iOS Devices

These estimates are just on the Bloomberg machines now.  We were expecting more RAM on this as yet non-existant iPhone 5. We’ll update when/if Bloomberg posts publicly…developing
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Yesterday, we broke the news that Apple was launching an ‘iMac for Education’ with downgraded specs to the education market for $999.  It was originally scheduled to be released toward the middle of the month (August 16th was set to be release date – and it still is when they hit the streets), but with the cat out of the bag, Apple went public with the details today.

As per usual, our man Mr. X, was spot on with details revealing:

• 3.1GHz Intel Core i3 Dual-Core, 21.5-inch LCD
• AMD Radeon HD 6750 with 256 MB, 2GB RAM
• 250GB Hard Drive, SuperDrive, OS X Lion

Some interesting notes about the machine:

• It appears to be a hybrid between this year’s model and last year’s with slower processors and this year’s video card
• No Thunderbolt underscores that these are aimed at labs and kiosk type situations.  Even Apple’s $599 entry Mac Mini now has Thunderbolt
• Half the RAM at a paltry 2GB seems absurdly low. Again, this screams “kiosk!” Interestingly, Apple says the upgrades are “only configurable at the Apple Store” but lists RAM modules to the sides (right).
• We’re told that this is the Education price of 1 of these machines and there are additional price drops at volume with the machine quickly hitting $899 in bulk and below (EDUs talk to your Apple rep!)

For those jealous of the EDU-only pricing, Apple still offers the previous model refurbished with the exact same specs (but twice the RAM, older GPU) for just  $929.

Orange UK and Apple have teamed up to deliver a free iTunes movie rental every Thursday to certain Orange UK subscribers. The offer is available to Orange Home Broadband customers in addition to users on the mobile network with pay monthly, pay as you go, mobile broadband, and business accounts. Every Thursday, supported subscribers can access their iTunes redemption code via the Orange Film To Go mobile application, via the promotion’s official website, or by sending a text message to 85060 with the phrase FILMTOGO. Although unclear, it seems that the movies will be selected by Orange, with films The Wrestler and The Ghost and Che: Part One being offered at launch. The full press release is after the break.

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Update: The date in the file has moved a day forward.

We know you are just rooting through iOS Beta 5 now, but we’re think we’ve cracked the OTA update date code.

Apple plans to release their next developer seed of iOS 5, Beta 6, on Thursday, August 18th according to some codes a few developers sent our way. The sources, who provided us with the exact date and time of today’s iOS 5 beta 5 release (which we were skeptical of – because it was a Saturday), warns that because we are still days away from the planned release, the seeding can be delayed due to bugs or other reasons out of our control.

Anyway, you might want to block out your calendar for Thursday evening.

Thanks, Yarin, Andre and  A!

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Since opening the tool for developers to migrate from MobileMe to iCloud, Apple has revealed to MobileMe users that they will retain their MobileMe storage when their account becomes an iCloud account. Standard $100 MobileMe accounts included 20GB of storage and free iCloud accounts include 5GB of storage, furthermore iCloud users who came over from MobileMe will begin their iCloud journey with 25GB of cloud storage space.

These 25 GB are for email storage, calendar storage, and documents – and, thankfully, media like music, video, and Photo Steam photos do not count against your 25 GB. This plan will go until June 30, 2012 – when MobileMe is completely discontinued – and will cost $40 to renew. These users can still upgrade their accounts to a full 50GB (when the current plan expires) or max out to 75GB right now for a $50 charge. Reader Arman tells us that this does not apply to family MobileMe accounts.

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Alongside the opening of the web tool for developers to migrate their MobileMe account to iCloud, Apple has released a new seed of Mac OS 10.7.2 and a new beta of iCloud for Mac. Mac OS 10.7.2 build 11C35 and iCloud for Mac beta 6 are both required to complete the MobileMe to iCloud transition process.

10.7.2 release notes:

This pre-release version of OS X Lion 10.7.2 is being provided solely for testing iCloud and updates the public release of OS X Lion and any earlier seed of OS X Lion 10.7.2. If you installed a previous seed of OS X Lion 10.7.2, please run the included reversioner package followed by the OS X Lion 10.7.2 update without restarting your system. You should restart your system after installing the OS X Lion 10.7.2 Update. (Mac Developer Program membership is required).

iCloud for Mac beta 6:

iCloud Add-on installer for OS X Lion. (Mac Developer Program membership is required).

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As promised, Apple has opened up a new portal at me.com/move for developers that the MobileMe service to migrate their entire account over to iCloud. The process is quite simple as you can see in the screenshots above and below. Apple lets you take your Mail, Contacts, and Calendar information over to iCloud and also tells users that they can continue using iWeb, iDisk, and Photo Gallery up until June 30, 2012. Apple also tells users that the following will no longer be available: Dashboard widget sync, dock item sync, keychains, signatures, mail account rules, mail smart boxes, and mail preferences. Screenshots of the entire setup process are after the break.

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iOS 5’s speech-to-text functionality appears like it will actually be happening, and we have the screenshot to prove it. A reliable source has sent us the above screenshot which details how the iOS 5 speech-to-text functionality will be activated. As you can see, it is quite simple. Just click the microphone icon next to the space key and start talking. Once the key is clicked, a new microphone overlay will appear as long as you are talking. After that, the text will appear in the text field as you can see in the screenshot above.

This is of course software in beta testing, so the final version may appear differently, at least we know it is actually in testing right now. Another tidbit, from our source, is that the functionality is only planned for Apple’s smaller devices – iPhone and iPod touch – but iPad support could technically make its way in to iOS 5. This would be similar to Apple keeping features like Notification Center widgets and Voice Control as exclusives to the iPhone and iPod touch. Thanks, Mars Volta. 

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[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8ob0yFxOL0″]

Youtube user appletvblack has posted a video of an HTML 5 game running on a 2nd generation Apple TV. The clever hacker played ‘Blackjack 4’ by installing Couch Surfer to obtain a web browser on his Apple TV and then simply navigated to the game. The game isn’t much, but it does show HTML 5 gaming is possible if Apple were to open it up… or if we just jailbreak. (via Redmond Pie)

According to a report from Karthikk (via AppleInsider) Apple is disabling “non-developer” devices that are running iOS 5. The move may seem unsurprising but we have our doubts, like TUAW. Apple, earlier this week, disabled all iOS 5 devices that were running betas 1 and 2. Our iPad running beta 2 was disabled as well – and it is registered to a developer account. Theoretically, there is no way that Apple could know if a device running iOS 5 is not being used by a developer. Apple provides 100 UDID slots to developers so they can beta test their upcoming software with many iOS device users. Apple does not ask developers to specify which UDID actually belongs to the developers.

Apple has no way of telling if people are using the devices just to test the new iOS or to beta test upcoming App Store applications. The thought of Apple doing this simply makes no sense to us. On the other hand, the report also claims that Apple is going after developers who are selling UDID slots to people who want to give the new operating system a spin. First of all, there is no way Apple could know who is selling developer slots unless they specifically advertise their business – like some people do. The people who choose to sell slots without advertising online are likely safe from Apple.

We did receive a tip from a person, though, who claims that their developer account was recently shut down due to their selling of UDID slots:

My iOS developer account was disabled by Apple recently, last month, as it had appeared that I was breaking the agreement (iOS PLA) by distributing Apple confidential data.

Granted, I was selling UDID slots.

In summary, we doubt that Apple is disabling “non-developer” devices running iOS 5. It does appear, though, that some sellers of UDID slots are being shut down.

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…David Stitzinger. The iFixYouri iPhone repair shop and 9to5Mac will be fixing your phone for free! For those who are wondering what happened to David’s iPhone 4, here is his story:

I am going recommend that no one drives a forklift, then hits a rock that sends your AT&T iPhone 4 off the side of the forklift, only to be run over by the forklift.

For those who didn’t win this time around, we will be picking another winner next Friday! Here are the rules:

In order to enter the contest, retweet this post on Twitter with hashtag #HelpiFixYouriand a picture of your broken iDevice for a chance to win. If the story about your broken device requires more than what a tweet can share, send an email off to support@iFixYouri.com or like and share it on their Facebook page.

A winning contestant will be randomly selected each week. You are only allowed to enter once and a winner can only win one time. If it is determined that your device is irreparable (and doesn’t start in Blend-Tec condition), iFixYouri iPhone repair and 9to5mac will replace the device with a good working equivalent!  (also no iPod shuffles or nanos are eligible)

You will also need to follow both iFixYouri and 9to5Mac on Twitter so we can DM you in case you win. Just a hint, send in high-quality pictures of your device.

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The argument involving mobile gaming versus dedicated consoles is heating up, with no sign of dying down. First CEO John Riccitiello praised iPad as Electronic Arts’ fastest-growing platform, then founder Trip Hawkins bashed Apple, saying the company is up for a decline on the grounds of irreplaceability of Steve Jobs, and yesterday Epic Games president Mike Capps challenged the purpose of next-generation console hardware with all the momentum and credibility Apple’s iOS gadgets have been accumulating in the gaming space. He told IndustryGamers (via CNET)

Before the problem was between the consoles and PC where they had very different levels. The power of your PC could be 100 times the power of somebody else’s PC. This time the problem could be mobile. If you look at the ridiculous acceleration of iPhone hardware and technology, trying to find a sweet spot for tech to make your mobile game… I mean, what would your mobile game look like in 2015? Who knows how fast that’s going to operate, but you can bet it’s going to be faster than an Xbox 360.

And then this about iPhone 8 (not a typo):

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Call it a mobile platform heat map of sorts, but we love it. Mobile ad firm Jumptap is out with their July 2011 report analyzing ad-tracking data of about 83 million users on its ad network. The above info graphic immediately captured our attention (via GigaOM) because it tells the story of the iOS vs. Android war in an electoral manner that evening newscasters had trained us to get. As you can see, iOS is doing pretty well in the Northeast and Midweast states, while Android leads in the South and Southweast parts (no, we ain’t making any conclusions here).

Also, Hawaii is a state that falls in the iOS camp, and Alaska over-indexes for both Android and iOS. One word of warning: That pretty chart is sourced from a limited selection of people on Jumptap’s ad network rather then actual sales numbers so the usual caveats apply. One other surprising factoid:

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Bloomberg points at an RBC Daily story which claims that Apple could begin selling iPhone 5 in Russia this November, “almost immediately” after sales begin in the US. The Russian newspaper’s story is sourced from unnamed handset retailers. Bloomberg notes:

Russian cellphone operators are in talks with Apple about speeding up deliveries, as previous iPhone versions were introduced in Russia much later than in the U.S., causing a large volume of unauthorized sales, the newspaper said.

So, the Russians likely won’t be getting their hands on iPhone 5 the same day as their American counterparts. On a brighter note, it took the country three months last time to get iPhone 4 so this would be an improvement (Hope Russian President gets his iPhone unlocked this time) It is interesting that Apple is allegedly prepping to open its first Russian store inside the trade gallery of the reconstructed Hotel Moskva, near Kremlin, in late 2011.

A coincidence?

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Some interesting quotes from RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky who sat down with Apple’s two top dogs to discuss business, chief of operations Timothy Cook and finance wizard Peter Oppenheimer. According to Barron’s, when the analyst cornered the two men about that cheap iPhone we’ve been hearing about a lot, they said Apple wouldn’t launch such a device unless it was an “innovative, category-killer experience” type of product. This is the first time we hear Apple’s top execs comment on the rumored inexpensive iPhone. Their comment jives with Apple’s broader approach to the marketplace (they play in markets where they can differentiate in a big way) and Cook previously teased that “we don’t want to be just for the rich”.

Whatever the “category-killer experience” for the mass market iPhone is supposed to imply is anyone’s guess, but we have a few ideas of our own. An affordable iPhone would no doubt be a big hit in low income and emerging markets and help tackle slow down Android’s growth. The executives made it known they expect “explosion of low-priced Android smartphones”, but are ready for it citing Apple’s “sustained advantages”. They also told the analyst that come this Fall, the iCloud service will be ready for “significant scale”. RBC Capital Markets in their July note estimated apple could sing up around 150 million users to iCloud. More tidbits after the break.

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We’ve covered numerous noteworthy Cydia tweaks over time and most of them tackle the iPhone’s user interface, letting you customize your iOS gadget to death. Interestingly, only a handful of tweaks mess with the stock Maps app in iOS, which is strange considering that the iOS mapping experience, although great, in many areas pales in comparison to Android. The Speed for Maps tweak (via Funky Space Money), as the name suggests, adds a cool speedometer icon to the Maps app that feels as if it were integral to the experience. You can even pick you speed unit in settings (MPH, KPH, FPS and Knots). It won’t replace a pedometer in your iPod nano, but you no longer need a dedicated GPS app (the better ones don’t come cheap) just to be able to read your velocity while in Maps. This is one of the little things Apple should have thought of.

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Eying a quadricopter? Parrot’s AR.Drone may be the best consumer quadricopter you’ll ever want, but at nearly $300 it isn’t for everyone. Not to worry, Keyword Shopping has you covered. The creators of MicroSIMCutter.com just launched the iHelicopter, an RC helicopter that can be navigated using a free controller app on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad.

It’s real simple, you just plug the included transmitter into the audio jack of your device, crank up the volume to the max and fly your iHelicopter around by tilting your device in any direction. Both the the transmitter and the iHelicopter are charged via USB. One note: You won’t be spying on your neighbors with this thing as it doesn’t have on board cameras that feed live video to your iOS gadget. Four different iHelicopter models are offered at iHelicopters.net, each at $60 a pop, which includes free shipping to any destination in the world. More features right below the fold…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orcCF4lq52s]

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Get out your jailbreaker baseball cards and see if you can match some of the guys above. @Jaywalker9988  via iJailbreak
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Apple is rumored to launch a new version of the iPad sometime this fall with the main purported change being a 2048 x 1536 Retina Display. If new parts posted on an online reseller are any indication, this new iPad’s internal structure may be modified as well. The iFixYouri iPad repair shop has taken a look at these new parts and have provided us with descriptions for each of the four. The part you see on top is basically the full external button control cabling system for the next iPad. This includes the power switch, volume keys, and silent/ringer switch.

In terms of the authenticity of the purported iPad 3/HD parts, iFixYouri iPad 2 repair also tells us that the material used to build these parts is the same material found on the iPad 2 parts, but the structure and location of switches is completely different. More part images after the break, including one for the iPhone 5…

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A Digitimes Research survey of tablet shipment expectations for 2011 indicates that Apple will retain its lead by a large margin, but also signals the Cupertino, California firm’s share of the tablet market dropping as Android vendors have begun flooding the marketplace with non-Apple tablets in various forms, shapes, sizes and price points. The report says shipments are expected to surpass 65 million this year, up more than 200 percent from 2010. “While Apple remains the dominant player with its iPad line, other major vendors have looking to gain traction in this booming market”, the report notes.

Some 40 million tablets should be sold between June and December, with Apple growing 76 percent compared to H2 2010 and clearing 25.5 million units in H2 2011. This compares to 15.65 million non-Apple tablets predicted in the second half of 2011, a 65 percent increase versus the first half of 2011. This puts Apple’s H2 2011 share of the tablet market at 61 percent versus 39 percent for all other vendors combined. This isn’t bad at all, but it’s worth noting that Apple’s choke hold grip on the tablet market is easing as consumers face tablet choices other than iPad. Research firm Strategy Analytics pegged Apple’s share of the tablet market in the June quarter at 61.3 percent, while Android tablets have gone from 2.9 percent market share in June 2010 to 30.1 percent in June 2011. Also…

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Three in Sweden is having a “half price sale” on the iPhone 3GS “while supplies last”.  The free iPhone 3GS with the 99 Kroners a month ($15.42) plan works out to about US$370 for the entire contract and that is before minutes and the unlimited Internet (throttled after 1GB) are considered.  That is incredibly cheap.

In the US, the price of an iPhone 3GS off contract is still over $400 and we’re used to some of the lowest prices on Apple products globally.

The move would seem to indicate that the iPhone 3GS is nearing its end of life (EOL) and prices may begin to drop in other countries as well.

The Swedish carrier’s move is interesting because we heard a report last month that the iPhone 3GS would continue to be offered next year at a sub-$350 prepaid option alongside the ‘iPhone 4S’.

Updated: Denmark too!

Machine translated plan, below:
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