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Tim Cook's Goldman Sachs keynote

Jools Whitehorn — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 08:47:00 GMT

Apple CEO Tim Cook took to the stage at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference last night to deliver the keynote speech.

During the speech he covered topics from Apple factory working conditions, to how he intends to run the company in the absence of late CEO Steve Jobs.

Company direction

When asked what he was determined to maintain now that Steve Jobs is no longer around, Cook said: "Steve grilled in all of us over many years that the company should revolve around great product, and that we should stay extremely focused on just a few things rather than try to do so many that we do nothing well. We should only go into markets where we can make a significant contribution to society, not just sell a lot of products.

"And so, these things, along with keeping excellence as an expectation of everything at Apple, these are the things that I focus on because I think those are the things that make Apple this magical place. We're always focused on the future. We don't sit and think about how great things were yesterday. I love that trait. I think it's the thing that drive us all forward."

Price competition

Responding to a question about tablets, Cook went into why Apple isn't in a hurry to start a price war with competitors, saying: "Price is rarely the most important thing. A cheap product might sell some units. Somebody gets it home and they feel great when they pay the money, but then they get it home and use it, and the joy is gone.

"The joy is gone every day that they use it until they aren't using it anymore. You don't keep remembering 'I got a good deal!' because you hate it!"

Factory working conditions

Working conditions at factories manufacturing Apple products has been a hot news topic recently, and Cook gave a statement about the company line during his speech.

Addressing a question on the issue, he said: "Apple takes working conditions very, very seriously, and we have for a very long time… Our commitment is simple: Every worker has the right to a fair and safe work environment, free of discrimination, where they can earn competitive wages and they can voice their concerns freely.

"Apple suppliers must live up to this to do business with Apple. If we find a supplier that intentionally hires underage labor, it's a firing offense."

This tallies with Tim Cook's recent email to Apple staff assuring them that he was taking the matter in hand and his invitation to the Fair Labor Association to inspect working conditions for itself.

Updated: iPhone 5 release date: when is it?

Dan Grabham — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:56:00 GMT

Apple held a press conference on Tuesday 4 October, where the company unveiled the iPhone 4S. Until that point, rumours abounded that we were going to see the launch of the iPhone 5.

Now that the iPhone 4S has broken cover, we can turn our collective eye to the the iPhone 5 release date - when is it?

Given the pattern of Apple's iPhone launches, we're expecting the next-gen iPhone 5 to debut in mid to late 2012. We reckon it's most likely to be shown off at Apple's Worldwide Developer Event (WWDC), which usually takes place in early June.

On 18 October 2011, we reported on sources who claim that the revised iPhone 5 release date is now set for summer 2011, after the anticipated handset hit delays back in February which stopped it from being ready for the October event.

Ashok Kumar, an analyst at Rodman & Renshaw, claims the iPhone 5 was "the last project that Steve Jobs was intimately involved with".

Below are the earlier rumours we reported on leading up to the iPhone 4S announcement.

Update: The Japanese Apple site has outed the iPhone 4S, giving a release date of 14 October. No confirmation of an iPhone 4S UK release date but we're betting it won't be far off.

The CEO of France Telecom, parent company of Orange, has given a pretty clear indication that the iPhone 5 release date is set for mid-October, going as far as giving an actual date when he thinks the iPhone 5 launch will be,

Speaking to French media, the chatty Stéphane Richard (who, lest we forget, is quite happy to wax lyrical on Apple's plans), said that his network had heard word of Apple's iPhone 5 coming soon:

"If we believe what we have been told, the iPhone 5 will be released on 15 October," said the CEO, declining to give further details on who or why had told him that

So could the iPhone 5 release date really be 15 October?

What is more curious is that date lands on a Saturday – once again making it look like we've got misinformation over the iPhone 5 release date, as Apple prefers making everyone skive off work to go and queue up outside its doors to be among the first to get the new device.

The International Business Times reports that the iPhone 5 release date

Store closures for 5 October iPhone 5 release date?

MailOnline reports that some stores in the US have been closed "for renovation" ahead of an iPhone 5 release date on 5 October. "A voicemail at one of the San Francisco stores simply said that the store was 'currently closed while we undergo a minor update to the Apple store. We will reopen on Wednesday, October 5" says the paper.

Staff at Apple Stores in the UK have been told not to take any holiday in the first two weeks of October, prompting even more speculation that the iPhone UK release date will be around this time.

Likewise Beatweek reports that AT&T has demanded that employees can't take holiday in October and is bringing in mandatory overtime giving further sway to an October iPhone 5 release date.

Whenever the iPhone 5 release date is, be sure to check out our rumour round up video:

brightcove : 1027846751001

Updated: iPhone 5 rumours: what you need to know

Dan Grabham — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:49:00 GMT

iPhone 5 rumours: iPhone 4S and new rumours

As it happened, there was no iPhone 5 in 2011 after all, but the company did announce the iPhone 4S.

However, the iPhone 5 is still on the cards - we're expecting it to debut in the middle of this year. So we've gathered together all the latest iPhone 5 rumours and rounded them up below.

First though, why not read our complete iPhone 4S review?

It's the phone that appeared when the whole world was looking forward to the iPhone 5 anyway, so make up your own mind whether to make the jump to Apple's latest now or save those pennies for the 2012 iPhone 5 release.

brightcove : 1212352584001

iPhone 5 release date

UPDATE: For the latest on the new iPhone 5's release date, check out our regularly updated article iPhone 5 release date.

Rumours that we reported on 18 October claim an iPhone 5 release date of Summer 2012. Analyst Ashok Kumar claimed that the absent iPhone 5 was meant to be the big announcement at the recent event where the iPhone 4S was launched.

iPhone 5 form factor

Unlike the iPhone 4S, it'll be a completely new design from what has gone before, so that means an entirely new casing as we saw with the iPhone 3G and, later, the iPhone 4.

Interestingly, someone who claimed to have seen a larger-screened iPhone 5 prototype said in November 2011 that Steve Jobs canned the new handset and opted for the iPhone 4S because of the larger screen size of the new device. According to Business Insider, it was feared that a new size would create a two-tier iPhone ecosystem.

Beatweek also claimed in November 2011 that the 5-inch was scrapped "because Apple wouldn't be able to do it properly" this year. However, the Daily Mail (make of that what you will) then suggested that a four-inch version was likely and that Sony has already shipped top secret demo screens to Apple.

iPhone 5 specs

Based on the roadmap of mobile chip design specialist ARM (of which Apple is a licensee), we'll see a quad-core processor debut in the iPhone 5 - probably called the Apple A6. We know that we'll see other quad core handsets debut in 2012, so it's not too much of a stretch to say that the iPhone 5 will be the same.

iPhone 5 will have 4G/LTE support

With many 4G handsets already announced in the US, it can't be long before the iPhone supports 4G technologies - even if we won't even have a UK spectrum auction until 2012.

4G mobile broadband and LTE explained

Cnet.com quotes Will Strauss from analyst firm Forward Concepts, who says that the next iPhone will feature LTE technologies."They're saving iPhone 5 for the LTE version and that won't be out until next spring," said Strauss.

Steve Jobs' iPhone 5 legacy

Many sites have reported that Steve Jobs was working hard on the iPhone 5 project, which will apparently be a "radical redesign". We shall see...

iPhone 5 rumours: old rumours

Below are the rumours that we reported on leading up to the iPhone 4S press conference.

iPhone 5 (or the iPhone 4S, as some are calling it) rumours have been flying thick and fast for months.

And now Apple has finally confirmed a press conference for Tuesday 4 October, where the company will almost certainly unveil the iPhone 5.

The invitation hints that it will be one phone that is announced, which is likely to be the iPhone 5 rather than the much-discussed iPhone 4S.

Check out what TechRadar is hoping makes it into the next iPhone, in our video wish list:

brightcove : 1027846751001

And if you're in a bit of a hurry, we've also got a handy iPhone 5 video detailing the latest rumours on release date, spec and more - so check if out for a quick fix of next-gen Apple fun:

brightcove : 1161523880001

Although we are still waiting for news on an iPhone 5 UK release date, we reckon an iPhone 5 release of late October is likely. It's possible that the iPhone 5 release date is November, but it's more likely set for October.

In mid September the CEO of France Telecom (the parent company of Orange) got specific when commenting on the iPhone 5 release date, saying "If we believe what we have been told, the iPhone 5 will be released on 15 October."

Price cuts of the iPhone 4 in August hinted at an autumn release for the iPhone 5 or iPhone 4S and Apple reportedly began pushing up the amount of orders for the handset.

In early September, Japanese site Macotakara reported that the iPhone 5 had entered production, saying that Foxconn and Pegatron had begun assembly on the new handset. A few days later, Digitimes wrote that Foxconn was producing 150,000 units of the new iPhone per day.

Rumours of a UK Apple Store holiday ban also emerged on 26 September. It was also reported that Telefonica, which owns the O2 network, is set to begin scaling back iPhone stock in advance of "the launch of a new smartphone".

However, it may not all be plain sailing for Apple, with rumours that Samsung will seek a sales ban courtesy of an injunction - another piece of the increasingly mixed up lawsuit puzzle between the pair.

The iPhone 5 will debut alongside iOS 5 and iCloud

Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer was asked during an earnings call why he was suggesting a 12 per cent drop in revenues for the Q3 financial period - a traditionally robust time thanks to the scores of people buying the latest iPhone.

He said that there is "a lot going on in the fall with iOS 5 and iCloud" but added there will be a "future product transition that we will not talk about today".

That's almost certainly the new iPhone 5. And iOS 5 will arrive alongside it as well iCloud.

Apple says it is "cutting the cable" with iOS 5 - just as well, as it claimed the iPad 2 was the first post-PC device earlier in the year. OS updates can be delivered over the air - you'll just received what's changed rather than the usual 600MB download - and devices can be activated without plugging them into iTunes.

You can also now create and delete iOS calendars and mailboxes too, so you really can devolve your device from your PC or Mac.

"You can activate on the device and you're ready to go," explained Apple's Scott Forstall.

"Software updates are now over the air. So you no longer need to plug in to update your software. And they're now Delta updates. Instead of downloading the whole OS, you only download what's changed," he continued.

The Wall Street Journal has previously reported that: "Apple is also developing a new iPhone model, said people briefed on the phone. One person familiar said the fifth-generation iPhone would be a different form factor than those that are currently available… it was unclear how soon that version would be available to Verizon or other carriers."

This has since been backed up by reports from Engadget, which state the design will be a 'total rethink'.

Chinese case manufacturers have been sent design briefings of the new iPhone 5 chassis and apparently feature a return to the old days of iPhone design. But could iPhone 5 really have a curved back? We can't begin to tell you how sceptical we are over such a 'leak', given Apple's desperation to keep its forthcoming designs under wraps.

However, earlier reports from China backed up the larger-screened, metal chassis-sporting iPhone 5 rumours, so the redesign still seems firmly on the cards.

Interestingly, an Apple patent that we reported on on 7 April 2011 suggests that we could see the bezel put to good use on the new iPhone. The patent describes how visual indicators and touch-sensitive buttons could be incorporated to the space around the iPhone screen.

Will iPhone 5 actually be an iPhone 4S?

Of course, since the iPhone 3G was followed by the 3GS it's possible the new iPhone won't be a total refresh and we'll see an iPhone 4S (or iPhone 4GS) before an iPhone 5.

An iPhone 4S looked more likely on 16 May 2011 after analyst Peter Misek wrote: "According to our industry checks, the device should be called iPhone 4S and include minor cosmetic changes, better cameras, A5 dual-core processor, and HSPA+ support."

Rumours that we covered on 3 May 2011, suggest that there may even be two versions of the new iPhone: a 'standard' iPhone 5 and an iPhone 5 'pro'. Apparently, Apple is buying in components of differing quality, and those parts wouldn't be required for a single phone.

A white iPhone 5

The Economic Daily News is reporting that white iPhone 5 glass is being shipped, with a supplier called Wintek being the sole touch panel vendor for the white iPhone.

On 12 September 2011, a page which briefly popped up on Vodafone's site referenced the iPhone 5 in white as well as black.

iPhone 5 will support 1080p HD

It's fairly likely - given that the iPad 2 supports Full HD - that the new iPhone will do the same.

According to the Chinese Economic Daily News (via AppleInsider), with the exception of Qualcomm chipsets - which would replace the current Infineon chipsets in the iPhone 4 - Apple's sticking with the same suppliers for the 2011 iPhone 5G components.

We'd expect the basics of the iPhone 5 specs to get a bump - more memory, faster processor, and more storage. The A5 dual-core ARM processor from the iPad 2 is extremely likely to be included.

The specs? A new antenna, 1.2GHz processor (possibly dual-core) and a larger screen: 3.7" instead of 3.5". The iPhone 5 may also be made from a new kind of alloy, or maybe meat.

On 12 September 2011, a page briefly appeared on the Vodafone site referencing the iPhone 5 in 16GB and 32GB storage, and in white as well as black. Other sources expect double the RAM of the iPhone 4, so that would be 1GB instead of 512MB.

On 20 September a bunch of internal iPhone 5 components were supposedly shown off.

iPhone 5 screen

Various sources claim the iPhone 5 will feature a larger, 4-inch screen. Digitimes quotes the source as saying that Apple is expanding the screen size "to support the tablet PC market as the vendor only has a 9.7-inch iPad in the market."

On 23 May, we reported on rumours that the iPhone 5 could feature a curved glass screen. These rumours also came from Digitimes, which said that Apple has purchased between 200 and 300 special glass cutting machines because they're too costly for the manufacturers to invest in.

The iPhone 5 or iPhone 4S will also get a massive graphical boost as it moves to a dual-core GPU - this will herald true 1080p output from the new device.

iPhone 5 digital wallet - NFC

There's been some speculation that Apple might include Near Field Communication (NFC) technology in the iPhone 5G, turning it into a kind of credit/debit card.

However, with the tech being inside the Google Nexus S, the time for NFC may finally be here.

On 24 June 2011 it was reported that the Google Wallet mobile payment platform could feature on the new iPhone. Eric Schmidt admitted that Google is looking to port the software to other manufacturers.

However, on 31 January 2012 9to5Mac claimed to have spoken with a well-connected developer who disclosed information received from Apple iOS engineers saying they are "heavily into NFC".

The developer in question has not been named, but is working on a dedicated iOS app which includes NFC reading for mobile transactions. When questioned how confident he was on the information he had received his reply was "Enough to bet the app development on".

iPhone 5 camera

Sony makes the camera for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. Speaking at a live Wall Street Journal event, Sony's Sir Howard Stringer was talking about the company's camera image sensor facility in Sendai, a town that was recently ravaged by the recent Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

According to 9to5Mac, he said something along the lines of, "Our best sensor technology is built in one of the [tsunami] affected factories. Those go to Apple for their iPhones… or iPads. Isn't that something? They buy our best sensors from us."

Sources have also suggested the new iPhone could have an 8MP camera. Indeed, Sony announced in January 2012 that it had developed new back-illuminated stacked CMOS image sensors which are smaller in size.

iPhone 5 price

If the iPhone 5 is an evolutionary step like the move from the iPhone 3G to the iPhone 3GS then we'd expect the price to stay more or less the same, although in the UK higher VAT rates may well mean a higher price tag.

iPhone 5 review

TechRadar is renowned for it's detailed phone reviews where we look at every aspect of a handset, and we'll be bringing you a full, in-depth iPhone 5 review when we get our hands on one.

Updated: iPad 3 rumours: what you need to know

Dan Grabham — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:12:00 GMT

iPad 3 release date, processor and more

The Apple iPad 2 has been out for almost a year now, so it's nearly time to say hello to iPad 3.

The web is teeming with rumours about the new iPad 3 processor, cameras and display, so we've gathered together as many details as we can on its possible specifications.

Of course, some of these can be taken with a pinch of salt, but there's definite patterns occuring and we'd say the final iPad 3 release won't be that far removed from many of these rumours

So what's the word on the street about the next iPad?

brightcove : 1443300330001

Apple iPad 3 release date

The iPad 3 release date looks set for March or April 2012, with an iPad 3 announcement in March to coincide with the release of iOS 5.1.

Website YourDailyMac has unearthed iOS 5.1 carrier profiles which carry the possible iPad 3 release date of 9 March 2012 in their names.

However, we'd expect the iPad 3 announcement to be in February, with the iPad 3 US release date in early March and the iPad 3 UK release date in late March.

Apple news site iMore says the announcement will be 7 March, citing sources "which have proved reliable in the past" have confirmed the date ahead of any official announcement from Cupertino.

Digitimes reported in late November 2011 that panel makers had already started shipping panels for the new iPad 3 - a million in October and two million in November.

Foxconn, Apple's major manufacturing partner, is said to have started production of the iPad 3 in January. 2012. A source at one of Apple's partners also told Bloomberg also stated that the company began production of the iPad 3 in January, with a view to reaching full volumes in February.

Digitimes says the new model is expected to meet the heady heights of 9.5 to 9.8 million units over the course of Q1 2012.

The Apple iPad 3 will have a quad-core processor

It's probable that the iPad 3 will have a brand spanking new processor, Apple's A6 - which will surely be a quad-core ARM-based processor. Quad-core designs are coming from various ARM partners and the Tegra 3 has already been launched by Nvidia, as well as the Snapdragon S4 from Qualcomm.

According to the Korea Times in November 2011, the A6 processors are to be manufactured by Samsung, despite the companies' ongoing patent battles.

Apple iPad 3 display

A retina display was widely predicted for the iPad 2, but of course the current iPad doesn't have a double-resolution display: for now, that's something you'll only get in the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. Could an iPad 3 Retina Display be on the way? It's the very first thing on our iPad 3 wish list.

The exciting news is that it looks as though it is happening, with Apple reportedly testing suppliers' current shipments of 2048 x 1536 resolution 9.7-inch displays. Now that iBooks 2 has been launched (as of 19 January 2012), we've also seen further references to 2x iPad screen images - these will, most likely, be for iPad 3.

However, it's not always been plain sailing for the display - rumours continued over the summer and autumn of 2011 that the retina display in the iPad 3 was continuing to be a challenge.

Back in May 2011, we reported that the iPad 3 could launch with a Samsung-made AMOLED screen, following rumours that Apple was in talks on the matter with Samsung execs. There have also been more LG and Samsung rumours, too.

However, according to the Wall Street Journal in late November 2011, Sharp will manufacture panels for the device. Apparently Apple is investing in infrastructure at Sharp's LCD plant. Further rumours said that Apple is looking to implement some nifty dual LED lightbar technology into the iPad 3, apparently in a bid to counter-balance the brightness issue that the Apple tablet may have, due to its super-high pixel density.

A part leak in early December again pointed to a Sharp-manufactured 2048x1536 retina display and dual lightbar.

iPAD 2: We wanted a retina screen, but didn't get it - what about for iPad 3?

Will the iPad 3 actually be called iPad 2S?

An iPad case maker in China, Chinee, has started to sell a cover for a device it's calling 'iPad 2S'.

Case manufactures have a good history of being on the money when it comes to pre-empting Apple's hardware plans, with last year's iPhone 5-gate being an exception to the rule.

There is no confusion of where the iPad 2S name derives from – following the way of the iPhone as we saw Apple announce the iPhone 4S last year.

According to several rumours the iPad 2S will sport the same look as the 2, with a boost in internal gubbins but slightly more portly in depth.

There may be an iPad 3 LTE version

Persistent rumours suggest LTE support will be provided for the US. Great for the US, though it will leave the UK behind as there's no 4G connectivity as yet. Cnet.com believes that the new iPad may feature a Qualcomm 4G LTE Gobi 4000 chip.

On 14 February 2012, the Wall Street Journal reported that: "Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. will sell a version of the coming iPad that runs on their newest fourth-generation wireless networks, according to people familiar with the matter."

The iPad 3 will usher in iOS 5.1

Alongside the much anticipated iPad 3, Macotakara sources seem convinced we'll see iOS 5.1 come out of beta in March too.

The iPad 3 will have a bigger battery

A casing supposedly for the iPad 3 was posted online in February, with its size suggesting we're in for an increase in battery and graphics power in the new Apple tablet. Some say the new casing appears to accommodate a larger battery.

Will the iPad 3 have a smaller dock connector?

Parts previewed on some websites indicate that, although the iPad 3 will still have a 30 pin dock connector, the packaging is streamlined. Well, if this is true, we knew it would happen sooner or later.

The iPad 3 hardware could include an NFC chip

Apple's very interested in Near Field Communications, and one particularly tasty rumour at Cult of Mac suggests that the iPhone 5 will use NFC to take over nearby Macs, enabling you to use your data and settings with a flick of the wrist.

The iPad 3 specifications will include more storage

The iPad 2 has the familiar 16/32/64GB storage options. A 128GB option for the iPad 3 isn't impossible - although that might depend on the situation in Asia, where natural disasters caused chaos in parts of the electronics industry last year.

The iPad 3 features could include a Thunderbolt port

Two generations of USB-free iPads suggest that Apple just isn't interested in adding one, but the new Thunderbolt port found in the 2011 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air could be another story: it's a combined accessory/display connector with astonishingly fast performance.

There could be more than one iPad 3

TUAW says the iOS 5 code features new code files for USB devices in the iOS 5 firmware, Through this, TUAW found references to an iPad 3,1 and an iPad 3,2. Is this latter variant the LTE version?

The iPad 3 could be thicker

The iPad 3 might be bulking out, reportedly so it can house a higher-resolution display than the iPad 2, and the extra girth is all down to pixel density.

THICKER?: Could iPad 3 be thicker than iPad 2?

The iPad 3 specs might include an SD card slot

This was widely predicted for the iPad 2 and, like the Retina Display, didn't materialise. One for version 3, perhaps? Using a separate adapter to read camera cards is rather inelegant and clunky.

The iPad 3 specification should include a better camera

The rear-facing camera on the iPad 2 isn't brilliant: an iPhone 4S-style camera and flash would do nicely.

The iPad 3 might use gesture controls

Could the iPad 3 have Kinect-style gesture controls? We're not so sure, but rumours suggested so in late October 2011.

The iPad 3 could feature a carbon fibre case

Apple has hired a carbon fibre expert, senior composites engineer Kevin Kenney, fuelling speculation that the next iPad could be encased in the lightweight material.

Samsung unfazed by Apple iTV plans

Chris Smith — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 01:06:00 GMT

Apple's heavily-rumoured iTV will not be able to compete with the picture quality offered by Samsung sets, according to an AV product manager with the Koreans.

Samsung's Chris Moseley told Pocket-Link that the firm isn't overly concerned with what Apple launches if it decides to enter the TV market.

Moseley says Apple's much-touted plan to 'revolutionise' the television market can could fall flat because TV buyers will choose superior picture quality from other manufacturers over how 'smart' the device is.

Famous last words?

In a frank interview, which could one day be seen as famous last words, he says: "We've not seen what they've done but what we can say is that they don't have 10,000 people in R&D in the vision category.

"They don't have the best scaling engine in the world and they don't have world renowned picture quality that has been awarded more than anyone else.

"TVs are ultimately about picture quality. Ultimately. How smart they are...great, but let's face it that's a secondary consideration. The ultimate is about picture quality and there is no way that anyone, new or old, can come along this year or next year and beat us on picture quality.

"So, from that perspective, it's not a great concern, but it remains to be seen what they're going to come out with, if anything."

Role reversal

The Samsung man's brazen comments come as the company continues to do battle with Apple, in the courtroom and stores, for dominance over the smartphone and tablet markets.

Throughout this war, Samsung has been chasing the iPhone and iPad with devices like the Galaxy SII and Galaxy Tab series.

If Apple decided to take-on Samsung in the AV department the boot will be on the other foot as Apple enters territory where the Koreans will unquestionably have an edge.

Samsung obviously feels it has enough in the tank to hold off any offensive from Apple and with devices like this 55-inch OLED beast coming to the UK this spring, its confidence is somewhat justified.

iPad 3 set for March 7 announcement?

Chris Smith — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:06:00 GMT

Those Apple fans desperately seeking the launch of the iPad 3 tablet now have a date to pin their hopes on amid reports that the tablet will be unveiled on March 7.

The prediction comes from Apple news site iMore, which says sources 'which have proved reliable in the past' have confirmed the date ahead of any official announcement from Cupertino.

The report follows AllThingsD's assertion that the launch will take place some time during the first week of March before going on sale around a week later.

iMore also backs up rumours of expected enhancements to the device, including a Retina Display, a quad-core A6 processor and possible 4G LTE connectivity for markets where those speeds are available.

Traditional launch schedules

The Wednesday March 7th timeline doesn't sound like too much of a reach from our perspective and would certainly fit in with launch schedules for previous versions of the device.

Even if Apple doesn't take the stage in San Francisco on that particular date, we can't imagine that iMore's estimate will be out by much.

To catch up on all of the latest, check our iPad 3 rumours: What you need to know feature.

Working conditions to be inspected at Apple factories

Kate Solomon — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:55:00 GMT

Apple's making a bit of a song and dance about the fact that it has invited the Fair Labor Association to inspect its supplier factories after rows over worker welfare.

Last week, demonstrations took place at a number of Apple stores as people protested poor working conditions at factories like Foxconn where some Apple products, including the iPad and iPhone, are assembled.

Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, explained, "We've asked the FLA to independently assess the performance of our largest suppliers.

"The inspections now underway are unprecedented in the electronics industry, both in scale and scope, and we appreciate the FLA agreeing to take the unusual step of identifying the factories in their reports."

They've all got it infamy

A team of labour rights specialists are carrying out the inspections which began this morning at Foxconn City in Shenzhen, China.

Foxconn has achieved infamy in the tech industry over the past two years after a number of its employees committed suicide at its Shenzen factory seemingly due to working conditions.

While we all love a good gadget, it's important to remember that someone somewhere is responsible for designing, assembling and testing them and it shouldn't be a case of out of sight, out of mind - as Tim Cook says, "Workers everywhere have the right to a safe and fair work environment."

In Depth: Beyond Kinect: 5 next-gen gesture systems

John Brandon — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:05:00 GMT

Next-gen gesture systems

Someday, we will all control computers with our brain waves. You will think of a command, such as turning on the headlights in your car or closing a dialog box, and a computer will react instantly.

Until then, there is an incredibly precise way to control computer interfaces.

Using nothing more than your own hands and fingers, gesture control systems seek to remove the one impediment to more immediate, ubiquitous computing: the stylus, keyboard, and mouse.

You wave your hand, and the computer starts playing a DVD. Or, you pick up a virtual object, turn it around, and throw it across the room.

Of course, Microsoft Kinect was the first raging success in this space. Recent games like Disneyland Adventures put the gamer into a virtual world.

By raising an arm or pointing at an object, you control the interface without a controller and immerse yourself into a realistic environment. Yet, Kinect is not the only gesture system around.

Several companies are developing gesture systems that take the basic kinetic model of hand gestures and finger movements to the next level.

1. Omek Interactive Beckon

One of the most interesting gesture control systems is the Omek Interactive Beckon. Essentially a development suite for making games and interactive content, the Beckon is unique in that it works with just about any off-the-shelf 3D camera and sensor system.

Many of the gesture control interfaces around today work only with a proprietary camera system. By supporting any 3D camera, Omek is more flexible in terms of the applications you can use at home or in an office setting.

The system works by making a skeleton representation of your entire body. These mapped points of movement are precise enough that the Omek system can read multiple gestures in a row and interpret them as a series of commands, and can automatically recognize a second person. (The Kinect can also recognize a new participant, but they usually have to stand still for a second.) The development kit for Omek Interactive is also unique in that the gesture commands do not require extensive programming.

2. Primesense Reach UX

The company responsible for the tech behind the Microsoft Kinect has their own product that consists of a camera and gesture control interface. Called Reach UX, the camera and UI is intended for controlling entertainment media like TV shows and movies.

For example, a CES concept showed how you can swipe through movie titles and pick the one you want by making a pick gesture. There are two cameras, one that uses an infrared sensor for detecting light and another CMOS sensor that detects movement. The two sensors are combined to form one map of movements. The main advantage of this media gesture control, other than not having to use a remote or a controller, is that you can search through a large collection and "pick" content faster.

YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmpec1RkV5g

3. SoftKinetic

If there is any company that is poised to challenge Microsoft for gesture control interfaces, it is SoftKinetic. The reason: the system is designed for developers to create their own gesture interfaces.

The DepthSense camera works by sending out an infrared beam of light and measuring the time it takes for the beam to return. That helps determine the shape and size of the person in front of the camera and their movements.

The IISU middleware component then maps those readings into the software development kit, which programmers can use for creating applications. The middleware scans an entire body, so the end-user application can consist of a full-body avatar.

4. Oblong Industries G-Speak

No overview of gesture control systems is complete without touching on Oblong Industries, the system that most experts say started the industry. Originally developed as a prototype for the movie Minority Report, the Oblong system eventually became a real product that is now used by major corporations like Boeing to visualize their own product development.

YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ghMobtpRpc

Oblong uses sensors installed all along a ceiling and on walls in a control room. You wear a glove the read precise movements. One example: you can "reach" inside a map and zoom in and out, swipe to the side, and pan up and down.

5. Opening up Kinect itself

Of course, one of the ways to go beyond Kinect is to open it up and see what people develop for it. Microsoft recently released the Kinect for Windows development platform, a way to use the Kinect controller to make custom games for PC, interactive sales demos, and entire applications for industries like health and transportation.

The system uses the same Kinect camera that works with the Xbox 360 but the dev kit now supports near-mode sensing from as close as 40cm away, skeletal tracking which can sense the body of two people, and now works with yup to four connected cameras.

Opinion: Why AMD can be the catalyst behind cheaper Ultrabooks

Jeremy Laird — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 11:50:00 GMT

It's roadmap time at AMD and the big news is the promise of mobile chips that should give those snazzy new Ultrabooks powered by Intel processors a run for their money.

A little further out, AMD also hinted that ARM processor cores, currently the architecture of choice for smartphones and tablets, might find their way into its chips.

But first, Ultrabooks. A little like Intel's Centrino effort of the naughties, the Ultrabook is a simple but deceptively clever idea that has gained traction with astonishing speed. And jolly nice they are too, with their slim proportions, strong performance and excellent battery life, largely courtesy of Intel's latest Core-i-whatever mobile processors.

There's just one problem. Pricing. Intel's original pitch for Ultrabooks involved slick, super-slim computing for $1,000 or less. Just the thing to give Apple's pulchritudinous but pricey MacBook Air a beasting.

The reality for punter's wallets has been significantly less salubrious, especially in the UK. Retail stickers well above £1,000 have been common and to date only a handful have hit the shelves for under that figure.

Chip pricing to blame

Part of the problem, ironically enough, is Intel's chip pricing. AMD hasn't exactly been snapping at its heels of late. Whenever Intel's only significant competitor for PC processors falls behind, the same thing happens. Intel's prices go up and its thirst to innovate dries up.

Enter, therefore, the long awaited AMD Trinity chip. It's AMD's second performance-orientated APU (Accelerated Processing Unit) after last year's Llano model. And it looks rather promising. On the CPU side, it gets an updated version of AMD's new Bulldozer architecture, known as Piledriver.

As regular TechRadar readers will know, the Bulldozer architecture didn't deliver on the desktop. However, updated to Piledriver specification and inserted into an APU that also contains one of AMD's absolutely excellent graphics cores, now that's a different box of CPUs altogether.

We won't know for sure until we get our filthy mitts on Trinity-powered laptop PCs. But AMD recently showed off an early Trinity system developed in partnership with Compal. It's just 18mm thick and will allegedly sell for under $900.

Moreover, AMD is making some pretty startling claims for Trinity. For starters, it's said to pack double the performance per watt of the existing Llano APU along with 50 per cent better graphics performance. And Llano already has the fastest integrated graphics core of any PC chip.

But the real killer is that AMD claims Trinity will deliver all this along with better battery life than equivalent Intel mobile CPUs. What we're promised then, is a chip that goes harder and lasts longer than Intel but will also bring prices down on Ultrabooks.

Supernote, anybody?

Of course, any system powered by an AMD chip can't actually be called an Ultrabook. That's an Intel-only gig.

But if I was AMD, I'd be thinking hard for a snappy name for mouth-breathing PC shop salesmen to bandy about. Would sir prefer an Intel Ultrabook or an AMD Supernote?

Whatever, the arrival of Trinity will almost definitely be a good thing for everyone, even Ultrabook buyers. If it's any good, it'll bring down prices across the board.

But what of that tantalising prospect of an ARM-powered AMD chip? Well, AMD has been dropping bigger and better hints in recent months about its willingness to consider use ARM cores in its processors. And people have been getting excited.

In truth, there's really not much reason to do so. There's no shortage of competition and innovation in the ARM processor game. The addition of AMD to the battlefield won't make much difference. At most it'll force everyone to up their game in graphics a little. No, it's x86 why AMD can make the most impact. Fingers crossed for Trinity, folks.

Microsoft defends the Windows desktop

Patrick Goss — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 11:01:00 GMT

Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky has defended the Windows desktop, as the company looks ahead to a vital year for the grand old Operating System.

Speaking to TechRadar last week, Sinofsky outlined one of the key new Windows changes: the transition to work on ARM chips.

Windows on ARM (WOA) is a huge departure for Microsoft – it has previously focused on Intel's x86 platform – but the transition to new chips will not see a move away from the now familiar Windows desktop.

Touchtop?

In a blog post, Sinofsky outlined just why the Windows desktop would not be sacrificed any time soon, insisting that it was a compromise too far as touchscreen devices become widespread.

"Some have suggested we might remove the desktop from WOA in an effort to be pure, to break from the past, or to be more simplistic or expeditious in our approach," he blogged.

"To us, giving up something useful that has little cost to customers was a compromise that we didn't want to see in the evolution of PCs.

"The presence of different models is part of every platform. Whether it is to support a transition to a future programming model, to support different programming models on one platform, or to support different ways of working, the presence of multiple models represents a flexible solution that provides a true no-compromise experience on any platform."

brightcove : 1199351091001

Considering the considerable interest in Windows tablets there is clearly still a desire for a desktop, and Microsoft is aware that familiar user interfaces are as much about serving up what a consumer expects as clinging on to the past.

TechRadar's hands on: Windows 8 review discusses the difficulties in balancing a traditional desktop and the touch-friendly modern Metro UI that runs over the top of it.

And even if that transition is still a little clumsy, it seems that ditching the desktop would be a step too far for many - including the team at Microsoft.

Tutorial: How to get started with Apple Mail

Matthew Bolton — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 10:00:00 GMT

How to get started with Apple Mail

Despite the popularity of social networks, no computer is complete without a great email app to help you keep in touch with friends and loved ones.

It's no surprise, then, that all Macs come with Apple's Mail program built into OS X. It makes it easy to set up your email account and browse and sort your messages, as well as write emails to others.

You'll need to have an email account. And for many email types, including Yahoo!, AOL, Gmail and Windows Live/Hotmail, Mail can set up your account using just your email address and password.

You can set up other kinds of accounts, but you may need to know the details of your incoming and outgoing servers, which your provider should be able to supply you with.

Once your account is set up, you'll see the Mail interface, with a list of emails on the left, and a preview box on the right. There's a Show button just above the messages list that enables you to see your list of account inboxes, which is handy if you have more than one set up, have created multiple mailboxes, or if you want to browse messages you've deleted from your inbox.

From the toolbar along the top of the Mail window, you can check for new messages, compose a new email, create a new note, delete emails, mark emails as junk mail, forward and reply to messages, and flag emails for your attention later.

There's also a search bar here, which enables you to find text anywhere in any of your emails, so you can easily search for its subject, or the person who sent it, for example.

In this walkthrough, we'll talk you through the basics of using the Mail app, including getting set up, reading your emails and writing messages, but once you're more confident with Mail, you can do a lot more.

For example, you can set up Rules such as having incoming messages sorted into different inboxes depending on the sender, you can change the default font and size that messages are displayed in, and create multiple email signatures.

Of course, if all you want to do is send and receive the occasional hello from family members, you can stick with just the steps on the opposite page and enjoy the full email experience.

How to get to grips with features in Apple Mail

1. Set up your account

When you first open Mail, or when you add a new account, it will ask for your name, email address and password. For many types of email, this is all you'll need to enter, but if Mail is unable to find the information it needs automatically, it'll ask you for more details.

2. Read a message

With your account set up, and email flooding in, select one in the left-hand inbox list to display it in the window to the right. Or, you can double-click on an email to open it in a new window. From here, you can click the arrow buttons at the top to reply or forward emails.

3. File attachments

If an email sent to you has an attachment, you'll see a paperclip next to the sender's name. A file icon will be displayed beneath the email text. You can click a file's name to open it, open it with Quick Look for a brief check, and save it by right-clicking.

4. Photo attachments

Attachments, such as photos and PDF files, are handled slightly differently. They are displayed in full under the email's text. Again, they can be opened or saved, and if there are several photos, you can view them in a slideshow with Quick Look.

5. Search through emails

In the top-right of the Mail window is the search box. Mail will search all emails for anything you type in here. Results appear in the inbox pane, and below the search box. You can use this list to search for emails from certain people, or by subject line, for example.

6. Compose a message

Click the paper-and-pencil icon to create a new message. In the To field, you can enter the email address of your recipient.

If they're stored in your Address Book, you don't need to type out their email address in full – start typing their name, and Mail will offer their email address. Add a subject line and type a message in the blank space below that.

To attach a file, click the paperclip icon at the top of the windows and browse to the file you want. Clicking the icon that looks like a mountain will open a photo browser, so you can insert a photo from your iPhoto library.

To the right of this icon is a button to open the stationery pane, which enables you to send colourful emails.

Opinion: Windows 8 on ARM? Intel must be laughing

Dan Grabham — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:50:00 GMT

Our columnist Gary Marshall points out that Microsoft's decision to prevent third-party apps on ARM-based Windows 8 desktops will only serve to confuse.

He's right. And, what's more, it horribly hobbles ARM-based Windows 8 hardware to the extent that Intel will be rubbing its hands together with glee.

Last September I suggested that ARM-based Windows 8's lack of legacy app support was the elephant in the room for the OS. It still is.

People won't understand they can't just download and install legacy apps on something that looks like a standard Windows 8 desktop. That's not what Windows means to people.

OK, so there will be Office 15 apps and other bits and pieces pre-installed, while we will have plenty of lovely third-party apps using the Metro interface. But the ARM Windows 8 desktop won't be a flexible experience.

And that can only mean customers will turn away – indeed, I feel that this news means that manufacturers will play it safe and we'll only see a few ARM-based Windows 8 tablets at the launch of Windows 8, rather than the plethora of multipurpose devices I'd hoped for.

You see, people will expect Windows 8 devices to give them options. New possibilities. They won't want an iPad 3 alternative that has a bit of old Windows tacked on.

It's up to Intel

We knew that x86-based devices would still dominate the Windows 8 landscape. But we had hoped that ARM-based Windows devices would take the OS beyond the traditional PC and give us some really exciting tablet-laptop hybrids that could be used for work or play. The single device to suit every occasion.

I was looking forward to having an ARM-based Windows 8 convertible running a chip like the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4, where I could use Metro in tablet mode but also get the full laptop experience with a keyboard and the Windows desktop when needed.

Now it seems that many of these more complex and interesting devices will end up being Intel-based, rather like the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga we loved so much at CES 2012.

IDEAPAD YOGA: We'll be seeing a lot more Intel-based convertible Windows 8 devices

And that'll be because manufacturers know what will sell. To be frank, people are so used to looking for something with Intel inside.

Intel made it clear at CES that touch-based Ultrabooks will be with us for Windows 8, and many of these could be convertible devices using the Core series of processors.

Intel is keen to make inroads into the tablet market and recently announced the Atom chip it hopes can compete with ARM in many phones and tablets.

Despite the Atom's relative lack of power and battery life compared to the best ARM silicon, it will be rather happy at the possibilities that Windows 8 can bring.

Gary Marshall: Windows 8 on ARM: a confusing mess

Gary Marshall — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:55:00 GMT

Great news! Microsoft has cleared up the confusion over whether ARM-based Windows 8 machines will run legacy apps!

Terrible news! It's still going to confuse people!

For those of us who spend an inordinate amount of time troubleshooting friends' and relatives' PCs and offering buying advice, Microsoft's policy regarding old Windows apps on ARM - WOA, as Microsoft calls it - has just guaranteed us weeks of confused faces and the odd tear as we lose our rag and bellow "YOU CAN'T, OKAY? YOU JUST CAN'T, DAMMIT!" at our grans.

Here's the policy: Windows 8 on ARM - WOA - won't have any old-fashioned Windows stuff on it, apart from some old-fashioned Windows stuff, and it won't let you run old Windows apps, apart from some new Windows apps that look like old Windows apps.

Phew. For a minute there I thought it was going to be confusing.

There's no business like WOA business

As Steven Sinofsky explains, WOA is all about Metro and Metro apps.

However, for technical reasons that some people may interpret as "we can't be arsed making a Metro version of Office right now", WOA will also include the traditional Windows Desktop so you can run Office 15, and only Office 15.

WOA might look like Windows and run Office like Windows, but it won't run old Windows apps.

I understand why Microsoft's done this - as Intel and ARM are different architectures, running legacy apps would require virtualisation, which won't help performance or battery life, but from a marketing point of view I think it's going to cause unnecessary confusion.

Microsoft says WOA is a separate thing like Windows Server or Windows Embedded. That's true, but people don't see machines running those OSes next to the normal PCs in John Lewis or PC World.

I'm imagining the conversations with my relatives now.

"No, I don't think you should buy that one. Yes, I know it runs Office. Yes, I know that's the Windows Desktop. No, you can't put your old programs on it. No. No, that's a new Office, there's - no, that's because there's a LOOK YOU CAN'T, OKAY? YOU JUST CAN'T, DAMMIT!"

Google and Microsoft combined can't beat Apple

Marc Chacksfield — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:24:00 GMT

New financial results show that Apple now has a market value which is greater than both Google and Microsoft combined.

Stock in the company rose by a mighty three per cent this week, this comes a few weeks after the company revealed that it had its best quarter ever – managing to earn $13.06 billion with total revenue in the quarter up to $46.33 billion.

Apple: bigger than drugs

Couple these results with Google's share price falling nine per cent and Microsoft losing 6 per cent of its Windows revenue and what you have is a company which is greater in stock value than the sum of its two biggest tech rivals combined.

Aptly, it was Fortune magazine which put Apple's fortune into context best, with it noting that the company now worth more than the gross domestic product of Denmark and has more value more than all of the illegal drugs in the world put together.

And if you want to know more things Apple is richer than, then head over to the rather excellent 'things Apple is worth more than' Tumblr.

Week in Tech: RIM reboots PlayBook as Windows 8 gets closer

TechRadar — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:00:00 GMT

Remember the BlackBerry PlayBook, the tablet that tried and failed to take on the iPad and which can currently be bought for about twenty pence and the fluff from your belly button?

Well, it's back. Back! BACK!

It's been a big week for mobile news, and first up was the BlackBerry DevCon in Amsterdam where betas of the PlayBook 2.0 OS were handed out.

Mary Branscombe was reasonably impressed, noting that the update offers "email, calendar, contacts and remote control – but not BBM, which RIM says isn't ready yet (expect to see that later this year)" as well as "the new Cascades-based user interface [and] new messaging apps."

The update makes those £169 PlayBooks sitting in your local electronics emporium look much more attractive than before, so when can you get it?

Branscombe says the release is imminent - "We also expect PlayBook OS 2.0 to come out before Mobile World Congress 2012 so the announcement doesn't get lost in the crowd of other phone news."

Did somebody say Mobile World Congress? This year's mobile technology showcase promises a bumper bunch of cutting-edge kit.

Samsung disappoints

Surely you'd have thought that would include the Samsung Galaxy S3 to be there? As Gareth Beavis says, "Well, we're pretty sure we know what's going to happen here: the Samsung Galaxy S3 is widely expected, to the point where if it DOESN'T launch Samsung is going to look pretty boring."

But - o noes! - it looks like Samsung is going for the boring option: it has cancelled its MWC press conference (mind you, it's unclear if it ever scheduled one), and says that "it will still have a presence in Barcelona and will be holding new product introductions, but away from the bright lights of the big stage."

We'll be there, of course, but Samsung says the Galaxy S3 definitely won't be.

Samsung might not be coming, but LG promises us it'll show off a Miracle at MWC. Sadly that's Miracle in the "we've called our phone the Miracle" sense, not the "we're going to turn the boss of Samsung into a small frog for a laugh" sense.

So is the Miracle miraculous? Erm, no. It's a mid-range Windows Phone handset. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but as Kate Solomon says, "we'd maybe save a codename like Miracle for something a bit more, you know, belief-beggaring, but who are we to tell LG what to do?"

Windows 8 gears up

The most interesting bit of MWC, we reckon, will be on 29 February - specifically, between 3pm and 5pm on the 29th. That's when Microsoft is going to take the wraps off the official Window 8 Consumer Preview, which is the next big step towards Windows 8's release.

We're excited about this one: Windows 8 is already looking very interesting with a range of pre-installed apps for essential tasks such as mail and contacts.

Micrsoft has released full details of Windows 8 on ARM including the revelation that there will be no third-party apps for the desktop in the ARM version. We spoke to the Windows boss Steven Sinofsky to get the full skinny.

As Gary Marshall explains, while Windows 8 is coming late to the tablet party, Windows 8 tablets could still be a very big deal.

We know what you're thinking: all this tech news is very interesting, but when oh when will we feature Keith Harris and Orville the duck pretending to be Eminem? We thought you'd never ask.

As Marc Chacksfield puts it: "Sometimes something comes along in life that's so unexpected you can barely understand just what is going on... that sound you can hear is our jaw hitting the floor."

Steve Jobs was 'deceptive' says FBI file

Chris Smith — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:41:00 GMT

The FBI has released its files on Steve Jobs, which label the late Apple visionary as 'a deceptive individual' and a 'complex character.'

The former Apple CEO was subject to a background check from the Feds when under consideration for a position in then-US President George H.W. Bush's White House administration.

The files, which have been released following a request under the Freedom of Information Act, says Jobs would "twist the truth and distort reality in order to achieve his goals."

'Suspect moral character'

The character judgements come from 29 interviews conducted with individuals who knew Jobs.

One so-called "good friend" of the late Apple co-founder said he was "basically an honest and trustworthy person, [but] he is a very complex individual and his moral character is suspect."

The pal added that Jobs had "alienated a large number of people at Apple as a result of his ambition" in the report, which was complied during his exile from the company.

The documents also contain references to Jobs' Buddhist faith, his parenting skills and his well-documented experiments with drugs.

The entire 191-page document can be viewed on the FBI website now.

Interview: Windows 8 on ARM: Steven Sinofsky speaks

Mary Branscombe — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:02:00 GMT

Windows 8 on ARM: the full details

Windows 8 for ARM tablets will come out at the same time as Windows 8 for x86 PCs, if everything goes according to plan.

Microsoft has released full details on Windows on ARM today. It will have the Windows desktop, with familiar apps like Explorer, Internet Explorer and the Windows Live apps, plus Office – but everything else will be Metro.

And no, you won't be able to install it on an Android tablet.

What's WOA?

Microsoft is revealing the technical details of Windows on ARM – which it calls WOA for short – today.

TechRadar talked to Windows chief Steven Sinofsky about what WOA can do, when and how you can get it and which apps it will and won't run.

"Windows on Arm, WOA, is a new member of the Windows family that is built on the foundation of Windows," Sinofsky told us. "It has a high degree of commonality, a very significant amount of shared code with Windows 8. It's going to be developed for, sold and supported as part of our overall Windows ecosystem."

But he didn't want us to think about WOA systems as just PC with a different chip. "We created WOA so that it would enable a new class of PCs with unique capabilities and form factors. It's a new level of device." Think of it as a new weapon for Microsoft in the tablet battle. "It's up-levelling our ability to meet the consumer demand for a device that is reliable and performant over time. The canonical example is the reset and refresh feature and the difference between that and a clean install."

THE BOSS: We spoke to the head of Windows, Steven Sinofsky, ahead of the Windows 8 on ARM announcement

By that, he's talking about the end of 'Windows rot'; a WOA PC won't gradually fill up with cruft and get bloated and sluggish the way older versions of Windows are prone to. A WOA PC will stay snappy and responsive thanks to apps not being able to run in the background. If it gets cluttered with too many apps you don't want, you can reset it to get rid of them without losing your pictures and files.

There's no more hunting for the specific version of a driver that your PC needs on badly organised support sites. "All the updates, whether for firmware, drivers or apps, will only come through the Windows Update or Microsoft update infrastructure and the Store.

And, of course, it will have long battery life in a thin and light design with strong security and powerful applications. It's Windows, reimagined the way Microsoft thinks you always wanted it to be.

Metro, desktop and Office

WOA is very much still Windows. Microsoft is finally confirming something that we've suspected but that has been unclear since Microsoft's BUILD conference last year. Yes, Windows on ARM still has the Windows desktop. And yes, Office 15 will run on it, in the desktop rather than Metro. But there will be no third-party desktop apps for ARM

"All Metro-style apps will run on WOA just like you would expect," Sinofsky confirmed; "it's the same experience". Those are apps written in HTML5, VB, C# and XAML – and in C++ if developers prefer. That's the language most x86 Windows programs are written in, though you can't just turn an existing x86 Windows app into a Metro app (which would be a bad idea for a lot of different reasons).

"You can reuse all your code from existing apps if you want, so long as you only call WinRT APIs. If your app is going through the store and uses the WinRT APIs then it too can work on WOA and we'll provide the tools to cross compile that."

WOA will come with what Microsoft has previously been calling the next wave of Windows Live apps for Metro, hardware accelerated for speed (the way IE9 and IE10 are), already installed.

"We'll have apps from Microsoft for things like mail and calendaring and contacts and photos and storage, hardware accelerated HTML5 and a whole bunch of media formats and document formats - that all support hardware acceleration, that support offloading of computation to integrated chipsets for H264 and things like that. And all of those are included as part of WOA."

Plus you get touch-centric versions of Office (with the notable exception of Outlook), and the desktop you need to run it on, on every WOA PC.

"The other kind of app that's included for WOA are the Office 15 apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. These are all desktop apps. They're new versions that are completely compatible. They're not subset applications, they have the same file format - all of that stuff. With that of course, you also get the Windows desktop itself; for working with files, for control panel for working with devices and peripherals, Explorer, desktop Internet Explorer - all of that is part of the WOA product."

OFFICE: Office will be part of the native suite running on the Windows 8 desktop

Given that the Microsoft Metro apps include document viewers, getting desktop Office apps is a good thing; you'll use them when you need to work with a document in detail, not just glance through it.

He didn't give us any details about the user interface for Office on WOA but Microsoft has put a lot of effort into making them work well on a tablet, Sinofsky said. The Office apps "have been retuned very significantly to support touch and to support the low power requirements of running on the WOA hardware."

That's a good reason why there won't be desktop apps on WOA from any other software vendors, just Microsoft.

The machine learning Microsoft has used to make the desktop and apps like Explorer work well with touch in the Developer Preview, even when you're dealing with a tiny button, is beyond the scope of many developers - so user interfaces in existing Windows programs would be a bad fit for WOA. Just recompiling an app would give you a program that would probably run slowly, use a lot of battery life, be hard to use and wouldn't use new WinRT features like unified search and share.

Expert users or developers can't get around the restrictions. "There's not a side-loading of x86-compatible code or anything like that. There's no other way to get compiled code on the product other than through the Store."

Not allowing third-party desktop apps makes sense but it certainly has implications. Microsoft wouldn't confirm it, but we believe this means no browser plugins for desktop IE on WOA. There's no official word on Media Center for WOA either.

So to sum up the app situation. "You have Metro style apps that can come from third parties and from Microsoft, you have the desktop and you have all the features that are intrinsic to Windows, and you have Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote apps."

WOA tablets: who and when?

Several traditional PC makers – who also make Android tablets – have confirmed that they will make ARM tablets running Windows, but there are also persistent rumours that Nokia and other phone makers will also create Windows tablets.

Sinofsky didn't confirm any manufacturers but he did tell us WOA will "be supported by a new set of partners that expand the overall ecosystem". That could just be QUALCOMM, NVidia and Ti of course; the companies that are making the different ARM platforms.

The Windows 8 Consumer Preview is only for x86 PCs. That's not because WOA is behind the x86 version; it's because there isn't any WOA hardware. "These WOA PCs are all still under development, they're still being made. But our collective goal is that PC makers will ship them the same time as PCs that are shipped for Windows 8 on x86 and 64."

Developers and peripheral makers will get to see WOA first, on prototype hardware. "Over the next weeks and months following the Consumer Preview, a limited number of test PCs are going to be made available to developer and hardware partners in a closed, invitation-only program." Don't get excited: "They're already spoken for," Sinofsky warned us. And don't feel left out.

WINDOWS 8 ON ARM: From the original demos - the desktop

"There are no actual PCs yet. These are the PCs much like the ones we've been showing in demos. They are hardware prototypes. They're running all the same guts, just as debug boards. They're not the form factors that consumers will see, they don't have the industrial design. They're not thin and light. They have no battery sometimes!"

WOA PCs: only for WOA

"All the PC manufacturers are obviously super-hard at work on building these brand new devices that from the ground up are designed to be great - and exclusively for WOA," Sinofsky emphasized.

That means you can't take a WOA tablet and install Linux on it, and you can't put WOA on an existing ARM tablet. "It is not this level playing field across ARM devices," he pointed out to TechRadar; "Each one is unique. It's why you don't install Android on your iPhone."

Microsoft has done a lot of work to rebuild Windows for ARM and that's specifically for the hardware WOA PC makers are choosing.

"All of this is going to lead to a new generation of integrated end-to-end products. Hardware, firmware, the WOA software; it's all built from the ground up to work together, with a new level of collaboration between Microsoft, the ARM licensees, PC makers and developers of components and peripherals.

The work was across a really broad array of subsystems in Windows; some of them have been re-architected for low power and new kinds of devices, others are brand new support for things that haven't been there before."

But the way Microsoft is supporting ARM is also going to make life a lot easier for tablet manufacturers who've had to do a great deal of integration work putting Android onto their ARM tablets. Despite the range of hardware, there's only one version of WOA, because the Windows Hardware Abstraction Layer takes care of differences, and that could conceivably put tablet prices down.

"These PCs that we're building together are built on the hardware platforms from NVidia, QUALCOMM and Ti but they all share a common WOA OS foundation. The neat thing is all of them are running the same Windows binary," Sinofsky told us enthusiastically.

"It's a different approach that we've taken where we're working across different ARM hardware but the same Windows binaries are on each of them. We actually added more features to the HAL to work across different ARM buses, as we call them. What we're doing working across multiple ARM platforms is unprecedented."

Best of Windows, best of ARM

This is the 'best of both worlds' approach that we've predicted Microsoft would take with ARM and Windows 8. It's a tablet with tablet apps (although we expect to see slider and ultraportable form factors too and Sinofsky repeatedly said 'PC' rather than 'tablet'). But it's also a PC with the power of Windows and Office – just without many of the disadvantages.

If you want the whole of both worlds (good and bad), cross your fingers for the work Intel is doing to create low power SoC PCs. "We're doing a lot of work with Intel on this release too," Sinofsky reminded us.

"Especially when we talk about a lot of the power saving features, remember that Intel is making their System on a Chip stuff as well and everything we're talking about applies to those Intel chips." That would give you an ultra-low power system that gets the always-on Connected Standby feature and could run all your old Windows apps too, although those apps could weigh the system down and don't get all the advantages of WinRT.

The question is how many people want that 'belt and braces' approach and that's more Intel's problem than Microsoft's. With Windows on ARM, Microsoft is betting that the tablet market is going to be big, especially for tablets with long battery life and the advantages of a PC – like running Office.

Microsoft releases full details of Windows 8 on ARM

Dan Grabham — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:01:00 GMT

Microsoft has finally lifted the lid on Windows 8 on ARM, saying that it doesn't want ARM-based devices to be simply referred to as standard Windows systems with a different processor.

Instead, Windows 8 on ARM (known at Microsoft as WOA) will give rise to a whole new type of PC according to the software giant.

There are also some startling revelations about the Windows 8 ARM desktop, which you can read more about here.

In a Mary Branscombe interview for TechRadar, Windows head Steven Sinofsky about the announcement. "Windows on ARM, WOA, is a new member of the Windows family that is built on the foundation of Windows," Sinofsky told us.

"It has a high degree of commonality, a very significant amount of shared code with Windows 8. It's going to be developed for, sold and supported as part of our overall Windows ecosystem."

"We created WOA so that it would enable a new class of PCs with unique capabilities and form factors. It's a new level of device."

"It's up-levelling our ability to meet the consumer demand for a device that is reliable and performant over time. The canonical example is the reset and refresh feature and the difference between that and a clean install."

Read the full TechRadar interview with Steven Sinofsky.

Leaked iPad 3 casing suggests bigger battery, better screen

Kate Solomon — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:47:00 GMT

A casing supposedly created for the iPad 3 has been ruthlessly photographed and posted online, with its size suggesting we're in for an increase in battery and graphics power in the new Apple tablet.

The speculation has been prompted a direct comparison with the casing used for to manufacture the iPad 2, revealing some slight differences.

The first being the size of the logic board – the iPad 3 casing has less room for this, which Fix-iPhones.com, the hithertofore unheard of site that acquired the pictures, reckons means we'll see the extra space taken up by a larger battery.

Power hungry

Comparing the two cases also reveals some changes to the camera – although what these will be is impossible to tell from the two images.

Perhaps most interestingly is the fact that the casing allows for a 'redesigned' display, which could mean we'll see that high-res super-screen that's been rumoured for so long after all.

The increased battery and redesigned display go hand-in-hand with earlier rumours that Apple has had to up its battery-life to properly backlight the higher pixel density.

As usual with Apple rumours, we prescribe a hefty does of salt be taken alongside this latest speculation – there's no way of verifying that this is the iPad 3 casing or if it even came from Apple's manufacturers at all.

Although some of the suppositions do jive with other rumours, nothing is certain until we hear it from Apple itself. So we'll stay comfy here on the fence where we feel that it's quite likely that at least some of this is true.

Windows 8 Consumer Preview launching at MWC

Chris Smith — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:15:00 GMT

Microsoft has sent out press invites to the official Windows 8 Consumer Preview launch at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The company will showcase the long-awaited public beta on February 29th in a two hour event from 3pm to 5pm, at the annual mobile show.

Microsoft had promised to release the Consumer Preview by the end of February, so it would seem that it'll be made available following the event at MWC.

Aside from the time, date and purpose of the event, additional details are thin on the ground.

Next step to release

The launch of the Consumer Preview is the next step along the line to a full release of the final version of the eagerly anticipated reimagining of Windows.

Developers have been able to use a preview version of the Metro-centric OS since September.

The final manufacturers copy is expected to be sent out in second half of 2012.

We'll be live at Mobile World Congress bringing you all of the details from Microsoft's event on February 29th.

Bundled Windows 8 Metro apps detailed

Kate Solomon — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:10:00 GMT

Windows 8 will come with a number of pre-installed apps, which look set to include things like messaging, mail and contacts.

The apps will be in the Windows Phone Metro style and some, like messaging may incorporate mobile aspects like SMS support.

The full list, acquired by The Verge, includes camera, messaging, mail, calendar, SkyDrive, people, photos, video and music.

Soon, soon

We should see all these apps and, possibly, more in the Windows 8 beta set for this month.

None will be branded WIndows Live, as some Windows apps like Messenger currently are, but the Music and Video apps are said to be branded Zune at the moment, with plans to move this to Xbox Live for Windows in the long term.

Speaking of Xbox Live, there's also a possibility that a Windows Phone-alike Xbox Live Companion app will come bundled in the consumer preview too.

So, not exactly groundbreaking information, but rather another blank filled in in the great tech crossword puzzle that is Windows 8.

In Depth: 10 ways Windows 8 tablets can take on the iPad

Gary Marshall — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:00:00 GMT

10 ways Windows 8 tablets can take on the iPad

Are you excited about Windows 8 tablets? We are.

Microsoft's latest Windows is a really attractive OS, and the tablets and hybrids we've seen so far are pretty impressive.

In a market where too many firms' strategy is simply "copy Apple", Microsoft is prepared to - yes! - Think Different.

Here are ten ways Windows 8 tablets could compete with the iPad 3.

1. Corporate customers

While many people do use their iPads for work, Apple hasn't explicitly targeted the big corporate market - and that's a huge business that Microsoft knows very well. Tablets that securely connect to corporate systems could be a big win for Microsoft here.

2. New Office

Microsoft Office remains Windows' killer app, especially in the business market - one reason Microsoft's own Tablet PC didn't succeed was because Office compatibility was "sabotaged" - so you can be sure that Office will be on both Intel and ARM-powered tablets. It'll be interesting to see whether Microsoft takes the opportunity to completely transform the Office UI for the ARM version: Office Metro-style, anyone?

3. Dual-mode machines

The iPad is very, very good at what it does, and what it does doesn't include being a desktop device. Microsoft thinks there's an opportunity there. Fancy a tablet that's finger-flipping good until you dock it, at which point it becomes a "proper" Windows PC with am OS designed for your keyboard and mouse or trackpad? We do, and we really hope Microsoft can make it work elegantly. Windows tablets with split personalities could be a lot of fun, not to mention seriously useful - as would...

4. Hybrid tablets

The combination of a dual-mode OS with dual-mode hardware - think Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime or Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga could be very interesting indeed. Tablets that effortlessly switch between work and play modes could turn out to be the electronic equivalent of daytime to evening workwear.

TWICE AS NICE: Lenovo's IdeaPad Yoga is a tablet that transforms into a notebook, "like the Tablet PC but good"

5. Mega Metro

Metro is Microsoft's newest, whooshiest interface, and we like it a lot. We're not alone: pretty much everybody who uses Metro likes Metro, and we reckon that if everything else - hardware, app selection, price and so on - were equal, some people would choose a Windows tablet over an Apple one because they prefer Metro to iOS.

6. SkyDrive

Microsoft's vision for cloud-based sharing is very ambitious: your Windows ID will bring your stuff and your settings to whatever device you happen to be on, whether that's a tablet, a PC, an Xbox or something else. That's not just music: the goal is what Microsoft describes as "all your content. Anywhere."

CLOUD ATLAS: Microsoft's SkyDrive puts cloud storage, synching and sharing at the heart of Windows

7. Beaming between devices

Microsoft is reportedly working on "beaming" between Windows devices for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, so for example you'll be able to beam content from your Windows 8 tablet to your PC or phone over whatever wireless connection happens to be present - Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct or NFC - without any fuss. That's the kind of thing that makes people say "wow" and reach for their credit cards.

8. Side-by-side apps

The iPad's single-minded focus on the app you're using is usually a great thing, but sometimes you want to do two things at once - such as read what's in one application while you write in another. Provided the screen's big enough, Windows 8 will let you see two apps simultaneously.

9. Nokia tablets

No disrespect to Microsoft's many hardware partners, but Nokia's the one we're really interested in when it comes to designing exciting tablets: the Finnish firm is famed for its hardware, and we're getting some tantalising hints of interesting new models, possibly coming as early as this summer.

10. A wider choice

It's probably safe to say that nobody can make iPad-spec tablets that match Apple's quality, price tag and enormous profit margins, but then not everybody wants an iPad. As we've seen with devices from the likes of Asus and Amazon, there's plenty of room in the market for devices that don't just ape Apple.

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Apple intern outs Mac OS X's ARM ambitions

Kate Solomon — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:16:00 GMT

A paper written by an ex-Apple intern who now works for the company has revealed secret plans to port Mac OS X to an ARM chipset.

Tristan Schaap did a 12-week internship with the Platform Technologies Group at Apple, and penned a thesis on the work he had been set, namely working to get the "lower half" of Mac OS X to boot onto an ARM processor.

The paper was submitted in 2010 but not published until some months ago due to the sensitive nature of its contents.

Peach Schaaps

But just because Schaap did work on this project and is now employed by the Core OS department doesn't mean we're definitely going to see ARM architecture in the next generation of Macs.

It may have been an experiment, it could have been a decoy or the project may have once been planned and since been pulled, who knows.

Apple's Mac range currently rocks Intel chipsets but rumours have been around for years that the company wants to try its hand at an ARM platform.

But as Apple Insider points out, Tim Cook seems reticent to take those plans further, telling analysts last week that the iPad should satisfy those who would want such a thing as an ARM-based MacBook Air.

Hands on: Alienware X51 review

Dan Grabham — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:20:00 GMT

Gaming PC vendor Alienware recently took the wraps off its X51 - a smaller form factor desktop to go alongside its not-so-dainty Aurora line of gaming desktop behemoths.

We got up close with the Core i7 variant of the new mini gaming PC at a demo event yesterday.

The first thing that strikes you is the size - it isn't that much taller than an Xbox 360 - 32cm high at its shortest point and less than 10cm in thickness.

The box has been designed to either sit horizontally or stand vertically, and Alienware is expecting a reasonable number to find homes underneath HDTVs in living rooms.

So what we're looking at here is a couple of the £999 units each boasting a 3.4Ghz Intel Core i7-2600, Nvidia Geforce GTX 555 graphics and 8GB of memory.

Alienware is keen to stress that there's a market for a performance gaming system without the bulk - it believes people are looking for smaller machines, but that gamers still want a desktop PC rather than a laptop. The company is keen to stress it wanted to sit the X51 above traditional small form factor (SFF) systems that don't have a great deal of power or graphics capabilities.

As you can see, there's a slot-loading optical drive on the front (24x dual-layer DVD), as well as a couple of USB 2.0 ports. There are a couple of USB 3.0 ports on the back as well as three more USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, Ethernet, full complement of audio outputs including SPDIF and two DVIs. 802.11n Wi-Fi is also integrated.

Alienware was keen to demonstrate that the lower end £699 is also very capable - it packs a 3.3GHz Intel Core i3-2120, Nvidia Geforce GT545 graphics, 4GB of DDR3 RAM and a 1TB HDD. All models sport Windows 7 Home Premium.

There's also a 3GHz Core i5-2320 mid-range variant available.

We love the look of the thing (and yes, you can customise the colours of those LEDs - there are 8,000 different combinations) but we'll be honest - the X51 is a lot of money for what it is, especially since Alienware believes it occupies a mainstream rather than enthusiast segment of the market.

The unit's weigh clocks in at 5.5Kg - Alienware says it occupies only around 15 per cent of the space of one of its traditional desktops. The components inside are user upgradeable.

You also get a Alienware backlit keyboard and mouse in the box. We'll run our benchmarking rule over it when we hold of one in our TechRadar test lab, though Alienware has posted its on basic benchies for the Core i3 and i7 models, which you can see below - click here for a bigger version.

Gary Marshall: Should Microsoft save the Start button?

Gary Marshall — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:07:00 GMT

According to The Verge, Windows is about to lose something precious: the Start Orb, better known as the Start button.

We're already familiar with the new, touch-optimised, orb-free Windows 8 Metro interface, but it looks like the Orb's getting booted from the traditional desktop too.

There's no doubt that many people would like to see the back of it - we've had comments of the "OMG LOL YOU HAVE TO PRESS START TO SHUT DOWN YOUR PC BUY APPLE BUY APPLE BUY APPLE" variety since it was introduced in 1733, and there's no doubt that Metro looks much more modern and friendly than the ageing Windows UI.

But in the whoosh of Microsoft throwing out the bathwater, some people think they can hear the waaah of a baby.

Stopping Starting something

The rumours, I'm sure, are right: Microsoft has been making Windows 8's interface more Metro-y for some time, and killing off the Start button makes sense from that perspective.

The thing is, though, Microsoft isn't killing it: it's hiding it. When you move the mouse to the bottom corner the Orb magically appears again. You'll still be able to access the Orb from the Start key on your keyboard, too.

If we were living in a time of great pixel shortages, where gangs of graphics card manufacturers fought in the streets over packets of stolen pixels, hiding the Start Orb might be a great advantage.

However, we aren't, and as a result all that's really going on is that Microsoft appears to be making the classic Windows desktop a little bit more confusing, choosing to hide a key part of the user interface. Maybe once we get our hands on the Consumer Preview we'll think the new way is fantastic, but right now it looks like a step backwards in user-friendliness for no real benefit.

Windows 8 beta: new features to expect

According to Windows boss Steven Sinofsky, "people 'in the know' who valued efficiency were moving away from the Start menu, and pinning their frequently used programs to the taskbar so that they could access them instantly in one click."

Program pinning is handy, but you can't pin everything to the taskbar or things start getting silly - and if you're in legacy mode rather than Metro mode, surely you want Windows to work like Windows always has?

Sinofsky says that the old Start menu is bad because it provides access to lots of programs and features people don't use very often, but for some of us that's exactly the point: we *like* having something that provides access to the things we don't use very often.

I'm imagining Sinofsky as a crazed vivisectionist here, cutting up cats and gluing their heads onto horses to make the cats better at showjumping.

Maybe, like cats and horses, Metro and classic Windows are best kept separate. Anyone fancy FrankenWindows?