Tuesday May 29, 2007

- Several iPhone Models to be Manufactured? - Lionel - 17:00:42

Source : Electronista

According to the Chinese newspaper Commercial Times, Quanta will be the second company to manufacture Apple iPhone, in addition to the first contractor Foxconn. It seems Quanta will manufacture the iPhone model dedicated to non-US markets, while Foxconn will supply units for US consumers.
Quanta-produced iPhone is reported to be externally different than the one available in the US, however it remains unclear if such differences are only restricted to esthetical changes, or if it also implies some internal modification (UMTS support for non US models?).
It could also be a way for Apple to fight against the grey market, as iPhone will only be available in USA from June, while Europe/Asia will most likely have to wait till October earliest. Apple might also offer black or white iPhone models as it did with the HD-based iPod... Any other idea?

[translation by Linathael]

- Microsoft Zune: One Million Units Shipped - Lionel - 13:53:29

Source : SF Gate

Microsoft announced to have shipped its millionth Zune unit ahead of schedule (by one week).
The Zune remains far behind the iPod, for which Apple recently celebrated the 100 millionth units sold in nearly 6 years. But without considering Apple, Microsoft is behind other competitors such as Creative Labs and SanDisk. Of course Microsoft plans to update the current model to deliver even more features, and has even started building a production plant in China.
Apple should not update the current iPod 5.5G before the launch of the iPhone, as it will need resources for completing the iPod 6G development as it is expected to be the first true iPod video.

[translation by Linathael]

- Is the SED Dead? - Lionel - 13:43:39

Source : Canon

When introduced more than a year ago, the SED technology (Surface-conduction Electron-emitter Display) was promising and could be considered as a strong alternative to replace Plasma and LCD for flat screen.
From its introduction, we have been publishing news about SED and its problem for being developed and brought to the market. Last Friday, Toshiba announced that the release date for the first SED-based displays was postponed to an undetermined date. The reason is provided by a short PR published by Canon, supposed to deliver the SED panels (thanks to Max):

Canon Inc. today announced that it has decided to postpone for the time being the launch of next-generation flat-panel SED* televisions, which the company had intended to release in the fourth quarter (Oct.-Dec.) of calendar year 2007.

Reasons for the postponement include prolonged litigation currently underway in the United States and efforts to establish mass-production technology aimed at realizing further cost reductions.

Canon will announce a new launch schedule for SED televisions at a future date.

Considering SONY and its similar technology known as FED, the SED might be definitely dead. In addition, current plasma and LCD technology have still not reached their limit yet, and we keep seeing new panels released with increased features and performances.


[translation by Linathael]

- PQI Unveils a 250GB SSD HD - Lionel - 09:58:22

Source : PQI

While SSD HDs have only been recently unveiled to the consumer electronics market, the race to offer the fastest and largest SSD unit is already taking place between manufacturers, and should lead to price cuts earlier than expected. PQI is the new "leader" with a 256GB SSD HD unveiled couple of days ago. The 256GB SSD Turbo+ will be available in 2.5" SATA format . Such a large storage space does mean that data transfer speed will be slow, and PQI announced rates of up to 60MB/sec (reading mode probably). The price remains unknown but will for sure break new record in US$/GB. PQI also unveiled a 32GB PCI-E SSD which could be a perfect external storage space for MacBook Pro owners while waiting for price to become more reasonable.
If the end of standard HD for mobile devices is not for tomorrow, one can seriously think that days are now counted down; as SSD seems to be the future of mobile storage space. How long will it take to see SSD by default in notebook while today it remains an option: 6 months, one year?

[translation by Linathael]

- DRM-Free Music: Some News from Apple-EMI Partnership - Lionel - 09:51:20

While engineers from both companies are working on the deployment of such DRM-free music tracks catalog, an insider has sent us some additional information:

The final agreement between Apple and EMI for offering DRM-free music on iTunes Store has been finalized last week. So after Amazon and VirginMega. The availability of 256k sound quality and DRM-free tracks will then be according to signatures. They are working on re-encoding music tracks and the official availability is supposed to be finished soon, ultimately by the end of the month. The goal is to release the entire DRM-free EMI catalog on iTS at once, and not track by track, excepted for the Beatles.

So we should hear about soon...

[translation by Linathael]

- Repaired Macs are not Orphans Anymore - Lionel - 09:45:34

While the title of this news might sound weird, it is important for Mac users. When a Mac unit failed and its logic board had to be exchanged, it was still identified by the serial number engraved on its case. However, with the issues affecting MacBook, thousands of units had to have their logic board and their case exchanged, leading to hardware unit without any assigned serial number nor references to be used in the future; and this is more a problem than one could originally thought. How to take an Apple Care extension plan without the serial number of this computer?
To fix this problem, Apple has forwarded to its certified Apple Centers small software to flash the EEPROM of such orphan hardware unit to reassign a serial number. If your Mac has been repaired in the past with the replacement of both the case and the logic board, quickly check that you still have a serial number assigned to your machine in the "About your Mac" menu bar. If not contact your Apple Center to get a new serial number assigned to your machine.


[translation by Linathael]