Apple

Patently Apple today reveals a trademark today by Apple for the word “Noteworthy” which they postulate is a new OCR app that could be released in iOS 5.  One use would be taking an image and turing it into a document like Google’s recent Docs app does.

Update: Apple has a Font named Noteworthy which is likely the reason for registration
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Computer maker Hewlett-Packard isn’t impressed with Thunderbolt, a high-speed I/O technology Apple and Intel co-developed as a new industry standard meant to replace a plethora of slow and incompatible connection standards in use today. Speaking to PCWorld yesterday, HP’s worldwide marketing manager for desktops Xavier Lauwaert said the company did look into the technology but walked away unimpressed.

We did look at Thunderbolt. Were still looking into it. Haven’t found a value proposition yet. On the PC side, everybody seems to be content with the expansion of USB 3.0. Do we need to go into more fancy solutions? Not convinced yet.

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Image via Sean Percival

Our spidey sense has been tingling over the past few weeks on this “Late May, 10th anniversary meeting”  we’ve been hearing much about.  Today BGR lays the groundwork for such an event:

• There’s an overnight shift planned for around 10-15 individuals at each Apple Store to work from late Saturday all the way through mid-Sunday.
• During the overnight shift, it’s going to be required that employees lock cell phones in the main office. They will also have to sign an NDA with Apple.
• There are a wide variety of roles, we’re told, for the overnight shift. This includes all visuals staff, a manager, a business team member, a few Genius team members, one back-of-house employee, and a few generic Apple specialists.
• Apple stores have apparently already received hardware to install, and are expecting more hardware to come on Friday or Saturday. All materials that Apple stores have received have been instructed to be under lock and key until after close on Saturday night.
• Apple employees will be putting up black curtains at all stores so that people walking outside cannot see inside.
• Employees have had to download gigabytes of data from Apple corporate labeled, “training” in a password-protected zipped folder that won’t accessible to managers or anyone else until Saturday afternoon.
• Lastly, all Apple retail stores have mandatory meetings on Sunday, May 22nd. Most meeting are scheduled for the morning, but there are evening meetings as well.

Additionally, MacStories is reporting that the normal Sunday evening meeting has been moved to the morning.
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Depending who you ask, the Tyson’s Corner Virginia or Glendale Galleria California Apple stores were the first and second Apple stores to open and have gained landmark status as a result.  This week, the LATimes is reported that Apple is opening an Apple Store right across the street from the original Glendale Galleria Store at the new Americana at Brand shopping center.  This is notable for at least one of the following two reasons:

1. It will be the first time Apple has opened a Store across the street from another Apple Store, which will surely be compared to the absurd density of some Starbucks locations.
2. If Apple is instead moving/relocating across the street, it will mean one of Apple’s original Stores will be closed down.  That would be especially tragic since many people view the Glendale Galleria Apple Store as the original.

Though the LA Times frames the situation as “An additional Store”, the second option is given some weight as the Nordstom at the Glendale Galleria is closing up shop and moving across the street.  Apple is already hiring for positions at the new store…
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via some Dutch Dude who didn’t have any issues installing an SSD in the Hard drive Bay

According to a blog post at OWC, the new iMacs have a temperature sensor in their hard drives which will restrict replacing with non-Apple hard drives.

For the main 3.5″ SATA hard drive bay in the new 2011 machines, Apple has altered the SATA power connector itself from a standard 4-pin power configuration to a 7-pin configuration. Hard drive temperature control is regulated by a combination of this cable and Apple proprietary firmware on the hard drive itself. From our testing, we’ve found that removing this drive from the system, or even from that bay itself, causes the machine’s hard drive fans to spin at maximum speed and replacing the drive with any non-Apple original drive will result in the iMac failing the Apple Hardware Test (AHT).

Here’s the thing though:  What if you order an iMac without a hard drive?  One iMac option is just the SSD which is mounted on the optical drive?  Perhaps there is a way to disable fans altogether and thats what ships with SSD-only iMacs?

Clearly some more investigative work is necessary.

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Apple has just pushed out a software update to the Apple TV and it’s version 4.2.2 build number 8F305. The update is likely bug fix related and we’ll update with more details when they are available.

Here’s the direct download link.

Update: Here are the updates:

Jailbreakers might want to hold off.  Via MuscleNerd: (thanks commenter)

Apple just pushed out a lone AppleTV2G update…stay away from that if you’re currently untethered on ATV2G

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Update: we just got the following unverified account:

According to my friend who was at the Sanlitun Apple Store when the incident took place, there were dozens of resellers outside the store trying to get the white iPhone 4, they were told to wait in line and was not allowed to go inside. Resellers got pissed and smashed the glass door, which costs about 300,000RMB or 46,000USD, according to an apple employee at the store. Then a foreign(non-Chinese) employee came out from the store with a metal club and hit 4 people, including 2 young men and 2 middle age women. All 4 people are hospitalized right now and no money was paid by apple for medical purposes.

Pictures are just coming in but it appears that there was some sort of incident between “foreign Apple Store Employees” and some locals during the iPad 2 launch.  One account:

The afternoon of May 7, Beijing SanLiTun store Apple, crowds queued to buy the iPhone4 conflict with in-store staff. One stands more than 1.9 metres for expatriate staff armed with iron rods Brawl wounded four customers. A glass door of the store were hit and destroyed by excited crowds. Are 4-bit the injured have been admitted to hospital

Another account has another poorly translated view:

Sanlitun Apple Store bloodshed, because too many people queuing waiting suddenly closed shop, where the weather is so hot multi-line Burongyia, Apple stunned party to a foreigner and a Chinese man actually hands-on, people with the scene confirmed the man was wounded also the guests lined up to buy Apple products.We look at the quality of foreigners, but also that, to earn the money we have in China is also the name of our people.

We’re not sure exactly what went down but it doesn’t look too good.

In other Apple Store glass smashing news, the Westlake Cleveland Apple store was robbed.  24 MacBook and 1 iPod stolen.  Perpetrators were last seen heading east (1999?)

More pictures of bloodied people and one final account below:

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…in fact, if Apple turned on the HSPA part of the Gobi 14.4 chips in its Verizon iPad and iPhone, they’d already be 4G, at least according to AT&T.

Chris Ziegler noticed today that AT&T has started calling regular old 14.4Mbps HSPA devices 4G in its latest marketing materials.  Until recently, the pseudo ‘4G’ was reserved for HSPA+ on T-Mobile which tops out at 21Mbps.  However, with the release of the HPalm Veer 4G, HTC Inspire 4G and  Motorola Atrix 4G, AT&T has extended the ‘4G’ down to speeds of  14.4 Mbps, the same speed as those Qualcomm chips that Apple loves.

Most industry watchers expect the next iPhone to run on some version of the Qualcomm chip that the Verizon has which would let it do double radio duty and be operable on all US networks.

As Ziegler notes, AT&T is paving the way to charge extra for the benefit of using the newly branded ‘4G’ which doesn’t sound good to us.
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Apple has long used the proxy of iTunes to push updates to its iOS devices: when a new software update is available, users need to plug their device in via USB, click update, and the new software version is downloaded and installed.

Smartphone competitors have long offered a different, more direct method for software updates that happens over-the-air. Specifically, when an update to Google’s Android operating system or HP/Palm’s webOS is released, users are provided an update notification and can update the software right on their phone. No computer required.

Now, Apple wants to provide the same convenience to their iPhone users and is preparing to provide over-the-air iOS updates, starting this fall.

Multiple sources (one as far back as March) say the new feature will debut in iOS 5, meaning iOS 5 will not come over-the-air but following point updates to it will. Just like tethering in iOS 3, Apple has the technology but cannot just unleash it everywhere. Apple and Verizon Wireless are said to have been in talks over these wireless software updates since early this year. Sources could not comment on whether or not Apple is negotiating similar deals with AT&T or international iPhone carriers.

The iOS-based AppleTV has been able to update itself without iTunes intervention so the hooks are obviously in iOS.  Two things to note:

1. Updates are now over 600MB.  Apple would have to make these smaller to get the carriers to agree to push these things as they are.  We believe that Apple will make the updates much smaller by using incremental patches rather than full OS downloads
2. iTunes provides the backup to the iOS device so a failed update would need some sort of backup.  We think there will be a Cloud-based backup system.

Obviously, if this is a feature in iOS 5, it should conceivably make its way to iPad and iPod touches as well.  That means  iTunes may no longer be a needed conduit for updating iOS devices in the future.  It would also mean that the iPad could finally be a stand alone device.

Mockup below

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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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Apple knows what it is doing in suing Samsung, right?

We hope so.

The soon to be biggest phone maker in the world, who has been making phones and patenting its technology since before Apple was making iPods, is suing Apple in the US after suing Apple abroad last week.  The move is in obvious response to Apple suing its biggest parts contractor for allegedly copying its iPhone and iPad designs with its Android phones and tablets. Samsung received the second-highest number of U.S. patents last year after International Business Machines Corp.

The lawsuit intensifies a legal dispute that began when Cupertino, California-based Apple sued Samsung earlier this month, claiming the Galaxy products “slavishly” copied iPad and iPhone technology and design. Samsung, which is also a supplier of some Apple chips, retaliated last week with lawsuits in Seoul, Tokyo and Mannheim, Germany.

In the U.S. complaint, Samsung accuses Apple of violating patents that “relate to fundamental innovations that increase mobile device reliability, efficiency, and quality, and improve user interface in mobile handsets and other products.”

The patented technology includes ways that a phone allows calls and Internet surfing at the same time; improvements in how text messages and attachments are sent; reductions in interference among mobile devices; and increases in the capacity of mobile networks, according to the complaint

Good times.

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All current signs point to an iMac refresh sometime next week. The rumors started a few weeks ago when an unsourced report claimed that refreshed iMacs are en route to the United States for a late April or early May launch. Then, just last week, our sources across the globe backed up these claims, saying that iMac shipments and components are very constrained. Yesterday, our colleague Mr. X told us to expect new iMacs the week of May 2nd as Apple will officially stop shipping iMacs to resellers this week (week of April 25th).

Since Apple tends to release new products on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the likelihood of new iMacs with Thunderbolt I/O and Intel’s latest Sandy Bridge processors is high for May 3rd or 4th. Now, a reader tells us that Apple has delayed his order for an iMac from the Apple online education store. The order was not completely cancelled but simply delayed to the week of May 2nd. A May 2nd ship date is a possible new iMac release day but also would give Apple enough time to make a May 4th delivery date.

Due to an unexpected delay, we are unable to ship the following item(s)
by the date that you were originally quoted:

Z0JP, IMAC 27\”/5750/SD
will now ship on or before
May 02, 2011

Since BGR broke the news that Apple is testing, or has tested, a version of the iPhone that works on T-Mobile USA’s network, we started thinking about the future of the iPhone. Specifically, the fifth-generation product that is not too far off from public consumption. Right now, the iPhone 5 – or whatever Apple ends up calling it – does not seem to be such a big hardware upgrade. Sure there are reports that peg a gesture-based home button and 3.7 inch display (which we would love), but more reports are talking an iPhone 4 design, an A5 chip, and possibly a better camera.

What could Apple throw into the purported iPhone 5 package to make it a better device and a device that more people would buy? Right now, the general consensus is that Apple is going to use a Qualcomm chip within the iPhone 5 that can connect to both Verizon (CDMA) and AT&T (GSM) networks around the world. What about T-Mobile? Apple is obviously testing the T-Mobile iPhone (4S?) and with the technology available for Apple to create an antenna system that supports both types of GSM networks, what stops Apple from making an AT&T+T-Mobile iPhone 5? We received an unconfirmed report, from a connected individual, that Apple is actually testing a device that runs on both networks…

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http://www.foxcharlotte.com/v/?i=119900869

Charlotte local news channel WCCB-TV did some snooping around the new Apple  Maiden, NC data center and details the facility including the possibility that Apple may open a campus in the area on another 70 acres they’ve purchased.
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G-Form, a protective-wear company that is transitioning to iPad enclosures loves doing these stunts. In the video below, someone drops an iPad in their extreme sleeve out of an ultralight at 500 feet. The camera falls off but it looks like the iPad survives.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKNdknJI53Q?rel=0&hd=1&w=640&h=390]

Unfortunately they are only on pre-order.  The company promises to deliver on May 10th.
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The above video pits browsing capabilities of Windows Phone’s Internet Explorer 9 mobile running on a “Mango” device against iOS’ Safari browser running on an iPhone 4 and Android’s WebKit-based browser running on a Samsung Nexus S. The results clearly show IE taking the lead in terms of speed. WinRumors explains that the Windows Phone browser came in first with 20 frames per second versus only two frames per second for mobile Safari, or ten times slower. Android came in second with 11 frames per second.

Naysayers are free to test their device themselves by visiting said benchmark in mobile Safari. Something’s fishy here, if you ask me. The HTML5 speed reading test comes from the Microsoft-operated ietestdrive.com site and it’s just one of many available tests. How do we know the test wasn’t specifically designed to favor Microsoft’s mobile operating system? It wouldn’t be the first time flawed testing was used to bash Apple’s browser. Read on…

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Thunderbolt interconnect, a technology jointly developed by Apple and Intel which debuted February 24 on the new MacBook Pros, will become widely available to third-parties this quarter via the official development kit, Intel said yesterday. This is important for Mac users eager to take advantage of this technology.

Even though pundits had initially slammed Intel for limiting Thunderbolt to the new MacBook Pros, even saying this would spell doom for the new technology, the early release of an SDK means we can expect a lot of Thunderbolt-enabled products by the year’s end. In addition to Mac notebooks, Intel is working with other players to embrace Thunderbolt. At NAB 2011 several video and storage companion products from AJA, BlackMagic, Matrox, Sonnet, G-Tech, Promise and La Cie are being demoed.

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A BGR Source has the 4.3.2 update and it appears to fix those Verizon iPad 2 issues that have 3G connections freezing. The update…

will fix the issues we’ve been hearing about with some Verizon iPad 2 models. Additionally, the new update is said to contain a fix for FaceTime in addition to security fixes for things like WebKit vulnerabilities and other minor changes.

It isn’t certain yet if this update is for Verizon iPhone 4s but that’s a bit …due as well.
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According to ABCNews (via Fortune) Simon and Shuster will be publishing the Walter Isaacson Authorized Biography of Steve Jobs in early 2012. The title is a curious: iSteve: The Book of Jobs

The Jobs book will be his fourth major biography. In addition to Kissinger: A Biography (1992) he has written Benjamin Franklin: An American Life (2003) and Einstein: His Life and Universe (2007). His most recent book is American Sketches: Great Leaders, Creative Thinkers, and Heroes of a Hurricane (2009).

The Jobs book was announced in February of last year but now it has a title and release date.  Fortune has a great profile on Isaacson who has a long history of convincing notable people to tell them their story.

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image via Allan Tepper

We’re getting some information out of NAB that Matrox just announced it will be first to market with 7 products on built on Thunderbolt including an adapter that will allow all older MXO family products to work with Thunderbolt enabled Macs.

Update: Matrox just updated its Facebook Page with this:

Exiting News from Matrox just released at NAB: Thunderbolt support for all existing and new MXO2 Products! Full Connectivity with all platforms for video playback, capture and streaming, on laptops or desktops (PC & MAC). Thunderbolt adapter can be purchased separately for existing MXO2 Owners, or can be bundled with any new MXO2 Product.

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