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.
While the Xserve will be officially discontinued next week, Apple has updated the Xserve buy page to reflect an April shipping date. This could very well mean that the product’s final orders will only ship in April of this year, or could simply be an automated date based on the amount of units Apple has in stock. Apple is looking to replace the Xserve for business customers with their already existing Mac mini server product and the new Mac Pro server. Heh.
Recent rumors claim that Apple’s upcoming Mac OS X Lion Server will be the last Mac server operating system, and also claim the current versions of Final Cut Server and Xsan to be Apple’s last. Oh, and about that XServer replacement… here is what’s next…
We’ve heard that Apple has already begun recommending a product sold by ActiveStorage that will eventually replace Apple hardware XServes. It should be ready next week.
MacRumorsreceived word that Verizon iPhone 4 pre-orders will begin at 3 AM Eastern time on February 3rd. The report also notes that pre-order inventory will be limited, so those who don’t get an order in then will have to wait until the public launch on February 10th.
– Make sure you have your My Verizon self-serve account set-up online. Orders can only be placed through your my Verizon account. You can register/setup your account at… myaccount.verizonwireless.com
– On February 3rd at 3am EST, Verizon Wireless will allow our current customers to order upgrades or new lines to their accounts through your My Verizon online account (make sure you have registered before the 3rd).
Verizon will also offer trade-ins, at least to corporate customers, of their AT&T GSM iPhone. The trade-in offer applies to every generation of the iPhone, but only certain storage capacities, and the trade-in prices range from $60 to $360.
According toDigitimes, “the chance is high” for Apple to adopt a dual core processor for the next iteration of the iPhone. The note comes in a report detailing new dual-core processors being developed across the mobile device industry. With new graphic intense applications and games, along with higher-resolution displays, dual-core processors are almost becoming essential for high end smartphones. As for tablets, most Honeycomb Androids will be sporting Tegra 2 dual cores.
Apple is likely to launch an updated A4 system-on-a-chip (dubbed A5?) when they launch the iPad 2, and if history repeats itself, this A5 CPU will carry on to the iPhone 5 and later the fifth-generation iPod touch. Apple has been rumored to enhance their custom-made mobile device CPUs for a while now, with recent reports coming from China, and Engadget.
Apple has traditionally used Samsung processors in every one of its iOS devices. The A4 is manufactured by Samsung and bears a resemblance to the Hummingbird CPUs found in Galaxy S phones. In that vain, Samsung is expected to release its Orion Dual Core processor at MWC in Barcelona in February which means the A5 could be right behind it.
The iPhone 5 on the other hand has been referred to as a “complete redesign” by Engadget sources. Besides the faster CPUs, there has not been too much chatter about iPhone 5 specifics. There have also been reports pointing to an updated Apple TV with the described A5 dual-core CPU.
Wow. Of all the jailbreak-only tweaks we’ve seen, this is definitely one of the coolest. A hacker has figured out a way to provide you with a 3D-like representation of your iOS homescreen app icons. The best part is that the tweak is doesn’t require 3D glasses. It’s called 3DBoard and it will soon be available for your jailbroken iOS 4 device via Cydia. (via Gizmodo and Mac Stories)
Update: Now available in the Big Boss repo in Cydia — $2.99.
According to some analysis over at Three Guys and a Podcast, Apple typically pushes out a refreshed iMac every 8 months and a major update every 27 months. The last major update was in October 2009 and the last refresh was in July 2010. The report notes March as the likely month for a minor refresh to the iMac line. We’ll probably be seeing some new MacBook Air-like SSD drives, new storage options, and of course new processors. Cheaper iMacs with a new screen size too, if we’re lucky.
Apple has taken down the online store and now they are updating their official site to reflect an updated design. The navigation bar when black, and the search bar is more feature filled. The new iPod + iTunes page is already live… we’ll keep updating as Apple does. You will notice that Apple has thrown in some very cool animations in their site update.
Oh, and check out what happens when you click onto the Search bar.
The sources say that both the 16 GB and 32 GB models will hit the store tomorrow with part numbers MC604X/A (16GB) and MC606X/A (32GB). With only two part numbers given, we may assume that we’ll only be seeing an GSM variant of the unicorn-flavored phone. Again, this is completely unconfirmed…
But if the launch doesn’t happen tonight/tomorrow it will surely happen soon.
Apple has released a new television commercial for the iPad showcasing several innovative applications for the device. The ad shows off a DJ turn table application, the new color books feature in Apple’s iBooks application, iWork Pages for iPad, The Wall Street Journal and a few more apps. The commercial also shows a person’s flight ticket being scanned through the iPad’s display which sort of got us thinking about the NFC reports from last night.
Patently Apple reports that Apple has patented a new glove that works with capacitive touch screens. Several devices on the market use capacitive screens such as all of Apple’s mobile iOS devices: iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This highly advanced touch screen technology senses your inputs based on proximity sensors in the display, in addition to the human body’s natural conductivity.
Because of these factors, devices like the iPhone cannot be used if the user is wearing something like a glove. Because of this, Apple is researching ways to build gloves that work around the issue. We can’t wait to see these stylishly overpriced Magic Gloves hit Apple Stores. For the full technical rundown of the patent view Patently Apple‘s report.
We still do not know an exact date, but Verizon informed Phone Scoopthat their LG 4G LTE internet modems would gain Mac support sometime next month. The report does not detail the method in which these modems will gain Mac support, but it’s a relativly safe bet that the support will come via a software upgrade to the shiny dongles.
Macotakara reports that Apple has teamed up with a Japanese-based company to develop a brand new paint for the white iPhone 4. This paint is dubbed as a “miracle painting material” and is meant to fix the white iPhone 4’s light leakage issues. The new paint apparently allows Apple to easily control the paint’s thickness prior to application on the iPhone 4.
It appears that this new paint is truly a “miracle” as it looks like the white iPhone 4 will be launching soon. The device has already appeared in both AT&T‘s and Best Buy‘s databases.
Bloomberg reports that Apple’s next generation iPhone and iPad will include NFC functionality. NFC stands for near-field-communication and this technology would allow users to utilize their iPhone 5 or iPad 2 as debit cards to make payments. The technology works at a distance to up to four inches, and is controlled within the phone and with an external NFC tag on each respective item or payment center.
The report’s sources for this information are “engineers who are working on hardware for the Apple project.” Apple will supposedly introduce the new NFC-capable devices alongside a new mobile payments service. Whenever a user processes a transaction through Apple’s iTunes, credit card fees are payed by Apple, but with new NFC functionality at their side, Apple is looking to create a new service that will be more economical for them as a company.
The main goal for Apple would be to get a piece of the $6.2 trillion Americans spend each year on goods and services, Crone said. Today, the company pays credit-card processing fees on every purchase from iTunes. By encouraging consumers to use cheaper methods — such as tapping their bank accounts directly, which is how many purchases are made via PayPal — Apple could cut its own costs and those of retailers selling Apple products.
This new service would call for an iTunes “revamp” so the service would not only store the usual credit/debit card information but “loyalty credits and points” too. These new points and credits would essentially be bonuses users receive for referring their friends to certain places and to make certain purchases. We strongly feel that Apple could successfully enter this emerging NFC market and take the technology to new heights.
Adobe has updated their Photoshop Express application for iOS to include support for the iPhone 4 and iPod touch 4 Retina Display in addition to support for iOS 4 quick-app-switching (multitasking). The new multitasking feature will work hand-in-hand with the new background uploading feature. This will let you upload your photos via the sharing option without actually having to stay in the application.
The update also promises a quicker experience with “faster photo captures” and “editing workflows.” The new Retina Display support will come in handy for iPhone 4 and iPod touch 4 users looking to have a crisper window for their photo-based creations. Also, the new update requires iOS 4.2 and is a universal binary for all iOS mobile devices.
Apple setup Twitter accounts for iTunes some time ago, and today Apple finally got around to launching an official Twitter for the App Store. Apple promises to promote new apps, and exclusive App offers. We wonder what these exclusive app offers mean. Could Apple begin working with developers to promote discounts? Maybe Apple will start distributing promo codes via giveaways on their Twitter account?
Apple has already brought the App Store into the modern social networking world with their App Store Facebook fan page. Hopefully Apple takes full advantage of their new account and uses it to promote great apps that don’t normally get much attention. Maybe they will even tweet out some of the new apps that get approved.
Apple has been moving to new social networking mediums as of late with their aforementioned iTunes Twitter accounts and their already-popular YouTube channel, which showcases their software guided tours, recorded Apple events, and product videos by the Apple executive team.
Apple has just announced that the 10 billionth App Store download was for Paper Glider. The app was downloaded by Gail Davis of Orpington, Kent, UK. Gail will receive the $10,000 iTunes gift card. Paper Glider is a free game that lets you throw virtual paper planes.
“With more than 10 billion apps downloaded in just two and a half years—a staggering seven billion apps in the last year alone—the App Store has surpassed our wildest dreams,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “The App Store has revolutionized how software is created, distributed, discovered and sold. While others try to copy the App Store, it continues to offer developers and customers the most innovative experience on the planet.”
While both AT&T and Verizon sell the iPhone 4 for $199 or $299 depending on storage capacity, both cellular providers sell them for different off-contract prices. This important difference can be seen on the bottom of Apple’s iPhone purchase page and on Verizon’s frequently asked questions about the iPhone 4 page. AT&T allows customers to purchase the 16 GB iPhone 4 for $599 sans the contract and charges $699 for the contract-free 32 GB model. On the other hand, Verizon charges $649 and $749 for the two models, respectively.
We are not entirely sure why the $50 price difference exists but it may have to do with a pricier CDMA chip or because the Verizon version is a brand-new product. In the long run, this should not affect too many customers as most people will be looking to purchase the phone with a contract, and those prices are the same no matter the carrier. Let us know in the comments if this will impact you.
On their official Twitter profile, Microsoft announced their fourth store will be located at the South Coast Plaza mall in Southern California. Just like Microsoft’s other stores, this one will be a few steps away from an Apple Store and Microsoft will try to steal the spotlight with their ‘Answer Bar,’ big screens, glass front, wooden tables, and employees that wear different colored shirts, depending on their store job position.
Microsoft’s second store, the one in Mission Viejo, California, is a few stores down from an Apple Store, and their third store, located at the Mall of America in Minnesota, is literally across the hall. As our own Jonny Evans calls it, this is the continuation of the “Microsoft retail attack on Apple.” Microsoft has attempted to steal the spotlight at their store openings by giving away free Miley Cyrus tickets, and a wonderful introduction from CEO Steve Ballmer.
The store’s launch date is yet to be revealed but check out a picture of the closed off location (via Twitter) after the break. Oh, and who came up with the whole random Johnny Rockets dance routine, that randomly happens during the middle of the day?
Oh, hello. We’ve done some digging in the latest SDK and it looks like Apple’s much rumored second-generation iPad will not feature some fancy 5 megapixel camera, but will instead shoot your flicks and take your pics with something close to a 1 megapixels. That’s awfully close to the fourth-generation iPod touch’s 0.7 megapixel back camera so we speculate they could be the same thing. That means you’ll be able to take some unwieldy 720P video with your iPad (whether you’ll be able to view that 720P video natively is another question).
As for the front, it’s VGA, just like the iPhone 4 and fourth-generation iPod touch. The front-facer for FaceTime and taking pictures of yourself will do video recording too, if you had any doubts. As for how we are making the connection? Sources have told us that ‘K94’ is the iPad 2’s codename and interestingly enough, there’s a K95 in the same file section too. Is this the 3G version of iPad 2, or a dual-band? Back to the camera… why so few megapixels? We speculate the amount is due to some serious tapering on the iPad 2’s edges, as shown on the physical iPad 2 mockups found at CES.
What about software? We have already unearthed a couple icons pointing to cameras in Apple’s next iPad, and these icons also happen to hint at the lack of a screen resolution in change in the iPad 2. We also posted screenshots of the iPad 2’s purported camera app, or an internal app, which Apple is using to test the iPad 2’s still and video camera hardware. Will you be happy with a 1 megapixel, 720P video camera on the iPad 2?
Discuss! Update: We’ve added proof, after the break, that K95/K94 are in fact 2nd gen iPads. Hint: the references to Photo Booth, Camera, and FaceTime on the home screen.
This morning the Apple iPad 3G was approved for sale in China by the Chinese government and now an Apple spokesperson has confirmed that Apple will be releasing a 3G version of their tablet into the Chinese market. Although it is confirmed that the iPad 3G is coming soon to china, the spokesperson, Caroline Wu, declined to comment on a release date or timeframe. Apple currently only sells the WiFi (WLAN as marketed in China) model in China due to government restrictions and now, with the new approval, China Unicom will be able to start selling these things legally.
We told you that Apple would be releasing a modified iPhone 4 Bumper case and today 9to5mac reader Alerio found one at his local Apple store and uploaded a video for us (above). As you will notice the vibrate switch is a bit narrower and longer to fit the Verizon iPhone 4’s modified button layout. The updated Bumper ships in new packaging with a white backing (shown in the video) versus a grey backing on the white Bumper or a backing that matches the respective Bumper’s case color.
Apple is kind of giving it to the other case manufacturers who didn’t know about the Verizon iPhone button change until the announcement. Serves them right for releasing all the new product info early?
Although Apple was rumored to launch the iPad in February or March, a new report from Digitimes claims Apple’s next-gen tablet will hit the mass shipment stage in April of this year. In addition, Apple has upped their amount of PCB suppliers from three to seven adding Compeq Manufacturing, Gold Circuit Electronics (GCE), Meiko and Nan Ya PCB to the mix.
