Hasta La Gadget!

Apple has shifted engineers from work on OS X 10.9 to double-down on iOS 7 development, leaks suggest, juggling staff so as to ensure the new iPhone and iPad platform is ready in time for WWDC 2013. The significant refresh of iOS – which is believed to see a “flattening” of the interface, away from the so-called skeuomorphic designs that have persisted through existing versions – has been coder-intensive, sources tell AllThingsD, though there’s confidence that iOS 7 “will ship on time.”

Chatter of just how much of a challenge the mobile overhaul was turning out to be peaked earlier this week, with unofficial reports from inside Apple suggesting that the extent of the company’s plans may force a staggered release of sorts. As well as aiming to change the aesthetics of iOS, chief designer Jony Ive is also believed to be looking to rework certain core apps, including email and calendar.

Whether those refreshes would be ready in time for the main iOS 7 release was unclear, the insiders pointed out, with some concerns that their arrival might be pushed back into 2014.

So as to avoid any delay – though, to be fair, Apple hasn’t yet pegged a public release date on iOS 7 – the company has been “borrowing” engineers from the Mac team to work on the iOS project. It’s a move that has some history; Apple did the same back in 2007, shifting OS X coders to the iOS 5 team so as to meet its deadlines for that release, too.

The end result may well be worth waiting for, though. Though iPhone and iPad sales have remained impressive, there has been a growing call for the company to look at the cleaner, less fussy examples set by rival platforms and reconsider its wood- and leather-effect designs, which attempt to mimic real-world materials or devices, in most cases unnecessarily.

iOS 7, therefore, will be “de-glitzed” according to one unnamed source, with elements like the green-felt finish in Game Center to be removed in favor of a more authentic finish. That’s also been described as “a much-needed ‘de-Forstallization” by another source, referring to former interface chief Scott Forstall who left the company in 2012, and who was known as a strong supporter of skeuomorphic design.

Exactly what parts of iOS 7 will be ready for WWDC in June 2013 remain to be seen. If the preview takes the same form as in previous years, however, Apple will likely pick ten key features to highlight and save the rest until closer to release.

iOS 7 team poaching Mac coders to meet WWDC preview deadline is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Olympus‘ snazzy E-P5 camera has been the source of a couple leaks today, with it first having its specs leaked by an unnamed source to the folks over at 43rumors, only for that to be followed up by leaked images on Mobile 01. Word has it that the camera will be officially announced in early May, although the source wasn’t clear on when exactly, and nothing has been stated by Olympus.

According to the various leaks and sources, the Olympus E-P5 will be offered to consumers in three varieties: black, white, and silver. The cameras will feature 17mm, 45mm, and 75mm offerings, and a shutter speed as fast as 1/8000th of a second. In addition, the specs are pointing at some improved features over the previous E-M5 digital camera.

Image stabilization is said to be new and improved, offering 5-axis stabilization with an IS-Auto mode, which allows for improved stabilization over the E-M5, as well as better auto focus and all-around clearer photographs. Under the hood, users will find a TruePic VI engine for image processing, as well as the E-M5′s 16-megapixel image sensor.

There is said to be focus peaking and a 5-frames-per-second shooting burst mode for rapid image capture. The display, which you can see in the gallery below, is on a hinge and can be tilted. And a feature that is beloved by many, the E-P5 is also said to offer integrated Wi-Fi for easy image transfer, possibly as well as remote display viewing and remote control of the device. Word has it we’ll be hearing something official on May 9th or 10th.

[via 4/3 Rumors]

Olympus E-P5 digital camera shown in leaked images and specs is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Olympus is about to add another branch to your camera-buying decision tree judging by new images and specs that leaked out showing a new PEN E-P5 model. The classically shaped Micro Four Thirds flagship was shown in leaked photos along with specs pointing to a 16-megapixel sensor, WiFi, a 1.04 million dot tilt screen, 5-axis stabilization, 5fps burst shooting and a 1/8000 shutter speed — if accurate. While an earlier teaser from Olympus suggests it’ll launch around May 11th in China, none of the tea-leaf readers have divined a price yet — though a look at the company’s last mirrorless flagship, the PEN E-P3, might give a clue. You can catch several more photos after the break.

Filed under: Cameras

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Via: 43Rumors

Source: Mobile01, 43Rumors

HTC put its faith in the One to restore its position in high-end smartphones; now, leaks suggest, the company may be sticking closely to the same pattern with the HTC M4 for the midrange. Expected to be visually near-identical to the HTC One, according to phoneArena‘s sources, the M4 (a codename, of course; the One was codenamed HTC M7) is expected to have a 4.3-inch 720p display and an UltraPixel camera.

If that all sounds familiar, we’re not surprised. Chatter around the M4 began in early April, meshing in with this latest leak with talk of a dualcore processor, 16GB of onboard storage versus the 32GB+ of the HTC One, and 2GB of RAM.

However, those rumors pegged the M4 as more of a Facebook-free HTC First, rather than a mini-One. The Facebook Home phone has a 4.3-inch, 720p display after all, along with a dualcore processor, leading to suggestions that the HTC M4 would effectively be a rebadge of the predominantly plastic handset.

Instead, this new batch of rumor pegs a far closer aesthetic to the HTC One for the M4, though it’s unclear how much this is a speculative render from evleaks above, rather than a leak of the actual device. Although similar in design, it’s also expected to shelve some of the One’s rock-solid materials so as to hit a lower price point; whether that means metal-effect plastic rather than the sturdy unibody aluminum we’re so fond of on the One remains to be seen.

Otherwise, the M4 is expected to have LTE, a fixed 1,700 mAh battery – 600 mAh less than the One, not to mention 300 mAh less than the HTC First – and run Android 4.2 Jelly Bean when it arrives near the end of Q2 2013. The biggest difference from the First, beyond software, of course, is the inclusion of UltraPixel technology: HTC’s oversized pixels which trade sheer resolution for improvements in low-light performance.

As a strategy, it’s something we’ve seen work well in the Samsung Galaxy S III mini, borrowing halo branding and design to push a far cheaper model to those with less cash and less ambitious expectations. Whether it’s enough for HTC to continue turning around its 2013 remains to be seen.

HTC M4 to be mini-One not Facebook-free First rumors claim is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We first heard about solid details on the next Call of Duty game last week, thanks to a leaked Target promo ad. However, while Target listed the game for a November 5 release date, we took that with a heavy grain of salt, since retailers don’t always get the release date right. However, according to a leaked poster of the game, November 5 is indeed the date that we’ll see the game release.

IGN ended up getting a hold of the leaked promo poster from GameStop, and it lists November 5 at the bottom. Furthermore, Activision recently launched a teaser website for the upcoming game, which displays a skull that is most likely referring to the mask that Lt. Simon “Ghost” Riley wore in past Call of Duty titles.

The title of the game, along with the teaser website hints at the possibility that Call of Duty: Ghosts will follow Lt. Riley as the main protagonist in the game. The man shown on the box art and promo posters could actually be Ghost himself, as it looks like he is pulling off the skull mask that he iconically wears.

According to the game’s box art, it seems it will release on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows, and the Wii U. IGN says that an official reveal of Call of Duty: Ghosts will be expected tomorrow, so you can be sure that we’ll hear more details about the game real soon. In the meantime, we’ll ponder over the implications of a Ghost-based Call of Duty game.

[via IGN]

Call of Duty: Ghosts poster tips early holiday release is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.