Apple's next-generation iPhone will have a faster processor and will begin shipping in September, three people with direct knowledge of the company's supply chain said.
The production of the new iPhone will start in July/August and the smartphone will look largely similar to the iPhone 4, one of the people said on Wednesday.
The iPhone -- introduced in 2007 with the touchscreen, on-demand application template now adopted by its rivals -- remains the gold standard in the booming smartphone market.
Reports on the timeline of the new iPhone launch vary, though it is largely expected that Apple will likely refresh its iPhone 4 later this year.
The sources declined to be identified because the plans for the new iPhone were not yet public. An Apple spokeswoman in Hong Kong was not available for comment.
The iPhone is one of Apple's most successful products, with more than 16 million sold in the last quarter of 2010 and the product accounted for more than a third of the company's sales in the quarter.
The current iPhone 4 was launched by Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs in June last year and began shipping the same month in 2010.
Apple sources many of its components from Taiwan-based suppliers, many of whom are expected to benefit from an uptick in sales as some of them rely on the U.S. company for about 20-40 percent of their business, said Vincent Chen, an analyst at Yuanta Securities.
"For some suppliers, Apple is their cash cow, or their bread and butter," Chen said.
"With all these versions being launched so frequently, it will be the so-called low-margin suppliers, such as those that assemble the phones, who will benefit the most."
Suppliers to the new iPhone include camera module maker Largan Precision Co Ltd, touchscreen panel maker Wintek Corp and case maker Foxconn Technology Co Ltd, two of the people said.
The companies would begin production either in July or August before shipping components to Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, flagship of Foxconn Technology Group, for assembly, they said.
Officials at Largan, Wintek and Foxconn declined to comment.
On Wednesday, Largan's Taipei-listed shares ended up 3.7 percent, Hon Hai rose 4.3 percent and Foxconn rose 6.6 percent, outpacing the benchmark TAIEX share index's 2 percent advance.
Apple, a big purchaser of touchscreen displays and flash memory, is also dependent on Japan for some of its key components, sparking concern that the disruption due to the crisis there may hurt its gross margins.
Apple is expected to report another spectacular quarter on Wednesday, tempered by growing caution over how supply constraints will squeeze margins and restrain iPhone and iPad sales.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Apple to Ship New iPhone in September, Sources Say
Apple Users, Beware: iPhones Secretly Tracking Location, Experts Warn
Labels: apple, iphone, news
Two programmers have discovered that the latest operating system powering the iPhone and iPad keeps a log of everywhere you go, recording both the location and time you were there.
The feature has been around since June 2010, meaning some iPhones have nearly a year of location history recorded in a single file -- every step, trip to the park, family vacation and more. And that, said Alasdair Allan and Pete Warden, who uncovered the file, poses serious problems.
"It became clear that there was a scary amount of detail on our movements [in the iPhone]," they noted in a post on their website.
"By passively logging your location without your permission, Apple has made it possible for anyone from a jealous spouse to a private investigator to get a detailed picture of your movements."
Apple did not respond to calls or e-mails for comment from FoxNews.com.
The two British programmers accidentally discovered the iPhone feature -- some would call it a bug -- when they were making software based on user locations. And digital privacy consultant Frank M. Ahearn says he has seen the problems caused by such lack of privacy first-hand.
"It's a scary world," Ahearn told FoxNews.com. "I've worked with clients where, for instance, a woman started realizing that her husband knew lots things he just shouldn't have known … eventually we figured out that he could tell where she was based on her phone's GPS."
Not all cell phones track the same information, though the exact details of what's being tracked are unclear. Microsoft told tech bloggers at Gizmodo that only the last location is stored on Windows Phone 7-powered devices, to support the Find My Phone feature. Google refused to tell whether Android-powered smartphones store location information in a similar fashion -- though Android phones do allow a user to opt out of location collection.
Who would use such information? Employers are starting to trace employees using company-issued cell phones, Ahearn said. It was not clear why Apple was recording the information or how the company would use it, if at all.
But the iPhone feature could be good news for police. According to the ACLU, Michigan police are currently using a device called the Cellebrite UFED during traffic pull-overs. It can grab all the data out of a phone within minutes.
The company that sells the Cellebrite UFED advertises it to law enforcement: "Get the evidence you need -- immediately."
The company's website goes on to note: "Easy to use in both the field and in lab environments, UFED extracts vital data such as phonebook, pictures, videos, text messages, call logs … it then gathers the data into reports for research and evidence."
But the ACLU argues that the use of the device by police officers during traffic stops would be illegal, and is attempting to obtain Internal records on exactly how the department uses the devices.
"[The devices] allow them to extract information from cell phones without a warrant," Kary Moss, Executive Director of the Michigan ACLU, said.
"The U.S. Constitution acknowledges that people who are not suspected of a certain crime have certain rights -- police have to obtain a search warrant."
A spokesman for the Michigan State Police said that they were drafting a statement on their use of the devices, but it was not ready by Wednesday evening.
But to the matter at hand: What can you do if you want to ensure your data is safe?
Ahearn says the simplest method is just not to use a fancy phone. As of now there is no known way to stop an iPhone with OS 4 from logging locations.
High-Tech Police Spying Sparks Privacy Battle
Labels: info, news, technology
Michigan State Police Thursday defended their use of a high-tech device that connects to almost any personal cell phone -- and in mere minutes downloads its entire contents, including call logs, texts, photos and web history.
State police say the device, called the Cellebrite UFED, is an effective tool in fighting crime. But the Michigan branch of the ACLU disagrees, fearing that cops are abusing the device -- even using it on routine arrests and traffic stops.
"We believe that [the police] are using new devices that allow them to extract information from cell phones without a warrant, and using them during routine traffic stops," Kary Moss, executive director of the Michigan ACLU, told FoxNews.com.
Michigan State Police spokesman Tiffany Brown told FoxNews.com Thursday that the devices are only used to gather evidence for serious cases such as crimes against children -- and that it has never been the department's policy to use the device during routine traffic stops.
But Brown declined to say whether the device has ever been used in traffic stops, saying instead that there have been no citizen complaints or lawsuits.
"The [department] only uses the device if a search warrant is obtained or with consent," Brown added.
To test that, the ACLU submitted a Freedom of Information Act request, demanding police records on how the devices were used, following nearly three years of questions over UFED devices. The police department initially replied that it would cost $500,000 to comb through the records and pick out the relevant ones. The ACLU, which would have to pay the tab, balked at the amount.
The police department says it is doing its best to cooperate with the request.
"The [department] has worked with the ACLU to narrow the focus, and thus reduce the cost, of its initial Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request," the department noted in a statement released Thursday. The statement reaffirms the department's claims that no one has complained about its use of the Cellebrite gadget.
"To be clear, there have not been any allegations of wrongdoing by the MSP in the use of DEDs," it reads.
ALCU Attorney Mark Fancher, who filed an official letter of complaint with the agency on April 13, said he'll believe it when he sees it.
"We continue to have great difficulty getting those documents," he told FoxNews.com.
The State Police, meanwhile, have accused the ACLU of getting in the way of its main job: solving crimes.
"The implication by the ACLU that the [department] uses these devices "quietly to bypass Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches" is untrue, and this divisive tactic unjustly harms police and community relations," the statement reads.
"[The devices] have become a powerful investigative tool used to obtain critical information from criminals," the statement says.
Apple, Google Receive Phone Users' Locations
Labels: apple, info, iphoneApple Inc.'s iPhones and Google Inc.'s Android smartphones regularly transmit their locations back to Apple and Google, respectively, according to data and documents analyzed by The Wall Street Journal—intensifying concerns over privacy and the widening trade in personal data.
Google and Apple are gathering location information as part of their race to build massive databases capable of pinpointing people's locations via their cellphones. These databases could help them tap the $2.9 billion market for location-based services—expected to rise to $8.3 billion in 2014, according to research firm Gartner Inc.
In the case of Google, according to new research by security analyst Samy Kamkar, an HTC Android phone collected its location every few seconds and transmitted the data to Google at least several times an hour. It also transmitted the name, location and signal strength of any nearby Wi-Fi networks, as well as a unique phone identifier.
Google declined to comment on the findings.
Until last year, Google was collecting similar Wi-Fi data with its fleet of StreetView cars that map and photograph streets world-wide. The company shut down its StreetView Wi-Fi collection last year after it inadvertently collected e-mail addresses, passwords and other personal information from Wi-Fi networks. The data that Mr. Kamkar observed being transmitted on Android phones didn't include such personal information.
Apple, meanwhile, says it "intermittently" collects location data, including GPS coordinates, of many iPhone users and nearby Wi-Fi networks and transmits that data to itself every 12 hours, according to a letter the company sent to U.S. Reps. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Joe Barton (R-Texas) last year.
Apple didn't respond to requests for comment.
Blogging to Fulfill Your Desire of Writing
Labels: BlogWriting becomes a means of sharing the thoughts, feelings, and information for every people in the world. It is very useful to be able to express everything that is on your mind into some writing works. Your thoughts, your feelings can be well transferred to other person by making some writing works. In making some writing works, people have to use some medium so that they can publish and share the ideas.
As the technology of internet is so rapidly developed, people are making their writing works using the medium of internet. They use the facility in the internet that can be called blogging. Blogging is a kind of activity that involves writing as the basic concern. It gives people some new kinds of media so that they can publish their writing works via internet.
However, many people are not accustomed to use this blogging service. They still have to learn about how to blog. The tutorial on blogging is also available in the internet. The tutorial teaches you about how to create your own blog, how to customize it, and how to make money using the facility of blogging. Try your own creation of blogging and make it interesting as best as you can.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Gamer's Delight: The Beer-Fueled Arcade Machine
Who said you can't drink and drive? Not only does the Octane 120 Beer Arcade Machine ($6,000) support it, it even includes a kegerator behind the rear seat — with a secondary tap in the dash — so you don't have to pull over to get a refill.
Other features include leather wrapping on the fully adjustable, force-feedback steering wheel and on the seat, metal gas, clutch, and brake pedals, a Full HD projector up front, an integrated gaming PC with 200 racing and arcade video games and PS3 connectivity for good measure, a conveniently placed cup holder, and the ability to swerve with impunity.
At Last, White Apple iPhone to Debut
Labels: apple, info, iphone
Suppliers to Apple have begun production of white iPhones after a delay of almost 10 months, pointing to a launch date of within a month, two people familiar with the situation said on Thursday.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, flagship of Taiwan's Foxconn Technology Group, would assemble the iPhone, one of the people said. They declined to be named because the information was not public.
An Apple spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment, while calls to a Hon Hai spokesman went unanswered.
Apple Senior Vice-President of Marketing Phil Schiller first said in a Twitter post in March that the white iPhone would be available for sale by Spring, which ends in May in the northern hemisphere.
The white iPhone would be available from AT&T and Verizon Communications by the end of April, Bloomberg News reported on its website, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs first unveiled the white version of the smartphone when the iPhone 4 was launched in June last year, but it has been delayed because of a manufacturing issue that the company has not elaborated on.
Many telecommunications operators have been eager to sell the iPhone, hoping that the feature-jammed device will help boost data network use and increase revenue. For example, China Mobile Ltd, the world's biggest mobile operator, has been in talks with Apple for more than a year on distribution rights for the handset.
More than 16 million iPhones were sold in the last quarter of 2010, accounting for more than a third of Apple's sales in those three months.
Back to PlayBook for RIM on BlackBerry Tablet, Reviews Suggest
Labels: blackberry, cell phone, info, inovation
BlackBerry maker Research in Motion needs a new play book. That's the initial takeaway from the company's much-anticipated tablet device, the PlayBook, which drew far more jeers than cheers in its debut yesterday. Analysts said RIM, whose shares dropped more than 3 percent after the poor reviews, will have to quickly up its game if it hopes to compete in the hot tablet market dominated by Apple's iPad.
"No one is going to confuse this [PlayBook] with the iPad," said Daniel Ernst, a tech analyst at Hudson Square Research.
According to reviewers, one of the most glaring shortcomings is the PlayBook doesn't have an independent function for email, calendars, or address books. Instead, users are forced to connect, or "tether," their existing BlackBerrys to the device for access to email and the Internet.
Reviewers also panned the PlayBook's dearth of apps -- about 3,000 compared to more than 300,000 for its competitors.
The Waterloo, Ontario-based company said it plans on making software upgrades to the tablet by the summer.
"The reality is it needs more work. The question is, do they have time to do this?" said Richard Tse, analyst at Cormark Securities.
RIM is hoping to sell as many as 9 million or 10 million PlayBook units over the next 10 months, according to sources, while consensus estimates for sales of the device are in the 3 million ballpark.
But some analysts said that reviewers are missing the point. The PlayBook was designed first and foremost to first target existing BlackBerry users. The tablet is also a platform for RIM's new QNX operating system, which is slated to be transitioned into all RIM devices.
"This is not a perfect product, but it's a good start," said Avian Securities analyst Matthew Thornton.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Tantalizing Hints of Windows 8 Hit the Internet
Haven't upgraded to Windows 7 yet? Brace yourself: Work on Windows 8 is well under way. A pre-release version of Microsoft's next operating system -- which isn't officially scheduled to launch until 2012 -- reportedly leaked onto the Internet over the weekend, leading to an explosion of speculation among Microsoft watchers about what new versions and features the company may be developing.
Chief among the features pinpointed is the widespread implementation of the Ribbon interface, a dynamic, icon-filled replacement for traditional menus unveiled with Microsoft Office 2007. Though controversial, the interface garnered rave reviews and became a love-it-or-leave-it reason to upgrade to the latest productivity suite.
The leaked Windows 8 screenshots suggest Microsoft intends to add the Ribbon interface to the basic operating system itself, wrote enthusiasts Rafael Rivera and Paul Thurrott.
"In Windows 8, Ribbon usage is accelerating again, and Microsoft’s next major OS will include this UI in the most visible of all possible places, Windows Explorer," the pair blogged on the site Within Windows. They called the new interface "only half-finished and, frankly, of dubious value," arguing that the inconsistent implementation of the new look and feel suggest it is controversial within Microsoft, as well.
Other notable features include a sync functionality built into the operating system and new logon and user switching functions, enthusiasts wrote. But the biggest change will be under the hood; Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced in January that the next version of the operating system will support the chips that power cell phones and tablets, not just the traditional Intel and AMD chips that power computers.
"Whatever device you use, now or in the future, Windows will be there," Ballmer said.
A Microsoft spokeswoman said the company would not comment on future versions of Windows.
Analysts expect the company will add additional functionality to make the Windows 8 operating system ideal for the growing fleet of tablet computers, including instant-on capability and a Windows app store. But a separate version of the OS specifically designed for tablets may lag behind the standard version, said Trip Chowdry, analyst at Global Equities Research.
"Windows 8 could be available as soon as this holiday season, but Microsoft won't be able to get its ARM version out that quickly," Chowdry told Money magazine.
Microsoft has pledged to keep to its three-year operating system release cycle. Windows 7 was unveiled in October 2009, while Vista was released in 2006.
Cablevision Launches iPad App to Watch TV at Home
Labels: info, inovation, ipad
Cablevision Systems is launching an app for customers using its Optimum package to watch television on their iPads at home, the company said on Saturday.
The service, available at no extra charge, will allow the cable operator's more than 3 million customers to watch some 300 channels, search programing by genre and enable customers to record programs.
The system uses Cablevision's digital cable television network to deliver programing to the iPad, so customers do not need to have Internet access on their devices to use the app.
"This application allows the iPad to function as a television, delivering the full richness and diversity of our cable television service to a display device in the home," Tom Rutledge, Cablevision chief operating officer, said in a statement.
The move by New York's Cablevision comes weeks after Time Warner Cable launched its own iPad app in mid-March.
The Time Warner version allows users to watch live programing from 32 networks so long as they are at home using their Wi-Fi network.
But Time Warner's app sparked controversy.
A few days ago, after getting several "cease and desist" notices, the No. 2 U.S. cable company said it would no longer carry networks owned by News Corp's Fox, Viacom and Discovery Communications.
The media companies believe the cable company needs to pay for new licenses in order for customers to use the iPad app.
