retina

The battery in the iPad 3 will reportedly be thinner and lighter than the one in the iPad 2, according to a report in Taiwan Economic News, suggesting that the new tablet may also see a thinner, lighter design or other improvements.

Citing "institutional investors" as its sources, the Taiwanese news site reported yesterday that the new battery will not only be thinner and lighter but offer a longer life than the iPad 2's battery. The new battery will also need to meet higher standards for quality and reliability, which means that Apple's cost for it … Read more

Apple's latest chip technology won't appear in the next-generation iPad until June 2012 at the earliest, according to a firm that tracks the mobile processor industry.

Getting new processor technology out the door (remember, Apple is also in the chip design business) is a Herculean task for even seasoned chip manufacturers like Intel. It will certainly be no different for Apple, whose next chip, dubbed the "A6," may not make an appearance in the iPad 3 until later in 2012, said The Linley Group, a chip consulting firm.

If Apple keeps to its schedule and launches … Read more

Pouring cold water on reports that Apple intends to launch the next version of the iPad this year, a new report says the company has yet to hit the trial production phase of the device.

The Wall Street Journal reported today that Apple is still in the process of pulling together parts from various vendors for a trial production of the device, which the Journal says is expected to begin sometime in October. A release is said to follow sometime early next year.

Previous reports hinted that Apple might surprise with a new model in time for this year's … Read more

Apple will unveil its next model iPhone in September with a faster chip and a more advanced camera, Bloomberg said today, citing information from "people familiar with the plans."

Adding fuel to the latest fires about the next-generation iPhone, Bloomberg said the new phone will come equipped with an A5 processor, which Apple already added to the iPad 2 earlier in the year. Other reports have also pointed to the speedy, dual-core A5 as the chip that would power the new iPhone.

The next iPhone would also include an 8-megapixel camera, according to Bloomberg, a healthy leap from … Read more

Will the iPad 3 sport a Retina Display?

Images found in the software development kit for iOS 5 have kicked the rumor mill back into gear.

Tech site TechUnwrapped reported yesterday that a tipster found images in the framework for integrating Twitter into Apple's next mobile OS that were double the 1,024x768 resolution used in the current iPad. Based on those images, TechUnwrapped said this could mean the next-gen iPad will offer a 2,048x1,536 Retina Display.

However, since the high-resolution images were initially found only in the Twitter framework, TechUnwrapped seemed dubious that an iPad 3 … Read more

Earlier this week I broke down some of the elements it takes to create an outstanding cell phone screen. Coincidentally, this week is also SID 2011, a conference in LA devoted entirely to display technology. Toshiba's LCD panel pictured above is one gem on exhibit. It boasts a 720x1,280-pixel HD resolution on its 4-inch screen, which gives it a pixel ratio of 367 pixels per inch (ppi). The iPhone 4's Retina Display is the current king, boasting 367ppi on a significantly smaller 3.5-inch screen with a 960x640-pixel resolution, but if this Toshiba-made effort makes it to … Read more

The reign of Apple's Retina Display as the highest-quality mobile screen in the land may soon come to an end.

At this week's SID Display Week show in Los Angeles, Toshiba unveiled a new 4-inch display with a pixel density of 367ppi (pixels per inch). With that many pixels, the screen easily bests the iPhone's 3.5-inch display, which offers 326ppi.

More pixels per inch means better visual quality, and Toshiba's screen is headed to a smartphone near you.… Read more

(Editors' note: This is a primer for people who are unfamiliar with screen technology. If you're already well-versed, you might be more interested in my colleague Eric Franklin's screen tests, like this one between the iPhone 4, Morotola Droid X, HTC Incredible, and the Samsung Epic 4G.)

I don't know anyone who doesn't want their smartphone screen crystal clear, with saturated colors leaping off the display. But unless you're a screen tech buff, it isn't always easy knowing the difference between premium screens with fancy names like LCD Plus, Super AMOLED Plus, and Retina … Read more

With the NBA season heading into playoff mode, EA Sports is due to release its over-the-top basketball game, NBA Jam for the iPad, any day. The game has actually been out for the iPhone for a few months for $4.99, but the iPad version has lagged behind it.

What's interesting is that if you do a search for NBA Jam in Google, you'll find several reviews and screenshots already up and even plenty of videos of the game running on iPads. However, it's not for sale in the App Store. What's the deal?

Well, if … Read more