Hasta La Gadget!

If you’re waiting for a so-called “Retina” display on an iPad mini in the near future, you’ll be better off planning to wait it out for at least another season. While the iPad mini currently sits with the same display resolution as the iPad 2, the trend for best-of-the-best in all things display and specifications have suddenly proven to be topped out. While this isn’t the only indicator for the iPad mini staying with the display it’s got now, the trend has become rather apparent: the next waves of smartphones and tablets selling out of stores wont necessarily beat out the previous generation for high-end specs, they’ll be aimed at the everyman.

Suggestions from Economic Daily News Report lead the pack this week with suggestion that the second-generation iPad mini will either be pushed back to 2014 for a full launch OR will be appearing with an incremental update – not quite a full second generation, that is. Almost like an iPad mini S, as it were.

While we’ve seen the casings from the iPad 5 matching up quite well along the edges with that of the current-generation iPad mini, the iPad mini itself has had no such leaks. Only suggestions of Retina or non-Retina from sources close to the matter, analysts, and factory floor enthusiasts.

You’ll find a May 6th report from NPD DisplaySearch that suggests that the iPad mini with Retina display will be coming inside 2013, but without a boost to the machine’s processor. Similar reports suggest the opposite, with the processor (and perhaps the camera) getting a bump in an incremental update while the display would get its full-on retina upgrade in 2014.

Meanwhile the rear shell from the iPad mini 2 appeared to leak earlier this year and cannibalization continues.

The most recent update to iOS 7 – still in beta mode at the moment – suggests that the “x2″ mode included with all devices has been given a quality boost. This means that the applications made for smaller displays like the iPhone grow in size to meet the display they’re on, and with the iPad 2′s display size – it’s amount of pixels, that is – rolling strong with the iPad mini, the change will be welcome. Don’t be surprised if the iPad mini 2 continues to be called the iPad mini (without the 2) later this year, complete with upgrades to its insides, but not to its out.

iPad mini 2 skipping retina again: here’s why is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It’s once again time to look at the next iPhone, the “budget” model, as it were, with several different colors in store for the near future. This week it would appear that those responsible for manufacturing this next-generation model have let loose several different views of the machine, both from the inside and with its several buttons in full view. You’ll see a light blue, red, green, and yellow here, consistent with several recent leaks of the machine in kind.

What’s being shown in the array of buttons in a pile here is the volume up-down rocker, the power/lock button, and the lock key. This lock is identified by the red line which appears when the machine’s lock is pulled up, this signifying the locking of the device – be it muted or orientation locked, whatever the user chooses. The red model would appear to be using a white indicator instead of the standard red.

Meanwhile this same source, Benjamin’s Tech – aka Benjamin Franklin, oddly enough, shows five different colors for the next-generation lesser of the iPhones. Here we’ve got each matching the buttons above, red, yellow, blue, and green, as well as a standard white. These parts match up well with previous understanding that they’d have a back-facing camera and at least one LED flash bulb.

They’re also continuing to match previous leaks suggesting this “plastic” iPhone to be rolling out with a 4-inch display, much like the current iPhone 5. The big differences will be in the processor and the materials used to create the device, we must assume, while the smartphone itself will bring a rather similar experience in the software realm. It’ll be iOS 7 for all by the end of this year!

iPhone plastic backs and buttons appear on factory floor is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Wealth. Big stinking masses of it. That’s what the Bank of England is letting you get a glimpse of through its own official app. A panoramic tour gives a scrollable view of an unspecified number of gold bars, each weighing in at 13kg and — more importantly — worth around £350,000 ($528,000). (But hey, at least the app is free.) The Bank of England houses 400,000 of them in total, although most are actually owned by other banks. Those looking to channel the lifestyle of Scrooge McDuck can take the tour on both iOS and Android — hit up the source for links to both.

Filed under: Software, Mobile

Comments

Source: Bank Of England

Read more…

When Any.DO — the brains behind the popular iOS to-do app — announced Cal for iOS last month, we had high hopes for its take on calendar functionality. Starting today, Cal will be available for download in the App Store, but we had a chance to play with it early to see what it was all about. The app marks the company’s initial foray into a full-blown suite of productivity apps (as teased in their press release below), which will include, at some indeterminate point in the future, Any.DO’s own e-mail app. Any.DO is determined to hit a home run with its life-management line, but does Cal live up to the hype? Read on to find out.

Filed under: Software

Comments

Source: iTunes