Oct 16
Oct 16
Apple Reportedly Reduces iPhone 5c Orders, Increases iPhone 5s Output For Q4
Posted in: Today's Chili
Apple is cutting its orders for the iPhone 5c ahead of the fourth quarter, a new report from the Wall Street Journal claims. Citing people familiar with the situation, the WSJ says that Apple asked its two iPhone assembly partners Pegatron and Hon Hai to reduce the volume of orders for it lower-cost smartphone going into the end of the year, by under 20 percent and around one-third respectively.
The iPhone 5c reduction also comes alongside an iPhone 5s production increase, however, according to two Hon Hai executives speaking to the WSJ. Apple saw much higher than anticipated demand for the new gold-colored version especially, the report says, leading to an uptick in volume output for those devices. Still, the cuts for iPhone 5c orders seem to also include a 50 percent decrease in parts from at least one supplier, indicating Apple is possibly preparing to reduce volumes even further.
The new information from the Wall Street Journal backs up claims made earlier this week from analyst firm Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, which said that the iPHone 5s was outselling the iPhone 5c by a ratio of two to one. That also lines up with the live data being tracked by mobile analytics firm Mixpanel, which sees iPhone 5s adoption at just over double that of the iPhone 5c, a little over a month after launch.
The above lines up with anecdotal reports we’ve heard from various Apple Store and carrier retail employees that the iPhone 5s is hard to keep in stock, while the iPhone 5c remains readily available. At first, it was unclear whether or not this might be attributable simply to an abundance of supply of the lower cost device, but increasingly, it seems demand plays a role, too.
Apple still managed to sell 9 million iPhones in total during its launch weekend, however, and the iPhone 5c isn’t designed as a marquee or flagship seller. What’s more likely is that interest in the iPhone 5c burns more slowly, but perhaps more consistently – its target shoppers aren’t the type to rush out to a launch day celebration, and are much more likely to be swayed by in-store specials and carrier/retailer discounts as time goes on and their contracts run out.
We’ve reached out to Apple for comment on the matter, and will update if we hear more.
Oct 16
If the movie industry wonders why piracy seems to persist, here’s one possible answer: people pirate ’em because they don’t have the option of paying for a legal copy online.
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Oct 16
In digital photography, high quality and portability are most of the time at odds with each other, with higher quality output requiring larger equipment or numerous attachments. Sony is attempting to bridge that gap with its new RX10 digital camera that offers DSLR-style photography without needing to bring half a dozen interchangeable lenses along for […]
Oct 16
Feedly for Android scores 300 percent faster start time, raft of refinements
Posted in: Today's Chili
Google Reader stand-in Feedly has picked up a bounty of tweaks and features in its latest version, which just hit Google Play. Now in its 17th iteration, the app starts up 300 percent faster, boasts smoother scrolling, a retooled widget and a new discover section to peruse stories. Design buffs will …
Oct 16
Sony Unveils Beastly And Beautiful A7 And A7R Full-Frame Mirrorless Cameras
Posted in: Today's Chili
Sony has announced a couple of new cameras early this morning, including the A7 and A7R, both mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras with a twist that’s unprecedented for that type of device – a full-frame sensor is housed within each. That makes these the smallest, lightest full-frame cameras with swappable lenses to boast full-frame power, and with a 36.4 megapixel sensor on the A7R, and a 24.3 megapixel one in the A7. Of course, it’s the sheer size of those sensors that makes all the difference here.
Full-frame blows away the APS-C and micro four thirds sensors found in most MILC systems, like Sony’s existing NEX line or the Olympus OM-D models, in terms of their ability to capture light and deliver better over all image quality through accurate and rich color and contrast capture. The new Sony A7R also omit an optical low pass filter, which results in better resolution and detail rendering. Both of these new cameras have a new BIONZ X processor, a hybrid AF system that uses both phase and contrast detection for quicker focus, an OLED Tru-Finder hybrid optical viewfinder and a 3-inch rear screen that can be tilted, another first for a full-frame.
Both camera models also boast both NFC and Wi-Fi for easy pairing and direct transfer of photos to devices, and they’re built for pros, with dust- and moisture-resistant magnesium alloy cases. They take a new full-frame E-mount lens, of which Sony is release five in time for launch, and they also work backwards with standard E-mount lenses designed for the NEX series, albeit with some cropping. There will also be an adapter for Sony’s A-mount lenses, which work with their non-mirrorless DSLR range.
The A7R and A7 will both go on sale in December, for $2,300 and $1,700 for body-only, respectively. There will also be kits available with some of the new lenses. Sony’s new full-frame interchangeable powerhouses aren’t cheap, but they aren’t crazily expensive, either – on par with the new lower cost line of full-frame DSLRs, in fact. Sony has been absolutely blazing a trail through the digital photography world these past few years, with its RX- line of powerful pocket cameras, and even the innovative (if odd) Q- series cameraphone lens attachments. The A7R and A7 look to be a continuation of that trend, but we’ll reserve final judgement until we get some hands on time with these new photographic monsters.
Oct 16
After having been leaked a couple of days ago, the Sony A7 and A7R have now gone “official”. Both cameras use the E-mount and share lenses with the Sony NEX Series. The FE premium lenses for full-frame sensors would be more adequate, but there are so few of them… Those cameras are the full-frame monsters that die-hard fans were hoping for, and they respectively use impressive 36 and 24 Megapixel sensors. In fact, that’s so many pixels that Sony has decided to remote the low-pass filter (blurring) on the Alpha 7R. (more…)
Sony Alpha7R And Alpha 7 Become Official original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Oct 16
Before the word wide web was a twinkle in Tim Berners Lee’s eye, CERN had developed the Grid—a world-spanning network of computing power to help drive the progress of physics.
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