Graham Spencer

997 posts on MacStories since January 2011

Former MacStories contributor.
graham@macstories.net

Boxee Releases Their iPad App: Social Video Sharing & Streaming

Earlier this year at CES, Boxee announced it was developing an iPad companion app to complement the Boxee Box and Boxee installations on PC’s and Macs. Today Boxee has finally delivered and released their iPad app after postponing the initial release date from May.

The main screen of the Boxee iPad app will remind many of the familiar Boxee experience with three streams of videos shown, one is a collection of videos from friends, another is the featured video feed and the last is a stream of videos that you have selected to ‘Watch Later’. Beyond this however, the Boxee iPad app has some more interesting features including what Boxee has dubbed ‘PC to iPad’ and ‘Send to TV’. The former allows any PC/Mac to stream videos directly to the iPad without any syncing or converting (similar to Air Video or Plex) - this feature is enabled with the new Boxee Media Manager which is a lightweight app that allows the streaming from PCs and Macs.

The ‘Send to TV’ functionality incorporates the ability for the iPad to stream video directly to a Boxee Box. What is even cooler is that the Boxee Box (which is also receiving an update from today) now includes an experimental feature where it can now receive AirPlay streams from any iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch - just like an Apple TV can.

You can download Boxee’s iPad app for free on the App Store. Jump the break for the release notes of Boxee for iPad and for a selection of screenshots.

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New Apple Stores In Italy And Australia Opening This Saturday

Apple will this Saturday hold two Apple Store grand openings on opposite ends of the world with one opening in Italy and the other in Australia. The new Australian Apple Store is located in Cheltenham Victoria within the Westfield Southland shopping centre. Dubbed the Southland Apple Store, it will become the twelfth Apple Store within Australia and third within the state of Victoria.

Over in Italy Apple will be opening a new store in Florence located within the I Gigli suburban shopping center — as we reported earlier this year it is on the ground floor of the shopping center and faces a large circular courtyard. The I Gigli Apple Store will be opening at 9:00am this Saturday, August 13th whilst the Southland store in Australia opens at 10:00am this Saturday after the local media have a period for photo opportunities.

It was noted last month that Apple was expecting to open 30 new Apple Stores by September 30th, after these two store openings this Saturday Apple has 26 left with less than two months to accomplish that goal.

[Via Delimiter, ifoAppleStore]

Apple Introduces $999 iMac For Educational Institutions

We reported a few hours ago on reports that Apple was set to launch a new iMac model for educational institutions later this month for a sub-$1000 price. Surprisingly we only needed to wait a few more hours for this new model as it turns out that Apple has decided to launch this new educational iMac today — meaning that for educational institutions they can purchase this new iMac model now.

This new iMac model is available for $999 and is directly targeted at educational institutions — individuals are not able to purchase this model. The specifications of this new iMac model are in line with what was stated in the 9to5 Mac report this morning with a 3.1GHz Core i3 processor, 2 GB RAM, 250 GB of hard drive storage and an AMD HD 6750 with 512 MB. This knowledge base article contains all the specifications of this new iMac but interestingly this model (which is dubbed a ‘Late 2011’ iMac) does not have Thunderbolt, that makes this iMac the first new Mac from Apple in 2011 that doesn’t support Thunderbolt.

  • 3.1GHz Intel Core i3 Dual-Core
  • 21.5-inch LCD
  • AMD Radeon HD 6750 with 256 MB
  • 2GB RAM
  • 250GB Hard Drive
  • SuperDrive
  • OS X Lion

Updated to include link to specifications page.

[Via MacRumors]

UK Carrier Orange Teams Up With Apple, Offers Customers 1 Free Movie Rental Per Week

European mobile carrier Orange today launched a new “Film To Go” service in the UK which now allows its customers to rent one free movie per week from the iTunes Movie store. Each week a new movie will be available for Orange customers and will be downloadable on the Thursday - this week the movie is ‘My Blueberry Nights’ and in the following weeks ‘The Wrestler’, ‘The Ghost’ and ‘Che: Part One’ will be offered.

To get the free movie rental, Orange customers in the UK will need to send a text message with “FILMTOGO” (no quotes) to 85060 and they will receive a redemption code — beware however that whilst renting the movie is free, this text message will cost 35 pence. The received code is a standard redemption code for iTunes and once entered will allow Orange customers to download the movie (although this can only occur on the Thursday), once downloaded the rental abides by the standard restrictions where it is available for 30 days but once started must be completed within 48 hours before it expires.

[Via The Next Web]

Apple Set To Introduce Education-Focused iMac Model For Less Than $1000?

Apple may be preparing to launch an education-focused iMac later this month according to a report in 9to5 Mac today. The “new” iMac would be less powerful than the current generation of iMacs available to consumers but would be priced at a lower level that is geared towards volume and educational customers.

9to5 Mac claims that this ‘education’ iMac will include a previous generation 3.1GHz dual core processor, 2 GB of RAM, 250 GB of hard drive storage and an AMD Radeon HD 6750M graphics processor with 256 MB dedicated memory — the article doesn’t rule in or rule out the inclusion of a Thunderbolt port. No price is attributed to this machine in the article but they suspect it would be sub-$1000 and cite the example of a previous education-focused iMac being sold for $899 and a similar refurbished model selling for $929 now.

This ‘education’ iMac is expected to silently launch on August 16th, but there is potential for that date to change if Apple wishes — there isn’t any real rush to get this product out as soon as possible. Whilst this rumoured new iMac model is a bit odd and out of the blue, the specificity that 9to5 Mac has in terms of specifications (despite the lack of a concrete price) suggests that it is likely that this is indeed a product about to launch.

[Via 9to5 Mac]

“Innovative, Category-Killer Experience” Key Requirement For A Cheaper iPhone

After meeting two Apple executives on Wednesday, RBC Capital Markets has revealed a set of “key takeaways” and have noted that Apple wouldn’t introduce a low-end iPhone unless the device is an “innovative, category-killer experience”. Analyst Mike Abramsky met with Apple COO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer and notes that the condition is Apple’s primary requirement for a low-end iPhone.

It certainly sounds like a fairly obvious statement when looking at Apple’s recent product releases but it is well worth noting after numerous reports of a ‘cheaper’ iPhone launching this year – most of which cite financial reasons and developing country markets for the introduction of such a device.

Some of the other takeaways from Abramsky’s meeting with the Apple executives includes the fact that iCloud will be ready for “significant scale” when launching this fall after Apple learnt lessons from MobileMe. He also says that despite Android’s success in recent years, Apple has maintained “sustained advantages” over their competitors and should be able to do fine despite an “expected explosion of low-priced Android smartphones”.

Concluding his notes from the meeting he agrees with Apple’s executives that the company has an “untapped global opportunity” and maintains a $500 price for Apple stock and ‘outperform’ rating for the company.

[Via AppleInsider]

OmniVision Reveals New 8 MP Image Sensor, Better And Smaller Than Ever

OmniVision today revealed details of a new 8 MP image sensor that is 20% thinner than modules available on the market today. The 8-megapixel OV8850, which they are marketing as “the first CameraChip™ sensor built on a 1.1-micron OmniBSI-2 pixel architecture” is just a quarter of an inch thick and designed for implementation and smartphones and tablets.

With our new OmniBSI-2 architecture, we have further miniaturized our pixels while delivering a 20 percent improvement in peak quantum efficiency in all color channels, a 35 percent improvement in low-light sensitivity and a 45 percent increase in full-well capacity in an extremely compact and power efficient package

The module has also made improvements in its power efficiency and image quality – further making it a good fit for next generation mobile devices. 1080p/30 video recording is also supported but more interesting is that it supports 720p/60 with electronic image stabilization.

This new image sensor is set to go into mass production early next year, so it probably won’t feature in this year’s iPhone refresh – but it gives you an idea of how these tiny cameras are constantly improving and shrinking in size. An OmniVision image sensor currently resides in the iPhone 4 and reports from earlier this year suggest the company (perhaps with Sony) will also contribute an image sensor to the iPhone 5.

Iomega’s “Mac Companion Hard Drive” Combines USB, FireWire, and iPad Charger

Iomega today announced a new Mac Companion Hard Drive which incorporates a large capacity desktop hard drive (2 TB or 3 TB models are available) with two USB ports to connect a printer or another external drive, two FireWire ports and an additional high-powered USB charging port for an iPad or iPhone.

With the new Iomega Mac Companion Hard Drive, Mac users now have a convenient and stylish way to quickly charge their iPads with the bonus of plenty of new storage capacity for their Mac computer,” said Jonathan Huberman, president of Iomega Corporation. “With more than nine million iPads sold in the last quarter alone, the new Mac Companion Hard Drive is the perfect complement for all those iPad owners.

Iomega has made special effort to make a device that matches and suits Macs, which is most notable in the design and stylings of the device – not only is it sleek with its metal enclosure but the very shape of the Mac Companion Hard Drive has been sculpted so that it sits perfectly on the iMac or Thunderbolt Display stand, tapering out at the back. The whole device is fairly simplistic but stylish in design and it hides all but the high-powered USB port at the back of the device. Iomega has left the three visible sides with nothing but the high-powered port on the right hand side of the device and four LED lights on the front panel of the device to indicate HDD capacity.

The charging port is a high-powered 2.1 Amp hookup that makes it easy and convenient to charge your iPad and other portable Apple devices so they’re ready to go when you are.

The hard drives are also pre-formatted as HFS+ so that they are compatible out of the box with Mac OS X, and whilst the lack of Thunderbolt is a little disappointing, this device looks like a solid option for anyone looking for an external hard drive for their Macs. The Iomega Mac Companion Hard Drive will initially be exclusive to Apple online and retail stores at a cost of $195 for the 2 TB model and $295 for the 3 TB model.

Jump past the break for some more pictures of the device.

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US Retailers Begin To Reduce iPhone 4 Prices

In recent days there have been reports of various retailers beginning to reduce the price of the iPhone 4 as the release of an iPhone 5 draws ever closer. Rumors on when exactly the next iPhone will be released have varied quite substantially from an August release to a September release and most recently, suggestions from AllThingsD of a late October launch.

Whenever the release is, US retailers Radio Shack and Target have both cut the price on the iPhone 4 models. Radio Shack is currently offering the 16GB model for $169.99 and the 32GB for $269.99 whilst also offering $100 credit with the trade-in of previous iPhone models. Meanwhile Target is now offering the 16GB iPhone 4 for $149.99 and the 32GB model for $249.99. Unfortunately these discounted iPhone 4’s still come attached with a two-year contract with either AT&T or Verizon.

These iPhone 4 prices being offered by Radio Shack and Target are reduced from the standard $199 for the 16GB model and $299 for the 32GB model that AT&T, Verizon and Apple are still offering.

[Via Ars Technica]