Apple today sent out what it is says is the final reminder that it will be shutting down its iWork.com service as of July 31. The reminder is essentially identical to a previous message that went out earlier this month.
Dear iWork.com user,
Remember, as of July 31, 2012, you will no longer be able to access your documents on the iWork.com public beta site or view them on the web.
We recommend that you immediately sign in to iWork.com and download all your documents to your computer. For detailed instructions on how to save a copy of your documents on your computer, read this support article at Apple.com.
Moving forward, you can use iCloud to store your documents and make them available across your computer and your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Learn more about iCloud.
Sincerely, The iWork team
iWork.com launched as a free beta in January 2009 as a service for sharing and collaborating on iWork documents, with Apple intending to eventually offer the service for a fee. The iWork.com service never exited beta, however, and with iCloud offering new options for moving documents around the company has decided to eliminate the program.
Bloomberg reports that Apple is taking an interesting step into security research publicity, agreeing to present at this week's Black Hat conference in Las Vegas for the first time in the conference's 15-year history.
While many major technology vendors have overcome their reluctance to making a public showing at the conference, Apple, now the world’s most valuable company, has had no problem snubbing a community whose aim is to unearth its vulnerabilities.
That will change Thursday when Dallas De Atley, manager of Apple’s platform security team, is scheduled to give a presentation on key security technologies within iOS, the operating system for iPhones and iPads.
The report notes that Apple's security researchers have attended the conference in past years, but the company has kept a low profile with its presence. Apple researchers were reportedly scheduled to give a panel presentation back in 2008, but the session was canceled once Apple's marketing team learned of the plans.
“Bottom line — no one at Apple speaks without marketing approval,” [Black Hat general manager Trey] Ford wrote in an e-mail. “Apple will be at Black Hat 2012, and marketing is on board.”
The annual Black Hat conference has been a popular venue for security researchers to release their findings on vulnerabilities in OS X, iOS and other platforms. Apple has sometimes moved very quickly to patch holes disclosed at the conference, such as in 2009 when Apple released iPhone OS 3.0.1 to address an SMS security vulnerability revealed at the conference just one day earlier, although the researchers had previously been in contact with Apple about the issue.
FOSS Patents' Florian Mueller reports that recently-filed court documents in the ongoing U.S. patent and design dispute between Apple and Samsung reveal that Apple is seeking a total of $2.5 billion from Samsung to cover alleged infringement by Samsung's mobile products. From the court filing:
Samsung has reaped billions of dollars in profits and caused Apple to lose hundreds of millions of dollars through its violation of Apple's intellectual property. Apple conservatively estimates that as of March 31, 2012, Samsung has been unjustly enriched by about [redacted; presumably $2 billion] and has additionally cost Apple about $500 million in lost profits. Apple also conservatively estimates that it is entitled to over $25 million in reasonable royalty damages on the proportionately small set of remaining sales for which it cannot obtain an award of Samsung's profits or Apple's own lost profits, for a combined total of $2.525 billion.
Mueller notes that Apple is not allowed to collect both royalties and profits from a single device, and thus focuses its claims on the $2 billion figure related to design infringement, as that tactic would allow Apple to request both lost profits of its own and unfairly earned profits by Samsung on those devices. In calculating the royalty rates it believes it is owed for Samsung's use of Apple's intellectual property, Apple arrived at the following figures:
These are the per-unit royalties that Apple calculated for its different intellectual property rights-in-suit:
- $2.02 for the "overscroll bounce" (or "rubber-banding") '318 patent - $3.10 for the "scrolling API" '915 patent - $2.02 for the "tap to zoom and navigate" '163 patent - $24 for use of any of Apple's design patents or trade dress rights
On a separate note, Apple's filings also reveal its estimates of how much it should pay in royalties for Samsung's patents, which are related to 3G standards and are required to be licensed under fair and reasonable terms. While Samsung has been requesting a royalty rate of 2.4% on Apple's sales of 3G devices, Apple argues that the amount should only be one-half cent per unit based on Samsung's small share of essential 3G patents and a belief that the royalty should be calculated on the cost of the baseband processor rather than the entire device.
As part of the ongoing court case, Apple CEO Tim Cook met with Samsung CEO Choi Gee-sung back in late May, but the negotiations yielded little progress. Reuters reported yesterday that the two executives met again last week but that the sides remain far apart in their valuations of their respective intellectual property.
FOSS Patents reports that Apple has been granted an expanded sales ban on Samsung's Galaxy Tab 7.7 over design infringement, with a German court issuing a preliminary injunction ruling that Samsung may not sell the device anywhere in the European Union. A sales ban in Germany has been in effect for a number of months now under a decision related to its larger sibling, the Galaxy Tab 10.1, but today's decision extends the ban to all EU countries.
The lower court had originally entered an EU-wide preliminary injunction against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 affecting not only Samsung's German subsidiary but also its Korean parent company and, as a result, the Samsung group as a whole. It then modified that order so as to apply only to the German subsidiary, holding that Apple had not proven that the Korean parent company has an "establishment" in Germany. The appeals court, however, disagreed and found (already in the Galaxy Tab 10.1 decision) that Samsung's German subsidiary is effectively an establishment of the Korean parent company, even though it formally claims to be an independent legal entity.
The appeals court did not, however, find in Apple's favor regarding the Galaxy Tab 10.1N that Samsung released with a tweaked design to skirt around an injunction on the original Galaxy Tab 10.1. That design was a product of close collaboration between Samsung's designers and lawyers in order to address the court's findings of design infringement in the original model.
The report notes that these rulings are still preliminary, with Apple still pushing forward on two separate cases against Samsung in the German courts covering a total of five tablet and ten smartphone models.
AT&T today announced financial results for the second quarter of 2012, revealing that the carrier activated 3.7 million iPhones during the quarter, down from 4.3 million in the previous quarter as customers begin to slow their purchases ahead of the next-generation iPhone launch.
Notably, AT&T's 3.7 million iPhone activations accounts for roughly 73% of the carriers 5.1 million total smartphone sales during the quarter, down slightly from last quarter's share. With smartphones now accounting for 77% of AT&T's total postpaid device sales, the iPhone represents approximately 55% of the carrier's total phone sales to contract customers, down slightly from last quarter's 60% share.
AT&T sold 5.1 million smartphones in the second quarter. Smartphones represented 77 percent of postpaid device sales. At the end of the quarter, 61.9 percent, or 43.1 million, of AT&T's postpaid subscribers had smartphones, up from 49.9 percent, or 34.1 million, a year earlier. AT&T's ARPU for smartphones is twice that of non-smartphone subscribers, and about 88 percent of smartphone subscribers are on FamilyTalk® or business plans. Churn levels for these subscribers are significantly lower than for other postpaid subscribers. More than one-third of AT&T's postpaid smartphone customers use a 4G-capable device.
Android, iPhone and Windows device sales were supported by AT&T's 4G network. Only AT&T's 4G network lets iPhone 4S download three-times faster than any other U.S. carrier's network. In the quarter, the company activated 3.7 million iPhones, with 22 percent new to AT&T.
Although Verizon reported a 16% quarter-over-quarter drop in iPhone sales and AT&T's numbers reveal a similar 14% decline, the performances are generally being viewed as a positive for Apple, which will report its earnings after the close of trading today. Analysts were already expecting Apple's overall iPhone sales to decline this quarter ahead of the next iPhone launch, and with the company's domestic sales holding up relatively well and international sales likely still booming, the company is likely to post solid results for its primary revenue generator.
In line with a fresh report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claiming that Apple will be updating the iPod touch later this year with an "all-new" design using the same in-cell touch display technology rumored to be used in the next iPhone, Japanese blog Mac Otakara reports that Apple will also be moving the iPod touch to a 4-inch display from the current 3.5-inch display. Apple is otherwise said to be basing the iPod touch's internals on the iPhone 4S, although the case will include a "buffed aluminum" rear shell rather than the glass back of the iPhone 4S or the mirrored stainless steel of the current iPod touch.
According to asian source, new iPod touch (5th generation) will have 4 inch LCD which is the same size with coming iPhone 5.
CPU or other spec is considered to be same with iPhone 4S, and has different back-case design, which will be not mirror polished but buffed alminum one. And it seems to be prepared black and white color model.
Rough mockup of fifth-generation iPod touch with buffed aluminum rear shell and larger display
The report's source also indicates that there is an additional hole in the lower portion of the rear shell, separate from the camera found on the current model. It is, however, currently unknown what the function of the hole will be.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today released a significant new report outlining his estimates of Apple's product launch schedule for the second half of this year, pointing to all-new iPod touch and iPod nano models as well as new iPhone and iPad mini models and tweaked internals for the full-size iPad.
Kuo's report also touches on the Mac side, reiterating his earlier claims that Apple will be launching its 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro in that timeframe. He believes, however, that impact from the launch will initially be muted amid tight supplies and consumer budgets that will likely prioritize purchases of new iPhone and iPad mini models.
We think consumers who initially planned to purchase the 13” MacBook Pro and Air will turn to the 13” Retina MacBook Pro instead because it has an attractive panel, its price is similar to MacBook Pro and it has a better balance between power consumption and form factor. However, as supply is limited due to panel and assembly yield rate issues, shipment of the 13” Retina MacBook Pro won’t be able to satisfy demand. And we think consumers’ budgets will transfer to new iOS products after Apple launches them, which suggests that overall MacBook shipments will not grow meaningfully on the 13” Retina MacBook Pro.
While early 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro sales may be modest, Kuo does believes that with Retina displays clearly being the future of Mac notebooks the stage will be set for explosive growth heading into 2013.
As for the iMac, Kuo believes that new Ivy Bridge-based iMacs have been delayed by screen lamination issues, with Apple's supply chain status suggesting it will be a tight schedule to meet an end of September launch for the updated models.
The chances of the new iMac debuting in September are slim. But, judging by the current supply chain situation, it could be rolled out by end-September. [...]
[Supply chain] shipments for Mac desktop models will be low due to inventory adjustment in July, and will see the most dramatic MoM rise in August as shipments for the new iMac begin.
Several other sources have claimed that Apple will be targeting an October launch for updated iMacs, although there has been disagreement over whether the new models will include Retina displays, which are almost certainly the most highly-anticipated feature in the product's future. Kuo's report does not address whether or not he believes the feature will be included in the next revision or held for a later update.
In addition to coverage of all-new iPod touch and iPod nano models in his report released earlier today, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also offered more predictions about Apple's iOS device plans for the September-October timeframe. According to Kuo, Apple is looking to launch the next-generation iPhone in September, perhaps closer to the beginning of the month. But with component shortages and limited on-sale time during the quarter following an expected pullback from consumers in expectation of the launch, he predicts only a modest bump in unit sales over the second quarter's numbers.
iPhone 5 to debut in September. But due to in-cell touch panel and casing yield rate limits, ability to offset older models' shipments decrease will be moderate.
On the iPad front, Kuo is expecting the iPad mini to debut later in September following component ramping in August. He predicts sales of just 1.8 million units during the short time the device will be on sale during the third quarter, exploding to overtake the full-size iPad in the fourth quarter with an estimate of over 13 million units.
Interestingly, Kuo also claims that Apple will be tweaking the internals of the current full-size iPad around the same time, making changes to address thermal issues and reduce costs. Digitimes had previously claimed that Apple would be revamping the third-generation iPad later this year with a thinner enclosure, IGZO display, and new heat dissipation capabilities, but Kuo's sources indicate that the changes will be invisible to users.
Though shipments of iPad mini’s components will start in August, the new iPad line will end production, ready for transition to a modified New iPad line. As such, component shipments will drop in August as iPad mini’s components shipments growth will be offset. On a side note, the modified New iPad shares the same exterior as the original model, but contains modifications to correct its thermal dissipation problem and lower-cost components.
Overall, Kuo is predicting massive iPhone and iPad sales for the fourth quarter of 2012 once the new models have full quarters of sales to build upon. His estimates put total iPhone sales at over 55 million and iPad sales at nearly 24 million during the quarter, spurred in large part by momentum from the iPhone and iPad mini launches.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has in the past offered remarkably accurate information on Apple's product plans, today released a new report addressing Apple's upcoming release plans, indicating that the company is planning for a very busy September-October schedule.
Kicking off the schedule of launches are said to be "all-new" iPod touch and iPod nano models. Details on the new models are currently slim, but the revised iPod touch is said to include the new in-cell touch display technology that has been rumored by several sources for the next-generation iPhone.
Overall, Kuo believes that strong quarter-over-quarter growth in iPod sales for the third calendar quarter will be driven by the new iPod nano rather than the iPod touch, which will see constrained supplies due to the move in-cell touch display technology.
Though all new design iPod touch and iPod nano will be launched, growth momentum will mainly come from the latter. The new iPod touch, like iPhone 5, uses in-cell panel, whose availability is limited in the initial stage. Shipments will therefore be hindered.
Apple of course did not make any substantial hardware changes to the iPod touch last September, electing to merely add white models and lower the entry-level pricing from $229 to $199. Consequently, the iPod touch retained the A4-based hardware introduced in September 2010 even as the iPhone 4S moved to the new A5 system-on-a-chip.
Mockup of redesigned iPod nano with oblong body and home button
Apple likewise did not offer any major changes to the iPod nano last September, merely lowering pricing and rolling out a software update for the line. One recent rumor has claimed that the iPod nano will be seeing a complete redesign with an oblong body, rectangular screen, and home button similar to that found on iOS devices. It is unclear, however, whether Kuo's sources are hearing similar details or if they only have generic information about a forthcoming redesign.
Apple has released a new television ad featuring the iPhone 4S and Siri, featuring legendary film director Martin Scorsese. The director uses Siri to reschedule appointments, find where a friend is, and see how traffic is in Manhattan.
Scorsese: What's my day look like?
Siri: Another busy day today.
Scorsese: Are you serious?
Siri: Yes, I'm not allowed to be frivolous.
Scorsese: Ah, OK. Move my 4 o'clock today to tomorrow. Change my 11AM to 2.
Siri: OK, Marty. I scheduled it for today.
Scorsese: Is that Rick? Where's Rick?
Siri: Here's Rick.
Scorsese: Oh, no that's not Rick. Now, how's the traffic headed downtown?
Siri: Here's the traffic.
Scorsese: Oh, it's terrible, terrible. Driver, driver, cut across. Cut across. We'll never make it downtown this way. I like you Siri, you're going places.
Siri: I'll try to remember that.
The ad is the fourth in Apple's series of celebrity television ads featuring celebrities using the technology. Prior ads have seen actors Samuel L. Jackson, John Malkovich, and Zooey Deschanel using Siri.
Apple will streamline the App Store purchasing experience when iOS 6 arrives this fall, as noticed by Reddit submitter Varmanj. In two significant changes, Apple will no longer require that users enter passwords to download free apps, nor when users download an update to an existing purchased app, whether paid or free.
In iOS 5, users must enter their password whenever they wish to download an app, whether paid or free, and every time they wish to download an update.
In iOS 6, upon pressing the 'Free' button on the App Store, the button changes to "Install App" and another press begins the install process. In another change designed to make the purchasing process quicker and easier, the App Store no longer returns users to the home screen when an app is purchased. Instead, it downloads in the background, making the purchase of multiple apps much easier.
Apple still requires passwords for apps that cost money, and for in-app purchases -- though the 15-minute grace period allowing users to purchase multiple apps after entering the password once still applies.
Update: Apple appears to have reversed this change. When downloading a new free app, Apple now requires users enter their Apple ID password again before proceeding.
With Reuters becoming the latest publication to report that the next iPhone will include a smaller dock connector, many are continuing to wonder what will happen with legacy accessories that take advantage of the current 30-pin dock connector that has been in use since 2003.
Casings for iPhone 4S (left) and claimed next-generation iPhone (right) showing significant reduction in dock connector size
iMore, which was first to report on the smaller dock connector back in February, has now confirmed with its sources that Apple will indeed be offering an adapter to provide backwards compatibility with accessories designed for the 30-pin connector.
While this seems like it should have been filed in the obvious drawer, because of all the questions we've been getting, and posts we've been seeing, iMore reached out to the original sources that gave us the new Dock connector story way back in February just to make doubly sure -- and yes, there will be an adapter for the iPhone 5's smaller Dock connector that will let it work with many of the accessories designed for the old 30-pin Dock connector.
We haven't heard if one will be included in the box along with the iPhone 5, or will only be sold separately, but either way, come October, you'll be able to get a new-to-old Dock adapter from Apple.
The report notes that some accessories may not be compatible with the adapter given their fit, but many accessories will continue to work using the forthcoming adapter.
While Apple is generally not afraid to abandon legacy standards in order to make changes advancing new standards or designs, the company has sometimes offered adapters to help ease the transitions. Perhaps the latest example is Apple's new MagSafe 2 power connector found on the new MacBook Air and Retina MacBook Pro. Apple offers a separate adapter priced at $9.99 to allow users to use older MagSafe power supplies with the new machines. The company is also including a free adapter with the Apple Thunderbolt Display, which still uses the original MagSafe connector for providing power to portable machines.
Alongside other OS X Mountain Lion announcements at its Worldwide Developers Conference last month, Apple announced an Up-to-Date program allowing any customer purchasing a Mac on or after June 11 to receive a free upgrade to OS X Mountain Lion once the operating system is released to the public. With OS X Mountain Lion being released only via the Mac App Store, the free upgrade is being delivered a redemption code for the store.
While the company has yet to officially announce it and almost certainly will not do so until OS X Mountain Lion itself actually launches, the company's Up-to-Date online application form is already live. Users are required to enter their date and location of purchase for the qualifying Mac, fill out personal contact information, and enter the serial numbers of machines eligible for the free upgrade to OS X Mountain Lion. Once all information has been submitted, Apple generates a reference number for the claim and the actual redemption code is delivered via email.
In our testing, the redemption code arrived as a password-protected PDF attachment within seconds of submitting the online form, with a second email containing a password for opening the PDF arriving at the same time.
Dear Apple Customer,
Thank you for participating in the OS X Mountain Lion Up-To-Date program. The content code that allows you to download and install OS X Mountain Lion from the Mac App Store is in the file attached below. You will receive the password to unlock the attached files in a separate email. Your content code may be redeemed immediately through the Mac App Store and will not expire.
Please follow these steps to redeem your copy of OS X Mountain Lion:
1. Open the Mac App Store application.
2. Select “Redeem” in the Quick Links section of the Mac App Store.
3. Enter your content code.
If you have questions regarding the redemption or installation of your software from the Mac App Store, visit www.apple.com/support/mac/app-store/.
To redeem your content code you need the latest version of the Mac App Store application, an Apple ID, and Internet access (fees may apply). You can create an Apple ID at appleid.apple.com/us.
As a reminder, content codes may not be resold and can only be redeemed by people above the minimum age specified by the terms and conditions of the Mac App Store in your country. Apple is not responsible for lost or stolen content codes. You may review the Terms of Service for the Mac App Store at www.apple.com/legal/itunes/ww/.
Thank you for choosing Apple!
Attempting to redeem the OS X Mountain Lion code in the Mac App Store does not yet provide access to the update, however, as it has yet to go live in the store. Entering the code simply yields an error noting that it is "not recognized as a valid code".
OS X Mountain Lion will be released later this month, with hints suggesting that it could arrive this Wednesday, July 25.
(Thanks, Justin!)
Update 10:12 AM: Apple appears to have taken the Up-to-Date application offline.
Back in January, we reported on ZEVO, an effort by former Apple file system engineer Don Brady to finally bring the Sun-backed ZFS file system to OS X. Brady's company, Ten's Complement, had begun releasing a set of software packages to support the robust file system on OS X, but planned launches for the some of the more advanced packages had begun to slip in recent months.
As noted by TUAW, Brady has now announced that ZEVO has been acquired by GreenBytes a storage appliance hardware company that already uses ZFS in its products. Brady will also be joining GreenBytes as a development engineer.
As to the future of the project, GreenBytes' spokesman Michael Robinson responded to TUAW's inquiry: "ZEVO's ZFS on OS X is safe. Ten's Complement has joined GreenBytes to continue their work and now they have more development support." Robinson says that GreenBytes will have more to share regarding ZEVO's future "down the line."
A blog post from GreenBytes expresses a similar sentiment, although it remains unclear exactly what the company's plans for ZFS on OS X will be, with some ZFS fans having expressed concern that GreenBytes will be refocusing the product for its own internal needs.
GreenBytes has been an enthusiastic supporter of ZFS (including ZFS on OS X) for many years and is absolutely committed to the continued development and support of Don's work on ZEVO (ZFS on OS X) into the foreseeable future.
With the transfer of ZEVO to GreenBytes, Ten's Complement has ceased sales of the Silver Edition software package that had been available, and it remains unclear how and when ZEVO will be redeployed for OS X by GreenBytes.
As noted by Engadget, Chinese company Proview has been sued by its own lawyers responsible for handling its trademark lawsuits against Apple that yielded a $60 million settlement earlier this month. The law firm claims that it is owed $2.4 million for its role in the case, but Proview has yet to make the promised payment.
While acknowledging their contractual arrangement (wherein the law firm covers the legal fees in advance, and then expect the client to pay up after winning the case), Proview founder Yang Rongshan told Sina Tech that Grandall's behavior is "nonsense," and that his company isn't obliged to pay back immediately as it isn't under normal operation right now.
Proview's Yang promises that the company will pay the fee, which amounts to 4% of the settlement figure, but the company is apparently not moving fast enough for its lawyers. Proview is currently in bankruptcy and the company's assets and the settlement amount are not sufficient to cover its debts, but its lawyers presumably had an agreement in place that ensured they would be compensated for their work.
Apple today announced that its new Passeig de Gràcia retail store in Barcelona, Spain will officially open this Saturday, July 28 at 10:00 AM.
The store has gained some notice for Apple's use of mosaics in the store's logo and construction barriers honoring the style of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, with the mosaics being made up of pieces of icons from Apple's iOS apps.
Reuters seems to confirm circulating rumors and expectations that Apple will be moving from the traditional 30-pin dock connector to a smaller 19-pin version for its next generation iPhone:
The iPhone 5, Apple's next generation iPhone expected to go on sale around October, will come with a 19-pin connector port at the bottom instead of the proprietary 30-pin port "to make room for the earphone moving to the bottom", two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Reuters also seems to confirm that the headphone jack of the new iPhone will move to the bottom of the device, as shown here:
This image shows the new dock-connector and headphone jack location (right) as compared to the currently shipping iPhone 4S (left).
Reuters notes this will represent a big opportunity for accessory manufacturers as customers upgrade their existing accessories to new 19-pin compatible ones. Apple launched the original 30-pin dock connector with the 3rd generation iPod in 2003. Subsequent iPods, iPhones and iPads have shipped with the port and resulted in a large ecosystem of compatible accessories. The first report that Apple would be replacing their dock connector with a miniaturized one came in February 2012 from iMore.
Digitimes seemingly confirms a previous report that the next generation iPhone has already started production in China.
Pegatron has begun production of a new version of the Apple iPhone at its factory in Shanghai, eastern China, according to industry sources in Taiwan.
The newspaper cites "industry sources" for the knowledge.
Rendered mockup of the rumored taller iPhone with 4-inch display (left) and iPhone 4S (right) Click for larger
Earlier this month, Japanese blog Macotakara first reported that the next generation iPhone had already gone into production. These reports do somewhat conflict with a BGR report that the next generation iPhone is still in an engineering verification test. BGR believes that the new iPhone will carry 1GB of RAM as well as both LTE and NFC support. Regardless, it seems there are ongoing signs that the next iPhone is approaching.
The next generation iPhone will likely launch in the September or October -- approximately one year after the launch of the iPhone 4S.
Back in January, we 
