MacRumors

Amidst the rumors of the new iPod Shuffles, one tidbit about the iPhone was missed.

ThinkSecret reports on chatter that the iPhone ship date may have been conservative. According to their sources, the iPhone may be shipping as early as April.

Meanwhile, Appleinsider has heard similar buzz of an April launch date.

Both reports appear to represent unconfirmed whispers, and Appleinsider warns that "Apple rarely beats its own product launch forecasts."

After years in development, and some delays, Microsoft's Vista launched to consumers today.

CNet and The New York Times report on the launch itself, which was met with only minimal excitement compared to the Windows 95 launch:

But the launch itself was a quiet affair in a midtown CompUSA store (the chain had organized midnight events at several of its stores), where it seemed like there were just as many reporters and camera crews as there were customers hoping to take home a copy of Vista.

Meanwhile, for Intel Mac owners interested in trying the new operating system, Gizmodo reports only limited graphical support for Microsoft's operating system under Parallels, but some forum users have had success installing Vista on Bootcamp.

Despite increasing pressure from several European countries surrounding Apple's use of exclusive DRM technology in their iTunes Store and iPod, Forbes quotes Luxembourg's finance minister as saying that online video sales could be coming to Europe this spring.

Jeannot Krecke said Apple bosses have been in discussion 'for several months' with Luxembourg authorities. The deal is pending official confirmation from Apple, he noted.

Luxembourg has been Apple's base of operations for the iTunes Store in Europe due to the low VAT for online services.

Along with today's iPod Shuffle line additions, Apple has released the promised 802.11n Enabler for compatible Macs.

The software is available via a software download from the Apple Store for $1.99 unless you buy the Airport Extreme base station which includes the software at no additional cost.

The $1.99 upgrade has been the focus of some controversy. The update had been originally priced at $4.99, but Apple slashed the price after an outpouring of discontent from users.

As rumored, Apple today added to its iPod shuffle line 4 new colors, including pink, green, blue, and orange. With the update, Apple has modified its iPod Shuffle slogan from "Put some music on" to "Put some color on".

The new colors, otherwise identical to the previous silver-clad 1 GB clip-on shuffle, are shipping within 24 hours from Apple's online store (UK Store).

Rumors are floating that Apple may be updating their product line tomorrow.

ThinkSecret believes that display price drops, or perhaps the rumored display update may be the focus of the update, with Clovertown-based (8-core) Mac Pros perhaps in tow.

Meanwhile, AppleInsider believes that the update will come in the form of an additional iPod model. The site is careful to note that the new model is not expected to be anything revolutionary, but rather possibly a new color or new edition of the iPod. Such an introduction could see a rumored Beatles special-edition iPod, or a 2 GB (Product) RED iPod Nano.

Of course, the possibility remains that both (or neither) sites' scenarios could come true. A check of MacRumors' Buyers Guide indicates that while none of the products mentioned are in dire need of an update, sufficient time has passed for each product that an update would not be unexpected.
Page 2: Four $79 products on Tuesday? - we've received more confirmation that 4 $79 items are coming, likely iPod shuffles.

USA Today reports that Verizon Wireless rejected Apple's offer to carry the iPhone exclusively due to Apple's terms.

According to the article, Apple wanted "a percentage of the monthly cellphone fees, say over how and where iPhones could be sold and control of the relationship with iPhone customers."

This included limited distribution to Apple Stores and Verizon stores only, leaving Wal-Mart, Best Buy and other Verizon distributors out of the loop. Apple also reportedly insisted on "sole discretion over whether to replace or repair the phone" with regard to customer service.

Cingular reps refused to provide the details of their agreement, but according to the report, the exclusive deal is a five year contract. This is contrary to previous reports that the Cingular's exclusive contract was only through 2008.

Apple's entry of the cell phone market was predicted to shake up the existing dynamics. Indeed, Apple appears to have made unique demands of cell phone carriers.

NY Times reports on an advance from Intel which is said to represent "the most significant change in the materials used to manufacture silicon chips since Intel pioneered the modern integrated-circuit transistor more than four decades ago."

Intel is moving towards the 45nm manufacturing process and demoed (CNet) 45-nm Penryn chips during a press briefing. The Penryn chips are said to be available "before the end of the year."

Penryn is essentially a shrink of the Core 2 Duo chips, with a few extras like the SSE4 instructions. It's being introduced along with the new manufacturing technology, the "tick" of Intel's plans. Then next year, when the 45-nanometer manufacturing technology is mature, Intel will introduce a new chip microarchitecture code-named Nehalem--the "tock"--with more significant changes to the chip design.

The advances in the manufacturing process include the use of new insulators and new metallic alloy materials in transistor components. Current Intel chips utilize a 65-nm manufacturing process. As always, the move to the smaller processes tends to improve performance and decrease power consumption.

According to this article, the Penryn family of chips will deliver new laptop dual-core microprocessors, a desktop dual-core and a quad-core, and server dual and quad-core processors.

Apple will, of course, benefit from these new processors when they are released, and Intel has stated that the current prototypes are already booting Mac OS X -- indicating that Apple is already involved in early testing.

More technical details: TGDaily and AnandTech

Apple U.K. posted U.K. regional versions of the "Get a Mac" ads featuring David Mitchell and Robert Webb of Mitchell and Webb.

The ads include Tentacle, Office at Home, Restarting, Virus, Trust Mac, and Pie Chart. Many of them appear to be refilmed versions of the U.S. ads with the exception of Tentacle and Office at Home which appear to be U.K. specific.

Apple Japan posted Japanese versions of the ads in November.

Fresh off the heels of the latest Leopard screenshot leak are new shots (mirrored via Gizmodo) showing some of Leopard's latest Safari and QuickView tricks. Credit once again to BabyGotMac for the original posting of the screenshots (although the site has once again gone down under the load).

Also out today is word from LoopRumors claiming to have inside information on some of Leopard's "Top Secret" features. According to the site, AppleTV integration is a "certainty", with AppleTV reportedly able to remotely display a Leopard-based Mac's desktop remotely on an HDTV. (Ed Note: similar screen-sharing technology has been previewed in Leopard's version of iChat AV).

Also of note, LoopRumors has claimed that Steve's iPhone demonstration may have been hiding one application that was "too buggy" to show at the time. The site indicates in its most recent posting that this application may have some ties to Leopard to further entice "switchers."

Earlier today brought reports that Rogers would be providing the iPhone to Canadian customers. This confirms a word-of-mouth forum post made last week. Of interest, the post provided a little more information about the market dynamics between Apple and Rogers.

Apparently, the [Canadian iPhone] prices won't be much higher than the US versions (just currency conversion I guess) and that they aren't allowed to subsidize the cost of the phone relative to your contract (ie you won't save more by signing a longer contract) as is customary with most phones

When Apple announced the $499 and $599 prices for the 4GB and 8GB iPhone with a 2 year contract, many assumed that this was a subsidized price from Cingular. In the U.S., high end mobile phones are typically discounted several hundreds of dollars by cell phone carriers when customers sign up for 1-2 years of service. An earlier CNN Money article discussed this balance of power and how Apple could disrupt it with their phone:

Device manufacturers reportedly don't like [this discount/subsidy system] in that it devalues their phone, and gives them less control on how to market their phone and accessories. .... Apple's entry into the market could convince consumers to pay a premium for their cell phone.

Indeed, the $499/$599 pricepoints may simply represent full retail prices for the Apple iPhone. If Cingular is not providing these substantial subsidies for the iPhone, it paves the way towards today's rumor that Cingular may be significantly discounting the monthly service for the iPhone. (Cingular denies) Without being permitted to discount the phone itself, Cingular can afford to discount the service as an alternative incentive to attract outside customers.

Assuming all this is true, Apple's incentive to keep iPhone prices high might be the expectation that they will introduce more products based on the same technology (touchscreen iPod). Prices of these standalone devices would be harder to justify if they were compared to discounted/subsidized iPhone prices.

According to published reports on the internet, for the third week in a row, Apple has seeded another build of Mac OS X 10.4.9 to developers. The newest seed build number is 8P2122 and comes in at 164.4 MB (Intel) and 70.3 MB (PPC). Unlike the last seed, this version has three known issues listed.

These items include stability issues with Wacom v600-3 drivers, iMovie and Entourage. Meanwhile, Apple itemizes a number of bug fixes with OpenGL, USB, File Manager, CoreAudio and CoreImage.

The accelerated frequency of 10.4.9 seeds to developers suggests an imminent release. The last public update to Mac OS X 10.4 was issued September 29th 2006.

Unwiredview posts a report and photos from Apple's latest patent application.

The newest patent focuses on where to put the optical drive in a notebook computer.

The drive itself is a pretty bulky thing. With all the necessary EMI shielding and structural integrity elements it gets even bigger. It is the biggest component of ultraportable laptop apart from LCD and keyboard. And it [wastes] even more space because it has to be mounted along one side edge of the computer, usually in that precious space in front of the keyboard where a lot of other goodies might be stuffed in. Right? Right?

Not necessarily. Apple thinks that it has found a much better place to put the Optical Disc Drive: at the bottom of the MacBook

In the patent description, Apple addresses the challenges of making laptops even smaller, and how the available area on the perimeter of the computer diminishes as the laptops get thinner. They do admit there are challenges to moving the optical drive to a different location however, including user familiarity and access door issues with a bottom mount.

Some sites have been picking up on a recent Wall Street Journal article (paid subscription required) that quoted prominent accountants disregarding Apple's stated reasons for charging $1.99 for enabling 802.11n capability on Core 2 Duo based Macs and the Mac Pro.

A statement from Apple had previously blamed the charge on "generally accepted accounting principles", or GAAP. However, the Journal's interviewees do not agree.

"GAAP doesn't require you to charge squat," says Lynn Turner, managing director of research at Glass Lewis & Co. and a former chief accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission. "You charge whatever you want. GAAP doesn't even remotely address whether or not you charge for a significant functionality change. GAAP establishes what the proper accounting is, based on what you did or didn't charge for it."

[...]

Still, Apple's language surprised officials who oversee accounting rules. "Accounting doesn't require any charge for anything," says Edward Trott, a member of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, which writes the accounting rules. "No, GAAP doesn't tell you to do anything. You need to work out your transaction with your customer, and GAAP will tell you how to reflect your transaction with that customer."

The reaction from the Mac community appears to be mixed since the formal announcement from Apple. While many were happy to see the final price drop more than half from its previously rumored $4.99 pricetag, many others were frustrated at having to pay anything for hardware capability already in their systems.