Tag: rumor

Rumor: Screenshot for New Prince of Persia Game Leaked

It’s been difficult for the Prince to make his way back into the spotlight over the past few years, and that’s mostly because Ubisoft has another nimble, cloaked mascot who’s been cleaning up at retail. While Assassin’s Creed has been the focus for the French gaming company, an image spotted on the Ubisoft message boards now points to a possible new entry in the Prince of Persia franchise.

What evidence do we currently have? Well, down at the bottom, POP_ZERO_2 is visible. Prince of Persia Zero was the codename for a 2010 reboot that never quite got off the ground, so it’s possible that this could be the second attempt. The setting and protagonist aren’t exactly familiar, but this may be in an attempt to differentiate what’s currently a franchise in need of some life.

An image that in many ways matches the tone of this screenshot was released before E3, so there may be some serious validity to the forum post. Whatever it is, it looks interesting, and we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for any more information.

Source : StickSkills

August 6, 2012
Samsung begins manufacturing of ultra-fast 64GB NAND chips for smartphones

Samsung has begun manufacturing of ultra-fast eMMC NAND memory in sizes of 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. The new chips will significantly improve read and write speeds for internal memory in smartphones, with speeds of 150MB/s and 40MB/s respectively.

According to Sammy Hub, “the new eMMC Pro Class 1500 uses 64-gigabit (Gb) NAND with a toggle DDR 2.0 interface fabricated with 20 nanometer class process technology and is the first to support JEDEC e-MMC v4.5 specification.”

It was rumoured earlier this summer that Samsung had cancelled the 64GB version of the Galaxy S III, as the 16 and 32GB versions were the only ones to come to market. The company has ensured us that the phone is still on track for a launch later this year, though we don’t know whether it will include these new ultra-fast chips.

August 3, 2012
Sharp to start shipping iPhone screens to Apple this month

Apple’s component suppliers seem almost eager to stoke iPhone rumor fires, and all the hot, hot consumer anticipation surrounding them.

On Thursday, Sharp’s new president, Takashi Okuda, said that his company will begin shipping iPhone displays starting this month, according to a report from Reuters. Okuda made the statement at a press event following the release of Sharp’s quarterly earnings report. Sharp’s president didn’t make note of the display’s size, but Reuters reports that the screens are destined for the next version of the iPhone.

[quote]“People are expecting a new iteration of the iPhone to hit the market sometime in the September-October time frame, so this kind of comment fits in to what we’ve been hearing in the market, generally,” IHS analyst Vinita Jakhanwal told Wired. Sharp, Japan Display, and LG Display are the three likely suppliers for the next iPhone’s display.[/quote]

The display of the next iPhone is expected to be larger than that of the iPhone 4S, stretching to 4 diagonal inches. The current iPhone has a 3.5-inch display. The new iPhone display will also reportedly be manufactured using in-cell technology, which means it will be thinner, lighter and more power efficient than current displays.

Okuda didn’t confirm the size or technology used in the production of Apple’s next iPhone display.

Various sources are reporting the next iPhone will be unveiled on September 12, so we should know soon if Okuda’s Thursday statement bears any weight.

August 3, 2012
Yet another iPhone 5 image leaked

KitGuru has leaked what it claims is a “test sample” with the glass front panel roughly intact. We’ve seen the darker steel sides, aluminum back and new dock connector before, but the front gives us a much better sense of how the finished product will turn out. Sitting next to an iPhone 4S, it’s suggested that the new model would stuff in that bigger screen more through a better use of the available area — there’s much less blank space than on the iPhones we’ve known since 2007. Now as we’re getting closer to the official launch of the next iPhone, be prepared for an avalanche of leaked images!

July 13, 2012
Samsung planning Windows RT based tablets?

Samsung is reportedly working on a Windows RT tablet that will be launched in October this year, giving the much needed boost to the newly announced operating system.

According to a report in Bloomberg, sources familiar with the development stated that the tablet release will coincide with the Windows RT debut and it will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, probably S4.

Windows RT is the first operating system version from Microsoft that is made for touchscreen devices and supports ARM chips, which consume less power than x86.

If it does come through, the tablet would be Samsung’s first running a Microsoft OS.

July 9, 2012
Amazon may be planning a Smartphone

If popular media company “Bloomberg” is to be believed Amazon is planning a smartphone to be launched this year. Amazon is apparently already in pursuit of wireless patents and a production agreement with major OEM Foxconn for manufacturing the said Smartphone.

No further details on the matter are available, although Amazon is very capable of delivering a smartphone to the market, with their ecosystem already in place, the App Store, the Cloud services, the Music streaming and Kindle. The only thing you can be sure of is, that if Amazon does make a Smartphone there is almost a 100% chance that it will be an Android ICS 4.0 or Jelly Bean 4.1 device and it is likely to be skinned by Amazon to match the Kindle Fire UI.

[Bloomberg]

July 6, 2012
Apple planning smaller iPad to rival Nexus 7?

Hot on the heels of Google’s Nexus 7 tablet, rumours have resurfaced of an iPad Mini. According to Bloomberg, citing “two people with knowledge of the plans”, the smaller tablet will have a screen size of between 7 and 8 inches – less than the 9.7-inch iPad currently out now.

The tablet could be announced in October and won’t have a Retina Display on-board, one of the sources purportedly said.

A cheaper iPad tablet could pose a formidable challenge to Google’s $199 Nexus 7 and Amazon’s Kindle Fire slates. Microsoft has also introduced a new Surface tablet range, complete with a keyboard cover and Windows 8.

Since the iPad went on sale in April 2010, Apple has dominated the tablet market, which is predicted by Display-Search to reach $66.4 billion this year. Apple has 61% of the market share.

July 5, 2012
Facebook now trying to make another Smartphone

Facebook is back to building smartphones, and this time around its no ChaCha. According to the New York Times Bits blog, the company is hiring old Apple iPhone and iPad engineers and employees to develop phones exclusive to Facebook

[quote]Mark is worried that if he doesn’t create a mobile phone in the near future that Facebook will simply become an app on other mobile platforms. – Said one of the Facebook employees[/quote]

With Facebook’s IPO now out, this unique move may actually help the company gain some movement, when they seem to be slowing down.

May 28, 2012
Intel Ready to Launch Ivy Bridge Processors on April 23rd

Intel may be ready to announce their next in line Ivy Bridge Processors on the 23rd of April 2012 according to Digitimes. With companies like ASUS, Acer, Lenovo and Hewlett-Packard ready to launch their new ultrabooks in early May the timing only seems perfect for the new launches.

Intel has also reportedly setup a budget of $300 million to assist partners in promotion of the new chipsets on ultrabooks. Rumors also point to the fact that Apple is planning to refresh its iMac family of computers with Intel’s 22nm-based Core i5 and Core i7 Ivy Bridge processors in June or July.

Apple is also set to launch newer Macbook Pro models with a thinner design and possibly without the dvd slot drive boasting the new platform of chipsets.

April 16, 2012
Samsung : Apple working on a 7.85 inch iPad

So Samsung vs Apple may be on in another part of the world, But that does not stop Samsung Executives from releasing information about Apple. Korea Times has quoted an unnamed Samsung official who has said that we can expect a 7.85-inch version of the tablet to arrive by the end of the year.

Take this with a pinch of sea salt, because of the simple fact that the rumor of a smaller iPhone, iPad, iPod touch have been around since their advent ( unless you consider the iPod nano a smaller version of the touch) Apple is also known to create tons of prototypes of their products, so this could as easily be one of those.

On the flip side , Samsung is a major component supplier for Apple, so the information could actually be true. We won’t know till later this year anyway.

[Korea Times]

March 14, 2012
Leaked : Nokia Lumia 610, priced at around Rs 11,000 in India.

Looks like information on the, due to be released today, Nokia Windows Phone Lumia 610 has been outed. The phones has a substantially lower end spec lineup but the price seems to be the attractive aspect of the device. Priced at a mere Rs. 11,000, the device is expected to change Nokia’s bad outlook in recent times and may also give a heavy boost to Windows Phone as an OS. The Lumia 610 will feature a 3.2-inch display and a 3 MP camera. It will also run Windows Phone Tango, running on just 256MB RAM.

The Phone is expected to be officially launched within the next 24 hours along with the global edition of Lumia 900 flagship smartphone from Nokia.

February 27, 2012
Leaked : Sony Xperia U ‘Kumquat’
Sony’s first handset, after their major split with counterpart Ericsson, might be rolling into the Mobile domain. the Sony Xperia U “Kumquat” might just have shown itself before purported launch at MWC 2012 next week. Specs include
- 3.5-inch FWVGA (854 x 480) Reality Display
- 1GHz dual-core CPU
- 8 MP Exmor R sensor with 720p video capture
- 1,290mAh battery
- Android 2.3.7
While the battery is replaceable, the OS is rumored. This phone could possibly be placed at a lower bracket compared to exiting SE phones. Oh the wonders of a new breakup.
February 21, 2012
EDIT : 2012 Another Year of the iPad

Its been 2 years since Steve Jobs got up on stage with a device that would change the way we look at portable computing forever. Since it launch, the iPad has held the crown as the most loved Tablet, with multimillion units sold each quarter. Now with the iPad 3, around the corner one can only wonder if Apple will continue to hold the lead over the competition. A kind of competition that never hindered them, there has been no real problem for Apple except the launch of the Amazon Kindle, but thats a story for another day.

Lets look at why we feel the iPad 3, if keeps up with claims, will be another tablet of the year.

Build and Form Factor

Since the beginning the iPad has been the only tablet in a unibody aluminum shell, the sheer feel of the tablet exudes to the effect of a premium device. Slim and well weighted the tablet is robust in construction and not easily destroyed, especially if you take care of the 9.7 inch display in front which can be extremely fragile.

The iPad was a wonderful device to hold in the hand, typing was easy – better in portrait and possible in landscape, it was not the most comfortable device to hold single handedly. The iPad 2 changed that completely, with a newer design that fit better, was lighter and had improvements to software which also made single hand operation easy ( gestures).

The iPad 3 is supposedly going to be built on the same platform as the iPad 2 with a small thickness increase, something that will not bother the buyer.

OS and Apps

When the original iPad was launched people called it an oversized iPod touch, possibly because the iOS was the same iOS as on an iPhone or iPod touch. Things have changed since then and Apple has added a bucket load of goodies to make the OS more a powerhouse for the best selling tablet. The OS is streamlined to make the iPad a pseudo-personal computer, with iCloud – data handling and synchronization has never been easier.

iOS for iPad also has better custom apps including professional creative apps from companies like Adobe, including Photoshop, Office apps from Apple themselves: iWork with pages, keynote and numbers for easy as pie office documentation.

Customizations to the OS, like a split keyboard and gesture navigation, make it really easy to use the tablet and no other company has been able to replicate the process in an easy streamlined manner.

The iOS platform also has the largest number of Apps on a mobile OS platform, with mostly all apps compatible with the iPad the entertainment and quality of games on the iPad still remains unmatched.

The iPad 3 is said to feature a major OS upgrades for the tablet including a main feature that is Siri on the iPad, which is already possible if you own a jailbroken iPad, but an official version will be well accepted and appreciated.

Hardware

The new iPad 3 is supposedly coming with a bumped up processor(A6 or the rumored A5X), which is supposedly carrying a new quad core processor with an advanced GPU, which will -or should improve performance by atleast 10 times. The new display will be a retina display (246 ppi : not true retina) with a double resolution ( 2048 x 1536 px) compared to the existing iPad /iPad 2, which will not only improve the media quality on the iPad, but also make it an excellent Book Reader, especially considering the new iBooks upgrade.

There are also claims of a network capability boost in the iPad 3, where some rumors point to a 4G/ LTE equipped iPad chipset, others claim that it will be a unified global device capable of CDMA/GSM network capabilities in the same device.

Apart from the above obvious upgrades, speculations of more ram and upgraded camera optics along with better speakers are also in the mix. So expect HD FaceTime and better speakers for your iPad 3s.

Games and Apps will perform better and open faster, seamless integration with iCloud will sync all your devices and keep them up to date. Apple may also bump to storage capacities to a possible 128 GB iPad.

Availability

The industry is buzzing with news of the iPad 3s release date, almost everyone claims that its going to be announced on the 7th of March 2012 with availability within 2 weeks.

Conclusion

Arguably, the iPad is not the best tablet in the market, but truly its the only one that has sold units in numbers close to PC sales. The Apple ecosystem developed by iOS – iCloud and Mac OS make it an Apple owners delight, somethings are just better on the iPad. Agreed Android offers more flexibility but the platform is still very fragmented. Even with ICS, android is laggy and the overall interface is not nearly as smooth as iOS.

If Amazon does come out with a 10 inch tablet, you can expect it to eat heavily into Apple’s share of the profit pie, only because Amazon will price it aggressively. Windows 8 / Windows Phone Apollo Tabs could also be another factor ( if ever released) .

Unless something truly unique is outed by manufacturers ( possibly a 10 inch Galaxy Note) no one will be able to bother Apple iPad sales, and the new iPad 3 will continue to lead the way through 2012.

What do you think?

[polldaddy poll=5963093]

February 21, 2012
Leaked : Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 is actually Galaxy Note 10.1

Holy unthinkable Batman! The next version of the Galaxy Tab which is supposedly coming out next month may actually turn out to be a large size Galaxy Note. A 10.1 inch tablet with a S-pen stylus.

The unconfirmed device was listed on the Samsung site, alongside the standard Note, Wave 3 and Wave Y as being highlighted at a developer event at MWC. Its possible that the total effect was a typo, But considering the overall response and success of the Galaxy Note it won’t be surprising that the company releases a larger tablet.

A ten inch tablet with a pen would do wonders for a user potentially attacking sales of the upcoming iPad 3. If this device was to exist, we call out a quad core processor, a high def screen Android 4.0.1 and a newer version of Touch Wiz UI. But hey there is no harm in hoping, right?

February 16, 2012
Rumor : iPad 3 Announcement will happen in First Week of March

Looks like its iPad time of the year, several sources are pointing at the 1st week of March announcement of the iPad 3, with stock available soon after. The new Tablet from Apple is supposedly set to use the same form factor as the iPad 2 , but will boast a faster processor , higher resolution display and bigger battery according to rumors. The iPad 3 will also come with improved optics for rear and from cameras and a whole new Speaker system. Knowing Apple, these many changes may not actually be happening to the iPad.

The iPad 2 was announce March 2nd last year, so the dates seem to coincide with last years launch.

[All Things D]

February 10, 2012