Fire was announced in late September 2011, with tablets shipping to consumers in November 2011. The Kindle Fire went on to dominate the Android tablet market, but lately sales of the device have fallen as Samsung has taken over second place to Apple in the tablet market.

With the impressive Nexus 7 reaching consumers in July, Amazon needs to step up its 7-inch tablet game — and quickly.

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