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I know how much you all love this current blog for iPhone, Mac, & Apple News but we are MOVING! Yes you heard right, MOVING! This blog will be closing down within the next 48 hours so please, come join iPhone x 3 at our new home at:  http://iphonex3.com

Same blog, Same people, MORE INFORMATION! 😀

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Apple fires its return salvo as Microsoft issues misleading 5th ad

After appearing to remain aloof to Microsoft’s jabs that Macs don’t give enough choice, Apple has responded with ads which insist that poor Windows PC choices are no choices at all.

Two of the three new TV spots debuting this week directly reference Microsoft’s “Laptop Hunters” ads, which since their debut in March have insisted that Windows PCs offer more choice for less money.

The most direct answer is “Elimination.” Faced with deciding between Justin Long’s Mac and several PCs, a shopper named Megan watches the PCs walk away as fewer and fewer of them meet her criteria of a big screen, a fast processor, and — the dealbreaker — a system that “just works” without crashes or viruses. In the end, Megan is left alone with the Mac as her only real choice.

“PC Choice Chat” echoes the theme with John Hodgman’s PC character trying to advise radio show callers on what PC to choose only to find that he doesn’t have an answer to requests for a PC free of viruses and with good customer support. Supporting this, the “Customer Care” spot has PC hiding the frustrations he’s had getting help as he’s bounced between hardware, software and sales staff while on the phone.

Each of the ads appears a gentle, if exaggerated, response but is a mirror of Apple’s first official stance against Microsoft’s campaign. The Mac maker argued that many Windows PCs aren’t bargains at all as they won’t do what their users want from them. Macs are better regardless of cost, Apple maintains.

Not to be outdone, Microsoft the very same week has issued a fifth ad of its own, and what’s probably its most head-on challenge to Apple’s pricing yet. Lauren (not the actress of the first ad) looks for a system with “speed, portability and battery life” under $1,700 and briefly looks at Macs, eventually settling on a Dell Studio XPS 13 on sale for $899. The system is arguably the 13-inch MacBook’s closest competitor and has a similar screen, dimensions and even the same GeForce 9400M graphics that Apple briefly touted as an exclusive edge over the frequently lethargic Intel integrated video in many Windows portables.

In some regards, the Studio XPS 13 supports Microsoft’s case. For its $1,099 official price, and especially the sale price shown in the ad, the system is unambiguously faster than Apple’s MacBook at that level: it has a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo Apple reserves for its $1,499 model, 4GB of stock memory that isn’t available on any MacBook below the 15-inch Pro, and a 320GB, 7,200RPM hard drive that Apple only supplies as a build-to-order option. It has only slightly less real-world battery life in reviews and weighs only a bit more.

Once again, however, the ad relies on conscious misdirection to make the PC seem more appealing. Although the ad shows Lauren trying a 13-inch MacBook, it quotes her and her mother Sue complaining about the $2,000 price of the 15-inch MacBook Pro — not only falling out of the size category the two had been considering but falsely portraying Macs as twice as expensive when Apple already offers a $999, if somewhat slower, MacBook. Even Apple’s fastest aluminum MacBook would have fallen within Lauren’s budget and saved her $500 over the price quoted in the ad.

Apple isn’t content to depend solely on marketing to correct this perceived distortion of its value. As learned last month, the it plans to produce less expensive Macs in the near future that the Cupertino firm hopes will cancel out Microsoft’s few remaining arguments against switching to a Mac.

New/Old iPhone 3 concepts?

Could these be the new iPhone that Apple may announce at WWDC09 on June 8, 2009? iPhone buzz just got an anonymous tip which included a boat load of rendered images and two short video clips labeled “iPhone unibody” and “iPhone nano”.

The latest in iPhone 3 concepts:

Keep in mind that these are mere rendering of what may or may not be the real products if anything at all – so take it with a grain of salt. It’s likely however that Apple may end up offering the iPhone in a wide variety of colors similar to the iPod nano called iPhone-chromatic.

The new supposed iPhone unibody and iPhone nano design does look like something we can expect from Apple, offering a thinner and sleeker look. I personally think these renderings look good and of course keeping my fingers crossed that the third version of the iPhone will look this good.

More Rumors of Limited Third-Party Background Apps Coming to the iPhone?

Silicon Alley Insider has heard some rumors that seem to corroborate MacRumors‘ report from February that Apple is working on allowing limited background processes in a future version of the iPhone’s operating system. Our sources had told us they would be limited to one or two additional processes, while Silicon Alley Insider suggests that it could alternatively be for specifically-approved apps.

Here’s two potential scenarios we’ve heard. Treat these as anecdotal rumors for now, as we don’t know how realistic they are.

* Apple might allow users to select two apps that can run in the background.

* Apple might selectively allow some apps to run in the background. We assume that developers could apply for permission to run in the background, and that Apple might approve or deny them based on the resources they need and how well they behave with the operating system’s stability.

According to the report, it is not known whether this feature could make an appearance in iPhone OS 3.0 due this summer or if it might be under development for a later release.

In a blog post discussing Silicon Alley Insider‘s report, John Gruber writes that he has also heard rumblings about a similar feature:

Ordinarily I wouldn’t link to something as sketchily sourced as this, but: I heard something very similar from a decent (but second-hand) source back in January during Macworld Expo. What I heard then was that Apple was working on a vastly improved dock for your most-frequently used apps, and that there’d be one special icon position where you could put a third-party app to enable it to run in the background.

Citing concerns over the effect of having applications run in the background on battery life, Apple is officially planning to deploy push notifications as a substitute for backgrounding, allowing delivery of alerts for applications that are not actively running.

Apple execs disclose options for boosting iPhone market share

Apple executives said this week they believe the iPhone remains in its infancy and went on to — somewhat uncharacteristically — reveal a series of strategic measures they may employ in the near term to help grow the handset’s share of the booming smartphone market.

The comments came during a meeting between senior company officials and analysts for Oppenheimer, who stopped at the iPhone maker’s Cupertino-based campus Thursday as part of a bus tour that also swung by the headquarters of Synaptics, Trimble Navigation, Zoran, and Cypress Semiconductor.

In a report on the meetings issued to clients Friday, analyst Yair Reiner said Apple sidestepped his questions on new products but remained upbeat about the potential for “considerable” growth through share gains in two of its three core business segments: the Mac and iPhone.

On the Mac side, Apple indicated that some of its strongest prospects for share gains exist internationally, where growth has recently outpaced that of the U.S. For example, the company said last month that unit sales and revenue grew 5 percent and 18 percent, respectively, on a year-over-year basis in Europe compared to an 8 percent unit decline and 8 percent revenue increase in the Americas.

Meanwhile, Reiner wrote that the “iPhone is still in its early days and could gain share by: providing more functionality; lowering prices; growing geographically; or segmenting the market with different models.”

Uncertain whether these assertions where those of the analyst or derived from specific comments by Apple, AppleInsider contacted Reiner for clarification. Surprisingly, the remarks came from management. “[T]hey are not saying they will necessarily do all of these,” the analyst said. “This is basically the menu of options.”

Still, the revelation is noteworthy given that it’s the first time members of the company’s leadership have expressed openly that they may be interested in catering to a broader demographic by fragmenting the iPhone line into a family of phones with materially distinct features and price points.

These comments may support the discovery of references to multiple new iPhone models in the company’s pre-release builds of iPhone Software 3.0. The remarks on lower pricing are similarly interesting, though they’ve been made previously during earlier sit-downs with other analysts.

For his part, Reiner says he expects “some combination of all these” options to materialize over the next six months. In speaking to AppleInsider, he added that when it comes to segmentation of models, “Apple said that one thing would be a constant: iPhone will remain a software centric device.”

Oppenheimer’s visit to Apple’s campus was the second in as many weeks by an equity research firm that provides ongoing coverage of the company. Last week, Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu made the trip in conjunction with a pack of investors that tagged alone for the ride down from San Francisco..

In his write-up of the face-to-face encounter with Apple chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer and Tom Boger, a senior manager in the company’s Mac division, Wu similarly noted that no new product information was shed. However, he said he walked away from the sit-down with higher conviction in his “Buy” thesis on the company and a belief that Apple shares can support a higher trading multiple going forward.

“Apple seemed particularly excited about the China market but wouldn’t comment on timing,” he said, referring to the iPhone maker’s prospects for capitalizing on the world’s largest cell phone market, and suggesting a move into the region could come as early as this summer alongside new iPhones.

Government statistics indicate that there are more than 600 million wireless subscribers spread across the country, with market research firm iSuppli estimating that another 90 million are likely to sign up with a wireless provider this year. So the stakes are high and share ripe for the picking.

Both China Mobile, the world’s largest wireless provider, and China Unicom, its smaller rival ranking second in the country, have both confirmed ongoing negotiations with Apple. However, recent reports indicate that momentum may have recently shifted in China Unicom’s direction after talks between Apple and China Mobile, believed to be its first choice of partner with 415 million subscribers, reportedly broke down.

At the root of the issue were reported demands on the part of China Mobile that it be able control the local version of the App Store. The carrier was also at one point said to be asking that Apple ship it iPhones with both Wi-Fi and 3G technology disabled for competitive reasons. And while there’s no concrete information to suggest Apple would agree to make such concessions, references to “ChinaBrick” discovered in betas of iPhone Software 3.0 leave room for debate.

Apple could also approach China with a multi-carrier strategy, which turned out to be a healthy move in the land of Oz given that it led to increase competition, and ultimately more options consumers, company officials told Wu during their meeting.

“In regards to new carriers beyond AT&T in the U.S., management commented that it remains happy with AT&T but that competition has been good and cited Australia as an example where there are three carriers carrying iPhone,” Wu wrote.

Email ‘n Walk: Keeping an Eye on What’s in Front of You

CNET highlights Email ‘n Walk [App Store, Free for a Limited Time], a new application that utilizes the iPhone’s camera and a transparent window to allow users to compose e-mails while keeping an eye on what’s going on front of them.

The idea is simple: start up Email ‘n Walk, type in your subject, and start typing a message. While you write, Email ‘n Walk uses your iPhone camera to show you what’s in front of you so you don’t run into anyone. I took it for a test run outside our offices here in San Francisco and even though it felt a little silly, the app works as advertised. When you’re done, hit send and you’ll be transferred to the iPhone mail app to add recipients and send your e-mail.

As the application’s developers note, users should obviously observe caution while using the application and remain aware of what is going on around them at all times. While the application could certainly be of some use while stationary or possibly walking, attempting to use the application while biking or driving, for example, would be incredibly unwise, needless to say.

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Steve Jobs’ Amazon account hacked? 20,000 items in 10 years?

According to Cult of Mac‘s Leander Kahney, a hacker by the name of “orin0co” had phished Steve Jobs’ Amazon password using a fake Amazon page awhile ago and has been pulling data out of it for the last few years.  He’s recently been sending out screenshots to journalists saying the highest bidder will get the pharmed information.  He/she claims that the purchasing record includes 20,000 items over the last 10 years.  Who says no one reads anymore?!

If true, this could be quite a crime.  However, a screenshot and an email aren’t really enough to believe this person yet.  You could just change your name to “Steve Jobs” in Amazon’s settings, take some screenshots and wammo!  Look!  We got Barack Obama’s Amazon account!!

Maybe Leander is the one being phished. We’ll keep an eye on how/if this develops.

The email is pasted below:

Hi,

The reason am writing to you is that your book is among first to

sell in amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/steve-jobs-Books/s?ie=UTF8&keywords=Steve%20Jobs&rh=n%3A266239%2Ck%3ASteve%20Jobs&page=1

I will try to be as short as possible:

2 years ago, I set a amazon.com fake page, and sent emails to different IT people around the globe. Among some other unknown person, Steve Jobs got my mail, he didn’t notice the scam I set so he “updated” his amazon account with data( name, address, credit card number, phone, amazon user and password) which I received, sent to my mail.

Now, it was not my intention to misuse his account (which is still untouched!), the sole purpose was if the “scam” was so perfect that even IT Guru’s will fall on it.

I saw you are the bestseller with a book on S.Jobs, I still have access on his amazon.com account, with all his purchase/interest details for 6-7 years. Now I just checked again, and he didn’t use it since December 22 last year, for reasons known to us.

I intent to sell this information, that’s why I picked you as first on the list.

If you are not interested, am sure other book authors on SJ life (Jeffrey Young, William Simon, Alan Deutschman, Anthony Imbimbo, Daniel Lyons or any others) will be very interested to know about this.

Hope to hear from you,

Regards

p.s. I can provide “print screens” logged in SJ amazon account.

Apple’s future iPods rumored to get cameras like iPhone

Apple may be planning to add camera functionality to a couple of its next-generation iPod models, according to a new report, which also claims that upcoming iPhones will retain the handsets’ existing form factor.

Citing tips passed on from one of its sources, Hardmac, the English-language version of France’s MacBidouille, says that when Apple refreshes its iPod touch and iPod nano players later this September, both will feature a camera like the iPhone.

Despite some inaccuracies in Hardmac’s earlier batch of rumors, adding a camera to the iPod touch may be a logical step for Apple, in that it would nearly double the market for camera-related applications on the App Store set to explode following the release of next-generation iPhones, which will include video recording capabilities as one of their biggest features.

The assertion that the more affordable and compact iPod nanos will also gain camera functionality is a bit more dubious but shouldn’t be ruled out entirely. Although there’s no developer platform surrounding the nano to help leverage such a feature, the players do include a built-in photo viewer.

Adding a camera to the nano may be a simple but material enough measure that could help drive upgrade cycles on the part of consumers, some of which may be turned on to the novelty of having rudimentary point-and-shoot capabilities built into a device they carry regularly, doing away for the need to tote a separate device more frequently.

Separately, the report cites the same sources as saying that this year’s iPhones will feature “exactly the same shape and size than the current iPhone 3G, despite fakes and rumors circulating.” This prediction is fairly consistent with one waged by a self-alleged insider in China, who outlined several specifications rumored for the new handsets in an overseas forum post first discovered by AppleInsider earlier this week.

iPhone speculation heats up around mysterious Best Buy entries

With Apple-related news grinding to a halt near week’s end, some are scraping the bottom of the barrel and pointing to some unusual entries in Best Buy’s inventory system as potential placeholders for Apple’s next-gen iPhones.

Mobile site the phoneArena has published a screen capture (below) of the electronics retailer’s inventory system passed on by a store employee showing conspicuous references to an unidentified trio of AT&T devices listed under the moniker “Project Charlie.”

There’s nothing that ties the entries to Apple or an iPhone, though some speculate that the references may align with some form of code-naming convention by which the third-generation iPhone would be given the “Charlie” nickname using the phonetic alphabet.

With roughly three weeks to go before the next time Apple will host an event (WWDC) suited for new product introductions, it’s highly unlikely that Best Buy would have any first-hand knowledge of the company’s iPhone plans.

That said, Best Buy is just one of two independent third-party U.S. retailers authorized to sell and activate the touchscreen handsets, with Wal-Mart serving as the other. It may therefore be prepping its inventory system for three new models based on assumptions that Apple will again offer its third-gen iPhones in two capacities with a dual color option at the top of the line.

It’s surely no secret that new iPhone hardware is due in the coming weeks, with analysts and bloggers recently facing off in their predictions on whether the devices will make their appearance at Apple’s annual developers conference during the second week or June or turn up several weeks later.

Apple may have made just $45 million from iPhone App Store

Although many imagine the App Store a cash cow for Apple, a detailed examination has revealed that the iPhone maker may only have earned between $20 million and $45 million from the store for its first billion downloads — a figure the company is likely more than happy to accept.

Lightspeed Venture Partners’ Jeremy Liew made the calculation after learning that there’s typically a ratio of 15 to 40 free apps for every one paid example and after discovering an O’Reilly estimate which determines that the mean price for an app is about $2.65.

At the time Apple crossed the billion app mark, this would have resulted in about 25 million to 50 million downloaded paid apps and produced raw revenue of between $70 million to $160 million. But because Apple only takes 30 percent of that revenue for itself, the company has only earned $20 million to $45 million itself. That could be cut in half again if the weighted average is actually at a lower figure such as $1.50, Liew says.

The calculation would have App Store purchases account for an extremely small fraction of Apple’s iPhone revenue to date; if it were put up against Apple’s early 2009 revenue alone, it would represent less than 3 percent.

Still, the Cupertino-based firm is unlikely to be concerned with the exact amount of income attached to its mobile software store. Similar to its stance on the iTunes music and movie stores, Apple has maintained that the App Store isn’t meant as a profit generator and is instead a means of attracting customers to the iPhone and iPod touch, where the majority of the profit exists. The reasoning is most evident in Apple’s recent, app-centric marketing campaign as well as in the billion-app contest itself, which gave the prize to a downloader of Bump, a free data exchange app.