This week’s Apple news was highlighted by the release of Mac OS X 10.6.2. You can get the update by choosing Software Update from your Apple menu or by going to Apple’s site. It is primarily a bug fix release, with a full list of bugs squashed here.
Apple started shipping its i5 quad-core iMacs this week. All versions of the new 21.5 and 27-inch iMacs are now shipping, although there appear to be delays in some versions of the 27-inch model due to video chipset shortages.
Apple introduced a new service called Reserve and Pick-Up at Apple stores. You can order an Apple product online and pick it up at a local store between December 15 and 25. They are even offering gift wrapping.
It is hard to believe that when the iPhone launched in 2007 that the App store wasn’t a part of it. The very idea of third-party apps was even rebuffed by Apple at the time. But now it is the main feature touted by Apple in its commercials, and it is practically the only reason for the existence of the iPod Touch.
In the 480 days since the launch of the store, more than 100,000 apps have ben released by developers. That’s 208 per day. Many of them are free, and many are only $0.99 — with a few going higher, even above $100.
The app store has made small fortunes for some developers, and created frustrations for others. Apple holds total control over what gets in the store, leaving some developers out even after spending the effort to develop for the iPhone. Also the 100,000 apps vary greatly in quality, with many being cookie-cutter applications with simple data or ebooks shoved into them.
But there is no doubt that the App Store has pushed the iPhone to the next level and sent other phone makers and carries scrambling to keep up.
Apple news this week slowed to a halt after the momentous previous week that included new Apple hardware and a quarterly financial report.
Rumors continue to build around several subjects, including the mythical tablet device and the end of iPhone AT&T exclusivity. New Tablet rumors center around the possibility that it would be used for reading books and periodicals. Experts continue to speculate on whether the iPhone will be available on other networks, such as Verizon, in the U.S.
Meanwhile, Apple TV may soon be getting an update to version 3.0 of its operating system. A new terms of service agreement given to Apple TV owners states that version 3.0 would allow iTunes LPs and video extras. This makes sense, but one wonders what other new things will be in the third version of the Apple TV OS.
The Magic Mouse, released last week but only available with new iMacs, is now shipping as an individual product. It does not seem to be available yet in retail Apple stores, at least outside of the Cupertino area. But some people have reported getting their from Apple’s online store. It is listed as shipping in 5-7 days. At first, the software update required to allow the mouse to work on older Macs was not available, but it can now be downloaded from Apple’s site.
Perhaps the biggest news in the Apple world this week doesn’t come from Apple or have anything to do with Macs, iPhones or iPods. Microsoft released its new version of Windows, Windows 7, with little fanfare compared to previous releases. How Snow Leopard and Windows 7 compete against each other for market share will be the single biggest factor in the immediate future of Apple’s computer market share.
This week the Apple rumor sites are out of control. They are reporting on a mention of an “Apple Slate” by the executive editor of the New York Times. They say that this mention, in a private meeting, is proof that the device exists and is coming soon.
I find it amazing that bits of data like this are reported as akin to fact. Being a rumor makes it OK to report it as a kind of news. Being technology news makes it OK to be held to a lower standard of what defines news. And being Apple news seems to make it anything goes. I’m sure that the editor knew nothing specific and was merely being hypothetical.
But this did get me thinking about the mythical tablet again. You see, I’ve had a problem with the basic premise of the rumors. If Steve Jobs is spending most of his time on this device then it can’t be just be a big iPod Touch. There’s got to be more to it. After all, the iPhone came out and it wasn’t just a phone with an iPod.
So I have been trying to think about the angle here. What could an Apple Tablet be? Jobs must have an angle.
So here’s a big prediction. Let’s see how close I get:
The Apple Tablet will do for books what the iPod did for music. It will be an eBook reader, but in the same way the iPod Touch is a music player. It will be so much more.
As a matter of fact, if it sounds like the Kindle, I think it will be very much like it. It may even be the next Kindle. Amazon may be in league with Apple here, ready to pass the torch to the new Tablet.
I’ve always been of the mind that Amazon doesn’t care about the Kindle, they care about selling books. The Kindle was simply a way to sell more books. As evidence, look at the iPhone Kindle app — a free app by Amazon. Why would they do that, considering it must have reduced the number of Kindles sold. It is because they just want to sell books. The Kindle was a way for them to lead the industry forward and set some standards.
So one of two things will happen: Jeff Bezos will stand on stage with Steve Jobs during the announcement and proclaim the Apple Tablet to be the successor to to the Kindle. Or, perhaps it will be a little more subtle and the Apple device will simply support the Kindle format and the Kindle will slowly disappear as Amazon lets Apple take over.
So what else will this tablet do beside eBooks? Well, it will let you subscribe to newspapers and magazines as well. You can also read RSS feeds, play music and audiobooks, video, get email, and surf the Web.
How about apps? I predict that there will be a Tablet app store, but it will be separate from the iPhone/iPod Touch app store. After all, those apps are all made for 480×320 screens. I also think that Apple will take much stricter control of this new App store — kind of like they do with pure iPod apps. There will be a variety of Apple-approved apps centered around productivity, business and education.
The Tablet will also let you input data with a stylus, like the PC tablets. That tech is already built into Mac OS X, so it makes sense. It will be a great device for students to be able to take notes — even recording audio synchronized with the notes. You can tap a word or figure that you scribbled and hear the audio recording from that moment in time.
I think it will be heavily marketed toward education, with commitments from text book publishers to provide text books in 2010 in this format.
Wirelessly, the device will have wi-fi, and maybe nothing else. It would be great if it allowed you to bring your own 3G USB device so you could choose your own service, but I’m leaning toward wi-fi only right now.
OK, so there’s my prediction: a supercharged eBook reader that works with Amazon’s Kindle system, plays other media, and does basic email, Web surfing and has a small selection of high-quality apps.
Apple news was dominated this week by the announcement of all new iMacs, a new unibody white plastic MacBook, new Mac minis and a new wireless mouse. In addition, Apple released its quarterly financial results, pleasing investors and sending the stock price sharply upward.
The new iMac line comes in two screen sizes: 21.5-inch and 27-inch. Both feature faster processors, more memory, larger hard drives and better graphics chips. The 27-inch can also come with new Intel quad-core processors. The new iMacs have an SD card slot and LED-backlit screens.
The new Mac minis also receive speed, memory and drive upgrades. But more interesting is the release of a special Mac mini server product, with two 500GB drives instead of an optical drive. The server comes with Mac OS X Server instead of the desktop version of the OS, and seems to be aimed at business workgroups, not home media serving.
The new MacBook is an update to the only model in the MacBook line, giving it a unibody construction made from white plastic as opposed to the aluminum body of the MacBook Pro. It also updates the laptop with an internal 7-hour batter like the MacBook Pro.
Apple replaced its Mighty Mouse with the new Magic Mouse, a wireless-only mouse with a touch-sensitive top that responds to clicks and gestures. The iMac now comes by default with a wireless mouse and keyboard.
In its financial report, Apple made $1.67 billion profit from $9.87 billion in revenue in the last quarter, beating expectations. A record of 3.05 million Macs were sold in the quarter, up 17 percent from the previous year. In addition, 7.4 million iPhones were sold and 10.2 million iPods. This is an increase in iPhone sales,but a decrease in iPod sales. However, more of the iPods sold were iPod Touches than in previous reports.
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