MacRumors

As of June 30, Apple officially discontinued MobileMe, the company's previous suite of online services that has been replaced by iCloud. But while the MobileMe services went offline as of that date, the company has continued to allow MobileMe users to migrate their accounts to iCloud and to download Gallery photos and iDisk files "for a limited time".

It now appears that the "limited time" is rapidly running out, and users who have yet to save their MobileMe data and/or convert their accounts to iCloud need to move quickly to ensure that they do not lose their data and registered user names. As noted by Ben Guild, Apple support staff indicated to him that as of the end of the day today Apple will begin shutting down those accounts that have not been migrated, beginning the process of opening those user names up to new users registering for iCloud.

We contacted Apple support staff to confirm the timing on the transition and were told a slightly different story, with the representative informing us that Apple would begin taking the old MobileMe servers offline as of the end of the day tomorrow. Some users' data could continue to be available after that time as Apple works through the process of purging all of the old MobileMe data, but users wishing to save their data and claim iCloud accounts with their MobileMe user names do need to move very quickly in order to ensure continuity.

Users who have already converted their MobileMe accounts to iCloud will be able to continue using the me.com versions of their email addresses, although the company is rolling out icloud.com equivalents to give users the option of changing domains.

Apple's final discontinuation of MobileMe services comes as the company is also shutting down its beta iWork.com service at the end of the day today. Apple has sent out several reminders warning iWork.com users that they must save any uploaded documents before the service is discontinued, and the support representative we spoke with today indicated that users should not rely upon a grace period for retrieving those documents after today.

Amazon today announced a significant upgrade to its Cloud Player music service, bringing iTunes Match-like "scan and match" technology to assist users in making their entire music libraries available in the cloud. The upgraded service also mirrors iTunes Match in delivering all matched tracks at 256 Kbps, even if the user's original material is at a lower quality.

New Cloud Player features include:

- Amazon MP3 purchases — including music that customers purchased in the past — are automatically saved to Cloud Player, which means that customers have a secure backup copy of the music they buy from Amazon, free of charge.

- Amazon scans customers’ iTunes and Windows Media Player libraries and matches the songs on their computers to Amazon’s 20 million song catalog. All matched songs – even music purchased from iTunes or ripped from CDs – are instantly made available in Cloud Player and are upgraded for free to high-quality 256 Kbps audio. Music that customers have already uploaded to Cloud Player also will be upgraded.

- Any customer with a Kindle Fire, Android device, iPhone, iPod touch, or any web browser — and soon, a Roku streaming player or Sonos home entertainment system — can play their music anywhere.

Amazon Cloud Player is available in free and paid tiers, with the free tier limited to 250 tracks, although tracks purchased from Amazon do not count against the total. Amazon's Premium tier costs $24.99 per year and allows users to store up to 250,000 tracks in the cloud, with tracks purchased from Amazon similarly not counting toward that limit. Apple's iTunes Match service is also priced at $24.99 per year, but currently limits users to 25,000 tracks, excluding those purchased through iTunes.

As part of the upgrades, Amazon is separating Cloud Player from its Cloud Drive service, which offers file storage in the cloud. Users with paid Cloud Drive storage plans will keep their current plan and receive free access to Cloud Player Premium for the remainder of their subscription periods. With the split in Cloud Drive and Cloud Player services, Amazon is also reducing pricing on Cloud Drive storage plans. Beyond the free 5 GB plan, users can choose from paid plans starting at $10 per year for 20 GB and moving up to a maximum of 1000 GB for $500 per year.

While court documents filed in relation to the high-profile U.S. legal battle between Apple and Samsung have yielded a treasure trove of images of prototypes and concepts for iPhone and iPad designs, the court case is just now getting underway. Reuters reports on some of the early developments today, including opening statements from Apple's lead lawyer outlining how the company will argue that Samsung's radical shift in phone design was driven by its desire to copy Apple's ideas for the iPhone.

Apple attorney Harold McElhinny started off by showing slides that featured old Samsung phones from 2006 and compared it to the Korean company's newer smartphones from 2010.

The key question, McElhinny said, would be how Samsung moved from the old phones to "these phones."

"As we all know it is easier to copy than to innovate," he told the court. "Apple had already taken the risks."

Key to McElhinny's presentation setting the stage for the trial was evidence in the form of internal Samsung documents showing that the company recognized the design challenges it faced and felt that the iPhone would be "easy to copy".

McElhinny showed jurors an internal Samsung product analysis which said the iPhone's hardware was "easy to copy." Another document prepared by a Samsung executive said the company was in a "crisis of design" due to the iPhone.

Samsung has yet to make its opening statement in the case, but its filings made so far have shown how it will attempt to undermine Apple's case by arguing that Apple had copied some of its design ideas from others and that it has refused to properly license key technologies controlled by Samsung.

Jurors in the trial face a complex task of weighing the merits of Apple's and Samsung's arguments on issues related to patents and trade dress infringement. IDG News Service highlights the instructions given to the jury by Judge Lucy Koh summarizing the basic allegations from each side and offering guidance on how to evaluate the evidence.

With less than 100 days to go until the Presidential Election in the United States, the candidates from both major parties have released several iPhone apps to connect with voters and volunteers -- and Mitt Romney says he will make a very major announcement via a dedicated app just released by his campaign.

Romney's campaign released a new app today called Mitt's VP. [App Store] The app promises to tell supporters who Governor Romney's choice for a running mate will be before it's released anywhere else -- via push notification. Typically, vice presidential announcements are elaborately scripted affairs that occasionally include a variety of diversionary tactics to throw the press off the trail before the campaign is ready to make the announcement.

Beth Myers, senior advisor to Mitt Romney, wrote this in an email to supporters today:

These last few months, I've had the privilege and honor of leading Governor Romney's search for a vice presidential running mate.

While I won't be breaking any news today, I wanted to let you know how to be the first to get the VP scoop with our new Mitt's VP app.

Just download the free app on your iPhone or Android device and when Mitt decides on his running mate, you'll get an exclusive notification of his VP selection before anyone else.

Not to be outdone, the campaign to reelect President Barack Obama just released a new Obama for America iPhone app [App Store] that connects supporters with local events, breaking news, opportunities to volunteer and more. The Obama campaign has another similar app called Obama 2012 that hasn't been updated since last November and appears to duplicate many of the features in the new app.

This is the first presidential election to take full advantage of mobile apps and devices. The smartphone revolution had only just begun when the last Presidential campaign was waged in 2008 and the App Store was only months old on election day.

Note: Due to the inevitable political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Yesterday, we reported on an appearance by Apple design chief Jonathan Ive at the UK Trade & Investment department's Global Business Summit on Creative Services in which he talked a bit about Apple's design philosophy and its focus on making great products rather than simply trying to maximize profits by cutting corners.

The Telegraph has another report on Ive's appearance, highlighting his discussion of how the iPhone was "nearly shelved" as Apple struggled to deal with a number of issues, apparently including a search for a proper proximity sensor that would reliably turn off the device's screen when it was held to the user's face.

"We nearly shelved the phone because we thought there were fundamental problems that we can't solve. With the early prototypes, I held the phone to my ear and my ear [would] dial the number,” he said. “You have to detect all sorts of ear-shapes and chin shapes, skin colour and hairdo...that was one of just many examples where we really thought, perhaps this isn’t going to work.”

Ive's comments on his experience with early iPhone prototype come just as a number of such prototype designs have surfaced in court documents filed as part of a legal battle between Apple and Samsung.

Apple actually began work on a tablet before the iPhone project got underway, with one early tablet prototype from that 2002-2004 period having surfaced just two weeks ago. Apple was working on a phone at the time, but once Jobs realized that Apple could bring the multi-touch interface of the tablet to a phone, the company focused its efforts on the iPhone project and essentially set the tablet project until it was reborn as the iPad.

Apple has quietly launched a Hulu Plus channel on Apple TV this morning. We've first received a report from one Apple TV owner who first found the channel to appear this morning and have since been able to confirm it ourselves. We've found that users may have to reboot their Apple TV for the channel to appear.

Hulu Plus is a U.S. online subscription streaming video service with support from many television networks and studios. The service has been notably absent from the Apple TV despite being available on the iPhone/iPad as well as other set top boxes such as Roku.

Existing Hulu Plus users can login, while new users can be billed for Hulu Plus service via their iTunes account.

Thanks Sami

More Screens:

Update: Hulu has issued a blog post announcing the addition.

Keeping up with the latest episode of Family Guy, MasterChef and New Girl on Hulu Plus just got a little easier. And my living room just got a whole lot happier.

Hulu Plus arrives on Apple TV today.

Following a report from iMore earlier today claiming that Apple will hold a media event to introduce the next-generation iPhone and the "iPad mini" on September 12 ahead of September 21 availability for the new iPhone, AllThingsD reports that it has confirmed an Apple media event will be taking place that week. While the report's sources have apparently not confirmed the topic of the event or the exact date, it certainly appears to corroborate iMore's claims.

Apple hasn’t yet officially announced the fall event at which it is expected to debut the next iteration of the iPhone, but it’s definitely planning one.

iMore was first to report that the company has scheduled a special event for Wednesday, September 12, and now we’ve confirmed it as well. Sources tell AllThingsD that Apple is currently planning an event for that week. And while we haven’t yet confirmed its focus, history suggests it will indeed be the new iPhone.

AllThingsD has been very accurate in the past regarding Apple rumors, and has on several occasions been the first to reveal dates for Apple media events, lending significant weight to this report's support of the September 12 date from iMore.

The report goes on to note that Apple's latest quarterly report has revealed a massive increase in component prepayments, signaling that the company is moving full speed ahead on preparing its supply chain for production on the next iPhone and perhaps other devices such as the iPad mini.

Update: The Verge has also "confirmed" the September 12 date with its own sources.

The rumor cycle this time around for the next iPhone has been a bit unusual — multiple leaks have all depicted the exact same components — but it looks like we'll be seeing what Apple has up its sleeves come Wednesday, September 12th. Our own sources have confirmed that date, and multiple websites have similar reports as well.

Update: The Loop's Jim Dalrymple also weighs in on the September 12 date:

Yep.

Update: Reuters, Bloomberg and NYTimes also confirm the date.

Wired UK reports that Apple design chief Jonathan Ive participated in a keynote session today at the UK Trade & Investment department's Global Business Summit on Creative Services in which he offered up some of his thoughts on the creative process at Apple and other anecdotes about his two decades at the company. While he had previously shared some of his thoughts on design, his comments today offer a bit more perspective on how things work at Apple.

"To me I still think it's remarkable that at a point in time on a Tuesday afternoon there isn't an idea and then suddenly later on there is an idea. Invariably they start as a tentative, barely-formed thought that becomes a conversation between a couple of people."

Apple then builds a prototype that embodies the idea and that's when the idea goes through "the most incredible transition". "You go from something tentative and exclusive to something tangible and -- by nature of it being a thing -- a table of people can sit around it and start to understand it; it becomes inclusive and it galvanises and points to a direction for effort."

Ive, who shared his unsurprising view that design should be a "prerequisite" and not simply one aspect of product development, also repeated several mantras that have been commonly quoted by Apple executives, calling good the enemy of great and noting that Apple says "no" to many, many good ideas in order to focus all of its energies on a select few great ones.

Ive also made reference to Steve Jobs' return to Apple in 1997, noting that he brought a fresh view in which the company focused on making great products with the belief that profits would follow, rather than focusing first on profits.

"We are really pleased with our revenues but our goal isn't to make money. It sounds a little flippant, but it's the truth. Our goal and what makes us excited is to make great products. If we are successful people will like them and if we are operationally competent, we will make money," he said.

Ive has long been a very private individual, but has begun opening up a bit more to the public as Apple's stature has grown and accolades for his group's design work have continued to roll in. Ive was knighted in late May, and he noted at the time that Apple's current projects are "the most important and the best work" his team has done with the company.

Ken Segall was a creative director at TBWA\Chiat\Day and worked with Steve Jobs for years, including at NeXT and Apple. He wrote a book about his experiences called Insanely Simple that posited "Simplicity" as the driving force behind everything Steve Jobs did.

In a post on his personal site, Segall dissects the new 'Genius' television ads that Apple began running during the Olympics last Friday.

Repeat after me: “The sky is not falling. The sky is not falling.”

I know it’s hard to say after viewing the new batch of Mac ads that debuted on the Olympics. I’m still in a bit of shock myself.

Sure, Apple has had a low point or two in its advertising past — but its low points are usually higher than most advertisers’ high points.

This is different. These ads are causing a widespread gagging response, and deservedly so. I honestly can’t remember a single Apple campaign that’s been received so poorly.

Segall goes on to address a number of hypothetical points relating to the ads, including "I did wonder if it was a good idea to make customers seem so clueless." (No.) and "Ken, you’re missing the obvious. Clearly these ads are targeted at first-timers, not for you." ("That’s a seemingly logical defense. It’s also a horrible one.")

He finishes by pointing out that no one can know what Steve Jobs would have done, and it's a foolish question to ponder.

None of us can possibly know what Steve would do. Steve was a master marketer, but he was also perfectly capable of a lapse in judgment. It’s unfortunate that this campaign is appearing now, nine months after Steve passed away, because the timing only fuels the argument that everything will crumble now that Steve is gone. I don’t buy that.

One of the ads, 'Basically', is embedded above. 'Labor Day' and 'Mayday' are viewable on YouTube.

Last week, we noted that documents filed as part of the ongoing lawsuit between Apple and Samsung had revealed a few images of early iPhone prototype designs, including some that revealed similar design to what ultimately appeared years later as the iPhone 4/4S.

AllThingsD has now put together a gallery of dozens of images from the court documents showing even more of Apple's ideas for the iPhone and iPad.

Among the many filings on Saturday was a document with dozens of sketches and prototypes for both the iPhone and iPad. Some had already been included in earlier filings, but Saturday’s collection was particularly extensive.

The filing features a host of sketches, images from computer-aided design programs, and photographs of actual models that Apple fabricated as part of its design process.

Among the concepts that had previously surfaced was a series from Apple's Shin Nishibori, whose early Sony-inspired designs were immediately leapt upon by Samsung as evidence that Apple had copied the iPhone design from earlier innovators. But as noted by The Verge, additional prototypes dating even further back show that Apple had the iPhone aesthetic well in hand even before the Sony-inspired designs were created as a side project.

"Purple" dates back to August 2005 — months before the Jony prototype was originally designed. According to the documents, Shin Nishibori's Sony-style touches were simply "an 'enjoyable' side project," embellishments on a concept Apple had already designed. The documents contend that Purple remained free of the alleged Sony inspirations, ultimately giving birth to the iPhone in 2006 (and looking decidedly like the iPhone 4).

AllThingsD is keeping a close eye on all of the trial developments, with Ina Fried tweeting from the courthouse today to provide updates on important developments in the high-profile case.

Following the publication of high-resolution photos of what has been claimed to be the enclosure and a number of internal components for the next-generation iPhone, Mac Otakara posts a hands-on video of the same parts. The video gives a good idea of how the device would look in the user's hand.

The report also mentions an observation of an unknown connection on a cable carrying the device's volume buttons, mute/vibrate switch, and power button, speculating that it could be related to NFC capabilities. On the iPhone 4S, the volume buttons and mute/vibrate switch are located on the same component as the headphone jack and noise canceling microphone, but with the headphone jack moving to the bottom of the device in the next-generation iPhone, Apple has tweaked the component grouping on its flex cable parts.

iLounge offers a summary of various tidbits of information it has learned about Apple's upcoming iOS devices.

In line with fresh claims from iMore about a September 12 media event to introduce the next-generaton iPhone and iPod nano as well as the "iPad mini" ahead of a September 21 launch for the iPhone, iLounge says that Apple will be ready to ship the new iPhone by mid-September and could launch the device during the third week of the month. Apple is also said to be working on a pair of official cases for the new iPhone, including one that is similar to the current bumper and a second that would have a "major impact" on accessory makers. The report speculates that the case may include some sort of stand, but it is unclear whether that it is based on any actual information.

As for the iPod touch and iPod nano, iLounge believes that a new iPod touch sharing similarities to the new iPhone such as a taller 4-inch display will be making an appearance at the same event, while evidence for a new iPod nano still remains scant. Rumors of revamped iPod touch and iPod nano models have indeed been circulating in recent weeks.

Regarding the future of Apple's iPad line, iLounge claims that the new "iPad mini" will not be ready for launch alongside the new iPhone in late September and may instead launch in November. While iMore believes that the device will at least be introduced alongside the new iPhone, iLounge is unsure whether it will be included during the September media event or if Apple will hold a separate event for the device a bit later. Apple is also said to be developing versions of its Smart Cover and Smart Case for the smaller iPad.

Apple's fourth-generation full-size iPad is unsurprisingly said to be seeing a move to the smaller dock connector that will debut with the next-generation iPhone, but is also said to offer only "relatively modest" tweaks to the design while also seeing the addition of a rear microphone for better audio capture while shooting video or perhaps for noise cancellation purposes.

iLounge's source seems a bit unclear on the timing for a fourth-generation iPad launch, suggesting that it could come late this year alongside the iPad mini but agreeing that the timing seems unlikely. Consequently, speculation points to an iPad mini launch late this year, followed by an iPad update early next year in line with its traditional life cycle.

iLounge has proven fairly accurate with its rumors, pinpointing a thicker third-generation iPad shell and Apple's new Smart Case for the iPad.

Apple has announced that OS X Mountain Lion (10.8) downloads have exceeded three million in four days, "making it the most successful OS X release in Apple's history".

"Just a year after the incredibly successful introduction of Lion, customers have downloaded Mountain Lion over three million times in just four days, making it our most successful release ever," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.

Mountain Lion was released to the Mac App Store on July 25th for $19.99. In comparison, Apple announced one million downloads of OS X Lion (10.7) in the first day of its launch.

iMore reports that they have heard that the next generation iPhone, new iPod nano, and all new 7.85" iPad mini will be announced on September 12th. They also pinpoint the actual launch date for the next iPhone as September 21, 2012.

iMore has heard that Apple is planning to debut the new iPhone at a special event on Wednesday, September 12, 2012, with the release date to follow 9 days later on Friday, September 21. This information comes from sources who have proven accurate in the past.

The next-generation iPhone, which is frequently referred to as the "iPhone 5", is expected to have a taller 4" screen as shown in the above photo. Rumors have also suggested the inclusion of high speed LTE wireless networking.

While we generally refer to the next iPhone as the "iPhone 5", if Apple follows the example of their most recent iPad release, they may drop the numbering scheme with every new iPhone release. The 3rd generation iPad was simply called "the new iPad" in all press materials. Similarly, it seems likely that Apple will simply refer to the next iPhone as "the new iPhone".

While the 7.85" iPad mini has been long rumored, there has been a notable increase in the frequency and volume of rumors related to the product. The smaller iPad is believed to help Apple fill a cheaper price point in their tablet lineup.

iMore has been an accurate source of release date information in the past. They previously pinpointed the iPad 3 launch date as well as pre-order date for the iPhone 4S.

Japanese website iLab has posted a set of high-resolution photos (via CydiaBlog) of what is alleged to be the next-generation iPhone.

CydiaBlog gives this assessment of the images:

The leaked parts shows the bigger screen, different internals (such as a new flex cable holding the Home button in place), and the camera modules (front and rear). The camera module cutout looks to be larger, there is an enhanced version of speaker and microphone configuration at the bottom, new smaller dock connector (instead of 30-pin Dock Connector, 16-pin connector could be introduced). Another notable design change in the new iPhone front panel shows the FaceTime camera has been moved to a centered position above the earpiece speaker (it is currently to left of the earpiece in iPhone 4S and iPhone 4).

The photographs mirror reports from this past May that the next iPhone would sport a taller 4" screen, but would remain the same width. The next iPhone is expected to be released this fall along with iOS 6.