9 to 5 Mac reports that a spokesperson for T-Mobile USA has disclosed the carrier currently has over one million iPhone users on its network, despite the fact that Apple has not offered an unlocked iPhone in the United States until the past several weeks and that differences between T-Mobile's network and other GSM networks that mean that iPhones are unable to run at 3G speeds on T-Mobile.
In a meeting with T-Mobile spokespeople today ahead of the NYC Pepcom event, I received word that there are actively over a million Apple iPhones currently on T-Mobile's network. When asked for a breakdown, the spokesman said the majority were pre-iPhone 4 but that a significant amount of people had "taken the scissors" to their T-Mobile SIM cards. T-Mobile doesn't currently offer a Micro-SIM solution for Apple's iPhone 4 so people who want to use the iPhone 4 must modify their SIMs into MicroSIMs.
T-Mobile noted that it is planning to roll out micro-SIMs at some unspecified time in the future, but declined to discuss any possibility of the iPhone coming directly to the carrier's network.
AT&T announced back in March that it planned to acquire T-Mobile for $39 billion, although federal regulators are still assessing the impact of the potential merger before giving a final go-ahead on the plans.
Even as a judge is expressing skepticism over whether Apple can win its case against Amazon regarding the "App Store" trademark, Apple continues to send out cease and desist letters to other entities using the term in their businesses.
Earlier this week, open source startup Amahi reported on its blog (via The Next Web) that Apple had served the company with a cease and desist letter demanding that it stop using an "App Store" section heading on its website. Apple has demanded that Amahi cease using the "App Store" term on its website and to "refrain from such uses in the future."
Why Amahi? Why pick on such a small target when there are so many people using the app store term? Amahi is a Open Source startup, and is not even in the mobile space. We may never know ...
We're still trying to determine what is the best course of action, however, this looks like a rather heavy handed move. Amahi being literally nothing next to Apple (sigh) we do not have the resources to fight this battle.
Amahi has launched a "name the store" contest to allow its users to help create a new, non-infringing name for the company's application marketplace. For the time being, Amahi has cleverly begun using a randomized list of names such as "App Depot", "Appalog", "App Market", "Addons", "Amahi Apps", "Appmahi", and many more on the tab that previously contained the "App Store" term.
But Apple has been targeting even smaller entities as well, as we just heard from the owner of pcappstore.com, who says that Apple yesterday sent him a cease and desist email, with the official paperwork still on its way to him. In this case, Apple has gone beyond a simple cease and desist order and additionally demanded that the owner turn over the pcappstore.com domain to Apple, citing the potential for customer confusion.
The site owner notes that he has owned the domain since November 2008, after Apple debuted its App Store earlier in the year.
Apple has yet to even officially be granted the registered "App Store" trademark, having applied for it in July 2008 as the marketplace debuted. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office tentatively granted Apple the trademark in January 2010 and published it for opposition, and Microsoft has been leading an effort to have the mark denied.
Trademark registration is not required, however, although registration does convey significant benefits and privileges within the law. Even as the trademark registration process remains ongoing, Apple feels compelled to protect the mark lest it become considered a generic term deemed ineligible for protection. Microsoft, Amazon, and others are of course arguing that "App Store" is inherently a generic term.
Despite statements by Google's former CEO that Apple had "just" renewed their Map partnership with Google, there appears to be evidence that Apple has been working on its own mapping solution in iOS 5.
It's certainly no secret that Apple is actively working on some sort of mapping solution. In the past few years, Apple has acquired two mapping companies Placebase and Poly9. The company has also been actively recruiting for job applicants with navigation software experience and has even revealed work on a future crowds-sourced traffic database.
Now, a look at the legal disclaimers found in iOS 5 reveal a new section called "Map Data". (full text) This section lists licenses from an extensive number of third party companies that provide mapping data and related services.
This entire section is new in iOS 5's legal section and does not appear to be related to Google's own mapping data licenses. Google's own legal terms for their map data is distinct, and many of the companies do not overlap. In fact, one of the listed traffic-data companies is a competitor to Google's Maps.
The companies listed in iOS 5's legal notices include the following diverse companies under the "Map Data" section:
• CoreLogic offers Parcel data which marks boundaries for of properties to provide positional accuracy in location-based solutions. • Getchee provides location and market data on China, India and Southeast Asia. • Increment P Corp provides location and traffic data for Japan. • Localeze provides local business listings. • MapData Sciences Pty Ltd. Inc provides mapping data for Australia and New Zealand. • DMTI provides postal code data for Canada. • TomTom offers global TeleAtlas mapping data which is also licensed by Google for their map solution. • Urban Mapping provides in-depth neighborhood data such as crime, demographics, school performance, economic indicators and more. • Waze offers real-time maps and traffic information based on crowd sourced data.
The last two companies are perhaps the most interesting. Urban Mapping offers extensive additional data over traditional mapping products. The company was even a partner of Placebase's back in 2007 before Apple's acquisition. Meanwhile, Waze seems to be exactly what Apple was talking about when they hinted at crowd-sourced traffic data. Waze offers mobile apps that can be used to send data back to a central database to show realtime traffic data.
Given the news of Apple's recent agreement with Google, it may be that Apple's own solution wasn't ready for iOS 5, so we may have to wait a while before we see what Apple's been working on.
Single (Left) vs Dual (Right) LED comparison with Nokia phones by Zomgitscj
Digitimes claims that the upcoming iPhone 5 will incorporate a dual LED Flash.
Recent market rumors have indicated that Apple's iPhone 5 is likely to come with a dual-LED flash with Taiwan-based LED packaging firms Everlight Electronics, Edison Opto and Lite-On Technology being pinpointed as potential suppliers. All related companies have denied they are involved in the production of dual-LED flashes.
The advantage of a dual LED flash appears to be brighter and more expansive lighting for your photographs. Back in 2008 Zomgitscj showed differences between the dual LED flash and a single LED flash found on his Nokia N96 and Nokia N95. One is shown above but the site has several other examples for the phone at varying distances.
We'd already seen rumors that Apple may be separating the Flash away from the camera sensor in the iPhone 5.
AndroidCentral provides details of Verizon's plans to eliminate their unlimited data plans as of July 7th. As previously reported, Verizon will be doing away with their unlimited $29.99 plan that is presently available for smartphones and replacing it with a tiered plan. Like AT&T, however, they will be grandfathering in existing customers so they will continue to be able to use the unlimited plan:
• If you have Verizon's $29.99 unlimited data plan, you'll be able to keep it after July 7. • You'll also be able to keep the $29.99 unlimited plan when you upgrade to a new phone. (No word on if there's a pricing difference or when that policy could change.) • If you add a line to an existing account, you'll not be able to chose the $29.99 unlimited data plan. • If you're a new customer between now and July 7, you'll still be able to choose the $29.99 plan.
This grandfathering also applies to future upgrades, so existing iPhone 4 Verizon customers will be able to retain their unlimited plan if they upgrade to the iPhone 5 when it is released.
A federal judge has hinted she will deny a motion from Apple asking the court to prevent Amazon.com from using the term "Appstore" for its Android app marketplace while a lawsuit over Amazon's use of the term continues. Apple initially sued Amazon this past March.
Bloomberg quoted U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton saying Apple had not demonstrated "real evidence of actual confusion" among customers trying to differentiate between Apple and Amazon's stores, and this was a "stumbling block for Apple." The judge continued, saying she was "troubled by the showing that you've made so far, but that's where you're likely not to prevail at this early juncture."
There was no indication from the judge how quickly she intends to rule on the matter.
CNBC will run a one-hour special on Apple CEO Steve Jobs tomorrow night, Thursday June 23rd at 9PM EDT. The show, part of CNBC's Titans series, will offer a look at Steve within interviews from a number of observers, including John Sculley, the former Pepsi-Co exec who famously pushed Jobs out of his own company.
From his parents' California garage he launched the personal computer revolution and built Apple into the most envied, and valuable, technology company in the world. From the Macintosh and the iPod, to iTunes and the iPhone, Jobs has personally presided over the creation of dozens of transformational devices, battling hostile corporate boards, cutthroat competitors, and life-threatening illness while securing his legacy as one of the few visionaries who dared to "Think Different."
"CNBC Titans #6: Steve Jobs" will premiere on Thursday, June 23rd at 9pm ET. The show will repeat that evening at 10pm ET, 12am ET and 1am ET. The show will also repeat on Sunday, June 26th at 9pm ET.
M.I.C gadget notes that a reporter from Chinese newspaper First Financial Daily reported seeing Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook in the lobby of China Mobile's headquarters earlier today. According to the reporter, who was also able to snap a photo of Cook although it only shows him from the rear:
This morning, around 10, Apple COO Tim Cook is spotted in the lobby of China Mobile’s HQ, accompanied by 7-8 people. Probably Cook is talking with executives from China Mobile to discuss bilateral cooperation for the iPhone. Both China and America flags are seen in the lobby, and Cook seems to be happy.
China Mobile is far and away the world's largest mobile phone carrier with over 600 million customers, making it a major potential partner for Apple. The carrier has long been interested in offering the iPhone, but Apple has so far been unwilling to build customized hardware capable of running on China Mobile's homegrown TD-SCDMA network standard.
Reports last month indicated that Apple and China Mobile had reached or were nearing an agreement that would see a future iPhone developed for the carrier's TD-LTE 4G network. Reports have indicated that the same chips could be used for both LTE and TD-LTE, meaning that Apple could conceivably release a future iPhone capable of running on either standard. Complicating the issue, however, is a lack of full LTE coverage looking out over the next several years, and the consequent difficulties of providing fallback 3G compatibility for different standards.
If Cook is indeed in China talking to executives at China Mobile, it seems likely that significant discussions are underway. While any negotiations of this size would likely take place at the senior executive level, Cook's role as Chief Operating Officer currently in charge of Apple's day-to-day operations in the absence of Steve Jobs would suggest that his direct involvement signals negotiations of the highest importance.
Concurrent with the launch of Final Cut Pro X yesterday, Apple discontinued both Final Cut Express and Final Cut Server. Final Cut Express was Apple's "lite" video editing program, meant to bridge the gap between the free iMovie and $999 Final Cut Studio package.
With Final Cut Pro now priced at $299, Apple clearly felt that a bridge program was no longer necessary.
Both Express and Server are unavailable on the Apple Online Store, and their both of their old product pages on Apple.com redirect to the new Final Cut Pro page.
For nearly a month now, we've been following Samsung's request for access to Apple's next-generation iPhone and iPad hardware, a move obviously made in retaliation for Apple having demanded (and received) access to unreleased, albeit publicly-shown, Samsung hardware as part of the legal battle between the two companies.
As noted by FOSS Patents, a federal judge has now ruled that Apple does not have to turn its plans for the next-generation iOS hardware over to Samsung's lawyers.
The judge also ruled, however, that there is some merit to Samsung's claims that its own forthcoming devices claimed to be infringing on Apple's designs should be compared to Apple's next-generation hardware as opposed to the current-generation hardware, particularly in the case of the iPhone. With Apple expected to be releasing the next-generation iPhone within the next few months, the judge notes that the potential for customer confusion should be gauged against products on the market at the same time.
Samsung is free to argue, for instance, that there is little likelihood of confusion because consumers will not encounter its products side-by-side with the iPhone 4 or iPad 2, but rather with Apple's next generation iPhone and iPad. Similarly, as to proximity, Samsung is free to argue that because the iPhone 4 and [iPad] 2 will soon be outmoded and reduced in price, they are not being sold (or very soon will not be sold) to the same class of purchasers who are likely to buy new Samsung products. By choosing to allege infringement only of its current products, Apple opens itself up to these arguments.
But while the judge admits that aspect of Samsung's argument, her ruling also reveals that she is unconvinced of an imminent release of new hardware from Apple, particularly in the case of the next-generation iPad. And regardless of Apple's timeline for a hardware release, Samsung's case does not hinge upon receiving early access to Apple's unannounced devices.
As briefly noted by Patently Apple yesterday, Apple has finally been awarded a key patent related to the iOS user interface as implemented on the original iPhone. Originally filed in December 2007, the patent application incorporated several previous provisional patent applications dating back to January 2007 when Apple first unveiled the iPhone six months ahead of its launch.
While the newly-granted patent does not reach the scale of "The iPhone Patent", a 358-page monster patent granted in January 2009 and carrying Steve Jobs' name as an inventor, it does specifically address some basic multi-touch functionality including providing users with the ability to pan around the screen while touching the screen with some number of fingers but panning around a specific frame within the displayed content using a different number of fingers. In essence, the patent describes the basic concept of navigating around webpages with a one-finger touch while also being able to to use a two-finger touch to independently scroll within an embedded frame.
PC Magazine takes a look at the implications of the granted patent, noting that the covered material is broad enough to pose potential problems for other smartphone manufacturers employing capacitive multitouch interfaces on their devices.
It gets quite a bit more technical in its full form, but there's one thing patent experts consulted by PCMag agree on -- Apple has been awarded an incredibly broad patent that could prove to be hugely problematic for other makers of capacitive touch-screen smartphones.
Apple's patent essentially gives it ownership of the capacitive multitouch interface the company pioneered with its iPhone, said one source who has been involved in intellectual property litigation on similar matters.
Apple's patent is also written broadly enough to apply to non-smartphone devices such as tablets and iPod touch-like media players, giving Apple significant clout in protecting its technology.
Apple has already filed infringement lawsuits against a number of its competitors in the smartphone industry including HTC and Samsung, making good on promises that the company would aggressively defend its intellectual property behind the iPhone.
Update: There has been some dispute over just how broadly-applicable Apple's patent is, with a number of readers taking exception to PC Mag's claims of the patent being "hugely problematic" to Apple's competitors. We agree that the scope of the patent is considerably narrower than it would appear from PC Mag's statements and refer readers back to our description of what the patent does in fact cover: the recognition of differing numbers of fingers used as input for scrolling or panning around displayed content either in its entirety or in a smaller subset embedded with a frame.
While the patent doesn't nearly cover the entire graphical interface and multitouch functionality of iOS, it is one more piece in a puzzle of patents that Apple has pieced together to protect a significant portion of the iPhone's functionality.
DigiTimes reports that Amazon is set to launch its own tablet device within the next few months, adding yet another iPad competitor to the mix, but one with the ability to deliver significant media integration due to its existing businesses in the music and video markets. According to the report, Amazon is trying to bring the device to market well ahead of the holiday sales rush and will be shooting for aggressive shipments of 700,000-800,000 units per month with a goal of selling four million units before the end of the year.
The timing of launch is to meet the peak sales period prior to Thanksgiving in the US and the year-end holidays in the US and Europe, the sources pointed out.
Amazon adopts processors developed by Texas Instruments, with Taiwan-based Wintek to supply touch panels, ILI Technology to supply LCD driver ICs and Quanta Computer responsible for assembly, the sources indicated.
The report specifically mentions that Amazon will integrate streaming movie services with the new tablet, although the company's new Cloud Player for music should also make it simple for tablet owners to listen to their music on the device. It is unknown what platform Amazon will use for its tablet, but most observers presume that the device will be based on Android considering Amazon's existing offerings for the platform such as its Appstore for Android.
While competitors have been slow to react to the iPad's success and even in aggregate have still been unable to dethrone Apple's tablet from its dominant market position, new tablets are now appearing on a regular basis with most of the major computer and electronics players staking out their positions. And like Amazon, other companies such as HP are doing what they can to duplicate portions of Apple's integrated iOS ecosystem by moving to cloud-based media services that will allow music and other content to be easily accessed across devices.
Bloomberg reaffirms the circulating rumors that Apple will launch a new iPhone in September of this year and is working on a high resolution iPad 3.
They cite two people "familiar with the plans" who indicate that the new iPhone will carry a faster processor and more advanced camera:
The device will include the A5 processor, the more powerful chip that Apple added to the iPad 2 earlier this year, along with an 8-megapixel camera, up from the 5-megapixel model in the iPhone 4, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the details aren’t public.
The new iPhone is said to closely resemble the iPhone 4. As expected, the new iPhone will run iOS 5 which is reportedly codenamed "Telluride".
Bloomberg's sources also report that Apple is testing a version of the iPad that has a "higher resolution screen, similar to the one now used in the iPhone 4". From here, Bloomberg references older rumors that Apple might be working on a cheaper iPhone aimed at attracting customers in developing countries. They seem to believe that work is continuing on this low-end iPhone.
Finally, they report that the resolution of the new iPad would be "about one-third higher" than the iPad 2. Such a small increase would be a surprise as Apple's method for increasing resolution on the iPhone was to double each dimension to offer simple scaling for apps. It's been expected that Apple might adopt the same technique in the iPad 3, though technical hurdles may exist for such high resolution displays.
iPhone 4 owners who purchased on or soon after launch day last year (June 24, 2010) will soon see their factory warranties expire. Warranties on most Apple products are good for one year.
Current iPhone 4 owners can look up exactly when their warranty is up can do so at Apple's Support site, simply by entering their iPhone serial number on Apple's website. That online form will tell you exactly when your warranty expires.
That date is notable as its the last chance customers are able to purchase AppleCare for their iPhone 4. For $69, AppleCare extends the original iPhone factory warranty to two years total and includes unlimited phone support. The one year anniversary is more notable this year as Apple has not introduced a new iPhone to take the iPhone 4's place.
While the merits of any extended warranty are always up for debate, if you're interested, the process to buy AppleCare can be done entirely online, as long as the original factory warranty hasn't expired. In the past, Apple has been known to offer warranty coverage to users for a limited time after the factory warranty expires, but generally not for more than a few weeks.
Earlier today, Apple launched the much anticipated Final Cut Pro X (FCP X) to the Mac App Store. Originally described as a "dramatic and ambitious" change, it represents a complete rewrite and reimagining of Final Cut Pro, leading to some apprehension amongst professionals.
Since the initial release, several walkthroughs and impressions have been posted across the web and on our forums. Like the App Store ratings (shown above), the response has been mixed.
Philip Hodgetts provides an extensive blog post in question and answer form about what is and isn't included in Final Cut Pro X. He specifically reveals upcoming features that Apple has told him are coming. These include:
• "Multicam will come in a future release, when Apple decide[s] how best to implement it within the new application and architecture." • "As of Version 1 and today’s release there is no direct import capability for [Final Cut Pro 6/7] projects. My understanding is that there will be an Apple-provided utility for importing XML from older projects to Final Cut Pro X." • "the Apple folk made it abundantly clear that the ecosystem was very important to them, and that there will be a new, and much improved, replacement for the current XML workflow."
Larry Jordan who has been frequently quoted for his early comments about the Final Cut Pro X also weighs in. Jordan points out several of the improvements and disadvantages of the new system. He also points out that Apple is planning a quicker upgrade cycle for Final Cut Pro than they have in the past now that its in the App Store:
In the past, Apple used a 18 month, or so, cycle between updates. Now, Apple is telling me they are hoping to do an update once or twice a year.
Ultimately, despite the limitations, he expects that within the next 18 months practically all Final Cut customers will be running Final Cut Pro X due to the overall improvements.
Mozilla has transitioned to a rapid release cycle for Firefox, offering more full-featured releases more quickly than previously. Firefox 4 was released just this past March.
The company claims 1,000 improvements and enhancements are present in this version of Firefox, including support for "more modern Web technologies that make it easier for developers to build amazing Firefox Add-ons, Web applications and websites." See full release notes for more information.
DailyTech revives a long running rumor that Apple may be getting into the TV set business. (via 9to5mac) These rumors have been running for years with previous claims even specifying that Apple would release 42" and 50" Plasmas displays for sale in Apple Stores. Both Apple's Steve Jobs and Tim Cook have dismissed the possibility of an Apple TV set before. In 2010, Cook responded to questions about the Apple TV set top box at a Goldman Sachs Conference:
Q: Where do you see things going with the Apple TV? A: It's still a hobby, but our gut tells us there's something there. The go-to-market model is difficult, and we have no interest in being in the TV market. But we have continued to invest in the Apple TV and will keep doing so.
According to DailyTech, a "former Apple executive" has revealed that the company has entered into a partnership with an unnamed consumer electronics manufacturer to build Apple-branded television sets that will come with Apple TV and iTunes functionalities built directly into the television set.
According to source Apple plans to "blow Netflix and all those other guys away" by bundling Apple TV + iTunes inside physical television sets. According to the source Apple is teaming up with a major supplier (our guess would be Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (SEO:005930)), to provide the physical televisions, which will be rebranded as Apple television sets.
While the televisions would be manufactured by the partner company, they would be branded and marketed as Apple products. Apple is understood to be shooting for a fall release, although the debut may slip into early next year.
Apple's own Apple TV set top box has seen limited success since its launch with Apple describing the entire business as a "hobby". Selling an all-in-one solution could address one of the hurdles that Steve Jobs discussed when talking about Google's entry into the same market:
"Subsidized set-top boxes have squashed innovation because no one wants to pay for separate boxes...ask TiVo, Roku, us, Google in a few months. The set-top box needs to be torn up and redesigned to get people things they way they want them.
DailyTech hasn't been a recent source of Apple-related rumors, so it's hard to gauge their accuracy on the topic.
Following its release this morning, the first hands-on videos from Final Cut Pro X are beginning to trickle out. Here's a first look from Matt's Macintosh channel on YouTube as Matt explored the new Final Cut:
