Turns Your iPad 2 Into MacBook Air (Video)

Wish you could use your iPad just like a plain old 10-inch netbook? Thanks to this very elaborate external Bluetooth keyboard will allow you to right off the bat, it’s important to note that Apple does offer an external Bluetooth keyboard that allows for faster typing, but it doesn’t offer the same convenience as this one. Imagine just taking your physical keyboard, latching it onto your iPad, and essentially ending up with an iOS-powered netbook in your hands.

This external keyboard was clearly thought out from the start, since the attention to detail in this product is close to the one you’d find on an actual Apple product. As you might have already noticed, the keyboard’s design is incredibly similar to the one on Apple’s MacBook Pro, only a lot more compact.

this product also takes steps to make the iPad feel more like a notebook. For instance, closing the lid (or rather, sliding the iPad down towards the keys) will automatically lock it, while sliding it back up will automatically power it on. It even appears to skip the Lock Screen, which is nothing short of logical.



this keyboard includes function keys for the iPad’s most prominent features, as well as other important controls. Brightness and audio, for example, can be adjusted by pressing their designated keys, much like on a Mac computer. There are other shortcut keys to display the Home Screen or perform a Spotlight search, among others.


(via M.I.C. Gadget)

iPhone 6 To Sport New Wireless Charging Technology

The sixth-generation iPhone, Apple is working on implementing a new way to charge the iPhone 6 according to a new report.
While the source hasn’t specified what such charging method would involve, or if it would replace the current USB charging method, many speculate that the iPhone 6 might be charged using “non-contact based platforms”.

Reports of the sixth iPhone have been quite scarce due to its far-away-from-launch nature. This source couldn’t have made it more clear that the iPhone 6 might not be charged through USB (at least exclusively).

Connecting a device to a computer, or plugging it into the wall, is necessary but unpractical. Although information on this subject is very scarce, Apple has a reason to be working on replacing standard charging solutions, and they indeed might be, since previous patent filings have indeed pointed to new charging technologies.

Other companies have experimented with this form of charging. Back in 2009, Palm (now a business division of HP) introduced a charging surface for its then-newly-released Palm Pre, which simply required the device to be placed on top of the charger. This method, much like the Palm Pre itself, have flopped, but a similar feature in an Apple product could succeed.

The next-generation iPhone on the other hand, known as the iPhone 5, is scheduled for introduction in September at Apple’s annual music event. New features will likely include an 8-megapixel camera, as opposed to the iPhone 4′s 5-megapixel one, and a dual-A5 processor inside. Although most sources have pointed to an identical design as the current iPhone, newer reports have suggested that it will have a thinner and lighter design.
(via AppleInsider)

Swype on iOS? Only if you are jailbroken

iPhone Download Blog posts a nice video of Swype on Jailbroken iOS

Swype is a keyboard system for touch mobile devices that enables users to type faster in some instances because it doesn’t require as much ‘tapping’. Apple has shown little interest in putting Swype on iOS devices however.

That’s where the jailbreaking community comes in. Andrew Liu (@WyndWarrior) is working on porting Swype to iOS. With the recent Jailbreakme.com, making it incredibly easy to jailbreak your phone, many others will try it (remember it is in beta).

Secret Service goes after guy who installed spy cams on Apple Store Macs

You may have heard about a recent video that is a compilation of recordings of people using Apple Store display Macs. The video, highlighted by Gizmodo, was created by Kyle McDonald. McDonald created the video, you see above, by installing special spy camera software on Apple Store Macs. This software took recordings from two New York-based Apple Stores and sent it to Kyle’s computer. This is obviously super-invasive and when we first saw this video, we we’re certain that it was not going to end well for McDonald.

Mashable now reports that Apple has, in fact, gone after McDonald — but does not detail what Apple is looking to do. That’s not all though as the United States Secretive Service is also going after Kyle. Apparently, the Secret Service swiped two flash drives, an iPod, and two computers from McDonald’s home. After recording people, installing spy cam software on Apple’s private property, and having the Secret Service after him, McDonald reportedly believes he has not broken any laws.

Apple Store overnight planned for July 13th, new MacBook Airs and Lion signage awaits

We’ve heard from a few overseas sources that Apple Retail stores are planning ‘overnights’ on July 13th. Overnights are generally where Apple refreshes store displays and trains up management on new products. Sometimes it is big stuff and sometimes it is insignificant (at least to us).

July 13th, however, lines up with our Lion release date pretty nicely. We’re expecting the Lion release obviously, and also some new MacBook Airs which may or may not have faster storage, a Sandy Bridge CPU and Thunderbolts coming out the side.

We’ve heard some stories of backlit keyboards, 3Gs, a black option and the mythical 15-inch MacBook Air HD but they seem unlikely at this point.

Along with the Airs, there have been shortages of the White MacBooks, Mac Minis and (perhaps redesigned) Pros – everything that doesn’t currently have Thunderbolt — so those could also see updates. If not on the 14th, then perhaps shortly after.

In fact, Mac Pros and iMacs with Snow Leopard pre-installed have also seen some hiccups in inventory globally so we’re thinking Apple is going to re-package those items for Lion at some point in the next few months. Probably sooner rather than later.

JailbreakMe 3.0: Notes, Problems, Solutions – Everything You Need To Know

After weeks of waiting and talking wrong ETAs, Comex has finally released JailbreakMe 3.0 to give your iPad 2 a simple and easy jailbreak. JailbreakMe 3.0 is the first untethered jailbreak for iPad 2 since it was released. Some users are experiencing some problems, issues, bugs with JailbreakMe 3.0 so we’ve made this post to cover everything related to JailbreakMe 3.0.

What’s JailbreakMe & How Does It Work?

In case you’re new to the jailbreak world, you must know these things. JailbreakMe 3.0 is a PDF exploit just like its previous version Jailbreak Me 2.0. It decreases the time you need to jailbreak your device. Unlike Redsn0w, Greenpois0n, Sn0wbreeze and PwnageToool, JailbreakMe is a userland jailbreak tool (which means that you don’t need to connect your iOS device to your computer to use it, just from Safari browser). By taking advantage of a PDF exploit in Mobile Safari, it can execute code straight from your phone, jailbreak it and install Cydia.

Supported Devices:

JailbreakMe 3.0 will only work on this devices:

• iPad 1: 4.3 to 4.3.3
• iPad 2: 4.3.3
• iPhone 3GS: 4.3 to 4.3.3
• iPhone 4: 4.3 to 4.3.3
• iPhone 4 CDMA: 4.2.6 to 4.2.8
• iPod touch 3g: 4.3, 4.3.2, 4.3.3
• iPod touch 4g: 4.3 to 4.3.3

Why Should I Save SHSH Blobs of iOS 4.3.3?

That’s a good question. You’ve to save SHSH blobs of iOS 4.3.3 right now because Apple is about to release iOS 4.3.4 to fix JailbreakMe 3.0 exploit and you may update to it by mistake. In case that happens, you’ll be in a safe area since you have your SHSH blobs saved. You can always restore to a specific iOS using SHSH blobs of it which Apple prevents. So go use TinyUmbrella (from here) to save iOS 4.3.3 SHSH blobs now.

iPad 2G problems:

Yes, there’s of course some problems with the iPad 2. Every positive must have a minus. You can’t save SHSH blobs for iPad 2G since since it has a baseband that runs a different firmware from iOS. iTunes will not be able to sign your baseband and it’ll refuse to boot and give you a 1004 error. The sad thing about JailbreakMe is it’s not a bootrom exploit on the A5 bootrom. To sum it up, SHSH blobs for iPad 2G will be useless as you’ll not be able to restore back to iOS 4.3.3. JUST STAY AWAY FROM iOS 4.3.4.

Notes:

1. Your Device is connected to Wi-Fi connection or 3G. But it’s recommended to be connected via Wi-Fi as it still have some problems with 3G connection.
2. It’s recommended you restore your iOS device to iOS 4.3.3 (links here) especially for iPad 2 which will not work except it’s on iOS 4.3.3.
3. It’s strongly recommended that you restore your iOS device as a new device. Just sync your new applications, music, videos, images, notes and contacts (on Windows, make sure you have Outlook installed) via the iTunes software following the restoration.
4. For iPhone users, make sure you have your original SIM card before restoring since you have to activate your iPhone via iTunes.
5. To avoid problems, before you jailbreak your iOS device, go to Settings then Safari and Disable “Block pop-up” then empty your cache, history and etc.
6. Also make sure that you disable Auto Lock function from Settings then General.
7. It’s possible that you can’t access JailbreakMe.com since the DNS server is overloaded. Just hold on, wait then try again after few minutes.
8. PLEASE don’t update to iOS 4.3.4 when it’s released. It will kill your jailbreak.
9. JailbreakMe 2.0 is still here. It’s compatible with all iOS devices iPad 3.2.1 and iPhone 4.0. You can access it by navigating your browser to www.jailbreakme.com/star
   
   
10. It’s recommended to install “PDF Patcher 2″ from Cydia as shown below:

Take in consider that Comex will update JailbreakMe 3.0 to fix more bugs and add support for older devices. He was in hurry to release JailbreakMe 3.0 before Apple release iOS 4.3.4 so he released it with iOS 4.3.3 only support.

Please let us know in the comments section below in case you faced any problems. We’ll surely try to help you.

JailbreakMe.com Gets 1,000,000 Hits and 500,000 Downloads Already

The well-known iPhone hacker and developer Chpwn has tweeted that the newly released JailbreakMe 3.0 has made more than 1,000,000 hits and 500,000 downloads including iPhone, iPad and iPod touch in 10 hours only.

That’s a very huge number of users. I know that most of you were waiting urgently for JailbreakMe but that’s a lot. The jailbreak community always give us surprises which we don’t expect.

You can check our post here for most of problems, issues, bugs and its fixes for JailbreakMe 3.0.

Apple To Launch Sprint iPhone By Christmas

Apple has already launched the Verizon iPhone 4 few months ago and it was a great one. Today analysts say that Apple is about to launch its iPhone on the American wireless carrier Sprint. This would happen by this Christmas.

Citadel Securities analyst Shing Yin this morning writes that it is increasingly likely that there will be an iPhone from Apple (AAPL) for Sprint-Nextel (S), especially considering that with the inauguration of Verizon Communications (VZ) tiered pricing for data tomorrow, Sprint will be the sole remaining national carrier with an unlimited data plan offering, something desirable to Apple, he believes.

With lower prices on plans, a Sprint iPhone “could offer an attractive proposition for more price-conscious users (a demographic that we think is increasingly important to Apple following the rise of Android),” and “could be a relatively stronger seller than the Verizon iPhone,” writes Yin.

We’re expecting to see more from Apple. The big one we’re waiting for now is the iPhone 5.

[via 9to5mac]

iPhone 5 mockups look just about right…

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We’re in love with Guilherme Schasiepen’s iPhone 5 mockups (via MacMagazine.br).

Modified iPhone 4s to blast into space with final Space Shuttle mission tomorrow

Space Orbiter ATGAtlantis lifts off from the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center on April 8, 2002.

Apple’s iconic iPhone smartphone has been deemed “more important than space travel”, a woman used it to shoot an astounding clip of the final Space Shuttle Endeavour launch and was even itself launched into space by Brooklyn enthusiasts. In addition to dozens of astronomy apps on the App Store, iPhone also lets you explore breathtaking space imagery with the free and official app from NASA. And now, the device will be part of the Space Shuttle Atlantis’ payload which is due for lift-off from Kennedy Space Center tomorrow at 11:26am Eastern.

The 135th and final mission of the Space Shuttle fleet will include two modified iPhone 4s that will be used for experiments on the International Space Station. The device is said to be hardened for use in space, all wireless communication will be disabled and its internal battery will be replaced with an external battery pack which is certified for use in space. Interestingly, it won’t be jailbroken. But why will NASA blast Apple’s phone into space?

WD releases Mac-ified My Book Studio

Storage maker Western Digital today announced a redesign of its popular My Book Studio desktop drive family. The revamped gadget now caters to Apple fans with its brushed aluminum casing that complements your Mac desktop while keeping the drive cool. The back of the case features punched holes so engineers could ditch an internal fan, leading to quiet operation. Folks who have grown accustomed to noisy and ugly drives will certainly appreciate the pretty and silent gizmo.

Also on the back are three I/O ports: USB 2.0 and both FireWire 400 and 800 (hey Western Digital, how about a Thunderbolt interface?). In addition to one and two terabyte capacities, the My Book Studio is now available in a three terabyte storage capacity. The device comes pre-formatted for the Mac, it works with Apple’s Time Machine backup solution and ships with software for hardware encryption, password protections and automatic backup. How much, you ask…

Apple issues App Store stats: 425,000 apps, 15B downloads, $3.6B revenue

Apple this morning announced that its venerable App Store has hit fifteen billion downloads, matching the number of song downloads on the iTunes Store as of last month. The company re-iterated that it has paid developers over $2.5 billion cumulatively since the App Store’s inception. This is after Apple’s standard 30 percent cut, meaning total App Store revenue before the break-down is almost $3.6 billion in aggregate.

Apple also said it sold over two hundred million iOS devices (iPhones, iPod touches and iPads). Unfortunately, the company wouldn’t say how many of those are devices in active use. The number of apps on the App Store has swelled to 425,000 items, of which a hundred thousand are native iPad apps – but we already figured out the iPad App Store. The App Store now operates in ninety countries worldwide, Apple notes. The company quoted its marketing honcho in a statement:

In just three years, the revolutionary App Store has grown to become the most exciting and successful software marketplace the world has ever seen. Thank you to all of our amazing developers who have filled it with over 425,000 of the coolest apps and to our over 200 million iOS users for surpassing 15 billion downloads.

Apple in May actually approved 500,000 apps in total, but the store contains less apps because of withdrawals, replacements and so forth. Google confirmed at their developer conference in May that Android Market is approaching the 200,000 apps mark, having topped four and a half billion downloads since the store launched on October 22, 2008. Check out a one-minute clip showing off the App Store wall Apple installed at last year’s WWDC which depicts software downloads in real-time.

Photo leaks of iPhone prototype running on the China Mobile network?

China Mobile, by far the world’s largest carrier with more than 610 million subscribers as of March 2011, still doesn’t offer the most popular phone on the planet. Although we’ve been hearing whispers that Apple and China Mobile are engaged in talks over the iPhone, no hard evidence has been provided until today’s leaked shots allegedly showing off a next-generation iPhone prototype running on China Mobile’s 3G network.

Chinese-language web site Sohu.com re-published the images which we also included in this article for the sake of discussion. The phone appears to run baseband software with version number 06.10.01, which hasn’t been released yet. It also lacks an IMEI number, just like an iPhone 4 prototype we spotted on eBay. Evaluation devices normally have no IMEI number.

Localytics: Verizon claiming almost a third of all US iPhone 4s

Analytics company Localytics today published a report on the rise of the Verizon iPhone. In the July month, it accounted for 32% of all iPhone 4s purchased (AT&T is still selling iPhone3GS, and has the US exclusive on the $49 iPhone). That’s with AT&T’s 8-month head start.

It’s not all gravy for Verizon. Localytics surmises that the biggest selling point to US users was the ‘unlimited’ data plans…which end today.

Why the recent uptick in Verizon adoption? One reason may be Verizon’s unlimited data plan, which they are scheduled to do away with on July 7th. AT&T officially discontinued its unlimited data plan in mid-2010, although existing customers were allowed to keep their plan as long as they remained AT&T customers. We’ll continue tracking the shift in iPhone 4 market share to see if Verizon loses momentum post-unlimited-data.

It will be interesting to see the split on iPhone 5 when all carriers (including Sprint T-Mobile and others?) are equally pitted against each other.

TIMN: iPad HD coming this Fall (and it will run Final Cut Pro?)

This is my next runs this story based on unnamed sources who claim that come this Fall tablet fans will have a choice between iPad 2 and an-all new high-end iPad aimed at creative pros, apparently dubbed ‘iPad HD’:

Our sources are saying that not only will there be a newly designed iPhone coming in the fall, but there is going to be a new entry into the iPad family as well. As hard as it might be to believe, the new tablet is said to sport a double resolution screen (2048 x 1536), and will be dubbed the “iPad HD.” The idea behind the product is apparently that it will be a “pro” device aimed at a higher end market — folks who work in video and photo production possibly — and will be introduced alongside something like an iPad version of Final Cut or Aperture. This product is specifically said to not be the iPad 3, rather a complimentary piece of the iPad 2 line. Think MacBook and MacBook Pro.

As for Final Cut Pro/Aperture, it would perhaps explain why Apple made such a drastic change in its X product, but the extra pixels don’t exactly make a professional video editor. A bigger screen would, however .

Overall, we love the idea of an iPad HD and all of the previous evidence points to it (below from the iS 5 SDK). But why wait until the Fall? Perhaps the screens just weren’t ready yet at price points that made sense. That is a lot of pixels to throw on a 9.7-inch display.

Mac OS X Lion: redesigned login screen, Reading List, new wallpapers, more

Mac OS X Lion developer preview 3 features some new enhancements including a redesigned login screen, the previously detailed Reading List feature in Safari, some new wallpapers, and other minor tweaks. The redesigned login screen above has an iOS-like feel to it with a silver-gradient backdrop and new icons across the bottom for sleep mode, restart, and shut down. (Thanks, Daniel). For those interested, we have a video of the new login screen and boot animation in action.

The previously detailed Reading List feature in Safari is also present with a eyeglasses icon on the left side of Safari (location is possibly user customizable). Click the small icon and the fairly-intutive user interface, shown above, will appear. The Reading List displays items you have read and have yet to read, in an iOS style box format.

We have also been told that the new Lion developer release packs in some brand-new wallpapers including an actual lion. We’ve put screenshots of a few of the new wallpapers after the break, check it!

G-Form iPad case survives getting run over by a car

Remember the iPad case that could be thrown off a balcony or have a bowling ball dropped on it from a few feet in the air without hurting the iPad inside?

From the obvious “don’t try this at home” category, Mobile Syrup popped their iPad 2 into a G-Form Sleeve, abused it for awhile, then had a car run it over.

Result? The video stopped playing but the iPad was unharmed, at least as far as we could tell.

We’re looking forward to some more extreme iPad sports when these start getting into users hands.

We got ours a week ago (above) but haven’t figured out any good stunts (and frankly don’t have an iPad to burn). Suggestions welcome.

Review: Seagate GoFlex Slim (as an iPhone 4) 320 GB Portable Hard Drive

We’ve spent the past few weeks using the Seagate GoFlex Slim 320GB portable hard drive and have come away with some mixed feelings on the drive. On one hand, it is obviously the thinnest external hard drive in the market and it is plenty fast with its internal 7200 RPM internal drive. In fact, it is about the same depth as an iPhone 4.

On the other hand…

What an iPhone with a relocated LED flash looks like

A purported fifth-generation iPhone case emerged last night with an iPhone 4-shape fit and a relocated LED camera flash. The flash hole is located on the top-right side of the iPhone’s back, and Apple might be doing this to mend iPhone 4 camera flash issues, which a small percentage of users have been experiencing. Now, we have a conveniently timed tip from Tobi in Germany who sends in an image of a “prototype next-generation” iPhone (aka Photoshopped iPhone 4) that demonstrates what a repositioned LED flash would like on an iPhone.

Update: A commenter below thinks this might be real. He’s done an inversion and changed the levels to find nothing to indicate photoshopping.

(http://9to5mac.com)

iPhone 5 front and rear-facing camera parts appear, point to relocated camera flash?

Just off the heels of rumors pointing to Apple repositioning the iPhone LED flash to the top-right side of the next-generation iPhone, purported iPhone 5 camera parts have appeared online. The above image shows the iPhone 5′s front-facing camera sensor in addition to the rear-camera sensor. The front-facing camera piece is re-designed, but we can’t tell any technical details, but the juicy information comes from the rear-facing camera…

Watch out Instapaper: Mac OS X Lion's Safari Reading List to sync with iOS devices

Safari Reading List on an iPad

Following the discovery that Mac OS X Lion includes a new Reading List feature in Safari – similar to the popular Instapaper service – Instapaper’s creator went on record to say that the feature won’t be a competitor until it syncs with iOS devices. Well, it looks like Safari’s Reading List feature is going to be a competitor. Reader iBrokedk has discovered that Macs running the latest build of Lion will actually sync their Safari reading lists with iOS Safari.

The same Reading List shown on a Mac

Our tipster claims that he was able to view his Reading List on his iPad via a MobileMe bookmark sync. Additionally, we have been able to confirm that Reading List sync is also an option through iOS’s standard iOS sync process. To access your Reading List on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch you need to head over to the bookmarks tab in Safari. Your Reading List should come up as a folder named, obviously a place holder, com.Apple.ReadingList.

Why iPad is winning, according to Nvidia CEO

With well over two hundred Android-driven slates either available or arriving, one might fall into a trap thinking Apple’s iPad is becoming an endangered specie. Not so fast. If you ask Jen-Hsun Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, there are a few reasons iPad outsells Android tablets by a large margin. Android slates have several shortcomings that Apple successfully turned into their advantage, he said in a Saturday interview with CNET. Here’s your quote:

It’s a point of sales problem. It’s an expertise at retail problem. It’s a marketing problem to consumers. It is a price point problem. And it’s a software richness of content problem. Apple is not only better able to explain its product to consumers through dedicated sales people, but it also captures more margin than competitors who have to share margin with retail partners.

Huang wasn’t pulling this from thin air. The man knows his stuff – his company is a key provider of Tegra-branded processors for Android-branded tablets. And Apple’s dramatic iPad 2 advert perfectly complements Huang’s observations, we might add.

(http://9to5mac.com)

Enable Facebook video calling in Lion

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Facebook’s new video calling feature is specifically designed for each browser and OS combination out there. Unfortunately, Facebook didn’t account for those people using Lion (You’ve got a week Facebook).

The fix is easy however: Just change your Browser user agent to something a little more traditional and you are video chatting.

For instance, in Safari, hit up Safari 5.1-Mac and you are golden.

Hit up here for other browsers.

President Obama tweets from Mac during Twitter Townhall

Today, President Obama made history by hosting the first ever Twitter Townhall, with Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey. During the event, President Obama made the first live presidential tweet ever…on a MacBook Pro.

Besides using a Mac, President Obama shared his praise for Apple, but mentioned that he would love to see device parts manufactured in the United States.

via CNN

Amazon goes big with unlimited cloud music storage ($20/year) and iPad optimized web player

Amazon today announced unlimited storage for music in its cloud drive. The catch is you have to upgrade your overall Cloud storage (also includes Docs, Pictures, movies, etc) to the 20GB plan which is $20 per year. Once you do that, you can upload “Unlimited” amounts of music and play it anywhere. So, this appears to be taking on Spotify, Google and Apple’s iTunes Match (though each service is slightly different).

Second AT&T iPad hacker indicted

Reuters is reporting that the second hacker has been indicted in the case of personal data being copied from AT&T iPad infrastructure. Earlier this year, the two hackers breached AT&T’s servers and received 120,000 iPad users’ personal data. They then reported that data to a media outlet who embarrassed AT&T. Two weeks ago, the first hacker, Daniel Spitler, plead guilty last week and could wind up testifying against his accomplice to reduce his sentence.

The hacker indicted today, Andrew Auernheimer, is being charged with one count of conspiracy to gain unauthorized access to computers and one count of identity theft.

Andrew Auernheimer was charged by a Newark, New Jersey grand jury with one count of conspiracy to gain unauthorized access to computers and one count of identity theft, the office of U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman in New Jersey said.

Auernheimer is free on bail, while his partner Spitler is waiting sentencing September 28th. Spitler could face 12 to 18 months in prison.

Jailbreakme.com passes a million Jailbreaks

We were the first ones to report that Jailbreakme.com was live last night at about 2am ET. That was about 20 hours ago. Just a few minutes ago, @chpwn tweeted that they’d surpassed a million jailbreaks on Jailbreakme.com. That’s a pretty impressive distribution vector.

Although there was some concern going in that Comex was rushed in this jailbreak, commenters seem to be impressed with the results. The process couldn’t be easier as the below video shows.

Apple prepping major iPhone revamp for 2012 with “new way of charging the phone”

HP’s Touchstone wireless charging technology as shown with the Pre

The Wall Street Journal follows up on their earlier report about the iPhone 5, once again calling for a thinner and lighter device with an 8 megapixel camera – but with a design akin to the iPhone 4. Tonight’s new report claims that Apple is already at working on a major iPhone revamp for the product’s sixth iteration. The phone, which will launch sometime in 2012, is said to include a “new way of charging the phone.”

This “new way of charging” jogs our memory of a report from This is my next, who claimed that Apple is already at work on complete iPhone revamp. That report pegged a thinner device with a 3.7 inch Retina Display, a gesture-based home button, and “cable-free juicing.” Perhaps this new way of charging is HP webOS-esque cable-free charging. Perhaps this also means that the other innovations discussed by This is my next will appear in the sixth-generation iPhone.

In addition, the WSJ is reiterating earlier claims by many and says that Apple is still working on a lower-priced iPhone with an edge-to-edge display. On a final note, contradicting Bloomberg’s claim that the iPhone 5 was delayed until September because iOS 5 was not ready, the new WSJ report says that the iPhone 5 is launching in late September because the hardware was simply not ready for a summer launch.

A person briefed on Apple’s product plans said the company initially planned to launch its next iPhone this summer as it usually does, but the device wasn’t ready in time.

The fifth-generation iPhone is also expected to feature the dual-core A5 processor found in the iPad 2 and a new Qualcomm-built cellular chip that can connect to both GSM and CDMA networks across the globe.

Amazon issues iTunes challenge, marks down Lady GaGa's newest album to 99 cents

Amazon has really gone all-out this time, tapping the world’s biggest celebrity for an unheard-of promotion: They marked down Lady GaGa’s latest album “Born This Way” to just 99 cents. For comparison, the same album sells for twelve bucks on iTunes. Both offerings contain identical content, 14 tracks plus a booklet. Apple is also offering the pricier bonus track version sporting 22 tracks for sixteen bucks. Even though Amazon’s deal is a loss-leader for the company (and a steal for the customer), it’s meant to lure us to their new music locker.

Dell is building own 15-inch Air, so why won't Apple?

The Wall Street Journal has it on good authority that computer maker Dell will mount on Tuesday another challenge at the MacBook Air’s dominance with the XPS 15z announcement, their newest ultra-thin, stylish notebook teased with the “The game is about to change” tagline. The 15-inch machine probably sports the aluminum unibody construction Apple pioneered with the Air. It’ll start out at $999 and Dell says it’s the thinnest notebook “on the planet”. This could be interesting for Apple which doesn’t yet have a 15-inch MacBook Air model in its notebook arsenal…

Square enhances iOS app, debuts Square Register for iPad

Version 2.0 of the Square app has the new virtual shelves feature on iPads

Square, a mobile payment startup founded and led by Twitter’s CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey, has issued a new version of their iOS app with three interesting features. Certainly the most visible change is the new-look interface which looks particularly business on iPad. The main idea here is to be able to showcase products to your prospective customers on an iPad’s gorgeous 9.7-inch display. You can set up your products on virtual shelves any way you like, add your own graphics, write the accompanying description and so forth.

Another nice-to-have and more screenies below the fold.

The iPhone interface is also slightly subdued for a more professional look

HTC boss does some field research in Apple's Palo Alto store

Apple’s pull is virtually impossible to resist, we’ve all known that. Despite fierce competition from the likes of Samsung and HTC, Apple gets the utmost respect from rivals. See a female shopper in the above shot? That’s HTC’s co-founder and chairwoman Cher Wang, accompanied by husband Wen-Chi Chen, a CEO at VIA Technologies. The two were snapped up shopping for Apple gadgets at the Palo Alto retail store, reported the Chinese-language Mobile01 site. So, why on Earth would the couple want to set their foot inside an Apple Store?

HTC buys S3 Graphics for $300 million, gears up for patent spat with Apple, Microsoft

In case you didn’t notice, tech headlines recently are all about patents. Be it an ongoing case of patent troll Lodsys which is now suing The New York Times Company and five other firms that previously sued Lodsys (bringing the number of defendants to 33) or Microsoft going after Samsung and signing patent protection pacts with Android backers or the Apple led-consortium winning a crucial $4.5 billion bid for Nortel’s patent trove – you name it, the blogosphere is all over it.

HTC is now joining the craze with the news that they’re snapping up graphics vendor S3 Graphics from Via Technologies. The transaction valued at $300 million is about – you guessed right – patents. A total of 235 patents and pending applications will change hands once regulators approve the deal (VIA’s and HTC’s boards of directors already have). The patent agreement should help HTC protect themselves from future patent litigation from rivals. There’s also this:

On July 1, a U.S. International Trade Commission judge ruled that Apple infringed on some of the claims contained in two S3 Graphics patents. Judge E. James Gildea found that Apple infringed on U.S. Patent No. 6,658,146 directed to systems and methods for compressing images and U.S. Patent No. 6,683,978 directed to image data formats, both of which belong to S3 Graphics.

This should in turn help HTC relieve some litigation pressure coming from Apple…

Aluminum keyboard case turns iPad 2 into a MacBook Air lookalike

We’ve been hearing scary stories about the post-PC era ever since Steve Jobs and Apple first talked about this new age of computing at the iPad 2 unveiling. Mobile devices akin to iPad will obsolete our desktop computers (which will be like trucks), we are being told. This, in turn, will leave little room for notebooks and iPad has already decimated the netbook market (even Microsoft agrees). There’s little wonder then that the old-fashioned types scrambled to design interesting accessories which turn your post-PC device into a “notebook”.

That’s exactly what this Aluminum Keyboard Buddy Case does for your iPad 2. It features a thin, eye-catching design said to “give your device durable protection, added functionality and style”. We just think it’s darn cool and innovative. If you’re sold on it, why not order yours over at the MIC Gadget store for fifty bucks, a $20 saving over Apple’s standard Wireless Keyboard or iPad Keyboard Dock.

Analyst calls for Sprint iPhone by Christmas, here’s why it matters

With Apple’s iPhone now on the Verizon network, all eyes are on Sprint Nextel, the nation’s third-largest wireless provider. They are running the CDMA network like Verizon Wireless, so bringing the CDMA iPhone to Sprint should just be a matter of business and politics, not engineering. The business side of it is apparently coming into full view and some analysts now think the Sprint iPhone will be a reality by this coming Christmas. From the Barron’s blog:

Citadel Securities analyst Shing Yin this morning writes that it is increasingly likely that there will be an iPhone from Apple (AAPL) for Sprint-Nextel (S), especially considering that with the inauguration of Verizon Communications (VZ) tiered pricing for data tomorrow, Sprint will be the sole remaining national carrier with an unlimited data plan offering, something desirable to Apple, he believes.

He sees “little reason for Apple to hold back” and says neither Verizon nor AT&T would leverage their distribution deals with Apple to delay the iPhone launch on the Sprint network.

Bringing iPhone to Sprint will no doubt help accelerate iPhone sales: Sprint has 51 million customers as of this month and Apple’s handset is the #2 smartphone platform, but Android is still gaining ground faster in the United States. That said, any expansion of the addressable market will help Apple keep pace in the smartphone race. The iPhone will be a boon to Sprint’s failing fortunes attributed to the Verizon iPhone launch. Another thing:

Sprint also has best pre-paid customers and Apple’s operations chief Tim Cook told Wall Street analysts that Apple doesn’t want the iPhone to be “only for the rich”, meaning perhaps Sprint will get an inexpensive iPhone 4 for pre-paid customers while AT&T and Verizon battle it out for the post-paid market. Cheap hardware should tie nicely with the fact that Sprint is now the only major unlimited data provider in the US. Sources told 9to5Mac earlier this month that a version of the iPhone for Sprint’s network is currently in advanced testing. We also learned that the next iPhone might feature T-Mobile, Sprint, and China Mobile compatibility and some of Apple’s job postings certainly point to the Sprint iPhone.

(http://9to5mac.com/)

iTunes challenger Spotify comes to US, issues invites

Our overseas readers are aware of Spotify, a popular online music service which lets them stream over thirteen million tracks to their computers for free or upgrade to a paid account for ad-free, higher-quality music and access to Spotify on the go on the iPhone, Android and other mobile platforms. Up until now, the arrival of Spotify to the United States has been marred by complicating licensing arrangements with labels, strong competition and the likes of Apple, Google and Amazon derailing Spotify’s US plans.

The Swedish startup confirmed the news on its web site:

The award-winning music service that’s taken Europe by storm will soon be landing on US shores. Millions of tracks ready to play instantly, on your computer and your phone.

They did not yet publish specifics about the pricing, terms of service or the size of their US music catalog, but you’ll know when we know. This will be huge. For the first time ever, iTunes will be under tremendous pressure to come out with a subscription-based music service because Spotify lets you stream music on an unlimited basis for a single-digit monthly fee, it’s in the cloud and available to any connected device and you can even mark songs for offline access.

Invites here.

Facebook unveils prettier interface, group chat and Skype video calling (VIDEO)

Facebook’s boss Mark Zuckerberg appeared before the crowd of journalists summoned to the company’s Palo Alto headquarters to reveal new Facebook features designed to tackle the Google+ threat. He began by saying that the industry is quickly approaching an inflexion point where focus will be on apps rather than the number of registered users. Facebook has over 750 million users, he said. Facebook is hoping to zoom past the one billion mark in the near future, he said, predicting that the social networking industry at large will soon measure its user base in billions.

Social today is about sharing. It’s about what people do on social networks, what content they share and so forth. Sharing on Facebook is growing at an exponential rate, said the executive who famously had the “I’m CEO, bitch” tagline printed on his business card in the early days. Today, an average Facebook user is sharing twice as much than the previous year and in 2012 will share double the items shared today. “We’re at the elbow of the curve,” Zuck said. For example, people share four billion things on aggregate each day on Facebook. This figure excludes direct interactions between users, such as instant messages.

He then took this huge jab at Google:

We just have this belief at Facebook validated by the success of Facebook, entrepreneurs who focus on one thing do better.

Zuckerberg predicted proliferation of apps which are “the biggest driver for us”. Mobile and the ability to segment stuff into groups are the #2 and #3 things for the company, respectively, he said.

The CEO then proceeded to unveil an improved Groups feature, a redesigned chat and an all-new video calling via Skype. More about that plus a nice promo clip showing off Skype video calling right below the fold. Oh, and check out a MacBook that Facebook’s engineer used on stage to demo the new features. I mean, purple?