Apple

SprintFeed provides a screenshot of Sprint’s internal systems showing a blackout of some kind due to a major phone launch. The dates September 30th to October 15th fall in line with all of the recent rumors and Sprint’s Galaxy S II gets released next week so that ain’t it. Yeah, Sprint. Welcome to iPhone.

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Developers get downloading! Apple has just begun seeding iTunes 10.5 beta 8 (Mac only) and iWork for iOS beta 3 to developers, on the Developer Center. According to the release notes after the break, iTunes 10.5 beta 8 brings several bug fixes and performance updates for subscribers using iTunes Match beta. The new iTunes beta also brings the ability to back up to iCloud from inside of iTunes. We assume iWork for iOS beta 3 brings bug fixes, too.

Thanks, Hurdle!

If you find anything let us know; tips@9to5mac.com.

Release notes after the break:

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A new report from Taiwan Economic News claims Apple’s main supplier Foxconn has significantly upped its iPad 2 shipment estimates from 14 million to  20 million units for Q3. The report notes this marks a significant “42.8% increase from its original projection” made in July. This confirms previous reports for third quarter estimates we told you about last week.

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Bloomberg (adds to the) reports that Sprint will differentiate itself from AT&T and Verizon iPhone offers by offering a truly unlimited plan.

Sprint, the third-largest U.S. wireless carrier, plans to begin selling the device in mid-October under a deal with Apple for the next model, the iPhone 5, said the people, who wouldn’t be identified because the plans aren’t public. Becoming the country’s only operator to offer the device with unlimited data service for a flat fee may help Sprint draw customers from AT&T and Verizon Wireless, which already carry the phone, they said.

Sprint, probably because it has to, offers reasonable plans without data capping or tiers.  Its subsidiary Virgin Mobile would be even better with its $35-$55 unlimited plans.

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The verdict is in.  German consumers won’t soon be able to pick up a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.

A Dusseldorf court today upheld the temporary sales ban it issued Aug. 9, rejecting Samsung’s bid to overturn it for the most part. The judges won’t ban sales in other European Union countries as Apple had sought, Presiding Judge Johanna Brueckner-Hofmann said when delivering the verdict.

The judge stopped at German borders instead of issuing a full EU wide ban but further rulings could see the ban spread.

“The court is of the opinion that Apple’s minimalistic design isn’t the only technical solution to make a tablet computer, other designs are possible,” Brueckner-Hofmann said. “For the informed customer there remains the predominant overall impression that the device looks” like the design Apple has protected in Europe.

The ruling is a big victory for Apple and as the Verge puts it, “the decision could foreshadow the future of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 7.7 and, honestly, any number of rectangular-shaped tablets in Germany as well.”

FOSSPatents mentions some other “oddities” which could play a role in the widening scope of the case:

 The Community design that the Düsseldorf Regional Court deems valid and infringed was also presented by Apple in its Dutch proceeding, but a judge in The Hague threw it out.

If the face of the Galaxy Tab is what is at issue, it isn’t Samsung that is at fault, it is Android.  Cross-posted at 9to5Google.

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From 9to5Toys:

MacConnection offers readers an additional 3% off Mac desktops and laptops via coupon code “3%MacDeal”. The coupon applies to MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac Pro, Mac Mini, and iMac computers. It’s the best percent-off coupon we’ve seen from MacConnection in recent months. Even better, free shipping applies to most deals, yielding a trove of lowest-we-could-find prices.

Best Bets: New Core i5 MacBook Airs now start $921 (Amazon is $949).  Mac Minis start at $551.88  (Amazon is$569)

MacConnection also has the lowest price we could find on the new Thunderbolt display at $979 and a 128GB Crucial 6Gb/s SSD for $189.99.  AppleTVs are $94.99 as are Airport Express base stations..  Wireless Magic Mouse – $64.99.
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrZ3wxpQzNo]

(KTVU News)

Cupertino had its Apple Campus 2 Environmental Impact meeting this evening.  Apple was represented by Campus 2 Project Manager Terry Reagan.

The City of Cupertino will be the lead agency and will prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Apple Campus 2 Project

While most Cupertino residents seem pretty excited about the idea, some are voicing concerns that traffic and other environmental impacts of the huge building could adversely affect their town. Notable from the video above:

• Contrary to previous reports, Mayor Gilbert Wong said the project wasn’t a “done deal”
• Apple Campus 2 Project Manager Terry Reagan (1.21) is no Steve Jobs when it comes to presenting Apple’s case.

Overall, the backlash seems minimal at best and easily surmountable.  Apple doesn’t appear to have overlooked anything.
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Linea-Pro from Infinite Peripherals

Lowe’s has purchased 42,000 iPhones to begin using a similar payment system that you see in Apple Store’s, as reported by Bloomberg (via The Next Web). We’ve all had the pleasurable event of purchasing an Apple product, where the checkout doesn’t take place at a cash register. Rather, the Apple retail employee whips out a EasyPay iPod touch to take your money. Each Lowe’s store will receive 25 iPhones to process payments and answer customers’ questions.

Along with the purchase of the phones, Lowe’s will roll out a web app called MyLowe’s that will allow customers to look up information regarding products, warranties, etc. Presumably, the device features a credit card scanner added on (as seen above on an iPod touch). Lowe’s isn’t first to hop on this bandwagon, as Old Navy and Home Depot have been doing similar with portable devices.

Update: We have screenshots of the app after the break:

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J.D. Power and Associates has just announced the results of their annual 2011 U.S. Wireless Handset Customer Satisfaction Study. Apple has earned the top-spot on the list for the sixth consecutive time. Apple scored a 838 on a 1,000-point scale with the iPhone, while the runner-up HTC scored a relatively close score of 801. 6,898 smartphone owners took part in the study. As if we already didn’t know, customers are pretty satisfied with Apple’s iPhone, and its 5-star rating for “Ease of Operation”. (via BGR)

Press release after the break:

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Just a quick note on the earlier charity giving email from Tim Cook. It was a lovely gesture and will generate millions of dollars in giving to worthy causes, no doubt.

But to me, this is the first public anti-Jobs move that Apple has made since he resigned the CEO position just a few weeks ago.

• First of all, Jobs is a charity giver but only privately, never on a personal-corporate level, and he certainly never publicly encouraged Apple employees to do so. Of course there is Product(RED) and numerous disaster relief projects. But today’s public email/idea would never have been prioritized by Jobs.
• Second, Apple PR would never have acknowledged an internal email, regardless of its contents to the media. This move was clearly meant to be broadcast to the media. If, for some reason, Jobs had encouraged Apple employees to give to charity it would have been a personal Apple internal-only move.
• Finally, ApplePR doesn’t usually give information, let alone acknowledge rumors blogs. ApplePR told Macrumors that the internal email was legitimate. Jobs would have mowed down those PR reps.
• The move takes a cue from Microsoft, which has had an employee-matching program in place for many years. Microsoft matches up to $12,000 in non-profit donations annually.

This might be a generous move and one that Apple and its employees can feel good about. But it isn’t one that would happen at Steve Jobs’ Apple.

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TmoNews thinks it scooped a possible evidence that Apple will be announcing its next iPhone in about two weeks time. The site cites “a huge number of emails” they received, which apparently mention “that T-Mobile has called an “All Hands Day” meeting for September 24th for unknown reasons”. September 24 is a Saturday, ruling out the possibility of an Apple media event that day. It could be also just T-Mobile prepping for another product arrival, such as the Galaxy S II, or some non-Apple related marketing and sales initiative. Also, Boy Genius Report offers that the memo actually refers to a high-volume day, which does not compute since iPhone 5 is not expected to hit stores before October.

On the other hand, 9to5Mac heard that Apple could begin accepting pre-orders for the next iPhone as early as Friday, September 30. If T-Mobile USA gets the handset, as rumored, they would want to brief employees at least a week before pre-orders start. And T-Mobile holding a meeting on Saturday, September 24, could mean an Apple media event earlier that week, in which case invites should be sent out sometime in the next week or so.
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If you haven’t heard by now, plans for construction of Apple’s 175-acre “Spaceship” campus are well under way. A meeting hosted by Cupertino mayor Gilbert Wong to address any community member’s concerns is scheduled for tonight.

However, it now looks like Apple may have plans to build another campus, as Wong told Mercury News that Apple execs have already approached him with plans for a third campus:

Wong said Apple executives have told him the company is expanding so fast that it expects to start working on Apple Campus 3 at an unknown location after they finish the second headquarters in 2015.

An Apple spokesperson declined to comment. We’re not sure if this is just really early planning for a potential third campus in the future, or if the company has more specific plans. We already know that Apple’s proposed Spaceship campus will be home to 12-13,000 employees.

Perhaps Apple will start moving employees out of Infinite Loop once the spaceship is complete and rebuild a ‘satellite’ campus at that location?

The report from Mercury News also notes that city officials have suggested a sculpture of Steve Jobs be placed on the campus to “honor his contributions as the iconic leader of Cupertino’s biggest taxpayer and cache-maker.”
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Apple’s patent infringement claims against Samsung now include twelve courts in nine countries on four continents. Reuters reported this morning that Apple is now formally suing Samsung in Japan and seeking to block sales of Samsung phones and tablets in the country:

Apple has filed a suit with the Tokyo District Court seeking the suspension of sales of Galaxy S and its sequel S II smartphones and the Galaxy Tab 7 in Japan, according to sources close to the matter. The first hearing was held on Wednesday, the source said.

The iPhone maker is seeking 100 million yen, or approximately $1.3 million, in damages. Apple previously had filed four complaints before the Tokyo District Court, according to patent expert Florian Müller. Coincidentally, Japan is also another high-revenue market for Apple. Other countries where Apple took Samsung to court include Germany, U.K., U.S., Australia and more.

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Somewhere in China there are stacks of millions of completed iPhone 5s.

Digitimes is reporting that iPhone 5 production is at full swing with 150,000 of the devices being produced per day. That isn’t quite the “volume” production level that Apple expects as it gets ready to release its phone for the holiday shopping season, however.

Lens maker Largan Precision, touch panel maker TPK Holding, reinforced glass supplier G-Tech Optoelectronics and battery vendors Simplo and Dynapack are all operating at full swing currently, the sources indicated.

We’ve also heard recently that these iPhones aren’t being boxed up just yet as Apple is finalizing the iOS 5 build that will eventually go on these iPhones.

Shipments of iPhone 5 from the supply chain are expected to reach 5-6 million in September but will then ramp up to over 22 million units in the fourth quarter as suppliers will ship fewer iPhone 4 and CDMA-version iPhones during the final quarter of the year, noted the sources.

Apple’s other manufacturing partner, Pegatron, is said to be holding off on production until 2012 and is expected to only build 15% of the devices overall.

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In search of the missing iPhone, a man claimed Apple came to his home impersonating police to conduct a search. It was later reported by SFWeekly that Apple didn’t impersonate officers, and was rather accompanied by four member of the San Francisco Police Department, as two Apple security guards entered the home. Interestingly, there was no police report filed as such. Today however, Cnet is reporting that the SFPD has begun an investigation to determine what role the officers actually played in the search.

Lt. Troy Dangerfield, of the San Francisco Police Department told CNET today that an internal investigation has begun into learning how officers assisted two Apple security employees search a home for the handset in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood in July.

There’s definitely some sketchy areas around this case that we’d like to be uncovered, and we’ll let you know when we hear more. Check out SFPD’s statement from this weekend after the break:

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Usually, when a brand new industry standard debuts on Macs, there’s a period of shortage before compatible devices begin trickling in. Thunderbolt is no different. Intel partnered with Apple on Thunderbolt earlier this year and it took Apple several months to update its notebooks, iMac and Mac mini families with Thunderbolt I/O. The offering of supported peripherals was initially limited to Apple’s $49 Thunderbolt cable, LaCie and Promise RAIDs, Matrox gear, BlackMagic’s solution for field video editing and a couple other devices.

Following Intel’s release of the Thunderbolt development kit, more companies are announcing Thunderbolt-ready products. By the way, 9to5Mac, MacRumors and other publications received tips that Apple began shipping its new $999 Apple Thunderbolt Display to stores. Now, among the upcoming Thunderbolt gadgets, Magma’s ExpressBox 3T, seen in the above image, caught our attention. Basically a three-slot expansion chassis allowing any Thunderbolt-equipped Mac to connect to PCIe 2.0 cards, the box also lets you power up your MacBook Air’s integrate Intel HD Graphics 3000 processor with any PCIe graphics cards, useful if you’re going to do some serious video-related work or play latest games on your Air. The accessory is to be demoed at the upcoming Intel Developer Forum which runs September 13 – 15 in San Francisco.

Magma joins Sonnet, which also unveiled a similar Thunderbolt box last month. The $150 Sonnet ExpressCard/34 Thunderbolt adapter accepts ExpressCard peripherals and also expands your Air’s connectivity with eSATA, USB 3, Firewire 800, Gigabit Ethernet and SDXC and CF cards. More product highlights after the break…

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In a recent TV interview on State of the Union, International Brotherhood of Teamsters Union President Jim Hoffa claimed Apple is unpatriotic for outsourcing manufacturing overseas.

“Look at Apple, they have $76 billion dollars in their checking account, and they’re not spending it… instead of investing here, everything they do is in China, or in Asia somewhere… There’s something wrong with that.”

Hoffa, in the video embedded below, urged President Obama to “challenge the patriotism” of American companies for investing outside the U.S. in his upcoming jobs speech and also proposes a tax initiative to “start spending some of that money here in America and put Americans back to work”.

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PocketNow shows what it thinks to be an image taken with an iPhone 5.

This (very attractive) photo claims to have been taken by an iPhone 4, but the rest of its EXIF data tells a different story: although the image has been cropped to 2235×2291 (5.12 megapixels), the original picture was a much larger 3264×2448 — or just shy of eight megapixels. What’s more, the lens was recorded as a 4.3mm f/2.4, which is closer to that of a point-and-shoot than the iPhone 4’s actual 3.85mm f/2.8.

We’ve remarked on a number of occasions that the camera holes in the purported iPhone 5 cases seem significantly bigger than the current iPhone 4 cases.  Could this be an indication of some serious glass?

Interestingly the EXIF Data (comparisons below the fold) points to a GPS location here.

This one was “supposedly shot by an Apple engineer eating his lunch at work.”

YUM.

Update: Here is the original image on Flickr

Update 2: Taken down.  That’s obviously a good sign.

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Intuit today announced QuickBooks for Mac 2012, the newest version of its accounting software for small businesses, enhanced for OS X Lion. More than fifty new features are part of the release, including better search with keywords and filters, customer and vendor history panels, transaction list, batch online banking transactions, progress invoicing and more. The software goes on sale September 26 as a digital download on the online Intuit store, Amazon.com, Apple’s online store and other outlets, priced at $230 for a single-user license. Boxed copies will hit store shelves on October 9.  Screenshots below.

Premier edition is also available (a Windows-only product), in addition to an add-on for QuickBooks Premier that lets you sync data with Salesforce. QuickBooks also has a cross platform Cloud edition which also shows some promise for Apple users.

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We’re big fans of the Seagate GoFlex series of hard drives and, as of this evening, Seagate has pushed the size limit to an impressive 4TB on a single physical disk.

Currently the 4TB disk is only available in the form factor to the right for a significant $249 price tag. Obviously, the added density drives will filter down into other form factors including bare drives and RAID arrays in the coming weeks and months.

Seagate’ GoFlex enclosure got a facelift as well but alas, no Thunderbolt action for a few more months according to the press release.

As for the USB Desktop version pictured, we’re looking to get our hands on one for a review as soon as possible.  It is available for pre-order now for $229 at Amazon.

Full press release below:

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iFixyouri iPhone repair shops have just received a limited order of color iPad 2 front glass customized replacements in blue, green, yellow and pink. We’re told that if you use code “9to5mac” at checkout you’ll get 10% off the $200 iPad customization (yes, that’s pretty steep but we have a feeling there is a pretty big market for these).

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