MacRumors

Among Apple's granted patents released today, AppleInsider has noted a pair of inventions that appear to be of some interest. The first patent addresses the idea of offline iTunes Store purchases from mobile devices, allowing users to store "credit" that can unlock content already on their devices but not yet owned by the user.

In some cases, a user may wish to add new media items to the library, for example from an online media store. When the device is not connected to the store, however, the user may not be able to perform a transaction to purchase new media items, nor download or access the media items from the store. To enable offline purchases of media, the electronic device can store locally for future use one or more recommended media items received from the store when a connection with the store is available. Access to the recommended media items can be restricted, so that the user cannot consume the media items without first purchasing them.

To complete a media item purchase without sending transaction information to the media store, the electronic device can store pre-paid credits locally on the device. The pre-paid credits can be purchased in advance, for example when the device is connected to the store. In response to a user request to purchase a particular recommended media item, the electronic device can deduct the cost of the recommended media item from the locally stored credit, and remove the access restrictions of the device. The amount of credit remaining can be communicated to the store or to a host device (e.g., used to manage the user's media library) when communications become available.

The difficult part of this scenario involves getting the content onto the user's device, and Apple's patent addresses several methods, including manual loading of files either from the Internet before going offline or from other storage devices. Alternatively, the user's device could automatically pre-download content based on Genius-like recommendations or other criteria and offer the content for on-device purchase.

While Wi-Fi hotspots have become increasingly common to allow iPod touch or Wi-Fi iPad owners to connect to the Internet with some level of regularity, it appears that Apple is still interested in exploring ways to allow users to unlock new media content even when not connected to the Internet.

The second patent describes a proximity-based method for transferring files between devices, such as a computer and a mobile device. While a number of existing solutions such as Bump and Samsung's S Beam allow for such actions, Apple's patent includes a contextual aspect that allows for very specific transfer scenarios to simplify the user experience.

In one simple example outlined by Apple, a user composing an email on his or her Mac wishes to add an image from their phone. Under the proposed method, the user could select the insertion location in the email, use a contextual menu to invoke an insertion option, bring up the desired image on their phone, and then bring the phone in close proximity to the Mac.

Using a combination of proximity and communication technologies such as Bluetooth, near field communication (NFC) technology, Wi-Fi, and or a webcam, the image could then be automatically and wirelessly transferred to the computer and inserted into the email at the proper location.

DigiTimes claims that Apple will begin volume production of the 5th generation iPad in July-August 2013. The timeline reportedly comes from sources in Taiwan-based supply chain makers.

Mockup of 5th Generation iPad next to an iPad mini

While Apple's traditional timeframe for iPad launches has been in the first few months of the year, last year saw two iPad launches -- one in March, and one in November. The late 2012 release of the 4th Generation iPad may have altered that usual timetable.

The new iPad is believed to be "thinner and lighter" than the currently shipping full-sized iPad. The 5th Generation iPad is also believed to take on the same thin-bezel design as the iPad mini. The above mockup is based on leaked iPad 5 enclosures from early this year.

WhatsApp business development head Neeraj Arora has told AllThingsD that an earlier report claiming Google was on the verge of acquiring the company for $1 billion is not true. WhatsApp is the company behind the popular iOS app WhatsApp Messenger.

Neeraj Arora, WhatsApp’s business development head, told AllThingsDigital today that the company is not holding sales talks with Google.

Arora declined to comment further, but AllThingsD does note that WhatsApp has been the subject of sales rumors before, having been linked to Facebook in December. At the time, WhatsApp said that those reports were "not factually accurate."

WhatsApp Messenger has consistently been one of the top paid apps in the App Store in many countries around the world and is currently the #1 paid app in the U.S. store. It is one of the many messaging services, including Apple's own iMessage, available on iOS and other platforms that smartphone users have turned to in order to avoid carriers' SMS charges.

Recently, WhatsApp announced that it will be moving to a subscription model for the iOS version of its app by the end of this year. The model would likely be similar to existing WhatsApp pricing for other platforms, which would make the app free for the first year and then $0.99 per year beyond the initial free period.

Citing supply chain sources, Digitimes reports that Apple is expected to see only modest "single-digit" shipment growth for its notebook lineup in 2013, with the 13-inch MacBook Pro in particular seeing weaker-than-expected sales.

Apple was confident about its 13-inch MacBook Pro performance for 2013, but the device's actual sales turn out to be weaker than expected, leaving the company still digesting its inventories in the first quarter.

The sources pointed out that Apple's MacBook Pros have strong attraction to consumers, but the devices' high prices are instead pushing consumers away.

The report also claims that Apple will be refreshing its notebook lineup "at the end of the second quarter", which could mean an introduction at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference expected in June.

Digitimes had reported in late December that Apple was planning a June refresh for its notebook lineup, and similar timeframes have been claimed by reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and Taiwanese newspaper Economic Times.

Back in mid-February, Apple released a surprise minor update for the Retina MacBook Pro, including a significant price drop for the 13-inch models. Apple also dropped pricing on the high-end MacBook Air at the time, a move that had been at least in part predicted by Digitimes in its late December report.

Apple is likely to use Intel's forthcoming Haswell processors in its next-generation notebooks, and Intel will reportedly be releasing the first mobile Haswell chips in late May or early June.

Apple today began offering refurbished models of the current-generation 27-inch iMac for the first time, roughly four months after the models initially launched.

The two stock configurations of the 27-inch iMac are currently available at 15% discounts compared to brand-new units, with the low-end refurbished model priced at $1529 vs. $1799 new and the high-end refurbished model priced at $1699 vs. $1999 new. Several higher-priced custom configurations are also currently available as refurbished units, with all refurbished models listed as shipping in 1-3 business days.

The addition of refurbished 27-inch models comes nearly two months after Apple began offering refurbished 21.5-inch models, with supplies having remained tight for a number of months due to issues related to the thinner design of the new iMac. Apple is using a new lamination process for the display to achieve a thinner and more vivid screen, and that process reportedly was resulting in low yields, particularly for the larger 27-inch models.

Availability of the new iMacs improved markedly in early March, with shipping estimates for new orders of all stock configurations improving to "within 24 hours" at that time.

CNBC is reporting that former Apple Retail head Ron Johnson is out as CEO of JC Penney, the job he took after resigning from Apple.

@CNBC: BREAKING: Ron Johnson out as J.C. Penney CEO - source

Johnson departed Apple in late 2011 and was replaced by John Browett, the CEO of British computing retailer Dixons. Browett's tenure was a bumpy one and he was fired after less than a year on the job.

Nearly six months after Browett left Apple, the position remains open, leading many to speculate that Johnson would be a natural fit to move back into the position he occupied for more than ten years.

MacDailyNews, which does not have much of a track record on rumors, says one of its sources said Apple will announce a replacement to the Mac Pro at some point in the next several months.

Apple will announce its replacement for the company’s Mac Pro lineup this month, a source who has been correct about Apple product matters in the past has just informed us.

Our source offered no information as to whether the "Mac Pro replacement" would be a tower, mini-tower, or some other solution, but did caution that the announcement "could slip into May or even June, but currently April looks most likely."

It has been nearly one thousand days -- almost three years -- since the last significant update to the Mac Pro.

Last year, Apple said a new Mac Pro model was likely to arrive sometime in 2013. Earlier this year, a European reseller claimed they heard from Apple that a new Mac Pro would arrive this Spring. WWDC 2013 would seem to make the most sense for the announcement of a new pro-level Mac workstation.

The current Mac Pro is not available for purchase in Europe because of EU regulatory requirements around unprotected fan blades, providing some additional incentive for Apple to release a new model.

Engadget reports that Intel has announced the next generation of Thunderbolt, promising throughput of 20 Gbps in each direction -- twice as fast as the current protocol, allowing simultaneous 4K video file transfer and display

The new generation of Thunderbolt, code-named 'Falcon Ridge', will be backwards compatible with current-generation cables and connectors. Intel expects production to ramp up in 2014.

An on-stage demo with fresh-off-the-press silicon showed the new Thunderbolt running 1,200 [MB/sec], which is certainly a step up from what's currently on the market.

A minor update to Thunderbolt, called 'Redwood Ridge', will be included in some of Intel's upcoming 'Haswell' Core processors.

Apple yesterday posted a new job listing (via AppleInsider) looking for a software engineer to join its team of fingerprint sensor engineers from AuthenTec, which was acquired last year for $356 million.

Apple refers to the job location as its "Melbourne Design Center" located in Melbourne, Florida, which is where AuthenTec was based, and is the only Melbourne-based position currently listed on Apple's job site. The position requires the ability to write "low-level code to configure and control hardware" and experience with firmware-hardware interaction.

Responsibilities of the position include work on the "LabTool" software used to evaluate the team's chip work, as well as failure analysis software, control firmware for the team's chips, and support for the team's design verification group.

LabTool – Develop, maintain, update and optimize the “LabTool” software that is used for lab evaluation and characterization of the Melbourne Design Center sensor ICs. This includes adding new features as specified by the analog and digital design engineers. Updating the tool to work with new sensors. Automating lab test and characterization. Provide support and debug capability to all groups within Apple that use the tool.

AuthenTec late last year sold off its embedded security group following the acquisition by Apple, leaving a core of fingerprint sensing and identity management groups in place to drive Apple's work in those fields. AuthenTec is also said to be cutting off non-Apple customers of its fingerprint sensor technology, leaving Apple with exclusive use of the technology and its associated intellectual property.

Apple has been rumored to be including fingerprint sensing technology in the iPhone 5S later this year, but there has not yet been any concrete evidence of such an addition.

Avid today announced new versions of its flagship video editing and audio production applications Media Composer 7 and Pro Tools 11, as well as two new Mac- and iOS- compatible hardware interfaces for recording audio at home or on the road.

In addition to a number of new features, Media Composer 7 receives a significant price cut, bringing the standard edition to $1000, down from $2500. It will be available in June.

ProTools 11, which Avid says "represents a quantum leap in creative power", gains a redesigned audio engine and 64-bit architecture. The standard edition of Pro Tools 11 is available for $700, with upgrades ranging from $300 to $500 depending on which previous version of Pro Tools is owned. The new version should be available later this quarter.

The Avid Fast Track Solo and Duo include Pro Tools Express for recording and editing audio on a Mac, and also connect directly to the 30-pin connector on older iOS-hardware, and to newer iOS devices via the 30-Pin to Lightning adapter.

The Solo provides one mic preamp and one instrument input, while the Duo provides two mic preamp/instrument inputs, and two line inputs.

"Today’s aspiring songwriters and musicians want a high-quality, affordable recording solution that’s portable enough to let them create wherever they are," said Dana Ruzicka, vice president of Segment and Product Marketing at Avid. "Providing access to the industry-standard Pro Tools family, Fast Track Solo and Duo deliver this capability like nothing else on the market today."

The Fast Track Solo and Duo are available now for $180 and $300 respectively.