Leak Points to Couple Surprises With iPhone 7; 10 Million Twitterers in China; Samsung Sailing Towards Great Numbers With Galaxy S7; Apple Sandbagging With iPhone 7
Posted: July 5, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, China, Galaxy S7, iPhone, iPhone 7, iPhone 8, Samsung, Twitter, VPN, Water resistant, Wireless charging Leave a commentA leaked slide from a Foxconn internal presentation shows a couple of features that may be coming on iPhone 7 that have been rumored, but not really solidly. Bgr.com reports that the Apple handset may indeed have an IP68 water and dust resistant rating and wireless charging support. If this slide posted by myDrivers.com pans out, it may be a ‘one more thing’ that Apple was saving back for the iPhone 7 rollout in September.
Twitter estimates it has 10 million users in China, which gives an indication of how many people there are using VPN to get around government censorship. According to techcrunch.com, earlier estimates were as high as 35.5 million. There’s no solid data, since the VPNs the scofflaws are using to Tweet show up as being in other countries besides China. With only around 10 million users out of Twitter’s 310 million, it’s not a crucial part of their business, but does give an idea of the people using VPN to get around the government censorship….and that’s usually journalists, activists, prominent business leaders, and decision makers. This is a significant leak in China’s ‘Great Firewall.’
According to analysts, Samsung is heading for the best quarter in a couple years, when they release smartphone numbers later this week. After some iffy quarters and phones that underwhelmed, Reuters.com says the Galaxy S7 has done better than expected…with about 16 million pumped out between April and June, and the curved screen model outselling it’s flat screened sibling.
Speaking of marketing, most everybody is predicting that since the iPhone 7 will be more like a 6 SS, and not a wow-year upgrade, it will mean a sales slump. Business insider.com reports that this may be intentional. Some Apple watchers are now saying that the so-called ‘tick-tock’ system of a major iPhone upgrade every other year is not sustainable, and Apple is just going with the math. Normally, about 33% of iPhone owners might upgrade this fall…that’s been consistent for 6 quarters, but if things really are a little disappointing, Apple can look forward to a huge jump of about 43% for the next 5 quarters after an iPhone 7S, or 8, or Anniversary model or whatever the 2017 model will be called. That will be a bonanza for them, and it sounds like just the kind of thing a nuts and bolts guy like Tim Cook might ‘cook up!’
Sharp May Be Third Supplier of OLED Screens for 10th Anniversary iPhone; Netflix May Launch Downloading
Posted: June 24, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Downloads, iPhone 8, LG, Light Reading, Netflix, Offline viewing, OLED screen, Samsung, Sharp Leave a commentAccording to 9to5mac.com, Apple may not need to rely completely on the two major manufacturers of OLED screens for the iPhone 8. While Samsung and LG currently manufacture most of the world’s OLED screens, Sharp expects to be doing the same ‘before 2018’.
A story in Light Reading picked up by bgr.com says Netflix will go live by the end of the year with downloading, which would allow offline viewing as an option. Not surprisingly, Netflix will not confirm or deny this. Although most people are generally happy streaming TV shows and movies, this would be a big plus for road trips and flying, or places where you know they aren’t going to have a fast or reliable internet connection.
Samsung Gets Laptop That Converts to Tablet; Repositioned Sensors on iPhone 7 Mean New Cases
Posted: June 23, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Bendable hinge, Convertibles, Intel, iPhone 7, laptop, Lenovo, Notebook 7 Spin, Samsung, sensors, tablet, Windows 10 Leave a commentSamsung is getting in on the growing market for laptops that convert to a tablet, thanks to a bendy hinge. Lenovo has had success with their convertibles, and Mashable.com reports that now Samsung had dropped the Notebook 7 Spin in 13.3 and 15.6 screen sizes. They run Windows 10 with Intel’s Core i5 or i7 processors, and start at $800 for the 13 incher and a grand for the 15. The Notebook 7 Spins should be in Best Buy stores the 26th.
Besides moving the antenna bands, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus should be indistinguishable from the 6S models…that is, unless you are a case or screen protector maker. According to appleinsider.com, Apple has moved the ambient light and proximity sensors, on the front panel. Those, in addition to the larger camera openings needed will make present case models and screen protectors obsolete. I will probably go for the larger phone model anyway, but for those who aren’t…thanks a lot, Apple….you’ll have to buy new cases when you upgrade.
Minor Refresh of iPhone 7-Big Changes Next Year; Samsung Gear 360 Cam Now in Limited US Availability
Posted: June 22, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 10th Anniversary iPhone, Apple, Gear 360 VR, iPhone 7, Jony Ive, OLED, Samsung, VidCon, VR Video camera Leave a commentAfter we noted reports here Monday that Apple would keep the audio jack on iPhone 7, several similar stories appeared Tuesday in WSJ, CNBC, & Business Insider, saying Apple WILL ditch the 3.5 mm phone jack. Looks like Apple may have planted these stories….sorry headphone fans, we’re all screwed. You will either need a Lightening adapter and dongle, or new Lightening or wireless headphones. Music companies will love this, as with no analog output, digital rights management will make sharing music harder. Also, reports are the 7 won’t be a major update…1 mm thinner, and moved antenna bands, but basically the same as the 6S and 6S Plus, albeit with upgraded processor and memory, and the dual camera on the Plus. Apparently, the tech isn’t ready for what Jony Ive wants until next year…OLED screen, and all glass phone…no physical button, and no bezel around the edges for iPhone’s 10th anniversary.
Samsung announced their Gear 360 VR camera earlier this year, and said it wouldn’t be available for a while in the US. That time has arrived, according to cnet.com. The cam is in limited availability for $350. If you’re able to score one, you can shoot your own VR videos for VR headsets. This week, you can only buy it at VidCon in Anaheim, and Samsung says they will have more details about further availability later. They have been on sale in South Korea and Singapore since April.
Samsung’s Galaxy S8 Rumors; Huge Twitter Video Move
Posted: June 21, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Dual Camera, Galaxy S8, Samsung, Twitter, UHD 4K display, Vine Leave a commentThe Samsung Galaxy S8 may sport a UHD 4K display, and feature a dual main camera. 9to5google reports that and unnamed source in China claims Samsung is looking at an Ultra HD 4K display. The downside would be a huge battery drain, but it would produce a fantastic VR experience. Much more likely is a dual camera setup, which LG and Huawei already have, and Apple is supposed to be rolling out on the iPhone 7 Plus in September.
On the topic of video, Twitter is making a huge change involving Vine. According to recode.net, they are introducing a feature to Vine videos. the Vines will still be 6 seconds, but along side them will be a function allowing 140 second videos! Twitter is also adding a Watch Mode and expanding the video length in the main app from 30 to 140 seconds! They will also allow content creators to use Twitter Amplify and run pre-roll ads before a Vine starts…Twitter will keep 30% of the revenue, with the content creators getting 70%.
Bendable, Foldable Samsung Smartphone by Next Year; In-Flight Wi-Fi to Become Much More Useable
Posted: June 7, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: American Airlines, Folding screens, Gogo, in-flight Wi-Fi, phablets, Samsung, Skype, Smartphones, Viasat Leave a commentSamsung has developed the tech for folding screens to the point they may roll out smartphones with it next year. Engadget.com picked up a story from Bloomberg saying that a couple of devices will have flexible OLED screens- one folding like a cosmetic compact and another that transforms from a 5-inch smartphone-sized screen to a roughly eight inch screen …basically, converting from a phablet to a tablet. If the rumors hold up, we could see these by Mobile World Congress next February!
If you’ve tried it, you know in-flight Wi-Fi is more like in-flight dial up…but that’s about to change. According to bgr.com, American has signed a deal with Viasat, and is ditching Gogo. Where Gogo has relied on ground stations, Viasat use satellite tech to get Wi-Fi to travelers. They are claiming 12Mbps to every passenger, which would be enough to stream movies, make Skype calls (with some lag) or surf the web without feeling like you want to commit homicide. Gogo is also rolling out a satellite system, but it only gives 70 Mbps to the entire plane to share, which won’t be much better than what they already offer. American’s fleet should be equipped with the Viasat faster internet by September 2017.
Xiaomi Getting Ready to Bring Their Smartphones to the US; Apple’s WWDC Starts June 13th
Posted: June 2, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, China, iOS 10, iPhone, Mac, Microsoft, Samsung, Smartphones, Watch, WWDC, Xiaomi Leave a commentAfter following the lead of Samsung and shamelessly aping Apple’s iPhone in their home country of China, it looks like maker Xiaomi is ready for their US closeup. Bgr.com reports that they have become the fastest growing smartphone maker, and now they’re coming to the US. Their latest crop of phones barely resemble the iPhone now, and they’ve purchased about 1500 patents from Microsoft. Xiaomi is known now for selling affordable smartphones with designs and specs that rival much more expensive ones, so if you’re on a budget but want a top flight phone, this could be the real deal.
We knew it was coming soon, and now we have a date. Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference will kick off in San Francisco Monday, June 13th, with the keynote at the usual 10 am Pacific. Bill Graham Civic Auditorium will be crammed to the rafters with tech reporters and developers. By noon that day, we should have lots more details about the next version of Apple’s iPhone/iPad software — iOS 10 — as well as news on Apple Watch, Apple TV and Macs. Cnet.com says they’ll have live coverage, as will a number of other tech sites. We’ll recap things right here. Stay tuned…
New ARM Chip Will Be a Big Boost to Samsung Phones; Apple Working on Flexible Touch Displays; Base iPhone 7 Gets a Simple, Big Upgrade
Posted: May 31, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, ARM, Flexible touchscreen, Foxconn, iOS, iPhone, Memory, Processors, Samsung, TPK, VR Leave a commentARM will have new chips out in time for next year’s flagship smartphones like those from Samsung that will boost performance by 30% while giving 30% better power efficiency. Cnet.com says ARM claims you will be able to run a phone’s chip at full speed for the duration of a movie, game, or VR experience! It’s the Cortex-A73 computing processor and Mali-G71 graphics processor. The graphics processor gives 50% higher performance with 20% energy savings. Samsung and a couple others have already licensed the tech…no word about Apple, but they’ve used ARM in the past.
An Apple supplier, TPK…which is a division of Foxconn, has a silver nanowire tech rolling out that will allow for flexible touch screens. Since Foxconn is the major supplier of iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad, patentlyapple.com notes that there’s a high probability that you’ll be seeing these everywhere in the next 2-5 years. More to the point, TPK says they expect their clients to launch flexible touch panel devices in the 2nd half of 2016! If they’re talking about Apple, a folding 7 inch tablet or display that wraps around your arm will be one hell of a ‘one more thing! Stay tuned!
One of the most boring, yet important tidbits has just dropped about the iPhone 7…bgr.com reports it will finally ship with 32 gigs of memory instead of the nearly useless 16 gigs in the base phone. No more cheapskate Apple buyers whining about having to delete pictures and songs from their iPhones anymore!
Apple Rolls Out New 12” Retina MacBooks; Android App Keeps Screens Away From Kids’ Faces
Posted: April 19, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Computer vision syndrome, Kids Facial distance, Macbook, Retina, Rose gold, Safety Screen, Samsung, Skylake Leave a commentApple has refreshed its 12 inch Retina MacBook. According to 9to5mac.com, there are new Skylake processors, increased overall performance, and a new rose gold color. They say the updated internals give you an additional hour of battery life. It continues to have the single USB-C port and edge to edge keyboard, and remains $1299. A quibble with Apple: their so-called rose gold is a lot more pink than the rose gold you find in watches, pens, and musical instruments. You can always go space grey or silver, though. Processor speed gets bumped to 1.2 gigs, and it comes with 8 gigs of memory standard, and the graphics are 25% faster. It’s available today at Apple’s website or Apple Stores and resellers.
Samsung has built an Android app that alerts kids….or adults for that matter, when they have mobile device screens too close to their face. According to thenextweb.com, it’s called Safety Screen, and uses facial recognition to calculate if a smart device is too close to the user’s face. If so, a cute animation pops up to let the user know…it disappears when the gadget is moved to a safer distance. The app’s creators say kids are more at risk for developing computer vision syndrome than adults. Parents set it up, and password protect the app, and it’s ready to go.
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