Apple

Apple, like everyone else, is looking to increase the battery life of its mobile devices. The lithium-ion battery found in current model iPhones takes up a large amount of space yet still often fails to meet our power-hungry needs. A patent revealed by AppleInsider could mean that better batteries are in the works.

Apple's idea is to make current batteries hold more energy without increasing their size. High-density power cells would also up energy density without increasing charging times or reducing minimum life cycle. A charging technique described as multi-step constant-current constant-voltage (CC-CV) would be used to achieve this higher energy density.

A new report from DigiTimes states that Apple will release the iPhone 5 with a larger 4-inch display. Current and past iPhone models have always had 3.5-inch screens. According to the report, the move to a larger screen will help the iPhone compete against larger Android smartphone displays.

Shown here is a 4-inch Samusung Galaxy S pictured next to a 3.5-inch iPhone 4 from Emoiz. The possibility of a larger iPhone 5 comes hot on the heels of earlier news pointing towards a smaller, cheaper iPhone nano that would also come to consumers in summer 2011. If Apple does diversify its line of smartphones, it would be further filling the gap between the current iPhone and the 9.7-inch iPad tablet.

Getting your iPhone wet can be a bummer, especially if it refuses to operate afterwards and you need a new one. Apple is notorious for denying warranty claims based on a simple test, the LCI or liquid contact indicator located at the base of the headphone jack. When this gets wet, it turns red.

Apple's lawyers now have another fly to swat after a California man stepped up with a class action lawsuit over the iPhone 4's glass. According to Apple, the glass found on the iPhone 4 is "20 times stiffer and 30 times harder than plastic." Apparently none of this matters when you drop the device on the ground from three feet up.

The plaintiff claims his daughter dropped his three-week old iPhone 4 from that height and the thing busted. In the lawsuit, he claims that "months after selling millions of iPhone 4s, Apple has failed to warn and continues to sell this product with no warning to customers that the glass housing is defective." His iPhone 3GS survived several similar incidents with no damage, so in his mind, the iPhone 4 should, too.

Well the iPhone 5 rumor mill is in full swing, and reports are backing up claims that Apple's next generation device will come this summer with significant changes. Apple has already shifted some of its parts suppliers from Japanese companies to Taiwanese manufacturers Foxconn and Foxlink. This will likely lower manufacturing expenses for Apple, although it's not clear if the move will result in lower prices for consumers.