MacRumors

The State of Texas today announced that Apple has committed to spend $304 million to expand its operations in Austin, seeking to add 3,600 employees to its facilities there.

The new campus will more than double the size of Apple's workforce in Texas over the next decade, supporting the company's growing operations in the Americas with expanded customer support, sales and accounting functions for the region. In exchange for Apple's commitment to create these new jobs in Texas, the state has offered Apple an investment of $21 million over ten years through the Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF).

While Apple's Austin campus focuses primarily on customer support and other administrative functions, it does also house some engineering functions primarily related to chip design. Samsung's chip factory where it produces Apple's A-series chips for its iOS devices is also located in Austin and recently underwent a major expansion itself to support Apple's products.

Update: The City of Austin has also proposed an $8.6 million grant investment in the project should Apple meet certain performance metrics presumably tied to campus development and hiring. Apple is required to invest $56.5 million in new facilities and equipment by the end of 2015, with an additional $226 million investment coming by the end of 2021. Apple has also committed to retaining its existing 3,100 jobs in Austin and adding at least 3,635 new jobs, with yearly hiring targets for each of the ten years following the opening of its Phase I expansion.

We've received word from several customers in the UK who ordered the new iPad immediately after launch that their orders have been delayed by several days. While at least one of these customers was initially quoted delivery for March 16 and another had been quoted a shipping window of March 16-19, Apple has now pushed back delivery for these customers to March 20 or 21.

Despite our best efforts and those of our shipping partners to get your order to you on time, we want to inform you that it will not arrive on its originally scheduled delivery date.
Your new delivery date is 20/03/2012.

Once you receive your Shipment Notification email, you can check the delivery status of your order by clicking the Track Shipment button, or by visiting the Apple Store and clicking Account.

We regret the delay and apologise for the inconvenience.

Kind regards,
Apple Online Store

Meanwhile, numerous customers in the United States are reporting that they have received shipment notifications for their iPad orders.

As with previous launches, however, Apple will almost certainly be coordinating with its shipping partners to have the orders delivered on March 16, and shipping information for these customers does indeed reflect this date. It is possible, however, that a handful deliveries may slip through to reach customers a bit early as we have seen in the past.

As for new orders, availability continues to slip model-by-model as Apple runs out of its launch stock for the new device. In the United States, the white 16 GB Wi-Fi iPad has become the first Wi-Fi model to see its date slip, now showing a shipping date of March 19. A number of AT&T 4G LTE models are also listed as shipping on that date.

In line with its previous announcement, China Telecom today launched the iPhone 4S, becoming the second carrier in the country to officially offer the iPhone for sale. With its 129 million mobile subscribers, China Telecom is a major new addition for Apple and the largest carrier to offer the iPhone on a CDMA network.

M.I.C. gadget has a roundup of the launch events, with China Telecom having announced a greater-than-expected 200,000 pre-orders for the device.

China Telecom is actually playing Verizon’s iPhone role in China. As far as we know, China Telecom now has close to 130 million subscribers, and the carrier also boasts about having the largest CDMA network in the world by installed base. With over 200,000 pre-orders placed for the iPhone 4S, China Telecom is likely to emerge the victor in a looming iPhone war with China Unicom by offering both better prices and service.

As a CDMA device, the iPhone 4S on China Telecom possesses some of the same limitations seen with the device running on Verizon, including somewhat slower maximum data rates on 3G compared to GSM networks and a lack of support for simultaneous voice and data. China Telecom's iPhone 4S, which ships with iOS 5.1 pre-installed, also requires the use of a micro UIM card. The card is analogous to the micro-SIM card used on GSM devices, although many other CDMA carriers such as Verizon do not use such removable cards and instead rely on subscriber information being stored directly on the device.

China Telecom offers a variety of monthly plans for the iPhone 4S, with the 16 GB model being offered for free on plans as low as 389 yuan ($62) per month for a two-year contract or 289 yuan ($46) per month for a three-year contract.

Last December, Intuit announced that it would be developing a version of its Quicken 2007 for Mac software compatible with OS X Lion, targeting "early spring" for a release. Quicken 2007 has remained a popular option for users of personal finance software despite its age, as Intuit opted to deploy a stripped-down Quicken Essentials for Mac in 2010 rather than continuing to update the full Quicken product for Mac. But with Apple's discontinuation of Rosetta in OS X Lion, applications such as Quicken 2007 that had been written for PowerPC-based Macs are incompatible with the latest operating system.

As quietly noted its Quicken for Lion FAQ updated today, the software is now available directly from Intuit. Priced at $14.99, Lion-compatible Quicken 2007 for Mac is available either by direct download or on CD.

Quicken Mac 2005 – 2007 data files will automatically convert into the Lion compatible version. If you're currently running Quicken Essentials for Mac on OS X 10.7 Lion, and have previously converted from Quicken 2005, 2006 or 2007 for Mac, you'll be able to migrate your Quicken Essentials transaction data to Quicken Mac 2007 OS X Lion compatible.

Migration of Quicken Essentials data into the Lion-compatible version Quicken 2007 for Mac is outlined in a support document.

Intuit's lack of support for the Quicken for Mac product line has sent customers searching for alternatives, with a number of other products such as iBank and Intuit's own Mint.com seeing some success in the market, although each of the products offers a slightly different set of features.

Intuit is clearly trying to keep some of its Quicken for Mac customers using the software under Lion, but it is unclear whether the company has a long-term plan to advance a Quicken product for Mac that offers features beyond those found in Quicken Essentials. Given that even the Quicken 2007 for Mac page recommends that new Quicken users opt for Quicken Essentials, it appears that the company is still planning to push the stripped-down Essentials package as its primary Mac offering for at least the time being.

Thanks, Marck!

Over the past couple of months, we've been covering OnLive's efforts to bring remote virtualization of Windows applications to the iPad, offering access to Microsoft Office, Adobe Reader, and Flash-enabled web browsing through Windows 7. OnLive may, however, be running into some difficulties with Microsoft over its offerings, with ZDNet pointing to a Microsoft blog post discussing licensing arrangements for remote desktop streaming and its belief that OnLive is not meeting these requirements.

Companies are permitted to offer some "desktop-like functionality" to users via remote hosting, but Windows 7 itself and Office provided through a hosted Windows 7 installation are specifically excluded. An alternative method allowing for full remote hosting would require that the end user hold a license with Microsoft for the software and that the remote hardware used to host the Windows installation be dedicated to that specific customer. OnLive's services certainly do not seem to meet either of these paths to compliance, and Microsoft notes that it is "committed to seeing this issue is resolved."

Some inquiries about these scenarios have been raised as a result of recent media coverage related to OnLive’s Desktop and Desktop Plus services. Additionally, the analyst firm Gartner raised questions regarding the compliance of these services last week. We are actively engaged with OnLive with the hope of bringing them into a properly licensed scenario, and we are committed to seeing this issue is resolved.

OnLive has apparently yet to issue any public statements on the situation.

GottaBeMobile reports that Verizon has officially announced that its data plans for the new iPad Wi-Fi + 4G will include mobile hotspot functionality at no additional charge. The feature allows users to share the device's cellular connection, broadcasting it as Wi-Fi signal that can be used to provide data connectivity for notebook computers and other devices.

What I didn’t see when I went looking for [details] is how much extra mobile hotspot costs. On Verizon, adding this feature on phones adds an extra $20/month but also an extra 2GB of data, meaning you can get up to 12GB in a month if you’re willing to pay $100.

However, a Verizon Wireless spokesperson informed me that for tablets (including the new iPad), the mobile hotspot feature is included in the data plan’s price. iPad owners won’t have to pay extra to activate mobile hotspot, even with the 1GB plan.

AT&T has yet to announce specific plans for mobile hotspot functionality on the new iPad, as a statement provided to 9to5Mac indicates that the carrier is "working with Apple" on the issue, but isn't offering this capability at all at the moment.

Yesterday, we noted that Apple appeared to not be using Google Maps in its new iPhoto app for iOS, although it was unclear exactly where the new mapping data was coming from. Daring Fireball's John Gruber later clarified that Apple was still using Google Maps for the Places functionality in iPhoto for iOS but that maps for Photo Journals and slideshows were coming directly from Apple.

The OpenStreetMap Foundation has now issued a blog post revealing that Apple is using at least some of its mapping data for these features, although it does note that Apple is using outdated mapping data and is not crediting appropriately for its usage.

The new iPhoto for iOS, however, uses Apple’s own map tiles – made from OpenStreetMap data (outside the US). [...]

The OSM data that Apple is using is rather old (start of April 2010) so don’t expect to see your latest and greatest updates on there. It’s also missing the necessary credit to OpenStreetMap’s contributors; we look forward to working with Apple to get that on there.

Apple has relied on Google Maps on its iOS devices since the launch of the original iPhone in 2007, but has expressed interest in moving away from Google, clearly due at least in part to tensions between the two companies. Toward that end, Apple has been working hard to beef up its own in-house mapping expertise over the past several years, acquiring several small companies including Placebase, Poly9 and C3 Technologies.

Last December, the U.S. Department of Justice acknowledged that it was conducing an antitrust investigation into the new "agency model" of e-book pricing that was championed by Apple ahead of its iBookstore rollout, a model in which publishers could set the retail prices of their books but could not sell them to retailers other than Apple for lower prices. A similar investigation has been ongoing in Europe as well.

The Wall Street Journal now reports that the Department of Justice has warned Apple and five e-book publishers that it intends to file an antitrust lawsuit against the companies over the matter, in which the companies are alleged to have colluded to raise the price of e-books.

Several of the parties have held talks to settle the antitrust case and head off a potentially damaging court battle, these people said. If successful, such a settlement could have wide-ranging repercussions for the industry, potentially leading to cheaper e-books for consumers. However, not every publisher is in settlement discussions.

The five publishers facing a potential suit are CBS Corp.'s Simon & Schuster Inc.; Lagardere SCA's Hachette Book Group; Pearson PLC's Penguin Group (USA); Macmillan, a unit of Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck GmbH; and HarperCollins Publishers Inc., a unit of News Corp. , which also owns The Wall Street Journal.

Many publishers were happy to sign on to Apple's agency model for book pricing, seeking to gain greater control of pricing for their content. After signing deals with Apple, they then turned to Amazon and other retailers, forcing them into the same arrangements by threatening to withhold their books from those retailers.

The Justice Department believes that Apple and the publishers acted in concert to raise prices across the industry, and is prepared to sue them for violating federal antitrust laws, the people familiar with the matter said.

The publishers have denied acting jointly to raise prices. They have told investigators that the shift to agency pricing enhanced competition in the industry by allowing more electronic booksellers to thrive.

Arguments that the agency model has actually increased competition center on Amazon's dominant position in the retail book industry, where it had frequently sold books at razor thin profits or even losses in order to attract customers for its broader shopping offerings. Under the agency model, greater price uniformity across retailers has allowed more companies to be competitive in the marketplace.

Following the new Apple TV's slip to a 1-2 week shipping estimate in Apple's U.S. online store late yesterday, the first signs of Apple's supplies of the new iPad beginning to run short have now emerged, with 16 GB and 64 GB models of the AT&T 4G iPad in white now showing estimated shipping dates of March 19 in the store. All models had previously been listed as delivering on the launch date of March 16.

Shipping dates are beginning to slip in other launch countries as well, with Apple's store for Japan showing delivery by March 19 and its German store citing a date of March 22. In Canada, several models including the black 64 GB Wi-Fi and white 32 GB Wi-Fi, 64 GB Wi-Fi, and 16 GB 4G are now showing an "available" date of March 19, while all models had previously been promised for delivery within the March 16-20 window.

Apple experienced several months' worth of shortages of the iPad 2 at launch, and the company is rolling out the new iPad on an even more aggressive schedule with ten countries being included in the first round on March 16 and 25 more being added just one week later.

Update: Apple's UK online store is now showing shipping estimates of 2-3 weeks for all models of the new iPad.

As it always does when it releases a new product, Apple has produced an elegant television commercial for the new iPad. Unsurprisingly, the ad focuses solely on the retina display, something that Apple feels sets the iPad apart from the other tablets on the market.

The ad doesn't talk about specifications or price. Instead, it shows the iPad being used to edit a photograph, read a book, watch a movie, and draw a picture.

When a screen becomes this good, colors are more vibrant. Words are pin sharp. Everything is more brilliant. Because when a screen becomes this good, it's simply you and the things you care about. The stunning Retina Display on the new iPad.

Earlier today, Apple announced iPhoto for the iPad and iPhone, saying it would launch today. Keeping to its word, iPhoto is now available for purchase. [Direct Link]

Additionally, updates to iMovie and GarageBand are now live as well.

With iPhoto for iOS, Apple brings Multi-Touch to photography in a breakthrough way. Browse, edit, and share your photos from your iPad or iPhone, like never before – all the powerful tools you need are at your fingertips. And with iCloud, you can share your experiences as stunning photo journals.

Use simple gestures to quickly sort through photos and find your best shots. A powerful set of Multi-Touch tools helps you perfect color and exposure, crop, straighten, and retouch images. Enhance pictures by adding beautiful, Apple-designed effects with just a tap. Or use fingertip brushes to apply adjustments exactly where you want them. In addition to posting photos to Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter, you can beam photos between your iPhone and iPad, stream photos and slideshows to your Apple TV with AirPlay, and use iCloud to publish photo journals to the web to share your stories with friends and family in a whole new way.

iPhoto is a universal app available for $4.99 on the App Store. [Direct Link]

iMovie is a universal app available for $4.99 on the App Store, and is a free upgrade for current owners. [Direct Link]

GarageBand is a universal app available for $4.99 on the App Store, and is a free upgrade for current owners. [Direct Link]