Apple iPhone 6 Availability Delayed in India

Apple has been going back-and-forth on the India launch date of the iPhone 6. On September 9, the day of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 launch, the company had announced on its website that the iPhone 6 would be available in India on September 26 (screenshot). Some time later, that date was changed to October 17 on the Apple India website. On Thursday, NDTV Gadgets spotted that the iPhone 6 launch date has been removed from the website.

However, those who were hoping to buy the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus on launch day need not be disappointed. Apple is not known for communicating the date of availability of new products well in advance in India. We think this move signals a return to the pattern observed in previous years, when Apple would make no announcements regarding the availability of new iPhone devices in India.

The fact that Apple mentioned the launch date on India website was an aberration, the new iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus are still likely to launch on October 17. During the keynote announcing the launch of new iPhone devices and the Apple Watch, the company made no mention of when the new smartphones will make an appearance in India.

The company had instead announced the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will be available in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the UK beginning on Friday, September 19, and customers can pre-order both models beginning on Friday, September 12.

NDTV Gadgets had reported that initially there was confusion over Apple announcing the India launch date of the iPhone 6 on its website. It was thought that the information was an error on the part of Apple, but later when the date was changed to October 17, it became apparent that the announcement was not an oversight.

We have asked Apple for official confirmation of the India launch date, but the company hasn't yet given us any confirmation of the launch date.

iPhone 6 Model Leaked Images

Apple's long-rumoured 4.7-inch iPhone 6 model has been leaked in a couple of fresh images, ahead of the company's expected launch of the device at its September 9 event next week.

The first of the leaked images purportedly shows the iPhone 6's 4.7-inch model with its screen turned on and displaying the iOS 8 lock screen. The other leaked image shows the rear of the handset with camera and LED flash sitting on top of the left edge panel. The leaked image also tips the presence of a protruding camera ring on the model, which goes in-line with some recent leaks.

Reports have been tipping that the protruding camera rings spotted on the iPhone 6 models appear similar to the one seen on fifth-generation iPod touch, although it remains unclear what specific purpose the rings will serve on Apple's upcoming smartphone. The new leaked iPhone 6 images have been obtained by GSM Arena.

(Also see: iPhone 6 Mobile Wallet Will Let You Pay for Physical Goods: Report)

The new leaked images of the alleged iPhone 6 4.7-inch model further corroborate what's has been widely expected based on earlier leaks, that the next iPhone will come with curved edges and will be a major departure from the company's current industrial design on existing iPhone models. However, until officially revealed, it remains uncertain if Apple do away with its current straight-edge design seen on the iPhone 4, iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s.

(Also see: iPhone 6 Purportedly Disassembled on Video; New Lightning Cable Unlikely This Year)

The next iPhone has for a while been rumoured to arrive in two display size variants - 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch - that both feature the iPod touch-inspired design; the Touch ID fingerprint sensor; the new Apple A8 SoC, and the long-awaited NFC connectivity. The new iPhone is also said to cost less than the previous generation, as well as feature higher resolution displays and bigger storage variants (up to 128GB). Of course, the iPhone 6 should ship with iOS 8.

Reports have been tipping that Apple's next iPhone would hit shelves on September 19, the traditional 10 days after the unveiling of the smartphone.

BIG Apple iPad Pro is incoming

APPLE WILL RELEASE its biggest ever iPad next year, widespread reports have claimed, speculating that the Cupertino firm intends to market a 12.9in tablet at the start of 2015.

Citing sources familiar with the plans who asked not to be identified because "the details aren't public", Bloomberg reported that Apple will soon begin production of a much larger tablet, apparently 3.2in bigger than its presently largest tablet model, the iPad Air.

When asked for comment, an Apple spokesperson said the firm "doesn't comment on rumours or speculation".

The iPad Air was Apple's most recent tablet announcement. As the company's "thinnest and lightest full-sized tablet" at the time, the iPad Air was unveiled along with the iPad Mini with Retina display in July 2013.

This new, larger tablet will be the firm's largest iPad to date and the first time in two years that Apple will come out with a new tablet model as opposed to a merely a small upgrade.

If the rumours are true, the move likely will revitalise iPad sales after Apple's last quarterly earnings reflected a decline in tablet revenue. In July, iPad sales reported in Apple's Q3 2013 financials fell short of analyst expectations by over one million units, coming in at 13.27 million for the quarter. This was down from the 14.6 million tablets that Apple shifted in the same quarter the previous year, and a huge decrease compared to the 16.3 million sold in the prior quarter.

Bloomberg's sources suggested that it is unlikely we will see the super-sized iPad on the same day as the highly anticipated new iPhone 6, which is predicted to make its debut sometime in September.

The online rumour mill has spat out rumour after rumour about what we can expect from the so-called iPhone 6, which is forecast to arrive in both 4.7in and 5.5in models.

If the launch of the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C on 9 September last year is anything to go by, Apple's iPhone 6 unveiling will take place on 9 September.

ophone which transmits scents

Here’s a sniff of the future and it’s called the oPhone. It may sound suspiciously like an iPhone, but the ‘o’ is for olfactory and it refers to a revolutionary new messaging platform, which transmits scents. Vapor Communications, the company behind the scent-messaging platform, says: “With oPhone, people will be able to share with anyone, anywhere, not just words, images and sounds, but sensory experiences itself.” The first scent messages were exchanged last week between New York and Paris. At the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, co-inventors David Edwards, a Harvard professor, and Rachel Field, formerly an undergrad student at the same university, joined collaborators Christophe Laudamiel and Blake Armstrong in Paris via Skype. From Paris, they emailed a scent-tagged photograph of French delicacies and champagne they had just poured to celebrate the launch of the oPhone. When the oPhone on the New York side picked up the message, the device dissipated a subtle aroma that matched perfectly with the picture.

The scent-infused messages, called oNotes, are composed in an iPhone app called oSnap, which was launched simultaneously. Using oSnap, users can mix and match from 32 basic aromas to produce more than 3,00,000 unique scents. The 32 aromas are placed inside oPhone’s eight ‘oChips’, which are like a printer’s ink cartridges. When the device receives an oNote, it releases the corresponding aroma based on the aromatic tags assigned to the image. Each scent is designed to last roughly 10 seconds. If the images are tagged with more than one scent, the smells will release one after the other. The oPhone introduces a new kind of sensory experience into mobile messaging.

The idea originated two years ago in Edwards’ course at Harvard called ‘How to Create Things and Have Them Matter’. Field, then a mechanical engineering undergrad, and some of her classmates looked at creating a virtual world of aroma. They developed the idea at Le Laboratoire, Edwards’ creative hub in Paris known for conducting experiments at the intersection of science and art. In the scent-messaging project, Edwards is focusing on the food space. oPhones will be displayed in cafes in Paris to test the device’s business potential at places where aromas matter.

Edwards is the CEO of Vapor Communications. Currently, oNotes are transmitted via email or social media, and can be picked up at hotspots where there are oPhones in place to receive them. oPhones are available commercially at around $150, but it will take time to gauge their impact. In New York, people can try out the oPhone at The American Museum of Natural History during three weekends in July. oNotes add a new dimension to telecommunication. The possibilities for the technology are vast: scent messages could be aromatic pictures of a cup of coffee, olfactory tweets from a wine tasting, scented sounds from a family dinner party, or even a promotional campaign for a restaurant. “One day, fairly soon, any user of a mobile phone anywhere will not only be able to receive a scent message—invoking a culinary pleasure—but quickly send another back, similar to how we exchange audio information today with friends around the world,” says Edwards. So far, oNotes are limited to scent-tagged images composed in oSnap, a free mobile messaging app for iPhone devices. Whether that is the scent of success is too early to tell.

Now, Winston Churchill on Twitter, Facebook; take a look

London: Churchill's wisdom will also be accessible through Facebook and an iPhone app, according to his estate. A little bird says you might get a ‘tweet’ from Sir Winston Churchill any day now. The “Greatest Briton” will be using social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, the former British Prime Minister’s estate has announced.




The estate said that it has launched its own iPhone app and will use social media to bring Churchill's "wit and wisdom" to a wider audience. Facebook and Twitter profiles have been set up and the iPhone app will go on sale for 1.19 pounds with all proceeds going to the Churchill Estate.

According to Churchill's great-grandson Randolph Churchill, the application was "the first accurate guide to the best of his sayings".




"It shows just how relevant his thoughts remain," Mr. Randolph was quoted as saying by the Telegraph. He said the new forays into social media are based on the work of historian and Churchill expert Richard Langworth.




"There is not a day when Sir Winston is not quoted in one way or another, whether by presidents, prime ministers, newspapers on the web or by people in their everyday lives," said Mr. Randolph. "This app is also the most superb opportunity to make sure the record is correct."




Called "Churchillisms: The Official Wit and Wisdom of Winston Churchill", the iPhone App includes photographs, more than 250 quotations and excerpts from his speeches.




A website "churchillisms.com" has also been set up and the twitter profile can be found at twitter.com/wchurchill2010.

Source: PTI