MacRumors

Amid continued rumors that Apple intends to release a 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro in the coming months, a Geekbench 2 benchmark submitted late last month as a "MacBookPro10,2" appears to represent the machine in question.

In comparison, the new non-Retina 13-inch MacBook Pro carries the model identifier "MacBookPro9,2", while the 15-inch non-Retina model is "MacBookPro9,1" and the corresponding Retina model is "MacBookPro10,1".

While the machine name of MacBookPro10,2 on the new entry could be faked, other information included in the Geekbench result is consistent with what would be expected on the new machine. The machine is listed as running a 2.9 GHz Intel Core i7-3520M processor, which is offered in the high-end model of the non-Retina 13-inch MacBook Pro. The machine is also listed as running Build 12A2056 of OS X Mountain Lion, with the four-digit build number suffix frequently being used on Apple's custom operating system builds.

In addition, the motherboard identifier of AFD8A9D944EA4843 previously surfaced as a new machine in early builds of OS X Mountain Lion. While many of the other new motherboard identifiers found in Mountain Lion were accounted for with Apple's MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models released last month, the identity of AFD8A9D944EA4843 has remained unknown. Finally, the machine's score of 7806 is on par with results seen for the non-Retina model running the same processor.

One inconsistency, however, is the listing of just 4 GB of RAM on the Geekbench result. The 2.9 GHz Core i7 processor is paired with 8 GB of RAM even on the non-Retina 13-inch MacBook Pro, although prototype machines could have different configurations.

Back in May, similar Geekbench benchmarks for what turned out to be the non-Retina 15-inch MacBook Pro, as well as a revamped iMac, surfaced in the results browser. The revamped iMac has, however, yet to see a public launch.

(Thanks, Matthew!)

Japanese blog Mac Otakara reports that Apple will be redesigning the iPod nano later this year with a new form factor that more closely resembles an iPod touch. According to the report, the iPod nano will apparently sport a rectangular screen and a home button similar to that found on iOS devices.

Given that the screen size on this redesigned iPod nano would appear to be substantially smaller than the iPhone/iPod touch, it seems unlikely that the iPod nano would run iOS apps. Instead, Apple is likely to use a custom operating system and apps skinned to resemble iOS as found on the current incarnation of the iPod nano.

The report also indicates that Apple will be bringing a "dedicated new iTunes service" to the device, but there is no word on what that service would entail.

Apple's iPod lines have generally trended to smaller form factors with each redesign, but this rumored redesign would appear to mark a substantial increase in size from the current form factor, which was introduced in September 2010. Several leaked photos have suggested that Apple planned to add a camera to the smaller form factor, but it appears that the company may have ultimately scrapped those plans.

It would not be unprecedented, however, for Apple to decide that smaller is not necessarily better, particularly if the iPod nano can see increased functionality with the new design. Apple famously removed virtually all buttons from the iPod shuffle in March 2009 as it moved controls to the headphone cord, but a September 2010 redesign saw the return of the click wheel and other on-device buttons.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Google and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission are nearing a deal that would see Google paying a record $22.5 million fine over its tactics to circumvent privacy settings in Safari on iOS to track users' behavior.

The fine is expected to be the largest penalty ever levied on a single company by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. It offers the latest sign of the FTC's stepped-up approach to policing online privacy violations, coming just six months after The Wall Street Journal reported on Google's practices.

The case centers on a loophole in Safari's default privacy settings, with Google taking advantage of the hole to make the browser think that the user was interacting with a given ad, thus allowing a tracking cookie to be installed. With that cookie installed, it became easy for Google to add additional cookies and to track users across the web as they visited other sites displaying ads from Google's networks.

Google has argued that the tracking was unintentional and that it did not harm consumers, but the Federal Trade Commission pointed to previous statements by Google regarding Safari's privacy settings as evidence that the company was misrepresenting its privacy practices.

Google's tactics are also under scrutiny from a number of state attorneys general, who may yet pursue additional action against the company.

Just before last month's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo correctly predicted that Apple's MacBook Pro with Retina display would appear alongside the standard MacBook Pro instead of as a direct replacement, also accurately claiming that only the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro would be making an appearance while a 13-inch model remained in the works.

At the time, Kuo believed that Apple could have the 13-inch version ready by August, but in the wake of WWDC he revised his predictions to indicate that Apple would begin ramping production in September for a launch in October.

Kuo's post-WWDC predictions for Apple's 2012 and 2013 MacBook lineups

As for Apple, the sources pointed out that Apple has demanded its upstream partners start supplying components for the 13-inch model in the third quarter and they have not yet heard anything about changing of schedule. As for when the product will launch, the sources believe the new MacBook Pro will have a chance to launch before October to catch up with the back-to-school season.

Apple also did not reduce its shipment forecast for 2012 and is still expecting its notebook shipments to grow 30% on year, the sources pointed out.

After a relatively slow start to 2012 as Apple awaited the launch of Intel's Ivy Bridge processors, the company appears to be setting itself up for a busy second half of the year. Even after a strong upgrade to its MacBook Pro and MacBook Air lines at WWDC, Apple still has plenty of products apparently still in the pipeline, including a new iPhone expected later this year, rumors of an "iPad mini", 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro models, and an update to the iMac line.

Following last week's news that Apple had pulled all 39 of its qualifying Macs from the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) registry, it was suggested that Apple would lose business with federal, state, and local governments in the United States. Many agencies require that most or all computer purchases be limited to products listed on the EPEAT registry.

As noted by The Wall Street Journal's CIO Journal, the city of San Francisco has become one of the first such entities to confirm that it will be barring most purchases of Apple computers.

Officials with the San Francisco Department of Environment told CIO Journal on Monday they would send out letters over the next two weeks,informing all 50 of the city’s agencies that Apple laptops and desktops “will no longer qualify” for purchase with city funds. [...]

“We are disappointed that Apple chose to withdraw from EPEAT,” said Melanie Nutter, director of San Francisco’s Department of Environment, “and we hope that the city saying it will not buy Apple products will make Apple reconsider its participation.”

City agencies will still be able to ask for waivers of the policy, but San Francisco’s chief information officer Jon Walton calls that process a "long" and "onerous" one that will make it "very problematic to procure Apple products."

The report notes that the impact of San Francisco's decision on Apple's bottom line will be negligible given that only about 1-2% of the city's computers are Macs, representing 500-700 machines. The most recent city data available from 2010 listed purchases totaling roughly $45,000 in Macs and iPads, and iPad purchases would continue to be allowed given the absence of any EPEAT registry for tablets.

Still, with many other governmental agencies potentially making similar purchasing decisions related to Apple's withdrawal from the EPEAT registry and a possible filtering-down effect that could see other businesses adopting similar stances, Apple could face challenges in increasing its share of the PC market among enterprise and government clients.

With Apple announcing its new Passbook digital wallet app for iOS 6 last month, speculation regarding the inclusion of near field communications (NFC) and mobile payment capabilities for future iOS devices has begun to increase. The speculation comes amid rumors of iPhone prototypes with NFC, although Apple has been said to be intentionally moving slowly on the mobile payment front.

Now that Passbook has been revealed, today's granting of a new Apple patent for NFC-enabled transportation ticketing takes on additional significance. As noted by Unwired View, the disclosed "iTravel" application would handle a broad array of functions to assist with travel logistics.

The main focus of the patent is how you would use your next iPhone with NFC chip at the airport check-in. It includes loading your ID info such as picture, retinal scan and fingerprint data from modern passports with embedded radio frequency identification tags. Collecting your ticket information from reservation confirmation e-mails/notifications, or extracting reservation images via optical character recognition software, barcode-reading software, or QR-code-reading software. Providing the necessary information at the NFC equipped check-in counter, and receiving the boarding pass with luggage info in exchange. Using the stored ID to pass through airport security, etc.

Apple's iTravel patent application has been known for some time, having been filed in September 2008 and published for public viewing in April 2010. But with the patent now having been granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Apple has broader protections should it choose to launch such an application.

It is unusual for Apple to so thoroughly document an actual iOS application concept that has yet to see the light of day in a patent application, and it is unclear exactly why Apple has chosen to do so. But with NFC technology being a bit slower to establish itself than originally hoped, perhaps Apple thought it would be able to move faster on its idea. Alternatively, Apple may have already discarded this specific implementation, but with Passbook making an appearance later this year and NFC perhaps also being included, Apple's iTravel concept may still find its way into iOS devices in some form.

Apple today announced that the third-generation iPad will launch in China on Friday, July 20. The announcement comes a little over a week after Apple settled a trademark dispute over the "iPad" name in China for $60 million.

In China the new iPad will be available through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), select Apple Authorized Resellers and by reservation from Apple retail stores. Reservation requests will be accepted daily from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. beginning Thursday, July 19 for pick up the following day.

China has rapidly become one of Apple's most important markets despite a slower-than-expected retail store rollout, and the launch of the latest iPad has been highly anticipated there as it debuted in roughly 100 other countries before making its way to China.

Following the release of the Golden Master version of OS X Mountain Lion, Apple has begun accepting Mountain Lion apps into the Mac App Store. From an email that Apple sent to registered developers:

Make sure your apps take advantage of the great new features in OS X Mountain Lion when the world's most advanced operating system ships to millions of customers worldwide. Download OS X Mountain Lion GM seed and Xcode 4.4 GM seed, now available on the Mac Dev Center. Build your apps with these latest seeds, then test and submit for review.

You can also submit iOS apps that take advantage of the new cross-platform Game Center Groups, so they'll be available when OS X Mountain Lion ships.

OS X Mountain Lion is only available to registered developers presently. The final version will be available to customers through the Mac App Store later in July. Apple will be pricing the release at $19.99.

"200 New Features" Mountain Lion slide shown at WWDC

Apple first previewed Mountain Lion in February, highlighting many features already present in iOS, including Messages, Reminders, Notes, Notification Center, Game Center and more at that time. At WWDC, Apple announced additional features, including Dictation, iCloud Tabs, and 'Power Nap'.

We previously highlighted this video which shows off many of the new features found in Mountain Lion:

Microsoft today announced that it intends to acquire Perceptive Pixel, a company founded by multi-touch pioneer Jeff Han and currently focused on large-screen touch displays such as those used by CNN and other television networks to allow anchors to present live, interactive data on set.

We've featured Han's work a number of times over the years both before and after the launch of the iPhone as examples of what could be done with the technology.

Founded in 2006 by Jeff Han, a renowned pioneer in multi-touch technology, PPI shipped its first multi-touch workstation and large wall solutions in early 2007. In 2008 its technology gained widespread recognition for transforming the way CNN and other broadcasters covered the 2008 U.S. presidential election. In 2009 the Smithsonian awarded the company the National Design Award in the inaugural category of Interaction Design. PPI’s patented technologies are used across a wide variety of industries such as government, defense, broadcast, energy exploration, engineering and higher education, and its expertise in both software and hardware will contribute to success in broad scenarios such as collaboration, meetings and presentations.

Microsoft is no stranger to the market either, having launched its "Surface" tabletop multi-touch screens back in mid-2007. While that effort did not lead to significant success, Microsoft just last month relaunched the Surface brand for its forthcoming portable tablet devices running Windows 8.

The addition of Perceptive Pixel will strengthen Microsoft's patent holdings in the area of multi-touch input, as well as provide the larger company with expertise that will help it to develop new tools for collaborative work with its multi-platform Windows 8. Microsoft is planning for a general release of Windows 8 by the end of October, with pricing and availability on its Surface tablet hardware yet to be announced.

Technically Personal reports on some interesting code found in iOS 6 suggesting that Apple's new mapping solution may be making its way to OS X in some form. The evidence, discovered by developer Cody Cooper, arrives by way of references to several older Intel graphics solutions for which map features such as shading are disabled.

In this XML file, there is a reference to a set of Intel based graphics chipsets for which certain features like Shading are disabled.

Cody says that older Intel chipsets are known to not support shading very well, and that’s probably why Apple wants to disable that feature on these Macs or will be software rendered.

It is unclear exactly what form Apple's maps would take on the Mac and whether the references are simply for hooks into map-enabled apps on OS X or if there is some more significant mapping solution coming to the Mac.

Apple's new mapping system is a key feature of iOS 6, enabling Apple to break free of the Google Maps relationship it has relied upon since the iPhone's launch in 2007. Apple's maps, developed in partnership with TomTom and other providers, will include integration of Siri with turn-by-turn directions, "Flyover" 3D-view imagery, and integration with Yelp for local search information.

Update: As several readers have noted, with the files being inside the iPhone simulator package, it is possible that the references are merely addressing functionality of the simulator to allow developer to test their apps without an actual device.

With the avalanche of patent lawsuits involving Apple, we try to restrict our coverage to the most significant developments such as issued injunctions, final settlements, and monetary awards.

But while a UK judge's ruling today that Samsung's Galaxy Tab products do not infringe upon Apple's iPad design merely maintains the status quo from a competitive perspective in one of the many ongoing cases between the two companies, what is sure to spark discussion is the judge's assessment that the Galaxy tablets are simply "not as cool" as the iPad. Bloomberg reports:

The Galaxy tablet doesn’t infringe Apple’s registered design, Judge Colin Birss said in a ruling today in London. He said that consumers weren’t likely to get the two tablet computers mixed up.

The Galaxy tablets “do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design,” Birss said. “They are not as cool.”

More specifically, Birss ruled that the Galaxy tablets' thinner profiles and "unusual details" on the back of the devices made them different enough from the iPad that they were not too similar to Apple's design.

Apple has 21 days in which to appeal the ruling.

Late last month, Wired covered the emergence of a cottage industry of businesses selling access to iOS developer betas prior to their official launch. Apple offers these developer betas to registered iOS developers. The fee for such a registration is $99/year. Some enterprising individuals have turned around and started selling their 100 possible device slots to users looking to install the iOS betas prior to their official launch.

Behind the scenes, each service uses the same simple backdoor: Registered iOS developers can activate up to 100 unique device IDs (or UDIDs) for their account, an essential tool for testing apps on multiple devices. Once registered with Apple, the activated device is also able to run pre-release versions of iOS, though developers are forbidden from sharing pre-release software outside their own team.

Ignoring these warnings, activation services charge a small fee to add a customer’s device to their developer accounts. When they hit the 100-device limit, they just register a new account with Apple.

This has been going on for a couple of years with no particular intervention from Apple. As Wired notes, it seems Apple just didn't seem to care, despite their wide availability.

That may have changed since the publication of the Wired article. MacStories has noted that many of the services listed in the original Wired article are no longer available. After reaching out to the sites, it seems that Apple has started taking action against these services.

While most of our emails bounced, we heard back from one of the site owners (who asked to remain anonymous), who confirmed his hosting provider took down the site after a complaint for copyright infringement by Apple. Similarly, the CEO of Fused tweeted in a reply to Andy Baio that Apple had been “fairly heavy-handed” with DMCA requests to UDID-selling sites hosted on their network.

MacStories exchanged emails with the owner of one of the services which made $75,000 since the release of the iOS 6 Beta in June.

Bits of information about the rumored 7.85 "iPad Mini" continue to leak out. Japanese blog Mac Otakara now claims that the smaller iPad will be produced in Brazil and will ramp up production starting in September.

According to Chinese reliable source, the tablet called iPad mini will be produced in Brazil, however production test to collect data for new cutting machine is already done in China.

Source said that, production phase of this tablet will be started since September, and this tablet should be shipped until holiday season, but announcement will not be so soon.

Mockup of 7.85-inch "iPad mini" next to iPad 2

Multiple sources have now claimed that Apple is coming out with a miniaturized version of the iPad this fall. The most recent report from Bloomberg pinpointed an October launch for the device.