You’ll be able to work with a clear or tinted case base – that’s the part that clamps around your iPhone 5. Then you’ve got the option of working with a white or black battery pack OR any of a variety of Pantone-colored case covers. This case cover sits on the back of the case while you’re not using the battery, if you like: we’ve opted to keep the battery connected on-the-go.

The Lightning connector is made with some rather excellent and durable TPE material, being just long enough to fit down into the iPhone 5 without being obtrusive. The battery pack itself is recharged the same way you’d charge any of a number of non-Apple mobile products: with a simple microUSB cord (also included in the pack.)

Since the case bit of this amalgamation does not obstruct our view or use of any of the buttons or ports on the iPhone itself, it certainly gets a thumbs up from us there. As far as the battery itself goes – it works exactly as you’d expect it to. Charge it up, leave it on the back of your iPhone or in your pocket, and connect it when you need it.

BONUS: There’s a kickstand built-in to the battery pack. This kickstand will be a reinforced aluminum in the final model (ours is an early edition), and you’ll find a full list of changes and improvements pre-release right over at the Kickstarter page itself.

With an additional 1900 mAh of battery power at your disposal you’ll have a tough time not getting through the day with your iPhone 5 on the power you’ve got immediately handy. This case starts at a $59 price point if you’re over at Kickstater before the end of the crowdfunding venture, and final case shipments start in early April.

The team responsible for PowerSkin claim this battery case to be able to extend the usage of your iPhone 5 up to 70%. As far as we’ve seen, this is essentially true. If we’d had a day where we’d have knocked the iPhone 5′s power out in half a day before this battery pack, we’re now reaching much closer the evening where we’re in a place where we can charge up again.

As for charging: you’ve now got the option to charge your iPhone with a microUSB via this battery case. While the case is charged via microUSB, it connects to your iPhone 5 through the Apple-unique Lightning port. Charge the one and the other can be powered. The case works with both 5V, 1A input and output and you’ve got both the battery pack case itself and a handy microUSB charging cable in the box – not to mention an earphone extender.

Because this case needs a certain amount of bulk down at the bottom to be able to charge the iPhone, your headphone jack is, at first, blocked from most traditional headphone cords. Because of this, you get an earphone extender cord in the box as well – no worries for you. The full weight of the case is just 0.18 pounds and you’ll just be adding 0.65 of an inch to your phone’s thickness in the end.

This PowerSkin unit for the iPhone 5 will cost you a grand total of $79.99 USD and is available right this minute straight from its makers online. Have a peek at the timeline below for additional peeks at PowerSkin units we’ve reviewed in the past as well as announcements for the most recent PowerSkin units for your current generation handsets as well!

In addition to the lower resolution than they were supposed to get, the folks over at Panic also noticed poor video output quality, with noticeable artifacts around text. Neither the low resolution nor the artifact problem were present when using the old AV adapter, however, adding to the mystery, and so they began to speculate about what could be different between the two.

They developed the theory that the Lightning Digital AV Adapter was actually functioning as something akin to an AirPlay receiver, rather than directly sending a nice clean HDMI signal to the output display. This seemed unlikely, however, not only because of the strangeness of it, but also because of the small size of the device. And so they did what any reasonable people would do – they got a hacksaw and gutted it.

As it turned out, their guess was (possibly) right. Inside the adapter, they discovered a whole lot of tiny components, as well as an ARM chip with the part number H9TKNNN2GD with 256MB of RAM. There’s a good chance, then, that some type of streaming is going on rather than plain ol’ HDMI-out. The obvious question now is “why?” No one knows. The only thing that is certain is that you shouldn’t expect good quality video output.

[via Panic Blog]

While it’s odd to see no price different between the two cables with different lengths, it provides users another option if they’re seeking out less cable clutter. This shorter cable is half the length of the regular Lightning cable that ships with newer iOS devices. Of course, while a shorter cable could be handy in some situations, we personally don’t see the problem with just wrapping up your normal Lightning cable in order to make it shorter.

Nevertheless, if you’re after a shorter cable, similar to the Thunderbolt offerings, Apple has you set. Furthermore, the company also updated its in-ear headphones with a redesigned mic switch to make it match the design Apple’s recently-released EarPods. The in-ear headphones will still cost you $79, and there doesn’t seem to be any changes to the headphones themselves.

While Apple is known for holding special events when announcing updates to their product line, it’s also not rare for them to quietly make changes and update their products without telling anyone for the most part. Case in point: the company recently updated its MacBook Pro and Air lineup yesterday, stuffing in faster components and cutting the price down a bit.

[via MacRumors]

A new product has turned up on Indiegogo that aims to let you take one cable to work with both micro USB devices and devices needing the Apple Lightning cable for charging and synchronization. The product is called the Orobis Transform. The product is a cable with a special adapter on the end that flips over the top of the micro USB connector and locks in place.

That adapter turns the micro USB connector into the Apple Lightning connector needed for the latest Apple gadgets. To make the system work, the micro USB looks a bit different than you’re probably used to seeing. Almost half of the micro USB connector is open allowing the exposed prongs to touch the Lightning adapter when you need the charge or sync Apple devices.

The Orobis Transform comes in a standard 1 m cable length. The cable will be available in black or white colors, assuming the project funds on Indiegogo. The team is seeking money to bring the cable the market and notes that the open micro USB connector is especially expensive to produce. The project is seeking $25,000 and has 42 days left. So far, it has raised $2889. Interestingly, there is no mention on the product page about licensing fees for Apple’s Lightning connector.

The company announced three more JBL speakers: the $149 OnBeat Mini, the $149 Charge, and the $399 Rumble (pictured above). The Charge is a portable stereo speaker bundled with Bluetooth and a high-capacity battery that lasts up to 12 hours on a single charge. It even charges mobile devices on the go while they’re being used.

The OnBeat Mini is a portable speaker dock that comes with a Lighting connector for use with Apple’s latest iOS devices, including the iPad mini, iPhone 5, and the refreshed 4th-generation iPad. The company is marketing the docks portability more than anything, rather than its sound quality, so if you’re an audiophile of any kind, the JBL Rumble might be your best bet.

The Rumble is priced at a steep $399, but it features a Lightning connector and it focuses purely on delivering an awesome sound. Plus, it can stream music with non-Lightning devices as well, and it works with various DJ mobile apps to make the Rumble a viable choice for any music-loving geek.

One of the more interesting products, pictured here, is the iDL 100 Triple Charging Stereo FM Clock Radio with two lighting docs and a USB charge/play port supporting the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. The device offers a triple 2.1 amp Charging hub for Apple gadgets. It also has two Lightning docks for charging the iPhone 5 and the iPad mini at the same time. The clock is designed to automatically sync its time to the time on your Apple gadgets when docked.

The device also features an auxiliary input allowing you to play music from devices with 3.5 mm headphone jacks that aren’t dockable. The device is expected to sell for $149.99. The smaller version of the doc with a single Lightning charger is expected to sell for $99.99.

The wireless audio solutions will include the iBT44 Bluetooth Portable FM Stereo with USB Charging. This device provides wireless connectivity to any Bluetooth enabled device and runs on six D batteries for the universal voltage adapter. It has a pair of woofers and a pair of one-inch tweeters with an MSRP of $199.99. The company will also offer the iBT20 Bluetooth Wireless FM Alarm Clock for $79.99 and the iBT88 Bluetooth rechargeable mini stereo speaker.

Word of an update to the policies Apple has for accessories working with their mobile devices came down today via CNET where Apple spokesperson Tom Neumayr made just the past crystal clear. The actual “we’ve changed” part of the equation was left to the author to elaborate on himself with a simple “the company added that the guidelines have since been updated.” Neumayr spoke thusly:

“Our technical specifications provide clear guidelines for developing accessories and they are available to MFi licensees for free. We support accessories that integrate USB and Lightning connectors, but there were technical issues that prevented accessories from integrating 30-pin and Lightning connectors so our guidelines did not allow this.” – Neumayr

What we’re talking about here is not Apple telling the world that they may not have cords coming from devices with the Lightning connector as well as the 30-pin iPod connector in one, but that if they do, they’ll not be speaking kindly with them any time soon. Accessory makers around the world speak with Apple on a regular basis to get official licenses from the company so that they can get approval for the cords Apple designed. With the dawn of the Lightning cable, many accessory makers had to re-think their entire iDevice strategy.

Have a peek at the timeline below to see some of the brief history of the Lightning connector and make sure you’ve got your eyes open for the first dual-connector accessories in the very, very near future. Expect some Apple-approved dual-wielding docks by the middle of 2013, without a doubt.

The big hitch is that Kickstarter always takes a fee from a project, that being a big part of how the organization works. In this case, the creators at Edison Jr have made an unprecedented move in asking for that 5% back. There’s also a credit card fee that’s more or less 3% that Edison Jr is claiming they’re having to absorb, these two costs being relatively prohibitive for their prospective future in the business.

The total that this company would lose because of this situation is said by them to be over $11,000 USD. Or it will be unless Kickstarter gives them the 5% of the cash back. What would you do if you were Kicksarter? What would you do if you were in Edison Jr’s position?

Meanwhile the CEO of Edison Jr (that’s Jamie Siminoff, again), has started up a company by the name of Christie Street. This company is a crowdfunding program that “carefully vets each invention before launch to ensure they are feasible and credible.” Jamie Siminoff is currently taking all of the backers of POP (the ones that wont be getting products at this point) and is setting them up with Christie Street accounts.

Once they’ve got Christie Street accounts, they’ll either have the option to get their cash back that they put into POP, or they can choose to “receive credits to invest in a new project on Christie Street.” In other words, if you supported POP, you’re about to be a member of Christie Street, and if you don’t specifically ask for your cash back from the POP non-product, you’ll be given Christie Street “credits” instead. As the release notes, this has created a situation in which refunds can go out much quicker than if they’d set up manual refunds to all 1,000 some backers one by one.

It is good to hear the following, one way or anther, straight from Jamie himself:

Providing full refunds means we will have to absorb a hit for both credit card (3%) and Kickstarter fees (5%) totaling over $11,000.  Today we asked Kickstarter for the 5% fee they collected based on the circumstances, however regardless of their decision YOU WILL RECEIVE 100% OF YOUR MONEY BACK.

We don’t believe in selling a substandard, compromised product that only satisfies the needs of a few backers, as that was not our promise.  So we can’t thank you enough for your incredible support and awesome feedback – we hope to collaborate again with you soon.  If you have any issues please email me directly.

All the best,
Jamie

Let us know what you think about the whole situation whether you’re involved in it directly or not!

What you’re seeing below this paragraph is an idyllic situation in which you’ll be using the OCDesk as your dock for your iPhone 5 near your new iMac. You can see that this iMac isn’t the newest version, but the slight difference in the base of the computer between generations does indeed work with the size of the dock we’re looking at at the moment. Above you’ll see the dock on its own – it’s got a bit of a lip and attaches to the iMac using adhesive strips, several of which are included in the package incase you stick wrong once or twice.

Perhaps the most ingenuitive piece of this tiny bit of equipment is the cord that connects the dock to your USB port behind the desktop computer. It’s ultra-thin and is able to sit underneath the base of the iMac, nearly completely flat. With this feature alone you’ll be working with a dock that appears very much to be a single solid piece of your iMac. Once you’re hooked up, it’s all about your own experience, however you choose it to be.

This dock has three interchangeable silicone support bars that can be attached to the dock to work with different size iPhones with or without cases. The lightning or 30-pin connector (depending on which OCDesk dock you purchase) has a spring-loaded base below it so basically no matter which kind of case you’re working with, you’ll be able to connect without a problem!

After the hardware it’s all up to you as far as what apps you’ll be using to make the experience your own. The creators of OCDesk recommend you work with an external screen app such as iScreen or use the iPhone as a shortcut panel with apps such as PhotoKeys:Photoshop Remote and Abobe Nav for Photoshop. In the future the folks at OCDesk may have some apps of their own as well – we’ll see!

For the time being we can indeed say that this project is one worth looking into – check their Kickstarter and click away – they’ve got 10 days to go and are already well over their funding goal! Still time to get in on the ground level for you – make it happen!

This party begins with the Sound Platform 2, continues on with the Sound Rise Lightning, and rolls forward with Sound Step / Sound Step Recharge Lightning. If those names weren’t long enough to get you riled up about the Apple device friendly show about to be brought on by Soundfreaq, perhaps you’d better get a look at the first basic specifications:

Sound Platform 2 takes what the first iteration was and brings on more enhanced bass, high-volume quality, large speaker drivers, Tone Control galore, and UQ3 spacial enhancement. This all comes with dual USB charging ports for whatever you’ve got that’s chargeable via USB, a Universal Device Tray, and connectivity to basically any mobile device you’ve got on hand. You’ve also got a rechargeable battery pack and Bluetooth integration for wireless music action – all of this coming on February 17th, 2013 for $149.99.

Sound Step, Sound Step Recharge, and Sound Rise are all products that’ve been out in the past, but are now going to be offered up with the new Apple lightning connectors for futuristic iPhone 5 / iPad 4 / iPad mini connectivity. Sound Rise is at its heart an alarm clock disguised as an iPhone dock, here with Bluetooth wireless connectivity and USB charging as well. You can also connect with any smart device – Android, Windows Phone 8, BlackBerry included – with the USB charging port and 3.5mm headphone jack – make it yours!

Sound Step Recharge (and the non-recharge Sound Step) are massive beasts of audio magic in a compact size, here now with lightning dock integration. It’s got a rechargeable battery, works with iOS devices as well as every other kind of smart device with USB charging and headphone jack integration, and makes the sound jump with UQ3 spacial sound enhancement!

We’ll see more on final pricing and release dates for these updated units as well as the rest of the Soundfreaq line at CES 2013 – join us in January and stay tuned to SlashGear until them for every single early release, rumor, and hands-on experience!

The SoundDock III costs $250, which may be way over most users’ budgets, but for those looking for quality sound out of a speaker dock, $250 is not a bad price to pay. Other than the new Lightning connector, however, users won’t tell much difference between past iterations of the SoundDock — even the remote control is the same.

The SoundDock III may look big in the pictures, but it’s actually small enough to sit on most countertops, end tables, and dressers. It’s only 12-inches long and almost 7-inches tall, while it measure 6.5 inches in depth, which makes it a great solution if you’re looking for a small and versatile speaker system that still has plenty of oomph.

The Bose SoundDock series was one of the first popular speaker dock solutions, and it’s been around for a while now. It was first released way back in 2004 when the iPod was just becoming really popular. The first-generation SoundDock even used Firewire, and it wasn’t designed to be used with a cellular device, so connecting an iPhone to it caused major distortion issues. However, the company has made major progress in just three generations of the SoundDock, and audiophiles will no doubt be adding this to their last-minute Christmas lists.

Philips is showing off the new Lightning docks on their Flickr page, which simply just consists of press photos of each dock. Sadly, Philips hasn’t release any pricing information yet, nor which retailers will carry the new docks, but Apple’s retail and online stores have carried Philips products in the past, so we wouldn’t be surprised if these showed up at Apple sometime soon.

All of the docks sport the sleek and simple look that Philips is known for. However, one of the new docks in particular is a new style for the company. The “Urban Micro System” looks like a normal beige-colored block that has speakers on the inside and your iPhone 5 sits on top. It’s definitely an interesting dock concept and not one you see everyday.

We’re guessing these new docks won’t be cheap by any means, but if you’ve recently been on the lookout for a new dock for your iPhone 5, you may want to hold out for a few days until Philips releases their new offerings to the public. However, if you’re using the older iPhone with the 30-pin connector, we’re guessing you can find some pretty great deals on older docks as well.

Griffin is offering the cables in four different lengths and styles. A 2-foot cable will cost $16.99, a 3-foot cable for $18.99, a 4-foot coiled cable for $24.99, and a 3-meter (9.7 feet) cable for $29.99. To compare, Apple sells a 3.5-foot Lightning cable for $19, so Griffin isn’t really undercutting the price too much.

However, it’s nice to now have more options when it comes to shopping for Lightning cables, especially if you prefer a black color scheme and a shorter or longer cable than what Apple offers. Because of this, we’re sure these third-party products will find their audience even if they aren’t necessarily cheaper than Apple’s offering.

Griffin says that all of these new cables will be shipping sometime in the first week of December, so only a few days from now, give or take a day or two. Plus, you can pair the cables with a USB car adapter so that you can charge up your new Apple devices while on the go. Griffin has plenty of those as well.

Harley-Davidson’s trademark for the word lightning remains protected until 2013, so if Apple wanted to call its new dock connector Lightning, it was going to have to get Harley-Davidson’s permission first. That’s exactly what happened, with Harley-Davidson granting Apple a “partial transfer” of the trademark. This means that Apple is free to use the trademark, but Harley-Davidson retains some rights to use it with its own products too.

It never really occurred to use that Apple would need to request a trademark transfer, since “lightning” doesn’t seem like one of those terms that companies can trademark. In any case, the transfer was apparently completed over the weekend, so Apple has partial rights to the Lightning trademark from here on out. We’re not sure what’s going to happen when the trademark’s protection ends in 2013, but we’re sure that Harley-Davidson and Apple will be able to reach another agreement when the time comes.

After all, it isn’t as if Apple would need to use the trademark for motorcycle parts, just as we’re assuming that Harley-Davidson isn’t going to use it for iOS dock connectors anytime soon. We’ll have to see how this all pans out in the future, but for now, Apple and Harley-Davidson apparently don’t have any issues with sharing the rights to the trademark. Check out our story timeline below for more on Lightning!

Today, Belkin announced two new accessories that utilize Apple’s new Lightning connector. The Charge + Sync Dock is an iPhone 5 dock that offers a foldaway auxiliary jack and a hidden cable channel that hides your Lightning cable and feeds it to the back of the dock. It also has a removable magnetic base and an audio-out port for headphones or speakers.

Belkin also announced an updated hard-wired car charger for Lightning devices that churns out 10 watts/2.1 amps, which means it can also be used to charge up your new 4th-gen iPad while you’re on your way to work. It has a 4-foot long cable and the charger includes over-voltage protection. It’s compatible with all Apple devices that use the new Lightning connector.

Both of these accessories are available for pre-order right now for $29.99 each, and will begin shipping on November 15. However, these aren’t the only two Lightning accessories you’ll see from Belkin. The company has committed to releasing more Lightning accessories in the future, including several more later this year.

[via The Next Web]

The adapter plugs into your Lightning-equipped device (either the iPhone 5, 4th-gen iPad, 5th-gen iPod Touch, 7th-gen iPod Nano, or iPad mini) and will allow you to use a standard micro USB cable to charge up your iOS device. The adapter is available online now and we’re guessing at Apple retail stores across the country as well.

This probably is one of Apple’s smallest accessories ever, and it can be yours for $19. The adapter first showed up in Europe last month due to a legal issue where all European devices had to be compatible with micro USB in some fashion, and finally, a month-and-a-half later US users are greeted with a viable solution to their surplus problem of micro USB cables.

Apple has slowly been rolling out its various Lightning accessories ever since the iPhone 5 launch, including a much-needed Lightning to 30-pin adapter for those who prefer using their older Apple cables, as well as a couple of Lightning display adapters with both HDMI and VGA options priced at $49 each.

Currently available on Apple’s website is a “Lightning Digital AV Adapter,” which is essentially Lightning-to-HDMI, and also a “Lightning to VGA Adapter.” Both come with a secondary Lightning port next to the HDMI or VGA port, that way you can still use your Lightning port even with the adapter plugged in.

As with any Apple accessory, these things aren’t cheap, and are more expensive than their Thunderbolt adapter cousins. Both Lightning adapters will be priced at $49 each. That’s a steep price to pay, but you travel a lot and enjoy playing your mobile content on a bigger display, they might be a good investment.

Then again, if you stay at home most of the time, but don’t have an Apple TV, we’d highly suggest getting one if you were thinking about getting a Lightning adapter. An Apple TV would only be $50 more, or only $35 more if you went with a refurbished unit. Either way, the adapters are available to purchase, but won’t ship for another 2-3 weeks.

The fourth-generation iPad also has the new image signal processor that’s found in the iPhone 5, and Apple says battery life won’t suffer — it’s still the same 10 hours as with the previous iPad model. The front-facing FaceTime camera has also been upgraded to 720p HD, just like on the MacBook Pros.

4G LTE capabilities in the new fourth-generation iPad has also received an update, bringing in support for the Now Network in the US and KDDI in Japan. It also has the 802.11a/b/g/n dual-band WiFi for your out-of-4G-range shenanigans. The display will also be the same Retina display on the third-generation iPad, with a 2048×1536 resolution.

Black and white versions will be available, and pricing will start at $499 for the 16GB WiFi-only model. The 16GB WiFi+4G model will start at $629. Pre-orders start on October 26 and will begin shipping on November 2.

A photo of the iPad mini Lightning connector shows both the front and back of the component, and reveals that the component’s connection to the logic board goes off towards the left, which could mean that the iPad mini’s logic board might be located on the left side of the device. That information alone isn’t too exciting, but it tips to some impressive design work that allows heat to disperse better when holding the device with your right hand.

That kind of layout is also similar to the third-generation iPad, which has the logic board sitting to the left of the device’s battery. And speaking of the third-gen iPad, another photo was leaked that shows a Lightning connector different from the iPad mini version, which could mean that the 10-inch iPad will see a Lightning refresh at tomorrow’s event.

However, the source that provided the photos claims that the component won’t be used in a refreshed third-generation iPad, but they didn’t explain their claim any further. So, at this point, we’re not really sure what the second Lightning connector would be used for other than the larger 10-inch model. We’ll simply have to wait and see what Apple has in store tomorrow. Stay tuned!

[via BGR]

This new iPad mini device has been shown several times as coming in 24 iterations, that being wi-fi, 3G, and 4G LTE in several internal storage sizes, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB. The extra 12 comes from there being two different color combinations – white and black. This new iPad mini device will likely have a 7.85-inch display and a Lightning connector like the iPhone 5 and new iPod devices as well.

The iPad refresh – that being the Retina-display-toting 9.7-inch display on the 3rd generation model, will likely be coming with a Lightning connector and an improved processor inside. This update will allow the tablet to remain on top of the performance scale while the price remains the same across the lineup. The iPad mini will take a stab at the ever-so-slightly smaller-sized tablet range that’s currently dominated by the Kindle Fire and the Google Nexus 7, both of them priced at or below $200 USD.

We’ll be at the Apple event on the 23rd – that’s Tuesday, and we’ll be live coming at you from the SlashGear Live portal for liveblogging action all day long. Expect plenty of photos, videos, and instant updates. Also feel free to check out our Apple portal for all sorts of Apple updates before and after the event – and during it also, of course.

This meeting in Shenzen was previously spoken about by iLounge who pinned the event up for sometime in November. Now with a November 7-8th date range in the tip book, it’s looking a lot more likely. This meeting has previously taken place in December, last year’s edition happening between December 7-8th. This meeting will also likely have AirPlay and Bluetooth standards being discussed as the MFI program expands once again.

UPDATE: Here’s the invite as posted by 9to5 Mac:

It’s not all about expansion, however, as it’s also been said that this meeting will discuss how limited Lightning accessories will be. Word has it that only MFI members will be able to product official Lightning-utilizing accessories and that Apple’s own manufacturing plants will be handling the entirety of the production of the cords that will be integrated into these accessories. Prices for these integrated ports and cords will be quite fair, so says the same source from above, especially when purchase in bulk.

A teardown or two from earlier this month showed the Lightning cord to have at least one unknown piece of processor technology that may well limit the capabilities of those knock-offs that would attempt to replicate Apple’s design. Here with the Lightning MFI program meeting taking place, the real production of officially approved accessories can begin. We shall see if this method of approval has any affect on the amount of accessories that hit the market – or how Apple keeps the non-official accessories from wide distribution.

With rumors abound that 24 models of new iPad-like devices have appeared in the Apple SKU listing in the sky, it would seem that there are two kinds of iPad mini on the way. You’ve got two different color combinations (black and white) up front, three different internal storage capacities (16GB, 32GB, and 64GB), and the option to have wi-fi-only or a mobile data connection. There being four different distinct code combinations (P101, 3, 5, or 7), we might be seeing four different color combinations instead of just two.

So that’s black, white, red, and green, six iPad minis in each category, three for wi-fi, three for mobile-data-equipped, with each of the three being 16, 32, or 64GB capacities. How does that sound to you? Another possibility is a fourth internal capacity size: 8GB.

With the iPad mini appearing to be looming with an October 23rd event date now on the books, it’s not out of the question that each of these units could be coming out on the 2nd of November. With a tablet made with the specifications that’ve been tipped many times over, we can assume we’ll have a device with a 7.85-inch display, a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels and the same ratio as each iPad on the market today, and a bezel that’s significantly smaller than the current model.

These devices will appear larger than the Amazon Kindle Fire HD (the 7-inch version, at least), and will be larger than the Google Nexus 7 as well. With a price point somewhere between $200 and $300 based on estimations done with component costs, we’ll likely be seeing a competitor for the 7-inch tablet market that doesn’t beat their cost, but certainly does beat their desirability for the Apple-loyal fans in the world today. Expect a device that’s not going to rock the tablet world to its knees like the original iPad did, but one that fills the gap for Apple users who want to work with a slightly smaller device on a regular basis.

You’ll get the full lowdown when we hit up the main event on the 23rd – expect live updates from us right here on SlashGear from morning until night – you shall know all!

The TI chip in question here bears the marking “BQ2025″, so says Chipworks, the group taking an undeniably up close and personal look at the technology this week. They note that though TI has several chips on file with names near the one found on Apple’s part, BQ2022, BQ2023, BQ2024, and BQ2026, non of them are the one we see here. Each of them do, on the other hand, have common characteristics including a single wire SDQ interface (for serial communications protocol) and some security features like CRC generation.

CRC is a system that essentially checks for redundancy in system so that data doesn’t get corrupted as you move it back and forth during file transfers. This piece of technology has been shown to be working with around 5k gates of logic and EPROM, with 64 or 128 bits of storage. It’s noted that because of all this as well as the appearance of some large driver transistors, a bunch of capacitance, and a lovely collection of analog circuitry, “this is certainly all consistent with a serial communication chip including some simple security features.”

The firm notes that the security in this cable appears to be “just enough” to keep them from being copied, the technology being that of an “olden days” product well before the current age of printer cartridges and flash drive memory – it’s hypothesized that this is to keep costs down as many, many Lightning cords must be produced. The rest of the chips are more basic and ready to be identified as such, with Chipworks letting it be known:

“The NXP NX20P3 includes one huge transistor occupying over 75% of the die area. It also has a fair amount of analog circuitry, as would be consistent with their line of charging devices for peripherals – from our last trip to the Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC) we know that this is a market that NXP is very strong in. The last two dies appear to be simple power transistors. Good design wins again for TI and NXP!” – Chipworks

Now we’ve got to see if those 3rd party groups deciding to release their own “Lightning” connectors here before all this was known will be able to deliver. We’re going to go ahead and suggest you stay away from such cables until they’re tested and proven NOT to bust your devices up with great glee. Stick to Apple for now, folks!

[via Apple Insider]

This event will likely center around an update to the whole Apple range, with the iPad mini coming with a Lightning connector and a refreshed iPad coming with Lightning as well. There have been several other rumors surrounding this event including a new 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro that’s essentially the same as the one released earlier this year – but smaller. It’s not that Apple wants to get tiny here in the Autumn of 2012, but they’re certainly not going to let the competition swipe their legs out from under them.

Apple has over the past year concentrated on becoming thinner and sharper, with the iPhone 5 becoming taller yet smaller and the Retina MacBook Pro getting smaller as it gets much higher definition in its display. This event will steal some fire away from Microsoft simply based on its timing as well with the release of Windows 8 set for the 26th of this month.

Have a peek at the timeline below to track what we’ve heard and been tipped on for the iPad mini over the past few weeks, and stay tuned for the final event as well. We’ll be on-site with all the coverage you could possible want from start to finish right here on SlashGear!

Although initially tipped to take place next week, with invites said to be going out this past Wednesday, Apple failed to make a squeak about a new event. That prompted some suggestions that unforeseen supply chain issues had delayed Apple’s production of the smaller tablet, though according to these sources that’s not actually the case.

Hardware-wise, the new iPad mini is expected to use a 7.85-inch LCD IPS display, running at the same 1024 x 768 resolution as the original iPad and iPad 2. That would slot it in-between the iPod touch and the 9.7-inch existing iPad in terms of size. A Lightning connector also seems inevitable.

Meanwhile, a slight refresh to the larger iPad has also been tipped for the same time, swapping out the 30-pin Dock Connector for Lightning. Apple is said to be aiming to preserve the bigger slate’s premium position by limiting the new iPad mini to WiFi-only, with no 3G/4G option.

If the rumors are true, and there really is an October 23 event, then Apple’s usual approach of giving a week’s notice should mean we’ll see invites distributed on Tuesday next week.

Update: Jim Dalrymple, well known for his inside knowledge on Apple, has chimed in with a simple “yep” on the talk of an October 23 event.

Peter, from Double Helix Cables, decided to earmark $30 towards an Apple dock connector that he would use to essentially destroy. However, he took pictures along the way and described the experience. First off, just opening up the connector was more difficult than expected, as a Dremel is about the only thing that’s able to pry it open.

One of the first things that Peter notices is that the connector is “beautifully manufactured like a cruel puzzle.” The lightning plug itself is steel reinforced, with a rubber dampening piece that wraps around it. Then, there’s a thin coating of epoxy that pretty much covers all of the circuitry, which makes it nearly impossible to tinker with. To top it all off, there’s a steel cage that encloses it all.

Peter mentions that in order to hack in a dock audio output cable to the Lightning connector, it “would require a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and specialized tools.” On top of that, the steel cage basically requires a tungsten carbide cutting blade in order to take everything apart in once piece. Plus, you have to chisel away at the epoxy that’s covering the chip itself. In the end, Peter said that it took him most of afternoon to take the adapter apart.

[via Gizmodo]

That would mean the only way for iPad mini owners to get online with their slate would be to find a WiFi hotspot or tether it to their phone. Still, it’s a sensible way for Apple to cut costs: the 4G 9.7-inch iPad, for instance, carries a $130 premium over its WiFi-only sibling.

As for that larger iPad, according to the newspaper’s sources, Apple is indeed preparing a minor refresh to the third-gen model. That’s believed to include a new version of the Apple A6 processor but also switch the tablet from the old-style 30-pin Dock Connector to its new Lightning port.

It would also allow Apple to tweak the 4G radio in the larger iPad to support the new EE LTE network in the UK, it’s suggested. EE will be the only UK network to support LTE in the iPhone 5, at least for the time being.

Meanwhile, current leaked images purportedly showing the iPad mini may not be as accurate as once believed, with whispers that a “major accessory company” has ceased case production at the last minute. Sources close to the unnamed firm told Macotakara that production of the cases had been frozen after Apple changed the rounded shape of the smaller tablet, though it’s not clear exactly how it has been modified.

Leaked case designs have circulated for some time now, including examples suggesting a cellular model was, indeed, on the cards. Apple is believed to be holding a launch event for the next iPad mini later this month.

Chinese hackers announced today that they’ve been able to successfully clone Apple’s Lightning authentication chip, which now paves the way for third-party Lightning cables and accessories that will be much cheaper. The first of which is now out on the market. For $39, you can get a Lightning dock and a Lightning cable that also lights up as you charge your iPhone 5.

It’s not as cheap as you would normally see from a third-party manufacturer, but we’re guessing the high price has something to do with exclusivity. However, that won’t be for long as we’ll see more and more manufacturers take advantage of the cloned authentication chip. This specific cable/dock combo can both charge and sync the iPhone 5, and it should still work even after iOS 6 updates roll out.

Apple will no doubt attempt to stop manufacturers from making the cables and accessories in order to get an MFi licensing fee from the Chinese suppliers, but we’ll see what really happens when they cross that bridge eventually. In the meantime, it might be a good idea to snatch up these accessories while you still can, but hopefully we’ll see more in the near future.

[via M.I.C. Gadget]

Without the dongle, those coming to the iPhone 5 from an existing iOS device aren’t able to use any accessories they may have acquired along the way. Apple switched to a new connector so as to save space, the company said at the iPhone 5 launch, with the tiny Lightning plug being far smaller than the existing Dock Connector design.

Scale isn’t the only advantage. The Lighting plug can be inserted either way up, reducing the likelihood of damage from trying to force a connector in the wrong way around.

There’s no word on when units may begin shipping in the US or other locations, nor indeed when Apple’s other Lightning adapter – a short, 0.2m cable with a 30-pin port on one end and a Lighting plug on the other – might begin to head out of Apple’s warehouses. More on Lightning in our full iPhone 5 review.

However, it’s reported that Apple hasn’t approved any third-party manufacturers yet, but the company is planning a special seminar to take place in China sometime within the next few weeks where interested manufacturers will be required to attend if they want to begin producing and selling Lightning accessories.

Obviously, some users haven’t been to happy about the switch from the 30-pin connector to the new 9-pin Lightning connector, mostly because the adapter alone costs $30 and a new Lightning cabled costs $20, not to mention that both items are on backorder. Granted the iPhone 5 comes with a Lightning cable of its own, but a lot of users usually have a handful of cables stashed away in different places out of convenience.

Apple’s decision to ditch the 30-pin connector used in all of its previous iOS devices has been controversial to say the least, but the company said it needed to change the design and shrink the connector in order to get the iPhone 5 to a thinner 7.6mm thickness. We certainly can’t blame them, and the switch to a smaller connector will certainly allow Apple to compete with other smaller connectors like microUSB, but whether or not the change is worth it is still yet to be decided.

[via iLounge]

The Apple Lighting cord you’ll be getting – or have already gotten – with your future Apple mobile products is indeed reversible. You can plug it in without looking and you’ll always be putting it in the right way up. With the new cord working one way or the other like this, one would expect the order of the pins to be 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 no matter which side is up – but what Peter has discovered is that the same signals are coming from pin 2 on one side and pin 7 on the other. In other words, if you could see straight through from one side to the other, each pin would be the same straight through.

Only that’s not exactly it – it’s not that simple. The pins instead appear to line up 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 to 1 7 6 8 5 3 2 4. His sketches here make it a bit more clear, if you’d like. Also above you’re seeing the chip inside the cord that does the dirty work.

Peter also discovered this Authentication Chip in the Lighting cord – this means that anyone hoping to create 3rd party cords will be having one whole heck of a lot more trouble doing so than they did with past generations. Each cord has a chip, each chip more than likely lets the device it’s plugging into what it’ll be delivering through which pin. The complexity of each element in the Apple mobile universe continues to expand – let us know what you think of it!

[via Apple Insider]

So essentially, anything that isn’t an official Apple accessory will simply be ignored whenever you plug it into the iPhone 5. We can only guess the reason behind this is so Apple can put a lockdown on cheaper third-party accessories that they compete with. So instead if them losing out on a sale for a new Lightning cable, they’re forcing you to buy one of theirs for an insane amount of money.

Then again, the reason could also be all about quality control. If Apple’s own Lightning connector is, in fact, better quality than cheaper third-party cables, Apple may only want their higher quality components to interact with the iPhone 5, thus citing a “better user experience” as a viable argument.

Hopefully, third-party cable manufacturers can find a workaround so that we all can go back to Monoprice and start paying reasonable prices for our cables again. We’re not sure exactly what kind of workaround would be needed — possibly cracking the authentication chip code or even jailbreaking the iPhone 5 (although the issue could be completely hardware-related on the iPhone end). We’ll have to wait and see.

[via Apple Insider]

This connection mystery will stick around until either Apple confirms/denies the Lightning USB host possibility or when the iPhone 5 hits the hands of millions of citizens across the earth – at which point the hacks can commence. If the Lightning connector does indeed allow USB hosting with the iPhone 5 – and the iPod touch and iPod nano refreshes also announced this week – we’ll see a litany of new kinds of accessories in the very near future. It also opens up many doors to people deep in the world of Apple product hacking – not something Apple loves, but they’re there.

NOTE: Check out our iPhone 5 hands-on experience now!

Here’s the deal for the visual learners amongst us – with the current Lightning connector we’ve got Lightning on one end and USB male on the other – this allows the device to connect with your PC and other devices that exist as USB hosts.

If Apple has indeed included USB host functionality with the Lightning connector, we’ll still need an accessory from Apple to make it work – it’d look like this:

What do you think? Will Apple open their arms to a wave of accessories that already work with a massive amount of mobile devices right now – will there be some new requirements for compatibility? What will this big change bring if, indeed, it does exist?

Apple’s justification for the new Lightning connector is that it’s significantly smaller than the old port – which dated back to 2003 – and is all-digital. It can also be plugged in both ways around, though that’s probably not so useful for a speaker-dock where you’re more than likely going to want to see the screen.

B&O’s dock section is interchangeable, useful foresight when the A8 itself is a hefty $1,149 to begin with. Alternatively, if you’re living in Apple’s wireless world and don’t want to physically dock your device at all, the connector can be removed altogether.

The A8 Dock Upgrade Program is currently taking pre-registration details, with B&O saying the company will be in touch with owners when it knows more on the dock adapter’s availability. There’s more on the new iPhone 5 here, meanwhile, while we also have hands-on with the 5th-gen iPod touch which has also been upgraded to Lightning, and the 7th-gen iPod nano, which also bears the new port.

The Next Web spotted the inclusion, not mentioned in the “What’s in the box?” section for the iPhone 5, but in the Lightning to 30-pin Adapter listing itself. “Your iPhone includes a Lightning to 30-pin Adapter for connecting 30-pin accessories to devices featuring the Lightning connector” Apple’s listing initially read. “Purchase this additional adapter to have a second adapter for your home or office.”

However, attempts to clarify the inclusion with members of Apple’s online store team revealed that a bundled adapter wasn’t, in fact, part of the set of accessories the company will be including. Instead, iPhone 5 buyers will get a USB to Lightning cable.

“I’m sorry that you’re seeing this message” the online representative told one customer, “that is an error and is being investigated at the moment. The information I have from my manager is that that is not the case.” The text accompanying the adapter was subsequently changed.

Meanwhile, even if Apple wanted to include the dongle in the box, it might not have the stock to actually do it. The listing for the adapter says it will ship in October, as does the version with a short, 0.2m cable in-between the two connections, later than the iPhone 5 itself.

iPhone 5 hands-on:

Demand for the USB to Lightning cable has also seemingly skyrocketed, with the cord – which had been shipping out immediately when it was first added to the Apple Store shortly after Wednesday’s event finished – now citing a 2-3 week delay in shipping. As well as being used to connect the iPhone 5 to a computer or USB charger, the same cable works with the 7th-gen iPod nano and 5th-gen iPod touch.

Prices for these adapters have now surfaced on Apple’s website, however you’re going to have to hand over some cash to get one. The regular old Lightning to 30-pin adapter is going to set you back $29, whereas if you want a Lightning to 30-pin adapter with a 0.2 meter (about 8 inches) cable, you’ll have to shell out $39. Apple also has a Lightning-USB cable to connect your shiny new iDevice to your Mac or PC available for $19.

The prices on the Lightning adapters seem a little on the high end, but to be fair, the price of the Lightning-USB cable is the same price as the old 30-pin to USB cable was – $19. Apple is probably going to get a few complaints about those $29 and $39 price tags, but it looks like you’ll be stuck paying up if you have a 30-pin device you’d like to connect to your iPhone 5. These new adapters and cables are compatible with the iPhone 5, the 5th generation iPod Touch, and the 7th generation iPod Nano, but Apple warns on the listings for the adapters that they won’t support all 30-pin devices.

Which devices are being left unsupported is currently a mystery. All three are available for purchase now, and while the Lightning-USB cable appears to be shipping immediately, the two adapters won’t be shipping until sometime in October. What do you think of these prices – are they too high, or are they something you can live with?

Note that this technology is a brand effort as well as a technology effort. Apple has made it clear that Thunderbolt is a technology that they’ve branded themselves – so to speak – while Lightening is another brand of theirs here with this cord first and foremost. We’re going to see a whole lot more of this technology in the near future from Apple, you can bet!

UPDATE: Check out the pricing and release details for the basic cord as well as the converter devices and adapters as well – up in the Apple Store online now!

This iPhone 5 news comes along with a massive bunch of details for the device that have been shown off all day long – and will be shown at great length over the next week as well. Stay tuned to our Apple portal for all the information you need on this iPhone 5 as it hits store shelves later this month – or so we expect! Have a peek at the timeline below for more information on the iPhone 5 and whatever else we see here at the Apple event as it unfolds through the day!