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Weekly Recap: Thinkers, Hardware Rumors, and The iPhone’s Future

Aviv — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 23:42:35 +0000

Apple’s Content Delivery, Jobs’ Health Exploits, and an Apple Netbook

Apple has made it clear that digital content is important to them by employing two Content Delivery Networks that once battled each other in court. Also, we analyze whether Apple really can develop a worthy netbook, the iPhone is looked upon as a symbol of optimism overseas, and once again Steve Jobs’ health issues make headlines.

READ → – A Perfect Example of How Steve Jobs’ Health Issues Are Exploited
READ → – NATO Chief Commends the iPhone as a Symbol of Optimism
READ → – Apple Playing Both Sides of the CDN Fence
READ → – The Immiment Netbook Boom and Why Apple Should Get Involved

The iPhone’s Future, App Store Rumors, and Next Gen Models

As always, the iPhone remains a shining focus of Apple’s business day in and day out. This week we took a look at where Apple’s priorities should remain. Rumors of a “premium game section” coming to the app store made the rounds, as did a find by MacRumors pointing to a possible next-generation iPhone. Oh yeah, and Apple was awarded a nice little doozy of a patent.

READ → – What You Should Expect From Apple Over the Next Few Months
READ → – Apple Awarded iPhone and Multi-Touch Device Patent
READ → – Apple Releases iPhone Firmware Update 2.2.1
READ → – Apple Launching a $19.99 Premium Game Section in App Store?
READ → – Firmware Reveals Next Generation iPhone Model Labeled “2,1″

Apple Hardware, Software and Strange NVIDIA Issues

The Mac Pro is starting to get mentioned more and more alongside promising Intel roadmaps. Apple’s 17″ unibody Macbook Pro seems to be shipping and arriving in early February as promised, and Apple mysteriously releases and then pulls an NVIDIA Graphics Update.

READ → – Apple’s Unibody 17″ Macbook Pros Arriving Between Feb 5th-Feb 12th
READ → – NVIDIA Graphics Update, Mini Display Port Issues and Legacy Support
READ → – More Intel Evidence Shows that Mac Pro May be Moving to Nehalem
READ → – Apple Removes Recent NVIDIA Graphics Update (VIDEO)
READ → – Apple Patent Shows Interest in Film Production, Script-Integrated Storyboards

A Trio of New iPhone Commercials

Apple this week released three new commercials all centered around showcasing the diversity in applications in the App Store. As per the theme of the ads, “there’s an app for everything.”

READ → – Apple Releases New iPhone Commercial “Read” (VIDEO)
READ → – Apple Releases New iPhone Commercial “Fix” (VIDEO)
READ → – Apple Releases New iPhone Commercial “Check” (VIDEO)

Tim Cook’s Aggressive Stance Towards Suing Patent Violaters (Palm?)

Aviv — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 00:29:08 +0000

In Apple’s Q1 financial results earnings call, COO Tim Cook made some particularly aggressive statements pertaining to competitors violating patents Apple holds. When looking at the marketplace, Palm should most likely be prepared to defend the newly announced Palm Pre.

After reiterating Apple’s stance on the netbook category, COO Tim Cook shifted positions to talk about iPhone competitors and how Apple will react to those seemingly “ripping off” Apple’s IP. As TechCrunch notes, some of Cook’s comments sound particularly aggressive.

We approach this business as a software platform business. We are watching the landscape. We like competition as long as they don’t rip off our IP. And if they do, we will go after anyone who does.

This definitely seems directed squarely at Palm. Seeing as how former Apple engineer Jon Rubinstein is spearheading the Pre project over at Palm, there definitely seems to be conflicting issues here. We’ve already stated that Apple should take notice of the Pre, as we’re sure they have. But a heavyweight lawsuit between Apple and Palm over the use of multi-touch technology could be substantial.

Even though the messages seem to be directed at Palm, when asked about a specific company, Cook didn’t name names, which is to be expected. However, Google’s Android phone is developed with a completely open source platform, and with respect to the device, multi-touch technology is in question here, which the G1 lacks.

I don’t want to talk about any specific company. We are ready to suit up and go against anyone. However, we will not stand for having our IP ripped off.

On one hand, suing Palm and wrestling control away from competition would favor Apple, but in turn it may hinder global innovation. We were rather surprised and relieved to see the Pre, even though we knew deep down a lawsuit may brew. But the give and go with this level of innovation between two companies like Apple and Palm would only make for better results for the end users and consumers.

Instead of lawsuits, we’d like to see this settled with the separation of proprietary technology. But for that to happen, Palm needs to reveal how its multi-touch interface and operating system function. If that technology impedes on Apple’s patents, Palm might need a plan B.

Macworld Rumor Aftermath: What We Know Now

The MacBlogz Team — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 03:04:14 +0000

This year’s Macworld saw four core announcements during Phil Schiller’s keynote speech. Even though Apple delivered some incredible new stuff, a large majority of the rumors were inaccurate, without even a brief mention.

What Came True

Macbook Pro

Most notably, Apple unveiled the brand new 17″ Macbook Pro. It has adopted the unibody design and also brings with it some major innovations in battery life. When Apple first unveiled the new unibody notebooks back in October, early speculation pointed towards a Macworld ‘09 release. This prediction was looked at as relatively natural, and Apple even murmured a few notes pointing to a “few month” delay. As Macworld grew near, 9to5mac was first to announce anything noticeably major surrounding changes to the 17″ Macbook Pro. They specifically pointed to the embedded non-user replaceable battery, and a major jump in battery life. MacRumors also heard similar whispers, and prior to the event was able to reaffirm the legitimacy of the information. The design changes that the 17″ Macbook Pro got were obvious, but nobody new Apple would offer a $50 anti-glare option.

iTunes Loses DRM, Three Tier Pricing & Over the Air Downloads

Cnet correctly reported a good amount of information regarding Apple’s then unannounced iTunes update. Information about new tiered pricing, over-the-air downloads and massive updates to the DRM free catalog of music were all correct.

iLife & iWork

While it may have seemed easy to assume these update were coming. MacRumors found a nice piece of confirming evidence before the official announcement. Up until then, mentions of iWork (or parts of it) moving into the cloud, were all that was reported about.

Strong Cloud Computing Push

9to5mac brought the first word that this was happening. In fact, they even new the name would be iWork.com and called the launch date. After we found out what might be coming, we did a little investigation ourselves and were able to completely confirm the rumor, along with some new pricing and presentation info. Specifically, we had the name iWork Online thrown at us, but it ended up just being iWork.com. Additionally, our sources revealed that this would be free from Apple, which also turned out to be correct, only in the form of a beta tag. Parts of the information both 9to5, as well as ourselves received about iMovie cloud updates were a little blurry, and no significant updates to a web based version of iMovie were announced.

What Did Not Come True

Mac Mini

A few weeks back, Wired introduced the notion that Apple would be updating the Mac Mini in time for a Macworld appearance, even providing some rather detailed specs from what was noted to be a trusted source at Apple. Leading up to the event several others followed suit as Apple Insider was under the impression that the low-end desktop would receive dual display support. While Ars Technica did buy into the indication that the Mac Mini would receive updates, they remained weary of the dual display support. TUAW provided there own take regarding the purported changes, yet were stifled by an opposing report. Bottom line: no updated Mac Mini appearance at Macworld 2009 and the future of the desktop remains unclear.

32GB iPhone

Back in November we received word from an unconfirmed and anonymous source that a memory bumped 32GB iPhone would be making an appearance in January. The tipster stated, “That rumored red iPhone… It’s not happening. The only iPhone news I know for certain is that it’s getting bumped to 32GB in January.” While 32GB iPhone rumors have surfaced before, information pertaining to Apple’s stockpiling of NAND flash pointed toward larger capacity devices. Macrumors was able to solidify a technical explanation of what was possible for this. It’s important to note that the tip clearly states “January” as the launch month, and not Macworld specifically, so there are still three weeks for this to happen which would make the tip accurate. Here at MacBlogz, unconfirmed sources and tips remain just that: unconfirmed.

Snow Leopard Demo

Digitimes was first to report about a possible Snow Leopard demo at Macworld. AppleInsider hammered home the notion of a Snow Leopard demo at Macworld. Both were wrong. Information first made public by MacRumors is perhaps the only solid information from a proven source regarding Snow Leopard and a tentative launch date.

iMac

Last October, claims supporting the notion that Apple’s all-in-one iMac would be getting speedbumped in time for the holiday season, proved to be incorrect. Following these reports, Digitimes, who tout a relatively accurate track record (lately), reported that updated iMacs would make a January appearance. Additionally, AppleInsider vehemently sided with a PC Perspective report that detailed expectations of a 28″ iMac. This was also inaccurate. Whether we see this in the future remains unconfirmed, but it did not show up at Macword.

Be sure to read our Rumor Roundup which was put together before the Macworld keynote.

Apple Unveils iWork ‘09, Cloud Computing Push Was True

Aviv — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:11:04 +0000

Apple has released a new version of its work suit, iWork ‘09. As well as major features being added, a big cloud computing push is being made by Apple to bring collaboration and working online to the forefront.

Following up Seth Weintraub’s reports, our sources had explained that Apple was going to be making a big cloud computing push with iWork ‘09. They were very accurate with Apple’s intentions and also with how Apple would present the new services, which are being offered free, in beta.

Apple’s Press Release: Apple® today introduced iWork® ’09, the latest version of Apple’s popular office productivity suite, which adds powerful new features without sacrificing Apple’s legendary ease of use. Keynote® ’09 introduces advanced object transitions, which automatically animate objects with a choice of effects and Magic Move, an innovative way to create sophisticated animations just by applying a simple transition. Pages® ’09 features a new Full Screen view that helps you focus on your writing and an outline mode to organize your thoughts. Numbers® ’09 introduces a quick way to group and summarize data and a dramatically simplified way to create complex formulas. Apple also announced iWork.com public beta, a new service Apple is developing to share iWork ’09 documents online.

iWork.com public beta, a new service Apple is developing to share iWork ’09 documents online. Using your Apple ID, just click the iWork.com icon in the Keynote, Pages or Numbers toolbar to upload your document and invite others to view it online. Viewers can provide comments and notes, and download a copy of your document in iWork, Microsoft Office or PDF formats. A consolidated online list of all your shared documents indicates when your viewers have posted comments.

The new suite of applications and online services are being made available today, and can be found at the Apple Store online.

Has 2008 Been The Outstanding Year Steve Jobs Promised?

Aviv — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 02:19:53 +0000

Back in January of 2008, Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the stage at Macworld and unveiled new products such as the Macbook Air, Time Capsule, Apple TV movie rentals and some snazzy iPhone and iPod touch software updates. During, and after the keynote (in exclusive interviews) Jobs made it a point to say that “there are 50 weeks left in 2008″ and that it would be a “great year” for Apple.

At the end of the Macworld ‘09 keynote, Jobs enthusiastically rattled off all of the products Apple had released in the first two weeks of 2008. He mentions the Mac Pro, Macbook Air, Apple TV/iPhone/iPod touch updates, and Time Capsule. “All of this in just the first two weeks!” he explained, “…and we’ve got 50 more weeks to go.” As Jobs concluded, the crowd at Macworld erupted, and surely everyone was convinced that Apple would be bringing the goods this year.

Cut to November 2008. While the past 10 months have been sprinkled with Apple goodness here and there, the company has had an extremely rough year. Even Apple, who is known for having tremendous foresight, didn’t have the clairvoyance to see what 2008 had in store for the industry. The truth is, this year has delivered several major blows to both Apple’s bottom line, stock price, and major sectors of their business. While the iPhone grew and greatly surpassed expectations, the road to its global dominance has been shaky and horribly littered with potholes.

Meltdown Ensues

From the disastrous first launch day in July, to the complete Mobile Mess Meltdown, many people hadn’t seen this side of Apple in a few years. Since launching the original iPhone in 2007, Apple has attracted so many new users, so many switchers and new enthusiasts that hadn’t seen Apple suffer in the past. They were so aww-stricken and woo’d by Steve’s magical iPhone potion, they failed to see that at its heart, Apple is a technology company. And no technology company is perfect, no matter how deep the passion lies with its leadership.

When Apple got over eager and decided to launch three too many products on July 11th, the industry couldn’t wait to jump down the company’s throat. Jobs and Apple had been on such a magical whirlwind of success, this was finally everyone else’s chances to say “Ha! We told you so!” — And they did. Every blog and website covering the meltdown that day, and for the following weeks, was overtaken with comments from users who were simply stunned. People couldn’t believe what was happening. Apple’s servers were going down, people couldn’t activate their iPhones, iTunes servers were malfunctioning, Mobile Me wasn’t working. It was a classified meltdown. So much so, that people lost their jobs. On this level, at that scale, that is serious. Eddy Cue was brought into to take over Mobile Me, and for the better half of 2008, the services have been running semi-smoothly.

Yes, Apple eventually cleared everything up after a slew of emails, apologies and some free Mobile Me extensions. But that fateful day in July set the tone for the months to come, and they were not very bright for Cupertino.

Apple Shows Its True Colors

At the beginning of 2008, nobody could have predicted that July, August and September would be devastating for Apple. The weeks after the Mobile Meltdown were very difficult for the company, and as CEO Steve Jobs said, “it was not our [Apple's] finest hour.” The “sting” didn’t fade away by any means until new rumors starting propping up about Apple’s then upcoming iPod lineup overhaul. Speculation grew as rumors regarding multi-colored nanos and GPS in the iPod touch trickled in. By the time we had seen our 6th spy shot of the new iPod nano, and some bare-bones specs courtesy of iLounge, Apple had the boat pointed in the right direction again. People were waiting with baited breath to catch a glimpse of the new iPods. And Apple delivered.

Renting out the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, Apple made a big deal of the iPod “Let’s Rock” event. Apparently, they had PR representatives calling other media-types specifically telling them to come to the event, saying it would be a big deal. Not to discredit any of Apple’s wonderful PR tactics, but the event was relatively standard. The new products were gorgeous and Apple had done it again with their iPods. But nothing out of the ordinary. Apple has always been good at listening its customers, and these new iPods were a prime example of that. Alongside the new iPods, Apple released four new iPod shuffle colors, and iTunes 8, with Genius Playlists baked in.

At this point in the year, Apple’s dark cloud had seemed to fade away. CEO Steve Jobs had successfully wow’d the media at another event, and Apple was on the right track to have a spectacular holiday line-up.

Unibody, Shmunibody, — Where’s my Firewire?

Roughly 4 weeks after inviting the media to California for the iPod Let’s Rock event, Apple scheduled another event titled “The Spotlight Turns to Notebooks,” which was held on October 14th. Announced only 4 days prior, Apple gave travelers and the media covering the event, only a few days to make travel arrangements. This notebook event was perhaps the most anticipated Apple event, since the first unveiling of the iPhone at Macworld 2007. The premise was that Apple would be overhauling its most essential products… its notebooks. The design and form factor of Apple’s older Macbook and Macbook Pro have become so iconic, so synonymous with the brand. Changing these notebooks wasn’t only a big deal for Apple, it was enormous! The new design methods and manufacturing techniques Apple was introducing required a 15 minute video walk through by Apple’s Senior VP of Industrial Design, Jonathan Ive.

At the notebook event, Apple unveiled a new manufacturing process for the Macbook and Macbook Pro, where they take a single piece of high grade aluminum, and cut out a ‘unibody’ frame for the shell. As Apple put it, this was so revolutionary, nobody in the industry had ever seen anything like it before. Once again, Apple had listened to most of its customers and incorporated major design influences from the Macbook Air into the rest of their notebook line. This is exactly what most people were asking for.

In good old Apple fashion, compromises had to be made. For the internals of the new Macbooks to be positioned correctly and efficiently, all of the ports had to line up one side of the machine, thus giving Apple a hard choice of which ports stay, and which ones go. They got rid of Firewire on the new aluminum Macbook and completely eliminated the option for a matte display. Apple claimed that in their testing, users want the glossy screen most, and CEO Steve Jobs himself explained that people don’t need firewire. Unfortunately, many customers disagreed with Apple and Jobs, and some people have been left outraged and stunned by Apple’s decisions with features and options in the new notebooks. Completely natural.

What’s Next

Apple has officially gone on record saying that no new products will be released for the rest of the year, and speculation has already begun brewing for Macworld ‘09. The bottom line, Apple is not perfect. No company is perfect. All anyone can ever do is give it their best shot and focus on what they think the best work of their lives will be.

For Apple, the three ill fated months towards the end of 2008, are a small price to pay for the devotion and position they have garnered over the last two years. Did Steve Jobs deliver on his promise? Yes. Was Apple perfect? No. But they did their best and will continue to do so. Which is more than we can say for a lot of companies these days.

WWDC Session Videos Available Free on iTunes U

Christina — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 22:52:02 +0000

Apple has posted a catalog of session videos from its latest Worldwide Developer Conference. Ranging from iPhone development to large scale deployment of Xsan, the videos are free from iTunes U (link), however require an Apple Developer Account before gaining access.

The videos are broken down into three categories: iPhone, Mac and IT. The iPhone section has 57 session videos including designing applications with interface builder, utilizing interface design, game development, multi-touch events and gestures, text input, networking, and integration of technologies like Apple’s Address Book API.

The Mac development topics include everything from advanced media application development, to Cocoa tips and tricks, as well as a class on developing plug-ins for Aperture (Apple’s professional photography work-flow software). The IT section includes best practices for migration of OS X Server, large scale deployment of Xsan, iCal Server Services, and deploying Final Cut Server.

The videos can act as a great reference library. If you’ve been on the fence about getting started developing for the iPhone or iPod touch, or are simply curious about the Macintosh development environment, these session videos can be a great launching pad. Besides, it’s always interesting to watch and listen to other Apple ~~executives~~ evangelists talk about the company and its products.

So grab a bowl of fresh buttery popcorn, snuggle down with a loved one, and catch up on what you missed at this year’s WWDC. If you do not have an Apple Developer Account, you can get started here.

[via MacWorld]

Steve Jobs Responds to Missing FireWire Outrage via Email

Aviv — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 03:04:50 +0000

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has allegedly responded to an email regarding the outrage over missing FireWire in Apple’s new 13″ Macbook. The email, which hasn’t entirely been authenticated, explains that most digital camcorders use USB 2.0, as apposed to the now absent Firewire.

Jobs has been known to respond randomly to emails. In early August an internal email he sent to the entire Mobile Me team was leaked. Typically, someone will report of Jobs responding directly to an email they sent, however most of the time it’s not entirely possible to authenticate. In some cases though, IP’s can be scanned and some back tracking can be done. In the case of this email, the alleged respondent was kind enough to snap a photo of the purported message sent by Jobs.

Many users have been furious over the ansence of FireWire in the new Macbooks. However, seeing as how Apple invented the transfer technology, and is now leaning away from it, it’s safe to question the stability of FireWire’s future.

“I am a video producer and use my MacBook on site to ingest footage taken from FireWire cameras, even occasionally hooking the camera right up to the MacBook,” says one Mac user via Apple Insider. “Well, it looks like there isn’t a FireWire port on it anymore… how the heck am I supposed to do that? I am sure I am not the only one with this concern.” — “Many of us don’t have great confidence that FireWire is here to stay on MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, or iMac, either,” another AI forum user wrote.

The exclusion of FireWire on the consumer level Macbook, could have also been play by Apple to entice consumers into the more expensive Macbook Pro. But the $800 price jump is pretty steep for most consumers. Perhaps most ironic is that Apple continues to sell the entry-level white plastic Macbook for $300 less than the baseline aluminum model, and it retains FireWire.

A recent poll on MacDailyNews shows that 34.5% of readers consider the absence of FireWire “not an issue”, 24.8% call it a deal-breaker, about 20% say it’s an “annoyance they’ll work around” and nearly 10.5% say the move by Apple is pushing them to buy a Macbook Pro. Whatever the reasons may be, Apple is at the forefront of cutting-edge technology, so a move such as this isn’t necessarily shocking, as it is surprising.

Cartman: Screw you guys, I’m goin Digital!

Christina — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 23:46:03 +0000

According to Xeni Jardin from boing boing, the South Park guys have cooked up a killer iPhone app that he was lucky enough to test during a recent visit to the South Park headquarters.

For those of you who can’t get enough of South Park from Comedy Central, iTunes, and Imaginationland, an iPhone/Pod application is (almost) here for you. According to Jardin, “the application functioned beautifully, with the ability to stream live clips, grab wallpapers for your device, read news, and browse the complete episode index.” Although it seems that you can’t stream or download full episodes to the device. You can also choose character pictures to use as contact images….Therefore Cartman’s ugly mug can pop up every time your stoner roommate calls to borrow some money.

Read – boingboing
[via iPhone Savior]

iPhone 3G Snags 17% US Smartphone Market, Apple Already Sold 10M iPhones

Aviv — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:33:25 +0000

According the marketing research and industry tracking NPD Group, Apple’s iPhone 3G has now climbed the ranks and snagged 17% of the US Smartphone market, and independent research points to Apple having reached its goal of selling 10 Million iPhones three months early.

Reports clarify that Apple’s iPhone 3G has outsold the Blackberry Curve, Blackberry Pearl and Palm Centero from June through August. The added interest in the device during this time allowed Apple to use the buzz and spike generated during launch, to give all iPhones nearly 17% of the US smartphone market. In other words, more than one in six smartphones sold in the US are iPhones.

Additionally, Apple’s iPhone 3G has been labeled as potentially damaging to carriers rivaling AT&T. Roughly 30% of all iPhone owners during this last summer switched from another major US carrier. Nearly 47% of this group switched from Verizon (who denied Apple and the iPhone due to interfering levels of control), 24% switched from T-Mobile and 19% switched from Sprint. The NPD report goes onto explain that these specific figures are targeted at typical sales, as apposed to corporate sales which usually favor BlackBerries and Windows Mobile devices in the US (via Macnn).

Members of the Apple Finance Board at Mac Observer have been gathering IMEI numbers (spreadsheet) for a while now. The group has been maintaining a spreadsheet of iPhone IMEI data points as well as the purchase date, model, and production week.

The latest IMEI data point collected by AFB was 9,190,680 — an 8GB Black iPhone recorded as manufactured on September 29 and sold on October 5. This suggests that even if a whopping 1.5 million iPhones of the total IMEI registered devices are unsold as of today, an unlikely assumption, it would still put 3G iPhone sales at 7.6 million units and 2008 iPhone sales at over 10 million units. Coming into the quarter, Apple had already sold 2.42 million iPhones. Thus, 7.6 million 3G iPhones sold puts Apple above 10 million units for the year. (via Apple Insider)

Contrary to the NDP Group’s findings, the research done by the Mac Observer is not concrete information, however it has enough solidarity behind it to be considered seriously. For the next few weeks, leading up to the end of the year, expect to hear analysts clamoring about whether Apple will reach its goal of selling 10 Million iPhones by the end of this calendar year. Not until Apple officially comes out and releases the numbers, most likely at MacWorld 2009, will we know exactly how many iPhones have been sold.

Video: Macbook Mini Spotted: OOPS, We Mean Modded

Aviv — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:14:55 +0000

Apparently German hacker Florian couldn’t wait for Apple’s upcoming notebook transition to get a new Mac. Instead he took it upon himself to put together a rather “desirable” Macbook Mini, and we wish we could play with it.

Florian used a dremel, and an extremely steady hand to fashion together the housing and exterior elements of the notebook. The inside however, “is a little less tidy, with tape and aluminum foil holding things in place and bouncing back a little extra light,” Gadget Lab explains.

Florian even made a commercial spoof taking on the Macbook Air

Thanks to reader HuffyLover for the tip

[Gizmodo via Wired Gadget Lab]