Apple iPhone 5 Cases Being Mass Produced, Reveal Details

July 30th, 2011 · 17 notes · #apple #iphone #4 #5 #case #china #produced #home #button #camera #parts #rumors

A United Kingdom phone site revealed Chinese manufacturers’ case plans for Apple’s iPhone 5.  William Judd, editor of the site, claims the blueprints were sent to him by different manufacturers, although it is unclear why.

“If these images are authentic – and we have every reason to believe that they are – then the iPhone 5 is a radical evolution of the iPhone concept, and a bigger departure from the iPhone 4 than previous case images have shown,” Judd wrote.

The images, which can be viewed by clicking here, show an increase in screen size from 3.5 inches to 4.0 inches. However, the size of the phone itself seems to have stayed the same. This means the bezel on the device has been removed, accomplishing an edge-to-edge display. 

It appears that iPhone 5 will also return to curved edges like Apple’s previous iPhone models, excluding iPhone 4. Apple may also use a curved glass on the back of iPhone 5, as reported by DigiTimes in late May. 

Also of note: The first case design shows an oval, perhaps a multi-touch gesture area, where the home button should be. 

Given Apple’s recent obsession with multi-touch gestures, it is likely that the home button will be replaced by a glass gesture area similar to that of Apple’s MacBook Pro and MacBook Air.

The cases also fit the alleged iPhone 5 camera parts posted in mid-May by Apple.pro. M.I.C. Gadget, a Chinese technology blog, is now reporting that the cases are “all over” mainland China. 

Interview with Sebastiaan de With about Apple Tablet Rumors

January 14th, 2009 · 8 notes · #Sebastiaan #de #With #Apple #GUI #iPad #Tablet #Rumors #UI

So it’s the beginning of 2009, and Apple is supposedly going to release a tablet at an event scheduled for the 26th of this month (Now 27th). The Apple tablet rumors have swirled around since the death (kind-of) of the Apple Newton. It was not until late 2007 that rumors really started to fly. Several different mockups have popped up in the past couple of years. A mockup by Chris Messina stands out. It was created in November of 2007. Have a look here. Chris not only creates a beautiful concept, but gives also gives a description of what will be inside. He specifically notes that it will run iPhone OS, and says if Apple were to make a tablet, it should run iPhone OS too.

This has sparked lots of debate within the community. Most of the population has said iPhone OS, like Chris has, but that would be very inefficient. the iPhone 3GS, which runs at $199 USD runs the iPhone OS lightning fast. If Apple is going to build a tablet with a price of at least $500 USD (That’s what the WSJ said) don’t you think it would be smarter to put something better on it? Perhaps Mac OS X? (I’m assuming the innards will be pretty decent).

The large group of Mac users looking forward to a tablet from Apple are graphic designers. Macs have continued to gain market share and support from graphic designers because the operating system handles pixels, colors, and graphics in general better than Windows. Graphic designers live by Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop; does iPhone OS run the full version of either of those? No, therefore, Apple would miss the mark and disappoint a large group of the people who would like this tablet.

To end this post I have interviewed Sebastiaan de With, an extremely talented designer to find out what he would like to see from the tablet. Enjoy.

1. Before we begin, I’d like to note that you were offered a job at Apple, could you tell readers that are unfamiliar with this what kind of work they wanted you to do?
They wanted me to take a place at their OS X design team. This involves doing work on Mac OS X; everything from how Safari looks, for instance, to the Dock, menubar and other UI elements. Almost too much to list :). What it does *not* include are the iLife apps, and the ‘ProApps’ - these have their own design groups. I’d like to go over all the reasons why I’d have liked to work there and why I didn’t go for it eventually, but that warranted an entire blog post of its own on my website, so I won’t get into that.

2. What is your current setup and how does it help you with your work?
I use a 30” Apple Cinema Display (I’d seriously like an LED model, but I won’t step down from 2560x1600. It’s liberating, and the colors are still great) and an eight-core Mac Pro. I prefer it over an iMac, because it lets me install my own upgrades. I went from a 500 GB drive and 4 GB of RAM to two TB of storage and 16 GB of RAM, which makes a huge difference!I also love gaming, and it’s a beast with the right graphics card.As a second monitor / drawing utensil I use the Wacom Cintiq 12WX. It’s a drawing tablet with a screen. I hate regular tablets, but for sketching and doodles it’s a great little device. I don’t ‘draw’ my regular work with it though. For that I use a recently acquired Razer Mamba mouse, which offers fantastic precision. I’m extremely picky when it comes to mouses, so I go through at least two to three per year.I also use a unibody 17” Macbook Pro extensively. Its high-resolution screen and amazing battery life are great.

3. Would a tablet replace a current item in your setup? Could you find an Apple tablet useful in your workflow? What would you use it for?
It wouldn’t really replace anything. If I had a 13” Macbook, it might replace that. I’d obviously -have- to get the tablet because I need it for design work :) I’ve already had offers from people who aren’t even sure about the device yet, but want designs done in advance to be ready when it hits.I’d probably use it for video consumption (I love anime and TV series), strategy games (huge possibilities) and browsing the web. And pretending I’m in a science fiction movie, as well.

4. What do you think Apple is going to put into the tablet?
A screen. Perhaps a touchscreen.No, in all seriousness, a top-grade capacitive touchscreen like the iPhone’s, at about 10”, with some internal storage, probably on par with the iPod touch’s internals or more. Some sort of fast mobile chipset that allows for a long battery life would seem logical, but I am also quite sure they’ll make sure it has some punch in the graphics department. Apple’s seen the opportunity games have now, and I am sure they won’t let go of it anymore.Apart from that, the most amazing software. It’s not a Mac, it’s not an iPhone, so that leaves us with something new. Since they had a chance to re-imagine the way software looks and works for the iPhone, I am sure they’ll do the same here, building on some conventions from the iPhone and far less from the Mac. The only avenue to put software on it will obviously be the App Store, but I do hope for wireless syncing – it might be a nice alternative to having such a huge clunker tethered to your Mac.

5. What would you like to see in the Apple tablet? (Size, specs, OS)
A bit over 10”. Very little bezel, mostly screen. Fingerprint resistance. An X86 processor (Moblin would be cool) or some sort of power to virtualize old Windows games (hello, Command and Conquer and Total Annihilation). I wouldn’t bet on that though - it’s probably something more power efficient, which’d also be welcome. I’d love 3G connectivity, but I am not sure if that’s in the cards. Lots of RAM for multi-tasking would also be neat.My biggest dream though? What I detailed in my MobileMe Home post on my blog: total data portability, having my files anywhere on my tablet, my media in ‘the cloud’, being able to listen to my music and watch all my videos on demand. Real sci-fi material. That’s a dream, but a sweet one. Only a tablet can pull that off nicely.The OS? Eh, it’ll simply be ‘tablet OS’, and I trust Apple has done a kick-ass job on it. They’ve been working on it for a few years now.

6. What is one thing (or a couple of things) that the Apple tablet must have for you to buy it? Would you buy it regardless of what was inside it?
It would have to be shipping, that’s pretty much all. As I mentioned, people are so crazy about it already I’m sure I’ll be designing a lot for it. As a consumer, though: it’d have to be made clear to me why I’d want it, and I’m sure Apple would make that very clear.

7. Any last things you want to add?
I’ve seen a lot of people misunderstanding the tablet. I feel like it’s obvious that it is not a replacement for the Mac or even part of the Mac lineup. It’s not a ‘big iPhone’ either. It’s something new. People should stop treating it as a small extension of Apple’s existing platforms. And that’s probably also what’ll make it so great.To learn more about Sebastiaan’s work and talent visit his company website or his blog (he’s got a Twitter too).