MacRumors

Fortune.com writer Scott Mortiz claims that AT&T is planning to offer a subsidy of as much as $200 on Apple's upcoming next-generation iPhone.

AT&T is preparing to subsidize $200 of the cost of a new iPhone, bringing the price down to $199 for customers who sign two-year contracts, the source says. Apple is expected to have two versions of the new iPhone, an 8-gigabyte-memory and a 16-gigabyte-memory model with price tags widely expected to be $399 and $499.

The subsidy would only be available to customers signing up for service with AT&T, and meant to increase demand for the already popular phone. The use of subsidies has already begun with overseas carriers in the UK and Germany, though these discounts have been applied to move existing iPhone stock, rather than on brand new products.

The source for the article also reveals that the new iPhone will be approximately 9.2 mm thick, 2.5 mm thinner than the current form factor. This contrasts with recent rumors from Engadget claiming that the 3G iPhone will be slightly thicker than the current model. Additionally, Fortune's source concurs with Engadget and others on the inclusion of GPS in the updated iPhone.

Finally, the source claims that the updated iPhone will be released on or about June 27th, to approximately coincide with the one-year anniversary of the original iPhone launch on June 29th, 2007.

Mortiz, who previously wrote for TheStreet, has not had a particularly good track record with Apple rumors, however. Previous inaccurate claims included delivery of a 1st Quarter 2008 3G iPhone and an erroneous report on a drop in iPhone production.

Today, Apple issued a 57MB update to Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard), adding support for Java SE 6 version 1.6.0_05.

This Java for Mac OS X 10.5 Update 1 adds Java SE 6 version 1.6.0_05 to your Mac. This update does not replace the existing installation of J2SE 5.0 or change the default version of Java.

The update requires Mac OS X 10.5.2 or later, and a 64-bit Intel-based Mac. Apple had previously seeded a developer's preview of Java SE 6 for Leopard to ADC developers.

The lack of Java 6 support when Leopard was released had received much criticism.

Rogers Communications Inc. announced that they have come to a deal with Apple to finally offer the iPhone in Canada later this year. Ted Rogers, President and CEO of Rogers, issued the following brief statement:

We're thrilled to announce that we have a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to Canada later this year. We can't tell you any more about it right now, but stay tuned.

No other details are provided, but the announcement should provide some assurance to Canadians that the iPhone will finally be available to them. Apple is rumored to introduce their next generation 3G-capable iPhone around June.

A new Commercial Times report reveals that Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) has won orders for the assembly of the long rumored 3G-capable second generation iPhone.

Foxconn is expected to deliver up to 3 million of the next generation iPhone in June 2008, with a total production run expected to be 24-25 millions throughout the life-cycle of the device.

Readers might remember that rumors of the original iPhone really took off after Commercial Times accurately reported that Foxconn had won the contract for the original iPhone back in November 2006.

Today's iMac updates provided a few surprising upgrades to the existing iMacs. The key changes include:

- Faster Penryn processors (2.4GHz-3.06GHz), up from 2.0-2.8GHz Merom processors.
- 1066MHz Front Side Bus, up from 800MHz.
- NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS 512MB on high end model
- More RAM (2GB) in mid-range models, up from 1GB

Montevina or Not?

First, some background: Intel delivers to its PC manufacturers specific "platforms" which are made up of the processor, chipset and wireless networking interface. These platforms go by specific codenames, such as "Santa Rosa" and "Montevina". While Apple technically does not adopt these platforms in their entirety, for simplicity's sake, we still refer to Macs using these specific named platforms.

Up until now, the MacBook, MacBook Pro and iMac have been based on the "Santa Rosa" platform which offers a 800MHz front-side bus. The front-side bus determines how fast the processor communicates with the rest of the computer. The "Santa Rosa" platform was first launched with the "Merom" processor, but recently gave way to the "Penryn" processors. The most recent MacBook and MacBook Pro updates adopted the new "Penryn" processors, but still on the 800Mhz front-side bus Santa Rosa chipset.

The introduction of the 1066MHz front-side bus iMac alongside faster Penryn processors suggested that Apple may have been able to launch the Montevina (1066MHz) chipset earlier than the expected June timeframe. When directly asked, however, Intel simply describes them as being "special" faster versions of the existing Santa Rosa chipset. The main difference, however, appears to be that these new chips consume more power than the upcoming Montevina chipsets.

For iMac buyers, however, it makes little difference. These new machines effectively provide the key benefits of the Montevina platform: faster processors and a faster front-side bus.

Besides the processing advantages, the addition of the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS 512MB is claimed to offer 2.2x the graphics performance of the ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro.

Buy or Not?

The new iMacs should be in Apple's retail stores now. However, Apple is currently providing substantial ($250-$700) discounts on refurbished previous generation iMac stock, which may better fall in your price range if absolute performance is not your top priority. Unlike with the recent MacBook and Macbook Pros revision, however, modest retailer discounts ($50-$250) on new-in-box previous generation iMacs offer no added value over simply buying today's models. For those who can wait a few more days for delivery, MacMall is already offering $50-100 mail in rebates on the new machines, and Amazon typically follows suit with their own rebates.

Our iMac Buyer's Guide recommendation has been changed to "Buy Now" and the days-since-release counter reset. Ongoing iMac discussion can be directed to our iMac forum.

As predicted, Apple released new iMacs today. The new iMacs include faster processors bringing the low end up to 2.4GHz and with the top end reaching 3.06GHz. The high end 24" 3.06GHz iMac also introduces the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS (512MB) video card.

"The iMacs gorgeous aluminum and glass all-in-one design has been an incredible hit with our customers and is just one of the reasons Mac sales are growing three and a half times faster than PC sales," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "With the latest Intel processors, a faster new graphics option and more memory, customers now have even more reasons to love the iMac."

The iMacs also incorporate the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors with 6MB L2 cache and faster 1066 MHz front-side bus (up from 800MHz). Specs are listed below:

20", 2.4GHz, 1GB RAM, 250GB Hard Drive, ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT 128MB. $1199
20", 2.6GHz, 2GB RAM, 320GB Hard Drive, ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO 256MB, $1499
24", 2.8GHz, 2GB RAM, 320GB Hard Drive, ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO 256MB, $1799
24", 3.06GHz, 2GB RAM, 500GB Hard Drive, NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS 512MB, $2199

The new iMacs are available at the Apple Store.

Update: It appears that Intel is once again providing a custom chip for Apple in the 3.06 GHz top-end model. According to TGDaily the chip is still a Santa Rosa-era chip but the only technical difference between it and the upcoming X9100 "Montevina" CPU appears to be the a 11 watt TDP differential.

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Gizmodo posts the first video evidence of the existence of the Psystar OpenComputer in the wild. One of their readers who actually received their OpenComputer and was kind enough to provide video proof. (There have been questions about the company's legitimacy.)

Reader Patrick (Whiskeyfrown) is lucky enough to be using one of the few Psystar Open Computing machines that have made it into the wild, and he was generous enough to make a video showing the machine (including the connections in the back to the monitor to show that it's legit). The thing boots up and runs pretty damn fast, says Patrick, but Software Update won't recognize it so you won't be able to patch

As we've pointed out before, the technology to run Mac OS X on non-Apple hardware has been well established, but never previously offered commercially. Psystar has specifically adapted the technology from the OSx86Project to allow Mac OS X Leopard to run on standard PC hardware. Individuals with the time and inclination could accomplish the same task on their own PC hardware. Psystar's solution, however, eliminates this technical "hands on" process.

While the advantage of purchasing from Psystar includes a potentially cheaper alternative to Apple hardware, the disadvantages remain significant, still limiting this option to the serious hobbyist. Psystar's patched installation of Leopard appears to prevent future software updates. Even if this were possible, you would run a serious risk of disabling your Mac OS X Leopard installation by installing future software updates.

Apple has remained silent about Psystar's offering, which appears to violate their End User License Agreement (EULA) prohibiting the installation of Mac OS X on non Apple-branded hardware.

TUAW claims that they've heard that Apple is working on a new iPhone application called "iControl" which will allow the iPhone to control and stream media from local iTunes libraries:

TUAW is told that a media navigator will allow you to view videos, play podcasts, listen to music and even support shuffle playback.

Evidence of the player can reportedly be found in the latest iPhone Beta Firmware in the form of localization strings.

Apple already has existing products, such as the Apple TV and Airport Express, which allows iTunes to stream to external devices, so providing similar functionality to the iPhone seems a natural step. In fact, Apple previously applied for a patent on many of the concepts surrounding remotely controlling iTunes from a portable device.

A portable multimedia player (such as the iPod. manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.) is used to wirelessly access and control a media server (such as a personal computer running iTunes software) that is streaming digital media by way of a wireless interface to a media unit (such as a stereo/speakers in the case of streaming digital audio).

Following early rumors that the iMac would finally see revisions next week, we've heard from multiple retail sources that new iMac part numbers have indeed appeared in their systems.

As GeekSugar predicted, the prices for U.S. systems appear to be identical to existing iMac configurations ($1199, $1499, $1799). Delivery of inventory appears to be targeted on Monday or Tuesday of next week. No stores have seen any evidence of Mac mini product revisions, however, so it appears the iMac is the only system to be updated.

The iMac was last updated in August 2007. Rumors leading up to this revision have been relatively sparse, with the obvious upgrade being the use of the recently introduced Penryn Intel CPUs. We previously examined the real-world advantages of these new processors:

As we await the Penryn revisions for the iMac, readers should be aware that Penryn's reduced power consumption will not be particularly beneficial to desktop computers. Unless Apple adds other compelling features to the next iMac revision, readers may want to pause a moment before reflexively ordering the newest Mac.

With that in mind, Apple may upgrade other iMac components, such as the video card, RAM and hard drive.

An old WinandMac article reveals that the glossy black iPhone photo first revealed by iPodObserver is simply a 3rd party "protection case" for the iPhone.

The image was revisited yesterday based on claims by Engadget that the upcoming 3G capable iPhone would indeed carry a glossy-black case. The photo, however, was just given as an example, and not claimed to be the actual 3G iPhone. So, while this does discredit the original black iPhone image, it doesn't yet provide any evidence for or against Engadget's sources.

As mentioned, Engadget does not have an established track record for original Apple rumors, but claims this information comes from a "trusted source" who has had first hand experience with one.

Despite Gizmodo's claim that Psystar was a hoax, Psystar has posted a video demonstrating 3 "Open Computer" systems running Mac OS X, Ubuntu and Windows XP.

In mid-April, news of Psystar's OpenMac clone (since renamed 'Open Computer') exploded across the web. While there have been some questions raised about their legitimacy, they claim to be shipping products at this time.

The technology to run Mac OS X on generic PC hardware is well established, so the actual claims are not difficult to accomplish. Psystar, however, ran into some problems handling orders when they were initially dropped by their credit card processor because their "product was substantially different from what was described in [their] application".

Without verification from any satisfied customers, we still can not endorse the product, as the Mac OS X installation may require some special care to avoid breaking in future updates. Still, for now, it appears they are still trying to be the first Mac OS X clone manufacturer. Apple has not made any comment about Psystar.

Engadget reports that Apple's forthcoming 3G capable iPhone will incorporate a GPS module but be only slightly thicker than the current generation model.

Engadet's visual description of the device largely mirrors that given by iPod Observer earlier this month that depict a more rounded phone with a glossy black back, but adds that the much-despised recessed headphone jack will be replaced by a jack flush with the device body.

The 3G iPhone is largely expected to be introduced at this year's WWDC conference, with probable shipping in July. Engadget is not typically a source of original Apple rumors, but claims this information comes from a "trusted source" who has had first hand experience with one.

Analysts have suggested that June 9th will be the launch date for the 3G iPhone at Apple's Worldwide Developers' Conference.

RegHardware and Engadget are reporting that the 8GB iPhone has gone "End-of-Life" (EOL) in the UK:

Both suppliers' websites are current flagging the handset as "out of stock" (CW) and - more ominously - "no longer available" (O2).

Engadget quotes a memo stating that the 8GB iPhone (and 8GB iPod Touch) has "gone to end of life." MacRumors was also forwarded an email that Carphone Warehouse sent out to their sales affiliates indicating that stock would not be replenished:

Thanks to the most phenomenal response to the promotion, The Carphone Warehouse is now out of stock on the Apple iPhone.

Please can you remove all reference to the iphone promotion in your copy.

We apologise for the short notice but would like to thank everyone who participated in the campaign. Carphone do not expect to receive any additional stock at this time.

Sales of the 8GB iPhone reportedly shot up in the UK after a 100 discount was offered two weeks ago. Apple is widely expected to release a new 3G iPhone in the coming weeks to months.