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.
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.
Interactive Data Corp released its computer sales estimates for the third quarter and declared that Apple now has 9.4% of the U.S. market. This is up from last quarter and last year, even though the numbers include cheap netbooks and Apple has no netbook on the market. Apple still lags behind HP, Dell and Acer in quarterly sales.
A dangerous bug has been reported by some Snow Leopard users that wipes their home folders clean. It isn’t clear why this has happened to a few users, but the connection seems to be logging out of your account, logging into the guest account, and then logging back into your main account. Apple acknowledged that this happens, but only in rare cases. Keeping a Time Machine backup is the best way to protect yourself from this, or from any number of mishaps.
Apple has released a performance update for Leopard and Snow Leopard that “prevents hard drive stalls” — their notes don’t go any further explaining the issue or why the update is a specific download and not a part of the Software Update system. You can find them here for Leopard and Snow Leopard: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL946, http://support.apple.com/kb/DL947.
At Adobe’s develop conference this week it was revealed that Flash, the popular tool for building Web site games and applications, can soon be used to develop iPhone apps. These apps would be compiled native apps for the iPhone, not simply files that play back in a Flash player as they do on the Web.
Flash is the main significant features of the Web that is missing from the iPhone’s Safari Web browser. However, these apps would be no different than today’s stand-alone apps that you can download from the iTunes App Store. They would be created using Flash, but appear as apps no different that what is developed today using Apple’s XCode tool. However, it would mean that a whole new set of developers could create apps without needing to learn to use new tools. It would also allow old Flash content to be turned into new apps for the iPhone.
Apple resigned from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce this week. Apple disagrees with the Chamber’s opposition to EPA policies concerning greenhouse gas emissions. Other companies, such as Pacific Gas and Electric and Nike have also left the Chamber.
Rumors continue to build behind the fabled Apple Tablet device. Now some say that Foxconn, who already makes many of Apple’s products, will be the manufacturer, and the device will appear early next year.
In addition to continued Tablet rumors, other rumors point to new iMacs and MacBooks coming soon. There is even talk of a new Mac mini with a lower price point.
Apple quickly released a dot-version of iTunes, version 9.0.1 to fix many of the bugs that people reported in the first few days after iTunes 9’s release. The bug fixes affected the iTunes store, iPod and iPhone syncing, Genius mixes and more.
Adobe announced a new version of Photoshop Elements for Mac. Version 8 is advertised as working well with iPhoto. You can use an external editor in iPhoto 09 to touch up or alter your pictures. Photoshop Elements is a low-priced version of Photoshop that leaves out some pro features that most users don’t need unless they work as a professional graphic artist or photographer.
While Apple’s tablet remains just a rumor, Microsoft has announced a tablet product. However, it is only a prototype with no release date and few details. It might give us a clue as to what Apple has in mind. The “Courier” is a two-screen tablet that opens like a notebook.
Apple wasted no time releasing the first dot-update to Snow Leopard. Version 10.6.1 was pushed over Software Update about two weeks ago and is mainly about bug fixes, not new features.
The fixes concern Sierra wireless modems, DVD playback, printer compatibility, the Dock, account setup in Mail and other Mail bugs. There are also some security patches, most likely the same ones rolled out in security updates for both Tiger and Leopard.
MobileMe has also been upgraded with minor features. One is the ability to set the passcode on your iphone remotely. The “Play a Sound” option in MobileMe has been changed to play the sound at maximum volume. There are also a variety of improvements as to how calendars sync, and how you are alerts of conflicts and changes when syncing calendars and contacts.
There is also some movement in the Apple TV department. Apple has discontinued the original 40GB version and has dropped the price on the remaining 160GB version to $229.
In the rumors arena, there is speculation that the mythical Apple Tablet won’t be making an appearance until February.
Apple’s September 9th announcements were all about iTunes and the iPod. However, the new products were almost overshadowed by the fact that the presentation was headed by Steve Jobs himself. This is his first appearance in such a capacity since last year when he stopping speaking for Apple to take care of his health.
At the center of the announcements was iTunes 9, a new version of iTunes that is already available for download through Software Update on your Mac. iTunes 9 features some interface changes in how you view your library, and also a new look for the iTunes music store. New features include the ability for iTunes 9 to communicate across your home network and sync media files between computers. You also have a new interface for deciding which songs and videos sync to your iPod or iPhone. The Genius feature now includes nine mixes created from your music library that act as personal radio stations.
On the iPhone and iPod Touch, version 3.1 of the OS adds a Genius feature to the App Store app, giving you suggestions about which apps you might like. You can also no purchase major-music-label pre-made ringtones in the iTunes app.
New iPods were announced and are now on sale, including new versions of every single iPod. The iPod Touch now has a faster processor and comes in a 64GB size. The iPod Shuffle has new colors. The iPod Classic is now 160GB. The biggest change, however, is the iPod Nano, which now has a video camera, FM radio and pedometer.
All iPods except the Classic have new lower price points. Check out the Apple store for prices for each of the models. All of these new models are already in stores and on sale online.
Apple has made the entire presentation available to watch.
Last Friday Snow Leopard, Mac OS X 10.6, came home to live on many Macs around the world. Most updates went smoothly. Some issues centered around users not having the latest patches to iWork and various third-party applications. Some third-party applications do not have a Snow Leopard-compatible version out yet, but that is rare since Snow Leopard has been available for developers to test on for about 18 months.
But Apple doesn’t seem to be resting after this major release. They have invited press to a special event on September 9. The only hint as to the content of the event is that the invitation shows an iPod and the words: “It’s only rock and roll, but we like it.” So there will most likely be announcements about iTunes and the iPod.
Apple may offer new hardware, perhaps a new Nano and iPod Touch. They may also release iTunes 9. There are strong rumors of them offering song-based ringtones for sale directly from iTunes. Currently, you can purchase whole songs as ringtones and select your own 30 seconds to use as the actual ringtone.
September 9 is the official release date of the remastered Beatles catalog on CD, so it would also make sense that the Beatles songs will go on sale for the first time in the iTunes store. But it would be odd for the event to be named after a Rolling Stones song, in that case.
Apple shocked the Mac news world on Monday with the announcement that Snow Leopard would be released in only 5 days. Tomorrow, Friday August 28, it will be available in Apple stores and ship on new Macs.
The price of a single upgrade from Leopard is $29. Anyone who bought a Mac on or after June 8 can get it for $10 if they sign up at the Apple site and order within 90 days of their Mac purchase.
You can find out more about Snow Leopard and how to upgrade in this week’s videos: Snow Leopard FAQ and The Top 10 Reasons to Upgrade to Snow Leopard.
Analysts at Piper Jaffray have forecasted that the new version of Mac OS X will sell 5 million copies in this next quarter. Meanwhile, other reports are coming in that computer sales in general are up, with Apple leading the pack in growth once again. Apple has started running some new TV spots as well.
Apple news this week has been dominated by rumors of a September 9, 2009 (9/9/9) event. While there has been no official announcement of such an event by Apple, this hasn’t stopped bloggers from speculating on what APple may announce. Here is a run-down of possibilities.
It could be the Apple Tablet that we have been waiting for. Most rumors of this mythical tablet have pointed to later in the year, or early next year for release. But Apple announced the iPhone 6 months in advance, so they could be announcing this tablet early too. If the tablet relies on iPhone apps for content, then an early announcement would give app developers time to adapt their apps to a larger tablet screen.
Apple seems to have September announcements concerning the iPod in most recent years. So this could be an iPod update. There have been rumors of a new iPod Touch that adds a camera and other iPhone features. Add a larger screen and maybe the new iPod Touch and a tablet are one in the same.
One of the rumors that makes the most sense is the release of iTunes 9. Rumored features for this new version are social media links and the ability to sync with non-iPod devices. Apple may want that last feature to keep iTunes as the center of the Mac users’ media world, instead of resorting to a third-party application to sync with their non-iPod device.
The very date of 9/9/9 hints at the Beatles. The words “Number 9, Number 9, Number 9” are from the oddest Beatles song, Revolution Number 9 from the White Album, and are heavily associated with the Beatles in popular culture. The Beatles appearing on iTunes has been rumored for years. 9/9/9 is the release date of the Beatles Rock Band game for game consoles, and the issue of a remastering of the Beatles catalog. This remastering is often linked with the Beatles coming to iTunes. This could also include a limited edition Beatles iPod, similar to the U2 iPod from years ago.
Another possibility could be that September 9 is simply the release of Snow Leopard. This would be a non-event, as Apple has already said that Snow Leopard will be out in September. The only surprise would be if Snow Leopard boxes were unveiled at Apple Stores and it was available immediately.
Of course, the event could be any combination of the above. Throw in a surprise like Steve Jobs making the announcement personally, perhaps with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr at his side, and it could be quite exciting.
Looks like Snow Leopard really is on target for a September release, if not sooner. Rumor has it that the beat went gold — meaning that it has been sent to factories to be duplicated on to install disks. If that is true, we could see Snow Leopard on sale by the end of the month.
It would be interesting, as Apple could then brag that they beat their own release deadline, as opposed to Microsoft having OS release deadlines slip by months and even years.
How iPhone treats iPhone app developers has continued to be a hot topic this week, with more developers telling their stories and more bloggers writing about it. Apple’s VP Phil Schiller responded to one complaining developer by email and said that Apple is listening to the complaints. An interesting list of rejected iPhone apps can be found here. Aside from a few that were rejected for obvious objectionable content, there is plenty of evidence of Apple’s app reviewers disagreeing with each other and making contradictory calls.
Apple made some small product adjustments this week. They released a bug fix update to Safari, version 4.0.3, available through Software Update. They also resumed offering matte screen options for 15-inch MacBook Pros, much to the delight of those who favored matte screens over the standard glossy versions.
Apple released a new version of Leopard, Mac OS 10.5.8 this week. To get the new version, simply choose Software Update from the Apple menu. It includes mostly minor security and stability fixes, as outlined in Apple’s official update note.
Apple also released version 5.1 of GarageBand, part of iLife 09. You can get that one from Software Update as well. Changes include adding GarageBand track effects and Audio Units to a guitar track, improved support for Apogee audio interfaces, Magic GarageBand switches to full screen faster and some security fixes.
Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google, has resigned from the Apple, Inc. board of directors. This is a reaction to Google entering the OS business with the announcement of Google Chrome. With Apple and Google competing in a number of areas now, it was only a matter of time before Schmidt would have had to leave.
In the past week Apple has introduced a whole new version of the Final Cut Studio suite, including Final Cut Pro 7. New features include an easy export option, posting to MobileMe and YouTube and support for new ProRes codecs. Final Cut Pro is now Intel-only, matching Snow Leopard, and has a number of bug fixes and optimizations. The price for Final Cut Studio has dropped to only $999 and upgrades for $299.
Apple has also released a new version of the Time Capsule base station. You can get the original 1TB Time Capsule for $299 and then new 2TB for $499. 2TB will make Time Capsule useable as a Time Machine backup for those who have a 1TB drive in their Mac, as well as those who have several Macs on their network with total drive space of more then 1TB.
Rumors this week, besides more talk about a Mac tablet or netbook, centered around whether Apple would attend the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next year. In the past, Apple hasn’t attended because it usually conflicts with MacWorld. But as Apple is no longer involved with MacWorld, there are rumors that Apple may attend and that Steve Jobs may even replace Bill Gates as the headline speaker. But no definite word from Apple either way.
It seems that there is always a new controversy surrounding iPhone App Store submissions. This last week several Google Voice-related apps have been removed from the store by Apple. Google Voice is a telephone service run by Google that combines voice mail, a personal phone number and call forwarding, among other features. Apps have allowed iPhone owners to access various features of Google Voice. Developers are upset at their sudden rejection and can only speculate as to Apple’s reasons.
This news this week centers around Apple’s quarterly financial results. Once again, Apple seems to have wowed Wall Street with better-than-expected results.
It recorded a $1.23 billion profit for the quarter, as compared to $1.07 million for the same quarter last year.
Mac sales grew in contrast to the rest of the computer industry. They sold 2.6 million Macs, 4 percent higher than the same quarter last year.
iPhone sales were in fact seven times that of the quarter last year, with 5.24 million sold. Apple also reported 1.5 billion apps were download from the iTunes App Store, though that combines free and paid apps.
This may be cutting into iPod sales, as they only sold 10.2 million iPods, which is 7 percent less than last year.
The stock price went up on the news, as you would expect. In fact, AAPL is up about 80 percent so far this year, compared with 21 percent for the rest of the NASDAQ.
It must be the middle of summer because news has slowed to a crawl. What makes headlines these days is Steve Jobs attending a Cold Play concert and Apple doesn’t like the Microsoft ads.
The only hard news is about very minor software updates. We have iTunes 8.2.1, which, along with bug fixes has stopped Palm Pre phones from syncing with iTunes. We’ll never be sure if Apple intentionally disabled Pre syncing, or if Palm is simply taking advantage of loopholes in iTunes software that require them to keep up with new versions of iTunes. But Apple did warn Pre owners that syncing wasn’t supported on the Apple side of things.
The story that Apple doesn’t like the Microsoft “Laptop Hunter” ads seems to exaggerated. The source is Microsoft itself, making fun of Apple during a conference speech. If you read the transcript, it sounds like Apple legal had a problem with Microsoft quoting MacBook prices in the ads that were out-dated. Would Burger King have a problem if McDonalds claimed BK’s burgers were $1.39 when they were in fact $1.19? Probably. Anyway, the whole thing as created headlines like “Apple demanded Microsoft to stop its Laptop Hunters ads” which are a little sensationalist.
Microsoft is also reported as planning to open Microsoft stores near Apple Stores. It is not clear what these stores will be selling, since Microsoft doesn’t make PCs, only the Windows OS and other software.
This was a slow Apple news week for both hard news and rumors. Predictably, the new 13-inch MacBook pros are selling well according to reports. The machine has a low price but includes high-end features.
There is a new version of Safari, 4.0.2, this week, which addresses security issues. At the same time, we are hearing rumors that Apple is already working on version 3.1 of the iPhone OS, with possible improvements to the copy and paste feature.
This week’s news seems to be dominated by little problems with the iPhone 3GS. First, it seems to be out-of-stock in a lot of places, and orders from AT&T are taking more than a week to fill. Second, when people do get their iPhones, they are still reporting long delays in activation. Third, there is an overheating problem reported by many that has the phones getting so hot that the white-colored ones are already turning yellow.
But all the news isn’t bad. AT&T seems to be seeing record sales of the new iPhone and most users reporting in to MacMost love their iPhone 3GS, even while having to pay extra for the unsubsidized price.
Back at Apple, reports are that Steve Jobs is back at work, at least for several days per week. The news broke last week that Jobs actually had a liver transplant during his absence, and the procedure went well. Not much fanfare was given to Jobs’ return, but his return has been official acknowledged by Apple.
Following last week’s release of the iPhone OS 3.0, the new iPhone 3GS hardware became available in Apple Stores and elsewhere in the U.S. and several other counties. More then one million new iPhones were reported to have been solid in the first week.
The new iPhone is faster and has a better camera than the old one, but many customers in the U.S. won’t be eligible for a partially discounted upgrade until July and a full discount until 2010.
Some people who bough the new iPhone in the U.S. found themselves unable to use it for hours because of glitches in AT&T’s system needed to activate the new phones. Similar problems plagued the initial iPhone launch in 2007, and the launch of the 3G in 2008.
Outside of the new iPhone, the other big Apple news is that Steve Jobs, on medical leave from Apple since December, is reported to have undergone a liver transplant two months ago. These same reports indicate that it went well and that he has been seen at work. Rumor has it that he may return as CEO of Apple soon, though not with a full schedule.
