Rumors of Apple finally adding some variety to its iPhone lineup and introducing a more affordable alternative to its flagship model have been following the company for months. We've heard plenty of theories about just when such a model might be released, as well as speculation as to the steps Apple would take to minimize cost. A lot of that talk has focused on the idea of the heavy use of plastic for the handset's materials. Now we get the chance to see what Apple's design could actually look like, upon the release of a picture supposedly depicting this budget iPhone's rear casing. Even ...

I was having one of my rare introspective moments the other day when I suddenly realized something. This is something that has been building for quite some time. It has also been expressed by a number of technology folk I interact with. It’s an uncomfortable feeling, not exactly boredom, but it's definitely a feeling of discontent with the mobile industry. Everywhere you look in the mobile industry in 2013 there is nothing but compromise. Every phone has some sort of trade-off. You can have this, but not this. You can have that, but not that. Pretty much every phone out there has some ...

We've had a lot of reasons so far to think that Apple might be planning to seriously revamp the design of its iconic tablet for the release of the iPad 5, chopping away at the previously big bezel to end up with a face that more closely resembles the iPad mini than any earlier full-size iPads. Indeed, last week we got to check out a leaked image purporting to show just such an iPad 5 bezel. Today we get a little more support for this change, upon some images showing off a new case shape to accommodate the new design. Early third-party case designs for Apple products can be a little ...

Everyone's curious to see what changes Apple will be making for the iPhone 5S, so understandably, images of such components make for pretty hot rumors at the moment. Of course, they're only worth our time if they're legitimate, which has us thinking twice about the latest offering to surface, purporting to show the main circuit board for Apple's next iPhone. So, why be so suspicious? Well, this image comes from an unknown source, claiming to be an Apple employee, but that's apparently wholly unverified. Then, he provides the image to a website focused on Android phones, not iOS devices. ...

One of the consistent threads in the rumors we've been following regarding Apple's next iPad – beyond it just being more like a jumbo-sized iPad mini – was that we should look for a thinner, lighter design. That's easy enough to say, but what could Apple actually do in order to implement such changes? A new report focuses on the idea of Apple trying out some new backlighting in order to shave precious millimeters off the tablet's cross-section. According to analysts at NPD DisplaySearch, there are a couple things Apple could do with the iPad 5's display, and beyond just using a thinner ...

At the core of every smartphone, phablet, tablet, computer, or piece of electronic equipment is a processor. Processors aren't as simple as a single chip anymore. The processor inside mobile devices today is what's called a "System on a chip", or SoC for short. This SoC includes a lot of "processors". Some handle video, some handle traditional "CPU" tasks. Others take care of your cellular, WiFi, and Bluetooth radios. Still more process audio, and others monitor and handle the vast array of sensors that are tucked away snugly inside modern phones and tablets. Each SoC has its advantages ...

Stuff comes up, folks. Sometimes you've got a pressing appointment in Romania, or a meeting scheduled in Media, PA. Sometimes you're at the day job, other times you're off the grid somewhere in the country. Other times you're buying a car. These things happen. Fortunately for us, these things don't usually happen all at once, which means the Pocketnow Weekly podcast usually features more than two people on the air. But today, listeners, Lady Luck was not with us. Today, Sam the Scheduler was out sick, because every member of the Pocketnow team was otherwise engaged when it came time to ...

Most of the next full-sized iPad rumors seem to agree on the fact that the 9.7-incher will take a lot of design cues from Apple's iPad mini, as it should. If the two images we're seeing today (below and above) turn out to be the real deal than this will become a reality. We're allegedly seeing the front panel of a (possibly next) iPad and the side bezels appear to me narrower than what we've seen over the years on previous models. The iPad mini has a narrower bezel and a similar design for the iPad 5 (or whatever the name will be) will allow Apple to reduce the physical dimensions of the ...