World of Apple

Following its initial release in June of this year, Apple has seeded the second build of Windows and Mac OS X web browser Safari 4.

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.

There have been conflicting stories on whether or not foreign users within China can access the iTunes stores of their native countries with some claiming that the stores have been unavailable for days and others reporting no problems at all. Joe Mcdonald, Associated Press Business Writer, reports suspicions that the Chinese government has been blocking access due to the Monday release of Songs for Tibet:

Michael Wohl, executive director of the New York City-based group, said he believed the album was the reason for the iTunes interruption, though he had no proof. “We issued a release saying that over 40 (Olympic) athletes downloaded the album in an act of solidarity, and that’s what triggered it. Then everything got blocked,” Wohl said by phone.

“We are aware of the log-on problems but we have no comment at the moment,” said Huang Yuna, an Apple spokeswoman in Beijing. She declined to say how many customers were believed to be affected.

Computerword blogger Seth Weintraub notes that blockages may simply be caused by increased internet traffic due to the Olympic games.

If it is true that the problems are attributable to government intervention spurred by the release of Songs for Tibet, Apple may find itself in an awkward position of having to decide between business and politics. The Chinese iPhone market is a huge potential source of future profit for the company, yet if certain material is selectively removed to appease an oppressive government, Apple’s reputation in the court of public opinion could be substantially scarred. Both Seth Weintraub (link above) and TheDigitalLifestyle.tv have interesting perspectives on this issue.

Orange is hiring actors to stand outside of Polish stores to intensify the hype of the release of the iPhone in Poland. From the Reuters article:

“We have these fake queues at front of 20 stores around the country to drum up interest in the iPhone,” a spokesman said.

Apple sold about one million of the new iPhone models in the United States around the July launch weekend, but buyers in Poland may be reluctant to pay hefty monthly charges.

There were no queues at T-Mobile’s (DTEGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Era stores, which will also due to launch the iPhone on Friday.

Fake lines (or any lines) have not formed in front of local T-Mobile stores. Good luck to those who are looking forward to buying an iPhone in their home country!

Local businesses and residents of the New York SoHo Apple Store have begun complaining about the ever increasing crowds and foot traffic that the store attracts.

Curbed website reports that The SoHo Alliance has written for help from the Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer, saying that, “No bar, nightclub or construction site comes close to ruining continually our quality-of-life like Apple SoHo has”.

Alliance director Sean Sweeney said the “final straw” was Tuesday August 12th when the Jonas Brothers played at the Apple Store attracting “thousands of young teenage girls who screamed incessantly”.

Sweeney also explained acts of “irresponsible corporate behavior” by Apple, such as night construction without a permit, and “Apple employees during their breaks lounging, eating, smoking, littering–in effect trespassing–on nearby people’s stoops”.

Sweeney is looking for a solution to the issues from the borough’s president.

In a statement to the press this week Apple confirmed that a issue where first-generation iPod nanos’ short circuit and overheat causing a device-killing fire.

Image courtesy of The Consumerist

Apple has explained that it will replace for free any affected iPod nanos.

Apple today responded to statements reported by Japan’s METI regarding batteries in the first-generation iPod nanos. Apple has determined that in very rare cases, batteries in first-generation iPod nanos sold between Sept. 2005 and Dec. 2006 can overheat, causing failure and deformation of the iPod nano. Apple has received very few reports of such incidents (less than 0.001 percent of first-generation iPod nano units), which have been traced back to a single battery supplier. There have been no reports of serious injuries or property damage, and no reports of incidents for any other iPod nano model.

Any first-generation iPod nano customers who have experienced their battery overheating should contact AppleCare for a replacement. Any other customers who have concerns about their first-generation iPod nano battery should also contact AppleCare.

The USA Today is reporting that the latest iPhone firmware which was released yesterday aims to fix issues related to 3G signal strength.

The newspaper cites reported from iPhones users who state that they are experiencing issues with calls being dropped. The newspaper goes onto speculate that this could be an hardware issue with the Infineon chip used within the iPhone; a possibility that Infineon itself has stated as unlikely.

The article explains that the iPhone 2.0.2 update released yesterday aims to fix the reported issues by addressing how quickly the iPhone 3G will drop a weak 3G signal and begin using a stronger EDGE signal. Often resulting in dropped calls and frustrated users.

Apple spokeswoman Jennifer Bowcock said on Tuesday, “The software update improves communication with 3G networks.”

In an email to a customer purported to be from Steve Jobs it has been acknowledged that an issue exists where third-party applications repeatedly crash on iPhones.

Many report the iPhone 2.0 firmware suddenly failing to load non-default apps regardless of their nature, briefly loading them before abruptly jumping back to the home screen.

The bug occurs both with freshly downloaded software and with updates, but is reported as never having a definite fix; although some report successfully deleting and re-downloading apps to regain access, others find the solution either having no effect or gradually decaying over time to where the apps again fail to run. Restoring the iPhone also seldom works.

Jobs replied with a one-line answer:

“This is a known iPhone bug that is being fixed in the next software update in September.”

Apple has increased the rate of builds being delivered to developers, today Mac OS X 10.5.5 build 9F17 was released less than a week after the previous build.

The latest build still contains no known issues and adds a further five fixes to the list of 120.

(more…)

In addition to last months one month extension to existing MobileMe subscribers, Apple has today announced that all MobileMe subscribers will receive an additional 60 days free.

The announcement came via email, which read:

We have already made many improvements to MobileMe, but we still have many more to make. To recognize our users’ patience, we are giving every MobileMe subscriber as of today a free 60 day extension. This is in addition to the one month extension most subscribers have already received. We are working very hard to make MobileMe a great service we can all be proud of. We know that MobileMe’s launch has not been our finest hour, and we truly appreciate your patience as we turn this around. Read this article for more details.

The MobileMe Team

Since its launch in July, MobileMe has been dogged with issues. First subscribers were offered a free 30 day extension and then several days later some trial customers were given another 30 day extension to their subscription due to a billing issue.

Earlier this month Apple CEO Steve Jobs sent out an internal memo at Apple admitting many of the issues with MobileMe.

Apple has released the latest minor firmware update for the iPhone and iPod touch.