• iPhone 4S Coming in September With Minor Cosmetic Changes?

    // Gradly // Apple, blog, iPhone, Rants & Raves, Rumors, Tech. No Responses

    Citing a new report from Forbes, analyst Peter Misek, claims the upcoming next generation iPhone will likely has minor cosmetic changes over the current iPhone 4, the device will be dubbed “iPhone 4S” and will debut in September. Misek also claims that Apple will add more supported carriers including Sprint and T-Mobile and China Mobile on the way.

    According to our industry checks, the device should be called iPhone 4S and include minor cosmetic changes, better cameras, A5 dual-core processor, and HSPA+ support,” he writes in a research note.

    But he also says that “industry checks indicate Apple will likely announce Sprint, T-Mobile, and China Mobile as new carriers.

    We previously learned that Apple has been providing an improved iPhone with A5 chip to some select developers for testing purposes and since them the name “iPhone 4S” has gained popularity.

    Misek went on to say that Qualcomm are not yet available in quantity to be added, so faster LTE 4G networks will not be available.

    As for LTE, he says the Qualcomm LTE chipset Apple would have used “is currently not achieving yields sufficient for inclusion in the iPhone 5.” He says Apple had hoped to have the LTE chipsets ready, but was planning a version without LTE called iPhone 4S.

  • Bungie: The Makers of Halo are Working on iOS MMO Called Crimson?

    // Gradly // Apple, blog, Games, News, Patents, Rants & Raves, Rumors 1 Response

    Bungie, the previously Mac-exclusive game developer who defected to the arms of Microsoft to release the best-selling Halo series, is making a new game… and it’s probably coming to iOS.

    First, some background. Around a year ago, Bungie was tipped to have started a new project, called Bungie Aerospace. Not much was known about it at the time, but it now appears to be a spin-off label of Bungie Studios proper, as the Halo-maker has just incorporated Bungie Aerospace in both Delaware and Washington.

    Even more interesting? Bungie Aerospace has just filed to secure a trademark for mobile devices, filing an application to own “Crimson” as a title of “computer game software for use on mobile and cellular phones.”

    What Crimson actually is anyone’s guess, but rumor has it that it’s a shooter MMO. Whether it’ll take place in the Halo-verse or not is anyone’s guess, but it would seem absolutely nuts for Bungie to make a mobile game and not release it on the most lucrative mobile platform out there.

    My gut says Bungie Aerospace and “Crimson” are connected to the studio’s next project, an original IP set to be published by Activision. Word on the street is that this game is a shooter MMO — an MMO that might just offer increased connectivity via mobile apps.

    In short, here’s what we know. Bungie Aerospace is likely Bungie Studios’ mobile studio. They’re working on a game called Crimson. And it’ll probably be available on the App Store. Let’s just hope this is the triumphant return — if not to Mac, then to Apple — that gamers have been waiting almost a decade for.

    [via cultofmac]

  • Samsung Announces 2560 x 1600 Pixel at 300 dpi Display for Tablets

    // Gradly // blog, Gadgets, iPad, News, Rants & Raves, Tech. No Responses

    At the SID Display Week 2011 International Symposium, Samsung will demonstrate the first 10.1-inch display with 2560 x 1600 pixel resolution made for tablets. It offers an “ultra-high resolution”, LCD at 300dpi. According to Samsung’s press release, The prototype demonstration marks the first time this resolution has been available for the tablet market in the popular – 10.1-inch – format, rivaling the highest resolution smartphone displays now on the market.

    The display also relies on the PenTile technology, developed by Nouvoyance, which allows for 40% less power consumption and two-thirds number of subpixels.

    Because tablets are regularly used for viewing rich-colored images, the 10.1-inch 300 dpi display is ideal for applications that require extraordinary image and text clarity such as browsing the web and viewing high-definition movies, or reading books and spreadsheets.

    In order to develop tablets with the form and function that consumers demand, a design engineer ultimately has to determine how to get the highest resolution display possible, while still fitting within the overall power budget for their design”

    “Samsung’s PenTile display technology is the only display technology that operates at 40 percent less power yet provides twice that of Full HD-viewing performance for consumers compared to legacy RGB stripe LCDs. There is no other commercial display technology on the market today that offers this high of a resolution and pixel density in a 10.1-inch size display,” said Dr. Sungtae Shin, Senior VP of Samsung Electronics.

    Definitely this announcement opens the door to the possibility of having a “Retina Display” on Apple’s iPad which sports a 9.7-inch Samsung panel at 1024 x 768 pixel. Is this technology able to fit a double resolution 2048 x 1536 pixel for next iPads?

    Samsung expects to have commercial availability of this technology for tablet applications later this year.

  • Captain America: The First Avenger Plot Details Revealed

    // Gradly // blog, Featured, Movies, News, Rants & Raves, Rumors, Superheroes No Responses

    Some plot details have been revealed for Captain America: The First Avenger. which come directly from this months issue of French magazine L’Ecran Fantastique . It gives some new information about the movie and some other speculations. This excerpt has been roughly translated from French.

    [Possible Spoilers Ahead]

    The film is set at 95% during the Second World War, but it starts today, for extracting a block of ice containing a mysterious figure, block located in the wreckage of a giant bomber. The film also ends in our time.

    – The Shield: It is manufactured by Howard Stark, and the white parts are vibranium an indestructible alloy created by Stark Industries [vibranium it is therefore artificial, different from natural vibranium Wakanda, home of the Black Panther] . In his “discovery” in the present, the shield of Captain America will be alongside the hero in the ice.

    – Skull and Red Cube: The Cosmic Cube is hidden in a church in Norway. Red Skull uses a tank to enter. The Cube is used to power a variety of vehicles, including the famous giant bomber, carrying bombs have targeted major U.S. cities and European capitals.

    – Bucky and the Invaders: Bucky Barnes, and soldiers freed a camp of the HYDRA form a group called the Invaders [But then where are the Howling Commandos? Normally, the Invaders team is composed of superheroes as Namor, the origins Torch, Toro, Union Jack, Spitfire …].

    – An error / a Freudian slip? Stephen Broussard co-producer discusses the meeting of superheroes in 2012 as follows: Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Ant-Man and the Wasp in the Avengers movie. [Until now, the presence of Hank Pym and his wife has always been rejected.]

    – A subject of the movie Iron Man 2 was used in Captain America [???].

    So are we actually gonna see Ant-Man and the Wasp? Or was it just a plain mistake?

    Captain America: The First Avenger Hits Theaters July 22nd In 3D

    [via CBM]