Snow Leopard has barely gotten its paws wet, and now news comes that Apple is already working on its replacement. It’s not really surprising, since Apple is basically always either working on the next iteration of its products or releasing them, but still, it does whet the appetite for the next version of OS X.

The suggestion of the new operating system appeared in an entry posted early this morning in a change database for “launchd,” an open source framework that controls the booting of OS X and administers running processes. The new entry includes an error message with the string “11A47″ in it, which is a reference to what version of Mac OS X is being used.

Previous versions of OS X have all followed the same numbering scheme. The number at the start of the string references which version of OS X is being used, with the letter indicated the minor release number and finally another number at the end indicating the development progress of said minor release. So, for example, Snow Leopard at release was represented by the string 10A432, and Leopard was 9A571. 11A47, then, would seem to indicate that an early build of 10.7 was being used.

According to MacRumors, the “47″ part of that number would suggest that Apple has already been working on the new version of OS X for at least a couple of months now. It’s still very early days, though, and probably even a long way off from a release to the developer community. We saw a two-year span between 10.4 and 10.5, but only a one year gap between the release of 10.5 and 10.6, because 10.6 represented mainly performance upgrades and refinements. Chances are, 10.7 is at least another year and a half off.

No news yet on what to expect in 10.7, although there is reason to believe that the upcoming iteration of OS X will bring more major changes than the last update. Traditionally, Apple introduces far more GUI and basic functionality changes in major point releases, but Snow Leopard was a special exception to that rule, a fact reflected in the price. It’s possible that Apple will release OS 11 at some point, but as of right now, it seems likely that it will continue with the current numbering scheme.

Anything in particular you’d like to see in 10.7? Maybe something you were disappointed wasn’t there in OS X 10.6? Personally, I still think Finder could use some further fine-tuning, but otherwise I’m at a loss at the moment.

If you’re planning your holiday shopping but want to get a good grasp of the budget available to you in advance, it helps to know what kind of deals you’re going to get. Luckily, Apple’s Black Friday discounts have been leaked early, so you can factor in those price reductions while you’re figuring out how pinched you’re going to be financially come January.

Boy Genius Report got the early tip-off, from an anonymous source. It comes in the form of what looks like a flyer image, detailing some pretty significant discounts on all things Apple, basically. They’re deep enough that you’d probably do well to hold off any Mac or iPod-related purchase for at least another 10 days just in case.

Here’s what we’re looking at, if the rumors prove true:

• Up to 30 percent off all iPods (excluding iPhone and iPod shuffle)
• Up to 25 percent off all Macs
• Up to 15 percent off all accessories, Apple software and Apple hardware

The sales seem to be available in Apple retail stores only, since the poster also states that “Select Apple stores open at 6 am,” and a line at the bottom advertises the new availability of in-store gift-wrapping. Last year we saw online Black Friday discounts, though, so it’s possible we’ll see them again.

If these deals do indeed come to pass, they would be pretty significant compared with previous Black Friday sales by the Mac maker. Twenty-five percent off of all Macs is a very good discount, for example, and would result in a $500 discount on the Core i5 27-inch iMac, or a $250 discount on the entry-level MacBook. Compare that to a $101 discount on the MacBook last year, and a $101 discount on the top model iMac.

The teaser image leaked by BGR is fairly convincing, in that it does seem to use design cues and aesthetics currently favored by Apple in its marketing materials, but it’s hard not to be skeptical in the face of sound business sense — considering Apple’s previous Black Friday discounts, and the fact that last time I checked, it really wasn’t in a position to need to offer big price cuts to bolster sales.

If these do prove true, I’ve been putting a new Time Capsule or Airport Extreme purchase on the back burner for quite some time now, and that 15 percent off is nothing to sneeze at, given Apple’s usual reluctance to offer any kind of price cut at all. Anyone else planning on making a purchase if these discounts really do apply? Something you wouldn’t buy otherwise, perhaps?

Scheduling a Genius Bar or One to One training session appointment has never been that difficult. Just go to Apple’s web site, enter some information, and you’re done. But a new rumor over at AppleInsider suggests that it’s about to become even easier, thanks to a new in-house developed iPhone app that could be forthcoming soon from Apple.

News of the app comes via a “source that has proven reliable in the past,” though no further information is given. The app is said to be able to create appointments for both Genius Bar and One to One, and to view membership details for programs that require a subscription. No word yet on a street date for the app.

Presumably the app would allow users to make any kind of reservation currently only available online, including a personal shopping appointment. Although the web site system currently employed is easy enough to understand and use, I imagine a dedicated iPhone app designed by Apple would make the process so easy and intuitive that I’d probably actually use it far more than I currently do, particularly for personal shopping when new products launch.

MacRumors corroborates the report via separate sources, so it seems likely that the Concierge app will be forthcoming. I’d expect it to appear before the holidays, so that shoppers can take advantage of it pre-gift giving, and people on the receiving end of Apple products can use it after the holidays to schedule appointments.

The Concierge app would be the latest move in a series of efforts focused on improving Apple’s retail performance, including in-store pickup for holiday shoppers, more and improved stores, and the new EasyPay touch system.

AdMob, the mobile advertising firm that recently made headlines thanks to a Google acquisition, might have become part of the Apple fold if things had worked out differently, according to a report by Bloomberg that appeared this weekend. Apple reportedly approached AdMob with interest before the Google deal went down.

That’s according to “people familiar with the matter” speaking to Bloomberg. It isn’t clear which side of the deal the source was on, but he or she declined to go on record since the proposed talks were never made public. Apple is said to have contacted AdMob “a few weeks” before Google made its successful $750 million bid for the firm.

If true, the rumors point to the increasingly fierce competition between two major players in the mobile phone game. Google’s Android is being adopted by more and more manufacturers and distributed on more devices everyday. To have a piece not only of the revenue from the use of Android apps and devices, but also from the advertising that appears on those phones, is a huge boon for the search giant.

It’s unclear why Apple’s bid didn’t succeed, if it was indeed made. It’s possible that Google made a better offer while Apple was still in talks with AdMob, or that the advertising firm used the Apple offer as a bargaining tool in enticing Google. All of the companies involved in both deals declined to comment on the reports made by the anonymous source.

Acquiring a mobile ad firm would have been a bit of a departure for Apple, which is still a hardware manufacturer first and foremost, but it is a logical move for Cupertino to make. Many of the ads AdMob displays in mobile apps direct users back to other programs in the App Store, so essentially Apple would just be closing the loop and taking in additional revenue by promoting its own revenue-generating software delivery method. Plus, it could probably use the company to place hardware ads as well, promoting less successful products through the massively popular iPhone.

If Apple is genuinely interested in getting into online advertising, it could attempt another acquisition, or it may start hiring staff with the necessary skill sets. I’d hazard a guess that if the computer maker did make a failed bid for AdMob, it’ll be twice shy about getting into the game now, since Google now controls an intimidating 30 percent to 40 percent of the mobile advertising market. It’d be hard to gain a solid foothold at this point.

Despite controlling a much smaller share of the market, Apple is now much more profitable than Nokia, overtaking the handset maker as the most lucrative company in the business of selling cell phones. Apple also overtook Samsung during the last financial quarter, so it actually jumped from third to first place overall among global cell phone companies.

Research firm Strategy Analytics (via Reuters) points out that while Apple is now the most profitable company in the cell phone industry, both Nokia and Samsung both still beat the Cupertino company in terms of sheer size. That’s especially good news for Apple, which makes much more on a per-unit basis than any other mobile phone maker. It makes approximately $320 pure profit on each iPhone sold, according to Strategy Analytics.

Estimated profits for Apple during the third financial quarter of this year are around $1.6 billion, compared with $1.1 billion for Nokia during the same period. It’s a commanding lead, and one that will likely only grow as Apple continues to end exclusivity deals around the world, opening up iPhone sales to more and more potential subscribers.

Of course, there isn’t a direct relationship between Apple’s gain and the slides Nokia and Samsung are experiencing. Other factors are at work, including the growing popularity of Google’s Android platform, which is being adopted by more cell phone makers and network providers. The arrival of the Palm Pre probably also had a negative impact on the handset sales of the two industry leaders.

Nokia is in the midst of a legal battle with Apple over what it sees as blatant copyright violation. Charles recently wrote about the conflict over intellectual property between the two firms. Nokia alleges that the iPhone infringes on not one, not two, but 10 patents it holds regarding wireless tech and standards. The timing of the suit, which comes shortly following a significant drop in market share for Symbian OS, seems quite suspect.

The future for Apple looks bright indeed, so long as it can continue taking in the same incredibly high profit margins on the iPhone. Part of its continued ability to do so is probably due to the fact that the 3GS iPhone revision actually seemed to require very little change on the production side, which would go a long way to keeping manufacturing costs down. A significant update will require more time to become profitable, but Apple’s continued success with the device means that the turnaround time required for that to happen will be remarkably short.

The second minor incremental update for OS X Snow Leopard was released today, and it contains the usual expected bug fixes. It is also is said to contain built-in support for Apple’s new Magic Mouse, and may or may not remove support for Intel Atom processors. If you happen to be using a hackintosh and can confirm or deny whether or not the latest update breaks your system, please comment below and let us know.

You can download the update via Software Update now, or get it directly from the Apple Support site. Here’s Apple’s rather lengthy description of the update, including major bug fixes:

The 10.6.2 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Snow Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, including fixes for:

• an issue that might cause your system to logout unexpectedly
• a graphics distortion in Safari Top Sites
• Spotlight search results not showing Exchange contacts
• a problem that prevented authenticating as an administrative user
• issues when using NTFS and WebDAV file servers
• the reliability of menu extras
• an issue with the 4-finger swipe gesture
• an issue that causes Mail to quit unexpectedly when setting up an Exchange server
• Address Book becoming unresponsive when editing
• a problem adding images to contacts in Address Book
• an issue that prevented opening files downloaded from the Internet
• Safari plug-in reliability
• general reliability improvements for iWork, iLife, Aperture, Final Cut Studio, MobileMe, and iDisk
• an issue that caused data to be deleted when using a guest account

For detailed information on this update, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3874.

For information on the security content of this update, please visit: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222.

We’ve all seen the Steve Jobs, the iPhone, the iPod, and the Mac costumes, but what do you do if you want to stand out from the crowd? The motto of our beloved company has long been “Think Different,” and it’s about time we bring that to the Halloween arena, too.

The day itself is tomorrow, so I’m providing some suggestions that haven’t been done to death, and that will go over especially well if you go to your local Mac club’s Halloween bash this weekend.

Costume #1: John Sculley

The Jobs costume, and even the Woz costume, are common enough, and Flickr is replete with examples of both. What isn’t so common is people opting to dress up like former Apple CEO John Sculley, who was Apple’s CEO when Steve Jobs was ousted from the company.

To dress up as Sculley, think conventional business person. A dark suit and sensible, solid-colored tie is best. Use some flour or temporary coloring in your hair to achieve a salt-and-pepper type look. Carry a bottle of Pepsi, or, as Steve Jobs likes to call it, “sugared water.” Carry a Newton in the other hand if you can find one. Also bring with you many copies of your autobiography “Odyssey” and distribute to everyone you meet.

Costume #2: The Apple Lisa

It’s easy to dress like the original Mac, since the shape is basically the same as a large cardboard box which you can then detail as needed. What’s more challenging, and therefore more impressive if you do pull it off, is the Apple Lisa.

The Lisa, released in 1983, was a beast compared to the Mac, a wide squat gal with two 5.25-inch floppy drives stacked next to the built-in monitor. You could manage this on your own, but for more accuracy, partner up and make this a two person costume. For added fun, create an Apple ProFile external hard disk replica and wear it atop your Lisa costume. When people accuse you of being unsuccessful, retort with “At least NASA loved me!”

Costume #3: Hexley the Platypus

Who doesn’t love the adorable mascot of Apple’s open source operating system, Darwin? His name is Hexley, and he’s a platypus, and he’s unsanctioned by Apple. Whether or not he’s officially approved of by Apple, which bases OS X on the Darwin POSIX-compliant operating system, as a costume idea, he’s rife with potential.

At the very least, you’ll need a full-body platypus costume, which can’t be that hard to find. Just look in the “marsupial” section at your local dress-up shop. If all the platypus costumes are already rented, a black duck-bill and a flat, broad tail will suffice.

If you really want to go all out, you’ll also need a soft red cap with devil horns attached to it, and a big red pitchfork. Other optional props include a perfect floating sphere of water, a giant-size old-fashioned key, and a giant worm. If you feel like being even more obscure, try other Apple-related mascots like Clarus the Dogcow.

Costume #4: The Moscone Center

It’s the building where virtually every major Apple event goes down, including the Macworld Expo, and the Worldwide Developers Conference. It’s also probably the most challenging costume on this list, but if you go for the very recognizable corner view seen in the photo shown here, it might not be that difficult.

Wear two large pieces of cardboard joined to form a corner. Round the top, and coat with yellow tissue paper to mimic the inside lighting. Cover with a top layer of cellophane or transparency material to emulate the windows, and make sure to paint in window separators and apply giant Apple decals. Make a “street” attached to the bottom of the costume, and glue toy cars to it for added realism.

There you have it, four ways to stand out from the crowd this Halloween, and show your love of Apple. Also a great way to alienate non-techies and possibly get beat up, if you’re still in high school.

The tablet rumor mill is heating up, which is in keeping with the early 2010 release date that’s been mentioned in earlier reports. The latest news to hit the web is that Apple has been talking to the Australian media about content provision for the fanboi device of legend.

The news comes via Australian paper The Sydney Morning Herald, which reports that Apple is providing technical details about the tablet multimedia device (which remains unconfirmed, despite all the buzz surrounding it) to media providers in the hopes of sussing out how strong interest is.

No one representing the Australian companies approached would actually go on record about the recent sales pitch by Apple, but presumably the Herald’s source is someone from one of them speaking off the record. The source clearly wasn’t privy to the specifications themselves, or I’m the sure the Herald would’ve printed those, too. Instead, the paper just mentions existing rumors about the device’s size, touchscreen and purpose.

Also mentioned is the Kindle, which had previously attempted to make the same kind of overtures in Australia that Apple is supposedly now making. The problem with the Kindle was that Amazon wanted a 70 percent cut of revenue from all media sold for its device, while Apple is said to be looking for the same 30 percent that it asks of developers selling applications via the App Store. That’s one of the benefits of being a hardware company first and foremost, I suppose.

The content will apparently be delivered via individually branded apps that will allow for in-app purchases and direct digital distribution — which reinforces rumors that the tablet will be based on iPhone OS, not on Mac’s desktop and notebook OS X. Personally, I’m finding it harder and harder to pinpoint exactly where this device will fit in with current customer needs. It seems sort of like a Nokia Internet Tablet or Archos’ recent Android-based media player.

Earlier this week, it was reported that New York Times editor Bill Keller mentioned the “impending Apple slate” in an off-the-record meeting with newsroom staff, and many NYT executives and book publishers have made comments in the past year about Apple approaching to take the temperature for a tablet-type device.

Long story short, the storm clouds are gathering, and now there’s little else we can do but watch and wait for the rain to start, unless Apple has found little reason to make it rain at all. All of these rumors talk about Apple gauging the interest of media companies in such a device, yet none talk about how the companies in question responded to said inquiries. If an acceptable level of interest wasn’t present, could Apple shelve this tablet before it ever sees the light of day?

Microsoft may have only just launched Windows 7, but Apple isn’t sitting back and letting Redmond enjoy its time in the spotlight. Instead, last night it revealed three new ads in the popular “Get a Mac” series featuring John Hodgman and Justin Long, all of which go after Windows 7 by name.

The three ads, “Broken Promises,” “Teeter Tottering,” and “PC News” all have a slightly different take on what’s wrong with Windows, but they all manage to find fault. And they all do so without actually citing anything concrete about Windows 7, which really hasn’t been around long enough to generate the kind of widespread complaints that plagued Vista.

PC News

It’s the Windows 7 release news coverage, except the excited masses aren’t on board with Microsoft. They’re taking advantage of the call to upgrade to Macs instead. The theory being, if MS is saying “All right everybody, ditch Vista!” they might as well switch to an OS they know for a fact actually is user-friendly. Not the best of the bunch, and the logic behind it is kind of a stretch.

Teeter Tottering

Sort of like a single case study of one PC user from the first ad, this one follows an XP user getting ready to switch. To Mac, not Windows 7, despite PC’s repeated overtures to try to get her to stay. What’s great about this commercial is that Justin Long as Mac never says a word, and instead the only debating that goes on occurs between the PC user and Hodgman, so the customer ends up convincing themselves. Hence, the real benefits of Mac are self-evident.

Broken Promises

Only the basic Mac/PC duo are featured in this third new ad, unless you count the inclusion of their former selves from years gone by. This is my personal favorite of the bunch. It uses fictional remembered exchanges between Mac and PC over the years as each iteration of Windows was released, all the way back to Windows 2. A nice visual touch on the part of Apple’s advertising team is the way Apple’s outfit changes only minimally from clip to clip, while PC seems to be a slave to the fashion trends of the time. It paints PC as dated and Mac as timeless.

PC users probably haven’t even had a chance to become disillusioned with Windows 7 yet, but Apple is doing the smart thing by not letting them get the chance. These ads say it all: If Microsoft’s laid the groundwork for an upgrade mentality, best to swoop in and grab a few switchers while the getting’s good.

Mobile phone giant Nokia declared an intellectual property war against Apple today, alleging the iPhone infringes on 10 patents relating to wireless technologies and standards.

Of course, the lawsuit has nothing to do with Nokia losing smartphone market share to Apple, as the chart from AdMob indicates (Nokia owns Symbian OS), and the legal action couldn’t possibly have anything to do with Nokia’s latest earnings report. Last quarter, the mobile phone maker lost $832 million, sales declining 20 percent year over year. No, Nokia is going after Apple on “principle.”

The patents in question relate to GSM, UMTS, and wireless LAN standards covering “wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption.” Nokia states that more than 40 companies have entered into licensing agreements, but not “unprincipled” Apple.

According to Ilkka Rahnasto, VP of Legal & Intellectual Property at Nokia, it is a “basic principle” in the industry that those contributing to technological development be compensated. Apple is “attempting to get a free ride on the back of Nokia’s innovation.” Supposedly, every iPhone introduced since 2007 uses technology that infringes on Nokia patents.

Considering Nokia didn’t sue Apple in 2007 and seek an injunction to stop the iPhone from being sold, it’s likely this lawsuit is a way of moving stalled royalty negotiations forward. Apple will probably settle. A guess of $10 per iPhone in royalties would be $210 million to date, not an insignificant amount, and a little less profit off each iPhone going forward, but someone has to help Nokia innovate.

Right now, as you read this, there are five iTunes-flavored profiles over on Twitter, providing their followers with SMS-length dispatches on music, podcasts, TV shows and other content on offer in Apple’s titan digital media platform.

They are, it must be said, almost entirely pointless. For some reason this week they’ve received a fair bit of coverage from the Mac tech press, but there was (and remains) both little good to say about them and little incentive to actually follow them.

Here’s a quick rundown of the accounts (stats as they stood at time of writing) plus one random example tweet from each.

@itunestrailers
Joined March 12, 2009
466 tweets
1,164,348 followers
“10 new trailers now live: http://www.apple.com/trailers/ #indie #comedy #drama #family #doc #action“

@itunespodcasts
Joined June 18, 2009
43 tweets
4,119 followers
“Grab the season four premiere of “Dexter” for free: http://tinyurl.com/ycwvnhs“

@itunesmusic
Joined September 15, 2009
8 tweets
6,362 followers
“Pre-order Norah Jones’ newest album, “The Fall”, out 11/17. http://tw.itunes.com/BXB #iTunes“

@itunesmovies
Joined October 15, 2009
2 tweets
2,164 followers
“See Where the Wild Things Are this weekend? Check out the first movie written by co-writer Dave Eggers,Away We Go:http://tinyurl.com/yjoocqe“

@itunestv
Joined October 16, 2009
1 tweet
1,810 followers
“Watching Act 2 of I Kissed A Vampire. http://bit.ly/Eynfm“

Riveting, no?

Little Value

These accounts serve as little more than adverts for iTunes content. But that’s what you’d expect, right? Me too, and that’s not really the problem I have with them.

The problem is that, with perhaps the exception of one, they read exactly like those trashy, URL-packed, soulless memos from users claiming to be “Media Marketing Evangelists” but whose spamtastic Tweets contribute nothing of real value to the Twitterverse. A stream of endless bit.ly’d links to content you might (but probably don’t) care about is of value to no one.

It wouldn’t be so bad if the tweets were sometimes infused with some personality. If we got to know a little about the person tweeting them, we might start to connect and, y’know, care. After all, connecting with people by discovering what they’re doing or thinking is the founding purpose of Twitter. Sure, there are no hard rules and people are free to use Twitter however they wish, but the best Twitter personalities have in common at least this one salient property: they don’t simply advertise their wares. They actually share their real lives with the Twitterverse.

The Twitter profile dedicated to Podcasts is by far the least pedestrian of the lot, and manages to occasionally sound like its author actually cares about the content, is enthusiastic about the content, and is driven to share their love of the content. But I’m being very generous here. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s consistently interesting, but then, “interesting” is such a subjective term on Twitter. After all, knowing that Bob in Wyoming is now brushing his dog, or Barbara in Essex just did a double-sneeze is hardly the stuff of journalistic excellence. But then, it’s not supposed to be, is it?

And yet, the authors of these iTunes Twitter accounts remain anonymous. The bit.ly’d ads keep on flowing. This isn’t marketing brilliance on Apple’s part. It’s turgid, mechanical, conveyer belt link-posting.

Apple is a famously tight-lipped company. Beyond its meticulously rehearsed official events and sporadic press releases, it usually has nothing to say. And with these five Twitter accounts, Apple proves it’s possible to continue saying nothing… 140 characters at a time.

Talk about biting someone else’s style. Not only is Microsoft trying to add some cool factor to its brand using celebrity influence, a game which Apple has long had in the bag, now it’s also opened its first official brick-and-mortar retail store, and it even just began offering PC hardware for sale via its online store. Next thing you know, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will be wearing black turtlenecks.

A revamp of the web site is part of the Windows 7 launch campaign, and it includes a brand new store that stocks more than just software. You can now purchase a range of Windows 7-toting computers from HP, Acer, Dell, Lenovo and Sony, which are the real heavy-hitters in the PC arena. You can also pick up a single desktop, a Lenovo A600 all-in-one. Selection seems slim, but Microsoft is being a good copycat and not overwhelming consumers with an overabundance of choice.

All of the computers available on Microsoft’s web site come in stock configurations only, with no customization options beyond the ability to choose a color on select models. Users looking for more in the way of upgrades should still continue onto the manufacturer’s web site to order their machine, but Microsoft isn’t playing to that crowd. Instead, it’s aiming at first-time buyers or people with little to no computer expertise who just want the buying process to be as simple as possible.

And if you’re not too keen on the fancy new Internets, you can always take a trip down to Scottsdale, Ariz., where Microsoft today opened its first retail store. Here’s Microsoft’s own description of what it’s like, since I’m a little out of reach of the Scottsdale area:

As soon as you enter the store, there are laptops on large cedar tables, with seating so shoppers can sit and tinker. The walls are lined with giant LCD screens that envelop the space with landscapes and product images designed to create interest and spark curiosity. Below the images, stylish all-in-one PCs are set up with Zunes, Xboxes, headphones and widescreen displays, showing how all the items work together to create a multimedia experience.

Toward the back are laptop bags and an array of software titles before you turn the corner and reach a veritable mecca for Xbox enthusiasts — a gaming zone featuring a 94-inch widescreen, with immersive sound, seating and an array of controllers to play with.

Sounds like the whole premise is designed more around showing, rather than selling, as early speculation suggested. Microsoft is clearly pushing the experience, rather than trying to sell the component parts. I’d say something snarky about how this points to a lack of imagination on the part of your average PC customer, but being Mac users, I’m sure we can all come up with much more creative snark on our own.

All of this image and distribution re-imagining on Microsoft’s part is great news for one company: Apple. There’s no better sign that you have your main competitor on the ropes than when it resorts to parroting your moves. All Apple needs to do is continue to set the trend, and watch as Microsoft tries to follow it.

If you’re like me, you have so many white plastic Apple Remotes scattered around your living space that visitors ask if they’re part of the decor. And they were quite stylish, once upon a time. But Macs started being less about plastic and more about aluminum long ago, and the Remote has languished at the back of Jonny Ive’s design studio, disregarded. Until today, that is.

Along with new iMacs, Mac minis, mice and MacBooks, Apple also quietly unveiled a made-over Remote. It still does the same thing it always has, which is control you Mac or dock-connected iPod remotely, but now it does it with a different aesthetic and improved usability.

The new remote, as you can see from the picture accompanying this post, has an aluminum enclosure and black plastic buttons, borrowing a cue from the design of recent iMacs and MacBook Pros. Note also the button layout change. The Play/Pause button now resides beneath the directional/volume/skip radial button, a new neighbor for the Menu button. The positioning should be better for folks who use Front Row, in which they activate back/forward functions, but I think I prefer the old layout myself, being strictly a VLC guy.

I am happy about the change in the battery door location. You can now use a coin to swivel out the battery cover, sort of like you do on an Apple wireless keyboard. Much better than old bottom-loading batter drawer on the plastic model, which was prone to popping open and just felt generally unstable.

I’m surprised by Apple, which has demonstrated a clear distaste for buttons recently with the iPod shuffle and the new Magic Mouse. It’s only be a matter of time before the Remote gets redesigned as a touch-sensitive slap of nondescript solid aluminum, mark my words.

Reporting results for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2009, Apple sales and profits continue to defy a moribund economy, and for the first time in the company’s history ten million Macs have been sold in a fiscal year.

Apple reported revenue of $9.2 billion and a net quarterly profit of $1.67 billion, or $1.82 earnings per share (EPS), handily beating consensus estimates with the most profitable quarter ever. Apple CEO Steve Jobs issued the expected statement high-five.

“We are thrilled to have sold more Macs and iPhones than in any previous quarter,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’ve got a very strong lineup for the holiday season and some really great new products in the pipeline for 2010.”

While the great financial news is the primary indicator of the strength of the company, for the consumer the strength of a platform is in the number of units sold. For Mac and iPhone owners, the fourth fiscal quarter was great, but iPod numbers are more nuanced.

While the 3.05 million Macs sold was a record number for Apple in a single quarter, there is another milestone to ponder. For the fiscal year—and likely calendar year—of 2009, laptops account for two out of three Macs sold. Considering that it was only 2002 when that ratio was reversed, the conclusion that we are nearing the end of the desktop era, at least for Macs, seems inescapable. Another apparently inescapable conclusion is that the iPod has peaked.

Unlike the iPhone with vast arid wastes of China to sell to, and the Mac with vast arid wastes of Windows market share to take from, the iPod already owns somewhere over 70 percent of the portable media player market. Where do you go from there? Nowhere, hopefully. Even taking into account last quarter’s numbers, Apple will sell more than 50 million iPods in 2009, just like the last two years. One could even argue that potential iPod sales lost are becoming actual iPhone sales. In that scenario, lost iPod sales are actually a benefit to Apple, as the average selling price for the iPhone is higher than the iPod. If that is the case, there was much of such benefit to be had in the fourth quarter.

More than any other Apple product, iPhone sales rise and fall with new models. As the chart shows, after the introduction of each new iPhone sales surged, then dropped, albeit at significantly higher sales levels after each cycle. The question now becomes whether iPhone growth is leveling off, like the iPod, or whether the apparent plateau in sales is a pause before continuing the climb with the release of the iPhone in China.

Regardless, only the most pernicious of anti-Apple hater can see these results as anything but the staggering success they are for a company that nearly went out of business just over a decade ago. What’s more, 2010 is shaping up to be even better, with what was hopefully a thinly-veiled reference to the tablet by Steve Jobs. Expect analysts to futilely attempt to pry more information from Apple during the conference call, and TheAppleBlog to duly report the obfuscations.

Over the weekend, Verizon launched its second attack against the iPhone, a condescending teaser for an upcoming Android-based phone, Droid. However, unlike the first ad, which rightfully attacked AT&T’s anemic network coverage and dependability, the Droid ad goes after the iPhone.

According to Verizon, the iPhone doesn’t:

• have a real keyboard
• run simultaneous apps
• take 5-megapixel pictures
• customize
• run widgets
• allow open development
• take pictures in the dark
• have interchangeable batteries

That’s it? It’s like this ad is from 2007, what with the keyboard and battery complaints. People don’t care. In fact, touchscreen is now a desired feature on smartphones according to research. Besides those tired bromides, Verizon nitpicks the camera and appeals to nerds over multi-tasking and philosophical differences concerning development.

The latter is especially hilarious, because until the success of Apple’s App Store, Verizon not only told developers what they could sell, but how much they could charge. The company is currently planning a new store that, while not technically excluding competitors, aggregates content under its own store. How open of them, but what about the Droid itself?

Besides the fact that it’s an Android 2.0 phone to be released sometime in November, we don’t know much. The ad cuts from the “iDon’t” list accompanied by cheery background music to static-laden cut scenes possibly suggesting some kind of techno-future in which “droids” rule the iWorld. Beyond that, there are a few vague adjectives like hi-res, hi-speed, video, tunes. As for concrete features, how about speech recognition and 10,000 plus apps. It’s actually kind of sad to see Verizon forced to advertise the comparative dearth of Android apps to the Apple App Store because the latter simply cannot be ignored when advertising smartphones anymore.

In fact, the whole “iDon’t” concept reminds me of an ad from the console wars during the last millennium. Back then, Sega launched a “Nintendon’t!” campaign highlighting the many perceived failures of the Super NES when compared to the Genesis. We all know how that turned out. Whether you call it an iPhone clone or a droid, I don’t expect this war to be any different.

From Computerworld, the ponderings of Broadpoint AmTech analyst Brian Marshall may state the obvious, but nonetheless bear repeating: Windows 7 is no threat to the Mac.

Having looked at the data on Windows release dates, Marshall “found no negative correlation between them and Mac sales.” Further, Marshall suggests that “new OS launches from MSFT may have even acted as a ‘delayed accelerant’ to AAPL’s computing sales.” However, he is also careful to add that “AAPL’s success (or failure) in the computing market is largely idiosyncratic (or company-specific) in nature and not dependent on others in the industry.” Just like a six-figure analyst to have it both ways, but he does have a point, at least about Apple.

While it’s true that the numbers don’t lie, they don’t tell the whole story in this case, either. Not shown on the chart is how the release of Windows 95 was an unmitigated disaster for then-Apple Computer. The company saw Mac market share effectively halved from 1995 to 1996, from around double digits to 5 percent in a year, and it only got worse.

That bump in sales in 1997 was due to the original iMac, as was a good deal of the spike that ran until 2001. And 2001, of course, brought the tech bust, not a worldwide embrace of Windows Millennium Edition at the expense of Apple. While Mac sales were stagnant over the next several years, even as PC sales grew, the basis of the Mac Renaissance we now enjoy can be traced to a few key events.

• Beginning in 2002, the continuous, incremental improvement in Mac OS X combined with the perceived security disaster of Windows XP changed attitudes about Microsoft and Apple.
• The iPod Halo Effect, the idea that the popularity of the iPod encouraged the Mac “curious” to switch, probably started in late 2003 with the iTunes Store and iTunes for Windows.
• The switch to Intel in 2006, along with the “safety net” of Apple’s Boot Camp or third-party virtualization, removed the last perceived obstacle to owning a Mac.

So, the iMac, the iPod and the iTunes Store, OS X, Intel Macs, and now the iPhone; all these “idiosyncratic” products are what have fueled Apple’s comeback, though it’s also fair to say Microsoft’s lack of innovation played a small part in that comeback, too. Looking forward to 2010, it appears that trend will continue. Windows 7 does nothing more than replace lackluster Vista, Microsoft’s mobile strategy is a disaster, and how about a tablet PC with a stylus in the age of multitouch?

Really, the game is Apple’s to lose.

Taiwanese news and rumors site DigiTimes is stirring up the Apple tablet pot today with reports that regular Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn will be producing the upcoming device. Shipments of the device are said to be set to begin in the first quarter of 2010, which would be in keeping with earlier rumors that the tablet would arrive in January of next year.

Sources speaking to DigiTimes placed initial shipment sizes at between 300,000 and 400,000, and that it will boast a 10.6-inch display using LCD panels provided by Foxconn subsidiary Innolux Display. Everything about the report makes logical sense, but that alone doesn’t guarantee reliability of information.

The source goes on to claim that Apple won’t be focusing on music or movies with this latest addition to its hardware line, and instead will be concentrating more on e-book functionality. Add to that a long-lasting battery, easy Internet connectivity, and trademark Apple UI simplicity, and you have the key selling features of the upcoming tablet.

DigiTimes also reports that HP will follow suit shortly after with a similar product of its own in the second quarter of 2010. Add to that the recent emergence of Microsoft’s Courier device, and we have what looks an awful lot like the beginning of a brand new hardware product category.

Depending on Apple’s price point, whether it intends to or not, I see this product and others like it eating away at the netbook’s market share. In the end, I think the description of this tablet’s features are exactly what people were looking for in a notebook alternative, and not cramped keyboards and questionable build quality. But again, price will make all the difference, and if Apple tries to create a new niche for this product by pricing it out of the netbook market, it could have a hard sell on its hands.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is alienating its member companies with a hard-line stance it’s taken against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and climate change legislation currently making the rounds in the Senate. The latest casualty in the conflict generated by the Chamber’s controversial position is Apple, which yesterday gave up its membership with the organization.

The specific stance Apple took issue with is the Chamber’s position against the idea that the EPA should regulate greenhouse gas emissions, using the authority it already has to do so under the Clean Air Act. Most agree that the EPA doesn’t actually want to do this, but that it’s a last resort measure in case the Democratic climate change bill that passed the house in June and now faces the Senate ultimately fails.

Apple spokeswoman Catherine Novelli wrote to Thomas Donohue, the Chamber’s president, explaining Apple’s decision to leave:

We strongly object to the chamber’s recent comments opposing the EPA’s effort to limit greenhouse gases. Apple supports regulating greenhouse gas emissions, and it is frustrating to find the chamber at odds with us in this effort.

Three other firms, California-based Pacific Gas and Electric and Exelon, and New Mexico’s PNM Resources, have all left the Chamber of Commerce based on the same policy decision. Both GE and Johnson & Johnson have both issued statements making clear their disagreement with the Commerce’s official stance. Nike stepped down from the executive branch of the Commerce, but maintains its membership, and made clear its position in a statement of its own:

As we’ve stated, we fundamentally disagree with the US Chamber of Commerce on the issue of climate change and their recent action challenging the EPA is inconsistent with our view that climate change is an issue in need of urgent action.

In the past, Apple has made its political leanings known when it felt the issue was important enough. When Proposition 8 was announced, Apple donated $100,000 to oppose the bill. The decision was met with strong reactions from both sides of the debate, with some questioning the right of a company to come out so publicly in favor of one side or another on such a contentious issue, and some lauding the uncharacteristic show of corporate political action.

I imagine this latest display of a political stance will be greeted with less controversy, since many see the value of climate change legislation. And the departure of a high profile company like Apple will do much to raise awareness of the issue in the business world. Still, the Chamber still counts more than three million companies among its membership, so the departure of four of those companies is unlikely do much effect the organization’s relevance.

“There’s a map for that” is the catchphrase for a new ad from Verizon that plays upon the ubiquitous advertising meme for the iPhone and Apple’s App Store. However, the ad has nothing to do with Verizon’s own application store, instead highlighting the disparity of 3G coverage between Verizon and AT&T.

The ad shows some guy playing Rock Band on a Samsung Rogue—ugh—while walking down the street. As a voiceover rhetorically asks if you want to know why 3G coverage works so well on Verizon’s network, the coverage map pops up above his head and we hear that “there’s a map for that.”

When an AT&T customer, presumably using an iPhone and sporting a goatee—where’s his beret and cup of free trade expresso?—shakes his head at his phone, the voice asks about “spotty coverage.” The AT&T coverage map then appears and we again hear that “there’s a map for that.” Ha, ha, I guess, but then I thought about it.

Is it really a good idea for Verizon to highlight its own apparent iPhone envy, not to mention the oblique mention of the wildly successful App Store? It depends on who Verizon is advertising to, exactly. Via Silicon Alley Insider, a research note from Morgan Stanley analyst Kathryn Huberty remarks on the possibility of Apple moving away from the exclusivity agreement with AT&T.

“In the top six iPhone markets that are still exclusive, we believe that Apple’s market share could rise to 10%, on average, in a multiple carrier distribution model from 4% today.

Her analysis is that Apple could double iPhone sales by moving to a multi-carrier business model, the logic being most individuals choose carriers over phones, even if the phone is arguably the greatest telecommunication device in the history of the universe. Sure, Apple will no doubt lose the pound of revenue flesh they got from AT&T for exclusivity, but that could be made up in volume.

In this ad, Verizon could be speaking to iPhone users on AT&T’s network, who then pass along their yearning for Verizon in increasing numbers to Apple. What might come of that could be a new map in 2010 and beyond, the iPhone on Verizon’s next-gen LTE network.

AT&T’s latest solution to improving network coverage, making the customer pay more and leeching off broadband providers, also known as the AT&T 3G MicroCell, is now in public trials.

While the tiny cellular base station, or femtocell, is not yet available in places like New York or San Francisco, where the call drop rate is rumored to be as high as 30 percent for some iPhone users, it can be had in parts of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. I live in Raleigh. How’s my coverage?

Despite the reassurance of AT&T’s coverage map, I’m lucky to complete a call with my iPhone 3GS from home. After several pained conversations with technical support, an AT&T engineer told me that the coverage map is based upon “mathematical models,” and that it might be the trees around the house interfering with my signal. Seriously.

Faced with clear cutting two acres of woods or chancing $150 on an AT&T 3G MicroCell, the choice seemed simple enough. My wife won’t let me have a chainsaw, so I decided to test the veracity of AT&T’s new slogan: five bar coverage in your home. The experience proved interesting.

The Process

Purchasing a MicroCell currently requires a trip to the local AT&T Store. A representative checked to see that I had a 3G phone with AT&T, any Internet broadband, and an eligible, local address. Lousy coverage is optional, but the experience survey that was not supposed to be sent home with me repeatedly mentioned the issue.

Having met the requirements, I purchased the MicroCell for $150, currently subject to regional rebates. In Raleigh, there are three: $50, $100, and $150, for subscribing to AT&T broadband, unlimited MicroCell calling, or both. For $19.99 per month I was offered the Unlimited MicroCell Calling Plan, allowing me to save my wireless plan minutes. Since I hate talking to people and have about a million rollover minutes, I declined.

I was then educated about how emergency services work—don’t move your MicroCell unless you tell AT&T and stay on the line when calling 911. Also, the MicroCell will only function in authorized regions—don’t eBay your MicroCell. The representative then offered to register it online right there, but where’s the fun in that?

At home, I was pleasantly surprised at how simple setup was. I logged into the MicroCell site with my wireless account info, entered the MicroCell serial number, and was presented with a list of approved users from my wireless plan. You can add more, up to a maximum of 10, but no more than four callers can use the MicroCell simultaneously. Physical setup was easy, too.

1. Connect the included Ethernet cable to the MicroCell and a wireless router, or directly to the computer for those without a router.
2. Power down everything, then power everything up.
3. Anxiously wait approximately 90 minutes with an increasing amount of bile in the throat.

A series of flashing glyphs like something out of StarGate Atlantis indicate progressive success, or lack thereof. GPS lock may take awhile, and AT&T recommends placing the MicroCell within three feet of a window. I got GPS lock pretty quick, but the 3G indicator just kept flashing, then after about 90 minutes I lost GPS. While praying to whatever dark gods that live in the sky to hurl the GPS satellite into my house and end my telecom misery, I suddenly received a text message.

Replacing no bars and no network, there is now a signal indicator for the MicroCell that usually displays five bars and means it.

The Results

After several days of testing, I have yet to drop a call. Call quality ranges from good, a slight echoing the most common issue, to static-free excellence. Most often it’s the latter, and call quality is always better than the overpriced VoIP service from Time Warner Cable. As for data speeds, it’s like being on Verizon’s network, that is very good, but why settle for 3G when you have Wi-Fi at home?

There are a few issues with the MicroCell, though. The range is 40 to 60 feet in a straight line, but you better be living in a tent. So far, I’ve found signal quality degrading through multiple walls, especially when calling from the kitchen, the room farthest from the MicroCell. I’m still experimenting, but turning off Wi-Fi on the iPhone seems to increase both range and reception at extended distances for me. Should I pass beyond the range of the MicroCell, calls seamlessly transition to “No Service,” though most others will find themselves on AT&T’s wireless network. Be advised though, that transitioning works only one way.

There is one other potential performance issue. Should you be using computers for network intensive applications, like backing up online or torrenting. . . Ubuntu distributions, you may have problems during calls. Others said I was cutting out, though I heard them clearly. The MicroCell requires a minimum bandwidth of 1.5Mbps down and 256Kbps up. I have, in theory, 7Mbps and 512Kbps, respectively, but have been forced to do my perfectly legal bandwidth hogging at night. Still, that’s a minor inconvenience.

Overall, I am very pleased with the AT&T 3G MicroCell and give it the highest praise an Apple devotee can: it just works! Sure, there’s a $150 price tag on service AT&T should already provide, but it’s a price that I and many other long-suffering iPhone users will no doubt we willing to pay.