The iPhone 5 has now been with us for approximately seven weeks but if you thought you were going to be sitting at the cutting edge of smartphone technology for a substantial period of time, then a report coming out of China could pour some cold water on that thought. A story coming from the Commercial Times is suggesting that Apple have no intention of resting on their laurels when it comes to updating and upgrading their iPhone hardware and could be planning on initiating a trial production run of iPhone 5S handsets as early as next month.
It should be common knowledge by now that Apple has recently added iPad mini to their iPad lineup, and the unexpected addition of the fourth-generation iPad, coming only seven months after the introduction of the iPad 3. All of the signs point to the new miniature iPad being an extremely successful addition to the company's tablet range, and with LTE variants of the iPad mini beginning to ship this week, Apple has ramped up their promotional campaign with the launch of two new iPad mini commercials.
The patent wars that Apple have found themselves in over the last eighteen months are extremely well documented and have been covered all over the world as the Cupertino based company carries on the fight to protect what they believe is their registered property. The ongoing issues with Samsung and Motorola Mobility may not show any signs of coming to an immediate end but it looks like Apple may have one less thing to worry about after coming to a legal agreement with Taiwan based HTC regarding patents.
The legal battle between Apple and Samsung has spanned across many continents, and shows no sign of ending any time soon. The spat in the UK has turned particularly gruesome, too, with Apple being forced to go so far as to place apologies on its website after accusing Samsung of copying its hardware. That, obviously, didn't go down well in Cupertino.
The iPhone 5 has been out in the wild for approximately seven weeks now, and considering Apple is still having difficulty replenishing stock levels, we can safely assume that it can be classed as yet another commercial success for the company. The fact that units are flying off the shelves doesn't mean that the device is without its problems, a few of which have already come under intense scrutiny. One of them was a software glitch that affected the keyboard and folders in certain circumstances, but it looks like Apple could have some further display issues on their hands that fall under a hardware remit.
It wasn't that long ago when we brought you the news that Apple had set up a dedicated charitable giving page using their iTunes payment infrastructure to collect donations from the public on behalf of the American Red Cross. The system was put in place to allow Apple account holders to make a financial donation to the charity to help with the ongoing relief efforts as an aftermath of Hurricane Sandy without the need to create any additional login or provide payment data to external parties. In an internal email sent to Apple employees, Tim Cook has outlined his company's commitment to the cause with a $2.5 million donation of their own.
Good news appears to be filtering down to the email inboxes of those who have been waiting patiently for the Wi-Fi + Cellular version of the fantastic new 7.9-inch iPad mini. When Apple announced the device at the California Theatre last month, it would have been painful to a lot of customers to learn that the release was being staggered with the initial launch of the Wi-Fi model only. Those US based technology fans that bit the bullet and pre-ordered the Wi-Fi + Cellular variant should hopefully be seeing their mini tablet landing within the next five business days according to official Apple email correspondence.
With the holiday shopping season fast approaching, it's inevitable that retailers and service providers will be falling over themselves to conjure up some seasonal deals that will entice the customers in. Yesterday, we brought information regarding Walmart's proposed Black Friday deals that will begin on Thanksgiving, and today is the turn of AT&T to get into the spirit with their tablet deals that will see the company offering a $100 discount on any purchased tablet as long as a specific criteria is met.
The holiday shopping season is definitely fast approaching, and that can mean only one thing for keen-eyed technology fans out there who are partial to the odd bargain or two - price reductions galore. Like a number of other large retailers in the United States, Walmart will be starting their Black Friday price reductions at 8 PM on Thanksgiving Day; which is Thursday November 22nd for those who didn't already know when to look out for the bargains.
It's understandable that consumers will always have mixed emotions about any company from which they’re buying products, and for the large part, big companies like Apple, Google and Samsung are always going to do something that draws a negative reaction from some. With that said, one thing that Apple in particular can't be accused of is resting on their laurels and remaining stagnant in the marketplace. Although the Cupertino company has recently announced and launched their revamped EarPods headphones alongside the iPhone 5, a new patent suggests that they are still working on further advances in that area.
