It turns out that his hobby 9to5Mac blog was always his favorite and in 2011 he went full time adding his Fortune Google followers to 9to5Google and adding the style and commerce component 9to5Toys gear and deals site. In 2013, Weintraub bought one of the Tesla’s first Model S EVs off the assembly line and so began his love affair with the Electric Vehicle and green energy which in 2014 turned into electrek.
In 2018, DroneDJ was born to cover the burgeoning world of drones and UAV’s led by China’s DJI.
From 1997-2007, Weintraub was a Global IT director and Web Developer for a number of companies with stints at multimedia and branding agencies in Paris, Los Angeles, New York, Sydney, Hong Kong, Madrid and London before becoming a publisher/blogger.
Seth received a bachelors degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the University of Southern California with a minor in Multimedia and Creative Technology in 1997. In 2004, he received a Masters from NYU’s Tisch School of the Art’s ITP program.
Hobbies: Weintraub is a licensed single engine private pilot, certified open water scuba diver and spent over a year traveling to 60 cities in 23 countries. Whatever free time exists is now guaranteed to his lovely wife and two amazing sons.
Our friends over at iFixYouri have offered to do some repairs on 9to5mac readers’ iOS devices for free.
9to5mac and iPhone repair company iFixYouri.com are offering to get your broken iPhone, iPod, or iPad repaired for FREE! In order to enter the contest, retweet this post on Twitter with hashtag #HelpiFixYouri and a picture of your broken iDevice for a chance to win. If the story about your broken device requires more than what a tweet can share, send an email off to support@iFixYouri.com or like and share it on their Facebook page.
A winning contestant will be randomly selected each week, for the next month. You are only allowed to enter once and a winner can only win one time. If it is determined that your device is irreparable (and doesn’t start in Blend-Tec condition), iFixYouri and 9to5mac will replace the device with a good working equivalent! (also no iPod shuffles or nanos are eligible)
Last month, we documented code within iOS 5 which contained references to some new panoramic camera functionality for iOS devices.
The latest build of iOS shows that Apple continues to do work on this functionality. They’ve added a few more strings which weren’t in the earlier Beta:
Here’s what happens when you jailbreak and enable panoramic
Update above: that’s the screenshot from Apple’s internal product number system. Note the July 14th launch date for the MacBook Airs (same thing for the Minis). If anyone is wondering, the deleted part is the prices of the new Airs. We’re keeping that private for now.
I’ll make this quick because I’m at the hospital waiting for the ‘launch’ of my son. (:D Screw the hardware/software, right?!)
We’ve been almost certain that today was the launch of Lion and a new round of Macs based on them for a number of weeks now. At this point, it doesn’t appear to be happening today.
We have, as we have had in the past, part numbers for all of Apple’s upcoming MacBook Airs, White MacBooks and Minis. Not only do we have the part numbers but we have the prices. And not only do we have the prices but attached to some of them, Apple has included the July 14th launch date. We have these numbers from two separate sources in two different countries so we’re certain that no one (besides Apple?) is pulling one over on us.
One of those sources, Mr. X, has been extremely accurate in the past.
Naturally, we thought that Lion would be coming with all of these new computers so a 14th launch date made some sense.
Whether these dates were a purposeful decoy on Apple’s part, the product ship date slipped for whatever reason or something else entirely, that’s what we have. Obviously, all of these things are coming soon.
Speaking of that, I’ve got to get back to delivering this kid. Expand Expanding Close
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szaXvTsoeVs] Stage 3D Molehill demo
For all of you Adobe Flash and Air fans out there, Adobe has released the next major version of the authoring tool out onto the Internet. New features of Flash include, Stage3D APIs, 64-bit support, G.711 audio compression for telephony, H.264/AVC SW Encoding, Socket Progress Events and HD surround sound.
Developers wishing to sell apps to business in volume for discounted rates now will be able to according to an email just sent to developers. Apple upgraded its Paid Applications Agreement today which allows for a new type of pricing.
For instance, a hospital could buy a medical app for its 2000 employees in one big swoop rather than hitting the buy button 2000 times. Expand Expanding Close
We just got word that Spotify will launch tomorrow in the US (as reported last week). Perhaps something nice to put on your new Mac?
New York, July 13, 2011 – Spotfy, the award-winning digital music service loved by millions of Europeans, will become available tomorrow morning in the United States by invitation and subscription. Spotify is a new way to listen to and manage your music, discover new tracks and share songs and playlists with friends – music whenever you want it, wherever you are.
Be one of the first people in the U.S. to experience Spotify by signing up at www.spotify.com.
Spotify will announce more details at 8:00 AM EST.
We’ve been getting word from some international Apple retailers that not only are MacBook Airs, Minis and White MacBooks getting updated soon, but those Macs are also going to see modest-significant price drops in some countries we’ve polled. While we can’t get into the specifics of where and how much, we can tell you some models are being reduced more than the equivalent of $100.
Also, Apple has been streamlining operations across the globe over the past few years and has been able to bring its prices more in line with US prices.
While these price drops are great news for our friends overseas, it doesn’t necessarily correlate to price drops in the US.
While Tim stopped short of explicitly stating that Apple would pursue a lower price iPhone, he did state that Apple was working hard to “figure out” the prepaid market and that Apple didn’t want its products to be “just for the rich,” but “for everyone”; he also stated that Apple “understood price is big factor in the prepaid market” and that the company was “not ceding any market.” ….He further noted that the handset distribution model was poorly constructed and that Apple would look to “innovate” and do “clever” things in addressing that market.
That was the WSJ tapping the line (har) of Bernstein Research’s Toni Sacconaghi in February.
Today, Virgin announced that it was hiking its data plans to $35/month for unlimited data which coincides with the launch of a big Android phone. But more interesting, to me anyway, was that Virgin is changing its ‘unlimited’ to ‘unlimited with throttling at 2.5GB’ in…October.
Beginning in October 2011, Virgin Mobile will also move to reduce data speeds when a customer’s data usage exceeds 2.5GB in a month but still provide unlimited 3G access without a contract, usage cap, overage or activation fees. Based on current usage patterns, fewer than 3 percent of Virgin Mobile USA customers use more than 2.5GB of data usage per month. After reaching this level, this minority of customers may experience slower page loads, file downloads and streaming media. When a customer’s next month begins, the data usage meter starts back at zero with unlimited 3G speeds.
If Apple was going to do a pre-paid carrier in the US, it would certainly be Virgin (vs. Cricket, US Cellular, Boost). If Virgin did do iPhone, they’d certainly want to put measures in place to prevent the iPhone from killing its network.
We got word yesterday that AT&T was changing its iPhone insurance plans on October 4th, perhaps signaling some new models. With what we had, we’d have given the info about a 25% shot of being legitimate. However, since then, we’ve heard that a big commotion was made about that information being made public. Based on that and today’s Virgin announcement, we’re thinking the probability of that date being right has increased significantly. Expand Expanding Close
Want that face on your big screen? No problem! Just Facetime with Rene Ritchie over at TiPb. You see, the latest build of iOS 5 Beta 3 has support for Airplay.
With all of the new trickery in the AppleTV 5.0 software, it wouldn’t surprise us to see a family-like FacetimeHD option for the current AppleTV or even a new 1080P version.
One of the advantages of AT&T’s GSM iPhones (and iPads) is that they can roam just about anywhere in the world fairly easily. For that convenience, AT&T charges a hefty – some would say exorbitant – fee (illustrated above, left).
Today, AT&T has announced a significant (2.5-5x) drop in international fees.
You get 2.5 times the data for $25 which is now set at 50MB. At the high end, you get 4x the data, 800MB, for $200. And overages used to cost $5/MB(!!); now it is ‘just’ $10/10MB.
It is still far from cheap and smart travelers will continue to pick up a Mifi, unlock and use a local SIM or just stick to Wifi hotspots. But it is something, right? Expand Expanding Close
We’ve just been handed some internal AT&T information on device changes:
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A new tier of device will be created in AT&T’s phone database on October 4th (a Tuesday:) which will require a higher rate of insurance. iPhone (and other devices) will move there on the arbitrary October 4th date. It is curious that the iPhone was mentioned specifically and not other devices.
While light years away from a new iPhone launch date confirmation, it could be a sign that new iPhones will hit AT&T in this timeframe.
In any case, it might be a good idea to buy insurance before that date as the monthly prices are going up.
The gigantic glass display spans three 6 lanes of traffic.
Apple’s Hong Kong Flagship store just got the curtain treatment according to a 9to5mac reader Nastypenman. The IFC center is the gateway to Hong Kong from the Airport rail link (ferry terminal, subways, etc) and is in the heart of Central, Hong Kong’s premiere shopping and business district. The IFC had evict or relocate about 20 stores on two-three levels, circled below in this Macrumors report from March. It could be Apple’s most expensive store to date (rent-wise) as Hong Kong’s prices are some of the highest in the world and this is about the most sought-after spot in Hong Kong.
Apple is also rumored to be building another local store, possibly in Pacific Place a short walk away.
The Chinese Economic Daily News via Bloombergreports that Foxconn plans on spending NT$47B to build stores in China which will sell Apple products, which of course it also produces. The information was relayed by the unit’s Chairman Steve Chang.
Foxconn subsidiary Cybermart has been granted retail permission from Apple and will begin selling Apple products in April of this year. Cybermart currently has 34 stores across the Greater China area, with 7-8 more stores planned for 2011. The report also states that Cybermast is planning to open as many as 500 stores, that will retail Apple products, in the future.
Foxconn is becoming a pretty powerful player in Apple’s fortunes in China and the world.
In a note last night, Wayne Lam of IHS-iSuppli made the case against Apple going with 1st generation LTE chips in its next iPhone.
“It remains to be seen whether the next Apple iPhone set for introduction in September will support 4G LTE,” said Wayne Lam, senior analyst for IHS. “However, if it does, two things are clear. First, the iPhone’s minuscule printed circuit board (PCB) will have to grow in size in order to support the first-generation LTE baseband processor as well as all the supporting chipset. Second, the next iPhone’s BOM value certainly will increase substantially compared to the iPhone 4 if LTE is implemented in the same manner as in the HTC Thunderbolt.”
I think Apple is more concerned with the extra space and battery life the new chips would consume much more than the extra cost of the components.“The first generation of LTE chipsets forced a lot of design compromises with the handset, and some of those we are just not willing to make,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple chief financial officer, speaking at the company’s April 2011 earnings call.
The next round of chips which would allow Apple to put LTE in a similarly sized package won’t hit the streets until the first half of 2012.
I don’t see an iPhone as big at the Thundebolt or Charge, ever. Expand Expanding Close
There’s not much to say about the new Western Digital My Book Studio 3TB hard drive. It looks quite nice and would go nicely with a Mac Pro or any aluminum Mac. The new MyBook Studio, unlike the previous My Book LX models, doesn’t have the LED display which showed free space and other nice specs without the need to dig it up from the connected computer. It does, however, have a quiet, cool running green hard drive with a fan-less enclosure. But the $150/$200/$250 for 1TB/2TB/3TB models, it isn’t going to hit 9to5toys.com anytime soon.
In fact, the same 3TB Western Digital Internal Green Drive resides in a USB-only package for only $130. Because this is a green drive, the extra speed that Firewire provides isn’t as noticeable as with a high performance drive. See speed tests and more images below. Expand Expanding Close
Amazon offers the four star-rated Western Digital Elements 2.5 TB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive for $99.99 (<$.04/GB). This drive features reliable WD GreenPower Technology, which claims to reduce energy consumption by 30% and has a portable case which also adds protection.
One of the more controversial components of the iPhone 4 is its non-Gorilla glass backing. Glass is a great material for displays obviously because it is transparent, relatively strong and scratch-resistant. However, it is more questionable for the back of a device because it breaks spectacularly where traditional materials are stronger and lighter.
But it does look awesome on the back of the iPhone 4.
So the question of the day: Should Apple’s next iPhone continue to use a glass backing or should they move to a different material like plastic, aluminum or liquid metal?
TechRadaris reporting that HDMI.org, the group that oversees the HDMI spec has informed them that MiniDisplayPort->HDMI cables are illegal and shouldn’t be sold. All of them.
Last week that it was rumoured that hundreds of thousands of Mini DisplayPort to HDMI cables are to be recalled because HDMI Org has deemed the cable system to be out of HDMI spec.The DisplayPort system is used primarily by Apple in its Mac range, but there’s a number of other manufacturers who use the port – including Toshiba.HDMI Org has exclusively contacted TechRadar about the situation and confirmed that any cable that has a DP male connector on one end and an HDMI male connector is unlicensed and should not be on sale.
Apparently at issue is that the “HDMI specification defines an HDMI cable as having only HDMI connectors on the ends. Anything else is not a licensed use of the specification and therefore, not allowed.”
Insane.
So for the record this is not OK (get them while supplies last):
What is OK, is these little dongles, which are actually pretty popular (we like the Kanex!)
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What is making HDMI.org so batsh!t insane? As you can see, you still need to buy a licensed ($$$) HDMI cable to use the adapter below whereas the top adapter bypasses the licensing issue altogether…or at least it did until today.
This afternoon, we recieved some intel from an iPhone source that has been reliable in the past. Most of the information is already known but it is important to weigh in on what’s going around. The “big” news is that Apple will be selling two totally distinct iPhones in September. One will be a low-end variety that will address the cheap Android market, according to the source. The other will be a high-end device and will be an all new design. There will be no mistaking these two devices, they will be immediately discernible. The iPod touch, like it always has, will get updated in September as well.
So that’s where the info path trails off, and to be frank, it isn’t all that surprising. There are currently two totally distinct iPhones on the market: the iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 4. The 3GS is at a cheaper price point while the iPhone 4 is the high-end line.
So we’ll have the same thing in September? iPhone 4 is the low end and iPhone 5 the high end?
I’m not so sure. For one, the price of an iPhone 4 isn’t going to compete with cheap Android phones in any way. Apple is currently selling them for over $600. They aren’t going to cut the price in half overnight. The 3GS doesn’t currently compete on price either. I think that to compete on price with Android, Apple has to make a totally new low end phone as well.
What’s it going to be? I think a good place to start looking is the curent iPod touch. The iPod touch has the same resolution screen as the iPhone 4 but with poor(er) viewing angles because the screen doesn’t have In-Plane Switching. (video below)
Also, the back camera is an order of magnitude worse than the iPhone 4’s, it doesn’t have GPS, has less RAM and the battery doesn’t last quite as long.
…and obviously the iPod lacks the “phone” bits.
But Apple somehow makes a lot of money selling this “almost iPhone” for just $229 retail (and under $200 at discounts) vs. the $650 that the iPhone 4 fetches without a plan. It doesn’t seem infeasible to me that Apple could use the iPod touch platform that debuted a full year ago to build a cheap iPhone device.
Here’s how:
Start with the same hardware. Add the GPS/3G baseband chips and some phone wiring and a solid 3 megapixel camera and you are 99% of the way to an iPhone lite. iPhone Air? Whatever.
Apple could make this device, one that is thinner than an iPhone 4, with most of the same specs, for $299. But here’s the best part: Expand Expanding Close
We’ve heard from a few overseas sources that Apple Retail stores are planning ‘overnights’ on July 13th. Overnights are generally where Apple refreshes store displays and trains up management on new products. Sometimes it is big stuff and sometimes it is insignificant (at least to us).
July 13th, however, lines up with our Lion release date pretty nicely. We’re expecting the Lion release obviously, and also some new MacBook Airs which may or may not have faster storage (but not this fast), a Sandy Bridge CPU, HD Facetime cam and Thunderbolts coming out the side.
We’ve heard some stories of backlit keyboards, 3Gs, a black option and the mythical 15-inch MacBook Air HD but they seem unlikely at this point.
Along with the Airs, there have been shortages of the White MacBooks, Mac Minis and (perhaps redesigned) Pros — everything that doesn’t currently have Thunderbolt — so those could also see updates. If not on the 14th, then perhaps shortly after.
In fact, MacBook Pros and iMacs with Snow Leopard pre-installed have also seen some hiccups in inventory globally so we’re thinking Apple is going to re-package those items for Lion at some point in the next few months. Probably sooner rather than later.
Analytics company Localytics today published a report on the rise of the Verizon iPhone. In the July month, it accounted for 32% of all iPhone 4s purchased (AT&T is still selling iPhone3GS, and has the US exclusive on the $49 iPhone). That’s with AT&T’s 8-month head start.
It’s not all gravy for Verizon. Localytics surmises that the biggest selling point to US users was the ‘unlimited’ data plans…which end today.
Why the recent uptick in Verizon adoption? One reason may be Verizon’s unlimited data plan, which they are scheduled to do away with on July 7th. AT&T officially discontinued its unlimited data plan in mid-2010, although existing customers were allowed to keep their plan as long as they remained AT&T customers. We’ll continue tracking the shift in iPhone 4 market share to see if Verizon loses momentum post-unlimited-data.
It will be interesting to see the split on iPhone 5 when all carriers (including Sprint T-Mobile and others?) are equally pitted against each other. Expand Expanding Close
