MacRumors

AT&T today announced (via Engadget) the forthcoming launch of two new LTE-enabled wireless access devices: the USBConnect Momentum 4G and the Mobile Hotspot Elevate 4G. Both devices are coming "this summer", will support LTE, HSPA+, and earlier technologies, and will offer support for Mac OS X Leopard or later.

With plug-and-play installation that takes about 60 seconds to complete on Windows computers, AT&T USBConnect Momentum 4G customers can access 4G LTE speeds, where available, and when out of range have access to AT&T's nationwide HSPA+ network, delivering 4G speeds when combined with enhanced backhaul. They can also take advantage of unlimited usage on AT&T's entire national Wi-Fi network if using a post-paid data plan, and manage their connections and data usage with the preloaded AT&T Communication Manager.

The company's first 4G LTE mobile hotspot device, the AT&T Mobile Hotspot Elevate 4G, allows access to 4G LTE speeds on up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices in select markets. Email, browse, download presentations and more when you're out and about - without skipping a beat no matter if you are on LTE or AT&T's nationwide HSPA+ network. With no software to install and an LCD screen to guide you, setting up AT&T Mobile Hotspot is fast and easy. Just power it up and connect your laptop using the Wi-Fi network name and security key displayed on the screen. Easily view device and connection status on the LCD, including battery status, signal strength, and data usage.

Pricing is set at $49.99 for the Momentum 4G and $69.99 for the Elevate 4G after $50 mail-in rebates and with two-year contracts.

AT&T is launching its LTE in five markets this summer: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and San Diego. The carrier plans to expand the network to at least 15 markets and cover 70 million Americans by the end of the year. AT&T has yet to announce, however, expected real-world data speeds for its LTE network.

While Apple finds itself embroiled in a number of intellectual property disputes both on both offensive and defensive fronts, Reuters reports that Chip Lutton, who oversees the company's significant patent portfolio, will be leaving the company. Lutton is apparently being replaced by HP lawyer BJ Watrous.

It was unclear why Richard "Chip" Lutton Junior, who manages the iPhone maker's patent portfolio, is leaving the company.

However, BJ Watrous, a former deputy general counsel with Hewlett Packard, is now listed as Apple's chief IP counsel on Watrous's LinkedIn web page.

Two of Apple's highest-profile patent disputes involve HTC and Samsung, major players in the smartphone market who primarily rely on Google's Android operating system. Apple and HTC have been embroiled in a dispute dating back well over a year, but several developments over the past week indicate that the situation is heating up. Last week, HTC agreed to acquire S3 Graphics, a firm which just days earlier had won a preliminary patent judgment against Apple, potentially giving HTC more ammunition in its fight against Apple.

And just two days after that, Apple filed a new complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) seeking to blocking imports of HTC's Flyer tablets and Droid smartphones over alleged patent infringement. As noted by AFP, HTC has denied the allegations and expressed its displeasure that Apple has chosen to compete in the courts rather than letting things play out in the market.

"HTC is disappointed at Apple's constant attempts at litigations instead of competing fairly in the market," said HTC general counsel Grace Lei in a statement.

"HTC strongly denies all infringement claims raised by Apple in the past and present and reiterates our determination and commitment to protect our intellectual property rights," she said.

The situation with Samsung continues to escalate as well, with the two sides filing opposing complaints with the ITC over the past couple of weeks seeking to have imports of each others' mobile products blocked. Samsung has also asked that at least some of Apple's lawyers be removed from the case due to potential conflicts of interest and confidentiality concerns given that a number of Apple's lawyers had previously represented Samsung.

The dispute between Apple and Samsung, one of Apple's major suppliers in addition to being a significant competitor, holds major implications for both companies, with Apple reportedly considering a shakeup of its suppliers in order to reduce its reliance on Samsung.

The backlit keyboard will reportedly be making a return to the MacBook Air with the new 2011 models that are quickly approaching release. The seemingly minor feature omission for the 2010 MacBook Air has generated a good bit of backlash on Apple's own support forums.

AppleInsider claims that the imminent MacBook Air refresh will bring back this popular feature:

According to people familiar with the matter, backlit keyboards will join the string of hardware enhancements planned for the new 11.6- and 13.3-inch notebooks, which are also expected to adopt high-speed Thunderbolt ports, an upgrade to Intel's Sandy Bridge architecture, and possibly high-speed 400MBps flash memory.

The backlight provides illumination to the keyboard in the dark (as pictured above). The feature is also present in all of Apple's current MacBook Pro notebooks.

The MacBook Air is expected to be released soon with part numbers already leaked on Monday. Apple is rumored to have delayed the MacBook Air release until OS X Lion was ready and shipping.

Apple has started soliciting developers to submit Mac App Store submissions for OS X Lion. In an email sent out to developers this evening, Apple says that OS X Lion will "soon be available to millions of Mac users around the world." They are asking developers to submit their OS X Lion compatible applications so they can be on the Mac App Store when Lion ships "this month".

The request for OS X Lion specific applications seems a bit late for the rumored release this week. Last year, Apple began accepting iOS 4 apps into the App Store 11 days ahead of iOS 4's public release. While App Store approvals typically run about a week, Apple has been known to prioritize new release submissions, so the timeframe for OS X Lion App approvals could be much shorter.

OS X Lion is known to be on track for release sometime in July. Lion, itself, will be an App Store only release.

In the latest iOS 5 beta just released today, Apple has activated the new "Assistive Touch" features for the iPad. The Assistive Touch settings were in place in iOS's accessibility settings in previous betas, but is only now active. The new features are meant to provide additional interactivity for those who might have trouble using the traditional gestures and buttons on the iPad.

The new settings allow users to activate a menu overlay on the iPad with by pressing on a designated corner. The menu allows one-tap access to all of the iPad's functions including rotation, shaking, volume changes and even gestures. Known gestures such as pinch and swipe can be recalled by a tap, and custom gestures can even be recorded and played back on command.

9 to 5 Mac reports that reliable tipster "Mr. X" has revealed that Apple will be releasing new MacBook Air and Mac Pro models this week alongside OS X Lion.

According to Mr. X, Apple will be releasing four new MacBook Air models, appearing to match up with the current lineup of two stock configurations each in the 11-inch and 13-inch sizes. MacBook Air updates have been expected within this general timeframe for some time now, and Apple is said to have been holding the release until it can ship the new machines with OS X Lion preinstalled. The new models include:

MC965LL/A - K21, BETTER, BTR-USA
MC966LL/A - K21, BEST, BTR-USA
MC968LL/A - K78, BETTER, BTR-USA
MC969LL/A - K78, BEST, BTR-USA

On the Mac Pro side, Apple again appears to following its existing lineup with three standard stock configurations alongside a dedicated "Server" configuration. Reports had been suggesting that the Mac Pro would see a refresh in late July or early August, so Apple's appears to be a bit ahead of that schedule provided that it is indeed shooting for a release this week.

MC936LL/A - J40, ULTIMATE - USA
MC815LL/A - J40, BETTER - USA
MC816LL/A - J40, BEST - USA
MC914LL/A - J59, BEST - USA

Mr. X has not offered a specific release date for the new machines, but it appears that Apple may be targeting this Thursday, July 14th for the hardware launch alongside OS X Lion.

It's All Tech posts an extensive list of changes discovered so far in the third beta version of iOS 5, which was seeded to developers just a short time ago. Among the interesting new features and tweaks are:

- Enhanced location services controls: Aside from a prominent new screen in the iOS 5 setup process outlining how location services work, the new beta also includes finer granularity of controls, allowing users to specify whether such functions as cell network searching, diagnostics, iAds, time zone setting, and traffic information may make use of the device's location information. This is of course in addition to the per-app location controls that are already available.

- Speed enhancements: User reports indicate that performance is significantly improved under the new beta, with a considerable reduction in lag.

- Voice roaming: In addition to the existing ability to turn off data roaming in order to avoid hefty data charges, the new beta adds a "voice roaming" toggle that will allow users to prevent their phone from connecting while on roaming networks not included in their carrier's service package and thus subject to extra fees.

- Prompt for moved video content: With iOS 5, Apple has rebranded the "iPod" app on the iPhone and iPad as "Music", in line with what is found on the iPod touch. The new beta now issues an initial prompt informing users that video content such as movies, TV shows, and music videos have been moved to the "Videos" app.

- Safari preferences: The ability to clear cookies and data has been restored in the new beta, and a new "Advanced" page has been added with additional tools for removing data and debugging.

- Other assorted tweaks: A new icon for the "Reminders" app that is being added in iOS 5, an iTunes Store button in the "Music" app, the Wi-Fi Sync setting renamed to "iTunes Wi-Fi Sync", and mailbox creation from within Mail.

Apple has just pushed out the third beta version of iOS 5 to developers, continuing to push forward on the next major revision of Apple's mobile operating system set for public release in the fall. The new version is known as Build 9A5259f.

No details on changes included in the new beta have yet been provided, but we will update this post as the news comes out.

Fortune reports on a new note from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who for some time has been keeping tabs on the performance of Apple's App Store using calculations of download rates and other metrics against number of devices sold. According to Munster, iOS device owners are increasing their usage of the App Store in 2011, downloading more apps as the average sales price for paid apps has rebounded after dropping last year.

- More apps: The average iOS device owner will download 83 apps in 2011 vs. 51 in 2010, a 61% increase year over year. "Smartphone users are showing an increasing appetite to use apps to add features to their phones," Munster writes, "and iOS has the leading app ecosystem."

- More expensive apps: The ASP (average selling price) per app is rebounding. ASPs are up 14% y/y in 20111 vs. an 18% decline in 2010. "After the initial race to the bottom in App Store pricing," says Munster, "we are seeing users pay up to add features and games to their iOS devices."

Munster reports that 82% of App Store activity is from free apps, while the 18% of downloads that are paid apps carry an average selling price of $1.44. Munster notes that the recent increase in average selling price seems to be driven by the iPad, which in general sees higher average app prices than the iPhone and iPod touch.

Apple last week announced that the App Store had reached 15 billion downloads since its inception three years ago. Still, App Store revenue represents only about 1% of Apple's overall revenue and is viewed primarily as a driver of Apple's hardware sales.

DigiTimes reports that Apple is planning to bring on a second manufacturing partner for the iPad as part of the rollout of the updated models rumored for release later this year.

Apple reportedly plans to add a second manufacturer for iPad 3 tablet PCs in addition to Foxconn Electronics with Taiwan-based Quanta Computer and [Pegatron] Technology being indicated as the potential contenders for the possible orders, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

[Pegatron], which reportedly have landed iPhone 5 orders from Apple, stands a better chance of winning the iPad 3 orders, the sources noted.

Both Pegatron and Quanta are existing manufacturing partners for Apple, with Pegatron being responsible for CDMA iPhone 4 production while Quanta is a long-time partner for Mac production.

The report notes that Apple's decision to add a new manufacturer for the iPad is due in significant part to the explosion at Foxconn's new production plant in Chengdu that killed three workers and saw the company temporarily halt work in all of its polishing shops as it investigated the incident. That series of events reportedly convinced Apple of the need to diversify its manufacturing partnerships in order to minimize risk.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported in passing that Apple was experimenting with "a new way of charging" the 2012 iPhone. Like our readers, our thoughts instantly went to some sort of wireless charging mechanism.

Of course, wireless charging isn't a new technology though the current implementations of it have been somewhat limited. The original Palm Pre launched with an induction charger which allows users to charge their device when it is laid on a special charging mat. The disadvantages of such inductive chargers is the need for near physical contact in order for the power to be transferred as well as heat/power limitations.

A 2007 startup company called WiTricity, however, has been working on some significant advances in wireless electricity that has gotten the attention of much of the industry including Apple. WiTricity is based on the research from MIT's labs where scientists showed a new method for transferring larger amounts of power wirelessly over more practical distances (up to a couple of meters) than traditional induction.

The magnetic fields of two properly designed devices with closely matched resonant frequencies can couple into a single continuous magnetic field. Prof. Soljačić's team showed how to use this phenomenon to enable the transfer of power from one device to the other at high efficiency and over a distance range that is useful for real-world applications.

WiTricity has already received a significant amount of industry attention. The CEO of WiTricity demoed the technology at TED in 2009. Intel has been experimenting with the technology in their labs. Toyota has even collaborated with and invested in the company to develop automotive wireless charging systems.

The link to Apple comes by way of a international patent application from Apple called "Wireless power utilization in a local computing environment." The application was first published in May of this year and specifically details the same resonance technology and refers to the original paper published by the MIT researchers.

Apple describes a scenario where your iMac could be the source of this resonance power to provide a virtual charging area in front of your computer. Keyboards, mice and even mobile electronic devices like the iPhone or iPad could be charged simply be being in a 1 meter proximity to your computer. In typical Apple fashion, they describe that "by doing away with clumsy and annoying cables and eliminating the need to replace batteries, an easy to use and efficient local computing environment can be provided to the user."

The technology is said to be safe, relying on magnetic fields. WiTricity CEO is seen above presenting the technology at the 2009 TED and even shows it wirelessly powering a modified Apple iPhone.

Of course, Apple patent applications are only occasionally predictive of the company's plans, but in light of rumors of Apple experimenting with "a new way of charging", we thought this particular technology (which is already on Apple's radar) was interesting enough to highlight.

Tonight, Apple released two new iPhone commercials advertising AirPlay and FaceTime features of the iPhone 4.

The ads appear to be an extension of the "If you don't have an iPhone" campaign which started in March. This time the ads end with "just one more thing that makes an iPhone an iPhone."

Despite authorizing some of the individual companies involved, antitrust regulators are said to be investigating the $4.5 billion consortium purchase of Nortel's patent portfolio last week. Per the Washington Post:

Federal antitrust enforcers are scrutinizing whether Google, often accused of abusing its Web search power, is facing an unfair coalition of companies that could block its popular Android mobile phone software, according to a source close to the matter.

The patent portfolio was won by a consortium including Apple, EMC, Ericsson, Microsoft, RIM and Sony. There has already been speculation that the acquisition is a big blow to Google's Android whose manufacturers may be subject to additional patent licensing fees. TechCrunch summarizes how the auction played out based on a Canadian court document that was released last week.

While much of the press after the auction focused on the Rockstar group’s win, the court documents make it very clear that it was actually Apple that won in partnership with Rockstar. Apple was the only group that had not dropped out. Again, they staked the Rockstar group to ensure a victory for the stronger player. Why was Rockstar the stronger player? Because of the other companies involved. RIM, EMC, Ericsson, Sony, and yes, Microsoft.

The interest in the portfolio was significant due to the broad reach of the patents, especially in the area of wireless networking and LTE technology.