MacRumors

A rumored 12.9-inch iPad may still have significant development time left, according to an analyst at IHS, a supply chain research firm. According to CNET, IHS analyst Rhoda Alexander said there were a number of different larger panels, that could be potentially for a larger iPad, floating around display manufacturers -- but not in volumes necessary for an imminent launch.

"Some manufacturers over the last six months have received sample quantities of a larger panel. They're playing around with a product that could possibly be an iPad-related product," she told CNET in a phone interview.

"Various sizes are being reported with 12.85 inches being one of the sizes," she said.

Alexander went on to say that IHS did not see significant shipments of any of the larger panels, and suggested that there may not be a market for iPads larger than the current 9.7-inch model. "We have to get a lot further down the line in terms of seeing really strong indicators from Apple that such a product exists, and we're just not at that point."

Samsung launched a 12.2-inch Galaxy tablet earlier this year with some reviewers saying the device was not very portable and awkward to hold for long periods of time.

According to a research report from Evercore analyst Patrick Wang, Apple's larger iPad may be aimed at the enterprise market. Recent rumors have indicated that the 12.9-inch iPad will launch no earlier than the third quarter of 2014.

Next week, Major League Baseball will begin rolling out thousands of iBeacons in ballparks around the country according to a source familiar with the plans who shared them with MacRumors.

The league is looking to have twenty parks outfitted with roughly 100 iBeacons each by Opening Day at the end of March. Boston, Milwaukee, San Diego, LA Dodgers, and San Francisco are among the teams that will have iBeacons installed.

The iBeacon deployment is one of the largest rollouts in the world, aside from Apple Retail's 254-store effort. MLB will be using iBeacons sourced from Qualcomm.

The iBeacons will work with primarily with MLB's At The Ballpark app, demonstrated at Citi Field last fall. The app should be updated by Opening Day with iBeacon support.

Functionality will vary by ballpark, with individual teams having significant input and control over what users will see. There are a number of potential use cases including point of interest information, concessions, loyalty and rewards programs, shopping, and more. Specific scenarios have yet to be determined for each ballpark and teams will share more information as it gets closer to Opening Day.

Separately, the NFL is rolling out a limited number of iBeacons at MetLife Stadium, the Super Bowl venue for this year, and in Times Square. The beacons will mostly be used to help users get to entry gates and to find Super Bowl-related tourist attractions in the area.

At The Ballpark already includes extensive ticketing functions introduced last year. Ticketing is fully integrated in the app and users can see all tickets they own, a significant perk for season ticket holders. Tickets can also be transferred from user to user, allowing ticket holders to send unused tickets to friends and family. With iBeacon, the app will be able to offer ticket holders precise directions to the appropriate gate and to their seats. Users can work end-to-end within the app: buying tickets, showing them at the gate, and then using the app to find their seats.

The main purpose of the iBeacons, according to our source, is to improve the fan experience -- not make money. The league is taking a "longer range view" and iBeacon isn't designed to drive revenue in a direct sense. "Time is more valuable than money", so MLB wants to make the fan experience "as efficient as possible". It is looking to eliminate time wasters like waiting in line at the will call window, and it doesn't want fans wandering the ballpark looking for their seats.

However, there is a significant revenue opportunity to be found. iBeacons allow fans to signal their intent, whether it's browsing for merchandise, looking for food or something else. It allows ball clubs to be more proactive at fulfilling fan needs and "it's better for you as a fan". At The Ballpark already includes a loyalty and rewards component, but with iBeacons, clubs could proactively send a push notification to fans thanking them for their tenth visit to the ballpark and directing them to a nearby concession stand for a free hot dog.

The precision of the iBeacon's location determining ability varies depending on both use case and subsequent placement of the iBeacon hardware. Determining installation locations for iBeacons within a major league ballpark is a major undertaking. If installed properly, the app will be able to determine things like whether users are physically in a store versus looking in the window, or if they need to move to a different row in a particular section.

MLB is also working to bring reliable Wi-Fi to all thirty ballparks, as well as working with all major carriers to improve cellular reception inside the facilities. Currently, many fans have difficulties using data or making calls, particularly during particularly exciting moments in the game. iBeacons can currently trigger any content -- videos, photos, text -- that are preloaded in the app, but for optional items like video clips triggered by plaques at Monument Park in Yankee Stadium, having reliable Wi-Fi would be a significant improvement to the fan experience.

The Bluetooth LE protocol used by the iBeacons is not subject to connectivity conditions, so users should be able to get directions to their seats or other content already stored within the app regardless of the status of their cellular connection.

Fans looking to get started with MLB iBeacons should download free At The Ballpark app to their iPhone and then sign up for a free MLB.com account to get started. Users need to install At The Ballpark and specifically opt-in to receive messages from iBeacons, preventing unwanted notifications. [Direct Link]

Over the course of the last year, Apple has made several hires from the medical and sensor field, presumably to bolster the team of experts working on its much-rumored smart watch project, and MacRumors today learned of another high-profile sensor expert that has joined the company.

Michael O'Reilly, M.D., formerly the Chief Medical Officer and EVP of Medical Affairs at Masimo Corporation, left his position in July of 2013 to take on a role at Apple, possibly on the iWatch team. News of O'Reilly's employment at Apple was first leaked to MobiHealthNews last week and when contacted for comment earlier today, Masimo told MacRumors it "could not dispute" what had been reported.

While O'Reilly was at Masimo, the company developed several cutting edge pulse oximetry devices, including the iSpO2 Pulse Oximeter that connects to the iPhone and gives readings via an accompanying app. The iSpO2, which takes its readings from a finger, is designed to measure both oxygen saturation in the blood and pulse rate, with technology that allows it to take readings during movement and with low blood flow.

While it is not clear what position O'Reilly holds with Apple or how his pulse oximetry expertise will be used by the company, he does join a number of other hires in the medical field that have reportedly been recruited for the iWatch team. In 2013, Apple hired several scientists and executives from notable sensor companies like AccuVein, C8 MediSensors, and Senseonics, and two weeks ago, another report pointed to two additional hires in the sensor field.

Reports have suggested that Apple's smart watch project, the iWatch, could focus heavily on health sensors and biometrics, possibly including features like a pedometer and a heart rate monitor. Apple's multitude of hires in the health field does suggest, however, that the company could include even more advanced sensor technology in the iWatch or in a future product.

With the addition of O'Reilly, Apple has now hired employees with expertise in pulse oximetry, vasculature visualization (vein finding), non-invasive glucose monitoring, blood chemistry monitoring via microneedle, heart/breath rate monitoring, and fitness. Notably, several hires have also had experience with low-profile, non-invasive biosensor devices.

On his LinkedIn page, O'Reilly is also listed as both an Adjunct Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Michigan and a Professor of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care at the University of California, Irvine.

The first of hundreds of new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) began rolling out this week, and it should be no surprise that Apple is looking to protect names related to its products and brands. Among this initial batch of gTLDs being released, Apple has already secured several domains in the ".guru" family, presumably due to its similarity to Apple's "Genius" naming for the company's in-store support staff and recommendation features in its digital stores.

Domains in the .guru family that have already been registered by Apple and pointed to the company's name servers include:

- apple.guru
- iphone.guru
- ipad.guru
- mac.guru

Several others including appletv.guru, macbook.guru, and ipod.guru are currently blocked from registration, presumably at Apple's request.

The new domains registered by Apple are not yet active, although at some point the company may choose to redirect them to either its general home and product family pages or support pages. Some browsers with unified search and URL bars, including Apple's own Safari, have also yet to be updated to recognize the new domains as URLs. Safari currently directs such entries to searches rather than attempting to access the addresses themselves unless the HTTP protocol is specifically included in the text entry.

Apple routinely moves to protect domain names associated with its business, and the rapidly increasing number of gTLDs is only complicating that effort. Among the most notable expansions, Apple in 2012 applied for control of a new ".apple" top-level domain through a program that appears to still be in progress with Apple having passed initial review last June.

PayPal wants to be a part of Apple's mobile payment system and is willing to work closely with the Cupertino company to bring the initiative to fruition, claims a report from Re/code.

Three payments industry executives tell Re/code that eBay-owned PayPal has been pitching Apple on helping the consumer electronics maker bring its long-rumored payments initiative to fruition. These people, who have spoken to contacts at both Apple and PayPal, say that PayPal is essentially willing to white label parts of its payment service to be used in an Apple mobile payments system — anything from fraud detection to back-end infrastructure, even possibly down to the processing of payments.

Re/code's sources claim Apple is capable of rolling out a mobile payment system without PayPal's help, but they could not rule out the possibility of some type of partnership between the two companies.

Apple is allegedly focusing on the iPhone for its mobile payment system, though details on how the phone will process payments is not known. A recent patent application hints at the use of NFC and Bluetooth, the latter of which is compatible with the company's iBeacon technology. Apple recently deployed iBeacons throughout its retail chain of stores, while retailers like American Eagle and Safeway are experimenting with the technology in limited trials.

Today's report echoes an earlier report from the Wall Street Journal that said Eddie Cue was meeting with industry executives to "to discuss Apple's interest in handling payments for physical goods and services on its devices." Tim Cook also confirmed during Apple's recent earnings conference call that the mobile payment area was "one of the thoughts behind Touch ID" in the iPhone 5s.

Last week, an image was posted on Twitter by noted leaker @evleaks appearing to show a "SwiftKey Note" app for iOS from the company behind the popular alternative Android keyboard that ranked as the top-selling paid app on Google Play last year.

SwiftKey Note is indeed real and it launches today as a note-taking app that optionally integrates with Evernote's popular suite of apps. The app offers several features to allow for faster and easier note-taking, including automatic word suggestions based on context and personalized auto-correction. SwiftKey's suggestion and autocorrect features learn over time based on context from previous text entries, and can tap directly into a user's Evernote archive to assist with predictions.

SwiftKey's Chief Marketing Officer Joe Braidwood told MacRumors that his firm was approached by Evernote early last year about the possibility of developing a SwiftKey app to integrate with Evernote, and the two companies have worked closely together and with Apple to bring that vision to reality.

The new SwiftKey Note app supports seamless backup and two-way syncing, both with other instances of SwiftKey Note and with Evernote, allowing for easy note entry and editing in the app while notes propagate to other instances of Evernote. While SwiftKey Note does support some text formatting through easy swipe access to a toolbar, it does not support syncing of more sophisticated Evernote features such as advanced text formatting and embedded images.

With Apple so far refusing to allow developers to create systemwide alternative keyboards for iOS, SwiftKey is limited to bringing its keyboard functionality to its own apps and releasing tools to allow other developers to offer it in their own apps on a case-by-case basis. As such, SwiftKey Note also serves as an example and marketing tool as the company looks to partner with select third-party developers going forward before opening up broader access through an open SDK.

Apple's prohibition of alternative systemwide keyboards has also contributed to SwiftKey's decision to not include support for the gesture-based typing found in its Android keyboard. For the time being, SwiftKey Note includes only the standard iOS keyboard to ensure familiarity for users, augmented with word suggestions appearing by default in a narrow bar above the keyboard, although the "tap to dismiss" interface familiar to iOS autocorrect users is also an option. Gesture input may, however, also be added in the future depending on user feedback.

One final key feature of SwiftKey Note is multilingual support, with the app able to offer contextual word suggestions in up to three languages simultaneously. Initial language support includes English (US and UK), German, Spanish (Spain and US), French (France and Canada), and Italian.

Unlike the SwiftKey Keyboard app for Android, SwiftKey Note for iOS arrives as a free app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, giving the company the opportunity to test the waters of iOS with a useful but still lightweight app accessible to all users. The app requires a minimum of iOS 6, although text formatting is currently only supported on iOS 7. [Direct Link]

An Apple patent detailing pressure-sensitive touchscreens was published today by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, reports AppleInsider. Entitled "Gesture and touch input detection through force sensing," the application describes a system in which a traditional touchscreen is complemented by multiple force-sensors in order to better log unique gestures and more complex input.

The patent application introduces itself by describing the problems with current touchscreens found in devices, noting that some gestures such as those involving a swipe or pinch from a screen's edge are not recognized properly, or result in unintended action. Apple suggests that by deploying three or more force sensors in a touchscreen, a device can determine specific central pressure points and take appropriate action.

The touch screen is configured to detect a touch signal corresponding to a user finger approaching or contacting the touch screen. The at least three pressure sensors are configured to detect a pressure signal corresponding to an object proving pressure on a surface. In response to the pressure signal the processor determines a centroid location relative to the surface and the touch signal is processed by the processor by analyzing the centroid location.

Apple also states that central points determined by force sensors can determine if one or more touches are accidental, which is slightly similar to the current palm rejection technology found on the iPad Air and iPad mini. The illustration above shows a user resting the right thumb on one side of an iPad's screen while continuing to use the tablet with the left thumb. Currently, this input combination cannot be performed on iOS devices, and would potentially allow for new interactions if enabled.

Furthermore, the patent notes that the force sensors can be positioned outside of an active touch region, which could allow for users to interact with user interface elements such as menu options that extend well beyond the immediate area of a touchscreen. This would allow a device the option to render more elements onscreen while retaining key touch elements needed offscreen, offering a secondary mode of input.

Currently, it is unknown whether Apple plans to create such a touchscreen for its products or not, but the company has shown an interest in pressure sensitive technology before. An Apple patent detailing the integration of a pressure sensitive button in a touchscreen was published last November, and a patent that described pressure-sensitive device casings was awarded to Apple in March 2013.

The patent application, which was originally filed on January 30, 2012 and published today, also lists Nima Parivar and Wayne C. Westerman as its inventors.

Apple is aggressively pursuing the launch of its new sapphire plant in Mesa, Arizona for a "critical new sub-component", according to documents obtained by 9to5Mac. The company is aiming to open the plant by February.

The documents reveal that James J. Patton, Apple's Deputy Director of Global Trade Compliance, requested expedited approval from the Foreign-Trade Zone Board to approve two requests that would allow Apple to meet its "aggressive go-live timeline" for February 2014. Recently, both Apple and manufacturing partner, GT Advanced, have been recruiting potential employees for the sapphire plant.

In addition, the documents indicate the sapphire plant would be used to create a "critical new sub-component" for use in Apple's consumer electronics. Apple currently uses sapphire glass to protect the iPhones' camera lenses and the iPhone 5s' Touch ID home button, but Apple's language in the documents suggests something more could be in the works.

Project Cascade will conduct high-tech manufacturing of intermediate goods/components for consumer electronics. All finished components will be exported. This high-tech manufacturing process will create a critical new sub-component of Apple Products to be used in the manufacture of the consumer electronics that will be imported and then sold globally. By pulling this process into the U.S., Apple will be using cutting edge, new technology to enhance and improve the consumer products, making them best in class per product type.

While it's not clear what a "new" sub-component could be, Apple could be looking to create full-screen displays made out of sapphire. Sapphire could also be used to protect the display on Apple's much-rumored iWatch.

The report also includes information on some of the other materials that will be utilized in the plant, like diamond cutting wire, which as 9to5Mac points out, is currently used in iPhone and iPad assembly to create bezels.

Just a couple days ago, Taiwan's Apple Daily reported the company's assembly partner Foxconn had begun an initial 100 unit run of an iPhone with a sapphire glass display. Last week, an Apple patent application for an Apple device with a sapphire glass display was also discovered.

Sapphire has been seen as a potential successor to high-strength glass for display covers, although Corning claims Gorilla Glass 3 is stronger than sapphire glass at a lower cost. Apple has reportedly experimented with sapphire glass displays before, but found them infeasible. It is possible, however, that advances in material and production technology have allowed the company to revisit the possibility.

During a strategy briefing that took place in Osaka, Japan, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata today confirmed (via The Wall Street Journal) that Nintendo has plans to "actively" use service apps for smart devices, but does not have plans to introduce key Nintendo software, like its portfolio of games, on third party platforms.

According to Iwata, Nintendo is aiming to use service apps to both build a bridge with its customers and deliver information on Nintendo products. Service apps are not intended to make money for the company, but instead will be used to "make connections with customers."

Iwata did acknowledge that Nintendo's apps would need to be more than a simple advertisement in order to engage customers, but he did not elaborate on what tactics the company would use to entice customers to use a Nintendo app. Neither a potential release date nor any additional information on the content of the service app was divulged.

Iwata did, however, say that the game console will continue to be at the center of Nintendo's strategy and there are no plans for the company to abandon its hardware business.

News of Nintendo's foray into mobile first surfaced in mid-January after company president Satoru Iwata indicated Nintendo would consider a new business structure involving smart devices in light of increasing competition from both iOS and Android and competing consoles.

On Monday, Japanese business newspaper Nikkei suggested Nintendo would release an iOS and Android app featuring game information and playable mini games, but Nintendo quickly refuted the claim and insisted it had no plans to make Nintendo software available on mobile devices.

Earlier today, Nintendo missed its earnings forecast and announced an operating loss of 1.58 billion yen ($15.3 million) for the December quarter. The company expects another loss of 33.4 billion yen for the final quarter of the year with a total operating loss of 35 billion yen ($355 million) for 2013.

During today's event, Nintendo also announced plans to bolster its profits by introducing an on-demand gaming service, allowing Wii U players to access Nintendo DS games, and releasing a non-wearable health monitoring device in 2015.

Google is selling its Motorola Mobility division to Lenovo for $2.91 billion, according to a report from China Daily. Google acquired the company and its then 17,000-strong patent portfolio, along with 7,500 filed patents, in August of 2011 for roughly $12.5 billion.

At the time, Google said Motorola was a "natural fit" for the two companies and that it would "supercharge the entire Android ecosystem". The deal is said to include 10,000 of Motorola Mobility's patents, although it is likely that Google will retain licenses for those patents.

Lenovo Group Ltd is likely to buy Google Inc’s Motorola Mobility business, giving the Chinese company a bigger say in the global tablet and smartphone market.

The acquisition, worth at least $2 billion, will include more than 10,000 mobile communications patents currently held by the United States company, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The deal is expected to be announced on Thursday morning in Beijing.

Google's Motorola Mobility subsidiary has been a money loser for the company in recent quarters, costing the firm $248 million in the most recent quarter. Earlier this month, Google purchased the Tony Fadell-founded Nest for $3.2 billion in cash.

Update: Google has confirmed the acquisition in a blog post, saying "Motorola will be better served by Lenovo". The deal will need to be approved by both the U.S. and Chinese governments.

This move will enable Google to devote our energy to driving innovation across the Android ecosystem, for the benefit of smartphone users everywhere. As a side note, this does not signal a larger shift for our other hardware efforts. The dynamics and maturity of the wearable and home markets, for example, are very different from that of the mobile industry. We’re excited by the opportunities to build amazing new products for users within these emerging ecosystems.

An error on Apple's iCloud.com portal is displaying a "Coming Soon" page for iCloud Bookmarks, suggesting that the website may soon gain functionality for displaying iCloud Bookmarks saved in Safari on a Mac or an iOS device.

An online iCloud Bookmarks section, if added to iCloud, could be useful for users that wish to access their bookmarks on a computer that is not used regularly. While iCloud already syncs Safari bookmarks between Macs and iOS devices, iCloud bookmarks are not currently accessible via iCloud.com.

First discovered by a Twitter user (via 9to5Mac), the iCloud Bookmarks page can be seen briefly when visiting a specific URL, originally accessed by installing the Chrome extension from the iCloud Control Panel for Windows app on a PC: http://icloud.com/bookmarks_extension

Though the page text suggests that an iCloud Bookmarks feature could be in the works for iCloud.com, it is possible, based on the "extension" URL, that it is referring to an iCloud Bookmarks extension, but iCloud browser extensions for both Chrome and Firefox on Windows have been available for several months following the launch of iOS 7.

As noted by 9to5Mac, the introductory screen also features the iOS 7-style design for Bookmarks, which seems to indicate that it was rather recently created, pointing more towards a new feature than an old page for an existing feature.

Apple has been hard at work beefing up iCloud during the last year. At WWDC, the company introduced iWork for iCloud, giving users a way to work on collaborative documents from any device, and more recently many of the apps received a full iOS 7-style redesign.

Apple today released iOS 7.0.5 for the iPhone with a minor maintenance update to correct network provisioning in China for some iPhone 5s and 5c models sold in China, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Customers receiving iOS 7.0.5 outside of China will likely see no benefit from the update as it is designed to correct network provisioning within the country.

The update, which arrives as Build 11B601, is only available for some models of the iPhone 5s and 5c sold in China and some European/Asia Pacific iPhone models compatible with China's networks (those that are identified as iPhone 5,4 and 6,2):

iPhone 5s
A1457 (UK/Europe)
A1528 (China)
A1530 (Asia Pacific)

iPhone 5c
A1507 (UK/Europe)
A1526 (China)
A1529 (Asia Pacific)

The update comes more than two months after the release of iOS 7.0.4, which included additional bug fixes and a repair for an issue that caused FaceTime calls to fail for some users.