MacRumors

As we've been noting, Apple is gearing up to finally release the white iPhone 4, with all signs pointing to a release over the next few days, possibly as soon as tomorrow.

Engadget posts photos of a shipment of white iPhone 4s that have reportedly arrived at a Belgian retailer just ahead of the launch, indicating that Apple's distribution channels now have stock in position for immediate availability as soon as the launch occurs.

Meanwhile, German sites Macerkopf and iFun.de have noted the existence of promotional banners already in place on T-Mobile's site indicating a launch of the white iPhone 4 in that country on April 28th. The images have, however, already been removed from T-Mobile's site as the carrier has no doubt already reacted to the publicity of these reports.

Macerkopf also indicates that Apple's own retail stores in the U.S. have received promotional materials for the white iPhone 4, preparing to roll out the new signage in support of the device's release.

According to a report [Google translation] from Japanese newspaper Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun (via AppleInsider), Sharp has been tabbed as a manufacturer for next-generation poly-silicon (p-Si) display technology for the sixth-generation iPhone due in 2012. The technology, which permits electrical components to be integrated directly into the glass surface, is said to allow for thinner and lighter screens that consume less power than currently-used technologies.

Sharp will begin manufacturing of the displays in the spring of next year according to Japanese newspaper Nikkan. The company is said to have already begun preparing equipment at its Kameyama Plant No. 1, which is primarily used for building LCD TVs.

The article also contains an apology for last week's report claiming that Sharp had been cut out of the supply chain for future iPhones by a deal between Apple and Toshiba to push forward on a new plant for displays, a claim that Sharp had publicly refuted and for which the company had requested an apology and retraction. Consequently, today's report has led to speculation that Sharp may have intentionally leaked information about the new p-Si displays in order to counteract the earlier report about Toshiba.

In what shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, Bloomberg briefly reports that a lawsuit has been filed in U.S. federal court targeting Apple over privacy concerns related to location information being stored on iOS devices and in backups for those devices. The lawsuit is almost certainly the first of many regarding this issue.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) was sued for alleged privacy invasion and computer fraud by two customers who claim the company is secretly recording and storing the location and movement of iPhone and iPad users, according to a federal complaint filed today in Tampa, Florida.

As we noted earlier today, Apple CEO Steve Jobs has reportedly replied to a customer email denying that Apple is tracking its customers and labeling the claims being widely discussed as "false".

Update: Bloomberg has now published an expanded article offering additional detail on the lawsuit.

"We take issue specifically with the notion that Apple is now basically tracking people everywhere they go," Aaron Mayer, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said today in a telephone interview. "If you are a federal marshal you have to have a warrant to do this kind of thing, and Apple is doing it without one."

The two plaintiffs, an iPhone user in Florida and an iPad user in New York, are asking a judge to bar Apple from collecting the location data and requesting refunds for the purchase prices for their devices, claiming that they would not have bought them if they had known about the data collection.

Apple has declined to officially comment on the lawsuit.

MIC Gadget posts a photo of what they claim could represent the "iPhone 4S". The image shows what looks like a while iPhone 4 but with a slightly larger display.

Man, we dont know if this is real, but at least we can see that it has a larger display and edge-to-edge glass. Maybe its a mockup, but we are sure that its not an iPhone 4.

They offer no explanation as to how they obtained the images and don't seem that confident in the authenticity of the images. The images could obviously be easily doctored.

They also provide a comparison photo between the current iPhone 4 and the larger screen, but this time on just the screen part, not a full device:

The new screen part, however, lines up closely to the design drawings documents that were leaked in the past, which may offer some possible validity to the images.

Another recent rumor claimed the iPhone 5 would carry a 3.7-inch display, but we've since heard that report is inaccurate -- at least for the upcoming iPhone 5.

9 to 5 Mac reports that Apple has begun delaying iMac orders, notifying customers that shipment of their orders is being pushed back to next week. The move comes ahead of an expected iMac refresh that may be set to occur on Tuesday of next week.

Due to an unexpected delay, we are unable to ship the following item(s) by the date that you were originally quoted:

Z0JP, IMAC 27/5750/SD
will now ship on or before
May 02, 2011

The report also notes that Mr. X, a source who has provided reliable information to a number of sites in the past, claims that new iMacs should be expected sometime the week of May 2nd.

Separately, we've heard that Apple is planning a change-out in the promotional materials of its retail stores for next week Tuesday, May 3rd. Such shifts are common when Apple rolls out updated models in one of its high-profile product lines as it seeks to capitalize on the publicity and interest. The company generally distributes updated "planograms" showing any changes in store layout, as well as new promotional signage and materials several days ahead of time.

Just over a month ago, CNET's Brian Tong reported that new iMacs were due by the end of April of the first week in May. A May 3rd release would obviously meet that timeline.

There has obviously been a lot of discussion about last week's disclosure that iOS devices are maintaining an easily-accessible database tracking the movements of users dating back to the introduction of iOS 4 a year ago. The issue has garnered the attention of U.S. elected officials and has played fairly heavily in the mainstream press.

One MacRumors reader emailed Apple CEO Steve Jobs asking for clarification on the issue while hinting about a switch to Android if adequate explanations are not forthcoming. Jobs reportedly responded, turning the tables by claiming both that Apple does not track users and that Android does while referring to the information about iOS shared in the media as "false".

Q: Steve,

Could you please explain the necessity of the passive location-tracking tool embedded in my iPhone? It's kind of unnerving knowing that my exact location is being recorded at all times. Maybe you could shed some light on this for me before I switch to a Droid. They don't track me.

A: Oh yes they do. We don't track anyone. The info circulating around is false.

Sent from my iPhone

As is Jobs' usual style, his brief comments provide little detail or information to support his claims, and his vagueness leaves things rather open to interpretation.

Android has been shown to also gather location information, but the database is limited to a much smaller list of entries and is regularly wiped by the system. Jobs' email seems to explicitly claim, however, that Google's location information is used to track users while Apple's is not.

Apple responded to some questions about location tracking and privacy last July, noting that users have the ability to turn off location services entirely and that all location features require explicit authorization from the user. The Wall Street Journal has found, however, that this newly-publicized database is constructed even when location services are turned off entirely.

The Journal tested the collection of data on an iPhone 4 that had been restored to factory settings and was running the latest version of Apple's iOS operating system.

The Journal disabled location services (which are on by default) and immediately recorded the data that had initially been gathered by the phone. The Journal then carried the phone to new locations and observed the data. Over the span of several hours as the phone was moved, it continued to collect location data from new places.

As many observers have noted, the iOS location database does not record exact GPS data, instead seeking to pinpoint the locations of Wi-Fi access points and cell towers that the device comes within range of, although the database does offer a clear general track of a user's movements.

In the meantime, government agencies in a number of countries have launched investigations into the situation, seeking explanations from Apple and details on how users can protect their privacy.

MacRumors has heard reliable confirmation that the next revision of Apple's MacBook Pro line will utilize a new case design for the first time in several years.

The possibility of a new case design was first revealed by iLounge in February just before the early 2011 MacBook Pros were released. iLounge described the most recent updates as the last "incremental" update before an all-new MacBook Pro design.

Next year is the year when Apple will introduce an all new design for the MacBook Pro product family, which is already under development at Quanta in Taiwan. It's being described as a big, "milestone" release for the Pro family, as compared with the speed bump features that will be introduced in [February's] models.

The last time the MacBook Pro was redesigned was in late 2008 with the introduction of the unibody MacBook Pro. The unibody MacBook Pro design which remains in use today offers an iMac-inspired design with a black-bezel and aluminum unibody casing. Unfortunately, we have no specifics on what the next MacBook Pro might look like, though many have previously speculated that Apple will take cues from the MacBook Air line.

In case you've missed all the recent signs, the white iPhone 4 is finally being launched this week. All signs point to April 27th as the launch day. European carriers point to the 27th, Best Buy does too, and Apple has started shipping units to Apple Stores this week. In fact, Vodafone UK even sold one prematurely to a customer. Meanwhile, we've heard rumblings from both Best Buy and Apple Retail sources of the same.

With all rumor-eyes looking toward the next generation iPhone 5, it's not clear how much demand there is for the white iPhone 4 which is now 10 months late from the original launch. So, here's a poll to see who is planning on buying a white iPhone 4.

BGR provides photos of an iPhone prototype that supports T-Mobile USA's 3G service.

Thats right, youre looking at photos of an iPhone prototype with T-Mobile USA 3G bands. The actual internal model is N94, and if you remember, the Verizon model is N92 while the standard GSM variant is N90. We have verified that the phone itself is running a test version of Apples iOS, much like the one we saw in those videos from Vietnam, and it includes internal Apple test apps like Radar and Apples employee directory app.

The T-Mobile US network uses different frequencies than AT&T's, requiring different hardware to support. It's not clear what this will mean given that AT&T is planning to acquire T-Mobile USA, though that transaction will take some time before it goes into effect. In the meanwhile, T-Mobile continues to operate as an independent carrier in the U.S.

A finding earlier this month by OSXDaily has generated some speculation about Apple's plans for "Retina" display Macs. The Mac OS X Lion Developer Preview 2 released in late March included an ultra-high resolution version of the background desktop image at a resolution of 3200x2000. A few observers noted that this is higher than any Apple display has ever supported, generating speculation that Apple is preparing for "Retina" display Macs in the near future.

We had previously reported that Mac OS X Lion has made some under-the-hood changes opening the door to such super-high resolution displays.

Taking cues from iOS, Apple has reportedly built in support for what it calls "HiDPI display modes". These HiDPI modes allow developers to supply 2x-enlarged images to support double-high resolution displays. Like the iPhone 4's Retina Display, this means that user interface elements will remain the same size, but everything will be twice the resolution and therefore twice as detailed.

Now, MacMagazine.com.br has found that Apple is already starting to include other super high resolution artwork in Lion. They found several icons stored as 1024x1024 sizes, up from a previous maximum of 512x512.

Of course, this support for super high resolution displays is only the first step, but suggests Apple is planning ahead when the hardware becomes available.

Update: The 1024x1024 icons in Mac OS X Lion were publicized [Google translation] earlier last week by Consomac.fr.

Former Engadget editor Joshua Topolsky has revealed possible new information on the upcoming iPhone 5, but that information seems to contradict other recent claims. Topolsky reiterates from his previous Engadget report that the next iPhone is to be completely redesigned, and that it looks more like the iPod touch than the iPhone 4. The new phone will be thinner and have a "teardrop" shape which goes from thick to thin, similar to the MacBook Air.

Meanwhile, the home button will be doing "double duty" as both a button and and a gesture area.

this falls in line with testing weve seen for gestures on the iPad, and our sources say that gestures are definitely coming in a future version of iOS. The home button will likely be enlarged, but not scrapped altogether.

He also details that the screen will occupy nearly the entire front of the phone leaving almost no bezel. This information is consistent with some earlier rumors that suggested an "edge to edge" screen. In addition Apple is said to be doing very "interesting things" with bonded glass technology and even exploring designs where the earpiece and sensors are behind the screen itself.

Topolsky is also hearing that the screen may go up to 3.7 inches while keeping the same resolution. This would keep the DPI within the "Retina" display moniker at 312dpi. Finally, there are some hints that there may be some form of inductive or touch charging but this seems unconfirmed.

Joshua Topolsky is the former editor-in-chief of Engadget and is well connected with his previous rumors being published to Engadget. This information, however, contradicts some previous reports from Reuters which suggest the iPhone 5 will carry a very similar form factor as the iPhone 4. Notably, in the same original Engadget report that detailed the "completely redesigned" iPhone 5, Topolsky/Engadget had previously predicted that the iPad 2 would carry a higher resolution screen and SD card slot, neither of which came true.

Update: We've received a tip (that we believe is reliable) that this redesigned iPhone 5 report is untrue.

Engadget reports that it has received photos from a reader who claims to have purchased a white iPhone 4 through Vodafone in the UK today. The carrier has reportedly been gearing up to receive shipments of the device, but it now appears that the units may in fact be arriving and have slipped out for sale in a few instances.

Now, we've secured a few images of a 16GB model from a separate source that has seemingly made its way into the hands of one lucky customer (read: bloke) over in Britain.

As the story goes, the carrier's point-of-sale system rang it up as a black iPhone, and shortly after the sale went down, Voda sent out a notice to halt sale of these gems "until next week."

Interestingly, the iPhone appears to show a modified proximity sensor, utilizing an open slot over the earpiece instead of the previously-seen fine grating.

The most recent rumors have pegged the white iPhone 4 launch for next Wednesday, April 27th.

Just as Apple's cloud-based music storage service has been said to be ready to go amid claims that Apple has inked two of the four major record labels to deals permitting the service, CNET now reports that Apple has reached a deal with Warner Music Group (WMG) in support of the plan.

Apple has an agreement with Warner Music Group to offer the record label's tracks on iTunes' upcoming cloud-music service, music industry sources said.

In the race to the cloud, Apple is apparently stepping on the gas. All Things Digital reported Thursday that Apple has signed two of the top four record companies. ATD reported that Apple content chief Eddy Cue was due to fly to New York on Friday to try and finalize agreements with the two labels that were still unsigned.

It is unclear whether Warner was one of those two that had previously licensed Apple or whether the label inked a new agreement on Friday.

The report notes that WMG is the third largest record label in the United States, joining Universal, Sony, and EMI in the group of major players that sets the tone for the industry. WMG may be the most important agreement, however, as the label has reportedly been the "fly in the ointment" that has caused both Spotify and Google issues in neogtiating their own music deals.

It is not yet known when Apple plans to introduce the new cloud-based service, but the company appears to be racing full speed ahead toward a launch.

Earlier this week, Norwegian site Mobili.no reported [Google translation] that it had received information claiming that the white iPhone 4 will debut on Wednesday, April 27th.

Several reliable sources who wish to remain anonymous, says now Mobili.no that the white version goes on sale in the Norwegian mobile shops this coming Wednesday, 27 April.

It will be distributed in both Telenor's and NetCom's stores.

That claim is now being repeated [Google translation] by Dutch site iPhoneclub.nl, which claims to have confirmed with multiple employees of mobile phone retailer BelCompany that an internal memo has been circulated announcing the launch date.

We received this information through an anonymous tip from someone who works BelCompany. Then we started looking for other people who BelCompany works that could confirm the information. That was the case: they indicate that an internal memo was circulated, indicating the date of April 27 for the white iphone called April.

Bloomberg reported earlier this month that the white iPhone 4 is set to launch by the end of the month, giving Apple just over a week to meet that timeline. Over the weekend, Italian site iPhone Italia claimed that the device will launch on Tuesday the 26th. The next day, a listing appeared on UK carrier Three's website mentioning delivery for April 20th, although that date has since passed with no announcement regarding the white iPhone 4. Next Tuesday and Wednesday are of course among the most popular targets for release date speculation given Apple's tendency to announce and/or release new products on those days of the week.

Apple has said several times over the past six months, most recently just over a week ago, that it plans to launch the white iPhone 4 in the "spring" after several delays reportedly due to issues with the white paint used on the device. Some observers had speculated that Apple might cancel the device entirely given an expected launch of the fifth-generation iPhone just a few months down the road, but it increasingly appears that Apple will not be introducing the fifth-generation iPhone until the September timeframe.

Ad Age reports that Conde Nast, one of the early iPad supporters in the magazine industry, is slowing down its plans to bring more titles to the platform, citing slow sales of its existing titles.

"It's a shift," one Conde publisher said. "The official stance was we're going to get all our magazines on the iPad because this is going to be such an important stream. The new change is maybe we can slow it down. In my opinion it makes Conde look smart because we have the ambition, but we're not rushing."

"They're not all doing all that well, so why rush to get them all on there?" the publisher added.

According to the report, development of iPad applications is now up to the individual publishers for each magazine, shifting away from a concerted effort by the conglomerate to push forward on all titles.

Conde Nast is said to be increasing its focus on sales of existing titles and generating unique iPad applications that don't mimic the print editions and instead offer "exclusive" content. Ad buyers are also reportedly still looking to see the distribution scale and metrics that will drive that market forward to sustain the digital magazine model, a position that is no doubt influencing Conde Nast's strategy to focus on scaling existing titles.