Posts in news

iTunes Connect Undergoing Maintenance Today, Purchasing Apps May Fail In Some Regions


Today from 9am to 4pm PDT, iTunes Connect will be undergoing “scheduled maintenance”. Whilst the developer portal will remain available, an Apple email detailing the outage explains that if a pricing change is made between that maintenance window, it will cause the app to become unavailable for purchase.

Furthermore, customers in the regions of Mexico, U.K., Australia, Switzerland, Japan and Norway may not be able to purchase apps during this maintenance window.

It is not known whether this maintenance is related to yesterday’s connectivity problems, in anticipation of the impending release of Lion or someother change to the backend of iTunes Connect. Jump the break to see the full email from Apple to developers regarding the maintenance.

[Via MacRumors] Read more

Ahead Of Next Week’s Earnings Call, Analysts Predict High Mac, iPhone And iPad Sales

Ahead of next week’s earning call, there are two reports out today by analysts that paint a rosy picture of Mac, iPhone and iPad sales. The first report by Barclays Capital anaylst Ben Reitzes, claims that Apple is likely to exceed 22% growth in Mac computer shipments during the June quarter. This is despite US market data that has been less optimistic, but Reitzes suggests that overseas sales may compensate for the “somewhat muted” US sales due to the fact that many consumers are waiting for new MacBook Air models.

The second report from Brian White of Ticonderoga Securities included some revised figures and claims that Apple is likely to have sold a record of 8.5 million iPads and an impressive 17.53 million iPhones in the June quarter.

After our recent trip to Asia, we indicated that we felt our iPhone estimates for the June quarter were overly conservative, while our iPad projections were achievable and well above the Street.

Apple’s previous record for iPad sales was last years holiday quarter where they sold 7.3 million units. The iPhone sales according to White would be less than last-quarter’s record 18.65 units but still more than double the 8.4 million units Apple sold in the same quarter last year.

While many larger tech companies rely on more cyclical trends to grow sales, we believe Apple enjoys the tailwind of strong secular industry trends, hot new products and market share gain opportunities

[Via Barrons, AppleInsider]

Mophie Pulse for iPod Touch Will Add Stereo Sound and Haptic Vibration

Mophie, who makes great accessories for iOS devices such as the Juice Pack Air, has a new product in the pipeline for the iPod Touch 4G - the Mophie Pulse. The Pulse is a video game/app enhancer that turns your iPod Touch into the “ultimate gaming device with pulse-pounding stereo sound and bone-shaking game feedback.” It’s all built into a textured gaming grip. The Pulse gets its magical powers from ViviTouch Technology that converts game audio into a variety of different effects. ViviTouch doesn’t require an API to generate vibrations but the games will be better optimized if the developers use it.

There currently is not a release date but a “coming soon” sign-up form on the product page if you want informed when the product launches. The Pulse looks like a great addition to Apple’s favorite gaming device and as long as the price point is good, Mophie will have another hit on their hands. If the iPod Touch version is a success, could an iPhone version be next?

Video after the break.

Read more

New MacBook Airs To Feature Backlit Keyboard

The new MacBook Airs expected to launch this week alongside OS X Lion may feature a return of the backlit keyboard that was omitted from the October 2010 redesign of the popular line. According to AppleInsider, people familiar with the matter have indicated that this month’s refresh will see the return of the backlit keyboard, together with new hardware improvements such as Sandy Bridge processors, Thunderbolt technology, and faster flash memory.

With the release of new models later this month, Apple is set to reinstate a feature to its MacBook Airs that went missing when the company overhauled the ultra-thin notebooks into more cost-affordable products late last year, AppleInsider has learned.

According to people familiar with the matter, backlit keyboards will join the string of hardware enhancements planned for the new 11.6- and 13.3-inch notebooks, which are also expected to adopt high-speed Thunderbolt ports, an upgrade to Intel’s Sandy Bridge architecture, and possibly high-speed 400MBps flash memory.

The lack of a backlit keyboard in the 2010 redesign of the MacBook Air family generated quite a backlash online, especially considering the previous iterations of the MacBook Air came with a backlit option by default. Many speculated Apple had to remove the backlit keyboard due to design issues and battery life constraints; the upcoming refresh is said to feature the same design of the 2010 MacBook Air, thus suggesting Apple has either figured out a way to implement the backlit system in the ultra-thin chassis of the machine, or listened to customers’ feedback and decided the feature had to return. A backlit keyboard helps in low-light conditions, and it’s currently implemented in all versions of Apple’s MacBook Pro line.

The new MacBook Airs’ part numbers have already leaked online, suggesting an upcoming refresh for the entry/upgraded 11-inch and 13-inch models. No details on whether Apple will tweak pricing of the line have surfaced yet, however, based on recent speculation, it seems fairly certain that the new machines will come with Lion pre-installed on a possible July 14th launch.

[Old-gen MacBook Air keyboard image via]

Screens for iOS Now Lets You Log Into Lion Computers

Screens, Edovia’s VNC client for the iPhone and iPad we’ve reviewed a couple of times on MacStories in the past, has been just updated to version 1.6 which, alongside a series of speed and performance improvements, brings full compatibility for machines running OS X Lion. With Mac OS X 10.7, Apple has changed a few things with VNC and remote user authentication, enabling features like Apple ID support and possibility of logging into a separate account while a machine is active on a different one.

The new Screens 1.6 allows you to log into a computer running Lion avoiding the additional login prompt you’d get when logging in with a VNC password (if you’ve tried VNC apps that haven’t been updated for Lion, you should be familiar with the login prompt). Screens, in fact, has a new OS authentication method that, by logging into a machine with your OS account name and password, skips the VNC prompt altogether and directly takes you to your desktop, with whatever is on screen, just like with previous versions of the app on Snow Leopard. Current Screens users willing to connect to a Lion computer should switch to the new setting for an optimal experience (that is, unless you want an additional login dialog). Bug fixes aside, Screens 1.6 brings keyboard support for more languages, and Windows VNC servers.

You can download Screens at $19.99 on the App Store. Read more

Apple To Developers: You Can Now Submit Lion Apps

Following the release of the Xcode 4.1 Golden Master seed and with OS X Lion rumored to be nearing its public release, Apple has just informed registered Mac developers that they can now submit apps built for Lion to the Mac App Store.

OS X Lion, the eighth major release of the world’s most advanced operating system, will soon be available to millions of Mac users around the world. Submit your Lion apps for review now so they can be on the Mac App Store when Lion ships this month.

In the past weeks, in spite of various developer previews of Xcode 4.1 for Lion available on the Dev Center, developers were unable to submit apps built specifically for the new OS. In OS X Lion, developers can take advantage of hundreds of new APIs to enable features like full-screen mode, push notifications for apps, new Aqua controls including iPad-inspired popovers, auto-save and versions, as well as sandboxing and multi-touch gestures.

Lion is rumored to hit this week, alongside new MacBook Airs with Sandy Bridge processors and Thunderbolt, and new Mac Pros. The GM build of Lion was seeded on July 1, leading to speculation that, after two weeks and with no major bugs found, the final version is ready to become available on the Mac App Store at $29 any day now. Several developers we polled in the past week told us they were ready to submit their new apps, but Apple (and Xcode) wouldn’t let them. With the release of Xcode 4.1 GM today, Apple flipped the switch on Lion submissions, but it’s unclear how many apps the Review Team could manage to approve before the rumored Lion launch. Clearly Apple wants some Lion-ready apps to be ready for Lion’s debut, so it’ll be interesting to see how this will play out in the next 48 hours.

Apple announced Lion would come out sometime in July as Mac App Store exclusive. In the past, Apple began accepting iOS 4 submissions on June 11 (roughly 10 days ahead of iOS 4’s release) and Mac App Store submissions in November, whilst the Mac App Store went public on January 6.

iOS 5 Beta 3 Features New Accessibility Panel with Gesture Controls

A new option in the Accessibility settings of iOS 5 beta 3 allows users to set up a floating panel to access a variety of hardware controls and gesture-based commands without using an iPad or iPhone’s physical buttons. Once enabled in Settings->General->Accessibility->AssistiveTouch, the new menu will let you interact with four different sections: Home, Device, Gestures and Favorites. Whilst the usage of Favorites and Gestures is still unclear, users can set up custom gestures in the Settings and play with built-in gesture such as swipe and pinch. The Home tab in the floating panel (which can be repositioned on screen via drag & drop) will perform the same function of the Home button, and Device will open a sub-menu with other controls to increase / decrease volume, lock or rotate the screen, unlock rotation and virtually shake the device (to enable features such as “shake to undo” without actually shaking a device).

The new accessibility options aren’t of course meant for everyday usage (they need to be manually enabled deep down in the Settings, and they’re aimed at people having trouble using iOS’ traditional gestures and hardware buttons), but they’re rather interesting in the way they could replace hardware controls and switches on damaged devices, or provide shortcuts to areas and commands of iOS that would require a physical movement otherwise (such as the aforementioned shake gesture).

9to5mac has a video of this new panel in action, and you can check out more screenshots after the break. Read more

Opera Shows Commitment to iOS with 6.0.1 Update

Well look at that! Unlike the previous version of Opera Mini (which remained stagnant for a year), it looks like Opera is serious about keeping their latest iteration of Opera Mini up-to-date, which quite frankly inspires some hope for the mobile nerd in me. Opera is a fine browser to use (especially on 3G) since you can tweak website performance to your heart’s content, and while the final product may be compressed through Opera’s servers, getting that web page at all is certainly better than nothing.

Opera’s initial offering was pretty strong aside from my general issues with Opera’s engine of choice, and today’s 6.0.1 update offers some general improvements.

Changelog

  • Improved YouTube video integration
  • Added single column view
  • Added Opera Mobile Store icon to Speed Dial list
  • Fixed various font-related issues
  • Fixed various stability issues
  • General bug fixes and improvements

Opera is committed, announcing that they have a major 6.1 update on the way that’ll mirror features already released on Blackberry and Android phones, such as a universal search and address bar, intelligent domain suggestions, smarter text selection, and Google AutoComplete.

If you’re an Opera user, you have lots of great things to look forward to on iOS. You can download the latest update from the App Store.

[via Opera Mini Blog]

Updated MacBook Airs and Mac Pros to Launch Alongside Lion

If your little hearts just can’t handle the anticipation in waiting for this week’s presume launch of OS X Lion, just wait until you hear this next bit of news. If you’re a college student or professional video editor / graphic designer, you’ll have some additional goodies to look forward to. 9 to 5 Mac have a scoop with model numbers for the upcoming MacBook Airs featuring ultra-quick Sandy Bridge processors and Thunderbolt.

What wasn’t expected is rumored announcement for all new Mac Pros. It isn’t sure whether we’ll be seeing new guts or all new redesign, but the Mac Pros are rumored to include Thunderbolt as Apple updates their line, and there’s even a server model specifically designed for use in business environments.

The new Macs will ship with Lion (and Lion Server) preinstalled, and are expected to launch with the release of 10.7. 9 to 5 Mac says that the 14th is a possible launch date for all three of these items, so keep an eye on Thursday for an Apple launch-stravaganza.

[via 9 to 5 Mac]