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Posts tagged with "apple"

iPad 2 Coming in February 2011?

According to a new report from Digitimes, the iPad 2 may ship as early as February 2011 – in less than 100 days now. Foxconn’s plants in Shenzen have been recently notified that initial shipments, due in February, will reach 400,000 - 600,000 units:

The sources pointed out that the iPad 2 will ship as soon as the end of February in 2011. Apple originally planned to start mass production in January, but because the device’s firmware is currently still in testing, Apple has been postponing the schedule. Since Foxconn’s new plants in Chengdu are still in pilot production, iPad 2 will be mainly supplied by its Shenzhen plants, while the company’s upstream component partners have all been notified of the shipments schedule.

Rumors surfaced in November suggested that Apple would include a FaceTime camera in the next iPad, USB ports, Retina Display and a gyroscope. It is also believed that Largan Precision has been selected to be the camera lens maker of the next generation iPad.

Foxconn, of course, declined to comment on the new rumors.

New Report Claims Verizon Doesn’t Want The iPhone On Other U.S. Carriers

Well well, look who’s back: the Verizon iPhone. Actually, it’s just “more Verizon iPhone rumors”, but we’ll settle with that. For now. So anyway, in spite of the several rumors claiming that the mythical device is finally coming in the first quarter of 2011 (and indeed, won’t be a simple “Verizon iPhone” but  CDMA unit capable of running on multiple CDMA networks worldwide) we still haven’t seen anything real yet. Not a single leaked and blurry picture, not a single document – nothing. Just rumors.

The latest report from Kaufman Bros.’ analyst Shaw Wu claims Apple “got the terms it wanted from Verizon” and the device should be coming in early 2011. Nothing new to see here. Read more

Legendary Transparent Mac SE Doesn’t Last Long On eBay

This Mac SE wasn’t meant for public release, it was a special unit designed for Apple’s employees – and most specifically, designers – so they could look at the actual components while using the machine. A transparent Mac SE coming straight from the late ’80s, sold on eBay for more than $25,000.

The item has been sold pretty quickly (heck, Jobs himself might have bought it feeling the nostalgia), and it comes from an ex-Apple employee who worked at the R&D team back in the day. Whoever bought it will have to boot it off of an 800k floppy, as the hard disk boot isn’t working anymore.

So, new transparent Mac SE owner: congratulations. You own a very rare piece of Apple’s history now. [Gizmodo via eBay]

Norman Foster To Design Apple’s New Campus In Cupertino?

According to El Economista, British architect Norman Foster will be the head of operations to design Apple’s new campus in Cupertino. Sources familiar to the matter told El Economista that the new campus – which happens to be HP’s old campus, recently bought by Apple – is one of the company’s most important projects, and will be “revolutionary” in a way that will be built on top of modern “green technologies” and renewable energy resources. Read more

“Steve Wozniak Is A Silicon Valley Treasure”→

“Steve Wozniak Is A Silicon Valley Treasure”

As he took us through the museum, it became apparent how brilliant an engineer he is. He stopped at the Apple-1, the company’s first computer and the machine that first put computers into the grasp of “the rest of us.” His vision for the Apple-1 when it shipped in 1976 was simple – and profound.

“I didn’t design this computer to make a lot of money and start a company,” he said. “I wanted to accelerate the world advancement in the social revolution.” The Apple-1 would be a new way to communicate. A new way for the individual to exercise power.

He walked over to the Apple II on display nearby.

“This is my real gem,” he said, “the greatest design of my life.” And no one – not a docent, no guard, nobody – said a word when he pulled off the top panel to show the machine’s motherboard. “About half as many chips,” he said.

Great story.

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Apple Silently Discontinues Compact Wired Keyboard

Introduced in 2009 together with a new iMac line, the “compact” Apple wired keyboard was basically identical to the standard wireless keyboard but it also featured two USB ports on its sides. As noted by AppleInsider, that keyboard has been quietly discontinued by Apple, as it is not offered as an option on the online store anymore.

Part number is MB869LLA, and it’s still available on some retailer websites – until they run out of stock, I guess. Apple’s wireless keyboard that ships by default with every new desktop Mac is available here at $69.

Apple Looking For iAd HTML5 Engineer

Just ahead of the launch of European iAds (although we still haven’t managed to find the Renault iAd running on any app) and the Japanese rollout in 2011, a new job posting on Apple’s website reveals that the iAd team is looking for a skilled HTML5 engineer “to help build iAd’s HTML5-based platform for rich content”.

The job posting, which among requirements lists extensive CSS3 knowledge and preferred WebKit development, also confirms that members of the iAd team will have to collaborate “with many groups outside iOS engineering”, namely content publishers who need assistance with the iAd JS framework and user interface design teams at Cupertino.

With the release of iOS 4.2 many expected iAd campaigns to become available on iPad apps as well, but, in spite of the changes in iAd’s framework to support the tablet’s screen, advertisements on the iPad are still nowhere to be seen.

Apple’s iPod-based Point of Sale System Already Deployed

According to 9to5mac, Apple and Gap Inc’s Old Navy stores have started piloting an iPod-based PoS (Point of Sale) system which allows customers to sign receipts with their fingers and print receipts wirelessly to printers in Old Navy’s store.

Apparently, some employees are also wearing mini-printers attached to their belts. This is just so cool. 9to5mac also reports Apple and Gap have been in a close relationship since Gap’s former CEO Millard Drexler has been sitting on Apple’s Board since 1999 and Steve Jobs sat on Gap’s one from 1999 to 2002. Read more

Business Insider: Ping One Of The Biggest Flops of 2010→

Business Insider: Ping One Of The Biggest Flops of 2010

It’s not just Google that can’t master social. Apple also struggles. Ping was launched to much fanfare, but it has utterly failed to gain traction.

Ping was launched in September. It recently became available on the iPad. It also got Twitter integration a few weeks ago. I don’t use it and I don’t see many of my friends using it, but I still think a Ping for apps would be great.

Apps aren’t just for geeks anymore. Will Apple ever deploy its own social app discovery platform?

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