9to5 Staff

Quicktime 10.0 (51) arrived today with a new look icon. Yeah, it is just an icon but we like! (feel free to snap it up for yourselves). You can also scrub through Quicktime movies by scrolling left or right on the trackpad, just like on iPhone OS 3.0.

Also in this release, some new backgrounds  (Thanks OSXNerd).  These include actual Snow Leopard (the animal) pictures from Steve Winter:

And the 10.0.0 Darwin Kernel is finally out of beta

 Also new Expose behavior for minimized windows  above and below the "fold"(thanks commenter)

Did we miss anything?

The LA Times has the story.  We’ve talked about our love of Augmented reality apps before, but according to the Mark Milian, the iPhone will only be allowing access to the necessary APIs to build these types of apps in iPhone OS3.1 which they anticipate for September…right about the time some new iPods should hit the scene.

The NY Subway app above (via Macrumors) is a clever (but somewhat unnecessary) use of the technology to find the nearest subway terminal. 

Fresh from announcing its worst financial results yet, Microsoft’s attempt to regain relevance continues, and now more light’s been shed on its plan to launch a chain of “me too” stores to compete with Apple’s highly successful retail stores.

Gizmodo has published a PowerPoint presentation said to emanate from design and brand consultancy, Lippicott. These seem to show just how closely Microsoft’s planned stores will emulate Apple’s own. You’ll have an “Answer Bar” – just like Apple’s ‘Genius Bar’ – for troubleshooting your Windows machine (oh just imagine how busy they’ll be there – will anyone want to work in that position?).

You’ll have those Microsoft Surface table top computers dotted around in-store, a digital media wall with big video screens, and dedicated product areas for Windows 7, Media Centre, netbooks and more. You can even pay to host a party in one of these stores….

Gizmodo warns these slides could be fake, but given Microsoft’s talent for imitation, they could well reflect the vision for the beleaguered company’s retail outlet plan.

Frank Shaw of Waggener Edstrom commented on Gizmodo’s story on behalf of Microsoft, saying that, “No final decisions have been made,” but some early design prototypes are indeed in circulation, with the first stores set to open in autumn.

Bear in mind the background: Microsoft’s sales fell another 17 per cent in the just gone quarter as profits slid an astonishing 29 per cent. Sales fell to $13.1 billion, a billion short of analyst expectations and the second quarter of decline. Will a chain of highly expensive retail shops truly be enough for Microsoft to regain relevancy?

As noted by MacDailyNews, recall a 2004 BusinessWeek interview with Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who points out: “Apple had a monopoly on the graphical user interface for almost ten years. That’s a long time. And how are monopolies lost? Think about it. Some very good product people invent some very good products, and the company achieves a monopoly. But after that, the product people aren’t the ones that drive the company forward anymore. It’s the marketing guys or the ones who expand the business into Latin America or whatever. Because what’s the point of focusing on making the product even better when the only company you can take business from is yourself?

"So a different group of people start to move up. And who usually ends up running the show? The sales guy… Then one day, the monopoly expires for whatever reason. But by then the best product people have left, or they’re no longer listened to. And so the company goes through this tumultuous time, and it either survives or it doesn’t.”

Jobs then points out that the sales guy now runs Microsoft, Steve Ballmer.

Except Microsoft doesn’t seem to be selling like it used to, judging from its financial results. Meanwhile, Apple is preparing to upgrade its iPod range with huge online retailer Amazon now selling existing models of the media player at up to 13 per cent off normal price.

We’ll let you know what we find..

It’s a big stretch but here’s their story:

While it has been known for a while that LTE will be rolling out in select markets at some point next year. The most recent roadmap has 20-30 markets as a target for the second half of 2010. But our source says that Verizon is putting just about everything it has in to moving many of these markets up to Q1 2010 — which is the same time frame for this supposed new Apple device. While the source had no information to specifically tie Apple to this move by Verizon, they did note that there was talk of at least one non-dongle (wireless card) product that this LTE launch was being specifically geared towards.

The usual caveats apply.  Apple couldn’t make it work like a phone – thus killing the mic on a Verizon/Apple device – because of the AT&T exclusivity arrangement.  Also current iPhone hardware won’t work obviously if LTE isn’t rolling in an area yet.  Yada Yada.

The question we have is this:  Is it really that hard for Apple to build CDMA products?  Every other manufacturer (Blackberry, Palm, HTC, etc)  seems to be able to throw in a CDMA radio without breaking a sweat.  We know that Apple and Verizon talk frequently.  Is it that hard to imagine Apple making a run of four million CDMA Tablets?  Who knows?  They could even make some WiMAX tablets that drop down to 3G when a tower isn’t nearby.  They’d sell.

And Apple isn’t stupid.  Whatever arrangement they made with AT&T has an out clause.  For instance, if the network is next to useless for city dwellers, perhaps Apple should be able to shop the iPhone/Tablet to other carriers.  Even if it is only Tmobile.

Apple has said specifically that they aren’t going to make a CDMA iPhone, so I’m inclined to believe that that isn’t going to happen without an act of God.  But I think they are going to do the next best things: They are going to make a iPod touch that does everything –except 3G — that the iPhone does, allowing you to make VoIP calls over Wifi and and over 3G devices like Verizon’s Mifi and Sprint’s portable WiMAX routers. They’ll also make a Tablet type computer that will not be tied to AT&T exclusively.

So back to the Verizon LTE stuff.  Apple isn’t going to sell a product for an untested, 20-40 city network.  LTE isn’t going to be ready for primetime until 2011.  Apple has other plans.

Although they admit they’ve had a long history of Apple Tablet predictions (or "setbacks"), AI is now going with Gene Munster’s earlier prediction that Apple’s tablet will be released at the begining of next year…or perhaps later.  Said tablet will have an Apple/PA Semi ARM chip and look like this (note the watermark to denote that it wasn’t lifted from a design school):

This rendition (both the story and the image) is the latest version of their tablet series which extends back to 2004 and has had 61 iterations.

Purely speculation here:

As Gizmodo points out, the new final Cut Pro Studio allows direct burning to BluRay Disc.  Problem is, Apple doesn’t sell any Blu-Ray hardware…yet.  Steve Jobs famously called Blu-Ray "a bag of hurt" because of all of the licensing restrictions, etc. that went along with putting BluRay into Macs.

You could always, of course, buy a Blu-Ray external disk and use Roxio Toast Software($63-73)+BluRay Plugin to burn, export  and watch BluRay discs.  However, this is the first time Apple’s own software has referenced Blu-Ray (besides that iTunes/Gracenote mention that made everyone pee their pants a little).

Apple being Apple, they will likely offer a built-in hardware solution, if only in high end Pro machines during the next iteration.  Their industrial/pro customers don’t want to source third party hardware that isn’t supported under the same warranties that Apple provides.  That is unless "someone" thinks they are just too painful to see in Macs.

"It will be frustrating, tedious and labor-intensive.   In fact, the process will be so painful that, for many XP users, the easiest solution may be to buy a new PC preloaded with Windows 7[or Mac?], if they can afford such a purchase in these dire economic times. In fact, that’s the option Microsoft (MSFT) recommends for XP users. (Conveniently, this option also helps Microsoft’s partners that make PCs.)"

http://s.wsj.net/media/swf/atd/microPlayer.swf

Many people ask why we post Mossberg videos. They are tailored toward novice computer users (probably not our demographic). However, he’s one of the smartest mainstream technology writers who was early to recognize the benefits of Apple’s products.  He’s also not afraid to cut through the BS PR speak of tech company CEOs.  He’s also right most of the time, even on his critiques of Apple.

According to Adage, Microsoft did, in fact change the advertising after getting the call from Apple legal.  Kevin Turner famously told people gathered at a Microsoft conference last week the Laptop Hunter ads were working:

And you know why I know they’re working? Because two weeks ago we got a call from the Apple legal department saying, hey — this is a true story — saying, “Hey, you need to stop running those ads, we lowered our prices.” They took like $100 off or something. It was the greatest single phone call in the history that I’ve ever taken in business. (Applause.) I did cartwheels down the hallway. At first I said, “Is this a joke? Who are you?” Not understanding what an opportunity. And so we’re just going to keep running them and running them and running them.

In the original version, Lauren at one point comes upon an Apple computer and pouts: "This Mac is $2,000, and that’s before adding anything."

"Why would you pay twice the price?" asks Lauren’s mom. "I wouldn’t," says Lauren, who ends up leaving with a $972 Dell laptop she suspiciously found later in the spot. 

In the latest version of the ad, that portion has been edited out. The original ad has been removed from YouTube and other sites by Microsoft, and replaced with a version (below) in which Lauren doesn’t talk about how much the Mac costs, but she does say: "It seems like you’re paying a lot for the brand."

NPD data this week revealed that of the $1000+ retail computer market in the US, Apple gets 91% of the revenue.  That’s up from 66% in 2008 when the Laptop Hunter Ads started running.

http://images.video.msn.com/flash/soapbox1_1.swf

iPhone exclusivity will end – the only question is which network you want to run your Apple mobile on.

There’s big battle between mobile networks in the UK, and network coverage is key to this. It’s why so many people involved in running the UK’s many outdoor music festivals turn to Vodafone or Orange because both networks are thought to offer more effective coverage.

There’s nothing worse than SMS messages arriving 12 hours late, or dropped calls when you’re trying to get a band into Glastonbury festival. Just because it’s a festival doesn’t mean you’re not organised.

This is why AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson set tongues wagging last night when he revealed that “there will be a day when you are not exclusive with the iPhone.”

Stephenson was speaking at Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conference following AT&T’s publication of its financial results this week.

It’s believed AT&T’s deal for iPhone exclusivity in the US is up for review next year. The CEO seems happy with the arrangement so far, saying AT&T’s deal with Apple is working "really, really well.” However, he does concede that network quality is the biggest reason people switch to different carriers. (Or jailbreak their phones).

iPhone exclusivity also means AT&T attracted 1.4 million new subscribers in its just gone quarter, and shifted 2.4 million iPhones – over a third to new customers. However, the company also concedes the subsidy required for the iPhone does impact overall profitability,but sees it as a trade-off for growing market share. In any case, iPhone users use and pay for more for data than those using any other smartphone.

That’s why Verizon is probably in talks with Apple to offer the (a CDMA version of) iPhone on its network. And it’s not just Verizon.

In the UK, The Guardian this morning informs that Vodafone is wooing Cupertino in an attempt to win the device for its network.

Andy Halford, chief financial officer of Vodafone said the network – which sells the device in 11 countries now – would be keen to offer it in more territories: "It’s a good product and we would love to have it in the portfolio in more countries," he said.

This follows weeks of speculation that Orange and T-Mobile also want in on the deal. T-Mobile even buys iPhones abroad in order to sell them to O2 defectors.

With a million iPhones sold in the UK at this point, and the need to be tied to O2 one of the biggest stumbling blocks for some potential iPhone users, it makes some sense for Apple to consider widening the addressable market in hitherto “exclusive” areas.

An iPhone could even become useful at big outdoor music festivals if the network it was on had better rural coverage, and you owned one of the truly impressive FreeLoader Solar Chargers, of course. (The Freeloader being the best portable solar charger we’ve looked at so far, BTW).

In any case, given the pending DOJ antitrust investigation into iPhone exclusivity, Apple may have to completely abandon the exclusive arrangements it reached when negotiating its initial agreements to launch the iPhone in various countries.

Just look at Canada to see the preparations being made by other carriers there….

With 5.2 million iPhones sold in Apple’s last quarter – and that period including partial international roll-out of the iPhone 3GS – we thought it might be worth noting this weekend marks the fifth anniversary of the announcement of a previous and now forgotten phone, the ROKR with iTunes.

Yes, dear reader, it was five years ago this weekend (July 26, to be exact) when Motorola and Apple shocked the world (well, impacted it a little tiny bit) with news the two firms planned to introduce a “next-generation” iTunes-capable mobile phone.

“We can’t think of a more natural partnership than this one with Apple, the brand synonymous with easy-to-use, legal music downloading, and Motorola, the innovator in mobile technology,” said an enthusiastic Ed Zander, Chairman and CEO, Motorola. “Being able to transfer songs you’ve purchased from iTunes to Motorola mobile handsets expands the market reach for both of us and drives new revenue for customers, delivering an amazing music experience to millions of wireless users.”
 

We wonder if he spent a lot of time with Palm’s new boss, former Apple man, Jon Rubinstein, who clearly thinks the same thing about the Palm Pre.

And what a wicked web is woven: even while Apple was quietly developing prototype Apple phones … (we once heard tell of an earlier Apple phone that rumour claims was close to launch two years before the introduction of the original iPhone, before it was pulled – though this information could be completely apocryphal/false/rumour/speculation, OK?).

Despite activity (and whether that apocryphal story of the device Apple may even have been proud not to release is true or not, there’s no way the iPhone happened in a trice) in the Apple r&d labs, Apple boss Steve Jobs waxed lyrical on his motions with Motorola.

“We are thrilled to be working with Motorola to enable millions of music lovers to transfer any of their favorite songs from iTunes on their PC or Mac to Motorola’s next-generation mobile phones,” he said.

Jobs was clearly thinking, reaching for the next apple in the tree, “The mobile phone market – with 1.5 billion subscribers expected worldwide by the end of 2004 – is a phenomenal opportunity to get iTunes in the hands of even more music lovers around the world and we think Motorola is the ideal partner to kick this off.”

“Ideal partner”? Well, as we all know – and there’s no sense investing the time in an in-depth story – the ROKR came out in September 2005, didn’t do well, and was quietly disappeared. The device’s 100 (count them) song capacity was, erm, somewhat limited. And it looked rubbish.

Fast forward to now and with the subsequent release of the iPhone, poor old former PowerPC partner Motorola is the mobile maker shedding the most market share as customers switch to iPhone (and we don’t believe that’s just ROKR iTunes owners upgrading to something cooler).

So, raise a glass and shed a little tiny tear this Sunday as you remember the birth of Apple’s public ambitions on the mobile phone market (which it already had, by the way, in a big way, really, ask Fake Steve, real Steve just won’t say).

And perhaps you should raise a glass too to Jonathan Ive, who hated his mobile phones so much he was just itching to “reinvent the category”. He did OK, didn’t he?

Well, you have to give them credit for having some cojones.  Palm today announced that, a week after Apple cut off 3rd party access to the iTunes store, the Pre can now, again, sync with the software.  Humorously, they call the fix "Resolves an issue" like Apple wasn’t actively trying to block the Pre from using iTunes.  The ball is now in Apple’s court. 

A third party, the EFF, has been rattling its saber about this issue as well.

You can now use Google Latitude on your iPhone, though it is just a webapp.  Interesting information form Google on why they didn’t build a "traditional" app:

We worked closely with Apple to bring Latitude to the iPhone in a way Apple thought would be best for iPhone users. After we developed a Latitude application for the iPhone, Apple requested we release Latitude as a web application in order to avoid confusion with Maps on the iPhone, which uses Google to serve maps tiles.

Google, like Apple, continues to push for improvements in web browser functionality. Now that iPhone 3.0 allows Safari to access location, building the Latitude web app was a natural next step. In the future, we will continue to work closely with Apple to deliver useful applications — some of which will be native apps on the iPhone, such as Earth and YouTube, and some of which will be web apps, like Gmail and Latitude.

Unfortunately, since there is no mechanism for applications to run in the background on iPhone (which applies to browser-based web apps as well), we’re not able to provide continuous background location updates in the same way that we can for Latitude users on Android, Blackberry, Symbian and Window Mobile. Nevertheless, your location is updated every time you fire up the app and then continuously updated while the app is running in the foreground. And, of course, you can check in on where your friends are, so we think there’s plenty of fun to be had with Latitude. Learn more about updating and sharing your location from your iPhone.

What gives with Apple not wanting an App for this?  Do they have something similar coming down the pipe?  If so it would be great if it could be a). integrated with the Maps app somehow and b). runs in the background.  We’ll see what develops.

Interestingly, it doesn’t work with the Mobile Safari in iPhone OS 3.1B. 

Ted Patrick, Adobe’s Senior Manager of Developer Communities has said that he expect to see Flash support the major capabilites (GPS, Accelerometrs, Multitouch) of modern mobile devices.   The comments were made today at an Adobe event for analysts.  Adobe’s CTO, Kevin Rollins added that a full featured version of Flash for mobile phones will be available in beta by the end of this year/early next year.  

The demonstrations were all on Android handsets which are running on processors significantly slower than those in Apple’s iPhone 3GS.

The mobile Flash demonstrations shown today by Adobe were all on Android devices, still no world on Flash for the iPhone. ("It’s up to Apple," was the line again today.) A bevy of beautiful, touchable, turnable, location-aware Flash apps on Android could create a pretty compelling competitor to the contents of the iPhone app store.

So, there’s all these stories in the ether claiming the future iPod touch – perhaps even the iPod nano – will host cameras… video cameras capable of still photography, to be a little more accurate.

Now, we’re not ones to comment on rumour or speculation. Well, that may not be entirely true, but fortunately, Flip’s head of marketing, Simon Fleming-Wood, is prepared to put up some arguments.

Back in the olden days of just very recently, Fleming-Wood waxed sanguine at Apple’s iPod Flip threat. Speaking to a US newspaper, he poo-poohed the threat of a video camera equipped iPhone 3GS, saying these devices weren’t sufficiently focused on video.

Pondering the iPod touch video threat he came up with one of those classic statements so many Apple-watchers have seen smaller companies make before the computer company eats them. “For Apple to join this market and help make video ubiquitous like still photography, it’ll be great for everybody.”

Right. And lets add the capacity to export video directly to YouTube or Mobile Me or via email using the iPod touch’s built-in WiFI, built-in video editing features and the rest of Apple’s present advantage (Flip simply exports to a computer via USB), and we’re thinking it may be good for consumers, but a little tricky for Flip.

We’re not sounding any death knells though – Flip have built a great business and are increasingly popular. We humans are naturally pretty loyal, once converted. And there’s no doubt Flip have plans to compete, once all those pictures of iPod touch cases with camera holes actually have Apple devices to wrap themselves around.

But Apple has PA Semi. Final Cut Pro. iMovie. iPhoto. And billions of banked dollars ($31.1 billion at the end of the just-gone quarter).

Chris Chute of research firm IDC notes Flip may have to flop. "They’re (Apple) adding functionality to a media player, and the devices are sold at similar places," he points out.

So there we are then.  They were nice while they lasted.

Just a thought.

Cult of Mac gathered some more iPod cases with camera holes in them.  Why would all of these case manufactures be "guessing" about iPods with cameras and putting them in the same place?  They aren’t.

The only question now is: How good the cameras will be?  Will we see 5 megapixel cameras?  Will we see quality optics and CCDs?  Will the iPod kill the point and click and the Flip in one blow?

Interestingly, the camera hole location in the iPod touch indicates that it will be a different camera mechanism than the iPhone 3GS.  This could mean those 5 megapixel claims from Digitimes could prove correct.

Apple’s iPod touch and iPhones continue to lead the market in the US while becoming increasingly popular in Western Europe and Asia, the latest AdMob statistics reveal.

Freshly-published statistics for June 2009 offer a pretty good view on the distribution of iPhone OS devices by country. AdMob the world’s largest mobile advertising platform, uses its own network data in combination with Apple’s own disclosed figures to make its estimates.

The good news – and let’s face it it’s obvious, is that worldwide adoption of Apple devices continues to grow. North America remains a key market for Apple’s handheld products, you’ll find 58 percent of iPhone and iPod touch users there.

Western Europe and Asia represent 26 and seven per cent of Apple device users, respectively. The worldwide ratio of iPhone to iPod touch users in the AdMob network was roughly two to one in June; although this varied from region to region, this ratio has remained relatively constant over the last several months, implying a similar growth rate for both devices worldwide.

54 per cent of iPhone and iPod touch users are in the United States. Following the US, France, Germany and the UK each had more than five per cent of all iPhone and iPod touch devices. iPod touch users represent 38 percent of total iPhone OS devices in North America.

Requests from the Android OS increased 25 per cent month over month. Android has five percent worldwide OS share and is now slightly ahead of Windows Mobile for the first time.

AdMob’s June 2009 Mobile Metrics Report also offers an estimated breakdown of the number of iPhone and iPod touch devices sold in various countries. The company estimates that there have been 13 million iPhone and 12 million iPod touch units sold to date in the US based on user data in AdMob’s network.

This analysis is based on the 16.8 million unique users on iPhone and iPod touch devices on the more than 7,000 mobile sites and 2,500 applications in AdMob’s network in June 2009.
 

Besides Final Cut Pro, Logic Studio also went up notch this morning.  Intel only, Jim Dalrymple already has a detailed review.

Logic Studio features Logic Pro 9, MainStage 2, Soundtrack Pro 3, and a massive collection of instruments, effects, and audio loops. With over 200 new features, it has everything musicians need to write, record, produce, and perform.
Top New Features in Logic Studio:

    * Flex Time lets you manipulate audio timing and tempo like never before.
    * Build dream guitar rigs with the new Amp Designer and Pedalboard.
    * MainStage 2 with new Playback and Loopback features let you take your Mac to the stage.
    * Shape your sound using more than 80 studio-quality plug-ins.
    * Inspire your music with more than 1,000 instruments and 20,000 Apple Loops.

Apple’s Press release:

Apple Unveils New Logic Studio with Major Upgrades to Logic Pro and MainStage

CUPERTINO, California—July 23, 2009—Apple® today unveiled the next version of Logic Studio® with major upgrades to Logic® Pro and MainStage® and more than 200 new features that simplify complex tasks. Logic Pro 9 features new Amp Designer and Pedalboard plug-ins that provide realistic virtual guitar amps and stompbox effects to create amazing custom guitar rigs. A new set of Flex Time tools allow Logic users to manipulate the timing and tempo of audio quickly and easily. MainStage 2, Apple’s live performance application, includes the new Playback and Loopback plug-ins to provide backing tracks and creative, real-time loop recording for performing on stage. Logic Studio also includes the new Soundtrack® Pro 3, with new multitrack audio tools for video production, and Compressor 3.5 for encoding in a variety of formats.

“The new Logic Studio is ideal for professional musicians, live performers and GarageBand enthusiasts who want to take their music to the next level,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Guitar players are going to love Amp Designer and Pedalboard and the new Flex Time tools allow you to quickly improve your recordings and create tighter performances.”

The new Amp Designer and Pedalboard plug-ins give guitar players incredible new recording and sound design capabilities. Amp Designer recreates 25 legendary vintage and modern amp heads in beautiful detail with matching controls and 25 paired speaker cabinets that emulate the sound and feel of a guitar running through a real tube amplifier. Guitar players can create their own custom rig by mixing and matching amps, cabinets, reverbs and EQs, and can choose from three different microphone types that can be positioned in 3D space to capture the ideal guitar tone. Pedalboard adds an assortment of 30 guitar stompbox pedals that can be arranged in any order to produce a wide variety of lush, creative effects including overdrive, distortion, fuzz, delay, chorus, flange, phaser, tremolo, treble boost, wah and more.

Flex Time is a new collection of tools that allow musicians to quickly manipulate the timing and tempo of recorded audio, including vocals and instruments, to create tighter performances. Using the Flex Tool, individual beats in a waveform can be moved effortlessly with a mouse click, without the need for tedious slicing and editing. Audio Quantize can instantly fix or adjust the timing of an entire performance by aligning notes and beats to a musical grid with a single menu selection. Varispeed provides the ability to slow down and then speed up an entire multi-track production to help record challenging parts. Flex Time also enables recorded tracks to be moved between different Logic projects and matched together, even if they were performed at different tempos. All Flex Time edits are performed non destructively and in real time, even when using the highest quality settings.

MainStage 2 lets musicians use all the instruments and effects from Logic Studio to turn their Mac® into the ultimate live performance rig. The new Playback plug-in provides musicians with a backing band, allowing them to perform with pre-recorded audio, like drums, sound effects and other accompaniments that can be triggered to play while they are performing live. The new Loopback plug-in allows musicians to record, layer and jam along with their own performance so a single musician can lay down a rhythm and then play a lead over it.

Soundtrack Pro 3 adds powerful new audio editing tools including Voice Level Match which extracts volume information from the vocal content of one clip and applies it to another without altering any other audio content, so editors can easily correct mismatched voice levels. An enhanced File Editor includes new tools to make sophisticated edits and fine tune volume adjustments by targeting specific frequencies such as the rustle of a paper or the bump of a desk without affecting dialogue. The new Advanced Time Stretch feature stretches and compresses audio with incredible precision using three Apple-designed algorithms or other algorithms available as third party plug-ins. Soundtrack Pro and Compressor are also available as part of the new Final Cut Studio®, allowing Final Cut® and Logic users to collaborate and share files.

Pricing & Availability
Logic Studio is now available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $499 (US) and existing users of Logic Studio and Logic Pro can upgrade for a suggested retail price of $199 (US). Full system requirements and more information on Logic Studio can be found at www.apple.com/logicstudio. Logic Express, a streamlined and even more affordable version of Logic for GarageBand® users who want more power and control, will ship in August for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) and will be available through the Apple Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

A little news to brighten your day….Review here.

As the next major release of the leading video post-production suite, the new Final Cut Studio offers powerful new features, dramatically improved performance, and tighter integration. Its six applications give video editors all the tools they need to edit, animate, mix, grade, and deliver — at a price that’s more affordable than ever.

Applications included in Final Cut Studio

• Final Cut Pro 7 for video and film editing
• Motion 4 for motion graphics and animation
• Soundtrack Pro 3 for audio post-production
• Color 1.5 for color grading and finishing
• Compressor 3.5 and DVD Studio Pro 4 for digital delivery virtually anywhere — Apple devices, the web, and disc

Apple’s Press Release:

CUPERTINO, California—July 23, 2009—Apple® today announced a significant update to Final Cut Studio® with more than 100 new features and new versions of Final Cut Pro®, Motion, Soundtrack® Pro, Color and Compressor. Final Cut Studio features Final Cut Pro 7 which expands Apple’s ProRes codec family to support virtually any workflow and includes Easy Export for one step output to a variety of formats and iChat® Theater support for real-time collaboration. Motion 4 includes enhanced tools such as 3D shadows, reflections and depth of field for stunning motion graphics and visual effects, and Soundtrack Pro 3 features new multitrack audio tools to streamline audio post production. Color 1.5 includes better Final Cut Pro integration and support for full color resolution, and Compressor 3.5 adds new features that make it easy to set up and customize your export options. At $999, the new Final Cut Studio is $300 less than the previous release and is also available as an upgrade for just $299.

“With 1.4 million users and 50 percent of the market,* Final Cut Pro is the number one professional video editing application,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “The new Final Cut Studio includes more than 100 new features and dramatically expands Apple’s ProRes family of codecs so editors can work in the studio with the highest quality video or on location at low bandwidths.”

Final Cut Pro 7, the latest version of Apple’s Emmy Award-winning editing software, includes new versions of Apple’s ProRes codecs to support virtually any workflow with the addition of ProRes Proxy, for offline and mobile editing at low bandwidth; ProRes LT, for general purpose editing; and ProRes 4444 for editing and visual effects at the highest quality possible. Easy Export allows users to continue working on projects while encoding is done in the background and the sequence is exported to YouTube, MobileMe™, iPhone™, iPod®, Apple TV®, DVD or Blu-ray. iChat Theater support allows real time collaboration by sharing Final Cut® timelines or individual source clips with iChat users anywhere in the world, even if they don’t have a copy of Final Cut Pro. Other new features include new speed tools to change clip speed with ease, alpha transitions to create dramatic effects using moving mattes, and native AVC-Intra support for the latest high quality Panasonic cameras.

Motion 4 extends award-winning, easy to use animation tools so video editors can quickly create everything from basic titles to animated credit rolls to stunning motion graphics. Enhancing 3D compositions is faster than ever with new customizable features that add point and spot lights to cast realistic shadows or turn any shape, video plane or paint stroke into a reflective surface. Motion 4 gives editors the flexibility to adjust the depth of field within a 3D canvas by selectively highlighting a single object or using multiple objects to create a racking focus effect.

Soundtrack Pro 3 adds powerful new audio editing tools including Voice Level Match which extracts volume information from the vocal content of one clip and applies it to another without altering any other audio content so editors can easily correct mismatched voice levels. An enhanced File Editor includes new tools to make sophisticated edits and fine tune volume adjustments by targeting specific frequencies such as the rustle of a paper or the bump of a desk without affecting dialogue. The new Advanced Time Stretch feature stretches and compresses audio with incredible precision using three Apple-designed algorithms or other algorithms available as third party plug-ins.

Color 1.5, Apple’s easy to use professional grading application, now works with a greater range of sequences and effects from Final Cut Pro and an integrated workflow allows editors to complete projects entirely within Final Cut Studio. New 4K support works natively with files from cameras such as the RED ONE and outputs directly to ProRes for HD or DPX for film. Expanded support for new high quality formats includes AVC-Intra, XDCAM 422 and ProRes 4444, for grading with the maximum amount of color information.

Compressor 3.5 makes encoding and delivering in multiple formats easier than ever with the ability to automatically detect QuickTime® settings and create an Easy Export template or a mini “droplet” on the desktop that automates specific Compressor actions. New, customizable sharing options make it easy to publish to YouTube and MobileMe, or export for iPhone, iPod, Apple TV and mobile phones. For the highest quality HD material, menu templates and encoding presets make it fast and easy to create Blu-ray discs. Final Cut Studio also includes DVD Studio Pro®, a powerful DVD authoring environment with drag and drop tools, on screen editing and real time previews.

Soundtrack Pro and Compressor are also available as part of the new Logic Studio®, allowing Final Cut and Logic® users to collaborate and share files.

Apple today also introduced Final Cut Server 1.5, the asset management and automation tool for Final Cut Studio. Final Cut Server 1.5 includes powerful new features like lightweight, offline editing with ProRes Proxy, production hierarchies to organize media, and support for still sequences to easily view and manage image sequences for graphics and effects workflows. Final Cut Server now includes unlimited client licenses and is available for $999 or as a $299 upgrade for existing users.

Pricing & Availability
Final Cut Studio is now available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $999 (US) and existing Final Cut Studio and Final Cut Pro users can upgrade for a suggested retail price of $299 (US). Full system requirements and more information on Final Cut Studio can be found at www.apple.com/finalcutstudio. Final Cut Server 1.5 is now available through the Apple Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers and includes unlimited client licenses for a suggested retail price of $999 (US) and existing Final Cut Server users can upgrade for suggested retail price of $299 (US). Full system requirements and more information on Final Cut Server can be found at www.apple.com/finalcutserver.

Well, here’s unexpected – the Apple Store appears to be out of action in the US and the UK.

We’re not saying there’s an imminent product upgrade coming, but we’re pretty curious to see if there’s any changes. Sure, this could be for maintenance, but as news-starved hacks we get all jiggy when the shop shuts down…we’re on a permanent search for Apple-related topics to talk about after all.

While you wait, it may be interesting to reflect on the following data:

Market research firm NPD has just revealed Apple’s revenue share for PCs over $1,000 is 91 per cent. So that’s interesting, right? Betanews reports that Apple’s revenue share went up to 91 per cent from 88 per cent in May.

Check back later for any new product news, or just a slightly disappointed sigh. Which will it be? You decide…

UPDATE: We now know that new products are currently being announced, and they’ll be a boon to creative Mac users in the music and video markets, because they are Logic Pro 9 and Final Cut Pro 7. We’re attempting to secure details on these releases, and we’ll tell you more about them later on.