There is no doubt that the field of personal electronics is one of the largest earning industries in the world; with millions of mobile phones being manufactured, there is a definite need to own and have what is generally conceived to be a personalized handset. Of course, handset manufacturers are laboring hard each day to create new smart phones that will even have more customizable features.

Innovation is not always up to the phone manufacturers alone. Companies such as Qualcomm also play an important part in shaping the industry as well. In fact, the company that is known for the Snapdragon CPU is now back working on creating faster CPUs and has already achieved what could potentially be the new industry standard; the first new Snapdragon processor that will be running at 1.2 GHz.

The current industry standard is 1GHz. And while 0.2 is not all that large a number, the change in speed is a significant boost. Thanks to this, more mobile devices will be able to handle resource intensive apps better, have better loading times and of course, push the limit to the kinds of apps that can be played in a single smartphone.

The processor is not the only part getting an update. The touch screen display technologies for smart phones are also being improved with each passing day. Several manufacturers are focused on creating new ways to achieve a better 3D effect while others focus on technologies that make use of super thin flexible screens that could serve as a major catalyst that changes how mobile phones are designed and manufactured.

Battery life is also a serious issue, but as Apple and Asus has shown, it is possible to have a good product and still maintain a good power management setup –the iPad and the Asus Eee products has shown that there are commercial viable devices that can last for over 10 hours when in use. Intel also promised the same thing with their new Atom processor.

The Apple iPad is already out –or almost, the launch is already upon us and for those who pre-ordered the device, Apple has granted them an early reason to celebrate with fast shipping of some pre-ordered iPad units.

Yep, just yesterday, many UPS delivery personnel brought iPads to delightedly surprised recipients in the UK. Many already started using the impressive touch screen device to post online –via the iPad, that they already received their unit. Others are now camping out at Apple’s many retailers (and a few at Curry’s and PC World) while awaiting the official launch date –despite the fact that there has been no official count of stocks per branch, many are hoping that by being in line, they might be able to catch one of the devices.

Still, there are plenty more of folks in the UK who are patiently passing up this chance to catch the iPad during the worldwide launch.

The reasons vary a lot, but if there were two major determining factors, the first would be because the person never really intends to buy a tablet (or has yet to see the value of having one). Other people on the other hand are looking at the big picture.

In the touch screen tablet industry, it gets hard seeing the whole picture. With Apple’s magnificent iPad blocking the view, it is easy to forget that other tablets are also being developed. Google’s Android tablet is the first major player that comes to mind, and with its ability to handle Flash, instantly shows the world why Apple’s iPad is lacking a lot.

While Flash may not seem like a big deal, the fact that the tablet is primarily an internet viewing tool makes the iPad annoying to use. Seeing one large empty square with a placeholder telling you that Apple is too stubborn to support Flash can get downright frustrating –especially when you want to stream video and other content.

If you are one of the many people who have pre-ordered the Apple iPad well ahead of time (with the wisdom to ensure that you are able to actually get the device), it seems that Apple is all set and ready to disappoint you and what is estimated to be thousands of other people who have pre-ordered the Apple iPad touch screen tablet.

According to recent reports, the iPad worldwide launch is set to go on May 28, this coming Friday and that many stores are already getting ready for the big event. However, it seems that all of the iPad stocks are going to be allocated for over the counter sales –no iPads will be shipped to online pre-order customers. In fact, it is highly possible that the iPad will not be shipped until two weeks after June 28.

This sad turn of events is a serious blow to many people who have been preparing for the iPad launch. While it is impressive to see long lines in stores, sales are still sales and Apple should respect the foresight that many people had when it comes to buying their devices. Or perhaps Apple is simply bitter over not having foresight of their own –as shown with the reason why the iPad international launch was delayed; due to their inability to foresee that their stocks would not meet the US demands for the touch screen tablet.

Users who will check online will find that tracking of orders is no longer present and that there is a notice for the possible two-week wait. Apple is practically spitting in the face of its online customers.

Still, there is no doubt that the launch of the iPad will still be a success. It is the first tablet device to be launch in this scale and there is a definitive interest in the device. However, one cannot help but feel that if Apple keeps treating customers like this, they will eventually lose support.

Sure, HTML5 is the next big thing, and in the next six years, it is possible that most of the Flash content on the internet would have been converted to HTML5. Still, that projection is for the distant future, not right now. And that is the main reason why many Apple iPad users find the lack of Flash on the device absolutely annoying.

It may not seem like a big deal at first, but once you realize that there are plenty of websites that cannot be accessed because of the lack of Flash, Apple’s strict policies start becoming a source of disdain. This is the result of a recent survey held by a market research company named Changewave.

The results are not surprising, with the iPad being hailed as the new way to access mass media, the fact that it is unable to handle plenty of video streaming sites online due to the lack of Flash is a severe disadvantage that would not be resolved anytime in the future.

For those wondering why Apple is not getting any Flash support, most of the blame goes to Steve Jobs’ stubborn stance regarding support for the Adobe web format.  For the past few years, Adobe has been struggling to update and streamline Flash to be compatible with not only the Mac OS but also the iPhone OS.

Still, lack of cooperation from Apple has left Adobe unable to stabilize Flash performance on Apple’s devices. Ironically, Jobs’ biggest complaint was that Flash is unstable –an issue that he could have helped resolve.

The problem hit a major turn when Apple launched the iPhone 4.0 OS SDK. The software development kit came with a license agreement for developers that practically banned the use of Adobe’s software as a development tool for iPhone apps. This action drove the wedge that has now completely severed Adobe’s ties with Apple. Flash compatibility will be present in the new Android operating system instead.

The launch of the Apple iPad will be happening in the last week of May with pre-orders for the touch screen tablet being made available as early as May 10. Aside from Vodafone UK, mobile operators Orange Mobile and O2 UK have confirmed that they too will be having the device offered to clients.

Apple had originally planned the iPad to be launched late this April (the device has been released successfully in the US last April 3). However, international release has been delayed due to product availability. According to Apple, they are still trying to keep up with the US demand for the product and as such, would not be able to do a proper launch of the touch screen tablet this month.

Despite the disappointing news, many Apple fans all over the world are still awaiting the launch of the tablet. Those who are in a rush have already ordered and shipped iPads from the US. However, the Apple app store will only allow users with accounts linked to US addresses and purchases can only be done with US credit cards.

The Apple iPad is a touch screen tablet with a 9.7 inch display screen. The resolution is 1024 x 768 in landscape view. The device also comes with an accelerometer which allows the device to be titled to portrait mode as well. Many early buyers of the device have encountered various problems regarding USB charging, app compatibility and connecting to WiFi routers that use dual band technology.

Despite the initial setbacks, many believe that the tablet is an effective device for web browsing and reading eBooks. Many praise Apple’s design aesthetic with the user interface and overall appeal of the gadget.

Read more about the Apple iPad’s delayed launch and how many fans are reacting to the news at the Times Online UK.

The Apple iPhone is getting an update to its operating system and Steve Jobs just presented all the new details.

Multitasking, background wallpapers, icon folders, a game center, a unified inbox and other new features will be coming our way with the latest iPhone operating system version 4.0. It is impressive and something to look forward to, until we get to the part about iAds.

iAds is Apple’s new scheme to bring integrated advertisements into the iPhone. Originally, the annoying presence of ads can only be encountered within the web pages you visit and inside certain applications, iAds could potentially bring ads to everywhere on your mobile phone.

The odd thing about this is that Apple seems like it expects users to be happy about the new development. While companies would certainly appreciate the value of such a revolutionary new method of advertising, this is hardly anything that an average user would really want in the first place.

Another major concern is how ads will be sent to our phones. If Apple will be piggybacking 3G connections in order to pre-load ad content, that would be a serious problem for people who are trying to conserve bandwidth. Also, the ad selection would mean that the device would be monitoring a user’s preferences and activities in order to get relevant ad content. Now that is just plain creepy.

Aside from the issue about the iAds feature, the OS announcement also revealed some key fact that people are not too happy about. In regards to the 4.0 SDK agreement, it turns out that Apple will be banning the use of Adobe Flash content completely –even for the creation of apps. This would render Flash to iPhone compilers unusable and discourage some developers as well.

Read more about the iPhone OS update’s ads service at the Guardian UK.

For iPad owners who are using WiFi routers that use dual band technology, it is likely that the touch screen tablet has been working erratically, unable to connect or maintain a good stable connection to the network.

According to Apple, this problem is caused by the device’s lack of compatibility with dual band routers. Routers that use both 2.4GHz and 5.4GHz bands will have problems with the touch screen device one way or the other and according to the folks at Apple the best way to solve the issue is by changing the router settings.

It is a bit of a hassle when you have other devices that rely on your current settings -but if you are planning to get the iPad when it comes out in the UK and the rest of the world this coming April 24, then it is best that you know this little factoid beforehand.

Despite the fact that the solution is not a real fix (as opposed to patch to the iPad’s system settings which would help it connect to dual band networks –or maybe it is a hardware issue), this does show that Apple has been keeping a close eye on the public reaction towards their new device.

Aside from issues with the WiFi settings, owners of the tablet have also reported problems concerning the USB charging settings for the iPad as well as compatibility issues with iPhone apps. Some iPad units are having problems charging when the device is turned on, requiring users to switch off the device to charge.  As for the app issue, it appears that some apps for the iPhone will crash when it is loaded on the iPad.

Find out more about the WiFi issue with the iPad and see the step by step solutions for fixing the problem at Pocket Lint.

Mark your calendar UK Apple fans, the touch screen tablet may have been already released in the United States and we are sure that you are all eager to know when this ‘game-changing’ new device will be hitting store shelves locally.

According to reports, Apple will be bringing over their new tablet by the 24th of April and while the launch date may be several weeks later than the US launch, both the 3G and non-3G versions of the device will be available and hopefully, they would have been able to sort out that whole deal with the WiFi connectivity.

For those who missed out on the newest scoop about the iPad, it turns out that the new device is prone to having WiFi problems. Fortunately, the error seems to only happen in a few units. Though it has not yet been determined as to whether the problem is caused by software or hardware errors. Many point out that the fact that the problem does not persist on all devices makes it more like an issue with the hardware itself.

In any case, the sales performance of the iPad has been very impressive. On the first day alone, the number has hit a nice big 300,000 units, the figure has since reached up to 700,000 units. As to whether the device will meet the same success when it launches in the UK later on remains to be seen.

The Apple iPad comes with plenty of features such as web browsing, maps, image viewing, media playback, apps, eBook reading and it will even serve as a mini workstation with the iWork function. The device’s dual battery setup will deliver a good 10 hours of usage –some users have reported that their devices can last for longer periods.

Read more about the upcoming UK launch of the iPad at Slashgear.

So far, details on what the new 4.0 operating system would look like are still pretty scarce. But rumors have been going around stating that the new OS would be enabling some form of multitasking on the touch screen handset.

While most of us have already given up on Apple enabling multitasking support for the iPhone (it is like begging Steve Jobs to start supporting Adobe Flash), it seems like the engineers at Apple have finally found a way to convince the higher powers that multitasking is one feature that the smart phone badly needs.

Much like the Expose’s user interface, a list of running applications can be brought up on a menu by tapping the home button twice. It’s a simple function, and one that many non-iPhone smart phone users take for granted with other device. But for the iPhone community, the ability to multitask is pretty much like cut and pasting two years ago –a hopeless dream.

With the Apple iPhone 4G smart phone expected to be running the iPhone OS 4.0 right off the bat, the addition of multitasking to the may impressive hardware features of the 4G device makes us all giddy with excitement that Apple might just announce or even launch the new handset this coming June.

Summing up the rumors, the new device is expected to come with a large touch screen display, possibly with a 4.3 AMOLED screen. It is also rumored to have a removable battery, a touch sensitive casing and even a new high speed processor.

Of course, it is all rumors and speculations for now. But with devices such as the Motorola Shadow, the HTC Scorpio and other super high end handsets expected to come out later this year, the newest iPhone will have to go all out to stay on top for another two years in the industry.

Find out more about the news about multitasking on the iPhone at Mobile Choice UK.

The Apple iPad touch screen tablet is not yet out but we are already finding ourselves swamped with rumors and speculations about the upcoming iPhone 4G. While a tablet device is a new and curious thing, it seems like people still prefer their smart phones far more.

Anyway, the Apple iPhone 4G has been in the rumor mill for quite some time now and it has generated quite a buzz over the past few months. Here’s a quick summary of everything that we have found out so far.

First off, this device will be a touch screen smart phone with an HD capable screen. Obviously, the iPhone will have a capacitive touch screen; and while Apple has not exactly confirmed that the handset would indeed have HD quality resolution, it is expected as HD is quickly becoming the new standard for displays.

Next, the device is being rumored to have a removable battery. Now, while many of us would love to see this come to be, we would like to hold back any expectations until Apple proves this. This is because Apple has a habit of making closed devices and there is simply no reason to believe that they would change this practice for the iPhone 4G.

The touch sensitive casing on the other hand may sound pretty quirky, but this is one thing that we can probably count on Apple for. The company has led the way with touch screen technology with the previous iPhone, it makes perfect sense that they would want to develop something new to stay on top of the game. In any case, it would be fun being able to play a game where you will not have to obscure the view by tapping the screen.

Find out more about the various rumors and speculations regarding the Apple iPhone 4G at Tech Radar.