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.

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 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..

The email from Jobs read:

We agree, and are discussing it with ATT.

Sent from my iPhone

Recycleosphere has a fairly well thought out summary of the rumor mill’s latest predictions, including a thorough picking through Mr. Rose’s comments. They take into consideration some key points about iPod touch price decreases, Microsoft’s position in the PMP game, and an iTunes subscription service that, while considered as any rumor, are well worth reading.

I personally am worried about the suggestion that an “iTunes Unlimited” subscription service could be on the horizon, considering the amount of bungling Apple’s been doing with MobileMe and the AppStore and previously with .Mac. It seems to me that Apple needs a helping hand in designing and maintaining their interactive web stores and web infrastructure.

In the US Target employees have reported to the rumour site that iPod models have recently seen their status change from “Active” to “Discontinued” when scanned with scanners.

Over in the UK, massive retailer Argos is said to be preparing to clear inventory in anticipation of new models in “coming weeks”.

A person familiar with the plans says the company recently took receipt of new point-of-sale displays promoting “price cuts” that should hit the retail floor during the last week of August or first week of September.

The displays are said to be “giant wall graphic[s]”.

Beta 4 of iPhone firmware version 2.1 comes with the usual “bug fixes” description but completely removes any support for Apple’s Push Notification Service which will help apps communicate via the Internet in the background without the app running.

Apple does offer an explanation for the removal of PNS stating that “further development” is required, but offers no timeframe on when it will return.

iPhone firmware 2.1 is expected in mid-September.

The site reports that the external appearance will stay the same but the new MacBook Air will feature a Penryn processor at speeds of 2.0GHz and above. The new MacBook Air is also said to include a higher capacity battery.

the CPU will be able to dramatically increase, from 2.0 GHz and potentially beyond. As such however, power drain will increase. Apple will curb that constraint with a higher-capacity battery. However, we can confirm that the new MacBook Air will require a 60W power adapter to fully charge, much like the current MacBook family.

The site also notes that he MacBook Air hard drive will “likely” be upgraded to 120GB as standard and add an optional 160GB.

“We are actually reviewing iPhones from a HSBC Group perspective … and when I say that, I mean globally,” HSBC’s Australia and New Zealand chief information officer Brenton Hush told ZDNet Australia.

“You know, it’s a big decision, especially when you have an existing fleet out there,” he said. “But it’s definitely something we are considering from a HSBC Group perspective.”

“I think [the iPhone] would change some underlying infrastructure considerations from an enterprise perspective,” he said .”But [Apple] have been pretty smart with the design.”

ZDNet adds that HSBC has a $6 billion annual technology budget and a team of technical support staff of over 30,000.

At the time the report was mainly pinned as speculative but Mac Rumors has heard “whispers” of an iPod touch refresh within the specified timeframe but offers no details above this.

Today also saw another analyst for Piper Jaffray weighing in on the speculation. Mike Olson wrote in a note to clients today that he expects a refresh to the iPod touch in line with the iPhone 3G. In addition Olson expects the starting price of the iPod touch to drop from $299 to $199.

Olson doesn’t mention the MacBook Pro in his report but does report on slimmer MacBooks cryptically explaining “exteriors made of plastic instead of aluminum and could also have a newly designed keyboards”.

Munster in particular expects iPods to be the focus of the event with the iPod shuffle and iPod nano taking a backseat receiving only capacity increases. On the other hand Munster does expect a price cut for the iPod touch down to $199 with a design change similar to that of the iPhone 3G.

In addition to an iPod announcement Munster also expects a complete overhaul of Apple’s notebook line barring the MacBook Air.

“We note that the MacBook has had the same design since its launch over two years ago, and the MacBook Pro has had essentially the same design since its launch over 2.5 years ago, which was very similar in design to the PowerBook G4 released over 5.5 years ago,” he told clients. “To compare, the long-running iMac G5 design lasted three years.”

Munster expects new looks for both the MacBook and MacBook Pro with the MacBook re-entering the $999 price point bracket.

The Jaffray analyst retains a Buy rating on AAPL with a price target of $250.

The new Cinema Displays are expected to incorporate LED backlighting, completing Steve Jobs’ promise of a greener Apple.

Mac Rumors adds that a 30-inch LED display is currently available from Samsung but is priced at $4735, considerably higher than the price of the current 30-inch Apple display.

Apple has not updated its line of Cinema Displays significantly since June 2004.

Macworld 2009 runs from January 5th - 9th 2009.

The newspaper offers very few details on the device itself although notes that the iPhone nano could be released at a £150 ($300) price point to pay-as-you-go customers.

The product will be launched in the UK at up to £150 for pay-as-you-go customers by O2, the mobile phone group owned by Spain’s Telefonica. ‘This will be a big one,’ said an industry source

Apple informed resellers that they should place orders for approximately 4 weeks worth of their top selling iPod models adding that supplies could become very limited within the next week.

In addition to warning of iPod shortages Apple also warned resellers to place orders for at least 3 weeks worth of stock for existing Mac notebooks, specifically mentioning the MacBook and MacBook Pro but not the MacBook Air.

Such advisories are usually a good indication of revisions to the mentioned products.

Techcrunch is reporting that the figures were received from a source “close to Apple with direct knowledge of the numbers”.

The article goes onto note that an output rate of over 40 million units per year is above Foxconn’s current capacity which has led to concerns about quality control.

No word at the moment on what exactly the update will include.

Microsoft Zune (left), artist rendition of 4G iPod nano (right)

The article also notes that a recent rumour by 9to5Mac that the iPod nanos will be multi-coloured is “most likely inaccurate”.

The rumour site explains that in 2006 when Apple announced its move to Intel processors the company abandoned the use of custom chipsets on its motherboards. Instead Apple began using the same chipsets as the rest of the of the PC industry.

AppleInsider goes on to reveal that Apple will forgo adopting the Intel Montevina chipset in its next generation of notebooks and that Apple could use a chipset not made by Intel at all.

Apple could use chipsets from NVidia, Via or AMD or alternatively the company could return to its PowerPC practices and manufacture a propriety chipset.

The MacBook is also said to be made of one single piece of aluminium and will bear some resemblance to the MacBook Air.

Finally Seth Weintraub of ComputerWorld writes that he expects the new MacBook to be released in September.

According to iPhoneAtlas the firmware contains a reference to an iPod labelled “iPod2,1″ the current iPod touch is known as “iPod1,1″.

In contrast the first generation iPhone is labelled as “iPhone1,1″ and the iPhone 3G “iPhone1,2″, these denominations do not change for storage differences.

In the past couple of years Apple has refreshed the iPod product line in September, it is likely that Apple plains to do this again this year.

Version 2.1 (beta 1, build 5F90) of the iPhone OS is said to include new Core Location features suggesting that turn-by-turn GPS could be on the horizon. Core Location is said to be able to track your direction and speed.

Also included within the new OS is some early push notification APIs that allow applications to receive notifications in the background.

In addition to GearLive’s report MacNN is noting that some developers have found hints relating to copy and paste functionality.

One notes that in exploring the Localizable.strings entry under English.lproj in the current iPhone WebKit framework, there are entries for several commands the firmware does not currently support, including cutting, copying and pasting.

Apple’s own Greg Joswiak has recently stated that copy/paste functionality has not been high enough on the priority list so far, but suggested that there it could be coming in the future.

Apple also seeded a new version of the iPhone SDK to developers but the new SDK can not be used to submit Apps to the current App Store.

According to the site Orange could begin offering the iPhone 3G as soon as October.

Orange already sells the iPhone in France, Austria, Belgium, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Jordan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland and Africa.

But according to the New York Times, Jobs has confirmed to several people that he is doing well and that after his initial surgery is completely cancer free.

The publication adds that Mr. Jobs has stated to people close to him that he had a surgical procedure this year to address a problem that was contributing to a loss of weight.

Think MacBook screen, possibly a bit smaller, in glass with iPhone-like, but fuller-featured Multi-Touch. Gesture library. Full Mac OS X. This is why they bought P.A. Semi. Possibly with Immersion’s haptic tech. Slot-loading SuperDrive. Accelerometer. GPS. Pretty expensive to produce initially, but sold at “low” price that will reduce margins. Apple wants to move these babies. And move they will. This is some sick ****. App Store-compatible, able to run Mac apps, too. By October at the latest.

MDN notes that this is a rumour, and none of the information has been independently confirmed at this time.

During yesterdays financial conference call Apple stated that it expects gross margins to be down from 34.8% to 31.5% in the current quarter (Q408) with a further decline to 30% for fiscal 2009.

While Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray acknowledges that Apple is always conservative in its outlook, he also expects Apple to cut prices of existing products to maintain sales.

“We believe there is an 80% chance Apple will introduce redesigned MacBooks and possibly new MacBook Pros at lower price points,” the analyst wrote. “Specifically, Apple may re-enter the $999 price point (currently $1099) with the MacBook, or test the $1,799 price point with the MacBook Pro (currently $1999).”

Munster also spoke about iPods, he expects a “slightly redesigned iPods” that will include “lower-cost touch-based iPods” just in time for the holiday shopping season.

Piper Jaffray maintains a buy rating on Apple with a price target of $250.

The comment came after concerns that Apple predicted gross margins of just 30% down from 34.8% in the June quarter. According to Apple a future product transition will cause a drop in gross margins.

The chief was short on details but did explain that price will be a significant driving factor. He continued that Apple often introduces products with new technology at a high price, but seeks to drive the price lower over time.

When referring to the unnamed product the CFO described the product as having “technologies and features that others can’t match”.

In today’s press release Steve Jobs spoke of “several more wonderful new products”.

Apple is widely expected to be revising the MacBook Pro and MacBook in the coming quarter. In addition the company is rumoured to introducing a multi-touch tablet sometime in the future.

Image courtesy of AppleInsider

The process also works for video files.

AppleInsider reports that other files such as Pages, Keynote and Number files also cause the Finder to show navigation buttons on its icon to allow navigation of the document.

The Chinese publication, Commercial Times is now reporting that Apple has increased orders for “notebook-use printed circuit boards” by up to 2% for the forthcoming quarter (July - September).

In addition to this Mac Rumors is noting that Apple has told Best Buy that they will have limited MacBook shipments over the next two weeks.

The server requests are said to come from the San Francisco Bay Area, near the Cupertino headquarters for Apple and Atlanta, AT&T’s home.

As the software appears to be internal, very little is known about what the minor update fixes. But AppleInsider appears to have got its hands on a screenshot (see picture).

AppleInsider is now confirming that the photo “appears to be a dated prototype”.

The new casing for the MacBook Pro is said to be more tapered at the edges, similar to that of the MacBook Air. Also visible in the leaked image is a rectangular recess on the bottom casing. This is said to be the latch that will release the notebook’s long and narrow battery cover.

AppleInsider does not divulge when it expects the new look MacBook Pros to ship but does note that Apple could include some “additional surprises”.

Image courtesy of Gizmodo.com

Mac Rumors reports that AT&T stores are due to get the displays tomorrow:

Beginning July 8th you will receive the new iPhone 3G demo devices at your store to enhance your sales process. These devices will be used the same as your 2G demo devices in your sales process but now you can demonstrate the additional capabilities of the iPhone 3G including the App Store

Apple Stores in the US are rumoured to be opening at 8am to mirror AT&T stores, iPhones will be activated within Apple stores and cannot be paid for with cash.

It should also be noted that iTunes 7.7 which is required for iPhone activation should be released sometime Tuesday, just in time for the New Zealand iPhone launch.

The publication claims that a local Carphone Warehouse disclosed the information which stated times and details of the iPhone 3G launch on July 11, these included VIP passes for those who pre-order the iPhone.

Contrary to previous reports the publication notes that O2 and Carphone Warehouse stores will open at 7.02am and as of Monday July 7 customers will be able to pre-order the iPhone online; although O2 has confirmed that iPhones will be available on a first-come first-served basis.

According to the report customers who pre-order will receive a “Welcome Pack” and “VIP ticket.”

The Dutch company which was founded in 1998 and makes use of potato starch in the injection moulding process allowing a 90-percent reduction in carbon footprint in comparison to plastic. The product consists of 100-percent natural resource, either potato starch or Tapioca starch.

The company CEO didn’t give away much information but did state that the iPhone 3G will ship in a cardboard box with a fully-recyclable starch tray on the inside.

iPhone In-Store Processes
Absolute NO’s: