Category: Apples and iPods

4.8-inch Apple iPhone rumored for June

Bob Freking Leave a comment

We advise you to take this rumor with a grain of salt as it is kind of unlikely. Reports indicate that Apple is working on three iPhone models for this year – and that includes the iPhone 5‘s successor & the rumored 4.8-inch model.

There are supposed models to be launched by June – an upgrade to the iPhone 5 (presumably the iPhone 5S) & the iPhone Math. We are not sure where “Math” came from as it is indicated that it could only be a codename or a mistranslation; after all, it doesn’t fit with Apple’s naming scheme. Both models are expected to have 8 megapixel cameras.

The third model, on the other hand, is expected to pack an upgraded 12 megapixel sensor. There were no other news on this model except that it will launch near December.

iPhone Math

Apple’s suppliers are reported to be already on the move and the aforementioned iPhones are rumored to be nearing production.

A lot of speculation has been made already regarding the next iPhone – and that includes the iPhone Mini as well. To be honest, it’s hard to make sense of all these non-cohesive rumors. If it is indeed true that Apple is working on a 4.8-inch iPhone to compete with the Android flagships, there is going to be quite some cannibalization again on Apple’s own products.

This is a very crucial year for Apple. They are going to lose their competitive advantages if they don’t play their cards right in fighting this war with the other companies. What do you think? Would a 4.8-inch iPhone do the trick?

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Anybody biting into that cheaper iPhone Mini?

yuga Leave a comment

There’s been a lot of rumors surrounding what supposedly is a less expensive iPhone Mini. The same reason that Apple decided to make a more affordable iPad Mini, the iPhone Mini could also be a move to gain more market share. The question is — will people bite into that Apple idea?

In a previous article, we shared with you why we think the iPhone Mini makes a lot of sense for Apple

So we thought we’d put it to a test — here’ what we think an iPhone Mini would look like.

It will come in a smaller screen, just like the old iPhone 4. Here’s the possible specs:

iPhone Mini specs:
3.5-inch Retina Display @ 960×640 pixels
Apple 1.0GHz A5 dual-core chip
1GB RAM
8GB, 16GB internal storage
3G/HSPA+
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS w/ aGPS support
NFC
5MP rear camera with LED flash
2nd front-facing camera
iOS 6

It will be around 9.3mm thin. By this time, Apple would have announced the iPhone 5s (or possibly the iPhone 6) and will try to build NFC around the app ecosystem.

The other question is how will Apple sell this, if ever they will? First, we believe that a $99 price tag (with contract) will be the selling point when they announce it with US carriers. In other countries like the Philippines, it could be in the $499 to $549 price range.

So, if the iPhone Mini will ever be true, it’s like Apple is selling you a re-designed iPhone 4/4S. Will you bite?

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Apple iPhone Mini: Why It Makes Sense

Bob Freking Leave a comment

Recent reports suggest that we might be seeing a brand new iPhone Mini. On several viewpoints, a release of the said phone could damage Apple, but on another perspective, if they execute and market it right, it could be another hit.

Why Make One?

The Google Nexus 7 triggered a price war in the tablet space. Those who didn’t want to spend too much money on a tablet suddenly had a new option other than the iPad and the high-end Android tablets. As an indirect reply, Apple released an affordable and smaller iPad, the iPad Mini.

ipad nexus

We never thought that we’d see an iPad Mini as Apple once claimed that smaller tablets didn’t make sense. It looks like times have changed.

Google, once again, triggers another one with the Nexus 4, the high-end phone with an affordable price tag (but the distribution is somewhat a failure). This could be one of the reasons why an iPhone Mini could make sense.

But wait, cheaper iPhones already exist. The iPhone 3GS & the iPhone 4 already takes that spot. Also, these phones already have 3.5-inch displays. Where does the iPhone Mini fit in all of this?

Who Would Buy One?

The iPhone 5′s screen size is now at 4-inches, and all the older iPhones have smaller screens. Even by current standards, 4-inches might be considered small. Who wants an iPhone Mini – when you can just get an old iPhone?

iphone mini

Most of the people want their things to be ‘up-to-date’. Users hate having to update their phones on a very short time frame, which is why an iPhone Mini might become a hit.

The situation is very similar to the iPad Mini. Lesser people now want the 1st & 2nd gen iPads as they would rather opt for the iPad Mini – which has very similar specs.

What Will It Be Like?

Recent rumors suggest that a more colorful iPhone line may be due this year in the form of the iPhone 5S. However, some other reports say that an iPhone 6 (with iOS 7) may be in the works right now with another redesign and a much bigger screen.

Whether there is true or not, a sleek redesign of the 3.5-inch iPhone may attract enough consumers for it to be successful.

anostyle_06

A lot of reports have already mentioned that each Apple iPhone 5 may have a production cost of approximately $200 (Php 8000+) – which is enough to conclude that an affordable iPhone could be indeed reproduced.

Just repackage the iPhone 4S internals in a different body with a cheaper production process and voila! We have an iPhone Mini.

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Still remember the iPod Mini?

yuga Leave a comment

If you’ve been a long-time Apple fan, I am sure you still remember the iPod Mini. This was way back nine years ago when Apple was just starting to enter the music player market and iTunes was just introduced to Windows.

Apple’s iTunes used to be exclusive for Mac OS and then later on introduced to Windows users (2003). During the announcement of the iPod Mini, it was already available for Windows users thereby expanding Apple’s potential market reach.

The iPod Mini was supposed to be a smaller, lighter and more affordable version of the classic iPod (back in the days, a 30GB iPod would sell over Php30k a pop). The iPod Mini had smaller storage and uses a microdrive (CompactFlash II) in 4GB and 6GB sizes.

The one we found here just recently is an old 4GB silver iPod Mini and it’s actually still in good working condition.

This device is almost 9 years old already and the microdrive survived all these years. Anybody out there has an old, but still working, Apple iPod?

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Apple Patents “Active Stylus”, Possible Future iPen

Bob Freking Leave a comment

When the iPhone was first introduced, Steve Jobs rejected the idea of a stylus. Digital devices were said to be designed for the touch. However, the present Apple seems to be thinking of bringing it back by patenting the Active Stylus.

According to Patently Apple:

Unlike conventional styluses which work passively by blocking electric field lines between the drive and sense electrodes of a capacitive touch sensor panel, the styluses disclosed in this patent filing can either act as a drive electrode to create an electric field between the drive electrode and the sense lines of a mutual capacitive touch sensor panel, or as a sense electrode for sensing capacitively coupled signals from one or more stimulated drive rows and columns of the touch sensor panel or both.

This patent, when released as a final product, will improve responsiveness while using a stylus. However, it’s hard to imagine using a stylus on an iOS device.

iPen

If this patent is not really for production purposes, it could be that it was only made to improve their patent portfolio – after all, Samsung has their very successful Note line that features the S-Pen, and you know what could spawn from this.

This is not the first time Apple took back its words. The company once said that smaller tablets won’t compete well, and yet here we are with the iPad Mini.

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