Apple Holding ‘Back To Mac’ Media Event On October 20th
Engadget has reported that Apple has issued invitations for a special event called ‘Back to the Mac’ on October 20th.
The event is scheduled to take place a week from now at Apple’s campus in Cupertino, Calafornia at 10:00 AM Pacific.
As you can see below, the invitation contains an image of a lion peeking out from behind the Apple logo, which indicates that Apple could give us a glimpse of the next generation Mac OS X that might be called “Lion”, which has been one of the most commonly-suggested “big cat” names for the next-generation operating system.
Apple awarded three major multi-touch patents
Have you noticed that since mid-2007, a lot of other phone manufacturers have come out with multi-touch displays that are all but identical to those on the iPhone? I certainly noticed, and it made me wonder if Steve Jobs’s January 2007 claim regarding multi-touch, “Boy have we patented it,” was just an idle threat.
As it turns out, Jobs’s claim was just a few years early. Patently Apple reports that, as of yesterday, Apple has been awarded three very important multi-touch related patents. The first patent, “Portable Electronic Device with Multi-Touch Input,” describes in detail the multi-touch input method present on the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, and Apple’s multi-touch trackpads. It also sounds remarkably similar to the input methods present on competitors’ touchscreen smartphones.
The second patent, “Ellipse Fitting for Multi-Touch Surfaces,” is similar to another patent that Apple filed last year. It describes multiple input methods that all iOS device users will recognize: typing, pointing, scrolling, object manipulation, and so forth. The third patent, “Simultaneous Sensing Arrangement,” describes some of the sensing mechanisms present in multi-touch devices. Patently Apple has the full details on the patents if you’re truly curious, but they basically represent patents for both the hardware and input methods behind multi-touch.
Patents are an unusually touchy subject,
iPhone shipping times drop in the UK, 6 month 0% finance offered
Last week, those wanting to buy an iPhone 4 in the U.S. got good news when they heard that shipping times for the phone had been reduced. Now the UK gets to share in that good news, too.
The UK Apple Online Store is now selling iPhone 4s with a 2 week dispatch time, reduced from the previous 3 week wait. Both the 16 and 32 gigabyte models have a 2 week dispatch time, while the iPhone 3GS has a 1 – 2 week wait.
Mind you, most network providers and Apple’s own retail stores seem to have stock readily available if you’re willing to walk in and get it.
In related news, the UK Apple Online Store is now offering 6 months interest-free financing on minimum iPhone and accessory purchases of £450. This is an interesting option for those who can’t afford the cost of the phone upfront and who don’t want to be tied into a 12, 18, or 24 month contract with a network provider. Still, you’ll have to subscribe to one of the network providers for cellular service, which will naturally add to the cost. This option is probably best for pay-as-you-go-customers.
Financially speaking,
Pause your music intelligently with Take Five
The latest application from The Iconfactory, Take Five, is meant to eliminate one pesky problem: the realization that you’ve been wearing headphones that aren’t pumping out any music. I’m glad to say that it succeeds.
Consider this scenario. You’re working at your desk while listening to music on your iPhone or iPod touch. An interruption arises, like a phone call or the need for quiet concentration, so you hit the pause button. Once the interruption is over, you’re too involved in the resulting task to realize that you’ve been wearing headphones and listening to nothing for goodness knows how long.
I’ve done it, and it’s a bit embarrassing.
Check out the gallery of screenshots below and then click the link to read our review of Take Five.
Think of Take Five as a timed pause button for your iPhone and iPod touch. To use it, start your music, podcast or audio book as you usually do. When that interruption arises, launch Take Five. Your audio will stop and you’ll see a large pause graphic over the album art. But that’s not the cool part.
At the bottom of the display
Apple Talking To Carriers In India To Launch CDMA iPhone?
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple is in talks with two major network carriers in India over the possibility of launching a CDMA-based iPhone in the country.
The carriers in question, Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications, are among the biggest players in the CDMA segment, which constitutes close to 20% of the more than 670 million strong mobile subscriber base in India.
While the sources have confirmed that the talks are ongoing, a possible launch date of the new iPhone is unclear. Apple is reported to have been in talks with Tata Teleservices for more than five months. It is worth noting that the wireless provider is expected to kick off their 3G network service in India from early next month.
The announcement comes at an interesting time when we have been hearing a lot of rumors about the imminent launch of a CDMA iPhone in the United States. Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal had reported that Verizon may offer a CDMA iPhone starting early 2011. This report was further supported by a New York Times article that attributed their claim to a “person who is in direct contact with Apple“.
