Apple may be working on a smaller “iPad mini” tablet with a 7.85-inch display, according to a new report from United Daily News in Taiwan. Reportedly, LG Display and AU Optronics will supply the parts for the device, which will have the same 1024 x 768-pixel resolution as the iPad 2. Apple may want to enter the lower-priced tablet market in an effort to steal market share away from Amazon’s Kindle Fire device, but at least one analyst has argued the device may not be smaller in size than the current iPad. Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White recently suggested that Apple might introduce an “iPad mini” priced in the “high to mid-$200 range” during the first few months of 2012, and the device will feature the same 9-inch display despite its smaller price tag. Apple is then expected to release an iPad 3 with a higher 2048 x 736 resolution later in the year.

[Via Mac Rumors]

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It wasn’t exactly a secret, but now the proverbial big cat is out of the bag. Apple has just updated the company’s best-selling computer product, the MacBook Air with a Core i5/i7 option, better storage, Thunderbolt port, and finally, a backlit keyboard (again). Mac minis are updated as well, at long last bringing them up to speed with current processors and features.

The other big story is obviously OS X Lion which is Apple’s most iOS-like release yet, and it slowly starts to bridge PC and post-PC devices. Lion is a major OS update with more than 250 new features, and it’s available for $29 through the Mac App Store starting now.

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Apple is poised to release updated models of its Mac Pro and Mac mini computers at the end of July or the first week of August, according to Tweets from one CNET editor. Both families are expected to be updated with Intel Sandy Bridge processors as well as the new Thunderbolt I/O ports. Unfortunately, there still isn’t a whole lot of information on what other hardware or changes will be offered in the refresh, but CNET does say that the new computers will be preloaded with OS X Lion. The rumor is in line with the Cupertino-based firm’s past refresh history: Apple last updated its Mac Pro line on July 27th, when it introduced its new 12-core models, and the Mac mini was last refreshed on June 15th, 2010.

[Via 9to5 Mac]

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Sony Ericsson on Thursday unveiled three new Android-powered smartphones: the Xperia mini, the Xperia mini pro and the Xperia acro. The latter is a new version of the Xperia arc that will only be available in the Japanese market, however the Xperia mini and mini pro are set for global launches beginning in the third quarter of this year. Sony Ericsson claims that the new Xperia mini is the smallest Android phone in the world capable of capturing HD video, and it features Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), a 3-inch Reality Display with Sony’s Bravia engine, a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and a 5-megapixel camera. The Xperia pro features similar specs along with a slide-out full QWERTY keyboard. Hit the jump for the full press releases.

Sony Ericsson unveils next-generation Xperia minis

• Introducing two powerful, versatile and compact smartphones
• Xperia™ mini – the world’s smallest HD video recording smartphone
• Xperia™ mini pro –intuitive fast messaging in a compact smartphone

May 5th, 2011, London – Sony Ericsson unveils the new Xperia™ mini andXperia™ mini pro, the latest additions to its Xperia™ family. Building on the success of the original mini series, these innovative smartphones come packed full of features, powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon™ processor, and run the latest platform of Google’s Android™ – Gingerbread 2.3. Beautifully designed, Xperia™mini and Xperia™ mini pro both integrate best-in-class imaging and display technology from Sony, including Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine and HD video recording (720p).

The products offer a full multimedia entertainment experience. Xperia™ mini and Xperia™ mini pro enable access to over 150,000 apps on the Android Market™ and has a 3” scratch-resistant, multi-touch glass screen. The improved user interface allows up to 16 apps displayed on the home screen. Facebook inside Xperia™, a feature just announced for the Xperia™ family, provides a unique social media integration.

Xperia™ mini pro brings the optimized slide-out keyboard with smart functionality first seen on the Xperia™ pro to a compact smartphone. A subtle but fast Type & Send functionality eliminates the need to open a dedicated app for each type of message, and Smart Keyboard triggers predictive messaging actions automatically when the user slides out the keyboard. Xperia™ mini pro also comes pre-loaded with Office Suite and McAfee antivirus software, letting consumers manage documents and e-mails instantly and securely while on the move.

Steve Walker, Head of Marketing, Sony Ericsson said, “We wanted to provide consumers even greater choice across the Xperia™ range, while building on the success of the original mini series. These turbo-charged smartphones now contain even more power, enhanced functionality, a larger screen and premium features unique to Sony Ericsson. They are packed full of features, making them a perfect choice for consumers looking for all the benefits of Android and Sony in a beautiful and easy to use compact form factor.”

Sony Ericsson also unveils today a new integration, Facebook inside Xperia™, which will be included in the new Xperia™ mini and mini pro and soon to be available across the wider Xperia™ range. Facebook inside Xperia™ integrates social connections throughout the phone, by making Facebook immediately accessible from the most used areas of the phone such as the picture gallery, music player, phonebook and calendar.  As people are becoming increasingly reliant on their smartphones for instant communication, Sony Ericsson is enabling people to ‘like’, share and comment more easily than ever before with Facebook inside Xperia™.

Sony Ericsson Xperia™ mini – Key features

• World’s smallest Android™ smartphone with HD video recording
• Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine
• Place up to 16 apps in the corners of your home screen
• Over 150,000 apps on Android Market™
• Facebook inside. Keeping your friends closer

Sony Ericsson Xperia™ mini pro – Key features

• Ergonomic keyboard and smart functions for fast messaging
• HD video and Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine
• Synch your email and view office documents safely on the go
• Place up to 16 apps in the corners of your home screen
• Over 150,000 apps on Android Market™

Sony Ericsson Xperia™ mini pro and Xperia™ mini with HD will be available globally in selected markets from Q3.

Sony Ericsson unveils Xperia Acro – the ultimate smartphone for users in Japam

• Combines best-in-class imaging and display technology with features familiar to users in Japan, such as an infrared port for data exchange, mobile wallet, and mobile TV functionality.

May 5, 2011, London, UK – Sony Ericsson today unveiled the Xperia™ acro, a new addition to the Xperia™ range, designed specifically for the needs of users in Japan. The Xperia™ acro builds on the success of the product family with a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon™ processor, and runs on the latest Android platform – Gingerbread 2.3. Best-in-class imaging and display technology features from Sony – the perfect enabler for its mobile TV functionality.

Bert Nordberg, President, Sony Ericsson said, “We are delighted to be introducing this flagship model to Japan. In this sophisticated market, we are listening to consumers and are happy to adapt our products to fit in with requirements which they believe to be an essential part of the mobile experience. We expect that they will be pleased to have such a uniquely adept premium smartphone and look forward to a new wave of consumers experiencing the world of Xperia™.”

The Xperia™ acro provides an excellent multimedia experience, powered by a Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine and presented on an extra wide 4.2” screen. The 8.1 megapixel camera with ‘Exmor R™ for mobile’ enables the capture of low-noise, high quality images and HD video (720p), even in low light. Pictures and videos can then be shared in HD on a HDTV through a built in HDMI-connector.

Sony Ericsson Xperia™ acro – Key features

• Human Curvature™ design and form factor
• Mobile TV functionality enabling live TV viewing
• Infrared port  enables data sharing with other infrared enabled devices
• Mobile wallet: Instead of paying with cash, cheque or credit cards, a user can use the Xperia™ acro to pay for a wide range of services and digital or hard goods.
• Extra wide 4.2” multi-touch Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine to ensure ultimate multimedia and viewing experiences
• Sony Exmor R™ for mobile delivers best-in-class low-light photography and video capture
• 8.1 megapixel camera and HD video recording capability
• 1GHz CPU, Adreno 205 GPU

Sony Ericsson Xperia™ acro will be available in Japan from this summer in Black and White.

Bloomberg is reporting that Apple, Inc. is working on a smaller, cheaper iPhone model to compete with the army of affordable handsets currently utilizing Google’s Android operating system. The report cites several anonymous sources “briefed on the matter” and claims that the company is looking to sell this new device for around $200 unsubsidized. The article also notes that Apple could be working on “technology that makes it easier to use the iPhone on multiple wireless networks”; we presume this is the SIM-less iPhone that was rumored months ago. A $200, carrier agnostic iPhone? It doesn’t sound all that much like Apple, but then again… if the iMaker wants to thwart the mighty Android, they’re going to have to think different.

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The Samsung hardware ship has been leaking like a sieve over the last several days. Following yesterday’s outing of the Forte LTE handset destined for MetroPCS, images of a new device, the S5830, have popped up on the web. Being referred to as the “Galaxy S Mini” by some, the device does look like a stout version of Sammy’s European Gally S and bears an iPhone-4-esque chrome bezel. Samfirmware, the site that published the photographs, also lists some of the device’s purported specs: Android 2.2.1, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3.5mm audio jack, micro-SD card slot, micro USB slot, and 5 megapixel camera with LED flash and 720p video recording. Thanks to public comments made by the company’s CEO, we know Samsung will be showing off some new hardware at Mobile World Congress next month. Will this little guy make an appearance? We’ll find out.

[Via Samsung Hub]

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Chinese forum IT168 is at it again, with more leaked images of Sony Ericsson’s refreshed X10 Mini Pro. Previous rumors have the next-generation Mini Pro packing a 1GHz CPU with an independent GPU, 3-inch 320 x 480 pixel touchscreen display, and Google’s latest Android 2.3 operating system. From the images we’ve seen, it also looks like the hanset will have a front-facing camera for video calling and a rear-facing camera of an undisclosed pixel count (although judging by the “HD” label, we’re guessing it has to be at least 5 megapixels). There is one more picture of the device’s posterior after the break. Have a look and let us know what you think!

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What do we have here? Chinese forum it168 has posted three images of what a new user is claiming to be the successor to Sony Ericsson’s X10 Mini. Details are sparse (and in Chinese), but from what we can discern the device will be running the Gingerbread operating system (Android 2.3) and will rock a 1GHz processor with an independent GPU — we think we see a front-facing camera although it was not mentioned by the poster. The person with access to said device was kind enough to put it through some benchmarks and the results are, to be honest, pretty impressive. No word on whether the minuscule, slide-out, QWERTY keyboard will be included in the pictured device. Expect to see this one get official at Mobile World Congress in February.

[Via Gizmodo]

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One of our Sprint sources just shot us over some internal slides on a couple of the company’s upcoming product launches. While the BlackBerry Style 9670 was recently launched on October 31st, it seems RIM and Sprint just can’t wait to move these bad boys, as starting November 26th, the BlackBerry Style will be available in a buy one get one free promotion. According to the slide, it seems that there isn’t a limit on the amount of free additional BlackBerry Styles you can purchase as long as you are activating all new lines or two year agreements.

Switching to the Sanyo Taho, it’s a previously unheard of rugged 3G handset which meet military grade specifications. It’s due to launch on December 9th for $99.99 and packs a 2 megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, MP3 player, expandable microSD slot and more. If you’re in an Android kind of mood and feeling crazy, the LG Optimus S in purple is still set for November 21st launch as had been previously reported.

Dell’s Inspiron 11z netbook is also on tap for a November 14th release and clocks in at $149.99 at the register. If that’s too much for your pockets, the Dell Inspiron Mini 10 (1012) is available for free on the same date. We have all the product information images loaded up in our gallery ready to go for your enjoyment.

Today, AT&T announced the availability of three new mobile-broadband computing devices: the Acer Aspire AS1830, Acer Aspire One 532h, and the Dell Inspire Mini 10D. The Aspire AS1830 is a full-fledged laptop that comes with an Intel Core i3 processor, 2 GB RAM, 250 MB hard drive, 11.6-inch display, 1.3 megapixel webcam, and Windows 7 Home Premium. The AS1830 will retail for $239.99 on a two-year contract. The Aspire One 523h and Dell Mini 10D both fall into the netbook category, with 10.1-inch displays, Intel N450 Atom processors, and Windows 7 Starter Edition; both units will retail for $39.99 with a two-year contract. The devices will also be able to leverage AT&T’s Pay-As-You-Go plans for connectivity; $15 for one-day 100 MB plan, $30 for one-week 300 MB plan, $50 for one-month 1 GB plan. If you fancy the no-contract service, you will have to pay full-price for the devices; pricing starts at $449.99. Hit the read link to check out the full press release.

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Today, Nokia announced that the ever-efficient Swype keyboard will be coming to Symbian S60 5th edition devices. The software keyboard, which is currently being launched as a limited beta, supports the N97, N97 mini, X6, 5800, and 5230 Nokia handsets. As Nokia explains: “Swype and Nokia have been hard at work to deliver a limited beta release to Nokia S60 5th edition device owners. Your feedback will be valuable to us in the coming weeks, and we are especially interested in how well Swype interfaces with the many types of applications you use every day.” If you are interested in getting Swype on your S60 device, hit the jump to see a quick video followed by the download link.

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As iPhone 4 pre-orders kicked off, visitors to Apple’s website were greeted with a teensy surprise this morning, as the Mac mini has received its long-rumored long-efresh. Milled out of a solid chunk of aluminum, $699 base model comes with an 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, 320GB HDD, and a NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics card. As expected, HDMI has replaced the DVI port (the Mini DisplayPort is still there) and a SD card reader now joins the four USB 2.0 ports and sole FireWire 800 port. If there’s no need for an optical drive in your life or if you just want something in the way of a compact server, there’s also the option of scraping it entirely and a nabbing a unit with a 2.6GHz processor, dual 500GB HDDs and 4GB of RAM for $999.

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If you or anyone you know were planning on picking up a Mac mini over the weekend (don’t laugh, we’re serious), you might want to hold off because AppleInsider has it on good authority that the teensy weensy computer rig is due for a refresh in the coming weeks. AI is reporting that multiple independent sources who order Mac minis in large quantities were either instructed to order only what is urgently needed or wait a few weeks. One educational institution had its order fulfilment estimate changed from several days to June 14th. Two months ago AI reported that prototype Mac mini’s spotted by Apple employees had the DVI port swapped out for a HDMI port and the inclusion of NVIDIA’s MPC89 chipset. The last Mac mini refresh took pace last in October.

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Uh, wow? Apple seems to have approved the much-hyped Opera Mini iPhone application according to, well, Opera. Apple has historically only approved web browsing applications that used the WebKit view that Apple includes as part of the iPhone OS SDK. Full press release is after the jump! What do you guys think?Opera Mini App approved for the App Store

Oslo, Norway – April 13, 2010 – Opera today announced its popular mobile browser, Opera Mini has been approved for iPhone and iPod touch on the App Store. Opera Mini will be available as a free download within 24 hours, depending on market.

Opera Mini, with more than 50 million users worldwide, enables fast mobile Web browsing by compressing data by up to 90 percent before sending content to the device, resulting in significantly improved page loading. Users of the app will notice an uptake in speed, especially on slower networks such as the 2G Edge network. Surfing the Web with the Opera Mini App on iPhone and iPod touch will also help users save money because of its data compression capabilities. This will hold especially true while the user is incurring roaming charges.

“We are delighted to offer iPhone and iPod touch users a great browsing experience with the Opera Mini App,” said Lars Boilesen, CEO, Opera Software. “This app is another step toward Opera’s goal of bringing the Web to more people in more places.”

The Opera Mini App is available for free from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.

Resources
A demo video is available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpTCS3g-cBY.
Screenshots are available at: www.opera.com/press/resources/.

About Opera Software ASA
Opera Software ASA has redefined web browsing for PCs, mobile phones and other networked devices. Opera’s cross-platform web browser technology is renowned for its performance, standards compliance and small size, while giving users a faster, safer and more dynamic online experience. Opera Software is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with offices around the world. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol OPERA. Learn more about Opera at http://www.opera.com/.

It’s been a long time coming, but Dell and AT&T are finally readying themselves to release that long, long rumored Android smartphone in the US. AT&T’s website is contains a promo page for the Dell Aero, a handset which is really just a slightly upgraded version of the Mini 3i (or rather Mini 3ix) that’s long been available in China. So far AT&T hasn’t thrown too many specs out there, but from AT&T’s website and what we’ve heard, we’re looking at a 3.5″ nHD 360×640 display, 5 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, aGPS, 3G, support for Microsoft Exchange and a new UI skin. Of course whether the Aero will be running Android 1.5, 1.6, 2.0 or 2.1 is the question of the day, but with CTIA officially kicking off today, we don’t think we’re going to have to wait too long to get all the answers to our burning questions.

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