Apple today announced that the new iMac will go on sale this Friday, November 30. The 21.5-inch model will see immediate availability through multiple distribution channels, while the 27-inch model will begin shipping in December.
The 21.5-inch iMac will be available through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. The 27-inch iMac will be available for order through the Apple Online Store and will begin shipping in December.
Apple resellers have been quoting receipt of shipments over the next few days, but official sales will not begin until Friday. Apple unveiled the redesigned iMac at its October 23 media event, announcing that the 21.5-inch models would ship in November with the 27-inch models following in December.
Belgium-iPhone.Lesoir.be claims that Apple will be delivering the new 21.5" iMac to Apple Premium Resellers in Belgium starting on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the 27" iMac model is still believed to be scheduled for December.
The site also believes that the new iMac would be available for online orders at approximately the same time.
Separately, we received an unconfirmed tip saying that the new iMacs would be ready to order tomorrow, Tuesday, November 27th. We're not sure if the time difference (6 hours behind U.S. Eastern) explains the conflicting time frames or if one (or both) are simply wrong. Neither sources has a track record, but both guesses are certainly realistic. Apple originally claimed that the 21.5" iMac would begin shipping in November.
Update: Purported email sent to resellers from a distributor:
Facebook today announced that it has added iTunes Store digital gift cards to its Facebook Gifts platform, making it easier for users to send iTunes credit to their networks of Facebook friends.
Starting today with Facebook Gifts, you can instantly gift your friends iTunes digital gifts and recommend albums, movies, games, apps, and more available on the iTunes Store.
Search for a specific song or album to recommend, or let your friend decide. iTunes digital gifts are available for $10, $15, $25, or $50.
AllThingsD notes that the partnership offers increased visibility for the iTunes Store and gives Facebook a part of what is currently estimated to be a $260 million business in iTunes Store gift cards for third-party retailers.
Per Apple’s last 10-K, the company generated $7.5 billion from the iTunes Store during fiscal year 2012. Industry sources say that more than $2 billion of that revenue comes directly from iTunes gift cards. Sources also tell us that existing retailers who sell iTunes gift cards (like Best Buy, Target and the like) usually keep around 13 percent of each gift-card dollar sold.
So that adds up to around, say, a $260 million-dollar market size for physical iTunes cards split among participating retailers, of which Facebook will now be an active participant. That pie is small compared to Facebook’s overall revenue ($3.71 billion in 2011), but another digital product with less overhead and high demand is definitely a win for Facebook’s Gifts department.
Apple and Facebook have had a bit of a rocky history, with the two companies having sparred over Apple's efforts to offer Facebook integration in its failed Ping social networking service for iTunes. The companies have, however, been working more closely together recently, with systemwide Facebook integration now included in iOS 6 and OS X Mountain Lion.
Fresh off its Thanksgiving holiday, Apple today seeded developers with the first test build of OS X 10.8.3.
The first beta of OS X 10.8.3 arrives as Build 12D32, and users are required to install the OS X Software Update Seed Configuration Utility in order to upgrade to the build.
Areas of focus for testing include AirPlay, AirPort, Game Center, and Graphics Drivers.
Patently Apple reports on European trademark registration data showing that Apple has acquired at least partial rights to the "Lightning" name used for its new iOS device dock connector from motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson.
The transfer appears to have been required because of Harley-Davidson's ownership of the trademark under Class 28, which includes toys and games.
The explanation for this clash of covered items under Class 028 likely relates to what we pointed out in area # 3 noted above. There it states that there was a "partial transfer." Meaning that Harley-Davidson may have retained the ability to use certain aspects of the trademark relating to the motorcyle parts and so on. The specifics of the partial transfer weren't revealed.
Under Class 28, UPSTO points out that that "This Class includes, in particular: amusement and game apparatus adapted for use with an external display screen or monitor."
It is certainly not unusual for Apple to have to pursue trademark acquisition for its marketing terms, and it frequently seeks to use simple and/or common words that are in many cases already protected by other entities.
One notable recent case involved Apple's efforts to secure the "iPad" trademark in China, an effort that resulted in a $60 million settlement after the trademark's original owner claimed that Apple had originally purchased the mark from the wrong subsidiary. Apple had obtained the U.S. trademark rights for "iPad" from Fujitsu, while the company had previously reached a deal with Cisco for the "iPhone" name.
Less than a week after shipping estimates for new iPhone 5 orders through Apple's online stores dropped to two weeks, availability continues to improve with the company's stores for the Asia-Pacific region now quoting one-week estimates. Apple's online store distribution channels for other regions continue to show two-week estimates, but those should similarly drop to one week shortly.
Continued improvement of shipping estimates comes as the holiday shopping season kicks off and Apple works toward its goal of making the device available in at least 100 countries by the end of the year.
The Monday after Black Friday has been dubbed Cyber Monday to reflect a large number of online purchases that takes place on that day. As a result, many retailers continue or begin online sales on Monday. Here's a selection of Apple-relevant Cyber Monday sales.
- Zagg - Popular iPhone/iPad accessory maker is offering 20% off Keyboard Cases and 50% off "almost everything else", including their Invisible Shield protection.
- Hex3 - 25% off two of their products with coupon code "Monday25". First is Jaja ($89.99 -> $67.49), a pressure sensitive stylus for the iPad that allows for 1024 levels of pressure. Interestingly, it uses high frequency sound to communicate with the iPad. The other product on sale is the AppTag Laser Blaster ($59.99 -> $45.99) which is an augmented reality gun that you can clip your iPhone to.
- Belkin - Popular Mac and iOS accessory company. 30% off everything with coupon code "CYBER30". Until noon PST.
- Marware - 30% off sitewide with coupon code "CYBERMONDAY2012"
- Das Keyboard - Mechanical keyboard for the Mac. 20% off with coupon code "DASCHEER"
Both Apple and Samsung are continuing the patent battle in the courtroom with a second patent infringement lawsuit filed in August. This is a separate U.S. lawsuit from the $1 billion verdict that was awarded to Apple.
Due to the early stages of this lawsuit, both sides are trying to extend the scope of their case against the latest products from each company. Last week, Samsung sought to extend the infringement claims to include the iPad 4 and iPad mini. Days later, Apple also brought a motion to include several recent Samsung products, including the Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note II, Galaxy Tab 8.9 Wifi, Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, Rugby Pro and Samsung S III Mini.
Samsung had previously moved to add the iPhone 5 to the U.S. lawsuit shortly after its release. As noted by FOSS Patents, this latest Samsung/Apple lawsuit won't even go to trial until March 2014.
Telegraph reports that Black Eyed Peas star Will.i.am will be launching an iPhone accessory next week that promises to boost your iPhone's camera significantly.
The first product from his new consumer electronics and app venture i.am+ is an accessory that clips onto an iPhone and transforms the eight megapixel smartphone camera into a 14 megapixel camera, which it is claimed dramatically enhances the clarity and definition of your photographs. Speaking exclusively to The Daily Telegraph, he says: ‘We have our own sensor and a better flash. You dock you phone into our device and it turns you smartphone into a genius-phone. We take over the camera.’
Few details are offered, but it is described as interfacing to the iPhone through the dock-connector and has its own camera and flash hardware.
As Black Friday continues, there have been a few notable discounts on MacBook Pro and Air models during the day, including one discount as high as 20% on the 13" MacBook Pro.
Amazon's discounts, in particular, can be very volatile and can change quickly. See our full roundup of all other interesting discounts on Black Friday.
Technologizer's Harry McCracken has unearthed some photographs taken by Paul Terrell of the Byte Shop in Mountain View, California in 1976. At the time, the Byte Shop was one of the only computer stores in the world, and ended up being the first dealer for an upstart company called Apple Computer.
According to Terrell, Jobs and Wozniak came into his shop with the first version of the Apple-1 asking him to sell it to his customers. Here's an early photo of the circuit board hooked up to a keyboard and monitor.
They called their machine the Apple-1, and it was a bare board; any buyers would have to solder on the necessary chips themselves, then supply accoutrements such as a power supply, keyboard and display.
Terrell was intrigued, but told Jobs that what he really needed were fully-assembled computers. In fact, if Jobs could come back with an assembled version of the Apple-1, the Byte Shop would buy fifty of them. Jobs did, and the Byte Shop became the first Apple dealer (it eventually offered the Apple-1 in a wooden case with keyboard and power supply).
Terrell eventually paid $500 each for 50 Apple-1's, which history says sold for $666.66 each at retail. There are more pictures, and some additional backstory, at Technologizer.
Note: Black Friday sales continue through the weekend for most retailers. Apple's sales have ended. Most app and software sales below will last until Monday. We've updated our chart below as of Nov 26, 2:30AM Eastern.
Black Friday kicks off on the day after Thanksgiving and offers customers short term sales on many products. While Apple did participate, their discounts tended to be smaller than other 3rd party retailers.
Sales Tax
National retailers such as Apple and Best Buy charge local sales tax on all orders. So, the advantage of using other online-only retailers is not getting charged that sales tax at the time of order (though you are typically expected to report it later). Local sales taxes are automatically charged for the following retailers in the following states:
- Apple, Best Buy: All States - MacMall: California, Illinois, New York, Tennessee, Minnesota, Georgia, North Carolina, Wisconsin - Amazon: California, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Kentucky, North Dakota, Washington
If you are in one of those states, it may make sense to look elsewhere or simply buy locally anyway if the savings are comparable.
Discounts on Apple Products
Apple offered their own modest discounts on specific Apple products. Here is a chart of the most competitive 3rd party Apple retailers:
iOS and Mac App discounts are ongoing and can be seen in real time at AppShopper.com. We'd previously compiled a large list of the more interesting ones:
- Long list of iOS and Mac Software discounts - MacUtility Bundle ($59.99) - Parallels Desktop 8, Snagit, VirusBarrier X6, MacOptimizer, Rubbertnet ($245 Value) - MacLegion Bundle - ($49.99)- TechTool Pro, Freeway Pro, djay, Capo, Fantastical, RipIt, iRip, Beamer, Copy Paste Pro, Code Collector Pro ($548.80 Value) - iStack Mac Bundle 2.0 ($49.99) - Camtasia 2, Circus Ponies NoteBook, CrossOver XI, FX Photo Studio Pro, LittleSnapper, Printopia, xTeam, MoneyBag, Habits, SyncMate Expert, Build iPhone & iPad Games Without Programming. - MacGameStore - Up to 80% Off on Mac games
- Fry's has 13" Retina MacBook Pro for $200 Off ($1699->$1499). (In Store Only now) - Das Keyboard (Mechanical Keyboard) 20% Off
Please note that prices may fluctuate during the day. Several of the vendors listed are affiliate partners with MacRumors and referred sales may benefit the site financially. Please send in any notable sales to tips@macrumors.com.
Following the international launches, Apple has kicked off its Black Friday sale in the U.S. Online Apple Store. The selection of products on discount are the same as the international stores. The discounted products are listed:
Both Best Buy and MacMall seem to have deeper discounts on select products in their base configuration. The other thing to consider is that Apple and Best Buy will charge sales tax in most states due to their national retail presence.
AT&T is now offering refurbished iPhone 5 devices at a $100 discount from their usual price. The new offer was noted by 9to5Mac.
Customers are still required to sign up for a 2 year contract, as with the regular iPhone 5.
AT&T appears to be offering all permutations of color and size. The discount across the board for the refurbished units is $100 from the up front cost.
Black Friday is about to officially kick off, and the App Store developers also use this as an opportunity to promote their apps by dropping their prices. Sister site AppShopper.com tracks all price changes on iOS Apps and Mac Apps in their respective App Stores. Here's a selection of some of the more notable sales for iOS and Mac App Stores, as well as other online and boxed software sales.
Games are huge category on their own making up a large portion of the activity on the App Store. TouchArcade has rounded up the various sales from major developers and notable indie developers:
ThinkGeek has posted their set of Black Friday deals. Relevant to iPhone and iPad gamers are sales on their iCade, iCade 8-Bitty Game Controller and the JOYSTICK-IT for iPad. ThinkGeek is an affiliate partner of MacRumors.
The iCADE is an arcade cabinet housing for the iPad:
Normally priced at $99.99, the iCADE is presently 30% off at $69.99. The iCADE connects to the iPad via Bluetooth and is compatible with over 500 games.
The iCade 8-Bitty is the Nintendo controller styled handheld version of the iCADE for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch:
The iCade 8-Bitty normally sells for $29.99 but is on sale for 33% percent off at $19.99. It also connects via Bluetooth and shares the same game compatibility as the full-sized iCADE.
Finally for $7.49 (50% Off), ThinkGeek offers the JOYSTICK-IT Arcade Stick for iPad. A physical joystick that attaches directly to the screen to offer a real control.
The JOYSTICK-IT works with thousands of different game apps. Any game that has an on-screen control pad of some kind is perfect for the JOYSTICK-IT. Simply run your game of choice, place the JOYSTICK-IT over the on-screen control pad and push down. The JOYSTICK-IT sticks to the glass of your display and is ready for action.
Apple has launched its one day Black Friday sales in Australia and New Zealand. The discounts available are for the following products:
- iPad with Retina Display. A$ 41.00 Off - iPad 2. A$ 31 Off - iPod touch. A$ 31 Off - iPod touch 4th Generation. A$ 25 Off - iPod nano. A$ 11 Off - MacBook Pro with Retina Display. A$ 105 Off - MacBook Pro. A$105 Off - MacBook Air. A$105 Off - Various Accessories
Discounts should be comparable for U.S. customers and on the exact same products. Apple's U.S. sale should kick off around midnight tonight on Apple's online store. Both Best Buy and MacMall seem to have deeper discounts on select products in their base configuration.
BestBuy launched its Thanksgiving Weekend, Black Friday and one-day-only "Doorbuster" sales today. Most of their sales run from Thursday to Saturday. These include discounts on many Mac products that are better than the ones from MacMall posted yesterdaty. We've highlighted the deeper savings here on several Apple notebook models:
Black Friday kicks off on the day after Thanksgiving and offers customers short term sales on many products. While Apple 
Black Friday is about to officially kick off, and the App Store developers also use this as an opportunity to promote their apps by dropping their prices. Sister site 
