Just a day after releasing iTunes 10.3 to support some early iCloud features such as automatic downloads and access to previously purchased content, Apple has already pushed out iTunes 10.3.1 via Software Update and the company's software downloads page.
The documentation accompanying the release merely offers the same information as found with the original iTunes 10.3 release, providing no word on exactly what is addressed in what is presumably a minor bug fix update.
A number of users in Apple's support forums and elsewhere have reported issues with syncing iOS devices under iTunes 10.3, with iTunes reporting an "unknown error (-50)" when attempting to sync. Consequently, it seems reasonable to speculate that the iTunes 10.3.1 update addresses this issue, although we have yet to receive confirmation from users.
Late last year it was revealed that Apple purchased a 98-acre campus from Hewlett Packard, just up I-280 in Cupertino. Last night, Apple CEO Steve Jobs, in trademark black turtleneck and jeans, explained Apple's plans for the space to the Cupertino City Council. Here's what the new 4-story building will look like when its completed in 2015:
As Steve describes it:
It's a pretty amazing building. It's a little like a spaceship landed. It's got this gorgeous courtyard in the middle... It's a circle. It's curved all the way around. If you build things, this is not the cheapest way to build something. There is not a straight piece of glass in this building. It's all curved. We've used our experience making retail buildings all over the world now, and we know how to make the biggest pieces of glass in the world for architectural use. And, we want to make the glass specifically for this building here. We can make it curve all the way around the building... It's pretty cool.
The facility will be 80% landscaping, with most of the parking underground, compared to 20% landscaping with all above ground parking currently. The current campus has 3,700 trees and Apple plans to increase that to more than 6,000 trees, including "some apricot orchards."
Apple also plans to build its own energy generation facility using natural gas, with the electricity grid as a backup.
One of the city councilors asked what the citizens of Cupertino would get from the new campus, and in particular brought up a free Wi-Fi network, like Google offers in Mountain View. Steve responded that Apple was the largest taxpayer in Cupertino and he felt that the tax benefits to having a company like Apple in Cupertino was benefit enough and the city should be providing a service like that.
"If we can get out paying taxes, we would be glad to provide free Wi-Fi."
After the keynote yesterday, there was a great deal of confusion around what happens to current MobileMe subscribers with the introduction of iCloud. Apple posted a Knowledge Base article full of information about the MobileMe transition, but for some it caused more questions than it answered -- especially for those who have renewed their MobileMe accounts recently.
So, here's the lowdown.
If you wish, you can cancel your service immediately and get a refund, the amount of which depends on how long ago you renewed.
If you want to keep MobileMe until iCloud comes out, you can do that and still get some of your money back. Just cancel your MobileMe service in the fall, once iCloud arrives, and you'll get a pro-rated refund depending on how long ago you renewed.
Here's some more detailed information.
All users who had active MobileMe accounts as of June 6, 2011 have had their accounts extended through June 30, 2012 -- that's next year, 12 months away -- for free.
MobileMe will continue in its current form for that time. Nothing changes, if you don't want it to, for a year.
However, you cannot make any changes either. Users cannot get a new MobileMe account either through the 60-day free trial, or by buying a new subscription. Individual accounts cannot be upgraded to family packs and additional storage can't be purchased either.
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Now, we've heard from lots of readers who are concerned that they're getting a raw deal, mostly because they renewed their memberships recently (some as recently as Saturday or Sunday) and they are upset that people are getting for free what they paid for.
One, Apple will cancel and refund your full $99 subscription payment if your renewed in the past 45 days. However, you will lose all your MobileMe services immediately, and have to sign up again with everyone else when iCloud comes out in the fall.
If your account was renewed 46 days or more in the past, you will receive a pro-rated refund, based on the date you submit your request. Again, you will lose access to all your MobileMe services.
Here's the best part, though:
If you have an active MobileMe subscription and would like to cancel it for a refund, you may do so at any time.
This means you can cancel your MobileMe subscription in the fall when iCloud is released and get some of your money back. This seems pretty fair -- you'll get the full service that you paid for, and will get a little money back.
With most major consumer product releases -- think Mac OS and iLife -- Apple has an Up-To-Date program so folks who recently purchased a Mac can get the latest software without having to spend the full price.
In the past, Up-To-Date programs have generally cost $9.95 for an installation DVD. However, with the advent of the Mac App Store, that fee seems to be going away. Buried in the bottom of the OS X Lion press release yesterday was this note about Up-To-Date:
The Mac OS X Lion Up-To-Date upgrade is available at no additional charge via the Mac App Store to all customers who purchased a qualifying new Mac system from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller on or after June 6, 2011. Users must request their Up-To-Date upgrade within 30 days of purchase of their Mac computer. Customers who purchase a qualifying Mac between June 6, 2011 and the date when Lion is available in the Mac App Store will have 30 days from Lion�s official release date to make a request.
There you go. Anyone buying a Mac from yesterday through the launch of Lion, gets it free.
Reports are coming out that the iOS 5 beta works just fine on the 3GS, which is a relief since just a couple of weeks ago it was rumored that the 3GS wouldn't work at all. According to Apple (emphasis added):
iOS 5 will be available as a free software update for iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 2, iPad, iPod touch (fourth generation) and iPod touch (third generation) this fall. Some features may not be available on all products.
Unfortunately, Apple doesn't spell out what, exactly, won't work on the slower iPhone 3GS and third generation iPod touch. But some research from 9to5Mac and Banolka on YouTube gives us some ideas, at least in the beta.
What we know works:
- Notification Center - Twitter Integration - Newsstand and Periodical Store - Grid Lines and Exposure/Brightness Settings in Camera app - Reading List in Safari
And what doesn't (but it's a short list, so far):
- Image editing (red eye, cropping, magic wand) - Reader is missing (but there is some disagreement if it simply hasn't been implemented yet)
So, it looks like 3GS users are in good shape going forward, but, of course, all of this may change as the beta period goes on and we get closer to release this fall. What might be most difficult to implement for the 3GS is a feature that doesn't even exist yet. We reported earlier today that Nuance/Siri Voice Features might still be included in iOS 5 and I wouldn't be surprised if that particular feature was not enabled on the relatively underpowered 3GS.
One of the surprising new iOS 5 features announced during the WWDC 2011 keynote was the introduction of Apple's own messaging service called iMessage. The new service offers a number of advantages over current SMS/text messaging. Features include delivery receipts, see when someone's typing, secure encryption and support for iPad and iPod Touch devices. iMessage also circumvents the costly text messaging plans required by carriers. According to DaringFireball, Apple's mobile carrier partners only learned about the new feature at the same time as the rest of us: during the keynote.
Cult of Mac has posted a nice walkthrough explaining how iMessages work alongside standard SMS messages.
Fortunately, for the end user, the transition will be relatively transparent. iMessage has been integrated into the existing "Messages" app. If you would like to text someone, iOS 5 automatically checks to see if they are eligible to receive iMessages rather than the more costly standard text message:
Once a contact is known to support iMessage, a special blue chat bubble appears by that contact's name to indicate they support iMessage. If you don't want to ever send any standard text messages, there is a preference for Messages to only try to send iMessages instead of SMSs. In summary:
Overall, iMessages are great. Being able to see when a message has been delivered and whether it's been read or not really enhance the communication experience. The best part is that you don't have to even think about them because if Apple is doing all of the work completely behind the scenes so that you won�t even notice. Using iMessages on multiple devices with the new support of iCloud ensures that you'll never miss a beat when you're working on both your iPad and iPhone.
Apple previewed iOS 5 during the WWDC 2011 keynote on Monday. iOS 5 is presently available as a beta to registered developers but won't be released to the public until this fall.
One of the surprising new iOS 5 features announced during the WWDC 2011 keynote was the introduction of Apple's own messaging service called iMessages. The new service offers a number of advantages over current SMS/text messaging. Features include delivery receipts, see when someone's typing, secure encryption and support for iPad and iPod Touch devices. iMessages also circumvents the costly text messaging plans required by carriers. According to DaringFireball, Apple's mobile carrier partners only learned about the new feature at the same time as the rest of us: during the keynote.
Cult of Mac has posted a nice walkthrough explaining how iMessages work alongside standard SMS messages.
Fortunately, for the end user, the transition will be relatively transparent. iMessage has been integrated into the existing "Messages" app. If you would like to text someone, iOS 5 automatically checks to see if they are eligible to receive iMessages rather than the more costly standard text message:
Once a contact is known to support iMessage, a special blue chat bubble appears by that contact's name to indicate they support iMessage. If you don't want to ever send any standard text messages, there is a preference for Messages to only try to send iMessages instead of SMSs. In summary:
Overall, iMessages are great. Being able to see when a message has been delivered and whether it�s been read or not really enhance the communication experience. The best part is that you don�t have to even think about them because if Apple is doing all of the work completely behind the scenes so that you won�t even notice. Using iMessages on multiple devices with the new support of iCloud ensures that you�ll never miss a beat when you�re working on both your iPad and iPhone.
Apple previewed iOS 5 during the WWDC 2011 keynote on Monday. iOS 5 is presently available as a beta to registered developers but won't be released to the public until this fall.
TUAW reports that references to two new iPad models have been discovered in the just-released iOS 5 beta: "iPad3,1" and "iPad3,2". Given that there are currently three iPad 2 models internally identified as "iPad2,1" (Wi-Fi), "iPad2,2" (GSM), and "iPad2,3" (CDMA), the appearance of only two models in iOS 5 lends credence to rumors that the next-generation cellular-capable iPad may come as a world-mode device able to run on either CDMA or GSM networks.
The report does note, however, that these indications of new models do not always lead to new product releases, as a previously-discovered "iPhone3,3" has yet to see the light of day following the release of the GSM (iPhone3,1) and CDMA (iPhone3,2) iPhone 4 models. The missing model may have been destined for a carrier running on a different standard such as T-Mobile's slightly-different GSM 3G network, but a deal with such a carrier may simply have fallen through.
Today's report also cites the presence of "iPhone4,1" and "iPhone4,2" references pointing to the next-generation iPhone. These references are not new, however, as they appeared in iOS 4.3 betas as far back as early January.
Interestingly, iOS 5 currently makes no reference to any unreleased iPod touch models, maxing out at the current "iPod4,1" fourth-generation iPod touch. This of course does not mean that no new iPod touch is in the works, but it is curious that device identifiers for models presumably set for introduction in just a few months are not included.
The Financial Times, a major business newspaper, has decided to drop its iOS app in favor of an HTML5 based web app specifically designed for the iPhone and iPad. The move is in response to Apple's new App Store Subscription requirements that state Apple must get a 30% cut of any subscription sold on iTunes and that publications must offer subscriptions through the App Store.
In a email to subscribers today, the FT didn't mention the App Store at all, instead touting "valuable improvements" including claims that the web app will be faster and more up-to-date. The interesting part came when the email mentioned the existing app (emphasis added):
Although the old app may still be available for an interim period, we encourage you to switch to the new app as soon as possible. The new app is now the focus of our development efforts and we'll be adding a series of new features, including special reports, over the coming months.
Actually, neither the Financial Times nor anyone else knows what is going to happen at the end of the month to subscription-based apps that don't align with Apple's App Store guidelines. The deadline for subscription based apps to roll out their offerings is June 30. Quoted in the New York Times, Rob Grimshaw, managing director of FT.com said:
We don't quite know what will happen ... we'd love to keep our app in iTunes, but it may be that they will block our app at the end of the month.
They might not know what's going to happen if they don't play ball, but it's Apple's sandbox and the FT isn't sitting around idly. The new web app seems to be very similar to the current iOS App and thus may be able to provide a very similar experience without having to share revenue with Apple. The Financial Times' loyal readership is likely to follow the publication to its web app in significant numbers, meaning that the FT may not be missing out on much by bypassing iTunes.
As the first major publication to drop its iOS app over Apple's subscription guidelines, the FT might just encourage other publications to make the same move. Ben Evans notes, however, that the grass isn't always greener on the other side:
The challenge for other publishers in following the FT is that by doing so, they gain 30% but lose frictionless installs from the app store and frictionless payment from iTunes. For the FT, with a dedicated readership willing to pay, it may be worth giving those things up in exchange for the ability to offer a true cross-platform experience. But if you�re depending on impulse download, the tablet experience and the ease of payment to get people to pay for your product where they never paid before, paying Apple 30% of something may be better than keeping 100% of nothing.
Apple today pushed out an update to its iBooks application for iOS devices [App Store], bringing several improvements including a new "read-aloud" narrator to select children's books.
iBooks 1.3 adds several new features and improvements:
- Help your children learn to read with the new read-aloud feature included in select children's books from the iBookstore. The read-aloud feature uses a real narrator to read the book to you, and in some books, it will even highlight the words as you read along. - Enhanced books can now automatically play audio or video included with the book. - Makes iBooks more responsive when opening very long books. - Addresses an issue where some books may display the same page twice.
It is possible that the text-to-speech aspect of the new read-aloud functionality is based on technology from Nuance that has been rumored to be making its way into iOS 5, but Apple has not specifically disclosed the basis for the new feature.
We have not been able to track down any books compatible with the new read-aloud feature yet, so it will be interesting to see how quickly and how widely it is adopted by authors and publishers.
Apple's new iTunes 10.3 offers access to the iBookstore from the desktop for the first time, although an iOS device is still required to read the books.
Apple claims over 200 new features coming in iOS 5. One that was listed amongst the slides was a new iPad Music app, and while it was visible and briefly mentioned in during the keynote, some readers may have missed it, so here is a screenshot passed along to us by a reader.
Alongside yesterday's announcements related to OS X Lion, Apple pushed out a fourth developer preview version of the next-generation operation system set to make its public launch next month. Among the new features in this build of Lion is "Find My Mac", a feature similar to the one already in use for iOS devices.
Evidence for Find My Mac functionality in Lion had been building, but the actual service is now finally showing its face. One user has provided screenshots of the system in action, showing first of all how Find My Mac can be enabled in System Preferences, revealing that feature allows users to lock the screen of a lost machine while allowing guest access only to Safari in order to help facilitate recovery of the machine.
The user also reveals how his MacBook Air could be located using the Find My iPhone app on his iPhone, offering the option to simply to play a sound or send a message to whoever may have found the machine or remotely lock or even wipe the machine.
And finally, the user shows what happens to a machine once remote lock has been initiated, displaying a gray screen with boxes to input the security code to unlock the machine.
OS X Lion is set to debut sometime next month as a Mac App Store exclusive priced at $29.99. The full suite of iCloud features is not set to debut until this fall alongside iOS 5, but some features such as purchased music/app/book histories are already rolling out and Find My Mac will presumably follow suit next month.
Some iOS developers are making bank. One of the more visible iOS games over the past year has been Epic Games' Infinity Blade. In a press release today, Epic announced that its revenue from the game had exceeded $10 million in just six months of release.
Mark Rein, co-founder of Epic Games:
Infinity Blade�s success proves that triple-A gaming experiences can be hugely successful on iOS and that there is a valuable, pent up demand for premium content like this.
Donald Mustard, creative director of ChAIR Entertainment, the development studio behind Blade noted that "Apple has created an exciting, developer-friendly environment for iOS that has opened up many new doors for us."
I'm sure it helped that Apple gave Epic prime seating at iOS presentations and millions in television ad exposure. Can't get much more "developer friendly" than that! Still, with all the talk yesterday about how Apple was incorporating features that originally came from third-party apps, developing for iOS and the Mac is a win-win proposition for just about everyone -- and, if your app is good enough, Apple might just give it some sweet, sweet lovin'.
Incidentally, if Epic has made more than $10 million, that means Apple has cleared a sweet $4 million off its 30% cut.
Some iOS developers are making bank. One of the more visible iOS games over the past year has been Epic Games' Infinity Blade. In a press release today, Epic announced that its revenue from the game had exceeded $10 million in just six months of release.
Mark Rein, co-founder of Epic Games:
Infinity Blade�s success proves that triple-A gaming experiences can be hugely successful on iOS and that there is a valuable, pent up demand for premium content like this.
Donald Mustard, creative director of ChAIR Entertainment, the development studio behind Blade noted that "Apple has created an exciting, developer-friendly environment for iOS that has opened up many new doors for us."
I'm sure it helped that Apple gave Epic prime seating at iOS presentations and millions in television ad exposure. Can't get much more "developer friendly" than that! Still, with all the talk yesterday about how Apple was incorporating features that originally came from third-party apps, developing for iOS and the Mac is a win-win proposition for just about everyone -- and, if your app is good enough, Apple might just give it some sweet, sweet lovin'.
Incidentally, if Epic has made more than $10 million, that means Apple has cleared a sweet $4 million off its 30% cut.
Many readers were perplexed by the lack of an iTunes streaming music service at yesterday's WWDC keynote. Apple instead launched iTunes Match -- a service that allows users to get the same "download anywhere" benefits from songs they have ripped from CD's (or, ahem, *acquired* from other sources) as songs they have purchased from the iTunes Music Store.
Apple will take the songs you've stolen, and turn them into legit files, with big music's blessing.
Awesome. But, users still have to download songs to their iDevices, and if you have a ton of music, that can be a pain. Many observers expected iCloud would include a music streaming service, a la Lala -- but it didn't. Why?
Because it would have killed the carriers. Erica Naone writes in the Technology Review:
A streaming version of iTunes could have hugely increased the amount of data that carriers would be expected to carry. The largest carriers in the U.S., AT&T and Verizon, both cancelled their unlimited plan in June 2010. T-Mobile and Sprint both still offer unlimited plans. Today, T-Mobile says, the average 4G smart-phone user consumes about a gigabyte of data per month. That number could change significantly if a popular service like iTunes truly moved to the cloud.
With Apple selling nearly 20 million iPhones per quarter, launching a major streaming music platform that every iPhone user would instantly start using would quite literally overload the carriers. It would be like Manhattan or San Francisco, only everywhere. And what's the point of a streaming music service if you can't get a signal?
One of the new iOS 5 features quickly touched on by Apple yesterday in its iOS 5 introduction was AirPlay Mirroring for the iPad 2, enabling users to wirelessly transmit the on-screen content of the device to an Apple TV for display on a television. The iPad 2 currently supports display mirroring via a Digital AV Adapter that provides a wired connection to a TV via HDMI.
One of the criticisms of the wired mirroring has been the cumbersome nature of the dongle and cable hanging off of the end of the device, particularly when it comes to games and other apps that require movement of the device for input purposes. Consequently, AirPlay Mirroring should be a significant boon to those looking to display their iPad content on the larger screen, especially if lag is minimal.
While the AirPlay Mirroring is a fairly basic concept in principle, this YouTube video is still an interesting look at the functionality:
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And while the video does not directly address how much lag there is, the poster notes that the feature "works beautifully".
One of the major rumors for iOS 5 that failed to materialize at Apple's WWDC keynote yesterday was new voice features from Nuance and Siri. The rumors had pegged iOS 5 as receiving significant integration of voice recognition capabilities, potentially handing off much of the processing for that functionality to its new North Carolina data center.
Apple's keynote was of course devoid of any talk of voice recognition features in iOS 5 or any other Nuance-related announcements, leading to questions about where things stand with the rumor. TechCrunch now revisits its earlier claims, noting that such a deal may still be in the works for iOS 5 but that it simply wasn't ready to go in time for WWDC.
We're still looking into this, but here's the latest we're hearing. At least three of our original sources on this were "very surprised" not to hear anything during the keynote today. One noted that leading up to the last minute, they were sure new, elaborate voice features in iOS 5 were going to be announced on stage. It didn't happen. Apple has been known to pull things at the last second. But this may go deeper.
The report goes on to speculate about whether public disclosure of the Nuance-Apple negotiations may have derailed things somewhat, given the reputations of Apple and Nuance both as hard negotiators.
In suggesting that the Nuance integration may still be in the works, the report also points to a few circumstantial pieces of evidence, including the presence of Nuance's chief mobile platform architect at the WWDC keynote and a brief on-stage demo from Apple's Roger Rosner, who is believed to be heading up the Nuance/Siri work at Apple and who may have had a last-minute change in topic after the Nuance integration was deemed not ready for public consumption.
Magellan today released an update to its RoadMate North America and RoadMate USA apps for the iPhone, bringing an overhauled user interface, lifetime traffic and maps, and integration with Yelp and Google Local Search.
Magellan today announced a new version of its RoadMate North America App for iPhone is now available on the App Store. With major user interface enhancements designed for mobile routing, it is the first navigation app to integrate the popular Yelp! user-reviewed business listings. The new app also features Google local search and maps of the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, comes with free Lifetime map updates, and includes Magellan's Lifetime Traffic service that provides live traffic information and suggests alternate routes.
We had a brief chance to test out the new version and found the user interface revamp to be a pleasant one, offering a fair amount of customizability in terms of the data shown on-screen, while also providing a good perspective view of the route.
As for actual navigation, RoadMate did have some difficulties in our testing, attempting to direct us to a left turn across a raised median and unable to find a prominent local store through its POI database. Even when finding the store through the integrated Google Local Search, the app could only direct us to a point on a freeway in the general vicinity of the store, a route that would likely have left someone unfamiliar with the store's actual location confused and unable to find the store. To be fair, some of our other GPS apps struggled with the same left turn issue and lack of store listing in their POI databases, although several were able to plot correct routes to the store once the address was found via Google Local Search.
We were unable to put the app through a full battery of tests given a tight timeline ahead of the release, so it is unclear whether the issues we experienced were anomalies or symptomatic of broader issues with navigation in the Magellan system. But given some of the similar difficulties seen on other apps, it's fair to say that at least some experience with navigation issues is par for the course on turn-by-turn GPS navigation apps.
But navigation issues aside, we did find the new interface to be pleasing and informative, integrating trip distances and times with travel speed, speed limits, lane guidance, and traffic delays while still being able to display a solid map view, all on the iPhone's 3.5-inch screen that now checks in at smaller than the typical 4-inch or 5-inch display found on today's standalone GPS units.
RoadMate USA is priced at $49.99, while RoadMate North America adds coverage of Canada for an additional $10.
Alongside yesterday's high-profile developer seeds of OS X Lion Developer Preview 4, the first iOS 5 beta, and several iCloud-related betas including iTunes 10.5 and iPhoto 9.2, Apple also provided developers with a developer preview version of Safari 5.1 for both Mac and Windows. According to an announcement on Apple's developer portal, Safari 5.1 brings a number of enhancements to the company's flagship browser and will be available to the public sometime this summer.
Safari and Mac Developer Program members can download Safari 5.1 Developer Preview and take advantage of new technologies, including support for full-screen webpages, media caching with the HTML5 application cache, and better graphics acceleration on Windows.
A number of new APIs supporting Safari Extensions are also included in the update, which will presumably be made available to the public alongside the release of OS X Lion.
A separate Safari 5.0.6 release is available for developers to test on Mac OS X Leopard systems.
Yesterday, we noted that Apple had begun promoting availability of iTunes 10.3 on its main iTunes site but that the actual download page was still serving up iTunes 10.2.2 and that Software Update had yet to begin offering the new version to users.
A few hours later, iTunes 10.3 did in fact become available for download, bringing compatibility with some early iCloud features making their way to iOS devices.
What's new in iTunes 10.3
Introducing iTunes in the Cloud beta. The music you purchase in iTunes appears automatically on all your devices. You can also download your past iTunes purchases. Where you want, when you want.
- Automatic Downloads. Purchase music from any device or computer and automatically download a copy to your Mac and iOS devices.
- Download Previous Purchases. Download your past music purchases again at no additional cost. Your purchases are available in the iTunes Store on your Mac or in the iTunes app on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Previous purchases may be unavailable if they are no longer on the iTunes Store.
iTunes 10.3 also adds Books to the iTunes Store, where you can discover and buy your favorite books on your computer and automatically download them to iBooks on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
This version also allows you to use Automatic Downloads with apps and books or download previously purchased apps and books from your computer or iOS device.
iTunes 10.3 is available in a Mac version for systems running Mac OS X Leopard or later, as well as in 32-bit and 64-bit versions for Windows.
A separate iTunes 10.5 release will ultimately bring full support for iCloud and iOS 5 later this year, and an initial beta of that version has been seeded to developers for testing alongside the other forthcoming software offerings.
DigiTimes reports that both OmniVision Technologies and Sony have won orders to supply an 8-megapixel camera sensor for the next-generation iPhone, with Apple's existing supplier OmniVision reportedly set to handle 90% of the load.
OmniVision has grabbed a majority of total CMOS image sensor (CIS) orders placed by Apple for the fifth-generation iPhone, market sources have claimed. Meanwhile, power amplifier (PA) supplier Avago Technologies has landed orders for the WCDMA version of the device for its first time, according to the sources.
About 90% of the CIS orders for Apple's new iPhone will be supplied by OmniVision, while Sony takes up the remainder, the sources said. The upcoming device will feature a built-in 8-megapixel camera, the sources added.
Sony's potential role in supplying camera sensors for the fifth-generation iPhone has a rather long history, dating all the way back to an April 2010 analyst report claiming that the company had been selected by Apple to supply an 8-megapixel component, although that report suggested that Sony would be the sole, or at least primary, supplier.
By this February, another analyst had reported that OmniVision would most likely be the exclusive provider of the image sensor for the next iPhone, although Sony could take a small portion of the orders.
And in April of this year, Sony CEO Howard Stringer reportedly made comments strongly suggesting that his company is indeed sending image sensors to Apple, although some follow-up reports suggested that Stringer's comments had been misinterpreted.
This video shows the first setup of iOS 5 simply using your Apple ID, demonstrating one of the big new features of iOS 5 termed "PC Free".
With iOS 5, you no longer need a computer to own an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. Activate and set up your device wirelessly, right out of the box. Download free iOS software updates directly on your device. Do more with your apps � like editing your photos or adding new email folders � on your device, without the need for a Mac or PC. And back up and restore your device automatically using iCloud.
The video shows a user first setting up their iPhone by entering their Apple ID and password. iOS 5 then asks the user to set up iCloud and Find My iPhone, after which the iPhone is restored from backup with Apps being redownloaded in the background.
When Steve Jobs told the crowd at Moscone that iTunes In The Cloud would be "available today", lots of iPhone and iPad users were very excited to begin using Automatic Downloads, Purchased Content Listings, iTunes in the Cloud and all the rest.
However, one group of users -- those owning a Verizon iPhone, to be precise -- can't participate in the fun, like the losing team at the World Series watching the champagne spray all over the winning pitcher. It's true, CDMA iPhones are stuck at 4.2.8, and iTunes in the Cloud only works on iOS 4.3.3 or later. It's buried in the fine print at the bottom of the iCloud Features page:
Available in beta now in the U.S. only and requires iOS 4.3.3 on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 (GSM model), iPod touch (3rd and 4th generation), iPad, or iPad 2, or a Mac or PC with iTunes 10.3. Previous purchases may be unavailable if they are no longer in the iTunes Store.
• Preference to open pages in Safari in a new page or in background (amazing!). • More alert choices for emails, calendar, and the ability to buy more. • Ability to create keyboard shortcuts (autotext) to replace custom phrases. The default entry is �omw� which is replaced with, �On my way!� • Software update option in settings to check for the latest OS. • Sync now button to wireless sync to iTunes • Ability to customize how notifications in Notification Center look � you can customize how many recent ones to show, 1, 5 or 10, if it�s showed in the lock screen, if it�s in Notification Center, and also the alert style, banner or alert style.
iOS 5 is due for general release in the fall, and is presently available for download for registered iOS developers.
Apple today announced iMessage, a new messaging service for iOS 5 users called. The service promises unlimited SMS-esque messaging between iOS users on iPod touch devices, iPhones and iPads. iMessages can be text, photos, videos, locations or include contact data.
If it sounds like BBM, RIM's BlackBerry Messaging service, that's because, well, it sounds a lot like BBM actually -- and increases device lock-in as well. Users of iPads and iPod touch devices will get built-in text and picture messaging, unlimited and free, which is nice for parents who don't want to splurge on an iPhone for little Timmy, but still want him to be able to keep in touch with friends.
For iPhone users, iMessage will be built in to the standard text message window, so using it should be pretty seamless. Other features include group messaging, delivery and read receipts, typing notification and secure encryption. Of course, keeping with the sync via iCloud theme, users will be able to start a conversation on one device and finish it on another. No word yet if iMessage will be included in iChat for OS X Lion as well, but I wouldn't be surprised if it makes an appearance there as well.
While Apple's new iCloud service doesn't fully launch until the fall alongside iOS 5, the company has already rolled out a few small portions of the service to existing users. Among the additions are automatic downloads and listings of purchased content for easy redownloading.
Automatic downloads allow users to set preferences to have newly-purchased content such as music, apps, and books automatically pushed to other devices. Users have individual control over the three different media types and can also specify whether or not content pushing should be limited to Wi-Fi connections only in order to save cellular bandwidth. Settings are available within the "Store" menu of the Settings application in iOS 4.3.
Facilitating the re-download of previously purchased content are new "Purchased" listings found in the iTunes, App Store, and iBooks applications for iOS devices. The new listings provide users with easy access to listings of all items purchased on a given Apple ID, whether or not that content is currently on the device. Users can then easily obtain the previously-purchased content not currently installed.
Apple is also in the process of releasing iTunes 10.3 for Mac OS X and Windows, an update that should bring the new iCloud capabilities to the Mac side of things. The new version is being advertised on Apple's iTunes site, but the actual download page is still showing iTunes 10.2.2 and Software Update is not yet offering the new version.
Apple today posted a new support document outlining the transition from the company's existing MobileMe service to the new iCloud service announced today. According to the document, Apple has automatically extended all MobileMe subscriptions active as of today through June 30, 2012 free of charge.
Effective June 6, 2011, if you had an active MobileMe account, your service has been automatically extended through June 30, 2012, at no additional charge. After this, the MobileMe service will no longer be available.
When iCloud rolls out later this year, MobileMe users will be able to keep their me.com email addresses and shift all of their mail, contacts, calendars, and bookmarks to the new service.
In anticipation of the forthcoming transition, Apple is no longer offering free MobileMe trials and no longer supporting MobileMe upgrades to Family Packs or storage capacity. For those users who have MobileMe activation codes that have yet to be applied, Apple has also posted information on how to request a refund.
Thanks to iCloud, with the introduction of iOS 5 this fall, iPod Touch/iPhone/iPad users no longer need to connect their devices to a Mac or PC in order to use them.
Apple is calling the new feature PC Free, and it allows users to activate their devices wirelessly, right out of the box. Future iOS updates can be downloaded over-the-air and iCloud will enable backups of photos, music, contacts, calendars and more -- and allow users to simply type in their AppleID and password to restore a new device from an iCloud backup. That should make Genius Bar device swaps much more convenient as well, not to mention easier and quicker Personal Setup on new iOS devices at Apple Stores.
This is a long-needed feature that should further expand the reach of Apple's devices. Tech-savvy youngsters can buy products for their parents and grandparents without needing to teach them about syncing or for them to even need any other device. The vaunted "digital hub" that Apple introduced with the original iPod nearly 10 years ago, which had the Mac at the center of your digital world with other devices surrounding it, is gone.
Now, Apple's (free!) iCloud service will be the center of everything.
Just an hour after the end of the keynote at its Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple has already posted a video of the event.
Apple did not broadcast the event live, so the video as an opportunity for viewers to see for the first time Apple's presentations that saw the introduction of OS X Lion, iOS 5, and iCloud.
After giving the stage over to Phil Schiller and Scott Forstall for much of today's WWDC keynote, Steve Jobs himself introduced iCloud to the world.
Noting that devices have changed over the past decade, with people now using photos and videos on the go, the PC should no longer be the hub for your digital life, with all media hosted on the computer. "Keeping these devices in sync is driving us crazy," Steve told the crowd.
To address the new reality, Apple has moved the digital hub to the cloud. All devices can talk to the cloud whenever they want, with instant propagation to all other devices. With iCloud, users get 5GB of free storage for mail, documents and backups; purchased music, apps and books don't count.
"Some people think a cloud is just a hard disk in the sky," Steve told the crowd. "We think it's way more than that." iCloud stores content (think contacts, calendar, photos, music), with wireless push to all devices. And with APIs providing developers with hooks into iCloud, all apps can take advantage of the service.
iCloud completely replaces MobileMe. Mail, contacts, and calendar are all free. Contacts and calendars will be updated across devices, just like they currently do, but there are several new components to iCloud.
First is the App Store. Users can see purchase history on all devices. Second, iBooks. Books and progress will be synced across devices. Once daily, "a lot of your important content" will be uploaded to the cloud, making it super easy to buy a new iOS device. Just type in your AppleID and password, and all your information will be automatically loaded up: music, apps, books, camera roll, device settings and app data.
Apple has added documents to iCloud as well. Users can edit a document in iWork on a Mac, and it gets instantly pushed to iCloud, where it can be accessed on an iPad. All data is saved and backed up in the cloud. This functionality is built in to Pages, Numbers and Keynote. File transferring seems totally automatic and effortless. Tweak an existing document in Pages on a Mac, and it immediately gets saved to iCloud and changes are immediately pushed to an iPad.
Apple has been working for 10 years to get rid of the file-storage system. It started with iOS, and has made its way to the Mac. iCloud entirely removes the concept of file-storage. Apps manage presentation of its own documents. Apps can store documents in iCloud, documents pushed automatically, with automatic updates on all devices when content is changed anywhere.
For developers, Apple has provided iCloud storage API's, giving easy access to iCloud features for developers -- this is a developer's conference after all, and the dev's love it.
Photo Stream, previewed earlier this year, is part of iCloud too. Photo Stream works just like documents, but your camera roll gets uploaded to the cloud, then sent to everything else. Users can import photos as well, and upload to the cloud. Steve stressed that all these features were built into apps, invisibly, "so there's nothing new to learn."�On the Mac, Photo Stream is built in to iPhoto. Apple TV supports Photo Stream as well.
Only the last 1,000 photos are stored in the cloud will be downloaded to iOS devices, but all photos will be stored on the Mac/PC side. Only 30 days of photos are stored on iCloud, so iCloud doesn't save all your data, it just makes sure that everything is synced up properly.
Apple today announced iOS 5, the much-anticipated major update to Apple's operating system for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad today at the WWDC keynote event. The new major features include a completely revamped notifications system, over-the-air software updates and activation for new devices, and iTunes library syncing over Wi-Fi.
"iOS 5 has some great new features, such as Notification Center, iMessage and Newsstand and we can't wait to see what our developers do with its 1,500 new APIs," said Steve Jobs, Apple�s CEO. "Perhaps iOS 5's paramount feature is that it's built to seamlessly work with iCloud in the Post PC revolution that Apple is leading."
Of the many new features discussed:
• Notifications will see a major overhaul as rumored most recently by TechCrunch. The new Notification Center in iOS 5 will aggregate all notifications, accessed by swiping down from the status bar at the top of the screen. New notifications will appear at the top of the screen and will be less obtrusive overall. Notifications will also be displayed on the lock screen along with weather and stock alerts. Tapping on a notification will automatically open the related app.
• iOS 5 will be "PC free" allowing new device activation and iOS updates over the air. Also, iTunes library syncing will be possible wirelessly via Wi-Fi. While an iOS device is being charged, it will automatically find the associated iTunes library and sync automatically.
• AirPlay Mirroring will also be possible to wirelessly mirror an iPad's display to a television connected to an AppleTV.
• Also as rumored, Twitter will be integrated into iOS and several apps including Camera, Photos, Maps, and Safari. Contacts can also be updated automatically with Twitter handles.
• As reported by This is my next... earlier today, Apple introduced a new unified messaging service between iOS users called iMessage. iMessage will allow iOS users to send text and multimedia messages over Wi-Fi and 3G with read and delivery receipts and real-time typing indication. Messages will be pushed to all iOS devices a user owns.
• Game Center will be enhanced with profile avatars, friend recommendations, and the ability to purchase new games within Game Center.
• Mobile Safari will also get several new features including tabbed browsing and a Safari Reader feature where users can save articles for later reading in the Reading List, which will be synced across multiple iOS devices for easy access.
• A new Reminders app will offer task tracking in iOS 5 with geolocation capabilities to trigger reminders based on user location.
• Camera will get a shortcut from the lock screen for quicker access. New features include optional grid lines for better framing and on-device editing like cropping and rotating plus red-eye reduction. The volume up button can also be set to trigger the shutter.
• Mail will also see some signification changes including rich text formatting, message flagging, draggable addresses.
• Other new system-wide features include a dictionary that can be accessed by any app and keyboard enhancements to modify the on-screen keyboard.
• A new app called News Stand is also coming to the App Store with iOS 5. It will be a counterpart to iBooks featuring newspapers and magazines and will download new issues automatically in the background.
iOS 5 will be available in the fall and will support the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, 3rd- and 4th-generation iPod touch, and iPad and iPad 2. Developers will be able to access a seed today.
Today, in addition to Lion, iOS 5 and the other iCloud features, Apple rolled out iTunes in the Cloud. The service is free for songs purchased through the iTunes Store, while a new "iTunes Match" service priced at $24.99/year extends the program to ripped music.
iCloud will attempt to ease the burden of syncing -- at least for songs purchased through iTunes. Previously-purchased songs will show up in a purchase history and any music purchased can be re-downloaded to any device at no additional charge. According to Steve Jobs, this is the "first time we've seen this in the music industry."
Using the new Automatic Downloads feature, content purchased via iTunes is pushed (not streamed) to mobile devices and vice versa. Users will consequently have all of their songs, automatically, wherever they are, on up to ten devices. The service is free for songs through the iTunes Store.
As far as ripped music, iTunes has 18 million songs in the music store and Apple will use a feature called iTunes Match to give users the same benefits on ripped songs matched to iTunes songs, as with purchased tracks. A user's library is scanned and matched and any songs that remain unmatched can be uploaded for syncing. Songs that are matched are upgraded to 256KBps, AAC, DRM-free, with all the benefits above, including push syncing and all the rest.
iTunes Match is priced at a flat rate of $24.99 per year, even for "20,000 songs."
Mac OS X has been around for 10 years now, built on a solid UNIX foundation. Phil Schiller said in the keynote that OS X has "evolved", and is great "not because of hardware, but because of software."
Apple today showed off ten of the 250 new features in Mac OS X Lion, revisiting some of the features that had been highlighted previously and showing off some that are brand new. Some of the new features include Windows Migration Assistant, a new version of FileVault, built-in FaceTime and more. OS X Lion Server isn't a totally separate installation, just additional apps that can be run on top of Lion. Server will be available for $49.99 through the App Store.
Lion will be priced at $29.99 and available only on the Mac App Store as a 4 GB download, allowing users to pay once and install it on all of their machines, just like all Mac App Store apps. Apple did not announce specific release date for Mac OS X Lion, but narrow down the launch window to the month of July.�Customers who purchase a Mac between today and the Lion launch in July will get the upgrade free from the App Store.
"New" features, most of which we have seen before -- but Apple feels they are important enough to demo:
1. Multi-touch gestures, very similar to iOS: Taken everything they've learned from iOS and applying that to Lion. Swipe, pinch, etc. Scrollbars disappear when not in use.
2. Full Screen Applications: "Really important for notebooks." Lion has a standard method for full screen apps. A swipe gesture allows you to get back to the desktop, and users can have more than one full screen app running at once, with a swipe gesture to switch between them.
3. Mission Control: The "best feature of Lion" according to Phil Schiller, is a combination of Spaces, Expose and an App Switcher. Spaces are managed through Mission Control, allowing them to be deleted and added on the fly.
4. Enhanced Photo Booth: This is a big feature for the teen crowd. Head into any Apple Store on a Friday or Saturday evening and you'll see many teenagers playing with Photo Booth and uploading pictures to Facebook. The new and improved Photo Booth can follow your face and make "targeted facial enhancements", such as making just your eyes huge.
5. Mac App Store: In the past 6 months, the Mac App Store has become the #1 software channel for Mac applications. Some developers have more than doubled their revenue by offering their software in the Mac App Store. New additions to the App Store in Lion will be in-app purchases, push notifications and application sandboxing for increased security.
6. Launchpad: Imagine the iOS home screen, with rows of app icons, on a Mac. That's Launchpad. It will make finding and organizing apps much, much easier for the average user (think, your Mom). You can even make folders, yet another iOS feature) within Launchpad. It's initiated by a gesture.
7. Resume: Instantly resume where you were in an application when you quit it -- just like iOS. There seems to be a trend popping up here. Works system wide, when you reboot, all of your windows and apps return how they were. Lion auto-saves everything. It makes for easy versioning, and reverting to past changes, much like Time Machine does now, but on a file-by-file basis. Every change is logged -- though it only stores the difference between revisions, making it very space efficient.
8. AirDrop: A new document sharing method. Lion will find other users running AirDrop and display all the machines it can see in the Finder. Sending files is as easy as dragging and dropping an icon on the AirDrop logo. The recipient gets a prompt, confirms they want the file, and it downloads to their computer. It sounds simple, but it should be very handy. BOOM.
9. Mail: Mail has been completely redesigned, with lots of inspiration from the iPad Mail client. Search looks much more intelligent, and there is a new conversation view apparently inspired by Gmail.
In the center of the WWDC madness, Taptic Toys was showing off a telepresence robot based around the iPad and Facetime. So, instead of going to the office, you can send your robot in your place. They are using a Mi-Fi device to get around Facetime's Wi-Fi requirement. Seems just to be a prototype, so they are gauging interest for an actual device.
With just under two and a half hours to go before Apple CEO Steve Jobs takes the stage for his keynote address at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco, it's time for us to set the stage with final details on the latest rumors and coverage information.
Attendees have been securing their spots in line early to ensure that they will have seats in the main auditorium rather than being shunted to an overflow room to watch the keynote on video.
Coverage
As we noted over the weekend, MacRumors will be offering live text and photo updates from the keynote through MacRumorsLive.com. The main MacRumors.com page will automatically redirect to MacRumorsLive as we get closer to the event, so stay tuned here. We will also be providing Twitter updates through our @MacRumorsLive account.
Apple has not yet offered any indication that it will provide live streaming video of the keynote.
MacRumors forum members interested in a "spoiler-free" environment to wait for the full keynote video to become available are gathering in our dedicated thread. A direct link to the official keynote video will be posted there when it becomes available.
Rumors
While it appears extremely unlikely that Apple will introduce a new iPhone today, the company undoubtedly has a full agenda as it seeks to show off Mac OS X Lion, iOS 5, and its new iCloud service. Rumors have suggested that the iCloud service could utilize a revamped iOS-based Time Capsule to serve as the hub for data access and potentially for caching software updates for other machines and devices.
One key part of the iCloud service that has been receiving significant media attention is a music streaming service to allow users to access their purchased music from a variety of Internet-connected devices. Apple is said to have paid the four major music labels up to $150 million for the right to offer the service, and with agreements reportedly also in place with the major music publishers, Apple appears nearly ready to go on that aspect of iCloud. The service has been said to come with a free trial period to be followed eventually by an annual fee in the range of $25.
iOS 5 has been kept under wraps by Apple thus far, although we've seen indications of enhanced notifications and widgets as well as "deep" Twitter integration. Another development comes from a leak on Apple's iTunes update pages, which revealed a new "Automatic Download" feature that could allow users to have updated apps and perhaps other content appear on their iOS devices without the need manually sync each one. It is unclear, however, whether the feature is directly tied to iOS 5 or if it could be supported with an update to iOS 4 in the nearer term.
Apple has also been working hard on Mac OS X Lion and a fair amount of information on the release has been made public through Apple's "sneak peek" offered last October and followed up with a series of developer preview builds pushed out beginning in February. Apple has said that Lion will make its debut this "summer", but we've been hearing variety of potential dates within that period for the launch, making it difficult to pin down how soon after WWDC we can expect it to ship.
Last-Minute Updates
- This is my next... reports that it has received information regarding iOS 5 enhancements including a new MMS/SMS messaging protocol and a new notification system involving a dropdown at the top of the screen accessible by swiping downward. The dropdown will also provide access to widgets for such items as weather and stocks. Finally, the lock screen is said to have been enhanced with notifications, allowing users to swipe a notification to go directly to the corresponding app.
Mockup of iOS 5 notification bar
- As noted by @grg, there is at least one covered banner hanging outside the keynote hall, suggesting that the banner will be promoting currently-undisclosed details of a new product:
On the night before the 2011 WWDC Keynote, things have been relatively quiet. Those attending WWDC are naturally excited by the prospect of Apple's announcements and everyone is speculating about what Apple could announce. The first person got in line for the WWDC keynote at 1pm Sunday, while everyone else seems to be debating exactly how early to get in line. At present there seem to be about 30 people in line (photo) as of 11pm Pacific.
The image above is what we believe to simply be a mockup of what iOS 5's notifications may look like. It was posted by TechCrunch who later said that they've heard it's the "right idea".
DaringFireball's John Gruber has posted his thoughts about Monday's event but seems to know very little for certain. The most tantalizing quote he offers, but also one that he describes as fourth hand information is as follows:
Don�t think of iCloud as the new MobileMe; think of iCloud as the new iTunes.
Gruber describes the possibility where instead of taking an iOS device and syncing it to your computer, all the data is synced to iCloud. This would finally relinquish the need for a PC/Mac sync for new iOS devices. He goes on with other wishes for iOS but admits its not based on any inside knowledge.
Interestingly, we've heard that a few Apple employees have been genuinely excited about tomorrow's announcements. The keynote kicks off at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern on Monday and we'll provide live coverage here.
With most major consumer product releases -- think Mac OS and iLife -- Apple has an Up-To-Date program so folks who recently purchased a Mac can get the latest software without having to spend the full price. 
Reports are coming out that the iOS 5 beta 
One of the major rumors for iOS 5 that failed to materialize at Apple's WWDC keynote yesterday was 
Alongside yesterday's high-profile developer seeds of OS X Lion Developer Preview 4, the first iOS 5 beta, and several iCloud-related betas including iTunes 10.5 and iPhoto 9.2, Apple also provided developers with a developer preview version of Safari 5.1 for both Mac and Windows. According to an 
Yesterday, we 
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