According to Digitimes, Apple Inc. (AAPL) is planning to launch a cheaper iPhone for emerging markets around the world, such as China. China is a major growth opportunity for AAPL, as noted by CEO Tim Cook in the past. The low-cost iPhone is expected to include a larger display and a new design.

Apple will roll out a low-cost version of the iPhone for China and other emerging markets in the second half of 2013, according to supply-chain sources.

Some sources claimed that they have seen the sample of the low-cost iPhone, which will come with a larger display, meeting the prevailing trend for the adoption of 5-inch displays for high-end models. They added that the low-priced iPhone will also have a brand new exterior design.

It has been rumored for quite some time that Apple is looking to introduce a smaller iPhone, or perhaps different sizes for different markets. However, it is unlikely that Apple will make the iPhone any bigger than the current 4 inch design.

A smaller iPhone would make the iPhone similar to the iPod, giving users the option to choose everything including size, design, coverage plans, etc. It is unclear exactly how Apple plans to create a smaller iPhone or when it plans it plans to launch, but it is expected later this year.

{Via MacRumors}

Apple is expected to unveil and announce iPad 3 release date at a keynote event on March 7th. Over the past few months, a number of reliable sources have claimed that the iPad 3 would be released with not only hardware upgrades, but 4G LTE connectivity as well.

4G LTE roll out plans in the US are still underway and carriers are working towards proving the next generation fast networking to its subscribers. According to iMore’s sources iPad 3 will indeed feature 4G LTE connectivity:

4G LTE networking has been another mystery surrounding the iPad 3, with a compatible Qualcomm chipset becoming available, but international LTE coverage is still slim, and in some cases a year or more away. It sounds like Apple has 4G LTE lined up for iPhone 5 this October, but we’re still not certain if the iPad 3 will get it earlier.

The report notes that the source is same as the one who informed them about Apple’s iPad 3 media event scheduled for March 7th.

The same source that originally told iMore Apple would be holding their iPad 3 event on March 7 has now let us know that the announcement will in fact include 4G LTE networking. We’d heard previously that 4G LTE would be coming to iOS in 2012, but not whether it would make the cut for iPad 3, or whether Apple would save it for iPhone 5 in October.

4G LTE has only become popular over the last year in the United States and is not yet available on every network. If Apple is to include LTE networking, they are going to have to roll out the iPad 3 on Verizon which is currently the only network offering 4G LTE, then transition to others over time.

If Apple chooses not to include 4G LTE, they would have ot wait an entire year until they could include the technology in the iPad 4, although a few reports suggest that LTE model may make an appearance a few months following the initial WiFi only release. Apple’s media event is going to be Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco and will begin at 10AM PT/1PM ET.

{via Mac Rumors}

On Thursday, a report from The Houston Chronicle noted that Apple’s Highland Village retail store will be opening on Friday, March 16. The store was originally scheduled to open on Saturday, March 17th, but was mysteriously bumped back a day to the Friday. This has lead to speculation that Apple is looking to have the store open for iPad 3 release date.

Apple’s iPad 3 keynote event is scheduled for March 7th, and will likely release the third-gen iPad in the following week as the company did with the iPad 2. In order to accommodate the long lines and large influx of customers, Apple’s new Highland Village Store will allow for better management of iPad 3 distribution and less traffic in Apple’s seven other retail locations in Houston.

The store, located in the Highland Village Shopping center at Westheimer and Drexel , was originally supposed to open in January, according to the source, but was delayed. March 17 was originally set as the new opening date, but the source said it was moved to the 16th a few weeks ago.

Apple’s Grand Openings typically take place on Saturdays, but may be moved to other days of the week to recognize special events or announcements. The March 16th opening would allow Apple exactly nine days following the announcement to ship the iPad 3’s to retail stores across the U.S.

Apple has does this in the past with the iPad 2, releasing the device on March 2nd and releasing it in stores at 5:00PM local time on March 11th. The Highland Village store is one of the few stores to adopt the same prototype design of the Upper West Side store in New York City. The Highland Village store is going to have the same glass-roof, front and back entrances, and tall brick wall above the glass. The store will be the first of Houston’s seven retail stores to be located outside of a shopping mall.

iOS 5.1 has been on the horizon for a few months now, with no real confirmation about the release date from Apple. On Wednesday, carrier profiles that were recently published by iPhone carriers in Japan, France, Greece, Finland, and Sweden revealed that March 9th may be the actual release date for iOS 5.1 software update. Users of the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch have been waiting for update since last November, especially iPhone 4S users who have been waiting for a solution to their battery life issues.

Apple released iOS 5.0.1 a few weeks following the release of the iPhone 4S, however, this update failed to produce any solid solutions to the battery issue. Apple has been slowly issuing betas of iOS 5.1 to developers, and has been working on major issues identified with iOS 5 and 5.0.1. In previous years, Apple released major iOS updates alongside new iPhone hardware in June, however, Apple released iOS 5 and the iPhone 4S in October last year, throwing off the annual cycle.

There have been no reports as to what features the iOS 5.1 update would be bringing to devices, however, the March 9th release date coincides with the rumored iPad 3 time frame. This points to the possibility of iOS 5.1 to be announced alongside iPad 3. It’ll be interesting to see how Apple plans to release iOS 5.1 and the iPad 3, bring the iPhone release back to June, and bring iPod updates back to September.

{via iMore}

According to the article in AppleInsider, OS 4.0 will use an Expose-like interface for multitasking capabilities. If you’re not familiar with Mac OS X, Expose is a feature that displays all of the applications a user has running in thumbnails on the screen. The user can select the application they want to use and are immediately taken to it. Windows 7 has similar functionality. In the forthcoming iPhone OS version, the user will double-click the home key to bring up a list of icons or thumbnails of the currently running applications and touch one to open it.

The one thing I think few people realize about the iPhone OS is its current capability for multitasking. It was originally written, envisioned, and exists today as a multitasking operating system. This fact is displayed every time you listen to music while surfing the web on Safari. When people say they want multitasking what they are really saying is they want Apple to remove the artificial block they’ve placed in the software. This block keeps third party applications from making use of the operating system’s multitasking capabilities.

And isn’t it about time they did? One of the main things all the Android fanboys wave around as proof of their technical superiority is multitasking. I understand Apple’s reasoning behind putting a block on multitasking but now that the operating system has matured, and is most likely the future of Apple computing, it makes perfect sense to enable it for all. Especially now with the iPad relying on it as well. It will be interesting to see both how they implement it and the user interface on it.

One of the problems with multitasking on a mobile device versus a full computer is resourcing. While mobile devices are becoming more powerful everyday, they still do not rival a full blown computer. I would bet Apple limits the running applications to 4 or 5 to keep a reasonable battery life and keep some person from running 20 apps at a time and then complaining about performance.

So on this day the first of April the official iPad reviews came out (and you can read my favorites here from Andy Ihnatko), let’s look ahead to what Apple has in store for us next. We may be a restive bunch of users but Apple never fails to impress us. I think iPhone OS 4.0 won’t be any different.

What do you think of the introduction of full multitasking to the iPhone and iPad? Is it the last great missing piece of the puzzle or too little too late? Will multitasking finally convince you to take up an Apple device? Let us know in the comments.