nano

Apple consumers could perhaps see the debut of both the new iPhone and an iPad Mini come September.

Citing "sources who have proven accurate in the past," blog site iMore says that Apple will announce the two devices at a special event on Wednesday, September 12. The iPhone 5 itself would then go on sale 9 days later on Friday, September 21.

This latest report follows a tidbit last week from French site App4Phone.fr (English translation), which pointed to a September 21 release date based on intel from Chinese manufacturing sources. The spacing itself jibes with last … Read more

According to a report by the Financial Times, mobile operators in Europe are stockpiling nano-SIM chips in anticipation of Apple including the new technology in the next iteration of the iPhone.

Though actions like this would suggest an impending launch, no official word has come from Apple as to when we can expect to actually see the iPhone 5 (or the new iPhone?)

The nano-SIM design was approved by the mobile phone industry's standards group earlier this year and should allow Apple to save even more space in its tightly designed iPhone interior.… Read more

If there's one chameleon in Apple's iPod lineup, it's a close race between the iPod Nano and the Shuffle. Both have changed dramatically over the course of their respective product life spans, and a new rumor says it could happen all over again to the next Nano.

According to Japanese Apple-focused blog Macotakara, Apple's next iPod Nano will return to an earlier form of sorts, reverting back to the tried-and-true "oblong style" form factor. As a frame of reference, the current Nano is more like an iPod Shuffle, just with a touch screen on … Read more

An Apple design did indeed prevail in a standardization struggle over a design for next-generation SIM cards, the tiny chips that let mobile phones identify themselves to wireless networks.

Apple had been duking it against Nokia, Research in Motion, and Motorola over the design of a fourth-generation, smaller SIM (subscriber identity module) card. On Friday, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) settled on the design for this fourth form factor (4FF) SIM card, but it didn't say whose design won.

In an interview today, SIM card maker Giesecke & Devrient said Apple's design, unchanged since last year, is … Read more

Some of the most prominent mobile companies in the world are working on a new standard for SIM cards. The only issue is, they can't seem to come to an agreement. But three of those firms yesterday tried to get one step closer to an accord.

According to The Verge, citing sources, RIM, Nokia, and Motorola yesterday unveiled a new concept design for the nano-SIM standard. The card itself looks similar to its elders, featuring a rectangular design with a notched corner. However, like other nano-SIM design concepts, the latest from RIM, Nokia, and Motorola is extremely small, potentially … Read more

My watch is an iPod Nano. It's not perfect. In fact, there are many ways I'd like it to be better. But, it works. It also looks cool.

Those are two seemingly small details that are in fact quite major when considering a smart watch these days. "Working" is a matter of opinion and design in some cases, but the point is that the iPod Nano-as-a-watch does exactly what you think it does, and it does it well. So far, that can't be said for Sony's SmartWatch, a confusing remote for Android phones that ends up doing less than you expect it to, yet somehow is hard to even work in that limited capacity. I had a chance to try one out here at CNET, and was surprised at how Sony's solution was good-looking, but a complete slave requiring Bluetooth and an Android phone to get anything done -- even tell the time. That's a problem. A good watch can't mess that part up.… Read more

File this one under extreme fanboyism. A Newfield, N.J., man performed his own surgery to put magnets under his skin to hold his iPod Nano in place like a watch. Evidently nobody told him they make straps that do the same job.

The bloke in question is Dave Hurban, a tattoo artist working in collaboration with Kaleidoscope Kreative, an advertising and Web design and development company. His background in all things pointy, ink-filled, and painful means he's at least used to foreign objects invading his person, but this project, called "iDermal," really seems a step too far.

In the video you can see Dave going through the painstaking (pain being the key word here) process of measuring the Nano, marking out the spots on his wrist, and then setting about drilling into his own flesh to insert the four magnets. It's frankly rather grim, so if you're squeamish and prone to fainting at the slightest sight of blood then we suggest you watch it while lying on some cushions.

Read more of "Bonkers man puts magnets under his skin to hold iPod Nano," and see the video, at Crave UK.… Read more

The Sony SmartWatch first made an appearance at CES in January and from the moment I learned of its existence I had high hopes for the gadget. I've secretly been a fan of intelligent, wearable computing devices starting way back when Microsoft's SPOT (Smart Personal Object Technology) watches hit the scene a decade ago. … Read more

Apple has been on a patent frenzy as of late.

According to Patently Apple, which follows the company's intellectual property, Apple has filed for a patent that relates to how SIM cards are removed and replaced in devices, and how the cards are kept safe from harm in the process. The blog says that Apple is trying to patent a "plunger"-like system for ejecting a SIM card, and use nonconductive material to safeguard the SIM. The patent includes a host of other embodiments that attempt to achieve the same goal.

Apple has been focusing quite heavily … Read more