MacRumors

The Loop reports that Apple has just sent out invitations for a media event scheduled for next week Wednesday, September 12. The event will be held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco and is scheduled to begin at 10:00 AM Pacific / 1:00 PM Eastern. The tagline on the invitation is simply "It's almost here."

Apple is of course expected to introduce the next-generation iPhone and give a final preview of iOS 6 at the event. Apple's "iPad mini" is reportedly also nearing a launch, but sources have indicated that Apple is planning a second media event for October to introduce that product. Apple's iPod lineup is also rumored to be seeing an update at one of the two events, while rumored iMac updates and the launch of a 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro are likely to appear separately.

There's clearly a "5" in the shadow of the invitation, suggesting that Apple's next iPhone will indeed be called the iPhone 5.

iphone-ticker.de reports [Google translation] that T-Mobile Germany has begun distributing nano-SIM cards to its retailers, likely signifying preparations for the next-generation iPhone launch as the forthcoming device is so far the only one thought to use the smaller Apple-backed standard approved earlier this year.

T-Mobile Germany's nano-SIM (left) and mini/micro-SIM (right)

European carriers were reported in July as having been stockpiling supplies of the new nano-SIMs amid expectations of high demand for the next iPhone and past experience with card shortages when Apple transitioned to the micro-SIM standard for the iPhone 4. At the time, carriers were also said to be testing the new nano-SIMs in partnership with Apple.

Hacker group Antisec has released a dump of 1 million unique identifiers (UDIDs) from Apple iOS devices tonight. The records reportedly came from a file found on an FBI laptop back in March.

During the second week of March 2012, a Dell Vostro notebook, used by Supervisor Special Agent Christopher K. Stangl from FBI Regional Cyber Action Team and New York FBI Office Evidence Response Team was breached using the AtomicReferenceArray vulnerability on Java, during the shell session some files were downloaded from his Desktop folder one of them with the name of "NCFTA_iOS_devices_intel.csv" turned to be a list of 12,367,232 Apple iOS devices including Unique Device Identifiers (UDID), user names, name of device, type of device, Apple Push Notification Service tokens, zipcodes, cellphone numbers, addresses, etc. the personal details fields referring to people appears many times empty leaving the whole list incompleted on many parts. no other file on the same folder makes mention about this list or its purpose.

The file that was found was said to contain over 12 million device records, including Apple UDIDs, usernames, push notification tokens, and in some instances, names, cell phone numbers, addresses and zip codes.

The group released 1 million of these records but stripped most personal information. The final release includes Apple UDIDs, APNS (push notification) Tokens, Device Name (e.g. "Arnold's iPhone") and Device Type (e.g. "iPhone"). MacRumors has been able to confirm that the UDIDs appear to be legitimate.

The source of the data is not entirely clear, though the type of data is typical for the kind of information an iOS app developer would collect to deliver push notifications to users. It seems an App developer or developers are the original likely source of the information, though no specific information is yet available. Right now there's no easy way to determine if your device's UDID was included in the list, beyond downloading the list yourself.

The actual implications of the leak, even if your UDID is found, aren't entirely clear. The UDIDs themselves are rather harmless in isolation. Apple has previously come under fire for the use of these globally identifying ids. The privacy risks, however, typically come from these ids being used across ad networks and apps to piece together a more complete picture of activity and interests of the user. But it was reported back in 2011 that by leveraging existing networks, information and even login access can be obtained from UDIDs. It's not yet clear if the released push tokens can be used in any manner.

Several reports over the weekend, including from The Sun and the Daily Mail, are claiming that actor Bruce Willis is considering taking legal action against Apple to address the issue of transferability of iTunes Store music purchases. According to the reports, Willis wants his daughters to be able to inherit his iTunes music upon his death, but Apple's terms prohibit any transfer of ownership.

The Hollywood action hero is said to be considering legal action against technology giant Apple over his desire to leave his digital music collection to his daughters.

If he succeeds, he could benefit not just himself and his family but the millions who have purchased songs from Apple’s iTunes Store.

Willis has discovered that, like anyone who has bought music online, he does not actually own the tracks but is instead ‘borrowing’ them under a licence.

As an alternative to legal action against Apple, Willis is also said to be considering setting up a family trust to own his iTunes music.

Curiously, we can find no restrictions on transferability of iTunes Store music content in the lengthy terms and conditions. While Apple is clear that apps sold through both the Mac App Store and the iOS App Store are distributed under a nontransferable license, the current version of the document makes no reference to any such licensing and transferability restrictions for other types of content such as music.

Apple shifted its entire music store to iTunes Plus content in early 2009, removing copying and device limitations from tracks sold through the marketplace. Many users undoubtedly still own restricted non-Plus tracks, but in most cases those can be upgraded to their corresponding Plus versions at relatively low cost.

Ultimately, ownership and copyright on music sold through the iTunes Store are held by record labels who may attempt to dictate transferability, but Apple's own terms do not appear to address such issues on a blanket basis in their current state.

Update: According to a tweet from Willis' wife, the story is untrue.

(Photo by Gage Skidmore)

Over the weekend, GSM Israel posted a video of a physical mock-up of the iPhone 5 found at the IFA 2012 consumer electronics show in Berlin. The physical mockup was created by a case manufacturer to test early case designs on the upcoming iPhone.

The Verge has since tracked down the same mockup and was able to take high quality photos and video of the device which show it well compared to the iPhone 4S.

The rumors for the design of the new iPhone have been very consistent. Apple is widely expected to announce the new iPhone on September 12th.

Vietnamese site Tinhte.vn has posted a video of what it claims to be redesigned headphones for the new iPhone which is expected in September.

In my hands are the new earphones for the iPhone 5 that is about to come out - Apple's next generation of iPod [sic]. These will replace the current earphones that are on the market. These are manufactured at Phax Co factory in Vietnam. They have the appearance of a horse's head, not like earbuds. When they are worn, they have a much smaller profile. They have the appearance of a fully integrated, single unit - there's no part that looks like it would come apart - not like earbuds; the integrated design is characteristic of Apple products. Here I have the old earphones for comparison. The new ones are much smaller; when they are worn, they do not hurt the way earbuds do. You can see on the old ones the surface is a separate part that looks like it can be detached - not like the small surface of the new one. The old earphones were mostly made in China, with some in Vietnam. But the new ones are clearly made in Vietnam. (Reading from the wires): "Designed by Apple in California, assembled in Vietnam."

The site claims that the new headphones are manufactured in Vietnam which are also written on the cables themselves. According to Tinhte, the new headphones are being manufactured in a Foxconn plant in Vietnam.

Though we can't vouch for the authenticity of the video, Tinhte.vn has been able to get a hold of pre-release and protoype Apple devices in the past.

In a blog post, Tinhte seems convinced the headphones represent an authentic Apple part:

All factors such as design, quality finishing materials fabricated wire, plastic body headphones are led to the conclusion this is genuine and not counterfeit headphones.

Apple is widely expected to announced the next generation iPhone on September 12th.

Reuters reports that retail giant Walmart is currently testing a new "Scan & Go" service at one Arkansas store that allows iPhone users to scan items with their device as they shop and then proceed to a self-checkout station on their way out of the store to complete their purchase. The report points to a survey Walmart is using to gather feedback on the initiative.

We are conducting a study to assess the usability of the Walmart iPhone app's new Scan & Go feature. Scan & Go enables you to scan products with your phone and bag them while shopping in a Walmart retail store, and then use the Self-Checkout at the front of the store. This survey includes questions to help us determine if you qualify for an interview session. We are simply trying to get feedback from real people on whether this new system is user-friendly, and we think you will find participating in this study fun!

Walmart's test sessions were held earlier this week, with participants being compensated with a $100 payment and a $25 Walmart gift card for the one-hour sessions.

Details on how exactly the purchasing process works remain scant, but allowing users to scan their entire orders before approaching the checkout stand could in many cases result in significant time savings during busy shopping periods.

The biggest change in the rumored new iPhone is the increase in screen size from 3.5" to 4". As we've seen in numerous part leaks, the new iPhone screen will be taller, but not wider. This will give the new device a resolution of 1136x640 and provide apps with more vertical space to use. In fact, it's been found that iOS 6's home screen already supports this larger size to display an extra row of app icons.

In order to provide a better demonstration of what a 4" iPhone screen would feel like, MacRumors has had this video created to show it in action:

The new 1136x640 resolution is almost exactly the same 16:9 ratio found on many widescreen monitors and televisions. This will fit many widescreen movies more naturally.

Some of the behavior in the video is speculative, but we believe it is likely representative of how a 4" iPhone would work. The evidence of such a screen has been overwhelming with part leaks and evidence of iOS support. Apple is expected to launch the new iPhone on September 12th.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has released a new research report outlining his thoughts on Apple's product introductions for the remainder of 2012, noting that delays in some necessary components have forced Apple into a very tight timeline that is less than ideal and which may impact growth over the short-term. The delays have affected several products, including the new "iPad mini" and an updated iMac.

Our survey shows that Apple will take the wraps off quite a few new products in September and October. From a marketing and sales point of view, too many new products in a short period of time is not a positive thing. An interval of at least two weeks between different products is needed; otherwise the promotional campaign will lack a clear focus and shopping line management will become overly complicated, not good for a satisfactory shopping experience. The good news is that we think Apple is well aware of the situation and is doing what it can to keep each new product’s launch as isolated an event as possible.

Recognizing that Apple is working to stagger its new product releases to ensure good visibility for each of them, Kuo has stretched out his estimated schedule from his report last month that saw nearly every product being introduced in September. Kuo now believes that the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro and an updated 21.5-inch iMac could appear at any time, followed by the next-generation iPhone and iPod touch in mid-September. A tweaked full-size iPad and updated iPod nano would follow in early October, with the iPad mini and new 27-inch iMac later in October.

Kuo's report also walks through each of the products and highlights the production challenges that have forced Apple's hand on release dates.

On the iMac front, Kuo indicates that Apple will not be introducing Retina displays to the lineup this year, but that the company is working to fully laminate the current display panel to the cover glass for improved display quality. The process has proven to be challenging, and with lower yields on the 27-inch display than on the 21.5-inch panel, Kuo is modeling for sooner availability of the smaller model. We would naturally expect Apple to introduce both models at the same time, but the 27-inch may see either delayed availability or tight initial supplies as production on the panels ramps up.

Apple's work on the iPad mini has reportedly been slowed by the adoption of a thinner and lighter "GF Ditto" touch structure. Apple is said to be the first company in the world to commercialize and mass produce the technology, but equipment transitions and yield issues have reportedly forced Apple into its October launch for the device.

For the iPhone, he believes that Apple's suppliers should be able to offer sufficient supplies of the new in-cell display but that ramping has been slow due to some technical hurdles and logistics of packing the new display into a thinner body. Kuo predicts that the new iPod touch will adopt the same in-cell display technology and be released alongside the new iPhone, but that supplies could be constrained with priority for the new displays being given to the iPhone.

As for the iPod nano, Kuo believes that the device will indeed incorporate Wi-Fi connectivity as was rumored over the weekend and a revamped body with larger screen, but that issues with integrating the Wi-Fi chip into the revised iPod nano body will lead to a mid-October launch for the device.

With a number of reports and now photos supporting the idea that Apple will be introducing a significantly smaller dock connector for its iOS devices in the coming weeks, iLounge reports that Apple's lack of advance notice is causing concern for accessory manufacturers worried that they will not be able to have new accessories ready in time for the lucrative holiday shopping season.

With only two weeks remaining before the expected debut of the next-generation iPhone, Apple has not offered third-party developers the components or engineering details necessary to build docking accessories for the new device—the first iOS product expected to ship without Apple’s now-ubiquitous 30-pin Dock Connector, which will soon be replaced across all future Apple pocket and tablet devices. Noting the time required to manufacture and ship new products, the sources suggest that new iPhone-specific electronic add-ons will likely miss the upcoming holiday season, apart from whatever accessories are released by Apple itself.

Accessory manufacturers also remain concerned over what technical and licensing restrictions Apple will be using with the new dock connector, as well as whether new circuitry will prevent their existing product from working with Apple's next-generation products even with an adapter.

Some accessory manufacturers have apparently been working hard to try to stay ahead of the competition, with a leaked micro-USB/Apple mini dock power adapter from Scosche showing up briefly earlier this week before the company requested that the images be removed. It is unclear how Scosche has been able to source new dock connector parts if Apple has not been working with accessory manufacturers, so it is unknown whether Scosche will have the parts in sufficient quantity to launch its accessories alongside or soon after the debut of the new iPhone.

Update 11:23 AM: iLounge's Jeremy Horwitz tells us that neither Scosche nor any other accessory manufacturer has access to the actual parts. They are all simply designing product based on their best guesses from what has leaked so far.

Last week, we shared photos of the leaked dock connector and headphone jack for the next-generation iPhone paired with a leaked rear shell for the device, demonstrating that the independently-obtained parts are indeed compatible and giving a good overview of what the bottom of the device will look like.

Sohu now posts (via Nowhereelse.fr) a new set of photos of parts for the next iPhone, including a photo showing a number of components placed into their proper positions within the rear shell. The flex cable housing the external buttons, the SIM tray, and dock connector/headphone jack flex cable can all be seen in the photo. Much of the remainder of the interior of the device will be taken up by the battery and logic board, which would be installed on the left and right sides respectively.

Parts repair firm iResQ published a set of photos with a similar theme earlier this week, installing the bare components into their proper positions in the rear shell.

The photos from Sohu also show an assembled front panel for the next-generation iPhone placed onto this partially assembled rear shell, giving a good look at the overall appearance of the device. Photos of a similar assembly appeared a month ago, but these new photos offer a fresh perspective on the complete device, comparing it to the iPhone 4 and 3GS and giving a good look at the comparative thickness of the three devices.

One final tidbit comes from iLab Factory, which posts a photo of the silver rear shell of the white next-generation iPhone but with black strips at the top and bottom for the antennas. All other photos of the rear shell from the white device seen to date have contained white strips.

Reuters reports that Apple and several major publishers have agreed to offer concessions in an ongoing European Union antitrust investigation over alleged e-book price fixing. The concessions would significantly unravel the Apple-backed agency model of book pricing in which publishers set the retail prices for their content with distributors such as Apple and Amazon receiving a fixed percentage of the sales price.

Apple and four major publishers have offered to allow retailers such as Amazon to sell e-books at a discount for two years in a bid to end an EU antitrust investigation and stave off possible fines, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday. [...]

The Commission was now sounding out opinions from the industry as to whether the concessions are sufficient, the person familiar with the matter said, before a formal market test which could lead to the investigation being dropped.

News of Apple's willingness to make concessions in Europe comes just two days after a group of publishers agreed to a $69 million settlement in the United States over the same issue. The U.S. Department of Justice sued Apple and five publishers back in April, and while three of the publishers elected to settle the case, Apple and the other two publishers have been fighting the charges.

Regulators have claimed that the shift to the agency model amounted to price collusion facilitated by Apple and the publishers, sparking the antitrust concerns. For its part, Apple has cited that the implementation of the agency model has had the opposite effect, weakening Amazon's previously overwhelming position at the top of the market gained by selling books at deep discounts to entice customers to visit the online store and purchase other products and content.

While several observers have noted shortages of Apple's current 27-inch iMac at resellers over the past several months, the tight supplies now appear to be increasingly affecting Apple's own retail stores. According to a survey of retail store stock availability through the "Personal Pickup" program at Apple's 249 U.S. locations, each of the two standard 27-inch iMac configurations is currently out of stock at approximately half of all Apple retail stores.

Under the Personal Pickup program, customers can place their orders online and pick up the items at their local Apple retail stores. Most stock Mac configurations and many accessories are generally available for immediate pickup, but for items that are not in stock at a particular location, the company will ship the ordered items to the store for pickup within about a week.

Our survey of Apple's retail stores shows that 120 out of the 249 U.S. locations are currently out of stock of the base 27-inch iMac model, with 135 locations being out of stock of the high-end configuration. Most of the stores are quoting a pickup date in the range of September 4-7, indicating that Apple will be able to deliver new orders for pickup fairly quickly, although some locations are quoting availability for as far out as September 11.

As with the shortages seen so far at resellers, Apple's shortages appear to be limited to the 27-inch models, with the 21.5-inch iMac continuing to be widely available at the company's retail stores. In our survey, we found only seven Apple retail store locations currently out of stock of the base 21.5-inch iMac model, all of which could offer pickup in the range of September 4-7.

Apple has been expected to release updated iMacs using Intel's latest Ivy Bridge processors at any time, with several reports having suggested that an October launch would be likely. One point of contention has been whether the new models will offer Retina displays, although the general consensus now seems to be that Apple will need to wait until next year for the higher-resolution displays to come to its desktop lineup.