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Tablet to Run iPhone OS, Launch in May or June?

September 30, 2009 By Alex Jordan 1 Comment

iLounge is reporting that they have received several tips regarding Apple’s rumored tablet from the same source that tipped them of about the fifth-generation iPod nano. The source goes on to claim that the device will run iPhone OS, and not Mac OS X. Additionally, the device will have a 10.7 inch screen, and a resolution of about 720p. Lastly, this device, according to the source, will be announced on or before January 19th, 2010, and will ship by May or June.

The report further suggests that the device will be ascetically similar to the iPhone, and will come in two variants, one with 3G cellular capabilities, and one without. Furthermore, the device is not targeted for the ‘netbook’ market, and will feature substantial book and magazine reading abilities, and other enhancements that set this device apart from the iPhone.

To finish up, the report claims this device has not yet been finalized, and work on the device is at the 80% completion mark.

Mockup courtesy of AppleInsider.

Filed Under Rumors Tagged With 10.7, iLounge, iPhone OS, January, june, launch, may, tablet

Apple Informing Retail Stores of iMac and Mac Mini Shortages?

September 30, 2009 By Alex Jordan Leave a Comment

AppleInsider is reporting that Apple has released a note to it’s retail stores informing them to take no more orders for many of Apple’s desktop computer models. This suggests Apple is allowing supplies to run low in advance of a possible product refresh, specifically all iMac models and low-end Mac Mini models.

For example, Apple Retail on Monday issued an advisory to its stateside brick-and-mortar shops in which it noted that further orders for many of its existing desktop SKUs would go unhonored and that stores should not expect those models to be restocked.

More specifically, the Mac maker made the remarks in respect to all four retail configurations of its all-in-one aluminum iMac line and the low-end $599 Mac mini, which sports half the memory and roughly one-third the storage capacity of its pricier cousin.

Lastly, the report also notes that Amazon.com’s reservoir of iMacs and Mac Minis has dried up. So, Amazon is pointing customers in the direction of their third-party affiliate sellers.

This report is yet another in the ongoing saga of iMac/MacBook update rumors, the thing that sets this one apart however, is the mention of the Mac Mini. All of the other reports have failed to mention the Mac Mini so far.

Filed Under Rumors Tagged With iMac, Mac Mini, retail stores, shortages, Update

Apple Working on Touchscreen Remote for Apple TV?

September 30, 2009 By Alex Jordan Leave a Comment

The Boy Genius Report is claiming that they have received a mockup of a touchscreen remote that may be included in an upcoming Apple TV refresh. The image shows an iPhone-esque device with a longer thinner screen, which seems like overkill especially since the device would be a peripheral for an appliance that Apple only considers a ‘hobby’. Anyway, this rumor gains some credibility after BGR claims the image came from the same source that accurately predicted iTunes 9 features, prior to launch.

It seems a little far-fetched that this unit’s only purpose would be to control an Apple TV, and you can even see a Safari option on the mockup. To be honest, it looks like a touch screen iPod nano, just longer. We’re going to dig a little bit and see what we can find, but we figured we’d run this with a high dose of caution for informational purposes.

As you may remember, Apple recently removed the 40GB Apple TV model, and dropped the 160GB model’s price by $100. In short, an update may be in the works.
Now for my opinion. This won’t happen. It adds an unnecessary expense on Apple’s fledgeling Apple TV product line. Besides, a touchscreen remote already exists for the Apple TV and iTunes.
Filed Under Apple TV, Rumors Tagged With Apple TV, Remote, touchscreen

Apple Hires Newton Developer Michael Tchao

September 29, 2009 By Alex Jordan Leave a Comment

Michael Tchao

The New York Times is reporting that Apple has rehired Michael Tchao, one of the developers of Apple’s legendary Newton tablet device. He returned to Apple on Monday as Vice President of product marketing, and will report directly to Senor Vice President of product marketing Phil Schiller.

It is not clear what his new duties at Apple will entail; Apple would not comment further on the matter, and Mr. Tchao did not immediately respond to a phone message. But identifying a market for the much-rumored Apple tablet could certainly be among them. Mr. Tchao gets the credit (or perhaps the blame) for convincing John Sculley, Apple’s former chief executive, to integrate the company’s handwriting-recognition technology into a consumer device.

Tchao was at Apple from 1986-1994. After leaving the company he spent time in consulting, then was hired on at Nike to produce some of the Nike+ iPod products.
I have no idea what this means for Apple. Suggestions? Leave a comment!
Image courtesy of NYT.
Filed Under All News Tagged With Developer, michael tchao, newton

App Store Passes 2Billion Download Mark, 85,000 Apps Available

September 29, 2009 By Alex Jordan 3 Comments

Apple has announced that the iTunes App Store has surpasses 2billion downloads. This comes from a selection of over 85,000 applications. These number should come as now shock considering there are over 50million iPhone and iPod Touch owners, and 125,000 registered iPhone developers.

“The rate of App Store downloads continues to accelerate with users downloading a staggering two billion apps in just over a year, including more than half a billion apps this quarter alone,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “The App Store has reinvented what you can do with a mobile handheld device, and our users are clearly loving it.”

These numbers come just three weeks after Steve Jobs announced there were over 1.8 Billion App Store downloads, during the ‘Rock and Roll’ media event. What makes this more impressive is due to the fact that software updates are not included in these numbers.
Apple also mentions that the App Store is available in 77 countries, and over 20 app categories to choose from.
Chart courtesy of MacRumors.
Filed Under All News Tagged With 2 billion, App Store, Apps, download

Apple Releases Update 3 for iWork ‘09

September 28, 2009 By Alex Jordan Leave a Comment

Apple has released update 3 for iWork ‘09, which includes updates to iWork.com. This update is mostly fixes and of course is free, and recommended to all iWork ‘09 customers. Here are Apple’s release notes:

This update addresses general compatibility issues, improves overall stability, updates the help, and fixes a number of other minor issues in Keynote, Pages, and Numbers. The issues addressed include:

  • Reducing file size of images that have Instant Alpha applied
  • Managing file size when inserting some movies
  • Working with dates and durations in the Chart Data Editor in Keynote and Pages
  • Exporting to CSV from Numbers when using table categories
Also, Apple has updated iWork.com. Here is what they have to say about it:
  • Protect your documents with Shared passwords
  • Stay up to date with viewer’s comments
  • Inviting viewers made easy
The update is about 66MB in size, and it can be downloaded via Software Update or direct download here.
Filed Under All News, Software Tagged With iWork 09, iwork.com, update 3

Apple and Intel Working Together On ‘Light Peak’ Connectors?

September 28, 2009 By Alex Jordan Leave a Comment

MacRumors is reporting that last week, Intel demoed there new ‘Light Peak’ interconnect technology. Intel hopes Light Peak will be adopted as a high performance optical connector.

Intel just showed off a glimpse of the future: Light Peak, an optical interconnect for mobile devices that can run as fast as 10Gbps. That’s fast enough to do everything from storage to displays to networking, and it can maintain those speeds over 100-meter runs, which is pretty astounding. Intel says the idea is to drastically reduce the number of connectors on mobile devices, which should allow them to get even smaller

This technology could replace such connectors as Firewire, USB, and display connectors. Engadget has recently found that Apple originally conceptualized this idea and brought it to Intel.

Apple had reached out to Intel as early as 2007 with plans for an interoperable standard which could handle massive amounts of data and “replace the multitudinous connector types with a single connector (FireWire, USB, Display interface).”

Rumor has it, that Apple will begin integrating this new technology into their desktops in the Fall of 2010, and with a low-power variant due in 2011 for portables. These means that some time in the future all peripherals could have this single connector, and thus reduce the different ports on your computers.

Ok, opinion time. I can see Apple just beginning to roll out this connector in 2010, but don’t expect it to catch on that fast. Apple has recently introduced their minidisplay connector on all of their computers, and USB 3.0 devices are expected any time now.

My guess, is that this will be a slow migration, which is kinda a given.

Filed Under All News, More... Tagged With Intel, light peak

Possible Next-Gen iMac Features: SD Card Slot, Quad-Core, Xeon?

September 28, 2009 By Alex Jordan 1 Comment

Mac4Ever [Google Translation] is reporting on a number of tips they have received. The most currently relevant subject is the iMac. They reiterate that an imminent refresh is likely, but what sets this report apart from the others, is that specific product details are included.

Such new features claimed to be in the new iMac include an SD card slot (much like the ones in the current 13 and 15 inch MacBook Pros), the possibility of a Quad-core processor. One source even mentioned the inclusion of a Xeon processor, which presumably would be left to the high-end models.

The report raps up by mentioning other Apple product refreshes. Things like a totally multi-touch mouse, and an all aluminum Apple remote. There are also claims of Apple continuing to port software over to 64-bit.

My Opinion? I totally buy the SD card slot tidbit, it seems logical. I also buy into the claim that Apple might be making a new mouse and remote. It couldn’t hurt. However, I really can’t see Apple cramming a quad-core processor of any kind into the iMac, at least not yet anyway.

Why wouldn’t Apple put a quad-core in their iMacs you ask? Well, first off, the inclusion of just such a processor could cut into Apple’s ultra high-end MacPro sales. I have no idea what Apple makes off of the MacPro, but you can be assured it’s a lot. If they were to cut into that, even with a marginally cheaper product, they would still be shooting themselves in the foot.

Secondly, I can’t see Apple including a quad-core, in the iMac’s small thermal envelope, especially if the other rumors about a thinner case design are true. That said, Apple’s engineers normally pull off miracles anyway.

In short it makes little economic sense to me, and packing that much power into an even smaller space seems like a bad idea.

Filed Under Rumors Tagged With Apple Remote, iMac, mouse, quad-core, redesign, sd card slot, xeon

New MacBooks to Be Introduced Soon, Alongside iMacs?

September 26, 2009 By Alex Jordan 2 Comments

After the report yesterday from AppleInsider is now claiming that the MacBook may also be receiving a redesign.

The new models, which appear as if they could make their debut alongside a family of more versatile iMacs in the coming weeks, are expected to arrive as the most affordable notebook offerings in the Mac maker’s history.

Together, the pair of refreshes should round out Apple’s 2009 personal computer offerings and propel the company into the holiday shopping season with its most cost-effective lineup of Mac hardware to date.

We have heard most of these rumored features before. However, the newest tidbits to this ongoing rumor is that these new MacBooks will keep their white polycarbonate shells, and that these machines are already in production, making an imminent release a possibility.

Filed Under Rumors Tagged With MacBook, redesign

Next-Gen iMacs in Production?

September 25, 2009 By Alex Jordan 4 Comments

AppleInsider is reporting that the rumored new iMac design is in production, and is expected to be introduced between now and mid-October.

The new all-in-one, dual-core desktops were finalized earlier in September and have been rolling off the Mac maker’s Taiwanese product lines for roughly two weeks, according to two people familiar with the matter.

In addition to more affordable pricing, the systems are expected to come clad in a thinner industrial design, one of those people added. Though details are admittedly limited, it’s likely these new enclosures will also take design cues from the Cupertino-based company’s relatively new LED-lit Cinema Display offerings.

This claim is similar to a claim made last week by research firm Wedge Partners. Today’s report also repeats claims of a case redesign, and new features, including a Blu-Ray drive.

I still don’t think there will be a case redesign. If there is, I don’t expect it to be as drastic as these rumors suggest. I believe this because the current iMac design, which was a fairly substantial redesign, is only two years old. Also, Apple may stuff a few more feature into these new iMacs, but I seriously doubt the inclusion of a Blu-Ray drive. Blu-ray is still not widely adopted and offers few benefits for it’s price, compared to DVD.

Filed Under Rumors Tagged With bluray, iMac, redesign, Update
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