Not so long ago, the iPod range was the focal point of Apple's product roster, but with the increase in popularity of both the iPhone and more recently, the iPad, has seen the once-popular music player slip into near obscurity.
If it turns out there is no "iPad Mini" featuring a 7.85-inch display, it will surely go down as one of the most out-of-hand rumors in recent tech history. When the likes of Bloomberg and the WSJ corroborate stories circulating in the rumor mill, that usually means said murmur has some substance, but with conflicting reports and no real solid evidence, the jury remains out with regards to whether Apple is actually plotting such a tablet.
In terms of concept designs, Apple has pretty much been covered in every aspect. Any hint of a new product is designed by enthusiasts for the masses to drool over, and even if it's not likely to ever hit the market, a fan of the Cupertino company will likely be sitting at their Mac, dreaming it up.
New code dumps of apps inside iOS 6 suggest that Apple may be bringing its new-style mapping software to the Mac, with Google's own maps set to lose out. With iOS 6, Apple will complete the transition away from Google's own mapping service and towards a new, in-house solution. By removing Google from the equation, Apple hopes to be able to iterate more quickly whilst remaining in complete control of the application which sits at the core of so many iOS apps.
I wrote an editorial on Redmond Pie some time ago now, outlining my thoughts on the iPod touch and the fact that I believed Apple was missing a trick. With iPhone sales continuing to increase and iPad sales as strong as ever, I believed that the iPod touch could be used as something of a 'gateway drug' to help Apple snare the younger generation long before they can walk into a mobile phone shop and sign a two-year contract.
The rumors of a smaller iPad retailing to compete with the cheaper, down-sized tablets now surfacing such as the Google Nexus 7 are incessant, and the latest reports regarding the purported 7.85-inch "iPad Mini" suggest the device will be manufactured in Brazil.
After many years of living in the wilderness, Apple Inc. is now sitting at the top of the technology food chain after becoming the embodiment of everything which the phoenix from the flames metaphor represents. After suffering in silence for numerous years, the insane popularity of the iPhone, iPad and iPod range of mobile devices as well as the resurgence of OS X-powered Macs has seen the Cupertino giants rise to the top of the pecking order.
If you've been longing for the immensely cool and "futuristic" ability to charge your iPhone wirelessly, you may be waiting a while for an official solution from Apple. However, a tinkerer who goes by the name of Tanveer took apart a wireless charging case for the iPhone and installed its components into the iPhone 4S chassis itself. If you have a bit of patience, a lot of soldering skills, sufficient knowledge of the iPhone's internals to disassemble, modify, and reassemble, and you don't fear breaking your iPhone by mistake, then this would be a fun project of you. The entire process is briefly touched on in a three minute video released by Tanveer.
If it's not the new iPad, it's rife rumor regarding the upcoming next-gen iPhone that's keeping Apple in the news just now. The device, which is thought to be receiving a longer screen, will also be getting a mighty quad-core processor, if a report originating from DigiTimes is to be taken as Gospel.
Apple has always honed a proud reputation for being free of malicious intrusion on all platforms. With regards to OS X, the clean record was once a permanent feature, but that ship sailed earlier this year with the Flashback malware outbreak - leading to the Apple.com claim of Macs not getting "PC viruses" to be removed late last month.
