Hasta La Gadget!

Apple’s partners in India have confirmed that the iPhone 5 will be reaching the subcontintent’s shores tomorrow, November 2nd. We’ll likely hear an announcement from Apple shortly, possibly mentioning other countries to which the handset is also headed. Lack of compatible LTE networks notwithstanding, the starting prices for an upgrade will be 45,500 rupees ($850) for the 16GB variant, moving on to 52,500 rupees ($980) for 32GB, and 59,500 rupees ($1,110) for the 64GB model — enough to buy a brand new 150cc motorbike in Mumbai.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple

iPhone 5 will say ‘namaste India’ tomorrow originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Nov 2012 09:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Apple’s iPad mini got the teardown treatment this morning, one day ahead of its official launch in stores. The diminutive tablet gave up its secrets to iFixit’s expert disassembly staff, revealing its complex inner workings to the camera. A lot of the parts are familiar, coming from either the iPhone 5 or MacBook Air, and Samsung makes a somewhat surprising appearance as an LCD panel supplier, something some early reports suggested Samsung would not be involved in supplying this component for this device.

Samsung is likely one of many display component suppliers Apple is using, but it suggests reports of the waning relationship between the two companies is at least exaggerated. There are few other surprises here, but we get a close-up look at the stereo speakers (Apple had confirmed already that these were present, despite Amazon’s suggestion they were left out), which is actually one area where the iPad mini even beats the Retina-sporting iPad (which has mono audio). iFixit also notes that the iPad mini’s battery is labeled in such a way that it isn’t exactly clear what kind of specs it boasts, but it definitely offers 4400mAh, and comes in at 50 percent less capacity than even the iPad 2. Still, early reviews suggest it lasts at least as long as both the iPad 2 and Retina iPad in actual use.

iFixit hasn’t weighed in on final repairability as of yet, but so far things aren’t looking good on that scale – The mini’s lightning port is soldered to the logic board, for instance, which isn’t the case on the iPad 3, which itself has a repairability score of 2 out of 10. iFixit’s teardown is still in progress, but we’ll update with its full repairability score when the process is complete, or you can follow along.

Update: So the final tally is 2 out of 10 for repairability, same as the full-sized iPad, since iFixit says it has some advantages over the iPad (battery not soldered to the logic board) but also some additional failings (hidden screws, soldered Lightning connector).

Who would have thought that with a name like Unmonday, things could actually look up? I mean, there are six other names in the same vein that you can pick from throughout the week. How about Unthursday the next time around? All in all, this Finnish speaker company has just announced that they managed to acquire around $1 million from a private investor so that the Unmonday 4.3L Independent Airplay speaker is able to enter production for the masses.

The Unmonday 4.3L independent Airplay speaker can be said to deliver a totally new twist where audio speakers are concerned, sporting a patented hexagonal porcelain enclosure which is capable of churning out superlative audio sans the presence of audio wires, transmitters or separate controllers. Not only that, your ears will be able to enjoy audio in three different ways – that is, Mono, Stereo or Dolby Surround sound, and in order to do so, the process is as simple as rolling the Unmonday in order to change to one of five Dolby Surround channels.

Just so you know what you are getting underneath the hood, the Unmonday speaker boasts of an Alpair 10 full-range driver, Apple Airplay and a motion sensor, so that you are able to hook up to half a dozen speakers for streaming music or movie soundtracks throughout your humble abode. Those who are interested in the Unmonday 4.3L independent Airplay speaker will be able to place a pre-order at a special price of just $499. Now, before you start to complain that this is daylight robbery, do bear in mind that the final, estimated price is tipped to be somewhere in the region of $700. Shipping of the Unmonday 4.3L independent Airplay speaker is tipped to happen sometime early next year, so you can forget about listening to your favorite tunes on this puppy this coming Christmas.

Press Release
[ Unmonday to enter full production copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Apple’s iPad mini has gone under the knife, with the 7.9-inch tablet enduring the embarrassing rite of passage as it’s torn component from component in a ritual teardown. The cads at iFixit managed to get their hands on an early-delivery of the new mini – which is set to hit preorder customers from tomorrow, Friday November 2 – to see what’s going on inside.

Inside, there’s good news and bad for DIY repairers. The LCD and the front-glass are left as separate components, rather than optically-laminated together as on the bigger iPad, and so can be individually replaced; we’d also not be surprised to see Apple pull the optical-lamination trick for the second-gen iPad mini, helping make the slate thinner.

There’s also an easily-removed battery, not glued in place as in the iPod touch, though there’s some confusion as to what capacity it actually is. Otherwise, though, the biggest challenge is “some of the smallest screws we have ever seen” and the fact that everything is so tightly packed in.

If you’re more interested in how the iPad mini holds up when it’s in one piece, there’s our full review to bring you up to speed. The WiFi-only version will hit stores tomorrow, while the WiFi + Cellular model will follow on in mid-November in the US, and late-November elsewhere.

iPad mini gets teardown treatment is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple might not have liked having to publish a notice stating that Samsung did not copy its design, as the result of a court ruling, but it complied all the same. Or did they? A UK court of appeal has criticized the firm over its choice of wording, considering it slippery enough to warrant a rewrite. The Guardian reports that the acknowledgement posted by Apple was deemed non-compliant with the court’s order. Apple has today been told to correct its statement, and re-post it on the front page of its website, with at least an 11-point font (and not as a hidden footer link) within 48 hours. The Cupertino team rebuffed, claiming that it would take at least two weeks to get a fresh rework together, a statement that reportedly caused disbelief from some court officials. So, the clock is ticking, and somewhere a legal team is no doubt engaging in some serious thinking. The new statement must remain on Apple’s site until December 14th, plenty of time to catch the attention of eager Christmas shoppers.

Filed under: Tablets, Apple, Samsung

Apple told to rewrite ‘Samsung did not copy’ statement, post it on front page until Dec 14th originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Nov 2012 08:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  The Guardian  | Email this | Comments