Thursday, June 20, 2013

iPad 5 rumor rollup for the week ending June 18

Foiling Samsung, mini shipping, name that iPad prototype

As last week's Apple WWDC faded in the rear view mirror, the iOSphere hungered for more. And the hunger gave birth to hope, and hope to more rumors, including the one that predicts iPad 5 will be announced this week to foil and foul Samsung’s scheduled London news.

Also this week: the iPad mini 2 or at least its components will be shipping in August; anonymous photo of iPad “prototype” proves that the Next iPads will have a back; and a glimpse of what iOS 7 will look like on iPads when released in the fall.

You read it here second.

[10 takeaways from Apple’s WWDC]

[The top technologies the CIA thinks are hot]

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“Prototype pic.twitter.com/ZcWp0LFoMd”
The entirety of a tweet by Sonny Dickson, via his Twitter account @sonnydickson with a link to a low-res, blurry photo showing the back of an iPad or iPad mini “prototype,” without any additional information; the grateful iOSphere supplied the rest, claiming it was the Next iPad.
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iPad 5 to be announced THIS WEEK!

“There is a new rumor that is making the rounds claiming that Apple's iPad 5 will be released next week [week of June 17] to counter the announcement of Samsung's phablet - Galaxy Note 3,” announced the indefatigable Kristin Mariano, of International Business Times, in a post last week.

The rumor, as the British have it, seems to have been created out of whole cloth: the only source for it seems to be Mariano herself. [William Safire has a 1998 column about the idiom “of whole cloth.”]

“After the iPad 5 did not show up this week at the recently concluded Apple's annual WorldWide Developers' Conference, there are speculations that Apple intended to release its tablet in a separate event a week after the event,” she writes, without linking to, or even referencing, any specific speculation.

And why would Apple choose this week to announce the Next iPad? “This is to counter the rumored Samsung Galaxy Note 3 press event pegged next week,” according to Mariano. The Galaxy Note 3 “is expected” to be revealed in a Samsung press event in London on June 20, according to IBT, along with a bunch of other stuff.

This is a common conceit of the third-rank iOSphere: Apple’s primary driver, when it’s not profit maximization, is responding to competitors, so it adds features and changes introduction schedules based on what Samsung, or “the industry,” is doing.

There’s nothing else to the IBT rumor, though Mariano drags in some guy named Horowitz as the source for speculation about the Next iPad’s design. “On the other hand, the iPad 5 is rumored to have no bezels, and the whole form factor has been made sleeker. Horowitz believes this design indicates that Apple will be calling on Sharp's IGZO screen technology.” Horowitz is apparently Jeremy Horowitz, Editor-in-Chief of iLounge.com, who doesn’t seem to have published anything about IGZO or iPad form factors since his Jan. 25 post.

When the iPad 5 fails to materialize this week, look for future rumors that speculate it will be announced next week or so to take attention away from the Galaxy Note 3, or next month to capitalize on the doldrums of summer product news, and on and on and on.

And speaking of which….

iPad mini 2 shipments will start in August

With characteristic brevity, Digitimes launched another barrage of iPad and iPhone rumors in a June 14 post.

Pegatron, the post said, has landed orders for the next-generation iPad mini, along with the iPhone cheapo, and “will begin shipments in August, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers.”

“The upstream supply chain will start shipping components for the new iPad mini and iPhone in July and players such as chassis supplier Casetek are expected to strongly benefit from the orders,” according to the sources.

Of course, this does not mean that the iPad mini 2 will be available or even announced in August. Though that’s how the meme evolved through the iOSphere. For example, TechRadar repeated the post, with the headline “Cheap iPhone and iPad mini 2 to ship in August?” At another third-rank iOSphere site, GadgetGestures, that became more definite: “The iPad Mini 2, which holds bright prospects for Apple, is to be released in mid-August, according to TechRadar.”

This is a typical chicken-egg iOSphere rumor. Apple CEO Tim Cook, at the April quarterly earnings conference call, said Apple would start introducing products in “the fall” of 2013 and into 2014. Since then, unverified and possibly unverifiable supply chain rumors have said that various next generation iPads, and iPhones, would be cranking up to full production runs by component suppliers and final assemblers during the summer of 2013.

At least on the surface, meaning “without detailed knowledge of the Apple supply chain capabilities, flexibility, and production rates,” if those rumors are true, they would lend support to the belief, or hope, that the Next iPad and Next iPhone will be announced and released in the September-December period.

iPad 5 or iPad mini 2 will have a back

This is the best way to create a rumor in the iOSphere: tweet a picture, with the word “prototype” but without any other information whatsoever, and let everyone else rumor it.

That’s what an Australian blogger named Sonny Dickson did, when he tweeted a link to a low-resolution, rather blurry photo of the back panel of something that looked like an iPad. The tweet details show that the entire tweet consisted simply of: #Prototype pic.twitter.com/ZcWp0LFoMd

Even some of Dickson’s followers and retweeters were confused. One replied “iPad mini ?” and another “iPad 5?” Dickson didn’t reply, at least in public tweets.

There’s nothing else. Dickson doesn’t even indicate whether the “prototype” is of the mini or full-sized Apple tablet or something in between. Let alone whether it’s an actual prototype or just a photo of the back of an existing iPad model.

But in the iOSphere, that’s all you need. “The Apple iPad 5 prototype has leaked, although we’re still far from the moment of the big launch. At first sight, this may seem like your average iPad Mini, but slightly bigger,” gushed James A, in a post at Tablet-News. Which would mean that Apple is either abandoning the 7.9-inch screen size for the mini, or introducing a third screen size between 7.9 and 9.7 inches.

And Ian Kersey, in a post at IntoMobile, helpfully expanded on that. “A picture of the rumored iPad 5 has leaked today, revealing an iPad that looks to be just a little bit bigger than the iPad mini.”

Dickson runs the eponymous website, where, he writes, “I aim to be your go-to site for stories regarding Apple Internal leaks and prototype information.” So far, there are a total of six posts on the site, including the initial “Welcome to SonnyDickson.com” and the most recent, which is an appeal that perhaps says more than was intended: “We need your help.”

Mark Chubb at PhonesReview admitted he was confused by the photo, but suggested a novel or perhaps naive reason Dickson’s posting. “We are a little confused about a new photo that has been leaked, we are not too sure if this image below is the iPad mini 2 or the iPad 5 or just some sort of ploy to get minds thinking hard.”

If. Only.

iPad 5 will run iOS 7

So, this isn’t much of a rumor, since if the Next iPad is announced in the fall, and Apple has already said that iOS 7 will be released in the fall, then…you get the idea.

But what has emerged since Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference and the unveiling, and for some reviling, of iOS 7, are some screen shots of what iOS 7 will look like on current and future iPads.

Apple apparently gave only a glimpse of that future, in this image on the official iOS 7 Webpage. But several developers tweaked the emulator in the iOS 7 beta software development kit and conjure additional images of iOS 7 on the iPad. In a sense, it’s a glimpse into the future.

Germany-based Apfelpage was apparently one of the first to do so. Here’s a photo of the virtual keyboard for the Safari search option. And another image shows a more expansive Control Center on the iPad.

For some, iOS 7 on the iPad is much, much better than iOS 7 on the iPhone, oddly enough. “The larger display does actually make the new icons look better though, oddly enough,” wrote Oliver Haslam, at RedmondPie. “It may be the increased space between them, or it may just be the fact that we’re starting to get used to them. Either way, we don’t want to poke our eyes out with cocktail sticks anymore, which is a major improvement as far as we are concerned.”


Intel chooses sides in wireless power market

Intel has joined The Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP), an industry group that hopes its "flexible wireless power" specification for mobile wireless charging can become an industry standard.

Founded by Qualcomm and Samsung, A4WP claims to have nearly 50 members, including Broadcom, Delphi, Haier, LG Electronics, SanDisk, Integrated Device Technology (IDT), and now Intel.

A4WP's technology uses near-field magnetic resonance charging, which allows a loose coupling of the electromagnetic field so that multiple mobile devices can charge on a pad or other device at the same time.

A4WP is competing with the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) and the Power Matters Alliance (PMA) for dominance in the nascent wireless charging market.

The WPC supports the widely-adopted Qi (pronounced "chee") standard used in Nokia, Samsung and LG products. The PMA is behind the Power 2.0 specification. Both Qi and Power 2.0 are based on magnetic induction wireless power technology, which creates a tightly coupled electromagnetic charging field.

In a recent move that will put a bit more support behind the Power 2.0 standard, Duracell subsidiary Powermat Technologies announced an agreement to merge with its European counterpart, PowerKiss.

PowerKiss had supported the WPC's Qi standard, but the newly merged company will operate under the Powermat Technologies name and will be a member of the PMA.

The PMA's Power 2.0 standard also has the backing of AT&T, Starbucks and Procter & Gamble.

Industry experts have said both magnetic resonance and magnetic induction have pros and cons.

Magnetic resonance allows for a larger charging field than magnetic induction, but charging multiple devices at the same time can increase charging time by splitting current, some analysts say. Supporters of magnetic resonance charging have denied that multiple device charging reduces the electrical current.

Magnetic induction more tightly limits mobile device movement while charging, but backers say it ensures peak electrical transfer, experts said.

Other companies, such as WiTricity and Power By Proxi, offer charging devices supporting other specifications that can charge from feet away or can be charged simultaneously by dropping them into a box. WiTricity recently announced it has also joined the PMA.

"Remaining above the fray of the squabble that has broken out between first-generation players WPC and PMA, A4WP has kept its eye on the next-generation of [wireless charging] technologies and enhanced user experience through wireless charging spatial freedom," A4WP chairman Kamil Grajski said.

The group has "amassed a formidable list of member companies who supply or deliver to consumers the full range of mobile computing devices ranging from cellphones and smartphones, to tablets, ultrabooks and on up to laptops. A generational shift has begun," Grajski said.

While some vendors have joined a single standards group, other mobile device, integrated chip and computer companies have opted instead to place their hats with multiple groups rather than choose a side now.

For example, while Texas Instruments said its integrated circuits will support PMA's Power 2.0 specification as well as the WPC's Qi standard.

"Intel believes the A4WP specification, particularly the use of near-field magnetic resonance technology, can provide a compelling consumer experience and enable new usage models that make device charging almost automatic," said Navin Shenoy, general manager of Intel's mobile client platform division at Intel.

"In joining A4WP, we look forward ... to contributing to standards that help fuel an ecosystem of innovative solutions capable of simultaneously charging a range of devices, from low-power accessories to smartphones, tablets and ultrabooks," he added.


Tuesday, June 18, 2013

iPad 5 rumor rollup for the week ending June 12

Optimized, prematurity, the power of could, Retinaization


With Apple's WWDC providing actual news and, you know, facts, the iOSphere seemed like a hot air balloon that was rapidly cooling and losing not only altitude but attitude. Blogs and tech sites seemed to flounder in finding something to say that could compete with reality.

The best they came up with was thin gruel. Some inferred from the iOS 7 announcement that iPad 5 and iPad mini 2 would be “optimized gaming devices.” Others admitted that the iPad non-announcement meant that the iPad 5 protective case announcements were “premature.” With no information to the contrary, at least one rumorista boldly predicted that iPad 5 “could” be announced in July, or at any time between July and the fall. Finally, a Korean language tech site vaguely claimed that an iPad mini 2 Retina display was forthcoming from Samsung.

Pardon our yawn.
You read it here second.
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“Think the window for the iPad 5 and iPad mini 2 has closed for now? Think again. Apple’s June WWDC keynote has come and gone with no new iPad or iPhone hardware, but that could still change next month, at least for the iPad.”
Will Stabley, StableyTimes.com, for whom no news is good news, because it means that, like, anything “could” happen…like pigs…flying.
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iPad 5, iPad mini 2 will be “optimized gaming devices”

Many tech sites took note of Apple’s newly announced Game Controller API in the iOS 7 software development kit, announced at WWDC.

9to5Mac’s Zack Kahn has a succinct summary of what the changes mean. But others have gone somewhat farther in hinting that the new gaming support points to the Next iPads being “optimized gaming devices.”

Kahn notes that the iOS 7 SDK supports what are called “MFi game controllers,” which are an extension of Apple’s MFi licensing arrangement which offers “the hardware components, tools, documentation, technical support, and certification logos needed to create AirPlay audio accessories and electronic accessories that connect to iPod, iPhone, and iPad.”

“While existing hardware and software controller solutions currently exist, such as Joypad and the iCade respectively, none have yet been able to seamlessly integrate themselves directly into the operating system in order to facilitate smooth, reliable gameplay,” Kahn writes. “Up until this point, third party developers have had to custom code software to specifically enable support for add-on hardware in specific apps.”

The API will let users fit their iPhone, for example, into a third-party contraption that offers buttons and arrows as game controllers, or let them wirelessly connect a third-party game controllers to, say, an iPad to drive, shoot, and blow things up.

That all seems relatively straightforward. On that same Monday, iFrogz announced that its Caliber Advantage product, a combination mobile gaming controller and protective case for iPhones, would support iOS 7 and the new API. You set the iPhone into the iFrogz case which snaps open to reveal buttons and arrows for the controller. Here’s a photo.

But a rather confusing post at International Business Times, Erik Pineda suggests there’s more to this than meets the eye – that iPad 5 and iPad mini 2 will be “optimized gaming devices” as “Apple is looking into the possibility of competing head-on with leading gaming console manufacturers like Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony, which manufacture the Xbox One, the PlayStation 4 and the Wii U.”

One reason it’s confusing is that a few paragraphs later, Pineda says Apple is not competing with these vendors. “While not directly competing with console manufacturers, Apple will likely offer the iPad Mini and the iPad as alternatives not only for casual gamers but also for those still hooked with high-end gaming experience that stand-alone consoles offer.”

Pineda suggests that Apple is somehow responsible for the “steady slump” in the global gaming industry, “triggered largely by the advent of mobile gaming devices that the tech giant itself has introduced.” Apparently, Apple has been seized by a fit of remorse, “By allowing the use of separate gaming tools for its tablet lines, the tech titan is courting the possibility of reinvigorating an industry that has the potential to generate billions in revenue,” Pineda reasons.

Though not stated deliberately, the post seems to suggest that Apple may or should take other steps to “optimize” the Next iPads for gaming. If Apple were doing that, it could be by several potential changes to screen qualities, graphics performance, CPU performance, power management and the like. But Apple is likely working on all of these anyway, which means games will benefit from them without the next iPads specifically optimized for games.

iPad 5 non-announcement at WWDC shows protective cases were “premature”
Doh.

“Although plenty of people were hoping to see an iPad 5 or iPhone 5S this didn’t happen, as we suspected,” says Mark Chubb, CEO of PhonesReview, pulling off the neat trick of commiserating and condescending in one sentence.

And probably no one regrets the absence of these devices more than Tim Hickman, CEO of Gumdrop, and also of Hard Candy, two companies that make a range of mobile accessories, including protective cases for iPads and iPhones. He got wide coverage just days before WWDC because he assured everyone in a blog post that iPad 5 at least would be announced at the conference this week, and that Gumdrop had new cases for it on sale online.

Some people were unduly impressed. “Has a Big iPad 5 Size Hint Been Dropped?” was Nathanael Arnold’s breathless question as WallSt.CheatSheet.

“Does a new case from a well-known Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) accessories maker prove that Apple’s fifth-generation iPad will be even lighter and smaller than its predecessors?” he asked. “Gumdrop, a manufacturer of designer Apple product cases, has just released a smaller-size iPad 5 case.” (One of the mutations in iOSphere rumoring is that rumoristas today have generally just wimped out. They rarely assert things; they frame assertions as questions, since they can always plead incompleteness if not incompetence when things don’t pan out. Imagine Arnold saying “New case proves that fifth-generation iPad will be lighter and smaller.”)

To answer Arnold’s wimpy question, “Alas no.”
As Chubb says, “We recently told of one case maker [that would be Gumdrop] that was taking a big risk producing cases to be ready now for a new iPad, and now the iPad 5 omission at WWDC makes news of further cases premature.”

Ya think?

In a statement to International Business Times, Gumdrop’s Hickman is still upbeat. “Gumdrop iPad 5 case debuting ahead of the Worldwide Developers Conference was a complete gamble, but we’ve been right four out of five times. Even though Apple didn’t announce the iPad 5, we are confident that the dimensions we have are correct.”

We don’t recall hearing how the debut was a “complete gamble” being part of his pre-WWDC comments.

iPad 5, iPad mini 2 “could” be announced in July

This cunning apercu is the product of the fertile imagination of Will Stabley, of the eponymous StableyTimes, "a new kind of news." But here, we think of the site as UnstableyTimes.com.

In what must be a reassuring post to many, Stabley confronts doubters, cynics and naysayers head-on.

“Think the window for the iPad 5 and iPad mini 2 has closed for now? Think again,” he declares. “Apple’s June WWDC keynote has come and gone with no new iPad or iPhone hardware, but that could still change next month, at least for the iPad.”

That’s because Apple “is increasingly moving its hardware introductions away from WWDC.” Rather, “it holds media events throughout the year to introduce new products when they’re ready. Don’t be shocked if Apple turns around and holds such an event as soon as July.”

Nonetheless, The Rollup would indeed be shocked.
According to Stabley “Apple has never tied new iPad hardware to new iOS launches, meaning it may push the iPad 5 or iPad mini 2 to market as soon as the design and production of either or both is ready.” So, don’t be shocked if they’re ready anytime now.

Or not. “So while the iPhone is all but certain to remain unchanged until the fall, the iPad mini 2 and iPad 5 are both still in the mix for any time between July and the fall,” Stabley concludes. So apparently we also shouldn’t be shocked if Apple decides not to announce them as soon as July.

By this point, we’ve achieved an “analysis” that’s indistinguishable from throwing darts at a board plastered with day-month combinations. This type of analysis relies on two unspoken facts. One is that no one who knows what Apple is actually going to do is saying anything publicly about it. The other is that in light of that ignorance, one can then safely construct any kind of scenario and make it sound plausible. Because Apple hasn’t announced a specific date for the Next iPad announcement, Stabley can say both “don’t be shocked if Apple announces the iPad next month” and “the iPad can be announced any time between July and the fall.”

The best response is just to ignore this and start your own office betting pool on when the iPad will be announced. This post at eHow.com – “How to Start an Office Betting Pool” - will get you going.

iPad 5, iPad mini 2 to have Retina display touchpad from Samsung
Korea’s ETNews.com, the online site for the Electronic Times IT newspaper, is citing “the industry” as the source for its post that Samsung’s display unit will be one of the suppliers of Retina displays for both the next 9.7-inch iPad and the next 7.9-inch iPad mini.

The website posts an English version of some of its stories, including this one.

There’s been speculation almost since the iPad mini was announced in October 2012 that the next version of the smaller tablet would ship with a Retina display, of 2048×1536 pixels, comparable in pixel density to that of the larger iPad. That is a formidable challenge. To drive the third-generation iPad with a Retina display, Apple introduced a dual-core processor, the A5X that was much larger physically than the iPad 2’s A5, and more than doubled the performance of the GPU. But, to maintain approximately the same battery life, it also crammed in a much larger battery, which will be difficult to do within the smaller body of the iPad mini.

IClarified was one of the iOSphere sites that picked up on the ETNews post, casting it in the familiar meme of the ebb and flow of Samsung-Apple animosity. The two companies have been persistent combatants in global smartphone patent suits and countersuits. But there’s little cited let alone credible evidence to indicate that the court battles have spilled over into any of Apple’s supplier relationships with Samsung. ETNews puts it this way: “Since the retina version of New iPad [third-generaion 9.7-inch iPad], Samsung Display had been sidelined from Apple’s new product development projects, allegedly because of Samsung’s lawsuit against Apple and Cooks reshuffle of supply chain.”

According to ETNews’ vaguely described sources, Samsung Display will be one of three panel suppliers, with LG Display and Sharp.

The ETNews post says the iPad mini 2 with Retina display will launch in calendar Q3 and the 9.7-inch model in, apparently, Q4.


What's next for Wi-Fi?

Wi-Fi is blossoming in the enterprise as organizations find new ways to leverage the wireless infrastructure and workers, having benefited from mobility, demand increased range and better performance (and support for all those devices they are bringing in from home). The industry is responding in kind, introducing new products and technologies, including gigabit Wi-Fi, and it is up to IT to bring it orchestrate this new mobile symphony.

Network World just published a Digital Spotlight, “What’s next for Wi-Fi?,” that provides an in-depth look at the Wi-Fi enabled world, including pieces examining the increasing role of Wi-Fi in the enterprise, what to expect from 802.11ac, which promises gigabit speeds, and Hotspot 2.0, which will change the way we use pubic hotspots. There is also a piece about how to wring more performance out of your existing infrastructure as you await these new developments.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

IBM buys SoftLayer as part of public cloud push

The company also announced the formation of a new division

IBM has signed an agreement to acquire SoftLayer Technologies, as it looks to accelerate the build-out of its public cloud infrastructure. The company is also forming a services division to back up the push.

The financial details of the deal were not announced, but SoftLayer is the world's largest privately held cloud computing infrastructure provider, according to IBM.

IBM already has an offering that includes private, public and hybrid cloud platforms. The acquisition of SoftLayer will give it a more complete in-house offering, as enterprises look to keep some applications in the data center, while others are moved to public clouds.

SoftLayer has about 21,000 customers and an infrastructure that includes 13 data centers in the U.S., Asia and Europe, according to IBM. SoftLayer allows enterprises to buy compute power on either dedicated or shared servers.

Following the close of the acquisition of SoftLayer, which is expected in the third quarter, a new division will combine its services with IBM's SmartCloud. IBM expects to reach US$7 billion annually in cloud revenue by the end of 2015, it said.

Success is far from certain: the public cloud market is becoming increasingly competitive as dedicated cloud providers, telecom operators and IT vendors such as Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard all want a piece. The growing competition should be a good thing for customers if it drives down prices. For example, Microsoft has already committed to matching Amazon Web Services prices for commodity services such as computing, storage and bandwidth.

Not all hardware vendors feel it's necessary to have their own public cloud. Last month, Dell changed strategy and said it would work with partners including Joyent, instead of having its own cloud.


Malicious power-charger can infect Apple iOS devices

Black Hat presentation from Georgia Tech researchers to show malicious proof of concept

IoS devices are vulnerable to malware coming from a malicious charger according to researchers from Georgia Tech.

The researchers, who will be presenting their proof-of-concept charger known as Mactans at the upcoming Black Hat security conference, say: "despite the plethora of defense mechanisms in iOS, we successfully injected arbitrary software into current-generation Apple devices running the latest operating system (OS) software. All users are affected, as our approach requires neither a jail-broken device nor user interaction."

From the group's presentation teaser: " To demonstrate practical application of these vulnerabilities, we built a proof of concept malicious charger, called Mactans, using a BeagleBoard. This hardware was selected to demonstrate the ease with which innocent-looking, malicious USB chargers can be constructed. While Mactans was built with limited amount of time and a small budget, we also briefly consider what more motivated, well-funded adversaries could accomplish."

According to a Wikipedia entry, BeagleBoard is a low-power open-source hardware single-board computer designed by Texas Instruments in association with Digi-Key. The board was developed by a small team of engineers as an educational board that could be used in colleges around the world to teach open source hardware and open source software capabilities. It is also sold to the public under the Creative Commons share-alike license.

The researchers said they will recommend ways in which users can protect themselves and suggest security features Apple could implement to make the attacks we describe substantially more difficult to pull off.

The Apple security review required for selling apps in the iTunes store has largely prevented security problems for those devices, experts say. Apple isn't foolproof, as some malware has gotten through the company's scrutiny, such as the spam-producing "Find and Call" app discovered last year, said Chris Doggett, senior vice president, North America, at Kaspersky Lab in a recent IDG News Service story. But because the bar is higher with iOS, most attackers look elsewhere.