According to RadioShack's official Twitter account, the electronics chain will be carrying iPhone 4 as of its U.S. launch on June 24th.
YES! RadioShack will have #iPhone4 at launch. More info tomorrow.
In another tweet several hours ago, the company also revealed that, similar to Apple's own iPhone 4 ordering system, RadioShack will begin taking pre-orders for the new iPhone on Tuesday, June 15th.
JUST IN: #iPhone4 pre-orders start next Tuesday @RadioShack... and that's only the beginning.
RadioShack began rolling out sales of the iPhone 3GS in late November 2009, and after a months-long ramp-up, officially went nationwide with an advertising push in late March.
Apple today seeded a new version of Mac OS X 10.6.4, termed Build 10F566, to developers. Those familiar with the new build note that it carries the same highlighted fixes included in the previous build issued one week ago, and continues to list no known issues.
As has been true for the past several builds released to developers, testers are asked to focus their efforts on Graphics Drivers, SMB, USB, Voice Over, and VPN. Today's release marks the seventh build of Mac OS X 10.6.4 to make its way into the hands of developers since seeding began in late April.
A public release of Mac OS X 10.6.4 had been rumored for WWDC, but it appears that Apple is not quite ready to push it out to the general public. The continued lack of documented known issues, small interval in build number since the last seed, and stability in featured fixes and focus areas all suggest that Apple may be wrapping up development on the latest maintenance update to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, but the company's development schedule is unpredictable and thus we are unable to say with any degree of certainty when we can expect to see a public launch of Mac OS X 10.6.4.
After all of yesterday's news regarding iPhone 4, iOS 4, Safari 5 and other topics, things are beginning to settle down a bit today, allowing details and smaller items of interest to come to the foreground. In particular, Apple released a number of software updates for both developers and general users yesterday, and details of these releases are beginning to come to light.
- Safari 5: Released to all users yesterday, Safari 5 offers speed enhancements, increased HTML5 support, Reader functionality for facilitating reading of articles on cluttered pages, and new support for third-party extensions to add functionality to the browser application. One of the highlights demoed during Apple's Safari session last night at WWDC was Panic's "Coda Notes", an extension for annotating and sharing webpages. Developers are already quickly pushing out useful extensions for Safari, listings of which are being collated on several sites around the Internet. Some interesting ones:
- Xcode 4: Released yesterday to developers at WWDC, the developer preview version of Xcode 4 is subject to Apple's non-disclosure policy for conference attendees, and thus only a few details have managed to leak out so far. Among the interesting claims coming out, however, is that Interface Builder has been integrated into Xcode, creating a single-window "unified interface" for the development environment.
Xcode 4 Developer Preview is the revolutionary new development environment for building Mac, iPhone, and iPad applications. With it, you can write better code, faster. WWDC attendees can log in and download this new version of Apple's Integrated Development Environment.
- iTunes 9.2: A beta version of iTunes 9.2 was seeded to developers alongside the iOS 4 Golden Master Candidate. iTunes 9.2 will be required for iPhone 4 compatibility and supports a number of new features, including support for iBooks enhancements such as PDF compatibility and syncing of bookmarks and other data across iOS 4 devices, app folder organization within iTunes for iOS 4 devices, faster backups for iOS 4 devices, and scrolling and other performance improvements.
One of the major enhancements included in iPhone 4 is a new camera system, integrating a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera including LED flash with a VGA-quality front-facing camera. While the rear-facing camera fails to match the resolution of other smartphones moving to 8 or even 12 megapixels, Steve Jobs was careful to mention during the iPhone's introduction that image quality also depends in large part on other factors, and the iPhone's backside-illuminated camera sensor with large pixel sizes allows it to deliver excellent image quality under normal and low-light situations.
As part of its feature page on the new camera, Apple has posted several example photos, noting that they are actual, unretouched photos taken using the iPhone 4. The images show clear, high-quality photos taken under optimal light conditions. Gizmodotook a look at the metadata included on one of the photos and offered its perspective on the image quality.
The performance under obviously optimal light is very good. The processing leans a bit to over-saturation and over-exposure, which is not a bad thing. Nikon goes for a similar image processing treatment in their cameras.
However, keep in mind that this image doesn't confirm Apple's claims about higher ISO and better performance under low light conditions, which is supposed to be a lot better thanks to the bigger backlit sensor. We will have to wait to see this in our review.
In addition to the image quality enhancements in the new rear camera, the system also supports 5x digital zoom, tap to focus, and simple sharing options.
And besides the still image features, iPhone 4's rear camera is also capable of HD video recording in 720p at 30 frames per second. With tap to focus, LED flash for video, and iMovie for iPhone for editing footage, Apple touts the new iPhone's ability to shoot, edit, and share high-quality video all on a phone with no need for access to a computer.
All Things Digital reports that just hours after being mentioned as a prominent example of the promise of App Store applications for the iPad early in Apple CEO Steve Jobs' keynote address at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference, Pulse News Reader disappeared from the App Store. According to the report, the removal was the result of a copyright complaint filed by The New York Times over the application's use of RSS feeds, which are used in a "visual mosaic" format to display news content to users.
But by the afternoon, that flush of entrepreneurial success had turned sour, after Apple (AAPL) informed the two that Pulse was being pulled from the App Store after it received a written notice from the New York Times Company (NYT) declaring that "The New York Times Company believes your application named 'Pulse News Reader' infringes The New York Times Company's rights."
The report also notes with some amusement that The New York Times just last week published a feature profile on the application and its developers.
The application's developers, a pair of Stanford University graduate students, are planning to contact Apple today to determine exactly what is going on and whether they can simply remove New York Times content from the application.
Richard Samson, lawyer for The New York Times, argues in his complaint to Apple that the application's paid nature results in unlicensed usage of the newspaper's content, a violation of the Terms of Use. In addition, Samson complains about the application "framing" Times content in violation of the Terms of Use and objects to the featuring of Times content, which comes preloaded in the application, in App Store screenshots.
Update: Pulse News Reader is back in the App Store, and as All Things Digital notes, the restored app appears to be the same as the previous one despite the developers having already submitted an updated application without New York Times content pre-loaded.
The report also posts comments from The New York Times confirming its specific objections to the application. The newspaper and Apple have yet to comment, however, on the application's reappearance in the App Store.
Update 2: The New York Times believes that the application was restored in error. No comment from Apple or the developers yet.
"We want to be clear that we are willing to work with Pulse, but only under our terms of use," said Robert Christie, a spokesman for the Times Company.
On Tuesday afternoon the app reappeared in the App Store. When asked about the reversal, Mr. Christie said: "We think it has been reinstated by error, and we have asked Apple for an explanation."
Highlighted during yesterday's Worldwide Developers Conference keynote, Guitar Hero is now available in the App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch.
Rock out with these features anytime, anywhere: - Dont just tap... Tap, Strum, Whammy, and Slide with gameplay customized for each song - Show off your personal style by customizing your own full 3D rockstar, and use the Photo Booth to share images with friends on Facebook - Complete challenges to increase your Rock Rank as you try to master both guitar and bass - Share your scores on Facebook, see how you stack up on the leaderboards, and get updates through in-game news feeds - Download more game tracks from the in-game store, and take on all-new song-specific challenges to boost your Rock Rank - Works on all iPhone and iPod Touch hardware! Play on an iPhone 3GS or 3rd generation iPod Touch to experience your avatar in a 3D concert setting, or use previous generation devices to show off your custom look in an awesome stylized photo shoot
Guitar Hero comes with six free songs from artists such as Queen, The Rolling Stones, Weezer and The White Stripes, with additional tracks available for in-app purchase. Guitar Hero is priced at $2.99.
Back in mid-April, Apple updated its developer agreement for iPhone OS (now known as iOS) to ban analytics companies from gathering data from iOS devices being used on their ad networks. The result of the change initially appeared to be a crippling of third-party networks in favor of the company's own iAds platform, as advertisers rely heavily on analytics to assist them in their advertising efforts.
As last week's interview at the D8 conference, Apple CEO Steve Jobs forcefully noted that the change was sparked by analytics company Flurry's publication of data showing devices in use on the Apple campus. Jobs was apparently referring to was January report from Flurry showing approximately 50 tablet-style iPhone devices being used at Apple. Acknowledging the value of analytics data for a number legitimate uses, however, Jobs said that Apple would be willing to revisit the topic of data collection with those companies once Apple had cooled down over the issue, "but it's not today."
MediaMemo now reports that Apple's has again modified the relevant portion of its developer agreement, Section 3.3.9, to at least partially open the door to limited data collection for analytics purposes.
If you compare and contrast with Apple's earlier version, you'll see the message is clear: It's OK to collect user data to help sell ads -- though you will need to get their permission to do so.
There is a catch, however, as Apple's new wording requires that any analytics company receiving data be an "independent advertising service provider whose primary business is serving mobile ads (for example, an advertising service provider owned by or affiliated with a developer or distributor of mobile devices, mobile operating systems or development environments other than Apple would not qualify as independent)".
The "independent" qualifier would would seem to prohibit AdMob from receiving such analytics data due to its status as a subsidiary of Google, which is clearly a developer of mobile operating systems. Smaller competitors such as Greystripe and Medialets, however, should be free to obtain analytics data upon receiving appropriate permission.
Adobe today announced the release of Photoshop Lightroom 3, the company's professional photo management and manipulation application that serves as a competitor to Apple's Aperture software.
First released as a public beta in October 2009, the final version of Lightroom 3 introduces a completely redesigned performance architecture that better handles growing image libraries and provides an unrivaled raw processing engine with noise reduction and sharpening tools to achieve the highest image quality. The 64-bit capable Lightroom 3 includes new features that optimize workflows and allow images to be shared in creative ways, including support for DSLR video files and tethered shooting on select cameras.
The first beta version of Lightroom 3 was released in late October, with a second beta following in late March.
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 is available immediately and is priced at $299 for the full version and $99 for an upgrade version.
With today's introduction of iPhone 4, Apple now finds itself with existing stock of the 16 GB and 32 GB iPhone 3GS models. Consequently, the company has dropped prices on those discontinued models to $149 for the 16 GB model and $199 for the 32 GB model. Prices are valid with a new two-year agreement with AT&T.
Apple's online stores ran dry of the low-end 8 GB iPhone 3G several weeks ago, with AT&T following suit late last week.
Apple's clearance prices on iPhone 3GS models may not be the best deal available, however, as Wal-Mart dropped the 16 GB model to $97 late last month. It is not entirely clear what Wal-Mart's plans are for clearing any remaining stock and bringing in the iPhone 4 are now that an official launch announcement has been made.
For its part, Apple will be maintaing its own $99 price point previously held by the 8 GB iPhone 3G by releasing a new iPhone 3GS similarly carrying only 8 GB of storage. While Apple almost certainly could have squeezed in 16 GB of storage at that price point, it elected not to do so, presumably to maintain differentiation from iPhone 4.
Just hours after Apple released Safari 5 with support for extensions created by third-party developers, Panic has demoed 'Coda Notes', an extension allowing for website annotation and sharing.
When you install Coda Notes, you'll get a new button in your toolbar. Click it to see all our annotation tools, built right into Safari. Draw some notes on your favorite website. Communicate changes, ideas, concepts, or problems. Then, when you're done, hit the Send Notes button and the whole page flips over as a postcard.
Panic notes that Coda Notes is buit entirely with JavaScript, HTML and CSS and was built in only four days. The extension is still considered a "quick and dirty" implementation, however, and Panic will continue to refine it before releasing it to the public.
In a blog post, Cisco Senior Manager for Public Relations Kristin Carvell reports that Cisco has licensed the "iOS" name to Apple for use in describing the operating system formerly known as "iPhone OS" that runs the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Cisco owns a trademark on the "IOS" name for its software running on the vast majority of its network infrastructure equipment.
Cisco has agreed to license the iOS trademark to Apple for use as the name of Apple's operating system for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. The license is for use of the trademark only and not for any technology.
When Apple first announced the iPhone in January 2007, it too was using a name trademarked by Cisco for its line of Web-enabled telephones. Apple had not worked out an agreement to use the name prior to its announcement, however, and Cisco quickly filed suit in an attempt to stop Apple from using the name. But just over a month after the suit was filed, the two parties were able to come to an agreement that would allow both companies to use the iPhone name.
Apple has seeded the Golden Master Candidate version of iOS 4 to developers today as well as iTunes 9.2 Beta. The releases are available to registered iPhone developers. iOS 4 contains many new features which were detailed during today's keyote.
Features include multitasking, unified inbox, folders, and more. The final release on iOS 4 will be released June 21st and will be a free upgrade for iPhone and iPod touch owners.
Apple just issued a press release announcing the launch of Safari 5, but it hasn't been officially posted on their site.
Apple today released Safari 5, the latest version of the world's fastest and most innovative web browser, featuring the new Safari Reader for reading articles on the web without distraction, a 30 percent performance increase over Safari 4,* and the ability to choose Google, Yahoo! or Bing as the search service powering Safari's search field. Available for both Mac and Windows, Safari 5 includes improved developer tools and supports more than a dozen new HTML5 technologies that allow web developers to create rich, dynamic websites. With Safari 5, developers can now create secure Safari Extensions to customize and enhance the browsing experience.
Features Include:
- Safari Reader makes it easy to read single and multipage articles on the web by presenting them in a new, scrollable view without any additional content or clutter. When Safari 5 detects an article, users can click on the Reader icon in the Smart Address Field to display the entire article for clear, uninterrupted reading with options to enlarge, print or send via email.
- Powered by the Nitro JavaScript engine, Safari 5 on the Mac runs JavaScript 30 percent faster than Safari 4, three percent faster than Chrome 5.0, and over twice as fast as Firefox 3.6.* Safari 5 loads new webpages faster using Domain Name System (DNS) prefetching, and improves the caching of previously viewed pages to return to them more quickly.
- Safari 5 adds more than a dozen powerful HTML5 features that allow web developers to create media-rich experiences, including full screen playback and closed captions for HTML5 video. Other new HTML5 features in Safari 5 include HTML5 Geolocation, HTML5 sectioning elements, HTML5 draggable attribute, HTML5 forms validation, HTML5 Ruby, HTML5 AJAX History, EventSource and WebSocket.
- The new, free Safari Developer Program allows developers to customize and enhance, Safari 5 with extensions based on standard web technologies like HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript. The Extension Builder, new in Safari 5, simplifies the development, installation and packaging of extensions. For enhanced security and stability, Safari Extensions are sandboxed, signed with a digital certificate from Apple and run solely in the browser.
According to the press release, Safari 5 should be available for free download today.
Update: The press release was pulled so we're not sure what the status of Safari 5 is at the moment.
Update 2: Apple has now officially posted the press release announcing Safari 5, and it is now available via Apple's Safari download site and Software Update. Apple has also released Safari 4.1 for Mac OS X Tiger users, bringing a significant number of enhancements in the areas of performance, usability, compatibility and security.
Apple has now posted its feature video for the iPhone 4, entitled "This changes everything. Again." The video was shown at the conclusion of Steve Jobs' WWDC keynote presentation today.
The video is similar in theme to one shown at the end of Apple's January media event held to introduce the iPad, showing off the features within the context of the user experience and offering sound bites from Apple executives discussing the new product.
With the WWDC 2010 keynote address now over, users are beginning to get their hands on Apple's new iPhone 4, and hands-on reviews and first impressions are beginning to trickle in.
Engadget posts a number of photos of the new device, as well as a video showing the new FaceTime video calling feature in action.
Some takeaways about the device:
- As we said, it's shockingly thin. - The screen is truly outrageous -- you basically cannot see pixels on it. We're not being hyperbolic when we say it's easily the best looking mobile phone screen we've ever laid eyes on. - The build quality is really solid. The home button feels much snappier, and on the whole it just feel like a tightly-packed device, but it's not heavy. - The side buttons are really nice and clicky. - iOS 4 is very familiar -- there's not a lot added to fit and finish.
Ars Technica also has a number of photos and notes the new iPhone "feels good in the hand" and is very speedy, on par with the iPad as a first impression.
The iPhone's 960 x 640 Retina display has predictably been garnering quite a bit of attention, with Daring Fireball's John Gruber noting that it "looks insane in person" and gdgt's Ryan Block "in complete awe" over the "unbelievable" screen.
Recombu has also posted another nice photo gallery showing off the Apple's latest and greatest iPhone.
On a new feature page describing enhancements coming to its Mail application on iPhone 4, Apple has included a section highlighting how email attachments can be opened in third-party applications. As an example, Apple has included an image showing a presentation with a dialog box asking if the user would like to open the attachment in Keynote.
Keynote is Apple's presentation application originally developed for Mac OS X as part of the company's iWork suite. The company made a splash when it announced an iPad version of iWork, including Keynote, Pages, and Numbers, for release alongside its new tablet device earlier this year.
The new promotional image showing an option of opening Keynote on the iPhone suggests that the company may be preparing to roll out an iPhone version of the iWork suite, although the company made no mention of such plans during today's keynote address at WWDC.
Update: Apple has replaced the image in question with a new one, replacing the "Open in Keynote" button text with "Open in iBooks" text.
The iPhone 4 was officially announced at today's WWDC keynote event and Steve Jobs reserved the "one more thing" announcement at the end of the event to talk more about its video calling capabilities.
Video calling will require both parties to be using an iPhone 4. Video calls can be done with both the front and rear-facing cameras on the new device and requires Wi-Fi to work. Apple's protocol for video calling is called FaceTime and will apparently not use cellular data networks at all, thus the requirement for a Wi-Fi connection.
While describing the feature and its restriction to Wi-Fi only in 2010, Jobs said that they "need to work a little bit with carriers," presumably to make the feature available with cellular data connections in the future.
