MacRumors

NewImageLoren Brichter, the creator of Letterpress and Tweetie, sat down with GigaOm to talk about developing iOS apps, the App Store, and more.

Brichter was a member of Scott Forstall's iPhone team early on, and though he didn't have much to say about Forstall's ouster from Apple, Brichter did have positive things to say about Ive's promotion:

"I’m excited about Ive" taking over the Human Interface group at Apple, where he will lead both industrial design and the design of the software that runs on it. "He has good taste." He paused. "But more important than good taste, he has the ability to" — he points to the MacBook Air in front of me — "he’s true to the materials, to the medium he’s working in. One of my complaints about design of iOS is it’s doing things that aren’t true to the hardware."

"My design goals with Letterpress were to do things that the graphics hardware was really good at. [Ive] is the kind of person who has the same aesthetic. It’s not superficial — he’d think about [the design of iOS and an iOS device] all the way through" not just make something that looked good, he said.

Brichter also disclosed that Letterpress has been downloaded more than 1 million times. Additionally, he developed his own version of the user interface framework -- bypassing Apple's UIKit -- because he "wanted to try."

D2thunderboltLaCie's popular d2 series of hard drives have been upgraded with Thunderbolt, in addition to the existing USB 3.0 ports. There is a 3TB model for $299 and a 4TB unit for $399, both coming with 3-year warranties.

LaCie promises top performance from the drives, though they are hampered a bit by the legacy hard drives inside. Solid state drives are needed to achieve the highest transfer speeds. That said, for those needing maximum storage, these drives should do the trick.

Deadlines rule our world. When digital storage is critical for your project, it had better be as fast and reliable as you are. In every office setting, it has to connect to any computer, deliver more than enough speed for the most demanding applications, and be completely reliable. Enter the LaCie d2 USB 3.0 Thunderbolt Series.

The drives are available from LaCie's online store.

Puddingmonster
ZeptoLab -- the development house behind Cut the Rope and its offspring -- has showed off its next project, another game called Pudding Monsters. We haven't seen any gameplay but TechCrunch got some hands-on time and has a brief preview:

Pudding Monsters is all about getting pieces of pudding to stick together. Unlike the physics-based puzzler Cut the Rope that made players focus on getting their timing just right, Pudding Monsters is an even more casual game and doesn’t focus on physics. Instead, it’s a more basic puzzle game where players have to move pieces of pudding around a board, but unless they hit an object or another piece of pudding, the pieces will fall of the board and the game is over. There are numerous game elements like pudding pieces that are asleep and wake up when you touch them that will keep surely keep gamers occupied and interested in the game for a while.


Pudding Monsters will arrive on the iPhone and iPad on December 20th.

Back in March, the State of Texas announced that Apple would be pursuing a major expansion of its facilities in Austin, investing over $300 million to add 3,600 workers to its existing campus dedicated to customer support, sales, and accounting for the Americas. With various government approvals coming over the following months, Apple was then able to purchase the land in July, paving the way for the expansion project to begin.

The Austin American-Statesman now reports that there is indeed major work underway at the site.

There is major earthwork happening on the 38.8-acre site and the concrete shell of what appears to be a three-story office building is taking shape.

There are two cranes on the site, but there are no signs up yet that either describe the project, name the contractor or the eventual occupant.

The report notes that Apple's ultimate plans, which will take up to a decade to build out, consist of seven buildings totaling slightly over one million square feet and three parking garages housing 5,500 spaces.

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Entrance sign at Apple's existing Austin campus (Source: Your News Now Austin)

Apple is in the midst of a major expansion of its facilities, from data centers in North Carolina, Oregon, and Nevada to its massive Apple Campus 2 in Cupertino that will house as many as 14,000 employees when it opens in 2016. In the meantime, Apple has been snapping up leased space throughout Silicon Valley and has just broken ground on a small campus in Santa Clara, California that will house roughly 1,200 employees.

Google has updated the Gmail for iOS app to version 2, bringing much requested features like multiple account support, autocomplete predictions for searching, an infinite scrolling inbox, and the ability to RSVP to Google Calendar invites from within the app.

gmail2

Six months ago, our team set out to completely rebuild the Gmail app for iPhone and iPad to give you you a faster, sleeker, and easier experience on iOS. The result? Version 2.0. With version 2.0 of the app, you'll get a totally new look and feel, plus a bunch of improvements like profile pictures in messages, numerous new animations from swivels to transitions and infinite scrolling in the message lists.

The app also adds many new time-saving features. For example, when you search, autocomplete predictions will appear as you type, shaving off precious seconds (and typos). Plus, you can RSVP to Google Calendar invites as well as +1 and comment on Google+ posts directly from the app.

Last, but certainly not least, we've added a feature many of you have been waiting for: multiple account support. You can now login to up to five Google Accounts from the menu and switch between them with a couple taps.

Gmail for iOS can be downloaded free from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Note: Some users have reported issues downloading or updating to the new Gmail app, but Google promises the issues are only temporary.

iphone 5 displayThe Wall Street Journal reports that Qualcomm has agreed to invest up to $120 million in Sharp as part of an effort to prop up the ailing manufacturer of displays for a wide range of electronic devices. The deal will also see the two companies working together to push Sharp's new indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) technology that has been rumored for use in a number of Apple products.

Sharp and Qualcomm will work together to develop screens based on the Japanese company's new IGZO display technology and Qualcomm's microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS, displays. The former, named for a new material used—indium gallium zinc oxide—hold several advantages over silicon-based screens, Sharp says. These latter offer promise as a lower-power alternative to today's screens.

According to Sharp, the new displays making use of the two technologies allow mobile devices to go longer between charges, provide more pixels per inch for sharper resolution and enable touch screens to be more accurate and sensitive.

The report notes that Sharp is betting on IGZO to save the company, which is in dire financial straits. Sharp is viewed as a critical partner for Apple as the iPhone maker seeks to lessen its reliance on Samsung, and there has been speculation that Apple recently structured component prepayment and equipment deals worth as much as $2 billion to help shore up Sharp's financial situation.

Chitika Insights has released a new six-month study that has found that iOS devices' mobile web share has grown 2% over the past two months while Android devices' mobile web share has decreased 2%. The data spans the six-month timeframe of May 27th, 2012 to November 27th, 2012 and includes devices like the Samsung Galaxy S III, the Kindle Fire HD, the Nexus 7, iPad mini, iPad fourth generation and iPhone 5.

ios vs android graph

According to the data, the share for iOS is at 67% while Android sits at 33%. Over the past six months, iOS has been hovering around 65% while Android hovered around 35%. The peak of Android's share was 40% in late August, which Chitika attributes to the strong sales of the Galaxy S III. That peak softened after the release of iPhone 5 and the new iOS tablets.

Chitika notes that Apple's significant advantage in tablet sales with the iPad and iPad mini is the biggest factor in the mobile web share dominance. Apple also has its' iPod Touch line contributing to its share, while Android's popularity and share is mostly due to smartphones.

The data is also suggesting that users don't switch between mobile operating systems, according to Chitika. They note that if their suggestion is true, Android manufacturers are competing with themselves while Apple is in no danger of a dwindling user base.

Just a couple days after the iPhone 5 received final regulatory certification in China, Sina Tech is reporting that China Unicom has started reservations for iPhone 5. China Unicom received 100,000 reservations in the first day, by 4pm local time, and required an ID card and other personal information to reserve an iPhone 5 for the first day.

iphone 5 china top

China Unicom rival China Telecom has reportedly been taking iPhone 5 reservations for weeks, including 5,000 reservations on Sunday. Apple today announced that 50 countries would be receiving the iPhone 5 in December, with China being one of them.

Related Forum: iPhone

battledungeonWhen software piracy is mentioned, it is usually in reference to PC games and movies downloaded off of illegal sites. Very little attention is given to the piracy of iOS games, which has become a huge problem for some developers.

Hunted Cow, the team behind the title Battle Dungeon, was forced to shut down its game this afternoon because the servers could not handle the load created by significant numbers of pirated copies of the game. Here’s what the team told fans:

Unfortunately we have taken Battle Dungeon down for the forseeable future. This was due to high levels of server load created by large numbers of pirated copies of the game. The high load revealed technical issues which we don’t feel we can fix to the level that our paying customers deserve.

In a forum post, the developers went on to explain that after a pirated .ipa surfaced on the internet, the number of people joining the game multiplied. As they were not paying customers, Hunted Cow was left without resources to maintain the server. Battle Dungeon, which is no longer available in the App Store, was a game that impressed app review site Touch Arcade.

Battle Dungeon offered up gameplay in the vein of Outwitters [Free] and Hero Academy [Free], with a 3D environment, XCOM style action points and an RPG twist. The ability to level up characters and buy better equipment was balanced against a point-cost system in which having more powerful champions meant playing with fewer of them. It was an appealing package for anyone who wanted more “crunch” and micromangement out of their async strategy games.

Players who invested money in the game will have the opportunity to get a refund by contacting support, which will include the $4.99 purchase price and any cash spent on in-app purchase.

AllThingsD is reporting that Apple has responded to Samsung's claim that jury foreman Velvin Hogan conducted himself improperly during jury selection for the Samsung v. Apple trial. Hogan is under examination for his failure to disclose a previous legal dispute with Seagate, his former employer and one of Samsung's partners. In November, Judge Lucy Koh said she would "consider the questions" of whether Hogan conducted himself improperly.

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Apple does not accuse juror Velvin Hogan of misconduct — because there was none — so what Apple knew and when regarding Mr. Hogan’s lawsuit with Seagate nearly two decades ago is irrelevant to any issue raised by Samsung’s post-trial motions. Apple does not contend that any past relationship between Mr. Hogan and Seagate, or any lawsuit between them, is anything remotely close to support a challenge for cause.

Hogan has been one of the more visible members of the jury, speaking with a myriad of news organizations about the decision in the case, which concluded earlier this year. The dispute over Hogan's behavior represents one more incident in the ongoing legal drama between Apple and Samsung.

Earlier today, we noted that the iTunes Music Store had gone live in Russia and Turkey, but now that changes have propagated throughout iTunes and we've had time to collect reports, it now appears that Apple is selling music through the iTunes Store in 56 new countries. The additions nearly double the number of countries in which the iTunes Music Store operates.

itunes store music new countries
The new countries include:

- Europe: Belarus, Moldova, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine

- Africa, the Middle East and India: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Egypt, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, India, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Swaziland, United Arab Emirates, Uganda, Zimbabwe

- Asia Pacific: Fiji, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Micronesia, Mongolia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

- Latin America and the Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago

Beyond music, four of the new countries have also seen Apple roll out access to movies: India, Indonesia, Russia, and Turkey.

Update 9:08 PM: Apple has published a press release confirming that it has launched the iTunes Store in 56 new countries.

Related Forum: Mac Apps

Along with an announcement that the Ashton Kutcher-led jOBS [sic] will premiere this winter at the Sundance Film Festival, the festival has also released the first official image of Kutcher as Steve Jobs.

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From Vanity Fair magazine:

Courtesy of the Sundance Film Festival, which, just moments ago, announced that jOBS—weird capitalization choice theirs, not ours—would premiere at this year’s festival, the photo shows the Two and a Half Men lead in a cubicle. Outfitted in a button-down shirt, jeans, and a goatee—Kutcher’s Jobs, who leans against a desk in front of a poster bearing the IBM slogan THINK—bears an eerie resemblance to a vintage photo of an actual Steve Jobs floating around on the Internet. That vintage photo also features Steve Jobs’s Jobs in a button-down shirt, jeans, and a goatee, leaning against a desk in front of a poster bearing the IBM slogan THINK.

It was announced earlier this year that Kutcher would play the iconic CEO in an independent film that is separate from the Sony project that will be based on Walter Isaacson's autobiography. That film is being written by West Wing and Newsroom scribe Aaron Sorkin.

Sundance's description of the film:

jOBS / U.S.A. (Director: Joshua Michael Stern, Screenwriter: Matt Whiteley) — The true story of one of the greatest entrepreneurs in American history, jOBS chronicles the defining 30 years of Steve Jobs’ life. jOBS is a candid, inspiring and personal portrait of the one who saw things differently. Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Dermot Mulroney, Josh Gad, Lukas Haas, J.K. Simmons, Matthew Modine. CLOSING NIGHT FILM

The 2013 Sundance Film Festival will take place in Park City, Utah from January 17th through the 27th.

NewImageApple is hiring "dozens" of laid off Texas Instruments engineers to beef up its chip-making R&D operations in Israel, according to a report by The Next Web.

According to sources close to the situation, Apple has been hiring "dozens" of engineers from Texas Instruments after the company begun cutting around 250 jobs from its Ra’anana development center as it looks to lay off around 1,700 employees (about 5 percent of its total workforce) globally.

Many of the engineers working at the development center were focused on the development of TI’s OMAP and radio (including WiFi and Bluetooth) chips, which are used a number of new smartphone and tablet devices.

It's possible that the engineers will work with the crew from Anobit that Apple purchased a year ago, perhaps at Apple's new research and development center in Haifa.

The Next Web notes that the new hires will likely be in the Technologies group that Senior Vice President Bob Mansfield is now in charge of after last month's executive reshuffling at the company.

In line with reports of an Apple media event in Moscow tomorrow where the company has been rumored to be officially introducing the iTunes Music Store for Russia, it now appears that the store has started to go live in both Russia and Turkey.

itunes music store russia turkey
iTunes Music Store live in Russia (left) and Turkey (right)

With the iPhone 5 set to launch in both countries on December 14, Apple also looks to be interested in expanding its hardware and content sales in the countries in a variety of ways. Apple is already hiring for future retail stores in Turkey, and the company has reportedly been looking to begin direct sales in Russia, bypassing distributors and potentially looking at opening its own retail stores in the country in the future.

Just last week, iPhone shipping estimates in Apple's online stores dropped to a week, and in some markets, shipping times have now dropped even further.

Online stores in the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Thailand are now showing shipping times of 2 to 4 business days, which suggests that Apple's supplies are beginning to match demand as the holidays approach. These are the shortest shipping times that the website has seen since the original launch of the device on September 21.

iphone2 4days
Though online stores in North America, Europe, and elsewhere are still listing shipping times of one week, those estimates should also drop as more inventory becomes available.

Apple today also announced that it is planning to bring the iPhone 5 to over 50 new countries beginning on December 7.

Update 1:44 PM: The new 2-4 business day estimates have now spread to Apple's North American online stores.

Related Forum: iPhone

logic pro iconLast week, a rumor surfaced claiming that Apple had "decimated" its pro audio group, calling into question the future of Logic and other audio-focused software from the company. The rumor was, however, quickly dismissed by Jim Dalrymple and his impeccable sources at Apple, with Dalrymple noting that there was "no truth" to the rumor that Apple had slashed its pro audio team.

MacRumors reader Nicholas wanted to hear confirmation straight from Apple and emailed CEO Tim Cook to ask about the future of Logic. His email was passed along to Apple's music product marketing chief, Xander Soren, who provided a distinct rebuttal to the original rumor.

Nicholas, thanks for your email. As the lead for our music creation apps, I always want to hear what our users are thinking. I want to assure you the team is still in place and hard at work on the next version of Logic Pro.

-xander

The last major update of Logic came in mid-2009 with Logic Pro 9, although the company has made several improvements including adding 64-bit compatibility since that time. Following September 2011 rumors of Apple finishing up work on Logic X, the company did move Logic Pro 9 and MainStage 2 to the Mac App Store but otherwise did not make enhancements to the software.

Update: Russ Hughes of Pro Tools Expert contacted us to make clear that his original report said nothing about Apple's development work on Logic and addressed only the specialist team that assists professional users with using the software tools.

The EMEA [Europe, Middle East, and Africa] team responsible for nurturing and supporting the pro studios, post facilities and TV has gone from 12-2 in a matter of months, so we don't think the use of the term 'decimated' (even though a quote from our source) was off the scale. However as Apple has confirmed in their note to you, the pro coders are still [there], both in the USA and Germany - the team is around 60 strong.

Our question remains (which is not answered by the Apple statement) - are they willing to either deny or confirm that the team has been reduced from 12-2 in EMEA and if (as we know is the case) it is the truth, what does that say about Apple's commitment to pro users?

Apple today released the third beta of iOS 6.1 to developers. The release has a build number of 10B5117b, versus 10B5105c for the second beta of iOS 6.1 that was released on November 12.

Screen Shot 2012 12 03 at 12 20 19 PM
As with previous betas, Apple mentions a number of changes from iOS 6.0.1, including several related to how developers can integrate Apple's new mapping service in their apps, as well as an improvement to how boarding passes are handled in Passbook, and a few minor changes to Safari.

Apple also released a beta of the Apple TV software, as well as Xcode 4.6 Developer Preview 3. 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.

intel ivy bridge chip promoCNET reports that Intel is hard at work on reducing the power consumption of its Ivy Bridge chips, opening the door to use of the chips in mainstream tablets and reducing battery needs on small notebooks such as the MacBook Air.

Intel will cut power consumption "significantly" for future versions of the chip, an industry source familiar with the chipmaker's plans told CNET.

Intel's most power efficient Ivy Bridge chips today -- used widely in Windows ultrabooks and Apple's MacBook Air -- are rated at 17 watts.

A future version of Ivy Bridge would be rated well below this, the source said.

Intel has already previewed its next-generation Haswell chips that will push power consumption to as low as 10 watts initially, but it seems that Intel is moving to reduce power needs for its chips even before Haswell hits the market.

With future Ivy Bridge and Haswell chips becoming feasible for tablets with their reduced power consumption, there have been rumors that Apple could consider Intel chips for at least the iPad, although Apple seems dedicated to its own ARM-based chip designs for its mobile devices. But with Apple said to be looking to shift away from Samsung for production of its A-series chips, the company is said to be looking at TSMC and Intel as future chip foundry options.

In a research note issued last week, RBC analyst Doug Freedman claimed that Apple is already in talks with Intel on a deal that could see Intel producing A-series chips for the iPhone while Apple shifts to Intel's x86 platform for the iPad.

Tag: CNET