MacRumors

One MacRumors reader has pointed out to us that Apple's somewhat-hidden Reserve and Pick Up program is currently showing the company's Mac Pro models as "Unavailable" for reservation at his local retail store in Canada, possibly hinting at an imminent update. According to the tipster, the Mac Pro was seeing full availability for reservations at his store as recently as yesterday.

A quick check of the reservation systems for a handful of Apple retail stores around the United States shows a similar story, with some stores showing complete unavailability of Mac Pro reservations while others continue to offer either the base Quad-Core model or the 8-core model but not both.

Apple's Mac Pro line is overdue for an update according to our Buyer's Guide tracking. A report earlier this year had claimed that a Mac Pro refresh was due "by June", but Apple failed to meet that rumored target. More recent claims of chip shortages for Intel's latest 6-core chips suggested that Apple might not be able push out a Mac Pro update until later this summer.

As for other changes possible in a Mac Pro, evidence of support for several high-end graphics cards from ATI and NVIDIA have appeared in Mac OS X, and one report has pointed to the adoption of USB 3.0 and faster FireWire in the new machines. That report also suggested an "end of summer" timeframe for a release.

Not all of Apple's sales channels are seeing constrained supplies of the Mac Pro, however, as the company's online stores continue to show shipping estimates of "within 24 hours" for both stock models.

Just yesterday, a report indicated that Apple's iMac stocks are also running low, with third-party distribution channels seeing constrained shipments ahead of a supposed update to that line as well.

CNNMoney.com reports on a recent survey from market research firm Yankee Group showing 73% of surveyed U.S. iPhone customers being "very satisfied" with AT&T as their carrier provider. The high figure appears rather surprising given AT&T's much-maligned performance as it has struggled to keep up with surging demand on its network since the iPhone debuted three years ago.

Despite a very vocal group of detractors, the vast majority of iPhone users love AT&T.

That's the key finding in a survey released this week by Yankee Group, which reports that 73% of iPhone users are very satisfied with AT&T's service. That rating compares favorably to how non-iPhone smartphone users feel about AT&T, and even to how non-iPhone users feel about other wireless providers.

The satisfaction rate of AT&T subscribers as a whole is 68%, and only 69% of smartphone users say they are satisfied with their mobile provider, Yankee Group found.

Yankee Group attributes the surprisingly high rankings to something of a "halo effect" that sees users' high satisfaction ratings for the iPhone rubbing off on the carrier despite its troubles. Or, as the report puts it, AT&T seems to have become part of the famous "reality distortion field" said to encompass Steve Jobs and Apple.

As part of its quarterly earnings conference call yesterday, AT&T offered some insight into the iPad's performance on the its network, with Silicon Alley Insider providing a summary of the data.

- AT&T reported that it activated service on 400,000-500,000 iPad "Wi-Fi + 3G" devices during the quarter, which actually consists of only the last two months of the quarter as the 3G-capable models did not begin shipping until the very end of April. While Apple reported overall iPad sales of 3.27 million for the quarter, that number is spread over a number of countries, with international sales beginning in late May. AT&T's numbers also do not account for users who purchased 3G-capable models but have not yet activated the service for one reason or another. Apple has declined to share the balance between Wi-Fi and 3G-capable device sales.

- AT&T notes that it has been surprised by corporate uptake of the iPad, unlike the iPhone which saw significant reluctance on the part of business during its early phases. During its own conference call, Apple noted that the iPad has already been deployed or is being piloted at 50% of the Fortune 100 companies.

- 75-80% of iPad data customers are on the more expensive 2 GB plan priced at $25 per month as opposed to the 250 MB plan at $14.99 per month. AT&T had initially launched an unlimited data plan priced at $29.99 per month, and users who joined that plan while it was in effect can remain on it for the foreseeable future provided they do not allow their service to lapse. iPad 3G data plan users are also in general using more data than iPhone users, but less than laptop-card users.

Reuters reports that Korean manufacturer LG is struggling to keep up with demand for LCD screens destined for Apple's iPad, even as it seeks to cut production on larger LCDs used in television sets amid weakening demand in that market. LG CEO Kwon Young-soo even suggests that the iPad display supply-demand imbalance may force Apple to delay planned international roll-outs of the device.

"Demand (from Apple) keeps growing and we can't meet it all. Apple may have to delay launches of the iPad for some countries due to tight component supplies and strong demand.

"We are considering increasing production lines for iPad products but overall supply is likely to remain tight until early next year."

A report from last month claimed that Apple has tapped Samsung to supplement LG's efforts to supply screens for the iPad. If the rumors of Samsung's volume production set to begin this month are true, it may give Apple the ability to come closer to meeting current demand as it waits for LG's additional production to come online.

Apple announced earlier this week that its next round of international iPad releases was set for today in nine new countries. The company also noted during its earnings conference call on Tuesday that it is selling iPads as fast as it can make them, with demand exceeding what Apple initially considered to be a "bold" assumption of one million units per month.

Apple has launched their iPhone 4 case program on their site at http://www.apple.com/iphone/case-program/. The program offers iPhone 4 customers an App Store App that lets them apply for their free iPhone 4 bumper case.

1. Download the iPhone 4 Case Program app from the App Store.
2. Launch the app on your iPhone 4 and sign in using your iTunes Store account or Apple ID.
3. Select your Bumper or case.

For iPhone 4 purchases made before July 23, 2010, you must apply no later than August 22, 2010; otherwise, you must apply within 30 days of your iPhone 4 purchase. To qualify for this program, you must purchase your iPhone 4 by September 30, 2010.

For existing customers who have already purchased an iPhone 4 bumper case, Apple also provides instructions. All credit card customers should already be seeing refunds, while those who paid with Cash, Check or Gift card at retail stores will need to bring their receipt back to the Apple Store.

Apple today announced that they have further delayed the launch of the white iPhone 4 until later this year:

White models of Apple's new iPhone 4 have continued to be more challenging to manufacture than we originally expected, and as a result they will not be available until later this year. The availability of the more popular iPhone 4 black models is not affected.

The White iPhone 4 had reportedly been delayed due to quality control issues related to the white coloring on the front glass.

Apple has started processing refunds for the iPhone 4 bumper cases to online Apple Store orders. Existing back-ordered bumper cases have also been processed for refund. We expect the process will continue over the next few days. Apple is also expected to provide a method for in-store purchasers to also receive a refund but has provided no details yet.

Apple announced last week that they would be providing free bumper cases to all iPhone 4 customers and providing refunds for those who have already purchased them. The bumper cases help alleviate the signal loss issues experienced by some on the iPhone 4.

AppleInsider reports that Apple has begun advising third-party retail partners of impending shortages of the company's iMac models, suggesting that a refresh of the company's popular all-in-one desktop line may be in store for the near future.

In particular, a person familiar with the matter says the Mac maker is informing some of its distributors not to expect any further stock of the entry level 21.5-inch, 3.06GHz iMac, implying that production of that model has ceased.

Meanwhile, those with ties to the company's stateside reseller channels are being advised to sell through their stock of all existing iMac models and to keep their inventories as lean as possible for the next few weeks.

Just last week, Hardmac reported that the Mac Pro would see an "end of summer" update, with iMac updates not following until several weeks after that. The site also claimed that the iMac may gain USB 3.0 and faster FireWire connectivity as part of the refresh.

The iMac was last updated in October, when it saw a major redesign to shift to 21.5-inch and 27-inch LED displays.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple is rolling out a new retail store program designed to appeal to small business customers, encouraging them to adopt the company's Mac platform for their operations. The program involves the hiring of engineers at a number of the company's retail stores to work with customers on designing business-focused systems.

The consumer electronics giant responsible for the iPhone is seeking to hire engineers in as many as a dozen U.S. retail stores to put together Apple-based computer systems for small businesses, according to recent job postings on Apple's website. The employees would implement computer systems for clients and are expected to be proficient in networking hardware and server platforms.

According to the report, Apple's retail stores will allow the company to reach out to small, local businesses with the program as opposed to traditional corporate programs targeting larger companies.

The Apple employees familiar with the new position said it was a natural progression of recent initiatives. Apple maintains a team at its headquarters to handle big companies and government agencies, but it has increasingly handed responsibility for small and mid-sized business accounts to its retail stores, the people said.

Apple has put an incentive program in place to manage the growth of these new business initiatives, they said, assigning new business sales staff based on revenue targets for each store.

The very first question posed to Apple executives on the company's earnings conference call earlier this week addressed the issue of business uptake of the company's products, traditionally a weak area for Apple. Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook noted that while the iPhone and now the iPad are seeing significant uptake in at least big business, Macs continue to sell primarily to consumer and education channels. The company is, however, seeing "increasing interest" in the Mac on the part of businesses.

Earlier this week, The Register detailed a security vulnerability found in Apple's Safari Autofill feature that could enable malicious websites to extract users' personal information from their Address Book entries. The security researcher, Jeremiah Grossman of WhiteHat Security, followed up with a blog post yesterday detailing the exploit and offering a proof of concept webpage allowing users to see if they are vulnerable.

The vulnerability arises from Address Book's usage of simple form text fields to store the user's personal information, paired with Safari's ability to automatically grab that information through its Autofill feature to assist users with filling out web forms.

All a malicious website would have to do to surreptitiously extract Address Book card data from Safari is dynamically create form text fields with the aforementioned names, probably invisibly, and then simulate A-Z keystroke events using JavaScript. When data is populated, that is AutoFill'ed, it can be accessed and sent to the attacker.

For some reason, fields that begin with numbers such as phone numbers and street addresses are not subject to this vulnerability. A user's name, company affiliation, city/state/country, and email addresses can, however, typically be accessed.

Still, such attacks could be easily and cheaply distributed on a mass scale using an advertising network where likely no one would ever notice because it's not exploit code designed to deliver rootkit payload. In fact, there is no guarantee this has not already taken place. What is safe to say is that this vulnerability is so brain dead simple that I assumed someone else must have publicly reported it already, but exhaustive searches and asking several colleagues turned up nothing.

Grossman reports that he submitted information on the vulnerability to Apple on June 17th, but has received nothing more than an automatic acknowledgement of his submission despite an attempted follow-up. Consequently, Grossman is making public disclosure of the vulnerability so that users can take steps to protect themselves by disabling the Autofill feature, which is turned on by default.

Update: According to All Things Digital, Apple has acknowledged the issue and promised that it is working on a fix, but no timeframe for a release has been shared.

AT&T today announced its financial results for the second quarter of 2010, noting activations of 3.2 million iPhones during the quarter, a new company record. The strong iPhone 4 release at the very end of the quarter, however, skewed sales toward existing AT&T customers upgrading their handsets rather than customers new to the carrier, with only 27% of this quarter's iPhone purchasers being new to AT&T, down from "more than one-third" in the previous quarter and a steady 40% number in even earlier quarters.

On June 24, AT&T began offering iPhone 4, the most powerful iPhone yet. Preorder sales of iPhone 4 were 10 times higher than the first day of preordering for iPhone 3GS a year earlier. For the full second quarter, AT&T iPhone activations totaled 3.2 million, the most quarterly iPhone activations ever. Approximately 27 percent of those activations were for customers who were new to AT&T.

The company noted that despite the volume of the iPhone 4 launch, it was able to expand profit margins in its wireless segment while also reducing customer churn to "best-ever" levels of 1.01% for postpaid customers and 1.29% overall.

AT&T has noted in the past that "activations" reported during a quarter include previously-sold devices being reactivated by new customers, such as when an older-model iPhone is passed down to a relative or sold. Consequently, comparisons between AT&T's iPhone activation data and Apple's device sales numbers are not valid.

AT&T has been widely-rumored to be losing its exclusivity for the iPhone in the United States within the next few months, with Verizon and now T-Mobile being popular targets for expansion rumors. Apple noted in its own earnings conference call earlier this week that it is moving away from an exclusive carrier relationship in Spain, leaving the U.S. (AT&T) and Germany (T-Mobile) as the company's only major markets still seeing exclusive carriers.

As noted by AppleInsider, Apple earlier this month promoted Jeff Williams to its ranks of senior executives, upgrading his previous position of Vice President of Operations to a Senior Vice President level.

Jeff Williams is Apple's senior vice president of Operations, reporting to COO Tim Cook. Jeff leads a team of people around the world responsible for end-to-end supply chain management and dedicated to ensuring that Apple products meet the highest standards of quality.

Based on a filing made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this past Monday, it appears that Williams may have been promoted to the position on July 7th. The filing also discloses that Williams is the owner of 47,308 shares of Apple common stock, as well as 40,000 shares of fully vested stock options holding a strike price of $46.57 and valid through August 2012.

In addition, Williams has been granted a series of restricted stock grants over the past four years totaling 75,000 shares, although none of those grants have yet become fully vested. All told, Williams' holdings in Apple stock and options are worth over $41 million in today's prices, although not all of those options and stock grants have yet been vested or exercised.

According to Williams' bio on Apple's site, he joined Apple in 1998 as the company's head of worldwide procurement and in 2004 was promoted to the position of Vice President for Operations. Since the launch of the iPhone in 2007, Williams has led worldwide operations for both the iPhone and iPod. Prior to his arrival at Apple, Williams spent 13 years at IBM in a number of capacities.

Cult of Mac reports that the iPhone will be coming to T-Mobile's U.S. network during the third quarter of this year, which runs through the end of September, according to a "highly placed source" at T-Mobile. The move would bring to an end AT&T's exclusive relationship with Apple to offer the device in the U.S.

Talks between Apple and T-Mobile are at an advanced stage, our source says, and it's 80 percent likely that the iPhone will be coming to T-Mobile in Q3.

The source works at T-Mobile but asked not to be quoted directly and to remain anonymous because they aren't authorized to talk to the press.

As the report notes, it is unclear whether the existing iPhone 4 hardware is compatible with T-Mobile's 3G network, as even though the carrier uses the same UMTS system as the iPhone and its partner carriers, it utilizes a 1700 MHz frequency band that it not officially supported by the iPhone 4. It is possible, however, that the hardware already supports the 1700 MHz band but is not included in Apple's specs or even in documentation filed with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

While many observers have been focused on market leader Verizon for Apple's first U.S. carrier expansion beyond AT&T, a growing number of reports have suggested that T-Mobile might be a better candidate due to its UMTS support, something Verizon's and Sprint's networks can't offer.

Skype's iPhone application has received a much-anticipated update today, bringing support for multitasking in iOS 4.

- Run Skype in the background with multitasking in iOS4. Receive Skype calls and IM while other apps are running or when your iPhone is locked. You can also continue your call while you switch to another application. Multitasking is available only with iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS.

Skype's application was just updated in late May to bring support for voice calling over 3G networks. The company has also been involved in a spat with fring over that company's integration of Skype functionality into its iPhone application. As a result, fring no longer offers Skype compatibility, although which party is ultimately responsible for the removal is still the subject of debate.

Update: In a blog post on the release, Skype also announced that it has dropped plans to charge for calls made over 3G networks. The company had previously stated that it was planning to institute charges after an introductory period of free calling.