MacRumors

Intel announced that it would be releasing its first quad-core processor for laptops next month.

"We're bringing quad-core to mobile in August," said Sujan Kamran, regional marketing manager for client platforms at Intel in Singapore. Kamran declined to disclose specifics of the quad-core chip, which will carry Intel's Core 2 Extreme moniker.

While the article goes on to say that quad-core "is more about bragging rights than a genuine boost in performance", Apple is working on their next revision of Mac OS X (Snow Leopard) which is expected to specifically focus on multi-core performance.

It's not clear if Apple would use such a chip in their MacBook Pros, which currently use Dual-Core mobile processors from Intel. Apple also uses the Intel's mobile processors in their iMac. The "Core 2 Extreme" version of the mobile chip typically draws more power which may prevent it from finding its way into the MacBook Pro initially.

Today, Apple sent out an email to MobileMe customers apologizing for the rocky transition from .Mac to MobileMe.

We have recently completed the transition from .Mac to MobileMe. Unfortunately, it was a lot rockier than we had hoped.

Although core services such as Mail, iDisk, Sync, Back to My Mac, and Gallery went relatively smoothly, the new MobileMe web applications had lots of problems initially. Fortunately we have worked through those problems and the web apps are now up and running.

Another snag we have run into is our use of the word "push" in describing everything under the MobileMe umbrella. While all email, contact or calendar changes on the iPhone and the web apps are immediately synced to and from the MobileMe "cloud," changes made on a PC or Mac take up to 15 minutes to sync with the cloud and your other devices. So even though things are indeed instantly pushed to and from your iPhone and the web apps today, we are going to stop using the word "push" until it is near-instant on PCs and Macs, too.

We want to apologize to our loyal customers and express our appreciation for their patience by giving all current subscribers an automatic 30-day extension to their MobileMe subscription free of charge. Your extension will be reflected in your account settings within the next few weeks.
We hope you enjoy your new suite of web applications at me.com, in addition to keeping your iPhone and iPod touch wirelessly in sync with these new web applications and your Mac or PC.

Thank you,
The MobileMe Team

Apple also acknowledged that the use of the word "push" with regard to the desktop portion of their sync services was misleading and has changed their documentation to reflect that. They state that won't use these terms "until it is near-instant on PCs and Macs" suggesting that this could come in the future.

Apple will be extending all MobileMe subscribers an automatic 30-day extension.

Fortune reports that the iPhone 3G is still a scarce item to find. Lines continue to form at many stores, and as of this morning, 21 states were sold out of the iPhone.

The states reporting no stock on hand were Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin.

Despite long activation delays, Apple announced on Monday that they had already sold 1 million iPhones over the weekend since its launch on Friday.

Apple has quietly released a 1.1.5 firmware upgrade for the iPod Touch. The 1.1.5 firmware remains a free upgrade path for firmware 1.1.4 users who chose not to upgrade to 2.0 ($9.95).

The 2.0 upgrade was released over the weekend and brings support for MobileMe, Exchange, 3rd Party Applications (App Store) and more. Based on early reports, firmware 1.1.5 appears to add no new features but may improve the speed and stability of existing applications. The update is available through iTunes.

Meanwhile, it appears that Apple is already testing version 2.0.1 of the iPhone and iPod Touch firmware.

MacMall (sponsor) is offering MacRumors readers an exclusive additional 3% off of an iPod Touch using this link (applied at checkout). Does not include $9.95 2.0 update yet.

In April, we reported that a company called Psystar was offering the first Mac clone. Using off the shelf PC parts and a modified version of Mac OS X Leopard, Psystar promised a cheaper alternative to an Apple Mac.

Despite some initial concerns about their legitimacy, Psystar has delivered what they have advertised and later even offered software updates and server models.

Throughout, Apple has remained quiet about the company and many have expected that they would pursue legal action. AppleInsider reports that on July 3rd, Apple filed a formal complaint against the clone manufacturer. Apple's lawsuit is said to on the ground of copyright infringement.

The Mac maker filed a formal complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on July 3rd, just one day after Psystar began distributing a modified version of the Mac OS X 10.5.4 Leopard update to customers who had previously purchased one of its unauthorized Mac systems.

Today, Intel announced their Centrino 2 (Montevina) platform which incorporates a faster Penryn Core 2 Duo processor, faster bus speed, faster integrated graphics (GMA X4500) and the option of WiMax support.

The new Penryn chips will run from 2.26 GHz up to 3.06 GHz with a 1066MHz Front Side Bus. This is an improvement over the existing processors which range from 2.1 GHz to 2.8 GHz with a 800 Mhz Front Side Bus which currently power Apple's MacBook and MacBook Pro. Apple is expected to incorporate the new processors in the next version of the MacBook and MacBook Pro. Historically, Apple has not adopted Intel's platforms in their entirety, so, for example, they may choose not support to WiMax, a next generation wireless broadbrand standard.

Apple's laptops were last upgraded in February with only modest speed bumps. While Montevina's speed upgrades are also said to be modest, it has also been rumored that Apple will be revamping the physical design of their next notebooks to bring them in line with the current iMac and MacBook Air. Recently leaked photos depicting a more tapered design of the MacBook Pro are believed to be real. Apple's next laptops are rumored to arrive sometime during Q3 2008 (July-September).

Meanwhile, Intel's next major processor revision starts in late 2008 and continues into 2009 with Nehalem. Nehalem promises dramatic speed increases and increased multi-threading and multi-core designs. Nehalem processors suitable for notebooks, however, will not likely arrive until well into 2009.

ExtremeTech reports that they were able to talk to Apple's head of iPod and iPhone marketing, Greg Joswiak, on launch day. They asked two very common questions about possible features of Apple's iPhone.

When asked about the iPhone's lack of copy and paste functionality, Joswiak stated that they were not specifically against the feature, they have a prioritized list of features and were only able to get down the list so far with this product release. As a result, it seems copy and paste may still be a possibility in a future software update.

The author also asked about David Pogue's suggestion that the iPhone's GPS antenna was too small to accommodate a turn-by-turn navigation application. According to Joswiak, this is untrue. Instead he points to "complicated issues" surrounding driving applications but promises "It will evolve. I think our developers will amaze us." Indeed, TeleNav has already claimed that they are working on this exact product for release in the App Store.

Apple announced that they had sold over 1 million iPhone 3Gs this weekend. There continue to be long lines at Apple Stores across the country for the iPhone. Despite some early complaints about price plans in Canada, Rogers announced today that they nearly sold out of the iPhone and had "the best weekend sales of a handset" in their history.

Despite long lines and activation troubles, Apple announced today that they sold its one millionth iPhone 3G on Sunday, only three days after its initial launch on Friday, July 11th. In the press release, Steve Job points out that it took 74 days to sell the same number of the original iPhone. The iPhone 3G is now available in in 21 countries. When the iPhone was first announced in 2007, Apple had announced a goal of selling 10 million iPhones in 2008.

In addition, Apple announced that the newly launched App Store has had over 10 million iPhone and iPod touch applications downloaded over roughly the same period of time.

"The App Store is a grand slam, with a staggering 10 million applications downloaded in just three days," said Steve Jobs, Apples CEO. "Developers have created some extraordinary applications, and the App Store can wirelessly deliver them to every iPhone and iPod touch user instantly."

Apple's MobileMe services are working for most, though there are still sporadic reports of misbehavior. One point of contention, however, has been the exact behavior of their advertised "Push" services.

At the moment, the Mac OS X updater for MobileMe is available only for Leopard, and Tiger users will continue to use their ".Mac" control panels. In order to use the advanced Push capabilities of MobileMe from your Mac, you need to enable "Automatic" synchronization by selecting it in the MobileMe control panel:

Doing so will allow updates from your iPhone and Me.com to be pushed to your Mac near-instantaneously. Similarly, push services also work from many other combinations for Calendar and Address Book data. (The Mac OS X mail client remains sync only):

Changes to Me.com -> Mac (push)
Changes to Me.com -> iPhone push)
Changes to iPhone -> Me.com (push)

The point of contention comes when changes are performed on your Mac. These changes do not trigger an automatic sync and instead waits until the next scheduled sync which is every 15 minutes:

Changes to Mac -> Me.com (15 minute sync)

Apple has confirmed that this is expected behavior in a Knowledgebase article which has generated some complaints in our MobileMe forums. Alternatively, users can hit the "Sync" menu option at any time on their Mac to trigger a sync at any time.

TouchArcade.com (rss) is a new site dedicated to iPhone and iPod Touch gaming. Cofounded by myself, Arnold Kim (blog, twitter), and Blake Patterson (home, twitter), the site hopes to become the definitive resource for gaming on Apple's new handheld platform.

We've already highlighted some hidden gems in iPhone gaming and compiled excerpts from some recent articles in this early iPhone gaming roundup:

Dizzy Bee (iTunes link) - Its a fun time to be an iPhone owner when a gem like Igloo Games Dizzy Bee appears out of nowhere as a pleasant and inexpensive surprise.

Tilt and turn your iPhone to guide a friendly bee to rescue fruit while avoid obstacles and baddies. The game provides a remarkable level of polish throughout and provides an excellent value at only $2.99.

Aurora Feint: The Beginning (iTunes link) - 23 year old developers Danielle Cassley and Jason Citron have been slaving away at this game for only 10 weeks, but have already won the praise of early App Store commenters who are amazed that the game is free.

Some have compared the game to Pokemon Puzzle League where the basic gameplay is to arrange three blocks in a row, either vertical or horizontal. But whats unique is the Role Playing component to the game along with level-ups which provide you with useful skills such as Time Stopper and Strategist. These level-ups can aid in gameplay and increase your multipliers. The graphics and music are also of impressive quality.

A couple of other fun and free games introduced to the App Store include Cube Runner (iTunes link) and Tap Tap Revenge (iTunes link) and other related topics include the effectiveness of alternative input controls and the iPhone's built in rumble pack.

Visit TouchArcade.com for more gaming news and reviews.

After a few days of growing pains, it appears that MobileMe is now online at Me.com. The service has been up and down over the past few days while under heavy load. While Apple had initially released a MobileMe updater for Mac OS X, they had temporarily pulled it during the ongoing server issues.

Today, the MobileMe updater appears to have returned to Software Update as version 1.1:

The Mac OS X Update For MobileMe is recommended for users running Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.4 and includes general system fixes that enhance your Mac for MobileMe.

The web-based service replaces .Mac and offers web-based email, calendar, addressbook, online storage as well as "push" sync services.

We've opened a MobileMe forum to handle questions and discussion about this new Apple service.