MacRumors

Earlier this week, case manufacturer Tactus was one of several sources to share photos of cases reportedly designed for the fifth-generation iPad, once again showing that the device is expected to be smaller than the existing iPad and take design cues from the iPad mini.

Today, the company shares a photo of what is said to be the rear shell of Apple's rumored lower-cost iPhone. In line with previous rumors, the part appears to be manufactured from plastic.

The part is also consistent with iLounge's January description of the device, carrying a design somewhat similar to the iPod classic with a flat back and curved edges, as well as a shift to elongated volume buttons along the left side.

The report also shares a number of other claimed details about the device, including word of an A5 chip, a 5-megapixel rear camera, and five color options of black, white, blue, red, and yellow. The device is also claimed to carry a 3.5-inch Retina display rather than the 4-inch display seen in the iPhone 5, although that detail conflicts with reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo's claims of a 4-inch display for the lower-cost iPhone.

Finally, Tactus claims that the lower-cost iPhone will launch on October 15 and be priced at $300, although we place little faith in those details given that any source for part leaks likely coming through Apple's supply chain or accessory manufacturers would not be aware of Apple's specific launch plans. The report also claims that the rear shell is 0.4-0.6 mm thick, which is obviously not an accurate measurement and is likely a misreporting of previous claims that it would be 0.4-0.6 mm thicker than the iPhone 5.

We also can not verify whether this is indeed a legitimate rear shell for Apple's lower-cost iPhone. It could simply be manufactured based on circulating rumors, but even if fake it could be an accurate representation if it is based on design specs leaking through case makers. Case makers have a number of times created accurate physical mockups of Apple's upcoming devices, although they have on occasion been incorrect.

Digitimes reports that Apple has essentially halted all component orders for its Mac product lines, apparently working through significant inventories of components delivered during an aggressive ramp-up late last year that may have proven overly aggressive.

The suppliers originally expected to finish digesting their Mac inventories in April, but are now stranded waiting for further instructions from Apple.

The sources revealed that Apple's Mac orders to the supply chain dropped to almost nothing after the Lunar New Year holidays. Apple had high hopes for its Mac product lines and placed aggressive orders at the end of 2012; however, the company is now badly affected by the decision.

The report claims that Apple generally provides shipment forecasts to its supply chain partners at the beginning of each quarter, but the company has not done so for the second quarter. The lack of information has reportedly left suppliers wondering when they will be able to resume production.

Just last week, Digitimes claimed that Apple is likely to refresh its notebook lineup at the end of the second quarter, so it seems that suppliers may need to start ramping up production for new models in the relatively near future.

Apple frequently has to juggle its supply chain as it approaches product updates, seeking to accurately estimate consumer demand in order to deplete its existing inventories just as the new models are released. But if today's report is true, it seems that Apple may have overestimated customer demand for the early part of 2013 and is now finding itself with substantial inventories heading into its next round of product updates.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has also warned about reading too much into rumors from Apple's supply chain, noting that its "very complex" nature makes it difficult to accurately interpret what is actually going on from limited data points, even if that data is accurate.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has on a number of occasions offered accurate information on Apple's product plans, recently published a new research note outlining his expectations for Apple's fifth-generation iPad. Kuo expects mass production and shipments of the new iPad to ramp up in the August-September timeframe, with the device registering roughly 15% thinner and 25% lighter than the current full-size iPad.

We think the tablet will, at 7.5-8.0mm, be 15% thinner than iPad 4. The new device will likely be about 500 grams, or some 25% lighter than iPad 4, run on an A7X processor, and sport cameras with similar specs to the iPad 4’s (front HD, rear 5MP). The casing shape and color (silver and black) and narrow bezel design will be similar to the iPad mini’s.

The prediction of a 7.5-8.0 mm thickness is in line with previous claims that the next iPad will see a roughly 2 mm reduction from the current 9.5 mm thickness.

We therefore think that iPad 5’s battery capacity will be 25-30% smaller, at 8,500-9,000mAh, than iPad 4’s, and the battery’s thickness will be 15-20% smaller, at 7.5-8.0mm, and the number of cells will be reduced to two from three.

As for the chip powering the iPad 5, Kuo believes that Apple will be sticking with Samsung for a new A7X chip that will take advantage of Samsung's 28-nanometer process node. There have been reports that Apple will be shifting its A-series chip production to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), but it appears that Kuo believes that transition has a bit further time horizon, in line with rumors that a partnership between Apple and TSMC for 20-nanometer A7 chips will not begin production until early 2014.

Just last week, Kuo issued a report claiming that Apple's iPhone 5S, lower-cost iPhone, and second-generation iPad mini will launch later than currently expected by market watchers, with a variety of technological challenges still needing to be addressed by Apple. While Kuo did not offer specific predictions of when Apple will launch those devices, he did lay out a series of three scenarios addressing the possibility of August/September, September/October, and October/November timeframes.

TechCrunch is reporting that Amazon has acquired Evi, a natural language search platform that is similar to Apple's Siri, for $26 million. The Evi app was originally posted on the App Store but Apple had threatened to remove because of similarities to Siri, but later said it would "work with" the company to reduce similarities. Evi remains available on the App Store.

TechCrunch understands from sources that the company has been sold to Amazon for $26 million. However, calls to Amazon PR, backers Octopus Ventures and the founders of Evi have ben met with a stoney silence. A spokesperson for Octopus told us: “On this occasion Octopus will decline to comment on this specific portfolio company”.

True Knowledge, the company behind Evi, licensed the same Nuance voice recognition technology that Apple uses in Siri and offers an array of information that seems to compare favorably to Siri's abilities. Evi first launched in early 2012.

Amazon has a number of possible uses for Evi, including building the service into its Kindle Fire tablet, or a possible Amazon phone.

Apple's stock price hit new lows today, setting 52-week records and hitting the lowest points seen since late 2011. The price has traded beneath the $400 level several times this afternoon, with AAPL having not traded that low since December 23, 2011.

Today's slide follows a lower-than-expected revenue forecast for Cirrus Logic, a major supplier for chips used in the iPhone and iPad. Traders believe the lower forecast indicates weak Apple sales over the next several quarters.

Apple's stock price traded over the $400 mark for the first time in July 2011.

Apple will announce its second quarter earnings on April 23rd. The earnings release typically occurs just after 4:30 PM Eastern Time following the close of regular stock trading, and the conference call is scheduled to follow at 5:00 PM Eastern / 2:00 PM Pacific.

App Annie today released its latest data on mobile app downloads, finding that continued momentum for Android has allowed the Google Play marketplace to nearly match Apple's App Store in download volume. But while Google Play is making great strides in generating revenue for developers from these downloads, the App Store remains far out in front, indicating that iOS device users in general remain much more willing to pay for content than Android users.

While the iOS App Store and Google Play both had solid gains in app downloads last quarter, Google Play had a higher percentage growth rate as well as a greater gain in absolute downloads. As of Q1 2013, Google Play’s app downloads were close to 90% of iOS App Store downloads.

From Q4 2012 to Q1 2013, iOS App Store quarterly revenue grew by roughly one-quarter. Meanwhile, Google Play app revenue grew by roughly 90%. While Google Play had the higher growth rate, the iOS App Store gained more in absolute revenue and earned about 2.6x that of Google Play in Q1.

The stark revenue split between Apple and Android was also highlighted in an AllThingsD's interview with MLB.com boss Bob Bowman at the Dive Into Mobile conference yesterday. Bowman noted that while Android is starting to gain some momentum, Apple users continue to represent an outsized share of revenue for Major League Baseball's subscription services.

- His user base, which used to split 80/20 in favor of iOS over Android, has now moved to 70/30. “The Samsung phone is quite a good Android phone,” Bowman said.

- But the uptick in Android users, he said, doesn’t track with revenue. That still splits 80/20 in favor of iOS users. “Maybe even 85/15.”

MLB.com had a significant head start on iOS compared to Android, and Bowman also notes that the lack of low-end iOS devices creates a self-selecting group of users more willing to pay for content.

After being delayed yesterday, Funny Or Die's Steve Jobs movie "iSteve" has now been released online. The movie stars Justin Long as Steve Jobs and Lost's Jorge Garcia as Steve Wozniak.

The film is the longest video produced by the humor site and runs nearly 80 minutes long. The script for the film was written in three days and filmed in five.

The filmmakers have joked that the film may not be the best Steve Jobs movie, but that it would be the first. A Jobs film called "Jobs", starring Ashton Kutcher, is set to debut this year while Sony Pictures is making an Aaron Sorkin-written film based on the biography by Walter Isaacson.

At AllThingsD's mobile conference today, executives from both Google and Facebook said they would like to have deeper and more extensive integration with Apple's iOS -- and both would like to be featured more prominently in the operating system, though neither company seemed to think such a development was very likely.

Google chairman Eric Schmidt, according to CNET, spoke today about Google and Apple's interactions related to apps:

Schmidt … declined to say why Apple decided to go with its own mapping system rather than working with Google as it had in the past. But he said his company is still pushing Apple to use Google Maps as the primary navigation tool on iOS.

"We would still really like them to use our maps," Schmidt said. "It would be easy for them to take the app in the store and put it as their basic one."

While of course Google wants to be featured more on iOS, it seems the company has accepted Apple's decision to develop its own mapping app.

Talking about Facebook's rollout of Chat Heads and other features in its iOS app today, Facebook CTO Mike Schroepfer and mobile head Cory Ondrejka were repeatedly asked by Kara Swisher if Facebook had ever actually asked Apple if it could have Chat Heads appear universally throughout iOS, like it does on Facebook Home.

Kara Swisher: But did you even ask them? Did you even ask Apple if you could put the … Chat Heads on the screen persistently? Or did you not even go there with them?

Cory Ondrejka: I think it's more a discussion about how to make a great product experience.

Kara: Did you ask them to do that? Do you imagine the possibility?

Cory: We know what their lead times are. So, we only ask for things that have some possibility--

Kara: Do you imagine the possibility that they'll have those heads wandering over their screen?

Cory: I think that's a great question for them.

Kara: I'm asking you. Are you even going to hope for that?

Cory: Am I going to hope for that?

Mike Schroepfer: Apple is a great partner, we both have a lot of products hilt together. We can't talk about what we've talked about.