Archive for 2011

Engadget Chinese has confirmed that the first Apple’s retail store in Hong Kong will be open on September 24. Apple does not confirm the date, noting they "don't have further information to share." Construction of the store began in June, but now the two-story store front is covered and promised to be opened in the 4th quarter of 2011. Apple reportedly spent about $20 million on construction alone. Apple will employ more that 300 employees for that store that will serve approximately 40,000 customers each day. An average U.S. Apple store serves four times less flow of customers. This store will obviously thwart a grey market for Apple devices that are extremely popular in Hong Kong.

A new report claims that Apple has made a deal with Largan Precision and Genius Electronic Optical to build and supply 8-megapixel camera lenses for the company's forthcoming next-generation handset.

“The two companies are reported to continue supplying lenses for Apple’s newest iPhone 5 with an 8-megapixel camera. With relatively higher production yield, Largan, commanding nearly 20% of the global market, will reportedly garner a big order from Apple.”

Both companies were previously responsible for production of 5-megapixel lens modules for the current-generation iPhone 4. Today’s report claims the two companies will compete and work together as they continue to share Apple has one of their largest customers for the upcoming next-gen iPhone. Last year both companies covered 27.5 percent of global market share and it could move even higher as iPhone sales continue to grow. It’s not surprising that Apple continues to source parts from multiple suppliers. This is a move that is common for the company in an attempt to create competition amongst suppliers, drive down prices, and increase production quality while reducing risk.

Several sources have claimed that GameStop will soon sell the full lineup of popular iOS devices such as iPods, iPads and iPhones at its stores. The company announced it to dealers at this week’s trade show in Las Vegas. Besides, this week GameStop began offering trade-ins of iOS device for in-store credits.

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Today Deutsche Telekom has begun offering first-served reservations for the iPhone 5 whenever it debuts. The company confirmed that the program is now in effect.

Deutsche Telekom AG (DTE) will allow customers to reserve the next generation of Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone as of today in anticipation of supply bottlenecks for the device, spokesman Alexander von Schmettow said by phone. The operator will hand out coupons to people who expressly request the successor model to the iPhone 4, without providing the name or release details of the device, he said.

Apple typically keeps its carrier partners in the dark about its release plans until it is ready to make a public release. So Deutsche Telecom seems to work on the ground of rumors rather than official information. Hints have been multiplying since last week that Apple could be close to unveiling a fifth-generation iPhone. Apple store employees have received their iOS 5 and iCloud training materia and internal Best Buy documents have pointed to a Sprint iPhone 5 launch in the first week of October.

(before Galaxy Tab 7.7 was pulled)

Yesterday Apple has achieved one more legal victory over Samsung by banning Samsung from selling its tablets in Germany. Last week pan-European CES-like IFA show featured new consumer products from almost every manufacturer except Apple.

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We’ve heard that Apple has begun iOS 5 and iCloud training with retail store employees through a new section of the company’s recently released internal RetailMe application. Such fact might be an indication of a forthcoming release of the iPhone 5 as Apple typically introduces major iOS updates in the days surrounding new iPhone launches. Apple Store employees have begun receiving detailed information on Apple’s upcoming iCloud service and iOS 5. Apple originally said iCloud would be launching alongside iOS 5.  This iOS 5 and iCloud training news helps support rumors about  late September iPhone 5 pre-orders and an early October launch.

First evidences anticipating radical redesign of the iPhone 4 appeared in April. The co-called iPhone 4S/iPhone 5 was expected to adopt new larger form factor. Late in July a design document for the iPhone 5 was surfaced. According to this document, we assumed that the iPhone 5 design should have had dimensions of 4.33" x 2.36", suggesting a shorter but only slightly wider design. In comparison, the iPhone 4 dimensions are 4.5" x 2.31". Soon after appearing of that document, different third-party case manufacturers began producing cases for the rumored iPhone 5.

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Best Buy expects that the iPhone 5 will be available for pre-order during the first week of October. BGR points to an internal memo:

Thanks to a leaked document from a Best Buy source, we have discovered that Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores are anticipating taking preorders for the iPhone 5 starting in the first week of October. What’s a tad bit more interesting, however, is the mention (and further anticipation) that Sprint will be carrying the iPhone 5 at launch.

Of course, the dates may be changed. Noteworthy to say that the Wall Street Journal is also anticipating Sprint will be carrying the iPhone 5. Meanwhile, Best Buy is also expecting a new "Apple Fixture Installation" on Friday, October 21st.

To be clear, this isn’t a run-of-the-mill installation for the big box — our tipster tells us that the request that a manager be on-hand at 6AM is out of the ordinary (they usually show up at 7AM for inventory), and that a similar arrangement was scheduled for the iPhone 4 launch.

Recently 9to5Mac and AppleInsider have published new evidences showing Apple’s work on a "Find My Friends" service that was originally discovered in iOS 4.3. "Find My Friends" is a location-based friend-finding service like Loopt and Google Latitude. The strings (embedded above) seem to confirm those suspicions:

It includes references to standard social networking functions, like a list of people a user is "following," as well as "pending" and "accepted" follower requests. The code also mentions user statuses, updates, blocking of users and removing followers.

"Find My Friends" will allow you to find your friends who near you in real time by leveraging your mobile phone's GPS signal and using constant updates. This service will also allow you to "follow" or be followed by others.

Brian Hogan and Robert Sage Wallower who were named as a suspects in the theft of an iPhone 4 prototype, have pleaded not guilty to the charges. Last year Apple engineer named Gray Powell lost the device in a bar in Redwood City, California. The prototype was then found and taken by Hogan. Instead of felony the two men have been accused of misdemeanor.

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Apple has decided to make previous version of Final Cut Studio available for purchase, following several months of customer backlash against the radically redesigned Final Cut Pro X.

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The iPhone Dev-Team has released RedSn0w 0.9.8b7b to bring two new main features:

• explicit tethered jailbreak support for iOS 5 Beta 7
• untethered jailbreak for iPhone 3GS with old bootrom (iOS 4.3.5 or iOS 5 Beta 7)

Musclenerd posted via twitter:

New redsn0w is.gd/6eek4Y explicitly supports iOS5b7 (no need to point at b6 IPSW). Also brings back old-bootrom 3GS goodies.

This is great news for both developers and owners of old bootrom iPhone 3GS's who accidentally updated to iOS 4.3.5.

DevTeam posted:

About 12 hours after we released redsn0w 0.9.8b7 with some improvements for iOS5b6, Apple went and released iOS5b7 (what are the odds of that?!?). Even though that redsn0w could still jailbreak iOS5b7, you needed to point it at the iOS5b6 IPSW to do so. Today’s redsn0w 0.9.8b7b lets you point redsn0w directly at the iOS5b7 IPSW instead.

We’ve also added some overall improvements for old-bootrom 3GS owners (where the 24kpwn exploit applies): on those devices, you can tell redsn0w to untether 4.3.5 and lower, or iOS5b7. Old-bootrom 3GS owners can once again choose custom logos, and/or verbose booting (for the really nerdy iPhone3GS fans out there!). And it allows 4.3.4 or 4.3.5 users to use ultrasn0w again (if they have a compatible baseband).

Last but not least, we fixed some lingering Verizon iPhone4 4.2.10 JB issues.

We will update our tutorials shortly.

You can download RedSn0w 0.9.8b7b here.

Here are links to our RedSn0w 0.9.8b7b iOS 4.3.5 jailbreak tutorials:

• Mac OS: iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 1, iPod Touch 3G, iPod Touch 4G
• Windows: iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 1, iPod Touch 3G, iPod Touch 4G

The Makayama Movie Mount is a case for iPad 2 that can significantly improve video capture by clipping to the device a number of accessories related to professional photography. These peripherals include third-party tele-lenses and wide angle lenses, lights, microphones and a tripod providing pan and tilt camera movements, and stable shots.

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Today San Francisco Police Department spokesman Lt. Troy Dangerfield has confirmed that four officers “assisted” two Apple investigators in searching the house and car of Sergio Calderòn, who was claimed to have found the prototype of the iPhone 5.

Dangerfield says that, after conferring with Apple and the captain of the Ingleside police station, he has learned that plainclothes SFPD officers went with private Apple detectives to the home of Sergio Calderón, a 22-year-old resident of Bernal Heights. According to Dangerfield, the officers “did not go inside the house,” but stood outside while the Apple employees scoured Calderón’s home, car, and computer files for any trace of the lost iPhone 5. The phone was not found, and Calderón denies that he ever possessed it.

Apple found out through GPS signal that the lost phone was in Calderón’s house. Calderón told that one of six men, who came in his house in order to find the iPhone 5 prototype, gave him his phone number. Later this man was identified as an investigator employed by Apple.

The visitors also allegedly threatened him and his family, asking questions about their immigration status. “One of the officers is like, ‘Is everyone in this house an American citizen?’ They said we were all going to get into trouble,” Calderón said.

Apple is planning to open three more stores this week in three different countries. So, with these stores, Apple will open 14 new retail stores for four weeks moving toward its goal to open 30 stores during the July-September quarter.

• Mapleview Centre (Burlington, Ontario, Canada): it will be the 21st Apple’s store in Canada. The store will be the eighth in or near the "Golden Horseshoe" region of Ontario wrapping around the western end of Lake Ontario.
• City-Galerie (Augsburg, Germany): City-Galerie will be Apple's sixth German store and the second in Bavaria in the southeast of the country.
• Campania (Caserta, Italy): Apple's seventh retail store in Italy which locates approximately 25 km north of Naples.