Friday, April 6, 2012

Forget The New iPad '3': Apple Working On 7.85-Inch iPad 4, Release Date Scheduled For October 2012 [RUMORS]

It's been one month since Apple unveiled its third-generation iPad in San Francisco, but now, a new reportsays Apple is experimenting with a 7.85-inch iPad in its labs in Cupertino, Calif.
Every iPad released by Apple, including the original iPad, iPad 2 and New iPad, has featured a screen that measures 9.7 inches. According to DaringFireball's John Gruber, who was asked by his co-host Dan Benjamin about the fourth-generation iPad during their Apr. 4 podcast, a 7.85-inch iPad is something in the works, but has no timeframe just yet. (If you want to listen to Gruber's response, start listening at 77:46)
"The question is this: Is Apple going to come out with a 7-inch iPad, and if so, why not?" Benjamin asked.
"Well, I don't know," Gruber said. "What I do know is that they do have one in the lab. A 7.85-inch iPad that runs at 1024 x 768, and it's just like the 9.7-inch iPad shrunk down a little bit. Apps wouldn't need to be recompiled or redesigned to work optimally on it, it's just the iPad, smaller. Which I didn't believe at first, but I've heard this before, and I've done a little screenshot testing on an iPad."
Gruber can be trusted: He has been accurate with Apple news in the past, and he seems to have many contacts within the company. In his podcast, Gruber describes how current iPad users could get an idea of what a 7.85-inch iPad would look and feel like:
"One way to kind of get a feel for how big it is is to take a screenshot on the iPad holding it in portrait, then rotate it to horizontal (landscape) and show that same screenshot. That's about how big the interface would be. The height of a 7.85-inch iPad would be about the same as the width of the current iPad. And it's usable. There's a couple of areas where I think text is maybe a little bit too small, but it's not ridiculously small."
Gruber said he's heard from "numerous people" that a 7.85-inch iPad is "one of the ideas that they're noodling with." Yet, he has no idea if Apple will decide to produce this iPad, and if so, when we could expect it.
"I think it's something like a maybe," Gruber said. "As Steve Jobs famously said numerous times, he's as proud of the things he's said no to,l much more than the things they've actually shipped. They do all sorts of things, they make all sorts of products that they never actually release."
Gruber explains that Apple always has many different concept devices in the works, "just in case."
"I think the question Apple asks is, 'Why should we release it?'" Gruber said. "One obvious reason would be to hit a lower price point, to have a tablet at the $199 or even the $299 level, because the cheapest right now is $399. Another reason to work on it is 'just in case.' What would happen if the Kindle Fire had been an unbelievable success? If they'd sold 40 million of them at Christmas or something like that?"
Benjamin pushed Gruber to speculate on when Apple would release the fourth-generation iPad:
"If you want me to speculate, [it] could be something they'll release at the WWDC timeframe, because I don't think they'll have a new phone by then," Gruber said. "I think the phone is now on a fall schedule. I don't think they'll release a new phone within a year of the previous phone, so I don't expect a new iPhone 5 or 6 or whatever the hell you want to call it -- or if you go with the iPad, the new iPhone -- I don't expect the new iPhone at WWDC. Would they want to ship something else in that time frame so they would have something new to sell? I don't know."
Gruber's report aligns with earlier reports, which said Apple was building a "mini" iPad that measured between 7.5 and 8 inches: 
On Feb. 13, the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple was testing an 8-inch iPad in its labs, which the company believed could be introduced alongside the iPad 3 in March. An earlier report from Apple's Taiwanese supply chain also said Apple would release a second, smaller tablet in October. Even older reportssimilarly stated Apple would release a 7.85-inch iPad after the iPad 3, which would reportedly upgrade its hardware specs throughout the device, and come with "killer applications" to compete with Android or Windows-based tablets.
Even though Gruber doesn't know when the fourth-generation iPad will be released, most reports said October 2012 was the target date. That date could coincide with a new iPhone launch, but don't be surprised if Apple introduces a low-priced "mini iPad" with no major upgrades or frills for the sake of having an extra item to sell for Christmas.
In November, developers discovered code for new Apple products in the iOS 5.1 beta update, which accidentally leaked references to a next-generation iPhone and two next-gen iPads, internally named iPhone 5,1, iPad 2,4 and iPad 3,3, respectively. If the "iPad 3,3" is the "New iPad," the "iPad 2,4," could be a logical step between the iPad 2 and the new iPad, at least size-wise.
A smaller tablet would make sense for Apple, as more competitors like Amazon and Barnes & Noble look to break into the tablet space with cheaper tablet offerings of their own, which both cost less than half the price of a new iPad (starting at $499). Amazon's Kindle Fire measures 7 inches and costs $199. Barnes & Noble's Nook Tablet also measures 7 inches, but costs $249.
Apple experienced great success by releasing different shapes and sizes of its iPod music player; as long as it comes with a Retina Display, there's a great chance Apple could replicate this formula with its tablets, too.
The tablet market, which was virtually non-existent prior to 2010, has become extremely popular in the last two years. Yet, people don't want tablets; they want iPads. According to market researcher IDC, the Apple iPad represented roughly 62 percent of all global tablet shipments in the third quarter of 2011.
Building a smaller tablet, however, would be going against the will of Steve Jobs, who said in October 2010 that the iPad's current 9.7-inch size was "the minimum size required to create great tablet apps."
There's a great chance that Apple will release an 8-inch iPad, but it's unlikely that the tablet will arrive in June. Apple has enjoyed tremendous success releasing one product at a time -- as evidenced by the record-breaking sales of the iPhone 4S, which was not sold alongside another iPhone 5 like many speculated. If the Journal's reports are accurate, users could expect a mini 8-inch iPad in October or November, or possibly even in December or January 2013.
On Jan. 24, CEO Tim Cook announced Apple's record-breaking Q1 2012 earnings, selling 37 million iPhones, 15.4 million iPads and 5.2 million Macs for the quarter that ended Dec. 31, 2011. Apple will announce its second quarter results on April 24, 2012, at 5 p.m. ET.

Samsung Galaxy S3 Release Date: Superior 4.65-Inch Super AMOLED Plus Screen On Cards, Device In Carrier Testing Phase

Once the South Korean tech giant Samsung releases the highly anticipated Galaxy S3 smartphone, the successor to Galaxy S2, it would be interesting to see whether it will rise up to challenge the current dominance of the Apple iPhone in the smartphone industry. But one thing is certain that the Samsung device has reached a level of rumor-mongering and enthusiasm, which is close to that of the next-generation iPhoneaka iPhone 5.
  • (Photo: Samsung )<br>Samsung Galaxy S3 Release Date: Superior 4.65-Inch Super AMOLED Plus Screen on Cards, Testing Begins
(Photo: Samsung )
Samsung Galaxy S3 Release Date: Superior 4.65-Inch Super AMOLED Plus Screen on Cards, Testing Begins
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Taking the growing rumor mill forward, a new report surfaced Wednesday, suggesting that the third incarnation of the Galaxy S series may feature a new screen, which "will surely be an impressive one if the specs are accurate," Redmond Piereported.
The site cited another report by a Korean publication DDaily(Google translation) which said that Samsung Galaxy S3 will sport a 4.65-inch Super AMOLED Plus display which would be the first of its kind. With a 720p display (316 ppi), the screen could be a real game changer for Samsung. At a time when rival manufacturer HTC has raised the bar further with its HTC One series, Samsung would do well to offer something similar or more impressive with its upcoming smartphone.
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The 4.65-inch Super AMOLED screen featured in Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy S2 HD LTE handsets is the existing top of the line screen offered by Samsung. If the company indeed jazzes up the AMOLED technology for its screens, the new Galaxy S3 will boast the best AMOLED display ever seen, according to Redmond Pie.
The new piece of information contradicts earlier reports saying that Galaxy S3 will feature a 4.8 inch, full HD 1080P resolution display with 16:9 aspect ratio. Many reports even said that the company might launch the device as its first phone with a 3D screen. Rumors about a PenTile pixel layout were also heard.
PenTile employs each and every green sub-pixel to allocate a red and blue sub-pixel with another green sub-pixel to create an absolute pixel density, which is lower than a traditional LCD screen.
The Release Date
When will Samsung launch the smartphone? This is another question about Galaxy S3 that has created a lot of confusion among eager customers. While the company has kept it completely under wraps, rumors tend to suggest that the device is already in the hands of country's carriers for testing.
The Christian Post reported, citing another publication AsiaE, that "the release date for Samsung Galaxy S3 should be arriving soon as the smartphone is rumored to have entered into testing in Korea, the electronics giant's home base."
Samsung is also believed to accelerate the process for the device that normally takes about two months as it wants to release the smartphone before Apple launches the next iPhone sometime this summer.
The company recently told the technology website The Verge that the successor to Galaxy S2 would be launched in the first half of 2012. "The successor to the GALAXY S II smartphone will be unveiled in the first half of the year, closer to commercial availability of the product... We cannot confirm the detailed information at the moment," said the company.
As far as the release date is concerned, Samsung's own announcement itself gave waiting customers authentic grounds to believe that the S3 will arrive in the first half of this year.
A recent report by ZDNet Korea said that the device would be released in April and it would hit the stores in July, in a bid to coincide with Samsung's sponsorship of the London Olympic Games. On the other hand, TechRadar, citing another leaked photo of the device, reported that Galaxy S3 might see the light of the day in May. "Thanks to the photo which was posted on the social news website Reddit, the Samsung Galaxy S3 is set for a May 22 launch, in London," the report added.
Another report in Pop Herald pulled in Galaxy S2 into the scene saying that "Samsung must reach the 100 percent 'Galaxy S2 with Ice Cream Sandwich' status worldwide before selling a new flagship device, like the widely expected Galaxy S3."
Sprint Samsung Galaxy S3
Following the official announcement of the Sprint HTC Evo 4G LTE, rumors are rife that a Sprint Samsung Galaxy S3 may release later this month and the launch could take place as early as in April-end to early-May.
With Sprint confirming unlimited LTE data, an upcoming Sprint Samsung Galaxy S3 could be the phone "that won't end up costing you a bomb after," said a report in Motoring Crunch.
"As blazingly fast as the Samsung Galaxy S3 will be, users will need to 'hold back' when it comes to data surfing so as to not hit their data caps too soon and cost them a bomb every month in overages," said the report. "This would be a problem for the first and second largest carriers in the US only (Verizon and AT& respectively) as Sprint has confirmed its LTE data plans will be unlimited."
However, the report also stated that since Sprint's LTE network is still in its early stage, "it may be some time before they reach similar coverage as Verizon, the leading LTE mobile provider at this time."
Rumored Specifications For Samsung Galaxy S3
Whether it's the success of the Galaxy S2, the slow roll out of the ICS update on the S2, or whatever the actual reason may be for Galaxy S3's delayed launch, enthusiasm among fans seems increasing every other day. Other than the display, here is what the device is expected to offer once it is made public.
Processor and OS: Samsung is highly rumored to improve its processor in the Galaxy S3 in a big way. The rumors so far have suggested that a quad-core, Exynos 4212/ Exyos 5250, 2 GHz/ 1.8 GHz processor with 2GB RAM would power the Galaxy S3. The phone is also expected to get major speed boosts on graphics and incorporate some battery-friendly power-saving features with its latest device.
Galaxy S3 is likely to be available in the market with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, Google's latest mobile operating system. Rumors also said that Galaxy S3's TouchWiz would be an upgraded one and would include Samsung hubs for music, reading, games and apps.
Design and CameraSamsung Galaxy S3 has been speculated to be thinner than the Galaxy S2. Given that Galaxy S2 is just 8.5 mm thick, Galaxy S3 will definitely have a wow factor if it does turn out to be thinner than its predecessor.
Rumors about the camera feature in Samsung Galaxy S3 have gone too far, saying that it may feature a 12 megapixel 4000x3000 pixels camera along with features like autofocus, LED flash, geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection and image stabilization features. The phone is also expected to sport a 2 megapixel secondary camera.
Memory, Connectivity and Other Features: With 2GB RAM, the next Samsung smartphone is likely to have internal storage options of 16/32GB. The device is also expected to support a microSD card up to 64GB.
Samsung's upcoming flagship smartphone will also likely incorporate LTE and Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. As suggested by rumors, features like Bluetooth version 4.0, assisted GPS with GLONASS, Wi-Fi with DLNA and hotspot functionality are also on the cards. The smartphone is expected to feature a 2250mAh battery.