Apple That

Financial Chief for Sprint Joe Euteneuer recently squirmed around the idea of a 4G LTE iPhone coming to the wireless provider, marking the latest indication that the next generation of the iPhone will be shipped with the ultra-fast wireless connection provided by Sprint, Verizon and AT&T.

Euteneuer spoke to investors at a conference this week, though he didn’t say officially that such a device was headed for Sprint. What he did say was that the company has an agreement with Apple, similar to the one Apple has with AT&T and Verizon, which hinted that technology designed for those networks would also make its way to Sprint.

According to a statement by Euteneuer, “If you make the assumption that they launch a device at a similar time that they did last year, you’re basically done with the major markets. So I don’t think we are really disadvantaged at all.”

Sprint is currently smack dab in the middle of getting its very own 4G LTE service out to customers and plans on having the much faster wireless technology in as many as 10 cities by the end of June. Verizon currently has its 4G LTE service in 196 cities and 22 major airports with AT&T having the service in 28 cities. In addition to that AT&T counts its HSPA+ networks as “4G”.

Sprint last year became the most recent recipient of Apple’s coveted iPhone after the device initially launched on AT&T and then slowly moved to Verizon. Sprint committed to investing $20 billion for over 30 million handsets over the next few years, however, as part of that deal.

Apple is expected to include 4G LTE technology in its next iPhone, which is rumored to debut this fall. In addition to that, the company managed to debut its very first 4G LTE device, the iPad 3 (or The New iPad), earlier this month. The iPad 3 supported the 4G LTE networks of both AT&T and Verizon but not Sprint’s as it isn’t completely active yet.

Source: CNET – Sprint CFO hints at LTE iPhones in the future

It’s official, the iPad 3 has been officially announced. Well, technically it’s called “The New iPad” but everybody is referring to it as the iPad 3 so, whatever. Regardless of whether you call it the iPad 3 or the new iPad, Apple’s latest tablet is breaking tremendous ground with its new innovations, technologies and popularity.

The iPad 3 boasts a lot of improvements and advancements over the iPad 2, one of which is an improved retina display. The iPad 3 claims to have four times as many pixels than the iPad 2 along with razor-sharp text and richer colors.

In addition to that, the new display is said to make everything look and feel more lifelike and detailed.While the actual screen isn’t any bigger, it has an increased resolution. The iPad 3 boasts a 2,048 x 1,536 resolution screen with 44% greater color saturation and an incredible 3.1 million pixels, all in the same 9.7″ screen.

The increase in graphics performance can be attributed to the iPad 3’s new dual-core A5X chip with quad-core graphics. Flash storage allows you to have instant on as well. No matter how long you need to use it, whether it’s a few minutes or a few hours, as soon as you hit the Home button or open the Smart Cover, your iPad 3 is ready to go.

With the increased graphics output, the quad-core graphics processors and the new A5X chipset, many people feared that the battery life of the iPad 3 would suffer. Quite the contrary, actually. Apple boasts that the iPad 3 still maintains a 10-hour battery life, just like the iPad 2.

The iPad 3 also comes equipped with a 5MP iSight camera, which features a backside illumination sensor capable of capturing high quality pictures no matter what your lighting situation is. The iSight camera also features autofocus, tap to focus and tap to set exposure functionality. Built-in face detection also automatically balances focus and exposure for as many as 10 individual faces.

Aside from taking crisp pictures, the iPad 3’s cameras are also capable of recording in full 1080p HD. You also get high video quality thanks to the iPad 3’s automatic video stabilization, meaning you never have to worry about remaining perfectly still for your entire video shoot.

What is probably one of the most impressive features is the iPad 3’s wireless capabilities. The new iPad incorporates cellular antennas that are capable of connecting to a larger frequency spectrum. This means that the iPad 3 is capable of connecting to WiFi as well as the 3G and 4G LTE connections provided by AT&T and Verizon.

However, lots of people are talking about the iPad 3’s Bluetooth 4.0 capabilities. This makes the iPad 3 the very first tablet in existence to incorporate Bluetooth 4.0 straight out of box, something that a lot of tech professionals are raving about.

Popularity for the device isn’t lacking either as the iPad 3 has already sold out of its first shipment with pre-orders racking up so fast that they are on a two to three week back order delay. The biggest thing I’m curious about is the name. Is it the iPad 3 or the new iPad? Apple’s website classifies it as the latter and it’s unclear what that could mean in the future.

There are currently six different versions of the iPad 3/The New iPad. You can get a 16GB, 32GB or 64GB WiFi only version for $499, $599 or $699, respectively, or a 16GB, 32GB or 64GB WiFi + 4G LTE version for $629, $729 or $829, respectively. The WiFi + 4G LTE versions, however, require a data plan from either Verizon or AT&T with prices for those plans starting at $30 per month. Both versions also come in either white or black colors.