MacRumors

The Wall Street Journal reports that Sprint will offer the iPhone 5 when it launches later this year, becoming the third U.S. carrier to offer the iPhone. According to the report, the iPhone 5 will launch simultaneously on Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T in "mid-October".

Sprint Nextel Corp. will begin selling the iPhone 5 in mid-October, people familiar with the matter said, closing a huge hole in the No. 3 U.S. carrier's lineup and giving Apple Inc. another channel for selling its popular phone.

The timing, however, indicates Apple's new iPhone will hit the market later than expected and too late to contribute to sales in the company's fiscal fourth quarter, which ends in September. Most observers had expected the device to arrive next month.

The iPhone 5 will debut on AT&T and Verizon at the same time, and Sprint is said to also be gaining the iPhone 4.

AT&T was the exclusive iPhone carrier in the United States until earlier this year, when Apple released a CDMA version of the iPhone 4 for Verizon. Sprint also operates a CDMA network.

The iPhone on Sprint has been a popular topic for rumor and speculation, especially since Verizon landed the iPhone earlier this year. Several analysts had claimed that the iPhone would be coming to Sprint by the end of this year, and an Apple job posting located near Sprint's Kansas headquarters back in May further fueled speculation that Apple was working with the carrier to launch the iPhone.

A full week after releasing OS X 10.7.1 via Software Update and Apple's download pages, the company has finally updated its Mac App Store offerings for OS X Lion and the OS X Lion Server components to the new versions.

The update should mean that users newly purchasing OS X Lion will receive 10.7.1 directly rather than having to install the base 10.7.0 version and then update to 10.7.1.

With previous major releases of Mac OS X released on disc, Apple has only rarely updated its retail packaging to include more up-to-date versions of the operating systems. For example, Apple's original Mac OS X Snow Leopard discs were eventually supplanted by discs shipping with Mac OS X 10.6.3, but work continued on Snow Leopard after that time, topping out at version 10.6.8.

As we've noted in a number of reports in recent months, Apple and Samsung are currently engaged in a high-stakes intellectual property battle, with Apple seeking injunctions in a number of countries to prevent Samsung from selling its Galaxy Tab and other Android-based products. Apple claims that Samsung has infringed upon Apple's intellectual property rights by copying the designs of popular Apple devices such as the iPhone and iPad.

In a curious turn of events noted by FOSS Patents, Samsung has turned to the film industry in its defense against Apple's request for an injunction in the United States.

According to court filings, Samsung has presented a scene from Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey as evidence of prior art that should invalidate Apple's design claims on the iPad. From the filing:

Attached hereto as Exhibit D is a true and correct copy of a still image taken from Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film "2001: A Space Odyssey." In a clip from that film lasting about one minute, two astronauts are eating and at the same time using personal tablet computers. The clip can be downloaded online at //www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ8pQVDyaLo. As with the design claimed by the D’889 Patent, the tablet disclosed in the clip has an overall rectangular shape with a dominant display screen, narrow borders, a predominately flat front surface, a flat back surface (which is evident because the tablets are lying flat on the table's surface), and a thin form factor.

The patent in question is a design patent covering the ornamental design of the iPad, with Apple claiming that the Samsung Galaxy Tab is substantially identical to that design. By pointing to an example of a similar design made public in 1968, even if not an actual functioning tablet device, Samsung hopes to demonstrate that there is little variation possible when designing a tablet and show that the general concept used by Apple for the iPad has actually been circulating for decades.

Over the past several months, we've made several mentions of commercial airlines testing the iPad as a replacement for flight bags used by pilots. The testing programs have been looking to replace bulky and heavy flight bags full of navigational charts and other materials with iPads in order to reduce the weight of pilots' bags and save fuel on flights.

United Airlines today announced that it has gone a step further, committing to a full transition to using iPads as electronic flight bags and rolling out 11,000 iPads to United and Continental pilots.

Each iPad, which weighs less than 1.5 pounds, will replace approximately 38 pounds of paper operating manuals, navigation charts, reference handbooks, flight checklists, logbooks and weather information in a pilot's flight bag. A conventional flight bag full of paper materials contains an average of 12,000 sheets of paper per pilot. The green benefits of moving to EFBs are two-fold--it significantly reduces paper use and printing, and, in turn, reduces fuel consumption. The airline projects EFBs will save nearly 16 million sheets of paper a year which is equivalent to more than 1,900 trees not cut down. Saving 326,000 gallons of jet fuel a year reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 3,208 metric tons.

The iPads are equipped Jeppesen Mobile FliteDeck, which is a free download from the App Store but requires a paid subscription to Jeppesen's services.

The report notes that the iPads will streamline pilots' work by eliminating the need for thumbing through sheafs of paper or waiting for pages to print. The iPads will reduce clutter on cramped flight decks and offer quick and easy access to required data at all times.

Just like last week, Apple once again plans to open three new retail stores this Saturday, continuing its push to open a total of 30 new stores between July and September. ifoAppleStore details the openings, which include two in the United States and one in France.

- Carré Sénart (Paris, France): Actually located in Sénart on the outskirts of Paris, the store is Apple's fourth in the Paris metro area and eighth overall in France.

- Northlake Mall (Charlotte, North Carolina): Joining the SouthPark store across town, the new Northlake Mall store will be the second in Charlotte and fifth in North Carolina.

- The Promenade at Chenal (Little Rock, Arkansas): First discovered back in March and apparently sped up from its original timeframe calling for an October opening, the new store is Apple's first in Arkansas. The state is ranked 32nd among U.S. states by population with 2.9 million residents and has been the most populous U.S. state without an Apple retail store. The opening will leave just six states (Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming) still without stores, and West Virginia, ranked 37th with a population of 1.8 million, will become the new most populous state without an Apple retail store.

Image credit: 1000 Words / Shutterstock.com

Reuters revives rumors that Apple is building a lower priced 8GB version of the iPhone 4 to launch this fall. Reuters cites "two people with knowledge of the matter".

The flash drive for the 8GB iPhone 4 is being manufactured by a Korean company, one of the people said on Tuesday, declining to name the company. Apple currently sources its flash drives from Japan's Toshiba and South Korea's Samsung Electronics.

In addition to this low cost iPhone 4, Apple is also said to be targeting "an end of September" launch for the iPhone 5. This new iPhone 5 will reportedly look "largely identical" to the iPhone 4, but have a bigger touch screen, better antenna and an 8-megapixel camera. This contradicts many of the early case designs that have shown a dramatically different form factor.

This news comes at an interesting time, as we've been hearing more from suppliers and seeing leaked parts appear on the web. In addition to the battery prototype photo, UK repair shop iPatchiPods had also told us that their suppliers had also relayed that there would be two such models: a less expensive iPhone 4, as well as the expected iPhone 5. Due to the simultaneous development, there could be some confusion with regard to parts appearing on the net. While many are claimed to be for the iPhone 5, there may be some that are intended for this low-cost iPhone 4. In one example, the back camera part that leaked yesterday was found to be a 5 megapixel part, not an 8 megapixel part as rumored. It's possible the part could be intended for this cheaper iPhone 4.

In fact, the low-cost iPhone 4 screen is already circulating in the hands of suppliers, and we are trying to get more information on it and other potential iPhone 5 parts.

Techcrunch reports that at least one developer has found evidence that Apple is testing the iPhone 5 against current App Store apps. The logs seem to confirm that the iPhone 5 (running iOS 5) will be a dual-mode device supporting both GSM and CDMA in one phone.

The logs show that the app has been briefly tested by a handful of people using what is almost certainly an iPhone 5, evidently running iOS 5, sporting two distinct sets of mobile network codes (MNC) / mobile country codes (MCC). Those codes can be used to uniquely identify mobile carriers.

Sure enough, some registrations for the app – which the developer also asked not to be named – were logged from a new Apple device, using the MNC/MCC codes from both Verizon and AT&T.

Apple presently produces two different models to support both Verizon and AT&T. It's long been believed that the iPhone 5 will support both standards in a single device.

Apple's Verizon iPhone 4 already contains the expected Qualcomm chipset that supports both standards. Verizon CFO has even publicly stated their belief that the next iPhone will be a "global device".

Apple today released iTunes 10.4.1, bringing a handful of bug fixes to the company's media management and syncing software. The bug fixes target a number of areas, including media keys on third-party keyboards, artwork addition, movie purchasing, responsiveness, and VoiceOver.

iTunes 10.4.1 provides a number of improvements, including:

- Fixes a problem where the media keys on some third-party keyboards work inconsistently with iTunes
- Addresses issues with adding artwork to songs and videos
- Resolves an issue which may cause iTunes to become unresponsive when purchasing an HD movie
- Fixes a problem where iTunes may take longer than expected to open after waking your Mac from sleep
- Addresses issues with VoiceOver support

iTunes 10.4.1 is available via Software Update, Apple's downloads page, or the iTunes download page. Versions are available for Mac, 32-bit Windows, and 64-bit Windows.

One of the most popular long-standing rumors regarding Apple's future product plans has centered around television sets. Several analysts have been strong proponents of the idea that Apple is working such a product, and unreliable Australian site Smarthouse reported last month that Apple had been rumored to be in discussions with LG about producing a panel for a 55-inch TV based on organic light emitting diode (OLED) technology.

The Korea Times now reports (via The Next Web) that no such deal is in place.

“It’s true that Apple has keen interest in TV, allowing users to stream music, videos and TV shows via iTunes, though that needs some iPhone and iPad integration, however, Apple is still pessimistic about using OLED displays,” said one source.

“Because Apple is worried over higher costs and technology-related issues linking to large-sized OLED displays, it is groundless that Apple has asked LG Display to supply its OLED screens for its upcoming televisions,” added the source.

Sources for the report have indicated that Apple is likely to stick with more proven LCD technologies for any such television products, and has continued to shun OLED technology even for its smaller devices. In fact, Apple has shown no signs of moving toward OLED technology even looking out several years into the future.

“Apple has no interest in using OLED screens on its popular devices. The upcoming iPad 3 will also adopt picture quality-enhanced LCD screens, while the next iPhone will follow suit. Three or four more years will be needed to see OLED-embedded digital devices from Apple,” said a top-level executive from one of Apple’s suppliers.

Apple has long dabbled in the television market with the Apple TV, but continues to refer to the set-top box as a "hobby" even as it has tweaked the device to focus on streaming content from both the iTunes Store and users' computers and iOS devices. The company has reportedly been interested in offering more television content, perhaps in the form of "best of TV" subscription packages through the iTunes Store, but has expressed frustration with fragmentation in the industry and the stranglehold cable companies have over the user experience with their own set-top boxes.

Research firm NPD today announced the release of its new Mobile Phone Track report for the second quarter of 2011, showing Android continuing to lead the U.S. smartphone market with 52% of new sales during the quarter. Apple's iPhone checked in with 29% of the market while Research in Motion's BlackBerry devices continued their free fall and garnered only 11% of the market.

SplatF pulls out one key detail from the full report, noting that not only is Apple's 14-month-old iPhone 4 continuing to lead the market in sales, but that the 8 GB iPhone 3GS takes the second spot in the rankings. The iPhone 3GS was introduced 26 months ago, and Apple kept the device around following last year's iPhone 4 introduction by dropping the capacity to 8 GB and offering it at a $99 price point for entry-level users. Pricing has since dropped to $49, with occasional deals bringing the price as low as free.

Here are the top five best-selling phones during Q2, via NPD’s Mobile Phone Track service:

1. Apple iPhone 4
2. Apple iPhone 3GS
3. HTC EVO 4G
4. HTC Inspire 4G
5. Samsung INTENSITYII

Apple has attempted to keep sales momentum for the iPhone 4 moving forward with the introduction of a CDMA version on Verizon and the much-delayed launch of a white version of the device earlier this year. But even as Apple has diverged from its usual annual cycle of iPhone releases by pushing the iPhone 5 out to September or October this year, the iPhone 4 and even the iPhone 3GS continue to top the charts in U.S. sales.