Though many have taken the idea that Apple will most certainly skip the iPhone in their upcoming WWDC 2011, but there’s no harm in dreaming about it becoming a reality right? We already know a few almost-confirmed key points about the next iPhone. It will most certainly have a slightly bigger screen, and will most certainly have no NFC chip. Let’s not forget that Apple may implement a new metal-back on the new iPhone through the acquisition of the Liquid Metal company.

We also know that the next iPhone might have a touch-sensitive Home-button, and although the design will not have a drastic change, we also know that the internal organs will get some beefy boost in terms of the dual-core A5 processor, but the rumours have stopped recently.

Now, Ming-Chi Kuo of Concord Securities (who has been dead-on in the past) talked with sources in Apple’s supply chain and learn that the next iPhone will boast the same A5 processor seen in the iPad 2, along with an 8 megapixel rear camera, improved antenna design, and that Qualcomm baseband for both GSM and CDMA models we’ve seen bandied about (technically, the one in the current Verizon version is already GSM-capable).

His sources also claim that Apple will begin mass production of its next-gen phone in September, which aligns nicely with what we estimate, of Apple moving to a fall launch. And because of the ongoing disaster in Japan, the company might not have sufficient supplies to launch a new iPod touch at the same time.

Usually people tend to spill lots of incredibly crazy rumours when it comes to the iPhone, but Ming-Chi’s source has always been reliable. So, until September then.

SOURCE via Apple Insider

It’s a great thing that Nokia made their Ovi Maps free, but now the awesomeness is going to get even higher. Nokia’s just launched their beta version of Ovi Maps 3D. Not only Google has 3D maps wokey! Anyway, Nokia had help from Navteq’s maps and some software wizardry magic. It’s now able to display cities in a new 3D view that you’re able to zoom in and around to your heart’s content, the same cool thing that you can do over at Google’s. will we get such feature in future Nokia handsets?

SOURCE via Ovi

Ever since the Fukushima nuclear crisis caused by the earthquake and tsunami in March, radiation and nuclear meltdown have become a much talked-about topic. People are becoming more wary of radiations and nuclear waste. Now, if you’re curious and want to know about the radiation in your surroundings, you’ll need a Geiger counter. However, where the hell can you get one? They’re not stuff sold in Ace hardware or your local convenient store.

Nerd heads will love this alternative and geeky Geiger counter by the Libelium gang. En route to the Tokyo Hackerspace as we speak, the Radiation Sensor Board for Arduino is a low-cost alternative to existing devices. It’s available now either with a compatible geiger tube for €95 ($135) or without for €65 ($50).

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Surprise, surprise. Toshiba has finally unveiled its upcoming Honeycomb tablet. It’ll be known as the ANT, one with no legs and antenna of course. The tablet will be 10.1-inch and will have a 1280 x 800 multitouch display. It’ll be powered by a 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core SoC processor.

The features are quite standard. There’s the now-common 802.11n wireless and Bluetooth connections, and a 6-cell battery that provides up to 7-hour of battery life. Other specs include a 2-megapixel front-facing webcam, a 5MP rear camera with autofocus, stereo speakers, a GPS receiver, an accelerometer and a compass.

The 8GB Toshiba ANT-100 is said to retail for $450, while the 16GB Toshiba ANT-102 retails for $500. The 32GB Toshiba ANT-104 has a $580 price tag. Now, can you still choose among all the Honeycomb tablets?

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It appears that Apple indeed made a huge NAND deal with Samsung, and part of them are meant for Apple’s SSD in their products.

When Apple unveiled their redesigned MacBook Air in October 2010, much was made of the switch to flash storage using a custom-built Mini PCI Express form factor SSD drive. It took a few weeks but these SSDs would ultimately be released as the commercially available Toshiba Blade X-gale SSD module, model TS128C.

However, user reports are showing MacBook Airs equipped with a second, even faster SSD with a SM128C part number — the “SM” hinting at its presumed Samsung manufacturing origins. Samsung’s SSD manages up to 260MBps read and 210MBps write speeds compared to Toshiba’s 210MBps read and 185MBps write performance.

Of course, it’s hardly unusual for Apple to multi-source components. What’s more, it might be a recent decision to source parts from Korea’s Samsung to keep just-in-time supply lines fully stocked following the spate of disasters in Toshiba’s home country of Japan.

Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be any way of confirming which SSD you’re about to purchase without cracking open the retail box and running the OS X System Profiler. My word? Don’t bet on it.

SOURCE via Anandtech

Too many Android tablets to choose from? How about some slightly more ‘serious’ tablets? Remember the Cisco Cius Android tablet? It’s finally available for purchase from your Cisco field representative. The tablet is an ultra-portable, mobile collaboration business tablet that offers access to essential business applications and technologies. The gadget supports Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n), 3G/4G data and Bluetooth 3.0, HD video (720p) with Cisco TelePresence solution, a 7-inch high-resolution color screen and a battery that provides up to 8-hour of operation time.

SOURCE via Cisco