The banner that has been put up shows an iconic silhouette with an iPod in hand, fortifying rumours that the event will just be music based.

In addition to the release of iTunes 8, Ars also believes that the latest iPhone firmware will be released.

Of interest is that Ars reports that features in the 2.1 firmware “were specifically removed from developer seeds in order to keep them secret from the world”.

Purported photo of 4G iPod nano

The photo is consistent with rumours that the new iPod nano would return to the long thin form factor and feature a longer display. The new iPod nano also reportedly has a curved design.

Kevin Rose described the new visualiser in iTunes 8 as “trippy” and Magnetosphere certainly fits the bill.

Magnetosphere was a free plugin for iTunes until a few months back when the download was pulled, the creator has since stated that the software has been “sold to a third party”.

Another example of Magnetosphere is available in higher resolution here.

[Update] Kevin Rose has confirmed on Twitter that Magnetosphere is the visualisation he saw in a version of iTunes 8.

Apple store in Geneva prepares for end of month opening

Now a third store is ready to open on September 13 at 10.00am in Chadstone.

Moving back to Europe, ifoAppleStore is reporting that the first Apple store is due to open at the end of September in Geneva. The store recently received a new black facade that read “Bientôt ouvert,” meaning, “Opening soon”.

ifoAppleStore is also noting that Switzerland’s second Apple store is nearing completion in Zurich at the Glattzentrum shopping mall northeast of downtown.

In the same note the analyst for American Technology Research noted that MacBook Pro and MacBook refreshes are not expected at next weeks event as the focus of the event appears to be on Apple’s non-Mac business.

The analyst retained his “buy” rating on Apple with a 6-12 month price target of $220.

Full transcript of Wu’s note after the jump.

Low Expectations for a Break-Through Announcement:

While there is always room for surprise, it seems this event may be somewhat underwhelming vs. previous expectations and events. Over the past several days, AAPL shares have pulled back as expectations have likely come down.

Likely iPod Centric:

The “Let’s Rock” invitation and our recent supply chain checks suggest this will likely be an iPod-centric event. This may be viewed as disappointing as some were hoping to see new Macs. We think radical changes in the iPod portfolio are less likely given the great success and extensive refinement iPod has already undergone. We anticipate a modestly redesigned 4th generation iPod nano and slimmer 2nd generation iPod touch with lower price points and higher storage capacities. The future of the 6th generation iPod classic is unclear as our checks indicate build plans have been more modest as it has become more a niche product.

New Macs Not Likely At This Event:

We continue to believe that MacBook Pro and MacBook are due for refreshes with more radical redesigns, but won’t likely be unveiled at this event. We are picking up that MacBook Air could see a minor refresh and potential price cut to increase its value proposition. Checks indicate that build plans have slowed somewhat from earlier robust levels with customers opting for MacBook or MacBook Pro.

Potential Wildcards:

We believe wildcards on new products are:
1) an advanced AppleTV with DVR and TV tuner capabilities and/or
2) new touch form factors (iPod-Mac hybrid) with larger screens.

Conclusion:

While AAPL shares will likely remain volatile given market sentiment, we view current levels as a buying opportunity for longer-term investors. AAPL remains one of the best positioned large-cap technology companies. We see upside to $220 based on 32.5x our CY09 EPS of $6.73.

Event Likely Less Surprising But There Is Always Room for the Unexpected:
Heading into this event, our concern is that it could end up being one of the less surprising ones simply because AAPL product expectations are always high (given its strong track record and world-class R&D) and radical changes in its iPod business are likely more difficult to achieve given the great success and extensive refinement it already has. Nonetheless, there is always the likelihood for the unexpected and we think there are two potential wildcards including an advanced AppleTV with DVR and TV tuner capabilities and new touch form factors with larger screen (iPod-Mac hybrid).

New iPods Most Likely:

Our recent supply chain checks indicate that this event will most likely usher in new iPods, including a modestly redesigned 4th generation iPod nano and slimmer 2nd generation iPod touch with lower price points and higher storage capacities. The fate of its 6th generation iPod Classic is unclear as build plans have been more modest. We think this product remains attractive to those users who value high-capacity storage (80 and 160 GB), but the “old” design and cannibalization by iPod touch limit its appeal.

New Macs Not Likely At This Event:

We continue to believe that MacBook Pro and MacBook are due for refreshes with more radical redesigns, but won’t likely be unveiled at this event as the focus appears to be on its non-Mac businesses. In addition, we are picking up that MacBook Air could see a minor refresh and potential price cut to increase its value proposition as build plans have slowed from earlier robust levels as customers have opted for MacBook or MacBook Pro instead.
Lower iPod Price Points Make A Lot of Sense.

In this tough macroeconomic environment, we believe price cuts make a lot of sense to re-accelerate iPod sales, particularly iPod touch, which is somewhat mispriced (outside of its recent back-to-school promotion) at $299 (8 GB), $399 (16 GB), and $499 (32 GB) price points given the lower $199 (8 GB) and $299 (16 GB) price points of the 3G iPhone with 2-year service plans. We believe AAPL should be able to absorb lower price points without impacting its margins materially given very favorable component pricing trends.

Competitive Advantages Intact:

We believe AAPL’s key competitive advantages remain its 1) strong brand loyal customer base; 2) vertically and horizontally integrated hardware, software and service model (iPod + iTunes, Mac, Apple TV, and iPhone); 3) proprietary interface technologies (clickwheel and multi-touch); and 4) unique and pleasant customer experience with its Apple stores.

Macro headwinds are becoming more apparent:

We continue to see AAPL as the best play on digital media in the home and a large beneficiary of the shift to mobile computing. In two of its three big franchises, Mac and iPhone, penetration is very low and starting in the higher-income demographics. The disturbance in the macroeconomic environment is within lower-income demographics and financial institutions with exposure and impact to overall liquidity. This could certainly spread, but we believe AAPL’s business will remain strong in the near- to medium-term. Enough high-end consumers are still buying tech, though commodities inflation could pressure future margins.

If you can sell software with an old man wiggling his hips while holding discount shoes and a churro, you deserve a pat on the back no matter who you are.

The image corresponds with rumours and other imagery that has been making the rounds over the last week.

On September 9th, Apple will be holding a special event where the new iPod nano is expected to be released.

The diagrams suggest that the iPod nano will return to the longer design of the second-generation model. The diagrams also suggest somewhat of a curved design.

The iPod touch appears to be receiving a similar look to the iPhone 3G, gaining a more tapered design. The diagrams show a slightly thicker iPod touch compared to the current model and external volume controls also appear present.

Separately, iPod case manufacturer XSKN has begun promoting 4th generation iPod nano protection cases.

In a short blog post on his own website Rose wrote:

iTunes 8 includes Genius, which makes playlists from songs in your library that go great together. Genius also includes Genius sidebar, which recommends music from the iTunes Store that you don’t already have.

With iTunes 8, browse your artists and albums visually with the new Grid view; download your favorite TV shows in HD quality from the iTunes Store; sync your media with iPod nano (4th generation), iPod classic (2nd generation), and iPod touch (2nd generation); and enjoy a stunning new music visualizer.

Rose clearly states that the information comes from a new source but is consistent with details he has heard before.

In addition to these details Kevin Rose sent out a post on Twitter talking of “trippy” visualisations in iTunes 8 describing it as:

the new iTunes 8.0 visualizations are really trippy - there is one with planet like objects wrapping around each other w/stars/light streams

According to Cult of Mac, one journalist reported that “Apple just told me it’s a big deal and I should try to be there.”

Let’s hope the buzz is justified.
[via Boing Boing Gadgets]

The event which is being held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco next Tuesday will likely see the introduction of new iPods.

The September 9 Special Event date was originally rumoured by Kevin Rose, the invite (partially pictured) suggests that the event will be music related and not see the release of updated notebooks.

Members of the UK press have been invited to watch a satellite broadcast of the event in London.

The case is by Hama and is a Sport Case specifically labelled “for iPod nano 4G” and closely resembles rumours that circulated last month about a taller iPod nano that is expected to be released this month..

O2 has announced that the unsubsidised iPhone 3G will be available for £350 ($630) and £400 ($720) for the 8GB and 16GB models.

Although once signed up users won’t be forced into a contract, they will be obliged to top-up an amount each month to receive a certain amount of benefits.

Paying between £10 and £14 each month will see users receiving a bonus 500 minutes of call time to any UK home phone or O2 mobile; paying between £15 and £29 adds 1,000 minutes under the same terms, while £30 or more provides unlimited calls.

Unlimited Internet access within the UK, including 3G and O2 Wi-Fi, is free for the first year of service but will cost £10 per month afterwards. Text messages aren’t included and cost 10p each.

The iPhone 3G will be available on pay-as-you-go from O2 starting September 16th.

The three main fixes within the update are:

• Permission issues resolved
• AVCHD improvements
• Improved plugin support and stability

The update is available to Final Cut Express users via Software Update.

Update: All that being said, after a skim through the entire document, there are some very clever arguments made, and the pleading itself is well-written and thought-out. It is just unfortunate that the glaring proof-reading gaffe was on the most important word in the whole case.

The email from Jobs read:

We agree, and are discussing it with ATT.

Sent from my iPhone

The Apple ProRes QuickTime Decoder software allows both Mac and Windows users to play Apple ProRes files through QuickTime. Apple ProRes is a visually lossless format that provides uncompressed HD quality at SD data rates.

It is an excellent choice for mastering and can easily be transcoded to distribution formats like H.264. With new support for playback on both Mac and Windows computers, Apple ProRes can also be used for review and approval of Final Cut Studio sequences.

ProRes QuickTime Decoder 1.0 is available for both Mac and Windows requiring Mac OS X 10.4 or 10.5 and Windows XP or later respectively.

Welcome to my humble abode

So, let’s pretend that the Psystar case goes to trial, and Psystar wins (which I think has about a snowball’s chance with the Heat Miser). While they say they are not trying to hurt Apple; that in fact would be a devastating blow. However, I do believe there is a quite simple way around it. Psystar’s contentions seem to be centered on the idea that retail boxed software purchased by a consumer should not be restricted to certain machines. Okay, well what if Apple no longer sold the retail box OS software? New Macs already come with the most current OS installed, and Apple doesn’t make the bulk of its money on OS software. So the idea would be that a Macintosh is a completely easy and integrated system to the point of including free software updates to all machines that meet the minimum operating specifications. Talk about “it just works”! Additionally such a move, if it wasn’t coupled with a price increase, would help dispel the falsified myth that Macs are always more expensive. Maybe not though, some Windows users still think that Apple users can’t right-click with their mice. Psystar’s argument all of sudden went puff into the malfunctioning cloud where it belongs.

Another idea would be a software subscription service bundling not just the OS but other Apple software as well. If Psystar wins (doubtful), there will be a revenue hit one way or another, but the ways I just suggested minimize it greatly. Otherwise, there will be a general quality hit with piece of crap clones like the Psystar boxes produced en masse.

Take that Psystar!

Now of course, I do not believe Psystar’s arguments, as have thus far been explained, are valid. There are plenty of OSes out there for the consumer, including ones that cost absolutely nothing. Think March of the Penguins.

DISCLAIMER: I am not unbiased about this case. I totally believe Apple should prevail and that Psystar is a parasite with a big arrogant mouth. However, when I write on the factual contents of the pleadings, I will report faithfully what they say. Once the facts are out of the way, and the interpretation or opinions begin, I have an admitted strong bias towards Apple. This is not simply because I am an Apple fangirl but because I find the actions and words of Psystar to be distasteful at best — coupled with my opinion that Apple is in the legal right in this instance. I do not support Apple in everything they do. For example, Apple’s administrative suit against the recycling program in New York with an apple for a logo was just plain moronic. The two logos looked nothing alike, and it isn’t like New York hasn’t been called The Big Apple before Jobs was a twinkle in his father’s eye.

NEW THOUGHT: Could some solution like the above be part of the mysterious “product transition” mentioned in Apple’s Third Quarter Earnings Conference Call?

During the advert (viewed here) the voiceover read “all the parts of the internet are on the iPhone”.

But today the ASA said that the iPhone does not support Flash or Java so the advert “gave a misleading impression of the internet capabilities of the iPhone”.

Apple had argued its claim referred to availability of webpages, rather than their specific appearance.

The ASA has stated that the ad cannot be aired again in its current form.

“Because the iPhone doesn’t support Flash or Java, you couldn’t really see the internet in its full glory,” said Olivia Campbell, a spokesperson for the ASA.

“They made a very general claim that you can see the internet in its entirety, and actually that’s not quite true - so we’ve upheld.”

As of 2:00pm EST, the filings still have not appeared on the electronic docket.

As of 6:15pm EST, the filings still have not appeared on the electronic docket.

This is making me think I must be doing something wrong, but then again, no one else has claimed to have a copy of the entire filing(s) either with the exception of one blog (unfortunately I cannot remember the name) that had an image of the stamped from page. The stamp leads me to believe that it had to be hand-filed due to the countersuit and such is the reason for the delay.

Check back after 8:00 pm EST when I check right after the Court closes.

As of 10:00EST, the filings have note appeared on the electronic docket. As tomorrow was the deadline for filing, the Clerk will likely have it docketed by then.

Psystar’s attorney Colby B. Springer has reported that an Answer and Countersuit has been filed in the case of Apple, Inc. v. Psystar Corporation pending in the District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division (Case No. 3:08-cv-03251-WHA, the Honourable William H. Alsup presiding). The crux of their Countersuit is restraint of free trade in violation of the Sherman and Clayton Antitrust Acts. Additionally, Attorney Springer has stated that contrary to Apple’s allegations, Psystar never modified any of Apple’s proprietary code but did legally modify open-source code that is part of OS X. That is significant as it had been my personal, non-legal (as I am not an attorney) opinion that any such modification of proprietary software would be a strong element in Apple’s suit rather than reliance on the enforceability of the EULA.

However, I have just researched the official Court electronic docket, and no such filing(s) has shown up as of this point. Electronic filings (which are now required in Federal Court actions) generally show up immediately, so it is unknown why it does not yet appear. The source material also is unclear if the Answer is incorporated in the Countersuit, or did they file a completely separate suit (the source material seems to indicate otherwise)? That would explain the absence of any such pleading (countersuit) in the existing case. However, there is no record of a separate action in the electronic database either, at least not in that Court. I have also searched in the District Court for the Southern District of Florida and came up empty-handed.

Also of interest, Psystar co-founder Rudy Pedraza gave notice of Psystar’s intention to create a laptop computer able to run OS X at some unspecified point in the future.

On a personal note, is it just me or does that name of Colby Springer sound like a breed? I guess we will find out if that dog can hunt in Apple’s orchard. And…

wait for it…

Apple declined to comment.

Cult of Mac has some interesting examples of other “monolopies.”

ADDED: I thought of a possible explanation for the pleading(s) not yet appearing. Perhaps due to filing fees (if any) for the Countersuit, the pleading had to be filed the old-fashioned way and is awaiting scanning by the Clerk.

On another Orange note, Orange in France has admitted that it was throttling its smartphone data speeds at 384 Kb/s. They have promised to raise this limit to 1 Mbits/s beginning September 15, 2008. [via HardMac]

The sad thing about both situations is that Apple’s reputation is affected negativity even though they had nothing to do with the first false rumour or Orange’s surreptitious throttling.

Apple now has 10.4% of the home computer market share. This figure does include both desktops and laptops. This is up from 7.5% for the same time period in 2007.

Dizzle does happy dance.

AT&T has announced several international data plans for frequent travelers for an additional monthly fee of $119.99 (100MB per month) and $199.99 (200MB per month). These plans would be in effect for data use in 67 countries and would replace the current pay-per-use international data roaming charges that were currently the only option in those countries.

As we had discussed here and here, the iTunes store went down in China early last week and was restored over the weekend. As it turns out, while the service is restored, Chinese authorities have apparently discovered a way to selectively block the offending album, “Songs for Tibet”.

How is this a favour for Apple? There were in a no-win situation. If they stood their ground and refused to pull the album as a condition for iTunes stores availability in China, they might win cheers from humanitarian groups while losing a potentially lucrative iPhone market which may not have been in the best interest of its stockholders. If they caved and pulled the album, they would be painted by some as giving in to a totalitarian regime which goes completely against American sensibilities (America being the most relevant as Apple is based in California).

So thank you, China…? I guess…

I have compared the two Complaints and noted several minor changes as well as two potentially more significant ones. The minor changes comprised changing the wording “new wireless communication protocol and standard, 3G” to “new wireless communication protocol or standard, 3G” in Paragraph 1 and elsewhere where similar wording was found with some variations (see Paragraphs 13 and 18). Additionally, in Paragraph 16, the phrase “and to trust that the device was ‘twice as fast at half the price.’” was removed. That slogan had already been quoted in Paragraph 12. The two potentially significant changes are as follows:

In Paragraph 2, Wilton Lee Triggs, II, was added as a purchaser of a “Defective iPhone 3G.” He has not been specifically named as a Plaintiff, and a lawyer would be needed to explain a potential legal strategy for this addition.

An additional factual allegation was made stating “Upon information and belief, Defendant is aware of the above-stated defects with Defective iPhone 3G and have attempted to undertake corrective action too late and with little to no success.

I am not an attorney and thus cannot draw any legal conclusions from these changes. I am, however, a grammar nazi and found that in both filings Paragraph 6 is missing a period, and the new allegation appears to be missing a word or a plural.

The latest version of Safari is likely to include many of the features of Webkit and has reportedly included SquirrelFish technology which provides JavaScript speed ups.

It is currently unknown as to when Apple intends to release Safari 4 to the public.

Then again considering that OpenTech was hosted on freewebs.com, a lawyer might have been out of their budget.