The AppAdvice Week In Review: Scratched iPhones, Beautiful iPods And The Elusive 'iPad Mini'

What's not to love? The past week was filled with news on iPod launches, iPhone controversies, and of course, the "iPad Mini." Here are just some of the stories that made news during the week that was.

The elusive “iPad Mini”

Two weeks ago, Fortune reported that Apple would soon invite members of the press to a launch event for the iPad Mini. With that story in hand, it didn’t take long for the narrative to be written and be spread around the world: a compact tablet no one at Apple has ever mentioned would launch Oct. 17. Of course, things didn't quite work out that way. When the rumored Oct. 10 invitation date passed without an announcement, all bets were off. “The iPad Mini is dead,” explained one reader. “Enough with the rumors,” demanded another. By the end of the week, AllThingsD announced that their sources had told them that the iPad Mini would launch on Oct. 23 at an “intimate affair” held on Apple’s Cupertino campus. Of course until Apple says so, this too is just ... a rumor.

Here are just some of the stories we covered this week on the iPad Mini: All Of The Wacky 'iPad Mini' Rumors In One Fantastic Place - Gimmitech did a fantastic job putting together a new infographic that included all of the iPad Mini rumors in 2012. Have we really been talking about this thing for this long? Indeed we have. The iPad Mini And Its Likely Competitors: Prices And Specs That May Work - We look at what the iPad Mini should cost and include, based on what other companies are selling. Some Manufacturers Have iPad Mini Accessories Ready To Order - Really, are you surprised?

Apple tries to stop "scuffgate"

Many consumers have complained that the iPhone 5’s anodized aluminum housing has led to scrapes and nicks, especially on the black model. Now it appears that Apple is doing something about this. Apple managers have told executives at Foxconn to “tighten production standards.” This, in turn, has led to a slowdown in iPhone 5 production. Dom Esposito wrote a terrific piece on scuffgate in September that still remains relevant today. In it, he states:

I was confused as to how my new iPhone 5 already had been scratched, especially right out of the box. This definitely wasn’t Apple’s style, and surely it was just a fluke. After some light research on the Web, I found that several others had experienced the same problem.

Siri, Meet The iPhone 4

Thanks to a new jailbreak, owners of A4-powered iOS devices can now experience Siri firsthand -- for better or worse. Joe White had the story:

Do you have an iPhone 4 or iPod touch (4G), and want to install Siri on your A4-powered iDevice? Fortunately, with one impressive jailbreak tweak, this is indeed possible. The jailbreak tweak is called “SiriPort,” and it’s available to download in the Cydia Store now. In the embedded video below, we have explained the entire process. Once you’ve installed SiriPort correctly, you should have no problem invoking Siri, the virtual personal assistant, on your A4-powered iPhone or iPod touch. So be sure to carefully watch the YouTube video for the installation instructions (and as always, proceed at your own risk).

Check it out:

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