Seth Weintraub

I’ve been using the $99 LandingZone 2.0 LITE 13″ Secure Docking Station for the past couple weeks to dock my MacBook Air when I use it at my desk. Until now, when I got to my desk, I would manually plug in MagSafe power, USB hub and sometimes audio jacks – which isn’t a huge pain, but it did add time time and clutter to my workflow.

LandingZone, which started as a Kickstarter project but is now in full production, has a complete solution in a white plastic/steel dock that allows you to secure your MacBook Air, and within seconds, have Ethernet, a 4 port USB hub, power and MiniDisplay Port outs ready for use.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Adobe MAX, the company’s ‘Creativity Conference’ kicks off this weekend and runs May 4-8, 2013 in Los Angeles, CA. Our Angelino in residence Mark Gurman will be on the scene to cover the notable new product announcements including an exciting new Photoshop product we’ve heard lots about and perhaps iPad versions of Lightroom.  Can’t make it to LA? Adobe is going to be streaming some of the sessions (probably Flash, sorry) as well as the Keynotes live on May 6th and 7th:

Expand
Expanding
Close

Since more than a few analysts, leakers, and reports think Apple is going to build a colorful set of plastic, low cost iPhones, we wondered what such an animal would look like. Since Apple already makes colorful iPod touches we started there. One report said that Apple would create at least three additional colors in addition to white and black. iLounge had more specifics saying it took some elements of iPhone, iPod touch and iPod classic? Since we didn’t know which colors to pick, we decided to do ten. Tactus claimed to have the plastic shell so we threw in a little of that as well. We then fed it to one of our favorite 3D modelers Ferry Passchier. He did an incredible job combining the reports into a realistic render with the color options above. He also provided us with a real life render below.

Credit: Ferry Passchier

With iPhones that look this colorfully delicious, I wonder if Apple is worried about cannibalizing its popular aluminum models? Some other previous renders and leaks follow:
Expand
Expanding
Close

JBL’s $99 Flip, $99 OnBeat Lightning Dock and $149 Charge

When we did our Best Bluetooth speaker mega-review (TL;DR: Overall Winner, Best Value, Best Sound, Best Portable/Sound, Apps/Updates, more) a few weeks ago, we neglected to test JBL’s very capable ($99 Flip) and $149 Charge; something our commenters immediately questioned. Not even a day after the review went up, JBL sent us a box full of their new speakers to test against our recommendations (sometimes this is a great job!). JBL also sent us the $100 OnBeat Micro Lightning Dock to compare against so it might also be worth asking the question: Should you get a Bluetooth speaker or a Lightning dock speaker?
Expand
Expanding
Close

Last May, after some residents voiced concern about Apple’s planned Spaceship Campus 2 project, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer sent out a brochure/mailer to local residents, hoping to alleviate concerns about the huge new office building and surrounding Campus 2.

Click to enlarge, via Macrumors

Apple last week updated its Campus 2 plans with the inclusion of walk and bike trails and other specifics on the land use. As Macrumors notes, Cupertino residents have begun receiving updated mailers with the new updated information and focused on the positive environmental impact the buildings will have.

At Apple, the environment is a top priority, and we’ve designed Apple Campus 2 with cutting-edge features to make it energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable. Several of these green technologies are highlighted in this update.

As at our existing campus on Infinite Loop, we are committed to 100% renewable energy to power Apple Campus 2. This will include onsite generation from photovoltaics and fuel cells. As part of this effort, approximately 8 megawatts of photovoltaics will be installed, creating one the largest installations of its kind on a corporate campus anywhere in the world.

Apple started in Cupertino, and we are excited to continue to grow here. As we build the new campus, we also plan to invest in new roadways and intersection improvements, add new sidewalks and better bike lanes, and plant new trees in newly created medians in the surrounding neighborhood.

Find Steve Jobs’ original Campus 2 submission to the Cupertino City Council video below:
Expand
Expanding
Close

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NoVW62mwSQQ

“Everyday more photos are taken on the iPhone than any other camera”

This is the best one I’ve seen in awhile and runs a full minute. Reminds me of “We Believe” and  “We’ll always”.

Also on Apple.com. 
Expand
Expanding
Close

via Business Insider

Unless the “April-ish” predictions by iMore’s Rene Ritchie come true for the iPad 5 launch event, Apple will have gone 230 days without a keynote when it holds WWDC on June 10-14th. 

To make it worse for Apple hardware-lovers, that event is billed as showing off the next version of iOS and OS X so we’re not guaranteed to see any new Apple gadgetry there. The wait is unusually long for Apple as Jay Yarrow demonstrates in his thoroughly researched timeline of Apple’s recent keynotes.

Apple CEO Tim Cook hinted during yesterday’s conference call that Apple wouldn’t have anything notable in terms of hardware until the Fall, though it is unclear exactly what he meant by that.

The 132 day wait between the 2010 MacBook Air and the iPad 2 was the longest hardware dry-spell before the one we are currently enduring.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Just off the wires, Apple is more than doubling its capital returns citing its inability to stop making more money than it can spend to “operate the business, invest in our future, and maintain flexibility to take advantage of strategic opportunities.”

As part of this program, Apple’s board has increased its share repurchase authorization to $60 billion from the $10 billion level announced last year. This is the largest single share repurchase authorization in history and is expected to be executed by the end of calendar 2015. Apple also expects to utilize about $1 billion annually to net-share-settle vesting restricted stock units.

More details in the press release that follows:
Expand
Expanding
Close

Tweetbot fans, a new update awaits you at the App Store. Today’s 2.8 update has some interesting new features and important bug fixes.

Topping the list is the “media timeline” – find it located next to the search box – which will show you all of the images and video in your timeline. Speaking of images, Tapbots totally redesigned the image viewer in this round. Rounding out this update is “Tweet/status detail view now displays the number of Favs and Retweets” which will be enjoyed by narcissists everywhere. Oh and what update wouldn’t be complete without  “Various other bug fixes including Fixed Instagram Previews”?

Get it on iTunes ($2.99)
Expand
Expanding
Close

Logitech makes some pretty amazing iPad keyboards and now they can pretty much say the cover the spectrum of what’s out there. Today the company announced new $149 Logitech FabricSkin Keyboards that look and act like the keyboard case that comes with the Microsoft Surface. Even better? These guys are waterproof so you can just wipe away the coffee that you just spit out.

“We’ve combined design cues from the world of high fashion with the unbeatable typing experience you expect from Logitech to bring a new level of self-expression to iPad protection,” said Mike Culver, vice president of brand development for tablet accessories at Logitech. “TheLogitech FabricSkin Keyboard Folio and Logitech Folio give you more than just a protective case for your iPad, they add a distinctive accent to your iPad that reflects your personal style.”

Logitech worked with world-class designers to identify chic fabrics and a bold color palette and combined them with a clean design. As a result, both the Logitech FabricSkin Keyboard Folio and Logitech Folio are offered in a range of colors from Electric Blue and Sunflower Yellow to Mars Red Orange, and in an array of on-trend fabrics from matte leather to finely woven cotton.

“By developing color and material options that evoke our senses and speak to our individuality, Logitech has made owning an iPad unique again,” said Beatrice Santiccioli, world-renowned color expert and designer. “I brought my knowledge in color and design to Logitech to help inspire the selection of materials and develop a color palette that builds a strong emotional connection to people’s lifestyles.”

Don’t want the keyboard but still want the case? Have an iPad mini? The Logitech Folio is keyboardless, fits both iPads, and costs $70.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KD5uWfq42YY

They are available for pre-order at Logitech and will start shipping next month.

Full-sized image gallery, another video and press release follows:
Expand
Expanding
Close

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFWG51nGmGA]

Businessweek covers a talk given by Apple (and former Google) board member Bill Campbell who “held court” on Friday at the Mountain View headquarters of Intuit, where he serves as chairman. Notably, he discussed former Apple execs Tony Fadell who now runs Nest and Ron Johnson who just got fired from JCPenney. Of Nest, he pre-announced new products, saying

“You would think that people would yawn at something as boring as a thermostat,” Campbell said. “So, I’ve been surprised at how it has done and is doing. It will be the first of many products that come out of that company, which has a brilliant CEO and engineering team.”

Of Ron Johnson‘s exit at JCP, he said, “You have to keep your current business going while you experiment with a new one. He didn’t do that. He just put a bullet hole in his current business.”

GOOD ADVICE.

But perhaps most interesting for those yearning for an iWatch, Campbell told the business software company
Expand
Expanding
Close

We’ve heard no end of rumors of a streaming Radio player from Apple.  We even found pay radio buttons in the iPad’s music player app code earlier this year:

The Apple radio service, once rumored for late 2012 to Q1/2013, has now been pushed back to mid-late 2013 because of difficulty signing the labels. Today the Verge says that Warner is all but signed up at rates comparable to what Pandora pays the labels  – which is to say a lot. Earlier reports put Apple’s asking price much lower.

Apple is expected to sign its first interner radio licensing agreement with a major record label perhaps as soon as next week, multiple sources with knowledge of the talks have told The Verge…Apple initially offered to pay 6 cents per 100 songs streamed, or about half of what Pandora pays. Now, Apple will pay rates nearly “neck and neck” with Pandora, one of the sources said.

Update: CNET reports that Universal is also close to signing and that Apple is hoping to go into a dozen territories by summer:

The press has dubbed the service iRadio, in negotiations with the labels Apple is referring to it as its “new streaming service,” says a source…Apple is building some unique features, such as the ability to jump back to the beginning of a song…Apple is hoping to quickly unveil the service in up to a dozen territories, according to sources, including the U.K, France, Germany, Australia, and Japan.

We’re hoping that Apple has an announcement to make at WWDC, if not earlier.

We’ve had pretty strong inclinations since January that the next generation of iPad would take design queues from the iPad mini. Today Nowhereelse.fr publishes two images of what could be the bezel of the new full-sized iPad 5. Note that the side edges are narrower than current models which could facilitate a smaller device with the same screensize.

Apple has improved iOS so that accidental screen actions on the sides of iPads don’t register as actions/gestures which facilitate these narrower bezels.

It is also very possible that these could be from an iPad clone, especially since our original leak is now four months old.

Another image below:
Expand
Expanding
Close

We’re all discussing this here and wondered what the wider Apple community thinks.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Former Apple Retail Chief Ron Johnson is out at JCPenney after his radical retail redesign failed to ignite sales in the same manner in which Apple Stores had grown accustomed. Ron Johnson left Apple in 2011 for the JCP job after a decade at Apple.  He helped design the original Apple Store concept after being lured away from Target by Apple CEO Steve Jobs. He pioneered concepts like the Genius Bar which was unheard of at the time but still a growing trend in the industry.

We know more than a few folks who would like to see him back at Apple which meanwhile has found him difficult to replace. One such attempt was the hiring and subsequent firing of John Browett, a former Dixon’s UK CEO.

Johnson continued to live in the Bay area during his stint at JCP commuting to Plano Texas via Jet so…

BREAKING: Ron Johnson out as J.C. Penney CEO – source • $JCP QUOTE: http://t.co/aP20vqeZqF

— CNBC (@CNBC) April 8, 2013

JC Penny CEO inventory apparently out of stock.

— M.G. Siegler (@mgsiegler) April 8, 2013

I'd rather see a guy fail like Ron Johnson did any day compared with all the corporate drones who just play it safe all day long.

— Adam Lashinsky (@adamlashinsky) April 8, 2013

J. C. Penney appoints Myron E. (Mike) Ullman, III as CEO succeeding Ron Johnson #breaking

— Reuters Business (@ReutersBiz) April 8, 2013

We’ve reached out to JCP and Apple for comment and will update as appropriate. Press release follows:

Expand
Expanding
Close

Updated for 2015! The Best Bluetooth Speakers review has now moved here! 

TL;DR: Overall winner (updated), Best Value, Best sound, Best Portable/Sound, Charger too, Apps/Updates, more

Spring is finally here and it is time to bring our music and speakerphones outside. There’s no better way to enjoy sound outside than with a portable bluetooth speaker. But as Jordan noted to me during our CES coverage, there must be 100,000 Bluetooth speakers to choose from including a growing horde of no name brands OEM’ed from fly-by-night Chinese companies.

We’re here to help you pick the right speaker with the right features on the right budget. (Update: We’ve since reviewed the JBL Charge and Bose Soundlink Mini, both of which merit attention.)
Expand
Expanding
Close

Some rumblings from Daring Fireball’s John Gruber on a Branch thread this evening point to possible delays in iOS 7 and perhaps subsequently OS 10.9.

What I’ve heard: iOS 7 is running behind, and engineers have been pulled from OS X 10.9 to work on it.

As he points out, Apple had this problem/solution before. In 2007, Apple had to devote some Mac resources toward getting the iPhone out the door. The press statement at the time read:

“iPhone contains the most sophisticated software ever shipped on a mobile device, and finishing it on time has not come without a price we had to borrow some key software engineering and QA resources from our Mac OS X team. As a result, we will not be able to release Leopard at our Worldwide Developers Conference in early June as planned. While Leopard’s features will be complete by then, we cannot deliver the quality release that we and our customers expect from us.

However, the Wall Street Journal says:

Apple is also expected to ship the next version of its iOS mobile operating system around midyear, other people familiar with the matter have said.

MG Siegler adds:
Expand
Expanding
Close