Source - http://online.wsj.com/
By - LORRAINE LUK
Category - Hotel Near Miami Beach
Posted By - Inn and Suites In West Miami
By - LORRAINE LUK
Category - Hotel Near Miami Beach
Posted By - Inn and Suites In West Miami
Hotel Near Miami Beach |
TAIPEI—Apple Inc.
AAPL -1.58%
and its Asian suppliers are testing larger screens for iPhones and tablets, officials at the company's suppliers say.
In
recent months, Apple has asked for prototype smartphone screens larger
than 4 inches and has also asked for screen designs for a new tablet
device measuring slightly less than 13 inches diagonally, they said. The
current iPhone 5 has a four-inch screen, while the iPad has a 9.7-inch
screen. The iPad Mini, a stripped-down version of its tablet computer,
has a 7.9-inch screen.
Whether either design will make their way to market is unclear. The
Cupertino, Calif., company routinely tests different designs for its
products as it refines them during development. The company also changed
its offerings of the iPhone and iPod last year to include larger
screens, while adding a variant of the iPad with a smaller display.
An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.
The tests with suppliers seems to suggest that Apple is exploring
ways to capture diversifying customer needs at a time when many mobile
device makers offer smartphones and tablets in various sizes. Its
biggest rival in the tablet and smartphone markets, South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co.,
005930.SE 0.00%
has an "all things to all people" strategy, covering many different
product sizes to capture as many customers as possible. The move has
allowed Samsung to leapfrog Apple in the smartphone market even though
Apple still leads in tablets. In the first quarter, Samsung was the
leading smartphone maker with 33.1% of the market, while Apple trailed
in second place with 17.9%, according to researcher Strategy Analytics.
In tablets, Apple is still the dominant player but its market share fell
to 39.6% in the three months ended March 31 from 58.1% a year earlier,
according to IDC. Samsung, which uses Google Inc.'s
GOOG -1.55%
Android operating system, saw its tablet market share rise to 17.9% from 11.3% a year earlier.
"In
the long run, we will see touch screens in all sizes as the future
vision of the technology industry is to offer the same user experience
across all screens," said IDC analyst Helen Chiang. "The key is to bring
down the cost and introduce compelling applications for large-screen
devices."
Apple's move, if adopted, fits into a broader trend of mobile device
makers offering many size options. Competitors including Samsung, Sony Corp.
6758.TO +1.42%
and Huawei Technologies Co. have launched smartphones with displays
larger than 5 inches. The category is called 'phablets' to refer to
devices that cross over between a smartphone and tablet.
The new
tests come as Apple and its suppliers are also preparing to ramp up
production of a new iPad later this month, according to officials at
component suppliers. The new version is expected to be the same size and
have the same resolution as the existing 9.7-inch model, but with a
lighter and thinner display structure, they said. The new display
structure integrates touch sensors with a thin film instead of glass
which is used in existing iPads.
Suppliers have also started mass producing components for the new
iPhone last month, said officials at the suppliers. One person said
Apple told its assembler, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.,
2317.TW +0.26%
to get ready to ship the new iPhones in late August.
The Wall
Street Journal reported in April that the refreshed iPhone that is
likely to be launched in the second half of this year will be the same
size and have the same resolution as the current iPhone 5. At the same
time, Apple has also been working with its manufacturing partners in
Asia on a less expensive iPhone that will likely use nonmetal casing, to
differentiate itself from the aluminum casing of high-end iPhone 5. The
shells of both iPhone models will come in multiple color options,
officials at suppliers said earlier.
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