LS-HACKS

New pictures claiming to be of the next iPhone show video chat and an inward facing camera.

A teardown of the new Palm Pre by Rapid Repair shows $170.02 in hardware components.

Theirdetailed disassembly guide requires a small phillips screw driver,small flathead, pliers, solder iron, exacto razor & safe open tool.

The new iPhone may sport a built-in 3D graphicschip, operate on a higher-speed network, and hit mid-July, according toa Kotaku report.

Their sources revealed that the iPhone will beavailable on July 17th and it will feature a 3D graphics chip meant toimprove the gaming experience.

Also mentioned was improved bluetooth support as well as 3.5G network capabilities.

Kotakuhas not been able to confirm these specifications; however, they dofall in line with the general Internet chatter on the matter.

If you don't know, Samuel writes for LSHacks.com.  His former website, http://comphelpwithsam.comze.com was recently taken down, and he will be posting ALL content here!

So be sure to be looking out for some new stuff!

-Samuel

www.lshacks.com

P.S. Quick plug for my YouTube channel: youtube.com/comphelpwithsam  Thanks!

Sprint today announced pricing and nationwideavailability for the Palm Pre phone, offered exclusively from Sprint.Palm Pre will be available nationwide on June 6 in Sprint stores, BestBuy, Radio Shack, select Wal-Mart stores and online at Sprint.com for$199.99 with a two-year service agreement and after a $100 mail-inrebate. Running on the new Palm webOS mobile platform, Pre bringstogether your important information from where it resides ? on yourphone, at your work or on the web ? into one logical view.

Forthose who juggle life circa 2009 ? bouncing from conference call to carpool schedule, from doctors? numbers to doctoral thesis data, fromsocial calendars to social networking ? Pre marks a new wirelesscrossover standard. Before Pre, you had to compromise when selecting awireless phone. To get the business features you needed, you had tosacrifice the personal entertainment features you wanted. Preconsolidates your important information ? professional, social andpersonal ? into one revolutionary device using an operating system thatredefines the experience of living and working wirelessly.

?Theargument that you need one phone for work and another phone for play,or that you have to make compromises between business and lifestyleproductivity, is over,? said Dan Hesse, president and CEO of Sprint.?With Pre, compromises of the past are history.?

Palm Pre willrun on America?s most dependable 3G network and come with Sprint?sindustry-leading, value-oriented Everything Data plans that offersavings of up to $1,430 over two years vs. comparable AT&T andVerizon plans for smartphones and PDAs.(2)

?The Palm Pre takesfull advantage of Sprint?s Everything Data plans,? said Avi Greengart,research director for Consumer Devices at Current Analysis. ?The Prehas been expressly designed for multitasking among multiple web pagesand applications. It also builds on Palm?s heritage in PDAs by managingyour digital information ? whether that?s on a corporate server or onthe web.?

"The Pre's dynamic 'activity cards' approach tohandling and navigating multiple applications is a great advance, butthe core breakthrough is the integration of information across multipleapplications on and off the phone," said Andy Castonguay, director ofMobile & Access Devices Research, Yankee Group. "With socialnetworking and messaging being so important to consumers, the device?snew ?Palm Synergy? functionality ? which gives Pre the ability toautomatically pull friends' contact details, messaging addresses andpersonal calendars from different applications online and on the phone? will greatly simplify people's ability to communicate with theirfriends and colleagues the way they want."

Pre: A New Kind of Phone

Thenew webOS platform introduces Palm Synergy?, a key feature that bringstogether your personal and professional calendar, contacts and e-mailinto one centralized view, making transitions between work and personallife smooth and easy to manage.

With Palm Synergy, users get:

* Linked contacts ? With Synergy, you have a single view that linksyour contacts from a variety of sources, so accessing them is easierthan ever. For example, if you have the same contact listed in yourOutlook(3), Google and Facebook accounts, Synergy recognizes thatthey?re the same person and links the information, presenting it to youas one listing.

* Layered calendars ? Your calendars can be seen ontheir own or layered together in a single view, combining work, family,friends, sports teams, or other interests. You can toggle to look atone calendar at a time, or see them all at a glance.

* Combinedmessaging ? Synergy lets you see all your conversations with the sameperson in a chat-style view, even if it started in IM and you want toreply with text messaging. You can also see who?s active in a buddylist right from contacts or e-mail, and start a new conversation withjust one touch.

Palm webOS lets you keep multiple activitiesopen and move easily between them like flipping through a deck ofcards. You can move back and forth between text messaging and e-mail,or search the web while you listen to music. You can rearrange itemssimply by dragging them, and when you are done with something, justthrow it away by flicking it off the top of the screen.

Findingwhat you need is also easy with universal search ? as you type whatyou?re looking for, webOS narrows your search and offers results fromboth your device and the web.(4) WebOS crushes the barriers to truemobile computing.

?Pre is truly a new phone for a newweb-centric age,? said Ed Colligan, Palm president and chief executiveofficer. ?We?re a mobile society, and we want our people, calendars andinformation to move with us. With Pre?s exquisite design and the uniquewebOS software, running on Sprint?s fast broadband network, we?rechanging the perception of what a wireless phone can be.

?

Precomes with a charger in the box, but for anyone tired of plugging acord into their wireless phone, Palm introduces the Touchstone?charging dock, the first inductive charging solution for phones,available exclusively for Pre. Simply set Pre down on top of the dockwithout worrying about connection, orientation or fit. Pre is activewhile charging, so you can access the touch screen, watch movies orvideo, or use the speakerphone. Set Pre on the charging dock whenyou?re on a call, and the speakerphone automatically turns on; when youtake a ringing Pre off the dock, Pre automatically answers the call.Other mobile operating systems allow multitasking, but Palm hasdeveloped an intuitive method of switching between "cards,? whichresemble clicking different tabs on a Web browser. New applications canbe launched easily using the "Launcher" software button at the bottomof the home screen, and users navigate between different applications.

Withnearly every wireless device today you have to exit one applicationcompletely before you can use another. That?s not what people areaccustomed to; think of your PC and all the applications you can haveopen at one time.

Pre: The latest NOW Network milestone for Sprint

Pre also lets you access feature-rich Sprint content on the Sprint Now Network, including exclusive applications such as:

* Sprint Navigation(5)

* Sprint TV

* NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile Live

?

Sprint?sNow Network brings you America?s most dependable 3G network, thelargest push-to-talk community, and in selected markets Sprint is theonly national carrier bringing 4G to life in 2009,?(6) Hesse said. ?TheNow Network is more than just a physical network ? it?s also data plansthat are all-inclusive, eliminating fear of data overages and a perfectfit for Palm Pre users.?

Sprint?s networks are now performing atbest-ever levels, and Sprint?s high-value Everything data plansconsistently beat AT&T?s and Verizon?s comparable plans in savingsby hundreds, even thousands, of dollars over two years. With therevolutionary launch of Ready Now, which Sprint pioneered, customersleave the store educated, comfortable and confident about the phonesthey?re about to take home. As a result of these measures and more,Sprint customer satisfaction indices ? from first call resolution tobilling satisfaction, from customer care response time to service andrepair ? have all significantly improved during the past year.

Pricing and Availability:

ThePalm Pre phone will be available from Sprint on June 6 for $199.99after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year service agreement on anEverything Data plan or Business Essentials with Messaging and Dataplan. An array of compelling accessories also will be available forPre, including the Palm Touchstone charging dock. The Touchstone?Charging Kit, which includes the Touchstone charging dock andTouchstone back cover for Pre, will be available June 6 for $69.99. TheTouchstone charging dock and Touchstone back cover also are availableseparately from for $49.99 and $19.99, respectively.

AppleiPhoneApps has heard detailed informationon the specs and release date of the next generation iPhone from asource that they deem reputable.

We have checked thesource?s credentials to the best of our ability and at this point deemthe source as reputable. Of course we cannot guarantee the accuracy ofthe source?s claims since Apple will neither confirm nor deny anyfuture product releases, including if a new phone will even be released!

The specifications provided are listed below. Which do you think are realistic?

- 32GB and 16GB to replace current capacities

- $199 and $299 price-points to be maintained

- 3.2 Megapixel camera

- Video recording & editing capabilities

- Ability to send a picture & video via MMS

- Discontinuation of the metal band surrounding the edge of the device

- OLED screen

- 1.5X The battery life

- Double the RAM and processing power

- Built-in FM transmitter

- Apple logo on the back to light up

- Rubber-tread backing

- Sleeker design

- Built-in compass

- Revolutionary combination of the camera, GPS, compass, and Google maps to identify photo and inform about photo locations.

- Turn by turn directions

- July 17th, 2009 release date

Read More [via 9to5Mac]

LAPTOP HUNTER

Microsoft has released the fifth laptop hunter ad in which Lauren and mom go searching for a PC for her to take to law school.

She says she needs a laptop with speed and battery life for less than $1700. They choose a Dell XPS 13a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD, and a $899 price tag.

I don't understand why anyone with 1,700 free dollars would choose a 900 dollar computer (Mac or PC) but you can watch the ad yourself.

Please go to this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5gM4xZvrLQ

Recently it has been speculated that Apple willuse a second event to launch the new iPhone; however, there is anargument for a new iPhone at WWDC

Daring Fireball author John Grubar strongly believes the announcement will be made at WWDC: That’dbe goofy. Last year’s iPhone 3G was announced at WWDC in early June, sowhy wouldn’t this year’s? Plus, if there are any new hardware features— like say a video camera or magnetometer — that means new APIs, and ifApple wants to have WWDC sessions for the new hardware-specific APIs,they have to announce the hardware first.

AppleInsiderhas made some arguments of their own noting that on average Apple hasannounced availability dates for its iPhones several weeks ahead oftime so that launch information and procedures can be made withoutextensive safeguards and so that customers have time to plan theirpurchases.

They also note that Apple will be facing competitionfrom the Palm Pre device rumored to launch a day or two before thestart of WWDC. It wouldn't make sense for them to allow a fledgelingrival weeks of headlines when it could easily eclipse any excitementfor the Pre with its own headlines.

Its also pointed out thatApple may need to demonstrate it can successfully launch a major newproduct without the leadership and showmanship that only Jobs wouldbring to the keynote.

Gruber concurs with this saying, "My gutfeeling is that we’ve seen the last Steve Jobs keynote address. I don’tthink he’s leaving the company — and his medical leave has beenscheduled to run through the end of June — but I wonder if he’s done asthe company’s spokesman."

If you have anymore arguments for a WWDC announced iPhone you can let us know in the comments...

Microsoft has released another Laptop Hunters ad in the ongoing video advertisement war between it and Apple.

Thistime we have Sheila, a filmmaker, looking for a computer that can do video editing

She looks at Macs briefly but says the best one underher budget of $2000 has only 2 GBs of RAM.

She ends up buying an HP HDX 16t, surprise!

Heres the link.

A new mockup showcases the amazing designs Apple could achieve by creating an OLED MacBook.

Yanko Design reports on the concept by designer Tommaso Gecchelin:

Gecchelinreasons if Apple were to go small, flexibility may be more importantthan hard rigidness - a trend current Apple laptops buck becausethey?re in favor of unibody construction. Flexible OLED technology maybe the key because it can provide the rich color and resolution densityneeded for a smaller screen without being a power hog and resistsdamage by its malleable nature, "The thinnest screens now are barely8mm thick and can fold like a piece of paper."

The core of this concept is a technology hecalls iSpine. Like the spine of a book, the tech avoid excessivecompression on the screen, yet allows the laptop to sit in multipleviewing positions. Go from a normal laptop with screen and touchscreenboard - to a large widescreen canvas for drawing, presentation or moviewatching. To keep everything minimal, ports like power, the minidisplay, and additional USB are externalized on a 'Magic Dock' to keepmost of the laptop slim and clean of an array of holes and plugs.

What do you think?

New statistics which show web traffic generated by mobile devices (which was updated in March of this year) show clearly that the iPhone is still continuing to dominate. An example of web traffic is would be surfing through from safari on your iPhone. But we also see something which could be bad for iPhone in the future. That device is the Blackberry, taking up 22% of the chart! This could lead to be a big contender for the web traffic market. Also the new Windows Mobile is starting to show us what it can do, by taking up 11%.

Hopefully iPhone will continue to dominate the chart. And I?m sure the new iPhone, coming out in June - July 2009 will help a lot.

Microsoft and Verizon Wireless are in discussion to release an iPhone rival, according to the Wall Street Journal.

"MicrosoftCorp. is in discussions with Verizon Wireless to launch a touch-screenmultimedia cellphone on the carrier's network early next year, in a bidto compete with Apple Inc.'s iPhone, people familiar with the mattersay,"

-Amol Sharma and Nick Wingfield report for The Wall Street Journal.

"Microsoft'sproject, which is code-named 'Pink,' is aiming to produce a phone thatextends the tech giant's Windows Mobile cellphone operating system,adding new software capabilities. It would also likely includeMicrosoft's new Windows Marketplace for Mobile, a mobile applicationstore along the lines of Apple's, these people say,"

-Sharma andWingfield report.

Read More

Apple COO Tim Cook answered questions regarding the company's plans for the NetBook market during Wednesday’s conference call...

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For us, it’s about doing great products. And when I look at what is being sold in the netbook space today, I see cramped keyboards, terrible software, junky hardware, very small screens, and just not a consumer experience… that we would put the Mac brand on, quite frankly. And so it’s not a space, as it exists today, that we’re interested in, nor do we believe that customers in the long term would be interested in.

That said, we do look at the space and are interested to see how customers respond to it. People that want a small computer (so to speak) that does browsing and e-mail might want to buy an iPod touch or an iPhone. So we have other products to accomplish some of what people buy netbooks for. So in that way we play in an indirect basis.

And if we can find a way to deliver an innovative product that really makes a contribution, then we’ll do that. We have some interesting ideas in this space. The product pipeline is fantastic for the Mac. If you look at the past, in 17 of the last 18 quarters we’ve exceeded the market rate of growth, and to exceed it in this horrendous economy is quite an accomplishment, especially if you look at these very low-cost netbooks that I think is a stretch to call it a personal computer, that are really propping up unit numbers as a whole.
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I think a innovative product that might make a contribution would have a 10 inch touchscreen....

Read More

Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2009 second quarter ended March 28, 2009. The Company posted revenue of $8.16 billion and a net quarterly profit of $1.21 billion, or $1.33 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $7.51 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.05 billion, or $1.16 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 36.4 percent, up from 32.9 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 46 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

In accordance with the subscription accounting treatment required by GAAP, the Company recognizes revenue and cost of goods sold for iPhone™ and Apple TV® over their estimated economic lives. Adjusting GAAP sales and product costs to eliminate the impact of subscription accounting, the corresponding non-GAAP measures* for the quarter are $9.06 billion of “Adjusted Sales” and $1.66 billion of “Adjusted Net Income.”

Apple sold 2.22 million Macintosh® computers during the quarter, representing a three percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 11.01 million iPods during the quarter, representing three percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Quarterly iPhone units sold were 3.79 million representing 123 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter.

“We are extremely pleased to report the best non-holiday quarter revenue and earnings in our history,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “Apple’s financial condition remains very robust, with almost $29 billion in cash and marketable securities on our balance sheet. Looking ahead to the third fiscal quarter of 2009, we expect revenue in the range of about $7.7 billion to $7.9 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share in the range of about $.95 to $1.00.”

Apple will provide live streaming of its Q2 2009 financial results conference call utilizing QuickTime®, Apple’s standards-based technology for live and on-demand audio and video streaming. The live webcast will begin at 2:00 p.m. PDT on April 22, 2009 at www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/earningsq209/ and will also be available for replay for approximately two weeks thereafter.