Apple iPhone 6 Release Date Nears: 5 Features And Specs To Expect Based ... - International Business Times

Most attention will deservedly fall on the iPhone 5S, which will feature the newest technologies from Apple, but many still want to know what will make the budget iPhone distinctive. We've been following the rumors for more than a year now, and we have a great picture of what users can expect from Apple's lower-end smartphone when it is released this month. 

But before we discuss some of the features of the iPhone 6, here's a little background: Most analysts believe the concept of the iPhone 6 is to offer a cheaper iPhone for people in lower income brackets and emerging markets (including China and India -- two largely untapped markets for Apple) who can't readily afford the newest high-end iPhone. Apple is particularly interested in China, as proven by multiple recent visits by Apple CEO Tim Cook to the headquarters of China Mobile Ltd. (NYSE:CHL), the largest telecommunications carrier in the world with 703 million subscribers. Many believe Apple has chosen to produce and release the cheaper iPhone 6 so it can strike a deal with China Mobile, and join the company's vast TD-LTE network.

Now, without further ado, here are five features of the iPhone 6 you should expect to see at Apple's Sept. 10 unveiling. 

1. Plastic (and less scratchy) form factor. The iPhone 6 is expected to release with many of the same features of the iPhone 5, but the key difference will probably be the form factor. Reportedly, the anodized aluminum body of the iPhone 5 will be replaced by a cheaper, albeit sturdier and more scratch-proof, polycarbonate shell. In January, iLounge editor-in-chief Jeremy Horwitz said the iPhone 6 will release as a "cross between the iPhone 5, the fifth-generation iPod touch and -- wait for it -- the iPod classic." With a 4-inch screen like the iPhone 5, a tapered bottom like the latest iPod touch and a rectangular shape like the iPod classic, the budget iPhone 6 is expected to be made substantially of plastic but will feature a hybrid plastic and metal chassis. The right side of the iPhone 6 will likely feature a flat, centered SIM card tray like the iPhone 5, with the locations of the camera, microphone and rear flash located about where they are on the latest-generation iPod touch.

The concept of the plastic iPhone 6 is to offer a cheaper iPhone for lower tax brackets and emerging markets around the world that can't readily afford the latest Apple smartphone.  Courtesy / SonnyDickson.com

2. Same iPhone 5 specs, same iPhone 5 performance. We believe Apple will release the iPhone 6 with most of the same specs as the iPhone 5, including a 4-inch Retina display at 326 ppi, an A6 chip, a FaceTime HD camera and an 8-megapixel rear side camera; the 8-megapixel camera has already shown up in allegedly leaked photos of the iPhone 6 components. 

3. Five candy colors. The major difference between last year's iPhone 5 release and this year's budget iPhone 6 -- besides the new polycarbonate enclosure -- will likely be its availability in five colors (red, green, yellow, blue and white), as opposed to the two silver and slate color options from the iPhone 5. Alleged photos have depicted the iPhone 6 with a black front face on all models regardless of rear shell color, which seems likely, but don't be surprised if Apple includes white or color front-face options when it is released next month.

The iPhone 6, or iPhone 5C, may release at a price of $0 on-contract ($400 to $500 off-contract) when it sees its alleged release date on Sept. 20.  Courtesy / iCrackUriDevice

4. Pre-loaded with iOS 7. Phone hardware tends to get more attention than its software, but the operating system running on the iPhone 6 is just as vital to the iPhone experience as the phone itself. This year, Apple has completely revamped the style, icons, textures and features of the iOS ecosystem to provide a familiar but entirely new experience altogether. The release of iOS 7 will provide a big cosmetic and feature-ridden upgrade with plenty of new tools and features, and could quite possibly be Apple's most successful iOS release to date. Most notable among the new iOS 7 features: The helpful Control Center that contains quick access to important settings; the built-in parallax that shifts the background image in response to one's movements; a new way to multitask apps; the AirDrop feature for sharing photos or documents with other iPhone users in the area; and much more. For more on iOS 7, check out our visual guide on iOS 7 to learn more about the new design, some surprise features we discovered in the very first iOS 7 beta release, plus our collection of 80-plus screenshots of iOS 7. 

5. It'll be cheap. Obviously, the selling point of this particular iPhone release won't be its form factor, or its specs, but rather its price (plus its availability in five colors, which will help the iPhone 6 stand out). Many originally predicted Apple would release the iPhone 6 at the same price as the iPhone 4, which is currently being sold for $0 with a two-year contract in the U.S., or for about 3,000 yuan (roughly equivalent to $490) in China. This week, these iPhone 6 price rumors seemed to be confirmed by a prominent poster on China's social network Sina Weibo, "C Technology," who also claimed the iPhone 6 will release at the same price as the iPhone 4. KGI Securities' Ming-Chi Kuo, who has an excellent track record with forecasting Apple's product pipeline, also predicted (via MacRumors) the iPhone 6 would release at a price between $450 and $550 off-contract, which would line up with the newest set of rumors.

If these price rumors are indeed accurate, Apple will likely be changing its price strategy across all iPhone lines. With the new iPhone 5S price said to be $199 with a two-year contract, last year's iPhone 5 may drop its price to $99 on-contract, and the iPhone 4S from 2011 may sell for the equivalent of the plastic iPhone 6 at $0 on-contract. Some rumors predicted that Apple would eliminate the iPhone 5 from its iPhone lineup with the release of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 5S, but given how we believe the iPhone 6 won't release with all of the same specs as the iPhone 5, we believe last year's iPhone model still will "deserve to exist" and won't be discontinued just yet. This may be the first year, however, that Apple removes the popular iPhone 4 from its U.S. lineup.

Apple iPhone 6 Coming: When Is The Release Date?

We originally predicted that Apple would reintroduce iOS 7 on Sept. 10 and release the operating system a week and a day later on Sept. 18. Since Apple tends to release its newest iPhone two days after the release date of its newest iOS, we predicted Apple would release at least one of its two new iPhones on Sept. 20.

Kuo recently said (via MacRumors) that Apple would release its iPhone 5S after the budget iPhone 6 in September due to supply constraints, but we believe Apple will be able to launch both new iPhones on the same release date -- Sept. 20. Apple has reportedly restricted vacation time for employees between Sept. 15 and 28, while T-Mobile has implemented vacation blackouts between Sept. 20 and 22, according to TmoNews. All rumors seem to point to a single Sept. 20 release date for both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 5S.

What do you think of the iPhone 6? Would you consider purchasing an iPhone 6 over Apple's high-end iPhone line, even if that means sacrificing some key user features to save some money? Do you think Apple will bundle the release dates of the iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 together? Give us your thoughts of the iPhone 6 in the comments section below.

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PAX: Mtn Dew Giving Away Xbox Ones -- Unless You Use Windows Phone - Forbes

Free Xbox Ones for iPhone and Android users

At PAX in Seattle this weekend, Mtn Dew (pronounced "Mountain Dew") is giving away Xbox One consoles as part of a promotion with Microsoft. There are QR barcodes hidden around the Washington State Convention Center and, when scanned with the PAX Guidebook app, can be used to collect points. The points can be redeemed for gear or, if a user has enough, can be used to bid on an Xbox One on Sunday.

The problem is, the app to scan the QR codes only works on iPhone and Android devices – Microsoft Microsoft's own Windows Phones are left out of the fun.

It's almost certainly just an oversight on the end of the organizers and not a deliberate snub, as making a Windows Phone version of the app wouldn't take much effort at all, but it is perhaps telling of the public's perception of Microsoft's mobile operating system.

I'll be the first to say it, even though I'm an iPhone user: Windows Phone doesn't suck. In fact, it's quite excellent and will probably gain in popularity with the next few updates. That said, someone at Mtn Dew is probably going to get an angry call from someone at Microsoft when they figure out that their users have been locked out of a promotion for its own flagship entertainment device at the biggest user-facing gaming convention in the world.

Microsoft cedes board seat to activist investor - Register

Win a top of the range HP Spectre laptop

Just a week after Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer announced plans for his retirement Redmond has offered activist shareholder ValueAct Capital a seat on the Microsoft board.

Redmond announced the "cooperation agreement" in the late hours of Friday afternoon in San Francisco before the Labor Day three day weekend, which is an ideal time to bury news.

The agreement means ValueAct Capital – one of Microsoft's 15 largest shareholders with 0.8 percent of common stock – will "have the option" of plonking its president Mason Morfit onto Microsoft's board of directors, after the 2013 annual shareholders meeting.

Until the board meeting, the agreement "provides for regular meetings between Mason Morfit, president of ValueAct Capital, and selected Microsoft directors and management to discuss a range of significant business issues," Microsoft said.

ValueAct Capital gobbled $2bn of Microsoft stock in April, and at the time the company's founder, Jeffrey Ubben, said "Microsoft could be the largest cloud company in the world," but bemoaned some of its consumer missteps.

By July, ValueAct was pushing for a seat on the Microsoft board, and also allegedly succession planning for a post-Ballmer world, Reuters reported. At the end of that month, Microsoft announced revenue figures for its Surface consumer slabs that were so poor El Reg termed them "shockingly hideous".

Now, Steve Ballmer is on the way out, and ValueAct Capital has the offer of a seat of the board.

"Our board and management team are committed to enhancing growth and value for Microsoft shareholders, and we look forward to ValueAct Capital's input," Microsoft's departing chief Steve Ballmer, said in the statement. ®

Win a Samsung 40-inch LED HDTV with The Reg and HP!

Nokia Promises Its Amber Update Will Come To All Windows Phone 8 Lumia ... - TechCrunch

Today Nokia promised owners of its Lumia Windows Phone 8 devices that its "Amber" update will reach all phones by the end of September. The Amber upgrade is a mix of feature improvements that will improve Nokia's handsets, further setting them apart from devices built by other smartphone OEMs.

Amber contains a photo-editing tool, improved image processing, the ability to snag motion in sequence with "Action Shot," the acceptance of double-tap input to wake the phone, and improved internal storage reporting.

However, the most important new piece delivered by Amber is "Glance Screen," a tool that makes your phone's inactive state more interesting. When your handset is inactive, it will display a clock and battery information. So, you can more quickly interact with your phone without having to do anything at all. You can turn off Glance, of course, or have it switch off after a set amount of time.

In past years, we would now discuss how Amber puts Nokia ahead of Samsung, HTC, and other Windows Phone OEMs (remember Dell?). We don't have to do that anymore, as Nokia controls essentially the entire Windows Phone market. Thus, the changes are not as much changes to Nokia's Windows Phone handsets as they are adaptations to the Windows Phone platform itself. Given that Nokia sells nearly 90 percent of Windows Phone devices, any changes that it makes become de facto official changes.

This is a problem for Microsoft, as it initially ceded flexibility to make changes to Nokia in partial exchange for it adopting the platform. This saved Microsoft's mobile life, but in the process cost it control: If Nokia can essentially skin Windows Phone to its own contentment, Microsoft is in a material way not in charge of the Windows Phone user experience and design.

I doubt that sits well in Redmond. Thus, Microsoft either builds a phone itself (there have been rumors), or it bolsters HTC (the only remaining OEM partner with more than a scrape of market share that isn't Nokia) to get a better grip on its platform.

Whatever the case, if you are a Nokia handset owner, the Amber update will be rolling out depending on your handset and country and likely carrier over the next month. Get ready.

Top Image Credit: Vernon Chan

Google Confirms It Has Acquired Android Smartwatch Maker WIMM Labs - TechCrunch

Google has confirmed it acquired WIMM Labs last year, a company that previously made an Android-powered smartwatch before shuttering operations in 2012. At the time a message on its website said it had entered into an exclusive partnership without releasing further details, but it's now clear that partner was Google, rather than Apple as some had initially speculated. Google's WIMM Labs acquisition was reported earlier by Gigaom.

Google is rumoured to be developing a smartwatch of its own, with patents turning up earlier this year (filed in 2011), and a report by the FT that claimed Google's Android team was in the process of developing such a device. Google has also hinted at Android powering a range of wearable devices in the past, when CEO Larry Page let slip during a quarterly earnings call this year that Glass runs on its smartphone and tablet OS, and that Android is "pretty transportable across devices". Google has also long had bigger ambitions for Android than just pushing it onto phones and tablets, with TV set-top boxes, in-car tech, home automation and wearables all areas where it's actively encouraging Android to spread.

WIMM Labs started out building Android-based platforms for wearable displays, akin to Google Glass, and then created the WIMM One in 2011: a smartwatch powered by Android 2.1 that was aimed at developers as a sort of concept flagship ahead of a broader consumer launch. The WIMM One used Bluetooth and Wi-Fi 802.11b/g for connectivity, had 256 MB of RAM plus a 667MHz processor, and used a screen design that refreshed once per minute to conserve battery life. It also supported apps via a "Micro App Store" — installed and managed by users via a web-based dashboard. Android developers were offered custom APIs for adapting their software to the WIMM One's tiny, 16-bit colour screen.

Google is not commenting further on the acquisition at this point, beyond providing confirmation that it picked up WIMM Labs in 2012. If Mountain View is building its own smartwatch it's unlikely to beat its Android OEM partner Samsung to a launch, as the Korean company's Galaxy Gear device is probably going to be unboxed next week in Berlin at a September 4 event. Plenty of other Android-powered smartwatches are also entering the frame via crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter, and also cropping up on the roadmaps of other Android OEMs. Meanwhile Apple's rumoured iWatch remains elusive.

If Google isn't building its own smartwatch hardware, acquiring WIMM Labs could be a way to help it develop a custom version of Android designed for wrist-mounted wearables, which it could then provide to OEMs the same way it currently does with Android proper. Given the amount of interest in smartwatches from OEMs big and small, that could be the better strategy for long-term platform growth.

Microsoft offers ValueAct president seat on board - Reuters UK

SEATTLE | Sat Aug 31, 2013 12:03am BST

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp on Friday offered a seat on its board to the president of ValueAct Capital Management, the activist fund manager that pressed for the ouster of Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer and wanted a say on the software giant's strategy after taking a $2 billion stake earlier this year.

The offer marks a victory for ValueAct. Reuters first reported in July that the fund was seeking a board seat as poor quarterly results slammed Microsoft's share price.

The San Francisco-based fund, which manages about $12 billion for clients, owns 0.8 percent of Microsoft's shares. Co-founded by finance industry veteran Jeff Ubben in 2000, it has made a reputation for building stakes in companies and working with management to change fundamental strategy.

The fund has not said a great deal in public about its aims with Microsoft, but people familiar with its thinking have said it was concerned about Ballmer's leadership as well as the wisdom of Microsoft's foray into making hardware devices, and that it sought higher dividends and share buybacks to benefit shareholders.

Ballmer last week announced his plan to retire within 12 months, but said ValueAct had nothing to do with his decision.

His retirement came as a surprise, just six weeks after he launched an ambitious plan, received coolly by investors, to reorganize the company around devices and services rather than its core software products.

Under an agreement made public on Friday, Microsoft is offering ValueAct's president, Mason Morfit, an option to join Microsoft's board after the technology company's annual shareholder meeting, which is usually held in mid-November.

ValueAct did not say whether it would take up the offer of a board seat, and did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

The agreement also provides for regular meetings between Morfit and selected Microsoft directors and management to discuss a "range of significant business issues," Microsoft said, without giving further details about those issues.

Morfit has been at ValueAct since 2001, and previously worked in equity research for Credit Suisse First Boston. He also represents ValueAct on the board of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc, where he won praise as the architect of Valeant CEO J. Michael Pearson's innovative pay package, which included requirements to buy stock, zero annual share grants and a 'lockup' period on sales of stock.

If ValueAct accepts Microsoft's offer, Morfit will become the 10th member of the board, which is led by former Symantec Corp CEO John Thompson.

Co-founder and Chairman Bill Gates and CEO Ballmer, which between them hold nearly 9 percent of Microsoft shares, also sit on the board.

As part of the agreement, ValueAct cannot launch a proxy contest, the generally hostile and public method of seeking to appoint new directors to a company's board, Microsoft said in a regulatory filing.

Microsoft's shares rose 10 cents to $33.50 in after-hours trading.

(Reporting by Bill Rigby in Seattle and Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bangalore; Editing by Sreejiraj Eluvangal; Leslie Adler, Carol Bishopric and Ken Wills)

iPhone Trade-In Options Multiply, Here's Your Guide - Forbes

On September 10, Apple will announce two new versions of the iPhone, which will go on sale 10 days later. And if history is any guide, among the first buyers will be folks who already own an older model of Apple's ubiquitous smartphone. If you're one of those people, you've certainly got some time to consider your options, but the Labor Day weekend is a good time to begin thinking about trading it in. An older iPhone in good condition will cover some of the cost of a brand new one if you're eligible for a new phone with your carrier, perhaps even more than that. But to realize the value, you'll want to be prepared to make the swap, you'll want to have some idea of how you're going to do it, and perhaps most important, you'll want to know how you're going to end up doing it. This guide, which I'll make available again with updated details once the new iPhone goes on sale, is designed to help you understand the tradeoffs between convenience and getting top dollar for your phone.

For the first time, you'll have the option of trading in your phone at an Apple retail store as well as several mail-order options from companies that make used electronics their business. In addition, Best Buy and some cell-phone carriers are willing to buy back your phone. Finally, you're able to sell it yourself where you'll likely get the best price, but you'll have to expend the most effort.

(In a future post, I'll examine in detail what's in the new iPhones and why those upgrades may or may not entice people to make the swap at all.)

Step 1: Find out your contract status

For many, the upgrade question is intimately tied into whether or not they are eligible for a discounted phone with their current carrier or willing to switch to another for a discount. Typically, if you haven't upgraded in 2 years, you're certainly eligible. But depending on when you got your last upgrade, you might be eligible sooner. The rules have been a moving target and many people are still on plans where they became eligible after 20 months. Some of you might have taken advantage of the new plans from T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T that you let you upgrade more frequently. The only one of those that is even reasonable to consider is T-Mobile's Jump plan. But all of those programs are new and require some time before you could make the first upgrade, so they shouldn't figure in your calculation yet.

You can check with your carrier now to learn about your upgrade eligibility and you can expect that Apple's own site will allow you to check this easily as well once the new iPhones are announced. At the right is a clipped image from the Verizon site showing an iPhone 4S that is eligible for an upgrade "at a discounted price". Those are the magic words, because it means the 16GB model of the iPhone 5S will almost certainly be $199 with Verizon (or Sprint or AT&T if that was my carrier). The iPhone 5, which was placed on contract last year, would require the dreaded "full price" upgrade, likely at $649. For most people that ends the conversation. You'll see also that Verizon is taking trade-ins, though it calls it recycling. The offers don't seem very favorable, except against one alternative that I'll discuss below.

If you're fed up with your carrier and you have fulfilled your 2-year contract with them, now is a good time to switch. It's worth noting that on average, only about 1% of a given carrier's customers cancel or switch each month if they have traditional "postpaid" plans. People talk about doing it a lot and suggest that new phones will motivate such a switch, but there has not been a lot of data to suggest a spike in switching actually occurs.

Step 2: Make sure everything is backed up

If you have iOS 6 on your phone (and there's a better than 90% chance you do), you have Apple's iCloud functionality baked in, which means you don't need to plug in to back up. You can simply go to Settings –> iCloud –> Storage & Backup. Make sure iCloud Backup is turned On if it isn't already and hit Back Up Now if needed. For those of you already using iCloud, you should see the date and time of the last backup, which ought to be fairly recent. If it isn't, you'll want to hit the button, too, once you're at home or in the office on a WiFi network.

If you haven't ever done this, the first backup is going to take a while, perhaps 15 minutes to an hour or more, but it's worth it. First, you'll have your data securely duplicated on Apple's servers in the event your phone is lost or stolen. Second, you won't need to plug it into a computer and use iTunes to make a copy of your apps and contacts. If you have more than 1000 photos, you're still going to want to plug into a computer and there are some strange aspects with regard to music that you didn't purchase via iTunes originally. Those oddities might require you to subscribe to iTunes Match, but for most people the iCloud backup is a good idea even if you're still regularly syncing with iTunes to keep your music library straight.

Before making any actual trade-in, you'll of course want to make sure your backup is up to date by doing one last press of the Back Up Now button or a sync with iTunes on your computer. Through an odd set of circumstances, I ended up replacing my iPhone 5 twice this year and each time I restored from iCloud without any incident.

(On the next page: How much is it worth? Who should you sell it to?)