MacRumors

We're not sure why Apple is having such a hard time holding on to these next generation iPhones, but a Vietnamese forum Taoviet.vn has posted more photos (cached) of the previously leaked 4th generation iPhone. They've posted a large gallery of shots making it clear that they have a unit in their possession. There seems to be little new information posted, though the individual who submitted the link to us stated a Vietnamese businessman had bought it in the U.S. together with an iPad.

There are a few interesting aspects to these images that were not seen in the original leak. The case design is identical, but notably, the back shows that this is a 16GB model. The previous leak showed "XXGB" written on the back.

Next, it appears this unit actually has been turned on:

It appears to say "Inferno" on the screen with some text on the bottom that indicates the battery life is at 24%. It's hard to say for sure, but it could represent some sort of firmware diagnostics that we have previously seen on prototype iPhone hardware. This one appears to be called "Bonfire!".

There are also no screws on the bottom of this unit:

Teardown photos:

What appears to be the processor. Apple branded.

According to data obtained from AppShopper, iPad users are disproportionately interested in productivity apps, while iPhone and iPod Touch users seem to love buying games.

The following graph shows the relative percentages of each app category with respect to its distribution in the Top 100 Paid Apps and All Apps in the App Store:

Despite the fact that games only represent 15% of the over 200,000 iPhone/iPod touch apps, games currently make up 54% of the Top 100 Paid apps in the App Store. The findings are likely reflective of the large iPod Touch population that make up nearly half of the 85 million iPhone OS devices out there. Apple has pushed the iPod Touch as gaming device in their advertising.

In fact, Apple has been so successful that Nintendo sees Apple as their biggest threat in the future.

Meanwhile, amongst iPad-specific apps, games make up a more representative sampling of the Top 100: 29% for Top 100 vs 25% of all iPad apps. Instead, productivity apps for the iPad are proving to be very popular representing 19% of the Top 100 while only making up 5% of all iPad apps:

The findings aren't particularly surprising given the older demographics for iPad owners. It also reflects the added functionality that a large-format device offers over a handheld device.

The Wall Street Journal reported tonight that Verizon Wireless and Google are working on a tablet computer to take on the iPad. Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam revealed the plans in an interview:

"What do we think the next big wave of opportunities are?" Mr. McAdam said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. "We're working on tablets together, for example. We're looking at all the things Google has in its archives that we could put on a tablet to make it a great experience."

Bloomberg confirmed that the new device will run Google's Android operating system. While neither Verizon nor Google had more to add at this time, details will apparently be announced later this week.

IDC analyst Al Hilwa believes "everyone is going to have a device that is going to compete with the iPad" and that Apple has created and legitimized the tablet market. Apple's iPad has already sold over 1 million units in the first 28 days on sale.

This public Verizon/Google partnership has cast some doubt on the possibility of an Verizon iPhone in the next month, but Business Insider's Dan Frommer suggests that this announcement was simply a negotiation tactic by Verizon who may be still be in talks with Apple about the next iPhone.

MobileCrunch speculates on some changes they've seen in the upgrade eligibility dates on AT&T's wireless site. One of their readers claimed that their upgrade eligibility date recently moved up from 11/21 to 6/21. Of course, the speculation leads them down various theories, though we suspect they are reading too much into it.

Upgrade eligibility has been a hot topic whenever Apple introduces a new iPhone, so it's no surprise that customers are already looking ahead in anticipation of a new iPhone release. Like most wireless carriers, AT&T subsidizes the cost of the iPhone when customers sign up for a 2 year contract. Because of this up-front discount, customers are expected to stay with the contract or alternatively pay an early termination fee. The "upgrade eligibility" date is simply the date that the customer is released from this obligation, and will again qualify for a new subsidized phone without penalty.

Last year, AT&T explained what factors go into determining how long before a customer becomes eligible again.

Importantly, we want our customers to better understand our wireless device upgrade program. Like most U.S. carriers, we offer a variety of phones that we sell below our actual cost when customers agree to sign service agreements. In general, the more a customer spends with us, the quicker they become eligible for a price break on a new device. For example, iPhone customers who spend more than $99 a month per line with us generally are eligible for an upgrade between 12 and 18 months into their contract.

So those who are paying the higher monthly plans will become eligible earlier. The earliest that AT&T offers iPhone 3GS customers a chance to upgrade without penalty is June 21, 2010. The significance of this date is simply that it is 12 months (to the business day) following the launch day of the iPhone 3GS.

Current eligibility dates are listed in your wireless AT&T account, though we caution getting too worried about it at this time. Last year, AT&T modified the eligibility dates at the last minute to accommodate more customers.

Apple is widely expected to announce the next iPhone at WWDC 2010 in June.

We're giving Valve Software's Steam launch a lot of coverage here at MacRumors -- but for good reason. Steam may do more to attract game developers to the Mac platform than Apple has ever done. Steam has announced that the Mac client will become available on Wednesday, May 12th and that new games will be released every Wednesday.

Valve's own Portal (above) is one of the launch titles as well as Runic Games highly acclaimed Torchlight.

"We're very excited to be bringing Torchlight to the Mac," said Max Schaefer, co-founder of Runic Games. "Having Steam for the Mac solves so many problems for us as a developer. We look forward to our future games coming out on the Mac as well."

While Torchlight had been previously planned to come to the Mac anyway, the developers are clearly pleased that Steam will be available on the Mac.

Read our first impressions and explanation of Steam for Mac.

Crunchgear claims that a company called Landor Associates is already working on an ad campaign for Verizon's upcoming iPhone launch.

Ladnor has been working on Verizon branding since 2007 and is, according to a tipster, now hard at work preparing for the iPhone HD launch.

The rumor seems to be consistent with persistent rumors that Verizon will finally get the iPhone this year. We have to assume the original 2012 exclusivity contract with AT&T has since been renegotiated.

Historically, Crunchgear has been an unreliable source of Apple-related rumors, though leaked information through Verizon's ad agency seems plausible, especially given the number of Verizon rumors that have been circulating.

Square has updated their app to provide universal support for both iPad and iPhone/iPod Touch devices. Square is an interesting mobile payment processing application for Apple's mobile devices that allows anyone to accept credit card payments. While other mobile credit card processing apps already exist, Square is targeted at both individuals and business -- small or large -- and does not require a merchant account.

Square is a free app that interfaces with the Square credit card reader which plugs into the headphone jack of your mobile device. Square will send the reader free to anyone that signs up. Square then charges a percentage of the sale plus 15 cents. There are no monthly minimums or setup costs. More information is available at SquareUp.

Apple recently updated a support document detailing current solutions to Wi-Fi connectivity issues surrounding the iPad. There have been several distinct Wi-Fi issues reported on various discussion forums. The new support document lists a few possible workarounds, but also states that "Apple will also address remaining Wi-Fi connectivity issues with a future iPad software update."

The workarounds listed include:

- Updating Wi-Fi router firmware
- Using WPA or WPA2 wireless security
- Adjusting screen brightness
- Renewing IP address

Issues with the iPad Wi-Fi include weak signal, forgotten passwords, and more technical networking issues. According to Apple, only a "very small number" of iPad users are affected.

Engadget digs up some 2008 court documents that confirm that Apple and AT&T's original exclusivity agreement did, in fact, extend into 2012. From a court order (PDF):

The Agreement, which lasts until 2012, provides that iPhone purchasers who want voice and data services must sign a two-year service contract with ATTM. (Complaint P30.) Although the Agreement itself is not public, some of its provisions have been revealed in the press.

The 5 year timeframe was originally revealed by USA Today back in 2007. A 5 year contract would have maintained AT&T iPhone exclusivity into 2012.

However, at this point, it's not entirely clear if the original contract still stands. The Wall Street Journal reported in 2009 that AT&T's iPhone exclusivity is due to expire this year (2010). Apple and AT&T may have undergone contract revisions and negotiations since that time. Most industry experts seem to believe that AT&T exclusivity comes to an end this year with several whispers that Apple will bring the iPhone to Verizon's network in 2010.

The Wireless Gigabit Alliance, an organization dedicated to creating wireless connectivity standards for consumer electronics using the unlicensed 60GHz spectrum, today announced the publication of its new multi-gigabit wireless standard. The Wireless Gigabit Alliance is working in partnership with the Wi-Fi Alliance, the organization responsible for the development and ratification of Wi-Fi standards used to date, to promote the new Wi-Gig specification.

The new Wi-Gig specification provides data transfer rates up to 7 Gbps, far exceeding the maximum 600 Mbps transfer rate of the current 802.11n standard. Such fast transfer rates could easily manage high-definition video and ultimately eliminate the need for wired connections in media applications.

Device connectivity in the 60 GHz band will complement the current family of Wi-Fi technologies. Targeted primarily for applications that require gigabit speeds, 60 GHz products are expected to be used in a wide range of high-performance devices. A significant portion, if not all, of these devices are expected to also support traditional Wi-Fi networking in the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands.

However, the range of the new WiGig spec is notably smaller and may not be sufficient to "blanket a home" according to the Wi-Fi Alliance's marketing director as stated in a Los Angeles Times article. As a result, the organization sees Wi-Gig complementing Wi-Fi rather than replacing it. For example, Wi-Gig could be used to replace HDMI cables to connect between nearby devices.

In partnership with the Wi-Fi Alliance, the Wireless Gigabit Alliance also opened an Adopter Program today to provide consumer electronics companies with royalty-free licenses to create products using the new standard. Products incorporating WiGig could hit the market in the next two years.

Speaking of companies on board to use the WiGig standard, Ali Sadri, the WiGig Alliance's Chairman and President, spoke briefly of Apple to the LA Times:

While Sardi pointed to Apple as an innovator in driving new technology uptake, he wouldn't comment on the company's involvement.

Apple did not provide a comment to the LA Times.

The NPD Group published results from the first quarter of 2010 which reveals that Google's Android-based smartphones outsold the iPhone for the first time in the U.S. According to their data, Android-based phones accounted for 28% of smartphone sales while the iPhone accounted for 21%. Meanwhile, RIM remains the market leader at 36%.

NPD attributes the growth to strong promotion as well as broader carrier coverage for Android devices.

"As in the past, carrier distribution and promotion have played a crucial role in determining smartphone market share," said Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis for NPD. "In order to compete with the iPhone, Verizon Wireless has expanded its buy-one-get-one offer beyond RIM devices to now include all of their smartphones."

The iPhone is currently sold only by AT&T. While AT&T does make up 32% of the smartphone market, they are the only provider that offers the iPhone at this time. Verizon (30%), T-Mobile (17%) and Sprint (15%) make up the bulk of the rest of the market. The numbers may also reflect the late lifecycle of the iPhone 3GS compared to the newer android devices. Apple is also widely expected to revise the iPhone in the next month.

Apple has also been rumored to be expanding iPhone distribution beyond AT&T, though the exact timeframe remains up for debate.

As the iPad becomes available for pre-order in several countries today, more carriers are providing details on 3G data plans specifically for the new device. Apple recently announced that the iPad will be available starting on May 28 in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.

Last week, Orange UK had announced its pricing, offering daily, weekly, and monthly options for 3G iPad users. Another UK carrier, O2, has now announced its iPad data plan pricing and while a weekly plan is not offered, free Wi-Fi is included in all plans and users will have the option to add data on as needed to avoid overage charges.

Though information is not yet available on its own website, Canada's Rogers iPad data plan plan pricing is shown on the Apple Canada site. Rogers will offer only monthly plans plus the ability to add an iPad to an existing data plan:

Update: Readers have pointed out that the $20 iPad add-on feature was published by Apple in error and will not actually be available. A Rogers Community Manager confirmed that this was a mistake via Twitter and additional information is now available on the company's official blog.

Links to information on iPad 3G data plans can be found on the Apple store site for each respective country where the iPad will be available starting May 28. Not all carriers listed on these pages have provided detailed pricing yet.

- Germany - O2, Vodafone, and T-Mobile
- France - Orange and SFR
- Italy - Vodafone and 3
- Japan - Softbank
- Spain - Orange, Vodafone, and Telefonica
- Switzerland - Swisscom and Orange

Apple has started taking international pre-orders for the iPad. The iPad was originally launched in the U.S. only, but will become available in nine new countries starting May 28th. The list of countries include Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. Pre-orders are being accepted for both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models.

Customers should check their country's Apple Store for pricing information. Apple plans to expand their international release to nine additional countries in July. The countries to be added in July include Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore.

Macworld.com.au claims that Apple's MacBook Air could see updates as early as this week. They cite a "well-placed source" who identifies the new product number as MC516LL/A K87 BETTER BTR-USA. This source was previously able to pinpoint the recent MacBook Pro updates a week prior to their release.

It seems it's not entirely certain that the product number necessarily represents a new MacBook Air. Macworld Australia speculates it could also represent a new Apple LCD. Either way, several thousand of these items are presently on their way to Australia which indicates a major product launch.

According to our Buyer's Guide, a revised MacBook Air is overdue for release. It was last updated in June 2009 and was not updated alongside the MacBooks and MacBook Pros last month.

Since Steve Jobs has taken it upon himself to answer customer queries, he becomes a frequently cited source for what Apple is working on. According to one reader, Steve Jobs replied to an email asking why there are no printing capabilities on the iPad. Steve Jobs reportedly replied "It will come."

While these email replies can be difficult to authenticate, previous rumors have claimed that Apple is indeed working on printing to make the iPad more appealing to enterprise customers.

Valve Corporation's foray into PC digital games distribution can't be defined as anything less than a success. Steam, the service, has garnered tons of fanfare from users, critics, and publishers alike for its simplistic design and non-obtrusive DRM.

In early March Valve teased, and then revealed, that a Macintosh version of the client would be on its way. Even better, the developer announced several of its games were slated to be ported as well. I've had the beta of the client, which officially hits on May 12th, for a week. The two games currently available in the beta are Portal and Team Fortress 2.

PC users, or Mac owners with Boot Camp, will feel at home with the client. Its simple interface is mostly unchanged in the Mac beta version. Tabs indicating its essential functions line the top of its window, displaying the virtual "Store," your "Library" of games, patch and update "News," and "Community" functionality. Invitations from friends, as well as advertisements for games, still pop up with the speed and appearance of a Growl notification. In fact, the entire program is smooth and fast. It works and, most importantly, without a hitch.

Cross Platform

Steam for Macintosh and Steam for PC are married via "Steam Play." This feature allows you free access to any Mac ports of PC games you've already purchased through the service. Games like Portal and Team Fortress 2 support this option, while several more are sure to come.

And keep in mind that this sort of cross-platform approach is something the Valve crew is seemingly taking seriously. Team Fortress 2 Mac owners like me have been playing with PC owners of the game on their very same servers during this latter end of the beta. I expect more of this in the future.

On a tangential note: the Steam cloud also keeps all of your information in-line between the two versions. Friends, profile and Library data is shared between both. I'm told that Steam for Mac, though, will have a specific Library option that displays what games you can play on the platform. It's currently not in the beta.

The Games So Far

Two Source engine games, Portal and Team Fortress 2, are essentially finished and available for play in the beta. Both games run natively using OpenGL.

Portal and Team Fortress 2 feel and play like their PC counterparts, though they may not look quite the same for all users. I, for example, had to do a bit of software-side tweaking to achieve fluid experiences: my 15" Macbook Pro -- rocking the integrated NVIDIA GeForce 9400M video card only, 4 Gigs of RAM, and 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo -- couldn't handle either game on its "High" settings. (But do keep in mind that integrated graphics represent the low-end of graphics hardware and those with discrete chipsets should fare much better.)

Team Fortress 2 in particular needed to be brought down to its lowest lows in order to run well. But even at this point, the game retains its characteristic charm -- both in terms of the over-the-top, manic multiplayer action and presentation.

I'm not sure if these two titles are the best indicators of what Valve is doing with their ports, though: they're both old titles. In the near future Valve will be adding in Mac functionality to Left 4 Dead 2 and its predecessor, as well as the Half-Life series and Counter-Strike: Source. These games should give us a better idea of what to expect. As of now, though, I'm left with the impression of promise and the minor satisfaction of playing games that I've played on multiple platforms natively on my Macintosh.

What's Missing and What's Coming

Gamepad support, despite it being listed in the options menus for games, is not something the beta has. I was told by Valve earlier that this support is definitely on their to-do list.

Other developers might have their own to-do lists, too. As of right now, only one other developer, Tripwire Interactive, have pledged support. That developer is releasing Mac versions of Red Orchestra Ostfront 41-45 and Killing Floor.

Other notable games I've spotted with "Install" options for the Mac beta are: Torchlight, Peggle Nights, Altitude, Bejeweled 2 Deluxe, the Dash games, Dream Chronicles: The Chosen Child, the Tales of Monkey Island series, and World of Goo.

While there hasn't been much to ogle over with the Mac beta of Steam, I still can't stop smiling. There's a lot to like with the functionality of Team Fortress 2 and Portal, and a lot to enjoy from Valve's native-support of the platform. Games will continue to hit on the service as it grows and grows, and we'll be direct beneficiaries of its current -- and hopefully future -- dominance as more publishers join the fray. Valve need only to convince publishers that Mac owners are consumers.

Steam for Mac should become publicly available on May 12th.

SmartPhoneMedic has posted a video of the outer shell of the next generation iPhone along with the front screen LCD. SmartPhoneMedic is a repair outfit for iPhones and other smartphones, so has supplier sources that can provide them parts for these devices.

The iPhone parts clearly resemble the leaked iPhone photos posted in April. Apple has since acknowledged that that iPhone was a prototype design, and is widely expected to represent the next generation iPhone. It seems they aren't the only ones who have been able to obtain early parts of the next generation iPhone. Late last week, iSpazio posted photos of the LCD portion of the next generation iPhone.

Apple is expected to announce the new iPhone at WWDC in June. Rumors have suggested that device availability will also be in June. If so, then Apple likely needs to start ramping up production which make make these part leaks far more likely.

With Apple's announcement on Friday regarding availability of the iPad in nine new countries later this month, a number of potential customers expressed dismay at the apparent higher prices in those countries relative to those in the United States. Several of those customers took the time to email Apple CEO Steve Jobs with complaints on the issue, two of whom shared his identical responses with us.

Please educate yourself. UK prices must by law include VAT, which is around 18%. US prices do not include tax.

Value added tax (VAT) is similar to the sales tax that is familiar to most residents of the United States, but is applied uniformly throughout the country for a given type of item and is included in the advertised pricing. Sales tax in the United States is not included in advertised pricing, as it varies significantly by region, even down to the municipality level.

The standard VAT rate in the UK is 17.5%, meaning that the 429 base price for the 16 GB Wi-Fi iPad in the UK is actually only 365 in "pre-tax" pricing. At current exchange rates, this corresponds to approximately $540 in the United States, or an approximately $40 premium for U.K. customers. While the price difference is not insignificant, it is considerably smaller than it might appear at first glance.

Apple has long offered somewhat higher international pricing on his products than it does in the United States, even accounting for difference in taxation practices. These differences are possibly due to increased overhead for distribution and "cost of business" in other countries, as well as the need to account for foreign exchange rates that can fluctuate over time.

Meanwhile, users in Germany have discovered that their iPad prices are higher than in other European countries, even when accounting for tax differences. At least one reader also emailed Jobs about this issue and reported to fscklog that he noted a special copyright tax imposed by the government there.

Blame your government. Germany just added a new copyright levy for computers.

The report notes that iPad prices in Germany are about 15 euros higher than those in France and Italy, with the extra copyright tax being applied due to the iPad's classification as a "PC without burner".