MacRumors

Hardmac today points to a netkas.org posting revealing that Apple has built nearly all of the required support for OpenGL 3.0 into Mac OS X 10.6.3, with 22 out of 23 extensions now supported. Most of the associated OpenGL 3.0-specific functions, however, are reportedly not yet supported.

The public release of Mac OS X 10.6.2 supports only 15 of the 23 OpenGL 3.0 extensions, suggesting that Apple is moving rapidly toward full support for OpenGL 3.0, which would offer increased graphics performance for the company's Mac computers. The graphics cards used in current Mac models already support OpenGL 3.0, which was released in July 2008, but the required software support in Snow Leopard to take advantage of the specification has not yet appeared.

TG Daily reports on a rumor it heard during CES claiming that Asian suppliers of 10.1-inch LCD and OLED screens are experiencing shortages of their products as Apple snaps up available stocks for its tablet device.

"We were designing a product for a customer and we needed 10 inch screens, but we've been trying for months and can't get one from any of the Asian suppliers," an anonymous designer for a firm wishing to remain nameless told TG Daily.

"We were told that Apple pre-ordered them all. All 10 inch LCDs, and all 10 inch OLEDs too," our source continued, redundantly adding "it's for the Apple tablet."

Reports of Apple planning to use an OLED screen for its tablet have been few, with one November report curiously suggesting that the company would delay the launch of its tablet until late 2010 in order to launch two models, one carrying a 10.6-inch LCD screen and one with a 9.7-inch OLED display. Apple's potential use of OLED technology in a number of its products has, however, been a popular topic for many years now.

Today's report of Apple causing display shortages is rather similar to a claim made last month by T3, although in that case it was claimed that the industry was experiencing shortages of 7-inch screens, with Apple speculated to be about the only company capable of demanding such quantities.

The content of Fingerworks.com has been removed this week after remaining online for nearly 5 years after the acquisition of the company by Apple. The removal seems to correspond with the impending announcement of an Apple tablet later this month. One possible explanation is that Apple will finally be implementing many of the same advanced multi-touch keyboard gestures that were originally pioneered by Fingerworks.

Up until last week, Fingerworks.com retained photographs and details about their multi-touch keyboards and gesture pads they released for Macs years ago. In fact an old press release describes the benefits of their Multi-Touch system in a combination keyboard/touchpad:

The MacNTouch Gesture Keyboard is a complete user interface that serves as mouse, standard keyboard, and powerful multi-finger gesture interpreter. Mouse operations like point, click, drag, scroll, and zoom are combined seamlessly with touch-typing and multi-finger gesture everywhere on the MacNTouch's surface.
....
People are amazed by all the things a hand gesture user interface provides. We have a large number of easy- to-use gestures that cover just about every common computer operation. Users don't have to reach for hot-keys because gestures are faster and easier to do.

It's been widely expected that this sort of all purpose multi-touch interface will be offered in Apple's upcoming tablet. Wayne Westerman who was one of the founders of Fingerworks has since been the author of many multi-touch patent applications from Apple, including advanced gesturing implementations for Mac OS X.

In a report published late last week and gaining significant attention today, MOTO shares the results of some simple testing conducted on the iPhone, Motorola Droid, HTC Droid Eris, and Google Nexus One, assessing the accuracy of the touchscreens on the devices. According to the study, the iPhone's touchscreen performs relatively well, offering precise straight-line tracking under both light and medium pressure, although it does exhibit loss of sensitivity at the screen's edges.

In comparison, the Droid Eris and Nexus One, which share a touch controller chip, perform well under medium pressure, including at the edges, but falter somewhat under light pressure. Motorola's Droid, however, exhibits significant waviness and "stairstepping" under both light and heavy pressure, indicating inaccuracies in the tracking process.

The testing procedure simply involves installing a drawing program on the device and then slowly tracing straight lines across the device's screen to assess how well the system is able to track finger movements.

MOTO has also published a video demonstrating how the testing was performed, although the video shows an original iPhone while the presented results include a newer-generation iPhone. The Nexus One is also not included in the video presentation, as it was unavailable for the initial round of testing.

France Tlcom and Orange executive Stphane Richard has apparently confirmed in a radio interview that Apple will be launching its much-anticipated tablet device as has been rumored for later this month. AppAdvice offers a translation of the exchange between Richard and Jean-Pierre Elkabbach of France's Europe 1:

Jean-Pierre Elkabbach (the interviewer) : According to Le Point (a french magazine), your partner Apple will be launching a tablet
Stphane Richard: Yes.
Jean-Pierre Elkabbach: ... equipped with a webcam.
Stphane Richard: Yes.
Jean-Pierre Elkabbach: Will Orange customers also be able to enjoy it?
Stphane Richard: Of course!, they will actually particularly enjoy it because the webcam will allow live video streaming. It's a new take on mobile video-conferencing.

A video of the interview is also available, with the relevant comments beginning at approximately the 6:10 mark.

Richard has been tabbed as the next CEO of France Tlcom, a position he will assume when current CEO Didier Lombard retires next year. As of January 1st, 2010, Richard assumed the position of Chief Executive Officer Delegate in preparation for taking the helm of the company.

Update: paidContent:UK received word from Orange clarifying that Richard was simply acknowledging the speculation regarding a tablet and the company's wish to support it if it does exist.

These responses in no way reflect Orange's confirmation of the existence of the rumoured device. The spokesperson was merely confirming that he is aware of the speculation surrounding a launch and that Orange would be delighted to have such a product were it ever to be available.

The New York Times offers some additional tidbits that might come in the rumored Apple Tablet.

According to former Apple employees, Apple has been working on advanced multi-touch gesturing that was originally pioneered by FingerWorks. Apple acquired FingerWorks a number of years ago and has been leveraging their multi-touch technology in their latest products. This news shouldn't be particularly surprising for anyone who has been following Apple for the past few years.

The most interesting report from the article is that Apple is said to have "spent the past couple of years working on a multitouch version of iWork". Such a version of iWork would presumably allow the upcoming Apple tablet to be used for document creation rather than solely content consumption. It would also blur the lines between the functions of tablet and that of a more traditional laptop computer.

Apple is rumored to be introducing their tablet computer later this month.

Pixel Qi provided demonstrations of its transflective screen for the press this morning and we were able to see it in action. Pixel Qi had first announced last month that production of its screens would start soon, with shipments of the first products to include it in Q1 of this year.

With the backlight on, the screen appears to be a standard LCD screen with an anti-glare finish. With the backlight off, the Pixel Qi screen closely resembles the e-ink screen of the Amazon Kindle and other ebook readers. While the contrast between the background and text on the Pixel Qi screen with its backlight off doesn't appear to offer the same contrast as the Kindle's e-ink screen to our naked eye, it's still quite readable and should be very capable in this mode to replicate the reading experience on a Kindle or similar device. These e-ink modes are said to be much better for the viewer in terms of both eye fatigue as well as reading speed and comprehension.

Pixel Qi representatives stated that their screen is scheduled to appear in a number of devices by the middle of the year, though they could not disclose the names of these device partners. Notion Ink has been the first to announce a device - an Android-based tablet dubbed Adam - that will have a Pixel Qi screen.

The viewing angle of this first generation screen, however, wasn't great, and while it is said to be comparable to other current netbook screens, it's hard to imagine that Apple would use this in their tablet. It's still a very promising technology and we're excited to see where it will eventually lead.

Elsewhere on the show floor, NVIDIA had a handful of early-development tablet models on display with its Tegra 2 chipset, including the ICD Vega and Notion Ink's Adam. The various tablets ran the Android operating system and featured capacitive touchscreen. No pricing or official release date information is available yet for any of the devices.

Hands on time with the devices were pretty limited, and, honestly, there wasn't really that much to do. Playback of HD video was demonstrated, but it was quickly apparent the scaled up Android operating system wasn't particularly well suited for tablet use. The on-screen keyboard was too big to use thumbs for typing, and otherwise awkward to hold to try to type more properly. To be fair, these are just development prototypes so certainly don't reflect the final shipping products. But it makes it clear that Apple will have had to address text input interface issues in their expected version of the tablet.

Reuters reports on information from Apple's supply chain indicating that touchscreens for the company's long-rumored tablet device are in manufacturing and that production of the device's casing, which is reportedly aluminum, will begin next month. The beginning of mass production of components for the device suggests that it is likely to launch in the second quarter of this year.

Suppliers for Apple Inc's new tablet computer have begun shipping touchscreen panels and will start delivering aluminum casings for it next month, sources said, implying a second-quarter product launch.

AVY Precision Technology Inc, a Taiwanese manufacturer of covers for electronic products, will begin production of the cases in February, two sources familiar with the situation said on Friday.

TPK Solutions, an unlisted touch screen panel maker also based in Taiwan will also supply panels for the product, a third source said, on top of those already being manufactured by another Taiwan company, Wintek Corp.

The claims follow relatively recent reports that Apple will begin mass production of the tablet next month with availability scheduled for March or April. Another report just days ago from The Wall Street Journal pointed to a March launch for the tablet, with two different material casings reportedly under consideration. The latest report, however, suggests that Apple has settled on an aluminum case for the device.

Claims of touchscreen suppliers for the tablet have been muddled over the past few months, with early reports that Wintek had been awarded the contract called into question that Foxconn subsidiary Innolux could be tapped for the screens.

AppleInsider reports on information from a source claiming that Apple is looking to acquire significant quantities of LED camera flash components, sparking speculation that the company is planning to add flash capabilities to its camera on the iPhone, and possibly the iPod touch should it also gain a camera.

People familiar with Apple's initiative claim the electronics maker is seeking allotments of LED camera flash components in the tens of millions for delivery during the 2010 calendar year, meaning future iPhones -- and possibly the iPod touch -- are the most likely recipients of those parts, due to their sales volume. Those same people say that Philips' Lumileds Lighting sector is believed to be the front-runner for Apple's business and may have already secured the design win.

Despite the generally-decent image quality of Apple's existing 3.2-megapixel camera in the iPhone 3GS, increasing numbers of smartphones, including the Motorola Droid and Google Nexus One, have been moving to 5-megapixel camera sensors with LED flash to assist in low-light situations.

Apple has reportedly secured orders with current camera sensor supplier OmniVision Technologies for large quantities of 5-megapixel camera sensors, likely destined for the next-generation iPhone. Apple had been planning to add a camera to the iPod touch when it was revised last September, but apparently scrapped the change relatively late in the design process, possibly due to challenges presented by the device's thin profile. Many still expect Apple to add a camera to the iPod touch in the future, although it is unknown how the company will deal with the design challenges.

Imagination Technologies today announced the launch of its PowerVR SGX545 graphics IP core, a new, high-end addition to the company's SGX series already used in the iPhone 3GS and third-generation iPod touch. In comparison to the SGX535 used in Apple's current handheld devices, the new SGX545 offers a number of enhancements, including increased performance of 40 million polygons per second (up from 28 million in the SGX535).

Says Tony King-Smith, VP Marketing, Imagination: "Combining our many years of experience in the embedded, mobile and PC-based DirectX graphics worlds, POWERVR SGX 545 takes the possibilities of hand-held graphics to a new level by delivering a full DirectX 10.1 and OpenGL 3.x feature set as well as delivering GPU powered OpenCL heterogeneous parallel processing capabilities for the mobile and embedded markets. This makes POWERVR SGX545 a compelling solution for application processor SoC designers targeting the next generation of netbook and MID mobile products demanding exceptional graphics capabilities."

Imagination Technologies notes that the design has proven in test chips and has already been "licensed by a lead partner." While the partner is unnamed, Apple was revealed as a licensee and investor in Imagination Technologies in late 2008, and raised its stake in the company a few months later, signaling a strong interest in Imagination Technologies' product pipeline.

The PowerVR SGX545 combined with the Dual Core Cortex A9 ARM processor could be an alternative Apple Tablet option to the NVIDIA Tegra 2 platform released yesterday. It's not clear how this combination would compare to the NVIDIA solution in both performance and battery life.

The Daily News of Palo Alto, California reports that Apple has filed planning documents there for a new retail store that the company is calling "a new prototype for the company." While Apple's name has not been officially associated with the project in public filings and discussion, numerous sources have indicated that the company is the tenant involved in the project.

Planning documents indicate that the new store, which will be located less than two blocks from the company's existing Palo Alto retail store, will be about 10,700 square feet, over 50% larger than the current location. The new store's facade is planned to be completely transparent at street level, with large skylights allowing trees to grow inside the store, thus minimizing the transition from outside to inside and drawing customers in.

"The proposed store is a new prototype for the applicant," the developers wrote in a memo to the city. "Fully half the function of the store serves to provide education and service to business as well as customer patrons in addition to product sales. The store is a commons for the applicant's community to gather."

The memo adds that the transparent glass front "dissolves the boundary that traditional store facades create. By not breaking the horizontal ground plane of the sidewalk with opaque wall or landscape element, for example, the street is made part of the store's interior; the pedestrian is in the store before entering it."

At the opening of its new Upper West Side store in Manhattan late last year, Apple Senior Vice President of Retail Ron Johnson indicated that the company was shifting its plans to include larger and more iconic stores, noting that many of their existing stores are too small to function properly with the traffic they receive.