Next Generation iPads Due in April, iPhone 5S in August?

Following today's research report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggesting that the iPhone 5S could launch in July with a fingerprint sensor, Rene Ritchie at iMore confirms that the iPhone 5S will be unveiled during the summer, but targets an August release date.

Apple has previously launched phones in June through October, with the iPhone 4S released in October and the iPhone 5 released in September.


According to Ritchie, the upcoming iPhone 5S will be similar to the iPhone 4S, improving the internals of the phone while leaving the outer casing untouched.

Sources familiar with the plans have told iMore that the iPhone 5S does indeed have the same basic design as the iPhone 5, with a more advanced processor and an improved camera. With the iPhone 5, Apple reduced the thinness of the casing but managed to keep essentially the same, if not slightly better, overall quality.

Given the dimensions, or lack-thereof, that in-and-of itself was a feat of engineering. With the iPhone 5S, the aim is to once again raise the bar in terms of iPhone optics, including a much better camera in essentially the same casing. No huge surprises there, given the past history of S-class iPhones.

iMore is also predicting a possible April launch date for the fifth generation iPad and the second generation iPad mini, which would be in line with the previous spring launch dates for the original iPad, the iPad 2, and the third generation iPad. According to iMore, a casing redesign is expected for the fifth generation iPad, but it remains unclear if the iPad mini will feature Retina.

Apple is not going to release iPads that costs more or don't get as good battery life as the current models. So, if the next iPad mini does end up getting slated for April, it could be a spec bump, or have something other than Retina as a differentiator. Hopefully we'll know more soon.

Previous Retina iPad mini speculation has suggested a fall release date, which could fit in with iMore's predicted April launch if Apple moves to a bi-annual release schedule for its tablets.

iMore has been spot on with recent Apple releases, reporting the Lightning connector several months before it was released and predicting both the iPad mini launch date and the announcement date of the iPhone 5.

Staples now sells Apple accessories including Apple TV, keyboards, Airports, Magic Mouse, and Smart

Staples executives confirmed last week that the office supply retail chain would soon offer Apple accessories in its U.S. online store, and now the merchandise is finally live.

Apple products available through the Staples online store as of Tuesday include everything from Smart Covers and Magic Mouse to Apple TVs and Time Capsules.

Staples' U.S. brick and mortar stores will likely begin stocking Apple accessories, as well, giving Apple another familiar outlet from which to sell its wares. More importantly, many businesses, large and small, have corporate accounts with Staples that should allow easy purchasing of Apple products with little friction.

Staples has sold Apple accessories internationally for quite awhile, but it only recently struck a deal for U.S. distribution. Staples CEO Ron Sargent noted in 2011 that his company wanted to sell Apple products in the U.S., but it had a hard time getting the goods from Apple.

Ron Sargent, Staples chairman and chief executive, also lamented that its nearly 1,600 U.S. stores can't sell Apple Inc.'s popular products because Apple won't sell them to Staples. Apple products are sold at Staples stores in Canada and elsewhere internationally, where Apple has the need for Staples' distribution channel, and the executive expressed hope its U.S. stores would one day sell the iPad and other Apple wares.

Leaked ad screenshots from last month indicated Staples would sell the Apple TV for $49, and the images first alerted the world that the retailer could soon offer Apple products stateside. Currently, however, Staples offers Apple TV at the usual $99 price point.

Evernote Issues Password Reset After Security Breach [iOS Blog]

Note-taking service Evernote today released a statement announcing that it had discovered suspicious activity on the Evernote network, which prompted it to issue a service-wide password reset.

While Evernote says that no content or payment information was accessed, hackers did acquire usernames, email addresses, and encrypted passwords.

In our security investigation, we have found no evidence that any of the content you store in Evernote was accessed, changed or lost. We also have no evidence that any payment information for Evernote Premium or Evernote Business customers was accessed.

The investigation has shown, however, that the individual(s) responsible were able to gain access to Evernote user information, which includes usernames, email addresses associated with Evernote accounts and encrypted passwords. Even though this information was accessed, the passwords stored by Evernote are protected by one-way encryption. (In technical terms, they are hashed and salted.)

All Evernote users will be prompted to choose a new password when logging in to the website. The company is is also releasing updates to several of its apps today to facilitate the password change.

Evernote's security breach comes a bit over a week after Apple, Twitter, and Facebook were hacked after employees visited iPhoneDevSDK, an online forum for software developers.