Next iPhone To Have a Larger Screen, Thinner Profile [RUMOR]

 by Stan Schroeder

The next generation iPhone might be thinner than iPhone 4, according to leaked case designs unearthed by 9to5Mac. Furthermore, case mold schematics leaked yesterday point to an iPhone with a larger screen as well as a bigger home button.

These rumors fall in line with many earlier rumors, which claim the next iPhone will be thinner, but they also contradict other reportswhich claim that iPhone 5 (if that’s its name) will be quite similar to the iPhone 4.

The “thin iPhone” rumors point to a curved back design for the device, which seems somewhat unlikely, given that Apple has switched from such a design to a rectangular, flat back in iPhone 4.

What do you think? Are you ready to believe the mounting evidence in favor of a thinner iPhone, or do you think the next iPhone won’t be a radical departure from iPhone 4? Share your opinions in the comments.

[via 9to5Mac]

Google Offers New YouTube Interface For You To Try [PICS]

by Charlie White

After rolling out Google+ and sneak previewing a revamped Gmail interface, now Google has redesignedYouTube with new features that are more than skin deep.

Announced Thursday on the YouTube Blog, the new Youtube interface is an experiment that Google is calling “Cosmic Panda,” and unlike Google+, this one’s open to everyone.

Gone is that white background underneath the video player, replaced by a less-distracting dark gray backdrop. At the bottom of that frame are four new icons that let you conveniently change the video frame size. There are new page designs and improved editing tools to customize channels. Best of all, when you’re using Google Chrome, you can keep one video playing while you’re looking for others, switching between channels or playlists.

Another improvement is the ability to choose whether you see comments or not, with buttons allowing you to dismiss comments and fill the page below the video player with suggested videos that are each in larger frames. In addition, Cosmic Panda makes it easier to edit a channel template, giving users a choice of layouts for creators, bloggers, networks and a general-use template Google calls “everything.”

Unfortunately, Google’s YouTube player has retained the old transport controls from the previous YouTube interface, and there’s no icon to click to incrementally skip forward or backward. You can still do that with the slider control underneath the video, but as you can see in our gallery of screenshots below, on this new version, the zone where you can click to skip forward or backward is even smaller than that area on the old version.

Even with those quibbles, I think the new YouTube interface is a significant improvement over the current one. What do you think? Go ahead, try it yourself at Google’s Cosmic Panda page. And don’t worry — if you don’t like it, you can easily change back to the old YouTube interface.

View As Slideshow »

Suggested Videos Interface

Notice the bigger thumbnails.

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YouTube interface

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Browsing a channel

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Comments visible, but with a click...

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Suggested videos only, no comments

Click "suggested videos" and the comments disappear, which might be a relief given the savage nature of many YouTube comments.

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Old slider

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New slider, slightly thinner

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Designers: Try This Gorgeous Project Management App for Freelancers

by Jolie O'Dell

We’ve just come across Solo, a beautiful new app for freelance designers — and considering the app is intended for use in the design community, the attention to details such as color, typography, animations and texture couldn’t have been used on a better project.
Solo is a project management application for designers of all stripes, both traditional and digital. Right now, designers can try it free for 10 days; afterward, it costs £5 per month.
The experience starts with a dashboard, a snapshot of all the projects, clients and deadlines you’re juggling at the moment. From this big-picture view, you can zoom in on timesheets, invoices, client contacts, and your own personal journal.
Perhaps best of all, the app is really, really pretty. When viewed at full-size, the pages show a stunning depth of nuance rarely seen in web apps. You’ll need to sign up for yourself to get a true feel for the app’s UI, but you can take a look at these sample screenshots to get a rough idea:
Click to see larger versions.

The downside is the app is still in a very early stage, hence the low introductory price. You’re likely to find a couple bugs lurking here and there in the software; and many features, such as client logins, document uploads, messaging and design blog feeds are still “coming soon.” Still, it’s definitely worth a try while it’s fresh.
Solo is the freshman release from UK software shop Thrive. A company rep wrote in an email, “We’ve been beavering away for the last nine months creating a new online management tool for freelancers… Being designers ourselves, we love the creative input and critical eye of our peers. At the end of the day, Solo is for us and you.”
Sign up for the app’s 10-day free trial, and let us know what you think in the comments. Is this something you’d use as a freelance designer? What other features would be useful?