Oct 11
Oct 11
A brand new iPod touch has ascended from the depths of Apple HQ, and as sure as the sun rises in the East and sets in the West, iFixit has torn the thing apart with heat guns and spudgers. If you kindly recall Apple’s iPhone/iPod/iTunes announcement last month, you know that the fifth-gen iPod touch has quite the spec bump, but unfortunately is more difficult to repair than the fourth generation model.
In fact, it’s more difficult to repair than the iPhone 5, by a lot.
iFixit gave the music player a 3 out of 10 on the repairability scale, compared to the iPhone 5′s shocking 7 out of 10. For a little perspective, the fifth generation model scored one point less than the fourth generation model, which got a 4 out of 10.
Apparently dealing with the battery isn’t all that difficult, which is good news considering battery problems are relatively standard.
But iFixit says that Apple soldered many of the components together. And to top that off, there are no external screws on the device, but rather clips and adhesive. It’s a shame considering the iPod update cycle seems generally longer for most users.
Generally speaking, be careful when handling and try to avoid having to repair it altogether.
In related news, Apple recently launched a new iPod TV ad called Bounce, featuring all three updated iPod products, including the touch, nano, and shuffle. Welcome to a world of color.
Oct 11
If you were to head to Apple’s retail store or online store, you might be a bit perplexed as to why there aren’t any iPhone 5 casings listed for sale. After all with the reports of the aluminum unibody chassis scratching and scuffing a lot easier compared to the iPhone 4S, we’d expect that many new iPhone 5 customers would want to slap on some protection ASAP! Well the good news is that if you’re looking for an iPhone 5 casing from Apple’s stores, word has it that Apple could begin stocking iPhone 5 cases some time later this month.
The specific date mentioned is for the 22nd of October, although it is possible that the date could change pending supply from manufacturers. Now this isn’t to say that there aren’t any iPhone 5 cases available – in fact there are plenty although they have been available either through third-party websites, or directly from the manufacturer’s website. This isn’t really that big of a deal for those who don’t mind trawling through search results and individual websites, but for those who want to see all the cases available in a single glance, Apple’s retail and online stores are probably the best option.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: iPhone 5 production reportedly slowed due to aluminum unibody chassis quality issues, iPhone 5 purple haze issued addressed in Apple support document,
Oct 10
Google’s social networking efforts are getting a boost with new versions of its Google+ apps for Android and iOS alike. While both platforms are now sporting the ability for managers of pages to post and comment on items on the go (expect quicker “We’re at CES 2013” check-ins on the Engadget G+ page) there are some individual changes for each. For Android there’s a redesigned home screen widget, one-click access to photos in posts and a new ‘Find People’ function. Meanwhile on Apple hardware it gains iOS 6 / iPhone 5 support, as well as the ability to edit posts, save photos to the camera roll and search for people and posts on the iPad. We tried out the page management feature which is nice to have, but appears to only be accessible by actually signing out and signing back in again. Hit the links below to grab the updated apps at their respective stores and give them a try.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile, Apple, Google
Google+ app updates bring iPhone 5 support, new widget on Android and more originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Oct 2012 23:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Oct 10
Most of us prefer our iPhones in the buff around these parts. But if you like your gadget covered, Speck’s FabShell cases come in some really fun patterns for your otherwise austere smartphone. More »
Oct 10
Gizmodo reader Codi Bonney had a cool idea to stop the paint of his iPhone 5 to chip off: take the whole thing off. “I’m still working on sanding it, this is what I’ve got so far,” he said in his email. It looks pretty neat. More »
Oct 10
Have an old iPod dock lying around? It’s not entirely useless with your iPhone 5 and its new lightning connector. All you need is a cheap Bluetooth adapter and you’re back in business. More »
Oct 10
It’s time for Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster to break the news on Apple‘s dominance of the market once again, this time showing a report of 7,700 teenagers in the USA working with the iPhone in massive amounts. The survey showed that this most recent period of study showed iPhone use up 6% over the last time it was conducted, that being 6 months ago. At the moment, it appears that a whopping 40% of teens in the USA own at least one iPhone.
This study’s results from the Spring of 2012 showed 34% of respondents saying they owned an iPhone, the same number of respondents saying they owned a tablet of one sort or another. Regardless of if they had a tablet at the time of questioning or not, 19% of these US-based teens said they’d planned on buying a tablet (or a different tablet than the one they owned) within the next 6 months (that being the period we’ve just completed now).
This number jumped to 20% in this most recent time period (Fall 2012). The amount of responses for owning a tablet at the time of the survey jumped significantly upward to 44%. That includes all tablets of all types, including the possibility of Android, BlackBerry, and Windows, amongst other operating systems backing their unit up.
A whopping 72% of US teens who owned tablets here in this most recent study said they owned an Apple iPad of one generation or another. Of the 20% of those respondents that said they planned on purchasing a tablet in the next 6 months here in the Fall of 2012, 74% said they’d be buying an iPad specifically.
The amount of teens responding that they do not currently have a tablet was roughly 35%, this leaving a gap of about 20% of the total sample that either did not know if they owned a tablet or simply did not answer the question. The iPad mini was also included in this study even though it does not yet exist – the question regarding that specifically, of course.
The group of respondents that said they’d planned on buying a tablet in the next 6 months was also asked if they’d be more likely to buy an iPad if Apple were to launch a smaller device [as shown above] for $299. Of those asked 43% said yes, they’d go for that value proposition. Now we must see if the iPhone ownership numbers roll up on the iPad once the smaller version exists – we shall see soon!
[via Piper Jaffray; via Mac Rumors]
iPhone ownership hits 40% in US Teens is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Oct 10
Another reason why you don’t need a f*cking case for your iPhone 5: laser engraving. They look really cool and, as far as I know, they are the first ones out there. More »
Oct 10
The iPhone 5 underwent a lot of cosmetic changes that took the basic, overall design of the previous two generations, but used aluminum instead of glass for the back plate (as well as making it larger and thinner at the same time, obviously). However, owners quickly found out that the aluminum scratched pretty easily, and now it seems Apple is going back to the drawing board to improve the iPhone 5′s aluminum quality.
A couple weeks ago, Apple reported that the scratches that many owners are witnessing are actually from normal use and that owners shouldn’t be worried about it. However, a lot of iPhone users don’t take any kind of damage to their device lightly, and it was even discovered that some iPhone 5s were scratched and chipped right out of the box.
It’s said that Apple is slowing down production of the iPhone 5 in order to fix these issues. Foxconn has begun to enforce stricter inspection and benchmark regulations on the device to hopefully cut down on the number of scratched up units that leave the factory floor, but it’s costing Apple both time and money.
Apple sold 5 million iPhone 5s during opening weekend, but the company said that the tally would have been higher if there weren’t supply constraints. Analysts at RBC Capital Markets have cut their projected sales estimates from 57 million to 49 million, which isn’t a huge loss, but the dearth of supplies and stricter regulations inevitably slow down production. Both Apple and Foxconn have declined to comment on the situation.
[via Bloomberg]
iPhone 5 production slows as Apple fixes aluminum issues is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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