Apple Talk

iPad mini to be closer in size to Samsung's Note?

Apple could be taking a cue from frenemy Samsung with its next iOS device, offering a gadget that's a bit larger than most cell phones, but about half the size of a tablet.

According to Japanese Apple news site Macotakara, Apple's working with LCD suppliers to get a 5-inch panel with a pixel density high enough to be able to call it a Retina Display. That's according to "a reliable Chinese source," the site said.

That smaller device would arrive sometime next year, Macotakara suggested, and sport either a 1,600 by 960 pixel or 1,280 more

Survey pegs Apple gear in half of U.S. homes

A new survey put out by CNBC says that half of homes in the U.S. own at least one Apple product, and that number is expected to grow through next year.

The outlet's "All-America Economic Survey" polled 836 Americans by phone from March 19 to 22 about their spending habits, political leanings, and investment practices.

From those surveyed, CNBC estimates the average U.S. household to have 1.6 devices made by Apple. One in 10 of those that don't have any Apple gear plan to get one inside the next 12 months, CNBC said.

As far more

Apple's Siri might have been called something else

What's in a name? That which we call Siri, by any other name would be as sassy -- though we might have known the voice assistant technology by another name.

NetworkWorld this morning recounts some of the highlights from a speech given by Siri co-founder Dag Kittlaus at Chicago's Technori Pitch event yesterday. While the speech focused mainly on the importance of building Chicago as a startup scene, Kittlaus included a handful of behind-the-scenes tidbits on what led to Siri becoming an Apple technology.

One of those was that late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs originally sought a different more

Sprint CFO hints at LTE iPhones in the future

Sprint's financial chief today tiptoed around the prospect of a 4G LTE iPhone, the latest indication that the next version will come packed with a superfast wireless connection.

Speaking to investors at a conference earlier today, Sprint's chief financial officer, Joe Euteneuer, did not say such a device was coming, but he did say the company has an agreement with Apple similar to that of AT&T and Verizon Wireless, hinting that technology designed for those networks would come to Sprint's as well.

"If you make the assumption that they launch a device at a similar time more

Apple's Newsstand raking in $70K a day, study says

Just how much are people spending on digital editions of newspapers and magazines on Apple's digital Newsstand app?

In a study of Apple's App Store for iPad during the month of February, market research firm Distimo says the top 100 publications brought in more than $70,000 a day. That metric -- which is just revenues from the United States -- is led by News Corp.'s The Daily, followed by The New York Times and The New Yorker magazine, the firm said.

Apple launched Newsstand as part of iOS 5 in October, providing a way for users more

Apple: iPad charging fine, keep it plugged in

Apple says its latest iPad model has been designed to keep charging, even after its indicator says it's reached 100 percent.

Following questions about the accuracy of the new iPad's battery status indicator and its recharging technology, Apple now says that it's part of its software to continue charging and discharging the battery when it nears 100 percent, and that there's no harm in leaving it plugged in.

"That circuitry is designed so you can keep your device plugged in as long as you would like," Apple VP Michael Tchao told AllThingsD today. "It's a more

Study: Siri is just all right with most iPhone users

According to a new study, most people who have access to Apple's Siri voice assistant think she's just fine -- they just don't want her around all that much.

As part of its quarterly "Market Focus" report, Parks Associates today said that in a polling of 482 iPhone 4S owners in the U.S., more than 50 percent of respondents said they were "very satisfied" with Siri. About a fifth of the group said that they were simply "satisfied," and some 9 percent said they were "unsatisfied."

According to the Wall Street Journal, which reported on the more

Group seeks recall of Daisey-inspired petition on iPad labor

A petition circulated on Change.org in January that targeted Apple -- demanding that it do more to protect workers in China who help build iPads -- was based on discredited claims and should be recalled, says a new petition.

More than 255,000 people signed the original petition posted to Change.org in early January by Mark Shields following a report about the human cost of Apple's labor practices on the radio show This American Life. The report has since been retracted by the show's producers.

Shields' petition, which called for Apple to create "a worker protection more

Next iPhone rumor: LTE and new dock plug coming this fall

With the third-generation iPad launch now a week old -- unless you're in today's second wave of launch countries, that is -- the rumor mill has turned its attention back to the iPhone.

The latest comes from iMore, which today posts some chewy, though anonymously-sourced hardware details about Apple's next smartphone. Those include a move to a 4G LTE radio like the one the third-generation iPad ships with, a display that's "similar if not same sized" to Apple's long-time 3.5-inch spec, and the move to a smaller dock port for charging and data transfers. more

Researcher says new iPad's charging math is 'wrong'

A report from DisplayMate Technologies yesterday noted that Apple's latest iPad is not fully charged when it shows that it's 100 percent juiced up, and today the creator of that report says the problem is due to bad math.

In a note sent to CNET and other media outlets this morning, DisplayMate President Ray Soneira said the iPad's behavior here can be attributed to the calculations that go into determining how far along the recharging process is based on battery health and other factors: