Mark Gurman

The new iPad will sport a front-facing camera – and there is little doubt about it – but where exactly will this camera be placed? Will it be towards the side like the iPhone 4? Will it be landscape like the XOOM or Streak 7?

With the help with some friends with access to iPad 2 screen protector inventory, it appears the iPad 2’s front facing camera will be right at the very top of the glass. That’s also what the Reuter’s eyewitness said at the launch of the Daily iPad newspaper.

Also, another shot of an iPad 2 screen protector sent to us from a separate source seems to indicate that the the iPad 2 could possibly be slightly taller and slightly narrower than the current version of the iPad. The SDK has told us that the new iPad will have the same 1024 x 768 display as the current model, so does this mean a very-slightly-narrower bezel? A Smart Bezel, SVP?

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The Wall Street Journal reports that U.S. anti-trust enforcers are in the process of “looking at” Apple’s new App Store terms regarding the newly announced in-app-subscriptions feature for developers. The report notes that this “looking at” is just “preliminary” and it’s possible this will never become a full investigation against Apple and their new policies.

The Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission’s interest in Apple’s new subscription service is at a preliminary stage, and might not develop into either a formal investigation or any action against the company. But it comes as Apple has attracted growing antitrust scrutiny in the U.S. and Europe.

U.S. officials are currently looking at whether Apple is in the wrong for forcing app content’s customers into using iTunes as the payment system for subscriptions, and taking a 30% cut of the developer’s, or publication’s in this case, revenue.

The Justice Department and the FTC are both interested in examining whether Apple is running afoul of U.S. antitrust laws by funneling media companies’ customers into the payment system for its iTunes store—and taking a 30% cut, the people familiar with the situation said

The U.S. is not the only one pursuing a preliminary look at the situation, with European officials “carefully monitoring the situation.”

A spokeswoman for the European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm, said Thursday that the commission was aware of the new subscription service and was “carefully monitoring the situation.”

Apple as well as the U.S. officials declined to comment.

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Apple has seeded yet another build of 10.6.7 beta to developers, this time with a build number of 10J858. Apple informed developers in the last build to focus on Graphic Drivers, the Mac App Store, AirPort, SMB, and Bonjour, and now Apple has added Safari to the mix. There are no known issues. Get downloading…

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Popular headphone maker Skullcandy has announced that their special edition NBA All-Star weekend ‘Aviators’ will be available exclusively this weekend at Los Angeles Apple stores. The headset costs just under $180, features special laser edged caps, and looks pretty cool.

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Back in Fall 2010 a patent from Apple detailing a new ‘Smart Bezel’ feature for the iPad emerged. This new bezel is said to be a touch-sensitive gesture area surrounding the iPad’s display. Now, with the iPad being rumored to lose the stationary home button, it would make sense that Apple would implement something similar to what is found in the ‘Smart Bezel’ patent.

Adding credence to this Patently Apple has uncovered yet another patent relating to the smart bezel and this patent features a tablet device with the new bezel, but the drawing does not include the home button.

The patent describes some possible features for the bezel such as double-tapping the bezel to turn the iPad on and off, touching the bezel in certain places with certain amounts of pressures to the control brightness and volume, and touching the bezel in a certain way to lock and unlock the display.

We think that this ‘Smart Bezel’ along with the new iPad gestures Apple is testing in iOS 4.3 would be a good replacement for their physical home button in mobile iOS products.

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Just like he did back in October of 2010, Steve Jobs will be meeting up with President Barack Obama to discuss technology tomorrow evening. According to the White House:

The president and the business leaders will discuss our shared goal of promoting American innovation, and discuss his commitment to new investments in research and development, education and clean energy

Hopefully this puts some rumors from today to rest and hopefully some positive pictures emerge from the event to dispel the recent rumors.

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The WSJ points to a blog post by China Telecom employees who claim to have hacked the CDMA iPhone 4 (Verizon) to work on their network in China. Now that we know the CDMA iPhone works in China, it’s only a matter of time until it actually goes on sale there…

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Digitimes reports that Apple has secured 60% of the “global touch panel capacity,” causing touch screen shortages for the rest of the industry. Apple’s big investment into displays comes on the heals of Apple’s 40 million iPads in 2011 goal. This also comes during Apple’s development of the next generation iPhones and new tablets from many other players in the industry.

These shortages caused by Apple are surely not making other tablet makers like Motorola and Research in Motion happy. These touch panels should also be featured in the upcoming iPad 2 in the next few weeks and even the rumored iPad 3 during Fall of this year.

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LG OLEDs are a new level of thin

According to a job listing sent privately to employees of companies that specialize in display technologies Apple is looking to implement the OLED technology into future products. Apple has job listings to the same company before but solely focused on AMLCD displays. Notably an uptake of these job listings for AMLCD display engineers occured during mid-2008 when Apple surely was amidst development of the iPad and future iPhone products.

Now, Apple is looking for flat panel display engineers that specialize in the OLED technology. Apple says the people apart of this new display team will serve as a focal point in the designing and the process development of advanced display panels from the concept to the product ramp. Here are the specific specialties Apple is requesting from applicants:

• TFT device development & optimization on glass or plastic substrate
• TFT backplane process integration development for LCD or OLED displays, including LTPS backplanes
• Thin film deposition process development and characterizations
• Photolithography and etching process development, including coating, developing, etching, stripping
• Color filter process development, including black matrix, color resin material, coating, developing and ITO sputtering
• Panel design & layout experiences in TFT device, TFT LCD circuit and SPICE simulation
• Organic EL material & process and associated optical, power & reliability characterizations
• LCD cell process development, including alignment layer material, rubbing, LC fill, sealant
• Active-matrix backplane design & optimization for LCD or OLED applications and associated circuitry simulations
• LCD or OLED optical characterization and overall design optimization

Additionally, Apple says the candidates will need to have hands-on experience and proven track record in the relevant areas in flat panel industry, trouble shooting, and yield improvement. They will also lead engineering investigations on advanced technologies for future display applications and will need to achieve the best design goal using an optimized manufacturing process for a high volume production.

This is the first time 9to5mac or our source has witnessed an Apple job listing looking for OLED display engineers, so this is a good indication of what’s happening in Apple’s labs and what the future holds. Apple has also been said to be exploring enhancments to the current displays, with some pegging Super PLS displays from Samsung being included in future iPad revisions.

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BGR reports that the initial sales of the Verizon iPhone have failed to meet Apple and Verizon’s expectations. According to the report 550,000 Verizon iPhone 4s were pre-ordered and 30% of users who purchased a Verizon iPhone came from Android, 25% came from BlackBerry, and 14% came from an AT&T iPhone (that’s perhaps the most interesting statistic here).

The report also claims to have received sales numbers from five Apple stores comparing the initial sales of the Verizon iPhone to the AT&T iPhone during the same five days. Two of these stores are said to be “very prominent Apple stores.”

• Thursday: Verizon = 909, AT&T = 539
• Friday: Verizon = 916, AT&T = 680
• Saturday: Verizon = 660, AT&T = 471
• Sunday: Verizon = 796, AT&T = 701
• Monday: Verizon = 711, AT&T = 618

Did you get one?

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_T5PqPlUp4&w=640&h=390]

Warner Bros. has announced that they will begin selling their films as apps through the iTunes App Store as a workaround for people who live in countries without an iTunes movie store. The concept is quite interesting and the actual apps work like DVDs for your TV.

There are extras, scene selection, trivia, and other features all packed into the apps. The app itself is free of charge and uses the in-app-purchase feature to let you either download or stream the film to your device. You even get a five minute preview of the film before you have to purchase.

The applications work universally with unique interfaces for the iPhone/iPod touch and iPad. The movie prices are the same as on the iTunes movie store and currently only Inception and The Dark Night are currently the only films available.

Streaming or downloading the films are $11.99 and $9.99 respectively, which are the same prices as on the iTunes movie store. The movie streaming works on both WiFi and 3G, which should be great for iPad 3G users.

The applications also provide a lot of content that you can’t get through a normal iTunes movie download, like film extras and 3G streaming. If you download the apps let us know how it works out for you, in the comments.

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MacTrast claims that Apple is set to unveil major upgrades to their MacBook Pro line of notebooks including better displays, better battery life, and updated designs. First the report claims that the entire line will become 15-20% lighter due to a new “stronger, lighter, and more scratch resistant” aluminum material. The new laptops are said to be made through a new build process also that is “similar to injection molding.”

Next, the report’s sources claim that the new MacBook Pros will pack a new battery technology that allows for 20% more battery life all around. They say the new 13 inch will have 12 hours of battery life, 15 inch will have 11 hours of battery life, and the 17 inch will also feature 11 hours of wireless productivity. As for the weight, the report claims the 13 inch will go from the current 4.5 pounds to 3.7 pounds (close to the 13 inch MacBook Air), the 15 inch will drop from 5.8 to 4.6, and the 17 inch will drop from 6.6 to 5.3 pounds.

Next, the report claims that the 13 inch model will have a built-to-order option to allow for a matte display, and a better display at 1440 x 900 resolution will also be an option. The report claims that the 13 inch model will keep the slot loading disc drive in its current location, but they claim the CD drive will be an option on the 15 inch model. Users could choose to use the space for SATA storage or an extra hard drive. They also claim the 15 inch will get a third USB port.

They claim the 17 inch will get a new expansion slot in addition to a new graphics card option. Now pricing.

Base pricing is said to be as follows: $1099 starting for the 13″ MacBook Pro, $1549 for the 15″ MacBook Pro, and $2099 for the 17″ MacBook Pro, with Apple clearly being quite aggressive here on those price points.

Just a note: We find these claims to be pretty extreme/out of the ordinary ($1549 for a Mac?) so we’d recommend not putting any confidence in the report just yet. However, MacTrast has 170K twitter followers…

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AppleBitch spotted a new page on Best Buy Mexico announcing a launch event on February 19th at 7PM for the rumored iWork ’11 productivity software suite from Apple. This is not an official announcement from Apple but does add some more credit to past evidence from the last couple months.

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Today, Apple announced that the App Store Subscriptions, originally found on The Daily, are now available for all developers. The subscription service is available for all content based apps such as magazines, newspapers, video, music, and basically anything else a developer could want their users to subscribe to.

Subscriptions purchased from within the App Store will be sold using the same App Store billing system that has been used to buy billions of apps and In-App Purchases. Publishers set the price and length of subscription (weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, bi-yearly or yearly). Then with one-click, customers pick the length of subscription and are automatically charged based on their chosen length of commitment (weekly, monthly, etc.). Customers can review and manage all of their subscriptions from their personal account page, including canceling the automatic renewal of a subscription. Apple processes all payments, keeping the same 30 percent share that it does today for other In-App Purchases.

The revenue system for developers is the same as normal in-app-purchases or app sales: 30% to Apple and 70% to the application’s developer. Perhaps the best news in today’s announcement is that Apple CEO Steve Jobs comments in the press release:

“Our philosophy is simple—when Apple brings a new subscriber to the app, Apple earns a 30 percent share; when the publisher brings an existing or new subscriber to the app, the publisher keeps 100 percent and Apple earns nothing,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “All we require is that, if a publisher is making a subscription offer outside of the app, the same (or better) offer be made inside the app, so that customers can easily subscribe with one-click right in the app. We believe that this innovative subscription service will provide publishers with a brand new opportunity to expand digital access to their content onto the iPad, iPod touch and iPhone, delighting both new and existing subscribers.”

Did Jobs comment while he was on his last medical leave? Apple does not say whether the subscription service is available for developers to implement today or if it is an iOS 4.3-only feature. The entire press release is after the break for those interested.

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Although the last few days have been packed with rumors pointing to a smaller iPhone with a smaller display, Digitimes is now reporting that Apple’s fifth-generation iPhone, due in June, will pack a 4-inch display to go toe-to-toe with Android device’s larger displays. This information is said to come directly from Apple’s production lines.

Earlier today another rumor claimed that Apple is working on three prototypes for their next generation iPhone with one of them including a physical, slide out keyboard and the other being mostly an internal upgrade with a speedier chip and an eight-megapixel camera.

Digitimes is also reporting that Apple is planning to launch an iPad 2 with an “enhanced A4” processor, with no explanation as to what that means and a fifth generation iPhone with the rumored A5 processor. No word on the differences between the two chips or if the iPhone 5 will feature a faster chip than the iPad 2. At this point it looks like Apple’s next major handset is starting to take shape.

We are probably looking at a fairly major internal upgrade with a faster chip, perhaps more storage (cloud based?), a dual GSM/CDMA antenna, and probably more RAM. As for externals, Apple’s iPhone 4 was a major redesign so perhaps the exterior design will simply see a new display: A 4-inch Retina display with Super PLS technology?

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5kv7xjoLBo&w=640&h=510]

Verizon today updated their popular FiOS DVR management application for the iPhone. Verizon’s new ad for it (above) tells it all. Grab it here from iTunes.

– Multiple DVR support is here! Control all of your DVRs through one application or use multiple devices to control your DVR(s)
– UI has been updated to aligned with the new Interactive Media Guide
– Update the individual settings of your parental controls
– What’s Hot on FiOS Added
– Ability to update your set-top box names
– Non-DVR users can access basic functions of the app
– Landscape orientation support has been added for the Guide view

http://s.wsj.net/media/swf/main.swf

According to the well-informed Wall Street Journal Apple is currently working on an iPhone that is half the size of the iPhone 4 and a major MobileMe overhaul for release this summer. The report is following up on Bloomberg’s report about a smaller iPhone but adds some new details such as the device’s “N97” codename and size.

The WSJ also claims the new, smaller iPhone will be available “at about half the price of Apple’s main line of iPhones.” The smaller iPhone is said to be sold alongside Apple’s main line of phones so maybe this summer’s lineup will be the iPhone 5 at $199/$299, iPhone 4 at $99 and iPhone nano at $49.

The report also claims Apple is “exploring a major overhaul of its MobileMe online storage service.” MobileMe is said to become a free “locker” for all of your personal media like photos and videos. This would allow Apple to provide less physical storage on their mobile devices and pull all your media from the cloud.

Perhaps this is Apple’s North Carolina data center’s true purpose in life. The report also claims MobileMe could tie into Apple’s rumored cloud-based music service. Steve Jobs said in a customer email that MobileMe would get a lot better this year.

On a final note, the report claims that both products are tracking summer 2011 launches (probably a WWDC launch) and Steve Jobs has made them his top priority. There will possibly more details about this story, so be sure to check back later today for updates.

Update: The WSJ has updated their report to include some new, specific information about the new, smaller iPhone. According to the report’s sources this new iPhone will be lighter and will have an “edge-to-edge” screen (no home button?!), and wait for it… have voice-based navigation. They also claim the new MobileMe revamp was due for release last year and will allow users to stream their iTunes libraries to their phones so they won’t need to actually sync through the iTunes desktop application. The report also says Apple is working on an update to their main iPhone (iPhone 4) and Steve Jobs declined to comment via email.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0BEQJuDrTc&w=660&h=401]

Apparently an Atlanta man purchased an “Apple iPad” from his local Walmart store only to discover the iPad to be a store prop. The fake looks just like an iPad with an outer shell identical to the real thing, but it’s hollow inside with a screenshot of the iPad home screen sitting under the fake glass display.  The kind you’d normally find at a Walmart.

The man has requested a refund from Walmart for the fake, but Walmart is refusing and is sort of blaming Apple about the issue. The local news speculates that somebody purchased an iPad, swapped it with the fake, and returned it. Walmart is blaming Apple since Apple apparently handles the exchanges for the popular reseller’s Apple product sales. The man claims he will be filing a lawsuit against Walmart if the situation does not get properly resolved.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80-GcsxiJ94&w=640&h=390]

While you might think the Verizon iPhone’s biggest problems are its inferior data speeds, no talking while using data, or minimal international usability, we have discovered an even bigger issue, and its a true killer for consumers and business users alike. That’s the lack of being able to have a conference call with more than three people (including yourself), being able to switch between phone calls or to be able to hang up on just one person in a conference call. 9to5mac reader Eric F. worked with us on the above video that demonstrates the flaw in Verizon’s iPhone 4.

As business users in particular can imagine, not being able to have a conference call with more than two other people can be detrimental for an important deal you are trying to make over the phone, and can even be an issue for families who are trying to connect over their iPhones together. Another issue is the Verizon iPhone’s inability of handling call swapping. This means you cannot take one of your conference callers on private, like on the AT&T iPhone, and when you touch end call both calls will automatically hang up. Thanks, Eric F. and Julie!

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iUvuaChDEg&w=670&h=480]

Wow?

Geohot (iPhone jailbreaker) can rap! In case you hadn’t heard, he moved his jailbreaking on to the Sony Playstation platform and Sony sued him.

Maybe they should just sign him instead.

Lyrics after the break.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W22JccSTDtk&w=560&h=349]

T-Mobile has released a new commercial bashing both AT&T and its iPhone 4 for not having 4G connectivity. We figure all T-Mobile can do at this point is run ridiculous ads and discount all their smartphones with Verizon and AT&T having the iPhone and Sprint having their magical new Echo phone with two screens.

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