MacRumors

Macworld.com and CNBC have notes from Apple's shareholder meeting which took place today.

In it Steve Jobs fielded various questions covering the backdating stock options, Fred Anderson, Greenpeace and the iPhone. Some of the interesting tidbits are posted below:

"Leopard will be worth the wait" - Steve Jobs
"When a shareholder asked Jobs for high-definition video content on iTunes and asked if his Apple TV could allow him to rent movies, the CEO smiled. 'One never knows,' he said cryptically."
"Regarding .Mac, Jobs admitted that Apples suite of online services hasnt achieved its full potential, but said the company was working on it."
Regarding a decreasing research budget percentage, Jobs said research is a lot more about people and quality engineers than it is about the money. "I wish developing great products was as easy as writing a check," said Jobs. If that were the case, Microsoft would have some great products."

Appleinsider details a new patent applicaton from Apple which explores the possibility of separating the display from the touch interface by placing the touch interface on the back of the device.

Apple describes the problems related to the use of a touch interface screen in the more traditional screen + touch interface together. The problems include obscuring the screen with your hand and introducing smudges onto the screen.

Instead the use of "back side touch" would eliminate these issues but still provide user interface feedback with the use of an on-screen cursor which identifies where the touch-interface is being used.

More specifically, a force-sensitive touch-surface is provided on a first or back-side surface of the device through which a user provides input (e.g., cursor manipulation and control element selection/activation)," the company wrote. "On a second or front-side surface, a display element is used to present one or more control elements and a cursor that is controlled through manipulation of the back-side touch-surface.

The patent is credited to John Elias who was one of the founders of Fingerworks, a company who had done much work in the field of touch-interfaces. Apple acquired Fingerworks in 2005.

Raw Data: Patent Application #20070103454

With the arrival of the first PC Santa Rosa based laptops, many expectations have sprung up for Apple to follow suit.

A Page 2 Rumor from Gizmodo claims that a Santa Rosa-based MacBook Pro could be coming as early as next week. This "rumor" however is credited as "informed speculation" and cites a "channel partner" as the source. Historically, channel partners have had no inside knowlege of upcoming model refreshes from Apple, so this source is difficult to believe. Appleinsider, however claims that a Santa Rosa based LED MacBook Pro is expected in the "second quarter of the year with an 800MHz frontside bus and second generation Core 2 Duo mobile processors ranging up to 2.4GHz with 4MB of L2 cache."

Meanwhile, CrunchGear counters this with a rumor claim of their own from their "source who works with Apple". According to their report, Santa Rosa based MacBooks will not be coming in the next few weeks or months. Instead, they claim that LED based laptops rumors are true and coming "in the next month". (Well, they actually say "OLED" but we presume they mistyped since there have been no OLED MacBook rumors).

While we have little historical context for CrunchGear's accuracy, their claim does correlate with ThinkSecret's claim that 15.4" LED MacBook Pros will be seen at WWDC (June 2007).

During their financial results, Electronic Arts revealed today that they would be publishing 4 new games for the iPod this year. An exact list of games was not provided, but Sims Bowling (screenshot) was listed as one of the upcoming titles for the iPod.

EA currently publishes 5 games (Mini Golf, Mahjong, Royal Solitaire, Tetris, and Sodoku) for the iPod and which are presently sold through Apple's iTunes store. EA has also been said to be in discussion for upcoming iPhone games as well, but made no comments about this during the webcast.

Meanwhile, Apple is now offering a free demo version of Ms. Pac-Man (iTunes). Apple previously offered a free demo of Vortex for a limited time.

Appleinsider publishes comments by UBS analyst Benjamin Reitzes after a meeting between him and Apple executives Peter Oppenheimer (Chief Financial Officer), David Moody (Vice President of Mac Product Marketing), and Eddy Cue (Vice President of iTunes).

As always, Apple didn't reveal any information on new products, but was reportedly "confident the [iPhone] will ship on time with volumes to meet customer demand".

The analysts expects "an innovative method of in-store activation and in-store displays for the iPhone, along with customer-friendly billing that could tie customers further into the Apple online store."

For what its worth, the analyst also expects for 2007: "new video iPods including a widescreen video iPod with multi-touch technology (likely flash), higher capacity nanos and shuffles and new Macs into the holidays"

UBS analyst Benjamin Reitzes' track record for predictions are logged in our Guides.

Apple has sent out brief teaser emails to developers inviting them to WWDC 2007. The email reads:

See the future.
Then take it home with you.

The Leopard beta. Available first at WWDC.
At the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, we're planning to show you a feature-complete version of Mac OS X Leopard, and you can take home a beta copy. Be the first to get your hands on the Leopard beta and get a huge head start on development. Register now for WWDC 2007 -- it's your ticket to the future of Mac OS X.

Apple had previously announced that they would be providing a "feature-complete" version of Leopard at WWDC. "Feature-complete" presumably indicates that Apple would finally be revealing the "secret" features that they have been hinting at for months.

In the email, Apple also lets developers know that they had extended early registration until May 11th.

TechnologyReview has an interesting article looking into Apple's design process with a focus on Steve Jobs who is said to have established the company's focus on industrial design.

The article interviews Mark Rolston, senior vice president of creative at Frog Design, who has worked with Apple as a design partner.

"Jobs wanted to elevate Apple by using design." Jobs, he says, not only cared personally about design but saw that it could be a way to differentiate his company's products from the PCs of the day, which often looked little evolved from hobbyist boxes.

Unlike design work for a company such as Packard Bell where the casedesign comes together at the last moment, Apple has a significant interest in product design throughout the process. Apple is said to take "an amazing interest in material selection and how things are manufactured" to the point where they are constantly looking for new design processes and willing to retool a factory to accomplish their goals.

Brunner estimates that today Apple spends 15 to 20 percent of its industrial-design time on concept--far more than most other computer companies--and the rest on implementation

Apple also keeps design teams small to try to minimize feature creep and a maintain a minimalist design.

"They're a small team that takes a very, very hands-on approach," adds Rolston. "We do a lot of similar products for other companies--say, Sony. But the process of approval, and collaboration generally--for everything from shape to engineering--involves tons of people, taking up to 50 percent of the time, watering it down." What makes Apple Apple and not Sony, says Rolston, is clarity of voice and vision.

ThinkSecret claims that Apple has indeed placed an order for 15.4-inch LED backlit displays targeting a June announcement at WWDC.

According to the rumor site, Apple placed an order for over 100,000 15.4-inch LED displays in April for a delivery schedule in May. This would provide adequate lead in time for a June ship date. Meanwhile, orders for 13.3-inch LED screens are reportedly being considered for 3rd Quarter roll-out.

This report echoes a similar timeframe to a Digitimes report from yesterday, but targets the MacBook Pro specifically at WWDC in June.

According to our Buyer's Guide the MacBook Pro has seen 196 days since their last update, with a historic average of 182 days between updates.

Apple posted a few new "Get a Mac" ads that aired tonight.

The new ads include Choose a Vista, Genius, and Party is Over. Meanwhile, one unaired Ad named "Knocking" was posted to YouTube but has not yet been posted by Apple.

GigaOM provides some details from UBS Investment Research from the latest AT&T investor meeting.

From it, we find that AT&T is going to be using the iPhone launch as a "branding event and increase its advertising around the product to cement the AT&T Mobility name in the market." Apple, of course, is expected to be marketing the iPhone aggressively as well.

The report also reinforces what was previously hinted at -- that the iPhone does not appear to be subsidized by AT&T. This means that AT&T may actually make a small profit margin on the sales of the iPhone.

This benefit, however, may be outweighed by the monthly revenue sharing that Apple reportedly insisted on. Exact amounts are not available, but a portion of the AT&T monthly subscription plan for the iPhone is reportedly going back to Apple. Depending on how much that portion is, AT&T could even see a decline in monthly revenue for each existing customer that switches to the iPhone.

Details are scarce, of course, and the article states that "revenue share might be different for new customers vs upgraded subscribers". Regardless, AT&T is certainly banking on attracting new customers with the iPhone launch.

With confirmation from Apple that they would be pursuing LED-based screen technology in the coming future, there was speculation on which specific models would first see the new LED screens.

Digitimes claims that Apple is currently considering 13.3" and 15.4" panels from AU Optronics and Chi Mei Optotronics. These laptop displays would ship in "second or third quarter of 2007" suggesting a relatively soon launch for the new displays:

Sources recently said AUO and CMO will enter volume production for LED-based LCD modules (LCMs) in the second and third quarter, respectively, of 2007, with CMO being more aggressive in the segment since it will launch more models than AUO.

As we approach June, we'll be seeing more and more tidbits about Apple and Cingular/AT&T's preparations to launch the iPhone. All evidence reinforces the expectation that Apple will be launching the iPhone in "late June" as expected.

As previously reported, iPhone support individuals are being hired. Training will reportedly begin on May 30th and will continue through June 20th. The actual launch should presumably be expected after the June 20th date.

Meanwhile, Apple Stores have begun seeing Cingular technicians visiting the store to test network (mobile) connectivity throughout the store. This move, of course, makes sense in that customers will expect good Cingular reception at the stores in which they will be buying the iPhone.

Finally, Apple appears to still be building up their core iPhone team and has advertised for an open house at their Elk Grove campus in California on May 16th. The newspaper ad reads:

We are hiring qualified people to join the iPhone team in Elk Grove. If youre looking to inspire customers with technology that empowers their lives and get your foot in the door at Apple, this is one opportunity you dont want to miss.

IFO Apple Store posted photos from the construction site of what will be the location of the largest New York City Apple Store.

The 3rd Apple Store in New York City is to be located at 401 W. 14th Street in the Meatpacking District. The new store is said to provide 32,000 square feet of floor space, significantly more than their existing Apple Store SoHo (21,577 sq feet) and Fifth Avenue (25,000 sq feet) locations.

Boy Genius Report posts an internal AT&T email to employees limiting vacation requests during the June 15-July 15th timeframe, citing the likely "biggest selling period we have seen in a few years."

To ensure proper staffing during the product launch period, Sales personnel planning to take approved time off are encouraged to schedule their vacations before June 15 or after July 15 to participate in the iPhone launch.

Previously approved vacation will be allowed where voluntary rescheduling is not feasible

No additional vacation requests will be approved during the launch period (6/15 7/15).

An earlier report from the same site indicated that AT&T was also planning large iPhone displays for the launch:

Apple iPhone displays will soon be hitting AT&T stores across the country and yes, we got some details! First off, it was relayed to us that many stores will actually have to be rewired because the display demands its own power supply, and even requires a network cable. As far as the size of the iPhone display itself, get this 7 ft tall, and 3 ft wide! Many stores have already started installing the necessary power systems which means that working displays should be here within the next few weeks.

Apple has stated that the iPhone is on track for a "late June" release.