UK news round-up: Codies expands, Arkham City DLC, iPhone 5 June release?
It’s been a decent start to the week for UK video games companies following some dismal reports in recent months. Shortly after GAME was rescued from administration, Codemasters today announced plans to create more than 100 new jobs across the Midlands, including an additional 25 at its F1 development team in Birmingham.
Meanwhile, leaked PS3 Trophies have suggested new Batman: Arkham City DLC will be centred around Harley Quinn and let players take control of Robin in what could be a mini-campaign as opposed to just another set of Challenge Rooms, and a massive recruitment drive by Apple’s No.1 manufacturing partner, China-based Foxconn, has sparked speculation that iPhone 5 may launch as early as June.
Elsewhere, Assassin’s Creed 3 writer Matt Turner told us the game’s set to include more modern day Desmond gameplay than any previous series entry, and we gathered all the Kinect Star Wars reviews we could find to give you a decent round-up of opinion on today’s new release.
Tuesday April 3
- Ghost Recon: Future Soldier PC dated
- Assassin’s Creed 3 will have ‘more modern day sections than ever before’
- Superbrothers: Sword Sworcery confirmed for PC
- Ubisoft confident of being ‘the No.1 third party on Wii U’
- Battlefield 3 ‘Rent a Server update’ hits Xbox 360 – trailer
- Codemasters creating over 100 UK jobs
- Witcher 2 dev: ‘RPGs meet the need to run away from normal life’
- Wii U may be 1st console to run MMORPGs ‘without making sacrifices’
- Foxconn hiring spree hints at June iPhone 5 release date
- Sony pulls new Vita firmware update due to technical fault
- Tesco welcomes back GAME with £25 Mass Effect 3, SSX deals
- GAME removed from London Stock Exchange
- Batman: Arkham City campaign DLC features Harley Quinn, Robin
- Vita firmware update 1.65 out now
- UEFA Euro 2012 gets first trailer
- Kinect Star Wars review round-up: The Force is middling with this one
- US news round-up: Wii U release date leaks? Console’s graphics are ‘sub-PS3, 360 quality’
- Keen to see the Assassin’s Creed score performed live by a symphony orchestra?
- South Australians may require 18+ ID to purchase MA15+ games
Article source: http://www.computerandvideogames.com/342586/uk-news-round-up-codies-expands-arkham-city-dlc-iphone-5-june-release/
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: Iphone 5
iPhone 5 Coming in June?
We haven’t had a good Apple product rumor all month, probably because it’s only the third, so it’s time for a new one. Could we be getting a new iPhone model in June? A recruiter from Foxconn, the plant that manufactures many of Apple’s mobile devices, told a Japanese broadcaster that the next gen iPhone will hit stores in June.
In answer to a question, the recruiter stated that Foxconn needs to hire approximately 18,000 workers to put together the iPhone 5 “Because it seems it will go on sale in June.” The June sale date rumor has been floating around since January, and a later rumor was attributed to an analyst from Daiwa Securities.
So do we believe this? Not really, since it wouldn’t be the way Apple rolls. Their mobile devices generally get a refresh once a year, and not any more often. Since the iPhone 4S was released in October of 2011, the next model is more likely to turn up in fall 2012, just in time for holiday shopping.
If the last iPhone wasn’t selling as well as previous models, maybe Apple would have more incentive to rush out the next model, but with the iPhone 4S outselling all other smartphones combined on some mobile carriers, why mess with it now?
On the other hand, there are several hot new smartphones running Google’s Android or Windows 8 coming out in the next few months, and they could move in on Apple’s market share. Apple could steal away and lock in more smartphone buyers who want the very latest device with a brand new iPhone 5.
Do they really need to bring out a new phone this summer? Are they desperate for success? Of course not. Apple is already selling so many units of the iPhone 4S that they can take their own sweet time putting out the next model. That’s why this rumor should be taken with a whole shaker of salt, because it’s not likely to happen.
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Read this next: Easter Spending Up 11% This Year
Article source: http://blackfridaymagazine.com/iphone-5-coming-in-june/03563
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: Iphone 5
Glorified Door Man At Foxconn Factory Claims iPhone 5 Will Ship In June
During a television show in China, a Foxconn recruiter went public with information regarding iPhone 5 shipment dates, stating that the next-generation iPhone will be released in June. A television show in Japan asked a recruiter how many people the factory plans on hiring, and the recruiter responded with “[we're] looking for 18,000 employees… for the fifth-generation phone.” The recruiter then goes on to answer questions about the correlation between hiring and demand for the new iPhone and replies with, “That’s right. It will come out in June.”
Putting aside the assumption that a recruiter would know the shipping date of the next iPhone, and so cavalierly share that information with the public, a June release is pretty suspect at this point. The iPhone 4S didn’t ship until October last year, and at that time there was plenty of speculation that Apple was trying to separate the release of the new iPad and the iPhone at that time, putting more space between the two releases.
Despite the fact that the last iPhone, the iPhone 4S, shipped in October, it didn’t stop some publications from suggesting that the iPhone 5 will be available this summer. The International Business Times kicked off this June rumor by suggesting iPhone 5 release could happen in March when they published a report that Foxconn was hiring 20,000 employees and that “the plant will reportedly manufacture more than 80% of total iPhone 5 units. Adding more workers in mass number simply reflects that Apple and Foxconn are speeding up the process of manufacturing next generation iPhones.”
Now, circling back to the recruiter. There’s a very slim chance that this glorified gate-keeper at a Foxconn factory would have inside knowledge that Apple would be releasing the iPhone 5 in June. Foxconn may be hiring to help with the iPhone 5 demand, but it’s just as likely that production on the new iPhone would be ramping up through June for a release in October, as Apple would stockpile the device for an October release.
Via Gizmodo
Article source: http://www.macgasm.net/2012/04/03/glorified-door-man-at-foxconn-factory-claims-iphone-5-will-ship-in-june/
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: Iphone 5
iPhone Pro concept – Is this the future iPhone 5?
Designers can’t help but come up with the most inventive concepts ahead of the release of the next iPhone from Apple. The latest such idea is called the iPhone PRO and it comes from designer Jinyoung Choi. According to Choi’s vision, the iPhone PRO includes a 1.2MP rear-facing 3D capable camera which can be hooked up to a DSLR lens that doubles up as a projector with embedded speakers. In addition, the handset is designed around a 4.5-inch wide LCD with a resolution of 1280×800 and 2 side buttons. Choi’s concept thus measures 128 x 73 x 9.6 mm, making it a little bit larger than the current iPhone 4S. Another accessory of the iPhone PRO is a portable speaker that doubles up as a projector that will offer users the opportunity of projecting images and videos onto surfaces. 
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Article source: http://www.inrumor.com/in/technology/iphone-pro-concept-is-this-the-future-iphone-5/
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: Iphone 5
Why there won’t be an iPhone 5
With the third-gen iPad released, speculators’ attention is turning again to iPhone rumors — and missing the deeper shift
Here we go again. The iPhone 5 will have a large screen more like that of the Android flagship, the Galaxy Nexus. Or maybe it won’t. According to all the gossip, it will have an LTE 4G radio, just like the new iPad.
As always, the rumor mill is a mix of highly suspect blogger fantasies and “duh” predictions, such as the inclusion of 4G. But let me be the first to tell you that whatever the next iPhone features, it won’t be the name “iPhone 5.”
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I predict that the iPhone 4S is the last numbered iPhone, and the next model will simply be the iPhone. Apple long ago dropped version numbers for its Mac and iPod hardware. The Apple TV never got them in the first place. The latest iPad drops the numbering for that product line. All that’s left is the iPhone, and you can bet it too will join the versionless set.
The reason is simple: There’s no need for numbers. The Mac and iPod are mature product lines, and although there are incremental hardware changes, plus occasional innovations such as last year’s introduction of the Thunderbolt bus technology, what matters more is the line they belong to: MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, Mac Mini, Mac Pro, iPod Classic, iPod Nano, or iPod Touch. When people need to distinguish among models in a line, they refer to the generation (such as third-gen iPod Touch) or year (such as the early 2011 MacBook Pro). The iPhone is as mature as the iPod Touch, and the iPad looks to be set for some years in its current basic configuration.
Apple understands that the deep value is in the ecosystem, not the box that runs it, and the importance for owners of all models to feel current. It doesn’t really matter whether your MacBook Pro is from 2009 or 2011 but whether it runs OS X Lion and iCloud. Ditto on mobile devices, where iOS 5 and iCloud compatibility is the major advantage.
Last fall’s iPhone debacle — when the crescendo of hysterical rumors created a brief media, blogger, and stockholder backlash against the iPhone 4S because it didn’t fulfill bloggers’ “iPhone 5″ fantasies — no doubt cemented Apple’s decision to get rid of such version-based naming, to lessen the chances of any such label again turning into poisoned apple.
Article source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobile-technology/why-there-wont-be-iphone-5-189493
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: Iphone 5
IPhone 5 Release Date: Deadlock With Nokia Over SIM Card Dispute Could Delay …
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This basically means that although Apple may control the SIM standard, smartphone manufacturers around the world must agree on the standards together. This is because each manufacturer holds a patent that contribute to a string of technology rights that make SIM designs universal.
There are two primary reasons Nokia is currently unwilling to budge on the matter. The first is simply for pure market advantage, to postpone a new design that would benefit Apple’s new device. The second is because Nokia claims to have a better nano SIM design than the iPhone manufacturer, according iPhone 5 News Blog writer Michael Nace.
Nokia has said that if Apple’s proposal as a nano-SIM standard, it would withhold its patents so that its technology wouldn’t be included, according to Tech News World. The site also reported that Apple’s proposal “does not meet all the pre-agreed requirements for the so-called nano-SIM,” Nokia spokesperson Mark Durrant said to the publication. He also elaborated, saying that Apple’s proposed model “is the same length as the width of the current micro-SIMs and so would risk jamming, leading to card and product damage.”
As of now it is unclear whether or not Apple will continue to produce the iPhone 5 on schedule for a June release without their SIM being approved. If the company was to fail the vote, it could cause problems for the new product. ETSI rules declare that the final vote will take place no longer than 30 days after the delayed vote, so more information will be released by the end of the month.
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Article source: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/323374/20120403/iphone-5-release-date-rumors-features-nokia.htm
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: Iphone 5 News
Foxconn recruiter: We’re ‘hiring’ for June release of iPhone 5
A Foxconn recruiting office is telling potential hires that the
iPhone 5 is expected to go on sale in June, according to a Japanese broadcaster.
In a conversation recorded here by TV Tokyo and aired April 2, a Foxconn recruiter says the company needs to hire about 18,000 people to manufacture the
iPhone 5.
“Because it seems it will go on sale in June,” the recruiter says in response to a question about the iPhone 5, according to a Japanese translation of the original Chinese. (That conversation starts around the 7:10 mark.)
This wouldn’t be the first time that a report points to a summer release of the next iPhone. A January report hinted at a summer release and a subsequent rumor cited an analyst at Daiwa Securities.
The TV Tokyo broadcast was a broader report about Japan Display, a company formed by the merger of the display businesses of Hitachi, Sony, and Toshiba. Japan’s once-dominant flat-panel industry has been reeling from stiff competition from Korean and Chinese display manufacturers.
Google Translation of a summary of the TV Tokyo broadcast here.
Via Macotakara
Article source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-57408428-64/foxconn-recruiter-were-hiring-for-june-release-of-iphone-5/
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: Iphone 5 News
Collected: Apple iPhone 5 ships June and other crazy claims
Apple [AAPL] manufacturer, Foxconn, is recruiting staff to man the iPhone 5 production lines with the product apparently set to ship in June, today’s smartphone rumor claims.
[ABOVE: Patently Apple explores the 3D avatar claim.]
Red herring?
If I were John Gruber, I’d likely add a one word summary to this report, which would be “scuttlebutt“. I don’t believe it.
Japanese broadcaster TV Tokyo has broadcast a show featuring a Foxconn recruiter who said the company needs to hire about 18,000 people to put together the iPhone 5. “Because it will go on sale in June.“
Other than pointing out the relatively recent introduction of the iPhone 4S, I’m also unconvinced a human resources operative would have an inside track on an upcoming major product release from one of the world’s most secretive firms.
Yes, there have been claims of a summer release of the device before, but if I cast my mind back just one year, I pretty much recall release rumors on almost a sequential monthly basis before the last iteration appeared. I have doubts. However go and take a look at the original here if you like.
If there’s one thing in the notion’s favor it is that Apple needs to maintain its momentum in its battle with Android. Apple’s iPhone remains the biggest-selling smartphone, though it is losing a little marketshare in the USA, recent claims claim.
Dialling changes
What else have we learned about the future Apple smartphone recently?
Number One: A better display
As if the Retina Display isn’t enough, Apple now seems set to field an OLED display instead of the LCD currently used. Why is this important? Because it promises even better graphics, higher resolutions and a reduction in battery drain.
Focusing on display improvements is important: Apple has correctly identified the display as the key point of contact between a user and the device. Each improvement in that display improves the user experience. And Apple is all about the user experience.
The displays will be made by Samsung, reports the Korea Times (Via Christian Post). You may even get the mythical edge-to-edge display this time around. Perhaps the display will be 4.6-inches, though I think resolution improvements may make a screen size increase less relevant.
Don’t forget Apple’s November 15 patent win for crack-resistant glass. This uses the same alumino silicate glass used in the iPhone 4 and 4S, but the glass is chemically treated to withstand greater compression on the surface and edges of the glass. This should make the iPhone less easy to crack.
A faster processor
I seem to recall some speculation last year which claimed the iPad and iPhone would set off on divergent processor paths. This could be happening, as the iPad exploits the A5X quad-core graphics processor, which has the additional horsepower required to run the Retina Display graphics.
The iPhone 5 will also require graphics horsepower, but its other prime design consideration will be the need to run on low power — this hints we may see iPad processors developed to maximize graphics power, while iPhone chips are built to minimize power draw.
Both considerations matter, but it’s possible Apple’s chip teams will be electing for slightly different power/graphics consideration in each device. Particularly as the iPad now has the kind of sales volume you need in order to justify the expense of producing a dedicated processor for that device, in addition to that inside the iPhone.
Will Apple call the new iPhone processor the A6? Or will it instead field an A5X?
Better on battery
Battery life matters. As noted above, mobile device design must be predicated on low power draw. Recent reports that the iPad 3 runs a little warm to the touch confirm all that graphics and processor power imposes a penalty on battery life, which is why the iPad battery is bigger.
That makes battery design improvements another important focus for design in the mobile age.
At present product designers are making canny choices, balancing battery life with graphics and processor power. There’s new battery technologies in development, but these don’t seem to have reached market just yet.
Amazing software
iOS 6 with Apple Maps; a non-beta form of Siri capable of searching for business outside of the US and more capable of realizing when you are propositioning it; better GPS and turn-by-turn navigation features and more…but perhaps the most interesting features will be the introduction of support for the creation of 3D avatars for GameCenter and the likely introduction of 3D interfaces within some families of app (likely Maps and Games, I guess).
From the patent description, it seems these will be able to figure out the depth of what it is they are pointed at in order to create 3D images (which should look great on your Retina Display-style Apple television), will boast color accuracy and facial and gesture recognition.
Which sounds nice, though I can’t quite figure out why we need to be able to flick our choice of hand gesture at our phone — that’s really not a good look on public transport.
NFC support, initially US-only iWallet features, ticketing and travel tools, and possible inclusion of a pico projector round out the latest rumor.
Disappointing LTE
LTE is still not ready for prime-time. If you are outside of the US/Canada, don’t expect a 4G iPhone. Apple may relent and find a mobile radio which also works with 4G networks on the Asia Pacific, given the importance of that geography to the firm’s future growth plans, but in general the confusion and disappointment around LTE/4G seems set to continue for some time yet.
Sure, if you are in the US it’s fine to get excited, but don’t buy the product on strength of US-focused 4G marketing.
For all the previous rumors, including some contradictory ones just to prove slavish attention to rumor is inevitably unreliable, now read The crazy Apple rumor guide to iPhone 5.
Got a story? Drop me a line via Twitter or in comments below and let me know. I’d like it if you chose to follow me on Twitter so I can let you know when these items are published here first on Computerworld.
Article source: http://blogs.computerworld.com/19979/collected_apple_iphone_5_ships_june_and_other_crazy_claims
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: Iphone 5 News
Siri pairs with MacBook Pro this summer
In a move that may well portend this summer (or winter) reveal of the iPhone 5, Apple has had a patent revealed which shows an iPhone connecting to a Desktop computer for the sharing of Siri. Since Siri became wildly popular and was picked up by Apple for the iPhone 4S, forums across the web have been filled with the same question: when will this functionality come to the Mac desktop? If what we’re seeing today turns out to come to fruition, Siri may never come directly to the Mac, but will be able to control your Mac via your iPhone.
This “Voice Control System” patent discovered by Apple Insider this week has not only the iPhone 4S connecting wirelessly to your notebook/laptop, it has a connection then to 3rd party devices as well. You, the iPhone user, may well be using Siri to tell your digital camera attached to a tripod when to snap – remotely! Sounds wild and next-level entertaining: hopefully we’ll see this all happen this summer. Apple may bell use this system with the iPhone 5, but judging by the patent image discovered above, they could bring it to the iPhone 4S before the next level iPhone is released later this year. This type of generational jump in functionality is generally reserved for new device releases, so perhaps it’s going to come with the next version of the Mac computer instead. Perhaps look to the MacBook Air-thin MacBook Pros of this mid-2012 instead. [via Apple Insider]
Article source: http://www.slashgear.com/siri-pairs-with-macbook-pro-this-summer-30220774/
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: Iphone 5
New iPhone 5 Arriving in June?
Apple’s long-awaited iPhone 5 will be released in June of this year according to a recruiter at Apple’s main manufacturing partner, Foxconn.
The rumor comes from a Japanese business broadcast on TV Tokyo and aligns with previous speculation that the iPhone 5 would be unveiled in June at the WWDC conference.
The Foxconn recruitment officer stated that the company was looking to hire an additional 18,000 employees “for the fifth generation phone”.
When asked if the extra employees were required because demand would be high for the iPhone 5, the recruiter replied “that’s right. It will come out in June.”
It’s unclear at this stage how reliable this rumor is, given how notoriously tight-lipped Apple is about the release dates of upcoming products. A June launch also conflicts with information from recent reports which point towards an October release.
Little is known about the iPhone 5, with rumors thus far suggesting 4G LTE connectivity, a longer and wider body as well as a 4.6 inch retina display.
(via Macotakara)
Category: iPhone, iPhone News
Article source: http://www.tapscape.com/new-iphone-5-arriving-in-june/
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: Iphone 5