Edible Apple

Digitimes last week reported that Apple is prepping a 7.85-inch iPad model for release in August of this year.

Building on that, and adding even more credibility to a product that John Gruber has heard Apple is, in fact, already tinkering with in its labs, iMore recently reported that a smaller iPad model is in play and that Apple is aiming to release the device sometime in October in the $200-$250 price range.

According to our source, which has proven reliable in the past, the reason for such aggressive pricing is to do to the tablet market what Apple did to the MP3 market in 2004 with the expansion of the iPod product line — leave absolutely no space for competitors.

A brilliant strategy, no doubt.

Competitors, from Samsung to Amazon and everyone in between, have been absolutely unable to compete with the iPad and garner any significant marketshare of their own. As a result, tablet competitors began trying to target Apple on price, with the most successful offering to date being the Kindle Fire from Amazon. The Fire has seemingly sold well, but recent research reports have claimed that sales have cooled. Overall, it’s hard to know just what’s going on with the Kindle Fire since Amazon remains hesitant to release specific sales figures – a fact which Steve Jobs previously interpreted as an indication that sales probably aren’t too hot. What’s more, Amazon reportedly loses money with each Kindle Fire it sells and hopes to recoup that loss via sales of Amazon Prime.

But if Apple does in fact come to market with a mini iPad in the ~$200 price range, all iPad competitors will effectively be squeezed out of the market. And it’s not as if a company like Amazon can afford to lower the price point from the Kindle Fire much lower. But with Apple’s expertise in supply chain management and getting favorable deals on component costs, Apple is uniquely positioned to tackle the low end of the tablet market and prevent any one else from owning any piece of the pie.

Again, this is exactly what Apple did when the iPod reigned supreme back in the day. What was originally a premium product that ran a few hundred dollars soon became a product line unto itself with varying models that occupied numerous points along the pricing spectrum.

With the tablet market, by all accounts, set to explode in the next few years, it looks like lighting may strike twice for Apple.

Late last week, word spread that Foxconn chairman Terry Gou made mention of Apple’s upcoming HDTV.  News of Gou’s leak, so to speak, spread like wildfire and was taken as a confirmation that Apple’s HDTV plans were in full swing. Since then, however, Gou put that report to rest by neither confirming or denying the story. In a statement made to Foxconn, Gou said that it’s standing policy is not to comment, ever, on upcoming products.

At no time did [Gou] confirm that Foxconn was in development or manufacturing stages for any product for any of its customers.  He did say that  Foxconn is always prepared to meet the manufacturing needs of customers should they determine that they wish to work with Foxconn in the production of any of their products.   Any reports that Foxconn confirmed that it is preparing to produce a specific product for any customer are not accurate.

And putting the original report into context, Phillip Elmer DeWitt of CNN adds:

What none of these reporters mentioned (or apparently bothered to consider) is that Gou — whose factories assemble 40% of the world’s electronic devices — is one of the industry’s most secretive executives. He is privy to the future product plans of the most valuable electronics brands — not just Apple, but also Sony, Microsoft  Hewlett-Packard and the rest. He is trusted by his business partners because he never leaks their secrets.

Given how jealously Apple guards its own secrets, and how relentlessly it pursues those who spill them, what are the chances that Gou would say anything — ever — about an unannounced Apple product, real or imagined?

I’d say, nil.

Touche.

9to5Mac reports that Apple is finishing up work on a revamped version of the 15-inch MacBook Pro that will leverage years of R&D encompassing fields such as ultra-thin computing and high res diplays. Citing a source familiar with Apple’s plans, the report claims that Apple is currently testing production models.

Feature wise, expect to see USB 3 in addition to Thunderbolt, along with a Retina Display described as “jaw dropping.”

Check out the full scoop over here.

With a lot of new reports regarding the iPhone 5 and the rumored iPad mini this week, you might have missed a little blurb regarding the highly anticipated Apple HDTV.

Speaking at a news conference in Shanghai this past week, Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou explained that Foxconn is already taking steps to prepare for the manufacture of a forthcoming Apple HDTV. Further, Gou said that Foxconn’s recent deal with Sharp will advance the current state of LCD technology.

Gou said Foxconn is making preparations for iTV, Apple Inc’s rumored upcoming high-definition television, although development or manufacturing has yet to begin.

iTV reportedly features an aluminum construction, Siri, and FaceTime video calling.

Foxconn’s recent 50-50 joint venture factory with Sharp in Japan is one of the preparations made for the new device, Gou added.

That sounds great and all, but to borrow a few lines from Jack Nicholsan in A Few Good Men: Apple, please tell me you have more invested in this TV than simply Siri and FaceTime!

Indeed, there have been no shortage of rumors regarding what Apple is planning to do to differentiate its HDTV offering from the rest of the field, an undeniably challenging proposition given that one can currently pick up some amazingly sleek sets with breathtaking displays for under $1000. To that end, a number of rumors have hinted at Apple trying to secure an a’la carte model with content providers which would enable users to only pay for the cable channels that they actually watch. But getting content providers on board has proven to be particularly challenging for Apple.

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Intel is still angling to get in on the post PC market as it attempts to deliver processors that will be so great Apple won’t be able to ignore them. The mobile device market, as it currently stands, is dominated by ARM based processors which companies like Apple favor due to features like low power consumption.

But last week, during Intel’s investor day, Intel CEO Paul Ottelini explained how the company plans to use its vast resources and expertise to become a major player in the mobile device market.

“Our job is to ensure our silicon is so compelling, in terms of running the Mac better or being a better iPad device, that as they make those decisions they can’t ignore us,” Ottelini explained.

Intel’s formula for addressing its challenge in the smartphone processor business is the same one the Santa Clara, Calif.-based processor manufacturer has used to dominate everything from server rooms to personal computers: use its size to support manufacturing capabilities its rivals can’t match.

Intel is racing to pair its smartphone processor designs — which are based on the same x86 processor architecture that now dominates the notebook business — with its latest manufacturing processes. “What the process technology does is gives us better performance, at better power at better size,” Intel’s Bell said. “We think this is a fundamental advantage that we have.”

via Forbes

According to a weekend report from AppleInsider, Apple reportedly made an offer to acquire Loewe AG, a German based manufacturer of sleek and modern HDTVs and other integrated entertainment systems.

Word of the negotiations was exclusively revealed to AppleInsider, and although the offer has yet to be accepted, a source claims that Loewe “has been advised by its financial advisor to accept the offer and a final decision is scheduled to be announced internally before 18 May 2012.”

This person said Apple is confidentially offering 87.3 million euros (about $112 million U.S.), a slight premium over the firm’s last closing share price of 4.519 euros (giving it a market cap of 58.79 million euros or $76 million U.S.). Loewe’s primary shareholders currently include Sharp (28.83 percent) and LaCie (11.17 percent).

In the wake of that report, however, Loewe reached out to the German language website Heise and debunked the report, claiming that there was “absolutely nothing” to the rumor.

via TNW

Behold! The Ashton Kutcher to Steve Jobs transformation in progress.

Back in April, we reported that the “That 70’s Show” star signed on to play Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs in an indie biopic based on a script from Matt Whiteley. The film, currently titled Jobs: Get Inspired, will purportedly chronicle a vast spectrum of Jobs’ life, from his days as a scraggly hippie all the way up to his second stint at Apple.

With production of the film already under way, TMZ was able to snag a few photos of Kutcher in full Jobs regalia, which is to say photos of Kutcher wearing Jobs’ trademark jeans and black turtleneck. One nitpicky point of contention though – looks like Kutcher above is wearing Asics and not Jobs’ patented New Balances.

It’s also worth noting that Jobs didn’t begin wearing his patented “uniform” until well into his second stint at Apple. In other words, while the jeans and black turtleneck are now associated quite closely with Jobs, it’s not something he wore for the majority of his life, and certainly not when he was in fully hippie mode – which is what Kutcher seems to be portraying above. Indeed, particularly in the 80s, was a notoriously sharp dresser who, if you’ve ever seen some old photos and videos of the Apple co-founder, was never shy about wearing a bowtie either.

It’s also worth noting that there’s another Jobs movie currently in the works. Last we heard, Sony Pictures, which acquired the rights to Walter Isaacson’s biography of Jobs, was reportedly trying to get famed screenwriter Aaron Sorkin on board.

In any event, here’s another shot for good measure.

And oh yes, here’s one interesting factoid – Jobs and Kutcher are the exact same height, 6’2.

The Verge via TMZ

iMore reports that Apple still hasn’t decided what the forthcoming iPhone 5 is gonna look like, despite a number of other reports which confidently claim Apple’s next-gen iPhone will sport a 4-inch display.

Despite some rumors to the contrary, according to our sources Apple still hasn’t finalized the design of the next generation iPhone 5 (or whatever Apple ends up calling iPhone 5,1). No giant screen. No 16:9 aspect ratio. No metal back.

Apple typically makes extensive use of the prototyping process, which could well be the source of inconsistent rumors (perhaps best seen in the conflicting iPhone rumors last year). Sometimes there are more audacious and more conservative prototypes, with the final choice coming down to component costs and device tests.

What seemingly is a sure fire bet is that the iPhone 5 will support 4G LTE.

9to5Mac reports:

According to trusted sources, Apple has an incredible headline feature in development for iOS 6: a completely in-house maps application. Apple will drop the Google Maps program running on iOS since 2007 in favor for a new Maps app with an Apple backend. The application design is said to be fairly similar to the current Google Maps program on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, but it is described as a much cleaner, faster, and more reliable experience.

What’s more, the new maps app will reportedly include 3D terrain viewing functionality, technology it acquired in 2009 when it purchased C3 Technologies who described their technology as such:

C3 Technologies is the leading provider of 3D mapping solutions, offering photo-realistic models of the world for search, navigation and geographic information systems. Since 2007 when it was spun out of the aerospace and defense company Saab AB, venture-backed C3 has redefined mapping by applying previously classified image processing technology to the development of 3D maps as a platform for new social and commercial applications. The Sweden-based company’s automated software and advanced algorithms enable C3 to rapidly assemble extremely precise 3D models, and seamlessly integrate them with traditional 2D maps, satellite images, street level photography and user generated images, that together are forever changing how people use maps and explore the world.

Forget nebulous Apple rumors, Digitimes today laid out a number of speculative nuggets with a surprising bit of specificity.

Digitimes, which has a spotty record with respect to Apple rumors, writes that Apple’s next-gen iPhone is set for release in September. Which, we’ll be honest, isn’t terribly shocking, but don’t worry, there’s more.

The report also claims that Apple is, in fact, working on the highly rumored 7.85 inch iPad and that such a product will be released in August, and manufactured by Foxconn of course. And in keeping the iPad train going, the report also claims that a new iPad (we’ll call it the iPad 4 for the sake of clarity) will be released sometime in the fourth quarter of 2012. That’s particularly noteworthy given that every iPad release thus far has been released during the second quarter.

This past January, Apple filled up the role vacated by Ron Johnson with former Dixons Retail CEO John Browett. Browett began working at Apple a few weeks ago, and with his mug now officially a part of Apple’s executive profile page, Browett this week sent out an email to Apple’s team or retail employees.

The email was obtained by IFO Apple Store, and it reads:

Team,

At last I’ve officially started at Apple, and it’s great to be here. I’ve had the chance to meet many of you at stores in the U.S. and across Europe, and one of my top priorities for the coming months is to meet many more people on our team around the world.

It’s incredibly impressive to be on the inside of Apple Retail. Many of my friends, relatives, and former colleagues have written to tell me how lucky I am to be working with such a great group of people, and I couldn’t agree more. While our stores are fantastic and our products are amazing, it really is our people who make the difference in creating the best retail experience.

There will be much more to share in the weeks ahead, and I’m looking forward to meeting everyone over time.

I am thrilled to work with all of you as we build the future of Apple Retail together.

The search for a replacement for Johnson took quite a while, having begun last Summer following Johnson’s announcement that he was set to leave in November to become the CEO of JC Penney. As part of the search process, Apple employed the reputable search firm of Egon Zehender International, reportedly at the urging of Steve Jobs, as to find someone with International retail experience.

As for Browett’s background, in addition to serving as the CEO at Dixon’s retail, he held a number of executive positions at Tesco plc. Education wise, Browett received a degree in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University before moving onto Penn’s Wharton Business School where he received an MBA. As far as we know, Dan Loeb isn’t challenging the veracity of his Resume 😉

via Twitter

Apple is quietly but surely expanding its iPad rollout this week to include an additional 30 countries. Beginning on Friday, May 11, the following countries will be getting the iPad treatment: Argentina, Aruba, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Cambodia, Chile, Costa Rica, Curaçao, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Kenya, Madagascar, Malta, Martinique, Mauritius, Morocco, Peru, Taiwan, Tunisia, Vietnam

One day later, on May 12, Apple will set its sights on the Middle East as the following countries will be getting Apple’s next-gen iPad: Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates.