thickness
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Samsung: the LTE version of the Galaxy Nexus will be 'a little' thicker
We got it straight from the horse's mouth here at Samsung and Google's Galaxy Nexus launch event that the future LTE edition of the Galaxy Nexus will indeed be thicker than the HSPA+ model showcased today (and above). How much thicker? "A little," according to a company representative, but he wouldn't go so far as to talk millimeters. When asked if the additional size was there to hold the LTE package or just a larger battery, he also failed to elaborate. We'd be shocked if the LTE variant doesn't pack at least a bit more juice -- we've covered the damage that LTE does to a battery in great detail here -- but frankly, we'd rather have something a wee bit thicker than a phone that dies after four hours of use.
LG developing slimmer Optimus 3D handset, might be ready for 2012
The LG Optimus 3D certainly isn't the slimmest smartphone we've ever seen, but it looks like the chunky handset is about to get seriously streamlined. In an interview with Pocket-Lint, LG developer Dr. Henry Noh confirmed that his company is working on a thinner version of its 4.3-inch phone, hinting that it may be ready for release by next year. Noh didn't offer specifics on dimensions, but acknowledged that the current version, at 11.9mm (0.47 inches) thick, definitely isn't the "sexiest phone on the street" -- something he hopes to change. "Eventually, we want to make it so that having the 3D won't necessarily mean that it's going to be thicker," Noh explained. "That's going to be a differentiating factor that comes for free to the user." Doing so, he claims, could help LG's glasses-free 3D device distinguish itself from its 2D competitors: "These days, all the phones look the same. They have a huge screen - 4.3-inches is normal these days - and next year they're moving even larger. And they have a fixed number of touch buttons. They're the same thickness. They have the same camera. And even the same OS. It's so boring." Of course, it remains to be seen whether or not this strategy actually pans out, but it's definitely something we'll be keeping an eye on.
Acer unveils TravelMate 8481T laptop for the all-business crowd
Globetrotting financiers have a new companion to slot into their briefcases, now that Acer has taken the wraps off its TravelMate Timeline 8481T notebook. Powered by an Intel Core i5 processor and weighing in at 3.7 pounds, this little guy boasts a 14-inch, 1366 x 768 LCD that's been engineered to fit within a 13-inch footprint, thanks to a frameless, bezel-trimming design. The latest addition to the TravelMate 8481 family also boasts 4GB of DDR3 memory (or 8GB, if you upgrade) and a 320GB SATA hard drive, along with the usual collection of WiFi, Bluetooth and USB 3.0 capabilities -- all packed within a slim, 0.87-inch thick frame. The laptop is expected to start shipping in "early September" for $1,000, but you can find more details in the full PR that's sitting after the break.
White, black iPhones same thickness say Phil Schiller, Consumer Reports
A flurry of reports over the weekend claimed the White iPhone was just a bit thicker than the standard black model. Not true, said Apple's Phil Schiller in a tweet. Now, Consumer Reports has put the issue to the test. Using high quality digital calipers, the magazine's technicians found that both models were exactly the same size. Also, they determined that the white iPhone would fit in all iPhone 4 cases. Could it be that a different batch of white iPhones made it out of production slightly thicker? It's hard to understand how the earlier size figures could have been spurious, considering how many people observed the phenomenon. We first heard about the story from a post by Ryan Cash. TiPb then performed some measurements that supported Ryan's naked-eye evaluation. Engadget posted a picture, which certainly supported these claims. Wired.com reported that the new phone was 0.2 millimeters larger, but did not perform any tests. Interestingly, TiPb tested several cases and noted that they all fit, albeit somewhat snugly. There was speculation that the extra thickness was for UV protection. As of now, "thickness-gate" seems to have ended with a whimper rather than a bang.
White iPhone 4 thickness creates issue for case makers, owners
By now you've probably seen the latest spectacle to consume the white iPhone 4: it's thicker than the black model. The image above illustrates the point using a piece of lead from a mechanical pencil. So what, you say, in righteous indignation to a device that shipped ten months late. Well, the size difference creates a potential consumer issue since cases (at least the good ones) are manufactured against the tight tolerances supplied by Apple. We've confirmed ourselves, that an Incase slider that fits a black iPhone 4 just fine has to be forced into place on the new white model. Unfortunately, Apple's own spec page doesn't highlight the change in thickness (measured at 9.5mm by TiPb). Instead it still shows a 9.3mm depth with a tiny disclaimer stating, "Actual size and weight vary by configuration and manufacturing process." The result is confusion -- will this case fit or won't it? -- which is never a good thing for consumers. But why is the white iPhone 4 thicker? Phil Schiller mentioned that Apple needed to add extra UV protection among other tweaks, in an attempt to reduce the "unexpected interactions" between the white cover and the internal components. As such, Apple apparently needed to sacrifice some slimness for a better functioning white phone. In the end, we have what looks to be four different size / button configurations that must be considered when purchasing a shrink-wrapped case for your white iPhone 4, black iPhone 4, white Verizon iPhone 4, or black Verizon iPhone 4. Good luck with that. Additional reporting by Sam Sheffer [Thanks, Jon]
Cellphones thinner than ever
Strategy Analytics latest look at its spec-tracking (hence the name) SpecTRAX database of wireless devices has unearthed a few juicy tidbits of information, none more notable than the fact that phone thickness is at a new all-time low -- 13.96mm on average, the first time the metric has ever fallen below 14mm (for comparison, Motorola's original DynaTAC clocked in around 89mm, so we're making some solid improvement there). USB penetration is at a new high, too, supported by some 85 percent of newly-entered devices in the database, and battery life is up 25 percent from two years ago. Of course, that's still not nearly long enough -- battery tech is falling dangerously behind virtually every other technology that goes into the making of a mobile device, sadly -- but we'll take any improvement we can get. [Via MobileTechNews]
