MacRumors

According to CNet France (English summary provided by Electronista), iPhone 1.1.3 is set to arrive as early as this weekend, and will pack some commonly-requested features such as voice memo recording and disk mode.

The disk feature behaves like the equivalent for iPods and will still block users from simply dragging and dropping content to load the phone with playable music, CNET says. Enabling disk mode should still allow knowledgeable users to browse the content on the phone, though this is not expected to be of any use to the hacking community, which has already gained access to the phone's software.

Apple released iPhone/iPod Touch Firmware 1.1.2 on November 8th, although it did not become available through iTunes until Monday, November 12th.

In August, a rumor circulated that Apple and Volkswagen were in early meetings to work on incorporating Apple products into Volkswagen compact cars. The most recent reports, coming from PressPortal.de indicate that the project is "shaky" but that Apple has been in talks with other car manufacturers.

Translation via Jalopnik:

The exploratory talks on a cooperation of the Wolfsburg-based Volkswagen Group with the US computer maker Apple advised for information of the business magazine 'Capital' (issue 26/2007, EVT 6 December) to a halt. In September, VW chairman Martin Winterkorn had confidential talks with Apple CEO Steve Jobs in California. Because of this, there was speculation of the development of a so-called "i-Car", a compact car equipped with Apple products. VW had confirmed the talks. "The project is shaky," said 'Capital'. Other car manufacturers have had talks with Apple talks on cooperation.

Orange launched the iPhone in France last week and has sold 30,000 iPhones since that time. Due to French law, Orange is required to allow the phone to be unlocked 6 months after its purchase. In the meanwhile, however, they are allowing customers to pay an additional 100 euro to unlock their iPhone, no matter what plan they choose.

To recap, you can purchase the iPhone in France a number of ways:

399 euro = iPhone + 2 year "iPhone" Orange contract
549 euro = iPhone + any Orange contract
649 euro = iPhone with no contract

And for the first six months, a 100 euro add-on allows you to unlock your iPhone. Unlocking the iPhone allows it to accept SIM cards from any other network, though you would still be bound by the contractual obligations listed above. The early stats from Orange provides interesting information about customer interests.

Apparently, 20% of early iPhone purchasers have opted for this unlocked option. Meanwhile 1500 (~5%) paid for the 649 euro contract-less version. It's unclear how many of those paid for the official unlock, or opted for one of the many free hacks available. Finally, 48% of customers buying iPhones were new to the Orange network.

Google announced that they have launched a new web-based application for the Apple iPhone that integrates its multiple services into a single interface. The new application is based on AJAX/Web 2.0 technologies and is launched when an iPhone user visits http://www.google.com.

To accomplish this, Google is taking advantage of browser technologies (like AJAX) that made Gmail and Google Maps possible on the desktop. In supporting these advances in web technology, the iPhone's Safari browser not only delivers an excellent mobile Internet experience; it enabled our product and engineering teams to create an optimal Google experience on a mobile device.

The Google web-application offers iPhone-optimzed versions of Gmail, Calendar, Reader (RSS) and other services.

While Web-based applications have been the only Apple-sanctioned method to deploy applications to the iPhone, Steve Jobs has announced that a native iPhone developer's kit will be released in February 2008. This should allow developers to release native applications that do not require the use of Safari to launch.

DailyTech.com pinpoints the release of the upcoming mobile Penryn CPUs on January 6, 2008.

The upcoming mobile Penryn CPUs have been previously summarized and are expected to provide new processors that Apple could use in an upcoming MacBook Pro update.

Macworld San Francisco starts on January 14th, with a Keynote speech to be given by Steve Jobs on January 15th.

Apple has released a new iPod game called Brain Challenge (iTunes Link).

Just like your body, your brain needs exercise to stay in shape Maintaining it simply involves completing small exercises without pain, stress, or boredom. Thats where Brain Challenge comes in! It's like a real vitamin boost for your brain. More than just a game, Brain Challenge is your personal coach and an entertaining, easy solution for keeping your brain alert. With various fun exercises, train you brain whenever and wherever you want on your iPod!

The game is available for all iPods that are compatible with iPod games, including the 5th generation iPod, 3rd generation iPod Nano, and iPod Classic.

Brain Challenge is published by Gameloft and is available for $4.99. A preview trailer of the game is now available.

Adobe has released Flash Player 9 Update 3 which includes support for H.264 video, support for which was announced in August.

Adobe Flash Player 9 now includes H.264 standard video support, the same standard deployed in Blu-Ray and HD-DVD high definition video players, and High Efficiency AAC (HE-AAC) audio capabilities. The latest update also features hardware accelerated, multi-core enhanced, full-screen video playback for high-resolution viewing across major operating systems and browsers.

The support for H.264 in Flash will be beneficial for both content producers and end users:
- Better image/sound quality for those content providers that elect to use the H.264 functionality.
- Hardware encoding solutions are available for content producers that can encode at better than realtime.

Though speculative, another future benefit may end up being the ability for mobile and set-top devices like the iPhone and Apple TV to be able have better access to content, as such devices that support H.264 include hardware decoders (for battery life optimization on mobile devices). Apple has stated several times that it heavily values battery life on the iPhone, and may be a key reason why a Flash plug-in has not been developed to date.

Digitimes claims that Apple has placed an order with Kenmos Technology and Taiwan Nano Electro-Optical Technology for 13.3-inch LED notebook backlight units for an upcoming Apple laptop:

The sources disclosed that Nano-Op's LED notebook BLU [backlight units] shipments in November were only about 10,000 units, but Apple orders are expected drive up shipments to over 90,000 units in December.

Kenmos is also said to be shipping LED notebook BLUs to Apple for "high-end models".

Apple has been rumored to be launching a new "ultra-portable" laptop at Macworld San Francisco in January. Early specs described by Appleinsider suggested the new sub-notebook would carry a 13" screen with aluminum enclosure that is described to be 50% lighter and "strikingly slimmer" than the existing 15" MacBook Pros. Apple recently adopted the environmentally friendly LED backlit screens in its MacBook Pro models.

Steve Jobs will be giving the Macworld San Francisco 2008 keynote speech on January 15th, 2008.

A German court overturned the temporary injunction issued against T-Mobile requiring it to sell unlocked iPhones in Germany.

Due to the injunction, T-Mobile had been required to offer an unlocked version of the Apple iPhone in Germany. The unlocked iPhone was priced at 999 euro, well above the standard 399 euro price for an iPhone with a two-year T-Mobile contract.

With this reversal, the unlocked iPhone will no longer be available in Germany, though officially unlocked iPhones will still remain available in France.

A recent vulnerability in Apple's QuickTime software is reportedly being successfully exploited on the internet, according to security research vendor Symantec.

The vulnerability affects recent versions of QuickTime, including 7.2 and 7.3, and remains unpatched by Apple. The vulnerability lies in improper handling of RTSP headers which can lead to a buffer overflow where an attacker can execute their own code. Symantec rates the vulnerability as "High" criticality.

Now, Symantec reports (via Macworld) that the vulnerability is being exploited in the wild. Both known exploits involve redirection from the intended web page to a server that uses the vulnerability to load code onto the victim's machine.

Initially, the attacks appear to be loading Windows executables, however Symantec warns that the vulnerability affects both Windows and Mac operating systems.

Symantec suggests the following for mitigating risk until a patch is released:

To protect systems from attack, Symantec recommended blocking access to affected sites. Filter outgoing access to 85.255.117.212, 85.255.117.213, 216.255.183.59, 69.50.190.135, 58.65.238.116, and 208.113.154.34. Additionally 2005-search.com, 1800-search.com, search-biz.org, and ourvoyeur.net should be filtered, it said, adding IT managers can also block outgoing TCP access to port 554.

Symantec also suggests that as a last step, users and IT managers consider uninstalling QuickTime until a patch is released.

Apple has posted a new 'Get a Mac' ad on their website: Misprint. The new television ad is the latest in the ongoing campaign feature Justin Long and John Hodgman as 'Mac' and 'PC'.

Misprint focuses on a recent honor by PCMag.com who listed the MacBook Pro as the fastest Windows Vista notebook for 2007.

The fastest Windows Vista notebook we've tested this year is a Mac. Try that again: The fastest Windows Vista notebook we've tested this year--or for that matter, ever--is a Mac. Not a Dell, not a Toshiba, not even an Alienware. The $2419 (plus the price of a copy of Windows Vista, of course) MacBook Pro's PC WorldBench 6 Beta 2 score of 88 beats Gateway's E-265M by a single point, but the MacBook's score is far more impressive simply because Apple couldn't care less whether you run Windows.

Meanwhile, a second ad has been spotted by readers but not yet posted on Apple's website. This final ad shows 'PC' offering up his suit to 'Mac' for winning the title of fastest Vista laptop.

Apple has recently expanded the 'Get a Mac' ads into creative web campaigns that were recently featured on a number of sites. An early creative 'Get a Mac' web ad (video) was spotted a number of months ago and featured U.K. 'Get a Mac' actors, David Mitchell and Robert Webb.

As if there was any doubt, IDG World Expo announced today (via Macworld) that Steve Jobs will be giving the keynote at Macworld 2008.

The keynote address will occur on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2008 at 9:00 AM PST in Moscone West at San Franciscos Moscone Convention Center.

For those attending Macworld, MacRumors members are arranging a meetup. Of course, for those unable to attend, MacRumors will provide live coverage of the keynote via MacRumorsLive, with continued coverage from the show floor throughout the conference.

Apple's market share in both the computer and cell phone markets is hitting highs according to Net Applications.

Last month the Mac OS had 6.8% market share, compared to 5.39% for November 2006. This represents the highest market share in Apple's steady climb, which appears to be almost directly proportional to a slightly declining Microsoft Windows installed base.

In addition, Net Applications has issued an interesting report stating that the iPhone has quickly overtaken Microsoft's Windows Mobile as the most used mobile OS on the web.

We've been tracking iPhone usage since its launch. Total web browsing on the iPhone has topped the web browsing on all Windows Mobile devices combined, as this report shows. This report is a listing of the top operating system versions in use. It is not a measure of units sold, but the share of users browsing the internet with the devices. The iPhone has had a dramatic rise in usage share in its short time on the market Is this due to a better user interface? Larger screen?

In contrast to market share numbers by firms like Gartner which combine quarterly results from the industry to give market share of sales, Net Applications market share numbers attempt to represent installed base of internet users. More on how Net Applications gets its numbers...