MacRumors

Back in 2010, an Apple patent publication was published revealing the company's concept for an iMac supporting both mouse-driven and touch-based input with a hinged display arm allowing the screen to transition from an upright position to a horizontal surface.

While Apple has yet to release such a product and may have scrapped the idea entirely, Lenovo's new IdeaCentre A720 being shown off at CES this week (via Engadget) offers a similar flexibility in its ability to transition between a traditional all-in-one desktop configuration and a flat, table-top touch surface.

Similar to the HP TouchSmart 610, which debuted around this time last year, it has a display that can be tilted between 5 and 90 degrees, the idea being that that 10-point multitouch panel will be easier to use if it's lying at a near-flat angle. Spec-wise, it'll be offered with various Intel Core i processors, discrete NVIDIA graphics and up to either a 1TB HDD or a 64GB solid-state drive. Expect it to hit sometime in the first half of this year, starting at $1,299.

The Verge also posts a hands-on video showing the IdeaCentre A720 in use in both upright and horizontal positions.

The hands-on demonstration shows a rather sluggish response to touch input, but offers a good glimpse of the flexibility afforded by the multiple orientations.

Apple's patent application included descriptions of sensors that would automatically detect the orientation of the display and adjust the operating system being used accordingly, with the idea being that the computer would utilize a Mac OS X interface in its upright orientation and then transition to an iOS-like touch overlay interface when moved to the horizontal display. While Lenovo's concept does not utilize this automatic sensing, it does offer Lenovo's dedicated IdeaTouch layer on top of Windows 7, which itself allows for touch input.

Last August, we reported that Village Tronic was working on a Thunderbolt version of its ViDock PCI Express expansion chassis that serves as a docking hub complete with external graphics card for high-end performance. With Thunderbolt-equipped peripherals making a big splash at CES this week, it should come as no surprise that progress on the expansion hub concept is continuing.

AnandTech reports that MSI is the latest entrant into the category, showing off an early demonstration model of just such a product with its GUS II. While the external graphics card (GPU) featured in the demonstration currently works only under Windows, AnandTech suggests that Mac support should be easily achievable for those GPUs supporting the platform.

The external chassis features a Thunderbolt interface and an internal PCIe slot. Despite running on a MacBook Pro there is currently no OS X support for the solution, but it does work under Windows. Presumably if there's OS X support for the GPU inside the enclosure it would work under OS X as well.

The only limitation to the GUS II is the internal GPU has to be powered by PCIe alone (there are no aux PCIe power connectors inside the chassis).

A release date and pricing for the GUS II have yet to be announced, but it certainly seems as though the Thunderbolt standard championed by Apple and Intel is gaining momentum as it seeks to lead the next generation of multi-purpose connectivity technologies.

Back in September, we reported on a leaked document from cable and Internet provider Comcast revealing details on the company's forthcoming "AnyPlay" live television streaming service. While Comcast is not the first cable provider to bring such a product to market, it is the largest cable and Internet provider in the United States.

Comcast today announced that it has begun rolling the AnyPlay service out to its customers, beginning with Xfinity HD Triple Play customers in Denver and Nashville. More markets will be added in the coming months, with the service initially launching for the iPad only but joined in the future by the Motorola Xoom.

Here's how it works...the AnyPlay device works the same as any other set top box in the home, but instead of delivering the incoming channel lineup to a television, AnyPlay delivers the lineup to the Wi-Fi router on the home network. The router then distributes the secure video signal to the iPad or Xoom over your home's wireless network. So as long as your tablet is within range of the home wireless router, you can turn it into another television screen.

The AnyPlay service is accessed via the company's existing Xfinity TV app for the iPad, which also offers thousands of hours of on demand movies and TV shows available for viewing both inside and outside of the home.

iLounge, which just last week updated its claims regarding details of the next-generation iPad with mention of improved cameras, today reports that it has viewed what appear to be at least prototype parts for the device.

The parts, which seem to include the rear shell and front glass bezel, reportedly corroborate iLounge's earlier claims of an almost imperceptibly thicker body and an upgraded iPhone-like rear camera.

The new iPad’s body is so slightly thicker than the iPad 2 that the change is unnoticeable on first inspection; a roughly 1mm increase will barely be perceptible to users. We’ve heard that the only accessories that might have issues are cases, and then, only cases that were precisely contoured to fit the iPad 2’s back. On the rear, the camera in the upper left corner has become bigger—noticeably so when placed alongside the iPad 2, but not so huge that anyone would think they were different at a distance. The new camera hole is silver-ringed, and does in fact look the same size as the iPhone 4S’s much-improved rear camera system, minus the LED flash.

iLounge's Jeremy Horwitz reports that some accessory manufacturers are claiming that the iPad 3 will come with a slightly smaller screen, but a front glass bezel seen by Horwitz fails to support that notion. Otherwise, the locations of all external features of the iPad 3 remain identical to those on the iPad 2.

Horwitz cautions that the rear shell part he was able to view seems to have been produced at least six months ago and thus may not represent the final design for the next-generation iPad, which he notes could be called the iPad 3 or perhaps some variation on the iPad 2 name. But the parts do apparently support iLounge's existing claims of Apple's design tweaks for the next-generation iPad, which many are expecting to debut around March of this year.

Several Apple-related apps and accessories are being previewed at CES 2012. Here are a couple of the more interesting ones we've run across.

Swivl

Swivl is a motion tracking mount for your iPhone. We previously covered the announcement of the product back in November.

The motorized mount registers the movement of the remote control (which you can attach to your body) both vertically and horizontally. Using infrared and RF sensors, the mount actively moves the iPhone to keep its camera centered on the subject. It could be used for activities such as video blogging and FaceTime.

See it in action:

Swivl will cost $159 and is available for pre-order now and will ship in one to two months.

Magisto

Magisto is a new video app that debuted in the App Store this week that features automated editing of your raw video recordings. Magisto analyzes your videos to enhance them with music, effects, and transitions. The end result can then be shared with your friends.

Users can record a new video in the app or choose existing videos in the Camera Roll for processing. After specifying a title and soundtrack and uploading the video to Magisto's servers, the company's software will automatically select the most interesting clips and apply transitions and effects to create a polished final video.

Magisto is free and requires iOS 4.0 or higher. [App Store] The company plans to later introduce a premium version that offers HD video and more features.

Corning officially announced their followup to Gorilla Glass today at CES 2012.

Apple has previously used the strengthened glass in their iOS devices. In 2010, David Pogue relayed a claim from a scientist that Apple was the #1 customer for Gorilla Glass and buys "practically all the Gorilla Glass that Corning can make." At least parts of the story were confirmed in Steve Jobs' biography. Corning reportedly shelved the idea for Gorilla Glass back in the 1960s but revived the project at the request of Steve Jobs in 2007. The original iPhone launched with the damage-resistant glass, though there has been some debate about whether it still is being used in their most recent models. Corning, of course, has never acknowledged Apple's usage but says that due to "customer agreements", they can't identify all devices that use their Gorilla Glass.

The new version of Gorilla Glass can be up to 20% thinner than the original and still retain the same strength. Alternatively, manufacturers could continue to use the same thickness, and benefit from greater strength. Manufacturers have already received samples of the new Gorilla Glass so it should start appearing in consumer products in 2012.

Here's a hands on demo at CES of the strength of the new Gorilla Glass:

The additional thinness offered by Gorilla Glass 2 is also said to result in brighter images and better touch responsiveness.

Apple has posted its 2012 Proxy Statement (PDF) on its investor relations page. The proxy statement is released ahead of the annual stockholders meeting, and details voting procedures, background and compensation information on the company's directors, and information about executive perks and compensation, amongst other items.

This year's shareholders meeting will take place on Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific, in Building 4 of Apple's Infinite Loop headquarters. Shareholders will vote on a number of different items:

- To elect the Company’s Board of Directors (the “ Board ”). The Board intends to present for election the following eight nominees: William V. Campbell, Timothy D. Cook, Millard S. Drexler, Al Gore, Robert A. Iger, Andrea Jung, Arthur D. Levinson, and Ronald D. Sugar

- To ratify the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for 2012

- To hold an advisory vote on executive compensation

- To consider four shareholder proposals titled "Conflict of Interest Report", "Shareholder Say on Director Pay", "Report on Political Contributions and Expenditures", and "Adopt a Majority Voting Standard for Director Elections"

- To transact such other business as may properly come before the Annual Meeting and any postponement(s) or adjournment(s) thereof.

Some interesting notes in the statement include the fact that CEO Tim Cook owns a total of 13,754 shares of Apple plus 1,362,500 RSU's which will vest into shares if Tim Cook stays with the company for the foreseeable future, worth $580.5 million at current prices. Other executive officers hold hundreds of thousands of RSU's which should keep them with the company for years to come. In the statement, Apple explained the board's philosophy behind the large RSU grants:

The compensation for the other named executive officers consists of three elements—long-term equity awards in the form of RSU awards, annual performance-based cash bonuses, and base salaries—that are designed to reward performance in a simple and straightforward manner. The compensation program is weighted toward long-term equity awards rather than cash compensation in order to maximize retention and ensure that a significant portion of the named executive officers’ compensation is tied to the Company’s long-term stock price performance. The named executive officers’ 2011 cash compensation levels were substantially below the levels generally provided by peer companies, despite the Company’s strong financial performance. In addition, the Company has no long-term cash compensation program, nor does it have a pension plan.

The Company’s executive compensation program is intended to promote and retain stability within the executive team. Each named executive officer has been an employee of the Company for at least 10 years. The Company expects each of its executive officers to contribute to the Company’s overall success as a member of the executive team rather than focus solely on specific objectives within the officers’ area of responsibility.

Because the Company’s executive officers operate as a team, the Compensation Committee’s decisions on executive compensation in 2011 were largely driven by considerations of internal pay equity as to the named executive officers, other than Mr. Jobs and Mr. Cook. As a result, the compensation awarded to Messrs. Oppenheimer, Forstall and Johnson in 2011 was largely the same. Mr. Cook’s compensation is set at a higher level than the compensation for the other members of the executive team to reflect his responsibilities for the overall leadership of the Company.

In addition, the statement notes that "there was no formula or peer group “benchmark” used in determining the award amount. Rather, the award was the product of the Board’s business judgment, which was informed by the experience of the Board members, the input received from Mr. Jobs, and the Board’s assessment of Mr. Cook’s performance in assuming responsibility for the Company’s day-to-day operations during Mr. Jobs’s prior leaves of absence." The statement discusses executive compensation for several more pages, including the cash bonus payout structure and other arrangements.

Video game streaming company OnLive has announced a free, streaming, virtual Microsoft Windows 7 desktop app for the iPad. The OnLive Desktop app, announced at CES, will eventually expand to other platforms -- including the Mac. Users will have access to full-featured versions of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, less than a week after CloudOn introduced its Office solution for the iPad.

GigaOm has details about how the service will work:

Since applications are running on high-end computing clusters in OnLive’s data centers, the only thing holding back performance is the network. Which means that in today’s world of pervasive broadband connectivity, Windows applications running on an iPad could potentially be faster than those running on a standard Windows 7 laptop.

OnLive is making the Desktop app available in a freemium model through which users will get 2GB worth of cloud storage and the ability to use Windows 7 applications such as Word, Excel and Powerpoint, as well as other utilities and games. Documents can be stored in the cloud and accessed from any device with a web interface. In the near future, OnLive expects to launch Onlive Desktop Pro, a more robust service that will offer up 50 GB of storage, priority access, additional apps and other features for $9.99 a month. It also promises collaboration features for enterprise users such as sharing documents or working on virtual whiteboards.

The Verge notes that when they tried the app at OnLive HQ, there was "a little bit of perceptible lag, it's pretty impressive manipulating objects with our fingers and flipping through PowerPoint presentations on a desktop miles away."

OnLive previously announced iPad and iPhone support for its gaming products, though those apps have yet to be publicly released.

Available this Thursday in the U.S. and "soon" in the UK, OnLive Desktop for the iPad will be free on the App Store.

With the popularity of Siri on the iPhone 4S and rumors of a voice-controlled Apple television set, voice recognition and control have leapt to the forefront of the technology industry as companies seek to revolutionize the way users interact with their devices. Nuance Communications has long been a leader in the the field of voice recognition, and quietly provides that back-end functionality for Siri and other Apple products.

Rumors of an Apple television set have centered around Siri voice control, fueled in no small part by Steve Jobs' comments to biographer Walter Isaacson regarding his idea for a television set interface being "the simplest user interface you could imagine". In seeking to open up some of that vision to a broad array of television manufacturers, Nuance today announced the launch of Dragon TV, a natural language recognition platform specifically tailored for the television experience.

Leveraging Nuance’s voice and natural language understanding capabilities, Dragon TV creates the “lean-back experience” consumers demand, with the ability to easily find content by speaking channel numbers, station names, show and movie names. People can even search for content by actor and genre, and stay connected via Twitter, Facebook and Skype.

Nuance's list of commands understood by the platform also include requests for guide/schedule information and DVR playback control.

In addition to Nuance's push into television, the company today also announced the launch of a partnership with Intel to bring voice recognition technologies to the chipmaker's new "Ultrabook" platform for ultra-light notebook computers. While Nuance already offers a number of voice-related applications for PCs, the new partnership will reportedly deliver greater integration of the functionality for core system features.

Nuance’s Dragon voice recognition technology, which is at the core of the renowned Dragon NaturallySpeaking software used by millions, will be deeply integrated into the new Intel application. Using this new capability, consumers will be able to control their Ultrabook just by using their voice. Consumers will be able to quickly and easily launch applications, play media, interact with social media sites and control their email and calendars with natural voice commands.

Additional details on the Ultrabook integration will be available later this year.

Returning from a holiday break, Apple today seeded iOS 5.1 Beta 3 to developers to allow for further testing of the next update to the company's mobile operating system. The new version arrives as Build 9B5141a, up from the previous Build 9B5127a released ad iOS 5.1 Beta 2 on December 12.

So far the update appears to only be available via the over-the-air update mechanism for existing iOS 5.1 beta users, but should become available for general download through Apple's iOS developer program site shortly. We'll have more information on the new build at that time.

Update: We're still waiting for Apple to post iOS 5.1 beta 3 to the developer site with release notes, but commenters in our forums have noted that the new build restores the toggle that allows users to turn off 3G cellular data access. As Apple notes on the setting, 3G offers faster data speeds but uses more battery power than EDGE.

Update 2: iOS 5.1 Beta 3 is now available via the iOS developer program portal. Xcode 4.3 Developer Preview 3 and Apple TV Software Beta 2 have also been released today.

The full release notes for iOS 5.1 Beta 3 still have not been posted.

Update 3: The release notes for iOS 5.1 Beta 3 have now been posted, and one item of note involves a new API to help developers flag app content that should not be backed up.

iOS 5.1 introduces a new API to mark files or directories that should not be backed up. For NSURL objects, add the NSURLIsExcludedFromBackupKey attribute to prevent the corresponding file from being backed up.

The addition appears to be an expansion of the company's iOS 5.0.1 effort to help deal with content being stored for offline use that does not need to be committed to a device backup but which should not be subject to removal during the purging of caches. Apple will be replacing the com.apple.MobileBackup file attribute introduced in iOS 5.0.1 with the new API usage in iOS 5.1.

Citing "explosive momentum" for both Apple and Samsung, ChangeWave Research today released the results of a new survey of North American smartphone customers showing that over half of those looking to purchase a smartphone over the next 90 days are planning on buying an iPhone 4S. The 54% share of future buying plans held by Apple as of December was down from 65% in September, but easily marked Apple's best performance when measured two months after a new product release after demand has generally slackened considerably.

The late December survey looked at smart phone demand trends going forward, and finds Apple iPhone demand remains incredibly strong more than two months after the iPhone 4S release.

Among respondents planning to buy a new smart phone in the next 90 days, better than one-in-two (54%; down 11-pts) say they'll get an iPhone.

Apple has never dominated smart phone planned buying to this extent more than two months after a major new release.

Samsung has continued its momentum among Android smartphone purchasers, with its share more than doubling to 13% among those looking to purchase a new phone over the next three months.

In analyzing satisfaction of existing smartphone users, Apple continues to lead with 75% of owners saying they are "very satisfied" with their iPhones. The iPhone has ranked in the 70-80% range for nearly the entire history of the device. Among Apple's competitors, Android manufacturers Samsung, HTC, and Motorola all score in the 45-47% satisfaction range while Research in Motion has continued its slide with a new low of 22% of users registering as very satisfied with their BlackBerry devices.

ChangeWave's sample base focuses on professionals and early-adopter consumers, somewhat skewing its data toward higher-end users likely to have greater awareness of the market. But the firm's long history of consistent data gathering offers a look at patterns measured from this pool of users that frequently serves to set trends for the rest of the market.

Last September, we noted that Belkin was showing off a new Thunderbolt docking station at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF), preparing to offer users a single-cable dock connection three USB ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port, and a FireWire port, as well as inbound and outbound Thunderbolt ports for daisy chaining.

Belkin is once again previewing the Thunderbolt Express Dock at CES this week, but has announced that it will not begin shipping until September of this year and will be priced at $299.

Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock - $299

- Quickly connects into a desktop workstation and instantly accesses multiple devices with a single cable
- Adds reliable, gigabit Ethernet connectivity to your laptop
- Includes three USB 2.0 ports, one Firewire 800 port, one HDMI port, one 3.5mm Audio port, one gigabit Ethernet port and two Thunderbolt ports (one upstream and one downstream) for daisy-chaining to another Thunderbolt compatible device.
- Utilizes Thunderbolt Technology for data transfer rates of up to 10Gbps bi-directionally

The company had previously claimed following the publicity surrounding the dock's appearance at IDF that it would begin shipping in "spring 2012".

Apple offers similar docking functionality built into its Apple Thunderbolt Display. The $999 27-inch display includes three USB ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port, a FireWire 800 port, a FaceTime HD camera, and a 2.1 speaker system, all connected to the user's computer over a single Thunderbolt cable.