MacRumors

Apple's forthcoming iOS 5 contains code that, if activated, would allow users to connect a Bluetooth wireless keyboard to the second-generation Apple TV. The new Apple TV contains a combination Wi-Fi/Bluetooth chip, but the Bluetooth functionality is not enabled in its present state.

As noted by 9 to 5 Mac, the Apple TV iOS 5 beta contains Bluetooth activation strings such as:

- "Your Apple TV is paired with this %@"
- "The pairing attempt was unsuccessful. Make sure your device is in range of this Apple TV, turn on and 'discoverable.' When ready, click Continue to try again."

The ability to pair a Bluetooth keyboard with the Apple TV would obviously make for significantly easier text entry, simplifying such tasks as initial setup with iTunes Store accounts and Wi-Fi network passwords as well as day-to-day content searching.

But activation of the Apple TV's Bluetooth capabilities could also open the door to a host of other developments on the platform if Apple were to allow third-party apps on the Apple TV. Such possibilities include the ability to use other Bluetooth peripherals such as gaming controllers.

With the Apple TV running on the same iOS code base as the company's mobile devices, app development for the Apple TV should be a relatively straightforward process once design considerations for the lack of direct touch input and other differences in usage are accounted for. Apple CEO Steve Jobs even acknowledged at the time of the Apple TV's debut last September that the company could launch an App Store for the device when the time is right.

AT&T today announced (via Engadget) the forthcoming launch of two new LTE-enabled wireless access devices: the USBConnect Momentum 4G and the Mobile Hotspot Elevate 4G. Both devices are coming "this summer", will support LTE, HSPA+, and earlier technologies, and will offer support for Mac OS X Leopard or later.

With plug-and-play installation that takes about 60 seconds to complete on Windows computers, AT&T USBConnect Momentum 4G customers can access 4G LTE speeds, where available, and when out of range have access to AT&T's nationwide HSPA+ network, delivering 4G speeds when combined with enhanced backhaul. They can also take advantage of unlimited usage on AT&T's entire national Wi-Fi network if using a post-paid data plan, and manage their connections and data usage with the preloaded AT&T Communication Manager.

The company's first 4G LTE mobile hotspot device, the AT&T Mobile Hotspot Elevate 4G, allows access to 4G LTE speeds on up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices in select markets. Email, browse, download presentations and more when you're out and about - without skipping a beat no matter if you are on LTE or AT&T's nationwide HSPA+ network. With no software to install and an LCD screen to guide you, setting up AT&T Mobile Hotspot is fast and easy. Just power it up and connect your laptop using the Wi-Fi network name and security key displayed on the screen. Easily view device and connection status on the LCD, including battery status, signal strength, and data usage.

Pricing is set at $49.99 for the Momentum 4G and $69.99 for the Elevate 4G after $50 mail-in rebates and with two-year contracts.

AT&T is launching its LTE in five markets this summer: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and San Diego. The carrier plans to expand the network to at least 15 markets and cover 70 million Americans by the end of the year. AT&T has yet to announce, however, expected real-world data speeds for its LTE network.

While Apple finds itself embroiled in a number of intellectual property disputes both on both offensive and defensive fronts, Reuters reports that Chip Lutton, who oversees the company's significant patent portfolio, will be leaving the company. Lutton is apparently being replaced by HP lawyer BJ Watrous.

It was unclear why Richard "Chip" Lutton Junior, who manages the iPhone maker's patent portfolio, is leaving the company.

However, BJ Watrous, a former deputy general counsel with Hewlett Packard, is now listed as Apple's chief IP counsel on Watrous's LinkedIn web page.

Two of Apple's highest-profile patent disputes involve HTC and Samsung, major players in the smartphone market who primarily rely on Google's Android operating system. Apple and HTC have been embroiled in a dispute dating back well over a year, but several developments over the past week indicate that the situation is heating up. Last week, HTC agreed to acquire S3 Graphics, a firm which just days earlier had won a preliminary patent judgment against Apple, potentially giving HTC more ammunition in its fight against Apple.

And just two days after that, Apple filed a new complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) seeking to blocking imports of HTC's Flyer tablets and Droid smartphones over alleged patent infringement. As noted by AFP, HTC has denied the allegations and expressed its displeasure that Apple has chosen to compete in the courts rather than letting things play out in the market.

"HTC is disappointed at Apple's constant attempts at litigations instead of competing fairly in the market," said HTC general counsel Grace Lei in a statement.

"HTC strongly denies all infringement claims raised by Apple in the past and present and reiterates our determination and commitment to protect our intellectual property rights," she said.

The situation with Samsung continues to escalate as well, with the two sides filing opposing complaints with the ITC over the past couple of weeks seeking to have imports of each others' mobile products blocked. Samsung has also asked that at least some of Apple's lawyers be removed from the case due to potential conflicts of interest and confidentiality concerns given that a number of Apple's lawyers had previously represented Samsung.

The dispute between Apple and Samsung, one of Apple's major suppliers in addition to being a significant competitor, holds major implications for both companies, with Apple reportedly considering a shakeup of its suppliers in order to reduce its reliance on Samsung.

The backlit keyboard will reportedly be making a return to the MacBook Air with the new 2011 models that are quickly approaching release. The seemingly minor feature omission for the 2010 MacBook Air has generated a good bit of backlash on Apple's own support forums.

AppleInsider claims that the imminent MacBook Air refresh will bring back this popular feature:

According to people familiar with the matter, backlit keyboards will join the string of hardware enhancements planned for the new 11.6- and 13.3-inch notebooks, which are also expected to adopt high-speed Thunderbolt ports, an upgrade to Intel's Sandy Bridge architecture, and possibly high-speed 400MBps flash memory.

The backlight provides illumination to the keyboard in the dark (as pictured above). The feature is also present in all of Apple's current MacBook Pro notebooks.

The MacBook Air is expected to be released soon with part numbers already leaked on Monday. Apple is rumored to have delayed the MacBook Air release until OS X Lion was ready and shipping.

Apple has started soliciting developers to submit Mac App Store submissions for OS X Lion. In an email sent out to developers this evening, Apple says that OS X Lion will "soon be available to millions of Mac users around the world." They are asking developers to submit their OS X Lion compatible applications so they can be on the Mac App Store when Lion ships "this month".

The request for OS X Lion specific applications seems a bit late for the rumored release this week. Last year, Apple began accepting iOS 4 apps into the App Store 11 days ahead of iOS 4's public release. While App Store approvals typically run about a week, Apple has been known to prioritize new release submissions, so the timeframe for OS X Lion App approvals could be much shorter.

OS X Lion is known to be on track for release sometime in July. Lion, itself, will be an App Store only release.

In the latest iOS 5 beta just released today, Apple has activated the new "Assistive Touch" features for the iPad. The Assistive Touch settings were in place in iOS's accessibility settings in previous betas, but is only now active. The new features are meant to provide additional interactivity for those who might have trouble using the traditional gestures and buttons on the iPad.

The new settings allow users to activate a menu overlay on the iPad with by pressing on a designated corner. The menu allows one-tap access to all of the iPad's functions including rotation, shaking, volume changes and even gestures. Known gestures such as pinch and swipe can be recalled by a tap, and custom gestures can even be recorded and played back on command.

9 to 5 Mac reports that reliable tipster "Mr. X" has revealed that Apple will be releasing new MacBook Air and Mac Pro models this week alongside OS X Lion.

According to Mr. X, Apple will be releasing four new MacBook Air models, appearing to match up with the current lineup of two stock configurations each in the 11-inch and 13-inch sizes. MacBook Air updates have been expected within this general timeframe for some time now, and Apple is said to have been holding the release until it can ship the new machines with OS X Lion preinstalled. The new models include:

MC965LL/A - K21, BETTER, BTR-USA
MC966LL/A - K21, BEST, BTR-USA
MC968LL/A - K78, BETTER, BTR-USA
MC969LL/A - K78, BEST, BTR-USA

On the Mac Pro side, Apple again appears to following its existing lineup with three standard stock configurations alongside a dedicated "Server" configuration. Reports had been suggesting that the Mac Pro would see a refresh in late July or early August, so Apple's appears to be a bit ahead of that schedule provided that it is indeed shooting for a release this week.

MC936LL/A - J40, ULTIMATE - USA
MC815LL/A - J40, BETTER - USA
MC816LL/A - J40, BEST - USA
MC914LL/A - J59, BEST - USA

Mr. X has not offered a specific release date for the new machines, but it appears that Apple may be targeting this Thursday, July 14th for the hardware launch alongside OS X Lion.

It's All Tech posts an extensive list of changes discovered so far in the third beta version of iOS 5, which was seeded to developers just a short time ago. Among the interesting new features and tweaks are:

- Enhanced location services controls: Aside from a prominent new screen in the iOS 5 setup process outlining how location services work, the new beta also includes finer granularity of controls, allowing users to specify whether such functions as cell network searching, diagnostics, iAds, time zone setting, and traffic information may make use of the device's location information. This is of course in addition to the per-app location controls that are already available.

- Speed enhancements: User reports indicate that performance is significantly improved under the new beta, with a considerable reduction in lag.

- Voice roaming: In addition to the existing ability to turn off data roaming in order to avoid hefty data charges, the new beta adds a "voice roaming" toggle that will allow users to prevent their phone from connecting while on roaming networks not included in their carrier's service package and thus subject to extra fees.

- Prompt for moved video content: With iOS 5, Apple has rebranded the "iPod" app on the iPhone and iPad as "Music", in line with what is found on the iPod touch. The new beta now issues an initial prompt informing users that video content such as movies, TV shows, and music videos have been moved to the "Videos" app.

- Safari preferences: The ability to clear cookies and data has been restored in the new beta, and a new "Advanced" page has been added with additional tools for removing data and debugging.

- Other assorted tweaks: A new icon for the "Reminders" app that is being added in iOS 5, an iTunes Store button in the "Music" app, the Wi-Fi Sync setting renamed to "iTunes Wi-Fi Sync", and mailbox creation from within Mail.

Apple has just pushed out the third beta version of iOS 5 to developers, continuing to push forward on the next major revision of Apple's mobile operating system set for public release in the fall. The new version is known as Build 9A5259f.

No details on changes included in the new beta have yet been provided, but we will update this post as the news comes out.

Fortune reports on a new note from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who for some time has been keeping tabs on the performance of Apple's App Store using calculations of download rates and other metrics against number of devices sold. According to Munster, iOS device owners are increasing their usage of the App Store in 2011, downloading more apps as the average sales price for paid apps has rebounded after dropping last year.

- More apps: The average iOS device owner will download 83 apps in 2011 vs. 51 in 2010, a 61% increase year over year. "Smartphone users are showing an increasing appetite to use apps to add features to their phones," Munster writes, "and iOS has the leading app ecosystem."

- More expensive apps: The ASP (average selling price) per app is rebounding. ASPs are up 14% y/y in 20111 vs. an 18% decline in 2010. "After the initial race to the bottom in App Store pricing," says Munster, "we are seeing users pay up to add features and games to their iOS devices."

Munster reports that 82% of App Store activity is from free apps, while the 18% of downloads that are paid apps carry an average selling price of $1.44. Munster notes that the recent increase in average selling price seems to be driven by the iPad, which in general sees higher average app prices than the iPhone and iPod touch.

Apple last week announced that the App Store had reached 15 billion downloads since its inception three years ago. Still, App Store revenue represents only about 1% of Apple's overall revenue and is viewed primarily as a driver of Apple's hardware sales.

DigiTimes reports that Apple is planning to bring on a second manufacturing partner for the iPad as part of the rollout of the updated models rumored for release later this year.

Apple reportedly plans to add a second manufacturer for iPad 3 tablet PCs in addition to Foxconn Electronics with Taiwan-based Quanta Computer and [Pegatron] Technology being indicated as the potential contenders for the possible orders, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

[Pegatron], which reportedly have landed iPhone 5 orders from Apple, stands a better chance of winning the iPad 3 orders, the sources noted.

Both Pegatron and Quanta are existing manufacturing partners for Apple, with Pegatron being responsible for CDMA iPhone 4 production while Quanta is a long-time partner for Mac production.

The report notes that Apple's decision to add a new manufacturer for the iPad is due in significant part to the explosion at Foxconn's new production plant in Chengdu that killed three workers and saw the company temporarily halt work in all of its polishing shops as it investigated the incident. That series of events reportedly convinced Apple of the need to diversify its manufacturing partnerships in order to minimize risk.