MacRumors

MacMagazine reports (Google translation) that it has received information from a "reliable source within Apple" that the company is planning to hold its traditional September iPod-focused media event a bit early this year, with the middle of this month appearing to be the targeted date.

The MacMagazine today received information from a reliable source within Apple about a new event to the press that the company was planning to soon. Although the schedule cite the source as somewhere around 14 and 16, we bet our chips on a Monday or Tuesday - that is, 16 or August 17.

According to the source, the event will include a focus on the company's next-generation iPod touch, as well as information on an iOS 4 release for iPad. Revisions to other iPod models would also appear to be a reasonable expectation, although the report does not have confirmation as to whether they would be launched at the August event or held until the following month.

Rumors about the next-generation iPod touch have been circulating in recent weeks, with continuing evidence in both software betas and parts leaks suggesting that we can expect a front-facing FaceTime camera in the new iPod touch.

The rumored timeframe for Apple's media event also corresponds to a claimed August 17th release date for iLife '11. It is not immediately clear how an iLife update would directly relate to Apple's typically tightly-focused iPod events held around this time of the year, but rumors have also claimed that Apple will be introducing a new mystery application in the suite, and it is possible that the addition could be tied into iPod/iOS enhancements.

Apple's latest beta version of iOS 4.1 released earlier this week has offered the strongest evidence yet that the company is planning to roll out FaceTime video calling functionality to future non-iPhone devices based on the iOS operating system. A new option in the iOS "Contacts" application allows users to make FaceTime calls using either a phone number or an email address. This would allow FaceTime compatibility with devices not associated with a phone number such as future camera-enabled iPads and iPod touches.

The first evidence for email address compatibility with FaceTime was unearthed last month, with alleged screenshots showing settings offering the option to associate email addresses with the FaceTime functionality.

Apple is widely believed to be preparing to add at least a FaceTime-compatible front-facing camera to the next-generation iPod touch, rumored for introduction next month. Several photos of claimed next-generation iPod touch parts have surfaced showing a hole in the front LCD/digitizer assembly appropriate for a front-facing camera. Apple's iPad has also been the subject of speculation regarding a front-facing camera, although no substantial evidence of such hardware has yet surfaced and a timetable for a refresh of the device remains unknown.

Several readers have noted that Apple has rolled out a new "Genius" feature for its App Store application on the iPad. Similar to other Genius offerings from Apple, the new tab offers automatic suggestions on applications users might be interested in based on other applications that have already downloaded.

After activating the service by agreeing to the terms and conditions, which note that titles in users' application libraries will be anonymously uploaded to Apple to allow recommendations to be made, users are taken to a page offering the recommendations.

Two sections are offered: One recommending new applications and one recommending upgraded versions of applications the user already owns, such as full versions of free "lite" applications or pro versions of lower-level paid applications. The upgrade section seems to be part of a broader initiative undertaken by Apple, which includes a new Try Before You Buy section of the App Store that seeks to encourage users to test out free, lite versions of applications and then upgrade the ones they like to full, paid versions.

The iPad Genius Recommendations feature also allows users to note that they are "not interested" in a particular recommended title, an aspect that will allow the Genius feature to continually refine its recommendations for users.

Barron's reports on a new research note from BMO Capital analyst Keith Bachman claiming multiple new product releases for Apple next month, including several iPods as expected and two new MacBook Air models said to be scheduled to ship in high volumes.

For Apple's iPod line, Bachman reports that the company will launch a new iPod touch, as well as a smaller iPod nano that could see the elimination of the iPod shuffle.

For starters, he sees the company launching two new iPods in September - a new Touch, and a new Nano. He says the Nano will be "much smaller" than past versions, and won't have a physical track wheel.

The elimination of a physical navigation wheel would imply a move to a touch screen, and it is unclear what sort of interface Apple would use on such a device. A claimed 1.7-inch Apple touch screen surfaced early last month, but that screen would be significantly smaller than the current iPod nano's 2.2-inch screen and its square aspect ratio would be a very significant departure from the current iPod nano's widescreen display useful for handling video shot with the device's integrated camera.

Bachman also matter-of-factly reports that Apple will launch two new MacBook Air models next month.

"We are not yet clear on all the specs, but supply chain checks suggest that unit shipments of the new Air products could far exceed the current Air, which we believe could suggest lower starting prices," he writes.

According to our Buyer's Guide, the MacBook Air is long overdue for an update, having last seen a refresh in June 2009. One report has claimed that the MacBook Air will see a shift to an 11.6-inch display from the current 13.3-inch screen size in a revision set to debut before the end of the year.

It seems that little has changed in the three months since the last update on negotiations between Apple and The Beatles to bring the legendary group's music to the iTunes Store, as John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono claims that there are still hurdles to overcome and that fans should not expect a resolution anytime soon.

"(Apple CEO) Steve Jobs has his own idea and he's a brilliant guy," Ono, the 77-year-old widow of John Lennon, told Reuters. "There's just an element that we're not very happy about, as people. We are holding out.

"Don't hold your breath ... for anything," she said with a laugh.

Ono declined to offer details on the sticking points in the negotiations, but noted that her concerns were not necessarily shared by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and Olivia Harrison, George Harrison's widow. McCartney's comments earlier this year seemed to pin the blame on record label EMI, but Ono suggests that there may be a more fundamental disagreement between at least herself and Apple.

Apple and The Beatles have had an interesting relationship over the years, between their continued inability to come to an agreement for digital distribution of the band's music to a dispute over Apple's name, which came into conflict with The Beatles' holding company Apple Corps in multiple trademark disputes dating back to the late 1970s. While earlier agreements had resulted in Apple agreeing not to enter the music industry, the development of the iPod and iTunes again raised the ire of Apple Corps, leading to a lawsuit and eventually a revised trademark agreement that saw Apple acquiring all of the disputed "Apple" trademarks and licensing a portion of them back to Apple Corps for future usage.

A bit of controversy has arisen over a patent application filed by Apple in December 2009 that was published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last week. The patent application describes an integrated travel application for the iPhone offering users the ability to access a host of travel services, from airline bookings and check-ins to information on airport shops and social networking.

The controversy, which appears to have first been noticed and publicized by Rogue Amoeba developer Dan Wineman, involves a figure in the patent application showing a screen image that is essentially a direct copy of the interface found in the third-party application Where To?. While Apple's patent application was filed in December 2009 and claims association with a provisional patent application filed in January of that year, Where To? initially went live in July 2008 in the first wave of App Store apps. Where To?, initially developed by tap tap tap, was subsequently sold to FutureTap in late 2008.

While there were some initial questions over whether Apple was trying patent the inventions of third-party developers, an examination of the patent application reveals that Apple's ideas appear to be rather different that those utilized in Where To?, which is a GPS-based application for finding nearby businesses and other points of interest. Apple's application is focused on travel services, and while it can utilize GPS for positioning purposes, it is certainly not the main function of the application.

Consequently, it appears that Apple's designers and patent staff simply used the Where To? screenshot as an example of an interface a user might find when entering an airport, without claiming any invention of the interface's design itself or even the functionality behind it. But even if Apple is simply using the Where To? screenshot as an illustrative example to help describe a different technology, the move is not sitting well with the application's current developers.

At first, we couldn't believe what we saw and felt it can't be true that someone else is filing a patent including a 1:1 copy of our start screen. Things would be way easier of course if that "someone else" would be really an exterior "someone else". Unfortunately, that's not the case.

We're faced with a situation where we've to fear that our primary business partner is trying to "steal" our idea and design.

In an update to the post, FutureTap's Ortwin Gentz notes that he is not yet convinced that Apple isn't essentially describing his application's functionality in its patent application, but that even if it does not, the company's behavior still raises some questions. As one commenter notes, Apple's actions just don't feel right and leave the situation open to incorrect speculation and information.

The real problem, as I see it, is that no one thought to approach FutureTap, and let them know that they'd be doing so. I deal with patent applications a lot at work because they're often used as evidence in trials that I work on, and there's no way around the fact that they're hard to decipher. Bloggers are bound to read a lot into this, and a lot of the speculation is going to be based on a lack of information.

That's Apple's fault.

FutureTap notes that it became aware of the issue immediately after the patent application appeared last week, but that it held off from making a public statement as it attempted to contact Apple for clarification. With the issue being noticed by others and still no response from Apple, FutureTap is left to discuss its questions in public.

An iPhone parts supplier sent us these photos of what are claimed to be the front LCD and bezel of the upcoming 4th generation iPod Touch. The new part clearly shows a front-sided hole that would leave room for a front-facing FaceTime camera.

While we've seen similar parts before, this part is clearly marked as an Apple part "Apple (c) 2010". This stamp is visible in the full resolution image. The part is also stamped with April 29, 2010, indicating that the build date is relatively recent. We've seen other iPod Touch parts circulating in the past. In particular, a back-side camera model reached a late prototype stage last year but was never released.

Apple is widely expected to release new iPod Touch devices this fall. Rumors had already pegged the new Touch to likely carry a front-facing camera. Apple will be using email addresses instead of phone numbers to initiate FaceTime calls.

Patently Apple reports on an Apple patent application published today that describes Apple's vision for using the iPhone, iPod, or other electronic device as an interface for a multi-feature bicycle computer. While current bike computers are typically limited primarily to such data as speed, distance, and cadence with the possibility for integration of other devices such as heart rate monitors, Apple's plans reveal a much broader scope to incorporate such features as GPS routing, communications between multiple riders within a group, weather recording, and gear settings.

The premise is rather like Apple's Nike + iPod system for runners except for cyclists. While the system is for individuals, it's also designed to work with teams of cyclists so that they could communicate with each other on-the-fly about course difficulty or perceived problems. The Bicycle system monitors speed, distance, time, altitude, elevation, incline, decline, heart rate, power, derailleur setting, cadence, wind speed, path completed, expected future path, heart rate, power, and pace. The system could utilize various sensors built-into the iPhone in addition to working with sensors already built-into the bike itself. Apple's patent is extraordinarily detailed and packed with interesting twists that the sporting cyclist will really appreciate.

Communications systems built into the package could allow potential riders to share their riding characteristics others to assist in forming riding groups while also allowing those on a team to view data on other riders. Riders could also communicate with each other via various methods, as well as with outside parties.

Riders can also offer ratings and feedback on potential routes to other riders, with data on their riding characteristics offering a basis for assessing riders' perspective when making ratings and recommendations.

Mapping capabilities could offer riders a wide variety of perspectives and data, including topographic information and landmarks. Turn-by-turn directions could also be transmitted to assist riders with following a pre-determined route.

As always, Apple's patent applications are not necessarily reflective of products it intends to bring to the market, but they do provide some insight into projects the company is thinking about and how they might relate to future device plans.

Late last week, Deutsche Welle reported that the European Commission has formally approved a policy that will require nearly all smartphones and simpler data-enabled phones to adopt a standard micro-USB charging connector as of January 2011. The policy is a formalization of an agreement signed by ten top mobile phone manufacturers, including Apple, last year.

"Introduction of the universal charger will make life much simpler for EU consumers," said Dennis Abbott, a European Commission spokesperson. "When you discover you've left your charger at home or work, you will be able to use someone else's, knowing it will fit your phone. How cool is that?"

The industry agreed that the new charger will be for all smartphones and all "data-enabled" phones - and will use a micro-USB connector. The new universal chargers will not cover older mobile phones.

As Wired notes, it is unclear how Apple plans to comply with the standard, given its proprietary 30-pin connector compatible with all existing iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch models, as well as certain other iPod models and a host of accessories.

Ultimately, economics will force handset makers in the U.S. to change, say industry experts. As companies move to a universal charger in Europe, they will bring the same connectors to U.S. models.

It's not clear how Apple will make the change, but it is certain that if the company moves to a micro USB-based connector for its new iPhone model in Europe, U.S. customers can expect the same.

"It makes so much sense that I believe the U.S. will follow," says Banos. "It would be insane not to."

The European Commission is the executive body for the European Union, which comprises 27 countries with a total of over 500 million people. Consequently, design changes adopted to meet European Union standards are almost certain to trickle down to the rest of the world to provide for simpler design and manufacturing processes, as well as to ensure interoperability.

We've mentioned Apple's new retail store set to open in the Covent Garden district of London on Saturday several times over the past week, but the location is an interesting one given its status as the company's largest store yet. Yesterday we shared some photos of the exterior of the store after the wraps came down, but today Electricpig.co.uk follows up with a brief video walkthrough of the sprawling space.

Among the interesting items of note for the store are a pair of glass staircases, as well as a number of "rooms" breaking up large interior space, including dedicated spaces for group learning and professional labs. According to the report, Apple's entire flagship Fifth Avenue retail store in Manhattan would fit into the glass-covered courtyard of the Covent Garden store. The new store also offers Apple's largest-yet Genius Bar, as well as more iPad and iPhone 4s in stock than any other retail location in the world.

We're really not quite sure to make of this one, but Chinese SinoCast Daily Business Beat is reporting that Apple is preparing to purchase Handseeing Information Technology, a Chinese game developer focused on Rich Internet Applications (RIAs).

As US-based Apple Inc. is close to making the purchase of Handseeing Information Technology Co., Ltd., a mobile Internet service provider and a mobile game developer in China, for as much as USD 150 billion, the emergence of more potential buyers has added to the uncertainty of the deal.

Apple's plan to take over the Chinese company underscores its mounting interests in China's potentially huge mobile Internet sector, which has been basically ignored by it for a long time.

The "USD 150 billion" figure appears to be a typographical error, however, as, beyond the fact that it would be an unreasonable purchase price for such a company, other figures given in the report discussing outside investments in the company lead to a figure in the range of $150 million instead of $150 billion.

Apple's potential reason for interest in Handseeing is unclear, although the company does seem to have some expertise in Java-based online gaming technologies. The company touts its partnership with Sun Microsystems, a relationship that Sun profiled (PDF) as Handseeing helped deploy new Java-based RIAs for Tianya Online, a social community centered around online gaming in China that has reportedly become one of the country's largest social networking forums.

A separate report from just a month ago indicated that Apple's manufacturing partner Foxconn was planning to acquire Handseeing.

HardMac reports that it has received from a case manufacturer a design mockup for the next-generation iPod touch, showing an off-center rear camera and flash similar to that found on the iPhone 4.

Even if it is hard to have a perfect view through the case, it looks like the back is rounded, unlike the one of the new iPhone, and of course, there is a camera and a flash.

This source is very reliable since it is already thanks to it that we were able to predict the camera on the iPod Mini last year.

There has been considerable speculation over whether Apple will even include a rear camera in the next iPod touch, especially considering the space constraints imposed by the current model's slim and tapered design. Many have regarded a lower-resolution (and thus thinner) front-facing camera as having a higher probability than a rear-facing one as Apple seeks to broaden access to its FaceTime video calling feature.

If Apple were to squeeze a rear-facing camera into the next-generation iPod touch, moving it to a corner as found on the iPhone would seem to be a reasonable shift away from the centered rear camera seen on current-generation prototypes that was ultimately scrapped. Such a move could provide additional space within the device's body depending on the degree of tapering, particularly if Apple is looking to center a front-facing camera on the other side of the device.

Despite the fact that Apple CEO Steve Jobs reported at the company's iPhone 4 press conference that it does not share product designs with case makers ahead of time due to their history of such leaks, Apple's manufacturing partners have been known in some cases to leak information to case manufacturers to enable them to get a head start on production before a new product launches. Other case manufacturers have admitted that they simply base their designs on prevailing rumors as they seek to have as much of their design work done ahead of the actual device introduction as possible.

CNET reports that Apple has developed a software fix for the iOS security hole exploited to enable a Web-based jailbreak over the weekend, and that the fix will be deployed in an upcoming software update.

On Wednesday an Apple spokeswoman said in a statement, "We're aware of this reported issue, we have already developed a fix and it will be available to customers in an upcoming software update."

Apple declined to say when the update would be pushed out.

Apple had reported just yesterday that it was investigating the issue, which actually comprises a pair of flaws, and has obviously moved rapidly to close the security hole.

There are two distinct vulnerabilities in the iPhone uncovered with the jailbreak software's release, principal analyst Charlie Miller of Independent Security Evaluators told CNET Tuesday. One flaw is in the way the browser parses PDF files, enabling the code to get inside a protective sandbox, and the other hole allows code to break out of the sandbox and get root, or control, privileges on the device.

While the vulnerability was exploited to offer users a simple method to jailbreak their iOS devices in this case, it could easily be used as an entry point for the execution of malicious code.

Apple has reportedly seeded a new software update called "Snow Leopard Graphics Update" to developers. While the exact focus of the update in testing is unclear, it appears from the areas in which developers are being asked to focus their testing that it addresses several aspects of graphics performance including VRAM utilization and hot-plugging and wake-from-sleep issues. The general release notes claim only that the update addresses reliability of "graphics applications and games".

Many users have been anxiously awaiting some sort of graphics improvements from Apple considering issues cited with high-performance games running under Mac OS X 10.6.4. It is unclear, however, whether any such improvements are included in this graphics update or in Mac OS X 10.6.5, which Apple is reportedly preparing to begin seeding to developers. It also unknown when these two software updates will be made available to the general public.

In what seems to be a bit of a time warp, a number of sites are reporting on the ability of Apple's MobileMe iDisk application for iOS devices to stream music from a user's iDisk, including support for background audio via multitasking. The feature was introduced and plainly noted by Apple as part of a broader update to the application released nearly a month ago.

Today's publicity appears to have been sparked by a blog post by MP3.com founder Michael Robertson discussing the feature, which was then picked up and made into an "iTunes in the cloud" story by a number of other sites. Robertson is clear, however, that while this is a minor first step toward some sort of streaming capabilities, it is not in any way a proper music streaming service.

This is not "iTunes in the cloud" but it is definitely moving the Cupertino company in that direction. First off there is no automated way to get all your iTunes music to your iDisk account. To load files to iDisk you have to select individual files and upload them from your browser. (Apple does let you sync Calendars, Contacts, Bookmarks, etc directly from OSX but excludes music files.) Secondly there's no support for playlists so your iTunes playlist do not work in iDisk. There seems to be no way to play a list of files. Cover art is not supported as well. And while iDisk will cache other files, it will not cache music files. Still it's not hard to see how Apple is adding features to enable it to support audio in it's cloud storage business.

Macworld also brings a sense of reason to the excitement over the feature:

In a nutshell, streaming media in the background with its MobileMe iDisk app is a marginally useful feature that Apple added (and mentioned) in July. But it isn't quite time to break out the credit cards and bubbly in celebration of "iTunes in the cloud" yet.

Apple has reportedly been working to develop a service that would allow users to store their purchased iTunes libraries on Apple's servers and stream them to a broad array of Internet-connected devices. The company has been rumored to be scaling back its music streaming plans, however, as it continues to seek licensing deals with major labels to permit the functionality. The streaming capabilities of MobileMe iDisk would also appear to be forbidden under current music label licensing deals, but the labels have not yet publicly addressed any concerns over this limited functionality.

Research firm ChangeWave today released the results of a recent survey assessing customer satisfaction with the new iPhone 4. While the report reveals strong satisfaction with the device, users are somewhat less impressed with the new device than they were with the iPhone 3GS at its launch last year.

The emerging pattern is that while the iPhone 4 has been very well received by new owners, the survey findings aren't quite at the nosebleed levels seen at a similar point in time for the 3GS launch.

Far and away, users report that the iPhone 4's high-resolution "Retina" display is their favorite feature of the device, with nearly half of the survey respondents including it in their list of top features. Other top features include the 5-megapixel camera and the touch screen functionality. When it comes to downsides, AT&T exclusivity and network performance continue to be the biggest drag, although antenna issues and dropped calls also rank highly.

Interestingly, the July ChangeWave survey found that iPhone 4 customers experienced fewer dropped calls (5.2%) than iPhone 3GS customers surveyed just one month prior (6.3%). The result conflicts with statements made by Apple CEO Steve Jobs at the company's press conference last month admitting that the iPhone 4 drops slightly more calls than the iPhone 3GS, although the company is unsure of the reason for the real-world performance as its testing shows significantly better overall antenna performance for the iPhone 4.

ChangeWave's overall dropped call numbers for July 2010 (5.8% for AT&T vs. 2% for Verizon) are also consistently higher than those cited by AT&T, which claimed a 1.44% dropped call rate across its network in May 2010. An interesting post yesterday could shed some light on that discrepancy, however, claiming that AT&T systems only register a call as dropped once its network automatically terminates a call due to loss of the connection, a process than can take over a minute. In doing so, AT&T misses counting as dropped those calls manually ended by one of the calling parties after voice transmission has been lost but before the network terminates the call. Any ordinary consumer would consider such a manually canceled call dropped, but it may not register as such on AT&T's systems.

My theory is that AT&T lets the dead connection continue for over one minute before terminating the call. This allows both users enough time to give up on the connection and hang up themselves, thus "no dropped call."

The moral of the story is that if you want AT&T to register your call as having been officially "dropped," you must wait for over one minute with no signal for the call to cut off and register the call has having been dropped in the system.

Overall, the ChangeWave survey finds over 20% of iPhone 4 customers calling the antenna issue either "somewhat of a problem" or a "very big problem". Despite the issues, however, the iPhone 4 continues to receive higher satisfaction ratings than other smartphones and Apple's efforts to address the issue and portray it as a universal smartphone hurdle could ultimately result in an effective defusing of tensions over the antenna problems.