Any time Apple comes out with a new product they send current customers a fun email that lets them know what new exciting shiny thing they can purchase. Often this means that the current exciting shiny thing they own is now obsolete or at least on the way out the door.

Yesterday, Apple sent out an overview email for the iMac refresh and the Magic Trackpad. The email is complete with beautiful pictures of the new shiny thing and how to buy one immediately.

A friend pointed out to me the formulaic nature of said emails. They include subjects like, “Introducing the most powerful iMac ever.” And tag lines in the body like, “This changes everything. Again” (iPhone 4), “Ultrathin. Ultraportable. And ultra unlike anything else” (MacBook Air) or most recently, “The ultimate all-in-one. Turbocharged” (iMac).

How would your Apple product introduction read?

Introducing the most __________ ever.

Find an actual run down of all the refreshed and new Mac gear from Gizmodo here.

For everyone who has been holding off  jailbreaking their iPhone for fear of legal ramifications from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), your day has come.  New exemptions were presented by the U.S. Copyright Office this morning allowing for the circumvention of copyright protection in six areas. The six exemptions are:

1. Defeating a lawfully obtained DVD’s encryption for the sole purpose of short, fair use in an educational setting or for criticism

2. Computer programs that allow you to run lawfully obtained software on your phone that you otherwise would not be able to run aka “Jailbreaking” to use Google Voice on your iPhone

3. Computer programs that allow you to use your phone on a different network aka “Jailbreaking” to use your iPhone on T-Mobile

4. Circumventing video game encryption (DRM) for the purposes of legitimate security testing or investigation

5. Cracking computer programs protected by dongles when the dongles become obsolete or are no longer being manufactured

6. Having an ebook be read aloud (i.e for the blind) even if that book has controls built into it to prevent that sort of thing.

[via CrunchGear]

The complete original text can be found here

The big ones for iPhone users are numbers 2 and 3.  If you want to see the big scary world outside of Apple’s beautiful walled garden, you can.  And, if you’re frustrated with a certain proprietary carrier, you can try T-Mobile. Don’t expect either of these goals to be anywhere near as easy as downloading an app though. The revisions released today simply make these actions exempt from prosecution under the DMCA.

The first exemption allows for a wide use of content from lawfully obtained DVDs to be used in non-commercial ways, with a particular impact in education.

The DMCA is reviewed every three years for revisions and because the review took so long the next review is only two years away. Hopefully this will become a trend, and the Librarian of Congress will continue to listen to digital freedom advocacy groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

Will you be jailbreaking your iPhone now that it’s legal? Are you ready to try out a different network? Do these exemptions mean anything to you?

After downloading the app, iPhone 4 users have the choice of 8 different cases, only one of the eight (a black Bumper) being from Apple. Each case has an estimated shipping time of a speedy 3-5 weeks. Most of these cases aren’t really available yet so reviews are scarce, but here is a general breakdown of what’s available.

Ideally, users would be able to walk into their local Apple store and pick up their case. Even though five weeks is a really long time to wait if you are experiencing serious antenna issues, at least the price is right. Now, for those users who just don’t like the iPhone 4 anymore:

Which case will you get?

During the annual MGX (Microsoft Global Exchange) event, Microsoft released their newest tagline, “Be What’s Next.” In honor of this event we decided to take a trip down memory lane and reminisce about our favorite Apple and Microsoft taglines and slogans over the years.

[via Engadget]

Here are some of the classics. Which company do you think has better slogans?

Apple:

-”Think different”

-”I think, therefore iMac”

-”The plot thins” – Used to market “thinner” PowerBook G3 models

-”So much to touch.” – (2008) Used to advertise 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB iPod models

“The first phone to beat the iPhone.” – (2008) Used in their advert for the iPhone 3G

-”This changes everything. Again” (2010) Used to market the iPhone4

-Redesigned. Reengineered, Re-everythinged.” (2008) Used to market the new aluminum  MacBook

Microsoft:

-”Your potential. Our passion.”

-”Where do you want to go today?”

-”Life Without Walls”

-”People-Ready”

Apple announced third quarter earnings yesterday, just 3 days after addressing concerns over the antenna issue (in case you missed it … Apple offered free cases to all iPhone 4 users instead of just telling people that they’re holding it wrong). As it turns out, Apple sold more Macs than any other quarter in company history, recording 3.47 million units sold.

The iPad’s first quarter didn’t disappoint either, nearly selling as many units as the Macs at 3.27 million. Apple also sold 8.4 million iPhones and 9.41 million iPods. The launch of the iPhone 4 was the most successful in company history as well, limited only by the speed at which they can be manufactured (insert inappropriate Foxconn joke here).

Apple’s gross margin was down slightly from 40.9 percent to 39.1 percent, due to the “relatively” inexpensive iPad sale prices. Still, with $15.7 billion in quarterly revenue, Apple posts another company record and posts $3.25 billion in net quarterly profit.

Check out Techcrunch coverage of the earnings call for more detail and Q&A with Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer and COO Tim Cook here.

The headline says it all. As of Friday the 23rd of July, Apple’s iPad (both 3G and Wifi models) will be available to consumers in nine more countries. The countries include Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, New Zealand and Singapore. Below is an excerpt from the press release:

CUPERTINO, California—July 19, 2010—Apple® today announced that iPad™ will be available in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore this Friday, July 23. iPad allows users to connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before. Users can browse the web, read and send email, enjoy and share photos, watch HD videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more, all using iPad’s revolutionary Multi-Touch™ user interface. iPad is 0.5 inches thin and weighs just 1.5 pounds—thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook—and delivers up to 10 hours of battery life.*

Beginning this Friday, customers can purchase all models of iPad through Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

Pricing & Availability
All iPad models will be available in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore this Friday, July 23.

iPad is currently available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US for a suggested retail price of $499 (US) for 16GB, $599 (US) for 32GB, and $699 (US) for 64GB for iPad Wi-Fi models and $629 (US) for 16GB, $729 (US) for 32GB and $829 (US) for 64GB for iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G models. iPad will roll out to many more countries later this year and Apple will announce availability and local pricing for these additional countries at a later date.

As mentioned in the release, the iPad will reach many more countries later this year with local pricing and availability to be announced “at a later date.” Apple seems to have a knack for keeping the it’s fans at the edge of their seats.

[via Engadget]

Last week Consumer Reports made quite the commotion by stating that even though the iPhone 4 was the best smart phone they had ever tested, it didn’t meet the standards for reception and thus could not be recommended.  Today after the Apple press conference CS made this statement to re-affirm their view:

“Consumer Reports believes Apple’s offer of free cases is a good first step. However, Apple has indicated that this is not a long-term solution, it has guaranteed the offer only through September 30th, and has not extended it unequivocally to customers who bought cases from third-party vendors. We look forward to a long-term fix from Apple. As things currently stand, the iPhone 4 is still not one of our Recommended models.”

Although it has been reported that CS has not tested a large number of “recommended phones” from their list as stringently as they have the iPhone 4, their statement is a fair one. Perhaps this type of negative press will cause Jobs and Apple to rethink their stance by September 30 when the free case offer ends.

[Consumer Reports via Tuaw]

Today at a special press conference on Apple’s Cupertino CA campus, Steve Jobs announced that there will be no hardware fix for the iPhone 4 . Instead, Apple will be giving out free rubber “bumpers” as a fix to the reception issue to all users who buy the iPhone 4. Refunds will be available for those who already bought cases to fix the issue as well.

During the first half of the conference Jobs explained how this issue occurs with almost all smart phones. He claimed that the issue is not as bad as it is perceived to be explaining that the problem is with bar algorithm. The iPhone 4 would show 5 bars of reception when in reality there may have only been 3 or 2 bars of service available. This gives the appearance that the phone is losing 5 bars of service when in reality only 3 or 2 bars are being lost. Apparently yesterday’s iOS4 update solved this problem.

He also showed other data (AppleCare customer service reports and comparisons to the iPhone 3GS) to minimize the appearance of the issue while claiming that smart phones “aren’t perfect.” During the Q&A section Jobs and his comrades, in a hailstorm of excuses, went on to call out some of the critical articles written by Bloomberg and the New York Times, calling them “false” and “total bull &$#@”.

Though a nice gesture, this “fix” misses the point and will force those 80% of iPhone 4 buyers who walked out of the iStore without getting a bumper or case to have to use one so that the phone works. Though some questions were answered, the conference seemed to be full of excuses and attempts to convince the public that the problem isn’t really that big. We will just have to wait to see the effect it will have on iPhone 4 sales and returns.

This Wednesday Apple announced they will be holding a special press conference on Friday discussing, you guessed it, the iPhone 4. There is currently not much known about the event other than that it will be about the iPhone 4 and that only a very select group of people have been invited.

Though there has been some speculation and hope for a drop in price, many, including ourselves, are just hoping for some type of a response to the glaring reception problem.

[Gizmodo via TheLoop]

Simply brilliant. The guys at The Onion have done it again. The satirical online news network announces the “Apple Friend Bar” in a rather amusing video short. The friend bar is a place where “obsessive Apple users” can go to find someone to “talk at”.

The report also mentions the upcoming in-home Apple store called the iStore to be available for only $6000. The video (shown below) puts into perspective beautifully the mannerisms of the Apple “fan boy”. Hey, if you can’t have a good laugh at yourself, it may be time to lighten up.

New Apple Friend Bar Gives Customers Someone To Talk At About Mac Products

[via TheOnion]