Tech Industry

Apple finally updated the MacBook and MacBook Pro line.  Although, the upgrades are significant, they didn’t include the larger trackpads  that many, including us, had expected.  The Pro line does have multi-touch now, however – though it lacks the new flat-key keyboard design that the MacBooks and Air employ.

The case designs for both lines are also the same.

The processors, video cards and hard drive specs are the only updates – which were expected.  Grab all  the details from Apple.

If you feel stupid for hitting refresh over and over on the Apple store, read this…

While everyone has been expecting new MacBook Pros since Macworld, yesterday all of the major rumors sites got word from retail shops that new MacBook priced models were coming as well.  What does this mean? 

If Apple releases MacBooks and not Pro models, it will mean either something is seriously wrong with the upcoming Pro pipeline (they are way overdue) or that Apple is waiting for an event to launch them because of a design overhaul- most likely alongside the iPhone SDK.

Something else to consider… perhaps Apple is making an aluminum MacBook and essentially merging the product lines – like when the 12 inch Powerbook existed.  Maybe we’ll see a cross the board update? 

Or maybe we’ll see nothing in the MacBook/Pro arena and have to wait even longer :(

MacBook Pros are due for an update, we know this.  If not this Tuesday, then likely at the mid-March event.  By the way, if Apple releases the MacBook Pros before the event, you’ll know they are mostly just a processor/keyboard/trackpad update.  If Apple waits until the event, we are likely to see a full overhaul of the design.  We hope we have to wait.

But those Penryn chips that are going into the MacBook Pros are also the same class of processors that Apple puts in the iMacs.  Could the iMac be the benefactor of new processor (and front side bus) upgrades?  We’d say it is pretty likely.

Also, why are Apple’s laptops the only benefactor of the multi-touch trackpads?  Can we get a multi-touch trackpad for iMacs, Minis and Pros?  External, USB, and about $79?   Sold!

Sorry Wacom :(

It looks like the Apple event originally scheduled for February 26th has been postponed until mid-Marchish.  Apple would have made the decision last week because they usually allow a journalists a week to arrange travel to the event.  The reason for the delay is likely that the SDK isn’t ready for primetime and the developer apps aren’t polished enough to be shown.

Apple has introduced something on just about every Tuesday in 2008 so far so we still are likely to see a new release of some sort – MacBook Pros seem like the most likely candidates.  There are still lots of things that could be released at any moment including:

• More European Apple stores (Munich, Swiss)
• More iPhone areas (Italy, Austria, Spain)
• New MacBook Pros
• A tablet
• 3G iPhone
• iPod/touch price drops
• iMac Processor upgrades
• Something we haven’t thought of?

Apple will likely announce the delay with a Tuesday press release at the same time as announcing the new product…just like the AppleTV Take 2 delay.

Digitimes reports that Zyxtel is shipping the XHOM WiMAX high speed routers to Sprint that will be used in its nationawide WiMAX rollout.  These will be used at Sprint’s customer’s homes and should start hitting the streets very soon.

Many people have been very eager to try out the WiMAX service offered by Sprint Nextel only to be put off by delay after delay.

Sprint’s WiMAX 4G service will compete against existing 3G services from AT&T, Verizon and T-mobile and upcoming next generation  standards.  For more on WiMAX, check the video after the break

The Wall Street Journal is postulating on a behind the scenes Apple – Adobe skirmish about putting Flash in the iPhone.  I think the argument can be summed up with a sentence:

Who will control video on the mobile web?

Need evidence?  If Apple were planning on releasing Flash on the iPhone, why would Youtube be converting their library to H.264?  Yes, the Quicktime quality is better – but not that much better than Flash on a 480×320 inch screen.  What is more important is that every Youtube video put on the web is effectively a interface for a Flash interfaced mobile video platform.

Furthermore, (although likely a red herring) even the lighter versions of Flash tax the processor and by extention the battery life of a device – which provide a convenient excuse for Apple to say it wants to stay off of Flash.

Also, a big part of iTunes movie rentals is moving the data to the iPhone/iPod touch.  At some point in the near future, the Mobile iTunes store will likely have the ability to buy TV shows and movies.  Cool!  But less cool if those things are also availble on the web in Flash players.  For instance, TV shows like Lost.

The Journal speculates that Apple might be working on its own player. 

Frankly, Quicktime is already is the player and playing content from it is already being done.  It can even play flat SWF files.

I think Apple is purposely delaying the release of the Flash in much the same way that they are delaying iChat.  Business reasons rather than technology.

Will Flash ever happen on the iPhone/iPod touch?  Perhaps, and maybe it will happen in the coming weeks…but Apple will certainly be aprehensive about it. 

Mr. Daring Fireball, John Gruber postulates more..

According to Walt at AllThingsD.com, there are many significant differences betweent the two machines (cost, DVD options, GPS, etc.), however, the choice between MacBook Air and the ThinkPad largely comes down to whether you want Leopard or Windows XP (or Vista – ha!).

He states:

There are two more factors worth mentioning. I believe that both the Mac operating system and the software that comes with it are superior to the Windows operating system and built-in software offered on the ThinkPad. And the Mac isn’t susceptible to the vast majority of viruses and spyware, and doesn’t require third-party security software.

Also, the ThinkPad’s screen, when opened, stands significantly higher than the Mac’s, so it is less usable in a coach seat on an airplane when the person in front of you reclines.

If you’re happy with Windows, can afford the price tag, and value the many ports and connectivity options Lenovo has packed in, the thin and rugged X300 is a great choice. It’s a notable engineering accomplishment.

Here is a direct link to the video. –In case you hate readin’

Speculating on yesterday’s news from Linkin Park (really? Apple?  Linkin Park?) front man Mike Shinoda on an upcoming special event, the New York Times is speculating that Apple will announce an end to DRM on iTunes.  It certainly makes sense since Apple has spearheaded the charge against DRM laced music (Apple is fine, it appears, with DRM video) and Amazon has been offering DRM free MP3’s from all of the major labels since last year.

Other things on the agenda?  Hopefully those MacBook Pros, the SDK and, of course, the Beatles (ha:P).

Update: Turns out that the rumor isn’t true – just a special show at the SoHo store.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yvPSWnMs2c&w=425&h=355]

Digitimes reports today on the state of falling NAND Flash prices.  Specifically, the price of a 16Gbit MLC segment is expected to fall below $5 and continue dropping through the rest of the quarter.

This news has an effect on Apple in a few ways.  First, the MacBook Air has a 64Gbyte NAND Flash hard drive option.  If Digitimes is to be believed, the 64Gbytes of NAND Flash should cost about $200.  Memory controllers and other parts of the drive cost more of course.  Keep in mind that SSD Memory uses a high quality NAND memory with more read/writes than standard Flash Memory so prices may not directly correlate.  If memory prices are falling across the board, Apple will likely be able to drop its (currently $1000) prices and/or order higher capacity drives (128GByte) in the coming months.

More importantly… this news also has a strong effect on the iPod business.  When the latest generation of iPod products were released in September, the price of 16Gbits of multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash was around $15 or about 3 times the current prices.   Therefore, Apple could probably lower the prices on its NAND Flash based iPods (Shuffle, Nano, Touch) and iPhone to make up for this discrepancy.

Macrumors found a recent MacOSX gesturing control panel patent from an Apple employee (formerly of Fingerworks).  As they say, this is pretty likely to show up in upcoming builds of OSX and new hardware like the MacBook Pros that should be announced by the end of the month.

Interestingly…

They also claim to be able to distinguish between various combinations of fingers, including adjacent and non-adjacent finger presses. In particular, they point out that the pinky finger when applied sideways to the trackpad (as in the bottom of a fist) generates a unique pattern and could be used for its own customizable functionality: such as adjusting volume or putting the computer to sleep.

Putting the Mac to sleep by applying the bottom of your fist?  It is so natural!

Bloomberg published a story this weekend on how an Apple-Sony merger makes a lot of sense.  It doesn’t.  Let’s see if we can’t break down each argument point by point:

…adding insult to injury, Apple Inc. continues to hold the spotlight. It really is one of the great business stories of the past 50 years. Sony, the inventor of the Walkman, ceded its leadership in portable music players to Apple’s iPod and continues to lose ground.

It really makes you wonder why Apple Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs doesn’t just buy Sony.

It can’t.  Sony is worth over $45 billion – about the same as Yahoo! which also isn’t possible for Apple to purchase (and might make more sense).  A merger?  Yeah, I can see Steve Jobs ceding some control of Apple to outside forces.

Plus, what would Apple get?  Vaios that run Windows Vista?  A semi successful TV hardware business?  Some screen manufacturing?  The only valuable thing to Apple would be the Playstation line and perhaps the media-entertainment divisions which would, of course, alienate the other media companies that compete on iTunes. 

If Sony is smart, they admit they messed up trying to become a media company and spin off that division.  They focus on hardware and better software and stop being crippled by the MPAA/RIAA-like division of their company.  Of course Stringer is NOT the guy to do this.  When Sony gives up on him, this will be the natural tendency.

Such rumors have circulated before, knocking joysticks out of the hands of regulars of Tokyo’s Akihabara electronics district. It’s techie blasphemy to suggest such a thing. It’s almost unthinkable that a name that rose from the ashes of World War II to become a cornerstone of Japan Inc. would be sold to a Silicon Valley guy who doesn’t wear a tie.

The rumors that have circulated in the (distant) past were that Apple was dying and needed someone to rescue.  It was always Sony buying Apple.  Since Apple is worth over twice what Sony is, that obviously isn’t an option.  Also, Sony would fire Stinger in a heartbeat to be led by Steve Jobs – not that he would ever do it.

Apple’s owning Sony makes sense on many levels, though. Imagine the merger of two companies that boast many of the world’s top design experts. Imagine how our living rooms might look, how we might communicate, how we might work, and how we might view what’s possible in 10 years if Sony, which is strong on hardware, and Apple, which excels in software, got together.

The argument here is that Sony’s hardware is better than Apple’s.  I think there would be a lot of people who’d disagree with that.  Sony does have a much broader line of hardware – which Apple might want to expand into at some point – but not all at once.  I think one of Apple’s strengths is its simplicity.

‘Cool Factor’

Few words roll eyes like "synergies," and yet Apple and Sony would enjoy a bull market in them. Sony needs to restore the "cool factor" it once had and Apple now owns. Apple needs Sony’s content — movies, music — to sell to its iPod and Apple TV enthusiasts. Why negotiate deals with record labels and film studios when you can own them?

Because if you buy Sony, you lose all of the other content.  It is kinda like AMD buying ATI.  Intel isn’t playing much ball with ATI anymore and the AMD-ATI merger is looking like a disaster.  Imagine that times a million.

Apple probably wouldn’t mind controlling the Blu-Ray technology that analysts say offers lucrative revenue streams. Sony would give Apple the game franchise it lacks. Its camera line-up also could serve Apple well — an iCamera, anyone? Or an iPhone equipped with one of Sony’s high-definition camcorders? And don’t forget Sony’s impressive stable of patents.

Optical is dead to Apple.  And Apple isn’t in the camera business.  It made the first digital camera (Quicktake 100) and currently includes cameras in all of its portables but is unlikely to want to jump into a fiercely competitive marketplace where it doesn’t have much expertise.

Japan also is a market that Apple has yet to dominate. It’s not just Japan’s flagging economy. It’s also about the large number of domestic rivals with a high level of name recognition in a fiercely competitive market.

You won’t find a more mobile-phone-obsessed population anywhere than Japan. Adding some Sony designs to the iPhone alone could mean huge profits. And Apple might find Sony’s distribution channels helpful in boosting its Asian business.

Apple does plenty good in Japan.  Some would say better than Sony in its own hometown.  Picking up a falling star isn’t going to help Apple.

Microsoft-esque

Sony is having trouble getting its groove back. Even after falling amid subprime-loan turmoil in markets, Apple’s market value is $107 billion to Sony’s $44 billion. Operating margins really tell the story. Sony’s was 0.86 percent at the end of March 2007 versus 2.48 percent in 2003. Apple’s was 18.37 percent at the end of September versus 0.40 percent in 2003.

One could argue Sony is looking a bit Microsoft-esque. Microsoft was slow to realize the extent to which the Googles of the world made it seem more Old Economy than New Economy. It has taken Sony some time to understand Apple’s threat.

So why would Apple want to be associated with Sony again?

Of course, Jobs may have little interest in owning a company with so many fleas. Sony’s bureaucracy, scale and ingrained corporate culture could be a huge distraction for Apple, which has been successful offering a small number of products it makes very, very well. Also, Apple already is looking beyond today to tomorrow. Sony is more about today.

Some Sony product lines could be sold to help Apple pay for its acquisition. Yet how much debt would Apple be willing to take on to finance it? And given Sony’s baggage, an argument can be made that Nintendo Co. would be a better fit for Apple.

Apple doesn’t buy companies too often.  Usually when it does it is to acquire a specific software or technology for products it wants to build.  A Sony merger isn’t in its DNA.  Apple also doesn’t do debt anymore.

Sony has an illustrious history of innovation and coming back from the brink. Counting Sony out could be a dangerous bet for competitors and investors alike. That doesn’t mean Jobs shouldn’t be thinking bigger. As bold acquisitions go, Sony may be Apple’s one and only.

Their illustrious history is coming back from World War II and making the frst transistor radio in 1954 under founder Akio Morita.  Since he left in 1994, it has been a steady decline.  Things haven’t really been that good since 1989 when they picked up Columbia from Coca Cola.  Or since the betamax philosophy took root (kit).

(William Pesek is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)

Nice work Bloomberg.

For someone who follows Apple and to a lesser extent, Sony very carefully, this type of speculation seems a bit "out there".

Robert X. Cringley, seems to have a scoop on the Google gPhone.  He lists the following:

…But Google is not like other companies, which means they are sometimes bolder and sometimes more foolhardy, because a Google-branded gPhone — two of them, actually — is on the way.

Here is what little I know, dropped in my lap this week by a loyal reader (you know who you are). There are two gPhones slated for release with the first coming in September and the second probably not appearing until after Christmas. Given that the first is the high-end model and the second is cheaper, Google will probably expect to make as much money as possible on the higher-margin units at Christmas before revealing the budget model even exists. How Apple-like, eh?

Both will include WiFi, which makes me wonder if a VoIP client will be there, too. The high-end phone will look somewhat like a Blackberry Pearl, but the screen flips up and there is a keyboard for texting. No word on pricing for the high-end phone, but the second model is intended to be less than $100 — AFTER Christmas.

The actual manufacturer of these gPhones will be Samsung (rumors to this point had indicated HTC, so this is a change) and Google is still talking with both T-Mobile and Verizon as potential carriers (rumors also said Verizon had passed — not). That means there are both GSM and W-CDMA versions in the works. Given AT&T’s success with the iPhone I can’t imagine Verizon will let the gPhone pass, but it will be interesting to see if Google will be able go with a nonexclusive deal and get both U.S. carriers.

If you’ve followed Mr. Cringley’s column over they years, you’ll have noticed that his predictions aren’t terribly accurate –  but he does have a good feel of the technology landscape and a well informed audience.  In his piece today he does give a interesting take on the Yahoo-Microsoft merger as well.

As a background, Google had said there was no gPhone when it announced the Android platform last year.

Watch out Macy’s, Apple is moving into 21 West 34th St!  Or will it sublease the space to another tenant?  According to today’s New York Observer, the on-again off-again plans may have finally broken through.  Apple has applied for a building permit at 21 West 34th Street, listing plans for a two-story 19,000-square-foot retail structure on the site, owned by SL Green..

The New York Observer went on to say:

..(Apple) signed a lease with SL Green over a year ago, though in a conference call with investors last year, SL Green executive Andrew Mathias said that Apple is mandated to build something there by the lease, but it may sublease its space.
“We have had some conversations with Apple and they’re exploring their alternatives,” Mr. Mathias said, according to a transcript. “They have not made a formal decision yet either to go ahead and build their building or to sublease the space. They do have an obligation under the lease to build a brand-new building there.”
When asked about the site and why a building permit application listed Apple as the developer, an Apple spokeswoman said that the company has not made any announcements at that location.
An SL Green spokesman, Rick Matthews, did not comment on Apple’s plans beyond the construction, but said SL Green is currently demolishing the site and developing two retail shops adjacent to the Apple parcel.
“Apple will build a store—SL Green will then build and develop the rest of the combined parcel,” Mr. Matthews said.

It would seem likely that Apple is building an Apple Store. 

The store would mark the 4th Manhattan location in addition to its other retail locations in SoHo, 14th St., and 5th Avenue locations.  Back in October, ifoAppleStore reported that the store was a go – after hit had earlier stalled.

If true, it means that China has almost, if not more, iPhones as Europe – though Europe (present company included) probably has a huge amount of unlocked iPhones as well.  Frankly, we don’t think unlocking is a problem as there is no alternative way to purchase in China.

However, if the market is already saturated when Apple goes into China this year, it might hurt sales.  Our opinion, as always is that Apple needs to go away from the model of limiting the carrier choice and letting as many people as possible use these iPhones.

Update: Yep, turns out they are full of **it.

Tinycode, makers of applications and stability patches for the iPhone is displaying some pretty heady info on their webpage.  Until recently, their fixes have been available via the Installer application.

[UPDATE:
Tiny Code no longer produces fixes or applications for firmware 1.1.3.
We can’t say much, but we are working with Apple and with their SDK for the next firmware release and SDK applications and we shouldn’t be missed for long. We will no longer update our Installer.app repo for legality reasons and you should see us soon on iTunes.

This isn’t Exchange support or EA games but it is the first we’ve heard of an organization working with the SDK, if they are being truthful.  Also their assertion that Applications will be distributed through iTunes confirms earlier reports.

Update: their site has gone down…

via Macenstein

Thinksecret is officially dead as of this morning.  The webpage currently lists a 403 Forbidden error.  Although they had been publishing only news clippings for the past 6 months and announced their closure in December, it is still a major loss for the Macintosh community.  Not much else to say really.

We found it interesting that WiMAX was being touted here with Segways.  The two technologies have a lot in common.  When both of these products were announced, they were heralded in the press as ‘the second coming’ tech that would change the world.  Then, as delay after delay after delay hit, the hype wore down and reality set in. 

When the Segway was released, it had lost it’s ‘cool, world –  changing status’ and been relegated to Steve Wozniak geek toy.  We still see some around and now they have off-road models and such – but they aren’t changing the world.  They are doing things like giving police an excuse not to walk or ride bikes or horses. 

Is WiMAX doomed to a similar fate?  The mood around the technology certainly feels that way.  The hype has long since worn off and other mobile technologies seem to be coming up that could render it meaningless?  It is probably too early to tell. 

WiMAX still has a monster partner in Intel and the Internet has a way of leveling the playing field.  VoIP technologies pretty much make legacy telecom garbage a thing of the past.  Also, some help from the Google-Android platform could really help.   It wouldn’t hurt to see Apple jump into the game – almost everyone wants more competition in the wireless industry – even Apple.

Via Intel Blogs

We’ve got conflicting reports on this one so we’ll just lay it all out on the table.  One of our sources who apparantly gets to play with upcoming iPhone builds says there is no Flash on the upcoming builds.  However, Gearlive, who outted the iPhone/iPod 1.1.3 software about three weeks before it went live, says they have seen it.

As Gearlive says, if it is coming a great time to announce it would be at the SDK event.

Personally, Flash is nice but we’d rather see Apple focus on things like an iChat client or full stereo Bluetooth capability – but we’ll take what we can get.

Jonny Evans at Macworld UK caught the Guardian outing digital radio by Apple.  The guardian quoted:

She said the greatest growth opportunities for the company’s radio stations were on FM and broadband. She also announced a new tie-up with Apple enabling people to listen to digital radio on their iPhone.

As Jonny mentions, it would make sense that this digital radio would also be for the iPod touch  too.    A really amazing hacked iPhone player called iRadio has existed for many months but it is not sanctioned by Apple.

More info here:

http://musicradio.com/

Big news day today – especially for us coffee addicts.  Starbucks has announced  that it was dropping its T mobile wifi access points around the world and going with AT&T.  The new deal will give free wireless access to Starbucks card holders and AT&T broadband users and charge about half of what T mobile charged for WiFi access. $3.99/visit or $20/month.

Now this deal has Apple written all over it for a number of reasons – not just because taking your  MacBook to Starbucks will be a whole lot cheaper.  Starbucks and AT&T are also iPhone partners.  Starbucks sells it’s music to iPhone and iPod Touch users through its Wifi Music store (now run by AT&T).   AT&T is obviously the carrier for the iPhone.

iPhone’s in Europe are bundled with the carriers wifi hotspots – well they are with T mobile and O2.  Orange notsomuch.

We expect a AT&T-iPhone Wifi access deal to be announced at the next big event.  Free iPhone Access at Starbucks sound good to anyone else?