As noted by AppleInsider, MacBook Air supplies are beginning to dry up as Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference approaches. Currently, the 13.3-inch 256GB 1.8Ghz MacBook Air is out of stock at Amazon.com, with a listed one to two month waiting period. While the low end 13.3-inch MacBook Air is in stock, the 11.6-inch MacBook Air is in short supply. Amazon lists an inventory of just ten 1.7Ghz 128GB 11.6-inch MacBook Airs and just one lower end 64GB 11.6-inch MacBook Air available through a third party. Several other authorized Apple resellers, such as MacConnection, MacMall, and B&H, are also seeing dwindling MacBook Air inventory, with the higher end versions of 13.3-inch MacBook Air being the hardest to find. Low inventory supplies at third-party Apple retailers are often one of the initial signs of an upcoming product refresh. According to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple will be introducing new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air lines based on Intel's Haswell processors at WWDC, which takes place next month from June 10 to June 14. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • 'Haunting Melissa' App Brings Episodic Movie Exclusively to iPhone and iPad • FTC Begins Sending COPPA Letters to App Developers Ahead of July Rule Change • eBay for iOS Updated with Multiple Item Checkout, Driver's License Scanning • Apple Releases MacBook Air Flash Storage Firmware Update 1.0 • Google Play Books for iOS Updated with Support for Uploaded Files • DirecTV Updates iPhone App With Voice Commands • OS X 10.8.4 Build 12E52 Seeded to Developers • Verizon Cuts Price on iPhone 5 by $100 for Some Customers    
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Last week, we noted that Apple was still struggling to convince the major music labels to sign on to its planned streaming service, informally dubbed "iRadio", with Sony and Warner reportedly holding out even after market leader Universal had agreed to Apple's revised terms. In a new article highlighting how Google was able to announce its own music service ahead of Apple, The Verge notes that Apple's desire to provide a hybrid listener experience has meant more work at the negotiating table.For starters, Google chose to offer a standard subscription music service very similar to those built by Spotify and Rdio, and that meant the terms had largely been established, according to multiple sources close to the talks. Apple, on the other hand, is pioneering a hybrid web and radio service — one that resembles Pandora but melds it with some on-demand features, the sources said. The licensing agreement had to be created from scratch.According to the report's sources, number four music publisher BMG is also holding out against Apple's proposed terms, and while there still appears to be significant momentum behind iRadio and a desire by many parties to get a deal done as quickly as possible, it is now looking as though Apple may not be able to launch the service at next month's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). Word of Apple's plans for a Pandora-like service surfaced last September, with subsequent reports indicating that Apple was targeting the first quarter of this year for a launch. As negotiations continued to prove difficult, Apple shifted its focus to a summer launch, but it now appears unclear whether the company will be able to meet even that revised goal. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • 'Haunting Melissa' App Brings Episodic Movie Exclusively to iPhone and iPad • FTC Begins Sending COPPA Letters to App Developers Ahead of July Rule Change • eBay for iOS Updated with Multiple Item Checkout, Driver's License Scanning • Apple Releases MacBook Air Flash Storage Firmware Update 1.0 • Google Play Books for iOS Updated with Support for Uploaded Files • DirecTV Updates iPhone App With Voice Commands • OS X 10.8.4 Build 12E52 Seeded to Developers • Verizon Cuts Price on iPhone 5 by $100 for Some Customers    
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Following a report from earlier this month indicating that the U.S. Department of Defense was preparing to approve Apple devices running iOS 6 for use on military networks, Bloomberg now reports that the department has officially issued the authorization, opening the door for greater use of Apple's products.The Defense Department said in a statement today that it has approved the use of Cupertino, California-based Apple’s products running a version of the iOS 6 mobile platform. The decision eventually may spur a three-way fight for a market long dominated by Waterloo, Ontario-based BlackBerry. The Pentagon on May 2 approved Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung’s devices, as well as BlackBerry 10 smartphones and BlackBerry PlayBook tablets.The report notes that out of more than 600,000 mobile devices used by the Defense Department, only about 41,000 of those are Apple products, with most of those not connected directly to the military's networks. With the new approvals, Apple and Samsung are expected to eat into BlackBerry's roughly 75% share of mobile devices within the agency. As noted in the report earlier this month, the Department of Defense's approval of iOS 6 devices for sensitive applications is expected to have impact beyond the military, with other businesses requiring strict security standards becoming more likely to embrace Apple's products. Pentagon approval for iOS 6 devices comes just as The Street reports that the U.S. Air Force is expecting to save more than $50 million over ten years following last year's decision to replace thousands of pages of flight manuals with iPads."By removing all that paper, [Air Mobility Command] will capture about $750,000 in fuel savings [annually] just based off the decreased weight," said [electronic flight bag program manager Major Brian] Moritz. Removing the need to print and distribute thousands of flight manuals, however, equates to an even greater cost saving. "It comes out to just over $5 million a year," noted Moritz. "With fuel savings, it comes out to $5.7 million annually in pure cost. When you look at $5.7 million a year, over 10 years, that's well over $50 million."The Air Force is not the only group switching to iPads to replace traditional flight bags used by pilots, as a number of commercial airlines have also begun transitioning to the technology in order to reduce weight and therefore fuel costs, as well as lighten loads for the pilots themselves. (Photo: James Rogers/The Street) Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • 'Haunting Melissa' App Brings Episodic Movie Exclusively to iPhone and iPad • FTC Begins Sending COPPA Letters to App Developers Ahead of July Rule Change • eBay for iOS Updated with Multiple Item Checkout, Driver's License Scanning • Apple Releases MacBook Air Flash Storage Firmware Update 1.0 • Google Play Books for iOS Updated with Support for Uploaded Files • DirecTV Updates iPhone App With Voice Commands • OS X 10.8.4 Build 12E52 Seeded to Developers • Verizon Cuts Price on iPhone 5 by $100 for Some Customers    
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Corning yesterday announced (via Engadget) the launch of its latest glass substrate for LCD and OLED displays, Lotus XT Glass. While Corning is famous for its Gorilla Glass used by Apple and other device manufacturers to provide durable covers for their displays, substrate glass like Lotus Glass is used within the displays themselves to support the transistors and other components necessary for the displays to function. The Corning Lotus Glass platform enables organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays and liquid crystal displays (LCD) that use either low-temperature poly-silicon (LTPS) or oxide thin-film transistor (TFT) backplanes. The result is an energy-efficient, immersive display device that features high resolution, fast response times, and bright picture quality.Lotus XT Glass, an improved version of the original Lotus Glass announced in late 2011, offers improved thermal characteristics and stability to help increase efficiency and yield during display production. Lotus XT Glass is available in a variety of thicknesses ranging from 0.4 to 0.7 mm to support various applications. In an introductory video, Corning vice president John Bayne outlines how Lotus XT Glass will enable better displays with improved yields:Our customers, the panel makers, are basically making thin-film transistors and aligning those transistors with liquid crystal material and a color filter piece of glass. Everything has to line up just right to work. The distance features move during processing is called total pitch. And if you measure that from sheet to sheet, it's called total pitch variation. If panel makers can minimize total pitch variation, they can realize higher manufacturing yields and lower costs. In addition, they can design devices that have higher aperture ratios which are brighter and use less power. It will still take some time for display manufacturers to adopt Lotus Glass XT for use in their processes and for those panels to make their way into finished products, but with Lotus Glass XT offering up to 75% better performance in total pitch variation than the original version, it seems likely that manufacturers will move quickly to adopt the product. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • 'Haunting Melissa' App Brings Episodic Movie Exclusively to iPhone and iPad • FTC Begins Sending COPPA Letters to App Developers Ahead of July Rule Change • eBay for iOS Updated with Multiple Item Checkout, Driver's License Scanning • Apple Releases MacBook Air Flash Storage Firmware Update 1.0 • Google Play Books for iOS Updated with Support for Uploaded Files • DirecTV Updates iPhone App With Voice Commands • OS X 10.8.4 Build 12E52 Seeded to Developers • Verizon Cuts Price on iPhone 5 by $100 for Some Customers    
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The CW has struck a deal that will bring the network's content to the Apple TV, reports Deadline. At the company's annual Upfront Presentation in New York today, CW president Mark Pedowitz announced that the CW's TV Now applications, which are currently available on Xbox 360 and Windows 8, will be coming to the Apple TV as well. "This year we're reaching more viewers on more platforms," said Pedowitz, speaking of the deal. "We are reaching our audience everywhere they are, and we want you to be with us everywhere we go," he went on to say to advertisers at the event. The CW told MacRumors that the app will function similarly to the company's Xbox and mobile apps and confirmed that it will indeed be an app located on the Apple TV's home screen.It's a dedicated CW app that will work like our Xbox and mobile and tablet apps - no cable authentication required, full episodes of our shows available next day after air, ad-supported.The CW's TV Now app for the Xbox offers free full streaming episodes of network shows like The Vampire Diaries with limited advertising. The app also includes additional content like previews and cast extras. Currently, Apple sells CW content through its iTunes store. While the Apple TV offers apps and digital content from sites like Netflix and Hulu, it does not include apps from television networks. The partnership between the CW and Apple will mark the first the first network television app available via the Apple TV. It is unclear if the CW's app is part of a larger initiative by Apple to bring additional apps to the Apple TV. According to the CW, the app is set to launch in the coming weeks, though no exact release date was given. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • eBay for iOS Updated with Multiple Item Checkout, Driver's License Scanning • Apple Releases MacBook Air Flash Storage Firmware Update 1.0 • Google Play Books for iOS Updated with Support for Uploaded Files • DirecTV Updates iPhone App With Voice Commands • OS X 10.8.4 Build 12E52 Seeded to Developers • Verizon Cuts Price on iPhone 5 by $100 for Some Customers • Mophie Introduces New 2,100 mAh iPhone 5 Battery Case • Limelight for iPhone Lets Users Catalog and Share Movie Choices    
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In his interview with Politico earlier today, Apple CEO Tim Cook shared some additional details about the new Mac model that will be manufactured in the United States when it is announced later this year. Cook said that not only will the machine be assembled in the U.S., many of the components will be sourced from suppliers in the country as well. And Cook is also promoting a $100 million investment in domestic manufacturing, where the company will begin producing a new version of a current Mac product later this year. "We're going very deep in this project," Cook said, noting that not only will the final product be manufactured in the U.S., but so will many of its components. Arizona, Texas, Illinois, Florida and Kentucky are among the states he mentioned as having parts and assembly located. Cook announced in an interview with Brian Williams last year that an existing Mac line would be manufactured exclusively in the U.S. beginning in 2013. Speculation had pointed to the Mac Pro, which is due for a significant update, though DigiTimes claimed it was Mac Mini production that would come back from overseas. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • eBay for iOS Updated with Multiple Item Checkout, Driver's License Scanning • Apple Releases MacBook Air Flash Storage Firmware Update 1.0 • Google Play Books for iOS Updated with Support for Uploaded Files • DirecTV Updates iPhone App With Voice Commands • OS X 10.8.4 Build 12E52 Seeded to Developers • Verizon Cuts Price on iPhone 5 by $100 for Some Customers • Mophie Introduces New 2,100 mAh iPhone 5 Battery Case • Limelight for iPhone Lets Users Catalog and Share Movie Choices    
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Apple CEO Tim Cook, in a break from his predecessor, is giving a number of interviews to Washington press outlets ahead of his appearance in front of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation next week. Washington newspaper Politico spoke to Cook about Apple's offshore cash pile -- which the company has thus far refused to repatriate to the United States because of the significant tax burden that would result -- and Apple's political activities. "We don't have a large presence in Washington, as you probably know, but we care deeply about public policy and believe creative policy can be a huge catalyst for a better society and a stronger economy," Cook said in the interview. He also defended his company's conduct. “I can tell you unequivocally Apple does not funnel its domestic profits overseas. We don't do that. We pay taxes on all the products we sell in the U.S., and we pay every dollar that we owe. And so I'd like to be really clear on that,” Cook said.Cook has agreed to appear in front of the subcommittee on Tuesday morning personally, instead of sending a more junior executive to testify in front of the committee. His predecessor as CEO, Steve Jobs, agreed to very few interviews and tended to stay out of politics entirely. Apple recently borrowed $17 billion in a bond offering, in part to return cash to shareholders without bringing some of its $100 billion overseas cash pile to the United States. If it were to repatriate that cash to the U.S., it would need to pay a more than $13 billion tax bill. Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the comment thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All MacRumors forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • eBay for iOS Updated with Multiple Item Checkout, Driver's License Scanning • Apple Releases MacBook Air Flash Storage Firmware Update 1.0 • Google Play Books for iOS Updated with Support for Uploaded Files • DirecTV Updates iPhone App With Voice Commands • OS X 10.8.4 Build 12E52 Seeded to Developers • Verizon Cuts Price on iPhone 5 by $100 for Some Customers • Mophie Introduces New 2,100 mAh iPhone 5 Battery Case • Limelight for iPhone Lets Users Catalog and Share Movie Choices    
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New Mac spyware was discovered earlier this week on a computer at the Oslo Freedom Forum, an annual human rights conference. Located by computer security researcher Jacob Appelbaum, the malware, which has been deemed OSX/KitM.A, is currently being investigated by anti-virus company F-Secure, reports CNET. The malware is a backdoor application called "macs.app," which launches automatically upon login and captures screenshots that it then sends to a MacApp folder in the user's home directory. Two command-and-control servers, located at securitytable.org and docsforum.info, are associated with the malware, but one does not function and the other gives a "public access forbidden" message. Interestingly, the malware is signed with an Apple Developer ID, which is designed to prevent the installation of malware. Apps that are unsigned are blocked by default by Apple's Gatekeeper security option.This bit of malware is somewhat unique in that it is signed with what appears to be a valid Apple Developer ID associated with the name Rajender Kumar. Though not an uncommon name, this may be a reference to the late Bollywood actor of a similar name. Regardless, the use of the ID appears to be an attempt to bypass Apple's Gatekeeper execution prevention technology.Currently, the origination of the malware is still under investigation, and though it does not appear to be widespread, it can be mitigated by removing the macs.app program from the log-in menu. Apple often addresses malware threats quickly, and has the ability to revoke the developer ID to further limit the spread of the software. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • Google Play Books for iOS Updated with Support for Uploaded Files • DirecTV Updates iPhone App With Voice Commands • OS X 10.8.4 Build 12E52 Seeded to Developers • Verizon Cuts Price on iPhone 5 by $100 for Some Customers • Mophie Introduces New 2,100 mAh iPhone 5 Battery Case • Limelight for iPhone Lets Users Catalog and Share Movie Choices • iMovie Updated With Bug Fixes and Stability Improvements • ABC Begins Live Streaming Philly and NYC Stations via iOS App    
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Apple has released an update to its iTunes music and media application, bringing it to version 11.0.3. The update updates the compact MiniPlayer, adding album artwork and a progress bar, as well as better support for multi-disc albums and large iTunes libraries. This version of iTunes comes with several new features and improvements, including: - New MiniPlayer. MiniPlayer now includes a beautiful new view that showcases your album artwork. In addition, a progress bar is now built right into MiniPlayer. - Improved Songs View. You can now enjoy your album artwork while in Songs view. - Multi-Disc Albums. Albums with multiple discs now appear as a single album. This update also provides performance improvements when searching and sorting large iTunes libraries.The update weighs in at 187.50MB on the Mac, and is available through the Mac App Store, Software Update, and direct from Apple's Software Download Page. The last update to iTunes was released back in February. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • Google Play Books for iOS Updated with Support for Uploaded Files • DirecTV Updates iPhone App With Voice Commands • OS X 10.8.4 Build 12E52 Seeded to Developers • Verizon Cuts Price on iPhone 5 by $100 for Some Customers • Mophie Introduces New 2,100 mAh iPhone 5 Battery Case • Limelight for iPhone Lets Users Catalog and Share Movie Choices • iMovie Updated With Bug Fixes and Stability Improvements • ABC Begins Live Streaming Philly and NYC Stations via iOS App    
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BGR shares several new relatively high-resolution photos of parts claimed to be from the iPhone 5S. These parts have been leaking to repair firms over the past several months, and a number of photos have already been seen, but the new photos do represent the highest-quality look at these parts so far. Vibrator/audio control flex cable for iPhone 5S Unfortunately, the photos reveal little about Apple's plans for the iPhone 5S, as they are minor parts generally seeing relatively small changes compared to their corresponding iPhone 5 parts.The parts include the loud-speaker bracket, ear speaker bracket, vibrating motor assembly, Wi-Fi flex cable ribbon and SIM card tray from Apple’s upcoming seventh-generation iPhone.Part leaks claimed to be from the iPhone 5S began in January with photos of a speaker enclosure, and have continued with additional photos of the home button and volume/mute button flex cables, front camera flex cable, and nano-SIM card trays. The source of the previous SIM tray leak claimed that the trays were identical to those seen in the iPhone 5, while BGR's report today claims that they are thinner. iPhone 5S nano-SIM trays Most recently, just last week an antenna-related add-on piece for the iPhone 5S logic board surfaced, although the implications of minor changes observed in the part compared to the iPhone 5 remain unknown. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • Google Play Books for iOS Updated with Support for Uploaded Files • DirecTV Updates iPhone App With Voice Commands • OS X 10.8.4 Build 12E52 Seeded to Developers • Verizon Cuts Price on iPhone 5 by $100 for Some Customers • Mophie Introduces New 2,100 mAh iPhone 5 Battery Case • Limelight for iPhone Lets Users Catalog and Share Movie Choices • iMovie Updated With Bug Fixes and Stability Improvements • ABC Begins Live Streaming Philly and NYC Stations via iOS App    
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Following up on its April report breaking down mobile phone shipments by manufacturer for the first quarter of 2013, research firm IDC today issued a new report looking at shipments from an operating system perspective. The report unsurprisingly shows that Android and iOS continue to dominate the smartphone market with over 92% of shipments during the quarter, with Android's broad availability driving it to represent 75% of all shipments.Apple iOS marked its largest ever first quarter volume on the strength of its iPhone shipment volumes, yet the operating system posted a year-over-year decline in market share and lower year-over-year shipment growth than the overall market. Although demand remains strong worldwide, the iOS experience has remained largely the same since the first iPhone debuted in 2007. That appears ready to change as online rumors and speculation predict a massive overhaul of the user interface when iOS 7 debuts.Worldwide Smartphone Shipments in 1Q13 in Millions of Units (Source: IDC) The gains by Android and iOS over the last several years have come at the expense of every other operating system, but IDC's numbers reveal that Windows Phone is beginning to see signs of life with shipments more than doubling year over year, although its share of the market remains low at 3.2%. Still, Windows Phone was the only minor competitor to gain share over the previous year, with BlackBerry continuing its slide in falling to 2.9%, although IDC suggests the launch of BB10 may bolster BlackBerry's numbers going forward. Linux and Symbian also saw significant share losses as their former supporters have shifted focus to Android and Windows Phone. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • Google Play Books for iOS Updated with Support for Uploaded Files • DirecTV Updates iPhone App With Voice Commands • OS X 10.8.4 Build 12E52 Seeded to Developers • Verizon Cuts Price on iPhone 5 by $100 for Some Customers • Mophie Introduces New 2,100 mAh iPhone 5 Battery Case • Limelight for iPhone Lets Users Catalog and Share Movie Choices • iMovie Updated With Bug Fixes and Stability Improvements • ABC Begins Live Streaming Philly and NYC Stations via iOS App    
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Apple's San Francisco flagship retail store has been a particularly high-profile location for the company since it opened nine years ago, but the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Apple has submitted plans to move the store to a new location three blocks away. The new location at Stockton and Post streets will be directly adjacent to Union Square, the focal point of San Francisco's high-end shopping district.Supervisor David Chiu said he hoped the new silver box-shaped computer store and customer service center would “turbo-charge” the Union Square area, which has long been home to many of the city’s high-end retailers. The new outlet will occupy the space at Stockton and Post streets formerly occupied by Levi’s and be about 45 percent larger than the existing space, though it will include all the same features.Rendering of new San Francisco flagship store on Union Square Apple says that the new location will increase its staff from the current 350 to 400 at the new location. The current flagship store at 1 Stockton Street is located directly adjacent to an entrance for a subway station serving both San Francisco's Muni Metro and the broader BART rail system. The new location is several blocks from the main Market Street transit corridor, but remains well served by transit and city officials hope that the new location will help draw more customers into the Union Square shopping district. San Francisco is also in the early stages of work on a new Central Subway line that will include a station directly at Union Square. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • Google Play Books for iOS Updated with Support for Uploaded Files • DirecTV Updates iPhone App With Voice Commands • OS X 10.8.4 Build 12E52 Seeded to Developers • Verizon Cuts Price on iPhone 5 by $100 for Some Customers • Mophie Introduces New 2,100 mAh iPhone 5 Battery Case • Limelight for iPhone Lets Users Catalog and Share Movie Choices • iMovie Updated With Bug Fixes and Stability Improvements • ABC Begins Live Streaming Philly and NYC Stations via iOS App    
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Apple today announced the winner of its "50 Billion App Countdown" promotion that saw the company pass that milestone on Wednesday afternoon. Word game Say the Same Thing from the band OK Go was the milestone download, with Brandon Ashmore from Mentor, Ohio making the winning download. Ashmore will will receive an iTunes Gift Card worth US$10,000. For the first time, Apple also gave the fifty downloaders after the big winner US$500 iTunes Gift Cards.“Apple would like to thank our incredible customers and developers for topping 50 billion apps downloaded,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “The App Store completely transformed how people use their mobile devices and created a thriving app ecosystem that has paid out over nine billion dollars to developers. We’re absolutely floored to cross this milestone in less than five years.”Apple ran similar promotions for ten billion and twenty-five billion downloads, in January 2011 and March 2012 respectively. The App Store took just under five years to hit the fifty billion download mark, though the rate of downloads has been accelerating and is now at more than 20 billion app downloads per year. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • Google Play Books for iOS Updated with Support for Uploaded Files • DirecTV Updates iPhone App With Voice Commands • OS X 10.8.4 Build 12E52 Seeded to Developers • Verizon Cuts Price on iPhone 5 by $100 for Some Customers • Mophie Introduces New 2,100 mAh iPhone 5 Battery Case • Limelight for iPhone Lets Users Catalog and Share Movie Choices • iMovie Updated With Bug Fixes and Stability Improvements • ABC Begins Live Streaming Philly and NYC Stations via iOS App    
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Apple CEO Tim Cook will testify in front of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation next week, Politico is reporting. The subcommittee is attached to the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The hearing, titled "Offshore Profit Shifting and the U.S. Tax Code - Part 2" will occur at 9:30AM on Tuesday May 27th in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The Subcommittee will continue its examination of the structures and methods employed by multinational corporations to shift profits offshore and how such activities are affected by the Internal Revenue Code and related regulations. Witnesses will include representatives from the Department of the Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service, representatives of a multinational corporation, and tax experts.Representatives from Microsoft and HP testified on September 12 on the same topic. Apple recently borrowed $17 billion in a bond offering, in part to return cash to shareholders without bringing some of its $100 billion overseas cash pile to the United States. If it were to repatriate that cash to the U.S., it would need to pay a more than $13 billion tax bill. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • Verizon Cuts Price on iPhone 5 by $100 for Some Customers • Mophie Introduces New 2,100 mAh iPhone 5 Battery Case • Limelight for iPhone Lets Users Catalog and Share Movie Choices • iMovie Updated With Bug Fixes and Stability Improvements • ABC Begins Live Streaming Philly and NYC Stations via iOS App • Makers of Clear Tease New iPhone Photography App 'Analog Camera' • Groupon Releases 'Breadcrumb' Point-of-Sale App for iPad • Firefox 21 Launches with Enhanced Social API Support, Health Report    
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Apple's App Store today reached 50 billion downloads since its inception in 2008, and along with the milestone comes the end of the company's "50 Billion App Countdown" promotion launched thirteen days ago. The winner of the promotion, who is yet to be announced, will be awarded a $10,000 gift card valid for App Store, Mac App Store, or any other iTunes Store content. Fifty additional winners will receive $500 gift cards. The milestone is being acknowledged on Apple's website with a graphic showing a "Thanks" message written using award-winning iPad app Paper by FiftyThree. The App Store took nearly 3 years, 8 months to reach 25 billion downloads, with the next 25 billion downloads requiring only about 14.5 months. With the last 25 billion downloads coming over a period of 14.5 months, Apple's pace is now at over 20 billion downloads per year or over 50 million per day. As tracked by our sister site AppShopper, Apple has approved a total of nearly 1.2 million apps for the App Store since its launch, with nearly 850,000 of them currently available in the store. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • Mophie Introduces New 2,100 mAh iPhone 5 Battery Case • Limelight for iPhone Lets Users Catalog and Share Movie Choices • iMovie Updated With Bug Fixes and Stability Improvements • ABC Begins Live Streaming Philly and NYC Stations via iOS App • Makers of Clear Tease New iPhone Photography App 'Analog Camera' • Groupon Releases 'Breadcrumb' Point-of-Sale App for iPad • Firefox 21 Launches with Enhanced Social API Support, Health Report • Square Pushes Further Into the Cash Register Business With the Square Stand    
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At the Google I/O keynote in San Francisco this morning, Google demonstrated an upcoming overhaul for its mobile mapping apps on iOS and Android and announced an iPad version of Google Maps that will hit the App Store this summer. The new version of Google Maps will incorporate both restaurant and location ratings from Zagat. Google is bringing Google Offers integration to its mobile maps, providing discounts and coupons from retailers like Starbucks directly in the app. Searching for a restaurant or location within Google Maps will display ratings, reviews, and available offers. Image Courtesy of The Verge Google also plans to add live coverage of traffic incidents around the world, providing real time alerts with dynamic re-routing capabilities to improve the functionality of its turn-by-turn directions. As for Google Maps on the iPad, Google introduced a new tablet-centric feature called "Experience," which provides indoor maps for a variety of locations, displaying restaurant and shopping options. While on stage, Google's Mobile Director of Maps Daniel Graf didn't waste an opportunity to poke fun at Apple's Maps while on stage. While speaking about Google Maps on iOS, he had this to say: "People called it sleek, simple, beautiful… and let's not forget accurate." Apple Maps, which was introduced alongside iOS 6 to replace Google Maps, has been heavily criticized for providing inaccurate results and for its lack of crucial features, like transit information. Though Apple has been working to improve Maps, the addition of real time traffic reports, rerouting, and a more personalized experience puts Google Maps even further ahead of Apple Maps. Google also demoed its redesigned desktop mapping experience, which has a heavy focus on both "immersive imagery" and a more personalized experience. As noted by The Verge, Google Maps will be given a total design overhaul, providing an edge-to-edge map within the browser window that is accented by a single search box. Maps are vector-based and quick loading, with details on locations and directions provided by information cards. A lone search box in the upper left gives you access to Maps’ features, as does clicking on elements within the map. Google has integrated Google Now’s card metaphor to present information from a newly built-in version of Google Earth, reviews from Zagat and Google+, Street View, and directions. And new user interface tweaks surface locations and transit routes before you even search for them.Clicking on a location within Google Maps will display reviews and a 360 degree inside-view option. Maps on the desktop has also been enhanced with imagery that allows users to explore mountains, oceans, and more, as it incorporates Google Earth's 3D view. Google is currently allowing users to sign up to preview the new Google Maps desktop experience. Google's iPad app and redesigned mobile apps will be released this summer. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • Mophie Introduces New 2,100 mAh iPhone 5 Battery Case • Limelight for iPhone Lets Users Catalog and Share Movie Choices • iMovie Updated With Bug Fixes and Stability Improvements • ABC Begins Live Streaming Philly and NYC Stations via iOS App • Makers of Clear Tease New iPhone Photography App 'Analog Camera' • Groupon Releases 'Breadcrumb' Point-of-Sale App for iPad • Firefox 21 Launches with Enhanced Social API Support, Health Report • Square Pushes Further Into the Cash Register Business With the Square Stand    
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Google has unveiled a new unified messaging service that is designed to work on Android, iOS, and the web. Called Hangouts, the app incorporates and unifies several different Google services, including Google Talk, Google+ Messenger, and the existing Google+ Hangouts.Today we're launching a stand-alone version of Hangouts that combines text, photos and live video across Android, iOS and your computer. Now that Hangouts spans modalities and devices, you can finally fuhgeddaboudit (the technology, that is), and focus on what really matters: creating lasting relationships. And that, we think, is a plus.Hangouts, which is similar to Facebook Messenger, places an emphasis on "conversations which last," saving chats between users in the cloud and allowing users to access past chats, shared photos, and video call history. The app's interface also emphasizes conversations over contacts and supports both multimedia content and additions like emoji. According to Google's Senior Vice President of Engineering Vic Gundrota, detailed chat history can be toggled off. “Of course we give you the ability to delete those things,” he said. “But having the ability so save those conversations, I think is delightful and amazing.” Because Hangouts relies on Google's cloud, both video and text chats can take place on a number of different devices and between multiple people. The app will be available today from Google Play, the App Store, and the Chrome Web Store. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • Limelight for iPhone Lets Users Catalog and Share Movie Choices • iMovie Updated With Bug Fixes and Stability Improvements • ABC Begins Live Streaming Philly and NYC Stations via iOS App • Makers of Clear Tease New iPhone Photography App 'Analog Camera' • Groupon Releases 'Breadcrumb' Point-of-Sale App for iPad • Firefox 21 Launches with Enhanced Social API Support, Health Report • Square Pushes Further Into the Cash Register Business With the Square Stand • Facebook for iOS Adds Sharing and Saving Options to Photo Viewer    
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Google today officially announced its new music subscription service, Google Play Music All Access, at the Google I/O conference in San Francisco. As reported yesterday afternoon, the service is designed to compete with Spotify, providing songs on demand that can be streamed to a computer or mobile device. The service, which is built on Google's existing Google Play Music Store, will cost $9.99 per month with a 30-day free trial available. Google is, however, offering a discount for early adopters. Those who begin the free trial by June 30 will pay just $7.99 per month. The Verge has a rundown on a few of the available features for music discovery and recommendations.A recommendation engine will guide users towards new music they may have already discovered. As demoed on an Android device — it also works in a standard web browser — All Access incorporates both local tracks and those available for streaming into one master searchable library, a marked improvement over much of its streaming competition.Google's tagline for Google Play Music All Access is "Radio without Rules," a small jab at Apple's upcoming Pandora-style music service, iRadio. As of last week, Apple was still in negotiations with music labels but is reportedly aiming for a summer launch of its own music subscription service. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • Limelight for iPhone Lets Users Catalog and Share Movie Choices • iMovie Updated With Bug Fixes and Stability Improvements • ABC Begins Live Streaming Philly and NYC Stations via iOS App • Makers of Clear Tease New iPhone Photography App 'Analog Camera' • Groupon Releases 'Breadcrumb' Point-of-Sale App for iPad • Firefox 21 Launches with Enhanced Social API Support, Health Report • Square Pushes Further Into the Cash Register Business With the Square Stand • Facebook for iOS Adds Sharing and Saving Options to Photo Viewer    
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At today's Google I/O keynote, Google unveiled Google Play Game Services, which is designed to compete with Apple's Game Center. Like Game Center, Game Services features real-time multiplayer capabilities, leaderboards, cloud saves, and achievements. The service is not limited to Android developers as Google has developed it to link gaming across Android, iOS, and the web. Google will be providing the SDK for Game Services to both iOS and web developers in addition to Android developers. As noted by Engadget, Game Services more closely resembles the now-defunct OpenFeint social gaming platform than Game Center.Unlike Apple's Game Center application, what Google's offering is backend support for developers rather than a standalone application. Think of it more like OpenFeint than Game Center – you can sign in using your Google+ login in-game, and that login will track your identity (including leaderboard scores, achievements and saves) across various games and devices.Several Android games have been updated with the new gaming service, including Osmos, Kingdom Rush, and Super Stickman Golf 2. The service and the SDK are launching today, with the following features:- Achievements that increase engagement and promote different styles of play. - Social and public leaderboards that seamlessly use Google+ circles to track high scores across friends and across the world. - Cloud saves that provide a simple and streamlined storage API to store game saves and settings. Now players never have to replay Level 1 again. - Real-time multiplayer for easy addition of cooperative or competitive game play on Android devices.Google's Game Services comes several years after the introduction of Apple's Game Center. Game Center was originally introduced in 2010 and underwent a major overhaul in late 2011. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • Limelight for iPhone Lets Users Catalog and Share Movie Choices • iMovie Updated With Bug Fixes and Stability Improvements • ABC Begins Live Streaming Philly and NYC Stations via iOS App • Makers of Clear Tease New iPhone Photography App 'Analog Camera' • Groupon Releases 'Breadcrumb' Point-of-Sale App for iPad • Firefox 21 Launches with Enhanced Social API Support, Health Report • Square Pushes Further Into the Cash Register Business With the Square Stand • Facebook for iOS Adds Sharing and Saving Options to Photo Viewer    
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Earlier this year, we noted that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was continuing to look at the use of personal electronic devices during the taxi, takeoff, and landing phases of commercial flights, hoping to take action by the end of the year to loosen restrictions currently requiring that all devices be powered down during these times. Bloomberg now provides another update on the situation, noting that the airline industry remains divided over whether restrictions should be relaxed as reports of possible interference between these devices and aircraft electronics continue to surface. The report leads with a brief anecdote involving an iPhone:The regional airliner was climbing past 9,000 feet when its compasses went haywire, leading pilots several miles off course until a flight attendant persuaded a passenger in row 9 to switch off an Apple Inc. iPhone. “The timing of the cellphone being turned off coincided with the moment where our heading problem was solved,” the unidentified co-pilot told NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System about the 2011 incident. The plane landed safely.Despite the fact that correlation does not necessarily imply causation, some pilots and airlines remain concerned over the potential impact of these electronic devices on their aircraft. The International Air Transport Association collected a list of 75 suspected cases of interference between 2003 and 2009 and airlines are continuing to see occasional reports, although some remain in favor of relaxing the regulations.Even Delta Air Lines Inc., which argued for relaxed rules, told the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration its pilots and mechanics reported 27 suspected incidents of passenger electronics causing aircraft malfunctions from 2010 to 2012. Atlanta-based Delta said it couldn’t verify there was interference in any of those cases. The airline industry has been divided. Delta said in its filing that it welcomes more electronics use because that’s what its passengers wanted. United Continental Holdings Inc. said it preferred no changes because they’d be difficult for flight attendants to enforce.Just last week, a study indicated that 30% of U.S. airline passengers who have brought electronic devices onboard have accidentally left them on at least once. With increased connectivity in the air through in-flight Wi-Fi and pilots even taking advantage of iPads to replace their traditional flight bags weighing 30-40 pounds, consumer demand for increased access to their electronic devices during flight has raised visibility of the debate over whether such devices pose risks during critical phases of flight. For now, the debate continues to play out as both sides seek to use scientific data to back up their positions. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • Limelight for iPhone Lets Users Catalog and Share Movie Choices • iMovie Updated With Bug Fixes and Stability Improvements • ABC Begins Live Streaming Philly and NYC Stations via iOS App • Makers of Clear Tease New iPhone Photography App 'Analog Camera' • Groupon Releases 'Breadcrumb' Point-of-Sale App for iPad • Firefox 21 Launches with Enhanced Social API Support, Health Report • Square Pushes Further Into the Cash Register Business With the Square Stand • Facebook for iOS Adds Sharing and Saving Options to Photo Viewer    
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Reuters is reporting that Apple has responded to the Justice Department's accusations that the company colluded with publishers to increase e-book pricing, saying that it negotiated with the publishers separately and reached different agreements with each.But Apple said the publishers had decided, independent of Apple, to eliminate discounts on wholesale book prices of e-books, to sell lucrative hardcover books first to bookstores in a practice called windowing and to take other measures to push Amazon to raise prices.In a court filing dated April 26 but released on Tuesday, Apple said it had approached publishers to create an online bookstore that would eventually become the iBookstore and had demanded a 30 percent commission, that publishers would not undercut prices paid to Apple, and that "windowing" be scrapped. Apple said that points of contention in early negotiations centered around Apple's demand for a 30 percent commission and price caps. Apple went on to note that each publisher immediately offered its own counterproposals in what Apple described as "tough negotiations." The company also claims that before it entered the market the publishers were engaged in a battle to break Amazon's grip on the low-cost e-book market, with Apple laying the blame for any potential collusion on the publishers. The lawsuit was originally filed in April 2012 and included HarperCollins, Simon and Schuster, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan and Penguin, but the Justice Deparment settled with the publishers and has since concentrated on Apple. Recently, CEO Tim Cook was ordered to testify in the case. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • Limelight for iPhone Lets Users Catalog and Share Movie Choices • iMovie Updated With Bug Fixes and Stability Improvements • ABC Begins Live Streaming Philly and NYC Stations via iOS App • Makers of Clear Tease New iPhone Photography App 'Analog Camera' • Groupon Releases 'Breadcrumb' Point-of-Sale App for iPad • Firefox 21 Launches with Enhanced Social API Support, Health Report • Square Pushes Further Into the Cash Register Business With the Square Stand • Facebook for iOS Adds Sharing and Saving Options to Photo Viewer    
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Google is set to announce a new music subscription service tomorrow at its annual Google I/O conference, reports The Verge, having finalized deals with Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment., and Warner Music Group. The service is said to be a direct Spotify competitor, offering up songs on demand that can be streamed to a computer or mobile device for a set monthly fee. Though Google has had an existing music service since 2011, it operates in a manner that is similar to iTunes, allowing users to purchase individual songs and albums. It also has a "locker" that lets users store digital entertainment collections. Pricing information on the new service has yet to be released, but The New York Times claims that Google will not offer a freemium ad-supported tier.Google's streaming service will not include a free tier, according to the people briefed on the plans who did not want to be identified discussing confidential matters. The subscription rate was not known, but is expected to be similar to that of Spotify and other competing services, like Rhapsody and Rdio, which tend to charge about $10 a month.While Google's streaming music service will be released ahead of Apple's rumored iRadio service, the two are fundamentally different. With a Spotify model Google will be able to offer songs piecemeal, while Apple's iRadio is said to closely resemble Pandora, which plays a selection of random songs based on user preference. As of last week, Apple was still in negotiations with music labels. Google's subscription music service will be connected to Play, Google's digital content distribution platform. The Wall Street Journal notes that the upcoming streaming music service is separate from a second paid music subscription service in the works from YouTube, which would give users access to music videos and audio-only songs. Google I/O is set to kick off tomorrow with an opening keynote at 9am PT at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • iMovie Updated With Bug Fixes and Stability Improvements • ABC Begins Live Streaming Philly and NYC Stations via iOS App • Makers of Clear Tease New iPhone Photography App 'Analog Camera' • Groupon Releases 'Breadcrumb' Point-of-Sale App for iPad • Firefox 21 Launches with Enhanced Social API Support, Health Report • Square Pushes Further Into the Cash Register Business With the Square Stand • Facebook for iOS Adds Sharing and Saving Options to Photo Viewer • 1Password Update for iOS Features Improvements to 1Browser, Sharing and Search    
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The CharityBuzz auction for coffee with Apple CEO Tim Cook has just ended, with a final bid driving the price up to $610,000. Previously, the auction had stagnated at $605,000, where it remained until 30 minutes before the bidding closed. The $610,000 bid was placed by a newcomer to the auction who had not previously bid before, known only as "a********s." While CharityBuzz will not release the name of the high bidder, it is possible that the winner will come forward to take advantage of the publicity surrounding the auction. Currently, the money that the Tim Cook auction has brought in is more than twice as much as the total of the current high bids on the other 118 auctions that are supporting the RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights. Because the bidding totals ran so high with bidders clamoring for a moment in the spotlight, CharityBuzz was forced to implement bank qualification terms before additional bids could be placed, which slowed bidding considerably. Under the terms of the auction, the high bidder is entitled to a 30–60 minute meeting with Cook at Apple headquarters on a mutually agreed upon date. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • iMovie Updated With Bug Fixes and Stability Improvements • ABC Begins Live Streaming Philly and NYC Stations via iOS App • Makers of Clear Tease New iPhone Photography App 'Analog Camera' • Groupon Releases 'Breadcrumb' Point-of-Sale App for iPad • Firefox 21 Launches with Enhanced Social API Support, Health Report • Square Pushes Further Into the Cash Register Business With the Square Stand • Facebook for iOS Adds Sharing and Saving Options to Photo Viewer • 1Password Update for iOS Features Improvements to 1Browser, Sharing and Search    
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Networking company Sandvine has released a new report that breaks down North American iTunes traffic on fixed networks, examining how iTunes customers are using the service. Surprisingly, the largest portion of iTunes traffic is not generated from streaming, but from the App Store. Direct App Store downloads account for 38.1% of total iTunes traffic, while 36.15% of traffic comes from iTunes streaming, which includes movie and song previews, along with iTunes Match. With iTunes Match, customers can stream music and video purchases to both mobile devices and Apple TVs. Apple's streaming traffic may increase in the coming months with the introduction of iRadio, the company's rumored streaming radio service. Media downloads, which are non application purchases such as music, movies, and books make up the third largest portion of iTunes traffic at 20.47% and the final 5.33% of traffic is generated from iTunes Browsing as users visit various App Store and iTunes pages. As Tim Cook noted in Apple's Q2 financial results call, iTunes has been experiencing phenomenal growth with record quarterly billings of $4 billion. Apple's App Store is nearing 50 billion downloads and has paid out more than $9 billion to developers. Sandvine's report also points out that Apple manufactured devices generate 45% of all streaming audio and video on fixed access networks, with the iPad generating the most traffic at 10%. To generate its report, Sandvine examined a cross-section of customer data, gathered over a one-month period and compiled a 24-hour profile of each network normalized by the number of active subscribers at each hour of the day. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • Makers of Clear Tease New iPhone Photography App 'Analog Camera' • Groupon Releases 'Breadcrumb' Point-of-Sale App for iPad • Firefox 21 Launches with Enhanced Social API Support, Health Report • Square Pushes Further Into the Cash Register Business With the Square Stand • Facebook for iOS Adds Sharing and Saving Options to Photo Viewer • 1Password Update for iOS Features Improvements to 1Browser, Sharing and Search • Flipboard Enhances User Curated Magazines with Profile Pages and 'Friends' Category • Amazon Releases 'Cloud Drive Photos' App for iPhone    
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Apple has quietly given Siri the ability to answer user responses with quotes, citing famous passages from notable people like William Strunk and Thomas Jefferson. First noticed by iLounge, the quotes are used when Siri is asked a question that is excessively long, tactfully reminding the user of the value of brevity. When Siri is given a request that is too lengthy, she will now respond with one of several different quotes that suggest that the user shorten the question. For example, one quote from Thomas Jefferson reads, "The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do." Siri has a range of different quotes in her repertoire, including one from the 1970's television show MASH. It is unknown when the change to Siri was implemented, but a Reddit thread from last week appears to contain the first known instance of the phrasing, suggesting that Siri's new quoting ability was added within the last week or two. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • Facebook for iOS Adds Sharing and Saving Options to Photo Viewer • 1Password Update for iOS Features Improvements to 1Browser, Sharing and Search • Flipboard Enhances User Curated Magazines with Profile Pages and 'Friends' Category • Amazon Releases 'Cloud Drive Photos' App for iPhone • Apple Expands Two-Step Verification to Additional Countries • Apple Releases Thunderbolt Software Update 1.2 • Paracable Offering Colorful Paracord-Wrapped Lightning-to-USB Cables • New Antenna-Related Part From Upcoming iPhone Surfaces    
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