Seth Weintraub

Earlier today, Apple’s retail store reservation system pointed to a wide range of unavailability for the Mac Pro. After looking back through the system many stores point to the iMac being unavailable as well. We scanned through multiple stores in multiple states and many of them indicate that the iMac 27 inch Core i5 model is unavailable and a few stores also pointed to the lack of the higher-end iMac 21.5 inch models. 

While the retail store reservation system points to this “unavailable” state, the online store still ships all iMac models within 24 hours. Just yesterday we reported that the iMac was due for a refresh very soon. We imagine this upgrade won’t consist of a design change as the iMac line was recently overhauled with larger HD displays and quad-core processors in October 2009. 

The iMac line will most likely receive speed-bumps and the wider availability of quad-core processors throughout the line. There have also been rumors of USB 3.0 coming to the Mac and of course there’s the everlasting rumor of blu-ray, which probably won’t happen as it’s a “bag of hurt”.

According to Macrumors, Mac Pros are in short supply at many Apple stores around the country.  27-inch iMacs With Core i5-i7 processors are showing out of stock as well.

You know what that means, right? It means that Mac Pros are looooong overdue for an upgrade.  Will we see things like LightPeek/BluRay(no)/USB 3/HDMI-out/etc in Apple’s next Mac Pro update?

Is Apple sending a message that, after two years, it may be time to upgrade your iPhone?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pdk2cJpSXLg&w=640&h=385]

Via TUAW

http://i.cdn.turner.com/money/.element/apps/cvp/4.0/swf/cnn_money_384x216_embed.swf?context=embed&videoId=/video/technology/2010/07/16/n_iphone_fix_jobs_bumper.cnnmoney

A telling stat from Yankee Group via CNN:

The iPhone is also the gift that keeps on giving: 77% of iPhone owners say they’ll buy another iPhone, compared to 20% of Android customers who say they’ll buy another Android phone.

What more needs to be said?

Apple’s iPhone 4 processor manufacturer, Samsung in the UK is offering free Galaxy S handsets to unhappy iPhone 4 owners in a Twitter campaign.

This is a funny kind of competition. Samsung makes a pile of cash — at least an estimated $2 billion — from making components for the iPhone. (chip, flash, memory). The money really isn’t peanuts: Samsung makes $50 on a 16GB iPhone, and $75 on a 32GB iPhone.

Samsung also has its own eerily similar Galaxy S Series smartphone (soon to be joined by a — gasp — tablet) to sell. Samsung’s UK Twitter team today began offering free Samsung Galaxy S series phones to iPhone 4 owners unhappy that they might have to get a free case.

One recipient of the free largesse told Wired,

Apple today released the iPhone 4 free case program as an app downloadable here.   Seems pretty simple and a good way to prove you actually have an iPhone 4.  However, we just got a tip from a reader named Adam:

I just wanted to throw in this little tip to say that I purchased an iPhone 4 July 23rd 2010 and I got an email yesterday saying we will automatically give you your money back by Apple, but then I downloaded the app today and it let me get another free case.

Shame on you Adam and everyone else who tries this.  The options below:

Apple iPhone 4 Bumper – Black

Incase Snap Case for iPhone 4 – Smoke

Incase Snap Case for iPhone 4 – Clear

Belkin Shield Micra for iPhone 4 – Clear

Griffin Motif iPhone 4 – Diamonds/Smoke

Griffin Reveal Etch iPhone 4 – Black/Black Graphite

Speck Fitted Case iPhone 4 – Black Tartan

Speck PixelSkin HD iPhone 4 – Black

All cases currently show a 3-5 week ship time.

(thanks commenter!)

http://www.collegehumor.com/moogaloop/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1938961&fullscreen=1

MacRumors forum members are starting to get refunds on their bumpers, as per Steve Jobs’ announcement on Friday.  What are you guys going to do with your $30?  

AppleInsider is today reporting that Apple has ceased production of its current iMacs in anticipation of a new model roll out in the coming weeks/months.

a person familiar with the matter says the Mac maker is informing some of its distributors not to expect any further stock of the entry level 21.5-inch, 3.06GHz iMac, implying that production of that model has ceased. 

You’ll recall their March report which had 27-inch iMac-screen sized Cinema displays and Mac Pros by June ’10 and of course Apple’s transition to AMD chips.

The idea is pretty simple.  Change each headphone to mono so that both listeners get the full music.  But man, those are some freaky patent drawing, no?

Some notes (and images!) from today’s AT&T earnings call, especially as they relate to Apple.  Remember how AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson didn’t think there would be much in the way of iPad 3G usage on his network? “They’ll use Wifi!” he said confidentially…A month later AT&T stopped its unlimited data plans.

From Business Insider:

• it activated 400,000 to 500,000 3G iPads during Q2 (Which is in two months since the 3G didn’t ship until April 30th).
• It’s “surprising” how many business customers are approaching AT&T about the iPad. Whereas business customers were famously skeptical and reluctant about the iPhone at first — and have since warmed up to it — they are apparently very eager about the iPad. AT&T said a lot of companies have iPad trials going on, and many see opportunities to use the iPad in their business as a laptop replacement. Look out, Microsoft
• iPad users are using more data per month than the typical iPhone customer, but less than the typical laptop-card customer, which makes sense.
• 75% to 80% of the iPad 3G subscribers are at the more expensive ($25/month) AT&T 3G data plan. Overall monthly bills in the $25-$30 range, including early customers who signed up for the $30/month unlimited plan before it was discontinued.

Gizmodo notes that AT&T has improved call quality in New York and upgrades in San Francisco are on the way.  AT&T has the PowerPoint to prove it.

http://abcnews.go.com/assets/player/walt2.6/flash/SFP_Walt.swf

Get the app.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4sXj4C2B04&w=640&h=385]

Today the planets aligned for a pretty amazing set of Unibody MacBook Pro updates.  If you want to literally max out your MacBook Pro, both RAM and hard drive have sunk to great prices in the 9to5mac Toys section.  Oh, this works in Mac Minis too but removing the HDD might not be your best move.

• On the hard drive, Dell has the $99 1TB Toshiba Canvio which has a 12.5mm high internal hard drive that can be pulled (According to this thread) and placed into most newer Unibody MacBooks and MacBook Pros (check your specs).  It isn’t a speed demon @5400RPM, but it will likely double or triple the amount of disk space you have.  Bonus: You get a USB enclosure for your current Hard Drive and for transferring your data.
• Updated: A Commenter found 4GB DIMMs at a lower price – 2x$99.  I can’t speak for the RAM manufacturer, but OWC ($28 more total) has been extremely reliable in our dealings with them in the past.  Here’s Apple’s RAM installation instructions.

These upgrades are pretty trivial and even a novice can do them.  There are lots of tutorials out on the net.  But as always, no guarantees – if you don’t trust yourself, take it to someone who you do trust!  Here are a bunch of YouTube videos on upgrading.

If you use Safari, disable your autofill imediately.  Apple enables this by default.  We’ll wait.

(Uncheck all)

Websites can now steal your Safari browser autofill information including Name, Address, Email, Credit Card etc. without a mention using a very simple exploit detailled by Jeremiah Grossman.

These fields are AutoFill

http://www.viddler.com/simple_on_site/957b8774

Engadget has the story. New tagline: “Be What’s Next”.  On logos it looks like Mighty Morphin’ Clippy is baaaack!!

http://www.guba.com/static/f/player__v13938.swf?isEmbeddedPlayer=true&bid=3000082550

Don’t expect to see this app squeezed in between loving FaceTime chats between, oh, parents and their children at the front lines in any future iPhone advertising, but US defense firm, Raytheon, has its own missile system-focused iPhone app.

No, this app (as yet) doesn’t mean the future of missile command means sitting sipping latte while wearing casual camouflage shorts and sending the ‘Kill Everybody Now” command via your iPhone, but it can’t be too long until even death and destruction get completely virtual (unless you happen to be one of the deathed in any of these interchanges).

Listen up, virtual soldier: Patriot Crew Drill is a multiple-choice game, designed as a refresher tool for missile troops. The idea is to keep Patriot troops on other duties in the loop with how the system works.

The app runs a soldier through the different steps they must go through to assemble and set up the Patriot anti-missile system.

Expect other military iPhone apps from Raytheon in future, the BBC reports.

This isn’t the first military app, that dubious honor belongs to BulletFlight, a snipers app that can help shootists figure out a bullets trajectory using a number of variables. Unlike Raytheon’s, the sniper’s app is available via the iTunes Store.

Apple’s US carrier partner, AT&T, sure has one big smile on its face — it has recorded the highest number of iPhone activations ever and is stealing swathes of cellphone market share from its competitors.

The company’s financial results announced today confirm it activated 3.2 million iPhones in its just gone quarter. (It also made $30.8 billion in revenue in the period).  That comes with much help from the iPhone, which the carrier again stated it was activating new units at a clip of 10 times the iPhone 3GS the previous year.

“On June 24, AT&T began offering iPhone 4, the most powerful iPhone yet. Preorder sales of iPhone 4 were 10 times higher than the first day of preordering for iPhone 3GS a year earlier. For the full second quarter, AT&T iPhone activations totaled 3.2 million, the most quarterly iPhone activations ever. Approximately 27 percent of those activations were for customers who were new to AT&T,” the company said.

The company also delivered substantial year-over-year wireless margin expansion, it said.

The number of 3G postpaid integrated devices on AT&T’s wireless network increased by 2.9 million to 29.7 million, an increase of 98.2 percent year over year and 10.8 percent sequentially.

More here.

Microsoft has a new plan to stop its thousands of iPhone-wielding employees using their Apple smartphone — it intends giving all 90,000 MSFT staff a free Windows 7 phone (hear the wo0ts).

So there’ll be no excuse not to drink at Microsoft’s water fountain any more.

The good news here is that this means whichever firms throng to license the Windows 7 phone OS are guaranteed a slice of 90,000 sales, but you only really need to ponder the success (or lack of it) of the Microsoft Zune to see what a mind share war Ballmer’s boys are battling.

May even mean Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, can be a little less passionate on his feelings about the iPhone.

Your thoughts?

As you probably know, iAds are going live in North America today and you should start to see iAds appearing in some apps. Yesterday, Apple announced on their developer website that iAds will begin to make their way internationally in the coming months.

Be sure to drop us a line via the comments or tips@9to5mac.com with any interesting iAds you come across, okay?

(Can you tell which one has a yellow tint?)

We

NSFW and funny as always.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAOtC9QfXac&w=700&h=400]