According to Chronic Wire, iOS 5.1 has satisfied the requirements of Apple's quality assurance testing and is now ready to be released to the public, presumably just prior to the iPad 3 launch within the next few weeks. The report claims that iOS 5.1 is now in the golden master stage with build 9B176 being the final build to be issued for public release.
The build number of iOS 5.1 Gold Master is 9B176 according to a very solid source, although three different partners who are testing the Gold Master claim to have slightly (by single digits) higher builds numbers on their copies, I'm assuming that's because right now it'd make sense for those people to be testing what will soon be released as 5.1.1, so I've disregarded the claims.
The quality assurance phase for iOS 5.1 is said to have taken place over the past three weeks, with work by Apple and its carrier partners to ensure that as many bugs as possible have been eliminated.
While Steve Jobs' official biographer Walter Isaacson created a stir last October with his disclosure of Jobs having "finally cracked" how to develop a revolutionary television set product, it now appears that Jobs shared even more about the product that Isaacson has so far declined to make public.
The revelation came in an interview with Brazilian television yesterday, and The Next Web highlights Isaacson's comments about holding back the information because it would have been "unfair to Apple" to share it before the company's plans were publicly known.
[Isaacson] says that he left a few things out of the book, one of those being details of “what [Steve Jobs] thought the next Apple TV should be.”
He says that he left it out of the book “because Apple hadn’t yet done it and I thought that, maybe, that was unfair to Apple before they produce the TV…reporting what Steve thought it should be.”
Apple has been rumored to be working on a Siri-enabled television set that could be set to launch late this year or early next year. The company has reportedly been investigating components for the product, with various prototypes sitting in Jony Ive's design lab.
Last year, iFixit released a kit to install a second hard drive inside the 2011 Mac Mini. The install was fairly straightforward, but some Macs are a lot trickier to upgrade.
The company has now released a hard drive install kit for the mid-2011 21.5" and 27" iMacs.
We’ve combined all the components you need and set the price at $69.95. And you’ll be able to use the clearest, bestest instructions on the planet to perform this install –– for free. Check out the 21.5" iMac and 27" iMac dual hard drive installation manuals to get a feel for the install process; the instructions are as clear as can be, but the procedure is still pretty involved since you have remove the LCD to get inside.
The kit includes the required SATA cables as well as the appropriate mounting hardware to install the second drive. As the LCD needs to be removed to access the interior of the iMac, the install isn't for the faint of heart, though iFixit does include suction cups to pull the glass off.
The kit is available for $69.95 from iFixit in 21.5" and 27" varieties.
Bloomberg notes that the Russian government has reclassified the iPad as a computer, in order to avoid a steep import tax. The story was originally reported [Google Translate] by the Russian newspaper Vedomosti.
The reason for the tax was because the 3G iPad was considered a GPS-enabled navigation device. With the change, the iPad is now considered a mere computer -- however, many other tablets with GPS capabilities are still subject to the tax.
Dow Jones Newswires reports that Apple has expressed a willingness to settle some of its patent disputes with manufacturers of Android-based handsets such as Samsung and Motorola, potentially seeking to reduce the burden of ongoing litigation.
The consumer-electronics company has put forth proposals to Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (MMI) and Samsung Electronics Co. (005930.SE, SSNHY) to settle some pending litigation in exchange for royalty payments to license its patents, among other terms, [people familiar with the matter] said.
This is not a new tactic; Apple had some discussions with companies such as Samsung before initiating litigation, according to statements made to a court in at least one suit.
But Samsung and Motorola are not likely to be willing to agree to such settlements at face value, with Apple reportedly proposing that its competitors pay a $5-15 licensing fee to Apple for each Android handset sold.
Apple, of Cupertino, Calif., has asked for between $5 and $15 per handset for some of its patents in one negotiation, or roughly 1% to 2.5% of net sales per device, another person familiar with the matter said. Motorola, for its part, has been criticized for asking for 2.5% of net sales per device for its wireless patents from Apple.
The report notes that any settlements would appear to go against Steve Jobs' desires, as he expressed in his biography that he wished "destroy Android" even if it required "every penny" of Apple's cash hoard. Apple's cash position and domination of mobile phone industry revenues also mean that the company has less of a need to settle for royalty payments from its competitors.
Apple's competitors are of course pursuing their own actions against the company, which each side hoping to use leverage from their lawsuits to gain more favorable terms in any settlement talks.
While Apple has been rumored for some time now to be working on a television set, essentially no concrete evidence of such a product has surfaced. But with Steve Jobs noting in his biography that he had "finally cracked" how to create the "simplest user interface you could imagine" for a television, rumors about the company's plans have been circulating widely.
As for what Apple would name such a product, some have suggested that Apple will transition the "Apple TV" name over to the new product, while others have believed that "iTV" would be the company's preferred name even though it raises potential trademark and branding issues with other entities such as the UK's ITV network. Notably, Apple first offered a sneak peek of its own iTV product back in late 2006, opting to rename it as the Apple TV before it launched in early 2007.
Slide from Apple's September 2006 "sneak peek" of iTV, which became Apple TV before launch
But while the British television network is the highest-profile roadblock to any effort by Apple to gain the rights to the iTV, there are others who hold intellectual property rights related to the name, and one in particular is concerned that Apple might be making an end run to usurp the term.
Patrick Hughes, president and CEO of iTV Entertainment, LLC, will be taking his case public tomorrow in an attempt to spur Apple into discussion of the trademark with warnings of legal and/or regulatory action if Apple should introduce a product under the "iTV" name. While Hughes does not hold a trademark on the "iTV" name itself, he does hold one on "iTV Entertainment". From a press release set to be published tomorrow:
iTV Entertainment, LLC announced today that its counsel, Bart S. Fisher, had sent a letter to Apple, Inc. board director, Al Gore, suggesting that a meeting be held “to see if an amicable and fair transaction arrangement” could be made between the parties with regard to Apple’s use of the “iTV” mark displayed throughout their U.S. Patent No. 2011/0154394 A1 for a product that is rumored to be in development by and being planned for a possible launch in 2012. Apple describes its device as being “an audio and video entertainment center”.
“The Apple iTV entertainment center device would cause a great amount of confusion with iTV Entertainment customers”, according to iTV Entertainment LLC Chief Executive, Patrick Hughes. Hughes also said that Apple CEO Tim Cook and general counsel Bruce Sewell have been notified as well as another board member Andrea Jung, that should “the iTV rights issue” not be resolved, then we would have no other choice but to “bring to the International Trade Commission (ITC) [our trademark infringement complaint] that could result in an exclusion order being issued against Apple under Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930.”
Hughes notes that iTV Entertainment has been using its U.S.-registered trademark since 2001 and that it made sure in August 2010 that Apple was aware of the trademark should it have been interested in launching its revamped Apple TV set-top box as the iTV. Hughes tells MacRumors that Apple did not express any interest in acquiring his iTV Entertainment trademark at that time.
Hughes points to increasing chatter from analysts and other sources referring to Apple's rumored television set as the "iTV", but relies most heavily on Apple's own use of the term in patent applications as evidence of the company's intent to use the name. Apple's use of the term in patent applications actually extends back a number of years, with the 2011 patent application cited by Hughes in his press release actually being a continuation of a patent application filed for the original iTV set-top box software on the same day it was previewed in September 2006.
Figure from Apple's September 2006 "iTV" patent application
With excitement about a potential Apple "iTV" growing, Hughes clearly senses that the time is ripe to sell the trademark rights, and he undoubtedly would like to have Apple's checkbook at the table before any deal is made. He notes that Chinese company Hisense has introduced its own I'TV tablet television, with the company potentially interested in acquiring the iTV Entertainment trademark from Hughes' company.
Noting that "time is running short for Apple" and that it "would be a shame" for Apple and its consumers if the trademark ended up in Hisense's hands, Hughes is clearly trying to bait Apple into entering the bidding to secure the rights to the trademark.
Apple has yet to respond to Hughes' latest notices regarding the iTV Entertainment trademark.
Reuters adds its voice to the growing chorus of rumors claiming that Apple will indeed include 4G LTE compatibility on the iPad 3 when it debuts tomorrow. While some have remained skeptical of the claim amid concerns that the technology is not yet broadly-enough available to be worthwhile, Reuters joins Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal among mainstream publications making the assertion.
Apple Inc is betting a 4G-equipped iPad will tempt more U.S. consumers to pay extra to watch high-quality video on the go, and in turn, give Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc a revenue boost. [...]
The newest iPad will be capable of operating on a high-speed 4G "LTE," or Long-Term Evolution network, according to a source familiar with the product. At speeds roughly 10 times faster than current 3G technology, that may go a long way toward banishing the sometimes shaky video quality of older devices.
The continued claims of LTE compatibility comes as March 16 seems to be firming up as an expectation for the actual launch of the iPad 3 in the United States. The date has been considered a likely candidate since word of Apple's March 7 media event surfaced, given that the iPad 2 debuted nine days after its introduction last year.
Rumors of a March 16 launch received another boost last week when it was revealed that Apple's new Houston store had seen its grand opening moved up by a day to March 16 in an unusual move for the company.
9to5Mac now reports that an "Apple Store source who has been reliable in the past" has pointed to March 16 as the launch date.
We’ve been told by a Apple Store source who has been reliable in the past that preparations are being made for a big Apple Store event which will culminate on Friday, March 16th. Naturally, this points to an iPad 3 launch on the Friday just nine days after tomorrow’s announcement.
The source also reports that Apple is planning a "subsequent event" a week later, but it is unclear whether this is referring to international iPad 3 launches or some other event.
Apple's iPad 3 media event is taking place tomorrow at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco and is scheduled to begin at 10:00 AM Pacific / 1:00 PM Eastern.
The Austin American-Statesman reports that Apple will not be opening a special "pop-up" retail store at the city's massive SXSW festival this year. Apple briefly opened such a store at last year's festival to support the launch of the iPad 2.
Apple Inc. will not create a pop-up Apple Store downtown for South by Southwest Interactive Festival this year, Apple officials confirmed Monday.
Last year, Apple's then-CEO, Steve Jobs, announced the release of the iPad 2 on March 2. The pop-up store opened at the start of the SXSW Interactive Festival on March 11, 2011. The store, at the Scarbroughs building on Congress Avenue and Sixth Street, sold the tablet, as well as accessories, during the festival.
As the report notes, Apple's decision could suggest that the iPad 3 will not be launching during the Interactive portion of the festival this year, which runs from March 9-13. Some have suggested that Apple is likely to follow a similar timing to last year's announcement and release, which would put the iPad 3 launch in the United States on Friday, March 16, nine days after tomorrow's unveiling.
Bloomberg reports that a federal judge in Chicago has ruled that Google and Motorola Mobility must share with Apple background information on both the history of Android development and Google's pending acquisition of Motorola as part of an ongoing patent dispute between Apple and Motorola.
The development is a key one for its impact on drawing Google into the patent fight that has until now mostly seen the company staying in the background of the Android-iOS patent disputes with Apple going head-to-head with hardware manufacturers.
Google Inc. and a Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. unit were ordered by the U.S. judge presiding over an Apple Inc. patent lawsuit to turn over information about the development of Google’s Android operating system.
The Motorola Mobility unit and Google must also hand over to Apple information about Google’s pending $12.5 billion acquisition of the mobile-phone maker, U.S. Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner in Chicago ruled yesterday. [...]
“The Android/Motorola acquisition discovery is highly relevant to Apple’s claims and defenses,” Apple’s attorneys’ said in a March 2 filing requesting the judge’s order.
Motorola has argued that it can not compel Google to comply with the order, given that Google acquisition of Motorola has not yet been finalized, but Judge Richard Ponser apparently disagrees with that assessment.
Access to information on Android's development history could provide Apple with more ammunition in its efforts to bring down the platform. Steve Jobs notably referred to Android as a "stolen product" in his biography, vowing to wage "thermonuclear war" with Apple's entire cash hoard in an effort to destroy Android. Apple has won several court decisions against hardware manufacturers over their Android-based products, forcing minor tweaks to their functionality and/or design in several markets, but it has not yet struck a crippling blow to either the hardware companies or Android itself.
Adobe today announced the immediate release of Photoshop Lightroom 4, bringing a number of new features and a lower price tag to the company's professional photo management and manipulation software.
Lightroom 4 introduces refined technology for superior shadow and highlight processing, ability to create photo books, additional local adjustment controls, and enhanced video support.
“Feedback from our customers is invaluable in developing Lightroom and the real trick to a great release is to combine these insights with Adobe’s unrivalled image processing innovation,” said Winston Hendrickson, vice president products, Creative Media Solutions, Adobe. “Lightroom 4 is a stunning new release that will enhance photography workflows and help photographs stand out from the crowd.”
Photoshop Lightroom 4 was released as a public beta just under two months ago, and Adobe has made several additional improvements since that time.
With the release of Lightroom 4, Adobe has slashed the application's price in half to $149, presumably responding to Apple's price cut on Aperture that saw it drop to just $79 when it moved to the Mac App Store with that marketplace's debut in January 2011. Pricing for Student/Teacher and Upgrade editions of Lightroom 4 is set at $79, with the Upgrade edition valid for any previous version of Lightroom.
Last week, we noted that shortages of the Apple TV at third-party retailers had begun spreading to Apple itself, with a number of the company's own retail stores reporting that the set-top box was unavailable for immediate in-store pickup. With a part number for a product with the code name of "J33" and known to be the next-generation Apple TV also surfacing last week, it certainly appears that an update is imminent.
With Apple's iPad 3 media event now roughly 36 hours away and Apple also expected to unveil an updated Apple TV at the event, we've been watching as more and more Apple retail stores are running dry of the current model. By our most recent count, 98% of Apple's 246 U.S. stores are currently out of stock, leaving only four with the Apple TV available for immediate pickup during store hours:
A fifth store, the Valley Fair location in Santa Clara, California, was showing "in stock" status for the Apple TV just a few hours ago but is now simply listing the product as "unavailable for pickup".
For those retail stores currently out of stock, the earliest an online store order placed today could be available for pickup would be March 9, although some stores are quoting pickup dates as far out as March 15. These lead times are, however, fairly typical for out of stock products that need to be shipped to a store for pickup. But being so close to Wednesday's media event suggests that any orders would be filled with the new model.
Apple's U.S. online store does continue to show "in stock" availability for the Apple TV. Customers selecting free or 2 business day shipping are being quoted a delivery estimate of Thursday, March 8, while next-day shipping could see an arrival on Wednesday, March 7, the day of the event. It seems likely, however, that Apple would at this point also stall on shipping direct delivery orders until Wednesday's announcement.
A number of Apple's other online stores around the world are still quoting "in stock" status for the Apple TV, although some have slipped by a few days ahead of the event. Online stores in Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Norway, and the United Kingdom are currently showing 2-4 business days for shipping estimates, while those in Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, and Switzerland are quoting 1-2 business days.
Rumors and speculation have suggested that Apple will be delivering a new, more powerful model of the Apple TV on Wednesday, offering support for 1080p video to complement the ultra-high resolution display on the new iPad. Apple may also roll out updated iTunes Store video content at the higher resolution.
Update: The San Francisco and San Luis Obispo stores are now also out of stock of the Apple TV, leaving only SoHo and South Hills Village with immediate availability of the device.
Update 2: With just over 13 hours to go until the media event, the SoHo store is now also out of stock of the Apple TV. Pittsburgh's South Hills Village store is now the only U.S. location with the current Apple TV in stock for immediate pickup ahead of the event.
CNet claims that the next iPad that is due to be announced on Wednesday will be named "iPad HD".
A developer who's previously provided reliable information with respect to things Apple and otherwise tells us the next iPad uses the HD moniker instead of going with "iPad 3."
The next generation iPad has been referenced as the "iPad 3" in most reports as a natural successor to the iPad 2 which was released last year.
Some case-makers have already started referencing the new device as the "iPad HD" though we were skeptical about their knowledge of Apple's plans. However, CNet's report and a similar report from VentureBeat suggests that iPad HD may well be the name.
The name was first predicted in a rumor from July, 2011. In that report by This Is My Next (now TheVerge), the author claimed the "iPad HD" would be a high-end device aimed more at professionals. The most recent rumors, however, have suggested the new device will arrive at the same price points as the current iPad 2.
Apple will be holding their media event on Wed, March 7th.
Apple has posted its list [iTunes Link] of the top 25 bestselling apps of all time, following the download of the 25 billionth app from the App Store.
The list, transcribed by MacStories, gives some insight into the types of apps that users are buying, and how those differ between the iPhone/iPod Touch and the iPad.
The top 9 apps on the bestselling paid iPhone list are all games, with photography app Camera+ coming in tenth. In the entire top 25, there are only 5 non-games on the list.
The bestselling free iPhone list does include a number of games, but includes many more app-versions of popular websites and services. Facebook, Pandora, Skype and The Weather Channel are all in the top 5, with Words With Friends Free and Angry Birds Free the only games in the top 10.
Showing how the iPad differs from the iPhone in more than just screen size, the bestselling paid iPad list includes a large number of productivity applications. Apple's Pages word processing app comes in first, with sketching app Penultimate, GoodReader, Numbers, and Keynote all show up in the top 15.
The bestselling free iPad list looks similar to the free iPhone list, with a number of app-versions of popular websites and services, as well as a good number of free games as well.
Last week, EA launched The Simpsons: Tapped Out, a new title that is a big part of its expanded strategy into freemium. The game appears to be one part The Sims and another Tiny Tower.
Using the same writers and voice actors as the TV series, the game features a Springfield wiped out by a nuclear explosion caused by Homer. The town isn't actually destroyed, but players must rebuild the city, using quests to gain donuts -- the game's currency -- and unlock the town's various characters. Players who want to advance more quickly can use in-app purchases to buy more donuts.
The game, however, proved more popular than EA expected. The game has been pulled from the App Store just 4 days after it went live because overwhelming demand on the game's servers was causing a degradation in experience -- though players who have already downloaded the game can continue playing.
To make sure you current players have the best possible experience, we’ve temporarily removed The Simpsons: Tapped Out from the App Store. Yes, as a current player you can keep playing -- and things should only get better as we make improvements to connectivity. Once we have a solution, we’ll return the game to the App Store so new players can join in the fun. Meanwhile, thank you for your patience and support.
Apple has released a small update to Lion called Mac OS X 10.7.3 Supplemental Update. The update is apparently a bug fix for an issue with restoring from a Time Machine Backup.
About Mac OS X 10.7.3 Supplemental Update
This update resolves an issue when restoring a Mac from a Time Machine backup.
The update weighs in at 24.55MB and is recommended for all Lion users who have Time Machine backups. It can be downloaded from Apple's software update web page.
While a number of reputable sources have claimed that the iPad 3 will offer support for 4G LTE connectivity, there have been some holdouts who believe that it will not make the cut for Apple's next-generation tablet. Three weeks ago, iMore was first to pinpoint the March 7 date for Apple's media event, and even that report seemed to question whether LTE would be included on the iPad 3. From that report:
4G LTE networking has been another mystery surrounding the iPad 3, with a compatible Qualcomm chipset becoming available, but international LTE coverage is still slim, and in some cases a year or more away. It sounds like Apple has 4G LTE lined up for iPhone 5 this October, but we’re still not certain if the iPad 3 will get it earlier.
That same source has now reported back to iMore to note that 4G LTE support will indeed be found in the iPad 3.
The same source that originally told iMore Apple would be holding their iPad 3 event on March 7 has now let us know that the announcement will in fact include 4G LTE networking. We’d heard previously that 4G LTE would be coming to iOS in 2012, but not whether it would make the cut for iPad 3, or whether Apple would save it for iPhone 5 in October.
LTE has seen its broadest adoption so far in the United States, but even there it is still only just rolling out with Verizon being the furthest along with its plans. But Apple would be hard-pressed to hold out for an entire year before supporting LTE in the iPad 4, although some have suggested that an iPad 3 with LTE could appear somewhat later than Wi-Fi-only models or with limited geographic distribution in markets where LTE deployment is furthest along.
Several Twitter users felt that AT&T was violating their contract and wanted to cancel their contract or file a class action lawsuit against the company. Blogger Jeff Jarvis feels that throttling is "fraud", and tech writer Matt Buchanan had this to say:
I think it's fair to expect the contract you signed up for remains the contract you signed up for.
But is AT&T's throttling of unlimited data users a violation of its contract with users? TOSBack is a website that tracks changes to the terms of service of various services, including both Apple and AT&T.
The contract from June 26, 2007 -- just a few days before the original iPhone went on sale -- includes a number of stipulations governing exactly how and why the iPhone's unlimited data plan can be restricted, including banning some video downloading and streaming. Most importantly, for customers now experiencing throttling, is this passage:
AT&T reserves the right to (i) limit throughput or amount of data transferred, deny Service and/or terminate Service, without notice, to anyone it believes is using the Service in any manner prohibited above or whose usage adversely impacts its wireless network or service levels or hinders access to its wireless network.
Language similar to this continues in every draft of the contract through today's version. The current wireless customer agreement includes this language in section 6.2:
AT&T reserves the right to (i) deny, disconnect, modify and/or terminate Service, without notice, to anyone it believes is using the Service in any manner prohibited or whose usage adversely impacts its wireless network or service levels or hinders access to its wireless network.
AT&T believes that it is well within its rights to throttle users on unlimited data plans, even as a Californian iPhone user won an $850 small claims judgement against the company over throttling. AT&T has promised to appeal. A class action suit might be the normal evolution of such a complaint, but AT&T's subscriber contract prohibits class action or jury trials, leaving arbitration and small claims as options for unhappy customers.
Not everyone agrees that AT&T is misbehaving by throttling. SplatF's Dan Frommer opines that users are not acknowledging reality when they complain about AT&T terminating unlimited data plans.
Here’s the big picture bottom line: If you use a lot of data, you are clearly getting some sort of value out of it. Value isn’t free. The world’s finite resources simply aren’t trending toward free. That isn’t logical. I predict most of you will be spending significantly more per month for wireless data in 5 and 10 years than you do today. You’ll be getting faster and better service, and more value out of it, but it won’t be cheaper.
Please get over your emotional battle — and extinguish any legal threats, that’s silly — and join us in reality. If you use a lot of mobile data, be happy about it, and be happy paying for it. It’s worth it. And consider trying the add-on tethering plan for the iPhone, it can be useful if you carry a laptop or iPad.
AT&T's current data plans offer 300MB/month for $20, 3GB/month for $30, or 5GB/month for $50 (including tethering), with each additional 1GB costing users $10 on the higher allocation plans.
CNET reports that Foxconn, Apple's primary manufacturing partner for iOS devices, has recently begun adding in-line x-ray imaging machines to its production lines, seeking to improve quality control while also seeking to increase automation.
Foxconn Technology, which has about 1.2 million employees working at its myriad factories in China, has begun adding automated inline X-ray inspection systems to its plants, according to a source with first-hand knowledge of the change. With inline X-ray machines using software algorithms to inspect solder joints or printed circuit boards at production line speeds, a company is able to spot defects that humans might miss before the pieces get tucked into packages for resale.
The report points to Foxconn's announcement last year that it intends to add one million robots to its production facilities in an effort to increase efficiency and address rising labor costs. Foxconn has come under fire for its treatment of workers at its facilities, and recent wage hikes combined with other expenses associated with meeting labor standards and Apple's continued growth may be tipping the economic balance for Foxconn toward more automation.
Today's report does not specifically state that the x-ray machines are being used on production lines dedicated to Apple products, but with Apple being the manufacturer's largest and highest-profile customer it seems likely that the iPhone and iPad are part of its automation plans.
According to Chronic Wire, iOS 5.1 has satisfied the requirements of Apple's quality assurance testing and is now ready to be released to the public, presumably just prior to the iPad 3 launch within the next few weeks. The report claims that iOS 5.1 is now in the golden master stage with build 9B176 being the final build to be issued for public release.
While Steve Jobs' official biographer Walter Isaacson 
Adobe today 
Apple has released a small update to Lion called 
While a number of reputable sources have claimed that the iPad 3 will offer support for 4G LTE connectivity, there have been some holdouts who believe that it will not make the cut for Apple's next-generation tablet. Three weeks ago, iMore was 
