Mulder vs. Scully

After I wrote my editorial on setting expectations I got a ton of tweets and comments and emails from people who really, truly want to believe Apple will be releasing a full on, big screen, metal back, different looking iPhone 5 this Tuesday at the Let’s Talk iPhone event. They’re talking about how competitive the market is now as opposed to 2009 when Apple did just that with iPhone 3GS. They’re saying it’s Tim Cook’s first big event and he can’t afford to disappoint. They’re pointing to case leaks in Asia and supposed case SKUs in the US. They looking at the 15 month gap between devices and wondering how on earth Apple couldn’t release a brand new iPhone 5 this year. How one earth they could “just” release an iPhone 4S.

It’s like Mulder vs. Skully from the old X-Files show. (Wikipedia it, whipper snappers.)

Mulder is driven by emotion. He wants to believe. Scully is ruled by science. She’s a skeptic. And that’s where we are right now.

Like I said, I want to believe. It’s such a compelling story. It would make for such a spectacular announcement. It would fill my fanboy heart with a soaring glee that would make me near impossible to deal with for a month or so. It would be like Christmas and my birthday rolled into lottery winning day in gadget form.

I want to believe… but in the last few days, looking at the leaks, listening to trusted sources, talking with other bloggers who are listening to their trusted sources… I just have to be the skeptic.

If Apple has truly pulled a fast one on the bloggers and the sources, if they’ve kept a full blown iPhone 5 secret from spy shots and manufacturing leaks beyond that case mold, then kudos to them. Well played.

If not, then we’re getting iPhone 4S and we can gather back here in October 2012 for that (or some other) iPhone 5 and dance this little jig again.

But I’m not going into Tuesday expecting anything beyond that iPhone 4S, iOS 5 and Assistant, some new iPod touches, and the usual stuff that goes with that type of announcement. I’m not Mulder this year, much as I truly wish I could be. This year, I’m Scully.

iPad Live, tonight at 9pm EDT. Be there!

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If you have any questions or topics you’d like us to discuss, just leave them in the comments then come be part of the show!

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App for That: How to have free, password-protected messaging with Android and BlackBerry

There are hundreds of thousands of iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad apps for just about everything — so how come the one you need, the one you know just has to be there, is so hard to find? Enter TiPb’s new weekly feature where staff and readers alike sort through the App Store and help you find just the right App for That. This week, Jo asks:

I’m searching for a cross-platform Instant Messaging app that can employ a passcode. I need to be able to communicate with a BlackBerry user. And, I’d like to be able to passcode lock just that IM app, without passcode protecting my full phone. Any ideas?

To see what we found for Jo, follow along after the break!

KakaoTalk Messenger [Free - App Store link] is an SMS alternative for iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry. One of it’s distinguishing features from similar apps is that it allows you to set a passcode on the app that must be entered every time you open KakaoTalk.

Some other features include group messaging, multimedia sharing, English, Spanish, Japanese and Korean support, and custom backgrounds.

As of now, the BlackBerry version for KakaoTalk is under beta, but it’s a public beta, so anyone can download it. Just keep in mind that there are probably some kinks that are still being worked out.

To learn more about KakaoTalk and to download for Android and BlackBerry, head on over to Kakao’s website.

Anyone else have any App for That suggestions for Jo? Let him — and all of us — know.

Having trouble finding what you need in the app store? Head on over to our App and Game Feature Forum and let us know what you’re looking for. The TiPb community will do our best to find you just the right App for That!

Setting expectations

Up until a short time ago I fully expected a completely redesigned iPhone 5 from Apple this coming Tuesday, complete with bigger screen and thinner profile and everything else the case leaks suggested. Now I’m expecting an iPhone 4S — that name and the same basic design as the current Verizon iPhone, with an Apple A5 dual core processor like the iPad 2, an 8 megapixel rear camera (and hopefully a FaceTim HD front camera), and perhaps some extra RAM to really let it fly.

Apple has done this before, of course. iPhone 3GS was exactly the same casing as iPhone 3G, but with better chips and a bigger camera, and it sold fantastically well. Heck, iPhone 4 in its current configuration continues to sell fantastically well. And Apple is not a company that typically changes just for change’s sake.

Sure it’s been 15 months since iPhone 4 hit the market, and Apple’s had more time than ever before between generations, but that doesn’t mean they’ve spent that time on hardware.

First, the Verizon iPhone has only been on the market since February and that might have contributed to the fall rather than summer refresh schedule. iOS 5 is also a huge update, especially iCloud which Apple likely does not want to be a repeat of MobileMe. And if even half the rumors about Assistant turn out to be true, that will be the big story next Tuesday.

Apple has said numerous times that software is their key differentiator. If an 8GB iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S are the only iPhones introduced next Tuesday, they’ll be putting their money where their mouth is like never before.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see Tim Cook holding up the iPhone 5 from those case leaks. I just no longer expect him too. I’ll get to be surprised instead of disappointed.

2011 is the year of the iPad 2, not the iPhone 5. That, it seems, might have to wait for next year.

iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S Spotted In Electronic Inventories

href="http://www.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/iphoneleakfromcincybell.jpg">class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-23895" title="iphoneleakfromcincybell" src="http://www.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/iphoneleakfromcincybell.jpg" alt="" width="440" height="493" />With the official announcements of a new (or possibly more than one) iPhone just around the corner, we’re seeing a spate of store inventories showing these new devices. They may be legit, or they could be just placeholders put into the system so that when information comes out they’re ready to go. Either way, we’re seeing more and more. Over the weekend, two major websites have givens us some hints about what’s to come. href="http://www.tuaw.com/2011/10/01/iphone-5-appears-temporarily-on-cincinnati-bell-website/">The Cincinnati Bell website briefly showed an entry for both the iPhone 5 and an iPhone 4S. This is a regional carrier, with a website devoted to pay-as-you-go phones, so that raises some questions about if this will be available on prepay. The specs listed are for an 8MP camera, HSPA+ and a 4″ screen — none of which are too far out there.

href="http://www.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/iphone4soncincysite.jpg">class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-23894" title="iphone4soncincysite" src="http://www.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/iphone4soncincysite.jpg" alt="" width="454" height="328" />

The same website also had an entry for the iPhone 4S for $99 with 16GB of storage.

href="http://www.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/img_1303-1.jpeg">class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-23896" title="img_1303-1" src="http://www.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/img_1303-1.jpeg" alt="" width="479" height="640" />

Meanwhile, href="http://9to5mac.com/2011/10/01/radio-shack-inventory-system-shows-sprint-iphone-5-others/">a screenshot from RadioShack’s website shows an entry for a 16GB Sprint iPhone 5.

 

iPhone 4S Mentioned In iTunes?

style="text-align: left;">href="http://www.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/iphone4s.png">class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-23900" title="iphone4s" src="http://www.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/iphone4s.png" alt="" width="525" height="168" />We’re pretty sure there’s going to be some sort of new iPhone in the same form factor as the iPhone 4. href="http://www.everythingicafe.com/photos-of-new-iphone-4/2011/10/02/">These leaked photos pretty much confirm it, but in an interesting twist href="http://9to5mac.com/2011/10/01/iphone-4s-with-iphone-4-design-dual-mode-capability-leaked-by-itunes/">9to5 Mac has gone string diving through the most recent iTunes beta, and have come up with a reference to the iPhone 4S from within the application, and it’s CDMA too.

style="text-align: left;">While that seems to point pretty solidly to there being some sort of iPhone 4S in the works, another prominent Apple website disagrees. href="http://www.tuaw.com/2011/10/01/iphone-5-appears-temporarily-on-cincinnati-bell-website/">Over at TUAW, they’ve posted the following:

A different website is claiming that only the iPhone 4s will be announced, based on strings that were allegedly found in a pre-release beta of iTunes. A source close to TUAW revealed that no such text strings were found in any of the recent beta releases of iTunes.

Make of that what you will.

Week in iPad for October 1, 2011

Missed a compelling piece of iPad news, a great app review, or a killer how-to? We’re not collecting absolutely everything in iPad here — you can hit up TiPb.com/iPad for that! — but we’re carefully picking what we think is the best of the last 7 days and presenting it here. For you.

And hey! — these double as show notes for our iPad Live! podcast tonight at 9pm Eastern. So join us and follow along!

Yup, Another Leak – This Time from Foxconn (Images)

Like I said last night, there is still time for companies to slip and let the cat out of the bag regarding the new iPhone models. Late(er) last night, almost immediately after target="_blank" href="http://www.iphonealley.com/news/word-of-the-next-generation-iphones-cannot-be-contained">I posted, pictures of the supposed lower-end iPhone 4 were discovered by Gizmodo’s Brazilian counterpart, onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/gizmodo.com.br/');" href="http://gizmodo.com.br/">Gizmodo.com.br – this time, right from Foxconn.

Before Tim Cook has even gotten on stage in Cupertino to do his talking about the new iPhone models, Foxconn has already leaked some photos. The Foxconn factory in Brazil allowed personnel from Gizmodo.co.br into the factory, who took pictures of an SKU-iPhone that looks very similar to the current iPhone 4; that little bit matches the icon displayed in the beta version of iTunes.

The pictures, don’t depict anything special. In other words, no real changes have been made to the exterior of the iPhone. The intriguing part was that the last of the pictures displayed a model number ‘N90A’, which has, for some time, been rumored to be the model number of the lower-end iPhone 4./> href="http://www.iphonealley.com/news/yup-another-leak-this-time-from-foxconn-images/attachment/iphone2-3" rel="attachment wp-att-22183">src="http://www.iphonealley.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/iphone2.jpg" alt="" title="iphone2" width="500" height="281" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22183" />/> So, coming almost straight from Apple, since Foxconn is Apple’s official manufacturer, is this legit? I think so. Potential iPhone buyers who have hesitated to buy the iPhone in past years, because of its hefty overall price, should be satisfied come this Tuesday, when Apple will possibly announce this lower end iPhone that will be much cheaper than before.

We’ll keep you posted on future developments; there’s still the rest of today and technically tomorrow for some Apple employee to leave a prototype at a bar after getting drunk for its official release. Just make sure to stay tuned in the nights because that’s probably when something like that would happen. At any other time, that would just be sad…

[Via onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/gizmodo.com/5845797/gizmodo-exclusive-looks-like-there-will-be-a-cheaper-iphone-4-made-in-brazil');" target="_blank" href="http://gizmodo.com/5845797/gizmodo-exclusive-looks-like-there-will-be-a-cheaper-iphone-4-made-in-brazil">Gizmodo]

Zombies, Run! achieves Kickstarter funding, prepare to be scared while you run [video]

Zombies, Run! is a fitness game for the iPhone which has now received Kickstarter funding of over 400%. It is an adventure type game where you have to physically take part. You do this by running in the real world, in your area, collecting medicine, ammo, batteries and spare parts. Clues and instructions are sent to you via your headphones while you are running.

Zombies, Run! is about making the thrill of running even better with a game and a story delivered through your headphones. We’re making running more fun, more exciting, and more addictive for everyone from couch-to-5k newbies to weekend joggers and marathon runners. And Zombies, Run! works anywhere – in a park, along a beach, in the city, even on treadmills!

When you use Zombies, Run! It records all the information you would expect from other fitness apps such as distance, time, pace and calories burned. Even better they say they are very keen to add in RunKeeper integration; but it’s not a done deal yet.

The Kickstarter program is still open for a few more days; so if you want to be one of the first to get involved with this exciting new game, you still can. There are various pledge options available to suit all. Unfortunately you will have to wait until February 2012 for the game to be made available.

Source: Kickstarter