As I predicted on last week's Hypercritical, this just in from Eric Slivka at Mac Rumors:
Late last month, NPD DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim reported that suppliers had begun production on 2560x1600 display panels destined for a 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro. The machine has been rumored to be launching in October.
Matt Brian, The Next Web:
If reports are true, Apple is days away from announcing its next-generation iPhone, the long-awaited follow-up to its fast-selling iPhone 4S. If you’re already shuddering at the thought of paying out for the new device, Apple can help you offset the cost by offering you up to $345/£300 for your device, depending on its condition.
Jordan Crook, TechCrunch:
A trusted Verizon employee has just confirmed to TechCrunch that the carrier is having an all-staff vacation blackout from the dates of Friday, September 21 to September 30.
Makes sense to me.
Rene Ritchie, iMore:
A couple of weeks ago iMore reported that Apple would be holding their iPhone 5 event on September 12, 2012. We've since learned that iPhone 5 pre-orders are currently planned to begin that same day, at least in the U.S. Release is still planned for 9 days later, on September 21, 2012. We've also learned that the second wave of iPhone launches, the ones in international markets, will begin in the first week of October, likely October 5.
Roger Cheng, CNET:
The trial between Apple and Samsung has yielded a number of juicy bits, the latest being that Eddy Cue, head of Internet software and services, was interested in the idea of smaller iPad. Cue thought the idea of a 7-inch tablet could work, he wrote in an email sent to Steve Jobs.
Here's hoping Apple is doing a 7-ish inch iPad Junior. Wouldn't it be nice if they released it alongside the new iPhone on September 12th?
Reuters:
Japan's Sharp Corp. will start shipping screens destined for a new Apple iPhone that is widely expected to be released in October ahead of the pre-Christmas shopping season.
John Paczkowski at All Things D:
IMore was first to report that the company has scheduled a special event for September 12, and now we’ve confirmed it as well. Sources tell AllThingsD that Apple is currently planning an event for the week of September 9th, with Wednesday being the date on which it will likely be held. And while we haven’t yet confirmed the event’s focus, history suggests it will indeed be the new iPhone.
One thing’s for certain, though: Apple is ramping up for a big fall product cycle. And to see that, you need only look at the recent spike in the company’s prepayment for inventory components.
The technology integrates touch sensors into the LCD, making it unnecessary to have a separate touch-screen layer. The absence of the layer, usually about half a millimeter thick, not only makes the whole screen thinner, but the quality of displayed images would improve, said DisplaySearch analyst Hiroshi Hayase.
Apple is said to be negotiating to acquire Loewe AG, a manufacturer and distributor of televisions, audio components and integrated entertainment systems, with a final decision expected to be announced by the end of this week.
Liz Gannes:
The price for the company would be about $100 million, according to one of the sources.
Social stuff.
Marco Arment on the latest 7-inch iPad rumor:
If this 7” iPad is real, maybe it has a 1024x768 resolution, yielding a logically 512x384 area, in half of the 10” iPad’s screen area. Effectively, it’d be the iPad 3’s screen cut in half. (Then apps could keep a consistent scale for interface elements, which would make development a lot easier.)
That sounds a lot more likely if they want to hit a $249 price and make a profit.
9to5Mac claims bluetooth and 1080p.
So saith 9to5 Mac.
More LTE speculation.
CNET has learned that Apple’s next iPad will break with its traditional numbering scheme in order to promote its big new feature: the high-definition screen.
iPad HD is a better name.