No, sorry I didn’t really mean that. It’s nice and all but a 4th generation iPad and a smaller version of the iPad don’t stir the loins like they used to. You know what’s nice though? The Kindle Paperwhite.
On the new iMac front, yeah it’s thinner and all. But you know what would make it more exciting? If they did something like this.
Word is out that the Apple iPhone supply chains have been invaded and parts are surfacing on the web. Here’s one video that brings further proof of a 4-inch iPhone 5 that may be out by September 2012.
EDIT: Ding! We were right. The new iPhone screen is a 4″ wonder that comes with LTE connectivity.
Breaking it down:
The new iPhone will use a nano-SIM because of the smaller tray (it’s even smaller than the current microSIM). This adds proof to Apple’s bid for making their new SIM concept a global standard, announced several days ago. The iPhone 5 may be the first device to tout the new SIM card configuration.
The phone isn’t that much bigger given the tray size. It’s probably a half inch longer in length. In retrospect, having an iPhone that’s bigger than 4″ might pose problems with the UI as most of the apps have the virtual buttons on the upper left and right hand side of the screen while the home button is still right down below.
The new iPhone 5 won’t be using the standard Apple charger and may in fact be adopting micro USB because of its popularity as a standard for most charging solutions.
The 3.5mm jack was moved to the bottom of the device.
The iPhone 5 will be just slightly thinner than the iPhone 4/4s. Also, two tone design!
Of course, these are only speculations as the community is not 100% sure that these designs are completely accurate. Nonetheless, the iPhone 5 is coming in a few months. But for now, everyone is raving for the new 2012 MacBook refresh this month!
It was really great catching up with Erick Garayblas (@egarayblas) last week over coffee. We talked about the success of Streetfood Tycoon and how his life as a mobile game developer has evolved with the rise of the Apple App Store. We talked about a ton of things so here’s a more organized version of the interview.
** Ed’s note: Not mentioned in the written interview is how Erick was able to have his ‘kwek-kweks’ in many baskets. He noted how he’s shifted from an ad-driven business model (free to play but ad supported) which earned him a ton of money a month into in-app purchases which, although earns less, is more stable as the latter relies on Google’s Adsense platform which can be subject to a lot of technicalities.
1. How did Streetfood Tycoon come to be? What’s your thought process in designing a game?
Streetfood Tycoon came from my penchant for playing simulation and business-related games. I’m a huge fan of Lemonade Tycoon and Sim Tower. I “borrowed” a few mechanics from these two games and presented them in my own unique way w/in the game. I normally don’t follow a “thought process”, I just browse through my list of ideas (which come from dreams, reading books/comics, playing “other” games and talking to friends), try to mix them up, create a prototype and see how it goes from there. A lot of prototypes get shelved while the good ones become full blown games.
The telco industry is always exciting. And when the competitions exchange blows, there’s always the aftermath of awesomeness that, in the end, gives more choices to consumers. In the end, they win.
This is a photo of SmartNet running on iOS (Yes, the iPhone 4s now has Netphone capabilities). Way back in February, I talked about my trip to Barcelona and divulged the whole deal with SmartNet and the Netphone which is essentially Smart’s plans to turn itself into one big social network and make mobile Internet more affordable via smartphones. You, like me, might be thinking “Hey I already use mobile Internet on my phone!” but the truth of the matter is, the Twitter and Facebook we see everyday is one big bubble of the same social circles we have in real life. There are still millions of Filipinos who do not have Internet access but amazingly have found the first entry into cyberspace not from a computer, but from a phone. This credit is actually due to Nokia who sold many GPRS/EDGE-enabled phones in the last 5 years. And that’s the hole SmartNet tries to fill.
SmartNet is rather ubiquitous on Android right now — the 5.3″ version for the Samsung galaxy Note just came out. Another juicy development is that Smartnet is also coming to iOS5 via the iTunes store so that’s a lot of added value if you’re a Smart Subscriber. So the “grand plan” is showing signs barely a year into the Netphone project with Smart releasing the SmartNet platform for both Android and iOS, the top two smartphone platforms in the world. Other platforms coming.
Oh and this company I work with is pretty damn agressive. Just take a look at Social Mention:
Pre-order the iPhone 4s now with SMART. There’s a lot more added value with this telco. Plus the data network is much better.
The Inquirer reported this evening that SMART Communications would be offering the new Apple iPhone 4S come end of 2011.
Quote:
MANILA, Philippines—Wireless telecommunications giant Smart Communications is set to heat up competition in the offering of telco services bundled with Apple products with the rollout of Apple’s game-changing smartphone iPhone to premium subscribers within this year.
Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of Smart’s parent firm Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., confirmed that Smart was in talks with Apple to launch the latest version of the iPhone—iPhone4S—before yearend.
Similar to what happened to bigger markets like the United States, Germany and Canada, consumer electronics giant Apple has abandoned the regime of exclusive iPhone distribution.
With the lapse of the exclusivity deal with Globe Telecom, the original iPhone official carrier in the Philippines, Smart is now getting ready to launch iPhone4S as well.
[source]
The article also mentions the possibility to bring in Apple iPad tablets with data plans.
It seems that a Twitter hashtag campaign has started called #smartiphone. You can try to follow this for more developments. This development is rather interesting as SMART has already cornered exclusivity deals with HTC for their Android phones. WIth the iPhone 4S deal, has SMART locked in the smartphone business for both Android and iOS?
Aside: During the launch of the Netphone 701 and SmartNet platform at the Jump store, one of the execs did hint of being in talks with Apple for something related to smartphones. It seems like the cat is out of the bag. Are we going to see a SmartNet app pretty soon on the iTunes Store?
[N.B. There is a general disclosure on my blog’s about page on who I work / consult for.]