Here is your daily Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) news items and rumors for Thursday:
April Showers Bring iPad 2?: Citing “reliable sources,” the website Mac Notes.de claims that the iPad 2 will be released in the U.S. on either April 2or April 7, with an international release to follow in July. More interesting are claims that the device will be available only at Apple’s own stores until October, with prominent U.S. retailers of Apple products like Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) and Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) not getting access to the device until the next holiday season. Additional details regarding the iPad 2’s specifications parrot previous rumors: It will feature a standard USB port, two cameras, and a retina display, though not a retina display with the same dpi-resolution as the iPhone 4.
Find My Friends: Apple has released a beta version of the next update to its mobile operating system iOS, and an early version sheds light on new features for Apple’s current handhelds — as well as hints to future models. First is the new “Find My Friends” feature, a new location-sharing application for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Similar to Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Google Latitude, “Find My Friends” will allow users on Apple-platform handhelds to build friend lists that transmit contacts’ physical locations using GPS and WiFi positioning. Website Mac Rumors uncovered the app in the iOS 4.3 code, noting that it was associated with Apple’s subscription-based MobileMe services, implying that “Find My Friends” will not be free to all iOS users. Meanwhile, tech blog Engadget found that the early software code references six new products. Three new iPhone labels appear in the code, and while “iPhone 3,3” is recognized as the new CDMA iPhone seeing release on Verizon’s network next month, “iPhone 4,1” and “iPhone 4,2” are unknown models. Three new iPad model labels appear in the code as well. “iPad 2,1,” “iPad 2,2,” and “iPad 2,3” all lend credence to rumors that a second-generation iPad will be announced shortly.
Phone Home: Boy Genius Report published a story Wednesday saying that the next generations of both the iPad and the iPhone will abandon the iconic home button and use touchscreen gestures only for navigating the handhelds’ operating systems. Jonathan Geller wrote, “Instead of button taps, you will use multitouch gestures to navigate the home screen and launch the app switcher … It’s possible we will see this new change materialize with the next generation iPad and iPhone devices set to launch this year.” Improbable as it seems that Apple would turn away from device design so tied to its products’ identities, the beta version of iOS 4.3 released to developers this week does introduce a feature that lets users navigate to the iPad and iPhone home screen using the touchscreen only.
Thin is In: An Apple patent made public by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office this week describes technology that could make Apple’s next generation of handhelds demonstrably thinner. “Touch Sensing Device Having Conductive Nodes” describes a new method for creating capacitive touch panels using new, more diminutive conductive nodes that could allow the already trim connected devices get even thinner and even extend their battery lives.
As of this writing, Anthony John Agnello did not own a position in any of the stocks named here.
