The next generation iPhones and iPads are rumored to have Apple’s new System on a Chip, which will feature the much more powerful dual core SGX543MP2 graphics chip. It is also said that the chip would enable four times the pixel count of previous iPad. The new iPad 2 Retina display would have a resolution of 2048 x 1536.
The more advanced SoC will also add support for HDMI as well as 1080p Full HD video playback. However, it is not yet certain in which iOS devices you will see these, if any. According to AppleInsider, there will be multi-core ARM Cortex A9 CPUs in the SoC quite like in Nvidia’s Tegra 2 chip.
It certainly does sound like the new iOS devices will have a ton more horsepower than the predecessors.
Result for: predecessors
A new study by warranty company SquareTrade has revealed that the iPhone 4 is much more fragile than its predecessors, with the new phone 82 percent more likely than older models to be damaged within its first 120 days of ownership.
The company examined 22,000 reports from iPhone 4 SquareTrade warranty owners, as well as 20,000 reports from iPhone 3G devices.
Says SquareTrade marketing VP Vince Tseng: “The iPhone 4 is a more fragile device than its predecessors. The surface area … which you can scratch or break has basically doubled.”
The iPhone 3G and 3GS were encased in plastic, whereas the iPhone 4 uses glass on the backplate. The iPhone 2G used an aluminum back.
About 30 percent of the reported damage for iPhone 4 warranty owners had to do with the back glass. When Steve Jobs unveiled the device earlier this year, he boasted of the glass, which is “30 times harder than plastic…and 20 times stiffer than plastic.”
Result for: predecessors
Just like its predecessors Halo 2 and Halo 3, Halo: Reach has been leaked this weekend, with modders at Game-Tut finding a way to download the game from Microsoft’s own servers.
Microsoft has been hosting the full game online.
Only a few people were allowed to download the game, and each needed a special code.
Game-Tut cracked the security, and has made the files available via P2P, torrents and warez for the public as [JTAG] Halo Reach RF ISORip XBOX360-XB3.
Gamers have already uploaded videos showing off battles in the game’s Firefight mode.
Microsoft’s response (via Joystiq): “We are aware of claims being made regarding a security exploit related to Halo: Reach and are aggressively investigating the matter. We have no further details to share at this time.”
