MacRumors

Research firm IDC yesterday released its estimates of global mobile phone and smartphone shipments for the second quarter of 2012, revealing that Apple's slower year-over-year iPhone growth and booming sales from Samsung have caused the company's share of the market to slip compared to previous periods.

In the smartphone market, Apple's shipments of 26 million iPhones were up 27.5% year-over-year, but with the market growing at a 42% clip, Apple's share slid from 18.8% to 16.9%. Apple's share had registered at 24.2% in the prior quarter when the company was still riding high on the relatively new iPhone 4S that was expanding into new markets such as China.

While Samsung has ceased releasing data on smartphone sales for competitive reasons, IDC's estimates peg the company at having shipped 50.2 million smartphones during the quarter, up 172.8% year-over-year and allowing Samsung to easily take the crown in a booming market that topped 150 million shipments during the quarter.

Apple posted an expected sequential decline last quarter, similar to years past. The quarter-over-quarter shipment decline came six months after it unveiled its latest iPhone. The decline is not unusual as iPhone shipment volume is highest in the first two quarters after its release. The company’s once-a-year release cycle usually results in two quarters of lower volumes leading up to the next-generation model introduction. Nonetheless, Apple made significant inroads into new markets and segments, including smaller regional carriers and prepaid service providers.

Looking at the mobile phone market as a whole, Apple's performance looks a bit better, with the company's 27.5% year-over-year growth approaching Samsung's overall 29.7% growth as the feature phone business has continued to erode with the consumer shift to smartphones. The mobile phone market as a whole grew by only 1% year-over-year, meaning that the smartphone segment's strong growth was almost entirely offset by losses in feature phones on a unit basis.

Apple's share of the total mobile phone market registered at 6.4% for the quarter, up from 5.1% in the year-ago quarter but down from last quarter's 8.8% share.

AllThingsD reports that just over 48 hours after launch, OS X Mountain Lion is already accounting for over 3% of web traffic coming from the Mac platform. The data, which comes from analytics firm Chitika, shows that Mountain Lion's share has risen quickly from roughly 0.25% prior to the public launch.

“Moreover, based on Apple’s June 2012 announcement that there are currently 66 million Mac users in the wild, we can infer that 2.11 million Mac users downloaded OS X Mountain Lion in the past 48 hours,” Chitika said. “Using this figure, if we assume that 90 percent of these users paid to upgrade, OS X Mountain Lion generated $38 million in revenue for Apple in the past 48 hours.”

Adoption has been even faster among those who closely follow Apple news, with 9to5Mac reporting yesterday that over half of its Mac visitors were already on Mountain Lion after hitting 10% even before the public launch.

Last year, Apple touted one million downloads of OS X Lion in the first day of availability, but the company has yet to release any official early figures for OS X Mountain Lion.

With Apple having just released new and updated models of its popular MacBook Pro and MacBook Air machines last month, many users are eligible for Apple's Up-to-Date program, which offers a free upgrade to Mountain Lion. Apple has, however, been experiencing some issues with the program, with a number of users only just now receiving redemption codes to allow them to download OS X Mountain Lion.

Gizmodo points to a newly-discovered product page from case manufacturer Shenzhen Coolzone Technology displaying what appears to be a high-quality physical mockup matching up with rumors and leaked parts for the next-generation "iPhone 5".

Case manufacturers have become increasingly sophisticated with their physical mockups created for design and testing of new cases, giving their mockups very realistic appearances that have led to uncertainty about whether they are genuine devices or not. While the device shown in the photos certainly does look realistic in many regards, the low-quality photos leave many details unclear and we indeed believe the item to be a physical mockup rather than a leaked genuine iPhone.

Regardless, the photo provides a reasonable glimpse of what the next iPhone may look like, albeit with iOS 5 rather than the iOS 6 that the device will undoubtedly ship with later this year.

Update, August 2: Neowin has posted photos of an identical mockup, confirming that it is a "non functional replica prototype".

Reuters reports that Apple will be acquiring AuthenTec for $356 million.

AuthenTec Inc (AUTH.O), which makes fingerprint sensor chips used in personal computers, said it agreed to be bought by Apple Inc (AAPL.O) for about $356 million.

Reuters describes AuthenTec as a maker of fingerprint sensor chips. AuthenTec recently had announced a partnership with Samsung as their VPN Security provider.

From their fact sheet, AuthenTec describes its technology:

AuthenTec's award-winning smart fingerprint sensors provide multiple touch-powered features that extend beyond user authentication to include convenience, personalization and touch control. The Company's TouchChip area fingerprint sensors and modules comply with government and industry standards and offer the ruggedness, strong security and ease of integration needed for quick and broad deployment. TouchChip sensors dramatically lower the size, cost and power of fingerprint sensors versus optical-based fingerprint solutions.

AuthenTec's "swipe sensors" is described to use sub-surface technology to read the live layer of skin beneath the skin's surface.

Notably, one sensor is marketed for use specifically for authentication for mobile wallets. Apple has been rumored to be looking into mobile payments. Their Passbook technology in iOS 6 is a first step, but Apple has yet to deploy a more full scale system. Fingerprint authentication could fit into a larger payment strategy.

SeekingAlpha had recently speculated that AuthenTech may supply security chips for the next generation iPhone.

Apple is not going to the trouble of adding a biometric sensor just so that you don't have to use a four digit password. They are adding a biometric sensor so that the iPhone can become a safe and secure payment device.

As we noted, The Verge has come across a number of photos of iPhone prototypes in court documents related to Apple's lawsuit with Samsung. One of the early prototype images seemed particularly familiar to us.

This two-tone design with a central aluminum backing looks like an early version of the rumored next-generation iPhone:

On the right is a prototype iPhone design posted by the Verge. The image on the left is a rendering of the next generation iPhone by Blackpool Creative. The rendering was based on leaked parts of the upcoming iPhone. The parts were also shown on video here:

Similar parts have been circulating for a couple of months now. One early report described it as such:

According to our source, Apple will make one major change to the rear casing, adding a metal panel to the central back of the new iPhone. This panel will be flat, not curved, and metal, not ceramic.

It seems possible that the new iPhone has evolved from some of the early Apple prototyping of possible designs.

The plethora of court cases between Apple and other companies over trademarks, design decisions, and patents have only occasionally offered anything of interest to the average observer. Today, however, The Verge has dug up a treasure trove of images of early iPhone and iPad prototypes.

Early designs include an eight-sided iPhone with diagonal corners, early Sony-inspired designs, and another model that has the same aluminum-based design as the old iPod Mini.

Of particular note are multiple iterations of the iPad featuring different types of kickstands, what appears to be a 16:9 model with wide handles on either side, and an eight-sided iPhone with diagonal corners. Also of interest is a slim, sleek iPhone prototype labeled the N90. The N90 was widely believed to be the codename for the iPhone 4, and while this narrow device definitely bear some aesthetic similarities to Apple's glass-and-metal design, this variant appears to feature a much smaller screen.

One Sony-inspired design from 2006, which bears a "JONY" logo in honor of Apple chief designer Jonathan Ive, looks strikingly similar to the iPhone 4 that debuted years later.

The Verge has a number of other images scattered across two different posts. They're worth a look.

With the opening ceremonies for the 2012 Summer Olympics set for tomorrow in London, Apple is preparing to offer an extra bonus to some customers visiting its stores in the area during the roughly two-week event. The company has produced a series of four lapel pins commemorating the London Olympics, displaying the flag of the United Kingdom in place of the screen of both black and white iPhones and iPads.

The pins are distributed attached to larger sheets of cardboard that appear as five iOS device flags hanging on a line, with the center one being the actual lapel pin.

We have not confirmed the exact details on distribution of the pins, but we've heard that select stores will be distributing the free of charge while supplies last on select days. Also unclear is how broad the distribution will be: Apple has a total of six retail stores inside the M25 motorway encircling London, with several others just outside and a total of 33 in the United Kingdom.

Apple offered a similar promotion during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, distributing an iPod nano pin with the Canadian maple leaf at one store and a pair of pins showing off the maple leaf and the Apple logo at the other Vancouver-area store open at the time. Apple now has four stores in the Vancouver area.

Last week, we highlighted the unique construction barrier art in place at Apple's forthcoming Passeig de Gràcia retail store in Barcelona, Spain. The art, which consisted of tile mosaics using images of Apple iOS app icons and honoring the style of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, surrounded the store during the final phases of construction leading up to grand opening scheduled for this Saturday, July 28.

With the grand opening just two days away and Apple making preparations to open the store for the media and then the public, the construction barriers have come down and Cult of Mac has been able to shoot some photos through the windows of the new store.

Despite the Gaudí-influenced signage promoting the store's opening, Apple appears to have maintained its usual style for the store itself, using its typical stone, wood, and metal finishes to create a clean, open feel inside the store. With three levels, the large store offers a full range of Apple products on display, as well as a large Genius Bar and a theater.

On the ground floor of the Barcelona Apple Store, about half of the available floor space is taken up with iPhone and iPad displays, spread across twelve tables in three rows. The other half of the floor is taken up by various models of MacBooks, with only a single table devoted to iMacs.

Higher up, the glass staircase leads to the Genius Bar, as well as an in-house theater.

In the basement is where Mac and iOS accessories are stored, which Apple retail employees are now hard at work filling the shelves.

Apple's new Passeig de Gràcia store opens to the public at 10:00 AM on Saturday.

Yesterday, we noted that Apple's Up-to-Date program allowing recent Mac purchasers to receive free upgrades to OS X Mountain Lion was experiencing some early hiccups, with users receiving Mac App Store redemption codes that were registering as invalid. Customer support representatives were advising users that Apple was aware of the issue and would be automatically issuing replacement codes but that the process could take up to three days.

While many of these replacement codes are already coming through, users today have begun reporting that Apple is mistakenly sending out codes for the OS X Server components of Mountain Lion rather than Mountain Lion itself.

I just got my second code and was able to redeem it. The only problem is when it redeemed it came up with an error saying OSX Server cannot be downloaded because it requires OSX 10.8.0 to run. It seems they sent me a redemption code for server instead of mountain lion. The pdf with the code clearly says that the code is for mountain lion...

My purchased tab only shows OSX Server - no mountain lion...

At least half a dozen users have reported the same problem, with the issue presumably affecting a much greater number of users receiving codes today. One user who called Apple about the issue was advised to file another request through Apple's uptodatesupport@apple.com support mechanism.

OS X Server is also available through the Up-to-Date program, but is limited to users who purchased server models of the company's Mac Pro and Mac mini lines.

Time yesterday released a list of the 20 most influential Americans of all time, with Apple founder Steve Jobs making the cut for inclusion in the list. Jobs is the final entry on the chronologically-sorted list that includes such figures as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Henry Ford, and the Wright brothers.

Jobs was a visionary whose great genius was for design: he pushed and pushed to make the interface between computers and people elegant, simple and delightful. He always claimed his goal was to create products that were “insanely great.” Mission accomplished.

The new Time feature is part of a promotion for the publication's new book covering what it judges to be the 100 most influential people of all time, a list that also includes Jobs.

Time also releases annual lists of the world's most influential people, with Apple CEO Tim Cook and Jobs' biographer Walter Isaacson making the 2012 list back in April.

Last month, The New York Times reported that Facebook has been working on a major overhaul of its iOS app, seeking to improve performance by transitioning from the current HTML5-based app to a native Objective-C one. At the time, Facebook was said to be releasing the app the following month.

Bloomberg now follows up with a more extensive report looking at Facebook's mobile efforts, which reportedly include work with HTC on a Facebook smartphone targeted for mid-2013. That effort has been previously disclosed, with the company reportedly having hired former Apple engineers to drive the project.

Today's report indicates that this team of former Apple engineers has actually been focused primarily on the iOS app rebuild, although the company's timeline appears to be a bit longer than suggested last month.

This team from Apple has been primarily focused on rebuilding Facebook’s iPhone application, which has been criticized by users for being slow. An initial release could be announced within a couple of months, with another broader overhaul of the iPhone app coming next near, one person said.

Facebook's team of former Apple employees includes Mike Matas and Kimon Tsinteris, two iOS interface designers who left the company to start digital publishing company Push Pop Press, which Facebook acquired last year.

Former Apple staff hired by Facebook to work on mobile are: Greg Novick, who helped develop the touch-screen user interface; Tim Omernick and Chris Tremblay, who also worked on the device’s software; and Scott Goodson, who helped create the stock-market application, according to people with knowledge of the hires.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has acknowledged that transitioning to mobile devices is among the most difficult tasks for the company, given the differences in user experiences between mobile and desktop. While the company has embraced mobile with apps for iOS and Android, it is still seeking ways to improve the user experience on those devices and bring new features to those platforms.