Category Archives: Apple Hardware

By Staff | Published: February 23, 2011

Is Thunderbolt the next iDevice “Dock” connection?

Thunderbolt port. Credit: Mac 4 Ever

Thunderbolt port. Credit: Mac 4 Ever

Rumors have been circulating for the last few weeks that Apple would add a Lightpeak port to the next iPad, with most people dismissing the idea as being too soon or just plain unnecessary.

However, given the newly revealed Thunderbolt connection that will debut on the next Macbook Pro, due out sometime soon, is it possible Apple plans to use it as a replacement for the Dock connector found on every iPhone and iPad?

If it sounds like overkill, consider the following:

At various times in the past and even in current iDevices, the Dock connector has been used for

  • Connecting to something via USB to sync and charge
  • Connecting to something via Firewire to sync and charge
  • Connecting peripheral USB devices using the Camera Connection kit
  • Output of composite video
  • Output of component video
  • Output of a VGA signal (using the VGA adapter for the iPad)
  • External control of music playback using the Apple Accessory Protocol
  • Connection to 3rd party peripherals
  • Output of a line level audio signal

Quite a list of jobs for a tiny connector on a portable device, no? Read more

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Posted in Apple Hardware | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments
By Staff | Published: February 23, 2011

Next Macbook Pro to feature “Thunderbolt” port for high speed I/O

Apple’s Macbook Pro line is due for a refresh soon, particularly since the base 13″ model is still using the older Core 2 Duo processor because of chipset and GPU constraints.

Pictures have surfaced from French Mac site Mac 4 Ever showing what appears to be a Mini DisplayPort with a thunderbolt next to it:

In addition the site posted what appears to be a product package for an unreleased Macbook featuring the Thunderbolt icon, calling it “High Speed I/O”

Fscklog has also posted a shot of what appears to be the back panel of the same product packaging, again listing Thunderbolt as a High Speed I/O port:

The new 13″ Macbook Pro will use the Intel Core i5 processor along with Intel’s chipset, which means it will also have to use Intel’s integrated graphics instead of the Nvidia solution used before. Read more

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By Staff | Published: February 23, 2011

Apple schedules iPad event for March 2nd

The Loop is reporting that Apple has sent invitations out for an Apple Event next Wednesday, March 2nd:

According to the invitation received by The Loop, the event will be held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts at 10:00 am. This is the same venue Apple has used to introduce a number of products in recent years.

While it’s obvious that this event is primarily about the new iPad, we’re certain that Apple will also say something about the recently unveiled subscription billing policy that many developers, publishers and tech journalists feel is going to harm the iOS ecosystem in the long run.

The iPad 2 is rumored to be a performance boosting upgrade, with more RAM and a faster ARM processor, but it’s also likely they’ll bump the flash storage capacity of each model as well, with the base model starting at 32GB. Read more

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Also posted in Apple Events, Apple Software | Tagged , , | Leave a comment
By Staff | Published: February 2, 2011

AT&T increases data cap for tethering customers to 4GB

AT&T logo

AT&T logo

In a move that is almost certainly a response to Verizon’s data plan offerings for the iPhone, AT&T announced that as of February 13th, it would begin including an extra 2GB of data allowance per month for users who pay for the optional $20 tethering plan on top of the $25 DataPro 2GB plan.

The change allows tethering plan customers to use a total of 4GB per month regardless of which device uses that data.

Previously, AT&T’s data tethering “plan” was really more of a fee to un-cripple the tethering feature most smart phones already have, as AT&T refused to offer any additional data allowance to users paying a premium for the feature.

If you’re an AT&T iPhone owner, you’ve probably noticed that the Internet Tethering area of Settings just tells you to contact AT&T if you aren’t paying for the tethering plan. Read more

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Posted in Apple Hardware | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment
By Staff | Published: January 25, 2011

Verizon confirms $30 unlimited data plan for iPhone

Apple Inc. Logo

In a Wall Street Journal report published early this morning, Verizon COO Lowell McAdam confirmed that when the iPhone 4 launches on Verizon’s network early next month, customers will be offered the same $30 data plan they offer for other smartphones.

Though AT&T stopped offering unlimited data plans last summer ahead of the iPhone 4 launch, the carrier allowed existing customers already using the unlimited $30 per month data plan to keep using it. Many of those current AT&T customers may decide they have no reason to stick with AT&T anymore if Verizon will offer them the same unlimited data plan for the same price as a new customer.

The CDMA iPhone 4 is expected to launch on Verizon’s network February 10th, with preorders for existing Verizon customers to begin February 3rd. Read more

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By Staff | Published: January 12, 2011

Apple posts beta version of iOS for Apple TV 2

iOS Beta for Apple TV 2

iOS Beta for Apple TV 2

In addition to the iOS 4.3 builds offered to iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch developers just moments ago, Apple has also seeded a new build of iOS for the Apple TV 2 hardware for the express purpose of testing AirPlay video streaming between iOS devices.

Not much else is known about what the new build contains, but expect the usual “bug fixes” etc.

Stay tuned! Read more

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By Staff | Published: January 12, 2011

Apple releases iOS 4.3 beta

iOS 4.3 beta

iOS 4.3 beta

Apple has posted beta versions of iOS 4.3 to the developer portal, just one day after Verizon’s iPhone 4 event revealed that the CDMA version of the iPhone 4 was running an unreleased 4.2.5 version of iOS.

Builds are available for the iPad, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPod Touch 3rd and 4th generation devices. Curiously, a build for the 2nd generation iPod Touch is not provided, however they may still release a public version for that model once iOS 4.3 is out of beta.

Not much is known about the new version of Apple’s mobile operating system, however rumors have been circulating since yesterday that iOS 4.3 would include the unannounced Wi-Fi internet tethering feature that Verizon demonstrated at the event yesterday. Read more

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Also posted in Apple Software | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment
By Staff | Published: January 11, 2011

Verizon reveals unannounced iOS feature: Wi-Fi Tethering

Personal Hotspot in iOS. Credit: Engadget

Personal Hotspot in iOS. Credit: Engadget

During the Verizon iPhone announcement earlier today, the company revealed that the CDMA iPhone 4 model would ship with “Mobile Hotspot” capability. Verizon representatives referred to this capability as an “App” that would be preloaded, however during hands on testing with the press it was discovered that the Mobile Hotspot feature is actually part of an unreleased version of iOS, referred to in the operating system as “Personal Hotspot”.

Test models being demonstrated for the press earlier today were running iOS 4.2.5; currently the newest version available for GSM iPhone models on AT&T and other carriers is 4.2.1.

Wi-Fi Tethering in iOS. Credit: Engadget

Wi-Fi Tethering in iOS. Credit: Engadget

Other screenshots posted by Engadget show the Wi-Fi tethering feature is an expansion of the existing Internet Tethering feature already available, however the current version of iOS only supports tethering over Bluetooth or USB. Read more

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By Staff | Published: January 11, 2011

Verizon gets the iPhone 4

Verizon iPhone

Verizon iPhone

At a small but highly publicized event today in New York, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam announced that Apple’s iPhone will soon be available for Verizon’s 3G network. While Steve Jobs was not present at the event, Tim Cook did appear on stage to talk about the new model:

Tens of millions of customers have purchased the iPhone around the world. Customers have downloaded billions of apps. I am incredibly happy, and I can tell you all of Apple, is very very excited to bring the iPhone to Verizon’s customers.

We’re incredibly pleased to give Verizon’s customers the choice we’ve been waiting for. We’ve designed an iPhone 4 which connects to the CDMA network — and it has all the features that you’d expect.

Read more

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Posted in Apple Hardware | Tagged | 1 Comment
By Staff | Published: January 7, 2011

Verizon iPhone event next Tuesday?

Verizon invitation. Credit: Ars Technica

Verizon invitation. Credit: Ars Technica

UPDATE: Wall Street Journal is reporting this IS in fact a CDMA iPhone announcement.

Verizon has been sending out (horribly over-compressed JPEG) invitations to a special event in New York City next Tuesday, January 11th at the Lincoln Center.

The wording of the invitation says absolutely nothing about what they’re going to talk about or unveil, but Verizon Wireless President Lowell McAdam will be leading the presentation. Word on the street is, Verizon is going to unveil a CDMA iPhone 4 at this event.

If this is truly going to be the Verizon iPhone’s public debut, it is curious that Apple isn’t the one holding a special event as they so love to do. However, with the CDMA iPhone being announced in between major refreshes of the iPhone hardware, they don’t actually have anything new to announce, it’s almost assured to be the same iPhone 4 we already know and love, but with Verizon radio hardware inside. Read more

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By Staff | Published: January 6, 2011

Starting Friday, iPhone 3GS will be $49 w/2 year contract

iPhone 3GS

iPhone 3GS

Wall Street Journal is reporting that AT&T (but not Apple itself) will begin offering the outdated but still excellent iPhone 3GS for just $49 with a new 2 year contract.

Whether or not this is just an attempt to clear out inventory or sign up as many new AT&T customers as possible before Verizon gets the iPhone, it’s a great deal for potential smartphone buyers who may be considering other Android or Windows Phone devices, or even simple “dumb phones”.

AT&T is expected to lose iPhone exclusivity at some point this year, and rumors are swirling that the arrival of a Verizon iPhone is imminent. Read more

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By Staff | Published: October 29, 2010

Jobs: No USB3 at this time

External hard drives have become truly massive; Western Digital, Seagate and others now sell 3TB drives, and Drobo allows up to 16TB of storage to be used in some models.

However, while many of these external storage devices support Firewire or eSATA, many are limited to relatively slow USB2 connections. Some Macs are also limited to USB2, such as the Macbook Air, leaving users stuck with a connection that can only push 30MB/s in an ideal situation. Mac users frequently report even lower speeds while running Mac OS X compared to the same machine running Windows.

While many users can get by with the slower USB2 connection, the bottleneck becomes apparent when large files need to be moved on or off the external drive, or when the user wishes to move all of their files from one drive to another; moving 3TB over a USB2 connection can take almost 2 days. Read more

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Posted in Apple Hardware | Tagged , , | 1 Comment
By Staff | Published: October 26, 2010

White iPhone not coming until 2011

We know some of you were hoping to get your hands on a white iPhone 4 soon, but unfortunately you’re going to be disappointed for a little while longer; an Apple representative has told Reuters that the white iPhone is not coming until spring 2011.

Rumors of manufacturing problems with the white iPhone model have been making the rounds on tech blogs for a few weeks, but it appears that whatever is causing the delay has become significant enough that Apple has pushed the release date well into 2011.

Due to Apple’s annual release schedule for new iPhone hardware, some pundits have voiced concern that there may not even be a white iPhone 4, since the iPhone 5 would be due out only a few months later at WWDC 2011. Read more

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Posted in Apple Hardware | Tagged | Leave a comment
By Staff | Published: October 20, 2010

Redesigned Macbook Air unveiled

Macbook Air

Twins

Macbook Air got a complete overhaul today; gone are the slow storage options, the single screen size and the flip out door for ports, in their place we have 2 new models with updated specs and lower prices.

Before we get to the specs though, Jobs made an interesting statement during the presentation, he called the new Air “the future of notebooks”. We could write that off as marketing speak, however an even stronger statement is now prominently displayed on the Macbook Air product page, which you can see below:

Next Generation of Macbooks

Next Generation of Macbooks

The Next Generation of Macbooks. It’s hard to take that any other way so we’ll just say it, Apple plans to replace the white macbook line with these new Air devices at some point in the near future. Read more

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Also posted in Apple Events | Tagged , | Leave a comment
By Staff | Published: October 19, 2010

October 20th Apple Event preview

Steve Jobs will once again take to the stage tomorrow, Wednesday October 20th at the “Town Hall” on Apple’s Infinite Loop campus in Cupertino, California to unveil a new round of products and technology previews with his infamous headline-grabbing presentation style. What will be announced? Grapevine consensus appears to have a firm grasp of the big picture, but as to the details….

With a few notable exceptions (the small number of people working on certain projects within Mac OS X 10.7 “Lion,” internal code name ‘Barolo,’ force us to sit on details of those projects until after the Event when even if those projects aren’t mentioned during the Event, they will be known to a wider group within Infinite Loop and leaks can no longer be tied so easily to our sources), what we’ve been told by some of our oldest and most reliable contacts in Cupertino comports very closely with the grapevine’s consensus of what to expect tomorrow:

*Mac OS X 10.7 “Lion” as hinted by Apple’s logo for the Event:

Apple's Back to the Mac October 20th Apple Event logo

….Lion is a collection of long-standing projects, many of them held back from the Leopard and Snow Leopard development cycles because they were too ambitious and too out of sync with Apple’s priorities at the time to make the cut for those releases. Read more

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