MacRumors

Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney claims to have heard "from sources in Asia" that Apple has placed a 10 million unit order for 3G iPhones, according to an interview by the iPod Observer. This order for 10 million 3G iPhones would reportedly be above and beyond the original 10 million Apple had planned to sell of the initial version of the iPhone in 2008.

The analyst goes on to speculate that the 3G version could incorporate an OLED display which could improve battery life. Apple's use of OLED technology has long been rumored but has yet to come true.

This timeframe could be consistent with recent Page 2 rumors that the 3G iPhone would be coming "in a few months." Multiple reports have claimed that the 3G iPhone would be released in 2008. '3G' is the next generation mobile data technology that allows for much faster internet access on mobile phones. The iPhone currently uses EDGE (2.5G) technology.

Samsung introduced a new touch-screen mobile phone called the SCH-W420 AnyCall (Youtube commercial). The new phone is available only in Korea at the moment, but incorporates a growing trend in mobile phone devices: vibration feedback.

Described as 'Haptic' phones, these specialized phones offer customized vibration to provide the user with specific types of touch-feedback. This sort of feedback is intended to make up for the absence of tactile feedback from an entirely smooth touch surface, such as on the iPhone.

For example, the Samsung handset gives a click sensation when the user raises the volume of the speaker, as if it is a mechanical dial.

22 different kinds of these "haptic feedback" vibrations are said to be included with this latest Samsung phone.

One user project attempted to emulate this functionality on the iPhone, but without specialized hardware, the results have been disappointing.

While there has been no indication that Apple has specifically explored using this technology, Apple has worked on tactile feedback systems that would ease the transition to flat-surface touch keyboards.

Fortune's Big Tech blog reveals that Microsoft is taking a serious look into the iPhone SDK for the possibility of launching their own iPhone-specific applications.

"Its really important for us to understand what we can bring to the iPhone," Tom Gibbons, corporate vice president of Microsofts Specialized Devices and Applications Group, told Fortune on Monday. "To the extent that Mac Office customers have functionality that they need in that environment, were actually in the process of trying to understand that now."

As the article points out, Microsoft's Mac Business Unit is one of the largest 3rd party developers for the Mac and brings millions in annual profit to Microsoft. Besides the Mac BU, Voice recognition unit TellMe (now part of Microsoft) is also interested.

... as long as the iPhone SDK will allow software to take advantage of voice recording and location-based information, said general manager Mike McCue, TellMe will be all over it.

TellMe is a voice-driven application for mobile phones.

BoyGeniusReport posted an extensive gallery of screenshots from the upcoming iPhone 2.0 Firmware (currently labeled version 1.2). The screenshots include a number of configuration screens as well as a few screenshots from a not-yet-functional iTunes App Store. The Lunar Lander game depicted above represents a sample game that Apple provides to developers to demonstrate various iPhone specific features, such as the accelerometers.

After the initial "we'll be in touch" emails, we've received multiple reports that Apple has been accepting more developers into the official development program ($99/year). This provides those developers with early access to the iPhone 2.0 firmware and the ability to install their applications onto the iPhone itself.

Apple will officially launch the iPhone 2.0 alongside the iTunes App Store in late June.

Adobe has started shipping Photoshop Elements 6 for the Mac. Elements 6 was first announced at Macworld in January:

In this release, we've focused on going beyond the basics to make everyday and advanced tasks even easier to achieve. Photoshop Elements 6 for Macintosh allows people to organize and find photos quickly, unleash powerful editing tricks without any heavy lifting, and creatively share photos that give them all the bragging rights."

Adobe detailed the new features on their website, including a number of video demos:

- Create a Group Shot from multiple photos
- Make easy selections
- Use curves adjustments

Version 6.0 finally brings the Mac version of Elements on par with the Windows version. Adobe had previously skipped releasing Elements 5.0 for the Mac. Version 6 also introduces Intel Mac support (Universal Binary) and is available for retail price of $89.99.

While Adobe also sells a downloadable version of Elements 6 (1 GB) on their online store, the actual download is not yet available, but should presumably become available soon.

Update: Download now available via Adobe's online store.

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Available at Amazon for $82.99

Appleinsider is backtracking on their claims from last year that the Mac mini was set to be discontinued. According to the rumor site, they've received word to the contrary:

For the first time in nearly a year, however, people familiar with the matter tell AppleInsider there's new life in the Mac mini department, where a small team of engineers have recently been tasked with gutting the diminutive desktop and applying fresh internals.

The Mac mini is expected to accompany the rest of the Mac line to the new Penryn Core 2 Duo processors. Specs are expected to start at 2.1GHz with the same GMA X3100 graphics processor used in the current MacBooks. The Mac mini was last updated in August 2007.

MacScoop was first to predict Penryn Mac mini updates in the coming weeks. Apple is also expected to also refresh their iMac line with the latest Intel processors.

With the release of Safari 3.1, Apple has started pushing Safari to Windows iTunes users. This new distribution method offers all Windows iTunes users the option of installing Safari 3.1 even if they have never installed Safari before. Apple confirmed this to Information Week:

"We are using Software Update to make it easy and convenient for both Mac and Windows users to get the latest Safari update from Apple,"

While the practice has generated some debate, ZDNet points out that Apple previously announced this plan at WWDC in 2007:

"Jobs said that Apple plans to use iTunes as a distribution vehicle for Safari for Windows. He noted that there are a million downloads of iTunes a day, with 500 million of those [having gone to] Windows machines."

A new patent application from Apple details how to implement a 3-dimensional stereoscopic display. While 3d images have been around for years, Apple points out that computational power has advanced to the point where these true 3d images can be rendered and animated in realtime. Apple specifically explores the implementation of "autostereoscopic" systems that don't require the viewer to be wearing special glasses or goggles.

Apple believes its system addresses issues found in previous implementations of 3d and involves tracking the observer to ensure proper rendering of the 3d image regardless of where their exact position. Their system involves real time modulation of left/right sub images to be projected to the observer's left/right eyes individually. Apple also claims it can accommodate multiple observers to provide "a unique and personal 3D visual experience to each individual observer, with each visual experience (i.e., projected image) selectively being similar or different from the others, as desired."

As with all patent applications, we're uncertain when this will make its way out of the labs and into consumers hands, but Apple appears to be continuing to explore alternative interfaces for consumer use. What's interesting is that this is not the first time we've heard of Apple exploring stereoscopic displays. In 2002, Apple was said "to have other flat-panel technologies cooking in the labs, including stereoscopic displays."

After the release of today's Time Machine and Airport update, several readers report that Time Machine now supports backups to USB drives connected to your Airport Extreme basestation. This configuration essentially reproduces the functionality of Apple's Time Capsule product.

Apple had originally advertised these "AirPort Disk" wireless backups as a feature for Leopard, but this feature was removed prior to its launch. Speculation had suggested that it may have been due to some unresolved security issues, but Apple has made no official statements. While there had been workarounds published, today's update appears to officially restore this feature.

Apple has released a Time Machine and Airport update today. The 10.4 MB download for Mac OS X Leopard provides "compatibility improvements for using Time Machine with Time Capsule, as well as AirPort driver fixes."

Time Machine is Apple's automated backup solution that is included with Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard). Time Capsule is Apple's network hard drive that works in conjunction with Time Machine to provide automated wireless backups.