MacRumors

finalfantasyvi_logoTakashi Tokita, longtime director at producer at video game company Square-Enix, announced today that the company will be releasing a mobile-optimized version of Final Fantasy VI for iOS this Fall, reports Kotaku. The game was originally released in 1994 as Final Fantasy III in North America, and follows the release of various Final Fantasy games on iOS, with Final Fantasy V [Direct Link] being the most recent release by the company this past March.

"The battle systems have been altered for the other [mobile remakes] for Final Fantasy and VI will be the same. For instance grinding was an issue and people had to spend a lot of time leveling up. Now on the mobile devices the battle systems have been adjusted so you don't have to fight as much and can enjoy the game for what it is."

Tokita also teased a potential release of the mega-popular Final Fantasy VII for mobile devices sometime in the future:

The Legacy series won't necessarily end with VI, Tokita said, when we asked him if it could include VII, VIII, IX, X and beyond. "We are aware that we have tons of VII fans," he noted. "We have VII fans in our own company. If this Legacy project works out well, we would like to one day be able to work with VII."

5c_and_5sApple has been granted authorization by the Brazillian National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) needed to sell the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c in the country, reports ZDNet. The new devices have received approval to operate with 4G technology avaliable in Brazil on the 2600 MHz band, while previous models had been limited to the 700 MHz band level. The devices will be produced domestically at the Foxconn factories in São Paulo.

However, it is not known at this time when Apple's new iPhones will launch in the country, as it is not included in the two new rounds of international iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c launches that Apple announced yesterday. Last year, the iPhone 5 was approved for Brazil in October only to be launched in the country on two months later on Friday, December 14, almost three months after the phone's launch in the first wave of countries.

The news also comes as Apple won the right to legally use the "iPhone" name in Brazil last month, after a judge ruled in favor of the Cupertino company in an ongoing lawsuit with Brazillian company IGB Electronica, after a long legal battle that stretched for almost a year. A report in August also indicated that Apple's first Brazillian retail store will open in December in Rio de Janeiro after recruiting prospective employees in November 2012.

Related Forum: iPhone

Following a brief promotion earlier this week in which Best Buy reduced pricing on the iPhone 5c by $50 just two weeks after launch, an internal document obtained by TechnoBuffalo reveals that the retailer will offer a minimum $100 gift card toward the purchase of the iPhone 5s or iPhone 5c for any working smartphone. The promotion will begin this Friday, October 11 and run through October 19.

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The offer requires that the device being traded in is able to be powered on. Water damaged devices and devices with cracked screens are also not eligible for the program, and customers who bring in packaging or original accessories may see the value of their trade-in increase. The offer also extends to customers who have current reservations for either phone.

The 16 GB models of the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s start at $99.99 and $199.99 respectively, with iPhone 5c supplies remaining plentiful throughout Apple's distribution channels, giving retailers some incentive to reduce pricing to help drive sales. That availability contrasts with significant shortages seen for Apple's flagship iPhone 5s since launch nearly three weeks ago.

Related Forum: iPhone

NewImageU.S. carrier T-Mobile today is announcing a new addition to its "UnCarrier" smartphone plans, adding unlimited texting and 2G data roaming in 100 countries, as well as voice calls from those countries at 20 cents per minute, reports AllThingsD.

Data speeds will be slow, but likely adequate for basic email and perhaps even for mapping and navigation apps. Users will be able to purchase increased data speeds, with speeds reverting to the slower, free option once they have run out. Passes are available for one day and 100MB for $15, one week at 200MB for $25, or two weeks and 500MB for $50.

The new program does require customers to return to the U.S. at least once every six weeks, and six weeks out of every three months must be spent stateside. The program rolls out to postpaid customers on October 31st.

The company also introduced a new plan for customers who call internationally, offering $0.20 per minute calls to many countries, including when dialing a mobile phone. Landline calls are free to 70 countries, while free texting to 200 countries is also included, for $10 per month.

The fear of high charges often prompts customers to leave their phones at home, keep them in airplane mode or turn off cellular data when traveling overseas.

“There’s just so many pieces of data that suggest to us this is a huge issue and pain point but also a huge opportunity,” T-Mobile CEO John Legere said in an interview, noting that Americans take 55 million international trips per year. However, he said 40 percent of customers turn off their phones to avoid high charges, while many others get stuck with high bills when they return.


T-Mobile launched a new phone purchase program earlier this year in an attempt to differentiate itself from other carriers, allowing customers to purchase phones for a moderate down payment and then pay monthly fees until the phone is paid for. After that, the owner's monthly bill drops.

In July, T-Mobile introduced 'Jump', a phone upgrade program that allows customers to upgrade phones as frequently as once every 6 months.

apple_store_app_icon_ios_7_150Apple began offering free apps, books, and music via its Apple Store app back in August, and today the company has made hit endless running game Temple Run: Oz available at no cost.

Normally priced at $0.99, Temple Run: Oz was created through a partnership between developer Imangi and Disney to promote the "Oz the Great and Powerful" movie. Like other Temple Run games, Oz is an endless runner that takes advantage of power ups. It is set in the land of Oz and includes special features like hot-air balloon flying.

Temple Run: Oz is the exhilarating sequel to the classic game, based on the film Oz the Great and Powerful. In this game you’ll run, fly, an slide across the yellow brick road.

Previous free content offered through the Apple Store app has included Color Zen, Away in My Airplane, and six free iTunes Festival song downloads.

The Apple Store app can be downloaded from the App Store for free [Direct Link] and Temple Run: Oz, which is universal, can be downloaded by tapping on the icon in the "Featured" section of the Apple Store app. According to the Apple Store description, Oz will be available until November 15.

Research firms Gartner and IDC today released their preliminary calculations of PC shipments for the third quarter of 2013, finding that worldwide shipments fell by roughly 8% over the year-ago quarter, extending the current sales slide to 18 months. Top worldwide vendors Lenovo, HP, and Dell held up reasonably well, but smaller vendors such Acer and Asus experienced dramatic year-over-year declines in of around 22% according to Gartner and 34% according to IDC.

"The third quarter is often referred to as the 'back-to-school' quarter for PC sales, and sales this quarter dropped to their lowest volume since 2008," said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. "Consumers' shift from PCs to tablets for daily content consumption continued to decrease the installed base of PCs both in mature as well as in emerging markets. A greater availability of inexpensive Android tablets attracted first-time consumers in emerging markets, and as supplementary devices in mature markets."

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Gartner's Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 3Q13 (Thousands of Units)

According to Gartner's numbers, the U.S. market held up significantly better than the global market, actually registering a 3.5% increase in shipments led by fourth-place Lenovo's 24.6% gain. For its part, Apple was the only one of the top five vendors to see a year-over-year decline in shipments, falling by 2.3% to take 13.4% of the market. Apple was, however, able to show some relative strength over the previous quarter, using its popularity in education to increase its U.S. share from 11.6% in the second quarter to 13.4% in the back-to-school third quarter.

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Apple's U.S. Market Share Trend: 1Q06-3Q13 (Gartner)

IDC's numbers painted an even worse picture for Apple, with the company's 11.2% year-over-year decline in U.S. Mac shipments trailing the overall U.S. market, which declined just 0.2%. As in the Gartner survey, third-place Apple, which garnered 11.6% of the U.S. market according to IDC, was the only one of the top five PC manufacturers to see a decline in shipments.

As usual, neither Gartner nor IDC covered Apple's worldwide market share for the quarter, as the company does not rank among the top five vendors on a worldwide basis.

The only Mac product Apple updated leading into the back-to-school shopping season was the MacBook Air, which was updated at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference in June. The iMac, Apple's flagship desktop machine, was not updated until late last month while the MacBook Pro has not been updated since February. Apple's Mac mini is also due for an update, and an all-new version of the Mac Pro is set for release by the end of this year.

Apple is set to reveal its revamped fifth-generation iPad later this month, and ahead of the event, new high-resolution images of the upcoming iPad’s casing and front panel have been released by Australian writer Sonny Dickson, offering a clear view of what can be expected from the redesign.

Though the iPad’s components have been shown off in multiple photos and videos, these high-quality images provide a better look at the slimmer, mini-style iPad 5.

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The fifth-generation iPad has been designed to look similar to the iPad mini, adopting smaller side bezels that cut a significant amount of bulk from the tablet. As a result, it is thinner, lighter, and smaller in size than the existing fourth-generation iPad.

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Apple’s newest iPad is expected to include a new 64-bit processor from the A7 family introduced in the iPhone 5s, and it may also include an improved 8-megapixel camera. There has been speculation that the company could include the Touch ID fingerprint sensor that debuted with the iPhone 5s on both its revamped iPad and iPad mini, but thus far, there have been no physical signs of the feature.

As depicted in the photos, the iPad will be offered in both silver/white and black/space gray. Space gray, introduced alongside the iPhone 5s, is a lighter color that replaces the existing slate color. While it is possible that Apple will also offer the fifth-generation iPad in gold, there have thus far been no confirmed part leaks depicting the color.

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Apple is expected to unveil both the fifth-generation iPad and the second-generation iPad mini during an October 22 event that will also showcase other Apple products such as Mavericks and the Mac Pro.

Related Roundup: iPad
Buyer's Guide: iPad (Buy Now)
Related Forum: iPad

Foursquare’s new automatic recommendation service, initially introduced on Android in August, is rolling out to iPhone users. The company has released a new version of its iOS app today, which introduces a redesign and will give a “few thousand” users access to the feature.

With the new recommendation system, Foursquare runs continually in the background, monitoring location to provide recommendations on nearby restaurants and other venues. It will also offer information on popular food and beverage choices following a check in, pulling data from comments that users have left about each venue.

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Today we’re excited to start rolling out this smarter Foursquare. Here’s how it will work: when you sit down to dinner, we might ping you with the can’t-miss dish on the menu (like the screenshot from a sushi bar below). Or when you arrive in a new neighborhood or city, we’ll suggest a few places that your friends love (like below, after you’ve wandered into a new neighborhood). It’s like having a ton of local friends stuffed in your pocket wherever you go.

Because it’s powered by billions of check-ins, it’s also smart: we’re going to ping you when you sit down at a new place where your friend left a tip, not when you’re on your daily walk to work. And using this feature doesn’t check you in; this isn’t for sharing, just for making sure you don’t miss great things.

While only a few thousand iPhone users will get access to the feature today, the company plans to continue rolling out the service to additional users as it did on the Android platform.

Along with the rollout of the recommendation system, Foursquare’s newest update introduces a simplified design that shows only the most recent check-in for each friend. Additional check-ins are now accessed via profile pages, and a newly introduced "nearby" button displays friends that are located in the vicinity.

Foursquare is an iPhone-only app that can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Frog Design founder and former Apple design consultant Hartmut Esslinger's upcoming book Keep It Simple - The Early Design Years of Apple is set to be released next month, with the book discussing the foundation of Apple's design from the creation of the original Macintosh and throughout the 1980s. Fast Company has released a few excerpts from the book, which includes new details about early interaction between Esslinger and Steve Jobs, noting how Jobs took interest in foreign design and ambitions for the first Macintosh:

In fact, Steve didn’t really know much about design, but he liked German cars. Leveraging that connection, I explained that design like that has to be a complete package, that it must express the product’s very soul; without the excellent driving experience and the history of stellar performance, a Porsche would be just another nice car--but it wouldn’t be a Porsche. We also discussed American design, and I offended him when I insisted that American computer and consumer electronics companies totally underestimated the taste of American consumers--Sony’s success with clean design being the proof. He was gracious enough to concede that Apple didn’t make the cut, but he also said that he was out to change all that, which was why he was looking for a world-class designer.

When I asked him about his bigger ambitions, he simply smiled and said: “First, I want to sell a million Macs. Then I want Apple to become the greatest company on earth.” For some strange reason, we both agreed that those goals were absolutely achievable.

harmut_apple1
The book also contains information about how Apple's need for a sole design leader and design team led Esslinger's Frog Design to win over Steve Jobs and ultimately become a part of Apple's effort to revolutionize the computer industry:

At the end of the meeting, I again urged Steve to rethink Apple’s existing design process and the way it placed designers at the mercy of engineering. I told him that, in my opinion, Apple needed one design leader and one team reporting directly to him, and design had to be involved years ahead of any actual product development in Apple’s strategic planning. With that framework in place, Apple could project new technologies and consumer interactions for years ahead, which would help avoid shortsighted ad-hoc developments.

Steve reluctantly promised that if frog won the competition, design would take a top position at Apple and report directly to him. I left his office that day feeling motivated and inspired, but also quite aware of the challenge we were taking on. My brief experience at Apple had convinced me that neither its division managers nor its designers would accept this change without a fight, and Steve had assured me the battle would be mine to win. Naturally, there were some points where we disagreed--Steve believed that “one insanely great product” would define Apple, whereas I insisted that Apple needed a comprehensive strategy that could generate a line of great products. But we launched a pivotal collaboration that day, creating what would become one of the most successful and influential designer/entrepreneur alliances in the history of consumer technology.

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Keep It Simple - The Early Design Years of Apple will be released on November 7, 2013.

Apple is set to revamp the displays for the majority of its product lines within the next year, according to supply chain research done by NPD DisplaySearch (via CNET). The new research corroborates an earlier report that Apple is set to revamp its displays across multiple product lines and offers some speculation on Apple's plans rooted in the supply chain hints.

Based on supply chain research, we believe Apple is planning to revamp nearly all of the displays in its products over the next year. This would indicate that Apple, once again, intends to count on display technology for new product innovation. We can speculate about Apple’s new products as follows:

appledisplays
DisplaySearch speculates that Apple may launch both a 4.7-inch and a 5.7-inch iPhone next year, roughly in line with a Wall Street Journal report from September claiming Apple has been experimenting with iPhone models carrying displays of 4.8 inches to 6 inches, perhaps for a 2014 release.

DisplaySearch's report also covers the slimmer-bezeled iPad and Retina iPad mini, which will reportedly be unveiled on October 22. Unsurprisingly, the report indicates that both displays will carry the same 2048 x 1536 resolution as the current full-size iPad. DisplaySearch also suggests that a 12.9-inch iPad is set for debut next year, in line with the Wall Street Journal's report that Apple is looking at larger iPad models.

The MacBook Air, which is unlikely to get an update at Apple's October 22 event, is likely to see a new 12-inch Retina Display model launch next year, according to DisplaySearch's findings. This new low-power MacBook Air would likely feature a 2304 x 1440 display, although this would be the usable screen real estate at a non-Retina equivalent of just 1152 x 720, lower than that of the current 11-inch MacBook Air. Users would, however, be able to opt for higher-resolution non-Retina settings as seen on the Retina MacBook Pro. Mac display upgrade rumors also fall in line with earlier reports that Apple is set to move to IGZO displays, which allow for higher-resolution displays with lower power consumption.

DisplaySearch also claims there will be two Apple-branded 4Kx2K television sets in 55- and 65-inch sizes, feeding longstanding rumors of an Apple television set project that has yet to come to fruition. Finally, the report claims that 1.3- and 1.6-inch iWatch models could debut in late 2014 with flexible 320 x 320 AMOLED displays. This, too, falls in line with earlier rumors claiming Apple is set to adopt AMOLED display for its smart watch device.

The first of these rumored devices with all new displays is reportedly set for an unveiling at an iPad-centric event on October 22. Apple has yet to officially confirm the event, but should send out media invitations roughly one week ahead of time.

Microsoft is preparing to launch an updated version of its Remote Desktop tool for OS X and a new version for iOS later this month, reports ZDNet. The company will also reportedly release a version of the app for Android and its new Windows RT platform, which comes as the company is pushing to make access and communication with its Windows operating system universal and throughout various platforms.

windows8_remote_desktop

Further, with Windows Server 2012 R2 Microsoft is introducing the Microsoft Remote Desktop app, available for download in application stores later this month, to provide easy access to PCs and virtual desktops on a variety of devices and platforms, including Windows, Windows RT, iOS, OS X and Android.

Additionally, Microsoft MVP Michel Roth has stated (via Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows) that the company is very serious about the upcoming applications, which reportedly will be full-featured and not include stripped functionality like that of ported clients:

"Microsoft is very serious about enabling BYOD [Bring Your Own Device] by means of desktop virtualization," Roth writes. "When you see the clients you'll notice they are pretty sweet and not as basic or as 'v1' as you might expect. The iOS Remote Desktop app supports iOS 6 and 7 and the Android Remote Desktop app is poised to support Android versions as far back as Gingerbread. The OS X Remote Desktop app provides even more functionality that you would expect from a 'desktop app'. Think about 'seamless windows' or 'applications portal'."

Notably, the Mac App Store already contains various cross-platform remote desktop clients, but none of them are official or licensed. Microsoft does however have a Remote Desktop Connection Client for Mac that ships with Office 2011, but has received little recent support and is limited in nature compared to other full featured clients.

Yahoo's image and video hosting website Flickr has released an update to its iOS app, which contains a new "Auto Upload" feature that saves images in their original resolution and uploads them directly to the service. Auto Upload can also be toggled to save images only when connected to a Wi-Fi network or enabled on both Wi-Fi and cellular connections, and all saved images are marked as private by default. The update also contains a new auto-straighten tool and fixes for users signing in with Google.

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Flickr received attention earlier this year when it began offering 1 TB of free photo storage space and underwent a major design overhaul. As previously speculated, Flickr is also now integrated within iOS 7, as users can choose to share photos directly to Flickr from the Photos app or various third-party apps with the functionality.

The last major update to Flickr for iOS came in August, when live filters and professional editing capabilities were added to the app. Flickr is a free download on the App Store. [Direct Link]

Facebook is preparing significant updates for its primary iOS app and its Facebook Messenger app in the near future, reports 9to5Mac. The main Facebook for iOS app will reportedly feature the social network's "Graph Search" feature, which was introduced last year and allows for users to enter specific search queries for better results. Meanwhile, an updated Facebook Messenger app is set to feature iOS contacts integration and sport a look with heavy white space similar to the design aesthetic of iOS 7, with another version similar in looks to the Messages app on iOS also being tested.

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The report also states that Greg Novick, who was part of a group of Apple engineers hired by Facebook last year during a recruiting drive to work on its iOS app, has been rehired by Apple for an unstated role. Novick had previously been the Engineering Manager of iPhone Applications and Frameworks at Apple, and was a designer of the software that appeared on the original iPhone.

Both Facebook and Facebook Messenger are free universal apps for iOS devices and can be downloaded through the following links:

- Facebook [Direct Link]
- Facebook Messenger [Direct Link]

Tag: 9to5Mac

Apple today announced plans for its next two rounds of launches for the new iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c, with the devices coming to 35 new countries including Italy, Russia, and Spain on Friday, October 25. Another round will follow on Friday, November 1, bringing the devices to an additional 16 countries, including India and Mexico.

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- October 25: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, French West Indies, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Reunion Island, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and Thailand.

- November 1: Albania, Armenia, Bahrain, Colombia, El Salvador, Guam, Guatemala, India, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and United Arab Emirates.

Following that November 1 round of launches, the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c will be available in over 60 countries, putting Apple well on its way to reaching its stated target of availability in 100 countries by the end of the year.

Related Forum: iPhone

Apple will hold its much-rumored iPad event on October 22, reports AllThingsD. While the event will focus on Apple's upcoming fifth-generation iPad and iPad mini, the new Mac Pro and OS X Mavericks will also be featured at the event. Though Apple has not officially announced the event, AllThingsD has a solid track record when it comes to event predictions.

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Rendering of the 5th-generation iPad compared to iPad 4 and iPad mini

People familiar with Apple's plans tell AllThingsD that the company will hold its next invitation-only event on Tuesday October 22. The focal point of the gathering will the latest updates to the company’s iPad line, but new Mac Pro and OS X Mavericks will likely get some stage time as well, I'm told.

Apple's fifth-generation iPad will take on an iPad mini-style design, resulting in a thinner, lighter tablet with smaller side bezels. It's expected to feature a 64-bit A7 processor and an improved camera.

Apple's iPad mini is expected to include the same 64-bit A7 chip along with a Retina display and an 8-megapixel camera. According to recent rumors, the iPad mini could be in short supply and may not see widespread availability until 2014.

Update: The Loop's Jim Dalrymple has seconded the October 22 date with one of his famous "Yep" confirmations.

Related Roundups: iPad, iPad mini, Mac Pro
Related Forums: iPad, Mac Pro, OS X Mavericks

Both Apple's iPhone and iPad continue to remain popular with U.S. teenagers, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster's latest semiannual teen survey. 55 percent of teens now own an iPhone, compared to just 48 percent from a survey conducted in April and 40 percent in the fall of 2012.

Our most recent semi-annual Teen survey demonstrates that Apple remains the most popular tech brand amongst teens. As of Fall 2013, the iPhone represented nearly 55% all phones used by teens and the iPad family remained at close to 70% share of tablet ownership. We believe that while Samsung seemingly had some momentum with teens over the past year, Apple's brand and product quality has enabled it to remain the top choice for teen consumer electronics.

When it comes to tablets, 56 percent of teens own one, up from 51 percent in April. 68 percent of those own an iPad (60% full-sized, 8% mini), which is the same percentage that owned an Apple tablet in the spring, though ownership has shifted slightly towards the mini (63% full-sized, 5% mini).

As for future ownership, 65 percent of teens expect their next phone to be an iPhone, up from 62 percent. Of teens that expect to get a tablet in the next six months, 64 percent plan to get an iPad. Android tablets have seen increasing interest from the younger age group as well, thanks to low-priced options like the Kindle Fire HD.

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For those teens who expect to purchase a tablet in the next 6 months, 64% said they plan on buying an iPad, thus it appears that Apple should be able to maintain its tablet share. Given iPad segment ASP changes, it is apparent that the iPad Mini is growing in popularity; however, based on the purchase intent for teens, it appears that the full-sized iPad remains highly desired. We note that a design change in the near future could help demand and consequently ASPs.

Though Samsung has attempted to portray the iPhone as a device for "uncool" parents, Munster's newest survey suggests that the iPhone continues to gain market share among teens while Android phones become less popular with the group.

Younger customers have always been important to Apple as it gives the company a chance to create lifelong customers. Apple's recently released iPhone 5c seems to be targeted at a younger crowd in particular, with its lower price point and colorful design.

Though iPads have lost market share among teenagers over the last two years, they could see a significant popularity surge in the future, as Apple prepares to launch a redesigned fifth-generation tablet iPad and a Retina iPad mini.

Qualcomm SnapdragonLast week, Qualcomm chief marketing officer Anand Chandrasekher called Apple's new 64-bit A7 processor a "marketing gimmick" and claimed the processor had very few consumer-driven features.

Today, Qualcomm is backing away from those comments, according to Macworld. A company spokesperson issued this statement to the magazine:

"The comments made by Anand Chandrasekher, Qualcomm CMO, about 64-bit computing were inaccurate," said a Qualcomm spokesperson in an email. "The mobile hardware and software ecosystem is already moving in the direction of 64-bit; and, the evolution to 64-bit brings desktop class capabilities and user experiences to mobile, as well as enabling mobile processors and software to run new classes of computing devices."

64-bit processing marks a major advance for mobile CPU-makers and will be extremely important for Qualcomm going forward, as the firm has announced that it too is working on such chips. Given the flurry of attention regarding Chandrasekher's comments and Qualcomm's own ambitions in the area, it makes sense for the company to try to walk back the "marketing gimmick" remarks.

The iPad mini and the fourth-generation iPad have the most responsive touch screens, according to a new set of TouchMark benchmarks from cloud streaming company Agawi.

In its latest TouchMark test, Agawi tested the screen latencies of several different tablets, including the iPads, the Microsoft Surface RT, the Kindle Fire HD, the Nexus 7, the Galaxy Tab 3, and the Nvidia SHIELD.

Apple's iPad mini had the lowest Minimum App Response Time (MART), coming in at 75 milliseconds. The fourth-generation iPad came in second at 81, and the fastest Android tablet was the NVIDIA Shield at 92. Samsung's Galaxy Tab 3 had the worst response time, at 168 milliseconds.

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In a result that's perhaps now unsurprising, the iOS devices are more responsive than its competitors. Interestingly, the iPad mini – with its smaller screen and 1024×768 resolution – performs similarly to the larger fourth generation iPad and its 2048×1536 resolution, suggesting that responsiveness is not reduced by the larger screen size or resolution.

Our previous speculations continue to apply – more responsive devices may process touches earlier in the stack, poll for touches more frequently or have touchscreens optimized or calibrated to be more responsive. In our latest review of our test apps, we discovered an optimization that suggests that the GPU or GPU drivers in the devices might also add significant latency.

To obtain MART scores for each of the tablets, Agawi used a 240fps high frame rate camera along with a custom-built device called a Touchscope. The MART is the latency experienced between the time that a user touches the device display to the device's on-screen response time.

Previously, Agawi measured the response time of Apple's iPhone 5 compared to several other Android and Windows smartphones, with the iPhone 5 demonstrating a MART time of 55 milliseconds, which is significantly faster than even its own iPads.

Related Roundups: iPad, iPad mini
Related Forum: iPad