MacRumors

Apple today announced that Steve Jobs will indeed host the keynote for the company's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) next Monday in San Francisco. Aside from the expected focus on iOS 5 and Mac OS X Lion, Apple's announcement also confirms that Jobs will introduce the company's "iCloud" service.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs and a team of Apple executives will kick off the company's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address on Monday, June 6 at 10:00 a.m. At the keynote, Apple will unveil its next generation software - Lion, the eighth major release of Mac OS X; iOS 5, the next version of Apple’s advanced mobile operating system which powers the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch; and iCloud, Apple's upcoming cloud services offering.

Apple last month was reported to have purchased the iCloud.com domain name, with additional reports claiming that Apple has indeed been referring to its streaming service by that name. Apple has been said to be close to wrapping up negotiations with major music labels and publishers to allow users to stream their owned music from Apple's cloud-based servers to any of a number of Internet-connected devices.

Both CNet and Digitimes have pinpointed the 2011 Macbook Air refreshes for the June-July timeframe. So, it should be no surprise that according to retail sources of 9to5mac, Apple's MacBook Air supplies are becoming constrained around the world.

The 2011 MacBook Air is believed to adopt the latest Sandy Bridge processors which come with Intel's embedded graphics chipset. This is a decision that Apple has already made for the latest low-end MacBook Pros, so we expect they will make the same decision in the new MacBook Airs. The new Airs should also adopt the Thunderbolt high speed connector that was introduced earlier this year.

Appleheadlines notes that MacBook Airs are on sale at some Best Buys. Several readers have also noted that the refurbished MacBook Airs on Apple's online store have also dropped in price. These price drops, however, may represent soft demand in the MacBook Airs rather than any particular knowledge about the new releases.

At Computex, Intel updated the press about its roadmap for power efficient processors in the coming years. Engadget reprints the press release in which Intel predicts that a new class of laptops called "Ultrabooks" could make up 40% of the consumer latop market by the end of 2012.

These computers will marry the performance and capabilities of today's laptops with tablet-like features and deliver a highly responsive and secure experience, in a thin, light and elegant design.

Intel describes this family of notebooks as "thin, light and beautiful designs that are less than 20mm (0.8 inch) thick, and mainstream price points under US $1,000." These "ultrabooks" already sound very similar to Apple's MacBook Air which we've already heard is evolving into a mainstream product.

Intel describes the ultimate evolution to these ultra-thin laptops in a 3 step process. The first systems based on their current designs should be available this winter. Meanwhile, they plan on continuing to push processor power designs in the coming years to enable even more efficient designs.

The second step will be based on Intel's Ivy Bridge processor designs which were announced in May:

Laptops based on "Ivy Bridge" will bring improved power efficiency, smart visual performance, increased responsiveness and enhanced security. "Ivy Bridge" is the first high-volume chip based on Intel's 22 nanometer (nm) manufacturing technology that uses a revolutionary 3-D transistor design called Tri-Gate announced in May.

Finally, for the 3rd step, in 2013 processors codenamed "Haswell" will reduce the microprocessor power to half of today's chips. Intel has been previously reported to be working aggressively on reducing power consumption on their processors.

Apple has a good relationship with Intel and will certainly benefit from these new processor designs. So, we should also see the first Macs based on the Ivy Bridge processors in the first half of 2012. The most recently leaked slides suggest a March-April timeframe for the chip release.

Mac Otakara adds some notes about the upcoming iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 models, according to an anonymous source.

According to an anonymous source, this reported product by DigiTimes is improved model of iPhone 4 on same form factor, and uses ARM Cortex-A9 chip as CPU, but it is not confirmed whether this model has single CPU or with dual CPU's.

Essentially, they confirm what has been hinted at in the past. The new 2011 iPhone ("iPhone 4S") will carry an ARM Cortex-A9 CPU (Apple's A5) though they can't confirm if it's single or dual core. Separately, the iPhone 4S will include an improved 8 mega-pixel camera and 3-4 antennas inside to accommodate the dual modes of AT&T and Verizon.

Separately, Mac Otakara revives an older rumor that the iPhone 4S will be "sim-less". We first heard this rumor back in late 2010, when Apple was said to be working with digital security firm Gemalto to create a custom SIM card that would exist as a built-in chip inside the iPhone to allow users to activate their devices with a broad array of carriers. Orange CEO Stephane Richard essentially confirmed that Apple had explored this "sim-less" option but had also indicated that Apple had decided against using it.

As you probably know, Apple has been working for years on reducing the size of SIM cards because they need space in the phone. They even thought about a device without any SIM card, that is what is known as the e-SIM project.

All of us told them it was a bad idea because the SIM card is a critical piece of the security and authentication process. It would be very difficult for a telco or carrier to manage the customer relationship. I think that they understood this point. We had a very constructive exchange and dialogue with them.

It may be possible that Apple ignored those suggestions or that this "eSIM" could be a stopgap measure while waiting for the newly proposed smaller SIM standard.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal discussing Samsung's push to embrace Android for its future tablet products, Samsung's president of mobile communications J.K. Shin notes that the company is seemingly unconcerned over Apple's lawsuit alleging that Samsung has copied the design and technology of the iPhone and iPad with its products. Shin does note, however, that the dispute could continue to escalate, although he apparently has not elaborated on potential scenarios.

"We didn't copy Apple's design," Mr. Shin said. "We have used many similar designs over the past years and it [Apple's allegation] will not be legally problematic." He suggested the scale of the lawsuit could grow, though he didn't provide more details.

Apple last week was granted access to unreleased (albeit already announced) Samsung hardware as part of the discovery phase in which Apple's lawyers build the background for their case. In response, Samsung filed a motion requesting access to Apple's next-generation iPhone and iPad models, despite the fact that Apple has yet to even acknowledge that such devices exist.

Samsung and Apple are of course significant partners in the mobile industry, a relationship that makes the competition between the two firms in the marketplace and in the courtroom all the more interesting.

Apple seeded developers with Mac OS X 10.6.8 (10K531) on Friday. As first noted by fscklog.com, the 10.6.8 update will offer a number of interesting enhancements.

First, Apple will use the 10.6.8 to identify and remove known variants of the Mac Defender malware. Apple released a support document last week detailing the Mac Defender malware and promising a software update to remove it. It appears 10.6.8 will be the update that accomplishes it.

Next, Apple is said to be "enhancing the Mac App Store" to get your Mac ready to upgrade to Mac OS X Lion. Lion is believed to be offered to customers via the Mac App Store. It is presently distributed to developers via Mac App Store downloads, so it's no stretch of the imagination that Apple will also be offering it to customers in the same way. Apple is expected to provide more details about Mac OS X Lion at the annual Worldwide Developer's Conference which kicks off on June 6th.

Thisismynext points out that Samsung has filed a motion Friday night asking Apple to turn over the iPhone 5 and iPad 3 as part of the discovery process in the ongoing Samsung/Apple legal feud.

Samsung claims that it needs to see Apple's future products because devices like the Droid Charge and Galaxy Tab 10.1 will presumably be in the market at the same time as the iPhone 5 and iPad 3, and Samsung's lawyers want to evaluate any possible similarities so they can prepare for further potential legal action from Apple.

The demand comes after Apple's lawyers were granted access to Samsung's upcoming (and already publicly demoed) devices.

To be clear, access on each side is restricted to the lawyers involved and not any of the engineers from either company. Thisismynext believes this is just a calculated gamble for additional leverage, and that the whole motion sounds strange and based on many assumptions.

That means talks have been at a standstill for a long time now, and I wouldn't be surprised if Samsung was trying to put some additional heat on Apple to try and kick negotiations back into gear.

Apple filed suit against Samsung over its Galaxy line of hardware and similarities to the iPhone and iPad lines.

Close on the heels of claims of revamped notifications and widgets in iOS 5, 9to5Google now reports that Apple will continue relying on Google's mapping service for iOS 5, noting that any efforts to sever geolocation ties with Google by moving things entirely in-house have not yet resulted in a finished product.

Now, sources have told 9to5Google that although Apple is working to improve the iOS Maps application, iOS 5 will not bring an Apple developed maps service and Google Maps is still in. Besides Apple's purchase of both Placebase and Poly9, some speculated that Apple is building their own maps service to either compete with Google or step away from their input into iOS.

Apple has given several indications that it is looking to make major improvements to the Maps application included in iOS and also revealed that it is building a crowd-sourced traffic database from iOS devices with an eye to rolling out a traffic service presumably linked to a turn-by-turn GPS mapping offering.

TechCrunch reports on some of the discussion surrounding Apple's apparent efforts to encourage members of the international press to attend its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) early next month, disagreeing with the assessment that such encouragements suggest that an iPhone launch may indeed occur and instead arguing that iOS 5 and Mac OS X Lion alone will be a big deal. To that end, the company is seeking to make sure that media members do not skip the event simply because it seems that the next-generation iPhone will not make its debut there.

In addition, the report shares several tidbits that have been surfacing about iOS 5, most notably brief word that Apple is indeed planning to roll out a "completely revamped" notifications system and "widgets" that would presumably provide quick access to information without the need for launching dedicated apps, much the same as Dashboard widgets in Mac OS X.

The other big news for iOS5 - and yes, I've completely buried the lede here, thanks for reading! - two things: completely revamped notifications and widgets.

The iOS notification system has been one of the more highly criticized aspects of the platform, although optimism regarding a potential revamp rose earlier this year amid claims that Apple had acquired an unnamed development firm specifically to assist with the revamp.

As an example of how widgets might be employed, designer Jan-Michael Cart earlier this month released a concept video demonstrating his vision of widgets on iOS.

One other item of interest included in TechCrunch's report today is the claim that the Nuance technology rumored to be deeply integrated into iOS 5 will surprisingly not make its way into the Voice Control component of the platform, although things could change between now and the final release of iOS 5 later this year.

As we reported yesterday, Apple earlier this week filed a lawsuit against teenager Fei Lam and his parents over Lam's sale of unauthorized white iPhone 4 parts, alleging trademark infringement and dilution. At the time, we noted that Apple had simultaneously filed a voluntary dismissal of the case, suggesting that a settlement may have already been reached.

But in an interview with Fast Company, Lam reveals that he knows essentially nothing about the lawsuit, having learned about it only as reports spread through the media yesterday. Lam notes that a settlement has not been reached, but it will obviously be a topic of discussions apparently set to be held between Lam and Apple's lawyers "within the next month".

Q: When did you first find out about the lawsuit? Did Apple call or send a letter?
A: I came back from school today and saw your email. Lol.

Q: So have your parents mostly been handling the case then?
A: I told Apple's lawyer that I'm sick and to meet when I get better. That was last week. I'm [sic] been handling the whole thing

Q: So you have not settled?
A: I think that will be decided in the meeting.

According to Lam, he no longer has a lawyer representing him in the case, as he is unable to afford one. Consequently, he says that he will be meeting alone with Apple's lawyers at their offices in New York City.

Lam notes that he did not make $130,000 in profits as some reports have claimed, although he declined to specify exactly how much he made from the venture or where those profits have gone. The initial report on his business noted that he had sold $130,000 worth of the parts, but it is unknown how much he had to pay his Chinese supplier for them.

Last week, a report surfaced claiming that Apple could launch its annual back-to-school promotion in the United States as early as this week, offering educational customers free or discounted iPod hardware with the purchase of a qualifying Mac product. With it now appearing that the offer will not debut this week, BGR is reporting that Apple may wait until next month's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) to announce the promotion.

One of our Apple sources has informed us that they've been hearing Apple's yearly back-to-school special will be announced at WWDC next month. We have been told Apple will continue to offer educational discounts on computers and either a free iPod touch, or $229 towards the purchase of any other iPod.

The report also indicates that Apple may be preparing to include a $200 discount on the iPad as an option for those participating in the promotion.

Last year's promotion offered rebates of up to $199 on Apple's full line of iPod models, but did not include the iPad. Apple has also never included iPhone discounts in the promotion, which typically runs through early September, around the time the company traditionally introduces new iPods.

CNET reports that Apple is being targeted for protests by US Uncut, an organization seeking to stop companies from avoiding taxes, with the organization planning a series of protests at Apple's retail stores on June 4th. The organization is protesting Apple's participation in the "Win America Campaign" (WAC), an effort that has seen Apple banding together with other major companies to lobby for one-time tax breaks on profits currently being held overseas.

The group seeks to have Apple leave the WAC, which it claims is lobbying Congress for what would end up being a $4 billion tax cut for the company, as well as to cease other lobbying activities relating to "tax loopholes."

"Apple plays huge games with their taxes. By disguising profits in the U.S. as foreign earnings in low-tax countries, Apple dodges billions of dollars of taxes they should be paying," the group said in a statement this week.

US Uncut is also targeting Bank of America, Verizon, FedEx, GE, and BP with its June 4th "National Day of Action", although Apple appears to be the group's primary target for "dance-in" protests and other actions.

Meanwhile, setteB.IT reports that an Italian regulatory agency has taken action against Apple for its sale of AppleCare extended warranty programs that overlap with standard warranties required by European law, effectively selling customers warranty protection that they do not need.

Apple's standard warranties are good for one year, with AppleCare extended warranties pushing that coverage out to a total of two or three years depending on the product. European law requires, however, a standard two-year warranty, overlapping or entirely coinciding with Apple's separate AppleCare offerings. Complicating the issue are differing warranty requirements for manufacturers and sellers, requirements that Apple has apparently argued are being satisfactorily met but with which regulators disagree.

The actions taken by the Italian consumer agency could result in fines levied against Apple and serve as the basis for civil actions by customers.

Mac Otakara claims that Apple is presently testing an A5 powered MacBook Air.

And additionally, an anonymous source told more information, Apple already made test equipment of Thunderbolt MacBook Air driven by A5 processor.

According to this source who saw live A5 MacBook Air actually, this test machine performed better than expected.

The A5 processor is an ARM-based processor that Apple uses in the iPad 2. Mac Otakara is uncertain what operating system this experimental machine was running. They also add that Quanta Computer manufactured this test-drive machine.

This news comes weeks after another rumor claiming that Apple is planning on transitioning from Intel to ARM-based processors on their laptops in the not too distant future. Most people had dismissed that rumor due to the compatibility issues that would be introduced with such a transition. Another major issue is that while ARM processors are more power efficient, they presently offer significantly lower performance than their Intel counterparts.

The Japanese blog has had some accurate information in the past, being the first to describe some of the new physical characteristics of the iPad 2. It is certainly plausible that Apple might be testing such combinations in their labs, though its unclear if/when Apple might actually decide to introduce such a machine.

Patent holding firm Lodsys made news two weeks ago when they sent patent infringement notices to several small iOS developers over the use of In-App purchases and upgrade links in their apps. Lodsys is demanding that developers pay a licensing fee or face a potential lawsuit. While Apple has publicly backed their iOS developers against Lodsys, the legal status of the entire situation remains murky. Lodsys was still sending out legal notices to iOS developers at least up until Apple's formal response. Apple has claimed that their existing patent licenses cover their developers' usage.

Based on a Google groups discussion, it appears that Lodsys is also going after Android developers. At least one Android developer has been targeted with the same Patent infringement claims from Lodsys:

We recently implemented in-app purchases for our Android application and several weeks later we received a letter from Lodsys, claiming that we infringed on their patents.

Have any other Android developers out there been sent a letter? Has Google taken any action on this issue yet? Has Google given direction to any developers that have been hit by this? We are obviously a small shop and are not financially capable of defending ourselves over a litigation.

This news may even be somewhat reassuring to iOS developers. Like Apple, it seems unlikely that Google will let this stand. Google is also similarly believed to be a licensee of the same patent. Lodsys claims, however, that these licenses do not extend to individual developers on each platform.

iOS developer Villain CEO Dane is asking affected developers to contact him at dane@villainhq.com in an effort to pool resources in the event of a lawsuit.

Apple seems to be quietly inviting overseas journalists to the 2011 Worldwide Developer's Conference (WWDC) Keynote. With only one and a half weeks until the event, Apple isn't giving that much notice to international journalists. Earlier this week, we heard that Apple's iPhone PR team was approaching British journalists to attend WWDC in San Francisco.

Now, iTechReport.com.au has spotted a tweet from Australian technology editor Charlie Brown revealing that he had been invited to San Francisco on June 6th, the first date of WWDC.

The tweet has now been removed, but Brown said that he expected something big at the event. Apple commonly invites journalists to the WWDC, though this year Apple has been particularly quiet about the details of the keynote. By this time, Apple has usually announced the time/date of the keynote as well as the host. The WWDC keynote typically takes place at 10am Pacific on the first day of WWDC. This year that would fall on June 6th. Steve Jobs is the usual keynote speaker, but due to his medical leave of absence, it seems likely that role will be filled by someone else.

In the original WWDC announcement (see above), Apple has already revealed that they will be talking about the "future" of iOS and Mac OS X. So, we expect iOS 5 and Mac OS X Lion to be the focus of the event as well as a possible music cloud service that has been heavily rumored.