MacRumors

The news broke yesterday that Palm's anticipated Pre phone will seamlessly sync with iTunes for both Mac and Windows, allowing users to transfer non copy-protected content to the new Palm phone. While there has been speculation on how this had been accomplished, Jon Johansen explains in a blog post what Palm must have done, and why he believes it won't last.

According to Johansen, the Palm Pre must be specifically presenting itself as an Apple iPod to trick iTunes into syncing data with it. This is why iTunes displays "Syncing iPod" rather than "Syncing Pre" during the demos.

So how is Palm doing this? Its pretty simple, really. Well start with the most basic question that doesnt even involve the Pre: To a PC, whats the difference between an iPod and a Kingston memory stick? The iPod has a specific USB Vendor Id that identifies it as being an Apple product and a USB Product Id that identifies it as being a specific iPod model.

Aside from transmitting Apple-specific Vendor Ids and Product Ids, the Palm Pre must also be responding to custom USB commands sent by iTunes to gather information about the device. Johansen also believes that there will likely be enough differences in the implementation that Apple will be able to break this compatibility with the next iTunes release.

Johansen, of course, is intimately familiar with media/device syncing as he is the co-founder of doubleTwist, a free alternative media syncing application for both Mac and PC. We covered doubleTwist's Mac beta launch back in February. Johansen conveniently points out that they will be offering Pre sync support in doubleTwist.

Gizmodo posted this hands on video of the upcoming Zune HD which is positioned to compete directly against the Apple iPod Touch.

According to the gadget site, the Zune HD is "tighter and more physically beautiful than the iPod Touch and it's got a better UI". Engadget also had some hands on time with the unit and found it has "a nice, solid feel, with good heft to it and a surprisingly thin profile." The OLED screen was described as "stunning".

The existence of the Zune HD was confirmed yesterday and is due for launch later this year.

Computerworld digs up evidence that the 13" Aluminum MacBook appears to have gotten a quiet screen upgrade as of late April. The blog post references findings by MacRumors forum members fuz10n and hellfire88. Hellfire88 had access to both a Unibody MacBook from November as well as one of the newer ones and posted comparison shots. The two screen model numbers are 9C89 and 9CA5 respectively.

It can be hard to see the differences in the photos, but the user also describes them in day to day use:

I personally see a difference in person when I use them both, but others may not. The newer one seems to have much deeper blacks and better contrast. I'm not sure its as good as the screens in the uMBP's but IMHO its definately a "step-up" from the original uMB screens.

Computerworld reports that the new screens are similar to, if not exactly the same, as the screens found in the MacBook Air. Retail Apple Stores that have been checked seem to still have the original (worse screen) units on display.

A few times a year, MacRumors partners with MacUpdate to promote their Mac application bundle deal. Their latest bundle delivers at least 11 Mac applications for $49.99 (a $521.71 value if all purchased separately) including:

- TechTool Pro 5 ($98.00) - comprehensive Mac tool to check the health of your RAM, hard drives, repair problems and optimize performance
- Parallels Desktop 4 ($79.99) - virtualization for the Mac that allows you to run Windows alongside Mac OS X.
- Circus Ponies Notebook 3 ($49.95)- an organizer to take notes with audio annotations, track tasks, collate ideas, clippings, photos
- NetBarrier X5 ($49.95)- firewall and intrusion detection software
- DVDRemaster Pro 5 ($49.99)- backup DVDs, convert DVD movies for use on the iPod, iPhone and AppleTV
- Multiplex ($35.00) - DVD management and playback system
- RipIt ($18.99)- Copy DVDs to your hard drive
- MoneyWell ($49.99) - Finance management software with direct connect banking, envelope budgeting, transaction and cash flow management
- Paperless ($44.95) - manage your receipts and document collections
- Posterino ($24.95)- Use your photos to create posters, postcards, photo frames, greeting cards and more.
- BetterZip ($19.95) - better .zip compression management

Bonus Apps for first 20,000 Buyers

- Jets'n'Guns Gold ($29.95) - save the world in this side scrolling shooter
- CuteClips 3 ($15.00) - clipboard manager

This $49.99 bundle sale lasts for two weeks and does not include any "locked" items. All items are available immediately and even includes the two bonus applications for the first 20,000 bundle purchasers.

MacRumors is a promotional partner with MacUpdate. Bundle sales through these links benefit MacRumors financially, and provide a way for readers to directly support this site.

One MacRumors reader Carniphage posted a photoshop rendition of what the next generation iPhone might look like using the leaked bezel image.

The bezel appeared at parts supplier ChinaOnTrade and shows the speaker for the iPhone at a much higher position than the current iPhone. It also shifts the color of the surrounding border from silver to black.

Fortune reports that the forthcoming Palm Pre is able to sync with iTunes on Macs, appearing in iTunes' device list just like an iPhone or iPod with the only limitation on syncing being its inability to handle older, copy-protected tracks from the iTunes Store. Although not mentioned in the report, the Pre would also presumably be incompatible with movies and other videos from the iTunes Store, as such content continues to be copy-protected.

Plug a Pre into a Mac and it syncs, seamlessly, with Apple's (AAPL) iTunes.

In fact, the iTunes Store treats the Pre just as it would an iPod or an iPhone with one exception: it can't handle old copy-protected songs.

Third party programs that perform the same service for various non-Apple MP3 players -- including the Palm Treo and 700p -- have been available for some time. But team Pre has apparently built the necessary code right into the devices firmware.

The Palm Pre, scheduled to launch early next month, is regarded as the most worthy competitor yet to the iPhone and has been the source of much attention both for its features and for the device's connections to Apple. Former Apple executives John Rubinstein and Fred Anderson, as well as a number of other former Apple employees, have played key roles in rebuilding Palm, which has staked its future on its new "webOS" platform. The Pre is the first Palm device to be based on the new platform.

On a conference call in January just weeks after the Pre's announcement, Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook made a number of forceful comments announcing Apple's intent to vigorously defend its iPhone intellectual property. While stopping short of calling out Palm for the Pre's implementation of multi-touch technology, which is similar in many ways to the iPhone's, Cook's comments were widely viewed as a veiled threat toward Palm.

An Apple spokesperson declined to comment to Fortune about the Pre's ability to sync with iTunes, and it remains to be seen whether Apple will take legal or technical action to address the issue.

iPhone Ticker first reported on new "Apple iPhone 3Gen 2009" parts listed for sale at parts supplier ChinaOnTrade.

It can be hard to tell exactly what has changed from just the single part, but iLounge breaks down the changes that they see:

Notably, the bezels appear to show a repositioned and redesigned ear speaker, now significantly higher above the display than the present speaker, and ringed with metal, a change that may make room for additional front-mounted sensor or camera hardware. Also changed is the bezels color, which has shifted from the prior silver in all iPhone and iPhone 3G models to a nearly black metallic color reminiscent of the backs of later fifth-generation iPod U2 Special Edition models.

The lack of a silver rim could indicate some minor changes to the appearance of the next generation iPhone, though the legitimacy of the parts remain up for debate.

AT&T today announced its plans for deployment of HSPA 7.2 3G wireless technology topping out at 7.2 Mbps, doubling the speed of AT&T's current offerings and serving as an intermediate step to the deployment of LTE (4G) several years down the road. AT&T plans to begin rolling out the improvements later this year and will take until 2011 to fully deploy the necessary equipment. LTE trials are scheduled for 2010 with deployment to begin in 2011.

The upgrade to High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) 7.2 technology is part of AT&T's plan for continued investments to deliver the nation's best mobile broadband experience the ideal combination of speed, coverage and best device line-up. AT&T today has the nation's fastest 3G network and has attracted more than twice the number of smartphone users than any other competitor.

With its network built on the 3G UMTS technology that is commonly deployed throughout the world, AT&T can boost the speed of its mobile broadband network and offer a wide variety of devices to take advantage of it well in advance of 2011-2012, when most industry observers expect 4G LTE networks and device availability to scale. AT&T plans to begin LTE trials in 2010, with deployment beginning in 2011.

As part of and alongside its move to HSPA 7.2, AT&T announced a series of initiatives that it is planning to undertake this year:

- Near-Doubling Radio Frequency Capacity. In 2008 and 2009 to date, high-quality 850 MHz spectrum has been deployed in more than half of AT&Ts 3G network footprint to improve overall coverage and in-building reception, with additional markets planned for later in the year.
- More Bandwidth to Cell Sites. We are adding fiber-optic connectivity and additional capacity to thousands of cell sites across the country this year, expanding the critical connections that deliver traffic from a cell site into the global IP backbone network. These upgrades will support the higher mobile broadband speeds enabled by both HSPA 7.2 and LTE.
- More Cell Sites. Deployment of about 2,100 new cell sites across the country.
- Wi-Fi Integration. Many AT&T smartphones will be able to switch seamlessly between 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity. AT&T customers with qualifying smartphone and 3G LaptopConnect plans have access to the nations largest Wi-Fi network more than 20,000 hotspots, including locations in all 50 states at no additional charge. AT&Ts global Wi-Fi footprint covers more than 90,000 hotspots, and AT&T also can create permanent or temporary extended Wi-Fi zones in areas with high 3G network use, like a grouping of hotels or a festival.
- MicroCells. Customer trials leading toward general availability of AT&T 3G MicroCell offerings, which utilize femtocells to enhance in-building wireless coverage.

AT&T's announcement makes official statements made last month by AT&T executive Scott McElroy regarding the move to 7.2 Mbps 3G, although it does not address the possibility of 21 Mbps HSPA+ raised in the previous report.

A number of rumors over the past few months, including some as recently as yesterday, have pointed to the inclusion of support for the new 7.2 Mbps "3.5G" standard in the next-generation iPhone rumored for release within the next few months.

SiliconRumors (formerly MacScoop) reports that Apple is preparing an update to the MacBook Air that could finally include built-in 3G wireless networking.

The most notable feature our sources expect to be added to the new MacBook Air is a built-in 3G modem allowing connectivity to high-speed cellular networks.

The rumor site also suggests that the entry level MacBook Air could find a lower pricepoint between $1300-$1500. The possibility of 3G in future Apple laptops has been suggested before through both job descriptions and evidence in Snow Leopard.

Apple has already released a minor update to the white MacBook today and there have been rumors that they be readying more update for WWDC. SiliconRumors was formerly known as MacScoop which has had some reliable information in the past.

Alongside today's minor update to its white MacBook, Apple announced the launch of its annual Back to School promo for U.S. education customers. This year's program offers rebates of up to $229 on the full line of iPods when purchased with a qualifying new Apple computer, which includes all Macs except the Mac mini.

Both the Mac and iPod must be purchased at the same time on the same receipt, and purchases must be made either directly from Apple or at an Apple Authorized Campus Store. This year's program runs through September 8th, 2009.

This year's promotion had been rumored to extend to the 8 GB iPhone this year, but the claim did not come to fruition.

Apple is currently running a similar promotion in Canada, and typically offers such programs in a number of other countries later in the year.

Apple today quietly bumped the specs on the white MacBook. Changes to the base specs include:

- Processsor speed bumped from 2.0 GHz to 2.13 GHz.
- RAM speed bumped from 667 MHz to 800 MHz.
- Hard drive capacity increased from 120 GB to 160 GB. Build-to-order options up to 500 GB are now available, up from a previous maximum of 320 GB. Notably, the aluminum MacBook and MacBook Pro continue to offer maximum hard drive capacities of 320 GB.

In addition, Apple now advertises battery life of "up to 5 hrs wireless productivity", an increase over the previous advertised battery life of 4.5 hours. Finally, the new MacBook is advertised to meet new Energy Star Version 5.0 requirements and is rated EPEAT Gold, compared to a Silver rating on the previous model.

Base pricing remains at $999.

Notably, the unidentified "Mobile Computing" device that appeared in Best Buy's inventory system earlier this week was in fact this updated white MacBook.

In February, the first images depicting the back casing of an unreleased iPhone began circulating around the Internet. The images showed a matte finish to the casing, but looked otherwise identical to the current iPhone enclosure. Recently-posted rumors now suggest that we could indeed see a matte casing for the next generation iPhone.

A new image we obtained is embedded above and shows the same matte case beside the current iPhone 3G, which is housed in a shinier plastic casing. The side-by-side image shows the clear difference between the two finishes. We have no further evidence that this case necessarily represents what the next iPhone will look like, but it does seem to be consistent with circulating rumors.

Apple is expected to launch a new iPhone this summer and may announce details at WWDC in early June.

Microsoft confirmed today that the rumored "Zune HD" was, in fact, real and that they are planning on launching it this fall. The new touch-screen device will surf the web, play high definition movies and tune in digital radio.

"This device is created to go head to head with the iPod Touch," Chris Stephenson, general manager of global marketing for Microsoft Zune, said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. Zune buyers will also be able to play HD content on their TVs via a dock, Microsoft said.

Other notable features in the new media device include a 3.3" multi-touch OLED screen, HD radio, HD video out, Wi-Fi, and integration with Xbox. The device is said to be based on the Windows CE operating system and will include a mobile version of Internet Explorer customized for the touch screen. No word of storage capacities or pricing at this time.

Rumors and photos of such a device were leaked back in April, though there was some debate about its authenticity. Apple has seen tremendous success with the iPod Touch since its introduction with 13 million units sold up until December 2008.

The Mac Observer reports that Psystar, the manufacturer of unauthorized Mac clones currently embroiled in a legal battle with Apple, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The move is likely to delay the proceedings in Apple's case, which is currently still in the discovery phase, although it also signals that Psystar may be unable to finance its continuing defense against Apple.

Unauthorized Mac clone maker Psystar has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Florida, temporarily slowing down Apple's legal case against it. The filing may be an indication that the company's financial backers have pulled out, signaling they see Apple as the clear winner in court.

The bankruptcy documents were filed with the Federal Courts in Florida on Thursday, and Apple's legal team was most likely made aware of the situation over the Memorial Day weekend.

Significantly, the bankruptcy hearing scheduled for June 5th should reveal the identities of any investors that have backed Psystar in its defiance of Apple. Apple suggested in court documents last December that there may be such unnamed individuals or corporations, given Psystar's apparent resources to engage in the production of Mac clone systems and willingness to engage in a lengthy and costly legal battle with Apple over the products.

Alongside the artist rendition of the upcoming 5G iPod Nano, iLounge also weighed in on the rumors surrounding the next generation iPhone.

They've been told that the next-generation iPhone will come in two different storage capacities across 3 distinct models depending on your local mobile carrier. The models are described as "3G, enhanced 3G ("3.5G/3.75G"), and mainland China versions". The case is said to be the same general design as the current model but with a "less scratchable matte plastic body". A previously leaked case image is included above which matches this description.

iLounge reports that only one version, however, will be made available to specific countries. China will obviously only get the Chinese version, while other customers will only get either the 3G or 3.5G models depending on their local carrier support. We would expect that U.S. AT&T customers would be given the 3.5G model which is likely to support the new 7.2 Mbps data network being deployed by AT&T.