MacRumors

Apple today released the fourth beta of iOS 6.1 to developers. The release has a build number of 10B5126b, versus 10B5117b for the third beta of iOS 6.1 that was released on December 3rd.

Apple also released beta 3 of the Apple TV software, as well as Xcode 4.6 Developer Preview 4. Registered developers can download the betas via Apple's Developer page or via Software Update on iOS devices with a previous iOS 6.1 Beta already installed.

In a guest post on AllThingsD, Brightcove founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire offers a thorough look at his ideals for a television initiative from Apple. While Allaire has no direct knowledge of Apple's plans, his perspective gained by leading one of the major online video platforms for mainstream media offers an interesting basis for discussion on what Apple may wish to do.

Allaire describes three "key values" that he expects Apple will bring to consumers with its television initiative: an integrated system for delivering all types of television content including broadcast, video-on-demand, Netflix, and Youtube; the "ultimate game console" leveraging the existing iOS ecosystem; and innovative app experiences enhancing existing App Store apps with dual screens. He argues that Apple will need to offer both integrated television sets and a set-top box in order to make the necessary impact in the market.

To do this, Apple needs a two-pronged strategy:

1. A new companion device for TV that starts at $149, attaches to nearly any existing TV, and does not require customers to buy an expensive new monitor. This is crucial for quickly establishing and maintaining platform dominance quickly and even stand-alone could be a $5-10 billion opportunity.

2. A new family of ultra-thin TV monitors that bundles all of the capabilities of the companion device and includes beefed up computing power. These large-screen monitors will be a direct assault on the global TV monitor industry, a market worth hundreds of billions annually, albeit with slightly slower replacement cycles of four years versus two years for smartphones and tablets. This gives Apple that additional $30 billion+ revenue stream it needs.

The set-top box Allaire envisions a relatively thin bar-like design to sit above or below an existing television, based on an A7 quad-core chip and offering several cameras and sensors, HDMI, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, substantial storage, and Lightning ports for power and a coaxial cable dongle.

As for the television set itself, Allaire's scenario includes 46-inch and 60-inch models with multiple HDMI ports, an optical audio port, Ethernet, and dual Lightning ports for connectivity. The sets would include onboard storage of either 1 TB and 3 TB, and of course incorporate a high-end display in a package carrying the usual Apple design aesthetic.

Allaire goes on to describe an Apple TV app for iOS that would serve as the hub for interacting with the system, delivering guide information, on-demand libraries, and iTunes Store access to an iPhone or iPad, as well as allowing the device to serve second-screen content while viewing on the television set. Apple would also deliver APIs for third-party input devices such as game controllers, as well as tools for helping delivers create both dedicated apps for the TV and expand their existing iOS apps to address new possibilities opened up by the larger-screen environment.

Allaire's vision is of course entirely speculative and seems to be more of a "wish list" rather than a serious proposal for how Apple will bring cable operators onboard and integrate a host of features into a set-top box starting at $149 or a television set starting at $1499, but some of the proposals offer interesting food for thought about directions Apple could be aiming for.

Apple announced tonight that the company has sold over two million of the new iPhone 5 in China, just three days after its launch.

“Customer response to iPhone 5 in China has been incredible, setting a new record with the best first weekend sales ever in China,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “China is a very important market for us and customers there cannot wait to get their hands on Apple products.”

The most recent launch on Friday included 32 other new countries as well, though the announcement specifically covers China's opening weekend sales.

The original iPhone 5 launch weekend took place in September and saw over 5 million sales to the initial 9 countries including the U.S.

Apple has opened its new Third Street Promenade Apple Store in Santa Monica, CA. The store has the same design as the new Palo Alto location, with a slightly smaller implementation as the Upper West Side store in Manhattan.

Apple's old Third Street Promenade location was one of the early Apple Stores and was an extremely popular location that was almost always crowded to capacity. The new store should allow considerably more foot traffic.

Apple proposed the new store to the Santa Monica planning commission more than a year ago, with the new building gaining approval without so much as a discussion.

Thanks David!

With the holiday shopping season in full swing, we've been highlighting several increasingly good deals on the iPhone 5, and Walmart is now launching new discounts on both the iPhone and iPad that may be of interest to some readers.

Starting today, Walmart has dropped prices on both the iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S, with the 16 GB iPhone 5 now on sale for just $127 and the iPhone 4S coming in at $47.

In addition, Walmart is now selling the latest fourth-generation 16 GB Wi-Fi iPad for just $399, a $100 discount from standard pricing. And beginning on Monday, Walmart will also include a $30 iTunes gift card bonus with iPad purchases.

Despite the iPhone 5 having launched in the United States less than three months ago, retailers are offering aggressive discounts on the devices to attract holiday shoppers. RadioShack is currently offering all iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S models at $50 discounts from their regular prices, and also offering email coupons for $10 credit on future purchases for every $50 spent during the holiday shopping season. RadioShack also offers price matching through its Mobile Low Price Guarantee, suggesting that it is likely to match Walmart's discounted pricing upon request.

Update: Wal-Mart spokesperson Sarah Spencer gave MacRumors this statement regarding inventory of the products on sale. Something to keep in mind for people thinking of taking advantage of the promotions:

Walmart works closely with Apple to secure some of the strongest allocations of their products. That being said, inventory is a first come first serve basis so we recommend customers come early to secure their Apple product. We will not offer rain checks but customers should know we will be refreshing our inventory on an ongoing basis.

Update 2: Walmart has contacted MacRumors to note that it erred in stating that the iPad promotion was for the current generation. It is in fact the third-generation iPad that is on closeout sale for $399.

Earlier this week, we noted that this weekend's group of Apple retail store grand openings would be headlined by the company's Causeway Bay flagship location in Hong Kong. The store features three levels, with a 30-foot tall glass curtain wall making a significant impact on the shopping center.

With the store set to open to the public tomorrow, Apple has been putting the finishing touches on it and has unveiled the store for passersby to see. ifoAppleStore's Gary Allen pointed to an image posted to Flickr showing showing the full scale of the store's glass facade.

M.I.C. gadget has also posted a number of photos of the store, as well as a short video giving a glimpse of the store from the outside.

As we previously noted, Apple is also opening new stores tomorrow in the following cities: Chengdu, China; Melbourne, Australia; and Malmö, Sweden. Apple is also opening its replacement Third Street Promenade store in Santa Monica, California tomorrow, moving into a much larger space. The new store is one of the first to use a design based on that of the Upper West Side store in Manhattan, with similar stores having already opened in Houston and Palo Alto.

Finally, Apple is opening a replacement Rockway store in New Jersey tomorrow, allowing Apple to close one of its last "mini-stores" in the U.S.

In line with its announcement from earlier this month, Apple today launched the iPhone 5 in 33 new countries, with the most prominent member of the group being China.

Unlike the chaos that reigned at the iPhone 4S launch earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal reports that the iPhone 5 appears to have been quite subdued. It is unclear, however, how much of the change may be due to lack of interest and how much may have been related to snowy weather and changes in Apple's sales policies designed to reduce scalping and other factors that have led to problems at previous launches.

Friday’s iPhone 5 launch was notable for a different kind of white: a rare accumulation of fresh snow that blanketed the nearly empty plaza outside the Sanlitun store.

At 8 am on Friday, when the store opened to hurrahs from employees, only two consumers stood inside a cordon set up by Apple, though they were joined by a desultory snow man someone had made on a bench near the entrance.

Apple's new sales policies require customers to enter a lottery for the right to purchase an iPhone in the store, with winners being given specific windows of time in which to pick up their devices.

Fortune has also collected a handful of videos showing launches in China, Malaysia, and the Philippines that were part of today's major rollout in the following countries: Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Ecuador, Grenada, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Jordan, Kuwait, Macedonia, Malaysia, Moldova, Montenegro, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.

While critics loved the iPad mini, the biggest complaint concerned the device's screen, which does not have a Retina resolution like Apple's larger iPad.

Retina seems like a logical update for Apple’s second generation iPad mini, and a report from Digitimes today says that Apple is indeed planning to increase the resolution of its next iPad mini.

Apple's next-generation iPad mini will focus mostly on enhancing the device’s display resolution, according to Taiwan-based backlighting industry sources.

The sources have yet to specify whether the device will use Apple’s Retina Display technology to enhanced resolution, but market observers said it is highly likely based on the development of past Apple products such as the iPhone and 9.7-inch iPad series.

Adding a Retina display to a device as thin as the iPad mini could be a tricky prospect, possibly requiring a large battery and a more robust processor, as it did when Apple introduced the Retina display to the full-sized iPad. This restriction has led notable technology site AnandTech to predict that the next iPad mini won't come with a Retina display, as stated in the site's iPad mini review.

Digitimes adds that the next generation 9.7-inch iPad will be lighter due to new LED light bar technology that will incorporate just one light bar instead of the two that are currently in the third and fourth generation iPads. While Digitimes has had a mixed record in the past, it's clear that they do have sources in Apple's supply chain.

Apple has updated iTunes to version 11.0.1, fixing a number of bugs. The update is available in the Mac App Store or via Apple's support website.

This update to the new iTunes addresses an issue where new purchases in iCloud may not appear in your library if iTunes Match is turned on, makes iTunes more responsive when searching a large library, fixes a problem where the AirPlay button may not appear as expected, and adds the ability to display duplicate items within your library.

iTunes 11 was originally released on November 29, and these bug fixes had been promised in Walt Mossberg's review of iTunes 11 in early December.

iTunes 11 brought a number of enhancements to the media player including a redesigned store, simplified player, and new iCloud features.