We’ve been pretty slow on keeping you all up-to-date recently, so a quick apology for that. There are some big things in the works for later on this year and I’m working hard to get these new features up-and-running. Now back to the news:

• Apple updated its desktop line today, bring hardware updates to the Mac mini (long overdue), iMac, and Mac Pro. Most of these updates deal with detailed specifications on hardware (processor, hard drive, graphics, etc), so check out Apple.com for all the details.
• Amazon launched the “Kindle for iPhone” application yesterday, bringing almost all the features of a $359 device for FREE. Users cannot purchase books directly from the app and subscriptions are not automatically updated, but users can get their full Kindle library on the device and purchase books via the Safari Mobile browser on the phone and get them directly on the device. Basically, users have a fully loaded Kindle (without subscriptions and the controversial text-to-speech features) on the iPhone, something almost everyone has been waiting for.

So that’s the news everybody. Again, apologies for being pretty slow recently, but we’re working on big things, so stay tuned.

The next generation iPhone will have a matte-black metal finish according to some recent leaked photos. Do we trust those recent leaked photos? Not really. Sure, we’re not gonna immediately deny these photos’ legitimacy, but a big signal that these are fake: the case uses metal. Why would we immediately say metal means its not real? Because metal is a complete failure when dealing with cell and WiFi signals, so that’s why we’re gonna give this rumor a big “iffy” stamp. MacRumors and iPodObserver both received the images earlier today, and iPodObserver did post the first pics of the iPhone 3G’s glossy back months before the release, but we’re still doubtful. Check out some more pictures at MacRumors.

(Thanks for the tip, Mark!)

Apple announced record sales figures for Mac and iPod for the first quarter of 2009 in today’s conference call. However, iPhone sales were down over 2 million from last quarter, yet the drop was expected. Other notes of interest for the quarter include making over $10 billion in revenue for the first time ever and Tim Cook’s attack-dog attitude toward iPhone copy-cats and similar products. Cook basically said that if someone is stealing Apple’s ideas, they’re gonna get hell for it. Apple’s stock is up nearly 7 percent in after-hour trading, so the earnings were pretty successful. Oh, and just an added piece of information: Apple’s got $28 billion in the bank with no debt, don’t you just wish you were in that position.

Team, 

I am sure all of you saw my letter last week sharing something very personal with the Apple community. Unfortunately, the curiosity over my personal health continues to be a distraction not only for me and my family, but everyone else at Apple as well. In addition, during the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought.

In order to take myself out of the limelight and focus on my health, and to allow everyone at Apple to focus on delivering extraordinary products, I have decided to take a medical leave of absence until the end of June.

I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for Apple’s day to day operations, and I know he and the rest of the executive management team will do a great job. As CEO, I plan to remain involved in major strategic decisions while I am out. Our board of directors fully supports this plan.

I look forward to seeing all of you this summer.

Steve

• iLife ‘09: iPhoto adds Faces and Places, along with connections to Facebook and Flickr. Faces is a new way of organizing pictures by the people in them. You tag people in photos by faces, and iPhoto will automatically find other pictures of someone you’ve already tagged via face recognition and group them together. This is very similar to Facebook’s tagging service. Speaking of Facebook, you can now click the Facebook button in iPhoto and upload your photos direct to Facebook with tags (and if someone tags it on Facebook, you’re computer will download the tag). Places organizes photos by location via geo-tagging, camera’s with GPS do this and you can add the detail yourself. All of your pictures, along with the geo-tag, can now be uploaded to Flickr via one click. iMovie adds much more advanced video editing and gains back the abilities lost when iMovie was redesigned in the last version. Precision editing along with new themes and maps are included in the new version. Garageband now includes Learn to Play, offering users the ability to learn how to play the guitar or piano. Along with free basic lessons included, users can download celebrity lessons that teach you how to play real songs. Both iWeb and iDVD were updated in this ‘09 edition, yet Schiller did not go over specific details. All information about iLife ‘09 can be found at Apple.com/iLife.
• iWork ‘09: Pages, Numbers, and Keynote all received updates dealing with themes, layouts, transitions, and other basic features. The big news, however, is iWork.com. Apple launched iWork.com in beta today, and what the service does is allow iWork users to upload their documents to the web and share them with others to review them. iWork.com automatically has all different file types in which the user can give reviewers the opportunity to download the file in any format.
• MacBook Pro 17″: Both the MacBook and MacBook Pro were updated back in October, but the 17″ model was left out. Today, the 17″ model was upgraded. Including the same unibody design as the MacBook and MacBook Pro, the 17″ adds a matte display option (for $50 more) which removes the glass and adds a metal bezel to the screen. The big new feature for the 17″ is the inclusion of an incredibly long lasting non-removable battery. The batter lasts up to 8 hours, much longer than any previous battery, and can charge up to 1000 times (3 times the average battery’s capacity). The 17″ is available in only one model retailing at $2799.
• iTunes: 1) iTunes is ditching its 99-cent-a-song policy and adding a three tier pricing strategy. Music labels will be able to choose between $.69, $.99, and $1.29. According to Apple, there will be more $.69 songs then the rest, but all new music will undoubtedly be priced at $1.29 so they can rake in the dough on the new music train. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, who knows? I have a feeling this is gonna be a negative, just because new music buyers will most likely have to pay the price (increase). 2) iTunes is going completely DRM-free by the end of the quarter, and as of today 8 million of the over 10 million songs on iTunes are DRM-free. This means there’s no copy-protection, so you can do whatever you want with the songs. 3) You can now purchase music from your iPhone anywhere. Joining Wi-Fi, you can now download music from the iTunes Music Store over cellular networks. All the same songs, same quality.

Happy New Year everyone, welcome to 2009! And to start off the new year, let’s look at the Apple rumors that have roamed around the web during the last days of 2008 and this first day of 2009.

• iMac and Mac mini revamps are rumored to be announced at Macworld next week. More information is known about the new Mini, apparently the design will resemble the Time Capsule and have “lip” along with the option to add a second hard drive instead of an optical drive. The iMac, however, is still up-in-the-air on details.
• iPhone nano rumors have been going nuts due to case manufacturers now selling cases for this yet unannounced product. Even reputable case maker Vaja is offering customers notification for when their case for the unreleased phone is available. Whether or not iPhone nano will appear at MacWorld or at separate event is not known, but it seems that a smaller iPhone is coming.
• TechCrunch has heard from three reputable sources that a larger version of the iPod touch will grace the world sometime this year, with a fall release currently planned. The device will feature a 7-9 inch screen and should be compatible with all App Store applications.
• Steve Job’s health is a private issue and it should not be newsworthy, but due to him being the core of Apple and the circumstances of this rumor, this latest rumor on his health should be heard. According to reliable Gizmodo sources, the reason for removing Jobs from Macworld was due to his rapidly declining health. The source has apparently been 100% in the past, yet the source seems to suggest Jobs will be leaving the company in Spring. I, along with all Apple Fanboys of the world, hope that this is dead wrong and that Jobs is still healthy. 
• The long awaited 17″ Unibody MacBook Pro is apparently ready and rumored to be released at Macword.
• Back to the real newsworthy rumors: according to several sources online iWork and iMovie will make the switch to online based applications at Macworld next week. These “cloud” applications may tie in to MobileMe, yet that is unknown. Google and Microsoft both have online “cloud” based applications and Apple following suit seems very plausible.

So, there you have it – the first rumor wrap-up of 2009. This is going to be a big year for everyone, blargKABOOM especially, so stay tuned.

So which fact is more important, Jobs not delivering the keynote or Apple ditching MacWorld? We’re gonna go ahead and say the real news is Jobs not delivering the keynote. So, is this the end of Steve Jobs? Doubtful, but more likely it’s the start of a transition phase. The transition from Steve Jobs the high holy God of Apple – to – Jobs, Schiller, and Cook: the executive team. Who is this Cook? Well, Tim Cook is Apple’s COO and delivered the “State of the Mac” to start off this October’s notebook event. According to many articles, Cook is the cheese to Jobs’ macaroni (yes, a Juno reference), he is more numbers based while Jobs is more “boom” and “wow” based. But back to point: this switch doesn’t represent Jobs’ retirement, just a transition. If this was his retirement there would probably be a big show with Jobs himself (not a sidekick) handing over the reigns.

But what about another theory: does Jobs just have nothing to present? Doubtful, if there was nothing, Jobs would spin it as something. Remember, we’re talking about a man who could turn water into wine.

The keynote will take place January 6 starting at 10:00 am, until then: let the rumor mill keep on spinning. But one thing is for sure: things will never be the same.

Apple started shipping their new in-ear headphones last week and due to overwhelmingly great reviews and coverage, we figured we’d let you know. Compared to Apple’s old in-ear headphones: this new model now features a mic and remote built-in with volume control (however volume control is not supported on iPhones), two drivers (separate woofer and tweeter), and a new design featuring new, more comfortable silicone ear buds. Reviews from sites around the ‘net are pretty consistent saying that these guys are great for their value, costing only $80 (rare for dual-driver headphones) and having a built-in remote and mic. Pick up a pair at most retailers now.

What?!!?!?!?!?! COPY AND PASTE ON THE IPHONE!!!!!!! If that was your immediate reaction, maybe you should calm down a bit. First off, it’s only via Safari to Mail (not the other way around). Second, it requires opening a bookmark. Those are the negatives. Now you can get back to jumping and screaming. The positives: it’s completely legal, not software or jailbreaking necessary. You don’t even need to download an app from the App Store. Here’s the deal: a service called Pastebud, launching this Friday (December 12), operates via two bookmarks. The user navigates to web page and decides they want to copy and paste something. Next, open your “Copy” bookmark and a new page will open with the ability to select text. Select your text and then at the top of the page, select either send to Mail or copy to clipboard. If sent to Mail, a new Email will open with the text as the message. If sent to clipboard, you can then paste the next by opening your “Paste” bookmark. Seems pretty simple and hopefully it works well. If only Apple would get on this, then we’d be in heaven. Because seriously, more than a year and a half of an iPhone with no copy-and-paste, it’s a bit ridiculous. Check out a video over at Gizmodo.

According to advertisements from Walmart received by MacRumors, Walmart will sell the iPhone 3G starting on December 28; however the rumor that it would be 4GB and have a $99 price tag is false. The pricing according to this ad shows a solid $197 price tag, two whole dollars under retail. According to certain store employees, some stores will start selling the device before the December 28 launch date. Will Apple ever re-release a 4GB iPhone? Who knows. But with an economy this bad, they very well may.

via Gizmodo

Analysts and their numbers are on Apple’s side after a lousy Black Friday shopping day. The economic recession, as it can now officially be called, was expected to lessen sales on the “busiest shopping day of the year”-and it did-but Apple managed to do well while most others did not. Analyst firms Goldman Sachs, Piper Jaffray, and Kaufman Bros. report that Apple Store lines maintained and most stores had selling rates go up for Mac and iPhone sales, while iPod touch sales left most users with week long backorders. Will Apple survive a holiday season bound to be spending less? It looks like the answer is yes.

via AppleInsider

Oh Apple, way to check up on yourself. While browsing through System Preferences in the most recent version of Mac OS X, 10.5.5, you yourself can find a spelling error and punctuation error in the Sharing preferences. After turning Internet Sharing On, you can see it says: “(Sharing your Built-in Ethernet Connectior”. Go get some spell checkers Apple, because you can bet good ol’ Steve is firing someone for this one. Not only is connector spelled wrong, adding an “i” after connect, the phrase is missing a parenthesis at the end to close it. Way to be on top of things Apple, maybe you should get your act together over there at the Cupertino campus.

Edit: This seems to be a window sizing issue, not a spelling mistake.  However, it affects all 10.5.5 users, so you can check it out for yourself.

via Engadget

via Gizmodo

Well, since Apple confirmed today they have they’re holiday lineup set, we’re not expecting anything new from this Apple store upgrade. Maybe storage upgrades for iPods at the most, but this is most likely routine maintenance.

UPDATE – The store came back online earlier today only showing a slight design update for the bottom part of the store, no new products to dream for today.

The MacBook Pro’s update came first today, as Steve introduced them. Biggest updates to the Pro: the iMac-look with the glass and the black bezel covering the display, dual-graphics chips, and the new multi-touch giant button glass trackpad. The Pro is thinner than the current model, but heavier as well. Shockingly, only the 15″ MacBook Pro model was updated to the new model and the 17″ just received a slight component refresh. The new MacBook Pro is available today in two models, a base $1999 model including a 2.4Ghz processor, 2GB of DDR3 memory, 250GB of storage, and the dual Nvidia graphics cards. The better model is available for $2499 and has a 2.53Ghz processor (upgradable to 2.8Ghz for $300), 4GB of DDR3 memory, 320GB of storage, and new graphics cards.

The new MacBook is the largest updated product at the event. The current entry-level MacBook is still around for $999 and available in white, but then say hello to the new MacBooks. Probably a better term would be 13″ MacBook Pro, because that is almost what the new MacBooks are. The MacBook has the same design as the new MacBook Pro’s and the only features the new MacBook Pro has over the regular MacBook is the Firewire port (which the MacBook drops), the higher speed graphics card, and the faster processor. Besides those key differences, they are almost the same computer. The base new MacBook retails for $1299 and includes a 2.0Ghz processor, 2GB of memory, and 160GB of storage. The better MacBook retails for $1599 and has a 2.4Ghz processor, 2GB of memory, and 250GB of storage.

Both notebook lines are available today online and should be in stores now.

“The spotlight turns to notebooks.”

With Apple’s notebook event starting in almost 10 hours, its only fitting that we roundup the most recent rumors and give you a spotlight of where to go for coverage.

COVERAGE:

As with normal Apple event coverage, check out Engadget and Live.Gizmodo for live up-to-the-second coverage. Besides those two live sources, MacRumors will be gathering news while it happens. blargKABOOM coverage will be intermittent and will be as up-to-date as possible. The event starts at 10:00am Pacific Time and will almost surely star Steve Jobs and a couple of new MacBooks.

RUMORS:

The rumor mill spins extra fast during the Apple event season and this notebook event produced tons of rumors.

The biggest rumors, and almost facts, are around updates to the MacBook and MacBook Pro line. Apparently, aluminum will be key to the new line and the new MacBook will ditch plastic for aluminum. Also rumored is that the MacBook Pro will feature a similar black bezel around the screen like the current iMac (see supposed leaked image above). Faster processors, more storage space, and normal hardware boosts are also expected. Also expected are new lower prices for the notebooks.

After the notebook line updates, what could the “One more thing…” be at this event?

A new Apple display that competes in the television market and includes a built-in hard drive is also rumored. Even if Apple ever produces this product, its highly doubtable that this event will be its launch.

Other rumors include a touch-screen based “iTablet,” a netbook/mini-notebook, and freshly redesigned cinema displays.

10:00am sharp, notebook event, Steve Jobs will be there, will you?

Confirming the rumors, Apple has invited the press to a notebook event on October 14. Looking at the image itself, bbGadgets looked at the image and scaled it to the current MacBook Pro. Apparently, if the Apple logo is 1.5 inches, that laptop is 13.3 inches diagonal (current MacBook dimension.) So could this image be of the new aluminum MacBook? It definitely could be. We’ll just have to wait until the event is actually held to find out for sure. October 14, 10:00 am is the date, live blog coverage will be found at the same sites as usual, engadget.com and live.gizmodo.com. But we’ll remind you of that sooner to the event.

Rumors have been flying around for months about Apple refreshing their MacBook and MacBook Pro lines in design orientated way. Neither the MacBook nor the MacBook Pro has faced major design and style changes since each products respective introductions back in May and January of 2006. Since the end of last year, rumors popped up stating refreshes are coming. Now, the most solid rumor we have is that we will see these new laptops on October 14 (next Tuesday). What will the changes include? For the MacBook, a new aluminum shell making it more recyclable and giving it a more sophisticated look. For the MacBook Pro, a more refined aluminum shell with some sort of black bezel similar to that of the current iMac.

The biggest rumor that went around recently had to deal with codename “Brick.” Internally, Apple calls this new product, or rather technology, “Brick”. Most speculated that the Brick would either be some new smaller touch based device, or a mini-notebook to compete with the Eee PC and the like. Now, 9to5mac.com has shared to us from credible sources that the Brick is a new technology in the way Apple will make the laptops. Unlike current aluminum laptops like the MacBook Pro where the computer contains many pieces of aluminum fit together and cut up and the such, the Brick technology allows for the use of one “brick” of aluminum. Using just lasers and jets of water to literally carve new MacBooks, the new technology offers many benefits: no weak spots, no screws, it’s cheap, and it is made directly by Apple and isn’t done by Taiwanese companies like Foxconn so there are less rumors and leaks. It sounds odd, but check out the full description over at 9to5Mac and it will make more sense.

So, October 14 is the day. New MacBooks, new MacBook Pros, and the introduction of the Brick. Set your calendars.

Apple pumped out an updated version of its Mac OS X Leopard tonight, bringing it to 10.5.5. The software update is available via Software Update now and includes a bunch of small bug fixes and other features. Open up Software Update now to grab the download.

via Engadget