iPad mini and iPhone 5 rumours
Rumours around Apple’s iPad mini, a smaller iteration of its uber popular tablet PC, have been growing louder over the past few weeks, not just in technology blogs but also reputed international news outlets such as Wall Street Journal and New York Times . Apple’s CEO Tim Cook had mentioned that the company might want to keep its cards close to its chest, especially after some of its recent launches such as the Macbook Pro with Retina Display, were written about by several bloggers even before their launch. This somehow took away some of the glitter from its events.
It now looks like Apple might venture into expanding its tablet portfolio to include a smaller screen and more economical tablet device to ward off the challenge from the next generation Android (of the likes of Google Nexus Tab) and Windows 8 tablets.
Closer home, there is a lot of speculation about when the iPhone 5 will launch in India. There has been some talk that the new iPhone might arrive on October 26. But the official word from the Apple contact person for India has been a resounding ‘No’. It has been well-documented that Apple is facing some logistics problems in reaching the iPhone 5 even to its primary markets in the U.S. and Europe. So, maybe, Indians might have to wait a bit longer to get the iPhone 5 through vendors. Online, though, it is already available on some auction sites at inflated prices.
FTC to target Google
Google’s famous one line corporate motto ‘Do no evil’ seems to have come under its biggest test yet. American government agency, the Federal Trade Commission, is said to be considering taking action against Google for misusing its dominant position in the online Web search space to knock rivals out.
The timing seems to have put the tech giant in hot water, as it is also facing privacy concerns from regulators of most of European Union nations and also some places in Asia, including the likes of Hong Kong and Macau.
Co-founder Larry Page, who has been out of the public eye, owing to an illness for some months now, has made a public appearance earlier this week to warn how “over-regulation” could kill the industry and narrow down offerings to customers.
Microsoft Surface pricing revealed
Microsoft is trying to make all the right moves ahead of its Windows 8 launch later this month. It has unveiled its pricing and opened orders for its tablet PC Surface on the website >www.microsoft.com/surface and its engineering team is even running virtual question and answer sessions on Reddit.com. The basic Surface model starts at $499 for the 32 GB iteration without the smart cover. One can also order the 32 GB version with the smart cover for $599 or the high-end 64 GB iteration with the smart cover for $699. Sounds like a good thing to order from a relative living in the U.S. The orders will be delivered from October 26, the day when Microsoft unveils its Windows 8 operating system to the world.
