This Week's Sponsor:

Copilot Money

The Apple Editor’s Choice Award App for Tracking Your Money. Start Your Free Trial Today

Firmware Update Enables 6Gb/s in 2011 iMacs→

Firmware Update Enables 6Gb/s in 2011 iMacs

While iMac EFI Update 1.6 is described as including “fixes that improve performance and stability for Thunderbolt,” it would also seem that an unadvertised benefit is that it also unlocks the full 6Gb/s, SATA 3.0 capabilities of two of the internal drive bays. Unfortunately, the optical bay remains at 3Gb/s.

With the 2011 iMac’s EFI Update 1.6 unlocking 6GB/s SATA capabilities, you have no excuse not to plop down the cash for OCZ’s Vertex 3, a pretty monster SSD with outstanding read & write performance (taking advantage of the unlocked bandwidth). The only problem is just how to get behind that tricky panel to make the swap.

MacBooks are more easily accessible, however, and the 2011 MacBook Pros are also receiving an EFI update that’s addressing performance and Boot Camp issues. The only issue now is deciding whether you’re a desktop or laptop guy.

Permalink

Spotify 0.5 Goes Live with iPod Sync, New UI

Officially announced yesterday, Spotify began rolling out the promised 0.5 update for the desktop client a few minutes ago, featuring an updated UI and the much anticipated playlist and MP3 sync for iPod Classic, Shuffle, and Nano, alongside wireless sync for iOS and Android devices running the Spotify mobile application. The updated desktop client, available now for download here, comes with a slightly redesigned user interface that’s inspired by the latest iOS and OS X Lion builds: there’s lots of “linen background” going on, redesigned toolbar icons with a more flat look, new translucent buttons to reveal and expand the album artwork, as well as a general polish that clearly brings OS X graphical elements to mind. If you’re familiar with iOS and the latest Lion developer builds, you’ll feel right home with the new Spotify. I like the app’s new look.

Spotify 0.5 can sync playlists, local files and purchased tracks to an iPod (non-iOS) via USB or iOS device wirelessly. The interface to manage sync is quite simple and intuitive, as there’s a new Devices tab in the sidebar that lists all the iPhones or iPods you’ve connected to Spotify. Once connected, the app will display all your playlists, starred items and local files in a new window, allowing you to choose whether you want to sync “all music” to a device, or only specific playlists. Whilst iPhones and iPod touches get the possibility to sync anything as they’ll be able to stream songs later using the mobile app, classic iPods can only receive local files – meaning MP3s Spotify has found on your computer or songs you’ve purchased through the service’s new store. Songs and playlists that are not found will display a “Get Missing” button that takes you to the embedded web store. Tracks start at 50p, but Spotify is also offering MP3 bundles at a higher price.

Overall, Spotify 0.5 looks like a really solid update that shows the path the company has taken: becoming the ultimate music player on the desktop and mobile thanks to a combination of streaming, cache, purchases and sync. Check out more screenshots below. Read more

iPad Dominates The Competition In US Tablet Market

A Nielsen survey released today reveals the iPad has a commanding lead in the US tablet market, controlling a staggering 82%. This is despite the recent entrance to the market by Android tablets from Motorola, Samsung and others, which have comparatively trivial share of the tablet market.

In fact following Apple is Samsung with just 4% of the market despite its strong push late last year with the Galaxy Tab, and then there is Dell and Motorola with just 3% and 2% of the market. Yet all are overshadowed by the ‘Other’ category, this mishmash of various relatively unknown companies staggeringly has the same share of the market that Samsung, Dell and Motorola have combined.

The survey didn’t differentiate between the iPad 2 and original iPad but it did find that there is a fairly even split between WiFi-only models (43%) and WiFi+3G (39%) models. Also fascinating was that the survey found large proportions of tablet users would change their usage of other devices. In particular 35% of desktop computer and 32% of laptop users would use their computers less often or not at all after purchasing their tablet. E-readers and portable music players would also be used less or not at all following a tablet purchase by 27% of those surveyed.

Furthermore, the most frequently given reasons for using their computer less is mostly because the tablet is “easy to carry/take with you”, “ease of interface/OS” and the “fast start up/off” it provides to users. A final interesting note is that 43% of correspondents said that more than 1 person in their family/household is a user of the tablet device.

[Via Fortune]

3D Display Coming To The Next iPad?

There are suggestions by RCR Wireless that the next-generation iPad will incorporate 3D technology in its display. Claiming to have multiple sources confirming the information, from a Hollywood insider to a Foxconn worker, they write:

The fact that the iPad 3 is 3D is a dead cert, one Hollywood insider close to the big movie studios told RCR, adding that the screen would be the real magic. She went on to say that the big film studios were currently running around like blue arsed flies trying to gear up to release plenty of 3D content in time for Apple’s next launch.

It certainly sounds a little bizarre that Apple would adopt the 3D technology, which at this stage seems little more than a fad. But then again, Apple has a number of patents covering 3D technology which range from dual-camera’s to develop 3D images, head-tracking to create 3D illusions (recently demoed) to glasses-free stereoscopic 3D displays.

In fact earlier this year there were reports of a glasses-free 3D display coming to the next-generation iPod Touch. That rumour would see the iPod Touch be similar to the recently released Nintendo 3DS which also makes use of a display which can create the 3D illusion without the necessary glasses. Current 3D displays have mostly been limited to TVs, with few if any mobile devices choosing to utilise the technology. The biggest problem so far has been trying to create a 3D image that is believable without glasses and the 3DS received mixed reception to its implementation.

[Via MacRumors]

The Telegraph Updates iPad App, Enables Subscriptions

The Telegraph has agreed to Apple’s terms and has enabled subscriptions in its updated iPad app, available today on the App Store for free. The app can be downloaded free of charge, but the publication decided to allow users to buy daily issues or monthly access for a fee, which in case of single issues is slightly higher than the print edition, but sports a nice discount if you opt for the monthly subscription. As noted by PaidContent, The Telegraph’s subscriptions come at £1.19 each or £9.99 per month; weekday printed issues of the newspaper are cheaper at £1, but the monthly edition will cost you £26.40. Clearly The Telegraph is aiming at selling monthly digital subscriptions in volume, which are an attractive option due to the price point and access to regular content. In terms of US dollar prices, the in-app subscriptions come at $16.99  for 1 month access, or $1.99 for the daily edition.

The publisher’s upgraded app, out today and built by The Times’ app builder TigerSpike, is free to download but requires “editions” be bought inside at £1.19 each or £9.99 per month, paid and auto-renewing via Apple’s in-app payments.

The app functions much like its free predecessor, so the main new feature is the fee introduction. TMG is rumoured to be considering the introduction of charges to its website, too. If so, this iPad model could give it a springboard to do so.

The app comes with a dedicated settings panel for subscription management, and also allows existing print subscribers to enter their personal code to download iPad issues for free. The Telegraph 2.0 features details instructions to obtain your subscriber code, and places a link back to the iTunes Store to configure your App Store subscriptions. As for other changes in this update, the app includes “video, picture galleries, graphics and cartoon archives”, alongside a night-reading mode and crosswords.

Download The Telegraph 2.0 for iPad here.

iOS 5 To Feature Over The Air OS Updates?

According to 9to5 Mac, Apple is preparing to implement the capability for users to get over-the-air OS updates for the iPhone from iOS 5. Android and HP/Palm’s webOS users have long had the convenience of having OS updates pushed to their phone as soon as an update is available. Whereas users of iOS devices have had to resort to manually connecting the device to their computer with iTunes where it is downloaded and then installed.

9to5 Mac claims that multiple sources have said to them that the new feature will debut in iOS 5, allowing any subsequent updates to be pushed to the device. According to their sources, Apple has been discussing the feature with Verizon since early this year and are hoping to reach an agreement with them. Although it isn’t known whether other carriers internationally, or even AT&T in the US, have been approached by Apple over the feature.

Apple clearly has the fundamental technology for over-the-air updates working because the Apple TV (iOS version from late last year) is able to update itself without any computer connection. However there are two fundamental stumbling blocks before over-the-air updates could be seen to be feasible. Current updates are over 600MB, which is a substantial size to be downloading over any 3G connections. To get carriers to be happy with allowing the updates, let alone achieving an agreement with them to exclude them from any download caps, Apple would have to substantially trim that size down. The second issue is that of backups, currently before an update is installed, iTunes will create a back-up in case of a failed update. A cloud based back-up system is the obvious, but perhaps complex, solution to this issue.

Following the article, several people in the jailbreaking scene made some comments about the feasibility of over-the-air updates. In particular, @chronic and @chpwn make comments that a lot of the code required for over-the-air updates have already made their way into iOS4. For example, the MobileSoftwareUpdate.framework is in all iOS4 devices but has only been “fleshed out” on the Apple TV.

[Via 9to5 Mac]

Analyst: Mac Lineup To Be Refreshed “In Upcoming Months”

Following the updates to MacBook Pros (February 2011) and iMacs (May 2011) that brought support for Thunderbolt and new Sandy Bridge processors, AppleInsider relays a report from analyst Shaw Wu with Sterne Agee claiming that all the remaining Macs that didn’t receive an update will be refreshed in the “upcoming months.” These updates include new versions of the Mac Pro, Mac Mini, MacBook and MacBook Air.

Analyst Shaw Wu with Sterne Agee issued a note to investors on Wednesday claiming that all Mac products that have yet to see a refresh this year are “due for refreshes” soon. In his note, Wu told investors that Tuesday’s iMac refresh stands as “a worthy upgrade” and should help “reinvigorate” Mac’s desktop business, which has declined to 27 percent of Macs shipped. Sales of Mac desktops actually dropped by 12 percent year over year last quarter, compared to 53 percent year over year growth for portable Macs.

The report of a refresh for the original MacBook is particularly interesting, as the model was rumored several times in the past to be heading towards discontinuation, leaving the MacBook Air as the entry model in the Mac family. However, Wu seems to believe that Apple is considering an update for the line that was last refreshed in May 2010. The Mac Mini and Mac Pro were updated in June and July 2010, respectively, whilst the popular MacBook Air line was unveiled with an all-new design last October at the Back to the Mac event. Speculation in the past weeks pointed at a refresh for the Airs soon to enable Thunderbolt support and bring Sandy Bridge CPUs on board, possibly in June.

Apple Posts 10.6.7 Update for New iMacs, EFI and MacBook Pro Updates

Apple posted a series of software updates overnight, all of them aimed at improving stability and performances of the new iMacs, MacBook Pros and Thunderbolt, the technology introduced in the MBPs back in February. The biggest update is for the early 2011 iMacs, which got an updated version of 10.6.7 with bug fixes, performance and security enhances. More specifically, the update improves the reliability of Back to my Mac, addresses Mac App Store bugs, improves Thunderbolt support and addresses other issues with graphics stability and 3D performances. It’s a 382 MB download. Another update for the iMacs – an EFI update – “includes fixes that improve performance and stability for Thunderbolt.”

The MacBook Pros received updates, too. The MacBook Pro Software Update 1.4 improves Thunderbolt, external display support and 3D performances, whilst the EFI update 2.1 “includes fixes that resolve an issue with Turbo Mode in Boot Camp, and improve performance and stability for graphics and Thunderbolt.”

You can find all the updates in the Software Update panel on your Mac, or by following the direct links below.

- Mac OS X 10.6.7 Update for iMac (early 2011) 1.0

- iMac EFI Update 1.6

- MacBook Pro Software Update 1.4

- MacBook Pro EFI Update 2.1

The Daily: 800k Downloads Since February, $10 Million Loss

It’s not looking good for The Daily, the joint collaboration of Apple and News Corp. that launched in February as an iPad-exclusive magazine featuring the new iTunes subscription system. During today’s News Corp.’s March quarter earnings call, the company revealed the app is still a “work in progress” that generated a $10 million loss over the last quarter, as reported by Peter Kafka at MediaMemo.

For instance: Asked to comment on The Daily’s performance, Carey says it’s a work in progress, which lost $10 million last quarter. Then, in the background, someone — most likely CFO Dave DeVoe, mentions “800,000 downloads”.

Assuming that’s the actual number, that’s the first time anyone from News Corp. has talked about the iPad app’s performance. I’ve asked News Corp. to confirm.

MediaMemo also reports the 800k figure is for downloads through iTunes, not paid subscriptions. Downloads below one million seem to be a little low for The Daily, which was heavily promoted by Apple on its website and the App Store with multiple weekly homepage features. News Corp. itself stated several times in the past that the app was set to expand to more devices (like Android tablets) in the future, but it appears that Apple is still holding an exclusive on it as of today. Apple for instance helped The Daily’s team implementing subscriptions before the app’s launch giving them access to unreleased APIs not available to other developers, and News Corp. even tried to push the app to millions of eyeballs with a remarkable Super Bowl commercial. However, a few weeks ago rumors started to surface about The Daily’s slow decline in popularity and social media engagement, in spite of the publication even offering a website to read news coming from the iPad version.