T-Mobile wants its staff to sell against the iPhone on Sept. 21

Jake Smith

In what should not be a surprise to anyone, it looks like T-Mobile won’t carry Apple’s next-generation iPhone. In a memo to employees, leaked by TmoNews, T-Mobile is encouraging its retail staff to begin “selling against the iPhone” on Sept. 21. Of course, Sept. 21 is the rumored launch date for the latest handset out of Cupertino. T-Mobile is probably just making an assumption, rather than having inside knowledge, but you never know.

T-Mobile has been battling for the iPhone for years and does not have much to show for it. Last holiday quarter alone, the nation’s fourth-largest carrier lost 802,000 contract customers (many of whom moved to pre-paid plans).

T-Mobile hosts over a million iPhone customers on its network. Thanks to T-Mobile’s recent push to 1900MHz 3G network (and 4G at WWDC), customers are able to enjoy magenta’s network. Luckily, for those who want to take the unlocked route, another leaked memo today shows that T-Mobile will sell an updated MicroSIM kit that allows customers to use their iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S on the network. The new “Monthly4G microSIM kits” will begin arriving in stores Aug. 29 and will allow for T-Mobile’s awesome new unlimited data plan to be used. [TmoNews]

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Apple vs. Samsung: Opening Statements in the (Patent) trial of the century

E. Betters

Apple and Samsung appeared in a San Jose federal court today, where U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh presides, to give opening statements starting at 9 a.m. PST.

Apple filed the first suit in this monumental case in April 2011. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company claimed Samsung infringed its patents by “slavishly copying” its iPhone. Samsung, a South Korea-based Company, promptly countersued.

This is one of the important cases to go to trial among a slew of other litigations on smartphone patents. If Apple wins, Samsung could suffer a financial blow and the ability to sell its infringing products in a large market. If Apple loses, its “thermonuclear war” against Android smartphone manufacturers could essentially wither away as Samsung collects royalty fees.

This morning’s most notable highlights are below (continually updated).

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Report: Apple breaks records with production investments, but for what?

E. Betters

A new report this morning detailed Apple’s investment in equipment and machinery during the most recent quarter as record-breaking, which indicates the company is certainly up to something.

According to Asymco, Apple’s financial reports hint at even more future investments. The Cupertino, Calif.-based Company spent $1.3 billion in the last quarter, with another $2.5 billion needed over the next two quarters.

“Such numbers are hard to grasp. They are unprecedented not only for Apple but for almost any comparable company,” explained Asymco’s Horace Dediu.

The graph above illustrates the increase in quarterly spending for “machinery, equipment, and internal-use software.” So, what does Apple have in the works that requires so much machine-powered investments?

9to5Mac revealed today that the sixth-generation iPhone will have a 3.95-inch display at a 1,136-by-640-pixel resolution, and it will have a new dock connector. Of course, simply upgrading the iPhone does not explain Apple’s deep investment into production equipment.

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Feature

Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer sends brochure to Cupertino neighbors inviting feedback on new ‘Campus 2′

Seth Weintraub

Apple is currently involved in an outreach program to new neighbors in its planned “Campus 2″ area. A brochure was mailed this week to residents surrounding the new campus that provided information and invited feedback in a variety of ways. Although the project seems to be a big win for the city of Cupertino, some residents voiced concern about the added traffic and other changes to the area.

We obtained a letter from one of Apple’s new neighbors—here are the takeaways:

  1. Campus 2, as it is currently called, will not replace the 1 Infinite Loop campus. Instead, it will provide “research facility” office space for an additional 13,000 employees, which is more than 3,000 than 1 Infinite Loop. There is also 300,000 feet of expansion space for future growth.
  2. Campus 2 will attain LEED certification and will have no manufacturing or heavy industrial activity onsite. Apple has and will continue to take extra steps to reduce auto use by employees. Moreover, the roof of the main building is a huge solar array.
  3. Campus 2 will not open to the public, so there is no museum or corporate store. :(
  4. The “world class” auditorium located at the very southern tip of the new campus will host product launches and corporate events.
  5. The corporate fitness center/recreation center will be located to the north west of the main circular building in a separate structure.
  6. Infinite Loop will remain the official corporate HQ, so top executives will likely stay behind.
  7. Apple intends to break ground as soon as Cupertino approves the changes (scheduled for later this year), with plans to start occupying the space in 2015.

Neighbors can fill out the postage paid response card or go to the Cupertino.org website with comments, questions, or concerns.

Apple’s late CEO Steve Jobs originally presented the idea of the campus in June (video below) during his last public appearance that occurred just one day after the 2011 WWDC.

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Apple building off-campus cafeteria to keep competitors from overhearing employees

Jordan Kahn

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Apple plans to build a new off-campus restaurant and recreation facility for employees to provide a place for discussion “without fear of competition sort of overhearing their conversations.” Mercury News reported today a planning request for the building that the Cupertino Planning Commission approved. (via TNW)

The new facility will feature 70 parking spaces, even though it is located within walking/biking distance from the main campus. The 21,468-square-foot space will not just be a cafeteria; it will also house a courtyard, meeting rooms, and recreation areas. Unlike Apple’s current on-site Caffe Macs restaurant, the new building will not be open to visitors signed in by Apple employees.

Apple’s Director of Real Estate Facilities Dan Whisenhunt explained the reasoning behind building the new cafeteria:

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The new iPad runs 10 degrees hotter, visualized

Seth Weintraub

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I mentioned in my review that the new iPad runs a little hotter than the iPad 2. While it is not a game-changer on its own, it is certainly something to note when choosing between an iPad 2 and a new iPad. Those extra graphics cores powering all of those beautiful little pixels likely cause the extra heat. For me, the heat was strongest on the left side of the device where the motherboard strip is.

Dutch website Tweakers.net (via Engadget) did 5 minutes of GL benchmark on both an iPad 2 (right) and the new iPad (left). According to the website’s measurements, Cupertino’s new flagship slab reached 33.6C (92.5 Fahrenheit) versus 28.3C (82.9 Fahrenheit) with the iPad 2.

As you can see from the image above, the gradient of heat gets strongest where the motherboard is positioned toward the bottom.

Update: Apple responded today with a canned:

“The new iPad delivers a stunning Retina display, A5X chip, support for 4G LTE plus 10 hours of battery life, all while operating well within our thermal specifications. If customers have any concerns they should contact AppleCare.”

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