Hasta La Gadget!

We’ve officially entered the final hours of August, and in typical SlashGear fashion, we’re sending thing off with a bang. Today’s IFA adventures didn’t produce as much news as the two days before it, but we still have plenty of hands-on posts for you to check out, just like yesterday. We got to check out a couple of Dell’s upcoming products today, spending some hands-on time with the Dell XPS Duo 12 and the more traditional Dell XPS 10. Dell wasn’t the only one showing off new computers and a tablets today though, as we also have a hands-on with HP ENVY TouchSmart Ultrabook 4, SpectreXT and ENVY x2, along with a hands-on post for the new Toshiba Satellite U920t.

We also got to have a look a bunch of interesting devices and accessories today, ranging from the Lifeproof case for the iPhone4/4S and the Jarba Soulmate to the E-Ink concept phone and the iRobot Scooba 390 and 290. It was definitely an exciting day for new gadgets and devices, so be sure to look through all of those hands-on posts.

The next iPhone made an appearance in some new images today, and in them we get an idea of its measurements. Speaking of rumored iDevices, the iPad Mini has apparently popped in one app developer’s device files, and Apple may eventually face an iPhone 5 stock bottleneck due to a shortage of screens at Sharp. The Nokia Lumia 920 PureView and Lumia 820 Windows Phone 8 handsets suffered a leak today (complete with images of the Lumia 820 Arrow later in the day), and Facebook had to revise its profit forecast by slashing $1 billion from it.

We were introduced to a slew of Windows 8 products today, most of which belong to Lenovo. This includes the Lenovo IdeaCentre A520, the IdeaPad Z series of notebooks, the IdeaPad U510 ultrabook and the Lenovo IdeaCentre B340 and B545 all-in-one PCs. Acer got in on the Windows 8 action as well, introducing the world to the Acer Aspire M3.

It may not be long before your Samsung device can react to your body language, today we seemed to get confirmation that the iPhone 5 is on the way with a new iPhone “recycling” program, and a round of Xbox-branded games have been confirmed for Windows 8 PCs. On the same day that reported images of the next Kindle Fire leaked, we get word that Amazon is planning to announce two new Kindle Fires at its press conference on September 6. The Samsung Galaxy Stellar appears to be hitting Verizon on that same day, and finally tonight, Bethesda has hinted that Skyrim‘s first DLC, Dawnguard, may not make it to the PS3.

That’s all for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up! Enjoy your weekend folks, and be sure to keep checking back with us here at SlashGear for more news from IFA 2012!

SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: August 31, 2012 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you were looking for a set of high-definition photos of the new iPhone 5 (or whatever they’ll end up calling it) next to the iPhone 4 AND the iPhone 3G, today’s you’re lucky day. Today a collection of photos have been revealed by SoHu.com where they’ve gotten their hands on what appears to be an iPhone 5 case model – handed out to 3rd party accessory manufacturers so that they might know the shape and size of the device before it’s released. Here you’ll see the next iPhone – or this heavily trafficked model that certainly appears to be the iPhone 5 – next to a couple of its predecessors as well.

The folks at Sohu have gotten their hands on a measured model of Apple‘s newest iPhone as well – showing it to be 124.46 × 58.58 × 7.41mm. They compare this set of measurements to the iPhone 4/4S which come in at 115.2 × 58.6 × 9.3mm. This tells us that the new iPhone is almost exactly the same width of the iPhone 4/4S but is certainly taller by about 10mm. This also shows that the new iPhone is just about 2mm thinner than the previous iPhone, as you can also see in the picture below.

This image also shows that the new iPhone will be working with much slimmer sections of glass on top of and on back of the device – though we’ve seen here and before that the back of the device will very likely be mostly aluminum with a couple sections of glass at the top and bottom for signal strength. The sides of the device appear to have two section breaks and the same sized volume buttons as well as screen lock – and the screen lock has a slightly smaller section of red coloring whilst locked, too.

The iPhone 5 will very likely take on a whole lot smoother appearance as far as individual bits and pieces than we expected when the first “renders” were shown off weeks ago. Here we’re seeing an iPhone that seems downright Apple-worthy – realistic, that is. Have a peek at the timeline below to see additional important news blasts and/or tips and leaks in the history of the release of this device and stay tuned for more! The next-generation iPhone has been rumored to be making its first appearance next month!

[via NWE]

iPhone 5 HD photos appear with specific measurements is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple has launched a program on their own website called Reuse and Recycling in which they’re more than willing to take your iPhone 4S for a gift certificate in their store. Of course the main reason a lot of people will be doing this is that once the iPhone 5 (or whatever it’ll be called) is on the market, the iPhone 4S might not look so fabulous anymore. To the early adopter “must have it” crowd, that is.

This program has the ability to take in not only your iPhone 4S, but a collection of other Apple devices as well as non-Apple gadgets too. The front page for this program shows an iMac, iPad, iPhone, two iPods, and a lovely old button-toting phone from the distant past. It also has the white MacBook, no longer sold by Apple brand new.

This is all part of Apple’s “Apple and the Environment” initiative of course as well, making it clear to users around the world that they are indeed Green. You’ll be assured in this Recycling initiative that your units will be either reused or recycled in environmentally friendly ways, and you’ll get more than just a warm feeling in your heart – you’ll get Apple money.

Apple won’t be tossing any cold hard cash in this program, but they will be giving you credit in their store. Gift Certificates are one of the reasons you’d send in your old gear, a no-cost-to-you offer to get rid of all your gadgets that otherwise would push us closer to a garbage-filled planet is another. If you send in your old iPod or mobile phone that’s not included in the main Gift Certificate part of the program, you’ll either just be able to send it in for recycling for free, (a great deal by itself), or you’ll be able to bring it in to an Apple Retail Store and get 10 percent off a new one.

NOTE: This 10 percent offer does not apply to the iPod shuffle – Apple says so!

And of course what’s rather important about this situation is that the iPhone 4S is included in it. There’s no other reason for Apple to want to include their newest hero phone in a program like this where you’ll get gift cards back for the unit except for the idea that an even newer model is right around the corner – except of course if you’ve got a damaged iPhone 4S and want a new one: they take damaged units, too.

iPhone 5 launch date imminent as 4S included in “recycling” program is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Ah, the next-gen iPhone. What more can we say? Almost sadly, we already know the screen will be bigger, the connecting port is smaller, and the design will be drastically different, with a two-tone metal casing. And yet, we still haven’t seen one of these bad boys fully assembled. We’ve seen parts — boy have we seen parts!

But with two weeks left until the official announcement, this is the first assembled handset we’ve seen, and it’s smiling for pics alongside the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS, no less!

Now, as with any “leak,” this could be a forgery. The folks at Digi.it.sohu first posted the pics, and then the less-than-reliable Nowhereelse.fr kindly watermarked them and re-posted.

After a close inspection, the assembly does look pretty janky. Maybe these tech enthused bloggers tried to assemble the components they had on their own, iFixit-style. Or maybe they Photoshopped the pictures entirely.

That’s not the point. The point is that, whether the pictures themselves are real or not, this is just about what the next iPhone is going to look like, if the bevy of rumors we’ve heard prove true. No, we’re still not sure about NFC, and Apple no doubt has something up its sleeve that hasn’t quite leaked yet, but as far as aesthetics go, I would say this is what you should expect.

Two weeks, people.

Click to view slideshow.

The iPhone 5 could end up in short supply, with word that Sharp has apparently experienced delays in mass producing displays for the much-anticipated iOS smartphone. Sharp had intended to begin large scale production and shipping of the new LCD panels in August, an insider whispered to the WSJ, but unspecified manufacturing problems have supposedly scuppered that timescale.

That apparently leaves just two of Apple’s three intended suppliers actually delivering components, LG Display and Japan Display Inc. Both have already begun shipping to Apple, the source says, though Sharp still does not have an estimated date for when its deliveries might begin.

If true, the delay could be potentially very embarrassing for Sharp and key Apple product manufacturer Foxconn, which recently invested significantly into the display firm. It’s not the first time Sharp has supposedly let Apple down, either. The firm was supposedly bypassed initially for new iPad display supplies after its panels failed to live up to Cupertino’s exacting standards.

Apple has declined to comment on the leaks, but the company is expected to launch the iPhone 5 at an event on September 12. Typically, Apple pushes out its new phones roughly a week or so after the official reveal, and it’s unclear whether Sharp’s problems will change that or create a supply bottleneck in the first weeks of availability.

iPhone 5 Sharp screen delay could bottleneck supply is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.