Apple are going to deliver the most anticipated news on the 12th September 2012… the long awaited iPhone 5. Don't wait until the 12th, you need to tune in today at 5pm GMT and check out the MOST AWESOME collaboration video with myself & Emkwan from AvorahTV on our channels. Be sure you are subscribed to Geekanoids and AvorahTV before it happens.
Oh Samsung Will You Ever Learn ?!
Searching the internetz the other day I turned up this video about the "Samsung Spider Laptop" from MiniPCPro on YouTube. This is a new laptop that you can connect your Samsung Galaxy S3 to. About half way through the video, which you can watch below, we see a mouse that accompanies the laptop. Even the presenter comments that there ay be another lawsuit coming and they are right.
It doesn't just have a slight resemblence to the Magic Mouse from Apple. Instead, if you take a good look at the mouse, it really does look almost identical. After Apple being awarded $1 Billion in the last round, I thought that Samsung would be a bit more careful. I can see it now … internal document leak from engineers … "How can we make our mouse like the Magic Mouse, but improve on it, without seeming to have copied it?" … well you have managed to make a superb looking mouse, yes, but it is an IN YOUR FACE copy that will surely gain more than my attention.
What do you think? Leave your comments below.
Apple starts prepping Yerba Buena Center for September 12th iPhone 5 event
Thanks to reader Andrew Stern, we’ve got some photos that indicate Apple is already preparing San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for its September 12th iPhone 5 media event. While it appears that the exterior banners will be going up tomorrow (based on Cherry Pickers being prepped outside the front), Apple has already put up its logos inside of Yerba Buena.
[Source: 9to5Mac]
WSJ: Apple developing competitor to Pandora, could launch within 'a matter of months'
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple is engaged in talks with record labels to create a Pandora-like music streaming service. According to the outlet's sources, the service will be ad-supported and will be accessible from Apple's wide array of hardware -- there's even hope that PC users may be able to catch some of the action. However, it's said that Android devices will be left out in the cold. The sources also say that the company had previously toyed with the idea of a service similar to Spotify with a monthly fee, but that this effort appears more serious. Licenses supposedly being sought by the House that Jobs Built could let them air songs more frequently than competitors and allow for additional interactivity. Since Apple's negotiations are at an early stage, it's expected to take months before the service materializes. At any rate, if you're still jonesin' for something fresh from Cupertino, we hear that something's been cooked up for next week.
Update: The New York Times is now chiming in with a similar report citing three sources of its own.
[Source: Engadget]
Apple Media Event … Things Just Got Bigger
Rumours are rife on the internet, with many predicting that Apple will be holding a media event on 12th September 2012. There have been talks of an iPad Mini, new iMacs and of course a new iPhone.
Well, it is now a forgone conclusion that we will see a new iPhone come the 12th, but will this encompass all of the changes fanboys expect & want? Some websites are reporting we will see a larger 16:9 format screen, whilst others are touting a 3D capable camera. With the inclusion of NFC in many of the latest Google Android phones, it really should be there in the iPhone 5 or "new iPhone", but recent images tell a different story there too.
So what does Apple have to do to keep the money rolling in. Well, the new iPhone 5 will bring with it a brand new design. The glass back will be gone, with new sweeping lines and a slightly thinner profile. Incoming will be the larger screen with a higher resolution, and yes, this will be in 16:9 format. That makes total sense because this is a media consumption device. Speed demons will also be happy with the quad core processor and although Apple rarely talk speeds, this should clock at least around the 1.2GHz mark. Gaming performance will also be excellent, as this is one area Apple really work hard at. On the camera front a new 8 megapixel sensor will bring with it great clarity and another improvement in low light & depth of field (you know, for creating those arty blurred backgrounds). The only downer for all those waiting, is the actual lack of NFC, which won't be seen until next time around.
What we do know, is that there will be no iPad Mini. Apple will save that in the wings for another early October event. It is here we will see the iPad Mini alongside the new iPod touch & Nano, along with the retirement of the Shuffle. Stay tuned (and subscribed to The Geekanoids Channel for more news… exciting times are ahead.
Craig Federighi and Dan Riccio Join Apple’s Executive Team as Senior Vice Presidents, Bob Mansfield staying on
Apple just announced that Vice President of Mac Software Engineering Craig Federighi and Vice President of Hardware Engineering Dan Riccio will join CEO Tim Cook’s executive team as SVPs. Apple’s Executive Bio page updated thusly.
Note: Apple currently has two SVPs of hardware engineering. Bob Mansfield announced his retirement in June but will instead stay to work on future products, while reporting to Cook.
[Source: 9to5Mac]
One year of Tim Cook as CEO of Apple
Exactly one year ago today, Tim Cook took over the leadership of Apple from Steve Jobs. CNET's Josh Lowensohn reports that his first year at the company has been a huge success.
Not everyone believed that Cook, who had filled in for Jobs twice during his battle with pancreatic cancer, would keep the company on its incredible journey. When the announcement of his appointment as CEO was made, Apple's stock dropped more than $6 a share. But now the stock is up 44 percent over its value at this time in 2011 and Apple was recently named the most valuable company in the world in terms of market capitalization.
During Cook's first year, the company continued to see revenue growth outpacing the rest of the industry during a worldwide recession, continues to fight patent battles against rivals in court to assure that Apple (in the words of Cook) "not become the developer for the world," and has released follow-ons to its highly successful products.
However, some Wall Street analysts believe that Apple's future is bleak without the charisma of Jobs at the helm. Forrester CEO George Colony was quoted in April as saying that "Apple's momentum will carry it for 24 to 48 months, but without the arrival of a new charismatic leader it will move from being a great company to being a good company."
[Source: TUAW - Read more here]
Apple to Ramp Up 7.85" iPad Mini Production in September?
Digitimes reports that the long-rumored 7.85" iPad will begin volume production in September with a target of 4 million units per month.
Supply volume of Apple's 7.85-inch iPad is estimated to reach four million units per month starting in September in order to prepare for demand from year-end holidays, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.
The goal is said to launch the new device before the 2012 holiday season.
The timing is consistent with previous rumors that Apple would be ramping production in September. iMore reported back in May that Apple was targetting an October launch for the smaller iPad with a target price in the $200-$250 range. iMore also lumped in the iPad Mini to be announced alongside the next iPhone on the rumored September 12th media event.
The September 12th date seems certain for an Apple media event as it has been verified by a number of publications. Apple has yet to officially announce an event, however.
While a number of part leaks have already revealed what to expect in the next iPhone, iPad mini parts have been quite scarce. This seemingly late ramp up in production may have been intentionally timed by Apple to correspond with their launch media event in order to prevent as many leaks for this new device.
[Source: MacRumors]
Maxthon web browser arrives in bite-sized form for iPhone
Maxthon has long since escaped the days when it was chiefly a customized version of Internet Exploreron the desktop, and nowhere is that more apparent than its just-launched version of the normallyWebKit-based browser for the iPhone and iPod touch. All the core features of the app carry over from earlier Android and iPad versions, such as an Opera-like grid of favorite pages, a download manager and a unified address bar, but it's arguably more useful than the iPad edition: conventional browser tabs aren't coming to smaller-screened iOS devices in a future mobile Safari build anytime soon. Bookmark syncing and an optimized reading mode also persist to reduce the chance that Maxthon users drift back towards the official Apple browser, even after iOS 6 rolls around. With that all-important "free" price tag, there's every reason to give it a try -- let others know in the comments if Maxthon is enough to take precedence over comparable iOS alternatives like Chrome.
[Source: Engadget]
Mac 101: Battery not charging? Recalibration may be the answer
If your MacBook (any model) is not charging to 100%, it may need to be recalibrated. Apple explains how to do this, but basically it comes down to three steps:
- Fully charge your MacBook (and leave it charged for about 2 hours)
- Fully drain your MacBook (by using it on battery until it turns off)
- Fully recharge your MacBook again.
That should help the battery indicator recalibrate so that it shows the correct information. If it doesn't, you might need to reset the System Management Controller (SMC), but in most case I've found that a simple recalibration will work.
[Source: To read the full article visit Tuaw]
Apple seeds new OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.1 beta (build 12B17) to developers
Less than a week after seeding the initial build of OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.1 (build 12B13), Apple has followed up with a new build to developers. The beta, coming in at build number 12B17, has no known issues. Apple asks developers to focus on Active Directory, iCal, Microsoft Exchange in Mail, PAC proxies in Safari, SMB, USB, and WiFi and audio when connected to an Apple Thunderbolt Display.
10.X.1 OS X updates are usually maintenance updates released soon after the initial 10.X.0 release. The short amount of time between developer beta releases, and the small amount of builds between the earlier release and today’s release should point to that. However, the release notes are yet to be included in 10.8.1 seeds. (as shown above).
Earlier this week, Apple seeded a new beta of 10.7.5, a maintenance release for OS X Lion.
[Source: 9to5Mac]
Apple files plans for Oregon data center
The Apple Oregon data center is moving closer to reality. Apple has filed formal plans with the city of Prineville, and it looks like Apple will build a 500,000-square-foot facility. It's likely the data center will serve the Apple app stores and iCloud.
The plan shows two buildings with more than 500,000 square feet of what are described as 'data halls,' The Bend Bulletin reported Wednesday. The plan doesn't say when Apple might start building.
"They really didn't say how long they are looking at," Prineville senior planner Joshua Smith said.
An Apple spokeswoman, Kristin Huguet, referred Wednesday to the company's early statements on the development, which forecast "hiring dozens of people and bringing hundreds of construction jobs to the area" but didn't set a construction schedule." The two data centers will be neighbors across the street from the other.
[Source: TUAW]