More signs that Apple A8 chip production is approaching

Apple may be gearing up for A8 processor production if its relationship with TSMC pans out.

Indications are that the follow-on to the current 64-bit A7 processor is being manufactured by TSMC.

(Credit: Apple)

Apple may be getting closer to production of its A8 processor as news from Asia points to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) as the main supplier.

Taiwan-based TechNews (via MacRumors) reported that TSMC has already started production of Apple's next-generation A8 processor.

That report jibes with a source who CNET spoke to December. That person, who is familiar with TSMC's plans, said that Taiwanese contract chip manufacturer had already begun making Apple's A series processors. To date, Samsung has been the sole manufacturer of Apple's processors.

The CNET source said at that time that TSMC is in the process of becoming the primary manufacturer of Apple's processors -- that presumably could include the A8, though the source did not specify this.

But TechNews takes this a step further, claiming that TSMC is the sole manufacturer of the A8 because of the success it is having with the latest 20-nanometer manufacturing process.

On Sunday, Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities cast doubt on Apple's ability -- or willingness -- to refresh the iPad Mini Retina in a big way in 2014. He also claimed that the rumored "iPad Pro" may be pushed into 2015.

If true, the A8 could appear in an updated iPad Air and an expected iPhone refresh.

It should be noted that nailing down definitive information about which chipmaker is going to make which chip for which customer is always difficult as chip production details are fiercely guarded by both the manufacturer and the customer.

And chipmakers invariably run into production problems. For example, TSMC had been rumored to make Apple chips in the past but struggled with production problems. There were also rumors of disagreements with Apple.

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Apple, Elon Musk and interplanetary travel

Apple doesn't need to make cars. Its software -- iOS, Siri, Maps, and apps -- needs to be integrated into Tesla's terrestrial and extraterrestrial vehicles.

Tim Cook and Elon Musk

(Credit: Asa Mathat/All Things D)

So, about a year ago Tesla's Elon Musk reportedly met with Apple's mergers and acquisitions chief and maybe Tim Cook. What was on the agenda? The report this weekend in the San Francisco Chronicle didn't have any details on what transpired at the meeting. Perhaps Apple wanted to kick Tesla's tires.

Moving from $600 iPhones and $6,000 Mac Pros to $60,000 automobiles would be a bold move for Apple, but not a moonshot. The two companies are likely a cultural and aesthetic fit, both obsessed with creating breakthrough, eco-friendly consumer products that win design awards and become status symbols.

But the more logical move for Apple is turning the Tesla into another Apple-driven computer, integrating iOS software technologies into the stylish electric car. A partnership approach is more of a Tim Cook move. And, if Apple and Tesla were to join hands, there could be only one CEO. Elon Musk doesn't seem prone to giving up control of his creations, especially at this early stage, or to crave developing personal computing devices. While Apple is thinking $300 iWatch, Musk is launching rockets into outer space and devising 800 mile-per-hour Hyperloop transporters.

Apple might want to come along for Musk's space rides. His Space X venture, which has a goal of enabling humans to visit and live on other planets, could make use of some creature comforts from Apple. When people travel to Mars or other planets via Space X, Apple's entertainment, commerce, and communication services could be integrated into the in-flight systems. Visitors and the local population might tour the planet in a Tesla dune buggy with Siri, Maps, and Apple wearables while listening to dreamy music streamed from iTunes.

This scenario may never happen, but it points to Apple's need to gain industrial strength in vertical markets, not just geographies.

The company can continue to sell tens of millions of iPhones each quarter, especially given the majority of the people on the planet today are without a smartphone. But the bigger opportunity for Apple and its ecosystem is becoming essential not just for people texting, checking news, watching movies, and playing games, but for massive growth areas such as transportation, home automation, and health care.

Apple, as well as Microsoft and Google, wants to be in every car, not just Tesla. The company is betting that iOS users want to have their Apple-ness everywhere. Apple has been working with Audi, General Motors, Ford, Hyundai, and others to integrate iOS in the car. On the health care front, Apple has assembled an elite squad of wearable designers, medical sensor experts, sleep researchers, exercise physiologists, and fitness gurus to create a new platform that works on every Apple device. Late last year, senior Apple executives met with directors at the United States Food and Drug Administration to discuss mobile medical applications.

Apple hasn't yet given indications regarding how it plans to tackle home automation, or interplanetary travel. But it's safe to say that Apple's approach won't involve manufacturing living spaces or spacecraft.

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Apple patents headphones that can monitor your vital

The device would be able to track your heart rate, temperature, perspiration, and more.

(Credit: Apple/USPTO)

Apple's interest in the health and fitness market may seem like a new niche, but a related patent goes back almost six years.

Filed in 2008 and awarded by the US Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday, a patent called "Sports monitoring system for headphones, earbuds and/or headsets" describes how such products could track your health and fitness and perform certain tasks based on how you move your head.

Key to the invention would be sensors embedded into one or more areas of the headsets or earbuds. By coming into contact with your skin, these sensors would be able to detect your heart rate, temperature, perspiration, and other physical stats. Wearing such a hands-free device would be a way to monitor and record your vitals as you exercise or play sports.

As a bonus, the sensors could also respond to the motion of your head to perform certain tasks. For example, let's say you're listening to music. Tilting your head one way would pause the current song, tilting it another would skip to the next track, and tilting it a third way would raise or lower the volume.

The system might even be smart enough to perform certain tasks automatically based on your condition or location. For example, if the device detects that you're getting tired, it could say something to try to motivate you to finish your workout. Or if it senses that you're jogging uphill, it might play your favorite song as a way to inspire you to make it to the top.

Recent reports say Apple has its eye on the health and fitness market, an area that could be targeted by the company's much-rumored iWatch. But smart, sensor-embedded headphones would provide some of the same information without need for a separate device, assuming this patented invention ever joins you on a real workout.

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Gap between the Rich and Poor in America.

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Nikon Coolpix P600 hits the 60x-zoom mark

(Credit: Nikon)

Birders, stargazers, and anyone else who likes to shoot pictures and movies of distant subjects, you now have another camera option to consider.

The Nikon Coolpix P600 has a 60x zoom lens, but unlike options from Panasonic and Samsungthat start at an ultrawide-angle 20mm, Nikon's lens starts at 24mm. That means while those other cameras stop at 1,200mm, the P600 can be extended to 1,440mm.

If that's not enough, you can use Nikon's new Dynamic Fine Zoom to digitally increase the focal length to 2,880mm. Keeping the lens steady probably won't be easy, but to help with shake you do get optical image stabilization. And there's an electronic viewfinder so you don't have to hold the camera out in front of you when shooting if you don't want to.

Those who prefer to frame shots on something larger, there's a 3-inch 920K-dot-resolution variangle LCD. Other features include a 16-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor, manual and semimanual shooting modes, and video capture in 1080i at 60 frames per second. Also, Nikon built Wi-Fi in to the P600, unlike last year's P520, which required you to buy an external adapter.

(Credit: Nikon)

Speaking of the P520, Nikon updated that model into the Coolpix P530. It has the same 42x, f3.0-5.9, 24-1,000mm lens as its predecessor, but gets a new 16-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor and a fixed 3-inch LCD, and, like the P600, can shoot movies in resolutions of up to 1080i at 60fps. If you want Wi-Fi, you'll have to buy an adapter.

Anyone interested in something a little more pocketable can look for the Coolpix S9700 with a 30x 25-750mm lens. You'll also get the same 16-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor as on the P600 and P530 as well as the same shooting capabilities (though you'll lose the manual controls over shutter speed and aperture). It has a 921K-dot-resolution 3-inch OLED display and built-in Wi-Fi and GPS, too.

(Credit: Nikon)

Value a fast lens over a long zoom? Nikon also announced the Coolpix P340 with a 12-megapixel 1/1.7-inch BSI CMOS sensor and 5x f1.8-5.6 24-120mm lens. It seems to be the same as the P330, but with the new Dynamic Fine Zoom feature giving you a digital focal length of 240mm and built-in Wi-Fi.

All but the P340 will be available in February, with the P340 following in March. The Coolpix P600, P530, S9700, and P340 will sell for $499.95, $449.95, $349.95, and $379.95, respectively.

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