Wednesday’s Apple Rumors: Next Wave

by Anthony John Agnello | June 8, 2011 12:47 pm

Here are your Apple rumors and news items for Wednesday:

New Hints: Developers with access to an early version of Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL[1]) new mobile operating system have found tantalizing hints suggesting new models of the company’s popular portable devices. According to a Tuesday report at TUAW[2], the new operating system has files referencing compatible devices labeled “iPad 3,1” and “iPad 3,2.” Previous rumors about the next iPad model, expected sometime between the fourth quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012, have indicated that it will be a significant upgrade over the second-generation model released in March. The code also refers to “iPhone 4,1″ and iPhone 4,2” models, lending some credence to reports that the next iPhone release will not be a dramatic remodeling of the smartphone, but simply a revision of the iPhone model first released in June 2010 that makes it compatible with T-Mobile USA and Sprint‘s (NYSE:S[3]) respective networks. Also interesting is the lack of reference in the code to the iPod Touch device, indicating that Apple may be moving to finally phase out the media player from its product line.

Game Shape: Firemint’s Real Racing games have been some of the best-selling titles on both the iPhone and iPad since they began to debut in late 2009. The company’s new game, Real Racing HD, will be one of the first to use the Apple TV set-top box as a living room video-game player in the fall. Consumers using both an iPad and an Apple TV will be able to stream the game onto a high-definition television set using a feature called “AirPlay Mirroring” that is part of the new mobile operating system due out by the end of the year. Apple has been hinting that it wanted to enter the video game console business using Apple TV for some time. Its commercial appeal will undoubtedly be limited because of the high cost of both an iPad and the Apple TV, a combination that runs $300 more than Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT[4]) Xbox 360 and Kinect.

Fee Dodge: Pearson‘s (NYSE:PSO[5]) Financial Times newspaper is taking its iPhone and iPad app out of Apple’s store, according to a Tuesday report at Mac Rumors[6]. The paper has built a new interactive version of its online edition intended for use on Apple’s portable devices. The new edition is not just a move to impress readers with a technologically advanced publication, but an effort to avoid having to pay Apple 30% of all purchases made through Apple’s app store. Apple introduced a new subscription policy in February requiring all digital magazines and papers on the iPhone to be sold through the app store. Since the new Financial Times isn’t built on Apple’s operating system, it will not be subject to Apple’s guidelines. It would not be surprising to see other publishers followed this example in the coming months.

As of this writing, Anthony John Agnello did not own a position in any of the stocks named here. Follow him on Twitter at @ajohnagnello[7] and become a fan of InvestorPlace on Facebook.[8]

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2011/06/wednesdays-apple-rumors-next-wave/

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