4.7-Inch iPhone 6 Logic Board Shown With 16 GB Flash Storage
Over the past several months, there have been a few rumors of Apple increasing storage capacities for the iPhone 6, perhaps doing away the 16 GB option at the low end and introducing a 128 GB model at the high end, at least for one of the two rumored models.
A set of schematics leaked in pieces over the past week and a half has included reference to various 16, 64, and 128 GB flash storage modules from several vendors for the iPhone 6, although it is unclear why there is no 32 GB option included on that list.
A new set of photos from Feld & Volk and Sonny Dickson today that revealed the NFC chip present on the logic board of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 also offers a good look at the flash storage module on this board. Based on the Toshiba part number, as seen on similar modules, the “7″ indicates that this is a 16 GB module, suggesting the low-end iPhone 6 will continue to offer that amount of storage.
There are a few caveats, however, such as the possibility of this being a prototype or testing board using a 16 GB module not intended as a production option. Also, being a board for the 4.7-inch model, it is not yet known whether the rumored larger 5.5-inch iPhone 6 model will offer the same capacity options as the smaller model.
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Sprint offers free international WiFi calls for your next overseas jaunt
There’s just enough time to pop off for a far-flung holiday before summer ends, and Sprint’s trying to make calling home from Guangzhou a little easier. The canary-hued carrier announced the other day that it’s launching free international WiFi calling for a handful of compatible Android smartphones. For better or worse, some older hardware is getting the nod first: Samsung’s Spark-friendly Galaxy S 4 will get the update before the ten other devices capable of making WiFi calls. Curiously enough, the name Sprint chose is actually sort of a misnomer. Yes, you can gab with your folks back home over WiFi, but you can fire off messages free of charge too. Just remember that it’s only WiFi calls to the US from abroad that don’t cost anything — WiFi calling Bangkok from the States will hit your wallet, as will international Wi-Fi calls to non-US numbers. Got it? Good.
Source: Sprint
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Adobe Photoshop Mix lets you undo mistakes, nab Dropbox files
Adobe’s Photoshop Mix offering for Apple’s slates arrived a few months back alongside its Ink and Slide drawing tools, and it’s not letting the app sit too long before adding new features. The latest version adds an undo/redo option that’ll help with missteps, swaps background/foreground images by dragging thumbnails and saves full-res JPEG and PNG files to that iPad you’re working on. For those of us that don’t keep a lot of work files on our tablets, you can now import images from your Dropbox repository to edit or add to Creative Cloud-stored PSDs whilst on-the-go. The update is now available over at iTunes, so if your device hasn’t yet alerted you or if you’ve yet to take the slate-style editing for a spin, have at it.
Filed under: Software
Via: 9to5Mac
Source: iTunes
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The Alienware Area-51 gaming rig just got one hell of a redesign
After a few years finding itself/getting a heavy-duty industrial makeover, Alienware’s well-respected (and, importantly, customizable) desktop gaming PC has returned. The Area-51 isn’t small, but it now has a new triangular… hexagonal… something-between-the-two design, intentionally hewn that way to maintain airflow and keep it cool, even when positioned against a wall. It’s certainly come a long way since the tower desktop days of 2011. Given its size, two of the corners have handles to lug it around with — we hope you can bicep-curl 45 pounds though, because that’s how much it weights. It also looks nothing like Alienware’s incoming Steam Machine. (Ironically, the new Area-51 chassis looks far more “Valve,” in a lot of ways.)
Inside that space-age shell, there’s support for up to three full-length graphics cards, Intel’s best and brightest Core i7 six- and eight-core Haswell-E CPUs — all overclockable and liquid-cooled. All the above is backed up with DDR4 RAM support. The early announcement unfortunately didn’t cover pricing or release dates, but expect to see the machine later this year. Oh, and the new model also has nine separate light-up zones for customization. Because customization is key to victory in Counter-Strike. (It isn’t).
Filed under: Desktops, Gaming, Dell
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Back to School 2014: The 8 best digital cameras
Whether you’re a budding photojournalist or just want to document the semester with something better than a smartphone camera, we’ve got some great picks for you. Our most affordable recommendation will set you back less than $200, while you’ll find an SLR kit that almost tops $3,000 at the other end of the spectrum. Head to the gallery below to see them all, and don’t forget to peruse the rest of our guide!
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Sapphire’s Durability Put to the Test Head-to-Head Against Gorilla Glass
Repair experts at uBreakiFix have examined the impact resistance, scratch resistance and strength of sapphire glass in a series of tests that were published today. The tests were designed to determine whether sapphire is suitable for use as a smartphone display.
The repair technicians conducted three different tests — a scratch resistance comparison using a tungsten carbide drill bit, a drop test with the sapphire display of the newly released Kyocera Brigadier, and a a four-point bend test to compare the failure stress and strain of sapphire glass with that of Gorilla Glass.
The results of uBreakiFix’s tests show that sapphire is significantly more scratch resistant and 25 percent stronger than Gorilla Glass, but it is much more susceptible to impacts due to its brittleness. The glass is so brittle that it shattered the first time it was dropped face down from a height of only three feet.
The technicians conclude that sapphire does not necessarily offer any advantage over Gorilla Glass, as the material’s superior scratch resistance and strength is offset by its low impact resistance. Phone manufacturers that include a sapphire display may choose to employ other protective measures such as a raised bezel to help protect the phone during impact with other surfaces.
Apple is partnering with GT Advanced Technologies to produce sapphire for use in future products. The exact details on how Apple will use the material is not known, but the company is rumored to be using sapphire as a display cover in future iPhone models and possibly its iWatch wearable product.
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‘Angry Birds’ maker crowns a new CEO as it reaches a crossroads
Today Mikael Hed announced he would be stepping down as CEO of Rovio and that former Nokia exec Pekka Rantala would be taking his place in 2015. The developer has quickly gone from being a company that no one had ever heard of to one of the biggest names in mobile gaming. How? Almost entirely on the strength of its flagship franchise: Angry Birds. The problem is, nearly five years on, the Angry Birds name just isn’t enough any more. The developer continues to churn out new titles at a fairly regular clip, but many are simple rehashes of the standard formula it debuted in 2009 (see Angry Birds Star Wars, Transformers, Rio, Space, Friends and Seasons). And with profits dropping off at an alarming rate the company is at something of a crossroads. In 2013 the company made less than half of what it raked in during 2012. If the company wants to avoid the fate of Zynga, which quickly fell apart after going public, it needs to change now before its problems become unfixable. Whether or not Rantala, who most recently was CEO at Finnish beverage company Hartwall, can save Rovio from the dustbin of history remains to be seen. But one thing is for sure, if he can stop just one more licensed Angry Birds game from being made, the world will be a better place.
Filed under: Gaming
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Tesla opening up 400 EV charging stations across 120 Chinese cities
There aren’t more electric cars because there’s no infrastructure, but there’s no infrastructure because there’s no demand. It’s this chicken-and-egg problem that Elon Musk is hoping to end, at least in China, after a signing a deal that’ll see Tesla open 400 charging stations in the country. The car maker has signed a deal with state-owned mobile network China Unicom, which’ll see the latter business providing space at its retail locations for Tesla owners to re-juice at. The pair aim to have stations with two or more charging points up and running in 20 cities by the end of the year, with 100 further cities coming on board in the future. Why would a national phone carrier get involved in the auto industry? Unicom executive Jiang Zhengxin believes that the team-up will allow “effective use of the infrastructure” plus, hey, it’s a nice bit of free publicity. Xinhua News, meanwhile, believes that the move will supercharge (pun intended) China’s push towards green vehicles as a solution to its pollution problem.
Filed under: Transportation
Via: Reuters
Source: Xinhua News
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Vodafone catches up to the crowd with 4G on pay-as-you-go
Coming up to a year since Vodafone switched on its 4G network, the carrier’s finally opened those superfast airwaves up to pay-as-you-go customers today. If you already own a compatible handset, all you need is a £20 “Freedom Freebee” top-up — which grants you 2GB of data, 500 minutes and unlimited texts — to start enjoying LTE speeds (anything cheaper and you’re stuck on 3G). Higher top-ups of £30 and £40 get you 4GB and 6GB respectively, as well as unlimited calls and either Spotify Premium or Sky Sports streaming access. You’re probably best springing for the £20 option initially, though, as your welcome bonus to 4G PAYG is unlimited data for the first month. If data is all you’re after, PAYG mobile broadband customers can now also access 4G at a minimum cost of £15 for 2GB.
Now, if you’re also in need of a 4G-capable handset, they start at £79 for Vodafone’s own Smart 4 turbo. To get that price you’ll also need to drop £20 on a top-up, but overall, it’s still way more reasonable than the £135 launch price. Other budget options include the Lumia 625 at £96, Voda’s Smart 4 power at £120 (reduced from a whopping £175) and the Lumia 635 at £125. If you’ve got a bit more disposable cash, there are several pricier handsets, topping out at £292 for the Galaxy S4 Mini.
Vodafone launching 4G for pay-as-you-go customers means it’s finally caught up with the other big carriers, which all added the option at some point last year. EE got there first, only a couple of weeks before O2, while 4G became the standard for all Three customers as soon as its network went live last December.
Source: Vodafone
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World’s first government-backed digital currency to launch in December
It doesn’t yet have a name, but Ecuador’s new government-backed virtual currency is coming. That’s the thrust of a new report from the Associated Press, anyway — the country’s Central Bank is said to be gearing up for a launch sometime in December, though the juicy technical details and the mechanics of how citizens can get their metaphorical hands on these things are still shrouded in mystery. What does seem clear at this point is that Ecuador’s current cash (in the form of US dollars) isn’t going anywhere, and that people will be able to conduct transactions with each other from their mobile phones without big fees eating into them. If everything goes according to plan, this’d be the first time a national government has launched its own official digital currency, though that’s not to say some cryptocurrency nuts haven’t aimed to affect change on a national scale. Enthusiasts in the Czech Republic launched the CzechCrownCoin a few days ago in a bid to bolster online business in the country, and the Auroracoin folks made the virtual equivalent of $380 available to all the fine folks of Iceland… only to see its value tank over time.
Source: AP (PhysOrg)
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