Author: Alan

Put Your Friend’s Head in a Jar With the New Futurama iPhone App

Futurama Head in a Jar Generator

Why suffer the uncertainty of death when you can live forever by preserving your head in a jar? The Futurama Head in a Jar app (free) offers just that: immortality.

The app lets you design heads to resemble yourself or friends by letting you choose various eyes, noses, hair styles, skin color, etc. Then you can place your friend’s name on the jar’s nameplate just in case your message is unclear. Their head, in a jar, forever.

My favorite feature is that you can quickly assign your head-in-a-jar to any iPhone contact using the app. The next time your friend calls, their head-in-a-jar will appear. You can also save them to the iPhone’s Photos library or share on Facebook and Twitter via the app.

And just in case you’re wondering, the preserving liquid inside the jar is drinkable and some even enjoy the taste.

Apple Places Orders for iPhone 5 and iPad 3 Chipsets from Taiwanese Manufacturers

iPhone Internal Chipsets

A report today out of Taiwan claims Apple has finalized the technical specifications and completed the certification process for the various chipsets that will go inside its next generation iPhone 5, iPad 3, and Macbook Air set to debut this fall. According to China Economic News, Apple has placed orders from its various suppliers for the chips to delivered at the end of August.

With Taiwan’s semiconductor industry seeing signs of an overall slowdown, manufacturers are looking to Apple to sustain growth in the industry for the third quarter of this year. Some are feeling more upbeat than others after receiving large orders for chipsets that will go inside Apple’s upcoming devices.

Qualcomm, a major supplier of wireless chipsets for the iPhone, is expected to place orders with its partners TSMC and the Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Group for chip foundry and testing for the next-generation iPhone 5 starting in August, according to the report. TSMC, the world’s largest semiconductor company, recently made headlines as the company rumored to be manufacturing Apple’s next-gen A6 chip.

Apple’s chip partners are likewise gearing up for the assembly of the iPad 3. Japan’s Renesas Electronics, who makes the LCD driver for the iPad, has placed orders with Taiwan’s Chipbond Technology for chip package assembly for the upcoming iPad 3. Texas Instruments, who builds the iPad’s power management chipset, has likewise placed an order with Ardentek Corp to package its chipset.

Apple Quality Testing High-Res LCD for iPad 3

iPad 3 mockup

Apple is conducting quality tests for a new high-resolution LCD screen due to appear in its next-gen iPad 3 sometime this fall, according to a report from Korea Times. Apple is close to securing large orders for the new displays from manufacturers LG and Samsung once it’s confirmed the screens meet Apple’s strict standards. The testing is being done at one of Apple’s satellite labs in China and is expect to be completed by the third quarter of this year.

The new LCD screens will be QXGA displays with a 2048 x 1536 resolution, double that of the iPad 2’s 1024 x 768 resolution, and will maintain the 4:3 aspect ratio of previous iPad screens, claims the report.

While LG began as the primary manufacturer of LCD screens for the iPad 2, light leak problems in early models led Apple to add Samsung as a secondary source for the screens.

LG and Samsung both have the ability to manufacturer low-temperature polysilicon screens on a mass scale. Low-temperature polysilicon weighs half that of traditional LCD screens, enhances flexibility for less breakage, and is cheap to manufacturer. The iPhone 4’s Retina Display is a low-temp silicon IPS screen (LTPS-IPS).

When designing its next-gen iPad, Apple provided the companies with requirements for an LCD screen with a pixel density of over 280 pixels-per-inch and strict visual quality standards, claims a source speaking the newspaper.

Other recent reports have indicated the next iPad will be more expensive than its predecessors. It will be labeled as a “pro” version of the device and marketed toward creative professionals, physicians, and other businesses that require high-res screens.

To avoid angering customers who purchased the iPad 2 just a few months ago in March, Apple is rumored to be avoiding the iPad 3 name and instead may call it the iPad HD, iPad 2 HD, or iPad 2+. Last month, website This Is My Next claimed Apple will be launching iPad versions of professional video- and photo-editing software such as Final Cut Pro and Aperture alongside the new pro iPad.

Apple is rumored to be ramping up its suppliers for the release of the iPad 3 as well as the iPhone 5 sometime this fall. DigiTimes reported earlier this month that Taiwanese manufacturers have already gathered to necessary materials for the mass manufacturing of the devices. A supposed image of a dock connector for the iPad 3 was published by website ApplePro earlier this week.

For iPhone Users, Spotify Is Nothing to Get Excited About…Yet

Spotify is a huge hit in Europe and will soon be in the US as well, mainly for one reason: it’s a free music service that lets you plan any song, on-demand, any time you want it. Want to hear the latest Katy Perry hit right this second? Spotify gives it to you, for free. It’s the perfect music service for the entitlement generation, and it’s something no other free music service in the US currently matches. The only problem is, it doesn’t work on the iPhone.

Well, yes, there is that free Spotify iPhone app, and, yes, it does play Spotify music. But you have to fork out $10 a month for a premium account that enables offline play. It doesn’t support the free service, and that’s all that anyone cares about anyway.

So from the perspective of an iPhone user, there’s nothing special about Spotify, as there are already several $10-a-month subscription music services available for the iPhone. Services like Rhapsody and Rdio are arguably better.

It’s a shame too because Spotify’s free service for the desktop is awesome. I was lucky enough to receive an invitation and am impressed with both the software and the music selection. There are millions of songs available for free, on-demand playback, and the sound quality is excellent. The software itself feels like a simplified, uncluttered version of iTunes. Besides browsing and searching for music, Spotify lets you create playlists, star favorite songs for playback later, and share favorites via Facebook and Twitter. All of this for the price of listening to some ads.

Hopefully, Spotify will allow the free service on the iPhone one day, but the company is likely testing just how much revenue the $10 subscription will bring in. I can see the free Spotify service as the gateway drug that gets people to buy the $10 monthly plan. They’ll build playlists, discover great new artists, share with friends on their home computer, then want to take all that on their iPhone. But in my opinion, keep the $10, or join Rdio, or use it to buy the songs outright from iTunes.

Dubious iPhone 4GS Images Posted on Chinese Social Network

UPDATED: Article updated to reflect there are several different sources of photos. More photos added to article.

Several users on the Chinese social network Weibo have posted images of what they claim to be iPhone 4S prototypes. The images, however, offer scant evidence to back up his claims other than the curious software the iPhone is running.

iPhone 4GS prototype

The photos show a device that is identical to the current iPhone 4 in every way except one, it appears to be running Apple’s special diagnostic software used in factories to quality test iPhone hardware. When run, the software confirms that the iPhone’s various features are working properly (bluetooth, Wifi, the accelerometer, etc). The diagnostic software has been found on previous iPhones before and is not limited to use on prototype devices. The video below shows similar diagnostic software running on a first-gen iPhone:
Continue reading…

Sears Accidentally Sells iPad 2 for $69

They are golden goose eggs for online shoppers: database pricing mistakes that can lead to incredible discounts on products. Take the latest goof from Sears: an iPad 2 for just $69, a deep discount from its original price of $744.99.

Too bad it turned out to be just a dream. Sears quickly caught the mistake and cancelled all orders, which were pouring in thanks to the “deal” going viral on Twitter and Facebook. On Friday, Sears posted an apology online:

We want you to know that, unfortunately, today one of the Marketplace third-party sellers told us that they mistakenly posted incorrect pricing information on two Apple iPad models on the Marketplace portion of the website. If you purchased either of these products recently, your order has been cancelled and your account will be credited.

It’s a shame for the customers who managed to get one, as sometimes stores will honor the listed price.

Via CNN.

AT&T Drops Price of Refurbished iPhone 3GS to $9, iPhone 4 $99

Refurbished iPhone 3GS AT&T WirelessIf you’re looking for the cheapest iPhone currently available, AT&T wireless has dropped the price of its refurbished iPhone 3GS to $9 when purchased with a 2-year contract. The refurbed 3GS has 8GB of memory and comes with free shipping and a 30-day return policy.

That means the cheapest way to own an iPhone through a carrier currently looks like this:

iPhone 3GS w/ two-year contract = $9 +
$15/month 200 MB data plan for 24 months = $360 +
$40/month Nation 450 voice plan for 24 months = $960

Total Cost: $1,329

That’s not bad compared to what the true cost of the iPhone used to be, although we do have a piece of advice for those interested in this deal: buy a refurbished iPhone 4 instead. It’s just $90 more, you get a 16 GB version, and, in our opinion, it’s a much better phone than the 3GS.

Here is AT&T’s official description of refurbished iPhones:

Refurbished phones are previously owned devices that have been unused or lightly used and returned during the 30-day trial period. Each refurbished phone is independently quality tested and loaded with the latest software to meet current factory standards. Some refurbished iPhone 3G devices will have minor scratches.

Refurbished iPhone devices carry a limited warranty based on the original purchase date of the iPhone. The remaining coverage will be at least 90 days and will vary by device. If you purchase the AppleCare Protection Plan for iPhone, your coverage duration will also be tied to the original purchase date of the iPhone and will vary by device. For specific coverage details, please enter your iPhone serial number at apple.com/support/oss

iPhone 5 Delayed by Overheating A5 Processor?

A5 CPU

The next-generation iPhone 5 is being held up by an overheating problem with Apple’s dual-core A5 processor, claims a report from Chinese news outlet Sohu. While the A5 chip has been powering the iPad 2 without problems since March, the new iPhone 5’s “thinner and lighter” design is causing cooling problems for the chip, say sources speaking to Sohu.

The delay doesn’t mean a new iPhone won’t be released this fall, however. Sources say Apple will instead release the iPhone 4S with a dual-core A4 processor, an upgraded edition of the previous-gen iPhone 4 released in the summer of 2010. The iPhone 4 continues to sell quite well despite its age.

The sources indicate that Apple will wait for a new 28nm manufacturing process next year to introduce an A6 chip into a completely redesigned iPhone and leap ahead of its competitors. Apple’s current A5 chip is manufactured on a 45nm process. A report from Reuters claims Apple is already testing the A6 processor with manufacturer TSMC.

Sohu claims the upgrades coming to the iPhone 4S include an 8 MP camera, gorilla-glass screen, and a dual-core version of the previous-gen A4 chip to give the new phone a speed bump. The new phone will also support 4G, says the report.

Images of iPad 3’s Internal Hardware Leaked?

iPad 3 Docking Connector

It’s just a barebones, nondescript piece of internal hardware, but Chinese website Apple.Pro, a previously reliable source for Apple hardware leaks, claims it’s the docking connector for a redesigned iPad 3, due out this fall.

The article claims that the images, which come from a source cheekily labeled “Deep Throat in California,” show an iPad docking connector that is completely redesigned from the one in the iPad 2. The article speculates that the next iPad won’t be an iPad 2 upgraded with a Retina Display, as a recent rumor has indicated, aka the “iPad 2 Plus,” but rather a completely redesigned iPad 3.

The source notes that the new docking connector’s part number, 821-1259-06, differs from the one used in the iPad 2, 821-1180-A, and offers that as proof of an upcoming redesigned iPad 3. The article also points out the connector’s end is white, indicating there will be both a white and black version of the iPad 3.

Apple Hiring for August 16 Release of the iPhone 5?

A recent online job posting indicates that Apple is hiring extra temporary staff for an iPhone-related event starting in mid August. The ad, which appears several times on the UK job website Reed, puts a call out for “iPhone Sales Specialists” to work full-time from August 16 to October 29, with a training course occurring from August 9-12.

Previous rumors had placed the iPhone 5 launch as occurring sometime in September, although a report last month by the website Boy Genius Report said the phone was coming in August.

AT&T is rumored to be currently field testing the iPhone 5. Once given final approval by wireless carriers, the iPhone 5 could begin mass production as early as the end of July. Release of a new iPhone usually occurs just a few weeks after mass production begins. Reports from China indicate that Apple’s suppliers have already gathered materials for the manufacturing of the next iPhone.

Apple’s job posting appears several times on the job site, each covering different regions of the country, including Moorsgate, Aberdeen, and Portsmouth. The ad notes that the job is temporary and requires the employee to “possess advanced user experience of iPhone’s [sic].” Those hired will receive around $110 a day.