MacRumors

Reuters reports that AT&T is planning to roll out fixes for a software defect that has hampered upload speeds for iPhone 4 and other users in a number of markets over the next two to three weeks. Users began noticing the problem over the 4th of July weekend, and AT&T subsequently blamed the issue on a software problem with some of its network equipment made by Alcatel-Lucent.

The No. 2 U.S. mobile operator said on Monday it had begun rolling out an Alcatel-Lucent software patch that would restore uplink speeds for its high-speed data services that depend on so-called HSUPA technology.

"This patch will be deployed on a phased basis over the next two to three weeks," AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel said.

AT&T, the exclusive U.S. provider for iPhone, said the iPhone 4, the latest Apple device, was the only smartphone that runs on its HSUPA network.

Reports of the issue being fixed started appearing over this past weekend, but some users may have to wait several more weeks before they see upload speeds returning to normal.

The Associated Press briefly reports that the U.S. government has defined new rules that will permit users to "jailbreak" their iPhone and skirt Apple's App Store ecosystem to add unapproved third-party applications.

Owners of the iPhone will be able to break electronic locks on their devices in order to download applications that have not been approved by Apple. The government is making that legal under new rules announced Monday.

The decision to allow the practice commonly known as "jailbreaking" is one of a handful of new exemptions from a federal law that prohibits the circumvention of technical measures that control access to copyrighted works.

While it is not uncommon for users to jailbreak their devices, the practice is officially unsanctioned by Apple. The company maintains a support document outlining some of the issues users of jailbroken iOS devices may experience while also disclosing that Apple reserves the right to deny service for any such device due to the "unauthorized modification" being a violation of the license agreement. Under the new federal policies, it would appear that Apple is no longer permitted to deny service for such reasons under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, although the company could likely still argue that the device's Terms of Use allow it to deny service.

Update: The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has posted a press release announcing the government's policy changes that came at the request of the EFF and has posted the full document (PDF) issued by the Copyright Office of the U.S. Library of Congress.

On balance, the Register concludes that when one jailbreaks a smartphone in order to make the operating system on that phone interoperable with an independently created application that has not been approved by the maker of the smartphone or the maker of its operating system, the modifications that are made purely for the purpose of such interoperability are fair uses. Case law and Congressional enactments reflect a judgment that interoperability is favored. The Register also finds that designating a class of works that would permit jailbreaking for purposes of interoperability will not adversely affect the market for or value of the copyrighted works to the copyright owner.

Update 2: Some observers have pointed out the the Library of Congress ruling today also addresses the issue of mobile phone unlocking, which involves moving a device to another wireless carrier for which support is not generally offered. Today's ruling only states, however, that copyright concerns can not be used to prohibit unlocking of mobile phones under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Carriers are still free to prevent unlocking in many circumstances and can pursue cases against individuals by citing breach of contract under the carriers' Terms of Service.

AFP reports that Apple may be facing a minor fine in Taiwan after the company briefly offered erroneous pricing for several configurations of its Mac mini in that country late last week. The threat of fine comes after Apple quietly raised prices to their proper levels for the 200,000 orders placed at the incorrect prices without acknowledging how it plans to address the pricing mistake.

Apple would not say if it would deliver the products on the erroneous prices. And after an initial investigation, the city government's Law and Regulation Commission issued an ultimatum to the US computer company.

"The city government has tried to reach Apple since Friday afternoon but has not yet received any response from it over the more than 30 consumer complaints," Yeh Ching-yuan, chief of the commission, said in a statement.

"Apple has to respond to our order before the end of Tuesday or may face a fine of up to 300,000 Taiwan dollars (9,400 US) according to the consumers' protection law," he warned.

One of the mis-priced items was the company's new Mac mini with an upgrade to 8 GB of RAM, which was briefly priced at 19,999 Taiwan dollars, less than half that of the proper price and cheaper than the base model carrying 2 GB of RAM. A similar error saw the Mac mini server version with 8 GB of RAM priced lower than the same model with only 4 GB of RAM.

Erictric reports that Apple may be preparing to allow iPad customers to have their devices engraved with a message of their choosing, with the new option possibly set to launch for the holiday shopping season. The tip comes from an anonymous Apple employee, although it is unclear in what capacity the source works at the company.

"From what I understand, Apple's going to be offering customers the option to get their iPads engraved just before the Holidays roll around," noted the source in an email to me, which oddly enough began on the topic of Apple's recent move to distribute free bumpers and cases for iPhone 4 smartphone customers.

Our source cites that current high demand for the iPad has prevented Apple from offering tablet engraving, fearing slow-downs in production.

Pricing for the rumored iPad engraving is unknown, although it is presumed to be free based on the company's existing iPod engraving program.

Apple initially launched iPod engraving with the original 10 GB iPod in March 2002. Engraving was initially priced at $49, but was made free and extended across the company's expanding iPod line in subsequent years.

Erictric has not typically been a source of Apple rumors, so we have no track record to assess the veracity of its claim. Taken at face value, however, an iPad engraving program would seem to be a reasonable addition for Apple as supply constraints begin to ease.

Apple today issued a press release officially announcing the release of the iPhone 4 in 17 new countries for this Friday, July 30th. The news is not necessarily considered a surprise, as Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the launches at the company's iPhone 4 press conference earlier this month.

Apple's iPhone 4 will be available in 17 more countries this Friday, July 30. iPhone 4 features FaceTime, which makes video calling as easy as one tap, Apple's new Retina display, the highest resolution display ever built into a phone, resulting in stunning text, images and video, and a beautiful all-new design of glass and stainless steel that is the thinnest smartphone in the world.

Beginning this Friday, customers can purchase iPhone 4 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. iPhone 4 will be available for purchase through Apple's retail and online stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

Apple had originally announced at the iPhone 4's introduction in early June that there would be 18 countries included in this round of launches, but Jobs disclosed earlier this month that the South Korean launch has been delayed due to things taking "just a little bit longer to get government approval there."

That claim came as something of a surprise to both carrier partner KT and government officials in that country, however, with a representative from the South Korean communications regulatory agency claiming that Apple hasn't even submitted the device for approval yet.

Mac4ever claims (via Macworld.co.uk) that Apple will finally update its popular iLife suite on August 7th, 2010. The new version will be dubbed iLife '11 and is said to include a number of new features:

- ILife '11 will be sold for $79
- Release Date of 08/07/2010
- All applications will be 64-bit
- Improvements in iPhoto faces & places
- Improving the integration of social networks
- IWeb will be totally renewed
- New application (mystery!)
- Disappearance of iDVD
- MobileMe gallery in beta (with faces & places)

While there had been some claims circulating last week about iLife '10, the iLife '11 name would be more consistent with Apple's past behavior. Apple introduced iLife '08 in August, 2007. August 7th, 2010, however, strangely falls on a Saturday.

The last major revision to iLife was iLife '09 which was announced at Macworld SF 2009.

Update: The date has been corrected to August 17th, which falls on a Tuesday.

As noted by AppleInsider, various models of Apple's iMac line are beginning to become "Unavailable" through Apple's in-store Reserve and Pick Up system, joining the company's Mac Pro line that saw similar shortages appear late last week.

The iMac shortages are not quite as pronounced as they are for the Mac Pro, however, with a quick check of a number of stores showing unavailability seemingly limited to the high-end 21.5-inch and 27-inch models. A significant number of stores also continue to show availability of all four iMac models at this time.

The news comes, however, after a report last week pointed to iMac shipments to third-party distributors beginning to run low, with the new observation now lending credence to the idea that iMac supplies are truly becoming constrained.

Like the Mac Pro, the iMac continues to show shipping estimates of "within 24 hours" across the board in Apple's online retail store, suggesting that the company is prioritizing that distribution channel for its remaining machines while letting other channels run dry in advance of new models.

The iMac was last updated in October with the introduction of new 16:9 widescreen 21.5-inch and 27-inch designs.

Based on several reports sent to us and posted in our forums, it appears that Apple has begun shipping out free bumpers to a number of iPhone 4 customers. At this time, however, the shipments appear to be limited to UK customers who ordered Apple bumpers, as opposed to third-party case options.

The shipments come despite initial quotes from Apple on the order of 3-5 weeks for bumper shipments.

Over the past few days, Apple has also been notifying customers who purchased bumpers via credit card prior to the initiation of the free case program that their accounts have been credited. Meanwhile, customers who previously purchased bumpers via cash, check, or gift card from Apple Retail Stores have until September 30th to return to the point of purchase for a refund, while customers who ordered online using Apple gift cards should automatically receive new gift cards for the purchase amount. Finally, any customer who purchased a bumper through an AT&T retail stores is required to fill out a rebate coupon (PDF) and mail it along with their sales receipt to Apple by September 30th for processing.

Update: Shipping notices for bumpers have begun spreading to a number of other countries, including the United States, with delivery times ranging out to early August, but still substantially quicker than initial quoted estimates.

After its iPhone 4 press conference last week, Apple posted a new smartphone antenna performance page on its site highlighting how several other smartphones experience similar decreases of signal bars to that of the iPhone 4. The page initially featured phones from Research in Motion, HTC, and Samsung, as well as the iPhone 3GS. Earlier this week, Apple added the Nokia N97 mini to the page after that company publicly responded to Apple's claims of antenna issues with other smartphones.

Not content to stop there, Apple has posted yet another smartphone signal attenuation video to its feature page and YouTube site, this time targeting Motorola's just-released Droid X. The video shows the Droid X dropping from three signal bars to zero when gripped in the hand in a manner similar to the "death grip" frequently cited as inducing the issue on the iPhone 4.

The featuring of the Droid X is significant, as the device has been seen as the latest strong competitor for the iPhone. The Android-based phone has seen strong initial sales, with Motorola and Verizon struggling to keep up with demand. Apple is no doubt targeting the Droid X as it seeks to bolster its claims that the vast majority of smartphones, including many of the most popular ones, suffer from the same issue as the iPhone 4.

One MacRumors reader has pointed out to us that Apple's somewhat-hidden Reserve and Pick Up program is currently showing the company's Mac Pro models as "Unavailable" for reservation at his local retail store in Canada, possibly hinting at an imminent update. According to the tipster, the Mac Pro was seeing full availability for reservations at his store as recently as yesterday.

A quick check of the reservation systems for a handful of Apple retail stores around the United States shows a similar story, with some stores showing complete unavailability of Mac Pro reservations while others continue to offer either the base Quad-Core model or the 8-core model but not both.

Apple's Mac Pro line is overdue for an update according to our Buyer's Guide tracking. A report earlier this year had claimed that a Mac Pro refresh was due "by June", but Apple failed to meet that rumored target. More recent claims of chip shortages for Intel's latest 6-core chips suggested that Apple might not be able push out a Mac Pro update until later this summer.

As for other changes possible in a Mac Pro, evidence of support for several high-end graphics cards from ATI and NVIDIA have appeared in Mac OS X, and one report has pointed to the adoption of USB 3.0 and faster FireWire in the new machines. That report also suggested an "end of summer" timeframe for a release.

Not all of Apple's sales channels are seeing constrained supplies of the Mac Pro, however, as the company's online stores continue to show shipping estimates of "within 24 hours" for both stock models.

Just yesterday, a report indicated that Apple's iMac stocks are also running low, with third-party distribution channels seeing constrained shipments ahead of a supposed update to that line as well.

CNNMoney.com reports on a recent survey from market research firm Yankee Group showing 73% of surveyed U.S. iPhone customers being "very satisfied" with AT&T as their carrier provider. The high figure appears rather surprising given AT&T's much-maligned performance as it has struggled to keep up with surging demand on its network since the iPhone debuted three years ago.

Despite a very vocal group of detractors, the vast majority of iPhone users love AT&T.

That's the key finding in a survey released this week by Yankee Group, which reports that 73% of iPhone users are very satisfied with AT&T's service. That rating compares favorably to how non-iPhone smartphone users feel about AT&T, and even to how non-iPhone users feel about other wireless providers.

The satisfaction rate of AT&T subscribers as a whole is 68%, and only 69% of smartphone users say they are satisfied with their mobile provider, Yankee Group found.

Yankee Group attributes the surprisingly high rankings to something of a "halo effect" that sees users' high satisfaction ratings for the iPhone rubbing off on the carrier despite its troubles. Or, as the report puts it, AT&T seems to have become part of the famous "reality distortion field" said to encompass Steve Jobs and Apple.

As part of its quarterly earnings conference call yesterday, AT&T offered some insight into the iPad's performance on the its network, with Silicon Alley Insider providing a summary of the data.

- AT&T reported that it activated service on 400,000-500,000 iPad "Wi-Fi + 3G" devices during the quarter, which actually consists of only the last two months of the quarter as the 3G-capable models did not begin shipping until the very end of April. While Apple reported overall iPad sales of 3.27 million for the quarter, that number is spread over a number of countries, with international sales beginning in late May. AT&T's numbers also do not account for users who purchased 3G-capable models but have not yet activated the service for one reason or another. Apple has declined to share the balance between Wi-Fi and 3G-capable device sales.

- AT&T notes that it has been surprised by corporate uptake of the iPad, unlike the iPhone which saw significant reluctance on the part of business during its early phases. During its own conference call, Apple noted that the iPad has already been deployed or is being piloted at 50% of the Fortune 100 companies.

- 75-80% of iPad data customers are on the more expensive 2 GB plan priced at $25 per month as opposed to the 250 MB plan at $14.99 per month. AT&T had initially launched an unlimited data plan priced at $29.99 per month, and users who joined that plan while it was in effect can remain on it for the foreseeable future provided they do not allow their service to lapse. iPad 3G data plan users are also in general using more data than iPhone users, but less than laptop-card users.