• Apple May Show Interest in WiTricity Wireless Charging

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

    Last week, the WSJ reported that Apple was experimenting with “a new way of charging” the 2012 iPhone. Of course, wireless charging isn’t a new technology though the current implementations of it have been somewhat limited.

    The original Palm Pre launched with an induction charger which allows users to charge their device when it is laid on a special charging mat. The disadvantages of such inductive chargers is the need for near physical contact in order for the power to be transferred as well as heat/power limitations.

    A 2007 startup company called WiTricity, however, has been working on some significant advances in wireless electricity that has gotten the attention of much of the industry including Apple. WiTricity is based on the research from MIT’s labs where scientists showed a new method for transferring larger amounts of power wirelessly over more practical distances (up to a couple of meters) than traditional induction.

    The magnetic fields of two properly designed devices with closely matched resonant frequencies can couple into a single continuous magnetic field. Prof. Soljačić’s team showed how to use this phenomenon to enable the transfer of power from one device to the other at high efficiency and over a distance range that is useful for real-world applications.

    WiTricity has already received a significant amount of industry attention. The CEO of WiTricity demoed the technology at TED in 2009. Intel has been experimenting with the technology in their labs. Toyota has even collaborated with and invested in the company to develop automotive wireless charging systems.

    The link to Apple comes by way of a international patent application from Apple called “Wireless power utilization in a local computing environment.” The application was first published in May of this year and specifically details the same resonance technology and refers to the original paper published by the MIT researchers.

    Apple describes a scenario where your iMac could be the source of this resonance power to provide a virtual charging area in front of your computer. Keyboards, mice and even mobile electronic devices like the iPhone or iPad could be charged simply be being in a 1 meter proximity to your computer. In typical Apple fashion, they describe that “by doing away with clumsy and annoying cables and eliminating the need to replace batteries, an easy to use and efficient local computing environment can be provided to the user.”

    The technology is said to be safe, relying on magnetic fields. WiTricity CEO is seen below presenting the technology at the 2009 TED and even shows it wirelessly powering a modified Apple iPhone.

    [via macrumors]

  • Apple Preparing Thinner and Lighter iPhone 5 to Launch This Fall

    // Gradly // Apple, blog, Cloud, Featured, Gadgets, iPhone, News, Rants & Raves, Rumors, Tech. 3 Responses

    Citing a new report from WSJ today indicates that Apple is indeed gearing up with a new iPhone for a launch this fall, with an initial production target of 25 million units through the end of the year.

    “Apple’s sales estimates of the new iPhone is quite aggressive. It told us to prepare to help the company meet its goal of 25 million units by the end of the year,” said another person at one of Apple’s suppliers. “The initial production volume will be a few million units… we were told to ship the components to assembler Hon Hai in August.”

    The various iPhone 5 rumors have been going back and forth on whether or not a significant redesign is coming, but the new report seems to suggest that iPhone 5 will have a completely redesigned case after all:

    According to some suppliers of components to Apple, the new version of the iPhone is expected to be thinner and lighter than the iPhone 4 and sport an 8-megapixel camera. One person said the new iPhone will operate on Qualcomm Inc.’s wireless baseband chips.

    Apple’s manufacturing partner Foxconn/Hon Hai is said to be having difficulties with the new device due to it being “complicated and difficult to assemble.“

    Two of the people, however, cautioned that shipments of the new iPhone could be delayed if Hon Hai can’t improve its yield rate as the new iPhone is “complicated and difficult to assemble.”

    Reports over the past few months have been pointing to a September release for the next-generation iPhone, carrying Apple’s A5 processor with an 8-megapixel rear camera, and a Qualcomm baseband chip for both GSM and CDMA networks. iOS 5 and iCloud are also to be released this fall as well.

  • JailbreakMe 3.0 For iPad 2 Jailbreak Might Be Released Today

    // Gradly // Apple, blog, Cydia, Featured, Gadgets, iPad, iPhone, Jailbreak, News, Rants & Raves, Rumors No Responses

    It turns out we will have un-ended stories regarding the upcoming iPad 2 Jailbreak. An email image spotted showing a conversation between Comex and MultiMediaWill, the one who previously leaked the iPad 2 jailbreak files.

    MultiMediaWill email to Comex:

    I don’t know if you got my tweets but I am truly sorry for the leak and If I knew it would turn out like this I wouldn’t have leaked it. I was so happy when I got the PDF and it actually worked that I felt I need to show everyone. Dumb decision, I know, but I removed all my videos and deleted the website. Anyways, the beta is really buggy like you said and really annoying sometimes. I hope you are able to release the JB to everyone soon. Thanks.

    Comex reply to MultiMediaWill :

    No, I didn’t see your tweets (I think they were deleted?) But if no more issues come up, it should be ready by tomorrow.

    Although we are taking this with a pinch of salt, Comex might, in fact, be releasing the new iPad 2 jailbreak to the public within two days.

    Update:

    Jailbreakme.com is now showing the Apple sticky note “We’ll be back soon”, suggesting the leak we received was true. Expect a release of the iPad 2 jailbreak today. (July 5th)

  • Leaked AT&T Documents Hint at LTE 4G iPad

    // Gradly // Apple, blog, Featured, Gadgets, Hack, iPad, iPhone, News, Rants & Raves, Rumors, Tech. 1 Response

    LulzSec, the 6-man hacking group ended their 50 days reign of “hackery” but after revealing/embarrassing/corrupting/exposing numerous corporations/governments/servers, the guys came with one last act of mischief.

    They once again published confidential data recovered from their latest attack. One prominent folder is titled “AT&T.” other dumped files were leaked from AOL, Disney, Universal, EMI and the FBI.

    Digging through the data, the guys over at iFans have come across some interesting information. The internal AT&T documents reveal that the carrier is planning to roll out their new LTE network in the first week of July, and more ineterstingly hinting at what seems to be an LTE-capable iPad.

    If you’re up for it, the leaked presentation is embedded here. The LTE iPad is mentioned on page 4.

    Pre-LTE scenarios. Testing will include iPad new activations HLS using the new rate plan, as well as a regression on netbooks and dongles. During validation E2E execution should ensure all functionality new and current is still functioning properly by validating account set up, provision, usage and notifications.

    Apple’s 3rd iteration of their popular tablet line is expected to be a major upgrade, with speculation suggesting everything from a Retina display to LTE capabilities.

    LulzSec, short for Lulz Security, the hacker group behind hacking the CIA, U.S. Senate, Nintendo, Sony and others. They took down the CIA’s website, hacked Sony’s servers, released sensitive documents from the Arizona state government and attacked the U.S. Senate’s website. While a suspected member of LulzSec was recently apprehended, the group claims he was not its leader.

    The team claim that they intended to only operate for 50 days as an attempt to revive the AntiSec movement, which is opposed to the computer security industry.