Jordan Kahn

According to a report from BGR, a reliable source informed it that Apple has begun testing iOS 6.0.1 with U.S. carriers in anticipation of a release in the coming weeks. Also mentioned in the report is a list of fixes apparently included in the update that address many of the issues users have complained about since the launch of iOS 6. Among them is a fix for the horizontal glitches that some have experienced in the iOS keyboard and folders and a number of other bug fixes for recently reported problems.

The report said the update would also bring a fix for issues with cellular data, improved Wi-Fi, as well as “a problem with the camera’s flash not going off.” Other fixes Apple will release with iOS 6.0.1 are related to iTunes Match, Passbook, and Exchange bugs:

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Rumor has it Apple’s media event tomorrow will have a strong education focus, something that seems even more likely with the recent iBooks 3.0 leaks. Of course, the fact that Apple is about to unveil its lowest priced iPad has also lead to talk that students and education might be the target audience during the iPad mini’s unveiling. TNW reported first that Apple’s event would focus on educational content—specifically iBooks. We have also independently heard that educational content is being prepared for tomorrow’s presentation.

Today, Bloomberg Businessweek backs up those reports by adding that “Apple executives plan to make a point of highlighting the iPad’s educational capabilities at tomorrow’s event.” The report cited sources familiar with the preparation of tomorrow’s events, and it noted that Apple has “realigned its education sales force to emphasize iPads.” While most analysts seem to agree iPad mini will help Apple continue to dominate the education tablet market, one thing they can’t agree on is price.

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One of the biggest controversies surrounding the launch of the iPhone 5 has been the light scratching and chipping that some users have reported witnessing on the device’s coated aluminium backside. Apple’s Marketing Senior Vice President Phil Schiller called the scratching “normal” for aluminium products, as scratching on the coated surface reveals the natural silver color underneath making it more noticeable to users than an all-glass design. There have even been reports that quality control issues related to the scratching have lead to shortages and troubles in Apple’s supply chain.

While Apple is standing behind the design for the most part (they will swap your iPhone 5 for a new one if it’s scratched out of the box), there is another solution on the market for your scratched iPhone 5. iPhone5mod, the same people behind one of the first Lightning connector docks on the market, is today releasing rear panel replacements that it claimed are 100 percent original.

The standalone rear case is apparently “the same thing you are seeing and touching in your iPhone 5 right now.” It would not be all that shocking considering China-based iPhone5mod also claimed to have “original Lightning controller chips from Apple’s supplier” for its iPhone 5 dock.

The replacement part is available for $99 now in both black and white from iPhone5mod.com. Apple has been quick to issue takedown notices for the company’s products in the past, so there is a possibility these won’t last long.

The 10,000 Sq ft. building currently on Apple’s property in Prineville

Following reports in February that Apple purchased roughly 160-acres of land in Prineville, Ore., for $5.6 million, The Oregonian reported today Apple has now started the first $68 million phase of construction. The new land will apparently consist of two 338,000 square-foot buildings behind a 10,000 square-foot modular data center it has already built on the property. The $68 million figure for the first phase of construction covers one of those two buildings, according to plans filed with Crook County and dug up by The Oregonian:

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We told you a couple weeks back that Apple plans to open its third retail store in Beijing on Oct. 20. The new Wangfujing Street store will open at 9 a.m., but Apple’s Senior Vice President of Retail John Browett today gave press in Beijing a preview of the three-story location that happens to be Apple’s biggest retail store in Asia. Browett also confirmed Apple will open another store in Shenzhen.

Below, we get some shots of the new store’s 360-degree Genius Bars, three-story glass staircase, and more (courtesy of M.I.C Gadget):
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StubHub Tickets: There are a few notable apps already hitting the App Store today. StubHub, which recently announced Passbook support for University of Texas and Purdue University, is today announcing Passbook integration for University of North Carolina Tar Heels events starting with the first home football game on October 27. StubHub has rolled out support for Apple’s new Passbook app for four schools total, but plans to roll out support for its 60+ partners in the near future, which include franchises in the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and NCAA. Tar Heels fans will now have the “Add to Passbook” option available when purchasing tickets through StubHub’s iOS app.

ReaddleDocs version 3.2.5:

– iPhone 5 compatibility

KODAK Professional Film App: Kodak released a new app today that allows users to learn about types of Kodak films, file formats, and where to buy and process film.

For example, are you in the UK and looking for KODAK PORTRA Professional 160 film? Or in Australia looking for a lab to develop your EKTAR 100 images? Simply download the app, select your country and find trusted partners to supply and develop your film.

VLC 2.0.4: Popular open source VLC media player is getting a big update today that includes support for new codecs and a ton of improvements and fixes:
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We know Apple has had a lot of success pushing iPads in education, and during Apple’s Q3 conference call, CEO Tim Cook said the company would continue to be “very aggressive”. Apple’s iPad 2 sales in the K-12 market doubled y-o-y in Q3 thanks to a price drop to $399. In Q2, Apple said it sold about a million iPad units to the United States education market. With Apple’s upcoming iPad mini announcement possibly bringing an even lower price point for iPads in education, Amazon is announcing its plans today to get Kindle tablets into schools.

Reuters reported today that Amazon is launching a service, called “Whispercast”, aimed at allowing schools to easily deploy and manage multiple kindle devices:

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ykCnnBSA0t4]

Carmageddon: Thanks to a Kickstarter project, Carmageddon makes its return today as a universal iOS app with iPhone 5 support and most of the features of the original Mac and PC title. In case you’re unfamiliar, the game was banned in many countries for its gory vehicular combat gameplay (by 1997 standards anyway). The game clearly still has a cult following and the iOS version comes with a few enhancements over the original including Game Center support, leaderboards, and customizable controls. Carmageddon is free today only to celebrate the launch and will soon increase to $2.

Steam version 1.1.0: With the latest update to Steam’s iOS app we finally get native iPhone 5 support. However, the biggest addition is the announcement all Steam account users worldwide can now access the app. Also included in version 1.1.0 is support for 25 new languages and a few fixes:

* Access via the Steam mobile app is now available to all Steam account holders
* Native support for iPhone5
* Increased robustness of Chat in unreliable network conditions
* Fixed issues with global menu rendering, notably the inability to select “Settings” after device rotation
* Support for 25 langauges
* Improved general stability

Fring version 6.0: The popular Fring messaging, calling, and video calling app gets an improved UI, better fringOut rates, iOS 6 support and 4-way group calls:

* Phone number only registration (no username/password login)
* Improved look and feel
* Even better fringOut rates
* Group calls with up to 4 users
* Improved security
* iOS 6 compatible

Sonic Jump: SEGA is releasing a new Doodle Jump-style Sonic title today. The game features familiar Sonic stages and characters, boss battles, and other elements of Sonic games, but switches to an all vertical gameplay style made popular on iOS by Doodle Jump. It’s already available in New Zealand and will hit all App Stores by midnight tonight.

Checkmark 1.1: We recently had good things to say about this new take on Apple’s Reminders app in our review. Today it gets a number of new features including recurring and snooze reminders, map improvements, and iOS 6/iPhone 5 support:

• Recurring reminders (NEW FEATURE)
• Snooze reminders (NEW FEATURE)
• Support for iOS 6 and iPhone 5
• Map improvements (Satellite/Hybrid views, Drop a pin anywhere)
• Improved radius control for locations (larger radius options, new slider UI to choose radius)

Angry Birds Star Wars lands on November 8th and Rovio just posted another teaser:
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We heard reports in the past that Apple passed on Sharp’s IGZO display tech for the third-generation iPad due to Sharp not having the tech ready in time. Going with Sharp’s IGZO tech would have allowed for a thinner display assembly, a brighter display with less LEDs, and the ability to use a smaller battery or extend battery life specs as a result. It could have also helped shave off some of the increased weight and depth of the new iPad. These are all things we witnessed first hand when we got up close and personal with a few IGZO demos at IFA this year.  Sharp is announcing today its first 7-inch tablet to use the display technology, claiming the 1,280-by-800 IGZO display allows for 2.5 times the battery life from the tablet’s 2,040mAh battery (via ComputerWorld).

With the iPad mini launch coming later this month, it is a possibility the tech is finally ready for Apple to take advantage. Sharp also has 10-inch and 13-inch variants of the IGZO displays, but the 7-inch would of course make a lot of sense for iPad mini given what we already know about the device. Apple’s ability to increase battery life, or simply have the ability to use a smaller battery (in a smaller form factor) while maintaining battery life specs, is just one benefit. Another big benefit for Apple would be narrow borders: rumor has it—which is something we also talked about a lot in the past—the iPad mini will have a much narrower border than previous-generation iPads. Sharp told us its IGZO LCDs can be built with a bezel under 2mm, and it was showing off a demo display with a 1.75mm border at IFA. That would definitely fit the bill for the narrow-border, one-handed experience we expect from iPad mini.
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Image via Engadget

Apple officially announced a media event for the much-rumored iPad mini scheduled for Oct. 23. Apple sent out invitations to the press today, as noted by The Loop. The event will kick off at 10 a.m. PST in San Jose’s California Theatre, as opposed to one of Apple’s usual venues. An Oct. 23 unveiling of the new 7.85-inch iPad would likely signal an early-November launch and international rollout leading up to the holidays. Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported Apple’s supply chain in Asia has kicked mass production of the iPad mini into full swing.

As we reported earlier this week, Apple will also unveil its 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display at the event alongside a refreshed Mac mini. We also showed you SKUs earlier today that hint at 24 new iPad models and refreshed iMacs.

Pricing for the iPad mini has been the biggest source of debate, with some analysts claiming Apple is not “cutting corners” on the iPad mini’s design despite trying to compete with pricing of 7-inch competitors from Amazon and Google. Yesterday, Bloomberg reiterated earlier reports that Apple is having production issues with the iPhone 5 related to scratching on the device’s aluminum back. With delays and shortages still making an impact on supplies of the iPhone 5, analysts have also suggested initial supplies of the new iPad will likely be constrained.

[tweet https://twitter.com/osxdaily/status/258241064169791489]

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Earlier, we posted new iPad SKUs showing Apple is likely launching 24 new models of the device. It is still to be determined whether the four variants in the SKUs include updated iPad 3 models with Lightning connectors or four iPad mini variants. Today, we also get a hint at what looks like updated 21-inch and 27-inch iMac models from the same SKUs.

Listed as “D7” and “D8” in the SKUs above, we see two refreshed models. They are presumably for the 21-inch and 27-inch variants that Apple currently sells. We have recently heard reports that Apple is planning to introduce new iMacs alongside what reports claimed were images of the refreshed iMacs’ internals.

There have also been rumors that Apple will begin selling the refreshed iMacs on Oct. 24—one day after the rumored date of the iPad mini launch event. We are not sure Apple will begin shipping any of the new models on Oct. 24, but we have heard at least some varieties will not ship at launch. However, the SKUs above are pretty good evidence that refreshed models are on the way. We will have more on that in the near future.
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9to5Mac received the above list of iPad mini SKUs today that shows Apple could be set to launch 24 models of the new device. According to the list that shows four variants (P101, P103, P105, and P107), it appears Apple is set to launch four different models of the iPad mini in each capacity and color. With rumors of a Lightning connector in an updated iPad 3, it is possible two of the four models are for that. The models listed are also marked “Good,” “Better,” and “Best,” which seems to indicate there are three storage capacities.

With the three storage capacities, four models, and lastly—two colors denoted by “A” and “B” (likely black and white), Apple will launch 24 new iPad models. Apple will also sell 10 packs of iPad minis to education for a discount, according to the SKUs.

Yesterday, we reported that Apple is also set to introduce a new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display and Mac mini alongside a smaller iPad at its upcoming media event. According to the latest reports, Apple is set to hold its event on Oct. 23 in its Town Hall auditorium.

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There has been a lot of controversy over Apple’s new Lightning connector introduced with the iPhone 5 and refreshed iPod lineups. Perhaps the biggest source of frustration for users and accessory manufacturers alike is the inability, so far, to produce official third-party products using the new standard. Apple has yet to update accessory makers with changes to its ‘Made For iPad/iPhone/iPod (MFi)’ policies. This will apparently require approval of facilities manufacturing Lightning products, but according to reports, it will not come until at least next month.

For accessory makers wishing to produce unofficial Lightning products, that process has proven difficult thanks to chips Apple has built into the connector thought to include security features. Despite reports that the security features have already been reverse engineered, and one or two third-party products on the market using the original Lightning cables from Apple’s suppliers, we have yet to experience a flood of Lightning products available to consumers. We also did not know exactly what tech Apple is including in these chips, something that we get a better look at today courtesy of a detailed teardown from Chipworks.

Once inside, Chipworks found a TI chip labeled “BQ2025” (alongside a handful of others) that could possibly include security features. The chip isn’t listed on TI’s website, but four similar chips are:

However, TI does have published datasheets on the BQ2022, BQ2023, BQ2024, and BQ2026. These four chips are cataloged on TI’s website as battery fuel gauges, but they are not identical, with three of them being serial EPROMs and one of them being a battery monitor IC… All use a single wire SDQ interface (TI’s proprietary serial communications protocol), and all have some basic security features such as CRC generation. So, it is certainly likely that the BQ2025 does have some security implemented on it. It would also seem likely that it includes an SDQ

Another possibility is that the chip is being used to better conserve electricity. For example, the cable could stop drawing electricity once the connected iOS device is fully charged to provide the obvious benefit of saving power. According to research from Opower, the iPhone 5 costs a mere 41 cents annually to charge once per day. However, the focus might simply be a greener, more energy efficient product.

In terms of the security features, Chipworks noted this is “the first secure cable” it has seen with this type of security device. It also speculated that, in terms of Lightning connectors, “piracy is not a concern” for Apple:

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We got a look inside the new fifth-generation iPod touch last week thanks to our friends over at iFixit. Today, they are taking apart the seventh-generation iPod nano that Apple recently unveiled alongside the new iPod touch and iPhone 5 lineups. While it did not perform quite as poorly as the iPod touch in terms of repairability, it was still unable to outperform the 7 out of 10 repairability score given to iPhone 5. We see the usual suspects inside including flash memory from Toshiba and a TI touchscreen controller. However, a quick look at the Nano’s internals shows a few anonymous, Apple-branded chips as well:

* Toshiba THGBX2G7D2JLA01 128 Gb (16 GB) NAND flash
* Texas Instruments 343S0538 touchscreen controller
* Broadcom BCM2078KUBG Bluetooth + FM radio
* NXP Semiconductors 1609A1
* 75203 23017
* 75292 98820
* 339S0193
* Apple 338S1099
* Apple 338S1146

Thanks to many components being soldered to the logic board (battery, lightning connector, headphone jack, etc.), and a battery attached to the assembly, iFixit is giving the new Nano a 5 out of 10 for repairability. Here are some of the highlights:

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=s5o3LQreyXY#!]

On top of our usual list of apps and updates hitting the App Store today, we also get word from Tweetie/Twitter for Mac developer Atebits that it has version 1.0 of a new app currently in review. We don’t know yet what it is, but we’ll certainly keep you updated when it hits the App Store. Atebits made the announcement on its Twitter account:

[tweet https://twitter.com/atebits/status/257899233477271553]

Modern Combat 4 Zero Hour: Gameloft’s much anticipated Modern Combat 4 Zero Hour is coming to iOS with full iPhone 5 support this fall, and today we get another look at the Havok engine-powered title in the above dev diary.

iTunes Connect Mobile version 2.0.2: 

-Minor bug fix for push notifications.
-Adds support for iPhone 5.

Netflix version 2.4.1:

– Added support for Swedish language.
– Bug fixes and General performance improvements.

Skype version 4.1.1:

-Fix for iPhone 5 and iOS 6 calling and video issues

Circa News for iPhone: Launching today as a free app for iPhone and iPod touch, Circa News is an interesting news reader for Circa’s political coverage that presents articles as a “collection of details about a story: the facts, stats, quotes, pictures, maps, and more.”

eBay Fashion version 1.8.0: 

-Redesigned navigation to make it easier for you to find what you’re looking for!
-The App now supports only iOS 5 and above
-Bug fixes