Analyst gives Apple a deadline for the iWatch... or else

 

It is an extremely weird time for Apple analysts right now. With the announcement of Android Wear, Apple itself may not be all that shaken, but the analysts who make their living talking about Apple are definitely having strange reactions. We saw earlier that one analyst doesn't even believe that the iWatch is real, and if he is right, there is another analyst forecasting doom.

Now, we know that analysts are prone to bouts of hyperbole, but Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdry seems to have gone a bit overboard. Chowdry recently said on CNBC about Apple's iWatch:

They only have 60 days left to either come up with something or they will disappear. It will take years for Apple’s $130 billion in cash to vanish, but it will become an irrelevant company… it will become a zombie, if they don’t come up with an iWatch.

Yes, folks. Apparently, the iWatch is the device that will make or break Apple. On one hand, it is almost possible to see the reasoning here. There have been plenty of research firms that have said wearables will be pulling in billions over the course of this decade, and the competition is already looking fierce. We don't know what Apple has to offer yet, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to see how Apple could announce anything that would dominate the market, unless it gets a jump on the competition. 

Of course, as Apple is showing right now with the iPhone and iPad, this is a company that doesn't necessarily need huge market share (or even a majority of the market) in order to bring in enormous revenue. And, we still don't even know what the profit potential is for wearables. Right now, they are best as companion devices, and it it almost impossible for a companion device to destroy a company. At the end of the day, the most we may be able to take from this is the battle of absurd predictions that could be brewing between Chowdry and Apple fanalyst Gene Munster.

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Analyst gives Apple a deadline for the iWatch... or else

 

It is an extremely weird time for Apple analysts right now. With the announcement of Android Wear, Apple itself may not be all that shaken, but the analysts who make their living talking about Apple are definitely having strange reactions. We saw earlier that one analyst doesn't even believe that the iWatch is real, and if he is right, there is another analyst forecasting doom.

Now, we know that analysts are prone to bouts of hyperbole, but Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdry seems to have gone a bit overboard. Chowdry recently said on CNBC about Apple's iWatch:

They only have 60 days left to either come up with something or they will disappear. It will take years for Apple’s $130 billion in cash to vanish, but it will become an irrelevant company… it will become a zombie, if they don’t come up with an iWatch.

Yes, folks. Apparently, the iWatch is the device that will make or break Apple. On one hand, it is almost possible to see the reasoning here. There have been plenty of research firms that have said wearables will be pulling in billions over the course of this decade, and the competition is already looking fierce. We don't know what Apple has to offer yet, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to see how Apple could announce anything that would dominate the market, unless it gets a jump on the competition. 

Of course, as Apple is showing right now with the iPhone and iPad, this is a company that doesn't necessarily need huge market share (or even a majority of the market) in order to bring in enormous revenue. And, we still don't even know what the profit potential is for wearables. Right now, they are best as companion devices, and it it almost impossible for a companion device to destroy a company. At the end of the day, the most we may be able to take from this is the battle of absurd predictions that could be brewing between Chowdry and Apple fanalyst Gene Munster.

Read More

iPhone 6 review

iPhone 6 tipped with 389ppi 'Ultra-Retina' display, 5.59mm thickness

 New rumours have surfaced online for Apple's upcoming iteration of the iPhone handset. The rumours hint the iPhone 6 will arrive with a much thinner body, powerful processor and a higher pixel density screen.

The rumours come from Sonny Dickson, the Australian teen who rose to fame in the build up to the release of iPhone 5s with what turned out to be largely accurate leaks. Dickson, in one of his four tweets on the subject, said, "iPhone 6 will be 0.22 inches thick #JustSaying." The measurement barely comes around to 5.59mm, which is just 0.04mm thicker than what is claimed to be the world's slimmest handset, the Gionee Elife S5.5.

Dickson also mentioned the inclusion of an Ultra-Retina screen, which will pack 389 pixels per inch (ppi). The tipster furthermore talked about the chipset that might arrive in the next Apple iPhone. "The new Apple A8 processor will run at 2.6GHz #JustSaying," his tweet read.

Dickson finally tweeted "These specs could be the real thing #JustSaying." One can only wait for the device to launch officially to know what Apple has in stock for its fans.

Based on the previous leaks, it has been indicated that the iPhone 6 might sport a bezel-less display. In addition, another report claimed that the iPhone 6 will pack a larger 8-megapixel camera sensor, and will sport an aperture size of f/2.0, as compared to the iPhone 5's f/2.4 and iPhone 5s' f/2.2.

Further, the alleged iPhone 6 will sport OIS (optical image stabilisation) and a CMOS sensor manufactured by Sony, reports have indicated.

Read More

iPhone 6 review

iPhone 6 tipped with 389ppi 'Ultra-Retina' display, 5.59mm thickness

 New rumours have surfaced online for Apple's upcoming iteration of the iPhone handset. The rumours hint the iPhone 6 will arrive with a much thinner body, powerful processor and a higher pixel density screen.

The rumours come from Sonny Dickson, the Australian teen who rose to fame in the build up to the release of iPhone 5s with what turned out to be largely accurate leaks. Dickson, in one of his four tweets on the subject, said, "iPhone 6 will be 0.22 inches thick #JustSaying." The measurement barely comes around to 5.59mm, which is just 0.04mm thicker than what is claimed to be the world's slimmest handset, the Gionee Elife S5.5.

Dickson also mentioned the inclusion of an Ultra-Retina screen, which will pack 389 pixels per inch (ppi). The tipster furthermore talked about the chipset that might arrive in the next Apple iPhone. "The new Apple A8 processor will run at 2.6GHz #JustSaying," his tweet read.

Dickson finally tweeted "These specs could be the real thing #JustSaying." One can only wait for the device to launch officially to know what Apple has in stock for its fans.

Based on the previous leaks, it has been indicated that the iPhone 6 might sport a bezel-less display. In addition, another report claimed that the iPhone 6 will pack a larger 8-megapixel camera sensor, and will sport an aperture size of f/2.0, as compared to the iPhone 5's f/2.4 and iPhone 5s' f/2.2.

Further, the alleged iPhone 6 will sport OIS (optical image stabilisation) and a CMOS sensor manufactured by Sony, reports have indicated.

Read More

The Apple iPhone 5c best review

The Apple iPhone 5 is gone for good, abandoned and replaced by the fresh iPhone 5c. Initial rumors erroneously suggested that the lowercase letter stands for cheap, but it turned out that the Cupertino-based giant had color on its mind instead.
For the first time ever Apple broke pattern and released not one, but two new iPhones this year. The successor we all knew was coming - the iPhone 5s - is joined by the "unapologetically plastic" iPhone 5c, meaning that we no longer get last year's flagship as the second best iPhone on tap.

The Apple iPhone 5c
On paper, the Apple iPhone 5c stands as basically an iPhone 5 in a shiny new outfit that comes in a number of bright colors. And, if you think about it, that's the most logical thing to do - the colorful iPod lineup has been getting lots of praise on account of looks so it was about time Apple's smartphones got the same treatment. The iPhone 5c is so keen on showing how young and fresh it is, that the traditional black is not among its five paint jobs (white, blue, yellow, green and pink).
There's a catch though. The Apple 5c comes with a glossy plastic body instead of the sleek-looking aluminum chassis of the iPhone 5. The reasons for the switch will probably never be officially revealed, but it could be anything from supply issues to budget, to simply aiming to deliver a fresh new look to match the redesigned iOS 7.
Finding the truth is hardly the point here, though. What we are more interested in is whether the company that repeatedly bashed competitors about cheap plastic phones over the past few years has created a plastic phone that you can be proud to be seen in public with.
Before we continue, here's the Apple iPhone 5c review cheat sheet.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM and 3G support with 21 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
• LTE support where carriers support it and CDMA support when sold by CDMA carriers
• 4" 16M-color LED-backlit IPS TFT capacitive touchscreen of 640 x 1136px resolution
• 1.3 GHz dual-core Apple Swift CPU, PowerVR SGX543MP3 GPU, 1GB of LPDDR2 RAM, Apple A6 SoC
• iOS 7 with iCloud integration
• 8 MP autofocus camera with LED flash and touch focus
• 1080p video recording at 30fps
• 1.2MP secondary front-facing camera
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
• Bluetooth 4.0 LE, AirDrop file transfer and sharing between iOS 7-running devices
• GPS with A-GPS connectivity; digital compass
• 16/32 GB storage options
• Accelerometer, proximity sensor and a three-axis gyro sensor
• Active noise cancellation with a dedicated secondary microphone
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Excellent audio output quality
• Apple Maps with free voice-guided navigation in 56 countries
• Voice recognition, Siri virtual assistant
• Supports HD Voice (with carrier support)
• FaceTime video calls over Wi-Fi and cellular
• Free iWorks office suite
• Free iMovie and iPhoto apps

Main disadvantages

• Slippery glossy plastics prone to scratches and fingerprints
• Thicker and heavier than the iPhone 5
• Proprietary connector
• No FM radio
• No stereo speakers, feeble loudspeaker
• No expandable storage
• Stuck with iTunes for loading content
• Mono audio recording in videos
• Non user-replaceable battery

The 7th iOS iteration brought a long overdue UI overhaul to the iPhone lineup, with Apple keen to demonstrate that the innovation well hasn't dried up. Flat, colorful and with a ton of new features, iOS 7 certainly puts the iPhone 5c in a better position in the smartphone race. Apple is also sweetening the pot even further by giving you the complete iWorks office package, the iMovie video editor and the powerful iPhoto app for free - content that otherwise costs more than $40.

Apple iPhone 5c live pictures
Pricing remains the elephant in the room regarding the iPhone 5c, as it slides in just $100/€100 below the iPhone 5s. That's as much as the iPhone 5 would've cost had it not been discontinued and we have yet to see if this is a change for the better or worse. On one hand you are getting a fresh new design instead of one that's been around for almost a year, but on the other, you are losing the premium metal body while still paying the same price.
The high asking price also sends the iPhone 5c right in the way of the current Android and Windows Phone top-dogs, pushing its (now one-year-old) internals to the limit to keep up. It's certainly a curious starting point and we are excited to see how the iPhone 5c race develops. The unboxing and hardware tour is right after the break.

Read More

The Apple iPhone 5c best review

The Apple iPhone 5 is gone for good, abandoned and replaced by the fresh iPhone 5c. Initial rumors erroneously suggested that the lowercase letter stands for cheap, but it turned out that the Cupertino-based giant had color on its mind instead.
For the first time ever Apple broke pattern and released not one, but two new iPhones this year. The successor we all knew was coming - the iPhone 5s - is joined by the "unapologetically plastic" iPhone 5c, meaning that we no longer get last year's flagship as the second best iPhone on tap.

The Apple iPhone 5c
On paper, the Apple iPhone 5c stands as basically an iPhone 5 in a shiny new outfit that comes in a number of bright colors. And, if you think about it, that's the most logical thing to do - the colorful iPod lineup has been getting lots of praise on account of looks so it was about time Apple's smartphones got the same treatment. The iPhone 5c is so keen on showing how young and fresh it is, that the traditional black is not among its five paint jobs (white, blue, yellow, green and pink).
There's a catch though. The Apple 5c comes with a glossy plastic body instead of the sleek-looking aluminum chassis of the iPhone 5. The reasons for the switch will probably never be officially revealed, but it could be anything from supply issues to budget, to simply aiming to deliver a fresh new look to match the redesigned iOS 7.
Finding the truth is hardly the point here, though. What we are more interested in is whether the company that repeatedly bashed competitors about cheap plastic phones over the past few years has created a plastic phone that you can be proud to be seen in public with.
Before we continue, here's the Apple iPhone 5c review cheat sheet.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM and 3G support with 21 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
• LTE support where carriers support it and CDMA support when sold by CDMA carriers
• 4" 16M-color LED-backlit IPS TFT capacitive touchscreen of 640 x 1136px resolution
• 1.3 GHz dual-core Apple Swift CPU, PowerVR SGX543MP3 GPU, 1GB of LPDDR2 RAM, Apple A6 SoC
• iOS 7 with iCloud integration
• 8 MP autofocus camera with LED flash and touch focus
• 1080p video recording at 30fps
• 1.2MP secondary front-facing camera
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
• Bluetooth 4.0 LE, AirDrop file transfer and sharing between iOS 7-running devices
• GPS with A-GPS connectivity; digital compass
• 16/32 GB storage options
• Accelerometer, proximity sensor and a three-axis gyro sensor
• Active noise cancellation with a dedicated secondary microphone
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Excellent audio output quality
• Apple Maps with free voice-guided navigation in 56 countries
• Voice recognition, Siri virtual assistant
• Supports HD Voice (with carrier support)
• FaceTime video calls over Wi-Fi and cellular
• Free iWorks office suite
• Free iMovie and iPhoto apps

Main disadvantages

• Slippery glossy plastics prone to scratches and fingerprints
• Thicker and heavier than the iPhone 5
• Proprietary connector
• No FM radio
• No stereo speakers, feeble loudspeaker
• No expandable storage
• Stuck with iTunes for loading content
• Mono audio recording in videos
• Non user-replaceable battery

The 7th iOS iteration brought a long overdue UI overhaul to the iPhone lineup, with Apple keen to demonstrate that the innovation well hasn't dried up. Flat, colorful and with a ton of new features, iOS 7 certainly puts the iPhone 5c in a better position in the smartphone race. Apple is also sweetening the pot even further by giving you the complete iWorks office package, the iMovie video editor and the powerful iPhoto app for free - content that otherwise costs more than $40.

Apple iPhone 5c live pictures
Pricing remains the elephant in the room regarding the iPhone 5c, as it slides in just $100/€100 below the iPhone 5s. That's as much as the iPhone 5 would've cost had it not been discontinued and we have yet to see if this is a change for the better or worse. On one hand you are getting a fresh new design instead of one that's been around for almost a year, but on the other, you are losing the premium metal body while still paying the same price.
The high asking price also sends the iPhone 5c right in the way of the current Android and Windows Phone top-dogs, pushing its (now one-year-old) internals to the limit to keep up. It's certainly a curious starting point and we are excited to see how the iPhone 5c race develops. The unboxing and hardware tour is right after the break.

Read More