- New mapping app will offer turn-by-turn directions and live traffic updates, and incorporate Siri
- Facebook to be integrated into iPhones and iPads to provide status updates with the sound of your voice
- Upcoming Macbook Pro will feature the 'retina display' popularised in latest iPad
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Apple has revealed that it is creating a 3D map of the world in direct competition with Google over online maps.
The computer giant today admitted to having a fleet of planes and helicopters which have been flying over major cities around the world.
It also plans to monitor iPhone owners when they drive to create live maps of traffic congestion.
The maps have a special 'flyover' feature that let users virtually fly around major cities.
Re-making maps: Scott Forstall, senior vice president of iOS Software at Apple Inc., demonstrates turn-by-turn navigation in iOS6 using Siri during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2012 in San Francisco, California
'We have been flying in helicopters and planes, building up a 3D model of these places,' said Scott Forstall of Apple.
Apple's move to add 3D maps comes on the heels of Google's announcement last week that it would do the same with similar technology.
But Apple has aimed to one-up Google with its plans to use 'anonymous, real time data from iPhone users to keep traffic data up to date.'
The traffic monitoring is part of a new satellite navigation feature in the maps app.
Apple's own: A screen shot showing turn-by-turn navigation using Apple maps and Siri in iOS6 is pictured
Analysts said the decision to abandon Google Maps, which has provided mapping data for the iPhone since it was introduced in 2007, is the start of a 'mapping war'.
Its new mobile operating software, called iOS6 will come with a mapping system 'built from the ground up,' said Forstall, sidelining the Google map service.
Previously close partners who shared board members, Google is now Apple’s biggest challenger in the smartphone market with its Android operating system.
Facebook is getting a big boost from Apple in the wake of the social networking site's disappointing IPO, going deep into the iPhone and iPad software.
With the next Apple's iOS 6 software, users will be able to update their Facebook status by talking to their phones.
Users will also be able to 'Like' movies and apps in Apple's iTunes store, Apple executive Scott Forstall said in San Francisco at Apple's annual developers' conference.
Siri, Apple's voice-command application, will add a host of new languages, including Spanish, Korean and Mandarin Chinese, Forstall said.
'She' will also be able to launch applications and movies - all at the user's command.
Apple hasn't said when iOS 6, will be available. It will run on iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches.
It is also expected to release the next version of its mobile operating software, the iOS6.
Apple started its Worldwide Developers' Conference touting its hardware, its biggest edge over Google.
The tech giant also revamped its existing line of notebook computers.
Boss: CEO Tim Cook, who took over from late co-founder Steve Jobs last August, says customers have downloaded more than 30 billion Apple apps so far
New and improved: The MacBook Air Pro is pictured shortly after it was unveiled to the public in San Francisco
The new Macbook Air and MacBook Pro have upgraded graphics and memory, and go on sale today.
And at 0.7 inches, the new MacBook Pro - Apple's highest-end laptop - ranks among the thinnest laptops in the market.
They will employ the 'retina' displays that have won strong positive reviews for the new iPad, but start at an eye-popping $2,199 price tag.
The screen has more pixels than a HD TV.
'To create something genuinely new, you have to start again,' said Sir Jonathan Ive, Apple's British designer, who recently received a knighthood.
Craig Federighi, Vice president on Mac Software, said the new Mountain Lion system narrows the gap between the PC and phone software packages, allowing users to speak to their computers.
Another step forward: Craig Federighi, vice president on Mac Software, talks about the new Mountain Lion system, which he says would make Mac computers work more like iPhones
Mac makeover: Apple has unveiled a new version of its popular Macbook Pro laptop, complete with the 'retina' display, at an eye-popping price of $2,199
Speaking of phones, those who were anticipating the unveiling of the long-awaited iPhone 5 will have to wait longer, as Apple officials made no mention of a new mobile device.
Marketing chief Phil Schiller outlined how the redesigned MacBook Air notebooks, also unveiled at the conference, will be about $100 cheaper on average than predecessors, but sport quicker Intel Corp processors.
Analysts have speculated that the company will begin aggressively competing on price, gradually lowering the premium its Macs carry in general.
Long lines marked the beginning of the week-long annual forum, where Apple developers rub shoulders with employees, test the latest products and software, and connect with peers.
Queue: Attendees line up at outside the 2012 Apple World Wide Developers Conference at the Moscone West Convention Center in San Francisco
More than ever, Apple finds itself in a pitched battle with Google: in smartphones, cloud computing, and a never-ending competition to attract the best software developers.
That is crucial as Apple looks to draw users deeper into its applications ecosystem.
CEO Tim Cook, who took over from late co-founder Steve Jobs last August, told the audience that customers have downloaded more than 30 billion Apple apps so far, choosing from more than 650,000 apps - the largest library in the industry.
The firm also launched a new app that aims to replace tickets and storecards with an iPhone app. Called passbook, it lets users download movie tickets - right to your phone.
Prying eyes: An attendee checks out the new MacBook Pro at Apple's annual conference for software developers
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Chinese Telecom Firms to Expand in Latin America - CRIENGLISH.com
Droid RAZR Maxx beats iPhone as number one on Verizon - Phones Review
Although the iPhone 4S might be the top smartphone over in the good old US of A, when it comes to the USA’s largest carrier Verizon, it appears that the iPhone 4S doesn’t claim the top slot on the BIG Red network, as apparently the word is the top selling smartphone on Verizon is actually the Motorola Droid RAZR Maxx.
According to the guys over at Phandroid, by way of Barrons, an analyst has said that although the iPhone is overall the best selling device across North American carriers, their checks have highlighted initial signs that Apple’s momentum is under pressure especially with Verizon, due to the carrier aggressively marketing their competing 4G devices.
Obviously the iPhone 4S doesn’t sport 4G LTE capability, and as such it appears that with Verizon anyway, the iPhone looks to be falling behind somewhat. Having said that, of course the iPhone 5 might possibly offer 4G LTE connectivity one the new iPhone hits, which could rapidly change things around.
Apparently the analyst said that since the iPhone launch in North America they believe that this is the first quarter where the iOS smartphone was not the top seller at a North American mobile operator. The iPhone continues to be the top handset on AT&T and Sprint, but the Motorola Droid RAZR Maxx was the top selling handset on Verizon.
So according to checks, the Motorola Droid RAZR Maxx was the top selling smartphone on Version, followed by the iPhone and in third place was the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.
iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S3: The Anatomy of a Case - ibtimes.co.uk
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"Basically, we don't know," Lynnette Prigmore, head of product development at Proporta, told IB Times UK. "We sell cases into Apple under the Proporta brand as well as some of the third-party brands we work with and we have as much idea as you do about when a new iPhone, iPad or iPod is going to come out."
Naturally, the delay in matching accessories to the product can have an impact on how many are sold. Prigmore confirms that there is a burst of sales when a new device comes out in the shops.
"The ideal world from a retailer's point of view would be that we would have accessories on the day of the phone going on sale," she said.
"It tends to be electronic retailers who want it quicker because there is a much higher attachment rate for people buying a case at the same time that they buy a device. That is the sweet spot."
She added that the retailers generally understand that if they haven't got the device - which many of the phone shops may not have before day of launch - then the case manufacturers don't have it either.
Incipio approaches the news blackout in a very different way. CEO Andy Fathollahi said the company starts preparing for a new Apple device well in advance.
His staff monitor the rumours closely and begin to work on accessories that match those specifications.
"We start looking at possible designs around six months to a year before," he told IB Times UK.
"We take mills of devices that we carry around with us before we design the cases. We want to get a feel for what the product is going to be like. Then we carry those around with the cases on to see what that feels like because as a user you are going to live with that case for a long time and we want to make sure it is right"
Fathollahi said the designers throw away 75 percent of their designs along the way because the phone dimensions often change significantly from the early rumours.
Rumour Control
In order to operate that kind of design process Fathollahi has to be glued to websites promising the latest news on yet-to-be-launched phones.
"I look at them all, sites like 9to5mac.com. I have a whole bunch of sites set up on my Twitter and I use that like an RSS feed. I don't tweet much myself but at the end of the day I go home and I check Twitter and see what everyone has been saying and watch the videos," he said.
Even though Proporta does not make cases in advance of the specs being released, Prigmore also said her teams watched the rumour websites.
"We would be stupid if we didn't look at that. Also we are in the tech industry so we read rumours on everything not just phones or Facebook, anything that is out there.
"So we keep an eye on it until we actually know what it is going to be and that's the point where we actually push the button on anything," she said.
Prigmore did not name any specific sites but said the team might set up Google alerts and watch discussions on Facebook and Twitter.
With the latest smartphones being so prevalent in consumer minds it doesn't even need to be a technology site to find out the latest news.
"You'd have to be on the moon to not hear about it. Phones have progressed and when Proporta first started up it was very much aimed at the business user," she said.
"The company was in the protective market and now it's much more about having that lifestyle thing."
Time to Market
Prigmore said Proporta was fortunate to work very closely with its manufacturing partner so it could get product out quite quickly after a device launch or announcement.
"With the Samsung Galaxy S3 for example we had product out two weeks after it had been announced based on the little CAD drawings that Samsung had released," she revealed.
"Then once we actually got our hands on the device we checked it. Fingers crossed it matched up quite nicely, which nine times out of 10 it does."
Incipio CEO Fathollahi said his company also had to be prepared to make sure it is ready to roll as soon as a case is ready.
"We have manufacturing units all over the world and we are the biggest manufacturer of cases bar none," he said. "The analogy I use is that we're like a big ship, which means when we want to make a turn we have to start planning a long way ahead."
He said that meant making sure enough resin was ordered, that packaging suppliers were briefed and that important cogs in the company's distribution network have been prepped.
"We have a fabulous relationship with Fedex, their reps are in our offices every week to meet with different teams," he added.
With different kinds of cases being made from a wide range of materials, the two weeks to market timeline Proporta talks about does not fit every option.
So called 'Cut-and-sew' cases made in leather, PU or other soft material will be able to hit that target but Prigmore admits that hard shell cases made out of a polycarbonate can take six to eight weeks to create.
"With leather for example you don't have any tooled pieces in it because it is all handmade so that can be produced very quickly," she described.
"If you are making a hard shell we have to make sure we have got volume control and the holes in the right place and any ports for headphones. That goes into what is called tooling - we make a tool and then we can make the cases from that. It takes about three to four weeks to make a tool depending on the detail of it. So production takes much longer"
Those outside the industry might think that once an announcement has been made all the problems would be solved for accessory makers.
However, Prigmore said that even after a company has officially shown off a handset Proporta would not expect to be given a dummy model to work from.
She said practices had not changed much from how things used to be.
"Back in the day, with things like the iPod Nano, they used to announce it and then Steve Jobs would say, 'And they are on sale now!' and boom it would all go on the website," she remembered.
"We would then obviously buy them like any consumer would and wait for them to arrive."
Fathollahi seemed at ease with the Apple culture of secrecy and described how a similar system was in place at his production facilities on the west coast of America.
He called the Incipio laboratory a closed environment and revealed that the company had even written its own iPad app to take the photo of anyone who comes to the facility for added security.
"You can't get into our production plant without going through reception and signing in. The app is called Guestbook and instead of being invasive like airport security it's a fun thing," he explained.
"We built a custom desk so that when you enter you are looking at an iPad and the receptionist. The iPad takes your photo and you feel like, 'Oh that was fun'.
Business Tactics
So how do you build a business based on a product that is kept secret until the very last second?
Prigmore said Proporta did not just focus on those early sales when a new handset was launched but made sure the accessories it makes for companies such as Samsung, HTC and Apple hit specific events in the calendar year.
That could include a back-to-school range, Christmas themed cases or classic British designs that would live on beyond the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
"We work with Ted Baker so we have quite a lot of access to different trends that are coming in. We've worked with the London College of Fashion before as well. So it tends to be more on the design side," she said.
She was also thankful that the majority of the company's designs would work across a number of different accessories.
Even with the introduction of tablets or very large mobile phone handsets such as the Samsung Galaxy Note, they could still be applied across the range.
"Most of our designs are quite transferable and we use some of the same designs on an iPhone as we would use on an iPad," she said.
"It doesn't matter too much unless they release something star shaped, that might be tough to reconfigure. As long as it stays pretty much rectangular then we are usually OK."
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T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note waiting in the wings - Phones Review
Since it was released late last year the Samsung Galaxy Note has proven to be quite successful in terms of sales, and while it may not quite match up with the figures for the Galaxy S2 many consumers like the handset, and today we have news of the T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note waiting in the wings ahead of a release.
The handset has recently found its way onto the AT&T LTE network in the US, and according to Pocket Now the device is getting ready to arrive onto T-Mobile as well. Previously hackers have tried to modify the handsets radio software to offer some basic T-Mobile 3G support, and later some images were leaked to show an official T-Mobile version of the Galaxy Note was being worked on.
These images revealed a Samsung model number of SHG-T879, and now a model with that number has appeared at the FCC, and the handsets certification paperwork has been published. As expected there is voice and 2G data coverage on both the 850MHz and 1900MHz bands, with 3G on 1700MHz.
There is also 3G on 1900MHz that the carrier has already started to use in some areas along with support for 3G on 850MHz, with the latter not being used by T-Mobile at the moment. The documentation also shows there is also a NFC antenna located on the battery cover as well.
While it is thought that the T879 is the Samsung Galaxy Note there is something that doesn’t quite add up in the documentation. It is showing the width of the Note to be correct but the handset should be a bit taller, around 147mm. Maybe the figure is just for an internal circuit board and not actually the handsets external dimensions.
A recently leaked T-Mobile roadmap showed that the Samsung Galaxy Note would arrive on the carrier on July 11th, and going on this paperwork this date is quite possible, and there is a good chance the handset could come with Android Ice Cream Sandwich already installed. We recently reported on rumours though that the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 could be coming as early as October.
Are you waiting to get the Galaxy Note on T-Mobile?
T-Mobile’s Galaxy Note Emerges at the FCC, Blue Version Expected - Softpedia
The handset has been rumored before to be en-route to the wireless carrier’s offering, yet no confirmation on the matter has emerged until now.
Today, however, we learn that the phone has been spotted on the FCC website, and that it was approved for use on T-Mobile’s network.
Apparently, this is the same Samsung device featuring model number SGH-T879 that leaked a while ago for T-Mobile, and it might soon see an official unveiling at the operator.
The listing over at the Federal Communication Commission shows that SGH-T879 will arrive with support for voice and 2G data connectivity on the 850MHz and 1900MHz bands, and that it will also support 3G on 1700MHz.
As Pocketnow notes, the handset is also listed with support for 3G on 1900MHz, the frequency that T-Mobile has started to use in some areas around the country only recently.
Additionally, the documents show that Magenta’s Galaxy Note will arrive on shelves with support for 3G on 850MHz, as well as with NFC (Near Field Communication) capabilities packed inside.
Some of the previous rumors on the handset’s landing suggested that it could reach carrier’s network on July 11th, but no other details on the matter have emerged.
However, it appears that the phone might be launched in a Navy Blue flavor, if we were to believe a leaked inventory sheet that made it online over at TmoNews.
The wireless carrier is said to be gearing up to deliver a Galaxy Note Navy Blue Demo set to its stores, most probably in preparation of the aforementioned July 11th launch.
With no official confirmation on any of these, we’ll have to take the info with a grain of salt, but we’ll keep an eye out for more details on the matter, so stay tuned.
Facebook is for losers.
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