You may have heard of Google+, the new social network and Facebook competitor from Google, but have you heard of the iPad 2+? Taiwanese website DigiTimes today reports that market sources indicate the next version of the iPad will be called the “iPad 2 Plus” and will be “thinner than its predecessors yet with upgraded display.” The sources also claim that Apple is looking for a second manufacturer to build the next iPad alongside already selected Foxconn. Taiwanese-based Pegatron is dubbed as the most likely.
Rumors have picked up recently about Apple releasing the next iPad as early as this fall, but with the iPad 2 released just a few months ago in March, some believe Apple will market the next iPad as a Pro version of the iPad 2 to avoid aggravating consumers who recently purchased the iPad 2. A premium, higher-priced iPad also could be a way to push the device into Apple’s economies-of-scale strategy that makes it easier to bringing cutting-edge tech to the mainstream by lowering prices over time.
Chinese website 175Wan has posted images of what it contends to be the iPhone 5. The images show an iPhone with two stereoscopic (3D) cameras on its back, with the website contending that 3D photography is “popular” these days. The website claims the images were taken in Shenzhen, China, where Foxconn assembles the iPhone.
There is also a shot of the camera from the front with a screen that appears to be the same size as the iPhone 4 and not the rumored slightly larger 4-inch screen.
We believe this to be an obviously bogus (but slightly funny) rumor. The number 5 printed on the back is a style of lettering I’ve never seen Apple use. Apple does not use heavily stylized fonts. Second, Apple has always printed just the word “iPhone” on the back, never iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, or iPhone 4. And third, unless there is some new kind of 3D camera technology that lets mobile phones takes awesome SLR-quality photographs with two lenses, Apple would not slap such a pointless feature onto the iPhone.
If this is the iPhone 5, aka, the iPhone 3D, I am switching to Android and the Samsung Galaxy 2.
The killer feature of the upcoming iOS 5 update is definitely wireless synching. No longer will we have to plug in our iPhones into a computer to install software updates or back up data—it can all be done wirelessly over a Wi-Fi network. So can’t we just throw away those USB cords then? Well, there’s still charging, and that’s where a wireless charger comes in.
The term “wireless charging” is a bit of a misnomer, as there is still a wire involved. Wireless chargers feature mats that must be plugged into the wall via a cord. The “wireless” part comes with a special iPhone case that allows you to charge the iPhone by laying it down on the mat—no need to plug it in, just lay the iPhone down, or toss it, if your aim is good.
It’s a simple and elegant solution to charging the iPhone’s battery, and wireless-charging products have been available for the iPhone since 2008. So why haven’t they caught on? Because you still had to occasionally plug in your iPhone to back up the data or install Apple’s software updates. It was a hassle to remove the case, plug in the iPhone, sync, then replace the case.
But iOS 5 is putting an end to all that. In fact, you don’t even need a computer anymore to own an iPhone. You can activate it, receive updates, download apps, back it up, restore it, etc, all without a computer.
Currently, there is only one wireless charger kit for the iPhone 4, the PowerMat ($49) (note that the reviews for this product are awful), which includes a charging station and an iPhone case. That’s only $20 more than Apple’s official iPhone 4 dock. But the PowerMat kit’s charging station works a bit too much like a dock (you can check it out in the video below) for my lazy man’s vision of tossing the iPhone onto my desk and having it charge. For that you’ll need a big, flat mat like the Powermat 3X ($69). If you own an iPhone 3G/3GS, you have a few more solutions, like the Airvolt for iPhone 3G/3GS ($9.99) and the Case-Mate Hug ($49). It’s likely that after iOS 5 arrives, more manufacturers will come out with wireless iPhone chargers.
Imagine having several large wireless charging mats scattered around home and work—one on the desk, one by the bed, one by the TV, etc. You could toss the iPhone down to charge, pick it up to read a text message, then toss it back down to finish charging.
And if we’re going to get crazy with this “cutting the cord” thing, why not buy a wireless pair of bluetooth headphones while we’re at it? I’ve used the Motorola S805 Bluetooth headphones (our review, $75) for years and love using them while doing chores around the house—no wires to snag on doorknobs or drawer handles. There are also cheaper products like the GoGroove PurePlay ($29).
There are rumors Apple is thinking along the same lines as I am. The Wall Street Journalrecently said that while wireless charging is not coming to the iPhone 5, Apple is working on it for the iPhone 6.
Apple’s next iPad may be out as soon as this fall and will be much more expensive, come with a high-pixel-density screen, and be aimed at creative and medical professionals, according to a report from This Is My Next.
Apple is planning to release a wave of new products this fall, and among them will be the second version of the iPad to be released this year (Apple previously released the iPad 2 in March). To be called the iPad HD, this new model will feature a high-resolution 2048 x 1536 screen, double that of the current iPad 2. The iPad HD will be marketed as a pro device and come with a more expensive price tag. The current iPad 2 starts at $499. Apple will also introduce professional video- and photo-editing apps like Final Cut and Aperture designed for the iPad, claims the report.
Splitting a product line into pro and regular versions is not without precedent for Apple. Its laptops are known as the Macbook and Macbook Pro and sold at two different price levels. Apple also sells its desktop computers at two levels, the cheaper all-in-one iMac and the pricier Mac Pro. Even the iPhone, in a way, is split into two price tiers, with Apple continuing to manufacturer and sell the iPhone 3GS at a cheaper cost alongside the iPhone 4.
This move by Apple could also be simply shifting the iPad into its previously successful economies-of-scale strategy that makes products cheaper over time while keeping the newest versions on the cutting edge. In the past, Apple has released new products at premium prices and relied on affluent early adopters to bear the premium cost of ramping up manufacturing. Once materials can be gathered on a mass scale, costs are lowered. Newer models can then take advantage of the now-in-place manufacturing infrastructure to become cheaper over time.
What’s the best way for an iPhone game developer to make money in the App Store? Answer: they should give away their game for free. According to data collected by analytics firm Flurry, games that use a freemium revenue model take in twice as much revenue as those that rely on an upfront cost.
The first half of 2011 has seen the App Store’s Top 10 Grossing Apps list list slowly become dominated by free social games like Smurf Village, Tap Pet Hotel, and Zynga Poker. Just a few months ago, popular $0.99 paid-app hits like Angry Birds and Cut the Rope used to rule the top 10. In fact, in January 2011, paid apps made 61% of App Store game revenue compared with 31% by freemium games. Now that number has reversed, with freemium games raking in 65% of all game revenue compared with paid’s 35%.
According to Flurry, only 0.5% to 6.0% of gamers actually spend money on freemium games, depending on the game. What developers hope for are known as “whales”—heavy spenders who can sometimes drop hundreds of dollars. In an article titled “Zynga’s Quest for the Big-Spending Whales,” Businessweek noted a gamer spent $75,000 in one year on a single freemium game.
Freemium game revenue may not always be on the up-and-up. Apple recently had to change the way its in-app purchases work after numerous reports of children running up hundreds of dollars in charges on their parent’s credit cards by “accidentally” buying Smurfberries in the popular Smurf Village iPhone game. A single purchase of Smurfberries went for as much as $99, which led some to speculate developers were deliberately taking advantage of the kids’ trigger-happy fingers. The trend even led to a FTC investigation and ultimately a class-action lawsuit.
Ultimately, Apple was forced to tweak the way in-app purchases are made. Now, in-app purchases require you to enter a password after you initially download a game. 15 minutes after making a purchase, you must reenter your password.
Traditional game developers are taking note of the freemium revenue model. World of Warcraft, one of the world’s most popular online games, recently got rid of its 14-day free trial in favor of allowing gamers to play as much as they want up to level 20. If gamers want to play beyond that, they must pay a monthly fee starting at $14.99 a month.
Flurry notes two advantages of the freemium model for game developers: first, more people are likely to try out a free game, and second, players can spend more money depending on their level of engagement with the game. Where someone buying Angry Birds might only spend the initial $0.99, a freemium model could land players who spend much more over time.
The rate that people are downloading apps from Apple’s App Store continues to grow at a staggering rate. Apple announced today that the App Store has had over 15 billion downloads, generating $2.5 billion in revenue for developers. The App Store has grown to include over 425,000 apps, with 100,000 apps available specifically for the iPad.
The press release noted that more than 200 million iOS devices have been sold around the world, and the App Store is available in over 90 countries.
MacRumors notes the significance of the 15 billion number by pointing out Apple’s Music Store, opened in 2003, only reached 15 billion song downloads just last month.
The Wall Street Journal has updated yesterday’s report on the impending iPhone 5 to add additional info on what Apple is working on for the iPhone 6. While WSJ’s sources expect the iPhone 5 to be a minor update similar in form to the iPhone 4, Apple has much bigger plans for the iPhone 6, including a major refresh that could include wireless charging:
Investors expect a bigger boost to Apple’s phone business next year. People briefed on Apple’s plans said the company is planning a major iPhone revamp then, with one person saying the company has been experimenting with features such as a new way of charging the phone.
Wireless charging is not a new technology. The Palm Pre, released in 2009, had the feature built in and could charge wirelessly via an electromagnetic induction charging dock, the Touchstone Charger. Even current iPhone’s can be charged wirelessly via third-party hardware like the Powermat.
Cutting the cord could be a new theme for Apple. Its upcoming iOS 5 software update will allow iPhones to be updated wirelessly over WiFi—in other words, software updates and backups can be done without plugging them into computers. iPhones will still require a wall plug and USB cord to charge. Wireless charging could be the next step. Knowing Apple CEO Steve Job’s love for simplicity, the idea of not having to mess around with a cord to charge your iPhone seems like a likely upcoming feature.
NASA has announced that the first iPhone in space will be going up on, in a bittersweet moment for geeks, the last space shuttle mission. And once it gets there, the iPhone will be asked to stay where no smartphone has boldly gone before, helping the space station crew conduct experiments.
The iPhone will fly on the Atlantis for the shuttle’s final mission, dubbed STS-135. Its four-man crew, the smallest since 1983, will spend 12 days in space. Amongst their various missions is delivering supplies to the Space Station. That’s when the iPhone will hold its breath and float on over.
The iPhone’s specific task is to help astronauts track scientific results for various experiments. Specifically, the astronauts will use an app called SpaceLab for iOS ($0.99), developed by Odyssey Space Research. The app is available in the App Store. The company specifically chose the iPhone because of its unique combination of a gyro, accelerometer, cameras, and powerful mobile chip. The iPhone will be housed inside a small research platform built by NanoRacks.
Atlantis is set to launch on July 8 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
AT&T Wireless has announced that starting July 17, it will be offering insurance for all models of the iPhone for $4.99 a month. The AT&T Mobile Insurance plan covers the iPhone against loss, theft, accidental physical or liquid damage, and mechanical and electrical failure after the manufacturer’s warranty period has expired.
Here are some of the terms of the insurance:
$4.99 Monthly Premium: Per mobile number enrolled and a non-refundable deductible for each approved claim
Incidents Covered: Lost, stolen, accidental damage and mechanical or electrical failure after the manufacturer’s warranty period has expired
Non-Refundable Deductible: $50/$125 per approved claim, depending on the device model
Replacement Time: Next business day (in most cases)
Claim Limits: Two claims within any consecutive 12 months, with a maximum device value of $1500 per claim
Replacement Equipment: Claims may be fulfilled with a new or remanufactured device. Colors, features and accessory compatibility are not guaranteed.
Cancellation Policy: Cancel anytime and receive a prorated refund of your unearned premium
iPhone chipmaker ARM says that its latest Mali GPU chip, due out in 18 months, will allow mobile devices to equal the power of current-gen gaming consoles like the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. But its long-term plans involve increased interaction between the CPU and GPU for future performance gains.
ARM told the Inquirer it has laid out its roadmap for the next 5 years and realized it can’t rely on Moore’s Law alone to meet the low-power/high-performance demands of next-gen mobile devices. Only by combining the power of the CPU with a GPU can future mobile devices deliver performance gains in gaming and other popular mobile tasks like computational photography. The iPhone 4 recently became the most-used camera on Flickr.
Battery power is also a big concern for any next-gen mobile chip. ARM told the Inquirer:
Battery technology doesn’t have that [Moore’s Law] sort of growth” and that shrinking the process node does not necessarily solve the power problem. [A] combination of technologies is needed, such as very aggressive power management and multiple GPUs that can power up as required.
There may be one hitch in getting ARM’s chips into a future iPhone: Samsung. ARM said that, in terms of going from prototype chip to real-word mass manufacturing, nobody does it faster than Samsung. But Apple and Samsung are currently entangled in a legal battle over mobile phone patents. Apple’s latest A5 chip, found in the iPad 2, is manufactured by Samsung. The legal dispute could complicate their relationship in the future, although some analysts feel that Samsung could be willing to compartmentalize the dispute to maintain its profitable manufacturing business with Apple, which brings in billions in revenue every year. ARM’s latest chip, the Mali-400MP, powers Samsung’s newest flagship phone, the Samsung Galaxy S II.
In terms of the near future, ARM’s latest chip design, the Mali-T604, is being tested in prototype devices and set to appear on the market in 2012. ARM’s chips also power the Apple TV and other media devices. For that growing market, the chipmaker told website Techeye that its Mali chips will appear in a “large section of the digital TV market” toward the end of the year. The rumored Apple HDTV, perhaps?
