White iPhone 4 Confirmed by Apple!

It looks like the white iPhone that is always delayed for reasons never explained by Apple will be coming out this Spring.

Ten months after the release of the iPhone 4, Apple has confirmed the release with The Wall Street Journal that is, without a doubt, coming this Spring. Apple never specified a release date or what carrier(s) the phone will be available on.

When the iPhone 4 first unvieled, Steve Jobs held in his hand a white iPhone 4. But when pre-orders started for the device, only the black model was available for order. At that time, Apple released a statement saying that the white iPhone was "more challenging to manufacture than expected" and they would have to delay the release for that version. This hasn't been the first time this has happened though. All iPhone owners know of the continuous delays for this model with every unviel of the iPhone.

At this point, with all the rumors of the delay of the iPhone 5, many are convinced that Apple is doing this to distract attention from the delay of the 5th generation iPhone. Especially since they WWDC seems to be more of a software release than a product release, this is looking more likely to be a distraction.

Steve Jobs hid iPad Development from Google's Eric Schmidt

Courtesy of MacTrast

There is no doubt that Jobs was furious when he saw Android's "pinch to zoom" feature while on a trip to Google's headquarters. Jobs reportedly hid Apple's iPad development from Google CEO, Eric Schmidt - even though Schmidt was on the board of directors at the time.

Steve Levy recently published a book about the complex relationship between Apple and Google. It specifically describes the battles between CEO's Steve Jobs and Eric Schmidt. In the book, you will be able to read about the in's and out's of Google and how they started as a company and how they started to get involved with Apple, Inc.

Now back to the original post:

Jobs was fairly upset towards Google because he felt they were "ripping off" some of the iPhone's best features and incorporating them into the Android OS. After the news of this, Jobs felt he wasn't able to trust Schmidt any longer, who, at the time, held a seat on Apple's board of directors, each of which held details of Apple's innovations in technology. Eventually, Schmidt stood down for Apple's board, and the iPad was released only 6 months later.

The book is available for order from Amazon and includes Jobs referring to Google's "Don't Be Evil" motto as "Bullshit".

Apple in the Process of an HDTV?

There has been some past talk about Apple going into the HDTV business, but nothing has made it evident that it's a possibility, until now. Brian White, an analyst with Ticonderoga Securities, was recently at a China electronics trade show. He mentioned in a not to investors that he was able to get "data points" that show the production of a "Smart TV" release by Apple, as soon as the end of the year. Here is a quote by White:

"Our research suggests this Smart TV would go well beyond the miniature $99 second-generation Apple TV that the company released last fall and provide a full-blown TV product for consumers"

He continued on to say that Apple has been suspected to enter the HDTV market by company watchers, the Mac maker now appears to be "movind down this path at a faster pace than the market expected."

"The combination of Apple's powerful ecosystem, industrial design savvy, powerful brand and ability to reinvent product categories could make Apple a powerful force in the TV world over the next few years"

Courtesy of MacTrast

One analyst of Piper Jaffray, Gene Munster, seems to continually insist that an Internet-connected HDTV from Apple is expected. He has repeatedly forecast that Apple will introduce such a product in the years to come, with a price around the $2,000 range.

A product as expected form Munster, could have a lot of possibilities, such as a subscription service to iTunes which could allow users access to content at a flat-rate price. This possibily could very well negate the need for any kind of cable box or DVR. Although, White's public not gave no indication of any of the possibilities to come along with the TV, Apple has had a great amount of experience with HD displays on it's iMac desktop, which includes their first release of their 27-inch iMac in 2009.

Earlier in this year, Apple announced that they have invested $3.9 billion of their cash reserves to secure key components for their multiple products. At the announcing of this, many assumed the money would have gone toward securing displays for their products, including the iPhone and iPad. But Munster believes that the multi-billion investment is just more evidence of an Apple HDTV release. As he said in February, he believes that Apple would be able to build a TV up to 50 inches, though he predicted that a product of such size wouldn't launch until the early calendar year of 2012, at the earliest.

A Possibly Carbon Fiber Housing For The Next iPad?



iPad Carbon Fiber Mock-up. Courtesy of Gizmodo

 Last November, news rose quickly about Apple's patent for a carbon fiber casing for the iPad. Although the carbon fiber would make the iPad a lot lighter than with the aluminum housing, the carbon fiber can crack or break if it's bent or too much pressure is put on it. Within the patent, they describe a way to create a "reinforced device housing" that will help against those problems.

Well, just recently, Apple hired Kevin Kenny, a Senior Composites Engineer. Kenny started work at Apple this month after working for fourteen years at Kestral Bicycles, where he built and designed carbon fiber bicycles. The question is now, where is he going to direct his attention, and what products is he going to be working with? Will he be working on the MacBook? the iPad? or what about the iPod? Who knows... maybe he's working with multiple iProducts!?

But I can assure you one thing! There's no way that Apple is going to be coming out with an iBike!

iPhone 5 Not Released Until Early 2012?

Everybody is used to the "norm" when it comes to Apple's releases of products. One of the most known release is the iPhone at the WWDC, which will happen June 6-10 this year, is the next-generation iPhone. Each year since the first iPhone came out, an announcement has been released at WWDC for the newest iPhone release. This year, there are more rumors than usual expecting the iPhone release to be delayed this year or maybe even into the beginning months of next year. Analysts Avian Securities are making a pretty big claim that the iPhone 5 won't be into production until September. With production not starting until September, this would probably lead into a late-2011 or early-2012 release.

This claim was brought up by a conversation that Avian Securities had with a "key component supplier". The conversation is below, in full:

Supporting out comments over the last month, conversations with yet another key component supplier indicates that production for iPhone-5 will begin in September. This is consistent with Avian findings in the supply chain in recent months and we believe the consensus view is moving towards this scenario. In addition, our conversations also indicate the existence of a lower-spec/lower-priced iPhone in Apple's roadmap.
However, while our contacts have seen the placeholder in the Apple roadmap, they do not yet have insight into specs or production timing. This leads us to believe that any launch is likely a very late 2011 or more likely a 2012 event.
As a reminder, Avian has uncovered several data-points in recent months pointing to the existence of a lower-spec/lower-price iPhone. A lower-spec/lower-price iPhone has also been speculated in the press and gadget blogs, though we do not believe consensus currently discounts the existence of such a model.

While nobody has anybody clear evidence as to why the above conversation isn't true, there is no evidence showing that this information is false. Even though Apple has had consistent summer releases of the iPhone at WWDC, when you add up all of the rumors and and current events that can harm production of certain aspects of the phone (such as the Japan earthquakes), an end of the year release seems more and more likely. I guess one positive thing mentioned in the above conversation is the lower-spec/lower-priced iPhone possibility. It will be interesting to see what Apple does to make the iPhone more affordable.

Google Buying Mobile Music Sync Service, PushLife

Everybody who has an iPhone knows of the Android name. The Android has been increasingly popular, but doesn't hold up to all of the innovation that Apple puts into all of their products. Google has recently bought-out a Canadian mobile music synchronization service, PushLife. Google has willingly poured $25 million to by the company, which was founded by Research in Motion (RIM). PushLife's main service is to offer synchronization with iTunes between devices that were not originally made to be compatible with the program.

According to analysts' assessments, this acquisition will bring the rumor back that Google was preparing their own mobile music service. But as most of us already know, the news that Google was bringing Google Music Sync on Android smartphone was rumored a long time ago.

Either way, Google stated that the acquisition done to PushLife is not just only about the music sync technology, but rather the highlights the development team at PushLife, who judging, are very talented.

But like every other buy-out and rumor that starts, only time will tell whether or not they will hold true. But who knows, maybe Google is trying to give Apple a run for their money. Whether they are trying to or not, I know Steve Jobs isn't happy about Google's Android as he stated, "I don't know why Google jumped in the the phone industry. We didn't get into the search industry."

A New Update of Final Cut Pro May Add iPad, Thunderbolt Support

Okay, so this article is very interesting to me, as I am an avid FCP user. I originally saw this article over at Apple Insider. All I know is that I need to get me this update if the rumors are correct.

So here it is:

Comments given from an industry insider offered us a glimpse of what is expected to be released at the unviel, with possiblities of support with high-speed Thunderbolt, and possibly even iPad.

The details of the unviel came from Mark Raudonis, the head of post production at Bunim/Murray Productions. He was given an advance look at the anticipated software update, scheduled to be unvieled tomorrow, April 12th. His comments that were given were collected by FilmMaker Magiazine.

Speaking at the PreNAB Editor's Lounge 2011, Raudonis quoted hockey legend, Wayne Gretzky, in which he said he would "skate to where the puck will be" (which was also cited in the past by Apple CEO, Steve Jobs). Raudonis said the new version of FCP illuminates Gretzky's philosophy.

Here are some remarks mad by Raudonis:

"Where is the puck headed? Again, I can't speak specifically, but I think the rest of the time here will be very interesting. File-based workflows, Thunderbolt, iPad, competition, it's a moving target. Adobe, Avid, Lightworks. There's a lot of other stuff out there. And they (Apple) are certainly not ignorant of what's going on in the market at the moment. Apple is very good at going their own way and figuring out where things will be. They may not ask you what you want. They are going to tell you 'We're going to invent something different.'"

Raudonis commented and said that he was impressed with the new update for FCP. He also stated that Apple is planning on a release in Spring 2011.

The actual unviel of the update became known because Apple required some of the sponsors' presentations to be cancelled in or to have the appropriate amount of stage time neccessary to show off... I mean, demonstrate, the new update.

Steve Jobs Finally Approves Of Biography

A great announcement came from Simon & Schuster that one of their authors, Walter Isaacson, has actually gotten permission from Steve Jobs to write a biography on his life. This may be a bigger deal than you think, as Jobs has never authorized of any biography that has been released yet.

The book by Isaacson has been given the appropriate title: "iSteve: The Book of Jobs", making a play on words with, not only his name, but also all of the products at Apple. It has already been rumored that Isaacson, since 2009, has been interviewing Jobs, his family, colleagues, and even competitors of Apple. Simon and Shuster spokeswoman, Tracy Guest, made the first announcement about the book on Sunday (April 10, 2011) by announcing that the book will be published sometime early 2012. She also went ahead and stated that niether Isaacson or Jobs will be commenting on the announcement.

Many biographies of Jobs' life has been writter, but none have ever been authorized by himself. One biography, "iCon: Steve Jobs, The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business," actually got his active disapproval. In 2005, Apple banished works by John Wiley & Sons from its stores because the publisher had signed up the unauthorized biography by Jeffrey S. Young and William L. Simon.

"This is the perfect match of subject and author, and it is certain to be a landmark book about one of the world's greatest innovators. Just as he did with Einstein and Benjamin Franklin, Walter Isaacson is telling a unique story of revolutionary genius." - Jonathan Karp, publisher of Simon & Schuster

Steve Jobs, currently 56, has had numerous health problems and just released, in January, that he will be taking his third leave of absence at Apple, Inc. While he was away, he amazingly survived a rare, but curable, form of pancreatic cancer. He was able to re-appear at a press-conference in early March to make the announcement for the iPad 2.

WWDC 2011 Dates Announced!

If you were hoping to be at the Wolrdwide Developers' Conference this year, hopefully you acted fast when Apple announced the dates and opened up sales for tickets! The ticket prices this year were $1,599 each and, even at that price, sold out in less than 12 hours! For those of you that heard the news late, you're going to have to wait until 2012. While it isn't unusual for these conferences to be sold-out, it is a bit unusual for it to sell out in one day. The 2010 conference took eight days for the conference to sell out, while the year before in 2009 took the whole month to sell out. For those people that were lucky enough to get their ticket right away, the event will be taking place June 6 through June 10. During those days, there will be over one-hundred technical sessions for both iOS and Mac OS.

Courtesy of: Apple.com

In a press-release early Monday morning, Apple Senior VP, Phil Schiller, announced that this conference will have a 'double-focus' on iOS and Mac OS and will 'unviel the future' of the two. This year's event is expected to be much more spectacular than previous years as they have never focused both on Apple's mobile products and Mac OS.

Jesus Diaz, a blogger with tech enthusiast site Gizmodo, thinks that Schiller's statement says it all as he writes: "Obviously, the future of iOS and Mac OS X are iOS 5 and Lion." While I can't see the complete justification for Lion, I can completely see why he thinks they will unviel iOS 5. It seems to be a yearly tradition for Apple to introduce it's new iOS device at the WWDC, the spring before the release. (See models and release dates here.) Partly for developers to be able to use the new iOS to be able to support it when it is officially released, and partly, I think, so the consumers (you and I) will build up anticipation and won't want to wait weeks after it's released to go out and buy it.

But what if Apple breaks the traditions of it's past? Only time can tell, as one analyst, Michael Gartenberg says:

You get caught up in the patterns, and it holds true, until it doesn't. There is no reason for Apple to follow a predictable yearly pattern, and it keeps their competition off gaurd a little bit.

So we'll see what happens. I personally don't think it will come any later than the WWDC. I don't think that Apple would want to upset all of their consumers of one of their biggest products!

But what's your opinion? Sound off in the comments below!

64GB iPhone Prototype or is it Fake?

An iPhone recently surfaced the streets out in Hong Kong, probably a week or two ago. Looking from the pictures of the iPhone 'prototype', it does seem like it could be a possible prototype for Apple as they have used an 'X' on their prototypes as seen on their iPhone 4 prototype that surfaced some time before it was announced. The newly surfaced prototype does look exactly like the iPhone 4, so this new discovery can mean a couple of things:

1. This could be a real prototype.

Apple may have actually tried make the iPhone 4 available in 64GB but for some reason ditched it. It may have been simply that it would have cost too much and the price they would have to sell the device for would be unrealistic. If this is the case, then it is very plausible that we might see a 64GB iPhone 5. Whatever they do, I hope the memory goes up because I know my 32GB iPhone is maxed out easily.

2. The image was photoshopped.

If this photo was photoshopped, it was done by a professional! It would have taken somebody that has a lot of experience using photoshop to carefully edit this so that they didn't square off any of the light reflections on the back of the phone. And to space out the words above and below the 'XXGB' addition would have been a challenge as the current iPhone 4's don't show the capacity on the back of the phone like previous generations. Lastly, when looking in the settings to see the 'About' section of the phone, you can see that it clearly states it has 59.1GB of storage left on the phone. When comparing to the previous phones, this does seem about right as you would have to compensate for the extras that have been put into the phone just to add all of that memory.

These photos really seem more real than fake if you ask me. It seems to me as though Apple has tried to make a 64GB version of the iPhone 4 but then left it for another generation of the phone for whatever reason. It could have been something even just that they didn't want to emplament it on this generation. Either way, I really do hope and pray that Apple does come out with an iPhone with a higher capacity. 32GB just isn't doing it for me anymore!

But of course we're going to have to wait and see until the next WWDC to see what Apple has come out with! But what do you all think, is it real or fake? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Google Instant Previews Now Mobile!

I have an iPhone and I noticed the last day or two that there was this weird 'magnifier glass' that popped up next to some of the search results. I had no idea what it was until I came across the Official Google Blog, which explained a little bit about what it was and how it worked.



Credit: Google Official Blog

Basically, when you search for something and the 'magnifier glass' shows up next to the results, if you tap on one of those magnifying glasses, it'll show you a 'preview' of the websites that were a result of your search. Google stated in their blog:

"...you can visually compare search results from web page snapshots, making it easier to choose the right result faster, especially when you have an idea of the content you’d like to see."

I tried this out for the first time and decided to make a simple search for "blogspot". Right away, I noticed that almost every website that came back as a result of the search had a magnifying glass next to it. So that part of it seemed to work just fine. I could easily tell which websites had the preview, and which ones didn't. So I took it one step further and tried the Instant Preview feature from my iPhone. First of all, I noticed that it took a good amount of time to download all of the previews of the websites. I'm talking time that I could have looked at least two, maybe three, websites and actually be able to read what was on the website. It was cool that, after all of the preview results were loaded, I could do a side-by-side comparison of what each site was like. But even with the preview, I wasn't able to tell what each website actually had on it and how much of it was relevant to my search. Using the preview feature, I was able to ditch a couple of the results because I could tell, from titles that I could read and the few pictures that it showed, that they didn't really want what I was looking for. I think that this feature is just not perfected for mobile use. Even on my iPhone, I think that the view of the site is too small. It might be easier for those you that are HTC Evolution users, but that's not a guarantee.

I don't think that this feature is a complete and total waste of time, if it is improved upon by Google. Since it is so new, I'm sure Google knows that it does have room improvement. And I'm sure that they knew that not everybody would like it when it first came out. It just needs time to grow.

New Apple Jobs Means New Online Store?

Sometime last week, a new job listing was listed on the Apple Jobs website in the "Core Services" of the online store. The online store at Apple.com has been a trademark of Apple that has barely been changed in years. The job listing (photo below) shows that this may be happening in not too long.



Credit: MacRumors.com



It's stated in the first sentence of the job description:

"Help build the next-generation Apple Online Store"

If Apple was trying to keep this new only store "under wraps", they did a horrible job doing it as the job description was found almost the same day it was posted. It'll be interesting to see what the new Apple employees come up for the new store. All I know is that it better be over the top, as everything else is with Apple!