• apple,  ios,  iphone

    Rumor: Apple to Hold Media Event Sept 10

    August 11, 2013 /

    Ina Fried, of AllThingsD.com, has suggested that Apple fans “Circle Sept 10 on Your Calendar.”

    Tuesday, September 10 is the rumored date that Apple will hold their media press event to show off what they have in store for the iPhone product line.

    Will the iPhone 5S have a biometric finger print reader as widely expected?  Will the iPhone be available in other colors beside black and white? Will Apple finally release a “low cost” iPhone, possibly the iPhone 5C and will it be available in a rainbow assortment of colors?

    About all we do know is that there will be a new iPhone this year and that it will be running iOS 7.

    All will be revealed in just 30 days.

    [Via AllThingsD.com…]

    Read More
  • apple

    Videos That Make Me Happy

    July 27, 2013 /

    I was feeling a little under the weather last night, so I decided to share two videos that helped pass the long sleepless night.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAo8gnUCWzE]

    Steve Jobs: We don’t ship junk!

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBq3WoQyinY]

    Come on, who doesn’t love some flying toaster?!

    Read More
  • apple,  ipad,  iphone

    WSJ: Apple Testing Larger Screen, Smaller Screen Devices

    July 23, 2013 /

    In this morning’s edition of the Wall Street Journal, a story appeared stating that Apple was working with one or more suppliers to develop different sized screens for prototype devices.

    From WSJ.com (subscription maybe required):

    “People at Apple’s suppliers said it asked for prototype smartphone screens larger than its current iPhone in recent months, and has asked for screen designs for a new tablet measuring slightly less than 13 inches. Whether the designs will make their way to market is unclear, but they could lead to Apple phones and tablets that are larger than the current 4-inch iPhone 5 and 9.7-inch iPad.”

    Shocker.  Is anyone really surprised that Apple is not standing still and working on prototype devices?  My guess? This is a “strategic leak” to get the spotlight off of the recent developer portal website hacking.

    [Via WSJ.com…]

    Read More
  • apple,  security

    Apple Developer Center Hacker Identified

    July 23, 2013 /

    Earlier today, Ibrahim Balic, a “security researcher” identified himself as the hacker who breached Apple’s Developer Center portal.

    According to AppleInsider, Balic identified himself as the person who hacked into Apple’s servers on the TechCrunch website.

    “Balic said he found a total of 13 bugs on Apple’s site, one of which provided him with access to user information. He claims to have taken 73 user details — all of whom are Apple employees — and given them to the company as an example.”

    “Security researcher” or “hacker,” I think we should let the courts decide, don’t you?

    [Via AppleInsider.com…]

    Read More
  • apple

    Apple Developer Portal Attached By Hacker

    July 21, 2013 /

    Apple’s Developer Center portal has been offline since Thursday, and now, iMore’s news team has the reason: the website was attacked by hackers.

    “Apple has sent an email out to developers addressing the reason behind the ongoing multi-day outage of their developer portal, confirming suspicions that it was the result of a security breach.”

    The email that was sent out by Apple reads:

    “Last Thursday, an intruder attempted to secure personal information of our registered developers from our developer website. Sensitive personal information was encrypted and cannot be accessed, however, we have not been able to rule out the possibility that some developers’ names, mailing addresses, and/or email addresses may have been accessed. In the spirit of transparency, we want to inform you of the issue. We took the site down immediately on Thursday and have been working around the clock since then. 

    In order to prevent a security threat like this from happening again, we’re completely overhauling our developer systems, updating our server software, and rebuilding our entire database. We apologize for the significant inconvenience that our downtime has caused you and we expect to have the developer website up again soon.”

    Before announcing that the Developer Center was attached by a hacker, Apple posted a generic system maintenance page that appears below.

    [Via iMore.com…]

    Read More
  • apple,  ios,  rumors

    Rumor: Apple Having Trouble with iPhone 5S Biometric Sensor

    July 17, 2013 /

    DigiTimes, which has a spotty track record with regard to their Apple rumors, is reporting that the iPhone maker is having trouble with low yield rates with the rumored fingerprint reader that is said to be part of the upcoming iPhone’s Home button.

    From DigiTimes:

    “Volume production of fingerprint-recognition and LCD driver chips for the iPhone 5S should have started at the end of June or early in July, but issues related to yield rates will delay commercial production of the two chips to the end of July, therefore affecting the initial supply of the iPhone 5S, the sources explained.”

    Many people, myself included, expect Apple to follow last year’s September announcement of a new iPhone followed up with October shipments.  If that is true, and full production runs of the iPhone 5S are just now ramping up, there should still be plenty of time to build the millions of iPhone 5S handsets that will be needed globally in October.  If that is true, one had to wonder how a device that Apple has not yet publicly talked about or announced be considered ‘late’ if it ships in October and not September.

    I think that there are two more important things to consider here.  The first is that Apple really does leverage last year’s acquisition of Florida based AuthenTec to build and include a biometric fingerprint scanner into their smartphone.  I would love to be able to use that technology to secure my iPhone with a finger swipe rather than a clumsy PIN code.  That would be an amazing feature that will be a head of the competition.

    The second thing to consider is whether iOS 7 is ready in time to be installed on the new hardware.  If the software takes longer to work the major bugs out, it could impact the ship date as I don’t see Apple launching the iPhone 5S without iOS 7.

    [Via DigiTimes.com…]

    Read More
  • apple,  iphone,  rumors

    Rumor: iPhone 5S Said To Begin Production This Month

    July 16, 2013 /

    With iOS 7 still cooking, Apple is said to on track to begin building the next iPhone, largely expected to be the iPhone 5S.

    From BGR:

    “Apple’s manufacturing and supply chain partners are reportedly gearing up to begin mass production of the iPhone 5S later this month. The news comes from a new research note issued by well-respected Jefferies & Company analyst Peter Misek, and it closely follows an earlier report that claimed Foxconn is currently hiring more workers to accommodate heavy iPhone orders from Apple.”

    It is also largely expected that Apple will launch the iPhone 5S in late September or early October.

    [Via BGR.com…]

    Read More
  • apple,  ios,  iwork,  mac os x

    Apple Opens iWork for iCloud Beta to Registered Developers

    July 4, 2013 /

    Apple started sending out emails yesterday to registered developers announcing that they now have access to the iWork for iCloud beta.

    If you watched the WWDC keynote, you know what iWork for iCloud is.  If not, you’ve had your head under a rock.  iWork for iCloud is web based versions of Apple’s iWork productivity suite (Pages, Numbers, and Keynote) published in the iCloud portal.
    iWork for iCloud is still a beta release and is expected to ship this fall along side Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9 and iOS 7.
    Read More
  • apple,  iwatch,  rumors

    “iWatch” Trademark Application Filed in Japan

    July 1, 2013 /

    In this morning’s Wall Street Journal, a report has been filed that Apple has applied for a trademark for the term “iWatch.”

    “The trademark application was filed on June 3 and made public by Japan’s Patent Office on June 27. The application was filed under a product category for a computer or watch device. An official at the Patent Office said the application needs to go through a formal examination process before it can be approved.”

    Apple’s interest in so called “wearable” computers or computer-like devices has been out there for a while now.  Most recently at the All Things D conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook briefly mentioned that he wears a Nike+ Fuel Band and that the wearables category is “ripe for innovation”.  Long time observers know that is Apple-speak for we are working on something in the lab.

    But the question that I have is whether or not now is the right time for iWatch?  I’m not talking in a sense of should they or shouldn’t they make a device you wear on your wrist, but rather is the device on track for a near future release?  My guess is no, the iWatch is still at least 5 – 6 months away.  I don’t expect such a product to be released this holiday season.

    If such a product is under development, I would be most concerned right now about the screen size (I have one of those gigantic Palm OS-based watches) and battery life.  Apple knows a little bit about custom battery design, sure, but how will the battery and the display impact the over all design of such a device and how will the software integrate with iOS running on an iPhone in your pocket.  (I believe that the software APIs, or application program interface “hooks” have been slowly added to iOS for such a personal device over the life of iOS 6.)

    Look, we all know that Apple has been looking at a watch-like device for a long time.  The wearable computer sector is heating up.  Just look at Google Glass for confirmation of that.  So the question here is not “if” Apple will make a move in the wearables sector, it’s a matter of “when” will they feel ready to announce the product to the world.

    [Via WSJ.com…]

    Read More