Hasta La Gadget!

Apple patents aren’t normally worth the pixels it takes to write about them — any half-smart company will patent any and every idea its employees have, just in case. But this USB 3.0 / Thunderbolt hybrid dock connector looks like it might be pretty serious.

The current dock connector is horrible. Unless you can see the tiny symbol printed in light gray on one side, you’ll end up jamming it in backwards half the time. It is also big. Back when those big white iPods were the latest thing, this wasn’t a problem. Now, though, the slot is nearly as wide as the iPod Nano itself.

The patent, filed way back in 2009, has just been published. It shows a smaller connector which can carry “one or more new high-speed communication standards, such as USB 3.0 and DisplayPort.” I doubt that it will actually use USB 3.0. Much more likely is a Thunderbolt plug, which uses the above-mentioned (mini) DisplayPort interface.

The cable would carry power, USB, serial data, audio, video and display data. It also looks pretty similar, internally at least, to the current connector. Then again, patent drawings are notoriously bad.

I’d expect the transition to begin once the entire Mac lineup has a Thunderbolt interface, and the Thunderbolt has started to arrive on PCs. I’d also expect some backwards compatibility, or at least two cables (or an adapter) in iDevice boxes so people with stone-age USB-only computers can still charge and sync their iPods.

Reduced size multi-pin male plug connector [Free Patents Online via Apple Insider]

See Also:

• Apple Files Patent for a Smart Bike
• Apple Patent Details GPS-equipped Nike+ Shoes
• Apple Patent Watch: Monitor Docking Station

The Thunderbolt 4G is the first honest-to-goodness 4G phone on Verizon, the first LTE smartphone you can buy in the US. In other words, it’s the fastest phone—connection-wise—that you can buy right now. And holy crap, is it fast. More »

It may be a minor update for most, but those with a brand new MacBook Pro will no doubt find the just-released OS X 10.6.7 upgrade particularly welcome. In addition to various minor improvements for all Macs, it includes a fix for early 2011 MacBook Pros that promises to “improve graphics stability and external display compatibility.” That sounds like it may actually fix both the freezing issue we reported on earlier today and the flickering issue that’s been plaguing Thunderbolt-equipped MacBook Pros since day one, though we’ve yet to confirm either ourselves. Let us know how things work out for you in comments.

Update: Early indications are that it does indeed fix both the freezing and flickering issues. We’ll let you know if we find anything else.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Apple releases OS X 10.6.7 with fix for MacBook Pro display issues originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 16:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RootMetrics found Verizon's 4G upload and download speeds significantly higher than other carriers'.

Have you been wondering if that new 4G smartphone you purchased is really getting 4G speeds? Wonder no longer.

RootMetrics performed an extensive study to determine how each network’s 4G speeds are holding up to their claims. The testing was performed across the Seattle area.

Their findings showed that Verizon’s LTE network performed at a 100 percent data-success rate. Its average data speeds were between four and 14.5 times faster than competitors, and average upload speeds were between 4.7 and 49.3 times faster.

The phone models tested included the HTC Thunderbolt (Verizon), HTC Inspire (AT&T), HTC Evo (Sprint) and Samsung Galaxy S (T-Mobile). RootMetrics’ CEO Paul Griff said that the smartphone model and its hardware had very little to do with 4G performance — that performance is almost all network related.

Wired has previously broken down what each carrier means by 4G, and what speeds should be expected from each service. Verizon’s LTE network promises speeds of 5-12 Mbps down and 1-5 Mbps up; AT&T’s HSPA+ network should provide 6 Mbps down (and they plan to upgrade to LTE in 2011); Sprint’s WiMax technology promises an average of 3-6 Mbps down and 0.6-1.4 Mbps up; and T-Mobile’s HSPA+ is supposed to provide 5-10 Mbps down. AT&T has reportedly been capping 4G speeds on Android handsets, but this has not been definitively verified.

Over in Oakland, California, the folks at TechnoBuffalo decided to perform a 4G speed test of their own using the HTC Inspire and Thunderbolt.

Using SpeedTest.net’s services and the phones’ Wi-Fi hotspot modes, they discovered median speeds of 8.85 Mbps down and 3.68 up on Verizon’s LTE network, and 2.16 Mbps down and .16 up on AT&T’s HSPA+ service — on par with RootMetrics’ results.

RootMetrics was careful to point out that merely achieving high data speeds doesn’t mean much unless it happens on a regular basis, though. It found that Verizon’s 4G download speeds were greater than 10 Mbps about 90 percent of the time, and their upload speeds were between 5 and 10 Mbps 100 percent of the time.

And Verizon’s average upload speeds were faster than every other carrier’s average download speeds by 37 percent.

A graph of how often each 4G service achieved a certain range of download speeds (from 0-500 Kbps to greater than 10 Mbps) shows Verizon dominating the high end, AT&T spending most of its time in the lower half, and Sprint and T-Mobile’s services ranging widely throughout.

How will AT&T and T-Mobile’s recently announced merger affect their 4G services? That’s yet to be seen.

“Our results stand alone and provide interesting context around consumer data experience for both carrier’s networks in the Seattle area,” said a representative from RootMetrics.

Until it is known how and if the two carriers will combine their networks, it’s difficult to say how the merger will affect their future 4G service. But it’s safe to say, unless it’s LTE, it won’t hold a candle to Verizon’s network.
– – –
Comparing the Carriers: 4G Data Speed Study (.pdf) Thanks Julie!

In a world of sophisticated electronics these days, there’s always risks to being an early adopter. Alas, it appears that our latest victims are owners of Apple’s Thunderbolt-laden MacBook Pros. Since launch, a number of frustrated customers have been reporting that their new unibody laptops — of all three sizes — are causing random flicker on both 24-inch and 27-inch Cinema Displays when connected via their Mini DisplayPort / Thunderbolt combo port, and now we have video proof to share the pain. Some also confirmed that even replacement machines from Apple are exhibiting the same behavior, though a source of ours says this doesn’t seem to be a widespread issue, and that the company’s hardware engineers are already looking into this. Either way, we’re likely to see a firmware fix for this bug soon — it’s no good having a large monitor constantly blinking at you. One more video after the break.

[Thanks, Armando]

Continue reading Some Thunderbolt MacBook Pros causing flicker on Cinema Displays, Apple investigates (video)

Some Thunderbolt MacBook Pros causing flicker on Cinema Displays, Apple investigates (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 19 Mar 2011 14:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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