Adobe has kicked in the towel when it comes to its mobile Flash service, finally admitting that a focus on HTML5 makes more sense when it comes to mobile video content. It won’t mean much to iPhone users, but for many Android fans Flash support was one of the bigger reasons to make the switch between the two competing Android and iOS operating systems (OSes).
Let’s face it, the iOS rumor mill is never going to stop. This week we’ve got a few new ones to report on. If you haven’t heard of Siri then we’d usually ask you where you’ve been hiding yourself for the last couple of months, but seeing as we have a bit to go through we’ll just quickly fill you in. Siri is Apple’s brand new Native Talk app, that allows users an impressive range of functionality simply by speaking to their iPhone 4S handsets. We know what you’re thinking; that you’ve heard this all before and voice-command interfaces always turn out to be all talk and no action. Well by all accounts Siri actually works really well and seems to be the most impressive voice recognition integration anyone has yet seen on a smartphone.
Our regular readers would have noticed an unusual amount of inactivity on our tech blog this last 2 weeks. The reason for this temporary silence is pretty simple; I was on holidays. I had the unique misfortune of planning and booking a holiday smack bang on top of 2 of the biggest news weeks in mobile news history several months in advance. An unfortunate coincidence for which you all have my apologies.
Tim Cook, new CEO of Apple, made his first big product announcement at the Let’s Talk Apple event. Among the announcements were iCloud, iOS5, the iPod Touch 5, some upgrades to the iPod Shuffle and Nano series and the long awaited… iPhone 4S. The sigh around the internet was almost audible when it became apparent that we would not be seeing the iPhone 5 this time around. Most fans were hoping for at least an external design change from the iPhone 4. Of course we went through exactly the same thing a bit over 2 years ago with the iPhone 3GS, but the extended wait for the iPhone 4S had many thinking that we were going to see something totally new this time around, rather than another upgrade with an identical form-factor.
Apple’s finally given the world an announcement date for its next iPhone launch event. On October 4th all rumours will be laid to rest and bloggers the world over can take a deep, relaxed breath once we finally get to clear up all the hearsay and find out the facts about the next iteration of iPhone.
So it turns out that there’s some leaked info which hints that just maybe the iPhone 5 could possibly be seeing some potential stock shortages when it’s eventually released… supposedly. The folks over at TiPB have reported a rumor that Apple is experiencing some “design and production” issues with the iPhone 5.
There have been rumors circulating that Apple is preparing for a dual-phone launch around mid-October. Rather than just releasing the iPhone 5, many have been talking about the iPhone 4S. This mysterious device will apparently launch alongside the iPhone 5 as a new and improved version of the iPhone 4. The iPhone 4S is speculated to have an A5 dual-core processor and an 8MP camera.
The mobile device industry is a fast moving place. With a new device either rumoured or announced every week, constant operating system (OS) updates and giant companies vying for dominance in what is quickly becoming the world’s most profitable business it can sometimes be difficult to sit back and see the big picture.
According to a report by the Taiwan Economic News, Apple has secured two new manufacturers to supply battery packs for the upcoming iPad 3. These new packs are reportedly thinner than lighter than anything Apple has used before in its iPad tablets. Tech sites such as PhoneArena have speculated that this could mean that the iPad 3 as a whole will be thinner and lighter than the iPad 2. If true this would hardly be surprising, given Apple’s traditional approach to physical design, as well as a need to compete with Samsung’s Galaxy Tablet line, who’s profile is also becoming increasingly slim.
It’s been no secret that Steve Jobs has been suffering from failing health of late. His recent self-imposed seclusion due to medical reasons has been the source of numerous online rumors and extensive media attention. The noticeable lack of his presence at major Apple events has been obvious, as has his weight loss and increasingly frail appearance.
Hundreds of cell phone plans unpacked. All the facts. No surprises.