9to5 Staff

One admittedly cool thing about the Palm Pre is its ability to charge without plugging the device into a power adapter.  With the Pre’s Touchstone technology (sold separately for around $50) you simply put the device down on the block and it begins charging.  The magic is in the back plate which  allows for wireless inductive current to charge the phone.

iPhone owners now have the option to "wirelessly" charge their Apple products.  WildCharge sent us a press release (below) on their new product for iPhone which allows you to do basically the same thing as the Pre’s Touchstone…perhaps even better.   The conductive back is provided through a iPhone protective cover and it charges via a mouse-pad sized (8"x6") mat.  WildCharge’s mat is big enough  to share with other devices as well.  

The NYTimes reviewed their previous products and found them very likable.  The iPhone version will be available in two weeks.   The iPod touch version you can buy now.

Cult of Mac interviewed Paul Argenti, Professor of Corporate Communication at Tuck School of Business on Apple’s handling of Steve Jobs’ sickness and their obligation to inform shareholders.  Argenti makes no bones about it:

“The difference between a nutritional imbalance and a liver transplant is huge  … The law is very clear — full disclosure of material information.  If a CEO’s liver transplant isn’t material, what is? But whether the SEC has the balls to do something about it, we’ll see.”

At the end of last year, Jobs said he was suffering from a simple hormone imbalance. A week later, he said he was taking six months medical leave because his medical issues were “more complex.”

According to Argenti, Apple’s reputation will suffer because the public won’t trust its ethics.

“Clearly, this is going to affect not only Apple’s customers but employees that were lied to or kept in the dark about what was going on,” Argenti said. “Apple is one of the most admired companies in America and this is how they deal with this kind of news? It’s unacceptable, unethical and irresponsible to all constituents.” 

“As a communications strategy, it makes no sense. It’s going to be a big issue in the next few days, I guarantee it.”

We’ll see. 

In case there is any ambiguity of Mr. Jobs’ start date, CNBC and Reuters have him covered.  They both report that he showed up for work Monday.

Jobs, who has been on medical leave since January, was seen by a Reuters reporter leaving the Apple campus in Cupertino, California dressed in his trademark black turtleneck and jeans. He walked out chatting with another person before climbing into a black car that then drove off.

There was no word on how many bathroom breaks he took nor what he had for lunch but we’ll follow up if that information becomes available.

Remember last week’s brouhaha about the new MacBook Pros only being able to connect to SSDs at SATA 1.5Gbs (as opposed to SATA II) speeds?  Apple has addressed this issue in a firmware update (direct link) released today. 

Notably, Apple says the following:

MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.7 addresses an issue reported by a small number of customers using drives based on the SATA 3Gbps specification with the June 2009 MacBook Pro.  While this update allows drives to use transfer rates greater than 1.5Gbps, Apple has not qualified or offered these drives for Mac notebooks and their use is unsupported.

If by small number, they mean every single new MacBook Pro customer, perhaps. Also, they seem to be leaving the door open to these high speed SSDs not working properly by saying they aren’t "qualified".

Get out your wallet, you can now buy a MacBook Pro.

"iPhone 3G S" is an uncharacteristically awkward name for an Apple product.  Do you pause between the G and the S?  How do you make it plural?  Is it iPhones 3G S iPhone 3Gs S or.. you get the picture.   In the logo, there is also the question of whether or not the "S" is capitalized (it is certainly smaller), or is it lower case like the iPod touch.

In today’s Apple press release, Apple switched up the language and is now calling the hit device the "iPhone 3GS".

While these types of small changes may seem trivial, companies with strong brands spend countless hours mulling over every minute detail of naming, fonts, sizes and such.  Switching the iPhone 3G S to iPhone 3GS is a big deal, perhaps one that Mr. Jobs, who made his first comments on the release in 6 months, spearheaded.

We’ll start using iPhone 3GS from now on unless something changes.

..unless you count the stock going up part.  It’d be nice to get some official clarification of the future direction of Apple management, if nothing else, to quiet the talking heads.

http://plus.cnbc.com/rssvideosearch/action/player/id/1160207265/code/cnbcplayershare

Apple posted a new KB article on Friday outlining the features that each version of the iPhone supports.  We’d add that jailbreaking an iPhone/3G gives you perfectly acceptable, though unsupported, video options.

Notes:

1. Peer-to-peer connectivity requires compatible applications, which can be downloaded from the App Store when available.
2. The original iPhone does not support using Bluetooth for peer-to-peer connectivity. It can use Wi-Fi and cellular data networks for peer-to-peer connectivity.
3. MMS is not available in all areas; fees may apply. See your carrier for availability.
4. Internet tethering is not currently offered in the United States and some other countries. See your carrier for availability.

A familiar name graced today’s Apple press release.  A one Mr. Steve Jobs was quoted as saying “Customers are voting and the iPhone is winning,” … “With over 50,000 applications available from Apple’s revolutionary App Store, iPhone momentum is stronger than ever.”

We’re not oblivious to the fact that people quoted in press releases rarely write what they are quoted as saying, but it is still significant that Apple has put Mr. Jobs on the tag line, rather than Phil Schiller or Tim Cook.

Oh, and Apple sold a million iPhones this weekend (same as 3G last year but in 8 countries compared to last year’s 22) and had 6 million 3.0 software downloads and now has 50,000 apps in the App Store.  Full press release below:

BTW – anyone else notice that Apple is calling the iPhone the "3GS" not the "3G S"?

Apple Sells Over One Million iPhone 3GS Models

iPhone 3.0 Software Downloads Reach Six Million

CUPERTINO, California—June 22, 2009—Apple® today announced that it has sold over one million iPhone™ 3GS models through Sunday, June 21, the third day after its launch. In addition, six million customers have downloaded the new iPhone 3.0 software in the first five days since its release.

“Customers are voting and the iPhone is winning,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “With over 50,000 applications available from Apple’s revolutionary App Store, iPhone momentum is stronger than ever.”

The new iPhone 3GS is the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet, packed with incredible new features including improved speed and performance—up to twice as fast as iPhone 3G—with longer battery life, a high-quality 3 megapixel autofocus camera, easy to use video recording and hands free voice control. iPhone 3GS includes the new iPhone OS 3.0, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system with over 100 new features such as Cut, Copy and Paste, MMS*, Spotlight™ Search, landscape keyboard and more. iPhone 3GS customers get access to more than 50,000 applications from Apple’s revolutionary App Store, the largest application store in the world where customers have already downloaded over one billion apps. iPhone 3GS offers twice the capacity for the same price with a 16GB model for just $199 and a new 32GB model for just $299.** And iPhone 3G is available at the breakthrough price of just $99 for the 8GB model—a huge milestone for the high end smartphone market.

*MMS messaging is available only on iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS; fees may apply. MMS may not be available in all areas. MMS support from AT&T will be available in late summer.

**Qualified customers only. Requires a new two year AT&T rate plan, sold separately.

The iPhone 3G S had a solid start this week by anyone’s standards.  Gene Munster and his crew were out trying to put demographic numbers on the long lines of people waiting for iPhones.  According to Apple 2.0, this is what he came up with:

• 750,000 iPhones. Munster estimates that Apple sold about 750,000 iPhones over the three-day weekend, 50% more than his initial prediction (500,000) but 25% less than the 1 million iPhone 3Gs Apple sold on launch last July. It took Apple 74 days to sell 1 million first-generation iPhone and three days to sell 1 million units of the iPhone 3G.
• Shrinking windfall. Among the 256 customers surveyed, 28% were switching carriers to AT&T, down from 38% last year and 52% in 2007. AT&T’s iPhone windfall is shrinking.
• Brand loyalty. 56% were upgrading from an old iPhone, up from 38% last year. “We believe this shows Apple is developing brand loyalty not enjoyed by other mobile phone makers,” Munster writes.
• 16GB sweet spot. 43% bought the high-end 32GB iPhone 3G S, down from the 66% who bought the high-capacity model (16GB) last year and the 95% who chose 8GB over the 4GB when the first iPhone went on sale.
• Business users. Among customers buying their first iPhone, 12% were switching from a Research in Motion BlackBerry, up from 6% last year. This, says Munster, “may indicate the company is making headway among business users slowly adopting the iPhone platform for corporate use.”

Update: Apple, this morning said in a PR Release that it had, in fact, sold over 1 million iPhones over the three day period.

iPhone 3G S customers who’ve had serious issues activating their new iPhones appear to be getting an email from Apple apologizing.  The apology comes in the way of a $30 iTunes gift certificate.

Dear Apple Customer,
Thank you for your recent Apple Store order. We appreciate your patience and apologize for the inconvenience caused by the delay in your iPhone activation.
We are still resolving the issue that was encountered while activating your iPhone with AT&T. Unfortunately, due to system issues and continued high activation volumes, this could take us up to an additional 48 hours to complete.
On Monday, you’ll receive an email from Apple with an iTunes Store credit in the amount of $30. We hope you will enjoy this gift and accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience this delay has caused.
Thank you for choosing Apple.
Sincerely,
Apple Online Store Team

Classy.  But since this appears to be AT&T’s fault, why aren’t they giving out free minutes or long distance or free texting or something?

CNBC, almost exactly 12 hours after the WSJ, published their take on the Steve Jobs liver transplant operation.  Result:  Exact same information.  They also threw in that he had flown to Memphis in late March – which could be obtained from his personal jet flight logs.

Does anyone else out there get the feeling this is an Apple timed/planned/coordinated leak?  Friday evening and Saturday morning after hours releases (stock market closed, etc), no source identification, and the exact same scant information at both news agencies.  We know CNBC are pretty much just paid Apple PR mouthpieces.

It feels like we’re being fed the somewhat shocking news in pieces.  It will be interesting to see what Apple’s PR team does this week.  We anticipate more information coming out slowly with a final Press Release, possibly by Jobs himself in email to Apple employees form, shortly.   Just like last time.

Whatever the case, it will be good to see Steve Jobs back at work.

Apple’s stock is actually up in after hours trading.

Update Sunday: Today, Gruber has a long version (thanks commenters) though his final conclusion (rogue Apple board leak) we’d have to disagree with.  We’re thinking that there was probably some negotiation with Jobs and the board about how this got out.  Though Jobs never wants to disclose his personal info, the board or a member wouldn’t backstab him so blatantly without expecting some retribution later.  Remember, Jobs was forced into releasing his health information originally (though somewhat "cryptically") in January.  No matter how bad his health is, Apple/the board are better off with a happy Jobs.  The "Tim Cook possibly joining the board" information could easily have been part of the deal – he’s certainly due for a reward for running the company flawlessly for the past 6 months..

Oh, and if you are interested in the stalker details of the Tennessee house information, you might want to have a look at Cult of Mac.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Steve Jobs traveled to Tennessee to have a liver transplant around two months ago.  He is recovering well and is expected to return to work on schedule later this month, though he may work part-time initially.

Bloomberg originally reported that Jobs was considering a liver transplant on January 16th.  They cited people monitoring his illness and said it was a result of complications after treatment for pancreatic cancer in 2004.  When contacted by Bloomberg, Jobs said: “Why don’t you guys leave me alone — why is this important?” 

… the transplant might work out well in a patient whose neuroendocrine cancer began in the pancreas, in part because this tumor type often spreads only to the liver and grows so slowly. Even after having had a Whipple procedure, a patient might expect to have good quality of life, he said.

“The outcome can be quite good,” he said. “With immunosuppressive drugs, the patient can expect to have a significant, durable life expectancy.”

Some liver transplant patients get part of an organ from a living donor. After the operation, the livers of the donor and recipient grow back to normal size.

A patient getting a liver transplant for a neuroendocrine tumor that has spread from the pancreas might get a partial organ, Brower said. Complete organs that come from cadavers are in short supply, and are generally reserved for patients with liver failure, cirrhosis or certain kinds of liver cancer, he said.

Other sources have chimed in over the past months, some similar, some much less so.

In April, Barron’s quoted PEHub Blog as saying:

I spoke with a well-connected business person in Memphis this morning who says that there is a house in a swank neighborhood there that has been bought for a princely sum and is undergoing minor renovations in preparation for its new resident.

He says he has reason to believe Apple CEO Steve Jobs is moving to the city to treat his pancreatic cancer.

Normally, I’d just throw this out as wild speculation. Except St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis happens to be one of the best endocrinology centers in the world and one of the top oncology spots for kids. If there’s one place in the U.S. with researchers equipped to tackle Jobs’ health problems, St. Jude may be it.

Just to be clear, this is a single source tip. We’ve decided not to chase it further as it’s not about VCs, but I thought you might enjoy speculating about it.

There are other reasons for choosing Tennessee. As pointed out by the WSJ, there are no residency requirements for transplants there, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, and the state’s list of patients waiting for transplants is shorter than in many other states.  Tennessee has a median of 48 days, rather that the national median of 306.

The WSJ also speculated that Tim Cook could see an increased role at Apple going forward, including perhaps a board seat.

.

Thinking about hitting the 5th Avenue store for an iPhone 3G S?  You might want to wait a bit.  Engadget has the video…it looks like the line might be a little more than you can handle.  We have to admit we’re kind of surprised how long the lines are … for a compass, a better camera and additional speed.

http://www.viddler.com/simple_on_site/aa4473af

If there is anything more interesting than waiting in a line, it is watching a liveblog of people waiting in a line.  CNET’s got you covered if that is your thing today as they cover people waiting in like for the third generation iPhone 3G S. 

We’re not going to hear any new specs or features but maybe, just maybe, the activation servers will get overloaded and cause people to have to wait longer.  We’re betting that Best Buys run out while the Apple Store line keeps up for most of the day.

from CNET

Rapid Repair tore the new iPhone 3G S apart.  Inside they found a bunch of chips with numbers.  The brains are again a Samsung chip, but one unheard of before (or with a new label).

iPhone 3G S system board is shown on the left, right board is iPhone 3G.

CPU – Samsung
339S0073ARM
K2132C2P0-50-F
0N1480911
APL0298
N1TVY0Q 0919

NAND Flash Memory – Toshiba TH58NVG702ELA89
IA8816
TAIWAN
09209AE

System Memory – 337S3754
CMA
G0919
5Y9307885E4

Infineon – 36MY1EE
A9177314
Z171033B

Battery

APN: 616-0434
VPN: APPLE-08-003-01(GG)
Li-ion Polymer Battery: 3.7V 4.51Whr

 Lots more pictures over at Rapid repair.  Via Giz.

According to EverythingCafe, a Best Buy employee downloaded the entire iPhone 3G S inventory broken out by store and model, popped it on his USB stick and took it home.  He/she then uploaded it to Google docs for all to see.  If you are planning on hitting a Best Buy, you might want to see which store has the most iPhones in the model that you want before camping out on line.   

It is also interesting to see that the Black is in much greater supply (demand?) than the white.  16GB models also look to be in more demand than 32 GB as well.

With the release of iPhone OS 3.0, there are a torrent of new apps hitting the App Store (iTunes $1.99).  One we’re fans of is the Family Guy app.  A popular American TV comedy carried on the Fox network (see video below), Family Guy sometimes has some "racy" humor.  In the App Store, this App is the first example we’ve seen of a "rated" show.  In this case, it is rated 12 years old and older.  Without the 3.0 OS, you won’t be able to download it at all.  

We’re still looking forward to see what classifies as 17+.

http://www.hulu.com/embed/meTC1Cecckovq833QMGRow/593/806

As we reported a few weeks ago Sirius is now on the iPhone and iPod touch.  You can get the the App for free and sign up for a free 7 day trial if you aren’t already a member.  The music is streamed over the net, not via satellite, obviously.  It also works over 3G (thanks commenters).

Update: the $3/monh doesn’t get you any Sirius premium content like Howard Stern, MLB, NFL and our beloved NASCAR, which is available separately…so this isn’t something to get too excited about. 

If you hit the software update button, you’ll see some new software wating for you. Question is: Does that new Bluetooth kill our precious tethering?

Update:  Not only does it not kill tethering, it helps it out on the MacBook Air.  W00t

It looks like AT&T might be using the 802.21 protocol to relax the pressure put on their 3G network by the iPhone.  The new iPhone 3.0 OS software contains the ability for iPhones to autoswitch from 3G to Wifi when an AT&T Wifi network is in range, without user intervention.  

Today AT&T made a statement saying they would allow "seamless transition from their 3G network to any one of their 20,000 Wifi wireless hotspots".  While the IEEE protocol wasn’t stated, it is likely the way that the iPhones will switch back and forth between 3G and Wifi. 

There is always the possibility that they are doing "dumb handoffs" as well which would just be like when a normal iPhone enters an area which a recognized network is present.  The iPhone finds the network, knows the password and switches over.

802.21 is an IEEE emerging standard. The standard supports algorithms enabling seamless handover between networks of the same type as well as handover between different network types also called Media independent handover (MIH) or vertical handover. The standard provides information to allow handing over to and from cellular, GSM, GPRS, WiFi, Bluetooth, 802.11 and 802.16 networks through different handover mechanisms.

AT&T’s press release:

AT&T* today announced it will support auto-authentication for iPhone OS 3.0 users connecting to AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spots. Auto-authentication allows iPhone users to seamlessly switch from AT&T’s 3G network to an AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spot without being prompted.

AT&T customers with qualifying iPhone data plans have unlimited access to the nation’s largest Wi-Fi network — more than 20,000 U.S. AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spots.

The new process eliminates the previous two-step authentication, making it easier and faster for iPhone customers to connect to AT&T Wi-Fi. Auto-connect is established once a customer connects their iPhone to an AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spot the first time.

The addition of auto-authentication for iPhone users comes at a time when Wi-Fi usage continues to experience rapid growth, driven by the proliferation of Wi-Fi enabled devices. More than 4 million connections were made at AT&T’s U.S. Hot Spots with smartphones, including the iPhone 3G, in the first quarter of 2009 alone.

AT&T is a leading provider of Wi-Fi enabled smartphones, and includes Wi-Fi access at no extra charge with qualifying AT&T High Speed Internet plans, 3G LaptopConnect plans and select smartphone plans.

“Auto-authentication makes it even easier for iPhone customers to stay connected on the nation’s fastest 3G network and the nation’s largest Wi-Fi network,” said Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “With access to our U.S. hotspots, customers are receiving a great value, with a fast, reliable broadband connection virtually anywhere, through 3G or Wi-Fi.”

The new auto-authentication process is available starting today to all existing iPhone and iPhone 3G customers who download the free iPhone OS 3.0 software update via iTunes. It will also be available to all iPhone 3G S customers once that product goes on sale on June 19. Meanwhile, all iPhone customers can continue to get AT&T Wi-Fi access with the current authentication process.

AT&T’s Wi-Fi network complements its wired broadband and wireless 3G networks with Wi-Fi hotspots including retail stores, restaurants and airports from coast-to-coast.

Here they all are..Reviewers have been playing with the iPhone 3G S for a week.    The overwhelming theme is "evolutionary not revolutionary" and "if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it".  Most do notice a speed increase as well which makes the experience better.  We’ll keep adding sources and media below.

Pogue, Mossberg, Engadget, Gizmodo, Sun Times, TimesOnline.uk, CNET, USAToday, Others out there?

Here are some videos:

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

http://www.cnet.com/av/video/flv/universalPlayer/universalSmall.swf