Apple

Apple is currently in talks with News Corp to offer 99 cent TV show rentals.  They are also in talks with other media firms according to Bloomberg.  The service would provide 48 hours of commercial free viewing time for the 99-cent rental fee.  Programs will apparently be available within 24 hours of their first broadcast.

Apple has apparently been shopping iTunes as a TV service to television network executives according to a report from allthingsdigital.com..

No word on whether any networks have actually signed on to the idea yet, however it appears that the service would be subscription based, cost about $30 per month and put Apple in direct competition with cable and satellite companies.

On the plus side this would be a great boost for the highly under-rated Apple TV platform as a distribution platform for on demand programming, hopefully without the high $$ associated with buying content currently available.

Apple Announces Iphone Software Update 2.2

Apple release today a software update for the iphone available immediately on itunes.  Some may say this is a preemptive strike against the highly anticipated Blackberry Storm due out today.  None the less, the upgrade caught many by surprise as it appeared at midnight today.

The updates/improvements include:

• Decrease in call setup failures and dropped calls
• Enhancements to Map
  • Google Street View
  • Public transit and walking directions
  • Display address of dropped pins
  • Share location via email
• Enhancements to Mail
  • Resolved isolated issues with scheduled fetching of email
  • Improved formatting of wide HTML email
• Podcasts are now available for download in iTunes application (over Wi-Fi AND Cellular network)
• Improved stability and performance of Safari
• Improved sound quality of Visual Voicemail messages
• Pressing Home button from any Home screen displays the first Home screen
• Preference to turn on/off auto-correction in Keyboard Settings

Features

Google Street View

Street view takes you on a virtual walking tour: Navigate street-level photographs of places your’ve located in Maps.

Public Transit and Walking Directions

Get walking directions, find public transit schedules, check fares, and estimate your travel time.

Share Location

Tap the Share Location button to send an email that includes a Google Maps URL.

Podcasts

Get access to millions of free podcasts on the itunes tore via wi-fi or cell

Safari Improvements

A new search-friendly user interface, better performance, and more stability

So, not a whole lot, but nice update.  Apple does appear, in my opinion, to be trying to take a little of Storms thunder away…  Btw… have not heard of giant hordes of people lining up to get the storm… let me know if you hear differently!

One of the most frequent questions I get asked from clients, as well as friends and family is which technology do you use at home for video?  Of course, as with most people I have cable TV with DVR (actually I use Direct TV) and a standard DVD player.  I also have Blu-Ray DVD and a couple of HDTV’s. But the appliance I really enjoy and use the most is Apple’s most highly underrated product, the Apple TV.

As an early adopter of new technologies, I purchased the Apple TV the first day it went on sale.  The Apple TV(version 1.0) was highly anticipated and had extremely high expectations from analysts and media professionals.  The reviews were less than impressive.  Since then, Apple has released a new version(2.0) and has quietly been gaining some momentum.

With the new release, Apple has – which may be – the most under appreciated product of the past 10 years. Intended for the “great room” or living room, and connected to an HDTV, the apple TV delivers content from an Itunes account wirelessly.  It can connect to your computers itunes account or operate largely on its own. With a broadband connection, you can rent movies, buy movies, tv shows and music, view youtube videos, access your photos on your computer as well as your mobile me and flickr accounts,and view itunes podcasts.

Here are my Top 5 Reasons (in no particular order!)

1. Rent Movies – Renting movies on the Apple TV is instant gratification at its finest!  No pre ordering movies from your que on netflix or blockbuster, no running to the store to find out the title you are looking for is sold out, and no hassles having to return the movie.  Simply point and click and the movie is ready for viewing.  There is in my opinion, a downside, and that is once you have rented a movie and pressed the play button, you have 24 hours to view it.  I think I am more psychologically opposed to this than anything else.  Remember the “Video Store” days with VHS?  It was always a return by COB the next day… It then turned into 3 day and 5 day rentals.  I think apple would be wise to take this approach in the future.
2. Missed TV shows – Ok, I know I have a “season pass” on my dvr, but then again there are times that I forget to program a new season, or missed a new show that everyone is raving about.  Sure, I could maybe watch them on Hulu.com or any other video site, but then again, the convenience of watching it in the den on my TV makes all the difference in the world.  
3. I have a Digital Library! – After years of VHS tapes and DVD’s I am literally running out of space for my video content.  I have boxes of VHS tapes that we never watch in the basement.  Now, I can store all my purchased TV shows and Movies and have them organized and backed up through itunes.  Our family movies are now backed up as well without having to burn countless DVD’s!!
4. Photos – You can now view your photos from your computer, Flickr, or .mac galleries and it couldn’t be simpler.  Simply use the apple remote to set up your accounts and you can view your public photos and movies.  Within the photo settings area you can choose from a number of slideshow options, accompanying music, repeat and shuffle.  You can even use the contents of your .mac gallery, or flickr album as the Apple TV’s screensaver.  This is great when you have guests over… You can set your galleries up to specific music to play while guests chat.
5. Podcasts and Youtube –  Although I love the industry and can not get enough of the amazing content people are creating online, I can only take so much while sitting in front of the computer.  The Apple TV gives me an option of viewing the latest podcasts and youtube content while relaxing in the den.

Apple has a number of announcements today, including the new 13 and 15 inch macbook.  The new Macbooks are available today.

Included are :

Precision aluminum unibody enclosure.
From one solid piece of aluminum comes a MacBook that’s thin and light, beautifully streamlined, and durable.

Ultrathin 13.3-inch LED-backlit display.
Seamless glass and instant full screen brightness make everything you see flat-out spectacular. Including the display itself.

Up to 5x faster NVIDIA graphics performance.
Advanced NVIDIA integrated graphics provide more responsive gameplay and more realistic 3D environments.

All-new, smooth glass Multi-Touch trackpad.
It’s redesigned with even more room for even more gestures. Now the entire glass trackpad is also the button, so it’s clickable everywhere.

Display
13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen display with support for millions of colors
Supported resolutions: 1280 by 800 (native), 1152 by 720, 1024 by 640, and 800 by 500 pixels at 16:10 aspect ratio; 1024 by 768, 800 by 600, and 640 by 480 pixels at 4:3 aspect ratio; 720 by 480 pixels at 3:2 aspect ratio

Graphics and video support
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory3
Extended desktop and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 2560 by 1600 pixels on an external display, both at millions of colors
Built-in iSight camera

Mini DisplayPort

Input
Multi-Touch trackpad for precise cursor control; supports two-finger scrolling, pinch, rotate, three-finger swipe, four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap, and drag capabilities
2.0GHz MacBook

Built-in full-size keyboard with 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys, including 12 function keys and 4 arrow keys (inverted “T” arrangement)
2.4GHz MacBook

Built-in full-size illuminated keyboard with 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys, including 12 function keys and 4 arrow keys (inverted “T” arrangement)

processor and memory

2.0GHz or 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB on-chip shared L2 cache running 1:1 with processor speed
1066MHz frontside bus
2GB (two 1GB SO-DIMMs) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM; two SO-DIMM slots support up to 4GB

Storage

2.0GHz MacBook
160GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard disk drive4
Optional 250GB or 320GB 5400-rpm hard drive or 128GB solid-state drive4

2.4GHz MacBook
250GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard disk drive4
Optional 320GB 5400-rpm hard drive or 128GB solid-state drive4
Optical drive

8x slot-loading SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

Maximum write: 8x DVD-R, DVD+R; 4x DVD-R DL (double layer), DVD+R DL (double layer), DVD-RW, DVD+RW; 24x CD-R; 10x CD-RW

Maximum read: 8x DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-ROM; 6x DVD-ROM (double layer DVD-9), DVD-R DL (double layer), DVD+R DL (double layer), DVD-RW, and DVD+RW; 24x CD

Battery – 5hrs

Apple TV Update

Apple has release an Apple TV update version 2.2.  The software updates include the following:

1. You can now purchase HDTV shows directly from the itunes store (US only)
2. Movie browsing by actor and director
3. Chapter selection, alternate audio and subtitles
4. Movie description while playing movie
5. Genius Playlists
6. On-the-go-playlists
7. Music videos in playlists
8. Apple TV Standby mode
9. Security fixes

T-Mobile announced the G1 today, the first mobile phone to support Google’s Android operating system.

At a glance, the G1 features a 480×320 65K color touchscreen display with a slide-out full QWERTY keyboard, a 3-megapixel camera, 3G antenna and Wi-Fi. Even though Google’s phone does not look and feel as stylish as Apple’s iPhone, it has many chances to capture the hearts of users as the Android OS is open-source unlike the iPhone. Apple strictly controls which apps are available and this has proven a major point of contention over the past few weeks.

Other relevant Information / likely features
★Can buy in-store, but only available in stores within 5 miles of a 3G covered area.  Otherwise you have to purchase it on t-mobile.com
★3.1mp camera – NO VIDEO RECORDING
★No stereao bluetooth (A2DP)
★Expandable up to 8GB
★One touch access to Search, Maps, Calendar, Gtalk, Youtube and Gmail
★GPS
★Must have dataplan and gmail account to use gmail
★Approx 5 hour talk time, 130 hour standby
★$199

APPLE ULTRACOMPACT USB POWER ADAPTER EXCHANGE PROGRAM

Apple apparentlely has been forced to recall the chargers that shipped with the iphone 3G.

I just recieved a text message from Apple on my iphone 3G that read:
“A Free Message from Apple.  Important Safety Notice:
Apple has announced an exchange program for the ultracompact USB power adapter that came with the iphone 3G.  Findo out how to get a replacement adapter at http://www.apple.com/support/usbadapter/exchangeprogram/

Thankfully there have been no reported injuries so far, and apple has released the following statement on their … website.

Important Safety Notice
Today Apple announced the Apple Ultracompact USB Power Adapter Exchange program.
Apple has determined that under certain conditions the new ultracompact Apple USB power adapter’s metal prongs can break off and remain in a power outlet, creating a risk of electric shock.  We have received reports of detached blades involving a very small percentage of the adapters sold, but no injuries have been reported.
The ultracompact USB power adapters were supplied with every iPhone 3G sold in the following countries, and may also have been purchased separately as an accessory:
â–ªUS
â–ªJapan
â–ªCanada
â–ªMexico
â–ªSeveral Latin American countries (click here for a detailed list of countries)

Note: Apple USB power adapters supplied with original iPhones or supplied with iPhone 3G units sold in other countries are not affected.
Customer safety is always Apple’s top priority, and therefore we have voluntarily decided to exchange every ultracompact power adapter for a new, redesigned adapter, free of charge.
Users with ultracompact power adapters should immediately stop using them until they exchange them for a new, redesigned ultracompact adapter.
In the meantime, they should charge their iPhone 3G by connecting it to their computer with the USB cable that came with their iPhone or by using a standard-sized Apple USB Power Adapter (with fold up prongs) or with a third party adapter designed to work with the iPhone, such as a car charger.

iphone update available!

Friday, September 12, 2008
Noticed the iphone 2.1 software update is now available this morning.
From update:

• iPhone version 2.1 contains many bug fixes and improvements, including the following:
• decrease in call set-up failures and call drops
• significantly improved battery life for most users
• dramatically reduced time to backup to iTunes
• improved email reliability, notably fetching email from POP and Exchange accounts
• faster installation of 3rd party applications
• fixed bugs causing hangs and crashes if you have lots of 3rd party apps
• improved performance in text messaging
• faster loading and searching of contacts
• improved accuracy of 3G signal strength display
• repeat alert up to two additional times for incoming text messages
• option to wipe data after ten failed passcode attempts
• Genius playlist creation

Upgrade status

9:55 Start Download

9:59 237.8 MB Download is complete

9:59 Auto Started backup – We will now see how much faster the backup is!

10:29 Backup Completed

10:29 Auto Software/firmware installation begins

10:40 Iphone Upgrade Complete

Total Time : ~45 min

Impression: Much faster backup time, not much change in software/firmware installation.  We got what was advertised to us.  Faster backup.