Isaiah's Tech

A new LG touchscreen has made its way to the good old Internet today. The upcoming LG KM900 Arena will have a unique UI. The UI is said to be 3D and it will be named "S-Class." The LG Arena will have a "5 megapixel camera with DVD quality video recording capabilities", DivX playback, Bluetooth, GPS and Wi-Fi. This will probably be announced formally at MWC which is weeks away. I will also point out that, like the Toshiba TG01, it also looks similar to the iPhone.

Motorola has mentioned that Windows Mobile 7 won't be out until 2010. Motorola mentioned this as they made their announcement that they were going to be utilizing Android to try to dig themselves out of the hole that they are in. Windows Mobile 7 is not confirmed to be released in 2010, but that's just what Sanjay Jha from Motorola thinks. It sounds about right though, since WinMo 6.5 should hit us in the summertime.

If you go to gmail.com/tasks on your mobile phone, you will be able to use Gmail Tasks on your iPhone or your Android phone. "The new mobile UI works for Android phones and iPhone, and gives you a quick way to view tasks, create new lists, add new tasks, mark tasks as completed, and that's about it."

Apple Tablet? This looks to me like the rumoured 7-9 inch iPod Touch that was mentioned a while ago (here). It doesn't look exactly like the iPod Touch, so i may be wrong. Atlthough, that was my first thought when i saw this picture. Apple's tablet display was said to be described in a recent patent. This picture shows what the tablet may look like, judging from Apple's patent. "The patent describes several forms of these displays-most of them already in use in current Apple laptops-, describing displays attached to portable computers." I'm sure that we'll hear more about this Apple tablet soon.

No, this is not the iPhone Pro, but instead we see an iPhone 4G Concept. The "fantasy specs" of this phone include: titanium and glass, an OLED screen, 3G, GPS, front camera for iChat, removable battery, 3.2MP camera, video and 32GB of internal memory. I don't really know why these "fantasy specs" include only having a 3.2MP camera. I think Apple should upgrade the camera to 5 megapixels. Both flashes (for the camera and Internet) weren't even asked for, so i guess i'll add those things on the list also. The OLED screen would be a fascinating idea, but that alone would put a hole in our wallets. Maybe one day Apple fanboy, maybe. I thought i'd also point out that Macy Gray will again be the face of the next iPhone... joking.

LG KM900 Arena (and picture): http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_km900_arena_leaks_touchscreen_fans_leap_with_joy-news-769.php
Windows Mobile 7 in 2010: http://www.electronista.com/articles/09/02/03/moto.says.win.mo.7.in.2010/
Gmail Tasks On Your Android or iPhone: http://mashable.com/2009/02/02/gmail-tasks-on-iphone/
Apple Tablet (and picture): http://i.gizmodo.com/5145104/apple-tablet-likely-described-in-patent
iPhone 4G Concept (and picture): http://i.gizmodo.com/5145151/iphone-4g-concept-is-a-macbook-in-a-phone

There are three videos below of what people are calling the future Apple iTablet's UI. We don't know if it's real, but I'm betting that it's not. The latest news states that Apple is actually holding an event on either September 7th or September 8th. We don't know what Apple will announce, but everyone on the face of the earth is hoping that it has something to do with their Apple tablet. If it's not the tablet then it will be a waste of time.

Apparently, one of Gizmodo's writers talked to an "inside source" about the Apple tablet. The source mentioned that there will be "two editions, one with a webcam and one for educational use." If you want to check out the whole article, head over to Gizmodo here.







Apple Event: Tech Crunch, The Next Web
Apple Tablet Information: Gizmodo, 9 to 5 Mac
Supposed Apple Tablet UI: Slash Gear, Tech Crunch

That long rumoured Apple tablet may hit stores by the end of the year, according to China Times. The three companies that will be working on the netbook / tablet are Foxconn, Wintek, and Dynapack. This netbook / tablet will have a touchscreen, similar to the Asus Eee PC T91 or T101H. But, the inclusion of a keyboard was not mentioned, so it could just be a straight-up 9.7-inch tablet. This rumoured Apple tablet / netbook is expected to hit the shelves this October with an $800 USD price tag.

[Gizmodo]

That's the current rumour on the streets. Verizon is pushing to get their 4G support out by early 2010; it's also expected to hit 20-30 markets by the end of the first half of 2010. What could this be for? Apparently, it could be for a future Apple device, namely the Apple tablet - or a future iPhone. On Tuesday, we heard that Verizon could be releasing an Apple tablet by the end of the year, but that could be pushed back to early next year. I'm sure Apple fans won't mind the short wait. The tablet will probably cost over $500 USD, even subsidized. This shouldn't be surprising, seeing how Apple has the tendency to overprice their devices - hence why they made huge profits in the last quarter.

I'm definitely excited to see how this fares out though.

[G4 TV]

It's been rumoured time and time again, but it looks like Verizon "could -- and apparently will -- launch another Apple product, namely a tablet computer, sometime before the year's end." The Apple tablet could look like a giant iPod Touch (around 9 to 10-inches) and it could be sporting a keyboard. Unfortunately, like all other Apple products, it doesn't look like it will be a cheap product - even after it is subsidized. Today, Apple hinted at a price point for their rumoured tablet and mentioned that anything with a $399 and $499 price tag is a "junky product."

[Unwired View, Tech Crunch]

• It's "the most amazing device ever"
• It's "really amazing for newspapers"
• Video conferencing is "super stable"
• Battery life is "great" when it comes to reading ebooks but not so great (2-3 hours) in Wi-Fi mode or when playing games
• Tailor-made games are "sick", on Wii level
• The customised Farmville app (which Jobs is going to demo tomorrow with the CEO of the company behind it) is "insane"
• The tablet will be offered by Verizon and ATT
• It will cost $599, $699 or $799, depending on the screen size and internal memory

Remember the rumoured Apple tablet from this morning? Apparently, the "processor will be designed in-house, making it the first chip to comt out of Apple's PA Semi acquisition." This would mean that the tablet that Apple is going to push out this October - if true - could be running on an ARM chip. This would make the tablet about as powerful than the current netbooks, so it would fit right in. However, with Apple you get the arguably beefed up price tag aka $800, which is always fun... This news is, of course, still unconfirmed.

[Gizmodo]

Apple has just confirmed the Apple tablet and they're calling it the iPad. They decided to work on a tablet instead of a netbook because a netbook, basically, doesn't do anything better than a notebook. Steve Jobs actually demoed this iPad on stage and Engadget actually called it "odd" since they were just watching him browse the web. Jobs clicked on a page and there was actually a missing Flash plug-in, so let's hope they get some Flash support before this launches or else that'll be a real big let down. The UI is like a big iPhone and everything else works just like an iPhone does with some new UI changes.

The iPad itself features a 9.7-inch IPS capacitive multi-touchscreen LED-backlit display with a 1,024 x 768 resolution (132 ppi), it weighs 1.5 pounds, and it's just 0.5-inches thin which is already impressive. Inside it's packing an Apple A4 CPU which is clocked at 1GHz. It'll be available in 16GB / 32GB / 64GB models and they'll all, of course, be packing a 3.5mm headphone jack, 3G, WiFi 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR. It'll also have a speaker, a microphone, an accelerometer, and a digital compass in case you didn't know. The battery life is good enough for a month of standby time and 10 hours while watching a movie (possibly with WiFi turned off). Since Apple is one of the greenest companies out there it's an eco-friendly product.

The iPad doesn't have a front-facing webcam or a camera on the back - just in case you're wondering. Like I said earlier, the iPad also appears to be missing Flash support. There's no multi-tasking, no phone calls (Google Voice could work though, I believe), and no notifications. Apple showed off a regular dock, a keyboard dock, and a case that doubles as a stand as well. The prices - I believe - were not mentioned though.

With the iPad you'll be able to use "almost all" of the apps on the App Store. It'll connect to your Mac / PC the same way your iPhone / iPod does. Apple - more specifically Steve Jobs - mentioned that this is "our most advanced technology in a magical & revolutionary device at an unbelievable price." The iPad is running a customized iPhone OS.

The iPad will be available contract-free (pre-paid) on AT&T. For $14.99 monthly you'll get 250MB of data and for just $30 monthly you'll get unlimited data (which costs $60 for mobile phones). All models will be unlocked and use GSM microSIMs. The best part is that it will only cost you $499! Amazing, even I'm impressed. Of course, that's the 16GB model. The 32GB and 64GB model will cost $599 and $699, respectively. Unfortunately, those are the models without 3G. The iPad 3G models will add another $130 to the price tags, so $629, $729, and $829, respectively. You can order them now and the WiFi-only models will be shipping in 60 days. The iPad with 3G will be shipping in 90 days.

Just thought I'd mention one more thing: what a terrible name. I also think that this was overhyped - as usual.

[Engadget, Gizmodo]

There's a new rumour going around about the infamous Apple tablet. After hearing that it could launch with an OLED display for around $2,000 a couple of weeks ago, this new rumour could shock a few. Well, the Apple tablet is rumoured to be "shockingly inexpensive." Yes, that doesn't give us a price point, but it'll be shocking to me if it's under $800 to be honest. We'll just have to see how Apple plays this out.

[Apple Insider]
Picture Source: Gizmodo

No, this above photo is not a picture of the upcoming Apple tablet. But yes, we do have more rumours about the Apple tablet, let's call it the iTablet.

Apparently, Apple has tested three different screen sizes starting out with a 7-inch display and realized it was too small, so the latest version has a 10.7-inch display. This tablet is supposedly running on the iPhone OS and its physical looks are similar to an iPhone (slim, rounded back, minimal bezel). The resolution could be around 720p capable and it's not meant to compete with netbooks - "It's an iPhone OS media player and light communcation device." There will be two models at launch, one with and one without integrated 3G. The best part is that people are expecting Apple to announce the iTablet "on or before January 19, 2010, and to use an iPhone-like hype buildup period to start selling it in May or June."

Right now they're waiting on Steve Jobs to give it the "final green light" and there's an 80% chance of that happening... If you're interested, because I know you are, check out all of the rumours at iLounge here.

[Engadget, Gizmodo]

Whatever this Apple tablet will be, it will also be capable of playing games. I'm not a big fan of playing motion-sensing / touch-enabled games because they're just too easy - don't get me started on the Wii. I find them pretty pointless, but whatever. Apple's tablet will also be able to connect to the Internet over a WiFi connection, which is really unsurprising. We'll just have to see how good of a "gaming console" this thing will be. Being a game console probably will not be its main focus though.

[Joystiq]

"Apple Insider has spotted a newly released patent filed by Apple back in late 2007 that shows volume controls that can be integrated into various Web browsers." I think this would be extremely useful, especially for MySpace sites or maybe some YouTube videos. The "new panel" will sit in the top right hand corner of the browser and will allow the user to change the volume of the site. "What makes this patent filing notable is that it's not just for Safari, and is listed as being applicable to multiple browsers, which means it could either be a part of an upcoming OS or as a standalone application. As the usual disclaimer goes though, patents are often filed for technologies that never make it to market." On a side note, Windows Vista reportedly has this feature too - somewhere.

This is probably what the tablet from Apple looks like. Okay, I'm clearly joking. Anyways, Apple's COO, Tim Cook, has denied that they have any plans for a netbook. Instead, he pointed towards more iPhone and iPod Touch devices, so this could mean that a tablet is in the making. It won't really matter to me which one they make because I'm fine with a tablet. You can always just get a stand and a Bluetooth keyboard if you don't like the on-screen keyboard. I hope that that Apple's next device has Bluetooth 3.0 because that's some blazing speed right there.

[CNet News, Apple Blog (tablet)]

According to Financial Times, the latest rumour is that Apple will be launching its tablet with their refreshed iPods as early as this September. This tablet will, of course, have WiFi and it's codenamed "Cocktail". This tablet will be sporting a 10-inch [probably capacitive multi-touchscreen] display and it will run on the iPhone OS. What makes this even more interesting is that it will "also have a book marketplace" so you can say goodbye to the Kindle by the end of the year - if the rumour is true. Remember, it's just a rumour, so don't cry if the Apple tablet doesn't come out in under two months.

[Gizmodo]

According to Boy Genius' source, Apple has a 100% chance of unveiling a 7-inch tablet in January 2010. The release date will follow in the coming months (hopefully by the end of 2010). If this is true, it will go directly head to head with the 7-inch ICD Ultra tablet that will be rocking Nvidia Tegra 2 graphics and Android. It'll also meet up with the Asus Eee Pad which could also be a 7-inch tablet that could feature the Nvidia Tegra 2 graphics as well. It's all rumours at this point, but sooner or later Apple will release this damn tablet.

[Slash Gear, Mashable]

As the January 27th date approaches we're hearing more and more about the Apple tablet. Yes, the date has reportedly been changed from January 26th to the 27th. Besides that we're hearing that it'll get unveiled on that date and will start shipping in March for around $1,000 which definitely sounds Apple-like. We're also hearing that there will be more than one version of the tablet and it'll come in two different materials. I'm assuming this means that we'll see both an aluminum body and a plastic body - similar to their MacBook line-up.

[Mashable, Mac Rumors]

These iTablet rumours are definitely getting out of hand and honestly I'm getting tired of reporting them day after day, but I'll do it anyway. Let's just hope I don't get upset since most of the Apple rumours are too good to be true. MacWorld was boring and the iPhone 3GS wasn't as good as the rumours said it would be. Anyways, let's get back on track.

In a possibly fake rumour, apparently Apple may also be working /testing out 13-inch and 15-inch models of their 10-inch tablet as well; these larger models were running Mac OS X 10.5, which is interesting. Steve Jobs is definitely working hard here, since y'know he's putting his soul into this. The source mentioned that these tablets were made of aluminum, which is a traditional Apple-like thing to do.

Apple testing out prototypes is not anything new, so these models could be for testing purposes only. Apple tends to test out a lot of models and choose the ones that work. A 15-inch tablet would be pretty hard to use, so I doubt it'll hit the markets.

So, about that 6-inch tablet...

[Gizmodo, Mac Rumors]