Blog posts tagged with 'ipad'

There’s been a lot of speculation recently about the iPad 5. You’ve probably spotted a bit of it yourself online – Apple’s usual routine is to release a new tablet in the first quarter of the year, but the release of the iPad 4 and iPad mini in November disrupted this. Nevertheless, rumours are running rampant about a March release for the iPad 5. People are speculating about a thinner, lighter iPad, more in line with the standard set by the iPad Mini. And we’re happy to report that we can confirm these suspicions!

 

The above image is a leak we’ve been sent from one of our sources in China. As you can see, it looks considerably thinner than the existing iPad, with a form factor more in line with the iPad Mini. The positioning of the ports suggests that width is not the only thing this new iPad will have in common with its little brother – the space at the bottom of the cases looks just right for speakers, suggesting they’ll be identically positioned to the iPad Mini. The camera still looks to be on the left, but a back-facing port dead-centre of the case suggests a mic port more in line with the Mini. In terms of dimensions, the screen looks like business as usual (approximately 9.7 inches) but with a far thinner body – we’re expecting something closer to the 7.2mm of the Mini than the 9.4mm of the iPad 4.

Whatever the exact dimensions, we’ve no doubt that this is going to be a gorgeous piece of hardware. Keep checking back in at Mobile Madhouse – when news of the iPad 5 breaks, we’ll be first on the scene with iPad 5 cases and accessories to help keep yours safe from harm!

Steve Jobs, Apple’s famously single-minded founder, had some choice words to say about smaller tablets. One of his rants on the subject is near-legendary on the internet, even today: the one where he claimed smaller sized tablets should come with a swathe of sandpaper, to file down human fingers. His claim was simple, and became an unspoken law amongst Apple – the standard size for a tablet should be 10”. Anything less is simply too small, Jobs claimed; it would compromise on the users ability to use sophisticated methods of manipulation via the touchscreen such as pinching, tapping and sliding, which have always been the iPad’s stock-in-trade. Undoubtedly, Jobs would have derived some amusement from rival Google’s latest offering, the upcoming Nexus 7 tablet, which is due to start shipping in two to three weeks time. But, as is customary when a company steps on Apple’s toes, rumours are flying about Apple’s upcoming “7 inch tablet”, a supposed reaction against both the Nexus 7 and Amazon’s new version of the Kindle Fire, slated for delivery in early August. If the traditional “industry insiders” are to be believed, this hypothetical product is slated for an October release date (around the same time Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 5), and will lack the retina display of its larger brethren. The specs are expected to include an underclocked A5 processor and about 512MB of RAM, along with the same 8GB / 16GB storage options currently provided by the Nexus 7 itself. However, the Chinese site “MyDrivers” which ‘leaked’ the specifications also reported a $249 to $299 price-tag for the 8GB model – significantly more than the Nexus 7’s 8GB version, which is currently priced for pre-order at $199. This begs the question of what, if anything, a device with similar specifications to the Nexus 7 would be able to offer to warrant such a bump in price. The answer is comparatively little. The Amazon Kindle Fire and Google Nexus 7 are priced so competitively because they stand to gain little, if any, profit through direct sales; the devices are sold for scarcely more than they cost to manufacture. Profit margins are recouped through digital media sales (and in the case of Google, advertising). The larger iPad is priced higher because of its greater range of features: the option for much larger storage, the high-powered processor and – of course – the much larger screen all ensure that customers seeking a luxury purchase will opt for the iPad in lieu of cheaper tablets. The shallow end of the tablet market does not benefit from a ‘luxury’ mini iPad – so (assuming these rumours have any basis in fact) Apple would have to radically alter their traditional marketing strategy if they wanted to make a dent in a market dominated by the Kindle Fire (and set to be shook up significantly by the arrival of the Nexus 7).

Though Microsoft is one of the premier software companies in the world, and also has a proud history in manufacturing (producing high quality mice, keyboards, and – of course – the ultra-popular Xbox and Xbox 360 videogame consoles), its previous stance when it came to computers involved outsourcing the production of the hardware to different companies. But yesterday they announced that they will be both producing and programming their latest product: the Microsoft Surface Tablet, a device intended to uncompromisingly bridge the gap between the power of a P.C and the versatility and portability of a tablet computer. It’s a bold move: with Apple accounting for fully two thirds of the tablet market, it’s difficult to conceive of a company with no prior experience with computer manufacturing breaking successfully into the tablet market. But despite their comparative lack of experience, Microsoft have made a clever decision in deciding to take full control of their tablet computer; one similar to Apple’s recent decision to launch their own mapping system, rather than rely on Google Maps, or Samsung’s recent decision to utilize Bada instead of the Android OS on their entry level Smartphones – essentially, it’s not a great idea to rely on companies you’re in competition with in other areas. Both Apple and Samsung have a healthy mistrust of Google (proprietor of both Google Maps and the open source Android OS) because it has an impetus to harvest their customer’s data for advertising purposes: ergo, they are trying to become more self-sufficient, and cut Google off at the source (or at least stymie their efforts). Similarly, Microsoft could have outsourced hardware production to a company like Intel or Samsung, but by doing so they are essentially ‘sleeping with the enemy’. Additionally, by overseeing all aspects of both design and programming, Microsoft ensure that the Surface Tablet really is their device, custom made from the ground up and thus guaranteed to contain all of the features they desire. And what are those features, you may be wondering? Well, sadly, Microsoft hasn’t released all of the specifications for their device yet, but the ones they have are fairly promising. They pledge to create two versions of the Surface Tablet: a smaller and weaker variant (weighing 676g at 9.3mm thick, designed with Windows RT and low-power processors in mind), and the Pro version (weighing 903g at 13.5mm thick, running the standard Windows 8 OS and designed for standard Intel chipsets). Both, however, possess 10.6” HD screens, a case incorporating a thin (and optional) keyboard peripheral, and a kickstand so users can watch the screen without straining their hands. While the Pro tablet has a maximum of 128GB memory, the RT version has a peak of only half that (and its standard version is a mere quarter, at 32GB). The Microsoft press release that accompanied the unveiling states that the Surface Tablet has a full sized USB port, a 16:9 aspect ratio and 22 degrees angled edges, meaning that even the weaker RT version should have no issue with running full 1080p HD video.  So far, reaction to the device has been mixed. Most pundits are impressed by the design of the Surface Tablet: one stalwart Apple blogger even grudgingly conceded that Microsoft could make substantial money by simply revamping the Surface Tablet case for the iPad, since it is so innovative and attractive. But the prevailing opinion is that there are not enough details about the specifications to make an informed judgement about the Surface Tablet yet. And almost everybody feels that Microsoft may be jeopardizing its relationships with other companies (such as Samsung, manufacturer of a previous Microsoft tablet computer) – analyst Michael Gartenberg speculated that “Microsoft felt they could not rely on others to deliver on their vision for Windows 8 in mobile computing”. Will Microsoft’s former partners resent their decision to stand on their own two feet, and withdraw support? And if they did, would Microsoft be capable of producing their own hardware in the long term? And – most seriously of all – is the fledgling Surface capable of going head-to-head with the ubiquitous iPad and coming out on top? Only time can tell if Microsoft’s decision to diversify will be a good one.

The yearly Apple Worldwide Developers Conference is always an event than engenders excitement, but this year things are set to be shook up harder than ever before, courtesy of a little device called the iPhone 5 – or, if Apple’s recent naming scheme holds true, “The New iPhone”. But despite Apple releasing their schedule for the event yesterday (with a couple of conspicuous, eyebrow-raising gaps…), there’s been no mention whatsoever of the elusive iPhone 5. They’re remaining extremely tight-lipped about the latest device; in fact, Apple representatives have thus far claimed the chief draws of the 2012 WWDC to be the unveiling of the iOS 6 and their new OS X, christened (or maybe just codenamed) “Mountain Lion”. With that said, the annual centrepiece of the event is the keynote speech, which was traditionally the domain of their late CEO, Steve Jobs – the image of him nonchalantly unveiling new hardware on-stage in his ubiquitous turtleneck sweater is practically synonymous with Apple as a whole. Despite his death late last year, new CEO Tim Cook is expected to take up his mantle on stage during the keynote, scheduled at 10am PDT on Monday the 11^th of June.   With more than 100 sessions to attend, it’s certainly going to be a busy event - which is why Apple has cleverly released a free application for the purpose of tracking session and lab attendance, provide dynamic feedback, and see where the disparate sessions are occurring, ensuring that attendees are able to manage their time at the event more efficiently. Given the power of Apple’s marketing, many of the attendees are guaranteed to possess iPhones, iPads, or even iPod devices with internet capability: they have effectively parlayed their marketing brand into a tool to aid their consumer base. Smart marketing has always been Apple’s real stock-in-trade, though. Whether dominating the online music business with their wildly successful iTunes software, or effortlessly cracking open the Smartphone market with the ubiquitous, omnipresent iPhone, Apple’s global brand is now of the strongest in the world – they trade on their image of minimalism and professionalism, but more than that, they trade on the image of the Apple lifestyle; iLife, if you will. (Or perhaps “LiFE”?) We can speculate on the many things that may be unveiled at the WWDC, but one thing’s for sure – the true centrepiece, keynote speech or no keynote speech, is going to be the way in which Apple unveils their products, not the products themselves.