MacRumors

iMore, which was the first source to report that Apple will be moving to a smaller dock connector with the launch of the next-generation iPhone, now claims that Apple will be moving its entire lineup of iOS devices to the new connector later this year. This includes the current 9.7-inch iPad, which was just updated in March.

iMore has learned that Apple intends to update their entire lineup of iOS device products to support the new, miniaturized Dock connector, and to do it as early the rumored September 12 special event this fall. This would include the new iPhone 5, the the new iPod nano and iPod touch, the rumored 7-inch iPad mini, and an updated version of the current 9.7-inch iPad.

iMore notes that the source of the new information is the same person who originally shared word of Apple's move to the new dock connector, and with numerous other mainstream news reports and parts leaks supporting the original claim, the source does appear to have accurate information.

Apparently, Apple believes consistent Dock connectors across the line, and other improvements they're able to make to the new iPad this point, are more important than sticking to yearly release schedules.

iLounge last week hinted at some changes for the fourth-generation iPad with the suggestion that the device could launch with the smaller dock connector later this year, but iLounge expressed skepticism about that possibility given the relatively short time since the last update to the device.

Last month, AT&T announced that it would join Verizon in offering shared data plans including unlimited talk and text on phone while allowing users to share their monthly data allotments across multiple devices. The plans are structured with two basic components: a monthly cost for a data allotment and a per-device charge that varies from $10 to $45 depending on the type of device and the data plan selected.

AT&T has just announced that the new plans will be launching on August 23, and while current users will not have to switch to the new plans, they may do so without adding on to their contract term. And unlike Verizon, AT&T will continue to offer its existing plans alongside the new Mobile Share plans, giving users several options to help fit their device and service needs.

AT&T's new Mobile Share plans do include tethering and mobile hotspot functionality on compatible devices, while also offering free access to over 30,000 AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots around the country.

Full details on the new plans are available on AT&T's website.

In line with recent claims that European carriers have been stockpiling nano-SIMs with some carriers even working with Apple to test the new, smaller cards ahead of the next-generation iPhone launch, Nowhereelse.fr shares [Google translation] a set of comparison photos showing what is claimed to be a nano-SIM tray for the next iPhone next to the current micro-SIM tray used in the iPhone 4S. If the part is legitimate, it indeed confirms that Apple will be using the smaller SIM card form factor that it worked to push through standards approval earlier this year.

With new photos of the next-generation iPhone's SIM tray in hand, we have reexamined the photos from early May of what was also claimed to be the device's SIM tray, and we now believe that we were incorrect in our initial assessment that that part represented a micro-SIM tray nearly identical to that found in the iPhone 4S. While those photos did not show the side of the tray that holds the SIM card, the overall dimensions of the tray are in a ratio of roughly 1.55-1.6. This is in line with what is seen on the new nano-SIM tray shown by Nowehereelse.fr and different from the iPhone 4S micro-SIM tray that has dimensions in a ratio of approximately 1.37. The nano-SIM card itself has dimensions in a ratio of 1.4, compared to a ratio of 1.25 for the larger micro-SIM.

Consequently, it indeed appears has indeed been planning to use its proposed nano-SIM standard in the next-generation iPhone for a numbers of months, even before the standard was approved by the European Telecommunications Institute (ETSI).

Today's report also shares photos of what are claimed to be the white and black versions of the home button for the next-generation iPhone, and these photos are in line with previously-leaked photos from late April that represented the first of a number of part leaks claimed to be for the upcoming iPhone.

On Friday, Wired writer Mat Honan recounted the tale of how his iCloud account was hacked which resulted in his iPhone, iPad and MacBook Air getting remote wiped.

The point of entry appeared to be his iCloud account which was then used to gain access to Gmail and then his and former-employer Gizmodo's Twitter accounts.

At 4:50 PM, someone got into my iCloud account, reset the password and sent the confirmation message about the reset to the trash. My password was a 7 digit alphanumeric that I didn’t use elsewhere.
...
The backup email address on my Gmail account is that same .mac email address. At 4:52 PM, they sent a Gmail password recovery email to the .mac account. Two minutes later, an email arrived notifying me that my Google Account password had changed.

At 5:00 PM, they remote wiped my iPhone
At 5:01 PM, they remote wiped my iPad
At 5:05, they remote wiped my MacBook Air.

A few minutes after that, they took over my Twitter. Because, a long time ago, I had linked my Twitter to Gizmodo’s they were then able to gain entry to that as well.

Honan wasn't entirely sure how the hackers had gotten access to his iCloud account. His guess was that they had somehow brute-force guessed the password, while others speculated his password had been keylogged or used in another insecure service.

As it turns out, the hacker was able to call Apple support and convince them they were the user. From an update to the original blog post:

I know how it was done now. Confirmed with both the hacker and Apple. It wasn’t password related. They got in via Apple tech support and some clever social engineering that let them bypass security questions.

After convincing Apple support that they were Mat Honan, the hacker had Apple Support change Honan's iCloud password which gave them full access. From there, they were able to perform the remote wipes on Honan's devices using Apple's Find My iPhone service which offers remote wipe as a security feature for lost devices.

As a somewhat public figure, Honan may have been an easier target than the average iCloud user, but many users may also have personal information publicly available on online services such as Facebook that could be used in a similar fashion. Forbes' Adrian Kingsley-Hughes suggests that Apple "needs to tighten up security and come clean about what went wrong here."

BusinessInsider has heard that Apple is presently in talks to acquire social sharing and commerce site The Fancy.

The objective: to secure a role for Apple in the growing e-commerce market, putting the 400 million-plus users with credit cards on file with Apple's iTunes Store to work shopping—with Apple getting a cut of the action.

The Fancy is described as a rival to the fast growing Pinterest site which is used to share photos of items found online. The Fancy describes itself:

Fancy is part store, blog, magazine and wishlist. It's a place to discover great stuff, to curate a collection of things you love, to get updates on your favorite brands and stores and to share your discoveries.

Use it to create a catalog of your favorite things around the web and around the world. When you find something you love somewhere on the web, Fancy it.

The Fancy's biggest advantage over its rival appears to be the ability for users to purchase items directly from the site. Both allow users to "pin" or "fancy" products found on the internet and allow other users to browse these items in various collections.

Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly met with The Fancy CEO at Allen & Co.'s Sun Valley conference. Cook even created an account on the service and "fancied" seven different items. Businessinsider speculates that Apple's interest in the company may have to do with a broader e-commerce strategy.

Back in October 2010, Steve Jobs appeared on an Apple earnings conference call to address the Android-based iPad competitors that were just then coming to the market. With the majority of those tablets carrying 7-inch displays, Jobs noted that the screens were only 45% as large as the iPad's and that Apple believed the iPad's 9.7-inch display was the minimum necessary for an acceptable user experience.

With rumors of an "iPad mini" having circulated since that time and now appearing to gain traction with more prominent sources beginning to point to a launch later this year, interest in the potential device has continued to build. Supporting the idea of a 7-inch tablet, Wired's Christina Bonnington notes that part of iOS software chief Scott Forstall's testimony in the Apple-Samsung patent trial has revealed that content chief Eddy Cue was pushing for a 7-inch iPad by January 2011.

In email, Eddy Cue wrote "I believe there will be a 7-inch market and we should do one." referring to a 7-inch iPad

CNBC's Jon Fortt reports that Steve Jobs was evenutally won over by arguments in favor of the smaller iPad.

Apple internal email shows Eddie Cue advocated in 1/11 for 7" iPad, said Steve Jobs seemed receptive most recent time

iMore, which has offered reliable information on a number of topics in recent months, claimed earlier this week that Apple's September 12 media event that has been all but confirmed by numerous mainstream media reports will see the introduction of both the next-generation iPhone and the iPad mini. Other reports have been less clear on the timing for an iPad mini launch, but many believe that it will launch in time for the holiday shopping season.

Update: CNET posts the full email sent by Cue to other senior executives at Apple:

Having used a Samsung Galaxy, I tend to agree with many of the comments below (except moving off the iPad). I believe there will be a 7" market and we should do one. I expressed this to Steve several times since Thanksgiving and he seemed very receptive the last time. I found email, books, facebook and video very compelling on a 7". Web browsing is definitely the weakest point, but still usable.

With the recent addition of Hulu Plus to the Apple TV platform, analysts are thinking of other video content that could be making its way to the product. Over the years, Apple has updated the Apple TV's software several times, occasionally adding new video content. In 2011, Apple added support for Vimeo, streaming NHL games, and Wall Street Journal videos.

As noticed by All Things D, from a Seeking Alpha transcript, CBS CEO Les Moonves answered an analyst's question yesterday about offering CBS content on the Apple TV platform in the future:

Anthony J. DiClemente — Barclays Capital, Research Division

Okay. And then one for Les. You — I’m sure — you may have seen that Apple TV added Hulu onto its platform this week. I’m just wondering, when you think about Apple, are you in any way philosophically opposed to offering CBS on the Apple TV platform? And I know I — just from prior experience, I’m sure your answer will have something to do with getting paid for your content. But more specifically, is there anything you need to see or specifically anything you need to get in order to be convinced that that’s a smart strategy for CBS?

Leslie Moonves

Look, Anthony, you’ve — we’ve had this discussion many times before. You’re right, it depends what the terms are, it depends what we get paid for. It depends on what effect Apple TV would have on either our advertising, our syndication or our retrans, which are our 3 main buckets of revenue for our content. So if it sits in well, like Netflix did and Amazon did, we’re happy to discuss it. If it doesn’t and we’re — they’re using our content to build a business, we’re not quite as favorable to that. So the devil is in the details. I know it sounds like a pat answer, but it’s really true.

Perhaps the biggest competitor to the Apple TV's video streaming is from Microsoft's Xbox 360. The video gaming box has transitioned in recent years to much more of a content device, with Microsoft adding support for video content from Netflix, Hulu, ESPN, Comcast and Verizon FiOS. It is easy to see how adding those last three to the Apple TV could vastly expand the demand for Apple's set-top box, though the sticking point will be how to compensate both Apple and content providers.

Image from Sami

Phil Schiller is currently on the witness stand in the trial of Apple versus Samsung, and Apple's marketing chief is offering a bit of insight into the history of the iPhone, making the argument that Apple revolutionized the smartphone industry with its contributions. AllThingsD has a summary of Schiller's comments, which reveal Apple's wide-ranging thoughts on what project to pursue following the success of the iPod.

People suggested all kinds of things Apple could do, Schiller recalled: “Make a camera, make a car, crazy stuff.”

Schiller said the company had been working on the tablet computer that would later become the iPad, but decided to shift its attention to the phone.

“At the time, cellphones weren’t any good as entertainment devices,” Schiller said.

As part of his testimony, Schiller was led through a number of public reviews and comments about the iPhone and iPad, demonstrating how the devices were considered revolutionary but that many observers believed Apple would fail in its efforts.

Schiller also revealed a bit of information on iPhone marketing, noting how the company's U.S. iPhone advertising budget expanded from $97.5 million in fiscal 2008 to $173.3 million in fiscal 2010. As Apple has previously revealed in public filings, the company's overall advertising budget in fiscal 2010 came in at $691 million and grew substantially to $933 million in 2011. Still, Apple's booming sales have typically meant that the company's marketing expenditures have been shrinking as a percentage of revenues.

CNET also highlights Schiller's comments on how Apple uses targeted market research surveys, which have shown how important design is to Apple's customers.

Of note, Schiller also went into how the company performs market research, a controversial topic given the fact that late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs once pooh-poohed such studies, saying the company would design products people didn't even know they wanted yet. Apple brought up market research in this case to point out how important design is to consumers, 85 percent of whom, according to Apple's own 2011 study, said design and appearance were important.

Schiller did his best to finesse how these surveys came to be, saying they did not go out to random people but to customers who had already purchased one of the company's devices. Schiller also said that Apple purchases third-party reports of market trends and other data.

As CNET noted earlier today, Schiller will be followed on the witness stand by Scott Forstall, Apple's head of iOS software. Other Apple-called witnesses will include Samsung executive Justin Denison, Samsung engineer Wookyun Kho, Apple's early icon and interface designer Susan Kare, and a pair of independent expert witnesses.

Update: Samsung's lawyers asked Schiller whether the design of the iPhone would be changing with the next version of the device, but he declined to comment on future products and Samsung apparently declined to press the issue further.

iPhone parts company ETrade Supply posts a detailed comparison [via iPhoneinCanada.ca] of the front panels of the iPhone 4S and what has been claimed to be the next-generation "iPhone 5". As with numerous other leaks, the new front panel shows a taller display and the FaceTime camera being moved to above the earpiece.

The blog post contains a number of images and a nearly 7-minute video comparing the two parts, showing that not only is the new part taller than the corresponding iPhone 4S part but it is also 0.1 mm thinner and offers more light transmittance and more scratch resistance than its counterpart.

ETrade Supply has also taken a close look at the home button region of the front panel, showing that the hole for the home button is 0.3 mm smaller in diameter than the hole on the iPhone 4S, while the margin between the bottom of the panel and the bottom of the display area is 2.6 mm shorter, allowing Apple to significantly increase the size of the iPhone's display while only slightly increasing the overall device height.

This is not the first time the alleged next-generation iPhone front panel has been caught on video, but this new video and photo comparison does offer the most detailed comparison between the part and the corresponding iPhone 4S part we have seen yet.

With court documents in the ongoing legal dispute between Apple and Samsung having yielded a remarkable number of design concepts and prototypes from the development of the iPhone and iPad, Network World has taken a look at testimony that explains why Apple rejected some of the ideas. The testimony comes from Doug Satzger, who spent 12 years in industrial design at Apple before moving on to Palm in early 2009 and then joining Intel earlier this year.

Most notably, Satzger reveals that Apple very much wanted to use a curved glass design for the iPhone, but cost considerations and technical hurdles forced Apple to change directions.

The technology in shaping the glass, the cost relative to shaping the glass at the time, and some of the design features of this specific shape were not liked. [...]

The technology at the time had a lot to do with it. The qualities of the glass at the time had a lot to do with it. These are models -- I'm trying to remember a time frame -- that were before gorilla glass and before a lot of the other factors.

Satzger also addressed Apple's ideas for an extruded aluminum design similar to that of the iPod mini, noting that the design was rejected for both comfort and technical reasons.

My recollection of it was that to get the extruded aluminum design that was applied to the iPod to work for the iPhone, there were too many added features to allow it to be comfortable and to work properly. [...]

If you put an iPod up to your ear, the sharp edges, because of the processes, aren't comfortable, and you can't get antennas to work properly in a fully enclosed metal jacket. So each one of those things needed to apply other features that started.

The ongoing court case between Apple and Samsung over alleged patent and design infringement has continued to take strange and interesting turns, with Samsung having been chided earlier this week for publicly releasing evidence that it had already been barred from presenting in court. But in taking its case to the media, Samsung raised the ire of the judge overseeing the case and caused Apple to file a request for sanctions based on the claim that Samsung is trying to improperly influence the jury in the case.

The disputed evidence involves Sony-inspired iPhone prototypes as well as information on Samsung's F700 smartphone, which the company says carries a similar design to the iPhone but for which Samsung has internal documentation of the design dating back to mid-2006, before the iPhone's January 2007 unveiling.

AllThingsD reports that Apple has taken the rather bold position that sanctions against Samsung should result in a default ruling from the judge against Samsung.

Apple, in its motion for sanctions, argues that Samsung’s broadcast of excluded evidence is not only a clear attempt to prejudice the jury, but part of an emerging pattern of misconduct.

“Samsung already has been sanctioned four times in this case for discovery abuses. Most recently, Samsung was sanctioned for destroying evidence,” Apple’s legal team wrote. “Litigation misconduct is apparently a part of Samsung’s litigation strategy — and limited sanctions have not deterred Samsung from such misconduct. Now, with so much at stake, Samsung has taken the calculated risk that any sanctions arising from its attempt to influence the jury with its excluded arguments are a price it is willing to pay.”

Outlining its belief that Samsung's escalation of misconduct in the case can only be properly addressed by a judge-ordered decision against the company, Apple notes that "serious misconduct can only be cured through a serious sanction".

As highlighted by FOSS Patents, Apple's request for sanctions would cover only the four design infringement claims against Samsung, with the remaining software patent claims and trade dress issues still being subject to a decision by the jury.

In that case, Samsung would potentially face a billion-dollar damages bill, most of which would be a disgorgement of infringer's profits. The jury would still have to establish liability with respect to Apple's three software patents-in-suit and its two trade dresses, but liability with respect to the four design patents-in-suit would be determined by the court.

As an alternative to the proposed court-issued decision in Apple's favor, Apple proposes a somewhat lesser sanction that would see the jury informed of Samsung's misconduct and instructed that the court believes Samsung to have infringed Apple's designs, with Samsung also being barred from any further discussion of the disputed evidence.

Several weeks ago, we noted that Apple was already undertaking a minor expansion of its massive data center in Maiden, North Carolina, having received permits for a roughly 20,000 square-foot "tactical data center" located adjacent to the existing 500,000 square-foot facility.

Wired has now obtained aerial photos of the site taken earlier this week, showing not only the new tactical data center but also ongoing installation of solar panels at the 100-acre solar farm across the street from the data center and what appears to be the 4.8-megawatt fuel cell facility behind the data center.

Nobody knows exactly what an Apple tactical data center is supposed to be, but according to Rackspace Chief Technology Officer John Engates, who has spent his fair share of time in windowless buildings racked with servers, it may be a neutral spot where Apple partners can come and plug their gear into Apple’s grid without getting any exposure to the fantastic secrets housed in the larger 500,000-square-foot facility.

Apple's North Carolina data center is just one of a series of planned major data centers designed to support the company's iCloud services and other offerings. The company already operates a smaller data center in Newark, California near its corporate headquarters in Cupertino and has revealed plans for major new data centers in Oregon and Nevada.

Last week, we pointed to tablet estimates for the second quarter of 2012 from research firm Strategy Analytics, results that shows Apple continuing to dominate the tablet market with 68% of shipments during the quarter. Google's Android platform accounted for most of the remaining shipments, taking 29% of the market.

IDC has now released its own estimates of tablet shipments for the quarter, and while the overall picture is very similar to Strategy Analytics' numbers with estimates of 25 million tablets shipped and a 68% share for Apple's iPad, IDC offers an interesting look at the competition by breaking things down by manufacturer instead of by platform. According to IDC, Samsung remains the number two tablet manufacturer behind Apple, but despite strong 117.6% year-over-year shipment growth still saw its tablets outsold by the iPad by a margin of 7-to-1.

"Apple built upon its strong March iPad launch and ended the quarter with its best-ever shipment total for the iPad, outrunning even the impressive shipment record it set in the fourth quarter of last year," said Tom Mainelli, research director, Mobile Connected Devices. "The vast majority of consumers continue to favor the iPad over competitors, and Apple is seeing increasingly strong interest in the device from vertical markets—especially education. While iPad shipment totals are beginning to slow a bit in mature markets where the device saw early traction, growth in other regions is clearly more than making up the difference."

Growth in tablets is clearly occurring at the top of the market, with Apple, Samsung, and ASUS experiencing strong year-over-year growth and Amazon having a strong entry into the market with its Kindle Fire. Smaller players are seeing their shares of the market shrink, with Acer's shipments dropping nearly 40% and the collective "other" smaller manufacturers seeing their sales slide by 16%.

Apple's 17 million iPad shipments were a new record for the company as it rides the momentum of the new third-generation iPad and its lowest entry-level pricing ever with the Wi-Fi iPad 2 continuing to be available at a lower price of just $399. With competitors launching smaller tablets that have enabled them to push tablet pricing down toward $199, Apple is reportedly looking to launch its own "iPad mini" later this year with an eye toward capturing that portion of the market as well.

Engadget points to a newly-filed patent application from Apple showing ideas for a significantly enhanced iPad Smart Cover that could contain such features as a secondary display, a keyboard, and power collectors in the form of solar cells or RF energy antennas.

An accessory device that is arranged to communicate with a host device by way of a communication channel is claimed. The host device includes a host device display arranged to present visual information. The accessory device includes the following: a flexible flap having a size and shape in accordance with the host device display, where at least a portion of the flexible flap is covered by a flap display configured to present visual information; and a connecting portion, the connecting portion arranged to provide at least a communication channel arranged to convey information between the host device and the accessory device where at least some of the information is presented visually on the flap display.

In one example, Apple shows how secondary displays integrated into the Smart Cover could offer a mini home screen alongside the primary screen or be used to display information to others while folded into its stand configuration. The displays could draw power and transmit data from a connector alongside the Smart Cover hinge or rely on embedded solar cells or RF energy antennas for power needs.

Apple also proposes to use the Smart Cover's surface as a keyboard with a touch section for customizable virtual keys. The keyboard is in some ways similar to the cover keyboard Microsoft has demonstrated for its upcoming Surface tablet.

Finally, Apple shows how embedded e-paper displays on the exterior of the Smart Cover could offer information such as notifications and reminders without requiring the user to open the cover and turn on the device. Apple could also integrate a section that would allow users to quickly scribble their own notes on the cover.

The patent application was filed in August 2011 and is credited to Apple design engineer Fletcher Rothkopf, who now serves as a manager in the company's product design division.