Hasta La Gadget!

If you’ve been using the internet long enough, chances are you’ve come across the Blendtec YouTube channel. For those unfamiliar, the Blendtec YouTube channel hosts a series of hilarious videos called, “Will It Blend?” in which a variety of items, electronic and non-electronic, are stuffed into the blender which then tears it apart. In fact one video even had them blending the Guitar Hero guitar controller. Well the folks at Blendtec are back and this time they have decided to pit both the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the iPhone 5 against each other to see which item can withstand the blending better. Funnily enough, this also speaks to the survey we reported on yesterday where it was suggested that most accidental iPhone damage occurs in the kitchen, which we assume is where most blenders are kept (thanks to our reader Lizardwithhat for pointing that out!).

It should be noted that this is hardly conclusive evidence that speaks to the durability of either device, but if you just want to see phones get blended, then be sure to check it out in the video above! Interestingly it seems that the Samsung Galaxy S3 did take noticeably longer than the iPhone 5 before it started to break apart completely. We have to warn you that it is extremely cringe-worthy to see such expensive items get blended, but hey it might be considered entertainment for some.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Research suggests that web usage from iPhone 5s are greater than Samsung Galaxy S3s, Samsung blows iPhone 5 away in newspaper ad,

Inside your the Lighting cord that now connects your iPhone 5 to your computer is a newly discovered set of four chips, one of which may very well be the fabled “security chip” that stops 3rd party manufacturers from reproducing the hardware. All four chips are ever so slightly different, each of them having their own part name. Two of these bits of architecture are transistors, one is an NXP NX20P3, and the final bit is an unknown Texas Instruments-produced chip.

The TI chip in question here bears the marking “BQ2025″, so says Chipworks, the group taking an undeniably up close and personal look at the technology this week. They note that though TI has several chips on file with names near the one found on Apple’s part, BQ2022, BQ2023, BQ2024, and BQ2026, non of them are the one we see here. Each of them do, on the other hand, have common characteristics including a single wire SDQ interface (for serial communications protocol) and some security features like CRC generation.

CRC is a system that essentially checks for redundancy in system so that data doesn’t get corrupted as you move it back and forth during file transfers. This piece of technology has been shown to be working with around 5k gates of logic and EPROM, with 64 or 128 bits of storage. It’s noted that because of all this as well as the appearance of some large driver transistors, a bunch of capacitance, and a lovely collection of analog circuitry, “this is certainly all consistent with a serial communication chip including some simple security features.”

The firm notes that the security in this cable appears to be “just enough” to keep them from being copied, the technology being that of an “olden days” product well before the current age of printer cartridges and flash drive memory – it’s hypothesized that this is to keep costs down as many, many Lightning cords must be produced. The rest of the chips are more basic and ready to be identified as such, with Chipworks letting it be known:

“The NXP NX20P3 includes one huge transistor occupying over 75% of the die area. It also has a fair amount of analog circuitry, as would be consistent with their line of charging devices for peripherals – from our last trip to the Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC) we know that this is a market that NXP is very strong in. The last two dies appear to be simple power transistors. Good design wins again for TI and NXP!” – Chipworks

Now we’ve got to see if those 3rd party groups deciding to release their own “Lightning” connectors here before all this was known will be able to deliver. We’re going to go ahead and suggest you stay away from such cables until they’re tested and proven NOT to bust your devices up with great glee. Stick to Apple for now, folks!

[via Apple Insider]

Apple Lightning connector reveals mysterious Texas Instruments chip is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

A new Kickstarter project launching today wants to be the first officially licensed iPhone 5 dock, and possibly the last one you’ll ever need for Lightning-bearing. The solid steel Dock+ comes with Lightning support built in, has an application in with Apple’s MFI program and has been engineered from the ground-up to meet Apple’s requirements for its authorized hardware partners. Apple has no plans to ship a dock of its own, so the race to create a definitive third-party solution is on, and Dock+ co-creator David Wurtz believes his product has what it takes.

The Dock+ has a number of benefits over other solutions, according to Wurtz. Unlike the CompleteDock or the newly announced adapter solution for the Elevation Dock, the Dock+ doesn’t just use a pass-through cable solution; instead, it’ll boast its own Lightning connector, so long as it makes it through Apple’s MFI program. That allows it to build a lightning plug that both flexes back and forth for easier removal, and depresses slightly, meaning you can use it with cases and bumpers as well as with a naked iPhone 5.

But other than the clever bit of hardware engineering around the actual Lightning tip itself, Wurtz says the emphasis with Dock+ was always on making something as uncomplicated as possible, without extra ports or features, in order to simplify the manufacturing process and ensure the ability to ramp up to high volume shipments quickly. That’s why Wurtz is very confident they’ll meet their ambitious projected March 2013 ship date – I told him that, in my experience, the Kickstarter project that makes its first projected ship date is very, very rare, but he still seems confident. Really, Wurtz said the main thing that could hold them up would be any hiccups in the MFI approval process.

The Dock+ itself is designed with function as the utmost concern. It’s made of solid steel, and as you can see in the video, that means it won’t budge from the desk or table when you take your iPhone on or off. It also comes in three different colors (natural steel, black and white), and uses readily-available micro USB cables to supply power and syncing, meaning you can fit your own from your existing collection, or choose either a 3- or 6-foot version shipped with the Dock+ itself. Optionally, users can also get a power brick for their wall outlet, or they can supply their own.

Thanks to the shelf design, Wurtz says the Dock+ should work with any changes in hardware design of the iPhone, so long as it retains the lightning connectors (which Apple exec Phil Schiller is here to stay for a while at least). The team has also tested it with the iPad, in the expectation that the next one will have a lightning connector, and it works well. It should also be a perfect fit for the iPad mini, Wurtz says, so long as that device matches the early leaked hardware design.

I never believed I was a dock guy, but it turns out I am, and my time with the iPhone 5 has been sadly dockless so far. Dock+ is a promising new accessory in that regard, and it has a relatively modest goal of $75,000 with 60 days to reach it. Pre-orders start at $49 for early backers, and you can check out the Dock+ in action in the video below.

Saturday Night Live has long been a platform where all kinds of people get mocked, but in the end it’s really all fun and games. The show finally offered its satirical take on the world of tech blogging and the various complaints surrounding the iPhone 5, like Apple Maps, the camera, and the easy exterior scuffing.

The show’s guest host of the night, Christina Applegate, hosts a panel made up of three tech writers on a show called “Tech Talk.” The segment revolves around the iPhone 5, and each panelist takes their turn at criticizing the iPhone 5′s various flaws. It goes rather smoothly and typically as you’d expect.

However, the host brings out three Chinese factory workers who assembled the iPhone 5 (no mention of Foxconn, though) and begin to sarcastically express their sympathy to the bloggers, saying things like, “You want Starbucks and it takes you to Dunkin Donut. That must be so hard for you,” referencing back to the tough working conditions at the iPhone 5 factory.

It’s actually a pretty enjoyable skit, and it makes you realize just how small our problems really are, but the sketch almost makes it feel like that the factory workers are at fault, since the panelists immediately retract all of their previous comments when the factory workers show up, and start to show their regret. In any case, watch the skit and enjoy a good laugh.

Saturday Night Live mocks iPhone 5 complaints is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

You’ve been hanging back, waiting for the dust to settle around the iPhone 5 debut. Now that the reviews are in, you’re out. It’s time to trade in the Cupertino Kool-Aid for some Jelly Beans. Here’s how to do it right. More »