Apple does have an Apple TV box at the moment and there are rumors that there will be some sort of iTV in the future, but it’s become apparent especially today that Apple does not have the same amount of power pushing into the smart TV world as they do the mobile and desktop world – it only stands to reason, of course. As Cook noted today:

“Apple doesn’t do hobbies as a general rule. I can’t live without [my Apple TV] – we’ve always though there was something there, and that if we kept following our intuiting and kept pulling that string, we might find something larger. … Something that could go more main market for it to be a serious category.” – Cook

Does this mean we’re going to continue seeing string pulling through 2012? You can bet on it. Will the iTV be revealed inside the next few months? That’s much more up to debate than the idea that Apple will stay in the smart TV business.

In addition, as is the custom, each of these designs have been formatted to fit your iDevice backgrounds, desktop, iPad, and iPhone sizes included. These collections come in a Snap Case for iPhone, a Snap Case for iPod Touch, a Campus Pack, and some canvas sleeves for your laptops. There’s a 13-inch Canvas Sleeve and a 15-inch Canvas sleeve – both of which happen to fit Apple products perfectly, incase you’re wondering.

Also for those of you that do not recognize the designs, Shepard Fariey is an artist famous for his original Obey Giant graffiti campaign as well as the Obama HOPE poster image revealed during the 2008 election season. The incase online store has the snap cases for $39.95, campus packs for $149.95, and canvas sleeves for $79.95 and $98.95 depending on the size. All of these designs are available for purchase right now!

Also if you want to pick up some wallpapers, head over to incase’s Shepard Fairey page and head to the bottom – your desires are met!

Featured: You’ve not doubt heard a lot about Windows 8 so far, and it is perhaps the most confusing Windows release yet, what with different versions for different devices and all that. So to help ease some of the questions, we’ve put together an article called SlashGear 101: Windows 8 on ARM. Be sure to check it. Also check out our review of SkinIt’s metal plate for the iPhone 4S. We’re talking about custom-etched metal plates here. Pretty cool.

Trends: So the next time you rent from Hertz, you might be interested to know that it is implementing a wireless charging system for its EVs. And after you feel good about driving an electric vehicle and taking care of the environment, you can also sleep in peace knowing that a new study suggests US box office sales are completely unaffected by Torrents. They’re still illegal, though. And finally, for you Apple fans – MacBook Pro 2012 refresh set for Air-like thinness, next-gen specs. Well that’s all for today. Have a good weekend everyone.

What this means for the rest of the users out there looking to buy an Apple computer in the near future is this: MacBook may be coming back as a basic name for the low end of high. Your MacBook Pro lineup in smaller sizes very well could be the MacBooks of tomorrow while the MacBook Air keeps its lofty name. Or the opposite could be true: perhaps the “Air” moniker will float away with the White plastic of yesterday and yesteryear.

Either way, the stock is up, Apple no longer has MacBooks in plastic available to anyone officially, not even educational institutions, the last group whose name brought them the ability to continue accessing the line long after Apple stores cut them from the showroom. Now the status symbol war can continue with the white MacBook looking outdated entirely and the metal glory of the Pro and Air models looking like the only choice for the hipster elite. Watch out, collectors, you’re next!

[via MacRumors]

These batteries are able to power up your MacBook, your iPad, your iPhone, and whatever other USB-powered devices you’ve got on hand. They’re made specifically for every different Apple mobile product under the sun, again moving in a way so very similar to the design language of the Mac that they’re using the same white font for the device itself. This name in batteries has been around long enough to be winning awards for best-in-show back in 2010, and with “military grade” lithium ion batteries on the inside with 1,000 charges in the barrel and a built-in short circuit, temperature, and overcharging set of protections, why not?

Inside each box you’re going to get the battery itself, a 12-15V DC auto/airline adapter to connect to Apple’s unit, and an AC power supply 100-240V to charge the battery itself. You get some printed documentation as well, and the only drawback here seems to be that you’ll need your own MacBook MagSafe cord to actually connect to your MacBook – but you’ve got that, right? Of course you do! All four HyperJuice external batteries are currently available straight from their site for between $169.95 and $449.95 – buy em up!

AppleInsider discovered the two patent applications this week titled “Fuel Cell Systems to Power a Portable Computing Device” and “Fuel Cell System Coupled to a Portable Computing Device.” The filings talk about the increasing awareness and desire for renewable energy sources among consumers and also states that the use of hydrogen fuel cells could power a device like a MacBook “for days or even weeks” before having to refuel.

However, developing a cost-effective hydrogen fuel cell system that’s portable will be a challenge. Apple’s solution involves a system that can both provide and receive power from a rechargeable battery in a device like a notebook so that it eliminates the need for a bulky and heavy battery within the system.

The decision to throw in extra pixels is part of Apple’s strategy to better differentiate the MacBook Pro line-up from Windows-based notebooks, the insiders reckon. Apple has for some time now used the same Intel processors and AMD/NVIDIA GPUs as its PC rivals, relying on OS X and its distinctive industrial design to hold the MacBook Pro apart.

However, a more comprehensive refresh of the notebook is believed to be in the pipeline, with aesthetics said to be borrowed from the MacBook Air turning the existing Pro into a slimmed-down powerhouse for mobile professionals. A switch to all-SSD storage is also rumored, bringing fast boot-up and resume times, as well as having a significant impact on in-app performance.

2880 x 1800 resolution would bring the 13-inch MBP to a crazy 261ppi, while the 15-inch would be 226ppi and the 17-inch would be 200ppi.

Apple is also expected to remove the integrated optical drive from the new MacBook Pro, a casualty of the pared-down chassis design and the rise of digital distribution for music, video and software. The higher-spec MacBook Pro could also shift further up the notebook range, with Apple using a new 15-inch MacBook Air to cater for the entry-level and mid-range mainstream markets instead.

Analyst Mark Moskowitz, Executive Director at J.P. Morgan, spoke on how even though the MacBook Air isn’t the cheapest laptop on the market – not by a long shot – its form factor and early launch into what the competitors have called the “Ultrabook Market” will continue to attract users of all breeds. The threat comes from a future where price is such a factor that Apple will have to drop. Until that happens, there’s just no killing what cannot be killed. As Moskowitz said this week:

“Ultrabooks are not a competitive threat, yet. In general, we think that ultrabooks are highly discretionary devices, and pricing on competitive offerings must fall below $800 before posing a viable threat to Apple’s MacBook Air. In our view, emerging markets have not been a big contributor to MacBook Air results thus far given the pricing premium on the product. However, we expect this to change as pricing on the MacBook Air decreases over time. Also, as the iPhone and iPad continue to penetrate emerging markets worldwide, we expect the Apple halo effect and Apple ecosystem to drive incremental Mac sales worldwide, including the MacBook Air.” – Moskowitz

Does this happen to you? Do you get halo’d in your love for the big Apple ecosystem that’s forever expanding and embracing us all? Inside the USA and the region containing Europe, Middle East, and Africa, aka EMEA, are accounting for a total of 73.9 percent of all units sold around the world. In China, on the other hand, the third quarter of this year proved to be a big one for Apple’s MacBook Air, with sales of units growing 339 percent over the same quarter last year – this compared with 76.5 percent growth in the same period for all other Mac models.

In other words, its not just the competition outside of Apple that’s not keeping up – people want the thinnest notebook from the company best known for bringing such a product to the market. Apple’s made a notebook here that looks and feels the part of the king of its category, and compared to the rest, J.P. Morgan says its the best.

“In contrast, we think that the first round of ultrabook offerings lacks the right blend of features and attractive price points to grab market share from Apple.” – Moskowitz

[via Cnet]

This raises the question though: what better use could there be for the touchpad on your MacBook? You’ve got a masterpiece of a space down there where you fingers can direct the whole show you see on your HD display, and most people just use it to scroll up and down in their browser window and double-click on icons. With this keypad film and the connected application that goes with it, the future is here!

This Pad Film for TouchPad is a 2011 red dot design concept winning entry, which means that it’s not quite ready for the marketplace, but it is well on its way to getting there. In addition to the keys you see here in the basic film, you can also attach custom keys to do whatever you like on your computer, and whenever you need to start scrolling again, just hit the hotkey combination alt + x. Hotkey combination again to turn the keypad on again – simple stuff!

[via Yanko Design]

Construction workers were apparently the ones who revealed to sources that had the store been planned for opening on Black Friday, they certainly weren’t aware of it, and that any way you look at it, there was simply too much to be done as far as actual construction work for a launch last week. So add this to your list of things we’ve got to wait just a LITTLE bit longer for before the holiday season is truly upon us, and head down there if you dare not this weekend, but next. As of yet there are no signs of any special edition hardware in the space, but you never know.

Meanwhile the New York state comptroller’s office is apparently launching an investigation into the MTA’s handling of Apple’s lease of the space. It’s said that the lease favors Apple at the expense of taxpayers, this evidenced (again, supposedly) by an unusually low price payed per square foot in the space. Note also that Apple is paying for some upgrades to the space, but also appears to be exempt from an otherwise nearly universal GCT revenue sharing policy. So we’ll just see how that all pans out – meanwhile, shop the weekend away!

[via MacNN]

Apple had booted NVIDIA about three years ago in favor of AMD chipsets, but the recent issues with AMD Llano supply capacities and the failed attempt at implementing them in the latest MacBook Airs have forced Apple to switch back. Despite Apple allegedly swearing off NVIDIA, there’s really no other alternatives in that arena.

The switch will mainly be for Apple’s larger notebooks that haven’t transitioned into an all-Intel solution with integrated graphics. It’s been rumored that Apple has been working on a new MacBook Pro for 2012 that will feature a redesigned chassis that will be thinner and lighter, similar to the MacBook Air lineup.

[via MacRumors]

If your current machine has an optical drive inside and you want to pull that drive out to add a second HDD or a SSD you can still use your Superdrive. A new external enclosure for the Superdrive has been offered up by Macway. It looks very Apple-like with similar style as a Mac mini.

The enclosure will use the SATA Superdrive from a MacBook or MacBook Pro unibody notebook. The finish is plastic on the case, but it looks like aluminum. It uses a USB 2.0 port for power and connectivity for the optical drive and is still bootable. The enclosure measures 142 x 139 x 18mm and weighs 125g without the drive inside. The enclosure costs under 25 euros.

[via HardMac]

Apple has since redesigned the MagSafe with a new L-shape that puts less stress on the cable. The company has also been providing a replacement program for old MagSafe adapters, but has updated the program’s support documents today to reflect changes from the class-action settlement.

The settlement applies to customers that purchased a replacement adapter within the first three years of owning a MacBook or MacBook Pro that came with a T-shaped adapter. Those customers that purchased the replacement in the first year of ownership could get a cash payment from Apple of $79. Second- and third-year replacements could get up to $50 and $35, respectively.

If you fall into the settlement category and would like to find out more details on how to get the cash payment, you can visit the settlement website at adaptersettlement.com. You have until March 21, 2012 or three years from the date of original purchase, whichever is later, to file your claim. Current and future replacements will be covered by Apple free of charge through December 31, 2012.

[via MacRumors]

The guy has apparently been trying to get the parts back from Apple for a while now and according to AppleInsider, the parts finally made their way back home. Naturally the 3G antenna and SIM card slot were missing from the parts. The guy only got back a battery, HDD, and two sticks of RAM he put into the notebook to fix it. I wondered when this story first broke exactly how someone came to have the machine.

The person that sold the notebook originally is reportedly an Apple Engineer that was given the notebook for doing some software development work. I don’t see Apple giving someone a prototype like this for doing dev stuff. The guy that bought the machine and tried to sell it on eBay is considering a suit against the Craigslist seller. The eBay owner that had to give the machine back is Carl Frega and Frega says he has about $400 in legal fees and other costs invested.

[via AppleInsider]

The news came from Cupertino California today that “Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives.” Of course we need no reminder of this, having sat on the edge of our seats at his every word over the past decade and more. “The world is immeasurably better because of Steve.”

The announcement of Jobs’ passing went on to note:

His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts.

Apple CEO Tim Cook today sent the following email to all Apple employees:

Team,

I have some very sad news to share with all of you. Steve passed away earlier today.

Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.

We are planning a celebration of Steve’s extraordinary life for Apple employees that will take place soon. If you would like to share your thoughts, memories and condolences in the interim, you can simply email rememberingsteve@apple.com.

No words can adequately express our sadness at Steve’s death or our gratitude for the opportunity to work with him. We will honor his memory by dedicating ourselves to continuing the work he loved so much.

Tim

An undeniably sad day for the world at large, but also a time to reflect on the undeniably massive impact this modern marvel has had on the earth.

The prototype machine never made the end of the auction though since Apple found out about it and had the auction pulled before it finished. The seller had purchased the notebook on Craigslist earlier this year according to CNET. The machine was originally purchased for parts to use in a repair business. The bidding had apparently hit $70,000 before it was pulled; the odds of that winning bidder actually paying were probably slim.

Apple has now reached out to the owner of the prototype, one Carl Fregna, and wants to send someone to pick the machine up and return it to Cupertino. It’s not clear if the man will get the money he paid for the device back from Apple. I would bet that there would be some sort of compensation for returning the machine since the man purchased it legitimately even if it was never meant to have left Apple.

[via CNET]

The continuing Android legal assault is reportedly seeing some smartphone firms looking for other operating systems. The legal assault is said to be sending phone makers to Windows Phone and MeeGo. LinkedIn’s CEO has said that Google+ can’t coexist with Facebook and Twitter. Jeff Weiner has claimed that Google+ makes demands on time that users don’t have.

Eric Schmidt has said that Apple’s lawsuits are prompted by jealousy and a lack of innovation. He said that the Android suits are “inspired by our successes.” An early version of Google+ iOS app was released by accident this week. Thousands of users were able to download the app before it was pulled leading to issues for some that had use the app.

A company in China has faked a complete Apple Store and it looks almost just like the real thing. Apparently, the fake Apple Store was selling real Apple gear though. Vince went hands on with the IdeaPad K1 and the ThinkPad Tablet this week. Vince liked the ThinkPad Tablet, but thinks the K1 will struggle.

Apple is hinting that the iPhone 5 will come in September. CFO Peter Oppenheimer mentioned the company would undergo a “future product transition” in September. Apple refreshed the Mac mini desktop computer this week. The main changes were new Sandy Bridge processors and a dual-drive server version along with Thunderbolt.

The MacBook Air was also refreshed along with the mini this week. The refresh brought new Sandy Bridge processors and Thunderbolt. The Senate Antitrust Subcommittee chairman is opposing the AT&T and T-Mobile merger. The chairman says that the merger could cause substantial harm to competition and consumers.

The Space Shuttle Atlantis touched down last week and ended 26 years of space flight aboard the shuttle fleet. It will be four years before the US has a replacement for the Shuttle. Some really funny mock T-Mobile commercials have turned up that make fun of the merger between AT&T and T-Mobile. If you haven’t seen them, they are worth a watch.

Toyota showed off some cool concept tech this week with a window for a car that lets the user zoom in on things that are far off. The odds of this sort of tech coming to market are slim. Some official pics of the Droid Bionic surfaced this week at Amazon when the listings for some accessories turned up on the site. The accessories were a desk dock and a car dock.

Google+ has grown to 20M unique visitors already. While the growth is massive Google has admitted that its brand strategy was a mistake on the project. A special edition Star Wars Kinect bundle is coming that has the console in R2D2 livery and the controller is designed to look like C3PO. The console will land in time for the holidays at undisclosed pricing.

We put up our review of Mac OS X Lion late last week. Burns really liked the OS and said that it would be the OS he uses for the foreseeable future. Gerber unveiled a new multitool called the Steady that has a camera tripod built in. The tool will land next year for about $65 and will be great for photo shooting hikers.

Rue posted up a review of the Toshiba Thrive tablet. She figures if you are willing to go with the fatter design you better really want the full size USB port. The tablet is also cheap but those seem to be its only big selling points. Vince also posted up his review of the new 13-inch core i5 MacBook Air. The new Air has portability and performance with the only lacking point being no integrated 3G. Thanks for reading this week’s edition!

According to Miller, modern laptop batteries contain their own firmware and microcontrollers to monitor power levels, allowing operating systems to check and respond accordingly. Even when your notebook is powered off, the lithium ion battery inside knows when to stop charging. Also, the battery can detect and regulate its heat level to maintain a safe temperature.

From examining Apple’s laptops, Miller noticed that all the embedded chips in the batteries used the same default passwords. This means that a hacker who knows of the password can find a way to control the chip’s firmware and in turn manipulate the battery to wreak havoc on your system.

There are many possible methods of attack, including not letting your battery recharge, not letting it regulate heat leading to physical dangers, and implanting hidden malware that infects your computer. This last one can reinfect your computer over and over again even after cleaning out the system and reinstalling all software if the battery is not changed as well.

Miller has sent his research to Apple and Texas Instruments and expects to expose the vulnerability at the Black Hat security conference in August. He has also proposed a fix, which he calls “Caulkgun,” that replaces the battery firmware’s default password with a random string. However, this password change could be an issue when it comes to OS updates.

[via Forbes]

The fact that the Air and the MacBook were both priced at $999 didn’t do anything to dissuade those rumors, though those buyers wanting to match the plastic notebook’s 13.3-inch display will have to step up in the range. The 13.3-inch MacBook Air starts from $1,299, in fact, though that does get you 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD, not to mention its 1.7GHz Core i5 processor.

So, little surprise that Apple has pared down the range, though that’s not to say the MacBook name couldn’t be reborn at a later point. Apple seems perfectly content with its computing pincer-movement of the present, however: offering everyday users more interested in browsing and multimedia the iPad, while those looking to get work done get to pick from a more grown-up notebook range.

The 13.3-inch MacBook Air will start at a 1.7GHz Sandy Bridge processor, paired with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of SSD storage; its pricier counterpart will boost the latter to 256GB. All four will include Thunderbolt ports and “a design with little to no changes from the current models.”

Meanwhile, there will be new custom configurations on offer, including a 1.8GHz option on the 11.6-inch MBA, a 4GB RAM upgrade for the basic version, and up to 256GB of SSD storage. The 13.3-inch built-to-order MBA will be offered with a 1.8GHz processor but the same RAM and drive as the high-end standard configuration.

Indications from Apple’s internal shipment forecast suggest that the company is preparing to replace the white MacBook with the entry-level MacBook Air; according to one source, speaking to AppleInsider, shipment expectations for the MacBook drop off in early August. Pricing for the new Air models is unconfirmed, but we’d expect Apple to stick to the same figures as present.

Apple announced record quarterly financial results yesterday, as well as confirming that OS X Lion would hit the Mac App Store today.

[Thanks Caleb!]

The OWC Data Doubler 1TB DIY Kit comes with an optical bay converter bracket, a Samsung Spinpoint M8 1TB 9.5mm hard drive, a detailed model-specific installation guide, a five-piece toolkit, and plenty of free online “How To” resources and installation videos. The kit is fully compatible with the following MacBook models:

MacBook 13″ “Late 2008” ‘Unibody’ and later models (All)
MacBook 13″ “Late 2009” ‘White Unibody’ and later models (All)
MacBook Pro 13″ “Mid 2009” ‘Unibody’ and later models (All)
MacBook Pro 15″ “Late 2008” ‘Unibody’ and later models (All)
MacBook Pro 17″ “Early 2009” ‘Unibody’ and later models (All)

The kit comes in special bundles with drives included starting from $117.99. The 1TB DIY Data Doubler is priced at $174.99. All kits are available now at MacSales.

These numbers you see below come straight from the street. What they mean exactly does not matter as much as the fact that they certainly appear to be coming out this next week, and that there’s two new 11-inch models and two new 13-inch models in the pipeline. Both the 11 and 13-inch models will be coming in standard and upgraded versions, that being entry level and if you want some sweet bonuses packed in, of course. BTO (built to order) options will certainly be available as well.

These models will have little to no cosmetic changes about them, having only Sandy Bridge processors and Thunderbolt I/O. Have you heard everything there is to hear about the awesomeness that is the Thunderbolt Cord and its teardown? Get into it! Also you might want to check out how we had word earlier this month that the MacBook Air and OS X Lion refresh would be taking place exactly on July 14, 2011 – that’s only a couple days away from now!

The new Mac Pros that we’re talking about here will also be coming POSSIBLY this week. This new line has previously been whispered about to be releasing late July or early August, but heck, now’s as good a time as any, right? These new models are said to possibly be having a re-designed enclosure that’s both narrower and rack-mountable (so you can get a bunch of them and have a whole closet full!) Thunderbolt will be present, obviously, and a 16 core model may be debuting as well.

PLUS there’s going to be a new Mac Pro Server model out there with the three Mac Pros coming up quick. What a joy it would be to have the whole crew sitting in the living room, yes? Can’t wait!

[via 9to5Mac]

That’s based on a strong predictions for Apple’s sales success in the tablet segment next year. Some firms are tipping the iPad to comprise 60m of the 80m+ global tablet shipments in 2012, a rise in market share despite the arrival of rivals like the webOS-based TouchPad (which we reviewed earlier this week) and slates running Google’s Android Honeycomb platform.

As for notebooks, some predictions are that Apple will ship 15m MacBooks next year, for a total of 75m units when iPads are included in the count. That’s a 25- to 30-percent of the global notebook market, the sources estimate, and enough to squash HP’s 45-50m unit shipment estimates for notebooks. Of course, if HP’s TouchPad suddenly gains traction and sells in excess of 25m units, then perhaps the company can hold its top spot; however, that isn’t looking likely.

The shortage apparently includes resellers in the US and in Europe, with one of the largest distributors supposedly out of stock and with no ETA for further units. Availability on Apple’s own online store is still listed at 24hrs from the point of ordering, however.

It’s unclear what might happen to the white MacBook, especially since it currently has in-house competition from the identically-priced $999 MacBook Air. Apple’s last refresh was back in May 2010, when the notebook was upgraded to a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo processor and NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics. In the meantime, Apple has shifted its GPU allegiance to AMD’s Radeon range, so any hardware update might include a Sandy Bridge 2011 Core processor and either integrated or AMD graphics.

If that’s the case, it’s unlikely to arrive until after OS X Lion hits the virtual shelves of the Mac App Store. Apple is believed to be holding off from any Mac refreshes – such as the Sandy Bridge/Thunderbolt update to the MacBook Air – until its new OS is ready for primetime.

Of course, there’s also educational pricing deals on the Mac hardware too, so you’re saving there as well. That could amount to $100 on a MacBook or iMac, or up to $200 on a MacBook Pro. The promotion runs until September 20 2011.

$100 gets you a copy of iWork – with Pages, Numbers and Keynote – with some left over for a few tracks to entertain you while you work and an ebook or two to lull you to sleep before bed. You could alternatively spend it all on thrash metal from iTunes and games for your iPhone. Best of all for Apple, because it takes a 30-percent share of any purchases from the Mac App Store, App Store, iTunes store or iBookstore, it’s only really subsidizing $70 on the $100 card.

Google Wallet:
Google Wallet and Google Offers NFC Projects Announced by Google
Google Wallet and Google Offers Partner with Citibank, Mastercard, First Data, and Sprint
Google Wallet Demoed on Nexus S
Google Wallet “Single Tap” Demoed on Point-of-Sale System
Google Wallet Objects to be the Backbone of the New NFC System, Partners Comment [Video]
Google Wallet on Android: iOS and Windows Phone Must Be Next
Google Wallet Will Work Even Without NFC-Enabled Phone Thanks To Special Stickers
PayPal sues Google over stolen Wallet secrets

Microsoft:
Microsoft’s $150m Android windfall dwarfs Windows Phone revenues
SlashGear 101 : Windows Phone 7.1 Mango
Windows Phone “Mango” official; Acer, Fujitsu and ZTE onboard
Windows Phone 7.1 Mango multitasking explained [Video]
Qualcomm “exclusive” Windows Phone 7.1 Mango chip supplier
Windows Phone Mango Visual Search hands-on [Video]
Windows Phone Mango Music Search Hands-On [Video]
Windows Phone Marketplace Web Portal Preview
Nokia: Our first Windows Phone will run Mango
Nokia To Release A Windows Phone Every Two Months?

Apple:
iOS 5 To Revamp Notifications And Introduce Widgets
Apple wins early access to Samsung phones/tablets in copycat case
Samsung Legal Department Demands to See iPhone 5 and iPad 3
Apple May Announce Back-To-School Deal At WWDC, Including $200 Off iPads
Apple To Nuke Mac Defender Malware With OS X Update
Apple MacBooks Top All Notebook Categories On Consumer Reports [Updated]
iPhone 4S/5 to have curved glass fascia?
Apple iCloud could be MobileMe bundle, mirror even pirated tracks

Amazon:
Lady Gaga 99-Cent Album On Amazon
Lady Gaga “Born This Way” $0.99 again as Amazon takes second shot
Amazon Launches Mac Download Store, Targeting Apple Mac App Store
Amazon’s 7- and 10-inch tablets $349 and $449 this holiday?

ASUS:
ASUS Eee Pad Transformer To Get Android 3.1 Honeycomb OTA Next Week
ASUS ‘Padfone’ Trademark Applied For Upcoming Tablet/Phone Combo
ASUS tablet tease tips new slate for Computex 2011
ASUS docking tablet/phone combo and 3D slate tipped for Computex

Other news:
AT&T 4G LTE plans revealed: Five markets this summer
Sony Music Greece latest to suffer security hack: User data in the wild
Sony Music Japan Latest To Get Hacked
Sony Ericsson’s Canadian eShop latest hack victim: 2,000 user records stolen
PlayStation Store Not Relaunching Today
Barnes & Noble NOOK: Smaller, touchscreen & $139 tag
T-Mobile G2x Pulled Due to Quality Issues?
T-Mobile G2x Disappearance Explained, Firmware Updates Expected
T-Mobile G2x Price To Increase Tomorrow?
T-Mobile G2x Internal Issues And Resolutions Document Leaked
HTC Unlocking Bootloaders Across the Board [OFFICIAL]

Unboxings & Hands-ons:
LG Revolution Unboxing and hands-on
HTC Trophy Hands-On and Unboxing
Dell XPS 15z official: Hands-on

Reviews:
Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY Review – To Play or Not to Play?
HTC Sensation Review
HTC Flyer WiFi Review

Apple was most dominant in the 13-inch category, with its MacBook Pro taking the top five of seven spots with Sony and Asus taking the last two. They also took the lead in the 15-inch category with the top three spots, but the competition wasn’t as far behind. And with the 17-inch category, the MacBook Pro took the top two spots.

The MacBook Air 11-inch scored 62 out of 100, taking the top spot for the small laptop category, with Gateway coming in second with a score of 56, and HP coming in third with a score of 49. To see the full Consumer Reports rankings you will need a subscription, but you can take a look at our early-2011 15-inch MacBook Pro review here gratis.

Update: We actually have the rankings charts to share with you below. Also note that AppleCare took the top spot in readers polls for the 11th year in a row, scoring 25 points higher than the number two company.

[via LoopInsight]

LastPass’s CEO says they may have been alarmist in their reporting of the data breach yesterday, it’s really not as bad as they thought.

RIM is set to launch its official keyboard accessory for the PlayBook, and the iTablet is a Bluetooth keyboard built just with thumbs in mind.

Asus has said that the problem with getting enough Transformer tabs out is not shortages of parts, but merely demand. They weren’t prepared for how many people want their new tablet. Our commenters say, “now that you know we want them, please get to the business of ramping up production so I can have one!”

And speaking of tablet shortages, we have a tip that the iPad 2 shortage is due to the LG display.

T-Mobile is down nearly 1 million subscribers since this time last year. Ouch. Are people jumping ship because they don’t want to end up with AT&T?

And remember, Mother’s day is this weekend. Watch for our tech gifts roundup for the big day, coming up soon.

It’s not the first time I’ve talked about potentially revolutionary Apple changes. Back in November, rumors around the MacBook Pro refresh earlier this year suggested some of the hardware and design decisions Apple might be making: bypassing USB 3.0 for Thunderbolt (then known by its Intel Light Peak codename), dropping optical drives, and switching wholesale to SSD for storage. Obviously not all of those panned out: the early 2011 MacBook Pro line got its Thunderbolt connection, but SuperDrive lived on and so did traditional hard-drives.

Now the rumor machine has reignited, spitting out something with even more game-changing possibilities than mere drives and ports. Sources claim Apple is looking to switch from Intel’s x86 processors to ARM-based chips, potentially as early as in mid-2013, as big a platform evolution as the transition from PowerPC in early 2006. The company plans, it’s suggested, to use 64-bit ARM processors like NVIDIA’s Project Denver – first in notebooks but then likely across the desktop range as well.

It’s a shift that could have far-reaching implications, not just for Intel’s bottom line. ARM processors, as we’ve seen in smartphones and tablets, are capable of all the multimedia and gaming performance users expect – like 1080p Full HD, supporting multiple displays, accelerated encoding/decoding of graphics and real-time processing – while simultaneously demanding far less power than their x86 counterparts. The iPad’s lengthy battery life is partly down to the fact that its slender chassis is fair stuffed with Li-Poly cells, but also that its Apple A5 processor handles everything iOS throws at it in an efficient manner.

Now, the demands of iOS – and what we ask of a tablet or phone – are obviously different to what we expect from our notebooks and desktops, but there’s still plenty of overlap. Browsing, video editing and playback, messaging and email, a little gaming: they’re all common tasks, and well within the capabilities of ARM chips. Much of it will come down to OS X, and how Apple’s engineers re-compile it for the change in processor architecture, as well as how it handles existing OS X apps running on the new platform.

We’ve seen a similar – though far smaller scale – transition from Apple before, with the Apple TV. The first-gen model used a Pentium M processor, thrown out for the second-gen version in favor of the same Apple A4 chip as in the iPhone 4 and original iPad. Transparent to the user, plenty of work going on behind the scenes. Apple would likely look to taking easy steps forward with a MacBook ARM transition too, perhaps starting with machines that have less demanding use-cases (or are treated by many as secondary computers) like the MacBook Air. That has already borrowed heavily from the lessons Apple learnt in making the iPad and other mobile devices, with its instant-on technology and all-SSD storage.

So, what might these new MacBooks look like? Optical drives certainly look to be on notice: Apple has made its disdain for Blu-ray clear, and the latest murmurs suggest the company is looking to shift even significant software releases, like OS X Lion due this summer, to digital delivery via its Mac App Store. SSDs across the board were perhaps too expensive for 2011, but by 2013 that may be a different story; Apple will also be able to offset any capacity shortcomings using its imminent cloud-storage services. Don’t underestimate what the company has been learning from WWAN options on the iPhone and iPad, either. By mid-2013, 4G networks like LTE and WiMAX will be far more prevalent, potentially giving Apple’s portables a high-speed hookup to the cloud.

There’s also a change in aesthetic tipped, with Apple’s next MacBook Pro refresh expected to bring a significant reworking of the notebook’s physical design. Some have suggested that might see a shift from all-aluminum to carbon fiber, but whatever the material we’re guessing it will be lighter and more portable. Throw in ARM chips and you’re looking at a potentially long-lasting, easily carried notebook with the possibility of cross-platform OS X/iOS apps and lashings of connectivity.

Apple was criticized by some during the PowerPC transition for abandoning what made the company’s computers unique: after all, anybody can buy an Intel processor and put it in a notebook or desktop. Shifting to ARM would certainly address that, with Apple already owning a fabless semiconductor company, 2008 acquisition P.A. Semi, to design custom chips that would once again make their mainstream range distinct. Dumping Intel wouldn’t be easy, in either hardware or software terms, but it could be the decision that seals the deal on Apple’s ascendance.

The insiders reckon Intel isn’t aware of Apple’s intentions – which are believed to be kicking off with the MacBook and MacBook Pro line, and then likely continuing over to the company’s desktop range – but that Apple is currently hunting down fab capacity with potential partners like Global Foundries, Samsung and TSMC. It’s not known at this stage as to whether Apple will use a generic ARM core, a Samsung design – as per the Apple A4 – or a core of its own devising, though it’s speculated that the former is most likely to begin with. Apple could then gradually develop its own unique chips, further differentiating Macs from their PC counterparts.

According to SemiAccurate, their sources previously – and correctly – leaked Apple’s switch from NVIDIA to AMD graphics chips, as well as other information. ARM’s processors are certainly rising in prominence, with recent reports suggesting they would be in 13-percent of computers by 2015. If this Apple switch pans out, that proportion could be even higher.

Ironically, rumors earlier this month suggested that Intel might be in line to provide chips for future iPad and iPhone devices.

Click on the MacBook Air 11, for instance, and Microsoft suggests the obvious rivals are three netbooks, two running Intel Atom 1.66GHz N455 processors and another with AMD’s new E-Series dual-core Fusion APU. Now, the ultraportables may be similar in size, but the performance of the MacBook Air’s 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo is likely to considerably exceed that of the three netbooks.

There are also legitimate questions about build quality and other factors which add to the Mac appeal. Obviously anybody looking to spend money on a new notebook should balance what’s on the market, but these broad brush-stroke comparisons seem only likely to provoke further platform arguments than actually assist shoppers in making an educated decision.

[via WinRumors]

So Apple invented video calling, right?

No, not at all, though they did do a lot to make it easier to use – just as long as you have the right hardware. Video calling is actually a part of the 3G standard, which – if the carrier and whatever phone you’re using supports it, which isn’t the case in the US – has been available since around 2003. Unfortunately a combination of high pricing, poor understanding by users, mediocre quality and patchy reliability meant this form of video calling has never really taken off.

Apple’s FaceTime takes advantage of the company’s tight control over the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and MacBook software, which has allowed it to polish the video calling experience to the point where everyday use is possible. Now FaceTime is available to anybody at the touch of an on-screen button.

Do I need an Apple phone to use FaceTime?

Not necessarily a phone, but definitely something with the Apple logo. FaceTime was first supported on the iPhone 4, which was Apple’s first mobile device with a front-facing camera (i.e. one that looks at the user, rather than out the back of the handset). The latest iPod touch and iPad 2 both have front-facing cameras and FaceTime support as well, and Apple has released a FaceTime app for its Mac and MacBook computers so they can join in the fun as well. FaceTime comes free on the mobile devices and the very latest Macs, and is a $0.99 download from the Mac App Store for earlier Mac owners.

Okay, so how do I use it?

It’s pretty simple, just as Apple was aiming for. On the iPhone you make a voice call in the normal way and then tap the FaceTime button on-screen to switch to video. On the iPod touch and iPad 2, you start a video call in the FaceTime app. You’ll need an Apple account in order to make and receive calls, since that’s used as the “phone number” for devices other than the iPhone 4.

Currently, FaceTime video calls can only be made when you have a WiFi connection, not when you’re using the mobile network for data. That’s a limitation Apple has put in place itself, though the company has said it is working on removing it in the future.

I’m not into Apple, can I video call with something else?

You certainly can, though the process gets a bit trickier. Various apps are available for Android and other mobile phone platforms which promise video calls, sometimes over not only WiFi but the 3G mobile networks too. That means you can make video calls when away from your home network or a WiFi hotspot, as long as your signal is strong enough.

Skype, Fring and Qik are all among the companies offering video calling apps, though their effectiveness often varies on a phone-by-phone basis. Not all phones have front-facing cameras, either, though they’re becoming more common on the latest handsets. A future SlashGear 1010 feature will look at the best video calling apps if FaceTime isn’t your thing.

Apple has said it plans to open up FaceTime to other manufacturers, so that non-Apple phones can make and receive calls too, but so far there’s no sign of that actually happening.

More information at Apple’s FaceTime page.

These numbers are contrasted sharply against a similar situation listed by the New York Times: a Hewlett-Packard laptop from 1997 would have run you $3,500. If you’d purchased that much HP stock instead, you’d now have a grand total of $4,560. Not so impressive!

Another example from Apple that’s not quite as impressive, but impressive nonetheless, is a 2001 purchase of the Apple MacBook “Core 2 Duo” 2.2 13″ (Black-SR). This device would have cost you $1,499, and today in stock prices you’d have instead have $2,166. This of course, if you think about it in terms of how much the device itself is worth today, (under $300), is still a fantastic difference in investment value.

What do you think? Feel like you should have purchased some Apple stock instead of that horrifying blue or orange iMac? Us too. Check out the rest of the list over at kyleconroy.com. — thanks for the tip, Ben!

Thunderbolt promises bi-directional data transfer speeds of up to 10Gbps and will likely replace USB and FireWire ports in the future. It is estimated to be 12 times faster than FireWire 800 and 20 times faster than USB 2.0. The new USB 3.0 is still only half the speed of Thunderbolt. But not only this, Thunderbolt is able to daisy-chain multiple devices without a hub, something that USB was never able to.

Other Intel partners including LaCie, Promise, and Western Digital have already announced upcoming devices to feature Thunderbolt technology. We also noted last week that Nikon is rumored to be implementing Thunderbolt on their Nikon D4, which would make it the first DSLR to feature the new data transfer technology.

–Thanks for the tip, Theo!

Microsoft opened the Kinect SDK up to folks that like the hack the motion sensing camera to do more than Microsoft intended. The personal use SDK is set for launch in March and a commercial version is coming later. Samsung has added a cool new feature to the Galaxy Tab 10.1 with the ability to steam TV. The feature also lands on the Galaxy S II.

We learned early in the week for some leaks that new MacBooks were sitting on pallets in retail stores around the country. Apple had strict orders to not unpack the pallets until the unveil later in the week. A cool capacitive brush for the iPad has surfaced that is sort of like a stylus that allows the user to draw. The brush is from Nomad and each brush sells for $24.

I think most of us were expecting the Verizon iPhone to do much better than it has. The number of people that have downloaded a popular app called Instapaper has remained basically the same with the launch of the new iPhone. This suggests that most buyers for the Verizon iPhone are from AT&T. The Sony Vaio S series broke cover early in the week. The notebook packs a 13.3-inch screen and a battery good for 14 hours of runtime. The notebook uses up to the Intel i7-2620M, 8GB of RAM and up to 128GB SSD for storage.

The Apple iPad 2 is said to be releasing in June after a production delay according to an analyst. The delay is reportedly the result of last minute changes to the new iPad 2 expected to be unveiled next month. Spring Design is phasing out the Alex eReader that has been on sale for almost a year. The device will reportedly be retired over the next six months with no replacement expected at this time.

A dude has taken the menacing looking Megatron tank from Transformers 2 and created a DIY replica of the thing. This isn’t some small toy tank either, the tank weighs five tons. Windows 7 SP1 is now available. The new update for the Windows 7 OS is available for download and is 1.9GB.

Dell will start shipping the XPS 17 and XPS 15 laptops with Sandy Bridge inside on March 16. The machines will start at $1049 for the 17 and $899 for the 15. A cool iPhone accessory surfaced this week for bicyclists. The device is called the iBike and uses a waterproof case and sensors to turn the iPhone into a bike computer.

HP has unveiled new EliteBook and ProBook business notebooks. The notebook boasts up to 32 hours of battery life and can be had with Core i7, i5, and i3 processors and screens of 14-inch and 15.6-inch. The Motorola Atrix 4G got its obligatory teardown this week by iFixit. The innards of the cool smartphone are apparently easy to upgrade and repair.

Husqvarna unveiled a neat robot lawn mower mid-week called the Automower 305. The mower is battery powered and designed for small lawns. Razer unveiled the new Chimaera in standard stereo and 5.1 versions this week. The headphones are wireless and will work with the Xbox 360 and PCs.

An Apple event has been confirmed for March 2 that will see the new iPad 2 get unveiled for the first time. The event is taking place at 10am in San Francisco. An interesting alarm clock has turned up that has some IQ questions on it. The iQ Alarm alarm goes off until you answer the question on the screen correctly and if it’s a dumb morning for you things could get annoying.

A sweet little personal submarine turned up mid-week called the Ego. The thing has a boat on top that floats on the water and the cabin is underneath allowing the passengers a view of the undersea action. We posted up our review of the Motorola Xoom. Even lacking Flash and 4G we found a lot to like with the new tablet.

We went hands on with the Vodafone Galaxy Tab 10.1. The tablet was pretty nice and we liked it with final judgment reserved for a full review. Apple officially unveiled the new 2011 version of the MacBook Pro notebooks. The most notable new changes are AMD graphics and a new IO port called Thunderbolt.

Sprint has halted the over-the-air update to Froyo for the Samsung Epic 4G. The update was stopped after complaints that the update was breaking the phones. We spent a bit of hands-on time with the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt. It’s cool, expensive, and final judgment will come with the review of the machine later.

Fujitsu announced late in the week that its Stylistic Q550 slate PC with Windows would be launching this sprint. The tablet will start at about $800. The MacBook Pro that launched during the week has already been torndown by iFixit. The machine has new RAM inside. The notebook is certainly well packed inside the metal chassis.

An interesting universal sleeve for gadgets turned up called the NXE ActiveSLEEVE. The thing is designed to fit on the arm while people workout and keep their smartphone and other gadgets safe. Skype To Go launched late in the week and allows the user to make calls at lower rates without having to have a web connection or a 3G area. The service works on landlines and any mobile phones.

The world’s first robot marathon will be held in Osaka, Japan. The event will see the humanoid walking bots traveling 26 miles over four days on an indoor track. Verizon CEO Dan Mead has stated that LTE products are coming from Apple. Mead didn’t offer any product names or a timeframe.

Google changed its search algorithm this week to combat content farms. The fear is that some legitimate sites might be caught in the change. Thanks for reading this week’s edition! See you next time. 

This modem is the one we’ve been using to access the internet on our MacBook Air at 4G speeds. It’s fast. It’s real fast. If we can’t use it with this brand new wave of MacBooks, what good is it? Surely there’ll be a fix in the very near future, especially since Verizon and Apple have a closer relationship now then that ever have before? We want those 12.44 Mb/s download speeds, 6.73 Mb/s upload speeds. Have a look back at our LG VL600 LTE modem review to see what we’ll be missing barring a fix.

There’s also Resume, which automatically brings you back up to speed with the apps and documents you had open after a reboot, along with Mission Control, a bird’s-eye view of of open windows grouped by app, thumbnails of full-screen apps, and Dashboard. Mail 5 has an updated UI to take advantage of widescreen displays, and there’s Conversations (Apple’s name for threaded messages).

“With AirDrop in Mac OS X Lion, you can send files to anyone around you —  wirelessly. AirDrop doesn’t require setup or special settings. Just click the AirDrop icon in the Finder sidebar, and your Mac automatically discovers other people nearby who are using AirDrop. You’ll even see contact photos for those who are already in your Address Book. To share a file, simply drag it to someone’s name. Once accepted, the file transfers directly to the person’s Downloads folder. When you’re done with AirDrop, close the Finder and your Mac is no longer visible to others.” Apple

Apple has also integrated OS X Server into a single SKU; Lion Server is built into the client version of the updated OS. If you’re a developer you can check out all the changes and new features here at the updated checklist; the release itself will be seeded through the Mac App Store.

Press Release:

Apple Releases Developer Preview of Mac OS X Lion

CUPERTINO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Apple® today released a developer preview of Mac OS® X Lion, which takes some of the best ideas from iPad™ and brings them back to the Mac® for the eighth major release of the world’s most advanced operating system. Lion features Mission Control, an innovative new view of everything running on your Mac; Launchpad, a new home for all your Mac apps; full screen apps that use the entire Mac display; and new Multi-Touch™ gestures. Lion also includes the Mac App Store℠, the best place to discover, install and automatically update Mac apps. The Lion preview is available to Mac Developer Program members through the Mac App Store today, and the final version of Lion will ship to customers this summer.

“Developers are going to love Mission Control and Launchpad, and can now start adding great new Lion features like full screen, gestures, Versions and Auto Save to their own apps.”
“The iPad has inspired a new generation of innovative features in Lion,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Developers are going to love Mission Control and Launchpad, and can now start adding great new Lion features like full screen, gestures, Versions and Auto Save to their own apps.”

Mission Control is a powerful, entirely new feature that unifies Exposé®, Dashboard, Spaces®, and full screen apps to give you a bird’s eye view of every app and window running on your Mac. With a simple swipe, your desktop zooms out to display your open windows grouped by app, thumbnails of your full screen apps as well as your Dashboard, and allows you to instantly navigate anywhere with a click.

Launchpad makes it easier than ever to find and launch any app. With a single click, Launchpad displays all your Mac apps in a stunning full screen layout where you can launch, re-order or organize apps into folders. You can also arrange apps into multiple pages and swipe between them.

Lion brings the full screen experience that iPad users love to the Mac. With one click, your application window goes full screen, taking advantage of your Mac’s brilliant display. You can swipe from one full screen window to another and even back to your Desktop or Dashboard.

New Multi-Touch gestures and fluid animations give you a natural and intuitive way to interact with your Mac. New gestures include pinching your fingers to zoom in on a web page or image, swiping left or right to turn a page or switch between full screen apps and swiping up to enter Mission Control.

Lion also includes the Mac App Store, where you can find great new apps, buy them with your iTunes® account, and download and install them in just one step. Apps purchased from the Mac App Store are installed directly into Launchpad.

Additional features in Lion include:

A new version of Mail, with an elegant, widescreen layout inspired by the iPad; Conversations, which automatically groups related messages into one easy to read timeline; more powerful search; and support for Microsoft Exchange 2010;
AirDrop, a remarkably simple way to copy files wirelessly from one Mac to another with no setup;
Versions, which automatically saves successive versions of your document as you create it, and gives you an easy way to browse, edit and even revert to previous versions;
Resume, which conveniently brings your apps back exactly how you left them when you restart your Mac or quit and relaunch an app;
Auto Save, which automatically saves your documents as you work;
The all new FileVault, that provides high performance full disk encryption for local and external drives, and the ability to wipe data from your Mac instantaneously; and
Mac OS X Lion Server, which makes setting up a server easier than ever and adds support for managing Mac OS X Lion, iPhone®, iPad and iPod touch® devices.
Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple is reinventing the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

BGR’s source claims that the new MacBooks will have glass trackpads that are larger than the ones on current-gen MacBook Pro models. The source also claims that the OS will be loaded to a separate internal 8-16GB SSD while everything else remains on the hard drive. And lastly, the sources says that the new MacBook Pro models will be about a half-pound lighter than current-gen models.

Another potential feature we’ve noted previously was that the new MacBooks may have some Light Peak ports. Five different SKUs of MacBooks will likely be the new lineup.

[via BGR]

Included in the hints handed to our pals over at AppleInsider today were notes on the possible inclusion of Sandy Bridge processors as well as enhancements to the notebook line that include a unibody chassis redesign. Furthermore, Italian tech blog iSpazio has received part numbers for several new notebooks to be released by Apple including two 13-inch models, three 15-inch models, and one 17-inch model. The numbers iSpazio received where the following: MC720, MC721, MC723, MC724, and MC725.

An interesting additional note from AppleBitch includes a change in shipping times to customers, moved from 24-hours to between 1 and 5 days. The change from one to five is being seen in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Malaysia. AND earlier this month, again according to AppleInsider, US customers were beginning to hear of a wait time of between 4 and 6 weeks for replacements to build-to-order machines, with custom-configuration replacement requests possibly having to wait for up to eight weeks.

What does it all add up to? Some sweet new laptops with bright shiny screens, faster processors, and some sort of extra feature that will blow everyone’s socks off. Or it could just be a new line of laptops that are just a little bit better, maybe with some sort of cosmetic improvement. Whatever it is, it’s coming inside two weeks, maybe one. Get your waiting caps on and make sure you have plenty of bandwidth for all the Apple blogging you’ll be doing.

Back in December, rumors circulated that Apple had been conducting testing on the Sandy Bridge chips, and was planning to use Intel’s onboard graphics for its entry-level MacBook and ultraportable MacBook Air lines. MacBook Pro notebooks, meanwhile, would offer a choice of integrated and discrete AMD Radeon GPUs.