9to5 Staff

Influential market research firm IDC has begun listing ARM-based mobile chips alongside Intel PC processors. Previously, smartphone and tablet chips based on Arm Holdings’ CPU blueprints were listed in a category separate of Intel-based PC chips. CNET relayed an IDC research note that says:

For the first time, IDC is forecasting PC microprocessor units by processor architecture, including those based on x86 (Intel and Advanced Micro Devices) and those based on ARM.

IDC didn’t say whether the change meant categorizing iPad as a personal computing device. If so, grim surveys highlighting the decline in consumer PC sales could look different. Folks are increasingly picking up tablets and prolonging upgrading their computer. IDC expects that by 2015 over thirteen percent of PC processors will be based on ARM designs.

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“Do you know how many committees we have at Apple? Zero. We have no committees at Apple,” Steve Jobs quipped at the last year’s D8 conference when asked by Walt Mossberg to explain Apple’s engineering process. Well, despite the philosophy of not asking customers what they want (because they don’t know what they need), Apple is very much interested in your feedback and has launched a brand new initiative aimed at surveying select customers about their experiences with Apple products. They call it the Apple Customer Pulse and it’s available via a brand new site. The notice on the site reads:

Apple Customer Pulse is an online community of Apple product users who provide input on a variety of subjects and issues concerning Apple.

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Publisher Hearst has agreed to selling subscriptions to their iPad magazines through iTunes, after months of negotiations with Apple, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Starting with their July issues, iPad apps for Esquire, Popular Mechanics and O, The Oprah Magazine, will be available through a service from Apple that allows customers to sign up for subscriptions inside the apps and get billed automatically. Subscriptions to all three publications will be sold for $1.99 a month or $19.99 a year.

Hearst has also confirmed plans to eventually begin selling newspaper apps (perhaps The San Francisco Chronicle and Houston Chronicle?) and other content through in-app subscriptions. The news leaves Condé Nast as the only major magazine publisher out there not participating in Apple’s new iOS subscription service. However, it’s only a matter of time before Condé Nast joins other big publishers. Last week, Time Inc. reached a deal with Apple enabling them to offer print subscribers digital magazine subscriptions at no additional cost.

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The Daily, an iPad-exclusive digital magazine that launched February 2, has been a money-losing business for Rupert Murdoch-owned media empire so far. According to Peter Kafka of The Wall Street Journal’s MediaMemo blog who chatted with op-chief Chase Carey during an earnings call, the magazine lost ten million dollars last quarter. What’s surprising is the mention of just 800,000 downloads. Even though those downloads don’t equal paid subscriptions, it’s still a disappointing figure for such a high-profile digital publishing operation.

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Adamant to keep the Moore’s Law running, Intel on Wednesday announced a new 3D transistor technology that will lead to faster, thinner and more power-savvy chips in smaller packages. Moreover, these new processors code-named Ivy Bridge will be fabbed on Intel’s latest 22 nanometer process. The chip maker is promising a 37 percent jump in speed with low voltage compared to their 32nm planar transistors.

That and less than half the power consumption when at the same performance as 2D planar transistors on 32nm chips. These advancements will enable new innovations across a range of gadgets, from the smallest handhelds to powerful servers, Intel says. Take it from CEO Paul Ottelini:

Intel’s scientists and engineers have once again reinvented the transistor, this time utilizing the third dimension. Amazing, world-shaping devices will be created from this capability as we advance Moore’s Law into new realms.

What does it mean for you and me? Check it out in the video below the fold…

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Remember iHub, the coolest-looking USB hub for your Mac that looks like a miniaturized Mac mini and has four ports to connect your USB peripherals? You may also remember how Apple’s legal sharks swiftly responded by threatening legal actions against MIC Gadget, the maker of this accessory, because the gizmo rocks the Apple logo that glows when in use.

Well, some people are reporting having received their iHub order. It’s a perfect desktop companion for those latest iMacs, if you ask me…

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Streaming music service Spotify has made an interesting move with a new version of their desktop application that can sync your playlists with iPods without having to go through iTunes. Just connect your iPod shuffle, iPod nano or iPod classic to a computer and watch it automagically appear in the Devices section in the Spotify sidebar to easily sync your iTunes music and playlists.

The Swedish startup wrote in a blog post that an updated version of their free app for iOS and Android devices provides the same functionality over your local WiFi network so you can wirelessly sync your MP3 playlists in Spotify from your computer to your phone. Plus, it’s now possible to wirelessly sync these playlists to an iPod touch.

Spotify also took the battle to Apple’s home turf with a new music download service that undercuts iTunes’ three-tier pricing model with 50p per track pricing in MP3 bundles. All the aforementioned goodies will be rolled out to all users, including those using an ad-supported free music streaming, as part of an automatic update. Check out iPod syncing in a video after the break.

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Teardown wizards over at iFixIt have peeked inside one of the new iMacs. Not surprisingly, Apple’s engineers re-used many design directions from the previous generations. The 21.5-inch model (EMC 2428) they tore apart scored “a very respectable 7 out of 10 Repairability Score” because it’s “moderately difficult” to access the hard drive and optical drive.

It’s possible to upgrade your Sandy Bridge processor, but that requires taking out the logic board which voids warranty.

If you want to remove the logic board, you have to snake it out from the rest of the iMac — a combination of pulling up, as well as away from the casing. After a little bit of jiggling, it comes right out.

Surprisingly, it’s now possible to just “swap out the GPU board for another one” because  the GPU heat sink easily deatches from the logic board.

Replacing the CPU and GPU is possible to do, but you need to remove the logic board from the computer.

However, bear in mind that removing the logic board is “a pain” because it requires fiddling with lots of connectors and it must be wiggled out of the computer. Also, retaining the pristine appearance of the LCD and glass cover when reassembling the machine is “nearly impossible”.

You can now swap the GPU board on the new 21.5-inch iMac for another one. Replacing the CPU is also possible after you remove the logic board from the machine.

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According to a yesterday survey of the app store economics by IHS iSuppli, Apple will grab more than two thirds of the overall market for mobile application stores this year. People will spend an astounding $3.9 billion this year alone on apps for their homescreens, a 78 percent year-on-year revenue increase. For comparison, when the App Store launched back in the summer of 2008, the market for mobile applications was worth just $206.1 million that year ($830.6 million in 2009). The App Store is projected to hit $2.91 billion in revenues this year, equaling to a 76 percent revenue share and a healthy 63.4 percent year-over-year growth. Total market for mobile apps will be worth an estimated $8.3 billion by 2014, iSuppli predicts.

In 2011 Android users are projected to spend a cool $425 million buying apps (why note more?) versus about $200-$300 million for the users of BlackBerry App World and Ovi Store. The App Store’s market share will shrink due to the growth of other mobile platforms, but Apple is still expected to command a 60 percent revenue share for mobile apps by 2014, running at an annual rate of five billion dollars.

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Remember when case maker G-Form recently threw a 12 lb. bowling ball at the iPad which was protected with their extreme sleeve? Yeah, these are the same guys that dropped an iPad from 500 feet just to show off how sturdy their custom-built protective sleeves and cases are. Well, they’re back at it with a new stunt involving a MacBook Pro. The video, which stars Tom Cafaro, shows off the the MacBook Pro G-Form Extreme Sleeve for Laptops, which is available in 11, 13 and 15-inch varieties.

And what better way to demonstrate than dropping a 13-inch notebook off a balcony, from a considerable height. The computer landed flat and survived, thanks to Poron Xrd, a marketing name for a custom material used inside the sleeve’s outer shell that absorbs the force upon impact. The MacBook Pro G-Form Extreme Sleeve for Laptops is available in black and yellow. It will set you back $69.95 for the 11-inch model or ten bucks more for both 13- and 15-inch models.

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SK Telecom and KT Corp, top South Korea telcos, halted online iPad 2 sales Tuesday due to tight supplies, reports Reuters. The unusual move comes merely a week following the iPad 2 arrival to South Korea. A notice on SK Telecom’s site reads:

Our iPad 2 inventory has been depleted and we apologize for failing to provide enough supplies due to the product’s global supply shortages.

Heck, we’ve just learned that the online Apple Store in Singapore has also stopped shipping all WiFi and cellular iPad 2 models, as seen in the below screenshot. Is this a sign of tough supply-related problems for Apple’s iconic tablet?

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Previous-generation iMacs were able to drive both the internal and an external display at the same time, but the newly released iMacs are capable of driving two external displays simultaneously – in addition to the built-in display – thanks to the inclusion of Thunderbolt ports. Apple confirmed to GigaOM’s Darrell Etherington that the new 27-inchers’ two Thunderbolt ports (21.5-inch models only have one) can drive a dual external display setup.

Now, using two Mini DisplayPort adapters plugged in to the 27-inch iMacs Thunderbolt ports, users can simultaneously output to two monitors in addition to the main built-in screen of the iMac. It won’t necessarily clog up your Thunderbolt ports, either, since the tech supports daisy-chaining. That means you should be able to connect to Thunderbolt-compatible storage and then on to a display after that, too, without any loss of quality.

Macrumors was able to verify that the Thunderbolt ports can still make the iMac an external display for Blu-ray or video gaming or a cable box.

An Apple sales representative has confirmed to us that the new 27-inch models do continue to support the feature through the new Thunderbolt ports.

Engadget tested out a dual external monitor setup, seen below.

Apple also offers touchpad options allowing you to replace the included MagicMouse with either a Magic Trackpad or a wired Apple Mouse or go with both wireless MagicMouse and Magic Trackpad for $69 extra.

Also, MacStories explain that you can order a solid state drive in the second drive bay that will boot your operating system.

If you configure your iMac with both the solid-state drive and a Serial ATA hard drive, it will come preformatted with Mac OS X and all your applications on the solid-state drive. Then you can use the hard drive for videos, photos, and other files.

(we’re doubting Apple is supporting symbolic links to the hard drive for media – but maybe in Lion?)

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After weeks of rumor mongering and days of dried up channel inventory, Apple on Tuesday finally refreshed its iMac family. The signature aluminum and glass design remained unchanged, but a look under the hood reveals the latest Intel Sandy Bridge Core i5 and i7 processors from Intel, the new high-speed Thunderbolt I/O interface developed in co-operation with Intel, a FaceTime HD camera and storage upgrades across the board.

• Apple iMac Core i5 Quad 2.5GHz 21.5″ Desktop for $1,199
• Apple iMac Core i5 Quad 2.7GHz 21.5″ Desktop for $1,499
• Apple iMac Core i5 Quad 2.7GHz 27″ Desktop for $1,699
• Apple iMac Core i5 Quad 3.1GHz 27″ Desktop for $1,999

The 21.5-inch models have one Thunderbolt port and 27-inchers have two. Apple says the new processors deliver up to 70 percent faster performance while AMD graphics with “a powerful new media engine for high-performance video encoding and decoding” is responsible for a threefold jump in performance over the previous generation.

The release quoted Apple’s marketing honcho Phil Schiller:

Our customers love the iMac’s aluminum enclosure, gorgeous display and all-in-one design. With next generation quad-core processors, powerful new graphics, Thunderbolt technology and a FaceTime HD camera, we’ve made the world’s best desktop even better.

The new FaceTime HD camera supports high-def video calling between all FaceTime HD-enabled Macs and standard-resolution calls with iPad 2, iPhone 4, the current-generation iPod touch and other Intel-based Macs. This refresh has brought the quad-core performance of the Intel Core i5 processors to the entire family, with an option to upgrade to a Core i7 chip up to 3.4GHz.

Four new SKUs have replaced the previous models with two 21.5-inch and two 27-inc computers, beginning with the $1,199 entry-level 2.5GHz 21.5-incher and all the way up to the flagship $1,999 27-inch iMac with a 3.1GHz processors. More information and the official press release right after the break.

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Adobe has just updated Photoshop to version 12.0.4 this morning. It includes the promised support for Adobe’s new iPad apps designed to work with desktop Photoshop: Adobe Nav, Adobe Color Lava and Adobe Eazel. Said apps are in the process of begin added to the App Store and are not live yet on all regional App Stores. The release notes mention the following changes:

The 12.0.4 update enables specially designed apps on tablets, smartphones, and PCs to communicate with and control interaction with Photoshop CS5 (Located in the File menu: Remote Connections). Now you can be creative on other devices and instantly incorporate what you create into Photoshop. You must install the 12.0.4 update to activate a remote connection between Photoshop CS5 and any apps that Adobe or third-party developers create to interact with Photoshop. For example, Photoshop CS5 must be updated to 12.0.4 to interact with three new iPad apps that Adobe has designed to work with it – Adobe Nav, Adobe Color Lava, and Adobe Eazel. Available on the App Store.

Thanks to Justin for pointing this out! More info and app videos below the fold.

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Apple’s iOS devices, which collectively sold about 200 million units to date, are affecting consumer electronics at large and not just smartphones and tablets. Add digital still cameras to the list of losers as plugged-in sources warn that camera vendors may ship lower than expected units in the second quarter. The reason? Apple’s iPhone and iPad:

Taiwan-based digital still camera (DSC) makers including Ability Enterprise, Altek, Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) and Asia Optical may see their DSC shipments in the second quarter lower than fore casted due to a shortage of small-size panel because of demand from Apple’s iPhone and iPad, according to sources from upstream players.

Virtually not a day goes by that we don’t learn about high demand for iOS gadgets affecting shipments of a particular rival product. Here, just a few examples…

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The Amazon tablet rumor is a bit long in the tooth, but this time it could be for real. Fasten your seatbelts, folks – Asian trade publication DigiTimes just quoted supply chain sources claiming that the online retailer commissioned contract manufacturer Quanta Computer to build a tablet PC device:

Taiwan-based notebook maker Quanta Computer has recently received OEM orders from Amazon for its reported tablet PC and the device will also receive full support from Taiwan-based electrophoretic display (EPD) maker E Ink Holdings (EIH) for supplying touch panel as well as providing its Fringe Field Switching (FFS) technology, according to sources from upstream component makers.

Sources shared other tidbits related to the rumored Amazon tablet.

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If you’re a Chrome fan and love experimenting with early releases, Google has you covered with Chrome Canary for Mac. Arriving nine full months following the Windows release in August of last year, the new Cannary for Mac channel is live with pre-developer builds of Chrome. You know what that means: Highly unstable code, features that come and go, potential security-related problems and headache in general.

On the upside, however, you’ll get access to experimental new capabilities as they’re being developed, not all of which end up in the developer version or trickle down to beta or stable builds. If you’re willing to take the plunge and peer around technological corners for a sneak peek of what’s next in web browsing, why not download Google Chrome Cannary for Mac and take it for a spin.

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Putting aside for a moment the iPhone location tracking issue, what was the last time you used the iOS Maps app? Apple’s built-in software does turn-by-turn navigation and lets you enjoy detailed satellite imagery and street-level photography, but it otherwise leaves a lot to be desired in the features department. For example, it won’t let you attach detailed information about saved location, the stuff like images, notes or voice memos.

GPS Bookmarker, a new mapping tool for iOS and Android devices, solves these shortcomings. The program lets you bookmark your current location and save it in a database on your phone. You can name the location and personalize it with custom categories, notes, pictures or voice memos so you can quickly pinpoint that fine restaurant or a bookstore later. It also does turn-by-turn directions. More info and screenies after the break.

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When a product sells out in minutes or hours, that’s usually a tell-tale sign of high demand. This has been the case with Apple and some other manufacturers. It can also be an indication of inadequate launch supply, which is usually a sign of bigger manufacturing woes. Seems the latter has been the case with Asustek’s hyped tablet-meets-netbook device dubbed Eee Pad Transformer.

German-language publication Netbooknews.de reports Asus hit a major manufacturing roadblock as they are unable to produce more than 10,000 Eee Pad Transformer units a month, substantially below the original target of at least 300,000 monthly units.

This jives with what upstream sources have been saying, that Apple’s rivals are pushing back their May tablet shipments due to the combined effects of the Japan crisis and the fact that Apple virtually gulped supplies of key components such as touch screen panels, NAND flash memory chips, gyroscope sensors from STMicroelectronics and AKM, cover glass, capacitors and chip-resistors and bismaleimide-triazine resin.

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Jailbreakers, rejoice. Soon a sensible way of downloading unsanctioned apps will arrive, the one which won’t require a storefront app like the Cydia Store or Apple’s App Store. The iPhone Download blog points out that Infini Dev Team (no association with the iPhone Dev-team whatsoever) is working on an alternative store dubbed Lima.

It will be 100 percent browser-based so you will simply fire up Safari and head to a store URL to browse, download and install your favorite apps and themes. It’s gonna be just like Android Market or Amazon Appstore for Android, which both allow for browser-based software discovery and installation. Lima is still work in progress, but should be available “soon”, developers say. Check it out in a video after the break.

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In an interesting move, Canada-based BlackBerry maker Research In Motion announced an upcoming new version of BlackBerry Enterprise Server that will support iOS and Android devices in the workplace. Yeah, Apple’s big rival in the smartphone arena will let its BlackBerry-using business customers manage and secure BlackBerry, iOS and Android smartphones and tablets from a single web-based console. iOS and Android support will be an optional component.

It’s based on RIM’s newly acquired ubitexx technology and allows for easy deployment of multiple components in a virtualized environment on a single server. The tool is somewhat limited because the new BlackBerry Enterprise Server won’t support all BlackBerry features on Apple and Google devices. For example, the new BlackBerry Balance capability that separates work from personal data only works with BlackBerrys. What’s in it for RIM?

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