MacRumors

CNET reports on comments from AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega today revealing that the carrier has experienced record-breaking smartphone sales through the first two months of the fourth quarter of 2012.

The wireless carrier is selling smartphones at a record pace -- 6.4 million already in the first two months of the quarter, according to Ralph de la Vega, CEO of AT&T's mobility arm. De la Vega, speaking at an investor conference today, said he now expects to sell 26 million smartphones this year, 1 million more than previously expected.

The current record for the carrier was set in the fourth quarter of 2011 with 9.4 million smartphone activations on the strength of the iPhone 4S launch.

Given that the iPhone typically represents 70-80% of AT&T's smartphones, the carrier's record numbers for the quarter so far bode well for Apple. Apple will likely also see a boost from its rapid rollout of the iPhone 5, which is already offered in nearly 50 countries and will be available in more than 50 additional countries by the end of the month.

Apple is clearly expecting a blockbuster quarter, having issued guidance for a record $52 billion in revenue on the strength of not only the iPhone 5 but also the new iPad mini and the just-updated full-size iPad, as well as recent updates to most of the company's Mac and iPod lines.

Casio has officially announced the Bluetooth G-Shock, a $180 Bluetooth v4-enabled smart watch. Though the watch will ostensibly be competing with the Pebble e-paper wristwatch, the G-Shock is in a bit of a different category.

It's a much more traditional watch, looking nearly identical to other G-Shock watches, water resistant to 200m, and with significantly fewer features resulting from its Bluetooth v4 connectivity than the Pebble. When paired with an iPhone, the Casio smart watch can automatically set its own time, alert you to incoming calls and email, and locate your iPhone from the watch.

The watch only works with the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5 at the moment. They are the only iPhones that support the new Bluetooth Low Energy specification which we've covered previously. Casio isn't the only company to adopt Bluetooth Low Energy; the Pebble watch and other watches like the Strata are both using the same technology.

There are a number of other possible uses for Bluetooth LE including heart rate monitors, proximity sensors like the one built into the Lockitron lock, and more. These products, however, have been slow to come to market.

The G-Shock uses an ordinary watch battery and the company says it should last 2 years when connected to Bluetooth for 12 hours per day. The watch lists for $180 and has limited availability at select retailers.

Back in early September, news broke in several publications about Apple's plans for a Pandora-like custom radio service, with the company reportedly seeking to arrange deals with music labels to allow more flexibility than permitted under the mandatory licensing used by Pandora. At the time, a launch was said to be "months away".

By late October, reports were indicating that talks remained in limbo with Apple and the major music labels remaining far apart in their licensing offers, although Apple was reportedly still hoping for an early 2013 launch.

As part of a report noting that Pandora's stock plunged yesterday after issuing weak guidance for the upcoming quarter, CNET says that Apple still has not made any significant progress with the major music labels.

The rumors continue to swirl but multiple music industry sources have told CNET in recent weeks that the deal that Apple has offered for iRadio has left the major record companies -- Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group -- cold.

My sources say that, at a minimum, a deal with all the majors is nowhere near to being completed. Even if Apple sweetens its offer or the big labels change their mind tomorrow, these deals take a while to put to bed. Even in the best case scenario, it will still be a while before we see iRadio.

Eddy Cue has long been Apple's "master negotiator" for content deals, a role that he has reportedly filled with a calm yet firm demeanor that has made him very well respected in the business. As Apple's content empire has grown, Cue's role has expanded to the point where it now encompasses the iTunes Store, App Store, iCloud, iBookstore, iAd, Siri, and Maps.

In his review of iTunes 11, AllThingsD's Walt Mossberg notes that Apple is preparing a minor update to address several issues with the initial release of the software. Among the changes included in the update will be the return of a feature that allows users to find duplicate songs in their libraries.

A feature that finds duplicate entries is missing. Apple says it will soon be restored in a minor update of the program.

In my tests, some album covers were missing in album view. Apple says this is a rare bug, but one it has solved and will fix in a minor update soon. Another bug the company says will be remedied prevents owners of Apple TVs from wirelessly streaming cloud-based movies to their TVs.

Mossberg also reports that Apple has no intention of bringing back the Cover Flow view of album art, with the company finding that few users were interested in it and the new Expanded View offering a fresh take on integrating large album art into library browsing.

Parts firm ETrade Supply has posted several photos of what it believes may be the rear shell for next-generation iPhone, which we are referring to as the iPhone 5S in accordance with Apple's recent pattern of naming the devices.

The part is extremely similar to that from the iPhone 5, in line with Apple's pattern of maintaining a given body style for two generations before making more significant modifications. This iPhone 5S part is, however, distinctly different from its iPhone 5 counterpart in several ways, most obviously in the arrangement of the screw holes for attaching the logic board.

Aside from the logic board screw holes, there are other subtle differences between the two parts highlighted in purple, blue, and yellow in the photo comparison.

The exterior of the shell contains the same text as seen on the iPhone 5, with placeholders being used for the various model, IMEI, and regulatory identifiers.

Given that the origin of the photos is unknown, it is certainly possible that this part is an old iPhone 5 prototype design that was discarded in favor of the design that was ultimately used. Alternatively, the part could also be a fake or a knockoff, although at a glance the part seems to show similar levels of quality to that seen on the genuine iPhone 5 part and a knockoff part intended to be used for replacement on iPhone 5 devices would be certain to retain the arrangement of logic board screw holes.

A pair of reports from DigiTimes last month indicated that trial production on the iPhone 5S is already underway with Apple targeting the "middle of 2013" for a launch.

Google Executive Chairman and former CEO Eric Schmidt recently sat down for a wide-ranging interview (subscription required) with The Wall Street Journal and in addressing his company's relationship with Apple noted that the two companies would resolve their issues like adults. He said that while explaining Apple and Google's relationship over the past year, which has included Apple taking Google Maps and YouTube out of iOS.

It's always been on and off. Obviously, we would have preferred them to use our maps. They threw YouTube off the home screen [of iPhones and iPads]. I'm not quite sure why they did that.

The press would like to write the sort of teenage model of competition, which is, 'I have a gun, you have a gun, who shoots first?'

The adult way to run a business is to run it more like a country. They have disputes, yet they've actually been able to have huge trade with each other. They're not sending bombs at each other.

I think both Tim [Cook, Apple's CEO] and Larry [Page, Google's CEO], the sort of successors to Steve [Jobs] and me if you will, have an understanding of this state model. When they and their teams meet, they have just a long list of things to talk about.

Schmidt went on to note that Apple and Google talk about patent litigation and how Apple is currently embroiled in legal drama with Google's Android partners rather than Google itself. He also noted that the litigation would continue for "a while" and that the big loser is not Apple or Google, but a smaller company trying to get an operating system off the ground as they wouldn't have the necessary patent coverage.

Recently, Google updated its Search app to include its Siri competitor. Schmidt tells The Wall Street Journal that Google does, in fact, list Siri as an example of the future "non-conforming to the Web" competition. Google also has Safari-competitor Chrome available in the App Store and is reportedly moving closer to submitting Google Maps for iOS.

Google has updated the YouTube for iOS app, adding native support for the iPad and the iPhone 5, as well as full support for streaming videos via AirPlay, reports The Next Web.

Google’s Horia Ciurdar says that more than 25 percent of all YouTube watching happens on mobile. Since the launch of the YouTube app back in September, Ciurdar says Google has “been hard at work to improve the app based on your feedback.”

Now the YouTube app will get ‘enhanced’ AirPlay support, letting you shoot your videos over to your Apple TV. Videos are also said to start faster and play more smoothly. Google has also improved VoiceOver support for those with visual impairments.

During the iOS 6 Beta, Apple removed the native YouTube app that had been included on every iOS device since the platform was introduced. Once iOS 6 was publicly announced, Google released a native YouTube app for the iPhone.

YouTube for iOS is available as a free download from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Apple has released updates for both the iOS and Mac versions of iWork. The iOS versions of Pages, Numbers and Keynote have experienced more significant updates, while the Mac versions have been updated mainly to support the iOS changes.

Pages 1.7:

In this release Pages for iOS is updated for improved compatibility with Microsoft Word and Pages for Mac.

• Use Change Tracking to track changes to body text in a document
• Accept and reject individual changes as you review a document
• Import Pages and Microsoft Word documents with change tracking and continue to track changes to body text
• Preserve tracked changes in documents exported in Microsoft Word or Pages format
• Preserve calculations in tables when importing from and exporting to Pages for Mac
• Add reflections to shapes
• Lock and unlock objects

--

Numbers 1.7:

In this release Numbers for iOS is updated for improved compatibility with Microsoft Excel and Numbers for Mac.

• Hide and unhide rows and columns
• Import and export Numbers for Mac spreadsheets with filters, and turn filters on and off
• Preserve rich text in tables when importing and exporting
• Add reflections to shapes
• Lock and unlock objects

--

Keynote 1.7:

In this release Keynote for iOS is updated for improved compatibility with Microsoft PowerPoint and Keynote for Mac.

• Import and export all Microsoft PowerPoint and Keynote for Mac slide sizes
• Import and export presentation themes, complete with master slides and preset styles
• Play back all Keynote action builds including Move, Rotate, Scale, and Opacity
• Add new slide transitions including Shimmer and Sparkle
• Preserve calculations in tables when importing from and exporting to Keynote for Mac
• Add reflections to shapes
• New print layouts include options to print with presenter notes, with builds, and without backgrounds
• Lock and unlock objects

About iWork 9.3 for Mac

iWork Update 9.3 adds support for iWork for iOS 1.7 apps.

This update is recommended for users of iWork 9.0 and later.

For detailed information on this update and individual application changes, please visit this site: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5534.

Updates for the Mac iWork apps are available via the Mac App Store for purchases made via the Store, or via Software Update for customers who originally purchased iWork in a box.

iOS updates can, as always, be downloaded via the App Store.

Pages [Mac App Store, iOS App Store]

Numbers [Mac App Store, iOS App Store]

Keynote [Mac App Store, iOS App Store]

The Charlotte Observer reports that Apple has filed plans to double the size of its fuel cell facility at its data center in Maiden, North Carolina to 10 megawatts.

Fifty fuel cells adjacent to its $1 billion data center in Maiden are expected to be operating by January, Apple said in papers filed with the N.C. Utilities Commission. It will be fueled by “directed biogas” in which cleaned methane gas from a landfill is injected into a natural gas pipeline. [...]

California-based Apple says the initial 4.8-megawatt phase in Maiden began start-up and testing in October. In November it applied for an amended state permit to increase the project’s size.

In North Carolina, Apple is combining its fuel cell facility with two massive solar farms to help achieve the company's goal of using 100% renewable energy at all of its data centers. At its originally planned 4.8-megwatt capacity, Apple's fuel cell facility in North Carolina was already said to be the largest in the United States not owned by a utility company.

In yet another sign that Apple's iPhone 5 stocks are returning to normal, Apple has lifted its limit of two iPhone 5's per customer. The top boilerplate in this image is from last week when Apple began selling the GSM iPhone 5 unlocked in the U.S., and the lower boilerplate is from today.

In recent days, we've seen ship times for some countries drop as low as 2-4 business days. Additionally, an Apple Retail source tells us that the prior restrictions on retail iPhone 5 purchases -- two per transaction and a ten-phone lifetime limit -- have been changed to ten phones per transaction and no lifetime limit.

While normal customers are unlikely to need to purchase ten iPhones per transaction, the limits are likely aimed at the well-documented reseller phenomenon where entrepreneurs purchase Apple products in bulk and ship them to countries where those products are not yet for sale.

Since many of these devices are purchased for resale in China, it's possible that Apple's launch of the iPhone 5, iPad mini and 4th-generation iPad in that country later this month could lessen reseller demand.

The iPad mini retains its two-per-customer limit, however. Attempting to purchase more than two on the Apple Online Store displays the following notice:

A maximum of 2 iPad can be purchased per customer. Please adjust the total quantity of iPad in your order before checking out.

Soon after the launch of the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro in June, we pointed to an analysis by AnandTech showing how the need to drive a massive number of pixels taxed the graphics capabilities of the machine to the point where it struggled to hit 20 frames per second while scrolling on resource-intensive web pages such as Facebook news feeds.

AnandTech now follows up with a new report based on a thread in our forums showing that the latest builds of WebKit, the open source browser engine upon which Safari is based, demonstrate dramatically improved frame rates during scrolling.

I grabbed a build (r135516 - it's no longer the latest build but I assume the later builds also contain the fix) and tried it out on the 13-inch rMBP. Scrolling down my Facebook news feed ended up being one of the best showcases for poor scrolling performance on the rMBPs, so that's obviously the first test I ran. As always I used Quartz Debug to measure UI frame rate.

The results show frame rates of around 20 frames per second (fps) under the standard Safari 6.0.2, but jump to nearly 50 fps when using nightly build r135516 of WebKit.

AnandTech hasn't been able to determine exactly what code changes were made to enable the significant boost to scrolling performance on Retina MacBook Pro models, and it is unclear exactly when those changes will be incorporated into Safari itself, but it certainly seems that a solution is on its way.