New earphones to ship with the new iPhone?

Apple has a lot of great hardware offerings, built and designed with attention and care. In comparison, its ill-fitting, flimsy, and awful-sounding earbuds currently being packed alongside the iPhone 4S are a bit of a nightmare. And while you’re probably sick of hearing about the iPhone 5, we think you’ll be happy to hear Apple might, possibly, probably not, but maybe have a new set of earbuds to accompany its latest iOS device.

Vietnamese site, Tinhte.vn recently posted a video claiming to feature the redesigned headphones in all their glory. Tinhte even compares the alleged new version to the old in case you don’t have your own pair lying around. After taking a listen to the new buds, Tinhte said the sound quality is superior to Apple’s previous offering with more powerful bass, though the overall volume has been reduced. Apparently they are much more comfortable to wear for longer periods of time.

It’s impossible to tell if these are the real thing, but Apple’s unibody signature seems to be present. Plus, there’s the following phrase printed on the cord: “Designed by Apple in California Assembled in Vietnam”. Tinhte claims the buds feel like a cohesive unity with no parts in danger of detaching or falling apart. They’ve also been made more compact, with oval tips replacing the large, round tips that barely funnel sound into your ear. The earphones are cut at an angle so they can slide more easily into the canal and focus their sound. Fabricated wire and other quality finishing materials certainly have Tinhte convinced they’re the real deal. Tinhte also has a proven track record of gaining access to pre-release and prototype Apple devices.

But despite the large number of evidence pointing to the contrary, these rumored earbud replacements could easily be the work of a clever imitator. A lack of in-line microphone and volume control is probably the most compelling evidence against their authenticity, but there’s no way to tell whether the mic has been embedded into the buds somehow. Also, removing a feature that’s been such an integral and useful part of Apple’s original earbuds is like taking a step backward, which doesn’t ring true for Apple.

If they do end up being more than wishful thinking, Apple will finally resolve a glaring flaw in its otherwise well-built products. But as with most rumors, be prepared for all of this to be a distant memory once the truth emerges. It won’t be a long wait at least, with the iPhone 5 announcementrumored to be less than two weeks away.

The new Nokia Lumia 820 & 920

Just a few minutes ago in New York, Nokia lifted the curtain on their first Windows Phone 8 devices, the Lumia 820 and Lumia 920. They’re fast, beautiful, and packed with new tech – and I’ve been lucky enough to work and play with them both for the last few days. 

The smaller of the two devices is the 4.3” 820. It’s a very natural evolution of the great design language that Nokia kicked off with the Lumia 800 (rugged but beautiful polycarbonate) and with the Lumia 710 (interchangeable backplates). Inside is an improved 8MP Carl Zeiss camera alongside a dual-core Snapdragon processor and 8GB of storage, and the display uses the same ClearBlack technology as the Lumia 900 and Lumia 800. The interchangeable backplates are what stand out for me with this phone; you can get them in seven colors (white, black, red, yellow, cyan, purple, grey), and there’s an option to add an accessory backplate that adds wireless charging. Just snap it on, drop it on a charging station, and you’re ready to roll. Pretty awesome.

The single most impressive feature on the 920 is the camera. Nokia’s integrated their incredible PureView technology to deliver a wicked fast 8MP camera that, in my experience, takes the best photos of any phone I’ve ever used. It delivers in low light – a backlit sensor and Nokia’s proprietary software mean you get clear, bright photos, without a flash, even in near-darkness – and Nokia’s unique OIS (optical image stabilization) technology basically eliminates vibration, meaning you can take a clean, crisp photo while walking, running, riding a bike, standing on the train, etc. As a dad of three little ones, I spend most of my time shooting on the run, so I’m REALLY excited to field test (playground test?) this feature.

All in all, I’m seriously impressed with the new Lumias, both inside and out. Design-wise, they’re a nice evolution of the iconic design that Nokia introduced in the Lumia 800 and Lumia 900 – solid, ergonomic, and comfortable. And inside, they’ve added technology like PureView and PureMotion HD+ that offer up real, tangible benefits like smoother, faster, more responsive navigation and professional grade photos. Combined with the power of Windows Phone 8, they’re really something special.

Source: the Windows Phone blog

Dell XPS 12 Duo ft. Windows 8

This year’s IFA in Berlin is packed with new tech running Windows. New phones running Windows Phone 8 like the ATIV S from Samsung and also a bunch of laptops, tablets and also tabtops (a crossroad between a laptop and tablet) like the ATIC Smart PC also from Samsung running Windows 8.

                But we also have a new device believe it or not from Dell. Dell showed off its new laptop the XPS 12 Duo running Windows 8. The device wouldn’t be so special if it didn’t have a form that you never seen before.

                On first sight it seems that it’s just a normal laptop but once the lid is open you will see that it isn’t that normal at all. When open you can turn the display inside out independent from the bottom (keyboard) part. Once turned around you get a fully functional Windows 8 tablet.

             

                Hardware vise underneath the hood of the XPS 12 Duo you have Core i5 or i7 processor, 4 or 8 GB of working memory, SSD drive, Full HD display (that’s 1920 x 1080 pixels) and other additions which are normal for this kind of device.

                More information this fall, during October when The XPS 12 Duo tabtop will hit the market parallel with Windows 8.