Jun 27

iPad 3 for Spring 2012, ‘iPhone 4S’ in September?

By Brian Rumors 2 Comments »

Ever since this Spring and Apple breaking the tradition of a yearly iPhone announcement (iPhone 5), along with an impressive but slightly underwhelming iPad 2 release, there has been speculation about when Apple would unveil the next iPhone and roll out the iPad 3. According to investment research firm FBR Capital Markets analyst Craig Berger, who apparently has an inside track with Apple supply chains in Taiwan, production ramp-up of Apple’s fifth-generation iPhone, presumed to be called the iPhone 4S, will occur around late September or early October of this year. The iPhone 4S will offer performance enhancements consistent with an evolutionary upgrade as opposed to a radical redesign, so perhaps we can expect a new iPhone that looks very similar to the current iPhone 4.

Will the iPad 3 arrive before the end of the year? It doesn’t appear to be in the cards. Due to continuing strong demand and a severe supply shortage of the iPad 2, we likely can’t expect an iPad 3 prototype until early Spring 2012 and consumer availability until late Spring or early Summer 2012. Knowing this could be the case, who is waiting for the iPhone 4S and who plans on picking up an iPad 2 now instead of waiting for the iPad 3 next year?

[Apple Insider]

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Jun 13

Is Nuance partnered with Apple to bring speech recognition to iOS?

By Brian News, Rumors 2 Comments »

Like the screenshots posted above, it would appear that Nuance speech recognition may be included in the latest iOS build, possibly even in the upcoming iOS 5. This is timely in that I just spoke with my brother the other day about how we found the iPhone very lacking in the area of voice recognition and voice commands.

I’ve been very impressed with Dragon Dictation on my iPhone 4 and have wished for integration into the iOS rather than the clunky interface of having to copy and paste into the app you want to use. Don’t get me wrong — Nuance has done a great job with Dragon Dictation as a FREE app and it is very powerful and useful. Hopefully future iOS iterations will have speech recognition and voice activation built into everyday apps like email, text, internet, phone, and more.

Are you looking forward to speech recognition and voice commands in your iOS device? What will you use it for?

[MacRumors]

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Jun 06

Temporary Rumor: is this an iOS 5 notification?

By Brian Rumors No Comments »

More will surely be revealed at WWDC 2011 today, but here is some photographic evidence, possibly legit, that shows notifications displayed just below the status bar on the iPhone. There is no reason to believe this will not also appear on the iPad and iPad 2. How it is implemented is still a mystery — will it allow tapping on the notification to be taken to the app? Will it have a drop-down menu for handling the notification? Hopefully we will know very soon. Do you think this is legit?

[BGR]

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May 16

Apple retail store 10th anniversary event?

By Brian News, Rumors 1 Comment »

Not only are Apple products fun, but Apple does a great job of making significant company events and product launches make the consumer feel like a kid on Christmas morning, eager to tear the wrapping paper away and reveal the magical toys inside. According to BGR and a reliable source, Apple is planning something fun for its 10th retail anniversary this Thursday, May 19th. Here’s the alleged skinny:

  • Around 10-15 Apple employees will be working an overnight shift in each Apple Store from late Saturday through mid-Sunday.
  • During this mysterious overnight shift, employees will have to lock their cell phones in the store office and sign non-disclosure agreements with Apple.
  • Apple stores have allegedly received hardware already with more to come on Friday and Saturday — what that hardware is, no one knows except the powers that be.
  • Black curtains will be raised at all stores to prevent the curious from seeing what’s going on inside.
  • More sneaky stuff, like training downloads and additional employee training meetings.

Seems like Apple is up to something, but we will likely have to wait until Thursday to find out for sure. Let us know if you have any ideas or insider details!

[BGR]

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Jan 30

iPad 2 faster, smarter, thinner anti-reflective screen?

By Brian Rumors 2 Comments »

The much-rumored, much-anticipated iPad 2 may not have a higher-resolution display, but according to Concord Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPad 2 screen will be 30-35% thinner and offer a better sunlight reading experience (take THAT, Kindle) with anti-reflective properties. Along with screen improvements, the iPad 2 will have a Cortex A9 dual core processor (1.2GHz) and the Imagination Technologies SGX 543 dual-core GPU. RAM will also see a jump to 512MB like the iPhone 4.

Regardless of what ends up being real or not, rumor-wise, we will all know soon enough when the iPad 2 is released. Personally, I’m disappointed that the iPad 2 won’t have a higher-resolution retina display like the luscious one I enjoy on my iPhone 4, but maybe we will see this upgrade in the following iPad model. With that said, I do hope that the anti-reflective properties rumor ends up being true because direct sunlight reading on the iPad is challenging.

[MacRumors]

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Jan 24

Rumor: iPad 3 will have high-resolution display

By Brian Rumors 5 Comments »

Many rumors have circulated on the internet about what to expect with the iPad 2 — a camera on the front and back, more memory, an SD card slot, slimmer form-factor, and more. One rumor that had me salivating was a high-resolution display for the iPad 2, but a new rumor suggests that the high-resolution display will come to the iPad 3.

Rather than the cost being an obstacle of an iPad 2 high-resolution “retina” display, the real problem appears to be production. Current suppliers simply cannot keep pace with the expected demand of the iPad 2, so Apple is expected to bring the “retina” display to the iPad 3 after allowing enough time for display manufacturers to prepare for the production numbers needed.

As tempted as I am to upgrade to the iPad 2 to take advantage of the expected feature upgrades, particularly the cameras for using FaceTime, a “retina” display would have sealed the deal for me. Now, I’m more likely to wait for the iPad 3 — time will tell. Does the display difference expected between the iPad 2 and iPad 3 affect your decision to upgrade?

[tuaw]

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Jan 13

Apple removing “home” button on new iPad and iPhone?

By Brian Rumors 1 Comment »

You know that familiar, friendly, ever-present “home” button on the bottom front of your iPad and iPhone? You soon may need to bid adieu to that button if an Apple source is correct in revealing that Apple plans to do away with the “home” button on new versions of the iPad and iPhone. The next iOS 4.3 update adds new multitouch gestures for the iPad which can be used to navigate to the home screen and launch the app switcher along the bottom of the screen.

According to the rumor from BGR, this change will make it’s way over to the new iPhone as well and allegedly Apple employees are already using these button-less devices around the Apple campus to put them through their paces. Having owned an iPhone for four years now and also having become fairly acquainted with my iPad, having no “home” button will take some getting used to. There are advantages — more space for bigger screens, reducing the form factor of iPad and iPhone, and even the fact that Apple can eliminate the wear-and-tear and eventual mechanical malfunction of the button. However, being a creature of habit, I think I would miss the “home” button. What do you think? Should it stay or should it go?

[BGR, photo courtesy of BGR]

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Dec 31

Overview of iPad 2 rumors

By Brian Rumors 3 Comments »

It’s the last day of 2010 (for most of us), and with 2011 just ’round the bend, it seemed like a good time to review the iPad 2 rumors that have been floating around the internet. Given the massive success of Apple’s first iPad, the iPad 2 is intended to reach a broader audience and should sell in the millions. Here’s a quick list of iPad 2 expectations and/or wishes:

  • GSM and CDMA networks for broader data access and user base
  • Camera and gyroscope
  • Thinner case
  • USB port and SD card slot
  • Retina display (oh, how we wish!)
  • Updated processor

The site mobile broadband.net has a good rundown on these iPad 2 rumors and provide some good detail. If the iPad 2 offers up all or even most of these improvements and upgrades, will you be wanting one? What is the most important feature to you and, if the feature you want is missing from this rumor list, what is it?

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Dec 23

New iPad 2 may be smaller, flatter, wide-range speaker?

By Brian Rumors No Comments »

Like flurries of snowflakes upon the wind, iPad 2 rumors continue to swirl about the internet as the next generation tablet from Apple is believed to be shipped in mid-to-late January 2011. According to Japanese blog Mac Octakara, the iPad 2 will sport a few changes that affect the size, shape, and performance of Apple’s popular tablet.

The iPad 2 is rumored to have a smaller bezel — the plastic portion around the screen will be slightly smaller and result in a smaller overall size without compromising the display size. Also, instead of a curved back, the iPad 2 will have a flat back, which of course will result in a new flurry of cases, skins and sleeves to carry and protect the new flat-backed iPad. Finally, a new wide-range speaker covered with metal mesh (depiction shown above) will grace the bottom of the iPad 2. Hopefully this last rumor is true because it would be very nice to have better sound from the speaker of the iPad!

What do you think of the rumored changes in the next iPad?

[MacRumors]

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Dec 09

Rumor firming up: alleged iPad 2 cases reveal opening for camera on back, SD card slot?

By Brian Rumors 1 Comment »

Multiple images of alleged iPad 2 cases have surfaced online and seem to suggest that Apple’s next iPad, the iPad 2 (likely available early 2011) will have a rear-facing camera and possibly an SD card slot on the bottom next to the dock connector. The SD card slot is intriguing — currently Apple offers a $29 kit with a pair of adapters for transferring photos via SD card or USB to a digital camera. It’s also rumored that the iPad 2 will have a second front-facing camera, like the iPhone 4, for use with their new FaceTime service for video chat.

Given the many varied pictures of cases that have surfaced, the iPad 2 camera(s) rumor is taking a more solid form and should make an appearance on the new iPad. I’m also liking the possible addition of an SD card slot, although for me personally, I doubt it will get much use. Then again, it would be very convenient for traveling when my digital camera’s memory card fills up and I need to do a photo dump into my iPad’s storage. As rumors become fact and as new rumors surface, I’ll post them here, of course!

[MacRumors]

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