iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, Android reviews

Ming-Chi Kuo, a Concord Securities analyst, is claiming via AppleInsider, that Apple shipped some 480,000 Apple TV units in Q2 of this year. This is a 70% uptick from the year-over-year quarter. This is no doubt do to the change in business model undertook when they replace to original Apple TV with the current model, which lacks a hard drive and has little on-board storage.Also in the report, Kuo makes the claim, with industry sources to back him, that there will be no new Apple TV for some time. This contradicts recent rumors and findings that suggest iOS 5 will bring full 1080p video support, with some suggesting that the current Apple TV hardware, with it’s A4 processor, may not be able to handle the load of such pixel-dense content. By extrapolation, Apple would need to release new hardware to handle to load- apparently this is not the case.

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Cult of Mac is reporting that Apple may be preparing to discontinue the Magic Mouse, in an attempt to direct users to the company’s Magic Trackpad offering, so that users can better utilize all of the multi-touch features in OS X Lion. The report’s source, who reportedly works in Apple Retail, claims that Apple simply isn’t replenishing stock of the Magic Mouse, as their stores run low on inventory.

Granted Apple has a long history of phasing out what they see as outdated technology, but I sincerely don’t believe they will phase out the mouse. It’s not so much that Apple makes a lot of money from Magic Mouse sales, as much as it’s a hole that Apple plugs. That is, they don’t make a lot of money off of them, but not selling them could be devastating, as it could drive users to purchase third-party products, or even other computer manufacturers (a stretch, I know).

Remember, Apple also offers a wired mouse called The Apple Mouse, which was formerly known as the Mighty Mouse, with a scroll ball on top, and a clickable shell to invoke features such as Expose.

In short, I find this report hard to believe. Perhaps Apple is going to phase out the Magic Mouse in favor of the Magic Trackpad, but more likely, Apple will phase out the Magic Mouse, with a new mouse that can handle more of the multi-touch features. Hell, we’ve seen Apple patents showing the company’s interest in new mouse technology.

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iDownloadBlog is reporting that the next version of iTunes, currently being called “iTunes 11?, will receive a total overhaul of it’s User Interface design, while also offering full integration into Apple’s forthcoming iCloud service.

The report claims that the new UI would have a cleaner and “slick” UI, while iCloud being closely tied into the app. They also claim the iTunes Store will be integrated into the app, unlike it’s current implementation wherein iTunes is acting as a web browser allowing the user to view the store.

Lastly, the report also claims that iCloud backups will be wrapped into the new iTunes. This falls in line with what we’ve been hearing, and the way Apple has been explaining iCloud. That is, the iCloud, and not your computer, will be the main source of data to be synced to the rest of your devices (including your computer). The previous model, as with MobileMe for example, made your computer the central hub of data, which all other devices sync with.

Also remember that Apple is beta testing iTunes 10.5 alongside iOS 5, which does not have significant UI changes at this time. So, either 10.5 will be released alongside iOS 5, with no UI changes, or iTunes 10.5 will be released any time now, with iTunes 11 being released alongside iOS 5 this fall.

In other words, either iTunes 10.5 will see a UI overhaul that is currently not present in the betas, or Apple will release a future version of iTunes with the changes. That is, if the report is even accurate.

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Trip Chowdhry of Global Equities Research has issued a report (via AppleInsider) wherein he claims Apple is planning to introduce three HDTV models by March of 2012. He claims Apple will offer three different models at three different price points.

Chowdhry claims that Apple’s implementation of an HDTV will reduce clutter in the living room, while having 16 speakers for a “complete surround sound experience”, with the set itself will only be two inches thick.

It has been rumored for some time that Apple will be introducing a TV set of their own. After all, Apple has made inroads into the market with their Apple TV set-top box. On the other hand, Apple has publicly noted that the TV market is fragmented and overall just a difficult industry to participate in.

Lastly, Chowdhry has a pretty poor track record when it comes to Apple. One instance comes to mind wherein Chowdhry claimed that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer would make an appearance at Apple’s WWDC 2010 conference. Microsoft quickly downplayed the comment, and of course, it never actually happened. In short, take this report with a grain of salt.

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Business Insider has picked up a report by Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu, who claims that the forthcoming iPhone update will be larger in scope than was previously thought. Specifically, Wu believes the next-generation iPhone will have a dual-core processor, a larger screen, and a thinner bezel. Other than that, he believes the new iPhone will look fairly similar to the current iPhone 4. Wu also believes that 4G LTE technology will not be making it’s way to the new iPhone, due to power consumption issues.

Wu’s report doesn’t sound unreasonable to me. However, recent discoveries of cases designed for the next-generation iPhone, suggest a different form-factor than what Wu described in his report. First off, these cases appear to be tapered. Secondly, the new iPhones, if these cases turn out to be accurate, will likely be longer and wider than the current iPhone. In other words, take Wu’s report with a grain of salt.

Also worth mentioning at this time, is a report from BGR, which claims that the new iPhone will launch in Canada on October 1st. Traditionally, the iPhone first launches in the US first, and then follows internationally a few weeks afterword. Perhaps we’re looking at a mid-September launch of the iPhone here in the States.

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