9to5Mac suggests that Apple may launch the new MacBook Pros next week.

With supplies only becoming more constrained, and with shipments already touching down in select countries, we think a launch next week is likely (between Tuesday and Thursday). That is, of course, if there are no unforeseen circumstances.

The new laptops are likely to have the same prices as current MacBook Pros. The new machines are said to be only a minor update and would probably take advantage of new Sandy Bridge processors released by Intel late this year. The new processors include Quad Core i7 processors with speeds of 2.4GHz, 2.5GHz and 2.7GHz, as well as a Dual Core i7 at 2.8GHz models. The most expectable candidates among processors that might be used for upgrade are Core i7-2840M, Core i7-2760QM, Core i7-2860QM (the top three in the list below). Apple is unable to use Core i7-2960XM due to problems with heating and is unlikely to use the mobile Celeron processor.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple has been dethroned by Samsung one quarter after the company became the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world. As a person familiar with the situation said, Samsung shipped over 20 million smartphones in third quarter, beating Apple as well as the largest cellphone manufacturer Nokia.

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The iPhone Dev-Team released jailbreak utility RedSn0w 0.9.9b6 for both Windows and Mac users. The new version offers full iOS 5 jailbreak support for Windows and fixes Location Services issue for iPhone 3GS devices running the 06.15 baseband. This is still a tethered jailbreak for iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 1, iPod Touch 3G and iPod Touch 4G:

We've released version 0.9.9b6 of redsn0w, with both a functional fix and cosmetic fix for iOS5 jailbreakers. For iPhone3GS owners with the 06.15 baseband, this redsn0w eliminates the network crash you saw when using Location Services in iOS5 (in fact, you don't even need to disable Location Services anymore during the initial setup). The cosmetic fix is to the visual countdown you see when going into DFU mode.

It's okay to re-run this redsn0w over an existing device jailbroken at iOS5. Just choose "Jailbreak" again and de-select Cydia (in other words, all the checkboxes will be unchecked). If you are lucky enough to have an old-bootrom iPhone3GS, please pre-select the IPSW first (redsn0w can't yet auto-detect the FW version of your old-bootrom 3GS if it's already been jailbroken).

Just as redsnow 0.9.9b5 the new version supports creating custom firmwares with preserving baseband (modem) version for unlock. Unfortunately right now custom firmware functionality works only with Mac version.

You can download the latest RedSn0w version here.

UPDATE: RedSn0w 0.9.9b7 released. Minor change, it has an option for a faster jailbreak. Get it here.

UPDATE:
Here are links to our RedSn0w 0.9.9 iOS 5 jailbreak tutorials:

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

Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung Chief Operating Officer Lee Jae-yong are said to have discussed their long-term component supply relationships during a two-hour meeting that took place earlier this week.

Lee Jae-yong, chief operating officer (COO) of Samsung Electronics said Wednesday he had discussed long-term parts cooperation arrangements with Apple Inc.'s chief Tim Cook.

The meeting took place Monday after Lee attended a memorial service for Steve Jobs, Apple's late co-founder, and as Samsung and Apple remain locked in fierce legal disputes to control the global smartphone and tablet computer markets.

Lee noted that the companies made agreement for 2012 and would like to prolong their cooperation for 2013-2014. Apple has been keen to make long-term supply agreements with component suppliers, sometimes prepaying billions of dollars in advance to secure massive supplies looking over several years and overcoming or better to say excelling its competitors.

Apple has quietly updated iPhone 4S tech specifications page to inform that its smartphone supports both Assisted GPS and GLONASS, the Russian GPS version.

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Last month it was reported that a new trojan known as Flashback.A has appeared and masqueraded as a Flash Player installer. Though Apple has continuously updated its XProtect.plist to detect this malware, security firm F-Secure has informed (via ZDNet) that a modified version of the trojan horse that disables the auto-updating function of Apple’s anti-malware tools has surfaced.

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On Tuesday Apple announced that it has $81.57 billion. As usual different Apple analysts and watchers try to guess and suggest what the company should do with its huge cash reserves. Now Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer oversees $9.815 billion in cash and cash equivalents, $16.137 billion in short-term marketable securities, and $55.618 billion in long-term marketable securities. Despite Apple huge cash reserve, the company invests its money very carefully.

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook noted that “the cash wasn’t burning a hole in our pocket” and that the company “didn't want to do silly things”. In recent months Apple acquired several companies, intellectual property, invested in the supply chain and in new stores. Moreover, the two-thirds of Apple’s cash reserve are offshore.

“The U.S. government taxes U.S. businesses on income earned worldwide, but allows them to defer taxes on the money until it is brought back to the United States. As a result, American corporations like to keep the money abroad, particularly as they increase investment overseas,” Reuters explained.

Yesterday Apple’s current CEO Tim Cook reported that iPhone sales fell short of expectations at 17.07 million units in the fourth fiscal quarter. iPhone sales dropped by 2.4 million. Record iPhone sales for the current quarter would come in above the 20.34 million units set in the third fiscal quarter (second calendar quarter) of this year.

Decline in iPhone sales, as Cook noted, caused by various rumors related to the Apple’s smartphone, especially, when Apple missed its usual June introduction of new hardware. Most of the rumors were about a dramatically redesigned "iPhone 5" offering a larger but thinner design than the current iPhone. Such rumors were incorrect and Apple might still be working on the iPhone 5.

Yesterday Apple posted financial results for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2011 and the full fiscal year. The company posted record-breaking revenue of $28.27 billion and net quarterly profit of $6.62 billion, or $7.05 per diluted share. Gross margin was 40.3 percent. Apple now has $81.57 billion in cash and marketable securities.

For the 2011 fiscal year, Apple reported revenue of $108.25 billion and net profit of $25.92 billion, or $27.68 per diluted share. Gross margin for the year was 40.5 percent and Apple's yearly profit and revenue were company records with Apple reporting more than $100 billion in yearly revenue for the first time ever.

Apple shipped 4.89 million Macintosh computers during the quarter, sold 17.07 million iPhone, up 21 percent from the year-ago quarter, and the company also sold 6.62 million iPods during the quarter, representing 27 percent unit decline over the year-ago quarter. Apple also sold 11.12 million iPads during the quarter, up 166 percent over the year-ago quarter. Apple also announced over 6 million copies of Lion had been downloaded through the Mac App Store since July 20th (when the operating system went on sale), with Mac users approaching 60 million worldwide.

In the first fiscal quarter of  2012 (the third calendar quarter) Apple expects to gain revenue of $37 billion.

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As Taiwan’s United Daily reports (via Unwired View), Apple received samples of 7.85-inch displays with the 1024x768 resolution of current iPads. LG Display and AU Optronics send these samples to Apple, which is reportedly set to launch the "iPad mini" early 2012.

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Computerworld reports that the Taiwanese company Catcher Technology has had to shut down a factory in due to complaints of a "strange odor" coming from the building. The company manufactures 60% of uni-body aluminum casings for Apple's notebook line. Apple obtains the other 40% of its case supply from Foxconn. Catcher Technology admitted that the shutdown would affect Apple notebook supplies.

"Shipments to our customers will inevitably be affected. We already asked them to make adjustments to their (casings) procurement," Catcher President Allen Horng told a news conference.

There is no information when the plant will resume full operations.

This weekend a memorial service for Steve Jobs was held at Stanford University's Memorial Church. A number of famous personalities attended the service as well as close friends and family members.

Steve Jobs’s widow Laurene Powell Jobs, sister Mona Simpson and three of his children spoke at the memorial service held for the Apple co-founder on Sunday, according to two people who attended…

Both people who attended described the service as incredibly moving and a fitting tribute to Mr. Jobs, who was known as a tech visionary, demanding boss and a fanatic for design. One person mentioned that many speakers cracked jokes about Mr. Jobs, who died on Oct. 5 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

Jobs' private funeral was held two days after his death and an event for Apple employees will be held this Wednesday and will include temporary closure of Apple’s retail stores.

Last month, we heard rumors that Apple had signed an agreement with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) for production of the next-generation A6 and A7 chips destined for future iOS devices. Samsung manufacture the A4 and A5 chips for Apple, but Apple seems to try to shift to TSMC because of difficult relations and legal battle between Apple and Samsung.

The Korea Times now reports that Apple will indeed primarily be sticking with Samsung for A6 production.

"Apple has been in talks with Samsung over shipment of its A6 quad-core mobile processor (AP) chips to be used in the next iPhone. It appears that Apple clearly has concluded that Samsung remains a critical business partner," an executive from an Apple parts supplier based in Korea said on condition of anonymity.

He said that Samsung has been increasing the output of the Apple-designed A6 chips in its manufacturing plant in Austin, Texas.

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iLounge has tested the iPhone 4S battery life, comparing it with the iPhone 4, and found out several interesting facts. As Apple claims in the iPhone 4S official specifications, the new smartphone has improved talk time but worse standby time as compared to the iPhone 4.

For tests with 3G Data, Audio Playback, Video Playback, and Video Recording, the iPhone 4S came in under the iPhone 4's battery life. For Wi-Fi and FaceTime testing it to be similar to the iPhone 4, and on Cellular Calls, the iPhone 4S is slightly better. Both media playback and recording were advantage of the iPhone 4S, comparing with the iPhone 4. The iPhone 4S is recording much higher resolution video than the iPhone 4.

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Samsung made a next step in its battle with Apple and filed for a preliminary injunction against the iPhone 4S in Australia and Japan. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Japan filing that is also attempting to halt sales of the iPhone 4 and iPad 2, accuses Apple of infringements in technology and user interface patents. The patents apparently relate to “the display of a flight mode icon, the utilization of homescreen space, and an app store menu structure”. Samsung claims that in Australia Apple has infringed on patents related to wireless telecommunication standards.

A Samsung spokesperson said that the company is “now counterattacking Apple again”. Though, many believe that Samsung’s attack will certainly fail. Moreover, an Australian judge will unlikely consider patents Samsung using in the filing as enough for a preliminary injunction, because they are essential for the 3G telecommunications network. As for Japan filings, the situation here is not so obvious like in Australia. This means Samsung could seek injunctions on them and it would be up to Apple to contest their validity.