Apple issued a press release today stating that it will announce its earnings for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2011 (third calendar quarter) and host a conference call regarding the release on Tuesday, October 18th.
The conference call at 5:00 PM Eastern / 2:00 PM Pacific will follow the earnings release itself which typically comes around 4:30 PM Eastern.
Apple last quarter announced record-breaking results in a number of areas, including $7.31 billion in profit on revenue of $28.57 billion. For the fourth fiscal quarter, Apple has issued guidance of $25 billion in revenue with profits of $5.50 per share.
Apple added a number of new features to the camera in iOS 5, as more and more users drop their point-and-shoot digital cameras in favor of the increasingly powerful cameras built-in to smartphones.
For users looking to take pictures quickly, when the phone is locked, simply press the home button twice -- then press the camera icon that appears to be taken directly to the camera. This works even when the phone is locked with a passcode.
Apple's engineers also added a feature that caused Camera+, a popular camera app, to be banned from the App Store for four months. Users of Apple's standard camera application can press the volume-up button to take a snapshot, rather than pressing the shutter button on the touchscreen. This makes the iPhone more like a standard camera, with the shutter release on the top.
Finally, as a corollary to the volume up shutter release, users can also plug in headphones with headphone controls -- like the headphones that are included with the iPhone -- and use the volume up on the headphones as a remote trigger for the camera.
Earlier this week, Macworld reported that the Sprint iPhone 4S would ship with an unlocked micro-SIM slot allowing users to avoid costly roaming fees when traveling internationally by simply inserting a micro-SIM card from a local GSM carrier. But Sprint later disputed that report, claiming that the iPhone 4S will not be sold unlocked for international use.
Sprint has now offered further clarification to Macworld, outlining how the carrier will ultimately unlock the micro-SIM slot for customers in good standing but still leaving a number of questions unanswered.
Indeed, the Sprint iPhone 4S will ship with its micro-SIM slot unlocked. However, Sprint now says that it will be locking that slot “shortly after launch” via an update pushed to those devices. After the slot has been locked, Sprint says that it will allow customers in good standing to unlock the SIM for international use in the future.
So far as I can tell, this means that after a short period of the phone shipping completely unlocked, Sprint will revert to a policy more or less in line with Verizon’s. If you are a good customer and pay your bills on time, you can call Sprint and ask the company to unlock your microSIM so you can slip in a foreign, pre-paid SIM.
Sprint and Verizon iPhone 4S models will ship with "roaming SIMs" from the respective carriers, allowing customers to access the networks of their international carrier partners but at the higher roaming prices. But customers who request that the micro-SIM slot be unlocked will be able to remove that card and insert lower-cost local cards when they travel.
Still, Sprint's explanation seems to lack some detail, including the reasons behind the apparently convoluted process of shipping the slots unlocked and then locking them, only to later unlock them upon request for customers in good standing. It is also unclear how Sprint plans to lock the micro-SIM slots and whether users will be able to avoid applying a carrier settings update or other update that would lock them.
All current MacBook Pro models are constrained according to 9to5Mac, with the site claiming new part numbers have appeared in Apple's inventory system for all three MacBook Pro sizes: 13", 15" and 17". It was reported last month that Apple could be planning to bump processor speeds across the MacBook Pro line.
Earlier this year, MacRumorsreported that a full redesign of the MacBook Pro line was forthcoming, although that was not expected until the debut of Intel's Ivy Bridge next year. Conversely, Ticonderoga's Brian White wrote in a research note last week that he believes "a new MacBook Pro will be launched over the next few weeks that will be lighter and thinner than its predecessor with the benefit of dropping the [optical disk drive]."
However, it's seems unlikely that this is the major update that we and Ticonderoga heard about. 9to5Mac claims the "new internal code names for the updated MacBook Pro line are K90IA (13 inch), K91A (15 inch), and K92A (17 inch)." The A designation suggests a minor update rather than a full-scale redesign.
The Coding Massacre has discovered a trick to force the iOS 5 Newsstand into a folder. The only reason to do this is to tuck Newsstand away and hide it -- users who have performed this trick discovered that opening Newsstand when its in a folder crashes Springboard, the main home screen on the iPhone.
Simply follow these steps:
- Take two apps and go to create a folder - The second the apps are in the folder and it’s doing the folder creation animation, drag Newsstand into the folder - As long as you’re quick enough Newsstand will go into the folder!
If you wish to use Newsstand at some point, simply remove it from the folder and place it back on the main level.
Foxconn's Brazilian expansion plans have been on-again off-again ever since the $12 billion proposal was announced earlier this year. Today, Reuters is reporting that Foxconn will start producing iPads in Brazil this December, but the company is still in negotiations with the Brazilian government about the size of Foxconn's investments in Brazil and the level of government involvement in the project.
"They're maintaining the deadline they had announced, which is December. The iPhone is ready for large-scale production and for the iPad they're working with that deadline," [Brazil's Science and Technology Minister Aloizio] Mercadante said after a meeting between [Foxconn Chairman Terry] Gou and [Brazilian President Dilma] Rousseff.
Both sides were still negotiating fresh Foxconn investments, including two new factories to assemble touch screens, Mercadante said.
"We haven't finished the process, it's moving ahead but there's no date," said Mercadante, who had trumpeted the announcement back in April as a sign of growing Asian investments and high-tech industries in Brazil.
The Brazilian iPad project has gone through the typical ups-and-downs associated with large investment projects. Foxconn is seeking tax breaks and other concessions from the Brazilian government in exchange for location new factories within the country. As recently as two weeks ago, it was reported that the deal was in trouble, but it seems those concerns have been alleviated with this report.
While a few committed individuals have been camping out for the iPhone 4S for some time now, others are now beginning to filter toward their local Apple retail stores in their attempts to secure one of the new models first thing tomorrow morning.
We've yet to hear much from Australia, where stores in the eastern part of the country will be the first to open for iPhone 4S sales just a few hours from now. But lines are already long in Japan, another early launch market for the device, with Guillaume Erard reporting that there were over 100 people in line at Apple's Shibuya retail store in Tokyo a full 11 hours before launch time.
iPhone 4S line at London's Regent Street retail store (Source: @tgrande)
Some of Apple's flagship stores in London are also beginning to see substantial lines forming, as evidenced by photos from Regent Street and Covent Garden stores.
iPhone 4S line at London's Covent Garden retail store (Thanks, Mike!)
Things still appear to be relatively quiet in the United States and Canada nearly 17 hours before the first launches, as we've been receiving scattered reports of lines beginning to form but with only a handful of people encamped at most of the stores from which we've received reports.
MacRumors forum members looking to organize meetups for the iPhone 4S launch are getting together in our dedicated forum.
Update: MacRecord noted earlier today that there were over 100 people (and now up to 150) in line at the Opéra retail store in Paris.
Update 2: Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is reportedly the first and only person in line so far at the Los Gatos retail store in California.
For iPhone and iPod Touch owners with young children, "can I play with your iPhone?" is a frequent refrain. Accessory maker Griffin has released the Woogie 2, a five-legged fuzzy friend to protect vulnerable devices from damage when children play with them.
With thousands of interactive books and games available from the App Store, a parent’s iPhone or iPod is a natural for kids to want to play with. Woogie 2 is the ideal solution, providing kid-friendly access, while preserving parental peace of mind. Woogie’s integrated pocket velcroes shut securely with iPod or iPhone inside. A touch-through screen protector allows kids to choose movies, apps or music with the swipe of a finger. Woogie 2 can be propped up on its fuzzy legs or nested comfortably in a child’s lap for viewing.
The Woogie 2 is built from certified non-toxic materials, so it's safe for kids and is recommended for ages 3 and up. Woogie 2 is $19.99 from Griffin's online store.
One of the new features of iOS 5 is the ability to purchase alert tones from the iTunes Store. Users have long been able to purchase and create custom ringtones, but the ability to customize text tones is new.
The process for creating custom alert tones is identical to creating custom ringtones. iOS 5 now offers the ability to select full-length ringtones as a text message alert. To create a custom Alert Tone, simply make a "ringtone" of the proper length (2-5 seconds) and select it as the text message alert in Settings/Sounds.
Italian Apple site Melaspazio.it [Translation] noted process was the same as creating ringtones. There are a few ways to create custom ringtones. The easiest option is a dedicated app like Ringer from Pixel Research Labs. This $3.99 app, available on the Mac App Store, creates custom-length audio-files directly from the iTunes Library, including fade-ins and -outs. It converts them properly and sends them directly to iTunes for syncing.
For users who don't want to pay to create a custom ringtone, there is a free option. Simonblog has the full instructions with screenshots, but here's the summary:
- Select a song in iTunes, right-click it and select "Get Info" - Click the Options tab and use the "Start Time" and "Stop Time" to control the exact length of the sound file you want. Close the Get Info window. - Right-click the song and select "Create AAC Version" - Right-click the newly created song and select "Show In Finder" - Change the file extension from .m4a to .m4r - Head back to iTunes and right-click the newly created song. Select "Delete" and then click "Remove" to remove the song from the iTunes Library -- but then select "Keep File" so the actual ringtone doesn't get deleted. - Finally, head back to the Finder and double-click the .m4r file. It will automatically add itself to iTunes as a Ringtone, ready to be synced with your iPhone.
If you're going to use a file as a text tone, be sure to keep it short or you'll be hearing 30 seconds of AC/DC's Back In Black every time you get a text. GarageBand can be used to create custom ringtones as well.
RockStarGames announced today that they are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the release of Grand Theft Auto III with a new version to be released for both Android and iOS devices.
To commemorate the game’s 10th anniversary, we’re proud to announce that Grand Theft Auto III will be coming to select new generation iOS and Android devices later this fall
Only the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 are amongst the confirmed iOS devices supported. Those are also the only two iOS devices that carry the more powerful A5 processor which includes a much higher performing graphics processing unit (GPU), so the limitation makes some sense.
The game will be arriving this fall, and that's about all we know so far.
MacGeneration shares a new email from Tim Cook to Apple employees notifying them of the company's plans to shut down for the entire week of Thanksgiving in the United States. The extra vacation time, which will see the corporate employees receiving paid time off for November 21-23 leading into the Thanksgiving holiday, comes in recognition of the company's strong performance this year.
Team,
I consider it an honor to come to work every day alongside the most innovative and most dedicated people on earth. This is an extraordinary time to be at Apple, and it's all made possible by your incredible efforts.
We've had a record-setting year so far and we're heading into the holidays with the strongest product lineup in our history. Customers are absolutely in love with the iPad 2, and the amazing new iPhone 4S is off to the best start of any iPhone we've ever made. The Mac is soaring to new heights with OS X Lion, and on the eve of its 10th birthday, the iPod is still the world's most popular music player.
In recognition of the hard work you've put in this year, we're going to take some extra time off for Thanksgiving. We will shut down with pay on November 21, 22 and 23 so our teams can spend the entire week with their families and friends.
Of course, Retail and some other groups will need to work that week so we can continue to serve our customers. If you're in one of these groups, please check with your manager about taking time off at a later date. Our international teams will schedule their three-day shutdowns this quarter at a time that's best for them. Details will be available on AppleWeb.
I hope everyone enjoys this much deserved break.
Tim
As Cook notes, there is some flexibility in the plan outside of Apple's corporate operations in the United States, with international units being able to schedule their time off at a time appropriate for them. Retail stores will obviously also need to remain up and running over the holiday week, particularly with the day after Thanksgiving being "Black Friday", the busiest shopping day of the year. Consequently, retail store employees will have to schedule their time off at other times.
Apple has routinely shut down for several days around Christmas, and it was rumored last year that developer services through iTunes Connect might also be shutting down over Thanksgiving, but no such shutdown came to pass.
While shipping estimates for some iPhone 4S orders placed through Apple's U.S. carriers partners did begin to slip quite soon after pre-orders launched late last week, Bloomberg now reports that pre-orders through all three carriers have officially sold out ahead of tomorrow's launch.
Sprint and Verizon Wireless showed no remaining iPhone 4S stock available for pre-order on their websites. On AT&T’s site iPhone buyers are given a delivery-time estimate of three to four weeks rather than the one to two days, when pre-orders began Oct. 7.
The sellout signals robust demand for the Apple device and should help boost revenue for the wireless carriers in the years ahead, said Roger Entner, an analyst with Recon Analytics in Boston.
Apple, its carrier partners, and several third-party retailers are planned to have stock of iPhone 4S models available tomorrow for those willing to wait in line, but those seeking to place orders for delivery will need to wait some time.
iFixit has already begun a high-quality teardown of the iPhone 4S, and while a considerable number of the internal parts have already been seen in leaked parts prior to the device's launch, a more thorough look at the individual components should provide some interesting details on the device.
The teardown is still just getting underway, with iFixit's technicians having opened up the device, examined the battery and pulled out the logic board, but we'll update this post with additional information as the teardown progresses.
Items of interest:
- The baseband chip is a previously-undisclosed Qualcomm MDM6610, an apparent variation of the MDM6600 used in the CDMA iPhone 4 and other devices. It is unclear at this time what differentiates the MDM6610 from the MDM6600.
- As noted by AnandTech, the part number found on the A5 chip in iFixit's teardown confirms earlier claims that the iPhone 4S carries 512 MB of RAM.
- iFixit confirms that the iPhone 4S uses the linear oscillating vibrator motor as found in the CDMA iPhone 4 rather than the rotational motor found in the GSM iPhone 4. As seen in earlier parts images, the entire internal layout of the iPhone 4S is much more like the CDMA iPhone 4 than the GSM iPhone 4, although Apple obviously had to tweak the chip layout somewhat to squeeze the micro-SIM slot onto the logic board. One exception is the display assembly mounting tabs, which follow the GSM iPhone 4's layout rather than the CDMA version's.
- Chipworks is following along with iFixit's teardown and providing a closer look at the chips discovered inside the iPhone 4S. Many of the chips had already been found in other devices, and Chipworks publishing die photos and other details on them as the information is gathered.
Apple's massive software launch yesterday to debut iOS 5 and iCloud resulted in a number of issues for some users, with iOS installation errors being a primary source of frustration as Apple's servers were overwhelmed by demand for the new operating system.
In fact, as Cult of Mac and The Next Web summarize, traffic to Apple was so high that broader Internet infrastructure was even experiencing difficulties under the load. In particular, one Internet exchange point in London saw its traffic jump by 50% as iOS 5 became available.
The traffic at the LONAP (LONAP is a London Neutral Internet Exchange Point where Internet and content providers exchange traffic) increased from a normal peak of around 18Gb/s to around 28Gb/s.
LONAP's Andy Davidson tells MacRumors that the iOS 5 traffic was unprecedented for a software upgrade.
The traffic was around twice what we would see on a typical Wednesday evening. There was as much traffic as we would see for a major sporting event (such as England playing in the World or European cups). Such volumes have never been seen before for a software upgrade.
The iCloud portion of yesterday's launch has also seen some hiccups, with a number of users reporting difficulties getting the service up and running and/or converting from MobileMe to iCloud. Apple issued a status update yesterday evening indicating that it was limiting the rate of conversions in the face of high demand, encouraging customers experiencing difficulties to try again at a later time.
Due to high demand, we are temporarily limiting the number of users moving from MobileMe to iCloud. Please try again later. We apologize for any inconvenience.
And while many of the high traffic issues have settled down by today, users are now reporting that iCloud mail is down for the moment, although Apple has yet to issue a status update addressing the situation.
Brief downtime and minor issues are not particularly surprising given the popularity of Apple's services and the crush of demand at rollout, but customers who remember the difficult rollout of MobileMe several years ago are undoubtedly hoping that Apple can iron out the wrinkles more quickly this time around.
Update: Apple has issued a status update acknowledging the problems with iCloud mail.
Some users are experiencing intermittent authentication errors when trying to use mail. Normal service will be restored ASAP. We apologize for any inconvenience.
In September, there had been some hope that Apple was working on a solution to allow users to merge multiple Apple IDs into one. The news came from an encouraging phone call from Apple's executive relations team saying that they were aware of the issue and seemingly working on it.
Now that iCloud has launched, many have been wondering if anything had come of the previous discussion. One reader emailed Tim Cook and received an official response. Apple is simply pointing users to a support document outlining your options for managing multiple Apple IDs. Unfortunately, merging is not one of the options.
Their recommended solution is, of course, to use the same Apple ID for both store purchases and iCloud. They also explicitly state that merging simply isn't an option:
Can I merge multiple Apple IDs into one? You cannot merge two or more Apple IDs into a single one. You can, however, use one Apple ID for iCloud services and another Apple ID for store purchases (including iTunes in the Cloud and iTunes Match). See “Using one Apple ID for iCloud and a different Apple ID for Store Purchases” above for details.
The document does outline the possibility to use one Apple ID for store purchases and another for iCloud, but that's as far as it goes.
Businessweek has an in-depth look at Apple's Senior Vice President of iOS Software, Scott Forstall. Readers will be familiar with Forstall from his keynote appearances where he often demonstrates the latest iOS features.
The Businessweek article is a not always flattering look at the man who has been partly responsible for much of Apple's success with the iPhone. Forstall is described as almost as a "mini-Steve" being a detail oriented manager but also one that is difficult to work with.
In fact, the article suggests that Forstall was a major factor in Tony Fadell's departure from Apple in early 2010. Fadell had been called the "Godfather" of the iPod due to his key role in that device's creation.
Forstall and Fadell reportedly went head to head in 2005 when Steve Jobs pitted the two against each other in determining the underlying operating system for the iPhone. The two possibilities were a Linux-based operating system or a Mac OS X based one.
In other words, should he shrink the Mac, which would be an epic feat of engineering, or enlarge the iPod? Jobs preferred the former option, since he would then have a mobile operating system he could customize for the many gizmos then on Apple’s drawing board. Rather than pick an approach right away, however, Jobs pitted the teams against each other in a bake-off.
Forstall, of course, led the shrunken down Mac OS X project and ultimately won, but the bad blood over time was said to be a factor in Fadell's decision to leave.
The profile also reports that Forstall may also been an indirect cause of the lost iPhone 4 prototype in 2010. Forstall reportedly convinced Jobs to allow dozens of his engineers to carry prototypes of the then unreleased iPhone 4. It was one of those employees who lost the iPhone 4 at a Redwood City, California bar where it was picked up and sold to Gizmodo.
Forstall had originally joined NeXT, Inc. after college and came to Apple with Steve Jobs after Apple's acquisition of NeXT in 1996. The NeXT operating system then became the basis for Mac OS X and ultimately the iPhone.
The LATimes and Wall Street Journal are both reporting that Apple is working to finalize deals with major movie studios that would allow iTunes customers to stream purchased movies to their devices.
Apple Inc. is negotiating with Hollywood studios for deals that would let people who buy movies from the iTunes Store watch streaming versions of those movies on Apple devices such as iPads or iPhones without manually transferring them, according to people familiar with the matter.
With the launch of iCloud and associated services, Apple has started allowing iTunes customers to freely redownload both music and TV shows to any of their devices.
Even in the weeks leading up to the original iCloud announcement, we'd heard reports that Apple had been in deep negotiations with movie studios to provide just that sort of service. One of the hurdles at the time was reported to be the special exclusivity deals that the studios have with HBO. Those agreements would prevent the sale or distribution of movies while they were being aired on HBO. It's not clear how that conflict will be resolved.
Late yesterday, CNET reported that Brian Hogan and Sage Wallower, the two men involved in finding a lost iPhone 4 prototype in a Redwood City, California bar last year and selling it to Gizmodo, have pleaded no contest to the theft charges that had been brought against them. The two men were each sentenced to one year of probation and 40 hours of community service, and were required to pay $250 in restitution to Apple.
"We asked for some jail time," [Steve] Wagstaffe, the district attorney, said today. "The judge considered that Wallower had served in the armed forces and Hogan was enrolled in San Jose State, and neither had any criminal record, and decided that jail time wasn't required. Someone from my office called Apple's general counsel. This is a fairly routine theft case. This was a couple of youthful people who should have known better."
In a follow-up report relating an interview with Wagstaffe, CNET shares that Gizmodo was ultimately cleared of any charges related to the case because of a lack of evidence. Wagstaffe did, however, have some harsh words for the behavior of Gizmodo's staff.
Wagstaffe said, however, that his office's review of the computers seized from [Gizmodo editor Jason] Chen's home showed the correspondence between Gizmodo editors was "juvenile."
"It was obvious that they were angry with the company about not being invited to some press conference or some big Apple event. We expected to see a certain amount of professionalism--this is like 15-year-old children talking," Wagstaffe said. "There was so much animosity, and they were very critical of Apple. They talked about having Apple right where they wanted them and they were really going to show them."
The district attorney's office had specifically looked for evidence of Gizmodo's participation in theft leading to possession of stolen property, as well as potential extortion, but did not find sufficient evidence to support either charge.
Apple issued a press release today stating that it will announce its earnings for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2011 (third calendar quarter) and host a conference call regarding the release on Tuesday, October 18th.
Apple added a number of new features to the camera in iOS 5, as more and more users drop their point-and-shoot digital cameras in favor of the increasingly powerful cameras built-in to smartphones. 
Foxconn's Brazilian expansion plans have been on-again off-again ever since the $12 billion proposal was 
