JetLib News

waderoush writes “On top of all the other features that it has crammed into iTunes, Apple this week added Ping, a Facebook-like social network for music discovery. It’s all part of the company’s plan to dominate the world of consumer media, but Xconomy argues that this time, Apple may have gone a bridge too far. iTunes, nearing its tenth birthday, started out merely as a program for ripping CDs, and has grown increasingly creaky and impenetrable as Apple has added more and more cruft, the article argues. The company won’t have a stable base for its new media empire until it rebuilds iTunes from scratch — perhaps along the lines suggested by its other new product this week, the revamped Apple TV.”

Source: Flawed iTunes Stands Out Among Apple’s Products

Ping, Apple’s new social network for music, has already seen a lot of rave reviews. The service is part of the latest version of iTunes and lets users connect with friends and artists to share and follow music tastes.

The social networking service already has a lot of music artists signing up to connect with their followers.

However, Ping in its current form could turn out to be a haven for impostors and spammers. TechCrunch points out that the new music social networking service already has fake accounts in the name of Mark Zuckerberg and The Beatles. Considering the lucrative opportunity involved in selling music to followers, TechCrunch notes that Ping is likely to invite spammers to create fake accounts of popular music bands to sell their music. The issue could be sorted out through proper referencing methods using third party services like Facebook Connect that could help validate iTunes accounts. 

Users who have accessed Ping recently may have noticed a minor change in the ‘Find People‘ functionality. The feature originally allowed people to find friends by signing into their Facebook account. However, this functionality has since then been removed.

According to a report on All Things Digital, the move follows Facebook’s reluctance to open their API up for a service that they doubt could significantly impact their infrastructure. According to sources, Facebook has been insisting on an agreement with Apple that will help the company protect its user data and minimize infrastructure impact. Though such agreements are normally not required for websites making use of the Facebook API, the networking service is noted to have required these agreements considering the massive 160 million installed user base of iTunes.

All Things Digital further reveals that the two companies were unable to reach an agreement over Ping. Consequently, Facebook is reported to have blocked access to iTunes due to Apple’s violation of its terms of service, which has forced Apple to remove the functionality from Ping. It is however believed that the Facebook Connect feature could soon be reinstated as the two companies are still discussing the matter. In a media statement released yesterday, Facebook said:

“Facebook believes in connecting people with their interests and we’ve partnered with innovative developers around the world who share this vision. Facebook and Apple have cooperated successfully in the past to offer people great social experiences and we look forward to doing so in the future.”

We are keen to see the functionality brought back. Have you checked out Ping? What are your impressions on the new service? Tell us in the comments.

[via TechCrunch, All Things Digital]

Source: Facebook Friend Search Functionality On Ping Removed After Facebook Blocks API Access

rsmiller510 writes “Could Apple’s announcement about Ping, a music-based social network be Apple’s social networking trojan horse? Facebook might want to be concerned.” Of course it is.

Source: Ping Could Be Apple’s Social Networking Backdoor?

Apple's special music event should be underway shortly.

Based on all the rumors and speculations, we know that Apple will unveil the next generation iPod Touch and iPod Nano.

Apple might also release the next generation Apple TV, which is based on iOS that will offer Netflix’s movie and TV shows streaming service.

Apple's special event is being held at at the Yerba Buena Centre for Arts in San Francisco.

Please don’t forget that Apple will be will be live video streaming today’s event so you can watch it live on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch or an OS X 10.6 Mac. You can watch the streaming video live here.

Updates will be posted from top to bottom (bottom newest) so stay tuned (hit refresh to get the latest).

You can find our roundup of all the rumors and speculations that we've reported so far leading up to the event.

Here are some last minute rumors:

• The next generation iPod Touch will be slightly thinner than the current iPod Touch model (Hmm, we thought that is expected).
• Apple TV might not be renamed as iTV.
• The new products that will be unveiled today will not be shipping immediately, which usually is the case.

People are being allowed to enter the Yerba Buena Centre. Apple is playing a cover of the Beatles’s We Can Work It out.

Announcement: The event will start shortly.

Steve has just walked out and talking about its retail stores.

He is now talking about iOS, a revolution in touch and apps.

Apple has shipped 120 million iOS devices.

Apple is activating 230,000 iOS devices daily.

6.5 Billion iOS apps have been downloaded.

Apple is releasing iOS 4.1, it includes fixes for proximity sensor, Bluetooth problems and fix for iPhone 3G performance issues.

iOS 4.1 will allow users to take HDR photos.

iOS 4.1 will also debut Game Centre, Apple's social gaming network.

Epic games is demoing Project Sword, which looks Unreal technology, looks pretty amazing.

iOS 4.2 is coming to iPad. It will allow you to print wirelessly.

Steve Jobs is playing with the iPad to show iOS 4.2 features such as multitasking, folders (introduced in iOS 4 for iPhone and iPod Touch).

Steve Jobs has just introduced an all new iPod Shuffle.

 

It will be available for $49.

And the all-new iPod Nano.

 

It will cost $149 for 8GB model and $179 for the 16GB model.

Steve Jobs has just unveiled the next generation iPod Touch.

The iPod Touch comes with iPhone 4's Retina display.

It includes Apple A4 chip, has a 3-axis gyroscope, iOS 4.1 with Game Center and a front-facing camera with FaceTime.

8GB model will cost $229, 16GB model will cost $299 and the 64GB model will cost $3.99.

Apple will be releasing iTunes 10. It also gets an all new logo, ditches the CD in the logo.

Steve Jobs has introduced a social music network called Ping, which will be integrated with iTunes 10.

You can follow your friends and artists.

Source: Coverage Of Apple’s Special Event

Bloomberg is reporting that according to ‘three people with knowledge of the plans’ Apple will be unveil the next generation Apple TV at the special media event tomorrow.

According to Bloomberg, the next generation Apple TV will offer Netflix – TV shows and movie streaming service.

Ronald Grover and Peter Burrows from Bloomberg report:

Apple Inc., preparing to announce a new set-top box that delivers TV to consumers, will include movies from Netflix Inc., according to three people with knowledge of the plans.

The streaming service would be available on the revamped version of Apple TV, due to be introduced tomorrow in San Francisco, said two of the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans haven’t been made public. Users would pay a subscription fee to Netflix for the service, the people said.

According to the report, Apple will introduce the new Apple TV for $99, which will be $130 less than the current model.

We have also heard that the next generation Apple TV will run a version of iOS and renamed as iTV. It needs to be seen if it will also have access to the App Store.

There is no doubt that Netflix will be one of the killer features of the device but Netflix as a native app that can be downloaded from the App Store makes more sense as Netflix is currently available only in the US and Canada.

Bloomberg also reports that Apple will release a revamped version of iTunes and next generation iPod Touch with higher resolution screen just like iPhone 4’s retina display.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

[via Bloomberg]

Source: Apple To Unveil New Apple TV Tomorrow; Will Offer Netflix Streaming

Macrumors is reporting that an executive at Mexican carrier Telcel is claiming that Apple will release a revised version of the iPhone 4 by the end of September to address the highly publicized iPhone 4 antenna issue.

When Steve Jobs had announced at the iPhone 4 press conference that Apple will be giving a free case to all customers who had purchased an iPhone 4 only until September 30, 2010, it had raised some eyebrows.

Macrumors reports:

According to Marco Quatorze, Telcel's Director of Value Added Services, the iPhone 4 sold in Mexico will initially be the same hardware as that sold in the U.S. and elsewhere, with Apple offering a free case to address potential issues with antenna performance. But he also noted that as of September 30th, when the free case program expires, revised hardware without the reception issues will become available.

Macrumors goes on to add:

The veracity of Quatorze's claim is unknown, as it is unclear whether a carrier executive at his level would even be privy to such information, and it is possible that he may simply be mistaken in his understanding of Apple's September 30th expiration date for the free case program.

If Apple ends up releasing a revised version of iPhone 4 to fix the antenna issue then it will be very controversial as Steve Jobs had explained that the issue was not limited to iPhone 4 and was also observed on other popular smartphones.

Steve Jobs believed that they have got to the heart of the problem and that is the smarphones have weak spots, which is a challenge to the entire industry.

After all this, if Apple releases a revised version of iPhone 4, its going to turn into another PR nightmare for Apple as early adopters are going to be really pissed off.

The only reason that can force Apple to release a revision version (assuming it has a fix for the antenna issue) would be a drastic drop in demand for iPhone 4. But according to Apple, demand for iPhone 4 is ‘absolutely stunning’ and they’re selling every iPhone 4 unit they can make, which clearly shows that customers don’t think the antenna issue is a deal breaker.

I would be really surprised if Apple releases a revised version of iPhone 4 to fix the antenna issue. In my opinion, Apple bought some time by launching the iPhone 4 case program until September 30 to see if it can bundle the free case while shipping iPhone 4 rather than running a separate program until it releases the next generation iPhone in mid 2011 as I’m sure it adding unnecessary overheads.

What do you think? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

[CanalMX via MacRumors]

Source: Apple Might Release New iPhone 4 To Fix Antenna Problem By End Of September?

CNET claims that Apple could be extending the duration of the iTunes music previews from 30 seconds to 60 seconds.

According to CNET, their sources have told them that an announcement regarding this could be made during tomorrow's media event and that the move follows complaints about the present system not offering users enough time to preview a song.

The website further points out that a "large part" of the media event will revolve around the enhancements made in the iTunes space. However, Apple will not make any announcements with respect to the rumored cloud-based iTunes system since the necessary agreements are still not in place.

With less than 24 hours to go for the media event, we have been hearing a lot of rumors and speculations with respect to the upcoming announcements. 

One major topic of discussion has been the new form factor of iPod nano. There were reports last week that suggested that the new iPod nano will have a squared design without the familiar clickwheel. Now folks at 9to5Mac and Apple Insider have published pictures of new iPod nano cases that gives us further insight into the design of the next generation device.

The images embedded below are reported to have been sourced from Asian eCommerce websites that have commenced the sale of these new iPod nano cases. You may note the wide slot on the top of the case that could possibly accomodate the rumored 30-pin dock connector. In addition to this, there is also another slot on the edge of the case beside the dock connector slot where the headphone jack could be present. The opposite end of the case contains an elongated slot on one side and two smaller slots adjacent to each other on the other side. These slots are likely to house the Power button and Volume control buttons respectively.

Someone has also created a mockup of the next generation iPod Touch based on the speculations so far.

As it goes without saying, these are only our interpretations and it will be interesting to see if the new iPod nano indeed conforms to the same design and form factor. Do you like it? Let us know in the comments.

[via 9to5Mac, Apple Insider, CNET]

Source: Apple To Extend iTunes Music Preview Duration; New iPod Nano Cases Reveal Features

We had reported last week that iOS 4.1, which is currently in its third beta includes a fix for the proximity sensor problem reported by iPhone 4 users.

While not documented by Apple in the release notes, some users had reported that after installing iOS 4.1 beta, the proximity sensor on the iPhone 4 is far more reliable.

Though iPhone 4’s antenna issue has been highly publicized, the proximity sensor problem seemed to be a more serious issue based on feedback from our readers. So the news that iOS 4.1 includes the fix for the problem had come as a relief to users.

Apple is expected to release iOS 4.1 (or at least announce the release date) at the special media event on Wednesday.

But The Next Web has just reported that Apple Australia spokeswoman Fiona Martin has confirmed that it still hasn’t fixed the issue. The Next Web reports:

With iOS 4.1 in its final beta testing stages and about to be released to the world, it appears the fix will not be forthcoming when it rolls out to users.

iPhone 4 users who have been patiently waiting for a fix are bound to get frustrated if the issue issue is not fixed in iOS 4.1.

iOS 4.1 is also expected to fix Bluetooth  problems and iOS 4 performance issues on iPhone 3G.

We will have to wait and see if Apple provides an update on these problems at the special event on Wednesday.

As always, we’ll let you know as soon as we have any further updates so stay tuned here at iPhone Hacks or follow us on Twitter or subscribe to our RSS feed.

[via The Next Web]

Source: iPhone 4′s Proximity Sensor Problem Might Not Be Fixed In iOS 4.1?

recoiledsnake writes “The author of iPhone prototyping tool Briefs has decided to open source it after the App store submission has been in limbo for over three months. The app had got into trouble for what Apple believes is being able to run interpreted code, though the author denies it, saying all the compiling happens on the Mac. While Rob stays civil, his co-worker blasts Apple for not even rejecting the app. Three months is nothing compared to Google Voice for the iPhone though, which is still being studied further by Apple after more than a year.”

Source: iPhone App In App Store Limbo Open Sourced

sylverboss writes “Intel Corp., the world’s largest chipmaker, is close to an agreement to buy Infineon Technologies AG’s wireless business, three people with direct knowledge of the discussions said. When it comes to desktop, laptop and server chips, Intel’s pretty much got a lock on the market but everyone can see the writing on the wall: mobile chips and architectures are the future of computing thanks to the popularity of smartphones, but Intel doesn’t have anything to offer in that regard. Don’t know Infineon? You should: they are the guys who have supplied Apple with their iPhone baseband chips since 2007.”

Source: Intel To Buy Smartphone Chipmaker Infineon For $2B