9to5 Staff

Mac OS 10.8 testers both inside Apple’s HQ and in the surrounding area of Silicon Valley have been spotted in Web Logs by MacRumors. Indeed, looking at our own logs (above), 10.8 users have been hitting our servers since mid-August, though only in numbers that probably could have been faked.

More recently, however, 10.8 testing has grown more abundant, with testers hitting our site every day including on weekends from non-Apple IP addresses throughout October.

Similar patterns emerged in testing OS 10.7 which leads us to conclude that this is still very early testing and it is likely more than a year before we’ll see even public betas of the OS.

Still, very nice to see Apple’s already working on the next big cat.

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The Wall Street Journal reports that Andrea Jung, the CEO of Avon Products, Inc. and the Apple board member, is facing a scrutiny by the Securities and Exchange Commission over missteps at her company.

Longtime Avon Products Inc. Chief Executive Andrea Jung is fast losing her luster as a string of gaffes raises questions about her management skills. The latest bad news arrived Thursday, when Avon said it faces a pair of Securities and Exchange Commission inquiries. The cosmetics company also tossed out its sales targets, saying they are unreachable. Investors and analysts said those developments were perhaps less troubling than their impression that Avon has a pattern of operational missteps.

Avon shares dropped eighteen percent on the news. It wasn’t immediately clear how the development might reflect Apple, where Jung serves as one of the seven members of board of directors. In addition, Jung in December of 2010 became the co-lead director of Apple’s board to replace Jobs’s mentor and former Intuit CEO, Bill Campbell, also known as the ‘Coach’. Jung also heads the company’s compensation committee.

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The third quarter of 2011 marks a shift in the cell phone biz as Samsung takes the smartphone crown from Apple and China’s ZTE rises to become the world’s fourth-largest cell phone vendor by volume and Apple slides to fifth place. The bad news for Cupertino arrives just as the company for the first time in years missed Street expectations after shipping 17.07 million iPhones in the September quarter, a modest 21 percent annual growth and a notable 16 percent quarterly decline in units. As you recall, Apple in the June quarter sold 20.34 million iPhones, allowing them to beat Nokia and Samsung and become the world’s leading smartphone vendor, prompting Samsung to stop divulging smartphone and tablet shipments for competitive reasons.

Everyone was waiting for the new iPhone 4S.

Samsung today posted their quarterly earnings and they passed iPhone by an estimated ten million units. According to Reuters which cited a Strategy Analytics survey, Samsung shipped about 27.8 million smartphones, up nearly four times annually and 44 percent sequentially. This gave Samsung a 23.8 percent global market share in smartphones vs. 14.8 percent for Apple. Such a strong growth is attributed to their Galaxy smartphones, particularly the Galaxy S II model which sold ten million units in the five months since its introduction. Strategy Analytics attributed Samsung’s success to “a blend of elegant hardware designs, popular Android services, memorable sub-brands and extensive global distribution”, adding:

After just one quarter in the top spot, Apple slipped behind Samsung to second position and captured 15 percent share. Apple’s global smartphone growth rate slowed to just 21 percent annually in Q3 2011, its lowest level for two years. We believe Apple’s growth during the third quarter was affected by consumers and operators awaiting the launch of the new iPhone 4S in the fourth quarter, volatile economic conditions in several key countries, and tougher competition from Samsung’s popular Galaxy S II model.

Apple also slid to fifth place in Strategy Analytics’s worldwide cell phone rankings as ZTE shipped 18.5 million handsets for a five percent global market share. Apple CEO Tim Cook said at the October 4 iPhone 4S introduction that iPhone had five percent share of the global cell phone market, hinting at Apple’s phone strategy:

via Fortune

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The “I finally cracked it” quote from Walter Isaacson’s authorized Steve Jobs biography has gotten fans excited and sparked a new round of speculation involving a full-fledged Apple television set with the Apple TV functionality built-in. Analysts are calling for a 2012 launch, claiming Apple’s been prototyping a television set for a while. Now Nick Bilton chimes in with an article in the New York Times, saying Jobs’s comment probably relates to Siri being the perfect remote control replacement for the confusing user interfaces found on today’s televisions.

As you recall, Jobs told his biographer that “It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine”. Be that as it may, Bilton does not rule out the possibility of an Apple-branded television product, hinting at what the pundits have been hoping for all along:

The television project has been in the works for sometime. I first heard about Apple’s television plans over a year ago.

Apparently, Apple’s been prototyping a television set for some time, if Bilton’s sources are to be believed:

At the time, an individual who has knowledge of Apple’s prototype supply chains overseas told me they had seen some “large parts floating around” that belonged to Apple. This person believed that it “looked like the parts could be part of a large Apple television.”

Even if Apple is not working on such a project at the moment, Bilton writes, the company has it on its roadmap:

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The nation’s third-largest carrier, Sprint Nextel, yesterday reported third-quarter earnings and their CEO Dan Hesse opined “iPhone is worth every penny”. We learned they pay a 40 percent higher subsidy to Apple than the industry average, amounting to $200 more per device. In a conference call with analysts, Hesse said “iPhone users are likely to consume significantly less 3G than the typical user of a dual-mode 3G/4G device”, Barron’s reports. Was the iPhone’s 50 percent lower data consumption the reason why Sprint agreed to reportedly pay $20 billion for 30.5 million iPhone units?

The publication quoted BTIG Research who speculate that if Sprint’s claims are true, “this could become a new key differentiator in Apple’s relationship with the operators that subsidize versus its competitors HTC, Samsung, Motorola, etc.” How does iPhone save data on the Sprint network? The truth is, we don’t know yet. Optimization on the network end tailored specifically to Apple’s handset is one possibility. Hesse’s comment might also stem from a glitch causing slow data speeds for iPhone 4S owners on their network. Also don’t forget the Apple-advertised twofold speed increase with the iPhone 4S only applies to GSM 14.4Mbps HSDPA networks, meaning AT&T in the United States.

Both Verizon and Sprint iPhone 4S continues to be limited to the slower CDMA 3G EVDO radio technology. Verizon is rolling out first-generation 4G LTE network in select cities (Sprint will begin a 4G LTE roll out in 2012) so 4G LTE Android phones on Verizon likely consume more data compared to Sprint’s iPhone 4S that runs on their 3G EVDO network which is noticeably slower than either 4G LTE or AT&T’s 3G HSDPA network. Obviously well-aware that Android people consume more mobile data than iOS, Google introduced new mobile data usage controls in Android 4.0 code-named Ice Cream Sandwich.

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IT managers’ thinking is influenced by a myriad of business factors, including research studies advising them not to adopt Apple’s computers. But their attitude is changing as Forrester Research, one of the most outspoken proponents of the Mac-free business environment, now backpedals on their 2008 report which called for a total banishment of Macs in the workplace – even for the most mundane tasks such as handling email.

According to the Fortune’s Philip Elmer-DeWitt, a new Forrester survey (available for sale on the corporate card here) of 590 IT managers, Mac users comprise “the 17 percent of information workers who use new technologies and find innovative ways to be more productive and serve customers more effectively”. Wow, talk about change in stance. But wait, there’s more. “Mac users are your HEROes and you should enable them not hinder them”, the report concludes, HEROes being a Forrester acronym for Highly Empowered and Resourceful Operatives.

Just like with iPhone, “Macs are being freewheeled into the office” by corporate higher-ups – typically executives, sales reps and other workaholics – who rely on MacBook Pro machines rather than Windows notebooks which “are slowing them down”:

Employees want their PCs to boot in 10 seconds, not 10 minutes, and they don’t want to have to get a cup of coffee while opening a 20 MB spreadsheet in Excel. They’re drawn to uncluttered Macs — especially those with solid-state drives, which are more responsive and boot in seconds.

That, and the looks…

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Apple late yesterday released half a dozen updates addressing issues with iPhoto, QuickTime for Windows, Lion Internet Recovery and Thunderbolt on Mac computers. The iPhoto 9.2.1 update fixed unexpected quits caused by the 3ivxVIdeoCodec plug-in while QuickTime 7.7.1 for Windows squashed a number of security flaws allowing maliciously crafted movie files to compromise your Windows box. 9to5Mac recently reported of displeasing Thunderbolt-related issues causing random blanking out of an attached Apple Thunderbolt Display.

Apple fixed these, too, while improving reliability of Thunderbolt Target Disk Mode performance. Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) updates also addressed problems with Lion Recovery from an Internet connection. Thunderbolt updates are available by choosing Software Update from the Mac menu, unlike the updated iPhoto which is deployed via the Mac App Store client. Release notes after the break…

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ar7Q2LY4rU]
Adobe in early September announced a new online photo management service with accompanying apps and today the company released native iOS and Mac clients for the service named Carousel. The apps let you manage and sync photos across your iOS devices and Mac computers via the cloud and requires a paid account with Adobe’s online storage, a $99 a year value (or $9.99 a month). The storage subscription is available at launch for a discounted price of $59.99, or $5.99 a month.

The Lightroom for iPad, as we dubbed it, Carousel lets you perform non-destructive image editing which preserves your original photo, including fixing exposure, white balance and saturation and adjusting contrast, brightness and vibrance, among other features. You can also assign other people privileges to browse your library, favorite photos and more. Windows and Android versions are also in the works, allowing for the full cross-platform solution for photo management. The Carousel page at Adobe’s site lists the following features:

• Simply add photos to your Adobe Carousel photo library on your iPad, iPhone, or Mac, and you’ll instantly have access to them in Adobe Carousel on your other iPad, iPhone, and Mac devices.
• Easily crop, rotate, adjust exposure, and make other corrections, or lend your photos serious style with unique looks.
• Create a family photo library without the hassle of sending emails, handing off drives, and trying to figure out which photos to touch up or use in special projects.
• Simply invite family members to add photos to your library via their own Adobe Carousel apps, and let them flag their favorites so everyone can quickly find the best-loved shots.
• Share those moments that matter by sending your photos straight from Adobe Carousel to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr.
• Snap new photos right from Adobe Carousel on your iPhone or iPad, and they’ll instantly appear in your photo library on all your devices.

Adobe Carousel is a free download from both the App Store and the Mac App Store. Another cool promo clip after the break…

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Apple issues its 10-K report with the SEC at the end of every fiscal year and this year’s (via MacRumors, TNW) is full of growth. Numbers grew across the board from the end of fiscal 2010 to 2011:

1. Full time employees went from 49,400 to 60,400. Retail was the bulk of that which went from 25.6K to 36K.
2. Retail Stores up 40: 317 to 357.
3. Ad spending up 35% from $691 million to $933 million.
4. R&D spending up 36% to $2.4B.
5. Leases 7 million square feet of building space 3 million of those are for retail.
6. Apple owns 584 acres of land in various locations (including a future solar farm in North Carolina).
7. Finally, Apple ended the year with $81.6B in cash, marketable securities and cash equivalents.

Today, Mint.com launched its free iPad application, giving users a more interactive view of their finances. The app combines everything that users love about Mint.com’s online personal financial management tool with popular iPad capabilities, like:

· Tapping charts to drill down on expenses

· Pinching a timeline to see spending over time

· Scrolling through personalized updates of account alerts, bill reminders and advice.

The app was built native to the iPad, so Mint users will see the application run faster and smoother, because it supports features of the newly released iOS 5.

Full release and more iPad screenshots follow:

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Following the outpouring of grief over Steve Jobs’s October 5 passing and the subsequent October 19 event Apple organized to celebrate its co-founder and visionary, the news has arrived of a musical tribute featuring rockers the Flaming Lips. The band will perform a cover of the Beatles’ “Revolution” at the MTV O Music Awards 2 and their performance will be recorded with an iPad and broadcast on OMusicAwards.com, according to the official blog post.

The O Music Awards broadcast kicks off on October 31 at 8:30 p.m. PDT/11:30 p.m. EST. It is a fitting tribute to Jobs for much more than a choice of song. Steve was a big fan of the English rock band (and pop culture in general). In fact, he regarded The Beatles as being his model for business:

My model for business is The Beatles: They were four guys that kept each other’s negative tendencies in check; they balanced each other. And the total was greater than the sum of the parts. Great things in business are never done by one person, they are done by a team of people.

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Catcher Technology, the maker of the unibody aluminum chassis for Apple’s MacBook notebooks and iMac computers, will be back to full capacity by the month’s end, Reuters reported Wednesday:

Catcher Technology, a casing supplier for Apple Inc., said on Wednesday its China plant will be fully reopened at end of this month. Catcher said earlier in October that a partial production halt at the factory, ordered by Chinese authorities after complaints about pollution, would affect October sales by 20 percent.

Catcher made the news about ten days ago when China’s regulators ordered the company to shut down part of its facility in the eastern city of Suzhou, following complaints about “strange odors” spreading out from the plant. The company produces an estimated 60 percent of enclosures for Apple’s iMac desktop and MacBook Pro and Air notebooks. Following the plant closure, Catcher went to brace for up to 40 percent manufacturing decline, prompting serious concerns about future availability of Apple’s Mac lineup.

Prospects of such an outcome have been troubling watchers in the light of 4.9 million Mac shipments during the September quarter, filed as Apple’s best quarter ever for Mac sales. Apple CEO Tim Cook addressed those concerns in a recent conference call with Wall Street analysts, saying Apple was “investigating and assessing the situation”.

Pegatron, another key Apple supplier commissioned with producing both iPhone 4S and iPad 3 alongside Foxconn, is having problems of its own as China’s recent environmental report called them out on excessive pollution in its three component subsidiaries that assemble Apple gear.

It’s not like Nokia’s been able to produce a serious threat to Apple’s handset so far or that its management’s vision was comparable to that of Steve Jobs and his management team. The ailing handset maker (Apple recently beat Nokia to become the leading smartphone maker in the world) under the new team led by Stephen Elop made a huge gamble by going to bed with Microsoft. Today, the company took the wraps off its brand new device dubbed the Lumia 800, Nokia’s first smartphone powered by Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7.5 ‘Mango’ software. Build quality and the design seem attractive and follow the theme of the ill-fated N9.

Inside, the Lumia 800 packs in an eight-megapixel back camera with Carl Zeiss optics, a 3.7-inch AMOLED ClearBlack curved display and is powered by a 1.4GHz processor. Besting Apple’s iCloud which offers 5GB of free cloud storage for device backups, settings, app data and other content, the Lumia 800 includes 25GB of Microsoft’s SkyDrive storage which can only be used to store music and pictures in the cloud. The music service Nokia Music and turn-by-turn navigation service Nokia Drive are also part of Nokia’s offering.

Check out the promo clip included below (nice chiptune, by the way). The Verge has handy comparison photos of the Lumia 800 vs. iPhone 4S vs. HTC Titan plus a hands-on video after the break and ZDNet provides a handy list of what’s there and what’s not, if you’re interested.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/?v=rdMoRhfd1Sk]

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Carrier Sprint Nextel, the third-largest wireless operator in the United States, today released earnings for the third quarter of 2011 ended September 30. The numbers represent a mishmash of the good, the bad and the future promise of the iPhone. Net operating revenues climbed to $8.3 billion, a two percent annual growth, and net losses were around $301 million, which is a decrease compared to the year-ago quarter. More importantly, Sprint’s wireless net subscribers reached a five year high and the carrier boasted how this was achieved without the benefit of Apple’s iPhone 4S and iPhone 4, which launched October 14.

Speaking of Apple’s handset, Sprint wrote in earnings release:

The launch of this iconic device resulted in Sprint’s best ever day of sales in retail, web and telesales for a device family in Sprint history. The response to this device by current and new customers has surpassed initial expectations. The iPhone is expected to be accretive for Sprint, and iPhone users are expected to be among Sprint’s most profitable customers.

The company also argued that upgrades as a percentage of their subscriber base declined slightly during the third quarter “likely due to customer expectations of a fourth quarter iPhone launch”. Sprint CEO Dan Hesse told analysts on a conference call that Apple’s handset would be worth the investment because the device has already lured record numbers of new customers:

iPhone has an expensive contract, but is worth every penny.

Sprint reportedly bet the farm on Apple’s phone, having pledged to invest an astounding $20 billion to buy 30.5 million iPhones. Sprint CEO Dan Hesse told the board in August that his company “would likely lose money on the deal until 2014″. Reuters reveals that Sprint would pay a 40 percent higher subsidy to Apple than the industry average, amounting to $200 more per device. Sprint would need $7 billion in financing “to cover a cash shortfall caused by heavy investments in the Apple Inc iPhone introduction and a big network upgrade”.

Full earnings report is available here.

Click for larger

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The United States Patent & Trademark Office this morning issued a patent grant to Apple pertaining to the familiar Slide to Unlock gesture. Remember, the now ubiquitous sliding move debuted on the original iPhone as a fun way to keep your device secured while in your pocket. “To unlock the phone, I just take my finger and slide it across. Wanna see that again? We wanted something you couldn’t do by accident in your pocket. Just slide it across – BOOM.”, Steve Jobs said entertaining the invitees at the phone’s unveiling in January of 2007.

The iOS chief Scott Forstall is credited as one of the inventors, in addition to Apple engineers Imran Chaudhri, Bas Ording, Freddy Allen Anzures, Marcel Van Os, Stephen O. Lemay and Greg Christie. Apple actually filed a patent application in December of 2005, a little over a year ahead of the iPhone introduction at the Macworld Expo. Of course, the work on the iPhone had begun a few years earlier.

It’s a bit silly, really, but blame it on the patent system. Be that as it may, nobody now gets to use the popular ‘Slide to Unlock’ without infringing on Apple’s patent unless a court rules it is invalid or prior art. Here’s a video of the 2004-5 Neonode N1m, showing a similar Slide to Unlock that existed before the iPhone (4 minutes in):

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Tj-KS2kfIr0]

Interestingly, a Dutch court ruled that the slide to unlock patent was invalid because of this very device.

The company explains in the granted patent document:

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Like everything else Apple, the Macworld Expo is moving in the direction of iOS devices with a new name: Macworld|iWorld, “the ultimate iFan event”. Today, Paul Kent, the event’s vice president and general manager said:

“The brand is evolving from Macworld [Expo] to Macworld|iWorld to illustrate that the show is about the whole ecosystem of Apple products” The exhibits and conference sessions that have characterized past expos remain with Macworld|iWorld. But show organizers are also adding elements aimed at providing what Kent characterized as a “dynamic culture experience. We have a great core audience, but there’s a great opportunity to evolve the event.”

While there will be added focus on the iOS device ecosystem, Kent was adamant about saying the show was still heavily focused on the Mac Platform. In fact, there is added attention to Mac Developers with the introduction of a new package for OS X developers “to encourage them to display their wares at the show without the expense of having an elaborate booth”.

The event will also retain its training sessions under the new moniker “Tech Talks” and have film and music venues as well.

Apple stopped participating in Macworld Expos in 2009 which changed the dynamic of the show. This move is another major shift.

The event kicks off on January 26th. You can register at the prices listed below. (Note that you’ll need to enter your information to see prices.) That’s up to $100 off and the same as last year’s early pricing model. Discount expires December 5. The prices:

• Exhibits Only Pass for $25
• iFan Pass for $75
• Pre-Conference Workshop Pass for $275
• All Access Pass for $750

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5LGxDQVXew]

As we tweeted last night, Conan adds some flavor to the original.

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According to the newly-released DisplaySearch Tablet Quarterly report, shipments of tablets powered by chips based on ARM’s CPU designs will grow by a projected 211 percent in 2011 to nearly 60 million units. At the same time, mobile devices using Intel’s x86 architecture are not expected to pick up steam until 2013. Meanwhile, Apple sold 11.12 million iPads in the September quarter, a 166 percent annual unit growth, grabbing a Strategy Analytics-estimated 67 percent market share of all quarterly tablet shipments, down from 96 percent in the year-ago quarter when the company took the market by surprise and left competitors flabbergasted.

ARM’s domination in mobile stems from the tremendous growth of smartphones and tablets, the vast majority of which come with chips based on ARM’s blueprints. With iPad accounting for more than two-thirds of tablets and their A-series of chips being based on ARM’s designs, it’s really not surprising that tablet PC architectures are now feeling the heat by ARM and iOS.

In retrospect, the mobile landscape might have looked a lot different had Apple’s deceased co-founder Steve Jobs not listened to the iPod Godfather Tony Fadell. I found this incredibly interesting anecdote yesterday in the authorized Steve Jobs bio by Walter Isaacson…

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Siri, open the pod. I mean, do I need an umbrella today?

It looks like HAL 9000, it’s named similar to the famous antagonist in Arthur C. Clarke’s science fiction Space Odyssey saga and is the first accessory for Siri, the iPhone 4S’s artificial intelligence-powered digital secretary. Introducing the Iris 9000, a voice control module from ThinkGeek that lets you control Apple’s Siri voice assistant from across the room. Just place your iPhone 4S into the Iris 9000 cradle and tap the included micro remote control once to trigger Siri. The accessory features a built-in microphone that picks up your voice from up to 50 feet away and the embedded speaker amplifies Siri’s spoken responses.

And, you can also make and receive phone calls using the Iris 9000 like a standard speakerphone. Plus, the glowing eye that flickers with Siri’s voice completes the effect. Now, if only we could replace Siri’s voice with a soft and conversational (but yet a tad menacing) HAL 9000 voice, which was played in the Space Odyssey saga by actor Douglas Rain. You can register your interest for the Iris 9000 with ThinkGeek today. The accessory will go on sale in Spring 2012 for $59.99. Check out the cool presentation video included right below and go past the fold for the specs.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/?v=0Q0kd5LlANk]

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Former Apple engineer Tony Fadell, referred to as the “father of iPod”, yesterday announced a 100-person startup called Nest which is funded by the likes of Google Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Shasta Ventures, Intertrust, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Generationthat. Their first project? Re-inventing the plain old thermostat appliance. CNET has the story:

With its Learning Thermostat, Nest is going all in and telling the world that a ubiquitous but hard-to-master device that hasn’t had a major redesign in decades is due for a shot of iPod and iPhone design magic. Fadell and his team think they’ve come up with an alternative that’s easy to use and that learns from what we do. Along the way, the company thinks it could cut 20 percent to 30 percent off the average household’s $1,000 or so in annual energy bills.

As you can see in the above illustration, Fadell and Matt Rogers, his engineering sidekick from the Apple days, have taken some design clues from the iPod. Their thermostat uses a click wheel of sorts and has a display to make selections. And of course there will be an app for that, allowing both iOS and Android device owners to remotely control their home heating or cooling systems. You can also control it from afar using your computer or tablet. The beautiful user interface is the brainchild of user interface designer Mike Matas, another former Apple guy and co-founder of Push Pop Press.

That’s not all: The Learning Thermostat, as the name suggests, learns about your energy consumption behavior. It combines this data with weather forecast and current weather conditions, thereby maximizing energy efficiency. After a week of regular use, it picks up your usage habits.

“Nest never stops learning, even as your life and the seasons change”, says a blurb for the official promo clip on YouTube. And anyone can install one of those themselves. In fact, Fadell and his team plan on marketing the device directly to the consumer market. The $249 gadget goes on sale in November at Best Buy stores and is compatible with up to 85 percent of American household HVAC systems. More info and two additional clips after the break.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCJ1PnVlzIE]

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From 9to5Toys.com:

Amazon has the Seagate Expansion 3 TB USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive (STAY3000102) for $110.99 with free shipping. That’s $29 less than the next lowest price we could find on this model and the lowest price we’ve seen on a 3TB External hard drive with enclosure. Obviously, on most Macs this will step down to the 480Mbps USB 2.0 (until Ivy Bridge)

If you are more of the  portable hard drive type, Amazon has the Western Digital My Passport Essentials 1TB Drive for $89 – also the lowest we’ve seen.

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