Sapphire is the material used in bulletproof windows for military vehicles and Rolex watches, so why not mobile screens? If you have an iPhone 5, you are already seeing the genesis of the new technology in its camera lens.

Sapphire is only second to diamond in strength, and a screen made with sapphire can withstand scratches and dropping, making it a much more durable investment at a price. However, producers of man made sapphire project that the technology will become cheap enough to be used on high end smartphones in the next few years.

Currently, Gorilla glass costs much cheaper to use at $3 per phone compared to sapphire screens which costs $30 per phone. Sapphire optimists are projecting a $10 decrease in cost over the next few years which would make the material a lot more competitive, especially for phone users who want more resilient screens.

The iPad Mini press event is only 5 days away, and as anticipation increases about the launch the blogosphere has turned its attention away from the press event and started trying to figure out when we might get our hands on Apple’s newest tablet.

This kind of speculation is the favorite hobby of gadget bloggers, and sometimes our sources oblige us with real info. Geeky Gadgets is reporting today that the iPad Mini will be on store shelves the week after next: Read more

There’s still little proof that the iPad Mini has anything more than a faux existence, but that doesn’t seem to be stopping the rumor mill. Fortune is reporting that invites are going to be sent to the press on October 10th for an event which will unveil the iPad Mini. Read more

You’re not going to see this iPad either.

If you can tear your attention away from the Nook HD news today, then I have a new iPad rumor for you.

Examiner.com is reporting that Apple’s next iPad, the one which is expected to be unveiled next spring, could have a new screen geometry.

There are many sites that have speculated that Apple should eventually prepare a widescreen iPad. The iPhone 5 screen recently went widescreen and now Los Angeles industry analyst Paul Mueller claims that Apple could be preparing a widescreen iPad. Read more

The rumored launch of the new Kindle Fire is only 6 days away, and in spite of the leaked images we don’t really know much about it yet. But according to Reuters the new Kindle Fire is going to have location capabilities, so it will be able offer directions and ads based on your current location.

But most importantly, Amazon didn’t go with either Open Street Maps or Google Maps. Instead the retail giant teamed with Nokia, and according to sources the KF’s mapping ability will be provided in partnership with Nokia.

The exact details of the deal haven’t been explained, and that tends to make me doubt this rumor. While Nokia makes smartphones of all sorts, they don’t strike me as the company who would provide this single service for the Kindle Fire. To me it feels like there’s either more or less to the story than we are being told, and until the new Kindle Fire is launched we won’t know which option is the real one.

In any case, I’m looking forward to Thursday. All will be revealed then.

via Reuters

For something that has not yet been seen in public, the iPad Mini is probably the single most talked about device ever. And now even the legitimate business news sites are getting into the act.

Bloomberg now has multiple sources telling them that the new ipad Mini is going to debut next month.

Apple will use screens from AU Optronics and LG Display for a smaller version of the iPad to be released in October, according to four people familiar with the plans.

That’s about all Bloomberg can tell us today, but just for the sake of being told no they also asked the rps for the various rumored parts suppliers for comment, and none were willing to say anything.

While I’m pretty certain that this is a solid rumor, I’m almost looking forward to the possibility it might not be true. Many, many, many bloggers and analysts are focused on the certainty that this device exists and is coming next month.

If it doesn’t then the size and magnitude of the collective error will be the greatest since the housing bubble, when far too many people invested far too much money in over-priced real estate.

The rumors for Apple’s products never stop, and today they took a turn for the baroque.

A couple different sources are now reporting that Apple plans not one but 2 events this fall. The iPhone is still rumored to be launching on 12 September, while the iPad Mini is now rumored to be getting its own event later in the year. Read more

Apple’s not the one smartphone maker with device leaks.

KnowYourMobile has turned up photo of what it is saying is the next Samsung Galaxy Note. According to their sources, the new phone will have a 5.5″ screen, not the 5.3″ screen found on the current Galaxy Note. The new phone, like the Samsung Galaxy S3, is expected to have a quad-core CPU as well as 2GB of RAM and Samsung’s next-generation S-Pen technology. That pen technology is what they’re most famous for at the moment, and it’s ben incorporated into Samsung’s Note 10.1 tablet s well.

There’s no word on when it will be released, but the Galaxy Note 2 is expected to launch with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean sometime next quarter. We don’t know the price either, but the current model costs well over $500, so it wouldn’t surprise me if the new phone costs the same.

Update: This photo is now thought to be a fake.

We still haven’t seen an iPad Mini in real life but that hasn’t stop the rumors. 9to5Mac reported last night that the new iPad Mini is going to look much more like the iPod Touch than it does the iPad.

Their sources have indicated that the iPad Mini schematics which leaked last month, and were widely believed to be fake, might indeed be the real thing: Read more

In the past few months virtually every part of the new iPhone has leaked, including the shell (multiple leaks), battery, front face, Sim card drawer, and even the screws. vAnd today I can show the the new iPhone’s logicboard.

This is the all important bit of circuitry that makes a phone work as a phone. Without it the iPhone is just a paperweight.

This photo showed up on a Chinese forum, and while the poster doesn’t actually say it, he seems to be implying that this belongs in the new iPhone. He could be right; the logic board lacks any identifying marks but  the screw mounting holes do look like they would fit the  screws seen inside the leaked iPhone case. Read more