MacRumors

In the days since Apple previewed the forthcoming Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard at its Worldwide Developers Conference keynote and distributed a new build to conference attendees, users have been scouring the new operating system and its associated documentation and promotional materials looking for new features. Mac|Life reports on ten features that have received relatively little publicity. While a few them have been mentioned here previously and many are listed on Apple's Enhancements and Refinements page, Mac|Life's report provides a nice summary and we offer a few of the highlights for discussion.

- Expanded Multi-Touch Capabilities for Older Notebooks: Snow Leopard will bring 3- and 4-finger multi-touch gestures to multi-touch notebooks that currently do not support all available finger gestures. Examples of the gestures that will make their way to the older notebooks include swipe for Expos and swipe for switching applications.

- iChat Video Chat Improvements: iChat Theater content can be displayed at up to a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels in Snow Leopard, four times that of OS X Leopard. iChat in Snow Leopard also requires only 300 Kbps upstream bandwidth for video chats, one-third that of the bandwidth required in Leopard.

- "Auto Web Spots": Part of Apple's improvements to Accessibility, auto web spots aid in locating specific information sections on complicated Web pages. Users can navigate from spot to spot with a simple keystroke or flick of the finger.

Apple today announced that the final version of its Safari 4 browser, officially launched Monday after the company's Worldwide Developers Conference keynote address, has been downloaded over 11 million times in the first three days of release. Notably, Safari for Windows has accounted for over half of the total downloads.

Apple today announced that more than 11 million copies of Safari 4 have been downloaded in the first three days of its release, including more than six million downloads of Safari for Windows. Safari 4 is the world's fastest, most innovative browser and is built on the world's most advanced browser technologies including the new Nitro JavaScript engine that executes JavaScript nearly eight times faster than IE 8 and more than four times faster than Firefox 3. Safari quickly loads HTML web pages more than three times faster than IE 8 and three times faster than Firefox 3.

Safari 4 is a free download available from Apple's site.

It seems that the first iPhone 3G S unboxing photos have been posted to the Chinese version of Engadget.com. The images show the new 32GB iPhone 3G S unboxed and demoed with compass and voice control applications. Apple will be officially releasing the iPhone 3G S on June 19th.

Physically, the iPhone 3G S is identical to the iPhone 3G but offers a number of internal improvements including the digital compass (shown above), video recording, faster processor and graphics chips.

Update: The original images have been pulled and we've been nicely asked to remove them for now.

Attendees of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference this week received copies of a "near final" version of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard following Monday's keynote. As we had heard just prior to the start of the conference, Apple is distributing Build 10A380 to the conference attendees. While a number of sets of screenshots and even videos have surfaced from Snow Leopard developer builds over the past few months, each release has brought some new tweaks, and Build 10A380 is no exception.

Michael Flux has posted an extensive gallery of screenshots from the new Snow Leopard build, highlighting several changes to the operating system.

- Stacks Navigation: Navigation within Stacks from the Dock using Grid view has been changed from previous developer builds. Whereas previous builds allowed users to navigate folder hierarchies using small icon versions of parent folders, Build 10A380 now utilizes text buttons in the upper left corner for navigation to parent folders. Gizmodo also offers further explanation of changes to the Dock and Expos in Snow Leopard, highlighting the new ability to scroll within a Stacks window in Grid view.

- Safari Contextual Menu Options: Apple has added two new contextual menu options within Safari. When selecting and right clicking on any text within Web pages, Safari now offers the ability to easily create new Mail Notes from the selected text or convert the selected text to speech and have the file added to iTunes.

- AirPort Menu Signal Strength Indicators: The AirPort Menu Item now shows signal strengths for all networks within range without having to join the networks, aiding in network selection in locations with many possible choices.

A patent application entitled Method and system for prolonging emergency calls, filed in December 2007 and disclosed today, reveals that Apple has been researching methods for facilitating emergency phone calls from the iPhone. The scope of Apple's work extends to recognition of when a given call is an emergency call, activation of power-saving measures, use of confirmation buttons and tasks to decrease chances of premature disconnection, and the use of pre-determined "phrase buttons" to enable sending of automated messages and information.

In determining which telephone calls are emergency calls, Apple specifies that certain numbers such as 911 could automatically be categorized as "emergency", while others could be user-defined, such as within a dedicated field in the iPhone's "Contacts" application. Once an emergency call is detected, the iPhone could then implement a series of measures to facilitate the call. In one such measure, an extra step could be required before termination of the call could be permitted.

For example, if the user presses a button to disconnect an emergency call, emergency-mode processor 106 may query the user for confirmation before disconnecting the call. The confirmation may be in the form of a button, a code or password, a verbal acknowledgement, and/or other input by the user. Emergency-mode processor 106 may even disable the user's ability to disconnect the call. As a result, the call may only be disconnected by someone (e.g., an emergency operator) on the other end of the emergency call. Further, the user may select settings to specify the level of difficulty and the methods of disconnecting emergency calls. The user may also select settings for each individual emergency number. For example, the user may disable the ability to disconnect a 911 call while activating a disconnect confirmation in other emergency calls.

The iPhone's emergency mode could also enact a number of power-saving steps in order to preserve the device's battery life. For example, Apple proposes such actions as dimming the display screen and turning off non-essential hardware components such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or camera sensors.

Finally, Apple describes the use of "emergency phrase buttons" that could allow for preset actions in the event that the caller is unable to speak. Apple cites examples of pre-recorded audio files that could be activated to notify 911 dispatchers that the caller is choking, automatic transmission of GPS coordinates, or automated requests to contact a friend or family member.

MacHeist and TouchArcade are co-hosting an iPhone app launch party at this year's WWDC. The event to be held tonight will provide some demos and previews of some upcoming iPhone apps and games and will be streamed live starting at around 9:30 p.m. Pacific.

Some of iPhone apps to be demoed include: Delicious Library for iPhone, Real Racing, a new Freeverse game as well as the just announced Doom Resurrection from id software and Escalation Studios. The game uses existing assets from Doom 3 but applies them to an entirely new iPhone game with brand new levels:

The Live stream should kick in around 9:30 p.m. Pacific and will be linked from the website.

Apple today invited a number of its iPhone OS 3.0 beta users to participate in a second high-volume test of Apple's Push Notifications system. This round of testing will use a developer preview of AOL's AIM instant messaging application and is scheduled to last for one week, leading up to the public launch of iPhone OS 3.0.

As a developer actively working with iPhone OS, we would like your help in a private tes of the Apple Push Notification service. For this test, we have selected AOL's AIM Developer Preview for iPhone OS 3.0 to create a high-volume test environment for our servers.

To participate, we ask that you follow these steps:



1. Download AIM Developer Preview for iPhone OS 3.0 from the iTunes Store via your desktop by entering this unique redemption code in the 'Redeem' section of iTunes, found under the 'Quick Links' section:



{code redacted}



Note: the functionality of the application will expire in seven days.

2. Install the application on a development device running iPhone OS 3.0 GM Seed by synching it to iTunes. This application can only be installed on devices running iPhone OS 3.0 GM Seed.



3. Launch the application and accept to receive Push Notifications when prompted. You can log in with any existing AOL, AIM, .mac or MobileMe account.

4. If you do not receive notifications from the app within 48 hours after installation, let us know.

Apple previously tested its Push Notifications system using a developer version of AP News.

Push Notifications will be deployed as part of iPhone OS 3.0 next week and serve as a substitute to allowing applications to run in the background on the iPhone, which Apple has determined would consume too much battery power to be practical. Push Notifications utilize external servers to alert users of updates, status changes, and other information for applications that are not currently running.

iFixit posts the first teardown images of the new 13" MacBook Pro. iFixit notes the following changes from the previous 13" MacBook:

- No access door for the battery on the bottom.
- The addition of an SD card slot (and the omission of digital/mic port) is readily apparent.
- FireWire is back!
- Computer lock is now on the other side.

Meanwhile, Gizmodo and Engadget have both posted unboxing galleries for the new machines.

Just by looking at the 13 and 15-inch models together, you can tell that Apple was pretty much right when they said that they belong in the same family. The construction is almost identical. The only difference is that the 13-inch has one fewer audio jack and no side-board speakers, as been the case for the 13 for years now.

Apple released the new 13" MacBook Pro on Monday and dropped the entry price to $1199.

T-Mobile.nl has posted some technical specs about the iPhone 3G S revealing that the newest iPhone carries a 600 MHz processor and 256MB of RAM.

600 MHz is notably faster than the current iPhone and iPod Touch which run at 412 MHz and 532 MHz, respectively. Until now, the 2nd Generation iPod Touch has been the fastest device in the lineup by a good margin. Meanwhile, the previous generation models where also limited to 128 MB of RAM, so the new device offers twice as much which could be a welcome change to developers. The processor/ram information seems to confirm many details that were first revealed in a Chinese forum post.

Apple has been particularly unrevealing about the detailed hardware specs for the new iPhone even to developers at WWDC. The new iPhone is also believed to use the new PowerVR SGX graphics processing unit which provides support for OpenGL ES 2.0. This notably improved performance may require developers to support these multiple device capabilities within their apps.

For those interested in more of a technical analysis, Anandtech offers a detailed breakdown of the new iPhone's processor and GPU, according to their sources. The information lines up with the other reports referenced above.

Although unannounced, the iPhone 3GS uses (again) a Samsung SoC but this time instead of the ARM11 + MBX-Lite combo it's got a Cortex A8 and PowerVR SGX; just like the Pre.

A couple of other minor items we've found worthy of mentioning have popped up in the excitement of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference.

- iPhone 3G S Oleophobic Screen Coating: A number of readers have pointed out that Apple's tech specs page for the new iPhone 3G S mentions that the device's screen includes a "fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating". Fingerprint smudges on the iPhone's screen have been a minor but frequent complaint from users.

Apple's iPhone cleaning instructions also differentiate between the iPhone 3G S and earlier models. While Apple recommends that original iPhone and iPhone 3G screens be cleaned with a "soft, slightly damp, lint-free cloth", the iPhone 3G S's oleophobic coating allows users to clean their screen with a dry cloth, simplifying the cleaning process and reducing potential moisture damage.

- "Find My iPhone" Live: One of the iPhone OS 3.0 features previewed during Monday's keynote was "Find My iPhone", which allows MobileMe customers to track the location of their lost iPhone, send alerts to the device in order to assist with recovery, and to perform remote wipes for data security. Several readers have reported that the feature is already live for those with iPhone OS 3.0 installed, and Engadget offers a video demo illustrating the feature. In addition to a text alert, the lost device emits a pinging sound upon receipt of a message sent via the MobileMe interface, even if the iPhone is set to silent mode.

Apple's Mac OS X Snow Leopard specs page also reveals a number of other details about hardware support for both H.264 acceleration and OpenCL.

MacRumors had previously reported that the latest MacBook Pros offered hardware acceleration for H.264 video playback. While Apple has previously included graphics cards that have contained hardware support for H.264 decoding, the company has only recently taken advantage of this hardware acceleration. Mac OS X Snow Leopard's specs officially acknowledge this support but it appears to be limted to the NVIDIA 9400M graphics processors found in recent Apple laptops and desktops. Unfortunately, it does not appear that this support will extend to older video cards. Hardware decoding of H.264 video improves the performance of video playback while leaving your computer's CPU free for other tasks.

Meanwhile, Apple also details which GPUs will be supported for their upcoming OpenCL API. OpenCL will allow developers to easily offload additional processing tasks to the computer's GPU. Some tasks may find greater benefit from this than others, but could potentially offer substantial performance boosts. The list of supported GPUs include:

- NVIDIA Geforce 8600M GT, GeForce 8800 GT, GeForce 8800 GTS, Geforce 9400M, GeForce 9600M GT, GeForce GT 120, GeForce GT 130.
- ATI Radeon 4850, Radeon 4870

In one specific example, one company found a 5-fold increase in video encoding when using OpenCL-like technology on the PC.

Despite all the reports that Mac OS X Snow Leopard would only support Intel machines, some users held onto hope that PowerPC chips might be supported. Apple, however, has posted the technical requirements for the upcoming Mac OS X operating system and it does indeed require an Intel processor.

The full list of general requirements include:

- Mac computer with an Intel processor
- 1GB of memory
- 5GB of free disk space
- DVD drive for installation

Apple first announced that they were switching from PowerPC to Intel processors in June 2005 and finally completed the transition in August 2006. Since then, all shipping Macs have contained Intel-based processors. Apple's Mac OS X Snow Leopard will be released in September.

Apple released the iPhone 3G S on Monday with a case that is physically identical to the current iPhone 3G. As a result, most felt that the matte case photos that were leaked back in February were likely fake. Strangely enough, however, the photos do appear to have been real cases for the iPhone 3G S.

The leaked matte case design was clearly marked with a new model number A1303 and FCC ID BCGA1303A. Based on the official records released yesterday, this FCC ID does correlate to the new iPhone 3G S:

These model numbers and FCC ID's followed no obvious progression at the time so it seems unlikely that someone simply got lucky in guessing. We're not sure if plans simply had changed at the last minute, but the original leaked case was clearly produced by Apple.

One of the featured demos at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference keynote on Monday was TomTom for iPhone, a forthcoming turn-by-turn GPS navigation solution. Turn-by-turn car navigation has been a highly anticipated function for the iPhone whose deployment has been delayed in part by numerous hurdles imposed by Apple's SDK terms and restrictions from map providers on the use of their data. Several major vendors have been promising that they are working on such projects, with a small handful of applications even having been released.

TomTom last year asserted at the time of the iPhone 3G launch that it was working on developing turn-by-turn navigation, with additional confirmation coming several months later. According to this week's keynote demo and an associated announcement, TomTom's offerings, which will include both the software app and a hardware "car kit", will become available following the launch of iPhone OS 3.0 next week. Pricing has yet to be announced.

The TomTom solution combines two new TomTom products to provide users with state of the art in-car navigation on their iPhone 3G:

- The TomTom navigation application for iPhone; an Apple version of TomTom's award-winning turn-by-turn navigation software, including IQ Routes and latest maps from Tele Atlas;

- The TomTom car kit for iPhone; a specially developed car kit for secure docking, enhanced GPS performance, clear voice instructions, hands-free calling and in-car charging.

TomTom has also released a brief promotional video demonstrating the hardware setup and providing a glimpse at the software interface:

TomTom is not the only company still promising to bring turn-by-turn car navigation to the iPhone. German GPS navigation firm Navigon responded to TomTom's news with a press release announcing that it will be bringing its own MobileNavigator solution to the iPhone by the end of June.

Before the end of this month iPhone users will be able to kit out their smartphones with the professional navigation software from App Stores across the globe. "With the new OS 3.0 operating system, Apple has made the use of navigation software on the iPhone possible, and NAVIGON has quickly managed to adapt the MobileNavigator software to the new firmware. The iPhone can now be transformed into a versatile, fully functional navigator", quotes Egon Minar, CEO of NAVIGON AG.

Navigon promises a free "lite" version of the software, which will provide maps and the ability to display points of interest but no route guidance, and a full version that will provide full turn-by-turn functionality. Pricing for the full version as not yet been announced.

With the announcement of the iPhone 3G S yesterday, many current iPhone users have been looking to upgrade to the new model. Unfortunately, many users have been surprised and disappointed to find that their carriers are requiring that existing iPhone customers under contract are unable to immediately upgrade at the $199/$299 price point offered to "qualifying" customers.

It appears that many of these users had expected to be "qualified" for the lowest pricing despite being currently locked into a multi-year contract, as carriers such as AT&T permitted original iPhone users to upgrade to the iPhone 3G at the qualified price despite still being under their original two-year contracts. The key difference between last year's situation and this year's is that the original iPhone was unsubsidized by AT&T, and thus the carrier had no upfront subsidy to recoup through the two-year contracts its customers were on.

Customers on iPhone 3G contracts, however, received initial subsidies of several hundred dollars, meaning that carriers will require those customers to fulfill most or all of their contracts prior to qualifying for full subsidized pricing on upgraded models. This policy is not unique to AT&T, as upfront carrier subsidies quickly became the basis of Apple's iPhone business model throughout the world. As TechRadar notes, UK carrier O2 has also been receiving complaints from customers unable to qualify for fully subsidized pricing.

Speaking to Steve Alder, General Manager of Devices for O2 UK, he pointed out that it simply wasn't viable to let O2's iPhone customers upgrade early:

"Having subsidised much (or all - depending on tariff) of the price of a customer's iPhone 3G, we simply cannot justify invalidating that contract and subsidise a second device for the same customer.

"Much as we understand the desire of many customers to have the latest version, this would be a loss making deal for O2 and would be a distinct set of business terms for iPhone customers that don't apply to our other customers."

Confusion remains, however, over just what requirements are necessary in order for existing customers to qualify for subsidized pricing for a given carrier. Carriers typically permit users to qualify for partial or full subsidized pricing on handset upgrades several months prior to the expiration of their existing contracts in exchange for the customer locking in for an additional multi-year contract.

But AT&T iPhone 3G customers, for example, appear to be receiving varying information about when they will be eligible for subsidized pricing on the iPhone 3G S. One MacRumors forum member reports that an AT&T representative claims that this discrepancy stems from whether the customer purchased an original iPhone prior to purchasing an iPhone 3G, in which case the customer would qualify for subsidized pricing on the iPhone 3G S only 12 months after signing their iPhone 3G contract instead of the 18 months required for customers who had only purchased an iPhone 3G. A number of other forum members, however, claim that the pricing offers they are receiving do not reflect this supposed set of rules.

Because it remains unclear exactly how much of their contracts iPhone 3G users will need to fulfill before becoming eligible for subsidized pricing on the iPhone 3G S, customers looking to upgrade should anticipate additional clarification on this process from their carriers.

In the wake of yesterday's big announcements from Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, several smaller items of interest have managed to fly under the radar.

- iDisk iPhone Application: Apple's "More Features" pages for the iPhone 3G and 3GS contain a section entitled "iPhone and MobileMe", which highlights several iPhone-related features for customers of Apple's MobileMe service. In addition to the "Find My iPhone" feature previewed during the keynote, Apple is also prominently featuring a forthcoming iDisk application that will allow users to easily access files stored on their iDisk from their iPhone.

The free iDisk app lets you view files on your iDisk right on your iPhone. Microsoft Office or iWork '09 documents, PDFs, video files, and more are viewable in landscape or portrait. Even access Public folders of other MobileMe members with a few taps.

The free application also allows for easy sharing of files with others.

With the iDisk app -- free on the App Store -- you can share files that are too big to email. Choose your recipients and iDisk sends an email with a link to download your files.

- No ZFS Support in Snow Leopard Server?: Apple's interest in Sun's ZFS file system as a possible replacement for OS X's current HFS+ file system has been an item of interest for several years, with rumors even suggesting that ZFS would be the default file system for OS X Leopard. While that change did not come to fruition, Apple has continued to signal its interest in ZFS and has long mentioned ZFS support as a feature of Snow Leopard Server. Apple, however, has now removed mention of ZFS from its revamped Mac OS X Server Snow Leopard specs page and makes no mention of it on its new OS X Server File System page.