Apple Reporter

Newcomer to the Apple rumor mill Gearlive have posted 10 supposed new images of the latest iPhone update, 1.1.3.

App dragging on the Springboard

The images showcase 4 new features to the iPhone. The first of them being the ability to move around icons on your home screen of the iPhone. While the “springboard”, as it is referred to by iPhone users, has been enhanced before, the ability to move apps around is, as far as I can tell, a new feature to the iPhone.

Bookmarks on the Springboard

Next is the ability to add bookmarked pages from Safari to your home screen. The possibilities that are included with this feature are endless, and it is sure to be a feature that iPhone users will quickly integrate into their iPhone usage.

Maps — Locate Me, Hybrid View

Third in the feature list are new additions to the Maps app, based off of Google Maps. Maps now supports Hybrid mode, a recent addition to Google Maps, which is similar to the Satellite setting but with the addition of street names and other labels to roads, etc. Maps also sports new additions to the menu at the bottom of the app, including the biggest feature added to Maps: the “Locate Me” feature.

According to Gearlive, the feature uses cell-tower triangulation to locate the iPhone and subsequently the user on Maps. Like the home screen bookmarks, this feature is something that should quickly be integrated into the iPhone’s “must-use” features.

Multiple Contact SMS/Texting

The last feature shown in Gearlive’s gallery is the ability for SMS messages to be sent to multiple contacts. This feature is probably something that should’ve been included in iPhone v1.1.1, but the addition of this will please those of us who are text-message fiends.

Opinion/Analysis

While the fact that Gearlive is not a reputed site for Apple rumors remains, the features shown are pretty compelling evidence to show a new firmware update is in due order. While I do not keep track of every iPhone third-party app that is released, I am well informed enough to know that features like the ones shown would have been unmasked already.

Gizmodo has reported that the firmware shown is indeed real. While the confirmation is not from anyone close to Apple themselves, it is from a reputable iPhone hacker named Natetrue.

Nate says that the update brings the expected shutdown of third-party apps and unlocks, but this is expected for all updates (note that while Apple said they would shut down third-party software on the iPhone in 1.1.2, it was jailbroken within minutes).

[Thanks to Gearlive for images and Gizmodo for verification of update]

The brilliant people over at the iPodHacking forums have released a UI hack for your old (or in my case, current) iPod Video that can make the interface look pretty close to an iPhone.

The hack requires that you run Windows, as the program iPod Wizard is required. You must also not be afraid to potentially mess up your iPod, updating/changing your firmware is required and there is a possibility of error. I’ve done the hack myself, and it is definitely worth the trouble. The menu screen is really crisp and the Now Playing screen is amazing.

While I can’t offer any technical support, I can give you the link (click on the image below). There doesn’t seem to be that many problems, just a few bugs that’ll be fixed in time.

TUAW reports that reader B. Ioffe was told by former President Bill Clinton as he signed his iPhone that Clinton too was an iPhone user. Apparently, the iPhone was given to him by Steve Jobs himself. While this is not “breaking” news, it’s interesting to note that the iPhone is becoming very mainstream, no doubt thanks to Apple’s brilliant marketing of the product.

Thanks to TUAW for the picture and story.

AppleInsider reports that a source has seen what could be the first Macbook Slim at Apple’s Cupertino campus.

From AppleInsider:

Most recently, a source described a “dark grey” or “gunmetal” colored notebook of slender proportions making the rounds in an area where Apple traditionally conducts stress tests.

Though noticeably thinner but otherwise similar in size to the company’s 13-inch MacBooks, the notebook appeared to have a metallic sheen to it, which set it apart from the current black MacBook.

If this source is trustworthy, then it appears all our suspicions have come true. Either a new Macbook Slim, or at least a Macbook refresh is in store for us at Macworld ‘08.

Around this time for the past two years, there has been a slew of rumors all focused around one thing. A slim laptop by Apple. Ever since Apple and Intel first partnered up, people have been clamouring for a new Intel version of the iBook. I’ve spent a few days reading all the rumors, and I’d like to put my two cents in on what I think the slim laptop will be.

First off, I do think there will be a slim laptop announced at Macworld ‘08. The iBook was amazingly popular in its 7 year run, and is still used in many schools and businesses as the standard. Once the Macbook came in 2006, the iBook was discontinued, and the Macbook, which was superior to the iBook in terms of system specs, became a commercial success, like the iBook did before it. But for some, the old 12″ iBook is still the best laptop made by Apple, because it is so small that it is extremely portable. Not to say that an increase of an inch makes it less portable, but for some the iBook just seemed like the perfect laptop.

Here in 2007, Apple has revolutionized the computer market with their designs. The iPod keeps getting thinner and smaller, while still retaining its storage size, and the laptops get sleeker and sleeker. But why shouldn’t there be a iPod Nano version of laptops? By that, I mean why can’t there be a slim laptop for the consumers who love the way the iPod continually gets smaller.

Back to the rumors, everyone from AppleInsider to CNBC expects Apple to have a “super-laptop” (as CNBC puts it) at Macworld ‘08. The persistent rumors are this:

• 12-13″ screen
• NAND flash memory, similar to that used in the iPhone and iPod Nano
• An all-around slimmer laptop, reports range from 30-50% lighter and thinner
• The possible exclusion of the optical drive, but this is the most uncertain of all rumors.

As for my opinion, I don’t have any informants or anything of that sort, I can just say that I am speculating based on Apple’s previous announcements and product releases. I would not be surprised to see NAND flash memory in the Macbook Slim (as I am now going to call it) as Apple has been producing many of their products with this technology in mind, and new advances in technology will certainly allow the Macbook Slim’s hard drive to reach levels never seen before in flash memory. As for screen size, I believe that Apple will not venture far from the tested and true 12-13″ screen level, but perhaps as low as 10-11″ could be announced. Perhaps a 10-11″ and a 12-13″ will be released simultaneously. Finally, for aesthetics, a slimmer or thinner product is almost guaranteed, because without it, there would be no point in releasing the new Slim.

Whether it is announced at Macworld or not, the Macbook Slim rumor is something that will still persist because it seems like something Apple would definitely produce. Looking at the evolution of the iPod and other Mac computers, it seems almost inevitable that the Macbook Slim would eventually appear somewhere in Apple’s product lines.

Thanks to MacNewbTube for the beautiful mockup.

Lifehacker interviewed Nicholas Jitkoff, the developer of Quicksilver today. The interview, which discusses the past and future of Quicksilver, is a good read for any Quicksilver fans. Highlights: Quick Look integration in an unreleased, unstable version of Quicksilver; Jitkoff telling QS users to switch to LaunchBar. Overall, Jitkoff seems to think that Quicksilver has a grim future, but perhaps the recent open-source release of Quicksilver will revive the long-lived application.

Google, without any warning, launched its new interface for the Google homepage for the iPhone. According to Techcrunch, the new version was rumored to be released sometime this week, and yesterday it appeared without any notice.

The new interface is customized with that all too familiar interface that iPhone users are sure to be familiar with by now. The new interface shrinks the Google homepage down to the searchbar and a menu at the top, with a series of Google Apps and Services available with just a click, such as Gmail, Calendar, Reader, and more.

Without owning an iPhone, it is hard to test the new page. Anyone with an iPhone confirming this works? It should look like the picture below.

(thanks to Techcrunch for the image)

Chris Thomson writes at Chris24 about a discovery he has made on the iPhone Terms page and the iPhone page on the online Apple Store about picture and video messaging on the iPhone. Apparently, a section at the bottom of the page notes prices on international messaging:

Charges for international messages sent from the U.S. are 20¢ for Text Messages and 50¢ for Picture/Video Messages. Additional charges for premium messages and content apply. Messages over 300KBs billed at additional 50¢ per message.

Checking the designated sites mentioned by Chris show that this message does indeed appear. Is this an error by AT&T or Apple, or is this an accidental leak of new features coming out around Macworld next month?