Digitimes - page 2

Want to know an easy way to predict a new Apple product release? Follow Digitimes‘s winning formula!

When Tim Cook said that Apple would start manufacturing part of its Mac lineup stateside in 2013, many speculated that the Mac Pro would be the most likely candidate. We postulated that the upcoming Mac Pro would make the perfect choice because it is easier to build and doesn’t sell as well as the other Macs. Apple would be able to test a desktop production line in the U.S. with a niche Mac that won’t create huge consumer demand.

According to a new rumor, it will not be the Mac Pro, but instead the Mac mini that gets manufactured in the U.S. next year.

Right now, if Apple sticks with a yearly product release cycle, all of Cupertino’s major products are scheduled to debut next year in October. The iPhone 5S. The iPad mini 2. The iPad 5. New iPod Touch. New iMacs. New MacBooks. All released right before Christmas.

It’s hard to believe that Apple would actually release all of their new products in October next year, though. It not only makes for a boring road map, but it positions all of Apple’s new products during the most expensive holiday of the year: if people want to get, say, a new iPhone and an iPad next year, they might have to choose one or the other, instead of getting both at launch during a more staggered road map.

That’s why there’s something about the latest Digitimes report that makes sense to me: they say the iPhone 5S and next-gen iPad will come out in the middle of next year, or around June or July.

Apple fans have been disappointed that the iPad mini cost $329, while other 7-inch tablets cost significantly less. Phil Schiller defended the price saying consumers will pay for a quality product. He’s right. Apple’s going to sell a gazillion iPad minis, but the reason for it’s higher price tag might have a lot more to do with problems manufacturing the touch screen.

According to Digitimes, Apple’s $329 price tag for the iPad mini is largely due to low yield rates for the device’s GF2 (DITO film) touch screen technology.

DigiTimes has a rather poor track record when it comes to Apple rumors, so it’s always best to take its reports with a healthy heap of salt. The latest claims that Apple has informed its suppliers to prepare for a next-generation iPad in “mid-2013.” The Cupertino company has always launched its latest tablet around March, it is expected next year’s model will come slightly later.

The report also claims that Apple is working to reduce the number of LED backlights in the new model in an effort to simplify its manufacturing process.

It seems right now like Apple has a lot of prospective new products on the horizon. The 7.85-inch iPad mini. The 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro. Updated iMacs. Yet despite the fact that all of these products have been highly rumored to debut this month in time of a busy holiday season, we’ve yet to see any of them. Now one report is suggesting a reason why: Apple’s having production problems on both the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro and iPad mini.

Digitimes has been one of the main sources of Apple rumors over the last several years, but anyone who follows Apple will tell you that the Taiwanese publication is more often wrong than right. While Digitimes will correctly predict something like Apple making 3 variants of the iPad 2 (WiFi, GSM, CDMA), it will also publish a story saying that Apple is bringing micro-projectors to the iPhone.

After being placed under the microscope and heavily scrutinized by Harry McCracken of TIME, Digitimes has issued a statement explaining where its Apple rumors come from, and how the publication will do its best to provide more accurate information in the future.

Samsung has reportedly launched its next generation of 20-nanometer mobile memory chips early in a bid to repair the damage caused by a throwaway rumor from DigiTimes that claimed Apple was gearing up to shun Samsung’s DRAM chips in favor of those from Elpida Memory.

Samsung’s share price plummeted by 6% shortly after the rumor began to circulate, costing the Korean company around $10 billion in market value.

We here at Cult of Mac love Apple rumors as much as the next guy, but sometimes it’s helpful to be reminded of the power rumors can wield. Samsung’s market value fell 6% on Wednesday to the tune of a $10 billion nosedive. Why? One silly Apple supply rumor.

Apple apparently already has slimmed-down 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pros in production. The redesigned cases drop the optical drive, but storage will still be plentiful and CPUs will be more powerful than those in the current MacBook Air lineup, say the rumors.

There have been some crazy rumors flying around lately regarding the iPad 3, but now we have a new one that is all about the MacBook Air. According Digitimes (which has a fairly poor track record with Apple rumors), Apple is considering launching a 14-inch MacBook Air specifically for Asian markets, that may enter production fairly soon. Apparently, 14-inch screens are more popular in Asia than they are in other parts of the globe, which is how the publication is justifying the rumor.

If Apple got into the TV set business, they could give cable operators a run for their life, right? Probably, but some observers suggest the tech giant should not try to reinvent the wheel – a broken one at that. Instead, any Apple TV set should be based on Internet streaming, making cable television obsolete.

That’s right — rumors surrounding an “iPad mini” have been resurrected by DigiTimes, which claims Apple is really going to give Amazon’s Kindle Fire something to worry about next year with an 7.85-inch model of it’s hugely successful tablet.

Someone fell down the rabbit hole, returning with a whopper of a rumor. The iPhone 4S – you know, the Apple handset that’s been flying off shelves and setting record pre-sales – is actually a dog. Seems Apple is having a hard time getting rid of these things and has told suppliers to back the truck up – like into next year.

The only problem with this rumor? It’s total bunk, says a prominent Apple analyst.

DigiTimes is a throw-stuff-against-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks kind of news org, so along with predicting that Apple will radically overhaul their iMac, iPhone, MacBook Air and iPad lineup in 2012 comes a separate report all about the iPad 3.

In the details, though, the iPad 3 report is much more interesting, because it predicts Apple will miss a March/April release window for the iPad 3 and instead launch in late summer.

Apple is supposedly is preparing to overhaul its key product trifecta: the iPhone, the iPad and iMac, as well as the MacBook Air in 2012. The report, based on the tech giant’s “upstream supply chain,” echos existing chatter the company will unveil new versions of its products in the coming year.

The scarcely, randomly reputable boys over at Digitimes are recycling weeks-old rumors by insisting that one of their sources from inside AAPL’s component supply chain says that the iPad 2 will boast a Retina Display.

Well, no, it jolly well won’t. But just in case that doesn’t convince you, how about some extrapolation due Moore’s Law?

According to the always reliable Digitimes, Apple is preparing three versions of the iPad 2 for 2011… but if you think they mean 16GB, 32GB and 64GB, think again. Digitimes thinks it means WiFi, 3G.. and a Verizon iPad.

Unscrew the salt shaker and empty it onto your uvula, because it’s Digitimes rumor time. According to the always questionable publication, Apple’s already got the parts suppliers for the iPad 2 lined up… and they’re ready to name names.