What is it that makes a smartphone smart? Is it the advanced, flexible operating system that grants users the ability to install apps to extend their device’s feature set? Is it a high megapixel camera? A touch display that can differentiate between accidental taps and real ones? An HD display? GPS? Wi-Fi? Support for 4G LTE? It’s features like these that – according to today’s standards, at least – make up a smartphone.
A new report claims that both iOS and Android smartphones are currently outpacing any previous consumer technology, with worldwide sales driving huge user adoption. A quick glance at any social network, technology blog or even the man in the street will show that smartphones are big business and gaining traction rapidly. Everyone seems to have either an iPhone or an Android phone these days, and mobile analytic firm Flurry has done what it does best - take a lot of numbers and extrapolate them into an interesting collection of facts.
Were you wondering where the Apple vs. Samsung patent battle would turn next? Now you know, with the news that a hardware ban is firmly within the Cupertino firm's sights. Fresh on the heals of winning a tasty victory in the courts on Friday, Apple has today named the eight Samsung smartphones which it hopes those same courts will ban from sale in the United States.
Prior to this year's WWDC keynote, it was widely presumed Apple would add a Retina display to each of its MacBooks, as well as possibly the iMac. Of course, considering history, we should have been wise to Apple's plan; Include the Retina in one model, add a couple of extra perks, and slap an extortionate price tag on it, and see how many consumers can resist until said features are added across the board.
Mac users are happy to accept the changes which Apple make and deem necessary in order to provide us with a great experience when using their hardware and software products. Deep down we don't always agree with them, especially when upgrading from an older version of iOS or OS X, only to find one of your favorite features being removed, but we live it due to our faith and belief that the experts know what they are doing. On the other hand, some people can't live with it. They see it as a company flexing their corporate muscle to force their will upon us.
September is nearly upon us and we are waiting with our fingers crossed in the hope that Apple take it upon themselves to push out some official invitations to their purported September 12th media event to allow us all to rest a bit easier in the knowledge that we will indeed be getting a new gadget in the next few weeks. Until that happens, we will have to console ourselves by flicking back over the numerous part and component leaks which we have seen in the last few months, which also give us a pretty good idea of what to expect from the sixth-generation iPhone.
After a well-documented and rather grueling court hearing, Apple has prevailed over its Korean-based rival Samsung in a number of patent disputes, and with a settlement of over a billion dollars having been dished out in the Cupertino's favor, a few of the nine-person jury have given their accounts of why they came to the decision that Apple was indeed just with its lawsuits.
Japanese Apple blog Macotakara - a little hit and miss when it comes to inside information - seems to believe the smaller iPad will definitely receive the "mini" moniker, while the iPod nano will be treated to some Wi-Fi connectivity - allowing users to connect to the cloud in order to access music.
Up until this week, it had been presumed Apple would announce the next iPhone, iOS 6, and a new, smaller iPad at a single event, but John Gruber - as informed as ever on the ins and outs of the Cupertino company - leaned towards the idea of the smartphone dropping first in September, with the "iPad mini" following in October.
Apple looks set to request that the courts ban certain Samsung smartphones or tablets from sale in the United States, with a final hearing set to take place towards the end of September.
