Apple has added a new feature to its online store, now offering a text message alert notification service to keep shoppers up-to-date on their orders. Apple will send users a text message once their order ships or is ready for pickup at a retail store. Texts are only send between 8AM and 9PM in the recipients' time zone.
Apple Notifications is a text-message-based alerts service designed to keep you up-to-date on your shipment and/or pickup notification status. In addition to standard email notifications, you can also request text message updates when you're in Checkout. The number of messages you'll receive will vary depending on the orders you placed.
As noted by The Next Web, Apple Notifications are only available in the US and Canada. Customers can choose to receive text messages notifications during the order process.
Following Verizon's move to shared data plans last month, AT&T announced its own shift scheduled for late August. The new system offers a similar setup to Verizon's, with all plans including unlimited talk and text and monthly service pricing being based simply on the total data allotment and number and type of devices being used.
With AT&T Mobile Share plans, customers start by choosing how much data they want each month, then choose up to 10 devices to attach to their shared plan, one of which must be a smartphone. Each plan includes tethering and unlimited domestic calls and texts for smartphones and basic or quick messaging phones. The larger the data bucket you choose, the less you pay per gigabyte and the less you pay for each smartphone added to the shared plan
One wrinkle for AT&T's plans is a decreasing monthly smartphone device access cost as customers step up to higher data plans. While Verizon charges a flat $40 per month per smartphone, AT&T's starts at $45 for customers using just 1 GB of data but decreases to as low as $30 for accounts with 10 GB of data or more per month. Access costs for other devices are the same between AT&T and Verizon, with feature phones requiring a flat fee of $30 per month, laptop connections $20, and tablets $10.
AT&T undercuts Verizon at the simplest level with a single smartphone on a 1 GB data plan costing $85 per month ($40 data + $45 device), compared to $90 on Verizon ($50 data + $40 device), but adding additional smartphones to that 1 GB plan is more expensive on AT&T ($45 versus $40). Verizon's and AT&T's pricing are identical at the 4 GB level, while AT&T again takes the lead on higher-level plans with more data and devices. As an example, an account with four smartphones sharing 10 GB of data would cost $240 per month on AT&T ($120 data + 4 x $30 devices) versus $260 on Verizon ($100 data + 4 x $40 devices).
AT&T is launching its new plans as of "late August", and current customers will not be required to switch to shared data, although they may do so without extending the length of their contracts. New customers will have the option of selecting from the new shared data plans or the carrier's existing individual or family plans.
Cydia Blog notes the appearance of "iPhone 5" cases from TVC-Mall that correspond to circulating rumors about the next generation iPhone.
The case design lines up with the many part leaks and schematics that have been floating around for the past several months.
The appearance of case designs shouldn't be that surprising given the numerous leaks we've already seen. The cases, however, do represent some small level of confidence by Chinese manufacturers that the next generation iPhone will match the circulating rumors. This includes a slightly taller/thinner design with a smaller bottom dock connector and a bottom-placed headphone jack.
The next generation iPhone is already said to be in production for an expected fall launch.
Following yesterday's discovery of a dialog box in the latest iOS 6 beta suggesting that AT&T users may be subject to restrictions or additional charges if they wish to use the FaceTime video calling feature over the carrier's cellular network, the company issued a brief statement simply acknowledging that it was working with Apple and that more information would be released in the future.
TechCrunch now reports that AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson was specifically asked about the issue at Fortune's Brainstorm conference today, with Stephenson saying that it is simply "too early" to discuss how AT&T will handle FaceTime over cellular networks.
“I’ve heard the same rumor,” he said, insisting that for now, AT&T is focused on working with Apple to get the technology stabilized, so “it’s too early to talk about pricing.”
Stephenson's comments certainly do not rule out the idea of additional charges for the feature, and it is even unclear what the carrier's timeline is for supporting it at all. AT&T has on several occasions delayed support of similar features such as tethering and iPad personal hotspot connectivity.
In a separate report today from The Wall Street Journal, Sprint indicated that it will not be charging additional fees for cellular FaceTime usage, considering it part of the customer's existing data package. Verizon, the third major iPhone carrier in the United States, declined to comment on the issue.
Last year, Apple unveiled a new, streamline Fifth Avenue cube that reduced the number of glass panes from 90 to 15. This year, Apple Retail revamped the SoHo store with an extensive expansion into space once occupied by a United States Post Office.
With the SoHo redesign, Apple has done to the iconic staircase what it did to the Fifth Avenue Cube. Instead of stitching three pieces of glass together to make the sides of the staircase, Apple has built a 30-foot long, zig-zagging single pane of glass. The sides are made out of 5 single sheets of glass laminated together.
Leap Motion today announced (via The Next Web) that Apple's former iAd chief Andy Miller is joining the company as President and Chief Operating Officer. Miller was the founder of mobile advertising firm Quattro Wireless, which Apple acquired in January 2010 to form the basis of its iAd platform. Miller left Apple last August to take a position in venture capital.
Leap Motion has introduced innovative new touch-free technology that will allow users to control their computers by gesturing in space above an iPod-sized USB peripheral sensing device. Leap Motion is currently taking pre-orders for the $70 device, which is compatible with OS X and Windows and is expected to begin shipping late this year or early next year
"I've been fortunate to work with some of the most influential figures and companies in the technology industry, and I'm as excited about the Leap as I've ever been about a technology," said Miller. "The potential for the Leap is limitless, as it is going to fundamentally change the way we interact with so many devices in our lives. I'm thrilled to come on board and looking forward to growing Leap Motion into the technology powerhouse it's on the road to becoming."
Serlet will serve as a non-executive director, bringing to Parallels his distinctive professional experience of having led the development of Mac OS X from its inception until his departure from Apple in 2011. Serlet’s distinguished background and unique insights will help Parallels accelerate growth and continue creating software that simplifies life for consumers and businesses. [...]
"With Parallels Desktop, Parallels became a critical developer for the Mac platform, and I got to know and appreciate the Parallels leadership team. I also discovered Parallels deep involvement with the cloud, represented by its rich portfolio of products. I look forward to drawing on my career at Apple to help guide Parallels as it continues on its impressive growth trajectory," said Serlet.
Parallels has been one of the most popular software solutions for Mac users seeking to run Windows in a virtualized environment rather than relying on Apple's Boot Camp solution.
Last month, we highlighted a number of device restrictions regarding Apple's high-profile features for iOS 6, noting that many of them would not be compatible with the iPhone 3GS while smaller subsets would not be supported on the iPhone 4 and iPad 2.
But with yesterday's release of iOS 6 Beta 3 for developers, Apple has improved feature support for the iPhone 3GS, adding shared Photo Streams and VIP mail filtering. The change was noticed by a number of iPhone 3GS users, and Apple has confirmed the removal of those restrictions on its iOS 6 preview page.
While the iOS 6 preview page previously contained eight footnotes outlining various restrictions on features, that number has been reduced to six following the release of iOS 6 Beta 3. The two removed footnotes include:
- Shared Photo Streams requires iOS 6 on iPhone 4 or later or iPad 2 or later, or a Mac computer with OS X Mountain Lion. An up-to-date browser is required for accessing shared photo streams on the web.
- VIP list and VIP and Flagged smart mailboxes will be available on iPhone 4 or later and iPad 2 or later.
The fact that iOS 6 is compatible with the iPhone 3GS at all marks a significant step for Apple, as the device was also the minimum requirement for iOS 5 released last year. But with Apple still selling the three year-old device, the company apparently felt that it needed to bring many of the new features of iOS 6 to the iPhone 3GS and is still working to add as many as it can within the constraints of the older hardware's capabilities.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the next generation iPhone will use "in-cell" technology to make the screen thinner. In fact, they claim that mass production of the screens has already started.
Japanese liquid-crystal-display makers Sharp Corp. and Japan Display Inc.—a new company that combined three Japanese electronics makers' display units—as well as South Korea's LG Display Co. are currently mass producing panels for the next iPhone using so-called in-cell technology, the people said.
The technology integrates touch sensors into the LCD thereby removing an separate component layer just for the touch-screen. Aside from reduced thickness, it would also improve the image quality. The Wall Street Journal also claims it will help reduce Apple's costs by eliminating separate suppliers for each component.
Reports of Apple's interest in "in-cell" technology is not new with the first reports back in April. KGI Securities Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo took a detailed look at the technology and suggested that the new iPhone could be at least 1.4mm slimmer than the iPhone 4S.
While part of the thickness savings would come from the in-cell technology, Apple could also reduce the thickness of the battery and use a thinner metal back casing.
The next generation iPhone is widely expected to be launched this fall.
As noted in our ongoing iOS 6 Beta 3 discussion thread, it appears that AT&T will be restricting and possibly charging for the new FaceTime-over-3G-network feature in iOS 6. Prior to iOS 6, FaceTime was a Wi-Fi-only service.
The following error message appears for AT&T customers in iOS 6 when trying to activate FaceTime over cellular networks:
The error message is similar to one given to AT&T customers who wish to enable data tethering under iOS. AT&T requires users to pay for a separate tethering data plan to enable that feature.
At the time of the original iOS 6 announcement, we had reported that many carriers were quiet of the prospect of allowing FaceTime over their cellular networks. An AT&T spokesperson said that they were "working closely with Apple on features disclosed for iOS 6, and we'll share more information with our customers as we get closer to launch." We are reaching out to AT&T for an update or statement on their plans.
9to5Mac also notes the same behavior on AT&T networks and found the same error message did not appear when trying to activate FaceTime over Verizon's 3G networks.
Update: AT&T issued this statement, which is very similar to the one issued back in June:
We're working closely with Apple on the new developer build of iOS 6 and we'll share more information with our customers as it becomes available.
The Apple Store Passeig de Gracia is opening soon in Barcelona, Spain. However, instead of the traditional black plywood walls that are generally put in front of store locations under construction, Apple has elected to be a bit more vibrant:
Apple will open in a few days the new Apple Store in downtown Barcelona. Will be the second biggest one in Europe and a surprising logo has been discovered today featuring an Antoni Gaudí Style -the iconic Barcelona architect, master of the Sagrada Familia.
[…]
The new store is located on Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona, near Casa Batlló and Casa Milà, two famous buildings by the architect.
Following the selection of Apple's proposed design as the new nano-SIM standard last month, Financial Times reports that European carriers have begun stockpiling the new nano-SIMs in expectation that Apple's next-generation iPhone will be launching using the new standard in the coming months.
Operators expect that the iPhone will feature the nano sim in a slimmed down design, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation, and have begun to store millions of the cards in warehouses in anticipation of high demand for Apple’s iPhone. Apple declined to comment.
Operators were caught off guard by the adoption of the micro Sim for the iPhone 4 as well as the original iPad two years ago, with some struggling to meet demand with their own micro-Sims in the first weeks of sale.
One informed person said that the major networks were keen to be ahead of demand this time, however. He added that the iPhone 5 was likely to be similar sized as the iPhone 4 although slimmer and with a fully metal body.
Apple's nano-SIM design next to current micro-SIM (Source: The Verge)
Back in May, however, one iPhone parts vendor posted what was said to be the SIM tray for the next-generation iPhone, with the part appearing nearly identical to the micro-SIM tray found in the iPhone 4S. If that part is genuine, it would appear that Apple has either chosen to continue using the micro-SIM standard or has quickly changed course with the ratification of the nano-SIM standard to embrace the smaller design.
With today's release of iOS 6 Beta 3 to developers, Apple has revealed in the update's change log that it is beginning the first stages of transitioning users from the me.com email addresses and Apple IDs available under MobileMe to new addresses using icloud.com.
icloud.com email addresses are now available for iCloud mail users. Users signing up for new Apple IDs, or enabling Mail on their iCloud account for the first time, will automatically receive an @icloud.com email address instead of a me.com email address. iCloud users with @me.com addresses that have been used with iOS 6 beta 3 will receive an @icloud.com email address that matches their @me.com address.
Apple discontinued MobileMe in favor of iCloud as of June 30, although MobileMe users are still able to transition their accounts to iCloud for a limited time.
MobileMe and its me.com addresses were themselves transitioned in 2008 from mac.com addresses available under Apple's previous iTools and .Mac services, with MobileMe users able to send and receive email from mac.com and me.com versions of their addresses using either account.
Apple today released the third beta of iOS 6, the company's next-generation mobile operating system set to launch "this fall", presumably alongside new iPhone hardware in the September-October timeframe.
The third beta, which arrives as Build 10A5355d, comes three weeks after the previous developer version of Build 10A5338d.
We'll update this post with additional information on the new release as it surfaces.
Users are tracking new changes both in the forum thread associated with this article and in this thread. One key addition observed so far is a new section in the Settings app for Maps, allowing users to change the volume of the navigation voice, set distances to display in miles or kilometers, set map labels to display either in the local language or always in English, and set map label sizes to either "normal" or "large".
Other changes include:
- Roadwork and traffic accidents showing up in Maps app - Answer and Decline buttons for FaceTime calls have returned - iMessage on iPad now accepting phone number as valid contact info - Greater 3D Flyover coverage in Maps - Glyphs for bookmarks, Reading List, and history in Safari - Auto-brightness changes gradually
Update: Also released today: Xcode Developer Preview 3 and Apple TV Software beta 3.
Late last week, we reported on the launch of a new method to allow App Store users to bypass Apple's In App Purchase mechanism and receive additional content free of charge. At the time, we noted that use of the method involved theft of content from developers and exposed iOS device users to dangers as their account and device information was being routed to servers under the control of the Russian hacker running the service, but we felt that reporting on the issue to bring it to light was the responsible thing to do in order to alert developers to the issue and perhaps spur Apple into action.
The Next Web now follows up with a report outlining some of the steps Apple has been taking to combat the issue, including issuing a copyright claim to have the original video showing the hack in action pulled from YouTube.
Over the weekend, Apple began blocking the IP address of the server used by Russian hacker Alexey V. Borodin to authenticate purchases.
It followed this up with a takedown request on the original server, taking down third-party authentication with it, also issuing a copyright claim on the overview video Borodin used to document the circumvention method. PayPal also got involved, placing a block on the original donation account for violating its terms of service.
The hacker, Alexey Borodin, remains committed to the service and has been working to skirt around the roadblocks being thrown up by Apple, in part by moving the service to a server in another country, but it is clear that Apple is working on the issue and addressing it through multiple routes in order to improve the security of In App Purchase content. For now, however, the service remains operational.
Apple.pro points [Google translation] to a photo posted to a Photobucket account that appears to show a white version of the next-generation "iPhone 5" front panel. This appears to be the first time that a claimed photo of the white version of the device has been seen.
Front (top) and back (bottom) of claimed front panel from white next-generation iPhone
As with previously-leaked photo and video of the black version, the new photo seems to show the front-facing FaceTime camera centered on the device, located above the earpiece rather than to the left of it as seen on current iPhone models. The small black window to the left of the earpiece on the white panel is likely to be the proximity sensor, which is visible above the earpiece on current white models.
The panel also shows a display with an aspect ratio of close to 16:9, in line with rumors of a taller screen measuring four inches diagonally. Overall, the front panel appears to match up closely to a previously-leaked design drawing showing details of the front panel.
Notably, the Photobucket account hosting the new photo is the same one that previously posted leaked measurement comparisons between the rear shells of the third-generation iPad and the iPad 2, showing roughly how much thicker the new iPad would be over the previous model.
Apple's set to release the latest version of OS X later this month. OS X Mountain Lion (10.8) is a $19.99 upgrade that will be available on the Mac App Store.
The latest Mac operating system contains a number of improvements and features. The list includes Reminders, Messages, Notification Center, Power Nap, Dictation, Gatekeeper and many more.
Apple has only said that the new version of OS X will launch in July, but 9to5Mac now speculates that Apple may be launching the new version of OS X on July 25th.
The reasoning comes from reports that Apple Retail stores will be performing overnight updates to stores on July 24th. Those updates could include the posting of marketing information and OS installations of OS X Mountain Lion to store computers.
While the exact content of the overnight updates aren't yet confirmed, the timing would also correlate with Vacation blackout days that MacRumors had heard from several employees at a thirty-party firm that offers technical support for Apple products.
The company is developing a new tablet with a 7.85-inch screen that is likely to sell for significantly less than the latest $499 iPad, with its 9.7-inch display, according to several people with knowledge of the project who declined to be named discussing confidential plans. The product is expected to be announced this year.
Amazon has seen some amount of success with its 7" Kindle Fire, while Google recently launched its Nexus 7 tablet. A so-called iPad Mini, priced aggressively by Apple, could prevent other companies from flanking Apple with cheaper tablets equipped with a smaller screen.
In October of 2011, Tim Cook said on an earnings call that he was "very confident about our ability to compete and extremely confident in our product pipeline."
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Apple's set to release the latest version of OS X later this month. OS X Mountain Lion (10.8) is a $19.99 upgrade that will be available on the Mac App Store. 
