9to5 Staff

According to the Japanese blog Macotakara (which can be accurate with Apple rumor reporting), Apple’s contract manufacturers Foxconn Electronics (also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry) and Pegatron Technology have issued orders to begin assembly of next-generation iPads for an early-March launch.

The report is based on unnamed Chinese sources, and it noted the iPad 3 will look virtually identical to iPad 2 while featuring the same hardware button configuration, shape of the dock connector and  position of the two cameras. Even the Smart Cover will work with iPad 3; although, tipsters mentioned magnets will be placed in a “different position.”  Some form fitting cases may not work, however, as the device is slightly thicker, probably to accommodate added parts.

Such a description validates yesterday’s iLounge story based on editor Jeremy Horwitz’s alleged hands-on experience with an iPad 3 prototype that he said is focused on internal changes rather than chassis redesign. Macotakara also noted that Sharp would provide panels for the device that sport a 2048-by-1536-pixel resolution. This is in line with earlier reports by DigiTimes and the Wall Street Journal.

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Imagination Technologies, a British-based maker of a mobile graphics and microprocessor chip technology, announced last June its new mobile graphics architecture code-named Rogue. Today, the company shed more light on the first two PowerVR Series6 designs, the G6400 and G6200. According to a press release issued today, we can expect 20 times the performance of current-generation hardware with five times greater efficiency.

The G6400 and G6200 have two and four compute clusters, respectively, with computing performance “exceeding 100 gigaFLOPS” and “reaching the teraFLOPS range.” Base features supported by all members of the Series6 family include OpenGL ES ‘Halti,’ OpenGL 3.x/4.x, OpenCL 1.x – all of which are supported and widely used by Apple’s iOS mobile operating system. They also support Microsoft’s DirectX10 and some chips are said to be WHQL DirectX11.1-compliant.

Eight chip makers signed up for the new designs so far, including ST-Ericsson, Texas Instruments, MediaTek, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments and Renesas Electronics. Whether Apple is amongst the two unnamed licensees is anyone’s guess, but one could assume that Apple’s custom-built mobile chips would continue using Imagination’s efficient PowerVR architecture.

Other advanced features supported by the Rogue architecture include:

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln0daAowdJI#!]

Waterproofing your iPhone the old-school way has a major downside to it knowing the majority of water-resistant cases add bulk to your device and are downright ugly. At this year’s CES, companies that have solved this problem somewhat effectively are attracting attention from big media and attendees. Liquipel tackled the issue with an oleophobic-like coating that, well, repels water. The nano-sized coating is barely visible to the naked eye and it keeps electronics working even when submerged into a bucket of water, as seen in the clip above. The catch? You need to send your device to Liquipel to apply the coating for you at a $59 value. Check out the video above: It may look like a hoax, but it is the real deal. Another company employs a similar technique, as witnessed in the below clip.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgSZRycg5yQ]

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Amazon today launched touch-optimized Kindle Store for iPad as a standalone web app accessed through the iOS Safari browser. You may remember that the online retail giant released Kindle Cloud Reader in August —also a web app that works great on Apple’s tablet, but this is an entirely different experience. Available on the iPad at www.amazon.com/iPadKindleStore, the web interface totally feels like a native app. It is smooth, natural and supports familiar touch gestures, like swiping left and right to brows the store’s virtual shelves. The design calls for big cover images, large buttons and elegant typeface that’s easy on the eyes, unlike some other HTML5 web apps that feel cluttered on a 9.7-inch screen and cause eye strain…

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The above image is used for illustrative purpose and does not represent iPad 3 case mockup.

iLounge editor Jeremy Horwitz, who at last year’s Consumer Electronics Show scooped an iPad 2-mockup case that eventually proved legit, is back with another exclusive. According to his article, yesterday he was shown what purports to be a next-generation iPad at the CES 2012 show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Even though he did not snap a photograph of it (the above image represents just a pair of iPad 2s), he published some interesting observations that largely support what iLounge heard in November. For starters, iPad 3 might in fact be a bit thicker than the current-generation tablet to make room for new parts:

The new iPad’s body is so slightly thicker than the iPad 2 that the change is unnoticeable on first inspection; a roughly 1mm increase will barely be perceptible to users. We’ve heard that the only accessories that might have issues are cases, and then, only cases that were precisely contoured to fit the iPad 2’s back. […] Switch, button, speaker, and other elements located on the side edges are all the same, as are the headphone and Dock Connector ports. In other words, last year’s accessories should generally work properly with the new model, which is great.

The editor got the impression that what he saw “seemed to be more than half a year old” rather than just manufactured. It is conceivable Horwitz was holding in his hands a pre-production prototype. Looking at the back, Horwitz noticed visual changes that suggest an enhanced camera system…

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Adobe Systems Incorporated, the maker of the popular photo-editing application Photoshop, announced today that a free beta version of Photoshop Lightroom 4 is now available for download. The software highlights several new features and enhancements over the previous version, most notably support for video and geotags. The latter allows you to pinpoint the exact geographical location of your photographs on a Google map. Geotags are automatically imported from photograph Meta data, but they can be applied manually as well.

Other features include minor drawing tool tweaks, the ability to recover blown-out highlights and shadow detail, support for built-in Blurb book publishing, soft proofing and more. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 Beta can be downloaded free of charge at labs.adobe.com (it expires on March 31, 2012). The company will announce availability and price points of the final version in due time. The full list of new features and a video demonstration are right after the break (release notes here).

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UPDATE 1: As several commenters pointed out, it’s probably meant as a gag as Intel executive at one point joked about driving one handed and then without hands at all. The distinction remains unclear though due to audio not being clear enough. Nevertheless, the question remains: Why run the thing through backstage and not give a real-life demo?

UPDATE 2: Acknowledging “the confusion”, the publication followed-up with hands-on video showing F1 2011 running in real-time on the exact same system that Mooley Eden had been using to run the pre-recorded VLC video demo. Find it included at the article bottom, below the fold.

It looks like chip giant Intel has gone too far by attempting to have prospective buyers sold on Ultrabooks. Bright Side of News* editor Anshel Sag caught Intel’s Mooley Eden cheating during yesterday’s press conference at the CES show in Las Vegas. Mooley can be seen in the below video fake-driving a commonplace racing game by Codemasters called F1 2011.

In reality —and you can see it briefly at the beginning of the clip— he simply played back a video file using VLC media player and proceeded to fool the audience into believing they were witnessing a live demonstration of the graphical capabilities of the Ivy Bridge platform that powers forthcoming Ultrabook notebooks.

This prompted the author to dub the unbelievable move a display as “a gross distrust of their own demo.”  Intel promised a massive advertising campaign to help push MacBook Air-like notebooks that have been struggling to steal the limelight of Apple’s machine.

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

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Let’s make it clear: DigiTimes has been coming up with a lot of pretty far out predictions lately. The publication’s accuracy and reliability – at least when it comes to reporting Apple rumors – has been disputed more and more. Now, with that off our chest, the latest tidbit from this Asian trade publication is intriguing.

Apart from claiming that Apple commissioned contract manufacturer Pegatron to produce a small volume of high-resolution iPad 3 units ahead of a March launch and an initial volume of about 7 to 10 million iPad 4 units for an October launch, “Sources from the upstream supply chain” told DigiTimes that Apple is changing its outsourcing strategy as well:

The sources pointed out that Apple will also start changing its outsourcing strategy and will have Pegatron primarily focus on production of the iPad series products with production of the iPhone series products as an auxiliary in 2013, while the strategy for Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) is vice versa.

According to the story, Apple representatives visited Pegatron’s plants in China “several times recently.” A reshuffling in Apple’s supply chain would not be unheard of…

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In what is perhaps surprising to some, Apple’s iPhone 4S is turning the tables in the heated smartphone competition between Apple and Google, latest data from NPD reveals. Focusing on U.S. smartphone data for October and November, the research firm found out that iOS increased its operating system share of U.S. smartphone sales substantially while the Android platform lost significant ground to Apple (via Fortune). Yes, data only includes sales of smartphones, not tablets.

The Cupertino, California-headquartered iPhone maker is now within spitting distance of Google with only four percentage points of difference. iOS was close to doubling its share of the U.S. smartphone market, climbing from 26 percent in the third quarter of 2011 all the way up to 43 percent in October and November. During the same timeframe, Android fell from 60 percent to 47 percent.

Collectively, the two rival platforms grabbed an astounding 90 percent of U.S. smartphone sales. Moreover, the top three best-selling smartphones on NPD’s holiday list belonged to Apple, the iPhone 4S, iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS. What a difference a few weeks of sales make. Another interesting chart and more findings can be found right after the break.

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Apple just released a third beta version of the upcoming iOS 5.1 firmware (Build 9B5141a). The software is available as an over-the-air update for existing iOS 5.1 beta users, but is not yet available (update: now available) as a standalone download through Apple’s developer portal.

As you might imagine, it contains the obligatory bug fixes and improvements. According to the tips we’ve received, it also restores the Enable 3G toggle in the Settings app which has been strangely absent on the iPhone 4S since it’s mid-October release. This should help save battery by switching to Edge connectivity in order to maintain cellular data for applications that do not require high data throughput. iPhone 4S users are currently forced to choose between having 3G cellular data turned on, which decreases battery life, or turning off their cellular data connection altogether.

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Image via The Verge

Carrier AT&T is holding its sixth annual Developer Summit at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas today, and President and CEO Ralph De La Vega addressed some 2,500 attendees from 33 different countries. “What’s good for developers is good for customers,” said La Vega while explaining why AT&T runs this developer summit.

Shortly, Chief Marketing Officer David Christopher took the stage to announce AT&T’s new API platform for HTML5 web applications meant to run across multiple devices and mobile operating systems, reminding that the web really is the ultimate app store. Interesting enough, Visual Voicemail for the iPhone (which turned 5-years-old today) was AT&T’s very first network API, so you could say Apple also helped revolutionize how carriers interoperate.

An impressive 85 percent of all smartphones will have HTML5 browsers by 2016, Christopher explained. The new API Catalog sports 130 individual APIs divided into 14 different categories — it is essentially a revamped U-Verse API catalog. The APIs enable a range of features, such as completely automated sign ups to use APIs in minutes, wrappers for Ruby, PHP and Java and tons of sample code in Github.

A storefront for web apps called the “App Center” will be available later this year (developers can sign up for a beta here). In short, this new platform is conceived from the ground up with HTML5 developers in mind and targets most cellular networks, not just AT&T’s…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP2iU04tb6w]

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According to the latest ChangeWave Research survey posted Monday, both Apple and Samsung are enjoying “explosive momentum” as 2012 begins while other handset makers are struggling to win the hearts of minds of consumers, such as Canada-based Research In Motion, which today updated its struggling BlackBerry platform with new software features, and Taiwan-based HTC, which posted a 26 percent income drop today —its first quarterly profit decline in two years.

Based on data obtained from 4,000 North American consumers, 54 percent of respondents planning to buy a smartphone in the next 90 days will opt for an iPhone. This is a drop from 65 percent last quarter, but more than enough to keep the coveted title of the most sought-after device. The iPhone’s “industry leading” customer satisfaction remains off the chart at 75 percent by vendor and mobile OS each (3 in 4 iPhone owners said they are ‘Very Satisfied’ with their device). Google’s Android is second with 47 percent mobile OS satisfaction rating and Samsung and HTC are at 47 percent each…

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An interesting occurrence happened this morning: In a run up to Apple’s Q1 2012 earnings call, and amid a steady flow of 2012 Consumer Electronics Show announcements where Apple traditionally does not exhibit, the company’s share reached an all-time high by passing $427 a share for a market valuation of $398 billion (Exxon Mobile is at $408.86 billion). As noted by Fortune’s Philip Elmer-Dewitt, the company passed the $426.70 mark it hit briefly one day in mid-October

Interestingly, several analysts boosted their iPhone estimates for the December quarter. Goldman most notably upped their iPhone estimate to 31 million quarterly units, up from the previous 30.2 million estimate. Needham significantly increased their previous 28 million units projection to 32 million units.

By the way, the Apple iPhone turned 5-years-old today. On this very day five years ago, Steve Jobs took the stage at MacWorld Expo to announce the original iPhone. The rest, as the saying goes, is history…

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Popular video sharing service Vimeo announced Android and Windows Phone applications today (9to5Google reported the full story), and Engadget learned that an iPad version is in the works, too. According to their sources and the above screenshot they obtained, Vimeo for iPad will feature full HD streaming, in addition to “an editor with access to the Vimeo Music Store and browse-while-watching capabilities.” Vimeo debuted its iOS app in late-March 2011 and last updated it a month later, so this is welcome news to Apple fans accustomed to getting preferential treatment from app developers.

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We previously told you about the benefits of Bluetooth 4.0 technology found on the iPhone 4S, also TV and —conceivably— rolling out to all Apple products soon. While Zomm’s Lifestyle Connect is not exactly the first Bluetooth 4.0 accessory (bragging rights belong to Find My Car Smart, a Kickstarter project), this device is a dream come true to people seeking a reliable medical solution to relay health information from compatible monitoring solutions “to a trusted network of people and professionals.”

Smaller than a credit card, it connects wirelessly with a Bluetooth 4.0 smartphone such, as the iPhone 4S, allowing you to speak with a live operator dubbed Personal Safety Concierge directly from the integrated speakerphone on the device. The Personal Safety Concierge can then contact your doctor, send status updates via a phone call, SMS or email or even dispatch police, fire or medical rescue to you exact location…

[slideshow]

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The Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock.

If Consumer Electronic Show announcements are an indication, 2012 will be the year Thunderbolt technology picks up significant steam as this year saw a limited uptake stemming from exclusive industry support by early adopter Apple, which rolled out Thunderbolt across its MacBook Air, iMac and Mac mini range.

First up, Belkin is out with a Thunderbolt-enabled dock that allows your MacBook Air to connect to a wide range of peripherals using just one Thunderbolt cable. Akin to its IDF prototype device, the Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock provides a selection of ports that mirror the new 27-inch Apple Thunderbolt display.

According to Belkin, which previewed the stylish port replicator at CES 2012 yesterday, it will feature a Gigabit Ethernet port, a FireWire 800 port, one HDMI port, 3.5mm audio port, three USB 2.0 jacks and two Thunderbolt ports —one upstream and one downstream. If it came with USB3.0, it would be a must-have. The Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock will be available in September 2012 for $299.

Next up, the Elgato Thunderbolt SSD, pictured below. It is first bus-powered Thunderbolt drive that does not need a separate power brick. CNET explained it is quite a feat considering that 10 volts of power of the Thunderbolt interface is shared by the interface itself plus the cable, which has active parts. Sporting a 2.5-inch 128 GB or 256GB SSD unit capped at SATA3 speeds of 6Gbps, the drive will be available in February for approximately $400 or $600, respectively.

Elgato also promised a thinner and short Thunderbolt cable that will be more suitable for this thin external drive than Apple’s standard $49 Thunderbolt cable. Go past the fold for much more Thunderbolt gear unveiled at CES 2012.
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From 9to5Toys.com:

MacMall offers 9to5 readers an additional 3 percent off their lowest price new Mac Desktop products at checkout which yield lowest prices currently available in the U.S. with free shipping.  Mac Minis start at $567.99 and iMacs start at $1105.79.

Your only better option would be to buy a refurb iMac at the online Apple Store for $999.

Speaking of Refurbs at the Apple Store, iPad 2s are in stock again at $419, which is a solid savings of $80 (you might want to wait a few months for an update, however!).

Other current Apple Store refurbs:

MacBook Air: Starting at $799
MacBook Pros: Starting at $929
Thunderbolt Display: $849
Airports: Starting at $85 
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Following up on Lucky Bags that were handed out to Japanese Apple customers this weekend, Apple is also celebrating the Lunar New Year with a one day Apple shopping event, dubbed “Red Friday” on Friday, Jan. 6 in China/Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. In the past, Apple has given modest discounts to its products for the Lunar New Year.

The Lunar New Year celebration starts on Monday, Jan. 23.

To mark our Parallels 7 review below, 9to5Mac and Parallels are teaming up to offer one of our readers a free copy of Parallels every day for the next week.  At the end of the contest, which stretches into 2012, we’ll give one lucky winner* an iPad 2 or MacBook Air.  Here’s how to play:

Retweet this post (“Free copies of Parallels Desktop 7 each day and a chance to win a MacBook Air/ iPad 2. RT to enter! http://bit.ly/vZrzDM”). Once per day limit.  We’ll start again at midnight Pacific time each day.

Parallels will pick a winner and we’ll update daily via @ParallelsMac

The Prizes:

• Grand Prize: New MacBook Air with Windows 7 Home Edition (or iPad 2 with Parallels Mobile), Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac and the Parallels Mobile app for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch
• Daily Prize during the promotion: Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac

For everyone else, we have a $10 off coupon code (“9TO5MAC”) for Parallels 7 which makes the update $39.99. For new users, take $10 off for $69.99 and for Students, it is $39.99.  Of course, Amazon has Parallels 7 for $50 in the box if you don’t mind the wait.

Learn more about Parallels Desktop 7’s new features at their ParallelsTV YouTube page.

*note: Parallels winners can be anywhere in the world, MacBook Air winners must be in the US.

Update: Congrats to @Michael_EDavis, @LGM777, @Zyxz13 & @arifmyself for winning a copy of Parallels. 

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Apply a healthy dose of skepticism to this report rather than take it at face value. According to Focus Taiwan, that also cited a local report in the Chinese Economic Times newspaper, Apple is shooting to launch iPad 3 on Steve Jobs’ birthday anniversary Feb. 24.

The newspaper based their report on sources close to Taiwanese makers in Apple’s supply chain:

After the iPhone 4S successfully took the tech market by storm, the iPad3 is widely expected to be Apple’s first hit product to be released next year. Industry sources said the first shipment of the iPad3 could exceed 4 million units. Because it is a new gadget, it is taking time for makers in the supply chain to raise their yield rates. The sources said all OEM and ODM makers have exercised great caution in ensuring the smooth operations of their production lines.

The original iPad was introduced Jan. 27, 2010 by Apple’s then-CEO Steve Jobs. In order to meet the deadline, the report noted, Asian component makers and contract manufacturers are demanding that employees work during the Lunar New Year holiday. This February 24 “launch” date should be referring to an availbility versus an introduction date as Feb. 24 is a Friday and Apple typically releases their major products like iPhones and iPads on Fridays.

Specifically…

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Mockup by CiccareseDesing. 

CiccareseDesign has quite a head-turning portfolio of Apple product mockups. Gorgeous, brave and imaginative… most are, however, poised to remain a wishful thought. Its newest rendering is especially interesting as it depicts what a rumored 7.85-inch iPad would look like compared to the existing 9.7-inch device. According to supply chain sources, Apple is set to release the iPad mini in 2012, with the production slated for the second quarter.

For those that never held Amazon’s 7-inch Kindle Fire, this mockup helps people understand why a smaller iPad might make sense. Still not convinced? Print a pair of downloadable PDFs (Home Screen, Keyboard) at 100 percent size. You will immediately get a feel of how a 7.85-inch Apple tablet could measure against the iPad. You can also view it in actual size in the iPad’s web browser here.

Another mockup is showcased after the break.

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