DigiTimes reports that Apple's next generation iPad will become available in about 3-4 months. The publication's supply chain sources indicate that the next generation iPad parts are starting to ramp up while the iPad 2 production is starting to decline.
OEM production of iPad 2 will remain high at 14-15 million units in the fourth quarter of 2011 but decline to 4-5 million units in the first quarter of 2012, paving the way for the launch of the new iPads, the sources noted.
Volume production is expected to start in February and reach 9.5-9.8 million units in the first quarter of 2012.
March or April should come as no surprise to regular Apple followers. While Apple first announced the original iPad in Jan 2010, the company didn't start shipping the first units to customers until April. In 2011, the iPad 2 was announced around the same time of year.
The iPad 3 is widely expected to carry a high resolution "Retina" display.
During the talk, Apple reportedly revealed that they were going to provide a new certification chip for their MFI program to encourage more iOS-compatible accessories. The new chip will allow access to iOS devices over AirPlay, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. While Macotakara does not specify how this differs from the current program, the current program seems to be limited to physical dock accessories and specific AirPlay vendors.
In fact, TouchArcaderecently touched on this fact in a recent article on iOS gaming accessories. TouchArcade noted that the reason why all the current gaming accessories such as the ThinkGeek iCade relies on Bluetooth keyboard emulation is due to the restrictions Apple has placed over bluetooth connections. It seems that this restriction will be loosened with the new certification chip, though details are sparse at the moment. TouchArcade suggests this could open the way to low-latency analog control sticks for iOS gaming.
Apple was also promoting the use of the new version of Low Energy Bluetooth 4.0 which was added in the iPhone 4S, noting that it could be used to support new applications in health care and gaming markets. We profiled the possibilities for Bluetooth Low Energy back in July.
Finally, Apple reportedly revealed that they would be adding support for AirPlay over Bluetooth, though it's not entirely clear what advantages this will offer.
Update: We've received some additional clarification on Apple's MFI program and the conference presentation, with the source noting that the new chip does not bring with it any additional capabilities. The chip, which has already been available for some time, is simply an authorization chip to verify compliance with the MFI program. The new chip is said to be faster and smaller and require less power than its predecessor, but does not confer any other functionality for devices.
RadioShack today informed MacRumors that it will be launching a $30 discount program for AT&T iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 models on Sunday, bringing pricing down to $69.99/$169.99/$269.99/$369.99 after the instant savings. The sale will run through Saturday, December 17th.
In addition, trade-in credits of up to $200 for customers' used iPhones can bring the price down even further and in some cases leave users with additional store credit to spend.
Starting Sunday, Dec. 11, customers in the market for AT&T’s iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S can get a great deal when they take advantage of RadioShack’s $30 instant savings paired with the company’s Trade & Save program, which will guarantee $100 to as much as $200 off when they trade in their eligible iPhone 3GS or iPhone 4. Furthermore, those who need a little more memory and wish to purchase an iPhone 4S (32/64GB) may pay as little as $69.99 for the iconic device with a qualifying 2-year plan/data pack and eligible trade-in.
As usual, the prices require a 2-year contract, activation fee and potential early termination fees related to existing contracts. The maximum $200 trade-in is awarded for fully-functional, "cosmetically excellent" iPhone 4 units in 16 GB and 32 GB capacities when the charger is included with the trade-in.
RadioShack also offers AppleCare+ as an optional add-on at the time of purchase.
Firemint has dropped the price of their critically acclaimed Flight Control game to Free for the first time ever. The game is part of a daily promo from EA, and will only be free for one day. Flight Control was one of the first "classic" iPhone games that first pioneered the line-drawing game mechanic. The early Flight Control game video shows how its played:
Firemint followed up with an iPad version called Flight Control HD and just recently released an update to the game that added new levels and a 'rewind' feature that can be purchased in-app.
The game is a must have for anyone with an iOS device, and it's a great time to get it while it's free.
Apple has posted a new TV ad on their YouTube page promoting The Beatles on iTunes. The ad is called "Covers" and shows off many of different album covers from The Beatles in an animated fashion. The ad ends with "The Beatles on iTunes".
The Beatles first appeared on the iTunes store back in November 2010. The new TV ad seems part of another promotion announced earlier today of a free animated version of the band's Yellow Submarine book as an exclusive on Apple's iBookstore.
With Apple still searching for a new head of retail operations in the wake of Ron Johnson's departure to become CEO of department store chain J.C. Penney, 9 to 5 Mac claims that Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer is overseeing the division on an interim basis.
Oppenheimer, a financial guru has been put in charge of Apple’s retail operations according to sources familiar with the search for Ron Johnson’s successor. Oppenheimer is obviously an interim leader with a lack of retail experience, but his executive leadership experience is enough to give orders to his new troops: [Jerry] McDougal, [Bob] Bridger, and [Steve] Cano – who have immense retail experience. Oppenheimer won’t stay retail chief forever, and is simply holding the spot until the new Senior Vice President of Retail is selected. Oppenheimer’s title at Apple has not changed from Senior Vice President and CFO, he has just gained the new responsibility of the Apple retail division for the time being.
A report from last month claimed that Steve Cano had been selected to assume Johnson's former role as head of retail. Apple quickly denied the report, however, noting that the search for Johnson's successor was still ongoing.
Oppenheimer has been at Apple since 1996, and took the reins as Chief Financial Officer in 2004.
Today's grand opening of the company's new Grand Central Terminal store is the first major store opening since Johnson's departure as of November 1st. Obviously the store's development was nearly complete by the time Johnson left the company, and there are a number of key executives within Apple's retail division keeping things running, but it appears that Apple has turned to Oppenheimer's expertise in financial issues to steady things until a new retail chief can be brought on board.
Apple has made a few changes to its leadership team since Tim Cook became CEO in late August, with Johnson's departure being the most significant move remaining unsettled. In another change, Eddy Cue was elevated to the senior vice president level as his role has expanded to oversee the iTunes Store, App Store, iBookstore, iCloud, and iAd. The company is also looking to fill vacancies in other executive positions at slightly lower rungs, including head of government sales Ron Police, who has reportedly left the company.
HP today announced that it will be open sourcing its webOS mobile operating system acquired when it purchased Palm last year. The fate of webOS has been unclear since the company's August announcement that it would be spinning off its PC division and exiting the tablet and smartphone markets. HP later reversed course on its planned PC unit spinoff, but has continued to weigh its options for webOS amid the discontinuation of its mobile hardware effort.
“webOS is the only platform designed from the ground up to be mobile, cloud-connected and scalable,” said Meg Whitman, HP president and chief executive officer. “By contributing this innovation, HP unleashes the creativity of the open source community to advance a new generation of applications and devices.”
HP will make the underlying code of webOS available under an open source license. Developers, partners, HP engineers and other hardware manufacturers can deliver ongoing enhancements and new versions into the marketplace.
As ZDNet notes, the open sourcing of webOS adds a competitor for Android, offering hardware manufacturers wary of relying too much on Google's open source platform an option to diversify their own slates of products.
Android is the king of mobile as well as open source operating systems. However, carriers and smartphone makers want to diversify away from Android as well as Apple’s iOS. WebOS could be a nice diversification tool that could splinter Android support. The other reality: The WebOS UI is better than Android’s, but Google’s platform has the apps.
The availability of webOS for use by numerous manufacturers could also threaten Microsoft and its efforts to make Windows Phone competitive by partnering with Nokia.
Update: In an interview with The Verge, HP CEO Meg Whitman reveals that the company is planning to use webOS on future tablet products, indicating the company is not abandoning mobile hardware entirely. No timeframe for such products has been announced.
Will HP be creating any new webOS hardware?
Meg: The answer to that is yes but what I can't tell you is whether that will be in 2012 or not. But we will use webOS in new hardware, but it's just going to take us a little longer to reorganize the team in a quite different direction than we've been taking it in the past.
Are we talking printers? Or tablets and phones?
Meg: In the near term what I would imagine — and this could change, in full disclosure — is I would think tablets, I do not believe we will be in the smartphone business again.
On Nom, the candy-munching critter from ZeptoLab's best-selling Cut The Rope games, has become something of a cultural icon. Now, he's made the transition from video games to the real world in this animated video. Jumping out of the iPad to look for more candy, Om Nom runs into a feisty housecat who thinks he would be a tasty snack:
With the holiday season coming up, free Cut The Rope's Holiday Gift edition received a new update recently that added a photo greeting card maker to its candy-eating repertoire.
The Beatles today announced the debut of a free animated version of the band's Yellow Submarine book as an exclusive on Apple's iBookstore. Apple is also prominently promoting the release on the main iBookstore page within iTunes and in emails to iTunes users, showing off some of the capabilities of iBooks on the company's mobile devices.
The iBookstore's exclusive 'Yellow Submarine' book takes the reader on a kaleidoscopic, music-filled journey with The Beatles to an underwater dreamland featuring animated illustrations and text from the 2004 book, 14 full-color video clips from the original 1968 film, audio clips of classic Beatles hits and Sir George Martin's original score, original dialogue from the film, "read aloud" functionality to follow along as actor Dean Lennox Kelly narrates, as well as interactive features that let you tap the story's wild array of butterflies, starfish and sea monsters to make them come alive. A video trailer for the book is available for free streaming starting today at www.iTunes.com/TheBeatles.
The press release notes that the book release is in celebration of one year of availability for The Beatles on the iTunes Store. The Beatles have sold over 10 million songs and 1.8 million albums through iTunes since their November 2010 debut.
Apple is also leveraging the Yellow Submarine release to promote its new iBooks 1.5 release, which earlier this week added a night-time reading mode, full-screen mode, and new fonts.
Yellow Submarine [iTunes Store] is a free 317.5 MB download through the iBookstore. A trailer for the book and a link to purchase the music from the book are available on the main iTunes page for The Beatles [iTunes Store].
As noted by AppleInsider, shipping estimates for build-to-order iMac models equipped with 2 TB hard drives have improved to 2-4 weeks, after previously being as long as 5-7 weeks earlier this month. It appears that hard drive shortages caused by massive flooding in Thailand over the past several months may be improving.
Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked about the potential impact of the Thailand flooding on Apple's business during the company's October earnings conference call. Cook noted that there would undoubtedly be an industry-wide shortage of hard disk drives that would primarily affect Apple in its Mac business, but that there had yet to be a full assessment of the impact or an estimated timeline for recovery. He also declined to offer any specific information on the expected impact to Apple, noting only that any such impact was figured into the company's blockbuster revenue guidance of $37 billion for the holiday quarter.
Apple today dropped prices on its refurbished iPad 2 models, cutting $30 off of 16 GB models and $50 off of 32 GB and 64 GB models. Pricing is now as follows:
- 16 GB Wi-Fi: $419, down from $449. Pricing for brand-new is $499. - 32 GB Wi-Fi: $499, down from $549. Pricing for brand-new is $599. - 64 GB Wi-Fi: $599, down from $649. Pricing for brand-new is $699.
- 16 GB Wi-Fi+3G: $549, down from $579. Pricing for brand-new is $629. - 32 GB Wi-Fi+3G: $629, down from $679. Pricing for brand-new is $729. - 64 GB Wi-Fi+3G: $729, down from $779. Pricing for brand-new is $829.
Apple first began offering refurbished iPad 2 units in late August. The company also continues to offer refurbished original iPad models on a limited basis. Current availability on the original iPad is limited to the 32 GB Wi-Fi ($399) and 64 GB Wi-Fi ($499) models.
Following Wednesday's media preview event, Apple's massive new retail store in Manhattan's Grand Central Terminal opened to the public today at 10:00 AM. As noted by Fortune, the main concourse of the terminal was filled with hundreds of people waiting for the store to open as hundreds more red-shirted Apple employees prepared to welcome them.
As is traditional for Apple retail store openings, the company is handing out store-specific T-shirts to early visitors. Fortune notes that Apple has prepared to hand out 4,000 T-shirts for today's opening.
While much has been made of Apple's strong iPhone sales this quarter with estimates now pushing toward 30 million units, what hasn't been known is the mix of iPhone models contributing to that number. The significant majority of sales are almost certainly from the current iPhone 4S, but the company continues to offer lower-end 8 GB iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS models in some markets. Higher-capacity iPhone 4 models are also available in countries where the iPhone 4S has yet to launch.
Ahead of the iPhone 4S debut, the iPhone 3GS was continuing to sell well under the shadow of the iPhone 4 in the United States, suggesting that there is indeed a significant market for these lower-end devices.
A new report from Digitimes now puts some production numbers on these low-end models for the current quarter, claiming that Apple's manufacturing partners are pushing out two million units of the iPhone 3GS this quarter. In addition, Apple is said to be producing 800,000-1 million CDMA iPhone 4 units.
Apple has been increasing its penetration into entry-level smartphone markets and the OEM production of iPhone 3GS has continued steadily with the volume likely to reach two million units in the fourth quarter of 2011 and 1.4-1.6 million units in the first quarter of 2012, according to industry sources.
...
Meanwhile, the production of the CDMA version of iPhone 4 is expected to top 800,000 to one million units in the fourth quarter of 2011 and 500,000-600,000 units in the following quarter, estimated the sources.
Unaddressed is the GSM iPhone 4, which is undoubtedly being produced at an even higher rate given the worldwide market for the device. And despite Apple's rapid international rollout of the iPhone 4S, a number of countries are still yet to see the device and are thus still selling the GSM iPhone 4 as the most current model.
FOSS Patents reports that Motorola Mobility has won an initial ruling in Germany that could allow the company to bar Apple from selling the iPhone and 3G-capable iPad models throughout the European Union. The court found that Apple's products violate a patent related to the GPRS data service used over cellular networks.
Interestingly, the patent in question is one that Apple had argued was essential to the GPRS standard, making Motorola required to license the technology under FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) terms. The patent has indeed been declared essential to the standard, but the court ruled in Motorola's favor in part because Apple did not satisfy the requirements for making a binding offer to license the patent in question.
Essentially, they can't just hold a FRAND defense against a patent holder who's suing them. Instead, they have to proactively make efforts to procure a license on FRAND terms by making an irrevocable, binding offer to the patent holder and by posting a bond for ongoing royalties.
Only if the FRAND patent holder denies a license despite having such an offer on the table, the defendant can claim that an injunction would result in a violation of competition law and, as a result, should not be granted.
The suit officially names all iPhone models with the exception of the iPhone 4S, which was released after the case was initiated. The ruling would, however, still apply to the iPhone 4S given that the ruling generally covers all devices that implement the invention. 3G models of the original iPad and iPad 2 are also specifically named as infringing products.
In its ruling, the court ordered Motorola to post a $134 million bond should it wish to enforce the preliminary injunction against Apple, a sum that would be used to reimburse Apple should the injunction be overturned on appeal. Apple will obviously be appealing the ruling, and will also be requesting a stay to prevent the injunction from being enforced while the appeals process takes place.
Barring a successful appeal, Apple's options are to either obtain a license from Motorola for the patent in question or to engineer around the patent. But given that the patent's technology has been declared essential to the GPRS standard, the latter option may not be possible.
Update: Motorola Mobility has issued a press release announcing the victory.
“We are pleased with the court’s ruling. Today’s decision validates Motorola Mobility’s efforts to enforce its patents against Apple’s infringement,” said Scott Offer, senior vice president and general counsel of Motorola Mobility. “Motorola Mobility has worked hard over the years to build an industry-leading intellectual property portfolio that is respected by the telecommunications industry, and we are proud to leverage this portfolio to create differentiated innovations that enhance the user experience. We will continue to take all necessary steps to protect our intellectual property, as the Company’s patent portfolio and licensing agreements with companies both in the U.S. and around the world are critical to our business. We have been negotiating with Apple and offering them reasonable licensing terms and conditions since 2007, and will continue our efforts to resolve our global patent dispute as soon as practicable.”
Update 2: Apple has provided an official statement to AllThingsD noting that it will appeal the decision and that any potential injunction would not affect Apple's sales before the holidays.
“We’re going to appeal the court’s ruling right away,” an Apple spokesperson told AllThingsD. “Holiday shoppers in Germany should have no problem finding the iPad or iPhone they want.”
The ongoing battle between Samsung and Apple might get a little more intense come February. BGR reports that Samsung is preparing to launch its own high resolution 11.6" tablet that will carry a 2560 x 1600 resolution screen.
Even though the tablet features a larger display than Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1, we’re told that the tablet is “barely larger” due to the fact the slate will have a thinner bezel with a whopping 2560 x 1600 resolution, 11.6-inch screen with a 16:10 aspect ratio.
A resolution of 2560x1600 would beat the 2048x1536 display that the iPad 3 has been rumored to have.
Samsung first introduced a similar 2560x1600 screen back in May at SID Display Week 2011 International Symposium. That screen, however, used the less conventional PenTile technology to achieve its high resolution which has been criticized for some potential drawbacks.
The PenTile display uses a series of local filter operations to convert the underlying image into display intensities, including convolution, thresholding, color curve adjustment, and postprocessing with locally-adaptive filters. In practice, this means the display blurs the red and blue channels by dispersing these color intensities to the nearest subpixel element of the right color, and then also implements subpixel positioning to increase the apparent resolution again. However, subpixel spacing is not constant across the display, making the real apparent resolution complicated to estimate
Apple and Samsung have been in an ongoing legal battle over similarities the Galaxy Tab product line and the iPad.
Apple has been long rumored to be working on a high resolution iPad display that would carry twice vertical and horizontal resolution of the iPad. Apple used a similar technique when it upgraded the iPhone's screen to 960x640 from 480x320. Apple's iPad 3 is expected to carry a resolution of 2048x1536, up from 1024x768 in the current iPad. Rumors have suggested that there have been production holdups on creating these high resolution screens in quantities. The latest reports suggested Apple could also be able to release the iPad 3 as early as February, though other reports have suggested a slightly later release.
Businessweek reports on the movement towards voice-activated TV remotes in the coming year. The move seems triggered by Apple's plans to enter the TV market in the near future. Steve Jobs said that he had finally "cracked it", referring to the TV user interface. Most believe that this revelation relates to Apple's Siri voice recognition system, and the industry is on the move:
Whether the rumors are true that Apple is planning to release a TV set by 2013, Siri-like voice recognition is headed for the living room. Microsoft (MSFT) is already there, via its Xbox 360 game console, and Comcast (CMCSA), Samsung Electronics (SHCAY), LG, and Sharp are working on voice-enabled features for TV sets, set-top boxes, and related products.
Businessweek suggests an voice command as simple as "Record the next episode of Modern Family" as a much needed improvement over the current solution. Jakob Nielsen of Nielsen Norman Group goes on to say "Anything would be better than what we have now."
Upcoming remote devices are said to look more like iPhones than traditional remotes, with possibly a single physical button to activate the microphone. Others are working to simply embed microphones around the living room and eliminating a physical remote altogether. Nuance suggests that 5% of TVs could be voice controlled by Christmas 2012.
Following our report from earlier today regarding Apple having discontinued the boxed versions of Logic Studio and Express, Logic Pro 9 and MainStage 2 have now appeared for sale in the Mac App Store.
Logic Pro [Mac App Store] is priced at $199.99 and arrives as version 9.1.6 in a 413 MB download.
Logic Pro 9 is a complete set of creative tools for any musician who wants to write, record, edit, and mix music. It comes with a massive collection of instruments, effects, and Apple Loops, making it easy to get amazing sounds and create amazing-sounding songs.
Made for musicians - Get up and rolling fast with production-ready templates and one-step track setup - Work fast with easy access to all tools and editing areas using a single-window interface - Enhance your songs with over 15,000 Apple Loops in a wide range of instruments and genres
MainStage [Mac App Store] arrives as a 303 MB version 2.2 priced at $29.99, making for a low-cost add-on for managing live performances.
MainStage 2 lets you take your Mac to the stage with a full-screen live interface, unmatched hardware control, and a massive collection of plug-ins and sounds.
The ultimate live rig - Perform live with 120 instrument and effect plug-ins or work with your Audio Units plug-ins - Import settings from Logic Pro and GarageBand to bring your studio sound to the stage - Combine instruments and live audio, such as keyboard and vocals, in a single patch - Seamlessly switch between patches without stopping sound output or cutting off held notes - Design rich keyboard patches using splits and layers
With the release, Apple now offers 17 different applications in the Mac App Store, including OS X Lion itself as well as iLife, iWork, Aperture, Final Cut Pro and now Logic apps.
Jawbone's $99 UP wristband is designed to track users activity, sleep, and food intake to "encourage healthier living". However, it appears the wristband -- released in early November -- has not been well-received.
The situation is so bad, with so many disappointed customers, Jawbone CEO Hosain Rahman has offered all Jawbone purchasers a "no questions asked guarantee" in a letter posted on Jawbone's website. The product seems to have been temporarily pulled from most retailers, including the Apple Online Store, Best Buy, and AT&T.
For most of you, this program is simply meant to offer peace of mind. Please continue to enjoy your UP band and keep sharing your experience with us. If you encounter any problems with your UP band, contact Jawbone directly for your choice of a replacement and/or refund under this program. It’s that simple.
Jawbone remains deeply committed to addressing all issues with UP, investing in the category and giving our customers the tools to live a healthier life. We’ve temporarily paused production of UP bands and will begin taking new orders once these issues have been sorted out. In the meantime, we’ll continue to release app updates for existing users.
Any purchaser of a Jawbone UP can get a full refund on the device, and can keep the wristband. The refund website goes live December 9th.
With Apple still searching for a new head of retail operations in the wake of Ron Johnson's departure to become CEO of department store chain J.C. Penney, 
The ongoing battle between Samsung and Apple might get a little more intense come February. 
