Hasta La Gadget!

Apple just announced that the iPhone 5 is going to cost $200 and release on September 21st. Get ready because that’s about a week and a half from now. If you want to be smart and skip the line though, you can pre-order the new iPhone starting on September 14th. More »

If you’re gung-ho on upgrading to the iPhone 5 and have a mountain of old accessories from previous generations of the iPhone and iPod, this is the ugly adapter you’ll need to buy for all of your deprecated gear. The iPhone 5 introduces a new, and considerably smaller, Lightning connector that’s incompatible with every single Dock Connector accessory ever released. More »

The new iPhone deserves a new dock connector. Say hello to the reversible, 80 percent smaller, Lightning. The likes of Bose, BLW and B&O are already working on new compatible docks while the new connector itself is now easier to connect, more durable, all digital, with an adaptive interface which warrants some closer inspection. Naturally, an adapter will also be made available for your existing iPhone peripherals, but if you have a number of devices to connect, it’s likely to put a hurt on your wallet — the adapter is now for sale in the Apple Store for a whopping $29. At least it’ll pair well with that Thunderbolt connection, right?

Check out all the coverage at our iPhone 2012 event hub!

Filed under: Cellphones

Apple’s new iPhone 5 dock connector: It’s called Lightning and it’s 80 percent smaller, but the adapter is $29 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Sep 2012 13:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple’s got a new camera in its brand new iPhone 5: 8-megapixels with a 3,264 x 2,448 backside-illuminated sensor, five-element lens, and f/2.4 aperture sits on the rear of the new device. “Same as the iPhone 4S, but thinner.” 25 percent thinner in fact, to match the now slimmer iPhone. The branding remains the same — it’s still the iSight — but a few new bells and whistles have been added alongside the thinning. A new dynamic low light mode, for one, and a fancy sapphire crystal cover. The phone’s new A6 processor also helps out, offering a “smart filter” for better color matching, as well as speedier capture and still capture during video.

In terms of functionality, there’s a new panorama mode, that allows picture stitching for multiple images into one larger shot (a whopping 28 megapixels in total) — it looks like the 4S is getting this function as well, though it’s unclear if it’ll be via iOS 6 or what. Photo sharing is also getting expanded, adding more social functionality — images can be shared with multiple friends or family members, and then those folks can comment.

But you only care about video, don’t you? You’ll be glad to hear that it’s getting expanded as well. The rear camera still offers 30fps 1080p HD capture, albeit with better image stabilization. The front facing camera now features 720p video for all your extreme close-ups. Speaking of FaceTime, it will be available via LTE on the iPhone 5. But on all mobile networks? We’re not so sure just yet.

Check out all the coverage at our iPhone 2012 event hub!

Filed under: Cameras, Mobile

Apple details iPhone 5’s new camera: 8MP, ‘same as iPhone 4S but thinner’ originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Sep 2012 13:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple’s iPhone boasts a taller screen, as rumored, and that means basically an extra row’s worth of information in terms of the home screen. That’s going to result in some changes in the design language app-makers have to speak, but Apple’s already updated its first-party apps in order to give devs a roadmap.

iWork, iMovie, and Garageband, as well as all the stock apps that ship with the iPhone, are now designed to take advantage of the change by providing extra information. For existing third-party apps, there’s a compatibility mode that will letterbox content, displaying black bars on either side. It’s better than just stretching things in terms of providing a pleasant, consistent user experience.

“But what about the App Store apps?” Phil Schiller, Apple senior vice president of  worldwide marketing, asked on stage. “Well here’s an app that hasn’t been updated. It runs at the same size. We center it and place black borders on either side.”

A stretched display brings the iPhone closer to a 16:9 resolution than its 4:3, good for video and movie playback. The change should also help us see some interesting additions from developers as they look to update their apps to take advantage of the new space.