Rumors coming from Apple Insider predict that Efun, a Taiwanese-based manufacturer of superthin substrates coated with indium tin oxide (ITO), may be supplying its ITO film to Apple.

Among its other properties and uses, ITO acts as an electromagnetic interference shield and helps reduce signal noise from radio frequencies, which in turn would enhance Web connectivity on devices like the still unconfirmed iPad Mini.

Apple Insider also predicts that Efun will provide its ITO coating to Apple for future standard-size iPads as well. There is no word as to whether the coating would be applied to iPhones or iPod Touches.

In any case, we may find out more September 12. That’s when Apple may hold a press event to reveal the iPhone 5, an iPad Mini, or both. If it happens CNET will be there to bring you the scoop.

Is an indium tin oxide coating a feature you want to see (or even care about)? Let me know what you think in the comments!

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The report, filed by Rene Ritchie at iMore, states that Apple will begin its U.S. preorders on September 12 while international orders should begin the first week of October, likely October 5.

Shipments from preordered iPhones should reach customers about nine days later, according to the report. In years past, many customers who preorder their iPhones have received them a day or two earlier than the scheduled release date.

Ritchie writes that iMore’s sources for this story have reported accurate information in the past, though no official word from Apple has been released.

Despite a plethora of rumors surrounding the alleged iPad Mini, no date has been mentioned regarding its release. Whether the September 12 announcement will include the iPad Mini, a rumored new dock connector for iOS devices, or new iPods remains to be seen.

With the rumored announcement date about a month away, what are you most hoping for from Apple? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

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The latest evidence that Apple is ready to abandon its iconic dock connector in favor of a smaller solution comes in the form of a reference to a 9-pin connector in the code for iOS 6 beta.

The code string was uncovered by 9to5Mac and directly conflicts with several other reports of the possible size of a smaller dock connector. Reports of the number of pins in the new dock connector have ranged from as few as 8 to as many as 19 (or simply retaining the 30 it currently sports).

Important to keep in mind is the fact that iOS 6 is still in beta, which means code strings can be added and taken out on a whim as Apple and developers continue to test the software. Whether the code, 00002d9c t_copyDeviceSupports9Pin, means that Apple is ready to ship an iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad (Mini?), or any other iOS device with a smaller dock connector is left up to speculation.

It is likely, though, that Apple is, at the very least, testing a device that has a smaller dock connector.

A new dock connector would be a major change for Apple’s mobile devices and for manufacturers that produce cases and dock connector-compatible devices. Should Apple switch to a smaller dock connector? If Apple does ship the new iPhone with a smaller dock connector, should it include a dock connector adapter to support 30-pin devices? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

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Translated by Google, tech lifestyle Web site nowhereelse.fr (via 9to5Mac) has posted photos of what appears to be the soon to be released iPhone’s nano-SIM card tray. The photos come from China where many of the iPhone’s parts are manufactured and assembled.

As you can see in the photos, the nano-SIM tray knocks a little off the micro SIM tray’s width. In the world of mobile devices, especially ones that Apple produces, every bit of extra space counts.

Though Apple’s design for the nano-SIM has been approved for use by ESTI, no official word has been released as to whether the new cards will be used on the next iPhone.

Mobile phone operators aren’t taking any chances, though, as reports of heavy nano-SIM card buying have surfaced.

The article from nowhereelse.fr also includes photographs of what appears to be a redesigned (albeit slightly) Home button. The alleged button seems to be fairly similar to the current iPhone 4, 4S Home button, losing just a bit of width.

There was no mention as to whether an iPad Mini model, also expected to be released this fall, would also include the new nano-SIM card or the redesigned Home button.

More rumors are sure to help fill in the new iPhone picture as the reported September 12 media event nears. Does a nano-SIM card give Apple a competitive advantage when it releases the next iPhone? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

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With the presidential elections fast approaching, both Mitt Romney and President Obama are taking their campaigns mobile. The Obama for America app concentrates primarily on distributing President Obama’s policy stances, as well as news and events.

Users of the Obama for America app can also find useful information about voting rules and regulations on a state-by-state basis and information on volunteering to help the Obama campaign.

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Romney’s app takes a different approach, largely marketed as a way for users to keep up-to-date with the Romney campaign’s decision on its vice president candidate, hence the app’s moniker, Mitt’s VP.

The Republican National Convention starts in about a month and Romney plans to announce his running mate for vice president sometime before it. Users of Mitt’s VP can also get push notifications about Romney events as well as share them via Facebook.

Both Obama for America and Mitt’s VP are available for free in Apple’s App Store.

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The iTunes U app update includes several new key features sure to enhance any student’s or teacher’s experience. Most notably, version 1.2 supports the ability to take notes while listening to, or watching, lectures and then search those notes later.

Users are also now able to search posts, assignments, and other materials in any of their subscribed courses.

And, as Tim Cook promised, Apple has gone more social, giving students the ability to share their favorite courses with family and friends using Twitter, Mail, or Messages.

The update also helps teachers by adding the ability to create private course distribution, which allows teachers to invite students to subscribe to special courses privately.

Also updated in iTunes U 1.2, any teacher can now sign up to have courses distributed through Apple’s iTunes U platform.

The iTunes U app has had more than 14 million downloads since January, with more than 700 K-12 programs and 125 colleges offering more than 750 courses in that same time span.

iTunes U is available for your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch on the iTunes App Store as a free download. Courses provided on the app are also free.

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As players line up across imaginary lines, eyeballing their opponents, wrapped in armor, capped by helmets, and ready to smash into each other with ferocious abandon, it becomes difficult to imagine that this heathen-esque sport, a staple of American athletic fandom, has been completely revolutionized by touch screens.

Specifically, it is Apple’s iPad that has changed the way the NFL handles its mental component.

As Jeff Darlington explains on NFL.com, the process by which information is obtained by players and coaches will never be the same.

Once it took three days to receive a large bag of Betacam SP video tapes to break down footage from the previous week’s game. Players like Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway would have surely loved the iPad’s capability to receive digital footage from a game, transferred on blazing fast Internet, just hours after his game.

Elway, now the Denver Broncos’ vice president in charge of football operations, ordered an iPad 3 for each of his 130 players and coaches this year. The NFL’s Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers each had tablet programs in place last season.

Transitioning to the iPad takes more than just the purchase of the devices, Darlington relates. For Elway and the Broncos it meant upgrading the stadium’s (particularly the locker room’s) Wi-Fi signal and integrated software apps that allow players and coaches to view video and playbooks on their iPads.

And if you think these players would rather just download a time-waster (my personal new-to-me favorite is Bejeweled), consider that some teams, like the Miami Dolphins, have a $10,000 fine in place for downloading unapproved software or even forgetting to bring your iPad to a meeting.

Also in the minds of NFL teams, of course, is security. There is always the danger of loss, copying, sharing — whether it’s an iPad or a giant book with your plays in it. Those situations, largely, cannot be avoided. But, the iPad does retain certain advantages in the security game that paper simply cannot match.

For example, in the case of player transactions, iPads can be remotely erased, even before a player realizes he has been released or traded. Every iPad in the Broncos organization also has the standard four-digit pin to open the device, but also a password for the app itself.

So with the iPads safe and secure, the playbooks condensed from a 5-inch thick mass of paper to a .37-inch iPad weighing 1.44 pounds, and up-to-date information and videos ready within hours of each game, it appears as though the NFL is prime to be paper-free in the very near future.

Is the iPad the perfect playbook solution for the NFL? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

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According to a report by the Financial Times, mobile operators in Europe are stockpiling nano-SIM chips in anticipation of Apple including the new technology in the next iteration of the iPhone.

Though actions like this would suggest an impending launch, no official word has come from Apple as to when we can expect to actually see the iPhone 5 (or the new iPhone?)

The nano-SIM design was approved by the mobile phone industry’s standards group earlier this year and should allow Apple to save even more space in its tightly designed iPhone interior.

The Financial Times cites two sources who claim that telecom companies are stocking millions of the chips in warehouses, anticipating high demand when Apple’s next iPhone is released.

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This may be a reaction to the lack of preparation when Apple switched to micro-SIM cards when it released the iPhone 4 and the first-generation iPad. Many carriers didn’t have enough micro-SIMs to meet demand, a situation that one source told the Financial Times the phone companies did not want to repeat.

Other phone makers will likely adopt Apple’s nano-SIM design as it is 40 percent smaller than the current micro-SIMs found in many smartphones.

Does including a nano-SIM card in the new iPhone give Apple a competitive advantage? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

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On first read, the patent application (uncovered by AppleInsider) seems to underwhelm. Apple describes a form-fitted case that would contain an opening that aligns with the microphone on the device (in this case, an iPhone).

The opening would contain a thin mesh, foam, or featherlike screen that would reduce the amount of wind noise that makes its way to the device’s microphone.

Apple leaves the door open for many variations of its case, stating that it could be made from rubber, silicon, polycarbonate, acrylic, or plastic.

The mesh windscreen would be embedded into the case and extend across the opening that aligns with the microphone and would also help in preventing moisture, dirt, and other particles from interrupting sound transmission.

Now, if this case design looks familiar to you, you will not be alone. There aren’t too many cases on the market that truly vary from this form factor, nor is the concept of a windscreen to protect the microphone of a device a new idea.

Before we pick up the pitchforks and torches and march on Apple headquarters, let’s consider that Apple’s patent may very well be the first to put the windscreen concept inside the form factor of an iPhone case. If that is true, the patent, however ridiculous it may seem at first, would be valid according to current rules.

Are case manufacturers in trouble if Apple starts making more protection solutions for its products? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

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Sources in the industry speaking with DigiTimes (via AppleInsider) have reportedly been expecting the competition in the smartphone world to heat up around the adoption of quad-core processors as early as this year’s holiday quarter.

HTC, Samsung, LG, and China’s Meizu already have quad-core processors in their phones, leading industry sources to believe that indeed, Apple will have to include a new chip to stay competitive.

That new iPhone is largely expected to be released this fall.

While its competition is mostly using Qualcomm’s dual-core technology (quad-core is forthcoming later this year), Apple is expected to use Samsung’s Exynos 4 architecture as part of its custom line of chips.

The iPhone 4S currently runs the dual-core A5 (the new iPad runs with the A5X, which includes an upgraded graphics processor to handle its Retina Display). A quad-core iPhone would likely carry the A6 name.

Would the lack of a quad-core processor in Apple’s next iPhone be detrimental to Apple’s sales? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

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