Hasta La Gadget!

Once again we’re being treated to an up-close look at the iPhone “budget” model that’s being rumored for release later this year, this time in video form. This machine is said to succeed the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, pushing the entire line of iPhone devices to the 4-inch panel size to keep things standard while the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5S keep things premium. So what’s holding us back from believing in this lovely preview?

Have a peek at this machine and see what’s missing. It’s not this one indicator – the complete lack of any certification information – that would stop us from believing it’s real. On the contrary: a release of a device this early in its production would indeed be bringing it out without said information.

But for a device that has this information printed on itself in final form, it simply does not make sense for this model to exist. If this device were created by Apple, printed information on its back and all, they’d also include some dummy info. A model like this is – if it ever sees the light of day – made to help its original designers to see that it’s ready for production.

If it doesn’t include the full final form, it’s essentially useless – unless it’s only made for case-makers. That, on the other hand, makes this model rather helpful. But here’s the kicker: Apple doesn’t send models like this out to case-makers, they send out schematics. If Apple changed their mind and decided to start sending mock-up devices to case-makers before the device is released, there’d be no end to the leaks.

Then again, judging by the amount of leaks that have appeared with this plastic beast so far, we could be seeing that very thing happen here before the next generation appears.

VIA: NYSEBulletin

Plastic iPhone appears again in video: a bit too unreal? is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

This week during the Apple earnings call that also saw Apple report a record quarter for iPhone sales, CEO Tim Cook suggested that the higher end of the smartphone market has not reached it’s peak. This was in response to a question about the iPhone and how possible it was that the “high end” was “reaching saturation”. This was in spite of, as the user asking the question made clear, the increase in iPhone sales this quarter.

It’s not as if the iPhone is hurting for sales – even with the iPhone 5 being the newest model on the market and rumors of a next-generation device already saturating the airwaves. Instead, Apple’s attitude during the Q and A section of the earnings call this week remained wholly positive.

“From a growth point of view for Apple, our key catalyst will always be new products and new services. In addition we have opportunities in distribution, carrier partnerships, the online store, and the indirect channel.” – Tim Cook

Cook added that he saw the iPhone’s market as healthy – not a place where too many devices on the market means no one will want a new machine.

“I don’t subscribe to the common view that the higher end of the smartphone market has hit its peak.” – Tim Cook

Does this mean no iPhone budget model? While no one asked such a question directly, Tim Cook’s representation of Apple as a company whose one goal is to make great products remained solid.

“We think if we focus on great products and do it well, the financial performance will also come. We don’t see those things as being mutually exclusive.

…

The most important thing is that the customers love the products – if you don’t start at that level, you end up creating things that people don’t want.” – Tim Cook

What do you think? Do you think it’s time the smartphone market started seeing innovation in ways we’ve not yet thought of? Consider the Nokia Lumia 1020 and it’s massive 41-megapixel camera setup. Is that enough?

Or does Apple – in this case – need to create a smartphone that’s got something we’ve not even considered?

SOURCE: Apple

Tim Cook: high-end smartphone market hasn’t reached its peak is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The government has called on handset makers to implement technology that will potentially reduce the instances of smartphone thefts, which are increasingly on the rise. Several makers were sent an open letter months ago by New York Attorney General Schneiderman, as well as District Attorney George Gascón of San Francisco, criticizing them for not taking a more proactive approach to the issue.

Now two of those companies – Apple and Samsung – are having their anti-theft technology put to the test at a meeting under the Secure Our Smartphones (S.O.S) Initiative. The devices being tested are Apple’s iPhone 5 and its Activation Lock, and Samsung’s GALAXY S 4 and its Lojack for Android. The meeting was underway today in San Francisco.

Said the two in a statement: “While we are appreciative of the efforts made by Apple and Samsung to improve security of the devices they sell, we are not going to take them at their word. Today we will assess the solutions they are proposing and see if they stand up to the tactics commonly employed by thieves. Together, we are working to ensure that the industry embeds persistent technology that is effective, ubiquitous and free to consumers in every smartphone introduced to the market by next year.”

The meeting includes reps from the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center, more commonly known as NCRIC, according to the statement. Under the test, the smartphones in question will be “treated” like they were stolen, presumably with the security features being utilized to demonstrate what the result would be. There’s no word yet on whether either of them satisfied the state and federal ambitions for the technology.

Although California and New York are being most vocal about the move, the S.O.S Initiative is a national coalition that is enjoying participation from public safety activists, various DAs and AGs, city comptrollers, law enforcement, and consumer advocates. All of this follows the launch of a stolen cell phone database that went live in the US in October 2012.

SOURCE: NY AG

iPhone 5 and GALAXY S 4 anti-theft technology put to test is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple is investigating claims that an iPhone 5 owner was killed while answering a call, with Chinese police confirming the user, 23 year old Ma Ailun, was indeed electrocuted. The woman was charging the iPhone 5 at the time of the alleged incident, Chinese site Xinhuanet reports, and according to comments by her sister was killed by an electric charge through the handset. Apple has said it is cooperating fully with authorities, though declined to comment on any specifics.

“We are deeply saddened to learn of this tragic incident and offer our condolences to the Ma family” Apple said in a statement, Reuters reports. “We will fully investigate and cooperate with authorities in this matter.”

According to local police, Ma was indeed electrocuted, and that is believed to be the cause of death. However, they would not confirm whether or not her iPhone 5 was involved.

Ma’s older sister has already pinned the blame on the Cupertino firm, however, suggesting that all smartphone owners should avoid using devices while they’re plugged in. “[I] hope that Apple Inc. can give us an explanation” she wrote on messaging service Sina Weibo. “I also hope that all of you will refrain from using your mobile devices while charging.”

One possibility is that the charger itself could be at fault, particularly if it was not an official unit. Last December, a UK iPad user received an electric shock from a fake Apple charger, the Birmingham Mail reported, with a local trading standards spokesperson confirming that a similar incident had caused the death of a young boy some months earlier.

Meanwhile, US product testing and verification company UL was forced to issue a warning earlier this year after identifying counterfeit iPhone chargers that had faked its approval label. “These USB power adaptors have not been evaluated by UL to the appropriate Standards for Safety,” the company said in a statement at the time, “and it is unknown if these power adaptors comply with any safety requirements.”

Apple investigates iPhone 5 electrocution death claim in China is written by Chris Davies & 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.