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iPhone 5 To Feature 4-inch Screen?

With rumors about a smaller iPhone floating around since last week, the latest report from Digitimes surely is interesting. According to the publication, Apple might expand the next generation iPhone’s screen to 4 inches, mainly to compete with various Android handsets that come with displays larger than the iPhone 4.

Apple reportedly will change the screen size of iPhone to 4-inch for its fifth generation iPhone to compete with the Google Android platform in the 4- to 7-inch smartphone market, according to upstream component suppliers.

The component suppliers noted that the production lines for Apple’s next generation iPhone have begun testing, and Apple is interesting in expanding the screen size to 4-inches to support the tablet PC market as the vendor only has a 9.7-inch iPad in the market.

A bigger iPhone screen would raise questions on the resolution of the device, which is currently dubbed as “Retina” thanks to its DPI on the current 3.5-inch display. Another report from last week suggested Apple might adopt Samsung’s Super LPS screen technology, which offers greater viewing angles and brightness. Engadget reported in January that the iPhone would come with a radical new design which, if the rumors are to believed, would play well with this 4-inch screen theory. Digitimes has a good track record on Apple’s production chain reports, and admittedly a slightly bigger display would be pretty cool in our opinion.

In the past months, other rumors pointed to Apple building an iPhone with NFC capabilities for easy mobile payments (although iOS-to-iOS communication would be interesting, too), dual-core processor and LTE for a summer launch “at the earliest”. Earlier today, a new report suggested Apple has been considering three different iPhone 5 models with one of them featuring a slide-out physical keyboard – again, to possibly compete with Android devices. Last, the iPhone 5 is rumored to be a worldphone with integrated GSM / CDMA antennas.

Real Page Numbers Come to iOS Kindle App

The official Kindle app for iOS (universal, free) was updated a few minutes ago to introduce a new feature recently launched on the physical Kindles: real page numbers. Page numbers (currently available for thousands of Kindle books, more coming soon) allow you for instance to make proper citations that other people using Kindle can follow along. It’s a very welcome addition to the app.

The 2.6 update also brings Google and Wikipedia lookup without leaving the app, reading percentage for iPhone and reading progress on the iPhone and iPad Kindle homescreen through the list view.

Kindle 2.6 is available as a free update here. The app was last updated in January to add features like multitasking and iTunes file sharing support.

Sparrow for Mac Update: Faster, AppleScript Support

Since its release in the Mac App Store last week, Gmail desktop client Sparrow has been sitting among the top paid software charts and has gained a huge userbase. The app is clean, minimal and it perfectly blends the typical Gmail environment into a Mac-like package that reminds us of Tweetie. I like Sparrow, and although general IMAP support is still nowhere to be seen I have been using as my default email client for the past week (I use Gmail on a daily basis, more specifically Google Apps).

The developers are working hard on making Sparrow a full-featured email app for the desktop, and this begins today with the first update – available now in the Mac App Store. Sparrow 1.0.1 comes with improved sending speed for outgoing messages (it used to takes a few extra seconds to send an email in version 1.0), a finally-working menubar mode, basic AppleScript support – which I’ll make sure to try out. Loading times of conversation threads have been improved as well.

Sparrow 1.0.1 is available here. We look forward to version 1.1, which should bring IMAP compatibility and more.

Apple Testing An iPhone With A Slide Out Keyboard, But Will They Sell It?

Apple.pro reports this afternoon that Apple may be testing three different iPhone protoypes (including the mini iPhone we’ve been hearing about), one of which is a model with a slide out keyboard. The translation to English is very rough:

There are three iPhone5 prototype
one is a sliding cover which
Is the introduction of the keyboard after the side cover

Being a fan of physical keyboards (especially those on the Palm Pre), an iPhone five with a portrait slider might be enough for me to switch to the next-gen iPhone. Rumors aside, would it be wise for Apple to differentiate with an entire iPhone family to compete against Android, HP, and other competitors? We’re skeptical that Apple would actually launch an iPhone with a physical keyboard, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Also in the mix is a rumored upgrade to the camera, getting a bump to 8 megapixels from the iPhone 4’s current 5 megapixel camera. The report also notes that the transition to the next iPhone will be similar to the transition from the 3G to the 3GS: different guts with the same basic hardware design.

[Apple.pro via MacRumors]

Editors note: Image via TechShout

AT&T Loves iPhone Users, Increases DataPro Plan to 4GB

It looks like AT&T keeps saying “thank you” to loyal iPhone users. As you can see in the screenshot above, some users are receiving a message from the carrier about the automatic increase of the DataPro Tethering Plan from 2GB to 4GB. The monthly plan won’t change, and no action is required from users. A similar change in the DataPro plan was spotted by Cult of Mac earlier today, though it appears AT&T has started sending SMS notices this afternoon.

The change clearly is a move by AT&T to face the buzz generated from the Verizon iPhone, and keep users happy on their network. AT&T’s website doesn’t provide any info on this change at the moment, and it’s unclear whether all iPhone users are getting upgraded to 4GB or just a small section.

[Thanks, Willy]

What Overheating iPad? Judge Dismisses Class Action Lawsuit

Does the iPad overheat when used outside under directly sunlight or warm weather? U.S. District Court Judge Jeremy Fogol has thrown out the case, where plaintiffs claimed Apple deceptive Apple marketing. The plaintiffs argued that books “don’t shut down,” arguing Apple advertised that the iPad was able to be read “just like an open book.”  Computerworld reports that this case didn’t go very far.

“The Court concludes that these allegations are insufficient,” Fogel wrote in his order. “At the least, Plaintiffs must identify the particular commercial or advertisement upon which they relied and must describe with the requisite specificity the content of that particular commercial or advertisement.”

I’m not going to outside and roast my iPad on the sidewalk and wait for it to overheat, but with any sort of common sense (or perhaps purchasing sense) you should realize the iPad’s screen is pretty glossy and isn’t desirable to read in sunlight in the first place. The Judge has given the plaintiff thirty days to gather evidence per his request, but what could they dig up? Commenters, do you think Apple any of Apple’s advertisements or website promotions could be sufficient for this case?

[Computerworld via Macworld]

Intego’s Free Antivirus for Mac Gets 500K Downloads in 30 Days

In its first month of downloads, Intego’s VirusBarrier Express, which is being distributed exclusively on the Mac App Store, has racked up an impressive 500,000 downloads. VirusBarrier Express is Intego’s free antivirus and anti-malware offering that claims to protect Mac users from viruses, Trojan horses and other malware, including Windows malware that could be accidently passed on.

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