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Weekly Recap: Hardware, Job Security, and Applications

Dave — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 22:19:53 +0000

Hardware Premonitions and Releases

Rumors have circulated for quite some time that Apple had been readying overhauls to their desktop line and this week proved such premonitions to be fairly accurate.

READ → – Possible Apple Desktop Event Slated for March 24
READ → – Leaked Spyshot of Mac mini Packaging
READ → – New Time Capsule, Airport Extremes Being Readied by Apple
READ → – Apple Reportedly Scheduled to Release iMacs and Mac minis Tomorrow
READ → – Apple Releases Plethora of New Hardware: Mac Pro, Mac mini, iMac

Hiring, Layoffs and Applications

While Apple may be in need of a Sr. Web UI Designer and Video Editor Product Designer, the company’s enterprise sales division will be seeing some downsizing. Additionally, Amazon has released a Kindle for iPhone application that allows users access to their vast library of e-books.

READ → – Apple Hiring Sr. Web UI Designer and Video Editor Product Designer
READ → – (9to5 Mac) Foot in mouth again…Apple Enterprise Sales ARE seeing some layoffs
READ → – Amazon Releases Kindle For iPhone Application

News From Around the Community

Interesting headlines from our friends around the community .

READ → – (MacRumors) Apple Quietly Bumps 15″ MacBook Pro Speed, 256GB SSD Option, and New Keyboard
READ → – (Engadget) iMac (Early 2009) unboxing and hands-on
READ → – (MacRumors) Apple Gets Nehalem Early, H.264 and VMWare Performance Boosts
READ → – (9to5 Mac) Snow Leopard goes 64 Bit, to be released on June 8th with Stevo?
READ → – (Cult of Mac) NVIDIA Chip Instability Spreading to 17″ MacBook Pros?

Weekly Recap: Leaked Mac Mini, New Safari and Shareholders

Aviv — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 22:33:20 +0000

Rumors and Speculation

Kicking off the week was a leaked Mac mini video in response to claims that last week’s image was fake. A few screenshots made the rounds from Apple’s upcoming Mac OS X update Snow Leopard, and genius Marc Andreessen shed some light on the possibility of an Apple touch tablet.

READ → – Leaked Video: ‘Mac Mini 2009 Edition’
READ → – Screenshots of Latest Snow Leopard Build Released
READ → – Apple Tablet: Marc Andreessen and Charlie Rose Think It’s Inevitable (VIDEO)

Apple Releases Safari 4

Perhaps borrowing a few design enhancements from its neighbors, Apple released Safari beta 4 to the public this week. While the browser’s speed is highly impressive, easily beating out its competition, certain elements are far from perfect and require some hackery to get used to.

READ → – Apple Releases Safari 4 Public Beta for Mac and Windows Users
READ → – Safari 4: Three Steps Forward, One Step Back
READ → – Safari 4 Hidden Preferences (Random Genius)

Apple’s Annual Shareholder Meeting

Apple held its annual uneventful shareholder meeting on Wednesday, and unsurprisingly shareholders voted to re-elect all of Apple’s eight-member board. The meeting was standard, by-the-book, and Apple delivered pre-meditated and seemingly canned responses to questions regarding CEO Steve Jobs’ health. Notably, those in attendance sang the CEO “Happy Birthday” in celebration of his 54th birthday which took place on Tuesday.

READ → – Annual Apple Shareholders Meeting, Proxy Statement Made Available
READ → – Apple Shareholders Re-elect Board, Vote Proposals Down
READ → – Apple Stands Firm On CEO Steve Jobs’ Return In June

iPhone and TidBits

Negotiations between Apple and China Unicom may have reached an amicable agreement. First generation Macbook Air owners are reporting some faulty hinge issues, while Apple claims it’s not under warranty. Also, RIM (Blackberry) loses touch with creativity in its latest ad.

READ → – Blackberry Ad Takes Aim at Apple
READ → – Macbook Air Hinge Failures Not Covered by Apple’s Warranty (VIDEO)
READ → – iPhone Negotiations With China Unicom Have Reached Possible Agreement

Weekly Recap: Apps and App Stores, Hardware and TidBits

Dave — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 22:02:00 +0000

Applications and App Stores

After previously running a story about questionable business ethics between two competing applications developers, a third developer has stepped forward to further expose immoral behavior lurking within the marketplace. A host of smartphone manufacturers announced Apple-esque applications marketplaces of their own this week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Another highlight of the event took place at the TeleAtlas booth, where Slovakian company, Sygic, demoed a full blown turn-by-turn GPS iPhone application. After reports that the App Store had surpassed the 20,000 applications mark, Apple had officially announced that there are 15,000 and counting proving the early estimates to be a tad confusing. Additionally, Google has demoed a few off-line applications allowing mobile devices to access data that has been locally stored on the device without any network connections.

READ → – App Store Wars: Taking the Fun Out of Flatulence [U]
READ → – The App Store Bandwagon: Who’s Next?
READ → – Turn-by-Turn iPhone GPS Gets Demoed (w/Screenshots)
READ → – Apple Says ‘Over 15,000′ Apps in the App Store
READ → – Google Demoes Off-Line Mobile Web Apps with iPhone (VIDEO)

Apple Hardware

In a recent meeting with analyst Toni Sacconaghi, Apple COO Tim Cook commented on having ideas for a netbook, as well as iPhone price reductions. Market data from research firm NPD Group had shown mac and iPod sales to be down 14 percent in the month of January. Apple’s 20″ cinema displays have been discontinued, which could point to a possible upcoming refresh. A leaked Mac Mini image shows what could be an update that includes five USB ports, and Apple’s hardware updates may be shifting toward annual refreshes.

READ → – Apple COO Tim Cook Comments on Netbook, iPhone Pricing Changes
READ → – Slow January for Mac and iPod, Sales Dip up to 14%
READ → – 20″ Cinema Display Discontinued, Possible Updates Coming
READ → – Leaked Mac Mini Image Emerges, Shows Five USB Ports
READ → – Is the 5-USB Mac Mini a fake? (9to5Mac)
READ → – Apple Hardware Updates Shifting Towards Annual Refreshes

TidBits

Adobe has announced their first full-blown mobile flash player, yet the iPhone is unsurprisingly absent from the list of supported devices. An artful dodger in a city known for its pick-pockets, managed to swipe a Microsoft “iPhone Killer” prototype from the pocket of Telstar CEO Sol Trujillo at this year’s Mobile World Congress.

READ → – Adobe’s First Full-Blown Flash Player for Smartphones Announced, No iPhone
READ → – Microsoft’s ‘iPhone Killer’ Secret Prototype Stolen in Barcelona

Weekly Recap: App Store, Retail, iPhone and Legal

Dave — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 23:20:07 +0000

App Store and Applications

Since its debut, Apple’s App Store has been met with mixed emotions by the development community, who now have some interesting ideas for improvements to the applications marketplace that is now over 20,000 strong. A new application currently available in the Japanese App Store called “ServersMan@iPhone” turns your iPhone/iPod touch into a full blown web-server and the developer of a popular artillery application has seen windfall success.

READ → – App Store Improvements: Is Apple Listening?
READ → – App Store Count: 20,000 Applications and Growing [U]
READ → – Japanese iPhone Application Turns the Device into a Full-Blown Web Server
READ → – iPhone Developer Makes $600,000 From Clever Artillery iPhone Game

iPhone Speculation and Rumors

Apple’s iPhone is expected to make its debut in China on May 19th through China Unicom, which if successful could put the device into the hands of millions of potential users. An RBC analyst still believes that Apple will roll out a $99 entry level iPhone by this summer, and a leaked iPhone photo suggests that a revised model will have a slightly textured matte black finish.

READ → – Apple’s iPhone Hitting Chinese Markets on May 19th with China Unicom
READ → – RBC Analyst Claims $99 Entry-Level iPhone Coming (Again)
READ → – Leaked iPhone Photo Suggests Matte Black Revision

Brick-and-Mortar Retail

Apple is expected to restructure their retail stores to put more emphasis on marketing conumer education and software. Additionally, Microsoft has announced plans of their own to begin opening the doors to retail locations.

READ → – Apple Planning a Retail Store Restructuring to Spotlight Software
READ → – Microsoft Announces Plans to Open Retail Stores

Legal and TidBits

As the Psystar saga continues, a new German Mac clone maker has emerged onto the scene. With a looming legal battle on the horizon, Palm claims to have no issues with Apple’s patents. Former Apple enterprise VP, Al Shipp, plans to re-enter the workforce as the CEO of 3VR. One analyst speculates over tiered AT&T rate plans and Apple announces a new large file sharing feature to MobileMe that utilizes iDisk. Additionally, a recent discovery in OS X Leopard’s system files reveals Apple’s intentions to let users customize their own four-finger swipe gestures.

READ → – New German Mac Cloner Emerges As Psystar Battle Continues
READ → – Palm Claims to Have “No Issues with Apple” Over Patents
READ → – Former Apple Enterprise VP Takes Over as 3VR CEO
READ → – Briefly: Analyst Speculates Over AT&T Plans, Mobile Me Large File Sharing
READ → – Customizable Multi-touch Gestures File Found in OS X Leopard

Weekly Recap: Speculation, Finance & Legal, Apps, and TidBits

Dave — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 22:36:20 +0000

Losing the Past and Looking to the Future

One analyst with a rather spotty track record speculates on the future of the iMac, while Apple plans to drop certain G4 and Xserve support and delay 17″ MacBook Pro shipments. We have examined the future of the Mac Pro with an in-depth concept and a select group of developers have been seeded the latest build of Snow Leopard. Additional information has come out concerning future Apple networked HDTVs.

READ → – Historically Inaccurate Analyst Speculates On the iMac’s Future
READ → – Apple Next Month Plans to Drop Certain G4 and Xserve Support
READ → – Apple Pushes 17″ Macbook Pro Shipments Until February 19th
READ → – The All New Mac Pro: Sleeker, Sexier and More Refined
READ → – Apple Seeds Third Snow Leopard Build to Select Developers
READ → – Analyst Reveals More Evidence of Apple Working on Networked Televisions

Finance and Legal

The SEC has begun an official investigation into Steve Jobs’ private health matters to determine whether “material information” has been withheld from the public. Apple has brought a German website that sells iPhone 3G’s independent of a Simlock or T-Mobile contract to suit over misuse of iPhone imagery. Apple has also managed to remain strong during these tough economic times, and have instituted a ban on Facebook access from all retail stores.

READ → – SEC Steve Jobs Health Investigation Underway, ‘Materiality’ the Root
READ → – Apple Sues German Website Over ‘Misuse’ of iPhone Imagery
READ → – Apple Stays Resilient In a Turbulent Financial Environment
READ → – Apple Bans Access to Facebook Website From Retail Stores

AT&T and iPhone Apps

AT&T has been internally testing HSPA and HSPA+ cellular network speeds in their labs and should be set to deploy 14+ Mbps HSPA Speeds by Q3 of 2009. SpeedDate.com launches an iPhone dating application and Google’s Latitude should be made available for the device shortly.

READ → – AT&T Set to Deploy 14+ Mbps HSPA Speeds In 3rd Quarter of 2009
READ → – SpeedDate.com Launches iPhone Dating App, Looks AntiSocial
READ → – Google ‘Latitude’ Coming to iPhone, Loopt Says Uh Oh

TidBits

Disney-Pixar unveiled the first official UP trailer during this past Sunday’s Superbowl. Saab shows of their inner Apple with a hot new concept car, and former Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak takes a break from celebrity schmoozing and gets back in the workforce.

READ → – Disney-Pixar Unveils The First Official “UP” Trailer (VIDEO)
READ → – Saab To Be “Apple of Car Brands” After Split From GM
READ → – Apple Co-founder Steve Wozniak Rejoins the Workforce

Weekly Recap: Record Earnings, Jobs’ Health and Legal Threats

Aviv — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 22:24:46 +0000

Steve Jobs Health Issues Remain a Focus

Health issues surrounding Apple CEO Steve Jobs are beginning to fade away as excitement begins to brew regarding some new releases from Apple. While Jobs’ health is becoming less of a main topic, the industry still speculates endlessly about the situation.

READ → – Steve Wozniak Sheds Some Light On Steve Jobs’ Health Issues (Video)
READ → – Apple’s Health Disclosures About Steve Jobs Lead to SEC Review
READ → – Another Fake Steve Jobs Heart Attack Rumor Published Online
READ → – LeaveSteveJobsAlone.com and the Auto-Health-Story Generator

Apple Posts Another Record Breaking Quarter

Even in a troublesome economy with slowing iPhone sales, Apple has managed to increase revenue by moving millions of iPods. The stock price has moderately bounced back as Wall Street may begin to understand that Apple’s core fundamentals are in line.

READ → – Apple Posts Record Quarter, $1.6 Billion Profit for Q1 2009
READ → – Apple Shares Bounce Back on Record Breaking Quarter
READ → – Apple’s Plans Should Be Clear: High-End iPhones and Global Positioning
READ → – Apple Market Data: Mac and iPod On the Rise, iPhone Sales Slow

Apple’s Stance, Hardware and AT&T

Apple this week made it clear that they aren’t around to make cheap products. Those waiting for a cheap netbook PC, or an iPhone nano may never be appeased. While we agree with Apple’s stance on those markets, certain features still missing from the current iPhone are getting some attention, and a quiet little update boosted the entry-level Macbook.

READ → – AT&T Playing Around With iPhone MMS Possibility, Wireless Network “Caching”
READ → – Apple Netbook Doesn’t Seem Likely According to Tim Cook
READ → – Apple Quietly Updates White, Entry-Level Macbook Specs

One Lawsuit Settled as a Bigger Lawsuit Brews

A four year old lawsuit regarding iPod nanos easily scratching has been settled with Apple ponying up nearly $25 million in fees. While that lawsuit gets put to rest, perhaps one of the biggest legal battles in some time may be brewing between Apple and Palm.

READ → – Tim Cook’s Aggressive Stance Towards Suing Patent Violaters (Palm?)
READ → – Apple Settles for $22 Million in Longtime iPod Nano Lawsuit

Weekly Recap: Jobs Takes Leave, Hardware, Rumors and Endless Speculation

Dave — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 22:06:49 +0000

Apple CEO Steve Jobs Take a Medical Leave

Releasing a letter that shocked the technology industry this week, Apple CEO Steve Jobs explained that he was taking a medical leave of absence to focus solely on his health recovery. This of course leaves Apple entangled in endless ongoing speculation.

READ → – Apple CEO Steve Jobs Takes Leave of Absence Until June (Full Email)
READ → – Apple and CEO Steve Jobs Entangled in Endless Speculation
READ → – Steve Wozniak: Leave Steve Jobs Alone

Hardware, Rumors and Apple’s Next Media Event

Hardware rumors continue to heat up as many people expect a refreshed Mac mini to show up soon. While the reports seem confident, they remain slightly confusing when pinpointing precisely what product is being referred to, the Mac mini or the Apple TV. Additionally, speculation about Apple’s next media event has already begun, and a Chinese site references an upcoming 15″ Macbook Air. In iPhone news, we have discovered that AT&T may be considering a $10 price-point for an iPhone tethering plan.

READ → – An Apple “Desktop Media Event” in Early February?
READ → – Sources Point to Atom Based Mac Mini in March, Kinda Weird Though
READ → – Apple Working on a 15-inch MacBook Air?
READ → – iPhone Tethering: AT&T May Shock Us All and Charge $10
READ → – 17″ Macbook Pro Battery: Revolutionary or a Deal-breaker?

App Store Wars, Wall•E and Destroyed Macs

The App Store can definitely be a brutal place to do business, as we learned again this week. Wall•E gloriously took home a golden globe, and a report about Apple Australia destroying Macs in a warehouse was also published.

READ → – “Wall-E” Wins a Golden Globe for Best Animated Film
READ → – App Store Wars: Developers, Spamming, Lying and Bogus Reviews
READ → – Leaked Image Shows Apple Destroying Macs In Warehouse

Numbers, Guidance and More Numbers

Apple’s projected guidance still seems positive going forward. The App Store has recently hit half a billion downloaded apps, and Apple has secured a $500 Million advanced payment for LG flat panels.

READ → – Apple to Pay $500 Million Advancement to LG for Flat Panel Displays
READ → – Apple’s Q1 Performance Projected to Beat Guidance
READ → – Apple’s App Store Hits Half a Billion Downloaded Apps

Weekly Recap: Macworld Before and After, TidBits, and Suggested Reads

Dave — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 23:25:43 +0000

Pre Macworld San Francisco 2009

This week MacBlogz headed down to San Francisco to take in the sights and sounds of Macworld 2009, but before our journey we gathered up the pre-expo rumors to compare what, if any, would be accurate.

READ → – Rumor Roundup: Apple’s Final Macworld
READ → – 17″ Macbook Pro Getting Non-Replacable Battery, Going Unibody at Macworld?
READ → – 28″ iMac, Mac Pro Rumored to Start Shipping in February

At Macworld San Francisco 2009

While at Macworld, we were privy to Phil Schiller’s keynote announcements and were able to conclusively determine who was right and wrong, as well as provide coverage of the expo itself.

READ → – Welcome to Macworld 2009, Getting Settled In (Photos)
READ → – Apple Introduces iLife ‘09
READ → – Apple Unveils iWork ‘09, Cloud Computing Push Was True
READ → – Apple Announces Changes to the iTunes Store; Includes DRM-Free Music
READ → – Apple Unveils 17″ Unibody Macbook Pro
READ → – Hands On: 17″ Unibody Macbook Pro (Photos)
READ → – Hands On: Axiotron 15″ Modbook Pro (Photos)
READ → – Booth Bunnies Make the Macworld Go Round (Photos)
READ → – Macworld Rumor Aftermath: What We Know Now

This Week’s TidBits

This week Boxee has finally come out of private alpha hiding and is now public. Word has spread of a possible four-core iPhone being developed in conjunction with iPhone firmware 3.0 by Apple.

READ → – Boxee Officially Goes Public, Adds BBC iPlayer and Joost Content
READ → – iPhone Firmware 3.0 and Future Multi-Core iPhones

Weekly Recap: Rumors, iPhone nano Cont., Works in Progress, and Mobile Market

Dave — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 22:12:43 +0000

Rumors and Speculation

As we approach the final days to Macworld 2009 there has been an influx of what we may expect to see at the event and into the new year.

READ → – The Next iPhone: 60GB, Physical Keyboard and a D-Pad (Concept)
READ → – Apple to Introduce Quad-Core 17 inch MacBook Pro?
READ → – Larger Apple Touch Device Rumored to Launch Fall ‘09
READ → – Quanta Expected to Manufacture Apple Netbooks in 2009
READ → – Apple to Announce Web-based iWork at Macworld?
READ → – Apple’s New Cloud Offerings May Be (Mostly) Free

iPhone nano Continued

Rumors of an iPhone nano have been swarming the web over the past couple of weeks, and we took it upon ourselves to note the cons of such a device.

READ → – 7 Reasons Why the iPhone nano Is a Bad Idea
READ → – Case Company “Vaja” Lists iPhone nano Section in Website

Patents and Works in Progress

Apple has been hard at work on some interesting new product ideas.

READ → – Apple Working on Home Media Server for Sharing Music, Movies and Photos
READ → – Apple Working on Cold Weather Multi-touch Capable Gloves

Mobile Market

Intel has explained that the iPhone has had a momentous effect on the MID market and France has begun to sell the device free of a contract. A bluetooth keyboard hack shows some promise and official UI screenshots of the upcoming Nuvifone resemble an iPhone and Android mashup.

READ → – Intel: MID Market Was Established by the iPhone, Continues to Grow
READ → – Contract Free iPhones Sell for up to $1,263 in France
READ → – iPhone Bluetooth Keyboard Hack Looks Very Promising
READ → – Garmin Nuvifone UI: Looks Like iPhone/Android Spawn

One more link we couldn’t help but throw in here is a first hand account by former Apple employee Chuq von Rospach. It’s a great read from someone who spent 17 years behind the scenes.

READ → – Enjoying the show, avoiding the flamethrower: life inside Apple

Weekly Recap: AT&T, iPhone, Legal & Patents, and Reflection

Dave — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 00:12:42 +0000

AT&T Details Possible Prepaid Plans; Brings iPhone to Vermont

AT&T has recently released details of a no contract prepaid cell plan to offer customers. The mobile provider has also acquired Unicel, which has opened the door for their services in the state of Vermont, who will at long last be getting the iPhone.

READ → – AT&T’s No Contract iPhone, Possible Prepaid Plan Details
READ → – AT&T Buys Unicel: iPhone Finally Confirmed Heading to Vermont

iPhone nano Rumors, Sales and Surveys

More evidence of an iPhone nano has surfaced this week, by a third party iPhone case manufacturer, who had allocated a section of their website to an upcoming iPhone nano. The iPhone Dev Team had released a how to video on unlocking the device and a recent survey had shown the increase of the iPhone’s market share over the past summer months. Additionally, Walmart has confirmed to be selling the iPhone this coming Sunday, December 28 and the 32GB iPhone may be coming after all.

READ → – More Evidence of iPhone Nano Leaked Through Case Manufacturer
READ → – iPhone nano Evidence Builds Up, XSKN Posts Entire Case Listings
READ → – iPhone 3G Unlocking Process, Demo Posted (VIDEO)
READ → – iPhone Market Share on the Rise While PC Share Slips
READ → – Walmart Confirms Selling the iPhone for $197, Sales Begin Dec.28th
READ → – AT&T Dumping 8GB Refurb iPhones for $99, Making Way for 32GB Model?

Lawsuits and Swipe Gesture Patents

Apple, Google and Microsoft are all under the gun for utilizing “file preview” functionality in both web browsers and operating systems. A recent Apple patent, dubbed Swipe Gestures for Touch Screen Keyboards details interesting new implementations of touch gestures.

READ → – Apple, Google and Microsoft Sued Over File Preview
READ → – New Patent Outlines Swipe Gestures for Touch Screen Keyboard

Reflection

This week we have taken a look back at this past summer’s MobileMe mishap to determine whether the painstaking transition from dot-mac was ultimately worth it.

READ → – Reflection: Was This Summer’s Mobile Me Meltdown Worth It?