Tuesday 17 July 2012

17/07/2012

It's that time of year again: iPhone5 rumours ramp up.


      So we've already heard stories suggesting that the next iPhone will move to a larger 4" screen but naturally  that's not the end of the rumours.

    Instead there's been more focus on what sort of screen technology Apple will deploy. But, now the Wall Street Journal has reported the Cupertino company will be utilizing a new technique that makes the screen notably thinner. Sharp, Japan Display, and LG are all set to produce the in-cell touch panels for the next iPhone.

   This In-cell technology integrates the touch sensors directly into the LCD, which removes the need for any additional touch layer. Having a separate touch layer adds additional thickness to the screen. The difference is only minor, at around 0.5mm, but the removal of that layer will also result in improved screen quality. The Wall Street Journal says that Apple’s supply chain would be simplified, and that the company would ultimately cut costs as a result of the move. This is something which is bound to please shareholders as every saving means more profits!

   But the changes go further than the screen; there's widespread expectation that the next iPhone will include Apple's new Nanosim standard. European carriers have reportedly been ordering large quantities of the new sim cards to ensure that there are enough to go around when the new iPhone is release. Again the reality is that this will only save a few Millimeters but this saving will help to get cram in a slightly bigger battery which is always a requirement in a new device.

In other news: 
  • Samsung has acquire a little company called CSR is a UK technology company that deals in single-chip Bluetooth solutions, with Samsung’s $310 million purchase of the phone connectivity technologies allowing the South Korean company to make use of various patents and ultimately compete with Qualcomm with an offering of SoC's. 
  • The European Commission has been looking into issues Microsoft has been facing with their 'choose a browser' screen on Windows 7 Service Pack 1 when it was released in early 2011. The issue has reportedly affected millions of customers and it's probably something Microsoft will be punished quite heavily, to the tune of $7billion (yes billion!), despite the company saying today it was a bug and it will be fixed immediately!
  • The T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note is finally official, although we're slightly disappointed with the Qualcomm S3 processor and the lack of a definite date of availability. On the plus side it'll be launching with ICS and the premium suite other Galaxy Notes have been treated to.
  • EA has promised Battlefield 4 beta access to all of the people out there who choose to pre-order or have already pre-ordered a copy of Medal of Honour Warfighter. This is quite clearly a bid to drive sales of the Medal of Honour game but it might be worth it, you're essentially getting two games for the price of one!
  • AT&T has suggested that they will be charging subscription fees for Facetime over 3G for their iPhone customers.
  • Skype has patched their messaging bug that we reported yesterday, so download your updates! 
  • Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 users will soon be able to enjoy the map Terminal from Modern Warfare 2. It's available today (June 17th) for Elite subscribers on Xbox and it'll be available to everyone, for free, tomorrow (June 18th).
Terminal.jpg
Terminal is coming to MW3!





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