Apple Manufacturers Begin iPhone 5 Production for October Release

A report from Japanese site Macotakara claims that Apple OEM manufacturers have begun iPhone 5 production for an October launch. Foxconn will allegedly assemble 85% of the units, with Petragon accounting for 15% of production volume.

While iPhone 5 units are being assembled, Apple has yet to install iOS 5 on the devices. This is due to the fact that iOS 5 is still in the final beta stages, and the software will be installed on the new hardware when it reaches its final GM version in the coming weeks.
Foxconn will produce the bulk of Apple’s orders, with Petragon slated for a much smaller percentage. The unit volume for Petragon production matches up with a previous report.

The report from Macotakara states that sources overseas project an early October launch for the iPhone 5, based on production roadmaps. We’ve been hearing a late September to early October timeframe for Apple’s next announcement already, so we have reason to believe that this new report is legitimate.

If the iPhone 5 has indeed entered the production stages, a release is imminent. The iPhone is expected to sport an A5 processor, 8 megapixel camera, and a larger display. The device could also feature a tapered design with an aluminum body. The iPhone 4 will most likely be re-tooled with cheaper components and dual baseband support.

Both devices should be featured in Apple’s next announcement, which is expected to take place in the coming weeks.

Nuance’s Speech-to-Text Functionality Currently Being Tested in iOS 5

Remember that Nuance speech-to-text feature that everyone’s been so excited about ? A new photo sent to 9t05Mac by a claimed Apple employee appears to confirm its existence, and more importantly, that it’s being tested right now as part of iOS 5.

While not yet active in the betas of iOS 5 that developers are getting to test in the wild right now, it is becoming clear that those inside Apple, and possibly those close to the company, have already been testing the feature for a while…
As the image above shows, iOS will gain Android-like voice input via a button on the on-screen keyboard. Once tapped, whatever is spoken into the phone’s microphone will be converted to text and entered into the selected field, using Nuance’s voice recognition technology. This means we’ll be able to dictate emails, SMS messages and more, a real plus for many and a boon for people who rely on hands-free kits while driving.

We don’t expect the dictation feature to find its way into any of the public betas of iOS, but rather for Apple to just add it to the final release when it is made available to the public. Apple has a track record of pushing features into final builds that were not present in betas, and this appears to be taking the same route.

Apple has already said that iOS 5 will be made available in September, which means, in theory at least, that we should be speaking into our iPhones and iPads as soon as the next few weeks.

Of course, Apple has been known to delay things before, hasn’t it?

SmartKeyboard Concept Gives the iPhone a Physical Keyboard Based on the iPad’s Smart Cover

When Apple introduced the iPad 2, the Smart Cover also debuted as a new accessory for the device. Apple designed the iPad 2 with magnets that interface with the Smart Cover to wake the device from sleep when opened.

The iPhone’s virtual keyboard is a fantastic replacement for a physical keyboard, but some consider the lack of physical buttons to be the iPhone’s main downfall. A genius new concept takes the Smart Cover approach to offering a detachable physical keyboard for the iPhone…
Highlighted by Mobiflip, the SmartKeyboard concept, by Jing Yang, illustrates a tactical keyboard that can be removed and attached to the iPhone like the iPad’s Smart Cover. Instead of a slide out keyboard solution, the SmartKeyboard could be easily taken off the iPhone when not in use. This would give those that need a physical keyboard for typing longer emails or documents a temporary attachment.
This concept is sleek, beautiful, and totally Apple-like. The keyboard even has backlit keys. The SmartKeyboard would simple attach to the bottom of the iPhone with magnets. The only downside is that the keyboard would cover the home button when in use. But if you’re using the SmartKeyboard to type for longer periods of time, switching in and out of apps isn’t really that big of a deal.
Dear Apple, please introduce this with the iPhone 5!

San Francisco Police Admits to Helping Apple Retrieve Missing iPhone 5 Prototype

An already strange story has taken a turn for the downright silly, with the news that the San Francisco Police did actually have a hand in the searching of a 22 year old’s home, contrary to the authorities’ own accounts.

We told you yesterday how Apple’s own security firm had taken it upon themselves to search the home of one Sergio Calderón in a hunt for a missing iPhone 5 prototype. Calderón had been told that the people involved were SFPD, but the department’s own files said that they had no hand in the search, and furthermore, they had not had any contact from Apple regarding the device.

This now appears to have been incorrect.

In a report for The San Francisco Weekly, we learn that the SFPD did in fact send some officers along for the ride…
“Contradicting past statements that no records exist of police involvement in the search for the lost prototype, San Francisco Police Department spokesman Lt. Troy Dangerfield now tells SF Weekly that “three or four” SFPD officers accompanied two Apple security officials in an unusual search of a Bernal Heights man’s home.

Dangerfield says that, after conferring with Apple and the captain of the Ingleside police station, he has learned that plainclothes SFPD officers went with private Apple detectives to the home of Sergio Calderón, a 22-year-old resident of Bernal Heights. According to Dangerfield, the officers “did not go inside the house,” but stood outside while the Apple employees scoured Calderón’s home, car, and computer files for any trace of the lost iPhone 5. The phone was not found, and Calderón denies that he ever possessed it.”

It’s interesting to note the actual search was carried out by Apple employees, and not the actual police. And it’s even more interesting that the Police themselves didn’t seem to know about it.

We get the impression this won’t be the last we hear about this episode, and it’s worth remembering that the missing iPhone 5 is still, well, missing. Someone somewhere must have it, but with the iPhone 5 due to be announced in the coming weeks, it may not matter for much longer.

Until then, grab some popcorn and watch this story unfold!