Mark is an award-winning journalist who worked at 9to5Mac for over six years. He covers Apple and other topics related to the consumer technology industry.
We just told you that Apple Senior Vice President Philip Schiller has a Twitter and since then we’ve been snooping around who he follows, and what do we find? AppleIncNews. This Twitter account has been blasting off links to Apple press releases since the iPad’s January and from time-to-time has shot out some interesting teasers. For instance, hours before the Verizon iPad announcement Apple let its almost 60,000 followers know more iPad distribution channels were coming.
Apple also announced their October 20th ‘Back to the Mac’ event on their Twitter and is apparently holding an iPad giveaway for its 1 million Twitter followers (Notice the day it started)! Although this supposed Apple-run Twitter is not verified it is in fact followed by Apple’s own Philip Schiller – That’s our basis and we think it’s substantial. Another thing to note is that some of Apple’s non-RSS tweets came from Twitter for iPhone. Oh, and hopefully 100 awesome people get that 64 GB iPad!
Apple’s VP of iOS Scott Forstall got a Twitter back in mid-July and today Apple’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller got his verified. We’ve honestly been following his account for a while now but only very recently could it have been verified (we’ve been keeping an eye on it). According to Schiller’s Twitter bio, he loves Apple, rock and roll, sports, cars, and science. You will notice he loves posting pictures via the Instagram iPhone app and he loves using Ping.
People he follows: Eddie Cue’s hidden Twitter account, FakeSteve (Dan Lyons’ persona) @Gruber and 30 others including Boston and Valley sports teams.
Back in early 2009 he tweeted about Apple and hopefully we get a lot more of that soon. Hopefully this represents some next steps in Apple’s marketing plans and maybe Twitter replies from PSchiller will be the new e-mail reply from SJobs. Or not.
As of now he has 296 followers. Something tells us that is about to rise.
ABC 27reports that the Pittsburgh Apple Store was the scene of a smash and grab last night with thousands of dollars worth of products stolen. The police are in the middle of determining whether or not this robbery is related to one three hours earlier at a T-Mobile store in the same area, Shadyside. Another image after the break:
Apple has pushed out an update to their Find my iPhone app to work for free (as announced earlier), to support 30 more languages. Also, this update is required for previous users who want to still be able to locate their iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Get it here for free.
• iPhone 4, iPad, or 4th generation iPod touch owners can use Find My iPhone for free with their Apple ID (iOS 4.2 required)
• Support for 30 additional languages
• Important: this update is required for users of the previous version of Find My iPhone app (v1.0 and v1.0.1)
Some readers have let us know that free MobileMe is working on their iPhone 3GS. Anyone else? Comments or tips@9to5mac.com.
Apple today announced in their iOS 4.2 press release that the App Store has finally hit 300,000 active applications. Interestingly enough, 40,000 of them are for the iPad making the other 260,000 apps for the iPhone/iPod touch. Apple also notes that the App Store is available in 90 countries with 20 categories of applications available.
Today, customers have downloaded more than seven billion apps from the groundbreaking App Store and more than 300,000 apps are available to consumers in 90 countries, with more than 40,000 native iPad apps. Over 125 million iOS users around the world can choose from an incredible range of apps in 20 categories, including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel.
Macworldreports that Apple will be updated the OS for the new Apple TV today to support AirPlay video as well as Voice Over. AirPlay video support will let you stream video from iTunes on your computer or from any iOS devices that is AirPlay compatible. Voice Over will essentially be spoken menus and you can see that in action with the video above.
Although the iPhone won’t be getting an integrated SIM-card system The Telegraph now adds to their report that Apple is set to release a slightly updated iPad WiFi + 3G model with an integrated SIM-card system instead of its current micro-SIM card system. The reason Apple can do this with the iPad is because the device is not carrier-subsidized.
Their report also notes that this new iPad will lose the lock switch on the side and become a mute switch, but we already know that because the change will be happening this week with iOS 4.2. In terms of this new iPad launching around the late December/early January timeframe we are a bit skeptical. It would make much more sense for Apple to release an all new set of iPad models around March or April.
Well it looks like Apple has gotten a little worried over the European carrier’s threats and according to The Telegraph have abandoned plans to put integrated SIM-card systems in future iPhones. Oh, and I’m positive Apple is going to love this quote from a senior executive at a European carrier about the situation:
Apple has long been trying to build closer and closer relationships and cut out the operators. But this time they have been sent back to the drawing board with their tails between their legs.
If you’ve ever wondered why your favorite computer company is called Apple then you have to watch the video above. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak explains the origins of the name and it all traces back to Steve Jobs’ days at the orchards in Oregon and even connects to Dancing with the Stars.
We have been telling you about an iPad-only newspaper created by News Corp. being in the works for sometime and today the Guardianclaims the project will be unveiled later this month with some interesting new information. This newspaper project will be called The Daily and will be a newspaper that is only available on the iPad as well as other tablets in the future. That means no web or print version. The newspaper will be a downloadable application that will cost 99 cents a week to use. For just under $4 a month you will have full access to this tablet-only newspaper.
The Daily will be a huge deal and will be managed right on the 26th floor of the News Corp. offices in New York with 100-150 journalists dedicated to the newspaper. The lead-editor of The Daily is yet to be announced but claims say The New York Post’s managing editor, Jesse Angelo, will take the lead job. According to the Guardian, News Corp. leader, Rupert Murdoch, has taken a huge role in the project and pictures it as the future of online news content. He believes that “consumers are willing to pay for high- quality, original content.” This corroborates with Steve Job’s vision since the iPad’s launch as well.
Apple engineers have reportedly been working on the technical side of things and the launch of The Daily is said to coincide with the launch of an Apple newspaper-subscription service. Some other reports claim that News Corp. has invested $30M into the project. The Daily will reportedly launch exclusivly on Apple’s iPad by the end of this month but will eventually make its way to other tablet devices in the near future.
Retail outlet Navy Exchange has recently began selling Apple’s iPad at many of their retail locations world-wide. Interestingly enough, Navy Exchange is selling the WiFi models at a $5 discount and the WiFi + 3G models at a $10 discount. Here are the prices: 16 GB WiFi – $494.95, 32 GB WiFi – $594.95, 64 GB WiFi – $694.95, 16 GB WiFi + 3G – $619.95, 32 GB WiFi + 3G – $719.95, 64 GB WiFi + 3G – 819.95.
At this point it is not clear if Navy Exchange is an autorized Apple reseller of the iPad and it is not clear of this is a limited time offer. Judging by all models being available and the store selling many of their products at discounted rates this appears to be something worked out with Apple and not another TJ Maxx story. Also, it’s likely we’ll find out if this is all authorized via some sort of e-mail from, you know, Steve Jobs. A list of the Naxy Exchange locations carrying the iPad is after the break. Thanks, William.
Apple has released an update for their iTunes Connect Mobile application which allows iOS developers to track and manage their App Store applications. The new update includes jazzed up graphics for the iPhone 4 and 4th-generation iPod touch Retina display, support for iOS 4 multitasking, and support for the viewing of iBookstore statistics for your books.
The application for the first time is also now a universal binary that works on the iPad. This is the same application Mac App Store developers will use to track their apps. Developers can download the new iTunes Connect Mobile app here for free.
Contrary to what we have been hearing in tips it does not look like Apple will be price matching any iPads any time soon. Reader Josh e-mailed Steve Jobs asking if he would price match the TJ Maxx $399 deal and got a nice, short answer:
Nope.
The e-mail conversation also asked Apple CEO Steve Jobs if TJ Maxx is an Apple authorized reseller and Jobs once again said “nope.” Apple and Steve Jobs are clearly not thrilled about TJ Maxx’s iPad stunt this week and we are yet to see the final outcome of the incidents.
A few days ago some sources let us know that portions of Apple’s MobileMe service would be going free and today MacRumors has substantial evidence for this, posting code snippets from within the iOS SDK. As you can see in the screenshot above, the code mentions free MobileMe accounts for iOS devices. The code also says “This Apple ID cannot be used for MobileMe Mail, but you can use it for other MobileMe services,” meaning that MobileMe mail will not be available in the free MobileMe package.
We speculate that Apple will release a free version of MobileMe for iOS users that will allow for the Find my iPhone feature, online photo galleries, and over the air data syncing. There were also some references to this in the actual beta builds of iOS 4.2 in the Apple ID section of the settings application.
People in the Nordic countries waiting to get their hands on Apple’s iPad may not have to wait much longer as the iPad release in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland is imminent. Apple has already thrown up the iPad webpages for those countries and is set for a release later this month or in December.
3G flavors of the iPad will also be available in these countries and will be carried by Tre, TeliaSonera AB, Tele2 AB and Telenor ASA in their respective territories. Unlike the United States, the carriers will not sell the iPad themselves but will only provide the data service.
iPhone 4 color conversions have been a popular phenomenon ever since the delay of the white iPhone 4 and today it appears that Apple is taking a stab to stop these conversions from occurring. This process may have even begun last week when we reported that Apple may behind the removal of several white iPhone sales on the bidding site eBay. The ease of black to white iPhone 4 color conversions lies on the user being able to remove the iPhone 4’s screws from the bottom of the device.
The screws on the bottom of the iPhone 4 were fairly simple to remove and this allowed for quick front and black plating color conversions. Now, it appears that Apple is replacing their original iPhone 4 screws with something much tougher to unscrew, Torx. The Torx type of screw is known to prevent tampering and is fairly difficult to unscrew. Apple’s latest MacBook Airs even feature the Torx screw-type due to the extremely fragile batteries the device carries. Additionally, some internal sources have let us know that this is in fact a new Genius Bar policy.
What is very interesting about what is going on here is that Apple’s promotional images since the iPhone 4 launch have shown the Torx screws. This makes us think that Apple scrapped Torx screws at the last minute or something along those lines.
Apple appears to be making this screw-type change on iPhone 4s they either exchange or repair at Genius Bars at their retail stores. It is currently unknown whether Apple is also making the change for new units being sold to customers through their normal sales channels. Either way, this change by Apple demonstrates their strict opposition to users converting the color of their iPhone 4. So folks if you want a white iPhone 4, Apple truly wants you to wait until Spring. Image of an iPhone 4 without the Torx screw is after the break:
Update: AppAdvice is now reporting that newly purchased iPhone 4 units are now including the anti-tampering torx screws. This means that Apple is not only replacing the screws on iPhone 4s taken to get serviced and replaced but is now putting the new screws on brand-new devices.
Update 2: It appears that these are not actually ‘torx screws’ but are in fact something else. They look very similar to torx screws and are built to be difficult to remove. The essence of the story still stays the same as Apple is changing their screw design to be more difficult for users to remove.
According to a new report from Digitimes Apple is ramping up their orders for touch-screens Q4 of 2010. Apple along with other companies will be putting their suppliers, TPK Touch Solutions and Wintek, in short touch-screen supply during the 4th Quarter. The report notes that these touch-screens will mainly be for “handsets” so there is room to specultate that these touch-screens are for a new iPhone launching in early 2011 or the 5th generation iPhone coming Summer 2011.
The best bet is probably to say that these touch-displays are for the upcoming iPad 2 we’ve been hearing a lot about lately. Just yesterday we reported that Apple was sourcing multiple suppliers for the second-generation iPad and we recently reported Apple’s next-gen tablet would feature at least one camera. Also, Apple already shot the advertisements for their next iPad so it should be coming relatively soon.
According to a report from Digitimes the production of Apple’s second-generation iPad will go into full-force in Q1 of 2011 for an early 2011 product launch. Apple has already secured three iPad 2 parts suppliers, Ibiden, Tripod Technology and TTM Technologies, and will be adding four more suppliers in February. The report notes that the three named suppliers have received final certification from Apple and will begin shipping limited quantities of any-layer HDI boards next month.
Apple’s next-generation iPad is rumored to gain a front-facing camera for FaceTime video calling, faster chips, more RAM, a mini-USB port, as well as a ‘Smart Bezel’ feature. Apple has even already shot their ads for the next-generation iPad and our report on this indicated that the iPad 2 will feature a form-factor that is similar to the current generation product.
We recently reported that Apple was exploring integrated, pre-installed SIM cards for future devices. This integrated SIM-card system would allow customers to purchase an iPhone and choose any carrier they like from a special menu on that device, completely ditching the carriers from the usual ways of setting up your phone’s service. Today, the Financial Times is reporting that some of Europe’s leading iPhone carriers are furious about Apple’s exploration into this technology and are ready to terminate their carrier subsidy deals.
The carriers reportedly feel that Apple is completely leaving them out of the picture and they are giving customers the opportunity to choose any carrier they would like. For those unfamiliar, users with the iPhone have a very unique cell phone experience. Apple essentially has full control over the iPhone. They make the hardware, software, and they are the ones who replace and service your phones. Not many other smartphone companies and phone service companies have a similar relationship. The only thing the carriers seemingly do is manage and setup your service.
The carriers in Europe, including Vodafone UK and France Telecom, fear that this integrated SIM-card technology will remove the carriers completely from the customer. The SIM-card is a tiny chip commonly found in GSM devices with cellular connection and they store customer information and activate your phones cellular and data features. A high-level executive at an unnamed European carrier sums the potential conflicts by calling out Apple for potentially igniting a “war” with their possible integrated SIM-cards.
Today Apple updated their Safari web browser to version 5.0.3 for Leopard, Snow Leopard, and Windows and 4.1.3 for Mac OS X Tiger. The update brings a slew of security enhancements as well as some general improvements.
This update contains improvements to usability, compatibility, stability, accessibility and security, including the following:
More accurate Top Hit results in the Address Field
More accurate results in Top Sites
Fixes an issue that could cause content delivered with the Flash 10.1 plug-in to overlap webpage content
Reutersreports that News Corp executive James Murdoch has confirmed that News Corp will be soon revealing and launching a publication specific for distribution on tablet computers like Apple’s iPad. Murdoch told journalists that the publication is a “tablet-only product and it’s very exciting.” So far there is no specific word as to what this tablet-only publication will entail and Murdoch went on to speak about the tablet form-factor in general.
“The tablet in general, it lends itself to a type of journalism that is really new,” Murdoch said, highlighting the way print looks on tablets and the multi-touch screens that encourage interaction from readers.
The iPad was originally billed by Apple as the future of newspapers and reading and has already made a nice dent in the ebook market with their popular iBooks application along with their iBookstore. Popular publications like the New York Times and Washington Post are also believing in the iPad as a fantastic news distribution device and this is demonstrated from both of the publication’s iPad news apps.
In an interview with the WSJ Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg revealed that his “embrace” of LTE data technology has “drawn the interest” of Apple, so much that it was one of the leading reasons for the Verizon iPad deal. Even more interesting is when Seidenberg was given the money question: when’s Verizon getting the iPhone? His response was not very revealing but he did say the reason Verizon would get the iPhone is “because Apple thinks it’s time.”
This once again shows the Verizon iPhone deal is on Apple’s court and Apple will be the one leading the show and deciding when the Big Red will be getting the iPhone. The CEO also said “our interests are beginning to come together more but they have to take steps to align their technology with ours.”- That’s quite obvious from the iPad deal but does represent their new ongoing partnership. Recent Verizon iPhone rumors have pointed to an early 2011 release with claims brought to light by the New York Timesand the Wall Street Journal
