This morning, the online Apple store went offline for a short time. When it came back, there were no signs of an Apple tablet, but it seems the Christmas elves had been speaking to Mr. Jobs about gift options. If you’ve thought about buying gifts from Apple this festive season, you’ll be happy to hear of the elegant gift wrapping options, Christmas-styled gift cards and, of course, the personalization options available for several Apple products.

So now you have all you need to get your Christmas shopping started nice and early. Apple makes it simple to send gifts to friends and family outside of the U.S., too. According to the online store, simply navigate to the store of that country (for example, for the U.K., head to store.apple.com/uk) and purchase the gifts using your U.S. credit card. If you decide against gift wrapping, you can write a small free gift message with the package, but rest assured Apple won’t send any pricing information with that product.

With the great range of iPods, the newly updated line of laptop and desktop computers, and more accessories than you could possibly want in one go, the online Apple Store is the place to shop this Christmas. You’ll be guaranteed to gain the “cool” status from your friends and family for buying them an Apple gift.

Stay tuned on Appletell over the coming weeks for tips and tricks on the best holiday gift ideas, the best festive software from the App Store, and the best collection of music to suit your holiday spirit from iTunes.

Full Story » | Written by Ed Parry for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

The day of the Droid came and left with relatively little press coverage compared to what we’ve seen from the iPhone in previous launches. However, that isn’t to say the Droid isn’t receiving its fair share of publicity, and for good reason. While I haven’t personally gotten my hands on one of these devices, I’ve heard many great things not only about Android 2.0 and the hardware, but about Verizon’s great coverage as well. With a large touch screen and nice camera, it’s not really a surprise that small lines formed by customers waiting to get their hands on one of these.

It’s clear that having the Verizon network behind it, Droid is going to offer more competition to the iPhone than the Pre did on Sprint. However, the Droid phone also has the advantage of having Google and their Android project behind it. And with Google comes the ability to send an advertising message to millions upon millions of people around the U.S. Yes, Google is placing Droid text advertisements on their main home page much like they did when Chrome was released. This certainly can’t hurt.

It will definitely be interesting to watch this one play out. Droid being based on an open platform has a ton of potential, but the iPhone already has a huge user base from being on the market for a longer period of time. What do you think will happen?

Image via [Engadget]

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Currently, Apple’s most affordable model of iPhone is the 8GB iPhone 3G, also known as “last year’s model.” But that could change soon. Pat, I’d like to buy a consonant.

The Boy Genius Report has received a number of unconfirmed tips—along with a few, not so blurry, pics—that seem to confirm that Rogers in Canada is draining their 8GB iPhone 3G stock to make way for the new 8GB iPhone 3GS. I think it’s fair to assume this rumor would apply to AT&T and elsewhere too.

This just makes sense. It’s not like Apple to keep an old model around when they can instead force you to buy a new one.  I’m just hoping this works like Wheel Of Fortune, you know, where the consonants are free!  I’d say there’s at least a fair possibility that a new 8GB iPhone 3GS for $99 just like the current 3G model, but that’s completely my own speculation.  I also wouldn’t be surprised to see an extra $49 tacked on.

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Apple could already be testing next generation iPhones equipped with RFID (radio frequency identification) capabilities if a less than rock solid rumor is to be trusted (as if rumors could be solid in the first place).

9to5Mac admits their source, Einar Rosenberg from Nearfield Communications, isn’t exactly the end all, be all source for inside Apple info, but they have a pretty interesting rumor. Read:

A highly reliable source has informed me that Apple has built some prototypes of the next gen iPhone with an RFID reader built in and they have seen it in action. So its not full NFC but its a start for real service discovery and I’m told that the reaction was very positive that we can expect this in the next gen iPhone.

Cool. Let’s assume this to be true, just for the sake of discussion. What exactly would you do with RFID in your iPhone? A host of things actually, but the most useful for regular users would likely be how it could simplify device discovery and syncing. You could just bring your iPhone within close proximity of your next gen Mac (presumably also equipped with RFID) and syncing could happen wirelessly. Now that’s something I think we’ve all wanted for some time.

Adding to the believability of this rumor is the fact that Apple has a patent for a “Touch Screen RFID Tag Reader.” But hey, that could be for any of the other touch screen devices Apple makes…

Another use could potentially be a form of credit “card” or ever a credit card reader. This also explains the rumor source, since Einar Rosenberg is the CTO at Narian Technologies.  They are all about mobile advertising and payments, two things that could leverage RFID in devices like the iPhone.  I’m sure Apple wouldn’t mind using RFID to accept credit cards with a future version of their already new iPod touch mobile scanners they’ve recently started using in Apple Stores.  And using the iPhone like a credit card wouldn’t be a bad idea either.  I’m never without my iPhone.  Never.  I can think of several times I’ve forgotten my wallet at home but somehow managed to have my iPhone with me.  Now that I think about it, I really wish I could have paid via iPhone the last time I did that, too.

RFID presents a lot of opportunities for devices and accessories to work seamlessly with each other, and I wouldn’t be surprised in the least to see this rumor pan out.

Full Story » | Written by Jake Gaecke for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Fortune Magazine has decided to call the 2000s “the decade of Steve” for his role with Apple, Inc. As they mention, he has overcome being forced to leave his own company, returning back for a salary of $1, a securities-law scandal, two close calls with death, and his “own often unpleasant demeanor” to earn himself the title of CEO of the Decade.

In the last ten years, Apple has stretched out into the areas of media and cell phones. But they didn’t just enter these markets; they changed them. I don’t need to remind you of the huge success the iPod continues to have, and with over 100,000 applications available in the iPhone App Store, it seems obvious their venture into the cell phone market has proven a success, too.

It’s often noted that he’s a showman, a born salesman, a magician who creates a famed reality-distortion field, a tyrannical perfectionist. It’s totally accurate, of course, and the descriptions contribute to his legend.
Fortune Magazine.

In 2000, Apple was worth $5 billion. Not a small number by any means, but just ten years later Apple is now worth around $170 billion, putting themselves just ahead of Internet giant, Google. Thanks to being debt-free, Apple has around $31 billion in cash and investments, which is the highest amount for any technology company.

So, in ten years, Apple has gone from a relatively small computer company—with no Apple Stores, iPod, iTunes, Mac OS X or iPhone—to being a technology leader with a range of great products, while being the most valuable company in Silicon Valley. I think, looking back, it’s no wonder Steve Jobs is Fortune’s “CEO of the Decade.”

Via [AppleInsider]

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Ah, I remember not so long ago when we heard news of the App Store surpassing 2 billion downloads. However, the App Store has now reached another very important milestone: 100,000 available applications. In a marketplace where other companies are struggling to get 1,000 applications available for purchase and download, Apple and the developers with accounts have once again risen to the occasion. 100,000 certainly isn’t a small number, and it undoubtedly has brought much success for Apple and the iPhone OS platform.

In a statement, Apple SVP of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller said, “The App Store, now with over 100,000 applications available, is clearly a major differentiator for millions of iPhone and iPod touch customers around the world. The iPhone SDK created the first great platform for mobile applications and our customers are loving all of the amazing apps our developers are creating.”

While there may be 100,000 apps on the App Store, this isn’t all good. With so many applications available, it’s safe to assume some (if not the majority) of basically crap or useless. This makes it hard sometime to navigate through all the cruft to find the real winners among the crowd. Thankfully, Apple has done pretty well so far adding features to the App Store to help discover some of the best apps, such as the Top Selling (free and paid) and Top Grossing lists.

I’m sure it won’t be long until we see posts reading of 200,000 applications available.

Via [Ars Technica]

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A while back, we wrote about how Apple is transitioning from Windows based EasyPad checkout systems to iPod Touch based mobile checkout systems. While it’s still unclear as to what manufacturer has helped Apple create the product you see below, we do know this is what Apple will be using for their new point of sale solution.

As you can see, the device contains hardware to slide credit and debit cards in the back while still allowing the user to have access to the normal buttons and connecters (via a dongle). It also manages to have a barcode reader in the top of it to allow for easy scanning of products. Furthermore, the device has its own battery with a strength indicator on the back to tell employees when they should recharge. A pen that allows customers to sign their names to their purchases is also included with the unit.

Don’t worry, though; the unit will still be able to go through cash transactions via cash registers throughout the store that can be opened from the application. According to AppleInsider, this will be rolling out to select stores over the next six months.

These systems are great in that they allow Apple to get rid of the regular cash register stations and open up more room for both employees and customers to move about the store. Also, it means that nearly every employee will be able to conduct sales and transactions with customers, so they can hopefully have a more pleasant experience without lines. On top of that, it is also a first-hand experience as to how useful iPod Touches can be to potential customers. That said, there are also some downsides to becoming entirely dependent on systems like this. Since they use WiFi to communicate with the purchase servers, a loss in signal means no transactions can be processed.

It will be fun to watch these in action when (and if) they make it to my local Apple Store.

Via [AppleInsider]

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According to sources for All Things Digital, Apple has been pitching a $30 per month TV subscription service via iTunes in the past weeks. The sources are saying that various TV networks have been approached by Apple about the deal, and if enough support is gained, this could potentially rival the way we’ve accessed our TV through cable for years now. The good news about this information, though, is that Apple apparently hasn’t been tying a service such as this in with the Apple TV hardware, but rather would make it available through iTunes, which has 100 million users already. Furthermore, the sources state a service such as this may be available as early as this coming year.

This idea poses a couple of interesting ideas. For one, it would introduce a new source of revenue to the cable networks who have been eager to do such a thing for a while now. However, it would also potentially conflict with currently existing relationships with cable providers such as Comcast and Time Warner. That said, companies such as Disney have shown a willingness to experiment with things such as this in the past, so it could happen. There still remains the issue of how this would affect actual TV viewers and ratings, then, which would have to also be figured out by Apple and their possible agreements.

Via [All Things Digital]

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One of the strangest things about the Apple Stores, in my opinion, is how they always used Windows based PDAs for customer checkouts not at the register. Sure, Apple didn’t want or really need to make their own system, but it was just a little strange to me. Now that Apple has the iPod Touch—a very mobile device capable of many features—it only seems fitting the company would transfer to this type of platform for checkouts. Instead of using the Windows based EasyPad systems, Apple will now be using iPod touches combined with barcode scanners and credit card readers.

According to a reader of AppleInsider, the Valley Fair Mall Store in Santa Clara is already using these devices and, “These things look really cool, much smaller than the Windows-based ones and faster too. They seem to be running a trial at that store, Palo [Alto] did not have them.”

This transition will certainly make checkouts easier for the Apple Store employees as the old EasyPad systems were large, clunky, and required a stylus to operate. They also have black and white screens and commonly lost wifi signals in the middle of a transaction. I’ll definitely be looking for these new systems next time I’m at my local Apple Store.

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

In an agreement with the Chicago Transit Authority, Apple will be supplying $4 million to help fix up a run down triangle of land near their future Halsted Street store. While Apple has given money to areas where they had stores before, this will be the largest to date, as most of the previous ones were simply for fixing sidewalks and other minor tasks. This one will involve constructing a subway entrance building and bus turnaround driveway in order to help make the store more accessible and prominent. Part of the ordinance notes, “Apple will pay all costs of the exterior, interior, and platform refurbishment and desires that all work at these locations be completed not later than September 30, 2010.” This means that the Apple Store may open in late fall 2010.

The signing of this agreement took place on August 19th and entails some interesting details. Since Apple has agreed to pay for the improvements, the CTA will leave the bus turnaround to Apple for 10 years at no cost and will also give Apple the first rights of refusal for naming the station as the advertisements in that station. As you can see in the image, the area of land that Apple will be helping out with will be very important to their store (the red area). However, I’m sure this will also help the public in general, which will be nice for those who live there.

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There have been stories floating around the web claiming that Apple is not going to release anymore products this year. With the new 27” iMac, Magic Mouse, and unibody MacBook being released last week, this shouldn’t really surprise anyone. After all, the holiday season is only a month or so away, and I’m not sure Apple would update the products again that soon. However, of interest in this story is how Apple has called the tech website Gizmodo and stated, “The holiday lineup is set” [our emphasis]. Now, isn’t this basically what no more products in 2009 means?

While I’m fairly certain we won’t see any new products out of Cupertino this year, I do find it interesting that Apple would bother calling tech blogs in order to clarify something so simple. Perhaps Apple will be announcing new products sometime before the end of the year, but won’t actually be releasing them until early next year? It would seem out of the normal time frame from Apple, but it would make sense if they wanted to let people to know to hold off on a certain type type of product their competitors may already be selling. It’s definitely up for speculation.

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Another day, another rumor about the “impending” Apple Tablet. Today, the internet was on fire with talk about a leaked picture of what could be the SIM card tray for the rumored Apple Tablet. And if that wasn’t quite enough to get you to stop yawning, Bill Keller, executive editor at the New York Times, made a not-so-off-the-record speech about the New York Times’ web presence. In that speech, he made reference to an Apple Tablet as if he knows something we don’t know. I’m not convinced.

Yes, you could say I’m one of those fanboys who’s always ready to talk about and spread the latest Apple rumors. But Today is different.  ctually, it isn’t. More rumors about products we’re yet to see. Did I find the picture above interesting enough to talk about it? Sure. But does anyone really care what the SIM card tray of the iPhone 4G or Apple Tablet looks like? No. In fact, I’d be much more interested to find out about a network free Apple Tablet. I just can’t bring myself to sign another contract with the Devil AT&T. I’ll go ahead and speculate that there will be such a Tablet. There’s an iPod touch for the very same reason.

And then there was the video with Bill Keller. Honestly, it’s not worth watching. Here’s what he said.

“I’m hoping we can get the newsroom more actively involved in the challenge of delivering our best journalism in the form of Times Reader, iPhone apps, WAP, or the impending Apple slate, or whatever comes after that.”

He made the minor reference to our beloved/non-existent device without any sort of enthusiasm or secrecy. I really think that he was doing what any of us would do in normal off-the-record conversation, which is talk about these sorts of rumors assuming that they will become truth at some point. It’s possible that he has some inside information, but Today’s revelation was not exactly something we didn’t already know. If Apple isn’t currently making a Tablet or slate device, they’re letting potential revenue just sit in our pockets, and that’s not the way Jobs became the 43rd richest American now is it?

So at the end of the day, I hope that the SIM card tray picture made your day.  And I hope that Keller’s “slip” put a smile on your face.  I’m very sure we’ll see this Apple Tablet at some point, but that day is not Today.  No, you won’t even see a decent leaked image, just a SIM card tray.  Sorry.

Full Story » | Written by Jake Gaecke for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

“Time to upgrade…to a Mac” is the theme of the latest Get a Mac ads. Targeting Windows users who hope that the new operating system will solve the problems of the widely-derided Vista, the new commercials suggest that owning a Macintosh might be the real solution to their problems.

As always, John Hodgman plays the long-suffering PC, trying to convince frustrated users that Windows 7 will be different, much to Justin “Mac” Long’s subdued skepticism. Apple also repeatedly mentions that they’re number one in customer satisfaction.

In the first commercial, “Broken Promises,” we travel back in time to find out just how many times Microsoft has assured us that the “new” OS is the game changer:

In “Teeter Tottering,” a Windows user decides to switch to Mac:

“PC News” brings us a news report where people are excited about the latest operating system, which is apparently Snow Leopard:

Hodgman (himself a Mac user) carries this series of commercials rather well as the frustrated PC, allowing Long, as the straight man, to play off his buffoonery with little more that polite silence. Apple has, of course, seen an increase in its user base, something which Apple itself feels is fueled by a dislike of Vista. It’ll be interesting to see if Windows 7 can stop and/or reverse that movement.

Full Story » | Written by Bill Stiteler for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Whether you like or use Twitter, it is certainly clear the service has had some value when it comes to promoting brands. Until recently, Apple has solely had iTunesTrailer, an account with around 1.2 million followers, as part of their social media band wagon. However, Apple has recently created a few more Twitter accounts to help promote various types of media in the iTunes store.

The accounts are as follows:

• iTunesMusic
• iTunesMovies
• iTunesTV
• iTunesPodcasts

While some of the accounts have more followers than others, and some have yet to tweet, they are a great place to go if you are looking for some highlights of recent content in the store. I’ve personally been following iTunesTrailers for a while and have also now added iTunesPodcasts since I am an avid podcast listener. Even though you could just open iTunes and explore for yourself, it’s interesting to see what Apple is promoting and what others may think of it.

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

In the slew of Apple product updates released yesterday, the company also quietly introduced a new remote to be used with their new iMacs. According to Apple, this device will allow you to, “Control your Mac, iPod, or iPhone from afar with the sleek aluminum Apple Remote. Play, pause, adjust volume, move forward and back, and access menus while playing music and video.”

This remote, which takes on the aluminum enclosure of many of Apple’s other products, has a small interface change but the same amount of buttons. For some reason, Apple decided to move the Play/Pause button from in the middle of the circle to the bottom right and pushed the Menu button a tad to the left. As far as the reasoning for this goes, I can only assume it’s because some people, such as myself, may have complained about sometimes accidentally hitting the middle button when adjusting volume, etc.

The remote is available for individual purchase at a price of $19.00 through the online Apple Store, and will ship in 2 to 4 weeks. If the configuration of the current Apple Store remains, the Apple Remote will not longer be included with Mac computers, but can be added for the $19.00 fee when ordering.

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It seems that John Gruber could, in fact, be correct with his ideas that Apple will release new iMacs, MacBooks (the white plastic model), Mac Minis, and of course a new Mighty Mouse. Almost as though he knew something, the Apple store has indeed gone down this morning, which leads to either maintenance (yeah, right) or the possibility of new toys from Apple.

While we have been waiting for sometime for an update for the Mac Mini, I am personally looking forward to the release of a new Mighty Mouse, or “Magic Mouse” as John Gruber believes. A multi-touch mouse would be a great addition to any computer set up, and without the tiny trackball to gather dust at an alarming speed, people’s issues with the Mighty Mouse may fall to the sideline.

Either way, check out the rumors that Jake Gaecke wrote up earlier today and stay tuned for the store to return back online. If anything does change, we’ll be sure to let you know.

Full Story » | Written by Ed Parry for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

It seems that even in this economy, there’s no slowing Apple down. The company announced its quarterly earnings Monday, revealing that its net income rose 47 percent. The earnings, which were driven by record Mac computer and iPhone sales, sent Apple shares surging 7 percent in extended trading to an all-time high.

The Company posted revenue of $9.87 billion and a net quarterly profit of $1.67 billion, or $1.82 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $7.9 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.14 billion, or $1.26 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. “We are thrilled to have sold more Macs and iPhones than in any previous quarter,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO.

And how many is “more Macs?” How about 3.05 million during the quarter, a 17 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. During this time, Apple also sold 7.4 million iPhones, a 7 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Not all Apple products saw their sales go up, however; the 10.2 million iPods sold represents an 8 percent unit decline from a year-ago.

NPR reports that, “Apple weathered the economic meltdown better than other computer companies, giving it a running start when PC sales grew in the quarter. Apple had also updated its Mac operating system and refreshed its Macbook Pro line. Apple sold 3.1 million Macs, a 19 percent rise from the same period a year ago.”

Apple tempered this news by stating the outlook for the current quarter would be well below analysts expectations, but the company’s shares still shot up $13.38, or 7.1 percent, to $203.24 in extended trading.

And there’s even better news for Apple fanboys. Included in the official press release is Jobs’ statement that, “We’ve got a very strong lineup for the holiday season and some really great new products in the pipeline for 2010.”

Some really great new products? Let the Apple rumors begin continue.

Read [Apple.com] and [NPR.org]

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Yes, it seems that Apple plans to refresh or update every product you already own in an attempt to make you lust for a new ones. We’re talking about newMac Minis, iMacs and even a new iMouse! At least, that’s what the latest report from Engadget claims, and it’s all set to go down today.

John Gruber seems to be the source of all of the new Apple hardware fun.  He’s claiming that today Apple will announce a new Mac Minis, iMacs, (low end) plastic MacBooks, and the new Mighty Mouse. The new Mac Minis may even have a model that ships with Mac OS X Server. The new Mighty Mouse, which can no longer be marketed as such, will be rebranded as the “Magic Mouse,” and it will have multitouch support.  Will it revolutionize the way you computer?  Will Apple sell millions of them even if it doesn’t?

I’m most excited to see the new Magic Mouse, even though this name sounds ridiculous to me.  I’m very interested to see how multitouch will be incorporated; hopefully it rids the device of it’s easily broken scroll ball.  I’m also quite intrigued by the new Mac Mini.  Perhaps they’ll finally receive that long overdue new design I’ve been dreaming about, but I’m not holding my breath. And the OS X Server option sounds like a step in the right direction for many users.

I think today is going to be interesting…

Full Story » | Written by Jake Gaecke for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Droid, a new phone emerging in the mobile marketplace through a cooperative effort with Verizon and Motorola, is turning out to cause quite a ruckus as the first true iPhone competitor. At least that’s what the companies are trying to get at through their clever new commercial that flat out attacks the weak points of Apple’s iPhone. The ad, which is 30 seconds in length, starts off with an Apple-esque song and black text that drops down on a white background reading “iDon’t run widgets,” “iDon’t allow open development,” and “iDon’t have a real keyboard,” and such. It then ends with a strange graphic reading “Droid does” with a date of November. Check it out below.

While some of these arguments are weak, they do sum up the complaints of the iPhone thus far. For instance, it doesn’t have a real keyboard or allow open development, but I wouldn’t say those are show-stoppers. For one, the system that Apple has for developing apps, although flawed, has been both extremely successful and interesting to watch. Furthermore, I don’t quite understand how the iPhone doesn’t run widgets, as that’s basically what apps are (unless the ad means background widgets). Either way, they also mention that the iPhone doesn’t run simultaneous apps, which is a valid argument.

With an ad like this, the Droid phone is really going to have to deliver and put its money where its mouth…err, microphone is. The iPhone is dominating the smart phone market at the moment, and that doesn’t appear to be slowing down. That said, TechCrunch has a post claiming this phone is the “real deal,” and is “the first phone that will pose a significant threat to Apple’s iPhone.” I’ll be watching this one closely.

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Along with many other large corporations, Apple has shown some signs of being affected by our current recession, which is likely to continue in the near future. According to Thomson Reuters, Apple is expected to have a 13% year-over-year increase in earnings to $1.42 a share, which is above Apple’s own expectations of between $1.18 to $1.23. However, some people on Wall Street are expecting even more of Apple, as they have a reputation for exceeding estimates, and are anticipating it to be approximately $1.60. Apple’s overall revenue is expected to go up to $9.2 billion, a total rise of 17%.
Analysts believe that sales of Apple’s new generation of iPod touch, which was released in early September, as well as that of the iPhone 3GS were quite strong. Mac OS X Snow Leopard’s sales are also expected to help the company maintain its high gross profit margin since software has been proven to be more profitable than hardware. Still, there are worries that expectations for Apple could be too high this time around due to the effects of the recession. Apple’s shares, which went up a shocking 93% in the past year, have risen since the end of September, but fell 1.3% to $188.05 this past Friday.

Some analysts have claimed that Apple may fall short of the high expectations because of constraints of iPhone supplies, along with other factors. Only time will tell how well Apple will continue to perform for the rest of 2009, although chances are Apple may not perform as well as many people are hoping. Do you think Apple will live up to its profit expectations? Feel free to voice your opinion in the comments.

Read [The Wall Street Journal]

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Apple has pulled Elgato’s EyeTV app for iPhone from the App Store. Why? I like to think it’s because the app was too awesome, but they say the official reason is due to its hidden ability to stream live TV over 3G. Mind you, EyeTV for iPhone doesn’t actually appear to stream live TV over 3G to the casual user. In fact, I was unable to verify this feature myself until…

Sorry, I’m back.  I just had to check “something.”  Like I said, it’s not immediately apparent how to get this to work.  So let me tell you!  When the notification that you aren’t allowed to do this pops up, all you have to do is miss the “OK” button and tap the text above it instead.

The whole business here is actually some leftover testing code that was never removed before submission being submitted to the App Store.  They weren’t trying to circumvent AT&T, but it seems they have done so by accident. Elgato made a Press Release today about all of this silliness, and here it is for your reading pleasure:

Some test code that enabled live TV streaming over the cellular network was accidentally left in the the EyeTV App.  Apple requested that we remove the code since their agreement with AT&T does not allow redirecting TV signals over the cellular network.  The code was removed and a 1.0.1 version of the EyeTV app was submitted.  We expect EyeTV to return to the App Store when the 1.0.1 version is approved.

Honestly, this is quite silly, and here’s why.  The EyeTV app streams prerecorded videos over 3G, so why the big fuss over live TV?  Does it really matter that it happened only a few seconds ago?  The video still has to be converted by your machine.  The process of streaming prerecorded media and live media are very much the same.  As far as I can tell, no more or less data are transmitted with either method.

While AT&T is not directly to blame for the pull from the App Store, I’d like to place all of the blame right on their shoulders.  Once again, AT&T is letting their true colors show.  They might be cool with you making VoIP calls over 3G, but darnit, if you want to watch live TV, you’re SOL. Just to say thanks, I totally won’t be streaming live TV to my iPhone all night. Remember, the “upgrade” will likely make it to the App Store soon. Though, AT&T likely won’t disconnect your iPhone if you don’t upgrade. Just sayin’.

UPDATE:  Looks like the original version of EyeTV is once again available on the App Store.  A change of heart from AT&T?  Probably not, but you might want to grab it ASAP if streaming live TV is your thing.

Full Story » | Written by Jake Gaecke for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

At first glance, iTunes LP seems like an interesting new way to revive some of the sales of records. They offer the same songs available as single/album downloads on other stores, but also provide their own visual twist on the content, making them different (and more expensive) than simply purchasing the list of songs. They are, in a way, trying to give the consumer a look and feel lost by not purchasing the physical media from a store with a 21st century digital twist. That said, new restrictions discovered about this type of media may show this isn’t going to be quite as successful as previously thought.

According to Gizmodo, a man running a small music label company outside of Chicago has recently contacted Apple about creating an iTunes LP album. He was told that 1.) iTunes LP albums aren’t being offered to indie labels yet, and 2.) they cost a nice $10,000 to produce and put onto the iTunes Store. This alone is kind of depressing for people looking to create an LP album to potentially boost their sales as they may not even be able to afford that if Apple were to even allow them to have the chance to create one.

The iTunes LP idea could work, Apple, but only with creative indies behind it pushing the limits.

Via [Gizmodo]

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Well, the Apple tablet rumors just never die, do they? The latest source of information (read: rumors) is coming out of the idea that Foxconn, a Taiwanese company that manufactures a lot of products for Apple, has pieces lined up for the development of a device such as this. According to the DigiTime sources, they will have 300,000 to 400,000 of the products made and ready by the first quarter of 2010. They go on to state that the device will have a 10.6 inch display which would obviously be touch screen.

The sources of this rumor also state that this product will focus mainly on the ebook market instead of music, as we have seen with many of Apple’s products. While many of the rumors I’ve seen come out of this supplier turn out to be true in one way or another, pretty much anything about the rumored Apple tablet is being taken as truth now. One side of me really wishes Apple would just release this product so the rumors can stop, while another says I could never see a company such as Apple entering this market. But then again, they are extremely efficient at picking a niche market and then dominating it. We’ll see what happens with this one.

Via [DigiTimes]

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Setting aside the fact that this developer—who calls himself Glyph—got a job offer from Apple, which is awesome in the first place, the manner in which the offer arrived is quite fascinating. This man, who works on a project called Twisted (that Apple apparently uses, to an extent), made sure to take some nice pictures of the iOffer before getting started on his paperwork. As with many of the things that come out of Apple’s headquarters in California, the job offer itself is extremely well put together. The outside is simply an Apple logo which just beckons the receiver to open it.

Opening the folder to the first fold reveals a blank white cover that reads “Welcome to Apple” as well as papers on the left hand side that greet the potential employee with “Ah, Paperwork.” Opening up the second fold shows that the job application is a tri-fold folder with more paperwork, as well as a nice, bold heading that reads “The Offer.” While this isn’t necessarily anything groundbreaking, it is sort of interesting to see what it looks like, if you ask me.

Head on over to his site via the link below to see some more images.

Read [Deciphering Glyph]

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After four long years of being in debates over the infringement of 93 separate songs, Eminem and Apple have officially come to an agreement in court. Although no financial details have been disclosed yet, Eminem and his attorney Richard Busch were searching for $2.5 million in damages through iTunes downloads of the songs, with $466,915 alone coming from his hit song, “Lose Yourself.” Their argument was that Eight Mile Style LLC did not authorize Aftermath Records to strike a deal with Apple through their contract. Despite this, Aftermath is said to have collected at least $4 million in sales from these songs on iTunes.

In terms of what we do know about the outcome of the trial, Eight Mile attorney Richard Busch said, “The case was settled to the satisfaction of all parties.” He also stated that the details were confidential, but a letter has been sent to Apple and Aftermath by Yahoo! News asking for comments. Either way, it’s good to hear they have finally come to an agreement. Look for more details soon.

Via [Yahoo! News]

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The CEO we all know and love, Steve Jobs, has made his way up on the Forbes richest Americans list this year. Considering that Mr. Jobs makes a slim $1 salary at Apple, it may seem strange to see him at number 43 on the list of the top 400. However, you must remember that he has plenty of money in stock and benefits through Apple—enough to value him at $5.1 billion (which is a $600 million decline from a previous year). Coming in at 43rd this year has put Steve at a higher place than he was ever before, with the closest being a 49 in 2007.

It is also interesting to note that Bill Gates is still at number one on the list for the 16th year in a row with a worth of approximately $50 billion. That’s a really big number. All competition and fanboyism (yes, I just made that up) aside, it is great to see two of the most influential figures in tech rank so highly on this list. It just goes to show what a little hard work and innovation can do for your life. And it is even more inspiring to see that people such as Bill Gates are managing to donate millions upon millions of dollars to charity.

Congratulations, men.

Via [MacRumors]

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Remember about a month ago when the team over at Dropbox submitted their iPhone application to Apple for review for the App Store? Yea, we know it’s been a while. Well that application has now been accepted and is available as a free download through the App Store! You can get it via their website or straight through iTunes. The application allows you to download Dropbox files locally to your iPhone, view them over the internet, and sync files.

Well, as any geek would, I have already downloaded and checked out the application, and my first impressions are great. The application is extremely simple and quick and does exactly what you would expect. You can easily browse your files over the internet using the iPhone’s style of navigation. Furthermore, if you want to save a file for quick viewing offline later, you are able to favorite it very easily. It does have support for emailing links to files and viewing PDFs, too, which is nice. I highly suggest you check it out if you are a Dropbox user!

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Yes, we’re all aware that the Mac is pretty solid against viruses, but it’s not impervious. Evidence of this comes from a report at 9to5Mac in which they state, “Security researchers at Symantec have uncovered what they suspect may be the first Mac OS X botnet launching denial-of service attacks.” Of course, to get it, you have to bypass Apple’s warnings and break the #1 rule of downloading content from the web, but you know, malware nonetheless.

The Symantec researches who issued the bulletin claim they’ve found two malware types that can grab control of infected machines. From 9to5Mac:

The two malware bundles are called OSX.Iservice and OSX.Iservice.B, and appear to be spread within pirated copies of iWork 09 and Photoshop CS4, distributed on the popular P2P torrent network.  We’ve talked about these before but now these infected machines are springing into action.
Seems the malware maker got hold of original copies of both application and inserted the malicious binaries into the software. Users who download and install these apps may then be affected.

The researchers warn that, “Users who download files from third party sites and from P2P networks such as BitTorrent are at risk. More generally, anyone who surfs the internet should be aware of the threat of fake web sites, called phishing sites, that steal passwords, identity information and credit card numbers.”

In other words, don’t download illegal software and stay away from suspicious sites (that generally offer illegal software), and you’ll likely be okay.

More details on the malware can be found at 9to5mac.

See [Symantec.com

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If you’re in the market for a new iMac or Mac Mini, you’d be well advised to hold on for a week or two more. Reports from around the web all point to a refresh of both the iMac and Mac Mini by October 9th.

So, what do we know?  Not a whole lot actually.  So far all we really know is that retailers are extremely low in stock of iMacs and Mac Minis.  Apple has instructed retailers that orders of these machines will not be filled now.

One TUAW tipster even reported that an order of a Mac mini placed on September 18th will be held and shipped on October 9th. This leads many to believe that Apple will have some sort of special event or product announcement on this day. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

As far as product details are concerned, there’s much talk, but little evidence. Some think the new iMac will look more like a Cinema Display, and feature an SD card slot and a bag of hurt (Blu Ray support). I’m hoping for Blu Ray support, and I hope it makes it to the Mac Mini as well.

Who knows what we’ll see. We might even see a refresh on the MacBook line, which just goes to show you how far apart all of these current rumors are. One thing is promising though. I think it’s safe to say that we’ll see Apple do something very shortly. Stay tuned.

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A lucky few already have MMS on the iPhone, but the rest of us have been waiting for a while now as other carriers have managed to push it out on their network. As per the AT&T announcement a while back, this Friday, September 25th will be the official date that this feature is released via a software update. That is coming up quickly, and AT&T has released some information on their Facebook page reading:

MMS Update: We know you’ve been eager for this service so we wanted to offer a quick update on the launch plans for MMS on Friday, Sept. 25. Late morning, Pacific Time, on Friday, the new carrier settings update enabling MMS should be live and ready to download through iTunes. We’ll provide the steps and all of the details you need right here at that time.

Judging by the 171 “Likes” and 100+ comments at the time of this writing, people are getting pretty excited about this already. I, for one, will very much appreciate it, especially considering it will come free for those who already have unlimited texting like me. While Apple has been ready for this feature since the 3.0 update, they have been waiting for this day to enable that feature. Who’s excited?! Yes, I know, most phones have had this feature for years. But still, I seriously can’t wait.

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The iPhone, being one of the most popular smart phones on the market, probably sees thousands of different instances of abuse: dropping it, spilling something on it, scratching the screen, etc. Although Apple is very good about these types of things if you have AppleCare (something I highly recommend), there are certain cases where they just won’t help you for one reason or another. Apparently, one of these cases involves water, and Apple is watching very carefully.

While most devices have two internal moisture detectors, Apple has also placed two Liquid Submersion Indicators on the external part of their device. In and of itself, this isn’t the behavior that has some people angered; Apple has every right to put what they want on the device. Rather, it’s what Apple may use these for that upsets some consumers. They fear Apple may be using these devices to find excuses to turn down iPhone replacements. They are also angry that these sorts of indicators may create falce positives, such as having sweat set them off instead of real water damage (such as dropping the phone in a puddle) that Apple may be attempting to watch for.

What are your feelings on this?

Via [TechGeist]

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That was fast. Seems Apple was quick to respond to issues found with the first version of Snow Leopard, seeing that it was released only two weeks ago. Issues addressed in this update include all the usual—fixes for some printer problems you may have been experiencing, and an update to the current version of Flash, among other things.

Here are the update notes, as provided by Apple.

The 10.6.1 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Snow Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, including fixes for:

• compatibility with some Sierra Wireless 3G modems
• an issue that might cause DVD playback to stop unexpectedly
• some printer compatibility drivers not appearing properly in the add printer browser
• an issue that might make it difficult to remove an item from the Dock
• instances where automatic account setup in Mail might not work
• an issue where pressing cmd-opt-t in Mail brings up the special characters menu instead of moving a message
• Motion 4 becoming unresponsive

For detailed information on this update, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3810.
For information on the security content of this update, please visit: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222.

Remember, to update your Mac, just click the Apple menu on the top left of your screen and select Software Update while connected to the internet.  Alternatively, you can find the update here: Mac OS X 10.6.1 Update.

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As usual, many people wanted to interview Steve Jobs after yesterday’s press event to ask him the questions on the top of every Apple fanboy’s mind. This time around, David Pogue’s interview offered some interesting answers to some pretty good questions about Apple and where the company is going.

For instance, Mr. Jobs replied with, “No, I don’t think we’re going to miss a beat. We have some really good stuff coming up,” when asked, “Will there be a break in new products as a result of your absence?” Furthermore, he mentioned that he doesn’t see a need in the market for single function devices like the Kindle (and mentioned how Amazon isn’t overly eager to share their sales numbers with us). These two comments clearly show Apple will continue to innovate the way they always have, and may not be looking to expand into markets such as the tablet anytime soon.

Other interesting things mentioned in the question and answer session involve the hardware announced today. Jobs explained that the iPod nano won’t take stills because the sensors required for this are much too thick to fit in a nano. Furthermore, he mentioned that Apple decided to leave a camera out of the iPod touch because they want to market it as more of a gaming device, as that’s how the market sees it. And last, but not least, Steve mentioned he feels “really good” and is eating a lot of ice cream.

Via [NY Times]

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Along with the obviously exciting product updates and announcements at Apple’s September event was the familiar face we all know and love, Steve Jobs. After sincerely thanking the donor of his liver and Apple community for helping him make it through his tough time in dealing with health, he went on to offer some fairly interesting numbers about Apple and their products. Ranging from the iPhone to iTunes, they help to give an insight into where Apple will be focusing.

As far as the iPhone goes, there has been a staggering 1.8 billion application downloads (take that, Pam Pre!) from over 75,000 available applications in the App Store. If you ask me, those sure are some large numbers for a service that is only about two years old. Furthermore, around 30 million iPhones have been sold in that time, which obviously helped lead to those high download numbers. With software updates like iPhone OS 3.1 released, I imagine this will keep climbing as improvements are continuously made.

On the software side of things, iTunes is now the #1 music retailer in the world. With 8.5 billion songs downloaded through the product, it’s no surprise that is has made it all the way to iTunes 9 with some new features and exciting new concepts to get people to purchase even more music. These song downloads are spread across the 100,000,000 accounts now on iTunes which are making it one of the largest web stores around.

As you can see, both the iPhone and iTunes have brought tremendous success to Apple and will continue to do so through improvements like those just released.

Via [TechCrunch]

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Apple has just released the latest version of iTunes at the September 9th event in San Francisco. iTunes 9 has some new welcome features, including the ability to organize your iPhone and iPod touch applications within iTunes to sync across to your device.

Syncing all types of media to your iPhones and iPods is now a lot easier, allowing you to choose selected artists, albums and the like. Movies now show you small thumbnails of each title along with the film’s rating, running time and size. Nothing major here, but great little enhancements to make syncing easier and more convenient.

A new feature called Home Sharing allows you to copy media between up to 5 authorized computers within your home network. So, your iTunes library can be the same anywhere in your house, wherever you want that new dance playlist to be heard. You can either select items to sync with Home Sharing, or simply choose your entire library. Either way, you can get your media on up to five computers with iTunes 9.

So what else is new? Well, along with Home Sharing and improved syncing options, there are also new features in Genius, allowing you to view Genius playlists based on the music you already know. For example, it will show you an artist you have in your library as a comparison to a selected track, rather than a new album from the iTunes Store. Again, it’s not a ground breaking feature, but nice to know what works well with what within your own iTunes library.

The iTunes Store has also seen a little redesign. There’s now a task bar at the top of pages, and the “new music” section is now a horizontal slide window. According to Jeff Robbin, the store is now “... much more spacious and open—it’s a welcome improvement.” We’ll have to see the majority of user interface changes when we get our hands on it a little later today, but from the keynote screen captures, it’s looking a lot more fresh and clean.

Another big feature of iTunes 9, and also the iTunes Store, is something called LP. This gives you liner notes, lyrics, band photographs and more general information about the album. Whereas previous to this feature you occaisionally got bonus video and booklet materials, now it will all work within iTunes in a nice interface designed by the artist, so everything will fit with the album itself. There are almost no limits to what the LP can include, so be on the look out for albums including this feature, as you’ll get some interesting extra’s along with the title itself.

Stay tuned on the Appletell live blog for the latest releases from the September 9th event as it happens.

[Update: Now available for download via Software Update.]

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While Apple’s iPod event isn’t until later today, that didn’t stop them from already updating their store without taking it down. That’s right, Apple has dropped the price of the existing iPod touch line drastically. For example, a 32GB iPod Touch—which would have set you back $399 yesterday—is now only $279. Furthermore, the 16GB model is now only $249 from $299, and the 8GB model is $189 from $229. Pretty nice price drops if you ask me. Also, the iPod classic has seen a $20 price cut.

This is just a slim part of what we will hopefully see later today, though. It’s nice to see Apple lowering some prices early. Perhaps it is simply to compete with the Zune, a product that Microsoft has continuously priced a little lower than the iPod equivalents.

Via [TechCrunch]

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It may only be rock and roll, but we like it, too. I think we’ll also like what we see out of Apple’s press event from San Francisco today, provided you don’t have unrealistic expectations. The announcements begin at 10:00 a.m. PDT (1:00 p.m. EDT). We’ll be running our live blog of the event as the announcements happen, and will update this page with more speculation and last minute rumors as they surface, so bookmark this page or just stick around until then.

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Yup, the anticipation for Apple’s September press event is higher than ever, as the event is right around the corner. While it promises to bring some exciting new things to the iPod lineup, there has been little to no speculation about the iPhone, as it is now the iPod touch’s turn to shine. However, it may be interesting, along with the iTunes 9 rumors, to speculate on one item the iPod touch and the iPhone have in common: the App Store.

It’s no doubt the App Store has had its fair share of criticism over the past year or so. As it stands, there is a lot of room of improvement on Apple’s side. While many of the current iTunes 9 rumors focus on social networking and a new type of album format, it sure would be nice to see some exciting news about the App Store. Sure, a developer conference may be better suited for this, but nobody is going to complain if they make it easier on all of us.

Something such as making the review system more helpful for developers by adding the ability to reply to comments or offer some sort of support would be all that’s needed in iTunes 9 to make me happy. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking, but I sure do hope it happens!

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As many of you will be aware, Apple is hosting a music themed event in San Francisco on September 9th. The tagline on the invitations reads “It’s only rock and roll, but we like it,” which certainly suggests music will play an important role in the keynote. While there are certainly rumors surrounding an update to the iPod line, there are also many other rumors that have been circulating the Internet, so here’s a round-up of all the possibilities we could see from Apple tomorrow.

iTunes 9

The last major update to iTunes included the App Store, along with updates to iTunes DJ. This upcoming event is rumored to see the release of iTunes 9 which could include the option to incorporate your library and listening styles with your favorite social networks, such as Facebook and Last.FM.

A long-awaited feature from many customers has been to have the ability to re-organize your iPhone/iPod touch applications from within iTunes, which would then synchronize across to your device. According to the Boy Genius Report, this could also be making an appearance in iTunes 9, something I personally am certainly looking forward to.

It doesn’t stop there, however. The third major update that could feature in iTunes 9 is support for Blu-ray movies. This was rumored for the previous upgrade to iTunes, but with HD DVD out of the race, it’s more possible that Apple hase decided to jump on the band-wagon with Blu-ray support.

iTunes 9 could also see an iTunes Unlimited service come to life. Similar to what’s available with the Microsoft Zune, customers would have full access to the entire iTunes Store, with the option to buy the tracks to keep, if you’d prefer. A similar service to this has been launched in the UK, called Spotify, and has been incredibly successful.

iPod and Nike+ Refreshes

Previous to the iPod shuffle, the last iPod to receive an update was the iPod nano—a year ago on September 9th 2008. Sources believe that the iPod nano could see a slight update in its design, making it more convenient to hold and use, especially during sporting activities. It is also expected that Apple will add a camera to both the iPod nano and iPod touch, making them more useful and more media-based rather than simply music players. Apple Premium Resellers are reporting they are not replenishing their stock of the iPod nano, iPod touch or iPod classic, which leads to believe that updates will be appearing for all three models.

This could also include a refresh for Nike+ to include support for the iPod range, and also the iPhone 3G and 3GS. With the iPhone’s GPS capabilities, the Nike+ software could provide a lot more information that could synchronize back to your computer for you to review.

Apple iTablet

While rumors have been coming in about this for quite some time, it’s quite unlikely we’ll see such a device on Wednesday. If only because of the music theme for the event. It’s also plausible such a device would warrant its own event, possibly closer to the Christmas holiday season, if not in February 2010 at another event. It would be great for an iTablet, or iPad to be unveiled tomorrow, but, as I said, we’re clutching at straws for that one. It’s unknown at this point whether such a device would use a modified version of the iPhone OS or of Mac OS X Snow Leopard. Findings within the accessibility settings within Snow Leopard that reveal full-size keyboards lead us to believe Snow Leopard could be the basis for a tablet device upon its launch.

Apple TV

We mentioned this last week on Appletell that an Apple TV update could be the “outsider” of the event. Wall Street analyst Gene Munster believes Apple could be phasing out the smaller 40GB model to leave space for an update to the device. If an iTunes Unlimited option also included TV shows and movies, the Apple TV could become quite popular. Even if you were required to pay a monthly subscription to access the iTunes store via the Apple TV, it would still be a hit. It’s certainly an outsider at this point, but there’s always hope for the “One More Thing…” section of the media press conference on September 9th.

Tomorrow, all will be revealed

So there you have it; the most likely (and not so likely) updates that could be emerging from Apple HQ tomorrow. Is there anything in particular you’ve been waiting to see, or something else you wish would get a little love from Apple this September? Personally, I feel we’ll see a refresh for the iPod classic, iPod nano and iPod touch, along with iTunes 9. An update for Nike+ could also be likely, while I feel an Apple Tablet and a new Apple TV are less likely to appear at this particular event. Feeling the same? Let us know below in the comments.

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The first thoughts were that Apple would release a tablet device around September. Apple confirmed the September 9th event would be going ahead, and from the invitations, signs pointed to an iPod/music themed event. While it’s still possible that a tablet—or iPad, as it may be called—could still appear at the event, it’s more plausible that we’ll see a refresh to the iPod line, and possibly a long-awaited update to the Apple TV.

The Apple TV’s hardware has been the same for over two years. In the technology industry, that’s a long time for something to go unchanged. If that doesn’t indicate an update, how about the current Apple TV delivery times? The 160GB model ships “Within 24hrs,” while the smaller 40GB model has a delay of “1 - 2 weeks.” Wall Street Analyst, Gene Munster has been following the Apple TV since its launch, and said he had never seen the device fall two weeks behind in shipping estimates. He believes this may be a result of Apple trying to phase out the lower-end model, which would leave a gap in the product category. The timing of this delay—appearing a week before the September 9th event—certainly leaves things open as to what could appear.

We continue to believe that Apple will eventually offer a monthly subscription for iTunes TV shows accessible on Apple TV, iPods, iPhones, and Macs/PCs. Apple could leverage its deep library of content with many network and cable channel content owners to provide unlimited access to a sub-library of its TV shows for a standard monthly fee ($30 to $40 per month).

The quote taken from Munster’s report speaks about additions that could be made to the Apple TV to include a subscription service to your favorite TV shows. This would certainly make the Apple TV a lot more useful and usable for a lot of it’s customers.

An upgrade to the Apple TV and the release of a subscription-based service integrated into the device would be great to see at next week’s event from San Francisco. Have you been holding off buying an Apple TV in the hope of an update coming in the near future? Let us know below!

Via [AppleInsider]

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