MacRumors

Opera Software today announced that its Opera Mini web browser app has been submitted to Apple for approval. Just last month, Opera gave a demo of the iPhone version of its popular browser at Mobile World Congress. Today's announcement kicks off with a contest requesting guesses on how long it will take for Apple to approve the app, as well as offering an online count-up timer for the review process.

Opera Mini uses server-side rendering to improve page loading performance, claiming speeds of up to 6 times faster than Apple's Safari on the iPhone:

Due to server-side rendering, Opera Mini compresses data by up to 90 percent before sending it to the phone, resulting in rapid page loading and more Web per MB for the end user.

This server-side processing circumvents Apple's restrictions on executing 3rd-party code within an iPhone app. Pages rendered on Opera's servers are passed to the iPhone as a static page in a compressed format that uses less data to transfer than the original page.

Opera has posted a video showcasing Opera Mini as well as a side-by-side comparison with Safari running on an EDGE network:

To kick off the app's submission, Opera has put up a timer page counting the time until Apple approves the app. A contest also solicits guesses on how long it will take Apple to approve the app, offering a prize of a new iPhone 3GS for the guess closest to the actual time.

Gizmodo shares an internal Apple document revealing that the company's U.S. retail stores will now sell unsubsidized iPhone 3G and 3GS models without requiring proof of an existing AT&T service plan.

Effectively immediately, customers purchasing iPhone as device only at full price are no longer required to have an AT&T account or provide a form of ID. Device only full price iPhone sales are limited to one per person per day.

The contract-free iPhones, which reportedly will be sold locked to AT&T's network but can easily be unlocked for use on other GSM networks, are being offered at $499 (8 GB iPhone 3G), $599 (16 GB iPhone 3GS), and $699 (32 GB iPhone 3GS). Such unsubsidized, "device only" iPhone sales have been available for some time, but until this change customers were required to provide evidence of existing AT&T service.

Apple and AT&T offered similar deals for contract-free iPhones in the U.S. around this time last year as Apple presumably sought to unload excess inventory ahead of a refresh later in the year.

The prolonged wait for updated MacBook Pros continue without any major hints at when they might arrive. A report last week suggested that a shortage of Intel notebook chips could be contributing to the delay.

MacRumors has heard that the MacBook Pro supplies to retailers have abruptly become constrained, possibly suggesting that updates could be imminent.

Meanwhile, one MacRumors reader emailed Steve Jobs directly about concerns about how long he's had to wait for the new MacBook Pro updates and Apple's recent focus on the iPad. He wrote "I recognise the need for secrecy etc but I am really losing heart in the lack of vision for the MBP and Mac Pros. Not expecting a response but as someone who has personally switched dozens of people onto the mac way this is a sad email for me to compose."

As he's been occasionally known to do, Steve Jobs reportedly responded with a short reply that simply said "Not to worry."

The New York Times reports that Apple has struck a deal with Perseus Books Group, an independent publisher and the largest distributor of works from other independent publishers, to bring its content to the iBookstore.

Perseus Books Group, a large independent publisher that also distributes works from 330 other smaller presses including Grove Atlantic, Harvard Business School Press, Zagat and City Lights Books, signed a deal last week with Apple, following five of the six biggest publishers that have already signed agreements with Apple.

The deal is similar to those struck with other publishers, with Perseus setting eBook pricing while Apple takes a 30% cut of revenue. Publishers distributing through Perseus will have the option to join the deal.

Tom Neumayr, an Apple spokesman, confirmed that it had signed a deal with Perseus. In an e-mail statement, David Steinberger, chief executive of Perseus, said, "We're working with Apple to make books from The Perseus Books Group and the independent publishers we represent available on the iBookstore starting on April 3. As the leading provider of distribution services for independent publishers, including digital distribution through our Constellation digital service, Perseus is thrilled to be making our books available on the iPad."

The report notes that Apple has required in its dealings with publishers that other retailers not be permitted to undercut its prices. The demand, embraced by the publishers, has led several major publishers to seek modifications to their existing arrangements with distributors such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble that would permit them to shift to an agency model similar to that they now hold with Apple that permits publishers rather than distributors to set prices.

Users logging into or attempting to purchase from the iTunes Store today were met with a dialog box requiring that they accept a modified version of the iTunes Store and App Store terms and conditions. In addition to some clarifications regarding intellectual property rights and liability, the updated terms also address a "Gifts" section (new in App Store terms and modified in iTunes Store terms) that now includes discussion of a newly-added ability to gift App Store applications to other users.

The "Gifts" section of the iTunes Store Terms of Sale has been changed to clarify that Gifts may not be used for in-app purchases, upgrades, or the iPod Touch OS, to explain that some gifts require compatible hardware and parental control settings so they can be redeemed, and to notify you that, while gifts are non-refundable, this is without prejudice to your statutory rights to a refund in the event that a gift is faulty or has been misdescribed.

A new "Gifts" section has been added to the App Store T&C explaining the conditions under which Apps can be gifted, including an explanation that Gifts may not be used for in-app purchases, upgrades or the iPod Touch OS, and to explain that some gifts require compatible hardware and parental control settings so that they can be redeemed, and to notify you that, while gifts are non-refundable, this is without prejudice to your statutory rights to a refund in the event that a gift is faulty or has been misdescribed.

Selecting the "Gift This App" option next to an application takes users to a special screen where they can fill in their name, the recipient's name and email address, and a message to the recipient. Users may specify multiple recipients and will be billed according to the number of email addresses listed.

Boy Genius Report this weekend noted that Sprint has released a new television commercial using Apple's iPhone to promote the carrier's new Overdrive 3G/4G mobile hotspot device. The commercial claims that connecting an iPhone to Sprint's 4G network via the Overdrive hotspot can achieve speeds up to ten times higher than that available through AT&T's 3G network.

My friend Steve's iPhone is cool, but it's limited to AT&T's 3G speeds. So I'm gonna use the Overdrive 4G mobile hotspot to make it up to ten times faster.

Verizon has similarly been viewing the iPad as an opportunity to promote its MiFi service, another of the growing number of small devices capable of creating local Wi-Fi networks by connecting to carriers' cellular networks.

Sprint, Clearwire, and a consortium of other broadband and technology companies have been working together to deploy WiMAX technology, which is being branded as 4G service, around the United States. The move comes ahead of the rollout of 4G LTE services, which will be built upon existing 3G networks, by providers such as AT&T, Apple's current U.S. partner for the iPhone.

Following its release of a Kindle app for the Mac last week, Amazon is preparing a Kindle app for the iPad according to The New York Times.

Amazon has posted a page on its site describing upcoming Kindle apps for Tablet Computers, where the iPad is specifically mentioned. The iPad app will have the same functionality as the one currently available for the iPhone, including Amazon's Whispersync technology for syncing bookmarks, notes, last page read, and more across multiple devices.

Also mentioned is the ability for users to shop for more Kindle eBooks. Amazon does not state, however, whether this functionality will be built into the iPad app, which would put it in direct competition with Apple's iBooks app that will offer the ability to purchase ebooks through the iTunes store. In the iPhone Kindle app, a link to purchase eBooks is provided that opens the Safari browser to an iPhone-optimized version of the Kindle eBook store. eBooks purchased there are downloaded automatically to the iPhone the next time the Kindle app is opened.

The iPad Kindle app, demonstrated to a New York Times reporter last week, will offer virtual page turning and various ways to present an eBook library to a user, including one "where large images of book covers are set against a backdrop of a silhouetted figure reading under a tree" and the "suns position in that image varies with the time of day."

According to the report, Amazon has stated that it will not take advantage of Apple's official invitation to developers to submit iPad apps and will instead wait to test it on an iPad after its April 3rd release. Amazon has also disclosed that it is not one of the entities that received advance access to an iPad for development and testing.

Amazon's acknowledgement that an iPad application is in development follows a similar disclosure from Barnes & Noble earlier this month.

The San Jose Mercury News last Friday reported that Apple CEO Steve Jobs made a rare public appearance alongside California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to promote a new bill in that state to encourage drivers to sign up as organ donors, drawing on his own experience with a liver transplant he received last year in Memphis, Tennessee as motivation for his support.

"I was almost one of the ones that died waiting for a liver in California last year," said Jobs, whippet-thin but healthy. He appeared at a brief event with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to unveil a new legislative effort to greatly expand the number of California organ donors.

In his first public description of his much-rumored but long-secret crisis, Jobs said "there were simply not enough livers in California to go around, and my doctors here advised me to enroll in a transplant program in Memphis, where the supply-demand ratio of livers is more favorable than it is in California."

Jobs noted that he had been fortunate enough to access to a private plane and the resources to be ferried to Memphis within the brief window of time available once a matching donor liver became available, and that California residents of all income levels should have greater access to donor organs in their own state.

As a result of his experience, Jobs worked with California first lady Maria Shriver to spur Schwarzenegger's office to draft legislation that would require driver's license applicants in California to provide either a "yes" or "no" answer to a question regarding their placement on the state's organ donor registry before being issued a license. While applicants are currently offered the ability to add themselves to the registry through the Department of Motor Vehicles, a response is not required, and it appears that many applicants simply skip the question.

The bill also provides for the creation of a "California Living Donor Registry," which aims to connect those in need of a kidney transplant with compatible strangers who have signaled their willingness to donate one of their own kidneys.

A video of the event is available, with Jobs' comments beginning at the 13-minute mark.

Apple today officially invited developers to begin submitting iPad applications to the App Store for inclusion in the grand opening of the iPad App Store at its launch on April 3rd. In the e-mail sent to developers, Apple invites app submissions for an initial review of their readiness for the iPad.

iPad will begin shipping soon and your opportunity to be part of the grand opening of the iPad App Store starts today. Submit your iPad app now for an initial review by the App Review Team and receive feedback on its readiness for the grand opening.

Submit Your App by March 27.

- Build and test your iPad app using iPhone SDK 3.2 beta 5 available on the iPhone Dev Center. Only iPad apps built with iPhone SDK 3.2 beta 5 will be accepted for this initial review.

- Upload your distribution signed app through iTunes Connect by Saturday, March 27, 5pm PDT.

- The App Review Team will review your app on iPad and email you details about the readiness of your app.

- You will also receive additional information about submitting your app for final review before iPad ships.

- Only apps submitted for the initial review will be considered for the grand opening of the iPad App Store.

Apple has provided iPads to a select set of developers under tight security in order to assist them with preparing their apps for the iPad's launch. The vast majority of developers will, however, have to rely on the iPad simulator included in the iPhone SDK 3.2 for iPad for testing their apps.

Update: 9 to 5 Mac has posted screenshots of the revised iTunes Connect interface, showing separate areas for uploading iPhone/iPod touch and iPad screenshots for display in the App Store.

DigiTimes reports on an article from Taiwanese newspaper Liberty Times claiming that Apple's touchscreen manufacturing partner Wintek is the source of issues that have slightly delayed the release of the iPad to April 3rd from Apple's originally planned window of late March and have reportedly resulted in lower launch quantities of the device than desired by Apple.

The report claimed that Wintek is facing a manufacturing bottleneck in its touch panel production, and its low yield rate for touch panels has hampered its shipments to Apple.

Wintek claims, however, that all of its operations are running as planned, although it has declined to discuss specific orders in its statement.

Several reports earlier this month addressed the supply delays and shortages before Apple officially announced a launch date for the iPad, although the reports offered conflicting information on the source of the problems. Initial claims of a "production problem" were apparently disputed in a later report, which indicated that the issue was not the result of "glass or manufacturing process delays". A subsequent report from Daring Fireball's John Gruber indicated that the delay was likely simply due to Apple putting the finishing touches on the software for the iPad.

Meanwhile, The Korea Times reports (via 9 to 5 Mac) that Apple has contracted with Samsung for an additional 3 million iPad screens beyond an initial batch of 10 million screens ordered from LG.

The H Security reports (via The Inquirer) that noted cybersecurity researcher Charlie Miller is set to announce the discovery of twenty new zero-day holes in Mac OS X that could offer hackers means of entry to compromise computers running the operating system. As zero-day holes, Apple is currently not aware of their existence, and thus has not yet had the opportunity to address them.

Using the controversial "security through obscurity" argument, Miller claims that Mac OS X users have typically been relatively free of malware threats due to a lack of hacker interest in the relatively small user base, not necessarily due to Mac OS X being more secure than other operating systems.

"Mac OS X is like living in a farmhouse in the country with no locks, and Windows is living in a house with bars on the windows in the bad part of town."

Miller is set to reveal his methods of finding the vulnerabilities, which include "fuzzing" systems by bombarding them with an overwhelming quantity of corrupted data, at the prominent CanSecWest conference next week in Vancouver. He is not, however, planning to disclose details of the security holes.

The Financial Times reports (registration required) that China Mobile continues to express interest in bringing the iPhone to its network, but that little progress has been made on convincing Apple to adopt the TD-SCDMA standard utilized by the carrier.

Wang Jianzhou, China Mobile chairman and chief executive, said at the group's annual results yesterday that "including TD-SCDMA is not that hard to do - RIM is doing it". But he added that Apple had not yet responded to his proposal.

Wang's comments suggest that essentially no progress has been made since a September report indicating that TD-SCDMA remained the major stumbling block for Apple and China Mobile. China Mobile is the world's largest mobile carrier with over 500 million customers, representing a significant market opportunity for Apple should an agreement be reached.

The carrier's 3G customer base remains small, however, as it seeks to boost its numbers from 3.4 million customers to over 10 million in the next year. As it has struggled to roll out its 3G service, smaller rivals such as China Unicom and China Telecom have been grabbing an increasing percentage of new subscribers.

Apple has offered the iPhone in China since last October through China Unicom, which uses the same 3GSM/UMTS standard available on the rest of the iPhone's carrier partners around the world.

Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports that select developers have been provided access to the iPad ahead of its official April 3rd launch, allowing them the opportunity to build and test their application directly on the device rather than having to rely on simulator tools built into the Software Development Kit offered by Apple as part of its developer program for the platform.

The access comes with a price, however, as the lucky developers are obligated to sign a 10-page confidentiality agreement requiring them to utilize a number of security measures to prevent unauthorized access to or removal of the iPad in their possession.

Would-be testers of the tablet-style computer, due to be released Apr. 3, must promise to keep it isolated in a room with blacked-out windows, according to four people familiar with the more than 10-page pact that bars partners from disclosing information about the iPad.

To ensure that it can't be removed, the iPad must also remain tethered to a fixed object, said the people, who asked not to be named because their plans for the iPad have not been made public. Apple (AAPL) won't send out an iPad until potential partners send photographic evidence that they've complied.

Not all developers requesting early access to iPads have been granted the benefit, but Apple's desire to offer compelling content at the time of the device's launch has apparently resulted in partnerships with a few key developers.

In fact, News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch mentioned earlier this month that The Wall Street Journal was one of those entities that had been provided access to an iPad, noting that the device was "under padlock and key" and that the key was "turned by Apple every night".

The security measures are reminiscent of those apparently visible in leaked photos of the iPad that appeared just prior to its official introduction and that show the device bolted to a table and covered with a black cloth. Apple has reportedly routinely utilized such measures in its own labs as it works to maintain as much secrecy as possible surrounding upcoming products.

DigiTimes reports that Intel is currently experiencing tight supply of its Core i3, i5, and i7 notebook chips introduced in January. Apple is expected to use several of the chips in a highly-anticipated refresh to its notebook lines.

Intel is giving priority to major clients, and second-tier and smaller notebook players have to wait much longer before receiving supply of the CPUs, the sources noted.

The report notes that Acer has placed a particularly large order for the chips in anticipation of upcoming increases in consumer demand. Not mentioned is where Apple might fall on Intel's priority list, although the company has traditionally received good access to Intel's products.

Apple's MacBook Pro and MacBook Air are due for updates, and numerous hints and rumors over the past few months have many Apple fans waiting anxiously for the updated models to appear.