According to 9 to 5 Mac, Apple is "toying with" a redesigned prototype for its Mac Pro line, narrowing the design from its current 8.1-inch width to something slightly over 5 inches wide. Combined with a slight reduction in height to around 19 inches, the redesign would apparently allow the Mac Pro to be rackmountable in server cabinets as a 3U component.
Nearly eight years after the Mac Pro's current design debuted, Apple is toying with a re-designed version of the product. The new design is said to be narrower at just over 5-inches and a few inches shorter at around 19-inches. One of the reasons that Apple might be making this particular Mac Pro prototype smaller is because it is able to fit on to a standard server rack.
Apple of course used to offer its dedicated Xserve product line offering a thinner 1U component for rackmountable use, but the company discontinued the line as of January 31st of this year. The company has since introduced a new "server" configuration of the Mac Pro, but a redesign to accommodate both standard upright orientation and a sideways rackmounted one would likely be a welcome move for server fans despite the significant increase in rack space required.
The report claims that Apple has developed a "stacked" drive configuration utilizing sleds capable of handling two conventional or solid state hard drives apiece, increasing the density of drives in an attempt to squeeze all of the existing components into the smaller form factor while still preserving space for expandability.
Apple's Mac Pro was last updated in late July, meaning that the line could be due for an update, although the company has been stretching out its Mac Pro product cycles over the past few years.
9 to 5 Mac reports that it has heard from a source that Apple has been providing developers at high-level iOS gaming companies with new prototype iPhone models based on the A5 system-on-chip found in the iPad 2. The developers are said to have been given access to the devices, which look exactly like the iPhone 4 from the outside, to assist them in preparing for advanced graphics and computational performance available with the new chip.
They already have select developers working on versions of their iPhone applications that take full advantage of the next-generation iPhone's speedier and much more powerful hardware. These developers, seemingly from high-level gaming outfits, have been given what is essentially an iPhone 4 but with an A5 processor instead of an A4. The device itself is virtually identical to the iPhone 4, and there is no way anyone can tell it's not an iPhone 4 based on the phone's exterior.
The source is reportedly calling the prototype iPhone an "iPhone 4S" in a nod to the iPhone 3G-to-iPhone 3GS transitioned, but that appears to be an unofficial name. The souped-up iPhone 4 is also said to reside in a company safe when not in active use, an understandable move given Apple's penchant for secrecy.
The report notes that this A5-based iPhone isn't necessarily the next-generation iPhone rumored to be released in September, but may simply be a sort of mid-stage custom upgrade to give prominent developer partners access to hardware performing at nearly the same level as we will see with the fifth-generation iPhone. Apple is of course expected to pack in other new features such as an upgraded camera and presumably a world-mode wireless chip for the next iPhone, but those features are apparently not included on these development units.
With much publicity about yesterday's iOS location-tracking issue, a number of voices have already weighed in to provide additional perspective on exactly what is happening with respect to user privacy.
As noted by Ars Technica, U.S. Senator Al Franken sent a letter (PDF) to Apple CEO Steve Jobs yesterday asking for more detail on how consumers' information is being used and why it is not encrypted.
Anyone who finds a lost or stolen iPhone or iPad or who has access to any computer used to sync one of these devices could easily download and map out a customer's precise movements for months at a time. It is also entirely conceivable that malicious persons may create viruses to access this data from customers' iPhones, iPads, and desktop and laptop computers. There are numerous ways in which this information could be abused by criminals and bad actors.
A number of observers have pointed out that Apple did respond to location-tracking concerns last July, noting that such information could be collected, batched, and sent to Apple to assist with generating and refining its database of cellular and Wi-Fi access points for providing location services. Location tracking is also used to aid in targeting iAds to customers based on their geographic region, although this information is not passed on to advertisers.
We mentioned in our initial report that knowledge of this "consolidated.db" file containing the timestamped location information was not new, having been used by forensic analysts associated with law enforcement seeking to determine the whereabouts of a given device (and presumably the person associated with that device) at a given time. One of the people primarily responsible for developing those forensic tools, Alex Levinson, has weighed in on the developments, specifically taking issue with several of yesterday's claims.
While forensics isn't in the forefront of technology headlines these days, that doesn't mean critical research isn't being done surrounding areas such as mobile devices. I have no problem with what Mr. Warden and Mr. Allan have created or presented on, but I do take issue with them making erroneous claims and not citing previously published work. I'm all for creative development and research, as long as it's honest.
For example, while Apple has noted in the past that it does collect information for specific purposes, it does so anonymously. Consequently, Levinson notes that claims that Apple is gathering information about user locations are overblown. Levinson also notes that the database of locations in iOS is neither hidden nor new as presented in yesterday's report, reporting that the file had existed in earlier versions of iOS as "h-cells.plist" but changed names and locations with iOS 4 in order to support background location services employed as part of the new multitasking features of iOS.
Finally, Levinson points to his own work, including contributions to a textbook describing exactly what the various database files are and how they are used. Levinson also developed and is continuing to work in his capacity as lead engineer Katana Forensics on Lantern, software for forensic professionals assisting them with pulling information from such files.
Reuters reports that a new study from research firm Strategy Analytics is showing that Apple is now the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer as measured by revenue, outpacing Nokia for the first time ever in the January-March quarter.
Apple Inc (AAPL.O) became the world's largest phone vendor by revenue in January-March, overtaking Nokia Oyj (NOK1V.HE) for the first time ever, research firm Strategy Analytics said on Thursday. "With strong volumes and high wholesale prices, the PC vendor has successfully captured revenue leadership of the total handset market in less than four years," said analyst Alex Spektor.
According to the report, Apple's iPhone revenue of $11.9 billion last quarter easily topped Nokia's phone revenue of $9.4 billion.
Apple has long led the mobile phone industry in profits, now raking in half of the industry's total profits. But Apple's ascendance to the top of the list for revenue in addition to profits demonstrates that the company's strong growth in the smartphone market is continuing.
As noted by Barron's, Verizon Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo revealed during a conference call discussing the carrier's earnings announcement that Apple's next iPhone will be a "global device", presumably referring to a world-mode phone supporting both GSM and CDMA connectivity rather than having separate models for each network standard.
Verizon CFO Fran Shammo, asked about the sluggishness of the company's ARPU growth in Q1, when the iPhone was introduced - growth was just 2.2%, compared to 2.5% in Q4, remarked:
"The fluctuation, I believe, will come when a new device from Apple is launched, whenever that may be, and that we will be, on the first time, on equal footing with our competitors on a new phone hitting the market, which will also be a global device."
The existing CDMA iPhone 4 already carries a world-mode wireless chip from Qualcomm inside it, but the company presumably opted to build the device as CDMA-only in order to simplify the antenna construction. The iPad 2 carries the same wireless chip, but Apple still decided not to build a universal global device capable of operating on either standard.
But if Shammo's comment is correct, it appears that Apple may finally make the leap to a single design supporting both CDMA and GSM with the release of the fifth-generation iPhone rumored for introduction in September.
It's been a busy couple of days for Apple-related earnings announcements, with AT&T and Apple releasing their data yesterday and Verizon following suit this morning. In a slideshow presentation (PDF) accompanying the release, Verizon reveals that it activated 2.2 million CDMA iPhones during the quarter. The carrier began selling the iPhone to its existing customers on February 3rd, following that up with a wider launch to all comers a week later.
Overall, Verizon reported increased earnings compared to a year ago and just slightly above analyst expectations, although the stock has slipped a bit as it begins trading for the day.
Apple yesterday reported shipping a record 18.65 million iPhones during the quarter, although that number also included devices distributed into the sales channel for sale by retail partners, while Verizon's number strictly includes devices sold. AT&T announced that it had activated 3.6 million iPhones during the quarter, but that number obviously includes a full quarter of sales rather than the under two-month period for the Verizon iPhone. AT&T's activation numbers have also historically included both new handsets and old ones that may have been handed down or sold and reactivated for new contracts.
AppleInsider reports that Apple retail employees are restricted from taking time off between May 20 and May 22nd.
Retail employees were told this week via e-mail that they may not request days off between May 20 and May 22, AppleInsider has learned. It was said that store managers are "very excited" about those dates, but no other details are available.
They go on to speculate that Apple may be using those days for a 10th anniversary event celebrating their retail stores. While Apple is also due to refresh the iMac computer, those simple product refreshes don't routinely result in any special retail events. The last time Apple reportedly enforced such blackout dates was due to the Verizon iPhone 4 and iPad 2 launches.
Apple opened their first retail stores on May 19, 2001 in Tysons Corner, Virginia and Glendale, California. Apple's retail store initiative was met with significant doubts from analysts at the time. A Businessweek article from 2001 titled "Sorry, Steve: Here's Why Apple Stores Won't Work" confidently predicted the doom of the stores.
Problem is, the numbers don't add up. Given the decision to set up shop in high-rent districts in Manhattan, Boston, Chicago, and Jobs's hometown of Palo Alto, Calif., the leases for Apple's stores could cost $1.2 million a year each, says David A. Goldstein, president of researcher Channel Marketing Corp. Since PC retailing gross margins are normally 10% or less, Apple would have to sell $12 million a year per store to pay for the space. Gateway does about $8 million annually at each of its Country Stores. Then there's the cost of construction, hiring experienced staff. "I give them two years before they're turning out the lights on a very painful and expensive mistake," says Goldstein.
Apple, of course, has gone on to open over 300 stores worldwide to great success.
Update: We've received a report that this may be due to some internal training rather than any sort of event.
Apple released their record financial numbers today and fielded questions from analysts during their financial conference call. As usual, Apple executives were unwilling to provide much concrete data on their future plans.
A few interesting questions brought expected responses. One analyst asked if Apple saw any parallels between the rise of Android and that of Windows in the past, and how Apple will maintain growth for iOS. The response reiterated recent Comscore data and talked of Apple's integrated approach vs Android's fragmentation:
The Comscore data released yesterday reported the iOS platform outreaches the Android in the U.S. We launched the iPad 2, sold every one we make. We are gaining traction in enterprise. Largest App store. We feel very good about where we are, and our future product plans. We continue to believe that iPhone's integrated approach is materially better than Android's fragmented approach. The user appreciates that Apple takes full responsibility for the experience. Few customers want to be a system's integrator.
Another question raised the use of LTE in future phones. Apple said that the first generation of LTE chipsets forced a lot of design compromises, and Apple was unwilling to make those compromises.
Finally, on Steve Jobs health, the executives reported that they continue to see Jobs on a regular basis and that Jobs continues to be involved in major strategic decisions. They commented that Jobs wants to be back full time as soon as he can.
Apple today announced financial results for the first calendar quarter and second fiscal quarter of 2011. For the quarter, Apple posted revenue of $24.67 billion and net quarterly profit of $5.99 billion, or $6.40 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $13.50 billion and net quarterly profit of $3.07 billion, or $3.33 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 41.4 percent, compared to 41.7 percent in the year-ago quarter, and international sales accounted for 59 percent of the quarter's revenue. The numbers represent the best non-holiday quarterly revenue and earnings in Apple history, just missing last quarter's $6 billion profit.
Apple shipped 3.76 million Macintosh computers during the quarter, a unit increase of 28 percent over the year-ago quarter. Quarterly iPhone unit sales reached a record 18.65 million, up 113 percent from the year-ago quarter, and the company also sold 9.02 million iPods during the quarter, representing 17 percent unit decline over the year-ago quarter. Apple also sold 4.69 million iPads during the quarter.
"With quarterly revenue growth of 83 percent and profit growth of 95 percent, we're firing on all cylinders," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We will continue to innovate on all fronts throughout the remainder of the year."
Apple's guidance for the third quarter of fiscal 2011 includes expected revenue of $23 billion and earnings per diluted share of $5.03.
Apple will provide live streaming of its Q2 2011 financial results conference call at 2:00 PM Pacific, and MacRumors will update this story with coverage of the conference call highlights.
Updates
- Largest year over year quarterly revenue growth. Fueled by record iPhone sales. Robust demand for iPad. Strong growth in Mac sales. - Mac. 3.76 million Macs. Pleased with the strong growth, given 3% contraction in PC market overall. Growth fueled by popularity of MacBook Air as well as strong sales of MacBook Pros. Entire MBP family was refreshed in January. Customer response excellent. - Developer preview of Lion was introduced. Lion features Mission Control, LaunchPad, Full Screen Apps, new Multitouch Gestures. - Lion scheduled to ship this Summer. Look forward to showing more features at WWDC. - 9 million iPods. Though lower year over year, still higher than expectations. iPod Touch makes up 50% of the iPods sold. - iTunes Stores - Best quarter ever. $1.4 billion revenue. Over 100 million books downloaded. - iPhone. Record 18.6 million. 113% year-over-year growth. Significant increase in capacity, allowing them to increase distribution. Verizon launch in the March quarter. - iPhone continuing to see strong growth in enterprise market. - iPad. Thrilled with momentum. 4.69 million iPads. Launch of iPad 2. Still trying to get it into hands of customers. We sold every iPad 2 we made this quarter. Would have liked to end with more in channel inventory. - Just under 189 million cumulative iOS device sales by end of March quarter. - More than $2 billion in payments to developers in App Stoer. - Apple Retail. 10th anniversary on May 19th. Half of the Mac sold to those who never owned a Mac before. - Launched Personal Setup. Helps customer set up the product in the store. Includes email, contacts, applications and more. Set up over 1 million products. - 40 new stores in fiscal 2011. Nearly 3/4 will be outside of the U.S. Including 5th store in China. - Excited about our new product pipeline.
Q&A
Q: Any supply chain disruption from Japan? A: Incredible tragedy. Apple has a long history/ties to people in Japan, we are very saddened. Regarding our business in Japan. Some revenue impact, but not material in consolidated results. Regarding global supply train, we did not have any supply or cost impact in our fiscal Q2 as a reslut of the tragedy, and do not anticipate any material impact in Q3. We sourced hundreds of items in Japan, ranging from LCDs, optical drives, NAND flash, resin coatings, foil. The earthquake/crisis caused disruption to many of these suppliers. But since the disaster, Apple employees have been working around the clock with suppliers and implemented a number of contingency plans. Our partners have displayed an incredible resilience. There are some supply risks that are beyond the current quarter, but the situation is still uncertain, so it's difficult to predict beyond Q3.
Q: Where the iPad 2 constraints are? A: The demand on iPad 2 has been staggaring. We are still amazed that we are still heavily backlogged. We're planning on addition more countries through the quarter. We are confident we can produce a very large number of iPads for the quarter.
Q: Price elasticity curve of the iPhone with the $49 3GS? A: Very popular. did very very well.
Q: How do you think of the maturity of LTE? And Apple's sense of urgency to get products out? A: I was asked this question when we launched the iPhone with Verizon. The first generation of LTE chipsets forced a lot of design compromises. Some of those we are just not willing to make. We are extremely happy with the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 3GS. And hitting 18.6 million units was something much larger than we thought we could do this quarter. And to 3 more large carriers.
Q: International penetration of Macs? A: Growth on the Mac has been enormous in Asia. Up 76% in Asia-Pacific. Many multiples of the growth that the region had seen for the market. We are seeing enormous growth for the Mac there. Japan also did well. U.S. had a surprisingly strong quarter. Marketshare is obviously less outside the US in most places than in the US. That speaks very well for the opportunity that the Mac has. 20 quarters in a row where we've outgrown the PC market. The momentum is still there and we're the only guys focused on building innovative products in that space. Several of the international countries are extremely portable focused. I see popularity in both the iMac and portable form factors.
Q: Forces that caused lower gross margins? A: Higher mix of iPad sales (priced very aggressively). The iPhone channel inventory increased by 1.7 million units. The iPad channel inventory fell, and was below our range. So those were the forces I'd highlight.
Q: How are you seeing different opportunities in the large enterprises with your MacBook given the greater receptiveness to the iPhones and tablets. Is it opening doors to get Macs in? A: Clearly seems to be creating a halo effort for the Mac. In part why we're seeing growth on the Mac side.
Q: Talk about the CDMA phone and any new markets that you are looking to enter? A: I don't want to get into specifics, but we are constantly looking at where we should bring on incremental partners. We've brought on 3 this quarter. That's on top of the ones we brought on in December. We are constantly looking and adding where it makes sense.
Q: Any similarities between rise of Android and rise of Windows? How do you maintain growth in the face of that? A: The comscore data released yesterday reported the iOS platform outreaches the Android in the U.S. We launched the iPad 2, sold every one we make. We are gaining traction in enterprise. Largest App store. We feel very good about where we are, and our future product plans. We continue to believe that iPhone's integrated approach is materially better than Android's fragmented approach. The user appreciates that Apple takes full responsibility for the experience. Few customers want to be a system's integrator.
Q: How closely has Jobs stayed involved during his medical leave? A: He is still on medical leave, but we do see him on a regular basis. And he continues to be involved in major strategic decisions. I know he wants to be back full time as soon as he can.
Q: Was it a forecasting error on the iPad side? A: Pleased with the progress that we've made on the manufacturing ramp. Producing more than the original iPad launch. So confident, already expanding countries for iPad sales.
Q: Share views on the one year timeline for iPhone, iPod products? A: We never comment on unannounced products. So I have nothing to share from that perspective.
Q: Any interest in having iPads subsidized by service providers? A: It is subsidized in some markets (Japan, some European). But the vast majority using the iPad on 3G is on a pay as you plan. So yes, carriers can do that, but many customers prefer the pay as you go plan.
Q: Samsung lawsuit? A: We are samsung's largest customer. Samsung is a very valued component supplier for us. We felt the mobile division of Samsung has cross the line and have had to now rely on the courts.
While much has been made of Android's rapid gains in the smartphone market that has seen it surge past the iPhone, a perhaps equally vocal contingent has pointed out that iOS is much larger than just the iPhone and that Android has only just started pushing into the tablet market and has yet to forge an effort into the non-phone touch device market.
But yesterday, comScore finally put some numbers behind that latter argument, building off its earlier report regarding February data on smartphone usage to reveal that the overall iOS platform of iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch reaches 37.9 million users in the U.S., 59% greater than the reach of Android.
Initial research indicates that Apple's iOS platform, which resides on iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches, has a combined platform reach of 37.9 million among all mobile phones, tablets and other such connected media devices, outreaching the Android platform by 59 percent.
Rather than simply counting device sales, comScore's data tracks individual users, making that 37.9 million number reflective of users (some of whom have more than one iOS device) rather than devices directly.
As a result, Apple's iOS reaches 16.2% of the 234 million mobile platform users in the United States, with Android registering at 10.2% with 23.8 million users.
But perhaps most notably, comScore finds that there is not a tremendous amount of overlap in users, with only 10.5% of iOS users accessing the system from multiple devices such as an iPhone and iPad or iPhone and iPod touch.
"These data clearly illustrate the Apple ecosystem extends far beyond the iPhone," added [comScore senior vice president of mobile Mark] Donovan. "Though it's frequently assumed that the Apple user base is composed of dedicated Apple 'fanboys', there's not a tremendous amount of overlapping mobile device access among these users. This of course has significant implications for the developer community as they consider the market potential in developing applications for different mobile platforms."
The survey also shows a broad appeal for the iPad, moving well beyond existing iPhone users to appeal to users of smartphones from a number of other companies. In particular, LG, Samsung, and Nokia smartphone users are overrepresented when it comes to iPad ownership, while users of Research in Motion and Motorola smartphones are somewhat underrepresented in iPad ownership. According to the survey, only 27.3% of iPad owners are also iPhone owners, while 17.5% are BlackBerry owners, 14.3% are Samsung owners, and 12.1% are LG owners.
Quicksilver, an open source launch utility for Mac OS that saw few substantial updates over the last several years, has seen a revival recently with a new version released late last week.
Quicksilver is a computer utility software program for Mac OS X, made by Blacktree Software and distributed freely. It is essentially a graphical shell for the Mac OS X operating system, allowing users to use the keyboard to rapidly perform tasks such as launching applications, manipulating files, or sending e-mail.
Version 1.0β59 for Mac OS 10.6 is now available and there are also older versions available for Mac 0S 10.3 through 10.5. Unlike Spotlight, the universal search feature built into Mac OS X since 10.4, Quicksilver focuses on a defined "catalog" of items like music, contacts, URLs, and emails and can search and launch these items more quickly.
Quicksilver became open source in 2007 when its creator at Blacktree, Nicholas Jitkoff, transitioned to focus on other projects. Its source code is currently available on Github.
Dow Jones Newswires reports on claims from Japanese newspaper Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun that Apple has committed to invest in a Toshiba factory for iPhone LCD production, a report that also claims that Apple has abandoned a similar deal with Sharp for the displays.
The Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun reported that Apple now plans to invest only in Toshiba's new LCD panel plant currently under construction in Ishikawa Prefecture, central Japan.
The report said that Sharp was no longer a candidate for Apple's investment.
The article notes that Sharp has issued a statement refuting the claim, reporting that the statement "contradicts the facts". Sharp even went so far as to issue an official press release denying the claim urging the newspaper to withdraw the report and issue an apology.
Last December, reports appeared just days apart claiming that Apple was planning to invest alongside both Toshiba and Sharp for iPhone LCD plants, with each facility said to cost up to $1.2 billion.
Algoriddim has reduced the price of its djay app for the iPhone and iPod touch from $4.99 down to $.99 for a limited time. djay for the iPhone and iPod touch debuted in the App Store last month and was preceded by a version for the iPad released in December.
djay provides a virtual turntable interface for music mixing and scratching as well as beat-matching, EQ controls and more. The app takes advantage of several features that debuted with iOS 4.2 in November including full access to the iPod library and AirPlay.
Apple today once again lowered iPad 2 shipping estimates in many of its online stores around the world, now citing 1-2 weeks for new orders in those markets. Shipping estimates had peaked at 4-5 weeks, but a series of drops brought the window down to 2-3 weeks early this month, and the new decrease suggests that Apple is indeed getting its arms around the supply-demand balance for the popular tablet device.
The new 1-2 week estimates have gone into effect for Apple's online stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand, but the company's stores for European countries are still reflecting 2-3 week estimates. The company does typically maintain separate distribution systems for its North American, European, and Asian markets, making variations in shipping estimates not unusual, although it seems reasonable to assume that European markets should see similar improvements in iPad 2 availability going forward.
Update: Apple's online stores for European countries are now also showing the updated 1-2 week shipping estimates for new iPad 2 orders.
A pair of security researchers today announced that they are sounding the privacy warning bell about the capability of iOS 4 to track the location of an iPhone or iPad on an ongoing basis, storing the data to a hidden file known as "consolidated.db" in the form of latitude and longitude and a timestamp for each point.
All iPhones appear to log your location to a file called "consolidated.db." This contains latitude-longitude coordinates along with a timestamp. The coordinates aren't always exact, but they are pretty detailed. There can be tens of thousands of data points in this file, and it appears the collection started with iOS 4, so there's typically around a year's worth of information at this point. Our best guess is that the location is determined by cell-tower triangulation, and the timing of the recording is erratic, with a widely varying frequency of updates that may be triggered by traveling between cells or activity on the phone itself.
While the consolidated.db file has been known for some time and has played a key role in forensic investigations of iOS devices by law enforcement agencies, the researchers note the data is available on the devices themselves and in backups in unencrypted and unprotected form, leading to significant privacy concerns. Once gathered, the data is saved in backups, restored to devices if necessary, and even migrated across devices, offering a lengthy history of a user's movement.
Data points pulled from iPhone backup
The researchers, Alasdair Allan and Pete Warden, have also put together a downloadable application that allows users to view the location data stored in backup files on their computers. Allan and Warden have reached out to Apple for comment but have yet to receive a response, and in the meantime recommend that users encrypt their iPhone and iPad backups for increased security.
AT&T today announced financial results for the first quarter of 2011, offering a glimpse at the performance of a significant partner of Apple's for the iPhone and the first data on the carrier's sales since it lost exclusivity in the United States with the launch of the CDMA iPhone on Verizon.
According to the press release, AT&T activated 3.6 million iPhones during the quarter, up nearly a million from the year-ago quarter. The figure has, however, historically included both sales of new devices and re-activations of previously-sold devices either handed down or resold by their owners, making it impossible to correlate the figure directly with Apple's own sales performance.
AT&T reports that 23% of iPhone subscribers were new to AT&T, a figure that has steadily declined over the past year or so as the carrier has increasingly already attracted many of the customers most interested in the device.
Perhaps the most notable piece of data is AT&T's claim that the churn rate for iPhone subscribers was unchanged over the year-ago quarter, indicating that significant numbers of AT&T iPhone customers are not fleeing to Verizon as many observers had expected.
On a broader scale, AT&T reported record smartphone sales of 5.5 million and 10.2% revenue growth in its wireless division. The company's subscriber base also grew by 2 million to reach 97.5 million.
Reuters reports that the next generation iPhone will start production in July and likely shipping in September.
Apple Inc suppliers will begin production of its next-generation iPhone in July this year, with the finished product likely to begin shipping in September, three people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
Reuters cites three people "familiar with the matter". The brief news article also claims that the new iPhone will have a faster processor but "will look largely similar to the current iPhone 4". No other details are provided, but the timeline is in line with recent rumors about the iPhone 5.
The faster processor will likely be the Dual-Core A5 processor that was introduced alongside the iPad.
Apple has long offered $30 rebates on MobileMe and iWork for customers purchasing new Apple hardware, encouraging users to tack on so-called "attachments" to boost revenue for the company. In late February, the company eliminated boxed versions of MobileMe and did away with the option to bundle the service with a new Mac at a $30 discount. The rebate program for distribution through other points of sale, however, apparently remained in effect.
A similar program existed for iWork, with users able to either opt to have the software preinstalled on their build-to-order machines at a $30 discount to $49, or file for a $30 rebate on the $79 iWork if purchased through other means. That $49 discounted price for preinstalled iWork disappeared as of today, however, with Apple now charging the full $79 price for the software suite.
Apple has apparently also notified resellers that the iWork and MobileMe promotions have ended as of yesterday, requiring resellers to remove all references to the rebate programs from their promotional materials.
Apple has of course been rumored to be working on an overhaul of its MobileMe service, reportedly seeking to integrate cloud-based services that would allow users to store their media on Apple's servers for access from a variety of devices.
A potential iWork update has been a bit more of a mystery, however, as the suite was last updated in early 2009. There had been some claims of Apple seeking to a launch "iWork '11" alongside the Mac App Store in January, with hints of shortages of iWork in mid-December lending credence to the theory, but an updated version has yet to surface.
