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Apple Is Looking To Open R&D Center In Haifa, Israel
Following Apple’s acquisition of Israeli flash memory company Anobit, an Israeli business newspaper Calcalist that Apple wants to open a research center near Haifa city by the end of February. Reportedly the facility is located at the south of the Haifa city, in the neighborhood of Microsoft, Philips and Intel, who also have research centers there.
Leave a commentSteve Jobs Expressed Interest In Light Field Cameras From Lytro
As the upcoming book by Adam Lashinsky revealed, last summer Steve Jobs expressed interest in products of photography company and subsequently met with its CEO Ren Ng. Steve Jobs asked Ren Ng to outline three things he would want the company to do with Apple.
Apple Expected to Adopt 802.11ac 5G Gigabit Wi-Fi This Year
AppleInsider claims that Apple is expected to adopt and start supporting the new faster 802.11ac Wi-Fi specification into products this year.
The new 802.11ac standard achieves much faster wireless networking speeds than the existing 802.11n specification (in use on the latest Mac, AirPort and iOS devices) by using 2 to 4 times the frequency bandwidth (from 80 to 160MHz), more efficient data transfers through sophisticated modulation, and more antennas (up to 8; existing standards support up to 4, while Apple's Macs currently use up to 3).
This "Gigabit WiFi" offers speeds 3 times as fast as existing 802.11n wireless networks can with speeds of over 1 Gigabit per second.
Apple's digital textbooks with iBooks 2 were 'vision' of Steve Jobs
Speaking with Peter Kafka of All Things D, McGraw-Hill CEO Terry McGraw said Apple's newly unveiled textbook initiative for the iPad with iBooks 2 was a project spearheaded by the late Steve Jobs before his death. He met with Jobs last June about the project and discussed their goals. "He (Jobs) should be here. He probably is (in spirit)," McGraw said. "This was his vision, this was his idea, and it all had to do with the iPad."
McGraw-Hill is one of the first publishers already on board with Apple's new e-textbooks for iBooks 2, seeing Apple's new iBooks 2 platform as a way for textbooks to evolve and improve education. The CEO said he's been interested in the iPad as a learning tool since Apple first launched the device in 2010.
Apple working on version of Siri to help you purchase products online
This week AppleInsider discovered a new patent application from Apple that demonstrates company's interest in expanding its Siri voice-assistant to help with online shopping. The current version of the service available exclusively on the iPhone 4S does not allow users to make online purchases. The voice-driven personal assistant software responds with "Sorry, I can't purchase that," when a user tries to complete transactions with online stores.
The patent application, entitled "Intelligent Automated Assistant," is a detailed look not only at what Siri can already do, but what it might be able to do in the future. And it specifically highlights e-commerce as a key function of its "Intelligent Automated Assistant." The application notes that Siri could be used for "online purchases of items such as books, DVDs, music and the like."
Case Makers Begin Producing Cases For iPad 3 To Fit Slightly Thicker Design
Although last year most case manufacturers missed the mark by producing cases for a wider, thinner, “teardrop”, and taller iPhone 5, historically they have given accurate insight into Apple’s future plans for hardware products. Case leaks have emerged yearly and this year is no exception. Case producers have begun to make and ship cases for the expected third-generation iPad.
Scott Forstall Profiled as Apple's 'CEO-in-Waiting'
Fortune's Adam Lashinsky has written a new book entitled Inside Apple: How America's Most Admired -- and Secretive -- Company Really Works. The book is an unauthorized look at the inner workings of Apple.
Fortune offers one tidbit from the book today, profiling Senior Vice President for iOS Software Scott Forstall as Apple's current "CEO-in-waiting". Last October BusinessWeek also suggest that Forstall could be next Apple's CEO, portraying him as an aggressively ambitious "mini-Steve".
iOS 5.1 beta 3 hints Apple is planning deep Facebook integration
iMore dug through the recently released third beta of iOS 5.1 and found evidence showing that Apple could add a deeper iPhone and iPad integration with Facebook into a future operating system update. In one screenshot shown for the iOS Contacts application, there is an option to enter a person's Facebook user name right below their Twitter account. The same deeper integration was provided for Twitter that was one of the most-touted features of iOS 5, which was publicly released last October.
Deep integration with the social networking service allows users to quickly post Web links from Safari or pictures saved in the Photos application to Twitter. Presumably, future iOS integration with Facebook would offer similar functionality, making it easier for users to share information with their friends on the popular website.
The pre-release build of iOS 5.1 also reportedly includes references to new iPad models that are named in the code such as "J1AP" and "J2AP." The references corroborate with rumored code-names of "J1" and "J2" that were first reported last November, when it was said that Apple was secretly working on two new iPad models.
Apple's Suppliers Will Ship Panels Both For iPad 2 And iPad 3 In 2012
DigiTimes citing its sources, that Apple has decreased shipments of iPad 2 displays from 16 million panels in the third quarter to 10 million panels in the fourth quarter of 2011 and to 7-8 million panels in the first quarter of this year. This means that by the end of this year the production of Retina displays for iPads 3 with resolution of 2048x1536 pixels will surpass that of panels for iPads 2.
Rumor: Apple to hold 'iPad 3' & iOS 5.1 event in early February
Japanese website Macotakara reported today that Apple is planning to hold an earlier-than-expected special event to unveil a so-called "iPad 3" along with iOS 5.1 in early February. Despite a rumored early February introduction, the report claims that the new iPad would still launch in early March, much like the iPad 2 in 2011. Last year, the iPad 2 was unveiled in a media event held on March 2 and was released on March 11. Apple seems to want its customers to wait little bit longer for the next-generation iPad. The delay might be caused by the fact that Chinese factories will be shut down to celebrate that country's New Year. This year's festival is earlier than usual, and runs from Jan. 23 through 28.
Recent reports have suggested that Foxconn and Pegatron will begin shipping the first "iPad 3" units in early March. Rumors leading up to the anticipated iPad unveiling have generally pointed toward a March launch of the device, but a month long wait time between the unveiling and sale of a new iPad would be a change from Apple's approach in 2011.
Different sources have generally agreed that the next iPad will support a new high-resolution "Retina Display" and that Apple will continue to sell the current-generation iPad 2 at a reduced price.
Singapore carriers working on iPhone 4S mod to remove cameras for servicemen
Wireless operators in Singapore are preparing for the launch of an iPhone with removed cameras to market the device to military personnel. Such persons are not allowed to bring camera-equipped smartphones to army camps. And if taking in account that male citizens between the ages of 18 and 21 are obliged to do a 24-month military service, so it is quite large target audience.
One of Singapore's three major wireless operators (M1), confirmed work on a "Non Camera" iPhone 4S last week when it temporarily posted product pages for the modified device, as noted by CNet Asia (via The Verge). The device would sell for S$49 ($38) more than its camera-equipped counterpart. Depending on the monthly plan chosen with a two-year contract, the no-camera iPhone 4S was listed as selling for between S$49 and S$679.
Apple could water-proof future devices with HzO technology
HzO, the maker of a "WaterBlock" technology,” was promoting its nano-scale film barrier at last week's Consumer Electronics Show, pitching it as a potential solution to waterproof expensive electronic equipment. HzO's WaterBlock technology protects the insides of devices on a molecular scale. It has been used in demonstrations to protect a number of Apple products, including the iPhone 4S, iPads and iPods, after the material has been applied to the devices in a vacuum deposition process they were submerged into water and remained in working proper order. The company also confirmed that it is in talks with Apple about using its material in future devices, including the iPhone.
While speaking to attendees at the show, officials with HzO said that Apple is among the companies that have shown interest in the water repelling technology, according to Pocket-lint. Company officials said Apple was interested in making a future iPhone waterproof, potentially with a sixth-generation model expected to be released later this year. "We expect HzO to be in next season's phones," the company reportedly said.
Apple to Launch 'Garageband for e-books' on Thursday
This week, on Thursday, January 19, Apple plans to hold its education-related media event. Last week Apple sent out invitations for the event with a tagline stated that the company would make an "education announcement in the Big Apple." The multiple reports are claiming that the company could announce an initiative to help textbook makers produce interactive ebooks for the iPad, with some sources calling the initiative "Garageband for e-books."
ArsTechnica reported on Monday that its sources are claiming that Apple will release a simple app that makes e-book publishing as easy as recording a song in GarageBand. Inkling CEO Matt MacInnis, who worked on education projects at Apple before leaving to focus on interactive e-books, also confirms the rumors, because he dosn't believe that Apple would start releasing content to replace, for example, textbooks, the company is likely to provide content production tools, similar to its own Logic or Final Cut Pro software.
Apple's iPad sales in Dec. quarter stands at 13.5 million units
42 Wall Street and independent analysts polled by Fortune's Philip Elmer-DeWitt have found that all of them expect Apple to report record iPad sales when it releases its December quarter financial results on January 24. The estimates are ranging from 11.73 million to 19.47 million iPad units sold during the most recent quarter. According to Wall Street, the concensus has been reached on 13.5 million units. The previous record numbers of iPad sales were reached by Apple in the September 2011 quarter with 11.2 million units.
Sculley: If anyone is going to change television, it’s going to be Apple
John Sculley, former vice-president and president of PepsiCo and CEO of Apple between 1983 and 1993, and a Silicon Valley investor nowadays, believes that Apple is the only company that would be able to change the first principles of the television experience. In an interview with BBC Sculley confessed that has not read Walter Isaacson’s authorized biography of Apple’s late cofounder and CEO, but admitted that the television industry is about to experience Apple’s magic touch:
I think that Apple has revolutionized every other consumer industry, why not television? I think that televisions are unnecessarily complex. The irony is that as the pictures get better and the choice of content gets broader, that the complexity of the experience of using the television gets more and more complicated. So it seems exactly the sort of problem that if anyone is going to change the experience of what the first principles are, it is going to be Apple.
Rupert Murdoch confirms Sculley’s words about Apple television, writing on Twitter this morning: “All talk is about coming Apple TV. Plenty of apprehension, no firm facts but eyes on their enormous cash pile”.