News from category ‘rumors’

As usual BGR Source has the most recent unreleased iOS. They have recently took a look at 4.3.2 update and it looks like the 3G connections freezing issues on Verizon iPad 2 are fixed:

will fix the issues we’ve been hearing about with some Verizon iPad 2 models. Additionally, the new update is said to contain a fix for FaceTime in addition to security fixes for things like WebKit vulnerabilities and other minor changes.

Apple has continued exploring the idea of smart bezel having filed a new patent related to use of a bezel as a secondary display built around a printed segmented electroluminescence technology (e-link technology). An electronic device could include a primary display (for example, LCD screen) and a secondary display (printed segmented electroluminescence display). The primary display could be used to convey visual content to a user, and the secondary display could be used to guide a user providing inputs to the device.

Apple intends to use the secondary display to introduce a set of new illuminated indicators that are able morph into various controls for work and play. Illuminated gaming and productivity controls could be built into the face-side of the bezel and/or selected back-side areas of iOS devices like the iPad.

Some FaceTime users have complained of strange glitch with Apple’s FaceTime platform. iPhone users report that they are seeing photos of themselves that they had never taken on FaceTime when they are trying to video call to another user.

"When one of us is calling the other via FaceTime, an old picture freezes on our screen, while the person receiving the call only sees a black screen," a person using the name "kar0786" wrote on Apple's discussion forums. "It's kind of creepy, because it brought up photos of both of us at work, where I have used FaceTime a few times but he never has."

Apple support advised these users to return factory settings but it didn’t work. One of the users continued experiencing the problem even when Apple had replaced the device with the new one.

CrunchGear reports that Apple may freeze sales of the iPad 2 through Best Buy.

A reader who works at Best Buy just told us that there's been a bit of a misunderstanding between the electronics retailer and Apple. Apparently, Best Buy was holding off on selling the iPad 2s it had in stock, telling customers there weren't any when in fact they had just reached their quota of sales for the day.

It's rumored that Apple's Tim Cook took a hand to this chicanery, and Apple isn't happy about it at all.

It seems that Apple is planning to open its first Apple Store in the Russian Federation late 2011 or early 2012. IfoAppleStore.com claims that Apple’s top retail brass flew to Moscow to negotiate a lease in the reconstructed Hotel Moskva (see pictures bellow) that locates close to  Red Square, the Kremlin and other landmarks in the city.

Senior vice president of retail Ron Johnson and vice president of real estate Bob Bridger visited Moscow at the end of March and toured the three-level retail space in the future Four Seasons Hotel. The two were seen examining a 16,000 square-foot, two-level space as a possible Apple store. At the time, no lease had been signed, but a decision could be made soon, sources say.

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Microsoft is reportedly preparing to release Office for Mac 2011 Service Pack 1 in next week. This major update will bring a number of fixes, some stability and security improvements plus some feature additions. Performance is also receiving a boost in the update. But the most significant new features are said to come in Outlook, including support for syncing calendars to iOS devices via Sync Services.

The update will enable calendar syncing between Outlook for Mac and Apple's Sync Services. This means you can now sync your Outlook calendars, as well as your contacts, notes and tasks with any service or device that supports Sync Services.

A couple days ago Apple released its own application for showcasing the best iAd advertisements. Noteworthy that iAd Gallery have already caused debates on the Internet about it features set that is rather limited. The Gallery only lets users to browse different iAd campaigns. Simply said, it’s a free iAd collection for iPhone. Dan Frommer at Silicon Alley Insider noted that iAd Gallery may be violating Apple’s own guidelines for iOS apps and should have been rejected by Apple itself. In the 2.13 section of the guidelines, the company explains:

Apps that are primarily marketing materials or advertisements will be rejected.

iAd Gallery indeed is based on marketing materials. The truth is, of course Apple won’t reject its own app even if it violates one of the Guidelines.

Apple is rumored to announce the new Final Cut Pro on April 12th during the 10th annual SuperMeet. Canon, Avid, and Autodesk will not be presenting on the event. In January Hardmac proposed that Apple was testing a beta version of Final Cut Pro, and that it was slated for a late March or early April release date. Moreover Final Cut author Larry Jordan  writes on his blog:

I’ve Seen The New Version of Final Cut Pro… and it’s a jaw-dropper. Last week, Apple invited a few folks, including me, to a short meeting in Cupertino where they previewed the up-coming version of Final Cut Pro. While I am under NDA and can’t talk about what I saw, I CAN tell you the meeting happened and that it showcased the new Final Cut Pro.

Apple reportedly asked Toyota to remove from Cydia its exclusive theme created by Toyota's advertising company Velti for promotion of its new vehicle and available for jailbroken iPhones.

Scion, a brand of vehicles manufactured by Toyota, recently developed a custom iPhone theme specifically for jailbroken devices, submitting it to us for hosting in Cydia.

As far as we know, Apple is strongly against jailbroken devices but this advertising campaign may somehow help to legitimize the jailbreak community and also place it in direct competition with Apple's own iAds network. Apple apparently heard about the campaign and has asked Toyota to pull it.

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Taiwanese site Apple.pro reports that the seventh-generation iPod nano presumably set for introduction later this year may retain its current smaller form factor but still add a rear-facing camera once again. The photo above claimed to be the rear case for the next-generation iPod nano with a camera hole in an upper right corner.  The camera seems to take up some space occupied by the battery, so the new device may use a smaller battery or its components could be shifted to accommodate the camera.

TechCrunch reports that Apple is going to release the first golden master version of the forthcoming Mac OS X Lion to developers ahead of schedule. That means that Apple has essentially completed development on the new operating system version and will simply be fixing during the testing process. But this is only the initial Golden Master candidate. Although GMs usually mean the software will be shipping out to consumer’s soon.

TechCruch’s sources report that the release of iOS 5 was pushed back to fall. But the preview of software is expected to be introduced at the WWDC in June. The rumor is interesting because it breaks Apple’s usual release cycle. In last years Apple previewed a new version of iOS in March or April and released it by the WWDC. But not this time. The iOS 5 launch is also likely to coincide with the release of the iPad 3.

The forthcoming major revamp of iOS may bring the cloud-based operating system with rumored music “locker” service. There is also a fall launch aim for this, during Apple’s annual music-themed event. One of the new cloud service elements is likely a location service that focuses on finding friends and family members. iOS 5 is also rumored to introduce a new UI, a new notification system, direct OS X integration.

The Apple’s new MobileMe, set for April, will have a new music component, dubbed “locker”.  There are not enough details, but the new service is called as your digital life stored in the cloud. The locker service will reportedly costs around $20 per a year.

Apple made a licensing deal with Warner Music Group and uses it to secure agreements with other labels. Moreover, almost everybody knows that Apple is working on a cloud-based iTunes music streaming service to provide permanent backup of downloaded songs.

The service also would allow downloads to iPad, iPod and iPhone devices linked to the same iTunes account. The move would be a step closer to universal access to content centrally stored on the Internet.

That information suggests that Apple will introduce a rumored music streaming service. We’ll see. April is soon!

Tomorrow is a great day for Apple fans - the start of worldwide Apple iPad 2. Here's a very nice comparison table with international prices for iPad 2. Best deals are in the USA and Australia. The highest prices are in Norway and Sweden. Take a look:

Digitimes claims that Apple is willing to pay more in order to have a constant flow of touch panel supply after Japanese earthquakes and tsunami that had bad impact on Japanese manufacturers of iPad 2 components. Apple may reconsider the amount of money for pre-production deals with companies in China and Taiwan. Recently appeared some report saying that Apple may be affected by the Japanese disaster and experiencing problems with tablet shipments from Asia manufactures. Apple is clearly looking ahead. Now company is taking 60% of the current touch panel market, and a deal to pay manufacturers more to ensure availability sound very reasonable.