Apple Finally Released So-called “Thinner, Lighter and Faster” iPhone 5

Even since last April, the world has been longing for the Apple iPhone 5. But finally, Apple just introduced its iPhone 4S to the world, which comes with some very minor improvements and certainly disappointment to fans. Now, after such a long time waiting, Apple finally brings out the iPhone 5 on the September 12^th event. Right before the official release event, I wrote a post for a final guess about iPhone 5 features, namely Rumor roundup: Detailed information on iPhone 5 features, specs, release time and price. The pleasant thing is that most of these anticipations turn out to be the actual fact, like the name, design, display size, resolution, aspect ratio, software, camera, etc. Of course, some features are not exactly correct.

On the iPhone 5 release event, Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiled the iPhone 5 by claiming the new iPhone being thinner, lighter and faster smartphone Apple has ever made. In my opinion, though the iPhone 5 is not as expected to be out with quite many shinning features, it is far from enough to describe it only thinner, lighter and faster. We can take a look at the features Apple iPhone 5 comes with.

The words “Thinner, Lighter and Faster” only tell people the straightforward user experience on the phone design and utility. That is the truth. The iPhone 5 is thinner as it is 18 percent thinner than iPhone 4S, with dimension at only 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm. Meanwhile, the 112g weight makes it 20 percent lighter that iPhone 4S. As for faster, the new A6 chip built in the iPhone 5 is twice as fast and 22 percent smaller as the A5 processor in iPhone 4S. But, those are not the entire iPhone 5.

Let's take a quick and simple review of the iPhone 5 features and specs. Then you will understand why I said that.

Thickness and weight: 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm anodized aluminum phone body weights 112g.

Screen display: 4 inches Retina multi-touch display with 1136 x 640 pixels resolution (326ppi), 16:9 aspect ratio and better color fidelity and saturation (improved by 44%), which produces amazing experience to watch HD movies on iPhone 5, play games, view and type text content, etc.

Processor: Brand-new A6 chip provides up to twice the CPU and graphics performance as that of iPhone 4S, almost every operation on iPhone 5 is blazing fast for launching apps, loading web pages and downloading email attachments.

Camera: The auto-focus 8 megapixel iSight camera with Flashlights features a sapphire crystal lens cover with the ability to provide crystal clear images and supports HD (1080p) video recording with up to 30 frames per second with audio. The new panorama feature lets you capture jaw-dropping panorama images of up to 28 megapixels by simply moving the camera across a scene in one smooth motion. The FaceTime HD camera on the front panel supports 1.2MP photos and HD video (720p) recording with up to 30 frames per second.

iOS 6: Provides 200 new user features including: an all new Maps app with Apple-designed cartography, turn-by-turn navigation and an amazing new Flyover™ view; Facebook integration for Contacts and Calendar, with the ability to post directly from Notification Center; Passbook, the simplest way to get all your passes in one place; new Siri features, including support for more languages, easy access to sports scores, restaurant recommendations and movie listings; Siri and Facebook-enabled apps like Photos, Safari and Maps; and Shared Photo Streams via iCloud, etc.

Lightening connector: Smaller, smarter and more durable all-digital Lightning connector features an adaptive interface that uses only the signals that each accessory requires, and it’s reversible so you can instantly connect to your accessories. The Lightning-to-30-pin Adapter is also available to connect iPhone 5 to legacy 30-pin accessories.

LTE and carriers: The iPhone 5 will support 4G LTE networks in addition to the current support for GPRS, EDGE, EV-DO, and HSPA data networks. LTE has a single chip for voice and data, a single radio chip, and a "dynamic antenna" that will switch connections between different networks automatically. For the detailed information about LTE support of iPhone 5, check all LTE carriers of iPhone 5.

Audio: iPhone 5 brings some improvements in audio, including a new beam-forming, wideband audio, new Earpods earphones, which all make it more enjoyable for listening to audio files with iPhone 5.

Network connectivity: Support WCDMA, EVDO, LTE, dual-band 802.11n WiFi and Bluetooth. Nano-SIM card supported sports even more convenience.

Battery life: 8 hours for 3G talk or networking, 8 hours of 4G networking, 10 hours of WIFI networking, 10 hours of video playback, 40 hours of music playback, and 225 hours of standby time.

These cover the most of iPhone 5 specs. After reading all these, how do you think of iPhone 5? Is iPhone 5 the right phone you are waiting for?

Rumor roundup: Detailed information on iPhone 5 features, specs, release time and price

For a long time period, people have been guessing about the detailed information about the next generation of iPhone. Now, only a few yards away from the rumored official release of iPhone 5 on Apple’s Sep. 12th event, things seem to be clearer. Since the existing rumors and speculations, we might get a general acknowledgement about the iPhone 5. And today, right before the official release of iPhone 5, I would like to make a guess on iPhone 5 specs and features upon different rumors, to see how many features I could get here.

Name

The name of the next generation of iPhone is always a big concern for all people. Just like the fifth generation of iPhone and the third generation of iPad, which are named respectively iPhone 4S and the new iPad, the next generation of iPhone, actually the sixth generation of Apple iPhone, might get some difference from its traditional way of naming. But it is highly believed to be under the name of iPhone 5. This could be concluded from the invitations Apple sent for the September 12^th event. Also, while the upcoming iPhone is the sixth generation, the name iPhone 5 in fact shows some difference from iPhone 6.

Design

Well, if there is one thing people might get the same opinion, it is the design: all believe it to be bigger and thinner. It is bigger so as to meet the 16:9 aspect ratio, while with a slim phone body less than 8mm thickness. As for the appearance, it is believed the next iPhone would be similar to its predecessors.

Display

Display is also a big concern. The iPhone 5 is going to bigger 4" LCD screen with a resolution of 1136 by 640 pixels, which sports a very high pixel density of 326ppi, just like on the iPhone 4S Retina Display. This would make it excellent to watch HD movies on iPhone 5. With an aspect ratio of 16:9, iPhone 5 produces quite amazing experience for movies, YouTube videos, video games, etc.

Processor

Until right now, there’s little information about the processor of the upcoming iPhone. We can make some conclusion from spy shots that iPhone 5 is going to run on the Apple A6 chip supposedly made by Samsung, not Apple’s own A5X SoC and A5 processor. What makes the A5X better than the A5 is the mighty GPU, but the new iPhone won't really require that much GPU power for HD Retina Display. Therefore, it seems logical Apple to develop a new processor with performance suitable for the new iPhone and power efficiency to ensure decent battery life.

Camera

Well, for the camera, there’s not big improvement in the next iPhone, still an 8MP camera on the rear, just like iPhone 4S’ camera and getting the same performance in shooting as that of iPhone 4S. But the front camera is said to be improved to support HD video calls over FaceTime.

LTE and NFC

Obviously, none expects the next iPhone without LTE support, just like the new iPad. Currently, there’re quite a lot of smartphones in the market supports LTE network connectivity. But for the patent issue with Samsung, it seems that Apple might get difficulty to add LTE support in iPhone 5. As for NFC (Near Field Communication), people have been looking forward to this ever before iPhone 4S, but it still seems to be less likely in iPhone 5.

Software

Very few people would doubt the iOS 6 in iPhone 5, which means that the new iPhone would at least include around 200 new features, including Apple's new 3D maps with turn-by-turn navigation, deep Facebook integration, FaceTime over Cellular, and many more.

Nano SIM card

There’ve reports that the next iPhone would adopt Nano SIM cards, which are even smaller and therefore leave more precious room inside the device for additional circuitry. So yeah, folks that are upgrading will have to get a Nano SIM card from their carrier and won't be able to pop in their old one, which is a slight, but manageable inconvenience.

Accessories

We expect seeing a new, smaller dock connector on the new iPhone, not the well-known, but kind of old 30 pin one. Therefore, included will be a new cable that owners will use to hook up their smartphone to a computer, or to simply charge its battery. A smaller dock connector will also free up some valuable space inside of the device, so that additional components can be installed, just like what the introduction of Nano SIM cards will do. Another accessory that might be altered is the wired headset. Photos that were leaked a few days ago suggest that the earphones have been redesigned, but whether that rumor holds water or not will become known in about a week.

Battery life

Battery has always been the concern for all smartphones, especially for such successful phones like iPhone. Since it would be bigger, the battery life seems to be even more important. It is reported that the new iPhone's battery shows a 1,440mAh cell, which is not enough even compared to the iPhone 4S’ 1,430mAh battery. Of course, Apple might have balanced things out by applying some advanced power management techniques, but we'll be keeping our fingers crossed for a bigger battery up to the smartphone's announcement.

Launch date and pricing

The release date is for sure to be September 12^th, while the launch date is expected to be September 21^st. Nothing is certain as far as pricing is concerned, yet judging by what previous models have been priced at, a base model with 16 gigs of storage will probably cost $199 with a 2-year contract. Doubling its storage will probably cost you an extra $100, and a 64GB model will most likely be priced at a cold $399 on contract.

The First Windows Phone 8 Smartphone HTC 8X for T-Mobile Leaked Online after Samsung and Nokia

During the IFA show in Berlin at the end of August, Samsung quietly showed a few reporters their new Ativ phone running Windows Phone 8 operating system, which features super-thin phone body, 4.8-inch display, 2,300mAh battery, NFC (near-field communication technology) and Evolved High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA+). Shortly after the Samsung Ativ phone, Nokia held its September 5^th event to release its first Windows Phone 8 smartphone, the Nokia Lumia 920, which sports quite amazing features including a 4.3-inch touchscreen, a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, expandable memory via microSDCode, Division Multiple Access (CDMA) or Long-Term Evolution (LTE), etc. Now, as one of manufacturers of Windows Phone 8 terminals, HTC is also on the move for preparing for a Windows Phone 8 smartphone. New details on one of HTC's first Windows Phone 8 mobiles have been leaked. The HTC Accord will apparently be known as the Windows Phone 8X by HTC, and will offer a 4.3inch screen.

HTC 8X specs

As reported, the HTC 8X Windows Phone 8 smartphone would be scheduled to be released on September 19^th, only a week after iPhone 5 release event. According to a spec list leaked on Twitter, the phone, once known as the HTC Accord, will feature a 4.3-inch 720P HD screen, an 8-megapixel camera and a dual-core 1.2GHz processor. Other features include an NFC chip, Beats audio branding, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, WiFi, a microUSB port, 3.5mm audio socket, etc. The HTC 8X offers 16GB of internal memory and 1GB of RAM, and uses a microSIM. Obviously, this new Windows Phone 8 smartphone is for mid-class customers.

What we find most interesting about this leak, though, is the detail shed on the 8-megapixel camera. It reportedly uses a 29mm f/2.0 lens, which should let it take in more light than either the f/2.6 Samsung Galaxy S3 or the f/2.4 iPhone 4S. This snapper could be a bit special, especially given it features in a mid-range phone. It's equipped with an LED flash and can capture 1080p video.

Besides the HTC 8X as Windows Phone 8 smartphone flagship, it is also reported that HTC is preparing for two other WP8 smartphones, respectively named HTC 8S and HTC 8V, for the September 19^th mobile phone event. Will HTC be able to pull off something attractive enough against the Nokia Lumia 920 or Samsung ATIV S? We might have to wait a few more days for September 19 to find out. Stay tuned!

Update of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean for Samsung Galaxy S III Is Now Available

For a long time period, people were waiting for the Samsung Galaxy S III and finally it got released days ago. All features of Samsung Galaxy S III are considered perfect, though it is only operating on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. If those people who are OS-addicted, the Android 4.0 ICS might be not enough. However, the Samsung does not disappoint its fans and supporters by announcing the update availability of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean for Galaxy S III. Samsung has been prepared to commit to releasing a timely update of OS on Galaxy S III ever since the Jelly Bean was announced. And now, Samsung has made it possible for you to update your Galaxy S III to Jelly Bean.

Galaxy S III Jelly Bean update new features:
Project Butter - smoother UI animations with higher frame rate
Google Now
Offline voice typing support
Better notification area with expandable notifications
Better Settings organization
Two different modes for home screen behavior
Resizable pop-up play window
S Note app replaces S Memo
Faster web browser

Sadly, the update will cost you your official Flash support, but at least for now you still get the option to side-load a modified Flash apk if it's a must-have for you.

We have all known the great performance of Samsung flagships operating on ICS. When the company allows users to update the flagships to the latest and greatest 4.1 Jelly Bean, we can imagine how great the phone performance would be.

By the way, for certain owners of the Samsung GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) or the Samsung GALAXY Note 10.1, some good news has arrived - the OTA Android 4.1.1 update for both tablets has been made available. If you're rocking the GT-P3100 or the GT-N8000, all you need to do is follow the directions for each tablet. Before you start, you need to make sure that each device has the proper firmware base. That would be N8000DDALH1 for the Tab 2 7.0 and P3100DDBLH3 for the Note 10.1.

Amazon Officially Announced Kindle Paperwhite and Two Models of Kindle Fire HD

For a long period of waiting, we finally get the new Kindles from Amazon on the press event in Los Angeles on September 6^th. Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, brought out not only a new Kindle Fire, but also other devices and services to all people around the world. Of course, being the press event centerpiece, Kindle Paperwhite e-reader and new Kindle Fire Amazon announced during the event have been the most attractive topics afterward.

The new Kindle Paperwhite e-reader comes with sharper screen display, whose contrast has been improved by 25% and 62% more resolution (now up to 212PPI). It is very thin, as thin as magzines. Using a patented fiber optic cable flattened out technology, the touch-based screen has eight weeks of battery life. On the bottom-left of this device, there is a Time to Read feature which could remind users how long it would be to finish reading books according to reading speed. "[It's] perfect in the bedroom, perfect in direct sunlight," Bezo said during the event. Coming in both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi+3G, the Wi-Fi's at $119 while 3G costs $179. Bezos said they can be ordered today and will ship October 1. Besides, Bezos also introduced a new price for the non-touch Kindle at $69.

Well, then it comes to the most exciting part for people. After introducing the Kindle Paperwhite e-reader, Bezos announced the big bomb of the event, the Kindle Fire HD, second generation of Kindle Fire. There are two variations of Kindle Fire HD: a 7" (like the original Kindle Fire) and an 8.9" larger version, both of which feature fantastic displays. The 8.9" will have an IPS 1920×1200 resolution screen in 254 PPI, comparable to the Retina Display of Apple’s new iPad at 264PPI, which surely produces excellent experience for users to watch HD movies on Kindle Fire HD besides being used as an e-reader.

Amazon claimed that the new Kindle Fire comes with doubled RAM and at least 44% better performance than that of the first Kindle Fire. Under the hood, Amazon has dropped in a Texas Instruments OMAP 4470 processor, which it says outperforms the Tegra 3. It includes an HD front-facing camera, HDMI output, Bluetooth connectivity, and a laminated touch sensor for better visuals and 25-percent less glare. From the current reports, we have known that the new Kindle Fire HD would be powered by at least Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, not precisely specified on version.

The Kindle Fire HD also includes stereo speakers, an upgrade over the Kindle Fire's mono driver. While the company is also offering a 4G LTE variation, Amazon has improved Wi-Fi networking by adding a dual-band 2.4GHz/5GHz receiver, two antennas, MIMO radio technology. The Wi-Fi-only models will come in 16GB and 32GB variations, while the 4G LTE will be available with 32GB or 64GB of storage.

As for the price, the 7" Kindle Fire HD will retail for $199 for 16GB, while the 8.9" Kindle Fire HD will retail for $299 for 16GB. Amazon is also going to sell a 4G LTE version of the Kindle Fire HD for $499. It has 32GB of space. For $50 a year, users can get 250MB of data a month and 20GB of cloud storage.

Nokia Windows Phone 8 Lumia 920 Officially Released with Powerful Pureview Camera

Just as the report goes that Nokia would release its first Windows Phone 8 flagship smartphones on the September 5th event, on the September 5^th event, Nokia didn’t disappoint us, by bringing out the its first brand-new Windows Phone 8, Nokia Lumia 920, which was once reported to be codenamed as Nokia Phi. Being the first flagship of Nokia adopting WP 8 as operating system, the Lumia 920 comes with various eye-catching features, among which the powerful Pureview camera has been the centerpiece.

Though the PureView camera doesn't have the same whopping 41-megapixel sensor found on Nokia's 808 PureView Symbian phone, the sensor in the Lumia 920 is a more typical 8.7 megapixels. Nokia claims that the 920's camera captures five-to-ten times more light than other phone cameras, which makes it better at shooting photos indoors or in low lighting, which was a major issue with Nokia's Lumia 800 and 900 phones, which struggled in those situations. Also, a 1.2-megapixel HD camera is up front for video chatting. The Lumia 920's camera also has so-called “floating-lens” technology for image stabilization. The floating lens is particularly beneficial for video because it minimizes the erratic shaking found in some other smartphone cameras. Well, without doubt, with the Nokia Lumia 920 Pureview camera, users could get even better picture and video shooting experience.

Along with its outstanding camera, the Nokia Lumia 920 has a 4.5-inch curved glass display with 1280-pixel-by-768-pixel resolution. To take advantage of new screen-resolution possibilities in Windows Phone 8, the Lumia 920 has a “Pure Motion HD+” display. Nokia says the screen offers blur-free scrolling and enhancements to sunlight readability, so the phone can react to minimize sunlight glare. We can be sure that the screen would produce even better experience for users to watch HD movie on Lumia 920.

Besides, a 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor with 1GB of RAM inside the Lumia 920 would definitely provide a smooth and fast system reacting. Users could enjoy an even better user experience. The internal 32GB memory storage would be large enough for you to store files. If you still feel not enough, take it easy. Nokia also announced more advanced features for this flagship, including: built-in wireless charging, Nokia Maps for navigation, NFC (Near Field Communication), and of course the Windows Phone 8 operating system. 

Nokia Lumia 920 played a very important role on the Nokia September 5^th event. But it’s not the only one that Nokia brings to us. In addition to release of Lumia 920, Nokia also announced the Lumia 820, which has a 4.3-inch, 800-pixel-by-480-pixel resolution display (without curved glass), a 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, 1GB of RAM, an 8-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics (not PureView), a VGA front-facing camera, 8GB of storage and a microSD card slot.

Apple Confirms September 12th Event Probably Regarding iPhone 5: It’s Almost Here

Previously, there were reports saying that Apple would release the next iPhone on a September 12th event. Now, the September 12^th event has been officially confirmed by Apple Inc. Apple has sent out invites to media on September 4^th to confirm the September 12^th event, which only says "It’s almost here" with a shadowed “5” underneath the September 12 date. The event will begin at 10 a.m. in San Francisco.

From this invitation, we could mostly be sure that the company would debut its next iPhone on that day. 

From the invitation, we might get some detailed information about the next generation of iPhone. The first is of course the release date, which is most probably September 12^th, at least on that day Apple would introduce something about the next iPhone. 

Secondly, according to the shadow of the number “5”, we could boldly guess that the next generation of iPhone would be named with a “5”, mostly likely iPhone 5. 

Thirdly, Apple typed “It’s almost here” on the invite, which might remind us the official shipment of the next iPhone. Mentioning the official availability of the next iPhone, there were reports which indicated that the shipment of the iPhone 5 would be nine days after the September 12^th event. That's to say September 21st shipment of iPhone 5. And combined with the words “It’s almost here” on the invitation, we could also get to know that the previous report about the shipment of iPhone 5 might be exactly the fact.

I would like to provide more up-to-date information about the next generation of iPhone. So, you just need to mark the date and stay tuned here.