MacRumors

According to a report from Multichannel News, the iPhone may be next in line to gain the ability to stream video via Netflix's "Watch Instantly" feature. The feature is currently available on Mac and PC for all Netflix members, but subscribers with an unlimited membership plan may also take advantage of "Watch Instantly" on compatible devices other than a computer, such as an Xbox 360 or Roku Digital Video Player.

Netflix, ahead of pay-TV providers, continues extending its own "TV Everywhere" strategy to more devices.

Next up: The company will soon offer the Watch Instantly video-streaming feature on Apple iPhones and iPod Touch devices and the Nintendo Wii gaming console, according to an industry executive familiar with Netflix's plans. (Netflix wouldn't confirm the info, with a rep saying it declines to comment on "rumors or speculation.")

While some iPhone applications such as YouTube offer video streaming over Wi-Fi or a cellular network data connection, other apps such as SlingPlayer Mobile are only capable of streaming video when connected to a Wi-Fi network, purportedly to avoid over-taxing cellular data networks. The report notes that a similar restriction is likely for any Netflix video streaming on the iPhone.

Nintendo's Wii is also on the list of devices rumored to get "Watch Instantly" capability. No official word is available on when this feature may become available or the form in which it might arrive an official app in the App Store or a special web portal. Netflix has declined to comment on this rumor.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission today released a statement (via CNBC) commending Apple and Google for Google CEO Eric Schmidt's resignation from Apple's Board of Directors. The FTC, however, claims that it will continue to investigate the corporate ties the between two companies for potential anti-competitive activities related to "interlocking directorates".

On August 3, 2009, Apple announced that Eric E. Schmidt, Chief Executive Officer of Google, was stepping down from its board. "We have been investigating the Google/Apple interlocking directorates issue for some time and commend them for recognizing that sharing directors raises competitive issues, as Google and Apple increasingly compete with each other," said Bureau of Competition Director Richard Feinstein. "We will continue to investigate remaining interlocking directorates between the companies."

As CNBC notes, former Genentech CEO Arthur Levinson continues to serve on the Boards of Directors of both companies and former Vice-President Al Gore serves as both a director on Apple's Board and a "special advisor" to Google and Eric Schmidt.

Barron's chimes in (subscription required) with its contribution to recent Apple tablet rumors, claiming to have spoken with an unnamed "veteran analyst" who has seen firsthand a prototype of the forthcoming device. Unfortunately, the source provides little detail on the device other than to note that it will excel at displaying video content.

The machine impresses with its display of hi-def video content, says the veteran analyst, who asked not to be identified. "It's better than the average movie experience, when you hold this thing in your hands."

The source also notes that anticipation for an announcement regarding the device in the near future is so high that competing tablet manufacturers are holding off on new designs until they are able to see what Apple has to offer.

"It's close enough now to a final design that in Asia, there's no other product in the waiting room or in the bullpen," said the analyst. "There are dozens of ODMs [original device makers] making products for Lenovo and other PC makers that are all waiting to see what the Apple product is."

Barron's also cites a second source who confirms that news of the Apple tablet "is all over the supply chain in Asia."

As for details of the new device, the report seems to summarize many of the current rumors floating around, citing a possible $699-$799 price point and suggesting a September announcement and a November launch. A number of recent reports have pointed to a launch late this year, possibly as early as September alongside enhanced iTunes album offerings, although other reports have claimed that the device will not appear until early 2010.

Apple today announced that Google CEO Eric Schmidt has resigned from Apple's Board of Directors due to increasing competition between the two companies and its impact on his effectiveness as an Apple Board member.

"Eric has been an excellent Board member for Apple, investing his valuable time, talent, passion and wisdom to help make Apple successful," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "Unfortunately, as Google enters more of Apple's core businesses, with Android and now Chrome OS, Eric's effectiveness as an Apple Board member will be significantly diminished, since he will have to recuse himself from even larger portions of our meetings due to potential conflicts of interest. Therefore, we have mutually decided that now is the right time for Eric to resign his position on Apple's Board."

Following Google's announcement of Chrome OS last month, Schmidt acknowledged that he would discuss the future of his role with Apple. Even before the Chrome OS announcement, the U.S Federal Trade Commission had begun taking an interest in the apparent close ties between Apple and Google. At that time, both Schmidt and former Genentech CEO Arthur Levinson held positions on both companies' Boards of Directors. Levinson continues to hold Board positions with both companies.

Several MacRumors readers have reported that Amazon has begun taking pre-orders for Apple's forthcoming Mac OS X Snow Leopard. Amazon is currently offering Snow Leopard at Apple's announced price of $29 for OS X Leopard users, and the listing notes that while Snow Leopard is slated for a September release, no official release date has been announced.

Amazon has also prominently featured an "Upgrade Path Alert" notifying customers that the upgrade is available only for Intel computers currently running OS X Leopard.

Please note, that only Apple OS X Leopard users are eligible for the Snow Leopard upgrade. Tiger & earlier OS users will need to purchase either versions of the upgraded Mac Box Set. Also, Snow Leopard will only run on intel-based Mac computers.

Amazon has also begun offering pre-orders of OS X Snow Leopard family packs, Mac Box Sets bundling Snow Leopard with iLife '09 and iWork '09, and Snow Leopard Server.

- Mac OS X version 10.6 Snow Leopard ($29.00)
- Mac OS X Snow Leopard Family Pack (5-User) ($49.00)
- Mac Box Set - (with Snow Leopard) ($169.00)
- Mac Box Set Family Pack with Snow Leopard (5-User) ($229.00)
- Mac OS X Server version 10.6 Snow Leopard ($499.00)

Note: Purchases through these Amazon links benefit MacRumors financially.

The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that the U.S. Federal Communications Commission has opened an inquiry into Apple's rejection of an official Google Voice application for the iPhone as well as the removal of numerous third-party applications offering Google Voice functionality. In particular, the FCC is interested in AT&T's role in the decision-making process.

In letters sent late Friday to the three companies, the FCC asked why Apple rejected the Google Voice application for the iPhone and removed related "third-party applications" from its store.

The letter also seeks information on how AT&T was consulted in the decision, if at all.

Apple and AT&T declined to comment on the inquiry, while Google representatives have not yet responded to requests for comments.

The inquiry, which is apparently part of broader investigations by the FCC and the Department of Justice of possible anti-competitive practices in the wireless industry primarily targeting AT&T and Verizon, was reportedly initiated by the FCC on its own and not prompted by any specific complaint to the agency.

Earlier today, Bloomberg reported that the FCC is also taking a close look at rural wireless markets that have no or limited coverage from the major wireless providers to determine how handset exclusivity agreements with those providers are unfairly hindering competition from the smaller carriers that service the rural markets.

Apple today released iPhone OS 3.0.1, addressing an SMS security vulnerability disclosed at yesterday's Black Hat cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas. The release of iPhone OS 3.0.1 has been expected since a spokesperson for UK iPhone carrier O2 claimed earlier today that a fix for the issue would be coming from Apple on Saturday.

Apple has also posted a security document describing the issue.

Silicon Alley Insider reports that Apple is unlikely to create its own "iTunes for e-books" and will instead rely on third parties to deliver e-book content through the existing App Store. An e-book industry source has reportedly indicated that while Apple had contemplated directly offering e-book content several years ago, the plans were scrapped once the company fully grasped how difficult the industry is to navigate.

- The e-book market is still rather small, and even if Apple's tablet is a huge hit, it'll be hard to make enough revenue selling e-books to make the huge project -- setting up and running an e-book store -- worthwhile.
- Apple's iTunes music, video, and apps stores are designed as break-even businesses to help sell more Apple hardware, like iPhones, iPods, and Macs.
- There's already a ton of e-book vendors in the App Store that could provide a good-enough e-book shopping and reading experience to fulfill the "help sell more Apple hardware" mission. Better ones are showing up all the time.
- E-book stores that use Apple's iTunes e-commerce platform -- or are standalone e-book apps -- generate a very nice 30% revenue cut for Apple. The company probably wouldn't get enough additional revenue selling e-books on its own to be worthwhile.

Speculation regarding Apple's role in e-book offerings for its much-rumored tablet computer was renewed by a recent Financial Times report that cited interest in the new device on the part of e-book publishers. Rumors of Apple collecting book manuscripts for publication surfaced in mid-2006 as details of what ultimately became the iPod touch were circulating, although no Apple e-book offerings were ever released.

Engadget reports that a China-specific iPhone carrying model number A1324 received a five-year approval from China's State Radio Regulatory Commission on May 7th, opening the door for the company to launch the iPhone there. Separately, PC World notes that Chinese news portal Sina.com.cn posted a set of three images (included below) of the new Chinese iPhone earlier today, although it has since replaced the images with a single photo of the rear of the device with text blurred out.

The pictures were posted on Chinese portal Sina.com.cn on Friday morning and showed an iPhone with simplified Chinese characters in its display and inscribed on the back of the handset. Simplified characters are used in mainland China and Singapore, but Singaporean iPhones don't have Chinese inscription on the case. (Hong Kong and Taiwan use more complex traditional characters)

The iPhone in the pictures also carries China's "Environmental Protection Use Period" mark, which indicates the number of years of normal operation during which hazardous or toxic substances included in the product will not leak or change in a way that harms the environment or human health. In the case of the iPhone pictured that length of time is 10 years.

The pulled images depict the Simplified Chinese text on the rear of the device, as well as the device running on China Unicom's 3G network. A deal between Apple and China Unicom, the country's second largest wireless carrier, is reportedly near completion.

According to BBC News, an O2 spokesperson has revealed that Apple will be delivering an update on Saturday to address an iPhone SMS security vulnerability disclosed yesterday at the Black Hat cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas.

An O2 spokesperson said the patch would be available Saturday through iTunes.

"We will be communicating to customers both through the website and proactively," the spokesperson added.

"We always recommend our customers update their iPhone with the latest software and this is no different."

The flaw reportedly affects not only the iPhone but also other phones running Windows Mobile and Google's Android operating system, although the iPhone has gained the most significant publicity regarding the issue due to its high-profile status.

As disclosed by Charlie Miller and Collin Mulliner, the vulnerability lies in the modification of data that accompanies text messages and is not seen by the user. Because most operating systems use similar mechanisms to handle SMS data, the vulnerability affects a range of operating systems and devices.

The approach is particularly dangerous because messages are delivered automatically, and users cannot tell that they have received the malicious code.

The problem could be fixed by directly patching the vulnerability in smartphones' operating systems, or the network providers could scan for messages that look to be trying to gain access to phones via the malicious code.

Google has reportedly already taken steps to address the issue, but there is no word on whether Microsoft or wireless carriers are also working to prevent the vulnerability from compromising their systems.

Back in May, an image of an "Apple iPhone 3Gen 2009" bezel appeared on Chinese parts supplier websites. This led many to believe that the new iPhone would adopt a slightly different design with a higher earpiece. As it turns out, it appears the part was real but mislabeled.

CNet Asia provides a hands on with Creative's Zii Egg and provides this photo (above). The Zii Egg is a multi-touch iPod touch-like device that runs Google's Android operating system. The device, though, bears a strong resemblance to the leaked bezel images, suggesting that it had simply been mislabeled all along.

MacUser received word from the Consumer Electronics Association's Jason Oxman that Apple is not exhibiting at CES 2010, confirming a report by Engadget debunking the original Wall Street Journal report.

"Apple is a member of the trade association, but they are not signed up as an exhibitor for CES," said Jason Oxman, senior vice president of Industry Affairs for the CEA. Oxman also told Macworld that while Steve Jobs had been invited to speak at CES, the organization has not yet received a reply.

The original Wall Street Journal report has since been corrected. Oxman does confirm, however, that Steve Jobs has been invited to speak at CES, but has not yet responded to the offer.

Alongside today's introduction of updated Time Capsule models, Apple appears to have finally discontinued Shake, its long-standing high-end digital compositing and visual effects software package. While Shake's product pages remain available on Apple's site, it is no longer listed in the online Apple Store and MacRumors has received word that Apple sales representatives have been informed of the product's discontinuation. Shake had been priced at $499.

Shake was originally launched in 1997 as a product of Nothing Real, which was acquired by Apple in early 2002. Apple continued to update Shake over the next several years, but the release of Shake 4.1 in mid-2006 was accompanied by the announcement that no further software updates were planned. A minor update to version 4.1.1 was issued in late 2008.

At the time of Shake 4.1's release, rumors claimed that Apple's replacement for the software package, code-named "Phenomenon", would be based on Apple's Motion software and released in 2008. While such a standalone product has not surfaced, it is possible that Apple finally views Motion 4 and other components of the updated Final Cut Studio released last week as a sufficient replacement for Shake's features.

Update: Apple's Shake product pages now redirect to the Final Cut Studio main product page.

Forbes reports that cybersecurity researchers plan to publicize today at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas a security vulnerability in the iPhone SMS messaging system that reportedly would allow hackers to in theory "take over every iPhone in the world".

Using a flaw they've found in the iPhone's handling of text messages, the researchers say they'll demonstrate how to send a series of mostly invisible SMS bursts that can give a hacker complete power over any of the smart phone's functions. That includes dialing the phone, visiting Web sites, turning on the device's camera and microphone and, most importantly, sending more text messages to further propagate a mass-gadget hijacking.

According to the report, researchers Charlie Miller and Collin Mulliner notified Apple of the vulnerability over a month ago, but the company has yet to issue a patch for it.

Miller was the lead researcher behind an effort that discovered a vulnerability in the original iPhone soon after its 2007 launch, a flaw that Apple addressed with the release of iPhone OS 1.0.1 just two days before Miller was set to publicize his findings at that year's Black Hat conference.

Apple this morning quietly updated its Time Capsule combination wireless router and network-attached storage drive to double the models' capacities at the same price points as the previous models: 1 TB for $299 and 2 TB for $499. While Apple's main Time Capsule product page is not yet reflecting the upgraded capacities, the new models are available in the online Apple Store, where a small banner ad on the main store page advertises the upgrade. The new models are currently listed as shipping within 24 hours.

Rumors of a 2 TB Time Capsule first surfaced in early April when an image of a 2 TB Time Capsule box appeared on one of retailer ClubMac's product pages.

Update: Apple has now revised its Time Capsule product pages to reflect the updated models. All technical specifications other than storage capacity appear to remain the same as the previous models.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple is indeed planning on attending the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) for the first time next year. Apple had been rumored to be exhibiting at the 2010 CES shortly after they withdrew from the annual Macworld Expo.

The article also reveals that Apple's Steve Jobs has been formally invited to keynote the 2010 CES but has not yet accepted or even responded:

At a dinner with journalists this week in San Francisco, CEA's Shapiro was asked whether he's invited Jobs, who recently returned from medical leave, to keynote the show. Yes, Jobs has been asked, but nobody from Apple has gotten back to him, Shapiro said.

Jobs was on medical leave for the first half of 2009 due to complications surrounding his history of pancreatic cancer and he ultimately received a liver transplant. Jobs returned to work in late June and was photographed today on Apple campus.

Update: Engadget claims that Apple is not planning on attending CES.