Apple to unveil iOS and OS X updates at WWDC in June

Apple will hold its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in early June, where it will unveil details about the future of iOS and OS X.

The conference will be held in Moscone West, San Francisco from 11 June to 15 June, and will see Apple revealing its plans for its operating systems so that developers can build new apps.“We have a great WWDC planned this year and can’t wait to share the latest news about iOS and OS X Mountain Lion with developers,” said Philip Schiller, SVP of Worldwide Marketing at Apple.“The iOS platform has created an entirely new industry with fantastic opportunities for developers around the world.”The conference will involve more than 100 technical sessions presented by Apple engineers, 100 hands-on labs staffed by over 1,000 Apple engineers, an extensive meet and greet with fellow developers, and the Apple Design Awards for the best apps on the iPhone, iPad and Mac.As ever, Apple is being tight-lipped about its plans, but previous trends suggest we wont see a new hardware product, like the much-anticipated new iPhone, but rather a focus on a new version of iOS, which will need to compete with an equally new version of Android set to be revealed at Googles I/O event, which will also be held in June.It is not yet clear what new features iOS 6 will have, but some reports suggest it will include its recent acquisition of Chomp, software which makes it easier to find apps, to ensure iOS devices remain the most popular choice for app developers.

AT amp;T unveils Windows Mobile 6.5 powered Tilt 2 and Pure

AT&T today announced two new smartphones based on Microsoft Inc.'s new Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system, HTC's Tilt 2 and Pure. AT&T said the HTC Pure is now available at AT&T stores for $150 after rebates, and the HTC Tilt 2 will cost $300 after rebates. Both require a smartphone data plan commitment and a $40 or higher voice plan in order to receive the rebates.

The HTC Pure is a touchscreen device, while the Tilt 2 combines a tilting touchscreen with a slide-out full QWERTY keyboard. Both offer a user interface that gives access to voice, text or e-mail by viewing a single contact.

AT&Tsaid it will support the Windows Marketplace for Mobile for users to access applications from the Pure and Tilt 2, and users can even add their purchases from Windows Marketplace to their monthly AT&T billing statements.

The Windows Mobile 6.5 upgrade, announced on Feb. 16, is designed to enhance ease-of-use, with touch-friendly interfaces and a Internet Explorer Mobile browser that supports Adobe Inc.'s Flash multimedia technology.

AT&T said the Tilt 2 is targeted at business professionals with its high resolution 3.6-inch diagonal display and a larger QWERTY keyboard for heavy e-mail use. It also includes a 3.2 megapixel camera.

The Pure is designed for one-hand use, with a 3.2-inch diagonal touchscreen. It comes with a 5 megapixel auto-focus camera with video capture. Details on exact size and weight of the devices were not available.

Source: ComputerWorld

Apple Previews iPhone OS 3.0

Apple® today previewed its iPhone™ OS 3.0 software and announced the immediate availability of a beta software release to registered developers.

The iPhone OS 3.0 beta release includes an updated Software Development Kit (SDK) with over 1,000 new Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) including In-App Purchases; Peer-to-Peer connections; an app interface for accessories; access to the iPod® music library; a new Maps API and Push Notifications. Apple also announced over 100 new features that will be available to iPhone and iPod touch users this summer including cut, copy and paste; MMS;* landscape view for Mail, Text and Notes; stereo Bluetooth; syncing Notes to the Mac® and PC; shake to shuffle; parental controls for TV shows, movies and apps from the App Store; and automatic login at Wi-Fi hot spots. The iPhone OS 3.0 beta release will also include a new Voice Memo app and expanded search capability for all key iPhone apps, as well as Spotlight™ search across the iPhone or iPod touch.

TheIn-App Purchases will allow developers to offer subscription content and provide the ability to sell new content and features in a simple and secure process. Developers can also more easily create peer-to-peer games for iPhone and iPod touch by using Bluetooth.

Another key developer feature in the iPhone OS 3.0 beta software is the ability for apps to interface with hardware accessories, creating a whole new element of control for iPhone and iPod touch accessory developers as well as a new ecosystem of solutions for customers. Developers will also be able to use Apple’s new Maps API to integrate Google Mobile Maps services within their apps which will offer Google Map tiles, current location, custom annotations and geocoding. The iPhone OS 3.0 beta software includes the Apple Push Notification service which provides developers with a mechanism to alert users with sounds, text or a badge.

The new iPhone OS 3.0 software will be available to iPhone and iPod touch users this summer with over 100 new features including cut, copy and paste which can be done within or across applications; MMS to send and receive photos, contacts, audio files and locations with the Messages app; and the ability to capture and send audio recordings on the go with the new Voice Memo app. Landscape view will be available for Mail, Text and Notes. Search capabilities will be expanded, allowing customers to search within Mail, iPod and Notes or search across all key apps by typing a key word or phrase into the new Spotlight search, conveniently accessed from the Home screen.

The updated Stock app will add the ability to display recent company news and current trading information like opening or average price, trading volume or Market Cap, and will offer a landscape view to see a full screen of any stock chart. Customers will also be able to view shared calendars right on their iPhone with CalDAV support and sync their calendars with iCal®, Yahoo, Google and Oracle.

Pricing & Availability
The iPhone OS 3.0 beta software and SDK will be available for registered developers to download starting today from developer.apple.com. iPhone customers will be able to download the new iPhone OS 3.0 software for free this summer and iPod touch customers will be able to purchase a software update for USD9.95.

Source: Apple

Analyst says Apple can sell as many as 10 million iPhone 5 in the first week

Apple is setting itself up for one of its best iPhone launch outings ever, and according to an analyst from Piper Jaffray, as many as 10 million iPhone 5s can fly off the shelves within the first week alone!

Recently, expectations for iPhone 5 first quarter sales were somewhere in the range of 22-23 million devices, but that number can bloom to around 30 million if what the analyst predicts hold true.

There will be an Apple press event on September 12 to announce something that’s “almost here.” So we will probably see soon enough whether or not the iPhone 5 will sell like grains during a famine.

If Apple’s track record means anything, then no one should really doubt that the iPhone 5 won’t have impressive sales within the first week. Last year, Apple sold 4 million iPhone 4S in just the first three days!

Apple is already one of the world’s most valuable companies, and if everything goes well for the firm in the coming months (especially with the iPad mini looming in the background) then we may witness the birth of the first company ever to reach the trillion dollar market cap.

Apple Wins $1 Billion in Samsung Smartphone Case

Apple has won a jury verdict of more than $US1 billion against Samsung after a finding that Samsung infringed six of seven patents for mobile devices in the first lawsuit to go before a US jury in a fight for dominance of the global smartphone market.

The nine-member federal court jury rejected patent claims by Samsung and its request for damages and determined that all of Apple’s patents at stake in the trial were valid.Cupertino based Apple sued Samsung in April 2011, and Samsung countersued as part of a battle being waged on four continents over a smartphone market valued at $US219.1 billion according to Bloomberg Industries.The companies have also sued each other in the UK, Australia and South Korea.Questions over damages awards were among the more than 600 questions the jury was asked to address.Apple sought USD$2.5 billion to US$2.75 billion for its claims that Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung infringed four design patents and three software patents in copying the iPhone and iPad. Samsung’s demand for as much as US$421.8 million in royalties was based on claims that Apple infringed five patents.Apple had sought to make permanent a preliminary ban it won on US sales of a Samsung tablet computer and extend the ban to Samsung smartphones.Adam Yates, a US-based spokesman for Samsung, said the company would comment after it has fully reviewed the verdict.