MacRumors

Apple is investigating the use of Liquidmetal alloys to create various product parts using injection molding and 3D printing, according to five patent applications the company filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2012. (via Patently Apple).

Apple has been rumored to be experimenting with amorphous metal alloys, aka Liquidmetal, ever since the company signed an exclusive deal with California-based company Liquidmetal Technologies back in 2010. Liquidmetal alloys demonstrate a different molecular structure than traditional metals, which results in a stronger, harder substance that is also durable, thin, and moldable into unique shapes.

The patents are highly technical and describe methods of creating parts layer by layer using bulk metallic glasses, aka Liquidmetal alloys, as is done with 3D printing, which Apple suggests is quicker and less expensive than traditional machining of parts. According to the patent, 3D printing could be especially useful for visualization, demonstration, and mechanical prototyping, as well as the production of patterns for molds.

Apple's patents indicate that Liquidmetal alloys could be used within iPhones, iPads, iPods, and as part of a digital display or computer monitor. Apple also specifies potential uses in the Apple TV, remote controls, hard drive tower housings, laptop houses, keyboards, track pads, mouses, speakers, and a "device such as a watch or a clock."

Rumors have long suggested that Apple could use Liquidmetal in its device casings, allowing the company to create slimmer products that are highly resistant to wear. The former director of research at Liquidmetal Technologies claimed that Apple would eventually "make the iPhone out of it."

Following its deal with Liquidmetal Technologies, Apple began testing the manufacturing capabilities of the alloys by crafting the iPhone 3G's SIM eject tool from a Liquidmetal alloy. Though minor components have been constructed from Liquidmetal alloys, one of the original inventors of Liquidmetal suggested in 2012 that the use of the alloys in major components was still two to four years off.

Apple has, however, recently been awarded a patent on the mass production of amorphous metals, indicating that the company is continuing to make progress with the material.

Major U.S. carriers Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile are still experiencing back orders on the cellular version of the iPad Mini with Retina Display, signaling that the 3G/4G version of the tablet is still experiencing heavy supply constraints, reports CNET. While Apple's online store still shows that cellular Retina iPad minis are available to ship in 5-10 business days, Verizon's page for the device shows that the device will ship by December 2, with T-Mobile and AT&T showing 6-8 week and 21-28 day delivery estimates, respectively.
Small amounts of stock of the cellular-capable models of the device began trickling into Apple's U.S. retail stores one day after the device's surprise launch last week, with Apple offering a Personal Pickup option for online orders. However, overall production of the device has been heavily constrained for the time being due to suggested display production issues, with shipments of the tablet likely to double in Q1 2014 as shortages ease.

First announced at Apple's iPad-centric October event, the second-generation iPad mini features a high resolution 2048x1536 display, with 326 pixels per inch, and a 64-bit A7 chip with the M7 motion co-processor. Those interested in purchasing the device can also check out an unofficial web tracker for checking the availability of Retina iPad mini models at Apple's U.S. retail locations. The tracker continues to show low in-store availability, with Sprint and low-capacity Wi-Fi models seeing the best supplies.

According to Chinese site C Technology [Google Translate, via Unwired View], Apple has begun testing a next-generation iPhone prototype with a 4.9-inch display, along with an iPhone 5c successor sporting a larger screen. The claim is somewhat different from one made by Bloomberg earlier this month stating that Apple was developing two next-generation iPhones that would feature curved displays at 4.7 and 5.5 inches, although it is likely that the company is testing various screen sizes as it often does during a development cycle.

4-inch iPhone 5s vs. 4.9-inch Samsung Galaxy S4 (Source: phoneArena.com)

Currently, Apple's iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c both feature 4-inch Retina displays, compared to competitors like Samsung's Galaxy S4 that feature 5-inch displays. MacRumors released a printable papercraft version of a 5-inch iPhone back in February of this year after other rumors of a larger iPhone surfaced.

Apple executives today sent a company wide email to employees asking them to review Apple's Business Conduct Policy, reports 9to5Mac. The policy reportedly details how employees should behave both in and outside of the company while representing Apple, covering topics like personal investments, workplace relationships, and policies on public speaking, press inquiries, and endorsements.

The email included an iBooks version of the Business Conduct Policy and a video from Tim Cook (video text below), which gives an inside look at company values.

As Dr. Martin Luther King once said, the time is always right to do what's right. At Apple, we do the right thing. Even when it's not easy. If you see something that doesn't meet our standards, speak up. Whether it's a quality issue or a business practice, if it affects Apple's integrity, we need to know about it.

In the email, sent by SVP and General Counsel Bruce Sewell, Apple reminds employees that its policies are based on core values of "honesty, respect, confidentiality, and the critical obligation of every Apple employee to adhere to legal principles like antitrust and anti-corruption laws."

I am writing to ask you to do something very important — set aside a little time to review Apple's Business Conduct Policy. It explains in very clear terms how you are expected to conduct yourself with our customers, business partners, government agencies, and fellow employees. We expect every Apple employee to understand and comply with these rules.

While it is unclear whether there was a particular incident that spurred the email and video to employees, Apple has had ongoing trouble with product and information leaks. Apple has always been a secretive company, and last year, Tim Cook even promised to "double down" on secrecy when it came to products.

Despite Cook's efforts, multiple Apple products in recent months have leaked early, with prototype shells and parts for the iPad Air, the iPhone 5s, and the iPhone 5c appearing well ahead of their fall launches.

Update: The original video has been removed, but the text from Tim Cook can still be found above.

Google today launched a Newsstand app for Android, which combines its existing Flipboard-style Currents app, its Google Play magazine app, and a new newspaper subscription service to offer a variety of paid and free publications in one spot.

The new Google Newsstand app shares a name with Apple's own Newsstand and it also mimics the functionality of the built-in app that Apple first debuted in 2011. As with Apple's Newsstand, Google's Newsstand aggregates content in one convenient location, combining all of a user's subscriptions for magazines and newspapers.

Google does, however, go one step further, combining content from an array of sources into a single newsfeed, and the company has also partnered with multiple publications to offer subscriptions directly within its app. Google Newsstand shares several similarities with Apple Newsstand, but it is arguably more useful with its in-app subscriptions and its Flipboard-style feed.

Discover more of the news and magazines you care about on your Android tablet or phone. Enjoy breaking news and in-depth articles featuring audio, video, and more. From sports, business, cooking, entertainment, fashion and more - now get the best free and paid news plus vibrant full HD magazines, all in one place.

While Google's new Newsstand app is currently limited to Android devices, the company told TechCrunch that it plans to update its existing Currents app for iOS to a Newsstand app "early next year," where it will presumably compete with Apple's own Newsstand app.

In the past, Apple has not taken kindly to companies who adopt similar product names, famously filing a trademark lawsuit against Amazon over the use of the word "Appstore." Both Amazon and Microsoft argued that "app store" was a generic term, and the case was eventually thrown out.

The New York City Council is considering a new measure to help fight iPhone and other smartphone thefts, in the form of a pawn shop bill that would require second hand dealers and pawn brokers to maintain easily accessible electronic records of purchased items, including photographs and serial numbers. Current law mandates non-electronic inventory records.

According to the New York Daily News, police believe such a measure would make it easier to search for stolen smartphones, Apple products, and other items, though pawn shop owners have opposed the bill, declaring it an invasion of customer privacy.

iPhone and iPad thefts continue to be a major issue for law enforcement, despite ongoing efforts to implement various theft deterrent programs. As noted earlier this year, in 2012 there were 16,000 "Apple picking" thefts in New York city, which accounted for 14 percent of all crime. As of last week, 45 percent of robberies involved cell phones, and half of those stolen devices were iPhones.

While Apple introduced Activation Lock with iOS 7, preventing stolen phones from being reactivated without an iCloud password, theft of Apple products continues to be an issue for users who have not activated iCloud or upgraded to iOS 7.

Both San Francisco district attorney George Gascón and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who have spearheaded anti-theft efforts, have praised Activation Lock, calling it the "world's first attempt to implement a technological solution to the global smartphone theft epidemic."

The two have also been pushing other cellphone makers to implement kill switches, allowing for the remote deactivation of a stolen phone. Yesterday, The New York Times reported Gascón had been working with Samsung on such an antitheft feature, but was running into trouble getting wireless carriers to cooperate.

While Apple has struck a deal with carriers that disallows them from controlling the software on iOS devices, other carriers, which ship with the Android operating system, do not have similar deals. Carriers are able to install proprietary software and have some measure of control over what manufacturers install on the phones as well.

Mr. Gascón said that, based on e-mails he had reviewed between a Samsung executive and a software developer, it appeared that the carriers were unwilling to allow Samsung to load the antitheft software. The emails, he said, suggest that the carriers are concerned that the software would eat into the profit they make from the insurance programs many consumers buy to cover lost or stolen phones.

According to the CTIA, an industry trade group that represents carriers, kill switches are not an acceptable anti-theft solution, as it introduces a method for hackers to remotely disable phones. The CTIA and the four major wireless carriers in the United States have instead backed a centralized database designed to track stolen phones, but it has reportedly been largely ineffectual.

Gascón has said that he is evaluating what actions to take against the carriers for refusing to allow Samsung to implement a kill switch on its phones, and has said that he will force them to "prioritize the safety of their customers over additional money in their pockets."

As for the pawn shop bill, it remains under consideration. New York City lawmakers have also recently introduced legislation that would make it illegal for businesses to sell used smartphones without obtaining proof of ownership.

Shopping app Shopkick has teamed up with Macy's to deliver the first retail-based iBeacons, allowing customers to find location-specific deals, discounts, and recommendations in the Shopkick app while in a participating Macy's store, located in Herald Square, New York and Union Square, San Francisco.

Apple's iBeacon microlocation APIs, first introduced at WWDC, are designed to access location data through the Bluetooth Low Energy profile on iOS devices, interacting with physical transmitters.

As shoppers enter Macy's, shopBeacon can remind those who've opted in to open their shopkick app, and in the future, also deliver personalized value with department-level granularity. Building on Apple's iBeacon, an iOS 7 Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) mobile protocol, shopBeacon adds encrypted signals to protect retailers and consumers, and complements it with shop kick's other proprietary technologies for added accuracy and scale.

Shopkick's shopBeacons will welcome shoppers into a store when they enter, offering targeted deals and recommendations as customers peruse items in the store. The app does not need to be open for customers to receive the in-store alerts, and the recommendations are also tied into at-home browsing.

It can also tie at-home browsing behavior to in-store benefit; if the customer "likes" a specific product online, if they so choose, shopBeacon can remind them when they enter the store that Macy's sells it. Even better, in the future it can also deliver department-specific offers throughout the store – so favorite boots show up at the most useful time: in the shoe department.

iBeacon technology first appeared earlier this year, when Major League Baseball announced plans to begin incorporating Apple's iBeacon APIs into its MLB.com At the Ballpark app to create interactive experiences within stadiums in the near future.

Apple is also said to be incorporating iBeacon technology into its own Apple Store app and retail stores, providing customers with enhanced location-based product information and in-store services.

The Shopkick app and Macy's new shopBeacon technology is set to go live in a few weeks following a closed beta testing period.