MacRumors

Business Insider relays a rumor that Apple COO Tim Cook could be leaving Apple for the CEO spot at HP. Business Insider tracked the source of the rumor as investor gossip site Fly on the Wall.

The rumor seems to have emanated from Fly On The Wall, a site that serves up gossip to the investing community.

Therefore, we aren't buying this one just yet.

The rumor has affected Apple's stock price causing a $20 drop at the opening of the market today. Tim Cook has been considered one of the possible successors to Steve Jobs for the CEO position at Apple.

Cook took over duties CEO duties from Steve Jobs in early 2009 during Jobs' liver transplant and subsequent recovery.

Update: Barrons reports that Gleacher & Co.s Brian Marshall actually spoke to Tim Cook this morning and Cook denies the rumor:

Tim Cook will not be going to HP, he loves Apple, Marshall tells me Cook told him.

With the first wave of orders for the new Apple TV on their way to customers, initial reviews of the device are beginning to appear. The first one comes from FoxNews.com's Clayton Morris, who calls the revamped device "very promising" with the potential to be a "quiet hit", but only if Apple puts some of its marketing effort behind it.

I've been testing the new Apple TV, and I think Apple may have a quiet hit on its hand. By quiet I mean there won't be long lines of rabid, un-showered fans camped outside Apple stores to buy the new gizmo, but Apple may slowly win people over with the new version.

While most of the features of the Apple TV have already been discussed, Morris offers a bit of hands-on perspective with observations such as much faster connections to networked iTunes libraries than the original Apple TV, and a unique Netflix streaming interface that is fast and easy to set up.

Morris reports that he has been told by Apple that it has opened up its AirPlay functionality for streaming content from other iOS-based devices to the Apple TV to third-party developers, although it is unclear exactly what is meant by this statement. Users currently testing iOS 4.2 have already reported that a variety of third-party applications that utilize the built-in iOS video player already seem to be AirPlay-compatible, so it is not clear if Apple's comments are simply referring to this capability or if they are moving to open AirPlay up for other implementations from developers.

Morris uses the example of his mother, an iPhone user and occasional Apple Store visitor, as the prime potential customer Apple should be courting by pushing the new Apple TV for its Netflix streaming and AirPlay capabilities, as well as the greatly-reduced price point compared to the original version. But to reach that customer, Morris argues that Apple will have to make the new Apple TV much more visible than its predecessor.

The new Apple TV is very promising, but it won't amount to hill of beans if Apple markets it the same way they did the last one -- basically not at all. Apple can jokingly call it a 'hobby,' but if the company wants it to be a successful hobby they need to educate consumers the same way they did with the iPad.

With Apple also having posted the Apple TV's version of iOS 4.1 for download, users have been poking through the operating system for hints and clues about its functionality. In particular, a forum user at Australian site MacTalk discovered a new icon for Apple's languishing Remote application, suggesting that an update bringing features such as support for Retina displays and iPad, as well as Apple TV control, might be coming in the near future.

An assortment of other hints, such as references to FaceTime, external storage and DVD player support, have also been discovered in the Apple TV's iOS 4.1, although it is unclear exactly what some of the functionalities are meant to be and whether they may simply be part of the shared iOS codebase or are in fact Apple TV-specific.

TechCrunch reports that Apple has approved Google's official Google Voice application for the iPhone. The Google Voice app was originally submitted to Apple back in 2009 but was rejected for "duplicating features that come with the iPhone". The rejection became the subject of an FCC investigation regarding Apple's App approval process.

Apple has since published new review guidelines which streamline the approval process. The changes have allowed many developer's apps to finally see approval. Apple has already approved 3rd party Google Voice apps, but the official client from Google should be coming shortly. Despite already being approved, Google is holding back the release in order to revamp the app to support the latest SDK changes including iOS multitasking.

Google Voice is a free phone service that allows U.S. customers to manage incoming calls:

Users may select a single US phone number from various area codes. Incoming calls to the number may ring simultaneously any of the user's configured phones or the account's Google Talk feature. Based on the calling number, or contact group (e.g., Family, Friends, Work), or on time of day, e.g., disabling a home phone during business hours and routing calls to mobile or business number, individual numbers may be configured to ring. The service also features voicemail with indexable automated voicemail transcription, accessible via a web browser, e-mail, or by phone. Google Voice provides automatic blocking of known numbers, e.g., telemarketers, the ability to switch lines in mid-call, differentiated voice mail greetings based on caller, SMS forwarding, and call recording.

Apple posted the new AppleTV2,1 Firmware (Build 8M89) to their servers this evening. The AppleTV firmware appears to be a version of iOS version 4.1 and can be downloaded here:

AppleTV2,1_4.1_8M89_Restore.ipsw

The firmware is of no use to anyone just yet, except perhaps those looking to jailbreak the Apple TV. But with the new Apple TV already shipping to customers, those individuals should be able to restore their Apple TVs to a factory fresh state using this firmware. Existing Apple TV owners are unable to take advantage of the new firmware due to fundamental differences in the hardware between the devices.

Given the shared codebase as iOS, many are expecting that the AppleTV will be jailbroken in time, opening the door to 3rd party applications and other hacks. Steve Jobs has said that they could open the door to an Apple TV App Store when the time is right.

Apple recently posted a support document acknowledging an issue with ATI X1900 XT graphics cards that shipped with Mac Pro systems between August 2006 and January 2008. (via ZDnet and forums )

If your Mac Pro experiences distorted video and has an ATI X1900 XT card in it, you will need to bring your computer's serial number and the graphics card itself into an Apple Authorized Service Provider or an Apple Retail Store location for verification and to exchange the affected graphics card for a new one. Affected graphics cards have "V6Z" in the last part of the card's serial number.

This program covers affected ATI X1900 XT video cards three years from the original date of purchase or until January 31, 2011, whichever provides longer coverage. The ATI X1900 XT issues have been well documented and the subject of many support discussions on our forums and others. So, if you are affected and can dig up your old graphics card, Apple has an exchange or refund waiting for you.

Goldman Sachs analysts are claiming that Apple's 2nd generation iPad will come with a camera, mini USB port and a lighter/thinner design in the second quarter of 2011:

Apple Inc. may introduce its second-generation iPad in the second quarter of 2011, said Henry King and Kevin Lu, analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc, in a report dated 27 September. The new 9.7-inch iPad is targeted to be thinner and lighter, with an embedded camera and mini USB, according to the report.

It seems almost certain that the next iPad will include a front-facing camera as Apple appears to be standardizing FaceTime across their iOS devices. Supply chain reports have already described production ramp up for the first half of 2011. The Goldman Sachs analysts, however, don't believe the rumored 7" iPad has been finalized and does not expect that model to launch ahead of the new 9.7" model.

Incorporating a Mini-USB connector, however, would be a surprising move from Apple who has developed an entire eco-system around its proprietary 30-pin dock connector. In the meanwhile, Apple may already be forced to adopt Micro-USB connectors on future iPhones due to recent regulation standards implemented in Europe for 2011. This would make the adoption of Mini-USB on the next iPad even more puzzling. The Goldman Sachs analysts Henry King and Kevin Lu haven't had much of a record for Apple-related predictions in the past.

Research in Motion today announced a new 7-inch tablet device known as the BlackBerry PlayBook. The business-focused tablet, set for launch early next year, will offer a dual-core 1GHz, Cortex A9 processor, 1 GB of RAM, 1024 x 600 display with capacitive multi-touch capabilities, front (3-megapixel) and rear (5-megapixel) cameras, and support for 1080p video output over HDMI.

Perfect for either large organizations or an "army of one", the BlackBerry PlayBook is designed to give users what they want, including uncompromised web browsing, true multitasking and high performance multimedia, while also providing advanced security features, out-of-the-box enterprise support and a breakthrough development platform for IT departments and developers. The incredibly powerful and innovative BlackBerry PlayBook is truly a game-changing product in the growing tablet marketplace.

Pricing and other details are yet to be announced, although the PlayBook will apparently initially be available only as a Wi-Fi models, with the company planning to launch 3G and 4G models in the future. The Wi-Fi PlayBook will, however, be able to tether through BlackBerry phones for access on the go.

Research in Motion has been looking for ways to maintain its prominent position among business users as Apple's iPhone has begun to gain traction in corporate settings. Consequently, the company is placing a strong emphasis on PlayBook's ability to seamlessly integrate with users' existing BlackBerry devices to allow them to easily use whichever device is appropriate at any given time without needing to worry about syncing or duplication of data.

Seeking to capitalize on the booming mobile advertising industry, Research in Motion also announced a new mobile ad platform for BlackBerry. Rather than launching its own ad service as Apple has done with iAd, however, Research in Motion's tools will assist developers with integrating content from existing mobile ad firms into their applications.

At launch, the BlackBerry Advertising Service will offer developers and advertisers the opportunity to work with many advertising networks including Amobee, Jumptap, Lat49, Millennial Media and Mojiva. Advertising networks such as Buzzcity, NavTeq, Placecast, Sympatico, Transpera, Where and xAD, as well as rich media advertising platform Medialets, are expected to join the service in the coming months.

The new SDK tools are available to developers immediately.

Barefeats has benchmarked the first 3rd party USB 3.0 interface for the Mac from CalDigit:

"Wait a minute. Apple hardware and software does not support USB 3.0." Yes but CalDigit has developed OS X drivers for their PCIe and ExpressCard USB 3.0 host adapters.

The early benchmark shows significantly faster sustained write speeds over both FireWire and USB 2.0 on the given drive, though no eSATA interface was available for testing. CalDigit claims it is the first and only card that allows USB 3.0 connectivity for the Mac. Apple has been slow to adopt USB 3.0 technology which promises faster access speeds for external devices. We haven't tried the interface, so can't vouch for it, and some forum goers have had some bad experiences with first generation product from CalDigit.

Apple was originally rumored to include USB 3.0 as early as this year into their Mac Pro line. The last Mac Pro update, however, offered no new upgrades in either USB or FireWire interfaces.

Google's CEO Eric Schmidt was recently interviewed by Charlie Rose on a variety of topics. Schmidt revealed that the search deal between Google and Apple had been "recently extended", suggesting that Google will remain the default search option on Apple's Mac OS X operating system and iOS devices for the time being.

Apple (AAPL) is a company we both partner and compete with. We do a search deal with them, recently extended, and we're doing all sorts of things in maps and things like that.

Earlier this year, rumors had suggested that Apple was in talks with Microsoft to replace Google as the default search engine on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Apple did recently add Bing search as an option for iOS search, but users must specifically activate it from their settings.

It seems Google was able to stave off Microsoft's advances for the meanwhile, but Apple and Google's partnerships have reportedly been under increasing strain as they become more competitive in the same markets.

The New York Times points to a new research report from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism which finds that Apple was the most-discussed technology company in mainstream media between June 2009 and June 2010, serving as the focus of over 15% of the technology articles and stories appearing in the surveyed media outlets during that time.

In the battle among the tech titans, Apple Inc. won the title in the last year for press appeal. The 34- year-old company attracted more coverage from the mainstream press than any other technology company - and the bulk of it was positive. Its popular devices and orchestrated PR strategy helped it even outpace Google Inc.

From June 2009 through June 2010, 15% percent of the technology stories focused primarily on Apple, versus 11% about Google.

Only 3% of technology articles focused on longtime Apple rival Microsoft.

When looking at individual news topics, Apple also scored well, with the iPhone being the #2 most frequent topic for news stories (6.4%) and the iPad checking in at #4 (4.6%). News about Apple CEO Steve Jobs and the App Store also clocked in on the study's radar at approximately 1.5% each. Texting while driving topped the list of discussion topics during the study period with 8.5% of the stories focusing on the issue.

The survey monitored the most highly-visible portions of 52 news outlets during the study period, including the front pages of 11 newspapers ranging from national dailies to small-town newspapers, three cable news TV channels, morning and evening news shows on three TV networks, 12 major news websites, and 10 news and talk radio programs.

Over the weekend, the European Commission announced that it has dropped pair of antitrust investigations it had been conducting related to Apple's policies on international iPhone repairs and third-party development tools for iOS applications.

The first issue related to Apple's policies that made it difficult for consumers who purchased an iPhone in one European Union member country to have their device serviced under warranty in another member country.

One focused on the "country of purchase" rule, whereby repairs service is only available in the country where the iPhone was bought, which made the exercise of warranty rights difficult for consumers who had purchased an iPhone in another EU/EEA country than their home country. The Commission had concerns that this rule could amount to territorial restrictions aimed at dissuading European consumers from buying iPhones outside their country of residence and so leading to a partitioning of the market.

In response to the investigation, Apple has now rescinded its "country of purchase" rule and will allow independent service providers to offer warranty repairs to cross-border customers.

As for the second issue, it was reported last month that the European Commission had joined onto an investigation being conducted by U.S. regulators into Apple's exclusion of third-party development tools for the creation iOS applications for submission to the company's App Store. The Commission's concerns were evidently addressed by Apple's announcement earlier this month that it would begin allowing such tools to be used and would increase transparency in the application review process.

Reuters reports on data from research firm Nielsen showing that U.S. digital music sales plateaued in the first half of 2010, marking a dramatic decrease from the 28% growth enjoyed just two years ago.

According to research group Nielsen, digital sales were flat in the U.S. market after a 13 percent increase from 2008 to 2009 and 28 percent growth from 2007 to 2008.

Nielsen points to a variety of factors, including economic uncertainty, a lack of appeal for new releases, and confusion over digital sales options as possible reasons for the leveling off.

Apple has long dominated the digital download market in the U.S. and many other countries, consistently registering on the order of 70% of digital industry sales and now exceeding a quarter of all music sales. Consequently, a plateauing of digital music sales growth set against a backdrop of stagnating overall music sales suggests that Apple may have a difficult time growing its iTunes music business in the U.S. if the trend continues, given the company's already-high market share. Data from Apple's announced milestones for iTunes music sales already reveals a leveling off at around 250 million downloads per month.

Some hope may remain in international markets, however, as Nielsen notes growth in digital music sales in a number of other countries.

According to the Nielsen research, digital music sales were up 7 percent in Britain, up 13 percent in Germany and up 19 percent in France.

Apple has also become less reliant on iTunes Store music sales for driving hardware purchases as the company's media devices have become more capable, allowing the company to branch out into applications, movies, and TV.

Update: In an updated version of the article, Reuters clarifies that sales of single tracks were flat year-over-year in the first half of 2010. Including sales of digital albums results in a gain of 5% year-over-year for the overall digital music market in the U.S.

Bloomberg Businessweek reports on data from research firm IDC showing that Apple's iAd mobile advertising platform, launched on July 1st, appears set to grab 21% of the mobile advertising market by the end of the year, tying Google for the top spot in the industry.

Apple will end the year with 21 percent of the market, according to estimates provided to Businessweek.com by researcher IDC. Google's share will drop to 21 percent, from 27 percent last year, when combined with results from AdMob, the ad network it bought in May. Microsoft will drop to 7 percent, from 10 percent.

According to Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris, the number of advertisers committed to running iAd campaigns has doubled since June, when Apple officially announced the launch of the program with 17 companies on-board for $60 million in spending for the second half of 2010.

At the time, Apple CEO Steve Jobs noted that the financial commitment was equivalent to 50% of the predicted overall advertising budget for the entire mobile industry over that time frame. It appears, however, that the mobile advertising industry is exploding even faster than projections had indicated, with IDC's forecast of almost $500 million in spending suggesting that even those companies losing market share are seeing strong revenue growth.

Google's mobile-ad sales are experiencing fast growth, said Jason Spero, director of mobile for the Americas at Mountain View (Calif.)-based Google. The company doesn't break out full-year mobile ad sales. Nor do other mobile ad networks.

"If we are losing share, this market is growing faster than any one we've seen," Spero says in an interview. Google has increased its investments in mobile advertising and AdMob will launch new features in 2011, he said.

The report also notes that a number of strong players are staking out their territory in the burgeoning mobile ad market, from startups Jumptap (13%) and Millennial Media (11%) to established companies like Sony Ericsson, which has launched its own network, and Research in Motion, which is reportedly looking to acquire one of its own.

Following confirmation from Apple CEO Steve Jobs late last week that the first batch of orders for the new Apple TV remain on schedule for availability by the end of the month, a number of MacRumors readers are reporting today that their orders are now showing as "prepared for shipment", the final processing step before moving into the hands of delivery companies.

Despite many customers reporting late last week that their credit cards had been charged, some questions about possible availability delays arose after some early customers who had opted for expedited shipping were notified by Apple that the shipping charges were being refunded due to difficulties meeting the company's delivery commitments.

Update: Customers are now reporting that their orders are now showing as having shipped. Preliminary reports indicate that the shipments are coming from Shenzhen, China via FedEx, at least for North American customers.

Computerworld reports on a successful launch of the iPhone 4 in China on Saturday. Over 1,000 lined up outside of Xidan Joy City shopping mall to buy the newest iPhone on launch day. The first customer in line had waited 2 days. IDG shows video of the long lines:

China Unicom reports that 50,000 users pre-ordered the device for launch day. The iPhone 4's launch comes only 3 months after the U.S. launch which helped keep demand high despite a healthy grey market for the phones. In contrast, the iPhone 3G launched in China a full 2 years after its U.S. launch.

Patently Apple reports on some new patent applications that appeared in China's patent database this week. One diagram (above) clearly shows an Apple iPad with dual 30pin dock connectors allowing both landscape and portrait docking orientations. While the site seems to think this represents the next iPad, we feel it most likely represents existing designs that never made it into the current iPad. While the distinction may be subtle, it could mean that Apple explicitly decided against a dual dock design and we won't ever be seeing it a future model.

In fact, dual dock connectors were strongly rumored for the first generation iPad by iLounge.

According to the site, the tablet will have two dock connectors to allow the device to be docked in either portrait or landscape orientations. This should allow the device some flexibility when docking with 3rd party accessories, avoiding awkward cable positioning.

Patently Apple also identifies the top sensor as a possible front-facing camera, though it seems more likely to represent the iPad's ambient light sensor which is located in that spot.

Following changes to the iTunes Store terms and conditions yesterday that referred to a "Ping Sidebar" for Apple's music-focused social networking platform, Apple has now released iTunes 10.0.1 to enable the new feature and distribute a number of bug fixes.

iTunes 10.0.1 makes it easier to share your favorite music with your friends on Ping. You can now Like or Post about music right from your iTunes library. You can also easily see the recent activity of a selected artist in your library, or of all artists and friends you follow on Ping using the new Ping Sidebar.

This release also provides a number of important bug fixes, including:

- Addresses an issue where the picture quality of a video changes depending on whether the on-screen controls are visible.
- Resolves an issue where iTunes may unexpectedly quit while interacting with album artwork viewed in a separate window.
- Fixes a problem that affects the performance of some third-party visualizers.
- Addresses an issue where the iTunes library and playlists appear empty.
- Resolves an issue that created an incompatibility with some third-party shared libraries.

The new Ping functionalities increase the integration of the social networking service with users' iTunes libraries, offering users at-a-glance access to activity from artists and people they follow on Ping. The update also provides dropdown menus next to each song in a user's library to allow them to like or comment on each track and provide quick access to iTunes Store searches for the song, artist, and genre, as well the artist's Ping profile if available.

A significant amount of attention has been focused on orders for the new Apple TV today after it was revealed that Apple had contacted some customers to notify them that their expedited shipping fees were being refunded due to an unspecified "delay". While some sites took the information to mean that those who ordered the new Apple TV and have been expecting on-time shipping previously announced for late this month could be in for delays of up several weeks, that conclusion seemed at best premature to us.

One MacRumors reader took the opportunity to email Steve Jobs about his order status and question whether shipping can be expected in the near future:

Any update on shipment of your hobby project? Looks like it will have to ship early next week for delivery before the end of this month.

The reader claims that Jobs responded with a simple answer:

Yep.

Sent from my iPhone

While Jobs' answer could be considered rather ambiguous, it certainly does appear that he is confirming delivery of the initial round of new Apple TV orders by the end of the month as had been originally expected.

Despite the fact that it is trivial to fabricate legitimate-looking emails as evidenced by some recent cases, our examination of the full headers of the email claimed to be from Jobs and the circumstances of this exchange lead us to believe that the messages are authentic.