Jim Mergard, a 16-year veteran of chip maker AMD, has left his position at Samsung for a job at Apple. Mergard was formerly a vice president and chief engineer at AMD before he left for Samsung, and he is known for his work on both desktop processors as well as systems on chips, or SoCs, like those found in iOS devices. Processor design is of great importance for both Apple and Samsung, as the The Wall Street Journal reports:

Chip design seems to be increasingly important to both companies. Samsung, while better known for memory technology, has vowed to become a more formidable contender in developing microprocessors and related products. Apple also has been staffing up for several years with chip designers to help differentiate its mobile devices. Both use technology from ARM Holdings in their mobile processors.

While it's true that the iPhone 4, 4S, and all three generations of iPad run ARM hardware, with the iPhone 5, Apple introduced the A6, a completely custom processor. If Apple continues to design its own chips, and there's no reason to believe that it won't, acquiring veteran talent such as Mergard, is a crucial. The hiring comes at an interesting point in Apple and Samsung's relationship. The two companies are already rivals, they are suing each other back and forth, and at the same time, Apple depends on Samsung to produce the chips for their iOS devices. Luring such an important and high profile person away from Samsung will undoubtedly intensify the rivalry, which only seems to increase with each new product either company produces.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Sprint has disclosed that they're in talks with Softbank, Japan's third-largest mobile carrier, about Softbank potentially acquiring of a large stake in Sprint. In a statement this morning, Sprint announced that the talks primarily regard a "substantial investment" in Sprint by Softbank, and a potential transaction could change who controls Sprint. Such a move would give Softbank an instant national foothold in the United States, and help Sprint financially. They would not be the first internationl carrier to come to the U.S. either. Vodafone, the second-largest carrier in the world, owns a large stake in Verizon Wireless, and T-Mobile is famously owned by Deutsche Telekom.

Sprint has been the thrid-place carrier in the U.S. for years, and though a Softbank investment would not change that, at least in the short term, it might allow Sprint a bit of breathing room, as well as more resources to increase the deployment of their LTE network. What this means for a potential Sprint bid on MetroPCS is unknown.

Source: Sprint

Eric Schmidt, the former Apple board member, Google CEO, and current Google Executive Chairman, has once again given his thoughts on the current relationship between Google and Apple, including patents Apple's current mapping woes. In a sit down with the All Things D's Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher, Schmidt opined that Apple should have kept Google Maps, and that Apple was now discovering that maps are difficult work.

The Android-Apple platform fight is the defining contest. Here's why: Apple has thousands of developers building for it. Google's platform, Android, is even larger. Four times more Android phones than Apple phones. 500 million phones already in use. Doing 1.3 million activations a day. We'll be at 1 billion mobile devices in a year.

We've not seen network platform fights at this scale. The beneficiary is you all, the customer, globally. "This is wonderful."

Of course, iOS is installed on, at any given time, three models of iPhone, the current model and the previous two generations, while Android powers most of the phones from Samsung, HTC, Motorola, etc. So of course there are going to be more Android phones than iPhones. That's just common sense.

Speaking about patents, Mr. Schmidt expressed frustration at patent wars, and the fact that hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent fighting patent trolls. When asked about the Apple/Samsung trial in particular, Mr. Schmidt wouldn't comment directly, though he did offer up an opinion that companies like Google and Apple were not victims in these patent conflicts, but rather it's the smaller companies, those that can't get patents in order to defend themselves, that are really in trouble.

Other topics touched on include Facebook, China, and Google's self-driving cars. The whole interview is interesting and illuminating, and should be read in it's entirety.

Source: All Things D

The Magazine is a new endeavor by Marco Arment, the creator of Instapaper and host of Build & Analyze, with no greater or lesser goal than to do an iOS Newsstand periodical the way it was meant to be done. In a market all too littered by massive, unwieldy Adobe InDesign exports, shackled to old-world sales and marketing models, The Magazine's premise comes off as audacious -- 4 articles every two weeks, written by passionate technologists for passionate technologists. Here's how Arment describes it in his forward/declaration of intent:

I've always loved technology, and I especially love the recent focus on mobile phones, tablets, and truly great personal computers. These interests also increasingly include other fields, such as photography, publishing, and music, affected heavily by technology.

This is what The Magazine is about.

Arment is also taking a page, almost literally, from Instapaper's playbook. Eschewing the static PNG files and anachronistic layouts of traditional magazines, he's simply, beautifully, cleanly, presenting The Magazine's content in as enjoyably readable a format a possible. Controls are likewise minimal. From the table of contents you can switch between dark and light mode, increase or decrease the type size, or swipe to delete content (a small trashcan will appear in the colored issue number/data bar to confirm).

From an individual article's page, you can share content via Mail, Message, Twitter, or Facebook, or send a copy to the clipboard or to Instapaper. Links are easy to see and if you tap on one, the article lifts up to show you a preview of the linked content. If you tap a link in the preview, you're carousel'ed out of The Magazine and the web page is served up in Safari.

The reading controls, however, are only available on the table of contents screen, so you can't change type size or toggle dark/light modes while inside an article, which also means you can't preview type-size changes without flipping back and forth. The share sheet is available on the article pages, but it's anchored to the top, so if you only decide you want to share an article by the time you finish reading it, you have to scroll all the way back to the top. Some sort of persistent controls (the way the issue number and date persist on the table of content), or even a set reveal-on-touch controls, would feel better.

Scrolling in articles is fast and fluid, and both button and gesture-based navigation options are available. From the table of contents screen, tap a article to go to that article, and tap the contents button to go back to the table of contents. You can also swipe to push the table of contents aside and reveal an article beneath it (the first article if you haven't begun reading yet, otherwise the last article you were reading). You can also swipe to pull the table of contents back into place so you can choose another article. Unfortunately, you can't swipe the other way to navigate to the next article. That's something I keep instinctively wanting to do, so hopefully it gets added in a future release.

In addition to Arment's forward, the first issue of The Magazine includes essays by Guy English, Jason Snell, Alex Payne, and Michael Lopp. English takes a look at the [Daring] Fireball Format of link blogs and their rise in popularity, Snell tackles the schism between geeks who do and don't love sports, Alex Payne laments on the people behind technology and how sometimes we get it wrong, and Lopp explores leadership and the dynamics between stability and volatility.

Most magazines aren't really in the content business. They're in the advertising and marketing business, selling our attention and our mailing addresses, with the content serving as a kiss and a cookie to keep us happily flipping page and subscribed. That's not always bad, and some really terrific magazines have been funded using that model. But The Magazine looks to be in the actual content business -- you read what you pay for.

With The Magazine, Arment has stripped the traditional format, model, and expectations of the magazine down to its essence, to the barest possible elements it needs to exist as a magazine -- a determined publisher, talented writers, and solid content -- and is hoping that in doing so, it flourishes.

I hope so as well. I hope it gives voice and exposure to a wide array of technologists who take the opportunity to raise the bar and the stakes of technology writing. And I hope it provides an oasis to readers hungry for just that. That may sound like a lot of pressure to put on a new type of publication on the day of its very first issue, but it seems like not an ounce less than Arment himself is placing upon it. And that's a stupendous thing.

The first issue of The Magazine, with free 7-day trial, is available now. Subscriptions cost $1.99 a month (which should include 2 issues given the current publishing schedule). Give it a read.

Free to try - Download now

Note: There's currently a bug that prevents you from subscribing on multiple iOS devices. According to Arment, a fix is on its way.

Apple's new fifth generation iPod touch is just starting to hit consumer's hands and iFixIt has already managed to tear it down. While the iPhone 5 was given a 7 out of 10 repairability score from iFixIt, Apple's newest generation iPod touch only achieved a 3 out of 10.

Much like its predecessors, the fifth generation iPod touch isn't the easiest device to repair, mostly attributed to its thin design.

With no external screws, the Touch is tough to pry open, and its logic board utilizes two hard-to-manage ribbon cables: the battery, logic board, front camera, speaker, headphone jack, Lightning connector, and home button switch are all soldered onto one cable, while the volume buttons, power button, LED flash, and rear microphone are all attached to another cable. Repair is not impossible, but it's certainly going to be difficult and expensive if one component breaks. These factors combined earned the iPod a 3 out of 10 on our repairability scale (10 is easiest to repair).

In the past, the trend was typically that the thinner a device got, the harder it got to repair. The iPhone 5 proved that theory wrong and actually ends up being extremely easy to repair. We've already shown you how to replace a cracked screen on an iPhone 5 and we believe many users with moderate DIY skills will be able to do it on their own with no problems.

Since Apple has chosen to link many functions to single cables, it can make a hand slip or a torn cable a lot more expensive this time around. While previous generation iPhones and iPods have put functions like the proximity sensor and noise canceling mic on the same cable, they were relatively cheap and inexpensive. Components such as the dock connector, Home button, flash, and speaker had their own assemblies making repairs easier and more cost effective even if you did make a mistake.

This probably won't be the case with the fifth generation iPod touch. While we aren't sure what component cost will be for these guys yet, I'd be willing to bet it's going to be higher than components on previous models. While a repair isn't impossible, it'll definitely cost you more time and money than before.

Outside of repairability, iFixIt also has some details on the specs of the new iPod touch:

• A5 Processor
• Hynix H9TKNNN4KDBRCR 512 MB RAM
• Toshiba THGBX2G8D4JLA01 32 GB NAND flash
• Apple 3381064 dialog power management IC
• Murata 339S0171 Wi-Fi module
• Broadcom BCM 5976 touchscreen controller
• Apple 33831116
• STMicroelectronics AGD32229ESGEK low-power, three-axis gyroscope
• Texas Instruments 27AZ5R1 touchscreen SoC

While it may not have received the same A6 treatment as the new iPhone 5, it's still a worthy upgrade for anyone using a second or third generation iPod touch. If you've got a fourth generation iPod touch, it may not be a huge upgrade unless, of course, you've got your eye set on a specific color and really desire the extra screen real estate.

You can hit the link below for even more images and detail on the insides of the iPod touch fifth generation.

Source: iFixIt

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Rene's angry, Seth is tired, and Georgia's at peace with the universe. Wait... what? Join us in the Fringe-verse as we talk the iOS 6 App Store, the Podcasts app, the new iPod touch and iPod nano, the iPad mini non-event, and app.net. This is the iMore show!

• Subscribe via iTunes: Audio | Video
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Show notes

• iOS 6 gripes: App Store search is now less usable
• Apple Podcasts app review
• Apple airs new iPod ad, Bounce
• iPad mini non-event
• iPad mini rumored to be wi-fi only, iPad 3 mark II rumored to be international LTE friendly
• iMore, ADN, and the importance of different answers

Hosts

• Rene Ritchie - @reneritchie
• Georgia - @GeorgiaTiPb
• Seth - @sethclifford

Credits

You can reach all of us on Twitter @iMore or ADN @iMore, or you can email us at podcast@imore.com or just leave us a comment below.

For all our podcasts -- audio and video -- including the iMore show, ZEN and TECH, Iterate, and more, see MobileNations.com/shows

Thanks to the iMore Accessory Store for sponsoring this week's show. Your one-stop-shop for everything iPhone and iPad, including cables, cases, chargers, Bluetooth and much more, check out store.imore.com.

Calendars by Readdle is an alternative to the built-in Calendar apps on the iPhone and iPad provided by Apple. It features a gorgeous interface, intuitive controls, seamless syncing with Google and iOS calendars, and more. If you find yourself commonly frustrated with Apple's Calendar apps, you'll definitely want to consider Calendars by Readdle as a replacement.

Calendars includes 5 different views: list, day, week, month, and tasks and all of the views can be used in both portrait and landscape orientation. The week view and day views are my favorite as they give a visual representation of what your days look like.

When using week view while in portrait orientation, each scheduled event is represented by a colored square with the time and title. If you have more than four events in a day, a small dot will appear at the end of that day's row indicating that you can scroll the individual row to see more. In landscape, the days become the columns and the rows represent time. At the bottom of the screen, you'll find intervals of days that you can scroll though, or you can simply swipe the screen to move forward and back between weeks. Want to move an event? Simply hold your finger on it and drag it to where you want it to be. If you want it on a different week, drag it to the edge of the screen and you'll be taken to the next week (similar to moving apps between pages of your home screen). Day and month views behave similarly.

The day view is very similar, only it breaks up the day into 24 rows, one fore each hour of the day.

The month view moves away from blocks to represent events, and simply lists them out in the appropriate color for each day. In portrait orientation up to three events will be listed on each day (with an ellipsis to represent if there is more) and in landscape, only two events will be display for each day, but more of the letters of the titles of the events will be visible.

It doesn't matter what view you're in when it's time to add an event. You can either tap the plus sign in the upper righthand corner or simply hold your finger down in the place you want it added.

In the event creation/edit screen of Calendars, you can add all the typical information: name, calendar, time, reminder, location, repetitions, etc. However, what really sets Calendars apart is its special keyboards. For example, when you create event, you are immediately taken to the Title field and the keyboard pops up -- a keyboard with an extra row. The top row includes four reminder time options: 5 min, 15 min, 1 hour, and 1 day. This makes is really easy to quickly add an event without fiddling around with different options. Another custom keyboard is for selecting the event time; instead of scrolling through dates like many apps have you do, Calendars pops up a calendar that makes date selection really quick.

One of the disadvantages to Apple's built-in Calendar apps in iOS is that you have a limited number of choices when it comes to scheduling a repeated event. For example, If you wanted to add your math class that meets during the same time on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, you can't. With Calendars by Readdle, though, you can!

The good

• Drag & Drop for events
• Day, Week, Month and List view
• Support for custom repeating events
• Special keyboards
• Sync with Google or iOS Calendar
• Manage your calendars online and offline
• Invite people
• Get SMS reminders
• Search events
• Universal for iPhone and iPad

The bad

• Swiping through month view on the iPhone is glitchy

The bottom line

Calendars is an excellent calendar app for the iPhone and iPad. It's beautiful, intuitive, and full-featured. My only complaint is that there isn't a Mac app available to complete the trio!

$6.99 - Download Now

EA Mobile has announced that it is well on the way towards releasing Need For Speed Most Wanted for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. To show us just how near it is, EA has released a teaser video showing what to expect when it arrives. Need for Speed Most Wanted has been developed by Firemonkeys and promises stunning graphics and online gameplay.

EA Mobile presents the first action-packed preview of the Firemonkeys developed Need For Speed Most Wanted -- coming this October. Need For Speed Most Wanted features stunning dynamic physics-based collisions, exciting cop takedowns, and realistic visual damage. Be the most wanted in incredible real-world cars like the Dodge Challenger SRT8 392, the Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale, the Porsche 911 Carrera S, and many more! Everything you do in the game will earn you Speed Points. Earn more than your friends to become the Most Wanted, and because everything's linked via EA's Origin, you can compete across platforms. It doesn't matter whether you're playing on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 or iOS, you always earning and always competing.

The screenshots and video certainly make it appear that EA and Firemonkeys have a big hit on their hands. The graphics look pretty awesome to me and the fact that you can play online and compete across different platforms make this a very enticing proposition too; imagine playing a game on your iPad against someone on a PS3 or Xbox 360. All we know for now on the availability front is that it is coming in October. We will let you know as soon as it arrives in the App Store.

Source: Need For Speed

If you're upset with Twitter, haven't joined ADN, are tired of Facebook or just prefer Google+ over everything else then you'll be pleased to know the folks in Mountain View, California have finally rolled out the latest update to their Google+ iOS app.

In this release, you'll certainly find that iPhone 5 and iOS 6 support is now in full swing but to go along with that, there are also a few other changes Google has managed to fit in that should please users.

Aside from the mentioned iPhone 5 and iOS 6 support, Google did manage to add in support for Google+ pages. Now, if you're an owner of a website or business on Google+ can now view, post and comment from mobile -- kind of crucial to be able to interact with people on the go so, nice to see it added.

In additon to all of that, Google has also added a nice new search feature that allows you to find people easier and also includes the ability to search for specific posts on either the iPad or the iPhone.

Overall, it's not a bad update though, there are stilll some expanded features such as Messenger that are are not on par with that of the Android version. If you're looking to check it out, the update is available now.

Free - Download Now

There are always new movies, music, books, TV shows, and apps coming out and friends giving recommendations about the old and new. It can be hard to keep track of what blockbuster hits you wanted to see, which Indie band your friend was telling you about, and that classic book you've been meaning to pick up for ages. With Recall for iPhone, you'll never forget again! Recall lets you quickly add music, movies, tv shows, apps and books to your list and provides you with all the info you need, allowing you to get in and out of the app within seconds. If you want to be reminded on a release date, Recall will do that for you, or if you want to be reminded to download that book on the night before you travel, Recall will do that too. Unfortunately, it's U.S.-only at the moment, so you'll need a U.S. iTunes account to use it.

The interface of Recall is nice and basic and easy to use. The default tabs are Music, Movies, Apps, and Books, but you can swap out with TV Shows, Other, or All if you wish by tapping Edit from the More tab. From the sidebar, you can choose what content appears on the tab: My Items, New Releases, or Top Charts.

To add an item, simply tap the plus sign and type in the name of the movie, artist, song, app, book, author, or tv show. When you make your selection, you'll be given the Rotten Tomatoes rating, a description, and the cast, if available. Tapping on the Rotten Tomatoes rating will take you to the website or Rotten Tomatoes app if you have it installed.

If the item you searched for is currently available in iTunes, the App Store, or the iBookstore, you can head directly to appropriate store to purchase it or you can add it to you list and set up a reminder to purchase it later. If it's coming out sometime in the future, you can have Recall remind you when the release date has arrived.

Although Recall is integrated with Apple's stores for purchasing, the database is not. Recall is using their own database for release dates, and since DVD and iTunes release dates are not always the same, this can be rather annoying and you'll need to set up custom reminder dates if you want to be reminded on an iTunes release date. Hopefully the developers tie in better iTunes integration in the future.

The good

• Quickly search for Music, Movies, Books, Apps or TV Shows
• Schedule reminder notifications
• Browse new releases and top charts
• Archive items you like for later reference
• Share items via e-mail, Twitter or Facebook
• Add non-media related recommendations

The bad

• Release dates are not integrated with iTunes
• U.S. only

The bottom line

Recall is a very beautiful and efficient way to keep track of and be reminded of movies, music, books, TV shows, and apps that you don't want to forget about. Adding items is super fast so that it's not a hassle to quickly use Recall in an situation. With Recall, you'll never forget another media recommendation again.

To see Recall in action, check out the promo video below.

$0.99 - Download Now

Recall from Overcommitted on Vimeo.

Found an interesting article you want to share with iMore? Have a burning question about that feature you just can't figure out? There is ALWAYS more happening just a click away in the forums. You can always head over and join in the conversation, search for answers, or lend your expertise to other members of our community. You check out some of the threads below:

If you're not already a member of the iMore Forums, register now!

Apple has aired a new iPod ad to coincide with the release of the new iPods called Bounce -- and boy is this a fun ad! It starts out with a new blue iPod touch and a finger that hits play for the song Yeah Yeah by Willy Moon. The iPod then starts bouncing to the beat, changing colors, and eventually splitting into iPod nanos who then split into iPod shuffles. All the colors are represented and it's like one big iPod dance party. Super fun!

What do you think of Apple's new ad?