Apple has begun selling unlocked GSM iPhone 5 models in the United States, some two months after it originally went on sale. This is similar to the delay that preceded sales of the unlocked iPhone 4S last year.
The launch follows the drop of the iPhone 5's estimated shipping times to one week just a few days ago. The unlocked GSM models are available for $649/$749/$849 for the 16/32/64 GB models and also have an estimated ship time of one week. In the U.S., the unlocked models will work on both AT&T and T-Mobile.
The unlocked iPhone includes all the features of iPhone but without a wireless contract commitment. You can activate and use iPhone on the supported GSM wireless network of your choice, such as AT&T in the United States. The unlocked iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 will not work with CDMA-based carriers such as Verizon Wireless or Sprint.
If you don’t want a multiyear service contract, or if you prefer to use a local carrier when traveling abroad, the unlocked iPhone is the best choice. It does not come with a micro-SIM card for iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, or a nano-SIM card for iPhone 5, so you’ll need to get one from any supported GSM carrier worldwide. To start using it, simply insert the card into the slot on your iPhone and turn it on by pressing and holding the On/Off button for a few seconds. Then follow the onscreen instructions to set up your iPhone.
Just in time for the holidays, Apple and Starbucks have partnered up for a (Product) Red gift card combo. When you buy the $15 iTunes + $15 Starbucks gift card both companies together will contribute 5% to the Global Fund to help fund AIDS research.
Give a gift that gives back this holiday season with Starbucks iTunes (RED)™ eGift basket. You can send loved ones a thoughtful gift of two digital eGifts—$15 eGift to Starbucks and $15 eGift to iTunes—for $30. Plus, for every gift sold, Starbucks and iTunes will together contribute 5% of the purchase price to the Global Fund to help deliver an AIDS free generation by 2015. With the convenience of a Starbucks Card, Starbucks Card eGifts can be used for purchases in-store at participating company-owned and licensed stores in the U.S. and online. This unique and meaningful eGift basket can be purchased at www.starbucks.com/REDeGift.
Apple has long been a supporter of the (Product) Red campaign, selling red iPod nano models, iPad Smart Cases and Smart Covers. Most recently, Apple released a (Product) Red bumper for the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4. At an Apple town hall meeting in February, Tim Cook mentioned that Apple (Product) Red products have generated over $50 million to help fund AIDS research. The gift card combo can be purchased at this website.
Though there have been several unofficial third party Lightning accessories, Griffin’s accessories will be the first official third-party standalone Lightning connector cables on the market when they launch next week.
Griffin’s new cables with Lightning Connector are affordable charging solutions that are built to resist kinks and tangles. The cables work perfectly with Griffin’s family of PowerBlocks and PowerJolts as well as Apple’s USB power adapters, or plug into a computer's USB to sync with iTunes.
The company is offering several different cable configurations:
Apple has been maintaining strict control over its Lightning connectors, which has made it difficult for third party manufacturers to introduce new accessories.
Vendors that launch Lightning-related accessories must produce them in Apple-approved facilities. The Lightning connector also requires controller chips to take advantage of adaptive technology, which has delayed the release of third party Lightning accessories.
Microsoft announced pricing information on its Surface Pro tablet this morning. The tablet will cost $899 for the 64GB version and $999 for the 128GB version. The Surface Pro comes equipped with an Intel Core i5 processor with Intel HD Graphics 4000, 4GB of RAM, and a display with a resolution of 1920 by 1080.
Instead of running Windows RT like the standard version of the Surface released earlier this month, the Surface Pro tablet will run the full version of Windows 8. The tablet will ship with a Surface pen, but it does not include a Touch or Type Cover, each of which cost another $100. While the official announcement didn’t include information on the Surface Pro’s battery life, the spec list on Microsoft’s website lists a 42 watt-hour battery.
Engadget, however, discovered a tweet from a curious Twitter user revealing that the tablet will have a battery life half as long as the Surface RT. After asking for more information on the battery, the user received a reply directly from Microsoft’s official Twitter account:
@shahroom Hey Shahroom, #Surface pro will have approximately half the batter life of Surface RT. — Surface (@surface) November 29, 2012
The RT version of the Surface officially has an eight hour battery life with some testers finding slightly longer running times, implying that the Surface Pro will feature a battery life of roughly four-and-a-half hours, less than most laptops. This low battery life information comes at a time when Microsoft is seeing poor sales of the Surface RT. A report on Black Friday from Piper Jaffray revealed that the brick and mortar Microsoft stores experienced low Surface sales in comparison to iPad sales at the Apple Store.
There was 47% less foot traffic at the Microsoft (MSFT) outlet than the Apple (AAPL) store. Shoppers bought 17.2 items per hour at the Apple Store and only 3.5 items per hour at the Microsoft Store. All but two of the Microsoft purchases were X-Box games. Shoppers at the Apple Store bought an average of 11 iPads per hour. Despite heavy TV, print and billboard advertising for the new Microsoft Surface tablet, not one was sold sold during the two hours Piper Jaffray spent monitoring that store. Doesn’t bode well for Microsoft’s answer to the iPad.
A recent report from Digitimes also indicates that Microsoft has reduced its tablet orders and may consider lowering the price of the Surface RT.
The upstream supply chain of Microsoft’s Surface RT has recently seen the tablet’s orders reduced by half, and with other Windows RT-based tablet orders also seeing weak performance, sources from the upstream supply chain believe the new operating system may not perform as well as expected in the market. Microsoft originally expected to ship four million Surface RT devices by the end of 2012, but has recently reduced the orders by half to only two million units. The sources also noted that Microsoft may consider reducing its Surface Pro price to attract more consumers; however, such a decision may put the already awkward relationship between the software giant and notebook vendors in an even worse situation.
The Surface RT is currently available from Microsoft for $499 for the entry level 32GB tablet. There was no specific release date mentioned for the Surface Pro, but it is expected to be released in January 2013.
iTunes 11 has finally arrived, nearly a month after it was originally promised because of the need to "get it right" according to Apple. The app promises a redesigned store, simplified layout, and more.
Aside from the tentpole changes, there are a number of other things -- both promising and confusing -- that have changed in iTunes 11. Here's a selection:
- The default iTunes 11 view removes the sidebar that has been a staple of iTunes since it was first released. The Mac Observertells us how to get it back. Head to the View menu and select Show Sidebar.
- iPods have come in a wide variety of capacities in their time, but one notable capacity has never graced the device. There has never been a 128GB iPod, though as Sonny Dickson points out, iTunes appears to be ready for such an eventuality. A 128GB iOS device has been consistentlyrumored over the years, but has yet to make an appearance.
- Users can now redeem store-purchased iTunes Gift Cards by using the camera built into most recent Macs (or Windows machines) to scan the redemption code. This should make redeeming cards quicker and reduce user frustration.
- It has a new icon, as seen above.
- The red/yellow/green buttons at the top left of the window again perform in the standard OS X manner. Previously, the green button would send the iTunes into its special MiniPlayer window. Now, a special icon in the top right corner, next to the full screen button, toggles minimization.
- John Gruber at Daring Fireballnotes the new 'Expanded View' mode:
I think my favorite new design element is what Apple is calling “Expanded View”. In a graphical list of albums or movies or shows, you click one and it opens in a subview right there under the album/movie/show. Instead of going to a new view, you stay where you are. No way to get confused about where you are, more of a sense of direct manipulation. I think this is a brilliant design for everyone, particularly typical users. And there’s a neat trick: the colors for the song listing are chosen algorithmically based on the album or poster art. (Examples: here and here.) Very clever, very fun. It’s a digital approximation of going through real-world albums or DVD jewel boxes and opening them in place — with the custom color palettes, the listings feel like the “inside” of the albums.
- iTunes DJ, formerly called Party Shuffle, is gone. It's been replaced by the clever 'Up Next'.
- Cover Flow, a major feature when it was introduced, is gone. It's been replaced by the 'Expanded View' mentioned above.
- There seems to be a bug with the AirPlay button. The button, which has been moved from the bottom right to the top left of the main window is missing for some users. Some have reported restoring the button by going to the MiniWindow and activating AirPlay there and it will then appear in the main window. Not all users are affected by the issue, however.
- Many users are reporting label issues within the iTunes and App Stores. As the stores are basically glorified web pages, these issues will likely be fixed server side while Apple gets the bugs shaken out.
Propellerhead Software's Figure, released earlier this year for iPhone, has been updated with a new iPad version and iPhone 5 support. The app aims to let amateur musicians create their own beats through powerful but easy-to-use multitouch controls.
Truly designed for mobile user on the go, Figure gives you drums, bass and lead synth, controlled by an incredibly easy to use touch interface that gets you sounding great literally in seconds. Slide your finger across the play pad and hear your bass line play. Tweak the Rhythm, Range and Scale Step wheels to get the result you’re after. Programming drumbeats is just as easy. Set the rhythm and play the drums with your fingers. You won’t want to stop. You won’t believe how amazing you and your phone can sound.
If you are new to music making, getting started making great sounding tracks has never been this easy — and sounded so great!
If you are a seasoned musician – music creation has never been this fun!
Figure is a universal app for iPad and iPhone, available for $0.99 on the App Store. [Direct Link]
9to5Mac reports that Apple is set to begin sales of unlocked iPhone 5 units to U.S. customers as soon as later today. Sales are said to begin in the company's online store, with retail stores currently receiving units ahead of an unspecified in-store launch date.
Apple will begin selling an unlocked version of its iPhone 5 through its online store as soon as 9 PM tonight, according to our retail sources. The unlocked iPhone 5 price range will likely be $649, $749, and $849 depending on a choice of either 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB of storage.
While unlocked devices are the norm in many of Apple's markets, Apple typically restricts sales in the U.S. during an initial time period after launch to devices locked to specific carriers. For the iPhone 4S, it took less than one month for Apple to begin selling unlocked models to U.S. customers, but it has already been over two months since Apple began U.S. sales of the iPhone 5.
Apple is also said to be expanding its Personal Pickup program for the iPhone 5, allowing users to reserve a device at any time for pickup the following day rather than having to wait until 10:00 PM when the stores have closed for the day to place their reservations.
iStat Menus by Bjango has been updated to version 4, adding a new look and new features. Among other things, the app now shows a historical chart of various system metrics looking at the past hour, 24 hours and week. It also adds a Little Snitch-esque look at which processes are using up network bandwidth.
Bjango has now come out with iStat Menus 4, and the new version has some interesting and, for me, welcome changes. Aside from the usual bug fixes, Retina support and better Mountain Lion compatibility, iStat Menus 4 introduces a refreshed look that brings consistency with Bjango’s other iStat app, iStat 2. iStat Menus now features the same style for graphs and charts as iStat 2, and, even better, it comes with the same History menu to view a component’s performance over time. For instance, you can mouse over the CPU’s main graph and check out a second menu with History for the past hour, 24 hours, and 7 days. There are more time-related view options available, and there’s more to customize in the app’s Preferences (which have also been redesigned, and it took me a while to get used to them at first). I appreciate the consistency with iStat 2, and I like History because it lets me easily check my network’s conditions over time.
iStat Menus 4 is available for $16 via Bjango's online store. It's $9 for current iStat Menus 3 owners.
In Apple's just-released iTunes 11, users visiting the iTunes Store to redeem gift cards have a new option allowing them to simply take a photo of the code on the back of the card with their computer's camera in order to redeem their cards.
The option, which requires a card containing a box around the code to assist with recognition, allows users to quickly and easily redeem gift cards without having to worry about accurately typing in the unique 16-character code. Users are also still allowed to enter their codes manually for redemption.
Apple has updated the Apple TV's software as well as the Remote app for iOS, presumably adding support for iTunes 11 and the new iCloud features introduced within it. The Apple TV release has a build number of 10A831.
The Apple TV can be updated directly on the unit by going to the Settings menu, then General, then selecting Update Software. The last Apple TV update was released back in September.
iTunes Up Next
Adds support for Up Next with iTunes 11 or iTunes Match. See upcoming songs when playing music on your Apple TV. Add new songs and edit what's queued with your Remote or with the Remote app.
Stability and performance
Includes performance and stability improvements with the iTunes Store, AirPlay, Netflix, iTunes Match, and wired Ethernet connections.
The Remote app has been updated with a new view for iPad as well, one that looks almost identical to iTunes 11. It allows users to control iTunes or the Apple TV using their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch over a Wi-Fi network.
Remote is simpler and easier with new ways to browse your library and see and edit upcoming songs with Up Next. A redesigned experience for the iPad shows all the songs in an album with the Expanded view and a more powerful search delivers results as you type.
In line with yesterday's report, Apple has just released iTunes 11 to the public. The new software brings a number of enhancements including a redesigned store, simplified player, and new iCloud features.
- Completely Redesigned. iTunes makes it more fun to explore and enjoy your music, movies, and TV shows. You'll love the beautiful edge-to-edge design, custom designs for each album, movie, or TV show in your library, and getting personal recommendations any time you click in the Store.
- A New Store. The iTunes Store has been completely redesigned and now features a clean look that makes it simpler than ever to see what's hot and discover new favorites.
- Play purchases from iCloud. Your music, movie, and TV show purchases in iCloud now appear inside your library. Just sign-in with your Apple ID to see them. Double-click to play them directly from iCloud or download a copy you can sync to a device or play while offline.
- Up Next. It's now simple to see which songs are playing next, all from a single place. Just click the Up Next icon in the center display and they'll instantly appear. You can even reorder, add, or skip songs whenever you like.
- New MiniPlayer. You can now do a whole lot more with a lot less space. In addition to showing what's playing, MiniPlayer now includes album art, adds Up Next, and makes it easy to search for something new to play - all from a smaller and more elegant design.
- Improved search. It's never been easier to find what you're looking for in iTunes. Just type in the search field and you'll instantly see results from across your entire library. Select any result and iTunes takes you right to it.
- Playback syncing. iCloud now remembers your place in a movie or TV show for you. Whenever you play the same movie or episode from your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Apple TV, it will continue right where you left off.
The software is currently available through Software Update in the Mac App Store, and Apple should be updating its iTunes pages shortly.
With Apple said to be launching its revamped iTunes 11 "as soon as" today as the company rushes to meet its already-postponed goal of a November release, 9to5Mac reports that AppleCare support representatives are currently being seeded with prerelease versions of the new software.
It is unclear if these builds point to a release today, as the WSJ predicted, and if they are the final versions. Either way, with AppleCare employees getting their hands on the new app, we’re expecting a launch soon.
The new iTunes brings a substantial overhaul, including a revamped player, a redesigned store based on the layout currently seen in on iOS devices, and new iCloud features for streaming media and syncing progress.
While the first official third-party accessories supporting Apple's new Lightning standard have just started hitting the market, MacRumors has also been following the efforts of unauthorized accessory manufacturers such as iPhone5mod who have been cracking the standard to produce their own chips and connectors.
iPhone5mod has already released a series of cables, docks, and adapters based on the Lightning standard as they continue refining their processes, and the company today announced its third-generation Lightning connector that is "almost identical" to Apple's implementation.
Furthermore, iPhone5mod has posted an inside look at its new production facilities, which are three times larger than its previous facilities and now support as many as 40 workers alongside increased automation. A video overview of the facility and a series of photos provide an interesting glimpse at what goes into production of these cables and other accessories.
Apple is keeping tight control over official Lightning connectors, and we've heard that supplies are currently limited to just a handful of third-party vendors with many others having to wait until next year to receive access to the connector hardware. Those tight supplies and Apple's relatively slow progress on its own and third-party accessories have left it open to companies such as iPhone5mod seeking to meet customer demand.
Fantastical, the excellent calendar app for the Mac, has finally been ported to the iPhone. The app has been totally redesigned for the smaller screen, rolling out a new feature called the 'DayTicker'
The Verge and The Next Web both have extensive reviews of the new app. TNW's Matt Panzarino had this to say:
I’m not what you’d call a productivity guru. I don’t use any interesting methods or cool combinations of software to do what I do. My philosophy is more along the lines of ‘start doing and stop when you’re dead’.
That’s one of the reasons that I love Fantastical for the Mac so much. It’s a small icon that sits in my menu bar and allows me to quickly dash off appointments and reminders in plain english. It’s blazing fast and it helps me avoid all of the nit picky fields and tick boxes that infest calendar apps, including Apple’s poor built-in option. No fussing, no scripts, no precariously balanced suite of productivity apps that eat up half my day just maintaining.
Today, Fantastical comes to the iPhone bearing that same spirit of no-nonsense calendar management, but with an additional intuitive layer of greatness.
The app features the same natural language parsing engine as it does on the Mac, with the addition of a feature called the DayTicker. The DayTicker is at the heart of the reason Fantastical for iPhone has replaced Calendar for me. It’s a ribbon-shaped display of your current day and the surrounding days that makes it incredibly fast to see what you’ve got coming up at a glance.
Fantastical for Mac is available as a free trial download from the developer's site, or directly from the Mac App Store for the temporary sale price of $9.99. [Direct Link]
Fantastical for iPhone is available through the App Store for $1.99. [Direct Link]
Flexibits is also the company that we've hired to develop the MacRumors iOS app, currently in the works.
Fortune reports on a new research note from Merrill Lynch analyst Scott Craig claiming that T-Mobile USA may be preparing to announce at its analysts day next week that it will begin offering the iPhone. The claim does not, however, appear to be based on any specific information, as Craig simply notes that "speculation is heightening" about such a move.
Now Merrill Lynch's Scott Craig is out with a note reporting that "speculation is heightening" that Deutsche Telecom (DT) will announce a deal to bring the iPhone to its U.S. subsidiary at next week's analysts day (12/6-7).
It makes sense. The carrier recently beefed up its iPhone-compatible high-speed HSPA+ network in 10 metropolitan areas, allowing some of the 1.5 million T-Mobile customers already using unlocked iPhones to enjoy something better than GSM download speeds.
As T-Mobile has worked to refarm its spectrum to move its fastest data services over to iPhone-compatible frequencies, the carrier has started a "Bring Your Own iPhone" program to help users move their unlocked iPhones to the carrier.
T-Mobile previously stated that the spectrum refarming would make the carrier ready for the iPhone by the end of 2012, and has acknowledged on a number of occasions that its lack of the iPhone has cost it customers and revenue.
But while it seems clear that T-Mobile would like to carry the iPhone and has been reconfiguring its network to be able to support it, there has been essentially no direct evidence or sources claiming that the device will be coming to the fourth-largest carrier in the United States.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the iPhone 5 has received its final certification from Chinese regulators, opening the door to a launch on Apple's carrier partners China Unicom and China Telecom.
Vendors in China often start selling new handsets within weeks of approval by China’s Telecommunication Equipment Certification Center. [...]
The regulator said in two posts on its website that it had approved licenses for an iPhone supported by China Telecom and one supported by China Unicom.
China Telecom chairman Wang Xiaochu had previously stated that the iPhone 5 would be launching on the carrier by early December, and the carrier has reportedly started taking pre-orders in recent days.
Apple has been placing a strong focus on the Chinese market, which now accounts for 15% of the company's revenue and and saw revenues rise 78% to $23.8 billion in fiscal 2012.
Still, Apple's product launches in China have typically lagged behind those in the company's other major markets, leading to a booming gray market for devices brought in from Hong Kong and elsewhere while also leaving the company more vulnerable to competitors. But with Apple's goal of bringing the iPhone 5 to at least 100 countries before the end of 2012, the company is clearly working hard on compressing its worldwide rollout timetables.
In an interview with BBC, Tony Fadell claims that former Apple senior vice president of iOS Scott Forstall “got what he deserved,” when he was forced to leave Apple.
Fadell is widely known as the godfather of the iPod, and he formerly served as the senior vice president of the iPod division and as a special advisor to Steve Jobs.
After Fadell left Apple in 2008, there were rumors that Forstall and Fadell butted heads on more than one occasion. A 2011 profile of Forstall suggested that he was difficult to work with and had fought with Fadell over the operating system for the iPhone, which eventually led to Fadell’s departure from the company.
The interviewer asked about Forstall’s personality and personal problems that Fadell had with Forstall, but Fadell declined to comment further and simply reiterated his previous statement.
“I think what happened just a few weeks back was deserved and justified.”
When asked about Apple, Fadell said that he thought the company was in a “great place” but mentioned that there had been cheering in Cupertino when Forstall was ousted.
Currently, Tony Fadell is the CEO of Nest, the company that has created the popular Nest Learning Thermostat. Scott Forstall is serving as an advisor to Tim Cook and will be leaving Apple in 2013.
The Nomad Lightning Cable for iPhone 5 and iPad mini is a 3" Lightning to USB cable that's trying to become a real product via social crowd funding website Kickstarter. The cable is designed to attach to a keyring and uses an Apple certified lightning connector.
Kegan and Roberto, the duo behind the Nomad, say in the pitch video on their Kickstarter page that having bought unofficial Lightning connectors and having them not work inspired them to buy their connectors directly from Apple-certified manufacturers. Recently, there have been a number of unofficial lightning cables springing up.
The prototypes were built by a Chinese manufacturer that produces iPhone accessories, according to the Kickstarter page. The duo will choose one of three Chinese manufacturers to produce the final products once funding is complete.
The project is about $16,000 away from its $29,000 goal with about 20 days to go to become a reality. Kegan and Roberto are taking pledges starting at $1 for the project. Backers who pledge $5 or more receive a Nomad, although the lower-end pledge tiers are sold out ($5, $9, $10 and $15 tiers at the time of this writing). Pledging support for the Kickstarter project is more like an investment and does not always mean that you'll receive the final product, as there's no guarantee that the project succeeds and becomes a reality. Pledges aren't charged unless they hit their target goal.
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