MacRumors

Earlier today, we noted increasing rumors regarding Apple and News Corp working together to launch a tablet-focused news product, with John Gruber weighing in to suggest that Apple is tentatively planning for a December 9th media event to introduce the new offering. Gruber noted that Apple's key role in the product's development has been the creation of APIs to support recurring subscription billing via iTunes Store accounts, functionality that would presumably require another iOS update.

MacStories adds its voice to the rumors, claiming that Apple has been planning for a release of iOS 4.3 for Monday, December 13th. That release plan was predicated, however, on iOS 4.2 seeing an early November debut, a schedule that was pushed back after Apple discovered several bugs just prior to release.

Here's what we heard from a reliable source: when Apple didn't know about the WiFi issues in the GM seed of iOS 4.2, the OS was scheduled to be released weeks before Nov. 22nd. Apple found out about the WiFi issues, released a second GM build and iOS 4.2 came out yesterday. It came out in November, but it should have been out in the first half of November. Anyway, before the WiFi issues were discovered, Apple was already planning to release a new build of iOS 4.x in mid-December. Most specifically, they were planning for an iOS 4.3 release on December 13th, which is a Monday.

Our source tells us it is unclear whether the "extra time" that was required to ship iOS 4.2 (actually, it's iOS 4.2.1) will cause a delay for the rumored release of iOS 4.3 on December 13th or not. iOS 4.3 should, however, include bug fixes and maintenance of the code. It's likely that 4.3 will also address the initial issues found in AirPlay, but we can't confirm this just yet.

The source also indicates that iOS 4.3 will indeed support the new recurring subscription functionality needed for The Daily, with a possibility of more substantial cloud-based services coming at the same time.

With the rumored December 13th launch for iOS 4.3 less than three weeks away now, we have yet to see Apple seed any builds of the next version to developers, casting some doubt on whether Apple will be able to meet this goal.

Aspyr Media today announced that Civilization V is now available for Mac OS X. Introduced for Windows back in September, Aspyr announced last month that the Mac version would be appearing in time for the holidays.

Sid Meier's Civilization V Mac reinvigorates the classic turn-based strategy genre with an astonishing new engine built from the ground-up for this flagship edition of the Civilization franchise. Players are introduced to an entirely new combat system, deeper diplomatic interactions and a cavalcade of expanded features that deliver a fully immersive experience providing hours of entertainment as players build and defend their empire on their quest to become the greatest ruler the world has ever known.

Dating back to 1991, the Civilization franchise has been a very popular series of turn-based strategy games for nearly two decades now.

Civilization V for Mac is available through GameAgent for $49.99, but Aspyr will be offering 33% discounts on its entire GameAgent store from Friday through Sunday. The company will also be giving away Civilization V swag over the Thanksgiving weekend and offering limited "flash sales" on Cyber Monday to users following GameAgent's Facebook and Twitter accounts.

DigiTimes reports that Apple's manufacturing partner Foxconn has opened up its first iPad production lines at its new plants in Chengdu, China. While the new lines are only capable of producing 300,000 units per month, Foxconn plans to expand it capabilities in Chengdu to 50 production lines capable of manufacturing 40 million iPads per year.

Foxconn had previously refuted claims that the company would establish iPad production lines at the plants in Chengdu, but related component players have pointed out that Foxconn already started shipping iPads from the site in November and expected the site to become a major supply base starting the first quarter of 2011.

The majority of Foxconn's iPad production (2.5 million units per month) currently comes from the company's facilities in Shenzhen, China, but the company has recently moved to build new plants in cities such as Chengdu in the interior of China to address worker morale and mental health by keep workers closer to their families and offer a great degree of separation between their work and personal lives.

According to today's report, Apple is looking for shipments in excess of 7 million units in the fourth quarter of this year, up from sales of 4.19 million in the third quarter.

Many users of Apple's iOS devices were disappointed when Apple significantly scaled back the initial implementation of its AirPrint wireless, driverless printing service in iOS 4.2, limiting compatibility to direct printing to a handful of compatible printer models. With the reasons behind the scaling back remaining unclear and ranging from technical problems to patent issues, users have wondered whether Apple still has plans to allow for AirPrint functionality for other printer configurations such as printers shared through Macs and PCs as the feature had initially supported.

One MacRumors forum member emailed Steve Jobs about the future of AirPrint and reportedly received reassurance from the Apple CEO that the company will be expanding the feature "soon". Jobs also noted the difficulty in deploying driverless printing, hinting at a need for patience as the company continues to push forward.

Q: You got me all hyped up about AirPrint. Now with iOS 4.2 released, I find out that I can only print on 11 select printers. Seriously?!

A: Lots more coming soon. It's what it takes to make a giant leap to driverless printing, which is huge.

Apple has detailed the AirPrint feature and listed the 11 HP printers currently compatible with the service on an iPad feature page.

Yesterday, we noted that Apple and News Corp appear to be in the final stages of preparing a new tablet-focused news service known as The Daily that would offer high-quality video content and interactivity for $0.99 per week.

Daring Fireball's John Gruber has weighed in on the developments, reporting that he has heard that The Daily will be launched at a special media event next month hosted by Apple CEO Steve Jobs and News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch. Gruber notes that he is hearing rumors of a December 9th event, although it could be pushed back to the following week.

My understanding is that this initiative is going to launch with a press event, with Murdoch (and perhaps other newspaper and magazine executives) joining Steve Jobs on stage. This is not going to be a quiet launch, to say the least. But "this month" is effectively already over, considering that Thanksgiving is Thursday, so it won't happen until next month at the earliest.

(The date I've heard is December 9, but that's a Thursday, which would be somewhat unusual for an Apple press event. My guess is that they're telling people December 9 but it might slip back to Tuesday or Wednesday the week after. Perhaps it will coincide with the opening of the Mac App Store?)

Gruber goes on to note that Apple's key contribution to The Daily has been its building in of support for recurring subscription billing for apps via iTunes. The new API could open the door for other such products offering true recurring subscription-based content.

Meanwhile, French site Consomac reports [Google translation] that it has tracked down a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a trademark application on an iOS-like icon for The Daily. The filing is registered to a company known as "News DP Holdings", which appears to be a shell corporation designed specifically to manage assets for the publication.

Apple today posted promotional images on its website and sent emails to existing customers teasing the company's one-day "Black Friday" shopping event set for this Friday in its online and retail stores. Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving in the United States and marks the traditional start to the holiday shopping season. The day brings early store openings and deep discounts from many retailers, and ranks as one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

From Apple's U.S. online store:

Wrap it up this Friday.
The special one-day Apple shopping event. November 26.

Come back to the Apple Online Store the day after Thanksgiving for a special one-day-only holiday shopping event. You'll find dozens of great iPad, iPod, and Mac gifts for everyone on your list.

Mark your calendars now. And until then, get started by browsing the Apple Online Store for great ideas.

Emails sent to existing customers mention that Apple's retail stores will be opening at 8:00 AM on Friday.

Apple typically offers modest discounts compared to other retailers, although many readers still like to take advantage of Apple's one-day-only prices. We've tracked Apple's annual Black Friday discounts for a number of years now, with last year seeing $101 discounts on iMacs and MacBook Pros, discounted iPod touches and nanos, $30 off of iWork, and deals on a number of accessories from Apple and third parties.

With the release of iOS 4.2 earlier today, users have been putting the new operating system through its paces to test out the new features and improvements. Here are a few notes of interest:

- AirPlay: Users who have updated both their iPad/iPhone/iPod touch to and new Apple TV to iOS 4.2 can take advantage of the new feature to stream audio and video content to their Apple TV. Apple has posted a video overview of how the functionality works.

AirPlay functionality is permitted through a number of Apple's own applications, as well as third-pary applications configured to use the service. Netflix is reportedly not permitting content to be pushed via AirPlay to the new Apple TV, but the Apple TV already offers its own access to Netflix streaming.

- Find My iPhone: While there had been initial confusion about which devices are compatible with the new free Find My iPhone service, Apple's setup page does appear to have offered correct information: A current-generation iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch is required for initial setup of the free Find My iPhone service, but once that it accomplished, and iOS 4.2-compatible device can access it. All users must update to the just-released version of the Find My iPhone iOS application in order to access the service through their devices.

- AirPrint: While Apple significantly scaled back the AirPrint functionality in iOS 4.2 ahead of its launch, the feature does allow for wireless printing directly to certain HP printers. Those looking to print to other shared or networked printers may be interested in looking into third-party solutions unless Apple quickly finds a way to meet its original goals for the service.

- Safari "Find in Page": Typing in the search box in Safari now offers users the ability to search for text within the currently-open page, displaying a toolbar to allow for navigation among instances of the term.

- Multitasking for iPad: iOS 4.2 bring multitasking to the iPad for the first time. In landscape mode, swiping left-to-right on the tray brings up the quick-access control panel, complete with access to music player controls, brightness and volume sliders, and an orientation lock switch. iOS 4.2 modifies the side hardware switch on the iPad, turning it from an orientation lock switch into an iPhone-like mute switch while making orientation lock a software setting.

- Folders, Universal Inbox, and Game Center for iPad: The iPad finally gains a trio of other features that iPhone and iPod touch features have already grown accustomed to: home screen folders, a universal inbox and Game Center. Folders allow users to drag app icons on top of each other on the home screen to create folders of related applications, offering easier navigation and a larger number of applications to be installed on the device. The universal inbox allows users to easily see email messages from all of their accounts rather than need to manually navigate between each account to check for new messages. Game Center is Apple's social network and achievements platform for iOS gaming, allowing users to challenge their friends and track scores on compatible titles.

- iWork for iPad: As we previously noted, Apple is updating its three iWork applications for the iPad to support new iOS 4.2 features. Those updates are now live in the App Store.

A series of reports over the weekend and today are lending credence to claims from earlier this year that media conglomerate News Corp is moving forward on a tablet-focused news service, amplifying those earlier reports to note that Apple is playing a crucial role in the development of the product, despite the fact that its distribution will reportedly not be limited to the iPad.

One of the most specific reports in recent days came from fashion magazine Women's Wear Daily, which outlines News Corp's recent moves to hire 100 staffers to help bring the product, to be known as The Daily, to the iPad and other tablets in beta mode by Christmas at a price point of $0.99 per week.

News Corp. has spent the last three months assembling a newsroom that will soon be about 100 staffers strong. The Daily will launch in beta mode sometime around Christmas, and will be introduced to the public on the iPad and other tablet devices in early 2011. It is expected to cost 99 cents a week, or about $4.25 a month. It will come out - as the name suggests - seven days a week. The operation is currently working out of the 26th floor of the News Corp. Building on Sixth Avenue in a space that looks like a veritable construction zone. The staff's permanent home will be on the ninth floor, and they'll move down once it's ready.

While the report only briefly mentioned discussions between Apple CEO Steve Jobs and News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch about the project, The Guardian claims that Apple has played an integral role in the at least the technical side of The Daily's development.

According to reports, there will be no "print edition" or "web edition"; the central innovation, developed with assistance from Apple engineers, will be to dispatch the publication automatically to an iPad or any of the growing number of similar devices.

CNBC has also weighed in on the rumors, reporting that secrecy has been of the utmost importance during development of The Daily, with the floors directly above and below the offices of its staffers being "quarantined". The report notes that the publication will place a strong focus on interactivity and high-quality video.

The tablet-only news outlet called "The Daily" will contain what is being described as "highly visualized" and interactive content.

According to the report, high-quality video cameras will be used to provide content across a broad array of topics from news to gossip to children's content.

As promised earlier today, iOS 4.2 is now available for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. Users should be able update their devices by connecting them to iTunes and clicking the "Check for Update" button. Despite Apple calling the update "iOS 4.2", the company's servers and the devices themselves refer to it as iOS 4.2.1 Build 8C148, which was seeded to developers last Thursday.

iOS 4.2 brings a number of new features to Apple's mobile devices, including AirPrint and AirPlay, as well as multitasking and features for the iPad for the first time.

Earlier this month, TiPb published a pair of excellent overviews of iOS 4.2 for the iPad and iPhone/iPod touch.

Update: A software update for the new Apple TV is also now available, with Apple's servers reporting that it is iOS 4.2. The Apple TV itself, however, reports the software version as "4.1".

Update 2: Apple has posted a support document containing an extensive list of security issues addressed with iOS 4.2.

UK wireless carrier Orange today announced that it will soon begin offering subsidized pricing on Apple's WiFi + 3G iPad models for customers willing to sign up for a contract data plan.

Orange UK today announced it will offer new purchase options for iPad users, including more affordable prices when purchased with a data service plan, for iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G models in the coming months.

No details on pricing for the subsidized models or the data plan packages that will be required have yet been released, although reports have claimed that the subsidized device could cost as little as 200 and launch early next month.

The current business model in use for cellular data service on the iPad involves non-subsidized device pricing paired with contract-free data packages, allowing customers to pay for data service only as needed. Orange's forthcoming offerings will be more in line with pricing models for mobile phones such as the iPhone, offering the customer a discounted upfront purchase price for the device in exchange for a fixed-term service contract.

As we await today's release of iOS 4.2, Apple has been making several other changes and updates in conjunction with the release:

- MobileMe: Apple's Me.com web-based MobileMe services are currently down as the company makes changes presumably associated with its "Find My iPhone" service transitioning from a part of the paid MobileMe service to a free service on compatible devices.

A revamped login page has occasionally been visible, giving a fresh look to the service with a prominent MobileMe cloud logo and animated wisps of the cloud offering some additional visual interest. The login page invites users to sign in with their Apple IDs, but they will not be able to so until they have set up Find My iPhone on their iOS 4.2 devices using their Apple IDs.

If the user proceeds to enter a Me.com email address as the login, the page automatically recognizes the entry as the user types and dynamically changes to display icons for the full suite of MobileMe services.

- iWork for iPad: Macworld reports that Apple will unsurprisingly be rolling out updates to its three iWork applications for the iPad today: Pages, Keynote, and Numbers. The updates will bring support for iOS 4.2 features such as multitasking and AirPrint, as well as several other changes including improved PDF export and presenter-display support for Keynote when connecting an iPad to an external display. Numbers will see the addition of print previews including Auto Fit functionality, as well as support for formula entry with a keyboard. Pages will gain automatic pagination of tables and fixes for several importing bugs.

- Find My iPhone: Apple's Find My iPhone application has also just been updated to add support for iOS 4.2 and the free service.

What's New in Version 1.1

- iPhone 4, iPad, or 4th generation iPod touch owners can use Find My iPhone for free with their Apple ID (iOS 4.2 required)
- Support for 30 additional languages
- Important: this update is required for users of the previous version of Find My iPhone app (v1.0 and v1.0.1)

Apple today announced that iOS 4.2 will be released today for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, bringing iOS 4 features to the iPad for the first time.

Apple today announced that iOS 4.2, the latest version of the world's most advanced mobile operating system, is available today for download for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. iOS 4.2 brings over 100 new features from iOS 4.0, 4.1 and 4.2 to iPad including Multitasking, Folders, Unified Inbox, Game Center, AirPlay and AirPrint.

"iOS 4.2 makes the iPad a completely new product, just in time for the holiday season," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "Once again, the iPad with iOS 4.2 will define the target that other tablets will aspire to, but very few, if any, will ever be able to hit."

Apple also announced that its Find My iPhone feature designed to assist users with locating lost iOS devices is now available to all users of Apple's current-generation iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch free of charge. The feature had previously required a paid MobileMe subscription.

iOS 4.2 has not yet appeared for download through iTunes, and Apple has not offered an exact time for the release.

Update: According to Macworld, Apple has said that iOS 4.2.1 will be released "by 10 a.m. Pacific Time".

Update 2: There seems to be some confusion over whether the free "Find My iPhone" service is limited to current-generation hardware or if it extends to all devices capable of running iOS 4.2. Apple's press release appears to clearly state that the feature is limited to current-generation hardware:

The free Find My iPhone feature is available for iPhone 4, iPad or new iPod touch (4th generation).

Apple's newly-updated Find My iPhone setup page suggests, however, that current-generation hardware is only required to set up an Apple ID for access to the service, with the actual service potentially then being available on all iOS 4.2-compatibile hardware:

Create a free Find My iPhone account on any iPhone 4, iPad, or iPod touch (4th generation) running iOS 4.2. Once you create an account on a qualifying device, use your Apple ID and password to enable Find My iPhone on your other devices running iOS 4.2.

Update 3: Macworld also reports that an update for the new Apple TV will arrive today as iOS 4.1, enabling AirPlay functionality and VoiceOver.

As noted by Business Insider, Apple has updated its iAd page for advertisers, posting a new highlight reel showing off some of companies and ads that have been featured in the program since its July launch.

The updated page also offers a quick glance at some of the individual brands participating in iAds, including AT&T, Audible.com, Campbell's, Dove, JCPenney, and Nissan, as well as highlighting ngmoco's We Rule as an example from the iAds for Developers program.

Apple is aggressively expanding its iAd program beyond the initial launch markets, beginning to offer worldwide viewing of the ads earlier this month and quickly following that up with announcements that it will be bringing the program to advertisers in Europe beginning next month and Japan as of early next year.

Earlier this month, we noted that the original golden master version of iOS 4.2 appeared to be preparing to allow users to sign in to MobileMe using their Apple IDs and even offer users the ability create a free Apple ID right from the MobileMe settings page in iOS. At the time, we cautioned about reading too much into the change but speculated that Apple could be looking at bringing some of the features of the paid MobileMe service to a new free offering tied to users' Apple IDs. At a minimum, it appeared that Apple was looking to create a consolidated login to allow MobileMe users to access features with their Apple IDs.

New evidence uncovered in recent iOS 4.2 builds and the iOS 4.2.1 golden master seed is suggesting, however, that Apple will be offering a free MobileMe tier to users. The evidence comes in the form of a new private framework known as AppleAccounts.framework that includes a series of device-specific error messages referring to free MobileMe accounts. In particular, the error messages include alerts regarding having reached "the maximum number of free accounts" for a given device and certain devices not being "qualified for free MobileMe service".

The framework has been localized for dozens of languages and countries, and is not present in the currently-shipping iOS 4.1. Meanwhile, an error message in another part of iOS suggests that free accounts may be used for features other than email, as an error message specifically restricts certain Apple IDs from being used with MobileMe Mail:

"This Apple ID cannot be used for MobileMe Mail, but you can use it for other MobileMe services."

Other MobileMe iPhone services include Find My iPhone, iDisk, Contact/Calendar/Safari/Notes over-the-air sync, and Photo Galleries.

This might fit nicely with a previously unconfirmed rumor that Apple would begin offering MobileMe syncing services for free. Over-the-air syncing has been an area where iOS has lagged in comparison to Google's Android operating system.

Market research firm ChangeWave today published the results of its latest survey of its professional and early-adopter consumer audience, again finding that Apple's exclusivity agreement with AT&T for the iPhone in the United States is costing it customers.

The survey builds upon one conducted in August that showed significant numbers of AT&T and non-AT&T customers alike waiting for Verizon to begin offering the iPhone. This new survey, however, specifically asks recent purchasers of non-AT&T smartphones whether they would have purchased an iPhone had it been available on their chosen carriers, and more than a third of those surveyed responded that they would have, with an additional 20% registering as unsure.

We asked non-AT&T respondents whether they'd have still purchased their new smart phone if the iPhone had been available at their wireless service provider at the time of purchase. The results show the continuing threat the iPhone poses to the rest of the industry.

In short, an extraordinary one-in-three non-AT&T smart phone buyers (34%) say they'd have bought the iPhone instead if it had been available at their service provider.

The survey goes on to examine which smartphone manufacturers matched up most poorly against the iPhone, and Motorola topped the list with a nearly equal percentage of its customers saying that they would have bought an iPhone if it had been available on their carrier as those who would still have bought their Motorola phone.

On the consumer satisfaction front, ChangeWave continues to find strong ratings for the iPhone 4, even higher than those for the iPhone 3GS and leading the industry, with 77% of iPhone customers registering as "very satisfied". Motorola took second place with 71% of its customers reporting being "very satisfied", while Samsung and Research in Motion trailed with results in the 45% range.

Late last month, we reported that Apple has been rumored to be developing a custom built-in SIM card solution for the iPhone, a programmable chip that would allow users to activate their devices with a broad array of carriers without requiring extensive interactions directly with the carriers. In support of that notion, the GSM Association yesterday announced that it is launching a task force to study how such technology could be adopted, bringing on representatives from cellular network operators to help develop a list of requirements for the technology by January 2011 and bring products to market by 2012.

The GSMA today announced the formation of a task force of mobile operators to explore the development of an embedded SIM that can be remotely activated. The move is expected to enable the design of exciting new form factors for mobile communications. It will also speed the development of M2M services by making it easier to bring mobile broadband to non-traditional devices such as cameras, MP3 players, navigation devices and e-Readers, as well as smart meters.

But while the GSMA and carriers appeared to be getting on board with the overall concept of embedded SIMs, Financial Times reports that several European carriers are threatening to withhold their iPhone subsidies if Apple deploys the technology on the iPhone.

The operators are privately saying they could refuse to subsidise the iPhone if Apple inserts an embedded subscriber identity module, or Sim card.

The operators are accusing Apple of trying to gain control of their relationship with their mobile customers with the new Sim. The technology could allow customers to buy the iPhone and sign up for service on Apple's website and start using it immediately.

Closer to the operators' hearts, it could allow customers to switch more easily from one to another or insist on shorter-term contracts. It could even set the stage for Apple to resell connection service on its own, although the company has not indicated such plans.

According to Rodman Renshaw analyst Ashok Kumar as relayed by TheStreet, Apple has already relented and will not be pursuing the technology in the immediate future.

"Apple is relenting," said Rodman Renshaw analyst Ashok Kumar. "They are now completely backing away from their plan to take the carrier out of the equation," said Kumar, who discovered the change in plan after talking with Apple suppliers and manufacturing sources.

TheStreet and Kumar have a mixed track record, however, and it is unclear whether this information is accurate. Given that the GSMA appears to be getting on board with the technology, it may simply be a matter of slowing down the development process being pursued by Apple in order to ensure that all of the involved players can have their concerns address and that a broader strategy for the technology can be planned.