Cool Summer Accessories for your iPhone!

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Apple Begins Refunding Lion Overcharges

Apple has started refunding users who were charged multiple times for their Lion purchases. We reported last week on a user whose checking account was drained of nearly $4,000 when he was charged 122 times for Lion. The email above was sent to a user who was charged 8 times. 

John Christman, the user who was charged 122 times was eventually made whole: 

"Apple kept me on a very need-to-know basis all along, but once I confirmed the money was in my PayPal account, he then asked for a list of fees to review. Once he saw the fees (very minimal), he offered to pay them and give me a bit extra to pay any additional fees I incur."

Other users who were double charged may see similar emails soon.

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Apple Extends iTunes Previews to 90 Seconds Internationally

Apple seems to have extended iTunes song previews to 90 seconds internationally. Apple first rolled out 90 second previews in the U.S. back in December, 2010. International song previews had been stuck at 30 seconds. 

According to a number of reports, the new preview lengths are available in at least Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UK and parts of Europe. As with the U.S. launch, not all songs will have 90 second previews. 

In the U.S., Apple had made the change unilaterally in an email to labels telling them that they would automatically extend previews from 30 seconds to 90 seconds in the iTunes Store in the U.S. It's unclear what was the reason for the delay for international markets.

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iPhone 5 Cases Are 'Everywhere' in China

MICGadget reports that the early iPhone 5 cases are "now everywhere" in China. The site has posted another gallery of these case designs, which show a mute switch on the opposite side of the device. 

The design is also said to be slightly larger than the existing iPhone 4 and has a slight tapering from top to bottom in thickness. This particular design was originally reported by ThisIsMyNext back in April. At the time, we had expressed doubts about it due to our own tipster about the validity of the design. But now, with the influx of these case designs, we have to reconsider. 

It's clear that some Chinese case manufacturers are confident enough in these designs that they are starting to mass produce these cases. As we've said before, there is a massive financial incentive for companies to have case designs for new Apple products ready on launch day. In fact, three people were sentenced to prison in China for leaking details of the iPad 2 case design prior to its launch. 

As frequent as these case leaks are, it's notable that they have been remarkably accurate in the past. The iPad 2 cases, of course, were quite accurate. iPhone 3G cases were real, as were 6th Generation iPod Nanos, and 5th Generation iPod Nanos. Not all case leaks turn into actual products, however. The iPhone Nano never came to be, and the iPod Touch with Camera cases were legitimate but the product was canceled/delayed. 

Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 5 in September of this year.

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New iPhone 5 Cases Suggest Longer and Wider Form Factor

If new images of purported iPhone 5 cases obtained by 9 to 5 Mac are to be believed, it appears that the next-generation iPhone will offer a somewhat longer and wider form factor than the iPhone 4. The cases also reiterate other apparent changes such as the mute switch being moved to the opposite edge of the device and the form factor including a very slight "teardrop" design and rounded edges. 

The most important change certainly appears to be the size, although it is difficult to say for certain just how much bigger the iPhone 5 would be than the iPhone 4 based on these cases, given that only exterior case dimensions and not interior dimensions are known.

"Our new images are clear and there are appears to be a slight – not major – tear drop in the design. The case goes thick to thin from top to bottom. In addition, the sources who provided us with these two new cases have shared some dimensions. According to them, the case is 5 inches tall and 2.8 inches wide. These are tight cases so the iPhone 5 dimensions should only be a few millimeters smaller than those numbers. For comparison, the iPhone 4 is 4.5 inches tall and 2.31 inches wide."

A larger form factor naturally points toward Apple using a larger screen in the new iPhone, a claim that has been made by a number of sources. It is unclear, however, how Apple would deal with potential issues related to screen resolution, either keeping the same pixel density and increasing pixel count by a small amount or decreasing the density and maintaining the same 960x640 resolution.

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iPhones Flying High: Make Up 2/3 Of In-Flight Wi-Fi Users

iPhones make up close to two-thirds of mobile devices using Gogo's inflight Wi-Fi service, according to All Things Digital. iPod touch devices cover another 20%, while Android makes up just 12% of devices using Gogo. 

BlackBerries account for 6 percent while Windows Mobile and other mobiles aren't used enough to count. 

AllThingsD notes the iPad isn't included in the mobile numbers. Mobile devices pay slightly lower charges than larger devices like tablets and laptops do. Though, the iPad is popular too, clocking in with more than a third of larger devices. Windows as a whole counted as 41% and Macs just under 20%.

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Google Updates iPad Search Experience

Google today announced that it is rolling out several enhancements to the google.com search experience on the iPad and other tablets, simplifying page layouts and increasing the size of objects on the page to make for more prominent touch targets.

"The search button located below the search box provides quick access to specific types of results like Images, Videos, Places, Shopping and more. Just tap to open the search menu and select an option to see results in one category. 

For image results, we focused on improvements that enhance the viewing experience such as enlarged image previews, continuous scroll, and faster loading of image thumbnails."

Google has deployed enhancements and new features for the iPad on a frequent basis since the device's introduction, but of course is now also putting a priority on tablets running its own Android operating system. The new search features will be making their way to both platforms across 36 languages in the coming days.

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AT&T to Throttle Unlimited Data Plan Customers Starting in October

AT&T announced today that they will be throttling high end users with unlimited data plans

"Starting October 1, smartphone customers with unlimited data plans may experience reduced speeds once their usage in a billing cycle reaches the level that puts them among the top 5 percent of heaviest data users. These customers can still use unlimited data and their speeds will be restored with the start of the next billing cycle. Before you are affected, we will provide multiple notices, including a grace period."

Early AT&T iPhone customers were offered an unlimited data plan for their devices. Even after AT&T stopped offering an unlimited plan, they allowed existing customers to retain their unlimited plan through device upgrades. 

This change will affect any of those users who still have an unlimited plan and are considered to be in the "top 5 percent of heaviest data users". For those users, download speeds will be reduced until the next billing month. By definition, this should affect 5% of users each month. 

AT&T claims that users can still "send or receive thousands of emails, surf thousands of Web pages and watch hours of streaming video every month and not be in the top 5 percent of data users."

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Apple Redesigning iTunes 11 With New Layout, iCloud Support?

The next version of iTunes will get a full facelift and extensive iCloud integration, according to a report from iDownloadBlog. 

"From what we’re hearing, the UI would be much more cleaner and “slick.” iCloud is also going to be more closely integrated with iTunes. Rather than the iTunes Store being essentially a web browser, the Store will actually be integrated into the entire app— much like Spotify is currently. 

We’re also hearing that iCloud backups will be integrated into iTunes. This means if you back up your iDevice to iCloud, that same backup will be stored locally on your computer. Also, app data from iCloud will be synced closely with iTunes. For example, if you beat a level in Angry Birds, that level data will be synced to iCloud and then to your iTunes library."

It would make sense -- the iCloud is meant to be "the truth", with all other devices (including your Mac and PC) backing up to it. 

This can be seen currently with the limited iCloud support Apple has already implemented. If you purchase an App within iTunes (and have the appropriate settings saved), it automatically downloads to your iOS device. I've begun doing all my app shopping within iTunes for this reason. 

iDownloadBlog is a completely unproven source, with no track record, so take this report with a grain of salt. 

By coincidence, in yesterday's anonymous "unproven source" report that Apple was considering an acquisition of Barnes & Noble, BGR's tipster said iTunes 11 would be released in September along with iOS 5 and iCloud, and would support reading iBooks on the Mac. 

Apple is currently beta testing iTunes 10.5, along with developer previews of iOS 5. This could have placeholder code for iCloud, while hiding a larger redesign of the application itself.

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Apple's Profit Share Among Top Mobile Phone Vendors Rises to 66%

Apple's share of profits raked in by the world's top publicly-traded mobile phone vendors rose once again this quarter, as asymco's Horace Dediu notes in the latest edition of his quarterly tracking reports. According to Dediu's calculations, Apple's share of profits among the eight companies tracked rose to 66%, up from 57% last quarter.

"This quarter saw a slight sequential decline in overall profit for the sector, but four vendors did not manage a profit from selling phones. Nokia, Motorola, Sony-Ericsson and LG all saw losses. The other vendors split the slightly decreased pie with Apple getting two thirds of it (66.3%) 

This share is up from 57% in Q1 and 50% in Q3 and Q4. Samsung’s share went to 15%, though that’s not a peak level historically. In Q1 2008 the company was at 21%. RIM was at 11%, a level in a range that has been unchanged for three years. Finally, HTC captured 7.4%, a new high and an increase from 6% since last quarter."

Dediu notes that smartphones have become the primary driver of mobile phone vendor profitability, giving Apple a significant edge over most of the competition with its smartphone-only offerings. 

Apple first grabbed the profit share lead from Nokia way back in the fourth quarter of 2008, and hit the 50% mark a year ago in the third quarter of 2010. Apple of course only holds about 5.6% unit share in the total mobile phone market, but earns much more profit on its premium-priced iPhones than other vendors do with their offerings

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Apple TV Seeing Moderate Success, But No Hardware Update Imminent?

Yesterday, we noted that Logitech had slashed the price of its Google TV-powered Revue set-top box to below cost following a quarter in which customer returns actually exceeded new sales. We reported that development within the context of Apple's measured steps into the television market that have seen the Apple TV primarily function as a media hub for iTunes Store content and a handful of streaming services. 

Apple does indeed appear to be having some moderate success with the Apple TV, as industry checks by Concord Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reveal that Apple shipped approximately 480,000 Apple TV units during the second quarter, as reported to AppleInsider. The performance represents more than 70% year-over-year growth as Apple transitioned from the larger hard-drive based first-generation Apple TV to the iOS-powered second-generation streaming device. 

Kuo's industry sources claim, however, that Apple is not planning a hardware update for the Apple TV during the current quarter, putting a damper on the excitement of those hoping that changes in iOS 5 would open the door to a true 1080p Apple TV. Instead, Apple is said to be relying on iOS enhancements to boost the AirPlay capabilities of the Apple TV to better support Apple's latest iOS devices.

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New Mac Purchases Bring iLife '11 to Users' Older Computers

Apple's new computers shipping with Lion do not include physical restore media and instead utilize a hidden recovery partition to allow users to reinstall their system software should the need arise. But as noted by Macworld, reinstallation of the iLife '11 software included on new Macs occurs via the Mac App Store, which recognizes the machines' iLife licenses and links them to users' Apple IDs during the initial setup process. 

But one key feature of the Mac App Store is that a single purchased license permits downloading of the software to any machines owned or controlled by the person linked to that Apple ID and logged in with the account. That key feature means that the iLife licenses issued to new computers via the Mac App Store permit users to download the software to their other Macs that may not have been upgraded to the latest version of iLife.

"Purchase an app on your laptop, and you can launch the Mac App Store app on your iMac, click the Purchases button, and install that same app without having to purchase it again. 

The iLife license you get when you set up one of the latest Macs is no different. Which means that if you haven’t yet gotten around to upgrading to iLife ’11, buying a new Mac mini or MacBook Air essentially gets you iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand for all your Macs running OS X 10.6.6 or later (since you need at least that version of Snow Leopard to run the Mac App Store). And this isn’t sneaky or dishonest—it’s right there in the Mac App Store’s software license."

The report notes that the policy only applies to iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand, as Apple is in the process of phasing out iWeb and iDVD and does not offer them for download via the Mac App Store or include them on the new MacBook Air and Mac mini. The applications were included in the boxed version of iLife '11, but did not receive any meaningful updates from the iLife '09 versions, meaning that users with fully-updated iLife '09 installed are already running the most up-to-date versions of iWeb and iDVD anyway.

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New MacBook Air Using Scaled-Down Thunderbolt Chip

Portion of MacBook Air motherboard with Eagle Ridge chip outlined in teal (Source: iFixit)
AnandTech takes a look at the Thunderbolt controller used by Apple in the new MacBook Air, finding that the company has opted to use a scaled-down "Eagle Ridge" controller chip from Intel instead of the "Light Ridge" chip found in larger Thunderbolt-enabled machines.

"Light Ridge features four Thunderbolt channels (4 x 10Gbps bidirectional = 80Gbps aggregate bandwidth) and up to two DisplayPort outputs. It's used in the 2011 iMac, MacBook Pro and Mac mini. ... 

Eagle Ridge is available in two form factors (normal and SFF [small form factor]) and is effectively half of a Light Ridge chip. That means you only get two Thunderbolt channels and one DP output. Apple used the small form factor version of Eagle Ridge in its new MacBook Air to cut cost and save on motherboard real estate."

With Eagle Ridge only supporting a single DisplayPort output, MacBook Air users are only able to drive a single external display via the Thunderbolt port, although the machine's integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 would also preclude the use of two external monitors on the MacBook Air as it does on the 13-inch MacBook Pro. 

Thunderbolt adoption has thus far been limited to high-end devices in part due to high costs associated with inclusion of the technology. Use of the scaled-down Eagle Ridge controller could help push Thunderbolt into lower-end products, presuming that the smaller chip carries some cost savings for manufacturers.

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GV Integrated Jailbreak Tweak Bakes Google Voice In Your iPhone

Most of rely on Google Voice for our communication needs. However, that complicates for us if we use an iPhone, as the same level of integration that is given on the Android platform, is not present on the iPhone. Now GVIntegrated, a jailbreak tweak integrates Google Voice on the iPhone, like its meant to be.

"Unlike other Google Voice apps, GVIntegrated's primary user interface is the same Phone application you already use. GVIntegrated allows you to specify which calling experience you prefer globally as well as per contact! Simply install, log in through the Settings page, and start calling!
Also allows users to specify default call rules and per-contact rules!"

No new icons are added to the Home screen of your iPhone. You can configure the various options of GVIntegrated from the Settings.app.

Obviously, to install GVIntegrated, you need to have a jailbroken device. Follow our tutorial on how to jailbreak iPhone using redsn0w.

GVIntegrated is available now in Cydia for a nominal charge of $1.99.

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Microsoft To Update Office Suite For Mac OS X Lion

Microsoft has announced that they will soon be updating Office 2011 suite for Mac OS X Lion, adding support for versioning, auto save, and full-screen. There's a catch: It could take them well over a couple of months to release that update.

Mac OS X Lion is the eight major update to the Mac OS ever since it first released. Lion comes with over 200 new features and is available for download now, on supported Mac, via the Mac App Store.

The Microsoft team has answered some important questions in their blog post:

"First, today we released an update to Communicator for Mac that fixes the "crash issue" on Lion. It will come through Microsoft AutoUpdate in the next day or so. Thanks for your patience on this.
Second, Office for Mac 2004 will not (ever) work on Lion, as we stated in our original blog. The reason for this is because Office 2004 was a PowerPC-based product and Lion no longer includes Rosetta. Now would be a great time to upgrade to Office for Mac 2011 if you're upgrading to Lion!
Finally, the most common question – yes, we are working hard with Apple to enable versioning, auto save, and full-screen for Office for Mac 2011. I know your next question will be "when?", and unfortunately I can't answer that – but it's likely measured in months not days – just to set expectations."

 As previously mentioned, Lion users would have to wait for a couple of months before the updated Office 2011 suite for Mac is released. We'd expect it to drop somewhere around November.

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Spy Shot of Unidentified iPhone in the Wild

A tipster sent this photo to 9to5Mac claiming it to be an iPhone hehad never seen before.

"Last evening, a tipster sent us some pictures of what he now thinks is the iPhone 5. He caught what he said was likely an Apple employee hunched over the device on the way home from work in San Francisco earlier this week. He told us he was able to get a very good look at the device but the pictures he snapped “didn’t do it justice”.

According to the report the screen was larger, almost "Evo-Like" and appeared thinner/wider than the existing iPhone 4. 

We're not entirely convinced but provide this image for discussion. Apple has, of course, been known to seed test units into the wild before. In fact, last year's iPhone 4 was lost/found in a bar before it was sold to tech site Gizmodo. 

For reference, here is a photo of an iPhone 3GS taken from across the room:

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Apple's iPad Crushing Motorola's Xoom

Apple sold 9.2 million iPads in the June quarter and Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer noted Apple is selling "every iPad we can make." 

In contrast, Motorola Mobility shipped (not necessarily sold) 440,000 in the just ended quarter, and expects to sell 1.3 to 1.5 million tablets this year. 

As Dan Frommer points out, Apple sells 1.5 million iPads every two weeks. 

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Pegatron Coming On Board as New Manufacturer for iPad 3?

Taiwan Economic News reports (via BGR) that Pegatron is set to win a contract to produce the iPad 3, at least partially displacing Apple's current exclusive manufacturer for the popular tablet device, Foxconn/Hon Hai. 

But while BGR suggests that the iPad contract between Pegatron and Apple is an exclusive one shutting Foxconn out entirely, the somewhat unclear article leaves the situation somewhat up in the air, potentially claiming that both companies will be producing the next-generation iPad.

"Hon Hai is likely to turn Apple's another contract order for iPad 3 manufacturing over the Taiwanese counterpart, as the customer has considered looking for a second iPad supplier to reduce over-dependence on Hon Hai, especially at a time after an explosion accident occurred at the firm's Chengdu factory in May."

Apple has struggled to keep up with demand for the iPad, and thus it makes considerably more sense for Apple to augment Foxconn's existing capacity by bringing Pegatron into the picture rather than simply substituting Pegatron for long-time partner Foxconn. 

Apple had been rumored earlier this month to be looking at adding either Pegatron or Quanta as a second iPad manufacturer, but a follow-up report claimed that Apple had backtracked from those plans and would be sticking with Foxconn as its exclusive iPad supplier. 

Pegatron has made its way into Apple's supply chain by winning the contract to manufacture the CDMA iPhone 4, and has also been said to be gearing up to produce iPhone 5 units for the company. 

Apple has been rumored to be introducing the iPad 3, perhaps positioned as an "iPad 2 Pro", as soon as September, although a new report today claims that the device has been pushed back to late November due to component shortages.

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Make Your iPhone Like Your Old Phone With Snake '97

Back in the day, we only had one game on our phones. A game we played for endless hours, trying to beat the high score that our 'friend' had saved when he borrowed our phone for 5 minutes that one time. That game, of course, was Snake; and it was ubiquitous in the late 90's because just about everyone had a phone from Nokia. 

Now, with the advent of the iPhone, we have thousands and thousands of games to play. But, forget all this newfangled stuff like the app store and NBA JAM. Something is missing. 

Because everyone likes a throwback, we now have Snake '97 -- an awesome game that replicates that old-school Nokia gaming experience. 

The game, which comes in both free and 99 cent versions, emulates an old Nokia phone on your new iPhone -- complete with fantastic original sound effects and "awesome" features like a high score that can't be reset, just like the original! 

In the game description, the developer, Willem, describes where the game came from: 

"The story behind this game was that my iPhone got damaged, requiring me to revert back to an old phone. Suddenly I knew the iPhone was missing something and the idea for a accurate Snake remake was born. 

This app was created as an homage to the original Snake programmed in 1997 by Taneli Armanto. 

By carefully analyzing the original gameplay, timing and controls, this Snake '97 remake is one of the most accurate available."

The free version is limited to 200 points while the 99 cent version includes a number of different game modes and difficulty levels.

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Calorific Lite Makes Calorie Tracking Simpler

WorkSmart Labs' new food tracking app aims to simplify eating healthy. The company has more than 7 million users on Android, but just launched its first iOS App, Calorific Lite. 

Unlike other tracking apps, like Lose It! (which I have been using for the past few weeks), Calorific Lite doesn't focus as much on the number of calories, as on the types of food you're eating. It classifies food into a Green/Yellow/Red system to encourage users to eat better, not just to eat less. 

For example, vegetables and fruit are green, while french fries and ice cream are red. Lean beef is yellow, as are things like seafood, low-fat yogurt and avocados. Once you choose your color, assign a serving size (tiny, small, medium, large) and you're done. Adding a meal takes just a couple quick clicks. 

Lose It! requires you to pick exact products and serving sizes to get a more detailed assessment of what you've eaten, down to individual calories. WorkSmart Labs co-founder Artem Petakov compared Calorific Lite to Twitter, as a quick-and-easy way to track eating. Lose It! is more like full-length blogging, requiring quite a bit more work, but is a totally different style of tracking food:

"One funny thing about that "exactly how many calories you had" -- even if you track it really precisely, there is no real way to know how many calories you had. This is because people digest food differently, have different metabolisms from one day to another, and don't weigh their food exactly. 

So it's a lot of work that's only giving you an illusion that you are doing things precisely. That's why we wanted to get away from this. The biggest benefit is from the act of logging itself. Even if you just keep a little journal of what you eat with no calories, you will benefit hugely according to research."

Now that I've gotten into the habit of using Lose It!, I don't necessarily need to use an app like Calorific Lite -- but for someone who isn't used to tracking calories its traffic-light system is super-easy to use. 

Calorific Lite is a 'light' application -- it doesn't support accessories like the WiThings body scale or posting to Twitter to encourage weight loss through public humiliation -- but it's a strong start for WorkSmart's first iOS application. They have a more full-featured app, Noom, available on Android, but Petakov said they were starting slow on iOS and are working to bring more functionality to the platform. 

Get it free from the App Store.

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