IPHONE SIX, LARGE OR NOT?

Why a 5-inch iPhone 6 is far more important than a 13-inch iPad Pro

By Rene Ritchie, Monday, Jan 27, 2014 a 9:59 am EST

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iPhone 6. 2014 has only just begun and it seems like 5-inch iPhone and 13-inch iPad Pro rumors are already getting a lot of attention and generating a lot of discussion. That both sets of rumors tend to focus around larger screen sizes is interesting, but what's really interesting is why a bigger iPhone is far more important than a bigger iPad...

Apple has been increasing the size of the iPhone screen in one way or another for years. In 2010 the iPhone 4 doubled the pixel density and gave us our first "Retina" display. In 2012 the iPhone 5 added 0.5-inches, making it widescreen.

The iPad, however, has most recently decreased in size. Sure, in 2012 Apple brought Retina to the iPad 3, but their next move wasn't to increase the physical size like they did with the iPhone, but to shrink it down into the smaller iPad mini.

Both changes — the wider iPhone 5 and smaller iPad mini — made for better mainstream products, and that's Apple's goal.

iPhone 6 and the better mainstream experience

Taking the iPhone 6 to a larger screen size, whether it's 4.3- or 5-inches or somewhere in between, would also make for a better mainstream product. The world now isn't as it was in 2007, when smartphones sucked and people had to rely on a desktops or laptops as their primary computing devices. Now we have smartphones as powerful as desktops and laptops were back then, but also far, far more accessible. There are people, both in established and in emerging markets, who need a phone, but also need it be their primary computing device. Not only don't they want to carry laptops around with them, they don't even want to carry tablets.

For these people, a bigger iPhone would be a better iPhone. Games and videos aside, it would let them do more things, more easily, than a small screen ever could. It would be more accessible to people of more ages, especially thanks to new technologies like TextKit which make dynamic font scaling a reality. It would also be more powerful for geeks who simply want to do more on their phones. As for "one handed ease of use", that's something that software can and should solve instead. iOS 7's consistent back gesture shows just exactly that.

iPhone 6 is the next Verizon-sized growth opportunity

Once upon a time people had to choose between an iPhone on AT&T or a different phone on Verizon. Many chose the iPhone, but some didn't. When the iPhone hit Verizon, however, people no longer needed to choose. They could have both.

Right now people have to choose between a 4-inch iPhone or a larger phone from another manufacturer. Many still choose the 4-inch iPhone but some don't. When the iPhone goes to a larger screen size, people will no longer need to choose. They'll be able to have both.

That increases Apple's addressable market in a premium space (and removes a key differentiator for competitors), and that's what new devices are all about.

That same argument doesn't apply to a 13-inch iPad Pro. By increasing the size of the iPad display, Apple might round out the product line, but they won't make it a better mainstream product. "Pro" by definition isn't mainstream. It'll no doubt appeal to creative and productivity niches, but not to the much bigger market for whom a smaller, lighter iPad is the better option. Eventually it could get more people off ultralight laptops like the MacBook Air faster, and onto iOS, but not by the tens or hundreds of millions. It could still be a viable market, but not a big one.

That's the difference between 5-inches and 13-inches — the iPhone 6 moves the needle for Apple far, far more than the iPad Pro.

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Mashambulizi dhidi ya 'Dola la Kiislamu' yaiva

Juhudi za Marekani kukusanya uungwaji mkono wa kimataifa kwa kampeni yake ya kijeshi dhidi ya kundi linalojiita "Dola la Kiislamu" zinaonekana kuendelea kuzaa matunda kwa washirika kadhaa kujiunga nazo.

Waziri wa Mambo ya Nje wa Marekani, John Kerry (kushoto) katika mkutano na washirika wa mataifa ya Kiarabu.

Katika kile kinachoonekana kuwa matayarisho rasmi ya kulishambulia kundi hilo ndani ya ardhi ya Syria na Iraq, kufuatia hotuba ya jana ya Rais Barack Obama hapo jana, Rais wa Ufaransa amewasili Iraq hivi leo (12 Septemba), huku Waziri wa Mambo ya Nje wa Marekani, John Kerry, akiendelea na ziara ya kusaka uungwaji mkono katika nchi za Kiarabu, nayo Australia ikitangaza hali ya tahadhari kutokana na uwezekano wa mashambulizi kutoka wanachama wa Dola la Kiislamu kwenye ardhi yake.

Ndege ya Rais Francois Hollande wa Ufaransa ikiwa na shehena ya tani 15 za msaada wa kibinaadamu utakaopelekwa mji mkuu wa Kurdistan baadaye leo, imewasili Baghdad, ikiwa ni ziara ya kwanza ya mkuu wa nchi tangu kutangazwa kwa serikali mpya nchini Iraq. Hollande anaambatana na waziri wake wa ulinzi, Jean-Yves Le Drian, na wa mambo ya nje, Laurent Fabius.

Juzi Jumatano, Fabius alitangaza nchi yake iko tayari kushiriki kwenye operesheni ya kijeshi ya Marekani dhidi ya kundi la Dola la Kiislamu, siku moja kabla hata Rais Obama hajatoa hotuba yake iliyofungua njia kwa mashambulizi hayo.

Wapiganaji wa Dola la Kiislamu waongezeka

Wapiganaji wa kundi la "Dola ya Kiislamu" ambao wanaripotiwa wakizidi kuongezeka.

Shirika la Ujasusi la Marekani (CIA) limesema huenda idadi ya wapiganaji wa kundi hilo ni mara tatu ya vile ilivyofikiriwa. Kufikia Agosti 2014, CIA inasema kundi hilo lilishakusanya takribani wapiganaji 35,000. Msemaji wa CIA, Ryan Trapani, amesema kiwango kikubwa cha wapiganaji walijiunga mwezi Juni baada ya mafanikio ya kundi hilo kwenye uwanja wa kivita na kutangaza utawala kwenye maeneo linaloyashikilia.

Hata hivyo, Ufaransa ambayo ilipinga uvamizi wa Marekani dhidi ya Iraq muongo mmoja uliopita, inasisitiza kuwa ushiriki wake utakuwa tu kwa maombi ya serikali ya Iraq. Kimsingi, hadi sasa Rais Hollande anahofia kuwa mkakati wa kuwashambulia waasi wa Dola la Kiislamu nchini Syria unaweza kumpa nguvu zaidi Rais Bashar al-Assad.

Kerry apata mafanikio

Mpiganaji wa jeshi la Pashmerga la Kurdistan linalopambana na Dola la Kiislamu

Katika hatua nyengine, Waziri wa Mambo ya Nje wa Marekani, John Kerry, amepata mafanikio kwenye kampeni yake ya kusaka uungwaji mkono wa mataifa ya Kiarabu kwenye uvamizi huu mpya.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Ufalme wa Nchi za Kiarabu, Misri, Iraq yenyewe, Jordan na Lebanon, zimekubali kuwa sehemu ya kile kinachofahamika kama "Muungano wa Wenye Nia" ya kulishinda kundi la Dola la Kiislamu, baada ya mazungumzo na Kerry mjini Jeddah, Saudi Arabia hapo jana.

"Mataifa ya Kiarabu yana nafasi muhimu sana kwenye muungano huo: uungaji mkono kijeshi, msaada wa kibinaadamu, kazi yetu ya kuzuia ufadhili wa kundi hili, na wapiganaji wa kigeni wanaohitajika na Dola la Kiislamu ili liweze kuwapo," alisema Kerry.

Australia yatangaza tahadhari ya ugaidi

Waziri Mkuu wa Australia, Tony Abbott.

Australia, ambayo ni sehemu ya nchi zinazoiunga mkono kampeni ya Marekani dhidi ya Dola la Kiislamu, imetangaza tahadhari ya kutokea kwa mashambulizi ya kigaidi, kutoka kwa raia wake waliorejea kutokea Syria na Iraq walikokuwa wakipigana upande wa waasi. Waziri Mkuu Tony Abbott amesema licha ya kutokuwepo undani wa taarifa za mashambulizi hayo, serikali yake imeamua kujiweka tayari.

"Vyombo vyetu vya usalama vimepandisha hali ya hadhari ya kitisho hicho kutokana na viashiria vilivyopo: idadi ya raia wa Australia ndani ya Mashariki ya Kari wanaopigana upande wa makundi ya kigaidi, idadi ya wale waliopo hapa wanaofahamika kuyaunga mkono makundi hayo," alisema Abbott.

Kwa upande wake Ujerumani imesema haitashiriki kwenye mashambulizi ya anga yatakayoongozwa na Marekani nchini Syria. Ujerumani inatoa msaada wa vifaa vya kijeshi kwa wapiganaji wa Kikurdi wanaopambana na wanamgambo wa "Dola la Kiislamu" kaskazini mwa Iraq.

Tayari Syria imeshashema kuwa itachukulia mashambulizi yoyote yatakayofanyika kwenye ardhi yake bila ya mashauriano kuwa ni kitendo cha uchokozi wa makusudi.

Mwandishi: Mohammed Khelef/ape/afpe
Mhariri: Daniel Gakuba

ALLAN SHEARER AMTABIRIA MAKUBWA WELBECK

Mshambuliaji mpya wa kilabu ya Arsenal Danny Welbeck anaweza kufunga mabao 25 kwa msimu mmoja ,hayo ni matamshi ya aliyekuwa mshambuliaji wa England Allan Shearer.

Wellbeck mwenye umri wa miaka 23 alijiunga na kikosi cha The Gunners kutoka kilabu ya Manchester United kwa kitita cha pauni millioni 16 katika siku ya mwisho ya dirisha la kuwasajili wachezaji wa soka barani ulaya na anaweza kuanzishwa kwa mara ya kwanza dhidi ya watetezi wa ligi hiyo Manchester City siku ya jumamosi.

Nimesikia watu wakisema kwamba Wellbeck hawezi kufunga mabao 20 ama 25 kwa msimu mmoja ,sikubaliani na hilo Shearer aliiambia Radio 5 live ya BBC'',.

''Sasa ana uwezo wa kuonyesha umahiri wake katika ligi hiyo.''.

Siku ya Alhamisi Meneja wa kilabu ya Manchester United Van Gaal alisema kuwa Wellbeck hakuweza kufunga mabao ya kutosha wakati alipkuwa katika kilabu hiyo ya Old Trafford.

Mshambuliaji huyo ambaye ni mzaliwa wa Manchester ambaye aliifunga mabao yote mawili timu ya Uingereza dhidi ya Switzerland siku ya jumatatu ,hajawahi kufunga zaidi ya mabao tisa katika ligi ya Uingereza tangu alipoanza kuchezea mwaka 2008.