MacRumors

YahooThe Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple and Yahoo have been discussing how to integrate Yahoo's services more prominently in iOS, beyond powering the Weather and Stocks apps.

Yahoo also provides sports scores to Siri, but Yahoo has significant content deals related to news, sports and finance that could be tapped.

Data from Yahoo Finance and its weather site already come preloaded onto iPhones and Yahoo data like sports stats help power Apple's voice-activated "assistant" Siri. But the companies continue to discuss new arrangements, including possible deals to get more content from Yahoo Sports and Yahoo News, among other Yahoo Web properties, preloaded onto Apple devices or available through an expanded partnership with Siri, one of these people said.

The WSJ also says Yahoo would like to provide search results to Apple in Safari, but Microsoft's Bing search engine currently powers Yahoo Search and Apple has a long-term deal with Google as the default engine on iOS.

The paper did note that no deal is imminent, and negotiations appear to be in the very early stages. Former Google executive Marissa Mayer took over as the CEO of Yahoo recently and has been focusing a lot of energy on Yahoo's products and content, rather than its traditional strengths in advertising.

ipod_touch_colorsFollowing a research note from Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White stating that the iPhone 5S would launch in two or three different sizes, Japanese website Mac Otakara has released a report suggesting that the iPhone 5S will come in five colors, including the original black and white.

The site also mentions that Apple’s rumored cheaper iPhone will also be offered in a range of different colors. There is no indication on what colors the iPhone 5S might sport, but the current 5th generation iPod touch is available in black, white, pink, yellow, and blue, along with a special edition available in red.

Mac Otakara's report adds that the iPhone 5S will be announced in July, with a release to follow in August. That is in line with previous reports released earlier this month, which suggested an August release.

In the past, Mac Otakara reliably predicted the redesigned form factor of the seventh generation iPod nano and the updated 4-inch screen of the fifth generation iPod touch.

It should be noted that AppleInsider claims that the original article has been incorrectly translated and actually mentions one color in addition to black and white, making for a total of three colors rather than five.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster today released the results of his semi-annual survey of U.S. teenagers, finding that iPhone and iPad usage remains strong among the 5,200 teens included in the study. According to the report, 48% of teens now report that they are using iPhones, up from 40% just six months ago.

We believe this demonstrates that Apple remains the top choice for teens despite more competition from Samsung. Additionally, the survey demonstrated that 62% of teens expect their next phone to be an iPhone, which we believe shows that the iPhone has loyalty amongst teens. In terms of Android, 23% of teens expect their next phone to be an Android device, up from 22% in Fall 2013. We believe that the Samsung Galaxy S3 and eventually the S4 are taking share from other Android devices, but little from Apple in terms of the teen demographic.

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In looking at tablets, 51% of teenagers now report using a tablet, up from 44% six months ago. Of those 51%, 63% are using full-size iPads and 5% are using iPad minis, meaning that nearly 35% of teenagers in the survey are currently using Apple tablets.

For those teens that expect to purchase a tablet in the next 6 months, 68% said they plan on buying an iPad, thus it appears that Apple should be able to maintain its tablet share. The iPad Mini is beginning to show its impact as the 68% of those who plan to purchase break down into 54% for full sized iPads and 14% for iPad Minis. We would expect the iPad Mini to continue to cannibalize the full sized iPad in our continuation of the survey as we expect the breakdown in sales to reach 50/50 in the March quarter.

Samsung has attempted to play up its appeal with younger consumers through ads portraying the iPhone as uncool, with one ad poking fun at Apple fans waiting in line for the latest gadget by showing one Samsung user in the line actually saving a spot for his parents. But Piper Jaffray's results suggest that the iPhone and iPad brands remain strong with U.S. teenagers, with Apple undoubtedly planning for those users to become lifelong Apple customers as they become locked into the company's app and content ecosystem.

There are few great emulator options for OS X, but that is set to change in the near future as multi-source system emulator OpenEmu prepares for an official launch.

Open Emu is an open source project to bring game emulation to OS X as a first class citizen, leveraging modern OS X technologies such as Cocoa, Core Animation and Quartz, and 3rd party libraries like Sparkle for auto-updating. Open Emu is based on a modular architecture, allowing for game-engine plugins, this means Open Emu can support a host of different emulation engines and back-ends while retaining a familiar OS X native front-end.

OpenEmu, which has been in beta for quite some time, is able to emulate the hardware of several different consoles. Version 1.0 of the software will include support for several 16-bit systems, including the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Game Gear, NeoGeo Pocket, Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, and Super Nintendo, among others.

Support for additional systems like the Nintendo 64, the Nintendo DS, and the Sony PlayStation will be added in the future.

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The emulator features a slick iTunes-style design, displaying downloaded ROMs in a menu organized by system. Designed from the ground up for OS X, it offers up a native OS X interface.

With full save state support, the software allows for multiple ROMs to be played at once and it also provides OpenGL scaling, multithreaded playback, and gamepad support.

At this point in time the team behind OpenEmu is working on polishing the app and adding final artwork, but the release is "close."

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OpenEmu was previously available as a beta download and the beta version of the application can still be acquired by downloading and compiling the source code via Xcode. A full set of instructions is available here.

iad_gallery_iconResearch firm IDC today announced the release of a new report covering the mobile advertising market, noting that ad networks such as those from Google and Apple are losing traction to publishers able to use their size to drive their own advertising sales.

Where in past years, ad networks such as Google, Millennial Media, and Apple received most of the spending on mobile display ads, now publishers control the segment, thanks to very strong sales growth in the past year. Facebook, Pandora, Twitter, and The Weather Channel all registered strong sales in 2012 and all (with the exception of Pandora) popped onto the scene from zero sales in 2011. As a result, publishers controlled 52% of U.S. mobile display ad spending in 2012, compared to the 39% they received in 2011.

IDC notes that, despite slowing growth, the mobile advertising market continues to boom in the United States, growing 88% in 2012 to reach $4.5 billion to provide a massive opportunity for ad networks and publishers alike. The report notes that mobile advertising now accounts for 11% of all digital advertising, illustrating the strong momentum of mobile.

Apple has long faced an uphill battle to gain momentum with its iAd service, repeatedly slashing buy-in fees in order to lure and keep customers unwilling to commit to expensive advertising campaigns limited to Apple devices. The popularity of Apple's devices did allow Apple to rise to the number two spot behind Google in mobile display advertising, but IDC notes that Apple ($125 million gross revenue) lost that spot to Millennial Media ($151 million gross revenue) last year.

Apple's iAd program grew out of its 2010 acquisition of ad firm Quattro Wireless. Quattro founder and CEO Andy Miller left Apple in mid-2011, and since that time iAd has been overseen by senior vice president Eddy Cue as part of Apple's umbrella of Internet Software and Services.

chromeGoogle has updated its Chrome browser for iOS to version 26, adding full-screen browsing on the iPhone and iPod touch, new printing options, and the ability to save webpages as PDFs to a Google Drive account.

When scrolling down with full screen browsing, the toolbar at the top of the screen will disappear for more reading real estate. Scrolling back down will cause the bar to reappear.

Printing webpages via the Chrome app can be accomplished via Google Cloud Print or Apple’s AirPrint, and PDF versions of websites can be saved to Google Drive.

What's New in Version 26.0.1410.50
Fullscreen for iPhone and iPod touch
-Scroll the toolbar off the screen to enjoy the full page of content.
-Quickly re-access the omnibox by scrolling back down.

Printing
-Print web pages with Google Cloud Print or AirPrint.
-Save any page as a PDF to Google Drive

Stability / security improvements and bug fixes

Chrome is a universal app that can be downloaded for free from the App Store. [Direct Link]

appgratis.jpgAppGratis CEO Simon Dawlat today issued a statement about the recent removal of the AppGratis iPhone and iPad apps from the App Store, confirming that the apps were pulled for violating App Store guidelines 2.25 and 5.6, which state the following:

Guideline 2.25
Apps that display Apps other than your own for purchase or promotion in a manner similar to or confusing with the App Store will be rejected.

Guideline 5.6
Apps cannot use Push Notifications to send advertising, promotions, or direct marketing of any kind.

Dawlat explains that the AppGratis app was originally approved by two Apple reviewers, but a third reviewer pulled the app shortly after the release of the iPad version.

Early Monday, R. gave me a follow-up call. He basically couldn't go beyond repeating multiple times that our app had been pulled out due to guideline 2.25 and 5.6.

I asked how he and his team could have possibly changed their minds overnight, pretty much pulling the plug on a 45-person company. He seemed very detached regarding the gravity of the situation, and was unable to let me know on what specifics these decisions had been made.

Dawlat goes on to say that he remains in "absolute shock" about what is happening to AppGratis, but that the service is "far from finished."

AppGratis, he says, still has more than 12 million iOS users, and will continue to deliver new daily deals. Dawlat finishes his lengthy blog post with a plea, asking for readers to share the post and for an Apple executive to get in touch to further discuss the matter.

Apple hasn't sold a notebook docking solution since the Duo Dock for the PowerBook Duo. However, a new campaign on Kickstarter has designed a new dock that can be used with any current MacBook Pro model, including the new Retina units.

The ZenDock connects to the Thunderbolt, USB, Gigabit Ethernet, and FireWire ports, while leaving a clever gap for the MagSafe power adapter to slide through. A single cable connects to a mountable base equipped for desktop accessories to be permanently connected to.

Zendock

Our team of 4 has been developing ZenDock for just a year. About 4 months ago we tested the concept and the response was overwhelming and so we dove head first into creating our vision. We set out to build ZenDock with 2 design principles in mind. First was to build an elegant solution that would seamlessly integrate with your MacBook. Second was to build a device that just works, yet doesn't get in your way. Both versions always leave at least one USB, SD and headphone port accessible right on your Macbook, while allowing more permanent devices to be connected to the base. The ZenDock is CNC milled from solid blocks of ultra high quality T6061 aluminum, bead blasted and anodized to beautifully match your MacBook.

The ZenDock is available to Kickstarter backers starting at $109 for a limited early-bird backing price, though the company expects to sell the dock for $179 when it hits retail shelves. ZenDock expects to ship to backers in October of this year.

There are a number of Thunderbolt docks on the market that perform a similar function, but they are significantly more expensive -- though they do provide much more functionality. Sonnet has announced a dock with an internal drive bay and optical drive starting at $400, while Matrox and Belkin have announced their own Thunderbolt docking stations.

iphone_5_lteTopeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White is out with another research note today sharing some highlights from day seven of his trip to China and Taiwan to talk with technology companies and other sources. Based on discussions with officials at an unnamed "tech-supply chain company", White now believes that Apple's iPhone 5S due for release later this year will arrive in two or possibly even three screen sizes.

We also walked away with the view that Apple will release the iPhone 5S in at least two screen sizes this summer and possibly three. We continue to target July as the launch date. Essentially, we believe Apple is coming around to the fact that one size per iPhone release does not work for everyone and offering consumers an option has the potential to expand the Company’s market share.

White also believes that Apple will be releasing a lower-cost iPhone as part of the summer launch, but now sees a price tag in the range of $300-$350 rather than the $250-$300 price he had previously thought possible.

White's prediction of two or even three different screen sizes for the iPhone 5S, in addition to a lower-cost iPhone model, seems to be inconsistent with Apple's typically streamlined product lineups, especially when various carrier and capacity configurations need to be accounted for.

His prediction also conflicts with claims made by a number of other sources, including reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who maintains that the iPhone 5S will indeed primarily be a spec bump of the iPhone 5 with the same 4-inch display, an improved camera system, and perhaps a fingerprint sensor as a differentiating factor.

As a result, we view White's prediction with considerable skepticism unless independent corroborating claims surface leading into the iPhone 5S launch.

Related Forum: iPhone

Starbucks and Apple have long had a partnership to give away iTunes Store and App Store content to Starbucks customers, with the "Pick of the Week" program using physical cards with redemption codes on the back to allow users to download their free content.

As noted by CNET, Starbucks has now gone mobile with the Pick of the Week program, allowing users to access each week's selection directly from the Starbucks iOS app without needing to type in a lengthy redemption code.

Now, starting tomorrow, Starbucks customers wishing to download the company's curated mobile app and e-book selections can do so with just a click, no card required, from the inbox of the Starbucks mobile application on iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, or by accessing the Starbucks Digital Network, the company's free in-store W-Fi network.

starbucks_pick_of_the_week_card_app

Original Pick of the Week app giveaway card (left), app-based Pick of the Week (right)

In celebration of the new functionality, Starbucks has partnered to give away Rovio's popular Angry Birds Star Wars for this week's Pick of the Week. The app typically costs $0.99 in the App Store.

Among Apple's granted patents released today, AppleInsider has noted a pair of inventions that appear to be of some interest. The first patent addresses the idea of offline iTunes Store purchases from mobile devices, allowing users to store "credit" that can unlock content already on their devices but not yet owned by the user.

In some cases, a user may wish to add new media items to the library, for example from an online media store. When the device is not connected to the store, however, the user may not be able to perform a transaction to purchase new media items, nor download or access the media items from the store. To enable offline purchases of media, the electronic device can store locally for future use one or more recommended media items received from the store when a connection with the store is available. Access to the recommended media items can be restricted, so that the user cannot consume the media items without first purchasing them.

To complete a media item purchase without sending transaction information to the media store, the electronic device can store pre-paid credits locally on the device. The pre-paid credits can be purchased in advance, for example when the device is connected to the store. In response to a user request to purchase a particular recommended media item, the electronic device can deduct the cost of the recommended media item from the locally stored credit, and remove the access restrictions of the device. The amount of credit remaining can be communicated to the store or to a host device (e.g., used to manage the user's media library) when communications become available.

The difficult part of this scenario involves getting the content onto the user's device, and Apple's patent addresses several methods, including manual loading of files either from the Internet before going offline or from other storage devices. Alternatively, the user's device could automatically pre-download content based on Genius-like recommendations or other criteria and offer the content for on-device purchase.

itunes_offline_purchase_patent
While Wi-Fi hotspots have become increasingly common to allow iPod touch or Wi-Fi iPad owners to connect to the Internet with some level of regularity, it appears that Apple is still interested in exploring ways to allow users to unlock new media content even when not connected to the Internet.

The second patent describes a proximity-based method for transferring files between devices, such as a computer and a mobile device. While a number of existing solutions such as Bump and Samsung's S Beam allow for such actions, Apple's patent includes a contextual aspect that allows for very specific transfer scenarios to simplify the user experience.

apple_proximity_file_transfer_patent
In one simple example outlined by Apple, a user composing an email on his or her Mac wishes to add an image from their phone. Under the proposed method, the user could select the insertion location in the email, use a contextual menu to invoke an insertion option, bring up the desired image on their phone, and then bring the phone in close proximity to the Mac.

Using a combination of proximity and communication technologies such as Bluetooth, near field communication (NFC) technology, Wi-Fi, and or a webcam, the image could then be automatically and wirelessly transferred to the computer and inserted into the email at the proper location.

Tag: Patent

DigiTimes claims that Apple will begin volume production of the 5th generation iPad in July-August 2013. The timeline reportedly comes from sources in Taiwan-based supply chain makers.

macrumors-ipad5aMockup of 5th Generation iPad next to an iPad mini

A July-August ramp up of production runs counter to many of the earlier rumors that had suggested the iPad launch as early as April.

While Apple's traditional timeframe for iPad launches has been in the first few months of the year, last year saw two iPad launches -- one in March, and one in November. The late 2012 release of the 4th Generation iPad may have altered that usual timetable.

The new iPad is believed to be "thinner and lighter" than the currently shipping full-sized iPad. The 5th Generation iPad is also believed to take on the same thin-bezel design as the iPad mini. The above mockup is based on leaked iPad 5 enclosures from early this year.

WhatsApp business development head Neeraj Arora has told AllThingsD that an earlier report claiming Google was on the verge of acquiring the company for $1 billion is not true. WhatsApp is the company behind the popular iOS app WhatsApp Messenger.

Neeraj Arora, WhatsApp’s business development head, told AllThingsDigital today that the company is not holding sales talks with Google.

Arora declined to comment further, but AllThingsD does note that WhatsApp has been the subject of sales rumors before, having been linked to Facebook in December. At the time, WhatsApp said that those reports were "not factually accurate."

whatsapp
WhatsApp Messenger has consistently been one of the top paid apps in the App Store in many countries around the world and is currently the #1 paid app in the U.S. store. It is one of the many messaging services, including Apple's own iMessage, available on iOS and other platforms that smartphone users have turned to in order to avoid carriers' SMS charges.

Recently, WhatsApp announced that it will be moving to a subscription model for the iOS version of its app by the end of this year. The model would likely be similar to existing WhatsApp pricing for other platforms, which would make the app free for the first year and then $0.99 per year beyond the initial free period.

Citing supply chain sources, Digitimes reports that Apple is expected to see only modest "single-digit" shipment growth for its notebook lineup in 2013, with the 13-inch MacBook Pro in particular seeing weaker-than-expected sales.

Apple was confident about its 13-inch MacBook Pro performance for 2013, but the device's actual sales turn out to be weaker than expected, leaving the company still digesting its inventories in the first quarter.

The sources pointed out that Apple's MacBook Pros have strong attraction to consumers, but the devices' high prices are instead pushing consumers away.

The report also claims that Apple will be refreshing its notebook lineup "at the end of the second quarter", which could mean an introduction at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference expected in June.

apple_notebook_lineup_feb13
Digitimes had reported in late December that Apple was planning a June refresh for its notebook lineup, and similar timeframes have been claimed by reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and Taiwanese newspaper Economic Times.

Back in mid-February, Apple released a surprise minor update for the Retina MacBook Pro, including a significant price drop for the 13-inch models. Apple also dropped pricing on the high-end MacBook Air at the time, a move that had been at least in part predicted by Digitimes in its late December report.

Apple is likely to use Intel's forthcoming Haswell processors in its next-generation notebooks, and Intel will reportedly be releasing the first mobile Haswell chips in late May or early June.

Related Roundups: MacBook Pro, MacBook Air
Related Forums: MacBook Pro, MacBook Air

Apple today began offering refurbished models of the current-generation 27-inch iMac for the first time, roughly four months after the models initially launched.

The two stock configurations of the 27-inch iMac are currently available at 15% discounts compared to brand-new units, with the low-end refurbished model priced at $1529 vs. $1799 new and the high-end refurbished model priced at $1699 vs. $1999 new. Several higher-priced custom configurations are also currently available as refurbished units, with all refurbished models listed as shipping in 1-3 business days.

refurbished_imac_27_2012
The addition of refurbished 27-inch models comes nearly two months after Apple began offering refurbished 21.5-inch models, with supplies having remained tight for a number of months due to issues related to the thinner design of the new iMac. Apple is using a new lamination process for the display to achieve a thinner and more vivid screen, and that process reportedly was resulting in low yields, particularly for the larger 27-inch models.

Availability of the new iMacs improved markedly in early March, with shipping estimates for new orders of all stock configurations improving to "within 24 hours" at that time.

Related Roundup: iMac
Buyer's Guide: iMac (Buy Now)
Related Forum: iMac

babytime_ipadCedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles has debuted (via TUAW) a new iPad program that allows mothers who are not able to visit with their newborn babies in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to connect with them via a video chat on multiple iPads, dubbed BabyTime.

The program is available to mothers who undergo cesarean sections or other complications during pregnancy and will receive an iPad while the partner iPad will be set up next to the baby's incubator in the NICU. Mothers will be able to virtually visit their babies on a secured Internet connection twice a day.

"BabyTime will help bridge communication with the family and the baby's medical team and is an excellent use of technology to help new mothers bond with their babies, even when they cannot be physically at their babies' bedside," said Charles F. Simmons Jr., MD, chair of the Cedars-Sinai Department of Pediatrics and Ruth and Harry Roman Chair in Neonatology. “When doctors and nurses are treating a newborn in the NICU, mom can be right there asking questions and getting updates, even if she’s on a different floor.”

Simmons estimated that 20 to 30 percent of mothers who undergo c-sections do not feel well enough to travel to meet their babies in the NICU. The goal of the program is to reduce any stress or fear that mothers may have about their new babies, while allowing the mothers to communicate with doctors and nurses.