And the Apple Store is down…

Later this week, Apple will officially launch their new MacBook Air line. We previously detailed that these new MacBook Airs will include Thunderbolt ports, i5 and i7 processor options, and a design with little to no changes from the current models. Now, thanks to our source Mr. X, we have all the specifications of the brand-new MacBook Air line.

11.6 inch models:

• The base model will include a 1.6 GHz processor, 2 GB of RAM, and 64GB of flash storage.
• The more expensive standard configuration also includes a 1.6 GHz processor but upgrades the RAM to 4GB and the storage space to 128 GB.
• A built to order model will also be available from the online store. This option includes a 1.8 GHz processor (first for an 11.6 inch MacBook Air), 4GB of RAM, and for the first time in an 11.6 inch MacBook Air, 256 GB of flash storage.

13.3 inch models:

• The base standard configuration includes a 1.7 GHz processor, 4GB of RAM, and 128 GB of flash storage
• The more expensive standard configuration also includes a 1.7 GHz processor, 4GB of RAM, but upgrades the storage to 256 GB.
• A built to order option will also be available and this includes a 1.8 GHz chip, 4GB of RAM, and 256 GB of flash storage

These specifications put the unreliable reports of 4GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage as standard (across the line) options to rest. OS X Lion launches tomorrow, so it is possible that these new ultraportables will, too, but that is unconfirmed. Apple will also release a new Mac mini, as we just revealed, later this week.

Besides the new MacBook Air line, which we just revealed, Apple will also drop an upgraded Mac mini line. These new Mac minis will likely retain their currently aluminum unibody design but will pack faster processors and more hard drive space. In addition, the new LED Cinema Display – now called the “Apple Thunderbolt Display” – will debut this week. These new displays will have an optional VESA mount.

The new Mac minis:

• The base model will include a 2.3 GHz processor with 2GB of RAM, and 500 GB of hard drive storage space
• The more expensive model will include a 2.5 GHz processor with 4GB of RAM, and 500 GB of hard drive space.
• Finally, the new Mac mini line will also include a new server model with a 2.0 GHz processor, 4 GB of RAM, and two 500GB hard drives of storage. This new server model should include OS X Lion server, but that’s just a reasonable assumption.

These new Mac minis will likely be powered by the new Intel Sandy Bridge chipsets and include Thunderbolt ports. These new computers should launch by the end of the week, possibly tomorrow – but that is unconfirmed. Thanks, Mr. X!

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China might be known as the home of the fake iPhone, but what about whole stores? Surprising almost no one, China is indeed home to the fake Apple Store. These pictures from BirdAbroad (via IFOAppleStore), show a fake Apple Store complete with everything that a real Apple Store offers. Right down to the blue shirts with Apple logos and name labels for the employees. Starting from the top, this ‘Apple Store’ features a shiny exterior with a big glowing, white Apple front and center.

When you walk into the store, you will be stepping on wood or grey stone floors, depending on the section of the store, and will be surrounded by a showroom filled with iPads, Macs, and more… all on wooden tables. These tables are even equipped with the Apple (patented!) product holders. In fact, these tables are nearly identical, if not identical, to the tables used in Apple’s official stores. These stores went as far as to completely rip off Apple’s official press images – as you can see with the iPad 2 and iPod shuffle banners. Also notice the extremely outdated pink iPod posters.

Making this sound even more unbelievable are the twisted stair cases, accessory and software walls (which are nearly identical to the official ones), an area for children with cushy and fun chairs, and of course what appears to be a mini Genius Bar or a section of the store to take product lessons from employees. The most amazing part is what these employees think of their jobs:

Being the curious types that we are, we struck up some conversation with these salespeople who, hand to God, all genuinely think they work for Apple.

The “bosses” of this fake Apple Store, in Kunming, knowing that they are up to no good, informed their multiple plain clothed security guards to ban all picture taking. The best part is that there are three of these stores all within walking distance of each other. Check out some more pictures after the break that are courtesy of BirdAbroad.

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Macworld reports that Adobe is making its first application available on the Mac App Store. Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 Editor  is being offered for $79.99 which is less than the $99 boxed version (which is often discounted– for instance it is $60 currently after a $20 discount at Amazon).

Mac App Store version of the application costs $80 and includes all the same editing tools as the full version. However, unlike the full $100 version, it does not come bundled with the Adobe Elements Organizer application. This version is available only in English, and cannot be purchased anywhere outside of Apple’s Mac App Store.

The big deal here is that a huge software maker, that makes a lot of money on selling boxed software, is trying out the App Store.  Adobe are also experimenting in the iOS App Store as well.  The big question: Will Creative Suite be there soon with Apple taking 30% of the cut?  Ouch.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 Editor at App Store 
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We’re getting word from numerous Apple Stores that the Lion transition has begun.  In this photo taken at the 14th St. Apple Store in NYC by a passerby, you can see Apple employees updating Macs as well as some heavy hardware in the foreground.  Those are reportedly the new signage packages.

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Apple’s beautiful Bejing Retail Store

Apple felt incredibly bullish on China in today’s conference call, rattling off numbers that even Tim Cook admitted they wouldn’t have believed if they had been told a year ago.  How big is China for Apple?

In the year ago quarter, Apple counted $630 Million in revenues from China.  Today, Apple grew that by a factor of six to $3.8B of the total $28+B of their total revenues for the quarter.  That’s 13.3% of Apple’s total business by revenue which now comes from China.

To put that in perspective, $3.8B would have been over two-thirds of Apple’s 2007 (iPhone release) same quarter revenue and more than Apple’s whole global revenue for June ’05.

But ‘we’re only scratching the surface’.

Cook talked again about pre-paid phones (which are dominant in China) and a deal with the 600M-user China Mobile which is said to be in the wings.  Apple is also said to be exploring a cheaper iPhone offering which would appeal to a much broader swath of the Chinese market (Indian too).  This comes against a backdrop of Google Chairmen Eric Schmidt who is also bullish on Asia for Android.

Apple is also being aggressive in their China retail stores, choosing to open larger flagship stores which take more time to build.  CFO Peter Oppenheimer mentioned that the Hong Kong Flagship store at the IFC would be opening this quarter.  But Apple has an order of magnitude more stores opening up across China.  Apple now sells through four stores.  They have over 30 planned just for the next year.

If Apple’s growth in China stays on the current pace, which ‘scratching the surface’ seems to at least partially imply, China will account for over $20B in revenue at this time next year – which could start approach Apple’s US revenues even if Apple continues to grow globally as it has.

Below is an edited transcript of Cook’s remarks on China from Macworld:
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-Starting now

-Oppenheimer, Cook, and the Treasurer will be doing Q/A after the announcements.

-All time records for iPhone, iPad, Mac for June, Apple is extremely happy

-Tremendous increase due to iPhone, iPad, and Mac sales. Operating margin 9.4 billion. Net income was 7.3 billion.

-Quarter details: June record with 3.95M Macs (14% increase from last year Q3). Mac sales were strong in Asia/Pacific – 57% YOY increase in total Mac sales. Healthy Mac growth in both desktops and notebooks.

-Apple has announced that OS X Lion is launching tomorrow.

Continue after the break

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mockup

On the earnings call Q&A just now, CFO Peter Oppenheimer said that a ‘September Quater  product transition’ would affect the revenues for the upcoming quarter.  Obviously, that screams iPhone, which is now Apple’s biggest product.

To be clear, the September Quarter spans three months so it doesn’t necessarily mean ‘September’…but that isn’t unreasonable either.

On that note, he also mentioned in the opening statement that 220 million iOS devices have been sold all time.  We’re not sure if that includes AppleTVs.

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image via Bloomberg

As part of the prepared statement of today’s earnings call, CFO Peter “Griffin” Oppenheimer told the audience that Lion was launching tomorrow.  In case you didn’t know.

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How good are those earnings?

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Apple lined up another record quarter (shocker) selling an incredible 20.34 million iPhones, 9.25 million iPads and 3.95 million Macs.  iPods were down 20% YOY to 7.9M.  The company earned $7.31 billion in net profit on revenue of $28.57 billion for the June quarter. Both are records for Apple…and it isn’t even a holiday quarter.

“We’re thrilled to deliver our best quarter ever, with revenue up 82 percent and profits up 125 percent,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Right now, we’re very focused and excited about bringing iOS 5 and iCloud to our users this fall.”

Press release and charts follow:
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Just hours before today’s earnings call, the well-connected Yukari Kane, Joann S. Lublin and Nick Wingfield of the WSJ report:

Since Steve Jobs went on medical leave this winter, some members of Apple Inc.’s board have discussed CEO succession with executive recruiters and at least one head of a high-profile technology company, according to people familiar with the matter.

The conversations weren’t explicitly aimed at recruiting a new chief executive and were more of an informal exploration of the company’s options, said these people. The directors don’t appear to have been acting on behalf of the full board, some of these people said. Apple has seven directors, including Mr. Jobs. It is also unclear whether Mr. Jobs was aware

Interestingly, the WSJ actually got a response from Jobs. “I think it’s hogwash.” he said.

According to the report, Board members have even held talks about the company’s leadership with some search firms after those recruiters informally approached them, said three of these people. (…or at least according to voicemails left on their machines?)

It would be shocking if Apple had to look outside its own walls for a successor, at least outside of interviewing for due diligence purposes.  Full article available through Google Plus.

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As we first reported back in February, OS X Lion brings many new innovations but loses others like Front Row. Front Row, for those unfamiliar, is a full screen media interface for the Mac. Front Row made its debut a couple of major OS X releases back and essentially mirrors the initial Apple TV interface – in its Snow Leopard implementation. Since the news broke that the software is missing from Lion, reader Ralph Perdomo put together a little application to bring back the functionality.

Ralph figured out that he could take the Snow Leopard Front Row files and then compile it into a runnable application for OS X Lion. For those interested he took these files:

We have tried out the application and the tweak works. You do have to restart, though. Keep in mind this is very at your own risk. Since this is so easy, maybe Apple will slap Front Row into the Mac App Store and charge $4.99? Probably.

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ZDNet has benchmarked the latest Thunderbolt-equipped iMac with a Promise Pegasus RAID with Thunderbolt and came away pretty impressed. Because out-of-the-box Thunderbolt RAID experience on new iMacs leaves a lot to be desired due to constrained RAM, author Robin Harris set himself up with a 16GB iMac. This isn’t a common scenario for average consumers, of course, but heavy-duty apps like Final Cut Pro benefit from as much memory as possible.

Harris used Blackmagic’s Disk Speed Test to pit a quad-core 2.66 GHz Mac Pro equipped with a 300GB 10k Velociraptor drive, 1GB ATI Radeon 5770 graphics card and 12GB RAM against a built-to-order 3.4 GHz Core i7 iMac with a 1TB hard drive, the standard 1 GB AMD Radeon HD 6970M video card and 16GB RAM. Both computers were benchmarked against a 4-drive Promise Pegasus Thunderbolt RAID that had both an empty array and more than a third full. The RAID performed pretty nice in both configurations…

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Google Plus just showed up in the App Store.  It is a free app and will allow iOS users (not iPad universal yet) to connect with their Google Plus ‘Circles’.  Bonus: Google+ iphone app doesn’t work with iOS beta 3.

Description

Google+ for mobile makes sharing the right things with the right people a lot simpler. Huddle lets you send super-fast messages to the people you care about most. And no matter where you are, the stream lets you stay in the loop about what your friends are sharing and where they’re checking in.

Features:
* Circles let you share the right things with just the right people.
* Stream is where you can get updates from your circles or see what people are saying about things nearby.
* Huddle is super-fast group messaging for everyone in your circles.

Google+ is only available for users 13 and older.

Just yesterday, we were wondering what the holdup was.  Now where’s our Skype for iPad!?

Update: MacStories does an initial walkthrough.

Update 2: It already has an update:

What’s New in Version 1.0.1.1809

– Better support for blocking unwanted messages in Huddle
– Better support for attaching photos to a post
– Various bug fixes and performance improvements

More screenies below, cross-posted from 9to5google.com
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As we get close to the Lion launch, several tipsters have provided more information regarding the Apple retail overnight and  days after.  Tonight, Apple retail will hold an overnight from approximately 11pm – 7 am to give the retail staff enough time to update the stores visual elements with new marketing materials and re-image all display Macs with Lion.

As previously reported, our tipsters say most stores have recently received an external LaCie hard drive containing Lion installs, but we have received new information that the drives contain 3 different install images for Lion; Normal, Pro, and Joint Venture. 

JointVenture is an enterprise membership program to support businesses running Macs and iDevices.  It is believed that each of these installs will include unique software titles, and some of which could be new.

Furthermore we’ve heard rumblings that some stores will be receiving maxed out Mac Pro towers to be used as Lion distribution caching centers (speculation here).  Some believe that these stations would allow customers to purchase Lion (3.5GB) from the Mac App store and download it directly from the store server in minutes rather than hours it takes over a normal broadband connection.

MacOS X Server and internal builds of Time Capsule allow for Software Update Caching, so this is certainly something within Apple’s capabilities.  Also, Apple told Computerworld that users could come into the store to download Lion last month.

This would also be a huge help to customers who do not have access to a broadband Internet connection or users who want to walk through the install process with an Apple employee during a personal training session.  It would obviously also save Apple some internet bandwidth which at 3.5GB per user adds up.

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Italian site Macitynet.it (via MacRumors) snapped nice shots depicting in-store Lion materials and signage in third-party retail stores, indicating the official launch could be due in hours, not days. Both small table-top signage and tall free-standing banners captured on these shots showcase Lion’s focus on multitouch gestures. MacRumors discovered standard App Store gift cards redeemable against OS X Lion purchases in at least one store of Dutch retail chain Dixons, depicted in a promo material above:

Gift cards not only allow customers to effectively purchase OS X Lion for others, but also provide those without a credit card with a means to purchase content from the Mac App Store and Apple’s other digital stores.

Go past the break for two more shots…

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(Penrith Store – Image Flicker via Macrumors)

Current (via TNW) received some fun Apple Store stats for us this morning on the occasion of the Apple Store Opening in Penrith Sydney, Australia.

“Apple Retail has been in business for 10 years. During this period, we have had over 1 billion visitors through our doors, many of whom are new to the Mac, as the Apple Store is the best place to learn about all the latest products from Apple,”

We had over 1 million customers sign-up for our Personal Setup offering last quarter alone.

The country’s first Apple-operated retail outlet opened doors for business 2008 in Sydney. As you know, Apple recently celebrated ten years in retail business. Their retail chief Ron Johnson, credited with turning a risky gamble into a highly profitable business, recently left Apple for JC Penney, where he is due to assume the CEO role February 1 next year. Retail stores are a crucial part in Apple’s success. “Without these stores I don’t think we would have been as successful either”, Steve Jobs remarked at the iPad 2 unveiling in February.

The milestone arrives as Apple’s retail staff is gearing up for the OS X Lion launch. Sources say the company is holding employee overnights today in anticipation of the Lion launch tomorrow. In addition, AppleCare reps have received their Lion training and upgraded their workstations to Lion. Leaked training material obtained by 9to5Mac this morning reveals that Lion will be able to reinstall itself over the Internet directly from the all-new recovery partition, without even needing to boot the operating system and launch the Mac App Store.

Apple currently has 330 open stores, Fiscal 2011 ends September 25th, in just over 2 months…

“Our retail offering continues to growth, with Penrith the 11th store in Australia, since we opened Apple Store Sydney just three years ago. Globally we are planning to have 363 stores in fiscal 2011.”

Speaking of the Penrith Apple Store, there is a special media event for the opening July 23rd at 8am (see below).  The store will open to the public at 9am.

Saturday?  8am?  Journalists? Hehe.
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Then Google CEO Eric Schmidt shares the stage with Steve Jobs at the January 2007 iPhone unveiling. The times of happiness would abruptly come to an end amid Android whispers, culminating with Apple announcing Schmidt’s resignation from its board August 3, 2009.

Google’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt has gone on the offensive and bashed Apple over patent infringement claims the company had filed against high-profile Android backers such HTC and Samsung. In what could be viewed as an effort to sway the public perception, he launched a nasty attack speaking at Google’s Mobile Revolution conference in Tokyo. To Schmidt, Apple’s taking rivals to court sends a strong signal, that of the lack of innovation and jealousy:

The big news in the past year has been the explosion of Google Android handsets and this means our competitors are responding. Because they are not responding with innovation, they’re responding with lawsuits. We have not done anything wrong and these lawsuits are just inspired by our success.

Schmidt re-iterated sales of 135 million Android phones since 2008 and highlighted more than 550,000 daily activations that exclude tablets and non-smartphone devices, which is up from 400,000 a day in May. He said Google will support HTC’s legal battle against Apple’s copyright accusations, but wouldn’t elaborate.

Whether or not Apple’s legal pressure stems from jealousy is up for debate, of course. Cynics might argue Schmidt’s comment draws from nervousness on Google’s part because Android backers are increasingly discovering hidden costs as Microsoft and Apple emerge as holders of patents crucial to Google’s mobile operating system. Apple’s victory over HTC may set what RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky painted as a high royalty precedent for Android devices that could further shrink the already slim margins on Android phones.

As if that wasn’t enough, Microsoft is already taking money from five Android vendors for patent protection, including HTC which is said to pay five bucks each time it ships an Android handset and General Dynamics Itronix. Microsoft is also understood to have targeted Samsung, seeking royalties in excess of hundreds of millions of dollars annually. The Cupertino, California-headquartered gadget giant quoted Steve Jobs in a statement announcing the HTC lawsuit March last year:

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A little birdie of ours has managed to snap a page from an internal AppleCare manual detailing OS X Lion’s brand new recovery system, invoked by holding down Command-R during startup. Upon entering the new recovery mode, you can restore your system to any point in time from a Time Machine backup and run Disk Utility to check, repair, erase or partition volumes. In addition – and this is obviously your key takeaway – users can“reinstall Lion over the Internet from Apple’s servers”. The ability to reinstall the operating system directly from the recovery partition without having to boot into Lion and run the Mac App Store is a neat addition whichever way you look at it.

Remember, OS X Lion will be sold exclusively on the Mac App Store as a digital download rather than being distributed on physical media. The recovery mode almost certainly boots from an invisible recovery partition 9to5Mac first spotted back in February. It was also revealed that Find My Mac, a new Lion feature for locating and wiping your Mac remotely, also works when one boots into the recovery partition. This lets a Mac owner use another machine to locate and wipe out their stolen Mac’s hard drive even if the person using it is not logged in. 9to5Mac discovered the existence of a new process called Find My Mac Messenger which presumably sits in the background. Upon receiving a ping from the Apple cloud to initiate the wiping procedure, the process presumably reboots the machine into recovery partition, which takes over to erase all user data.

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You’ll probably want to have this on hand if you are getting a new computer in the coming days.

This update addresses an issue with the Migration Assistant application in Mac OS X Snow Leopard that prevents transfer of your personal data, settings, and compatible applications from a Mac running Mac OS X Snow Leopard to a new Mac running Mac OS X Lion.

It weighs in at 714KB and seems to hint at some new Mac hardware.

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We’re big fans of BBEdit over here (and its free counterpart TextWrangler) so today’s update is exciting news. I built 9to5mac a few years ago using BBEdit (on Drupal!) and the software has just gotten better and better (though 9to5mac has since been ported to WordPress.com).

How much is updated today?  Just have a look at the release notes if you’ve got some time to kill.

It isn’t upgraded in the App Store just yet but Bare Bones says that any BBEdit purchase since the App Store opened will get a free upgrade.  Get it here until October 20, 2011 for $40.  Full info below:

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Microsoft today announced the Explorer Touch Mouse, their third multitouch-capable mouse, the other two being the Touch Mouse and the Arc Touch Mouse. The selling point? The Explorer Touch Mouse features a touch strip that supports four-way scrolling by swiping in any direction. Plus, its scroll wheel allows for three speeds of scrolling. Other perks include five programmable buttons and sexy design bound to turn heads with its smooth curves, rounded appearance and the minimalistic surface. Deal-killer? It is based on RF technology rather than on Bluetooth, meaning it requires the included USB wireless receiver that will only add to the clutter on your desk. Microsoft claims eighteen months of battery life and a more precise tracking on common surfaces stemming from the use of blue laser.

The Explorer Touch Mouse will arrive in September, retailing for $50 (versus $69 for Apple’s Magic Mouse). The gizmo will be available in black, gray and two shades of red. Microsoft’ spec sheet for the product mentions Mac compatibility (yes, OS X Lion is supported), but the somewhat ambiguous wording leaves the level of multitouch integration on Macs hanging in the air. We’ve reached out to the Redmond company for clarification and will update the post accordingly. More juicy press shots after the break…

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