Morgan Stanley analyst says that the Apple iPhone 5 will be assembled in mid to late August

Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty told clients on Sunday that the new Apple iPhone 5 will start to be assembled in mid to late August with production "ramping aggressively" in the calendar fourth quarter. Last week, Huberty was in Taiwan, meeting with the vendors that comprise the supply chain for the Apple iPhone. After meeting the companies. she expects a late Q3 release for the next generation Apple touchscreen phone, although she does not mention if it will be LTE enabled.

Because the next iPhone will be released later than usual, Huberty shifted 2 million units of production from the third quarter to the fourth quarter but has left the total amount of 72 million iPhones produced for the year unchanged. The analyst noted that she would raise her production forecasts for the year if Apple releases the iPhone 5 in early September. A September release for the phone dovetails with earlier reports from an anonymous source, and from information picked up by hackers LulzSec.

Huberty says that Apple might be toying with the idea of releasing a lower priced Apple iPhone and an Apple-branded television set. She said that Apple is expecting an increase in iPhone production in 2012 because of, "... new products and potentially lower price points." She said that an Apple T.V. could bring in an amazing $19 billion in earnings and raise earnings per share by $4.50 for a 12 month period, in the long term. Reports earlier this week from an unnamed Apple executive said that the company is working on a smart iOS powered television prototype, something the analyst discovered from her supply checks back in March.

source: AppleInsider

Morgan Stanley sees production of 2 million Apple iPhone units moving from Q3 to Q4

LulzSec says good bye with leaks on AT&T's plans for 4G LTE enabled Apple iPad 3 and iPhone 5

The 6 anonymous hackers known as LulzSec said farewell to the public by revealing that among the information gleaned from their last day hacking was a leak of AT&T's internal documents. Going through the information, Jonathan at iFans found what appears to be information outing the LTE 4G enabled versions of the Apple iPad 3 and Apple iPhone 5.

 A calendar that was part of the info release shows that next month, AT&T will have a production launch of its LTE service followed by a rollout of the service in 10 markets in September. A power point presentation discusses an Apple iPad 3 launching in the fall or next March. And since this is written under the heading "LTE status", it would probably not be straying too far to say that the iPad 3 being discussed features LTE 4G connectivity. Speculation from the tablet's supply chain indicates that the Apple iPad 3 might include Retina Display and a faster processor, besides the 4G connectivity.

A concept rendering of the Apple iPad 3, which could be out this fall with LTE connectivity

As far as the Apple iPhone is concerned, the hacked AT&T information shows three phases to the carrier's LTE deployment with the Apple iPhone 5 expected to launch during the second phase in September. It would also appear that AT&T will have its own LTE enabled handsets launching in September as well.

What is interesting is that AT&T appears to be rolling out its LTE platform in the same manner that Verizon did, with dongles and 4G Netbooks testing the system first before allowing 4G phones to use the pipelines. Because Verizon has had a head start over AT&T, the latter is moving faster than Big Red did in making this come to fruition. But you also must remember that all of this conjecture and speculation has come from hacked data and information that was never meant to see the light of day.

source: iFans via RedmondPie

Desktop dock for HTC EVO 3D now on backorder at Best Buy

Just the other day, we told you all about a docking station for the HTC EVO 3D being offered by Best Buy for $49.99. The accessory allows you to plug your handset into the dock in a landscape orientation, syncing to a PC or Mac while recharging the battery on the handset. Considering that the HTC EVO 3D is an Android device, letting the unit charge for as long as possible each day is very important.

With the handset getting launched on Friday, the docking station is already on backorder and Best Buy hopes to start shipping it from the warehouse in 1 to 2 weeks. Until Best Buy has replenished its inventory of the accessory, owners of the EVO 3D will just have to make do with recharging their phone the old fashioned way-plugging into an AC outlet.

source: BestBuy via AndroidCentral

The desktop charging dock for the HTC EVO 3D is on back order at Best Buy

BlackBerry Storm 2 Refresh still in the works; BlackBerry Torch 2 9850 is now the Volt

BlackBerryOS got a tip from someone on the endangered species list-a RIM insider-who told them the rumor that the BlackBerry Storm 2 Refresh is still alive and is being called the BlackBerry Monarch. While talk of a Storm 2 Refresh dates as far back as last September, it seems that RIM wanted to wait until they could load it up with the latest BlackBerry 7 OS. The device will resemble the BlackBerry Storm 2 down to the SurePress Technology which means the clicking screen will be back, if this speculation pans out.

According to a tip from a RIM insider, the SurePress clicking keyboard, seen on the BlackBerry Storm, will be back on the BlackBerry Monarch

While SurePress is certainly an acquired taste for many, RIM would be playing this smart by eliminating the Storm name and starting over with the Monarch moniker. Unfortunately for RIM, hearing the name BlackBerry Storm brings back sour memories for many Verizon customers who expected an Apple iPhone competitor when the first BlackBerry touchscreen device was launched and instead, ended up with a phone that suffered from buggy, half-baked software. Not only did the accelerometer fail to work half the time, but the lack of Wi-Fi turned out to be a major design design flaw and the clicking touchscreen drove many batty. Eventually, with the launch of BlackBerry 5 OS, the original Storm became a serviceable device that was improved greatly with the sequel model (which included Wi-Fi). Still, killing off the Storm name is a good idea for a company that needs to look ahead to the future instead of looking back at the past.

The source also passed along the rumor that the BlackBerry Torch 9850/9860, which along with the BlackBerry Bold 9930 can now be found on the CelleBrite data extraction system as we reported earlier today, will be known as the BlackBerry Volt. While the original Torch wasn't nearly the mess that the Storm was, a disappointing set of specs kept sales down and the Torch 2 Volt 9850/9860 will have very competitive hardware and software on board.

source: BlackBerryOS

With iOS 5, some OTA updates can be handled through 3G

After combing though the iOS 5 SDK, the 9to5Mac crew discovered that some OTA firmware updates can now be handled via a 3G connection instead of requiring you to be hooked up to Wi-Fi. This is part of Apple's plan to make its iOS devices completely free of PC contact. There is a caveat and it is that not all updates will be able to get handled over 3G. It seems that some "point" updates, like iOS 5.1.1 might be able to get downloaded through a 3G connection, while iOS 5.1 might still require Wi-Fi. Or, perhaps 5.1 could be squeezed through 3G pipelines while iOS 6 will require you to have a Wi-Fi signal.

Although unconfirmed, it appears that it will be up to an individual carrier to decide whether or not it will allow an OTA update to be allowed through its precious pipeline. One interesting feature that Apple has set up allows the the update process to start only if the user has enough battery life and storage to handle the entire download. The Cupertino based firm wants you to have 500MB in open storage for each "Delta" update. A "Delta" update is one where only the changes and new code are sent instead of the entire program.

While Apple has not officially made any announcement about updating over 3G, at WWDC Apple's Senior VP of  iPhone software, Scott Forstall, had mentioned that no longer would a computer hookup be required for an iOS update. But nothing was said about whether such an OTA update would require Wi-Fi or could use 3G even though the slide on the screen at the time showed a 3G powered Apple iPhone. And while we still await official word from Cupertino, at least we now have an idea about which OTA updates can be downloaded using 3G.

source: 9to5Mac

Some smaller "point" OTA updates can now be installed on the Apple iPhone over a 3G connection

CelleBrite System now includes BlackBerry Bold 9930 and BlackBerry Torch 9850

A screenshot shows that two eagerly awaited devices from RIM are now included in the CelleBrite System. The BlackBerry Bold 9930 and the BlackBerry Torch 9850 (aka the Torch 2) are seen on the CelleBrite machine's display. The system is used by carriers to extract information and data from one handset and add it to another. It is the device used by carriers to move things like your contacts from one model to another and while it is not a definitive signal, new devices often are seen on the CelleBrite machine just prior to being launched.

The BlackBerry Bold 9930 is the CDMA version of the device that RIM is counting on to give the company a lift. With a form factor similar to the design of the BlackBerry Bold 9000, including the latter's oft praised QWERTY keyboard, the BlackBerry Bold 9930 adds a 2.8 inch touchscreen (that has looked quite responsive in early videos), the new BlackBerry 7 OS, and a browser that renders pages 40% faster than the WebKit browser on the BlackBerry Torch 9800.

Speaking of the BlackBerry Torch, the CDMA version of the sequel to that model, the BlackBerry Torch 9850 (aka the Torch 2) takes the same form factor of the original unit and pumps up the specs as we have reported. Considering that RIM has really improved upon the areas of the first-gen Torch 9800 that users complained about (the low-res screen, the slow processor), those who liked the design will probably upgrade to the sequel.

With RIM's reported earnings coming in below expectations, a stock price that has been making new lows, an exodus from the executive boardroom, employee layoffs, and delays in getting out key products, it would be a big morale booster for RIM if it could get these two models out the door soon. Having both listed in the CelleBrite System might be the first sign that this is going to happen.

source: BlackBerryOS

The BlackBerry Bold 9930 and the BlackBerry Torch 9850 are both now on the CelleBrite System