Steve Jobs will be on hand at WWDC to unveil OS X Lion, iOS 5 and iCloud next week on June 6, 2011 at 10:00 am PDT. OS X Lion and iOS 5 are the next versions of Apple’s operating systems for the computer and mobile devices respectively. iCloud is somewhat unknown at this point, but is expected to be Apple’s answer to Google Music and Amazon Cloud Drive and Player with some MobileMe mixed in.

With Steve Jobs being away from day-to-day operations due to illness, this is the first confirmation that he will be the one delivering the keynote next week. This is also the first time Apple is publicly acknowledging their new iCloud service.

OS X Lion Update

The latest version of OS X called Lion will come with some iOS-like changes including:

• iOS Style Launchpad
• Mission Control which shows all of your installed apps, spaces, running apps in once place
• More Gesture support
• AirDrop which is an easy way of sharing files with people on your network
• Time Machine Style Document history
• Resume which starts your apps or the OS in the state you last left it
• Full Screen support for apps so they will not have top screen menus

These are just some of the new features we will see in the new operating system. It is believed that this update will not only come on a disk as previous upgrades of OS X have come, but will likely also come as a download in the Mac App Store and on disk.

iOS 5 Update

The other new software update we will see is iOS 5. Apple has been particularly tight-lipped on what is included in this update. There is speculation that it will come with better notifications for things like text messages, new emails or appointment reminders and alarms to name a few.

We also think it might have the ability to add Android style widgets to the home screen. These widgets perform useful functions in Android like having a working calculator on one screen, a box to enter Twitter or Facebook updates, or show battery life.

It is believed that iOS 5 will have better voice integration so you can search by speaking or add appointments to your calendar by saying the date and name of the event.

Finally, we believe there could be over the air updates to the operating system so you don’t have to plug your phone into a computer to get an iOS update. This would be great for security updates, but as we have seen with other devices, like the Nook Color and the HTC Thunderbolt, sometimes OTA updates do as much or more harm than good. Hopefully these updates if they come will be optional and not automatic.

Below is the official Apple Press Release:

CUPERTINO, California—May 31, 2011—Apple® CEO Steve Jobs and a team of Apple executives will kick off the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address on Monday, June 6 at 10:00 a.m. At the keynote, Apple will unveil its next generation software – Lion, the eighth major release of Mac OS® X; iOS 5, the next version of Apple’s advanced mobile operating system which powers the iPad®, iPhone® and iPod touch®; and iCloud®, Apple’s upcoming cloud services offering.

WWDC will feature more than 100 technical sessions presented by Apple engineers. Mac® developers will see and learn how to develop world-class Mac OS X Lion applications using its latest technologies and capabilities. Mobile developers will be able to explore the latest innovations and capabilities of iOS and learn how to greatly enhance the functionality, performance and design of their apps. All developers can bring their code to the labs and work with Apple engineers.

For more details, visit the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2011 website at developer.apple.com/wwdc.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

Steve Jobs To Unveil OS X Lion, iOS 5 & iCloud at WWDC is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

Steve Jobs sent a message to Apple employees announcing that he was taking another medical leave of absence on Monday, January 17. This is the second such medical leave of absence, the first being related to a kidney transplant. The email does not specify the reason for this one.

During his time away he will still serve as the CEO and have a part in “major strategic decisions” like when to launch a new iPad. COO Tim Cook will act as the day-to-day operations leader for the company until Jobs returns, which the message said Jobs hopes to do as soon as he is able.

Below is the full text of the message:

Team,

At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company.

I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for all of Apple’s day to day operations. I have great confidence that Tim and the rest of the executive management team will do a terrific job executing the exciting plans we have in place for 2011.

I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, my family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy.

Steve

The price of Apple stock in oversees market did dip on the news. When markets open after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday we will see if there is an effect here in the US. It has been flying higher since the successes of the MacBook Air, holiday sales of iOS products including the iPad, and the announcement of a Verizon iPhone. Speculation of iPad 2 could help send it higher if this news does not cause it to fall too much.

Chart from Yahoo Finance.

Steve Jobs Taking Second Medical Leave, Causes Apple Stock to Dip is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

With the iPhone coming to Verizon being announced tomorrow, in all likelihood, we have a roundup of all the rumors which you can have on hand to see who was correct and who was not correct.

Will there be an iPhone on Verizon?

The first rumor is the phone coming to Verizon in the first place. There has been absolutely no confirmation from either Verizon or Apple up to this point. There has however been a lot of evidence promoting this rumor and we feel fairly certain that it will be coming.  And if anyone is still wavering, would the official Verizon Twitter account sending out Tweets with an iPhone do it for you? TechCrunch revealed that a recent Tweet from @Verizon has the identifier for “Twitter for iPhone” as its source on a January 8th message.

Will Steve Jobs help with the announcement?

What is also interesting is that All Things Digital believes that Steve Jobs might be on hand to announce the new Verizon iPhone tomorrow. We love their graphic of Jobs head superimposed on the “can you hear me now” guy.

Will a white iPhone be part of the Verizon release?

A dramatic turn would be if, after all the details are given, Jobs shows up with a Verizon Wireless version of the Steve Jobs patented “one more thing” ends up being the announcement of the white iPhone that has heretofore been impossible. ZDNet has a post speculating that such an option might show up as part of the Verizon announcement.

Will the Verizon iPhone be a whole new piece of hardware or only slightly different?

There is some debate as to what form the new phone will take. But we are confident that it will be the same phone with the minor change that it is compatible with Verizon’s network. Some convincing reasoning for this view comes from this statement at Gizmodo:

The odds of Apple giving Verizon anything other than a CDMA version of the same iPhone 4 AT&T has are extremely low. If a new Apple product—say, the iPhone 5—were about to be loosed on us, you better believe it’d be Apple doing the unveiling, not Verizon.

They are not the only ones to say it and may not be the first, but that succinctly states a very reasonable position.

An AT&T customer service rep that we talked to implied that the Verizon version will be “an iPhone lite”. The person was vague about what they meant saying it would not have all the same features as the AT&T version.

Will the Verizon iPhone support LTE?

The real question is will it be LTE or just 3G with LTE to come. Our friend Sumocat at GottaBeMobiel says “Of course the Verizon iPhone will be LTE.” With all due respect to our friend who is usually right more often than not, there are a few good reasons to doubt an LTE iPhone on Verizon. First, Apple doesn’t seem to be jumping on the “latest greatest technology” bandwagon these days. Their refresh of the MacBook Air did not include the most up to date Intel chips and none of their computers have USB 3.0 yet. Second, LTE is very limited at this point geographically. Third, Apple likes to hold things back from customers to get them excited about the next iteration. It is possible this time around. That way, in a year or so when LTE is more ubiquitous, Jobs can say at an Apple event, “And now with LTE” to uproarious applause. Finally, LTE is harder on the battery according to some.

With two schools of thought about an LTE version, observers can judge for themselves after tomorrow’s announcement which prognosticators are more accurate.

Will the Verizon iPhone data plan have a cap?

A rumor that might make people who are not currently planning to jump ship to Verizon change their tune is an unlimited data plan. Wall Street Journal’s Spencer Ante is reporting that this is exactly what Verizon is going to do according to “a person familiar with the matter.” If the Verizon iPhone is exactly like the current iPhone 4 but with a CDMA or even LTE radio, an unlimited data plan for a similar price as AT&T’s capped plan could make it special enough to persuade even big AT&T fans into switching. The rumor’s sources is sufficiently vague enough for wriggle room, but the Wall Street Journal has a track record of not reporting things without some validation.

AT&T is playing a little hardball with Verizon. After the reports of an unlimited data cap came out, the AT&T PR director Larry Solomon said, “I’m not sure iPhone users are ready for life in the slow lane,” talking about Verizon’s CDMA network speed, which is slower than AT&T’s 3G. However, if the new phone is an LTE model, this will make Solomon’s statement sound foolish.

When will the Verizon iPhone come out?

The rumored release date ranges from late this month to early February. The original Wall Street Journal report said it would come by the end of January while Boy Genius reported that Apple has frozen vacation times during the period of Feb. 3-6, a good indicator of a big product release during that time. There is lots of talk of iPad 2 being announced soon as well, so that could also be the reason. However, Apple likes to follow yearly release date patterns for updated or refreshed products. The iPad’s original date was nearly two months later than this date. So if the vacation freeze is true, it is likely a result of the an iPhone being released for Verizon instead of the iPad 2.

iPhone on Verizon Rumor Roundup is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

With the Internet all abuzz over the rumor that AirPrint is being pulled from iOS 4.2, one disgruntled user emailed Apple CEO Steve Jobs to get the scoop. According to the MacRumors forum member, Jobs replied in his usual curt manner.

The exchange between Jobs and the reader went as follows:

Q: As a release-day purchaser of an iPad, I was elated when you revealed iOS 4.2 would support AirPrint. Now comes reports AirPrint support has been pulled from 4.2. Between announcements/assurances of the white iPhone, and now the pulling of AirPrint, is Apple going to lose credibility and become known for announcing “vaporware”?

A: AirPrint has not been pulled. Don’t believe everything you read.

If authentic, this will settle many disappointed users. However, as MacRumors conjectures, the response could be authentic but still not address the heart of the rumor. AirPrint could still be released but in the limited form the rumor suggests, working only with compatible printers, of which there are precious few out right now.

AirPrint is the new feature in iOS 4.2 that will allow people to print from their iOS 4.2 device to any printer attached to a Mac or Windows PC. The rumor said this was being scrubbed and only certain HP printers with built in support for the feature and connected to a network rather than a computer would support it.

Steve Jobs says “AirPrint has not been pulled.” is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

On the October 20 edition of MacBreak Weekly, Twit.tv’s Becky Worley (also works on ABC’s Good Morning America) was at the Apple press event that included the announcement of FaceTime for the Mac. During the post event hands on time, she chased down Steve Jobs. Via FaceTime she broadcasts a brief two question interview with Jobs.

First she just asked how he liked the new models. But the interesting question was her second. Worley asked Jobs, Does the fact that we now have FaceTime just on the Mac mean we won’t see API’s for other video conferencing?”

His reply was basically no comment. Specifically Jobs said, We didn’t say any such thing.”

That doesn’t sound like news, except that the rest of the panel on MacBreak Weekly took it to mean that FaceTime would not be coming to other platforms. That’s not how it sounded to me; he was really just saying, No comment.”

But why don’t we yet have FaceTime for other platforms. It is because Apple has not yet released the API for the service. When it does, it seems obvious that we will see people creating FaceTime for Windows or Android. One reason Apple may be holding back because the company believes this is a chance to grab more market share.

They clearly pushed FaceTime in their ads this past summer after the release of the iPhone 4. Expanding to the Mac via the FaceTime beta released yesterday for Mac OS X 10.6 and the iPod Touches earlier makes it more useful to a wider audience.

The question remains, will FaceTime draw buyers to the Mac platform?

Steve Jobs Asked About FaceTime Coming to Windows & Android is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

Image from TechCrunch

At 1 PM Eastern, 10 AM Pacific on September 1st Apple will be holding a live announcement that most expect to have something to do with a refresh of the iPod Touch and Nano.

For the first time in many years, Apple will stream it live on their website. According to the press release, to view it will require a Mac OS X version 10.6, an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad with iOS 3.0 or higher. That is mostly likely because it will be in HTML5 compatible video meaning that just about every modern browser should work, including the most recent versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome.  UPDATE: However there is one site that is speculating that it will in fact only work on a Mac or iOS device. So be ready if you don’t have a Mac. I am betting TwitTV will cover it with the video on their systems.

Some of the most likely rumors include the following:

• A new iPod Touch with Retina display like iPhone 4 and a front facing camera. This may make it capable of making Facetime calls with the iPhone 4 over Wi-Fi using an email address instead of a phone number.
• Refreshed iPod Nano that is capable of streaming music thanks to the technology acquired in Apple’s purchase of Lala.
• Cloud based iTunes also thanks to technology from Lala.
• A touchscreen Nano.
• Updated Apple TV that will be cheaper and capable of streaming Internet video to a television for only $99. Some say evidence for this is the recent price cut by Roku for their Internet streaming to TV box
• $.99 TV shows rentals streamed to the new iTV or iOS devices.
• Wall Streat Journal says ABC and FOX shows will be included in TV rental streaming.
• Bloomberg says Netflix streaming will be part of a new iTV.
• The iTV will be an iOS device with the ability to run apps and controlled by Apple’s new Magic Trackpad or other iOS devices.

A less likely rumor says there will be a 7-inch iPad. There is, however, little external evidence of that. Apple could also announce the date of the iPad update to iOS 4.1, something current iPad owners are longing to see.

There is also a report that  Apple is working on a hardware update that will fix the iPhone 4 antenna issues. The new version of the iPhone 4 will go on sale Oct. 1 the day after the free case giveaway ends.

Finally, it has been mentioned by some pundits that there will be news of an iPhone on Verizon. While many signs point to that happening soon, iPhone update announcements almost always come in January. The evidence that points toward this happening also seems to lead observers to believe it is not ready to be announced this soon.

We will be covering it here at Notebooks.com, so check back as soon the event starts to keep up with the latest news.

Apple to Live Stream Tomorrow’s Announcements is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

Apple’s co-founder, Steve Wozniak, recommended that iPhone 4 users carry a second Verizon phone as a back-up. This statement came prior to Apple’s press conference today, which provided a possible solution for the antenna issue.

Steve Wozniak, who is currently no longer a part of Apple, started the company with current CEO, Steve Jobs. Though not really involved with Apple’s business affairs, Wozniak has made appearances at Apple Retailers, waiting in line for the newest Apple device. The iPhone 4 launch was no different. Though he could probably obtain the latest Apple device by other means, Wozniak waits in line for the experience and the fact that, “tradition is tradition”.

Wozniak tested the iPhone 4 antenna issue himself, noticing the same symptoms that many other users reported.

“The first time I tried I was able to duplicate the problem. My wife was driving me to the airport and as soon as I got a short distance from my home, and no longer on wifi, I tried it by accessing a web page (using Safari on my iPhone 4) and observing the progress bar.”

“As the bar started to proceed I lightly (‘lightly’) touched a couple of fingers to the trouble area and the progress bar froze. When I lifted my fingers the progress bar continued it’s rapid progress. Putting my finger[s] back down halted the progress bar again. Lifting my fingers another time allowed the web page to finish loading.”

Steve Wozniak offers a few suggestions on how to deal with this issue. He recommends that, “if you can afford it,  carry a second Verizon phone for backup.” The other option is to carry a Verizon MiFi, using Skype for iPhone to make calls. His ideal solution is to buy a Verizon Palm Pre, which has the MiFi functionality built-in.

Of course, at the Apple press conference earlier today, Apple announced the solution to the antenna issue. They are providing a free case or a full refund to all iPhone 4 customers. However, if you want to bask in iPhone 4′s case-less beauty, follow Steve Wozniak’s advice. Get a Verizon backup phone.

Find the full interview with Steve Wozniak, here.

Via MobileCrunch

Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak Recommends Using Verizon Phone as iPhone 4 Backup is a post by Carter Sprunger from Notebooks.com.

Despite the iPhone 4′s pre-ordering and hardware issues, the iPhone 4 has proven to be the “most successful product launch in Apple’s history,” claims Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, at a press conference this morning. In just three days, Apple sold over 1.7 million iPhone 4 devices.

Come launch day, thousands of people camped outside of Apple and AT&T stores across the country on the off-chance that they would be able to purchase the highly demanded iPhone 4. With features like FaceTime, the new Retina Display, and an updated camera, the iPhone 4 is quite the upgrade from its 3GS predecessor. It’s no wonder that this new Apple device has gained so much publicity and hype the past few weeks.

The past iPhone releases saw impressive sales as well, though nowhere near the iPhone 4. The 3G and 3GS sold over 1 million units on their launch weekends. The original iPhone reached the 1 million mark 74 days after launch. Obviously, the iPhone’s popularity has increased significantly since the first iPhone.

Steve Jobs ended the press conference with an apology to “all those customers” who were not able to buy an iPhone 4 due to its limited supply. Heartwarming, really.

Via MacRumors

iPhone 4 “Most Successful Product Launch in Apple’s History” is a post by Carter Sprunger from Notebooks.com.

Following the iPhone 4 release, more and more flaws keep popping up on message boards and blogs everywhere. Added to the list of flaws is the absence of the hold button when FaceTime is available.

Currently, FaceTime can only be initiated when BOTH users have a WiFi connection. This is a great feature that has a lot of people excited about getting their very own iPhone 4. However, for previous generation iPhone owners who have grown accustomed to the hold button, this newly found issue could be a problem.

Reports are coming in claiming that when two people, both with iPhone 4s, are on a phone call with each other, and are in the presence of WiFi, the classic “Hold” button is replaced with the FaceTime icon. What does Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs, have to say on the matter. iPhone 4 user, Jonathan Cowperthwait, emailed him to find out.  Steve’s response: “Hold doesn’t do anything more than Mute.” If this is true, the Mute button on the top left should suffice for users accustomed to using the Hold button.

Granted, with his email address being public knowledge, Steve Jobs probably receives thousands of emails everyday. The fact that he actually took the time to answer, unless he has someone answering his emails for him, is quite remarkable. That being said, he has been quite frank in his responses lately, which have a sense of irritability about them. Case in point is this email response, as well as his response regarding the iPhone 4 reception issues.

Though it is a minimal issue at best, it is still an issue that Apple will need to address at some point or another.

Via TechCrunch

FaceTime Replaces Hold Button, Use Mute Instead is a post by Carter Sprunger from Notebooks.com.

We brought you the iPhone 4 reception issue earlier. It seems that if you hold your iPhone 4 so that your hand is touching the band on the lower left corner of the phone, it will degrade signal strength to the point of even dropping the call and making it impossible to get a signal at all. The folks over at Gottabemobile confirmed this problem.

Well it seems there is a simple fix for the problem according to the head man at Apple, Steve Jobs. He was contacted about it via email and replied with one of his signature terse responses. His response reminds me of the old joke. A man says to the doctor, It hurts when I do this!” The doctor says, Don’t do that.”

Rory Sinclair posted to his Posterous account the following interaction with Jobs:

So, um, just got my iPhone 4. It’s lovely and all, but this ‘bridge the two antennae to kill your reception’ thing seems to be a bit serious. If I bridge them with my hand or with a piece of metal the bars slowly drop to ‘Searching…’ and then ‘No Service’.

It’s kind of a worry. Is it possible this is a design flaw?

Regards – Rory Sinclair

Steve’s reply:

Nope. Just don’t hold it that way.

The man didn’t stop there. He went back at Steve saying there are not usually specs on how to hold a phone to keep it from dropping calls. But Jobs came back at him saying that wasn’t so citing many cell phone companies that give users a warning in the box saying not to touch the antenna during calls.

So, just don’t do that! That’s the official Apple reply. Oh and he also suggested that one might want to get one of the many cases available like the Bumper case?

To be honest when I first heard about this issue, I thought it was unforgivable for Apple to let the phone out with such a problem. But now that I hear this explanation it is somewhat plausible. The flaw was in the placement of this spot since many will be holding their phone with their hand on the lower corner if they are holding in the left hand and manipulating it with their right hand, as right handed people usually do.

If that’s the official fix for iPhone 4 reception issues, somebody better let Apple’s PS team know so they can fix the iPhone 4 commercial which has the phone being held in the left hand making contact at the critical juncture point. Here’s a collection of Apple commercial images with people holding the iPhone the “wrong way”, and the video is below.

iPhone 4 Reception Issue Has Simple Fix, “Don’t Hold it That Way” is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.