News : iFixit has begun Apple iPad 3 disassembly, secrets lie ahead

As usual, iFixit are doing what they do best - tearing stuff down. And now, after a short wait, the new 2012 iPad is in their possession being disassembled at the time of writing.

And right off the bat something interesting pops up. The ultra high-resolution display of the iPad 3 with a total of 3,145,728 pixels is actually manufactured by, wait for it... Samsung. Yes, according to the iFixit team, the model number found on the back of the 9.7-inch Retina display responds as a Samsung-made LCD panel.

The other surprise comes from the battery department, where the disassembly reveals a 43Whr battery, instead of the 42.5Whr Apple has disclosed. And if you are more of a mAh person, the capacity of the iPad 3 battery is 11,560mAh.

Currently, the iFixit team is working on uncovering the new iPad's logic board, which ought to reveal 1GB of RAM, as recent reports have suggested.

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Nvidia Wants Proof That Apple’s A5X Is Really 4X’s More Powerful Than The Tegra 3

If you tuned into Apple’s “The New iPad” announcement earlier today, you may have noticed a huge 20 foot chart that showed their new A5X processor boasting 4x’s the performance of comparable quad-cores, namely, Nvidia’s Tegra 3 processor. But you know who really noticed? Yup. Nvidia.

In an interview with ZDNet, Nvidia rep Ken Brown said that although “flattering” that they were mentioned during the press event, Apple failed to back up these claims with neither hide nor hair of a footnote, denoting proper benchmark tests.

"We have to understand what the application was that was used. Was it one or a variety of applications? What drivers were used? There are so many issues to get into with benchmark."

We’ll have to wait for round 2 once The New iPad officially goes on sale and benchmarking applications can finally put these claims to the test. What do you guys think the outcome will be?

[ZDNet | Via Electronista]

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News : Android allows applications direct access to your photos, too

Just a couple of days after uncovering the security loophole in iOS, whereby an application can copy the user's entire photo library and upload it simply by asking for location information in photos and videos,The New York Times is back with similar issue found on Android devices as well.

In case of Android, the issue is a bit more worrying, as was demonstrated by the Times, using the same method they used with iOS. They built a simple time app for Android, which, in its permission dialogue, made no mention of accessing the photos on the device but simply for Internet access. This app was then able to not only access the photos on the device but also post it on a website, all behind the user's back.

When The Verge contacted Google regarding this, it gave the typical developer argument of it being a feature and not a bug. Google said Android was designed in a way to facilitate access to your files because older devices had memory cards in them. But now that more and more Android device are having a fixed internal memory, the will be looking into adding permission for apps to access images.

Like we mentioned in our previous article regarding the iOS bug, this is no different than the way images can be access on your desktop computer. However, with Google now monitoring apps using its Bouncer program, like Apple, it too has fewer excuses to allow such behavior from apps on its store.

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Apple iOS versus Android « Cellular « MyBroadband Tech and IT News

Things are looking a little rough for Android right now. Its increased popularity is not only attracting millions of new fans but is also attracting unwanted patent attention from competitors unhappy with its success.Earlier this week Apple won a significant patent claim against HTC, one of the main proponents of Googles Android OS. The win, over two software-related patents, positions Apple to go after other handset makers that use similar technologies.

Apple already has pending cases against Samsung and Motorola, both heavy Android users.This preliminary ruling is an important win for Apple as it looks likely that almost all Android devices will infringe on the two patents, filed in 1994 and 1996.

If this is the case then Apples suits against Samsung and Motorola would be significantly strengthened.Although the real focus of attention for Apple is actually Android, the strategy is not to go after Android (and therefore Google) directly but to make life difficult for smartphone makers, and discourage them from producing Android-based devices.Globally Android is racing ahead of Apples iOS in market share with Gartner estimating that Android now holds 38% market share and Apples iOS 16%. HTC and Samsung in particular have focused much of their energy on the Android market over the past couple of years and played a significant part in Androids success to date. Now it could earn them ever increasing amounts of negative attention from Apple and other software makers.Microsofts Android windfallIn HTCs case this is already happening with HTC reportedly paying Microsoft $5 for each Android phone it sells. Although HTC hasnt publicly admitted to this, all evidence suggests that this is true.

The agreement goes back to April 2010 when HTC and Microsoft signed a patent agreement that provides broad coverage under Microsofts patent portfolio for HTCs mobile phones running the Android mobile platform. Under the terms of the agreement, Microsoft will receive royalties from HTC.Ironically this means that Microsoft is probably making more money from Androids success than it is from selling its own Windows Phone 7-based devices. Estimates of Windows Phone 7 sales range between 2 and 4 million devices to date. Compare that with Android which has more than 500,000 devices activated daily. At $5 each, thats $2.5 million for Microsofts coffers each day.Users seem largely unconcerned by the patent wars going on behind the scenes in the smartphone market, even though at least one survey suggests that US users have a preference for Apples iOS over Android.

The reality is that Android is now available in so many different devices that it is far easier for consumers to buy an Android phone than it is to buy an iPhone. Also, Android is shipping on high-end smartphones, entry-level smartphones and tablet PCs and so covers most of the mobile device market.The remainder of 2011 is sure to see an increasing number of patent battles in the smartphone market as all the big players fight for their niche.

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Apple iOS versus Android « Cellular « MyBroadband Tech and IT News

Things are looking a little rough for Android right now. Its increased popularity is not only attracting millions of new fans but is also attracting unwanted patent attention from competitors unhappy with its success.Earlier this week Apple won a significant patent claim against HTC, one of the main proponents of Googles Android OS. The win, over two software-related patents, positions Apple to go after other handset makers that use similar technologies.

Apple already has pending cases against Samsung and Motorola, both heavy Android users.This preliminary ruling is an important win for Apple as it looks likely that almost all Android devices will infringe on the two patents, filed in 1994 and 1996.

If this is the case then Apples suits against Samsung and Motorola would be significantly strengthened.Although the real focus of attention for Apple is actually Android, the strategy is not to go after Android (and therefore Google) directly but to make life difficult for smartphone makers, and discourage them from producing Android-based devices.Globally Android is racing ahead of Apples iOS in market share with Gartner estimating that Android now holds 38% market share and Apples iOS 16%. HTC and Samsung in particular have focused much of their energy on the Android market over the past couple of years and played a significant part in Androids success to date. Now it could earn them ever increasing amounts of negative attention from Apple and other software makers.Microsofts Android windfallIn HTCs case this is already happening with HTC reportedly paying Microsoft $5 for each Android phone it sells. Although HTC hasnt publicly admitted to this, all evidence suggests that this is true.

The agreement goes back to April 2010 when HTC and Microsoft signed a patent agreement that provides broad coverage under Microsofts patent portfolio for HTCs mobile phones running the Android mobile platform. Under the terms of the agreement, Microsoft will receive royalties from HTC.Ironically this means that Microsoft is probably making more money from Androids success than it is from selling its own Windows Phone 7-based devices. Estimates of Windows Phone 7 sales range between 2 and 4 million devices to date. Compare that with Android which has more than 500,000 devices activated daily. At $5 each, thats $2.5 million for Microsofts coffers each day.Users seem largely unconcerned by the patent wars going on behind the scenes in the smartphone market, even though at least one survey suggests that US users have a preference for Apples iOS over Android.

The reality is that Android is now available in so many different devices that it is far easier for consumers to buy an Android phone than it is to buy an iPhone. Also, Android is shipping on high-end smartphones, entry-level smartphones and tablet PCs and so covers most of the mobile device market.The remainder of 2011 is sure to see an increasing number of patent battles in the smartphone market as all the big players fight for their niche.

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