The new PSP NGP will boast both 3G and WiFi connectivity, a five-inch multi-touch OLED display and run on an ARM Cortex-A9 core CPU. The new portable playstation system also incorporates a unique multi-touch pad on the rear, together with a front touch display panel.
Early last year we saw a patent that indicated that NFC (near field communication) was heading to the iPhone 4. This of course didn't happen which then led to speculation that the iPhone 5 might be the device which sees NFC implanted inside it.
Bloomberg is reporting today that Apple appears likely to add NFC to the iPhone 5 and the iPad 2 making them into mobile payment systems.
The main goal for Apple would be to get a piece of the $6.2 trillion Americans spend each year on goods and services, Crone said. Today, the company pays credit-card processing fees on every purchase from iTunes. By encouraging consumers to use cheaper methods — such as tapping their bank accounts directly, which is how many purchases are made via PayPal — Apple could cut its own costs and those of retailers selling Apple products.
What NFC does is allows the owner of the NFC enabled device use it as a debit card. Card information is stored within the device (iPhone 5, iPad 2) and when a contact point is tapped the payment is debited from the users account. When we say the user needs to tap, the system does work at a distance of about 4 inches.
If Apple does choose this route, which it probably will in the next gen iPhone and iPad, then it could require a revamp to the iTunes service allowing users to store NFC details on their accounts as well as collect loyalty points on purchases. With the size of Apple's userbase, the company could easily push NFC mainstream.
The Verizon iPhone is coming February 10 and some of the big questions are: who will leave the AT&T iPhone for the Verizon iPhone, who will leave the Verizon Droid for the Verizon iPhone, and most importantly, what will the next huge wave of Verizon feature phone upgraders choose?
AT&T’s reception — or the lack thereof in some areas — will certainly propel some current iPhone users to switch networks (our poll shows about 19% of TiPb readers are considering doing just that). Some wanted the iPhone badly enough that they tolerated a poor network experience for years but now that they have the choice they’ll switch to a network that better suits their needs as soon as contract and/or cash allow.
On the flip side some wanted the iPhone but just couldn’t or wouldn’t live with AT&T service in their area so stuck with Verizon and got BlackBerry Storms or, especially lately, Verizon Droids. I’m deliberately using Droid and not Android because, like it or not, Android is not a mainstream brand. And no matter how much market metric companies like to graph it, it’s not a phone any consumer can buy. Droid is, in several models, and thanks to Verizon’s massive advertising campaign coupled with Google’s powerful software, it’s a phone that gained some mainstream mindshare.
(Samsung’s Galaxy S, while popular, has a fragmented brand with different names on every carrier so despite incredible sales it collectively doesn’t enjoy the same level of mainstream mindshare.)
No doubt many people bought Droids because they love Android. They’re probably the same people who know what Android is and specifically why it’s great at what it does. They also know Galaxy S and the other models. Many others just wanted a smartphone and Droid did — original, Pro, 2, Incredible, Bionic, etc. They went into the store and it was a brand they recognized thanks to Verizon’s advertising and, with the only other recognizable brand being BlackBerry, they probably picked one or the other (increasingly Droid based on the share numbers).
Now those same customers will walk in and see iPhone. Money Verizon used to spend on marketing Droid is now also being used to market iPhone on Verizon. Apple is also marketing iPhone on Verizon. AT&T will continue to market iPhone (Verizon and AT&T will be competing not just for users but for iPhone users and that benefits the iPhone brand). No one else is marketing Droid.
Some who previously bought BlackBerry Storm or Droid will switch to iPhone, also when cash and/or contract allows. Some will stay with both (productivity mavens and power users), but those who wanted the iPhone and couldn’t get it will switch when they can.
Existing smartphone users are also only the tip of the iceberg. The giant, ship-crushing base of the iceberg is feature phone users who either waited for the iPhone or see the iPhone as just another phone they’ll enjoy using (as opposed to other, more complicated even if more powerful smartphones). The partial migration of AT&T iPhone users and Verizon BlackBerry and Droid users is one thing. The inevitable migration of mainstream feature phone to mainstream smartphone users is another. Because right now iPhone is almost synonymous with mainstream smartphone.
Right now Verizon customers going into a Verizon store to get a new phone might recognize BlackBerry or Droid. Next month they absolutely will recognize iPhone. Just look at how Verizon is positioning it:
Not only is iPhone listed first, Droid and BlackBerry aren’t listed at all. You have to dig for them. [Daring Fireball]
The number of Droid users — of all Android users — on Verizon today is small compared to the number of iPhone users on AT&T. Collectively, across all US networks, Android phones have numbers that equal or beat iPhone just on AT&T. [New York Times]
Next month iPhone will be on Verizon as well. How many will switch to iPhone from Droid? How many will switch to the Verizon iPhone as their first smartphone? No one knows for sure but the number will pass 1 million very quickly, probably in the first week, and several million, probably the first quarter.
Up until now the choice may have been iPhone on AT&T or Droid on Verizon. It also may have been iPhone on AT&T or no-iPhone on Verizon. We’ll find out which next month. My suspicion is Apple’s investment in brand will pay huge dividends and will be something other OS makers and manufacturers will have to start taking much more seriously.
This means we’ll likely see smarter and smarter internet-connected gadgets in the future. Shane Rau, an analyst at IDC, expects this market segment to grow at a double-digit rate in the next five years.
The new AMD Embedded G-Series platform uses the first Accelerated Processor Unit (APU, or a combo chip), which AMD has designed for “embedded systems,” or the gadgets that aren’t considered phones or PCs. Embedded systems typically serve one or two functions and are generally not programmable for other tasks.
AMD has offered chips in the embedded market for some time, such as its AMD Geode processor from 2003. But it has steadily increased the computing power of the chips it has offered in the space, culminating with an APU that is optimized for low-power consumption, smaller size, lower prices, and high performance.
The AMD Fusion family of APUs combines a microprocessor with a graphics system all on one chip. The G-Series platform has two “Bobcat” microprocessor cores, a variety of video processors and a controller hub for display output and input-output functions. AMD has lined up a number of developer tools for support. And its customers include Microsoft’s new Surface table computers, MediaVue, Quixant, Wyse, Fujitsu, Advansus, Compulab, Congatec, Haier, Kontron, Mitec, Sintrones, Starnet, WebDT, and Hewlett-Packard.
AMD says its embedded G-Series platform uses chips that are smaller than Intel’s equivalent Atom chips. That means they use less power and cost less.
You may remember the Cherrypad, a sub-$200 Android tablet that, while receiving less-than-stellar reviews, still sold a few units out of sheer cheapness. The latest version of this budget device, however, isn’t so budget. The specs have gone up, and with them, the price.
Mobile Magazine has gotten hold of the specs for the new Cherrypad (unconfirmed at the moment), and the improvements actually put it in the running… well, not with the Xoom or iPad, but certainly with the Galaxy Tab. It’s getting a higher-res 7″ screen (1024×600) and a capacitive touchscreen, replacing the lower-res resistive screen of the old version. It’s also getting dual cameras with flash and 8-16GB of onboard memory (plus MicroSD slot). Android 2.2 is what it’ll probably ship with.
Most importantly, perhaps, there’s a new 1GHz Cortex A8 CPU with 512MB of RAM, HDMI out, and a GSM antenna. That makes it a relatively modern, all-purpose tablet. The price, please? Apparently “in the $300-$400 range” — unfortunately for them, that doesn’t undercut the far more well-known Nook Color, and may even get direct competition from the iPad, depending on what happens over the next month.
At any rate, it should get an official announcement in a few weeks, and we’ll keep you posted.
