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Rumor: The White iPhone 4 Has Been Canceled

Boy Genius Report claims that Apple has not only delayed the white iPhone 4, it’s been canceled:

According to a previous source of ours, we have been told that Apple in fact has no plans to release the white model iPhone 4. Our source hypothesizes another “delay” communicated around March leading us into an iPhone 5 release time-frame in June / July.

BGR also reports another delay will be announced in March. Truth be told, it makes sense. Why should Apple release “just a white model” a few months before the announcement of the iPhone 5 after all the manufacturing issues they had and they’re probably still having? To keep up with the promises they once made?

If the white iPhone 4 is just a color update and it’s got nothing more than that (ehm, Verizon), then it’s time to move on. On, as in iPhone 5.

Apple Delays White iPhone Again Until Spring 2011

So there you have it. The white iPhone 4 is basically not coming at all, at least not as we know it. Reuters reports:

Apple Inc said on Tuesday that it would delay release of the white iPhone yet again, this time until next spring.

“We’re sorry to disappoint customers waiting for the white iPhone again,” Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller said. When asked why the white phone would again be delayed, Muller declined to comment.

Ouch. The iPhone 5 is supposed to be announced by the same time next year. Or wait, maybe the “white iPhone 4” is going to become the “iPhone 5”, with an improved antenna design and the same “sandwich” look of the current model. And maybe a Verizon deal in there somewhere. Time will tell, as the wise men say. But unveiling a mid-generation iPhone in Spring is surely a strange move from Apple.

Apple and Spotify Discussing An Acquisition?

According to the latest rumor published by Michael Arrington over at TechCrunch, Apple and European-based music streaming service Spotify might be in the very early stages of discussing an acquisition.

“Apple, Inc. (AAPL) in negotiations to acquire Spotify,” read the tip that came in yesterday via email from an anonymous source. Most tips are just outright false, but we dug into this one a little bit.

Here’s what we heard – Apple and Spotify are in on again, off again discussions about an acquisition, but at best it’s very early in the process. No firm price has been offered, no term sheet tabled. Still, it’s interesting that the two are talking.

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Too Late? MacUpdate Desktop Gets Auto-Updating

MacUpdate’s stand-alone application, MacUpdate Desktop, was recently updated with improvements and some new features (but may be too little too late because of Apple’s newly revealed Mac App Store). New features: MacUpdate Desktop lets users keep their installed software up-to-date without having go to the MacUpdate or developer’s website. The Desktop application can automatically check for updates in the background and will alert you of new application updates. Support has been added for checking web-browser plug-ins and installing Safari extensions. Improvements: The scanner engine is faster and uses less resources; improved version and application matching and an improved installation engine that makes updates even more accurate.

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Apple Planning Additional App Store LockDown During Thanksgiving Week

Apple usually locks down iTunes Connect for developers during the week of Christmas. This procedure known as “lockdown” doesn’t allow developers to submit updates for their apps and perform price changes, as they’re basically forced to stay out of iTunes Connect, the system underlying the App Store distribution.

According to a rumor published by 148apps, Apple is planning an additional lockdown this year during the week of Thanksgiving. The lockdown is admittedly a problem for developers who need to submit fixes to their applications, but it’s also a great marketing opportunity as charts and top apps are not updated either during the period. If you’re there on the first day, you’ll stay there for the whole week. Read more

Steve Jobs Was “Furious” Over Microsoft’s Bungie Acquisition

For those of you not familiar with the videogame industry: the blockbuster series Halo for Xbox and Xbox 360 is developed by Bungie, a company Microsoft acquired in 2000 to make Halo: Combat Evolved a launch title for the original Xbox. In 2007, Bungie became a privately held company; then earlier this year Bungie announced a 10-year publishing deal with industry giant Activision Blizzard.

According to a report published by Develop,  Steve Jobs was literally “furious” when Microsoft announced they had acquired Bungie in 2000, and called Steve Ballmer as soon as he learned about the deal. Read more

The White iPhone 4 Shows Up Again. In Apple’s Own Store App.

MacRumors forum member Bandolier spotted an interesting iPhone model up for reservation in the updated Apple Store app: the white iPhone 4.

When you open the app, press Store, Reservations, Reserve Products, iPhone, and from there you are now able to select the white iPhone 4 (16 and 32 GB) to reserve.

Unfortunately, when you select a white iPhone the app seem to return the following message:

Because of high demand, we are not currently taking iPhone reservations.

I’ve personally tried and when I tap on the Store tab I get a “We’ll be back soon” message. Perhaps it’s because I’m in Italy, or maybe Apple is already fixing the error. But then again, maybe this is not an error at all and we’ll really hear white iPhone 4 news later today or this week.

As you may know, Apple was expected to release the white model together with the black one, but alleged manufacturing problems forced the company to delay the release date. Two weeks ago a “gentleman” was spotted in New York carrying an iPhone 4.

EXCLUSIVE: Concierge, Scout, iQueue, and You. iPhone Based Check-ins Confirmed.

Sunday night and early Monday morning we learned that Apple has been planning to provide Apple Store employees and customers with a way to wirelessly check-in to retail stores. At a recent week long conference in Los Angeles, Apple Store managers were flown in and treated to the initial location based concept. We now have physical evidence, and more details on the specifics of the new concierge services.

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“Back to the Mac” Event in 100 Seconds, Full 1080p Video Now On Youtube

For those of you who’ve just come home from work and would like to fire up some videos on that shiny new Apple TV: you can either choose between a 50 to 1 slimmed down version of the Back to the Mac event video, or enjoy the full show in 1080p on Youtube.

Both videos are embedded below. With HD version finally available for streaming, expect us to dig into those Lion screenshots even more. Read more