9to5 Staff

They don’t get any better than this!  It looks like the biggest mobile market in the world will be served the iPhone by China Unicom – unless there is something very shady going on.  China Unicom’s site today has the iPhone as one of the phone options available to its customers.  There is also a Flash animation on the top with the iPhone which seems to indicate that this isn’t just some random mistake or hacking (or if it is, it is a pretty well thought out one).

The only other explanation we can think of is that China Unicom is just advertising which products are compatible with its new 3G service? 

See translation below.

It looks like they are also carrying the G1 Android phone.  Hope Stevo doesn’t drop the hammer on them for their premature announcement.  En Anglais:

 Note that it supports WCDMA (don’t get your hopes up Verizon customers, not CDMA) and will be released in July of last year.(!!)

via Networkworld

More Ballmer bashing ahead.  Sorry.

Look, we don’t run the biggest software company in the world and we (thankfully) don’t own any stock either but it is hard to ignore the bad headlines that Steve Ballmer keeps making.  Today’s?  Regarding the Zune:

“We’re going to keep going with Zune. It’s two things: Service and a device. The Zune service, that’s going to fan out its footprint. Hardware will continue to improve. “The question is whether even if we flog them heavily, is their profit upside. We’re going to keep going I won’t say full steam ahead, because that implies acceleration of investment, but we’re going to sustain our investment. We like it and the future may be the software/ecosystem on other devices."

Jeez..if you are one of the few people in the market for a Zune, you sure have to now give pause.  As Ballmer puts it, it isn’t "full steam ahead", which means it is essentially dead and they are hedging their bets on it as a software only model, probably for Windows Mobile or Sidekick.  Can you imagine someone at Apple saying something like that about, say, the Bluetooth headset?

Image via Gizmodo

This one slipped by last week and not too much you didn’t know before, but some good hands on information about the new iPod Shuffle. If you are thinking about picking up one of these little guys, this might sway you one way or the other.

http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f8/452319854

We’ve been using VUZE and its former brand Azureus since we first started Bittorrenting Linux ISOs and other totally legal stuff years ago.  While a bit bloated, VUZE/Azureus has always been the most feature-packed, cross platform Bittorrent client available.  When they changed their brand to VUZE, they added a HD video distribution network which had some good content, some not so good.  Now, in version 4.2, they’ve added client side video transcoding to all of your favorite devices. 

Along with iPods, iPhones and AppleTV’s, VUZE now supports Playstation and XBox MP4 formatted movies.

It is a relatively easy process to set up but slow to finish unless you have a some serious MP4 horsepower.  The good news is that the process is all automated so you won’t have to be there when your totally legal stuff is moved to AppleTV/iPod/iPhone compatible formats.

Retrospect 8 is now shipping for Mac.  It has been forever and a day (5 years!) since version 6 first shipped.  Version 7 was PC only.  Since then, the product has been getting older, less reliable and, to many, unusable.  I did a roundup of backup solutions almost two years ago for the Macintosh platform.  Unfortunately, not much has changed since then.  Mac shops don’t have a great answer to their backup needs.

Today, I am using Time Machine for day to day backups which works acceptably for most things (I turn off everything but my Docs folder).  For cloning, I use Carbon Copy Cloner which was just updated recently to vers. 2.2 and works great. 

Overwhelmingly however, I am sending more and more data into the cloud with services like Mozy (Retrospect’s Parent company, EMC also owns Mozy – they’d be smart to offer a hybrid solution).  Carbonite’s recent loss of data makes this kind of scary, still.

I haven’t recommended Retrospect in over a year for small-medium businesses.  Hopefully version 8 will turn this around.

via Tidbits and TUAW

The Boy Genius, who seems to have friends at every Telco, has apparently gleened the following information from AT&T in regards to a certain next generation iPhone:

We can’t tell you where or who, but pretty high up in AT&T’s food chain, the following was reported to be said:

• New iPhone announcement around mid-June (duh)
• New iPhone will be faster and have a more seamless experience unmatched by any device (could be just talking about 3.0, but we think it’s also a new iPhone)
• U-Verse iPhone application; will allow control of your home DVR (play, pause, rewind, etc.)
• The annual iPhone launch is “becoming a tradition.”
• Nothing official is being confirmed, but they said that people should prep for an exciting time this summer.
• AT&T is said to be working with Apple to create a unified product with an unparalleled experience across all their products and services.
• Apple’s 3.0 software should tell us where the iPhone platform is going… uh, k?
• They said customers shouldn’t need to choose from AT&T’s high-end devices because of features, they should choose based on preferences. The gap in capability should be filled with the new iPhone. Ok, bets on slide out QWERTY, autofocus camera, video sharing, blah blah?
• Seems like the higher speed HSDPA (7.2Mbps) is being hinted at too which should confirm the earlier rumors of the new Infineon chipset.
• The $99 3G netbook will start selling this summer, and the first one won’t be a Windows OS.

For clarification, the above is 100% confirmed.

Excited yet?  That last point makes our head spin…

(image via Macrumors)

OK, file this into the "would be nice to have" or "making lemonade out of lemons" but Apple, this weekend, discontinued its mildly popular Bluetooth headset.  Bad news?  Maybe not.

We also know that the new iPhone version 3.0 software includes support for A2DP stereo Bluetooth.  So do current models of iPod touch and iPhone.  What better way for Apple to tout its new functionality than to introduce a "world’s XXXXXest" stereo Bluetooth headset?  June-Julyish?

Until now, if you’ve wanted stereo Bluetooth on your iPhone or iPod you had to buy a third party adapter.  There are also lots of A2DP Stereo Bluetooth heasets available out there now if you want to hedge your bets..

Yeah we know other phones have had A2DP funtionality for awhile…but it will be better this time, right?

Internet Explorer 8 is heading to PCs soon.  Microsoft made a 5 minute "History of the Internet" video to commemorate this "event".  The video isn’t too bad, but it didn’t include the part where Microsoft bought the Spyglass browser fron U. of Illinois and killed off Netscape by abusing its monopoly power.  Strange

From the toys section:

(Update: Deal OVER – Jump on this $75 Toshiba)Today only, Amazon.com offers the Iomega eGo 320GB FireWire / USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive in Alpine White, model no. 34419, for $79.99 with free shipping ($0.25/GB). That’s tied with a February deal (which also required a rebate) and the lowest total price we could find for this drive in this color. It features Drop Guard, which protects it from falls of up to 51", and both FireWire and USB 2.0 connectivity. 

Or, Step up to the USB-only Toshiba 500GB Portable External Hard Drive for $102, also with free shipping.

Do you mourn the loss of the 17-inch iMac?  Think Apple needs to have a lower cost of entry for its iMac line?   Do you know someone in Education who might be able to hook you up with a discount?  SetteB.IT found a little tidbit in the latest Apple Education email…  Apple discontinued the 17 inch iMac in 2006 but kept selling the 17 inch white version to education.  Could this be a holdover from that?

Is this the old 17 inch from way back?  Or is this a new one?  Or maybe just a typo.  So many questions…

via giz

   
March 2009
 

Opportunities for Integrating Technology with Your Institution’s Goals
Download Apple’s white paper that explains the education funding in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, and highlights opportunities for integrating technology strategically in education-related programs.
Leaders & Administrators
IT Professionals
Teachers & Professors

The New iMac line
The new 20-inch and 24-inch iMac deliver a 30 percent larger display, twice the memory, and twice the storage. The new iMac line also includes a 17-inch model starting at $899.
ARRA of 2009 Solutions: K-12
The ARRA of 2009 dedicates more than $100 billion for K-12 and higher education and includes funds for state stabilization, school construction, and federal programs such as Title I, Title II-D, and IDEA. Download the pdf to learn more.
Notebook Program on Campus
“One of my greatest surprises… was the faculty’s response to the training,” says Mark Parker, Dean, Bass School of Music, Oklahoma City University. “They picked times [for training] that I would never have picked, like right after exams in December before Christmas.” View the video.

Tune-in IT Webcast Series
Learn more about Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server through this series of webcasts. Topics include Compatibility and Integration, Built-in Features and Applications, Integration and Virtualization, Collaboration and Podcasting, and Client Management and Deployment.
Starting a Campuswide Notebook Program
Hear from CIO Isis Jones at Full Sail University and others about how to start your own notebook initiative on campus. View the video.

Mac Pro: The Fastest Mac Ever
Featuring Intel “Nehalem” Xeon processors running at speeds up to 2.93GHz, the new Mac Pro delivers up to twice the performance of the previous generation Mac Pro.

ARRA of 2009 Solutions: Higher Education
The ARRA of 2009 includes funds for NSF and NIH research and lab modernization, and federal Title II preservice teacher grants. Learn what stimulus funds are available for Apple solutions.
The New Mac mini: Extra Small, Extra Green
Starting at $549, the new Mac mini is an innovative, tiny desktop that measures just 6.5 by 6.5 by 2 inches. It’s also the world’s most energy efficient desktop, drawing less than 13 watts of power when idle.
* Claim based on energy efficiency categories and products listed within the EPA ENERGY STAR 4.0 database as of February 2009.
Field Trip to the Apple Store
Take your K-12 students on a Field Trip to an Apple Retail Store where they can create something amazing right on the spot. Or they can bring in and show off a project they’ve already created.

iTunes U
 
Apps for Education

Math Snacks Learning Animations (Grades 6-8)
These short animations are designed to help learners “get it.” Each snack presents a math concept and is ideal for use in the classroom or at home.

Project Learning
Edutopia presents a collection of content on Project Learning, a dynamic approach to teaching in which students explore real-world problems and challenges.

WGBH Teachers’ Domain
This free digital library is designed to advance educators’ teaching skills and enhance their students’ learning experiences. Companion educator guides are also available.

As We May Teach
Join Dr. Ruben Puentedura as he discusses hands-on approaches that transform research into teaching practice in education technology.

Declaration
Students can study U.S. history with the Declaration of Independence app which includes historical notes, images of the original document, and historical biographies.

New York Times
Perfect to take with you on the go. Access the latest news, photos, and world events with the The New York Times mobile app.

eNews for Education, March 2009
Event dates are subject to change. Some products, programs, or promotions are not available outside the U.S. Visit your local Apple site or call your local authorized Apple reseller for more information. Prices are estimated retail prices and are listed in U.S. dollars. Product specifications are subject to change.
Copyright © 2009 Apple Inc. 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA 95014.
All Rights Reserved / Keep Informed / Privacy Policy / My Info
If you prefer not to receive commercial email from Apple, or if you’ve changed your email address, please click here.
 

Steve Ballmer is making a pretty regular habit of putting his foot in his mouth on Apple’s success.  He was this week quoted by Techflash as saying:

Apple gained about one point, but now I think the tide has really turned back the other direction.

The economy is helpful. Paying an extra $500 for a computer in this environment – same piece of hardware – paying $500 more to get a logo on it? I think that’s a more challenging proposition for the average person than it used to be.

The bad news for Microsoft?  We aren’t paying that extra $500 for the hardware. 

While Apple hardware is the best you can buy, there are other companies that are making some pretty good machines.  People who can afford it often choose the MAc because Microsoft’s offering is substandard.

Update: both accounts were suspended…

Following up on yesterday’s Twittering Apple post, 9to5mac reader Hard-Hat-Mac points us to two more Apple Twitter feeds.

twitter.com/appleconcierge is Apple’s Store concierge Twitter page.  Apple geniuses are available for an easy 140 charater q/a.  It looks like it is getting answered every minute or so but there are currently only 6 followers.  This might someday beat the support forums for finding trends on bad Apple parts or getting a quick answer from a Genius.

Additionally, Apple PR has their own Twitter Page at twitter.com/ApplePR.  Currently it has 18 followers.  We expect that to increase pretty quickly.  How many is it at now?

9to5mac.com has it own Twitter feed at twitter.com/9to5mac but frankly we’ve been slacking.  We’ll try harder to keep it fresh.

What have we here?  It was only a matter of time (and it almost seems like Apple is leaking this on purpose at this point), but Ars found some extra little bits of code in the 3.0 OS that indicate that there will be not one but two new iPhones, a new iPod touch and two mysterious new products that will run this OS called "iProd" and "iFPGA".

Just FYI FPGA stands for Field-programmable gate array – you can learn more than you ever wanted to know about that here.

We don’t know about you but, we’ve wanted the iProd since forever and will be buying 4 of them the second they are released.

 The new codes:

iPhone2,1 – 0×1294
iProd0,1 – 0×1295
iPod2,2 – 0×1296
iPhone3,1 – 0×1297
iFPGA – 0×1298
iPod3,1 – 0×1299″

The old codes:

iPhone First Gen – 0×1290
iPod touch 1G – 0×1291
iPhone 3G – 0×1292
iPod touch 2G – 0×1293

Also, congrats to me.

According to Macworld, Apple has started their own Twitter account which covers the iTunes trailers.  We aren’t able to ascertain whether or not this is officially Apple’s Twitter page and we do recollect that someone started an Apple Youtube Page which was thought to be an official Apple page.  It turned out to be a hoax.  This seems slightly more legit because there is a link from the apple.com/trailers page.

While we certainly aren’t in the target market for this kind of Shuffle debauchery, we know some people will be.  $50 extra buys you a shuffle in your favorite rainbow color.  Add a few bucks more for your favorite fake metal.  Specs below.

• Standard Color Anodized 4GB Shuffle (pictured above): $129 USD
• Polished Color Anodized 4GB Shuffle: $159 USD
• Plating
  • Chrome 4GB Shuffle $149 USD
  • Copper 4GB Shuffle: $169 USD
  • Black Nickel 4GB Shuffle: $169 USD
  • 24kt Gold 4GB Shuffle: $179 USD
  • White Gold 4GB Shuffle: $199 USD
  • Rose Gold 4GB Shuffle: $199 USD
  • Platinum 4GB Shuffle $199 USD

Engadget spied a certain strange typo in the iPhone 3.0 development kit. Apple, who we know doesn’t yet want video capabilities on the iPhone, forgot about that for a second and looks to have a screen to upload video to your MobileMe account.  Perhaps this is the reason that Apple hasn’t allowed the awesome Qik application to get accepted on the iPhone.  Will Apple let third party video applications like Qik on the iPhone or will this be another MobileMe-only feature?  We hope the former.

Oh, and you can choose between Chicago and New York…

BGR’s AT&T Ninjas got their mitts on an AT&T internal presentation which seems to indicate that they are going to be unloading some 3G iPhones at $599 and $699 no commitment pricing (which is much lower than their previous no commitment prices) starting on March 26th.  Don’t take our word for it, but it looks like this might be an inventory clearing measure.  For…say…Junish?

The onslaught of iPhone 3.0 features continues: 

A developer has found that that tethering both via USB and Bluetooth is possible under the 3.0 beta developer release (of course, those of us with Jailbroken iPhones won’t be too impressed with this).  It isn’t immediately clear how AT&T and the other carriers will be able to distinguish who is tethering and who isn’t.   Apple will have to coordinate the locking and unlocking with the carriers.

Additionally, some features we’ve heard about including: "Find My iPhone" are bearing fruit.  Along with what Appleinsider has found, we’ve heard that this feature will use the iPhone’s GPS to locate the device for the user.  While this would be super cool for stolen iPhones, it would even be cool if you can’t find your iPhone and want to know the general area to look.  This remote opening of the GPS via background push notification is a novel use of the iPhone’s new capabilities.

Additionally, there will be a mobile wipe feature in MobileMe that will allow you to clear your iPhone remotely, like Exchange Administrators can do.

Very nice!

A Quick deal from the Toys section:

TigerDirect via Amazon.com offers the Boston Acoustics MM220 Slim Computer Speakers in Midnight for $44.99. With free shipping, it’s $15 under our mention from two weeks ago and the lowest total price we’ve seen. This 2-piece system features 80 watts of output, 1/2" tweeters, headphone jack, and more.

Also of note this week :

Amazon.com offers the Sling Media SlingCatcher Digital Media Receiver, model no. SC100-100, for $162.61. (Add it to your cart to get this price.) With free shipping, that’s $3 under our mention from last month and the lowest total price we’ve seen. This device allows you to stream content from your TV to your computer, and vice versa. It features wireless, Ethernet and USB connectivity, as well as standard and HD AV outputs including HDMI, S-video, component, and composite video, and both analog and digital audio.

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thepartim-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B0013BVADG&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr

You’ve got to hand it to them.  They might not have a chance in hell of existing at the end of the year but they sure seem to be playing the business as usual face pretty well.  In the midst of a huge lawsuit with one of the world’s biggest (and litigious) companies, Psystar is forging ahead with new products.  Their new compact desktop, which is cheaper than Apple but more expensive than a DIY type of machine, is now available to consumers through its website.  They even include the self-depreciating caption: "Sexier: Ummm, no comment".  Psystar certainly know their prospective customers.

Frankly, most of the Hackintosh community has been focused on NetBooks lately (Everyone at SXSW seemed to have a Hackintosh netbook), but Psystar continues to exist selling desktop computers.  We don’t know how many customers they have but they certainly have cajones.

"…a little closer.  Did you say Tablet?"  Har Har.  From Engadget’s liveblog: