MacRumors

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.

Apple does have deeper ties with Facebook than most companies, offering significant integration of the service into iOS, but building Chat Heads into the iPhone would be an unprecedented expansion of that relationship.

Apple today released a series of updates for both Safari and Java, addressing continued issues with Java security.

The Safari updates arrive as version 6.0.4 for OS X Mountain Lion and Lion and version 5.1.9 for OS X Snow Leopard. The updates, which can be obtained through the Software Update mechanism in OS X, add new site-specific options for enabling the Java plug-in.

Safari 6.0.4 and 5.1.9 allow you to enable the Java web plug-in on a website-by-website basis, with four settings to choose from.

Full details on how to use the site-specific options are available in an associated support document.

Alongside today's Safari update, Apple has also released updated versions of Java 6. They arrive as Java for OS X 2013-003 for OS X Mountain Lion and Lion users and Java for Mac OS X 10.6 Update 15 for OS X Snow Leopard users. The updates bring the Apple-provided Java 6 up to the latest Update 45 version of the software from Oracle, which released the update for other platforms earlier today. Java 7 updates are now handled by Oracle directly, and users should update through Oracle's site.

NPD has released its most recent report examining digital music downloads in the United States.

The research firm reports that Apple continues to hold a 63% share of the market down from 66% in 2010, with Amazon at 22%, up from 13% 3 years ago. Some 44 million Americans bought at least one song last year, with NPD saying that number has remained stable over the past three years.

“Since the launch of Apple’s iTunes store, digital music downloads have become the dominant revenue source for the recorded music industry and iTunes continues to be the dominant retailer,” said Russ Crupnick, senior vice president of industry analysis at NPD. “There’s a belief that consumers don’t need to buy music because of streaming options, when in fact streamers are much more likely than the average consumer to buy music downloads.”

However, only 38 percent of consumers said it was important to own music, while 41 percent of users of streaming music services like Pandora or Spotify said they had purchased music they discovered on such a service.

The relatively low number of consumers who find it important to own music may be part of the impetus to Apple's development of an 'iRadio' streaming music service. Apple is rumored to be pushing hard for a Summer 2013 launch.

Facebook is bringing the new Chat Heads feature from Facebook Home to its iOS app, reports All Things D. The update to the iOS Facebook app should go live later today. It was previously reported that Facebook was in negotiations with Apple to bring 'Home' to iOS, but Facebook can bring some of the new features straight to its app, without extensive support from Apple.

The Verge got a hands-on preview of the new app:

Within the Facebook app, you can pop-out Chat Heads for your conversations, but they won't work anywhere else because of the way that iOS keeps apps sandboxed. Just as with Android, Chat Heads pop out on incoming Facebook Messages (but not for SMS), or you can open a new one directly yourself. You can drag them around to reposition them, and when they're open you have immediate access to your conversation on top of whatever you're doing on Facebook. On the iPad's larger screen, Facebook has decided to array them vertically on the left instead of horizontally across the top.

Facebook has implemented 'Stickers', which are large emoji-like images that can be sent to friends. There is also a new 'store' where users can download packs of stickers. The company has also redesigned its iPad app, streamlining and optimizing it for the iPad's larger screen size.

Update: Facebook 6.0 is now live in the App Store. [Direct Link]

Over the past two years, a number of app developers have been contacted by patent holding firm Lodsys, demanding licenses for and in some cases filing suit over patents related to in-app purchasing and other functionalities. Earlier this month, Lodsys gained renewed attention when it began a new round of lawsuits targeting a number of developers large and small, including Disney and Gameloft.

At the time of Lodsys' initial effort to extract licenses from App Store developers, Apple's General Counsel Bruce Sewell sent a letter to Lodsys backing App Store developers and claiming that Apple was "undisputedly licensed" to Lodsys' patents through an arrangement that also protected app developers. Apple later requested and was given limited permission to intervene in at least some legal proceedings on behalf of targeted developers.

Lodsys had responded to Apple's claims of protection for developers with both public blog posts and a private legal response to Apple in May 2011, and Lodsys had encouraged Apple to publish that legal response, but Apple apparently declined to do so.

In response to requests from developers seeking more information from Lodsys on the basis for its claims, Lodsys today released a redacted version of its initial legal response to Apple, dated May 31, 2011. Redactions include the removal of specific discussion of Apple's license terms with Lodsys.

The letter outlines a number of arguments as to why developers are not covered by Apple's license with Lodsys, pointing to Apple's own developer program agreements that strictly limit its relationships with developers to agency appointments rather than any broader business agreements.

First, you assert that, "[u]nder its license, Apple is entitled to offer these licensed products and services to its customers and business partners, who, in turn, have the right to use them." May 23 Letter at 1 (emphasis added). But, based on our review of [sic] publically available information, we understand that Apple expressly disclaims that App Makers are "business partners."

The response from Lodsys then proceeds to walk through six other arguments against Apple's claim that app developers are protected through Apple's license, including discussions of sublicensing, Apple's express disclaimer of any ownership interest in third-party apps, Apple's insistence that developers are solely responsible for liabilities related to their apps, and pass-through licensing issues.

Nearly two years later, the initial dispute remains unresolved, and Lodsys continues to contact developers in order to obtain licenses to its technologies with over 200 entities large and small now licensed for Lodsys' patents. Many smaller developers have found it simpler to agree to licenses representing small percentages of their revenue rather than face the prospect of lawsuits from Lodsys, but others remain in the crosshairs as Lodsys continues to stake its claims.

With both front and rear casing parts and several case designs for the fifth-generation iPad having surfaced over the past several months, we are starting to get a very good idea of how Apple is drawing on design cues from the iPad mini to design a thinner and narrower full-size iPad.

Building on this concept of an iPad mini-inspired design, several more cases have appeared today offering a additional glimpses at what we might be able to expect from the next iPad.

The first set of images comes from case maker Tactus, which shows cases for both the current iPad and the fifth-generation model, with a clear plastic mockup of the fifth-generation model showing how its features would mimic those of the iPad mini.

Meanwhile, Engadget shares photos of another iPad 5 case leaking out of Hong Kong, with a number of comparison shots showing how the device size and various physical features line up between the fourth-generation and fifth-generation cases.

With parts and cases already circulating, it can be difficult to tell whether new case leaks such as these are based on genuinely leaked specs or merely on previous information, but the case designs remain consistent with previous leaks and rumors and may offer a decent picture of Apple's plans.

As noted by AppleInsider, over the past month Apple has posted listings for eight jobs related primarily to hardware engineering in Orlando, Florida. The listings come as Apple is also hiring at its "Melbourne Design Center" that is apparently part of its acquisition of fingerprint sensor firm AuthenTec, but these new positions located roughly an hour away from Melbourne appear to be part of a separate initiative.

A number of the advertised positions relate to graphics chips and drivers, and it is possible that Apple may be working with AMD, which has an R&D and design facility in Orlando, in some capacity. Alternatively, Apple could be drawing on expertise at Qualcomm, which also has facilities in the area. In one job listing for a summer internship, Apple refers to the location as its "Orlando Design Center".

It appears that Apple has had at least a minor presence in Orlando for some time, but the recent job listings suggest that the company is undertaking a significant expansion of its team there.

On Monday, Waze CEO Noam Bardin took the stage at AllThingsD's Dive Into Mobile conference and talked (via Mashable) about how his company didn't think Apple Maps would be "that good" but that it underestimated consumer reaction to Apple's service.

The social turn-by-turn navigation company had assumed that Apple Maps would be good enough for consumers, Bardin said, but this assumption led to the company being surprised by the negative reaction many users had to Apple Maps when they rolled out as part of iOS 6.

That reaction led to an open letter from Apple CEO Tim Cook in which he acknowledged the issues with Apple's Maps app and promised to improve the product while also recommending a number of alternatives, including Waze, while Apple worked to bring its maps to an acceptable standard.

According to Engadget, Bardin said that consumers are rapidly acquiring certain expectations when it comes to services such as maps, expectations that are not necessarily easily met.

Consumers now have a quality bar, and that bar is going up rapidly. Two years ago, Apple's Maps app on iOS 6 would've been a fine product.

Bardin went on to say (via VentureBeat) that with the quality bar continually being raised, companies will have to pour more and more money into mapping to match the quality consumers desire. Unsurprisingly, Bardin notes that Google is the one setting that standard.

“Google is out there creating a standard of quality,” Bardin said. “We feel like we’re the only real competition. Rumors say it is $1 billion to $2 billion spent by Google a year.”

Bardin does feel that Apple Maps is getting better with time, but that Apple is being handicapped by its vendors. TomTom provides much of the data for Apple Maps, and Bardin noted that TomTom cannot put as many resources into its mapping service as Google can.

In early January, it was rumored that Apple was in talks to acquire Waze, but it was later reported that there was no deal in sight. Engadget notes that the CEO dodged questions of potential acquisitions while VentureBeat says that Bardin wouldn't confirm whether Waze supplies Apple with data on improving Apple Maps.

Facebook is in talks with Apple about creating a version of its "Home" software for the iPhone, reports Bloomberg.

Originally released for Android devices earlier this month, Facebook Home puts Facebook at the front and center of the phone, displaying photos on the lock screen and transforming the chat experience with overlays called Chat Heads.

According to Adam Mosseri, the director of product at Menlo Park, talks are ongoing and no plans have been finalized. "We've shown them what we've built and we're just in an ongoing conversation," he said.

At a question and answer session after the unveiling of the new software Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressed interest in bringing Home to iOS, but mentioned that an iOS version would be harder to create as Facebook would have to work with Apple. Mosseri says that the Home software would be altered to suit Apple's preferences.

"It may or may not be Home," he said. "We could also just bring some of the design values to the iOS app. That might be how it ends up. Or we could build just the lock screen. Maybe then it's not called Home, it's called something else."

Facebook and Apple have had a troubled relationship in the past, being unable to come to a suitable agreement over Facebook integration in the now-defunct iTunes social networking feature Ping, but have worked together on Facebook integration in iOS 6 and Mountain Lion.

In addition to speaking with Apple, Facebook is also courting Microsoft. Both Apple and Microsoft representatives declined to comment on the on the situation.

Update: The Next Web disputes Bloomberg's report, claiming that no discussions are underway.

According to a source inside Facebook familiar with the discussions, the social networking company is not in talks with Apple or Microsoft, contrary to what Bloomberg has reported earlier. We’ve been told that while the company has good relationships with both Apple and Microsoft, right now no discussions have taken place to bring Home to those platforms.

It is, however, currently unclear how The Next Web's claim should be taken, given that Bloomberg's report is based on direct quotes from a named Facebook executive.

Apple has notified its retail stores, authorized resellers, and AppleCare employees about WiFi issues being experienced by a small portion of its third generation Apple TVs, reports 9to5Mac. The units are having issues locating and joining WiFi networks and maintaining a connection.

Apple has determined that a very small number of Apple TV (3rd generation) products might experience one of these Wi-Fi related connectivity issues:

Cannot locate network

Unable to join network

Dropped or intermittent connection.

Apple technicians are authorized to replace affected products for two years from the original date of purchase at no charge to the customer after verifying that the devices are running software version 5.2.1 and that there are no third party interference issues.

The Apple TVs experiencing connectivity problems feature the following serial numbers:

The third generation Apple TV, which features support for 1080p video, was first released in March of last year. It was later tweaked in late January to include a smaller A5 chip.

Update: According to several readers, Apple has acknowledged that it initially erred in referring to the character pairs appearing the third and fourth positions of the serial number. The listed pairs would actually occur in the fourth and fifth positions.

Apple's next generation iPhone may feature a 12-megapixel camera with an improved night shooting feature and HDR reports Vietnamese site Tinhte.vn [Google Translation] (via iPhoneinCanada).

According to the site, the rumor comes from a source at Wonderful Saigon Electrics in Binh Duong, which specializes in providing camera modules for the iPhone.

An improved camera has been a long rumored feature of the iPhone 5S, but there are few specifics available.

The iPhone 5 features the same 8-megapixel rear camera with an f2.4 aperture that was introduced with the iPhone 4S, but it has a sapphire crystal for improved clarity. A further improvement to 12-megapixels with a lower aperture to improve low light photography does not sound out of the realm of possibility.

Camera improvements have been a staple of Apple's "S" phone releases. The iPhone 4S featured an 8-megapixel rear camera, a significant upgrade from the iPhone 4's 5-megapixels.

Apple has also been dedicated to enhancing the camera quality of the iPhone with each iteration as it has become a popular photography device, adding features like panoramas and a volume shutter control. The iPhone has long been the most popular camera on photo sharing site Flickr.

Tinhte.vn has shared several Apple prototypes in the past, notably offering up a preview of Apple's redesigned EarPods and an early version of the fourth generation iPod touch, the first to come equipped with a camera.