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Apple computers have enjoyed an excellent second quarter of 2008, with sales growing faster than any other manufacturer.
Gartner is reporting that Apple’s sales grew 38 per cent over the period and the company now has 8.5 per cent of the US market. HP consolidated its position as market leader with over 11 per cent sales growth, giving it a market share of 31.9 per cent. Overall the decaying economic situation has proved something of a boon to PC manufacturers.
View: The full story @ vnunet

Looks like we’ll have to get up bright and early to buy the new iPhone. Also, AT&T says a “no-commitment” iPhone is “coming soon.”

First things first: The new iPhone 3G will go on sale at 8 a.m. next Friday at AT&T retail stores and Apple stores. So if you’re planning on lining up, you’d better be ready well before sunrise.

Also, AT&T has finally clarified pricing for current AT&T subscribers who want the iPhone 3G.  

In a nutshell, if you’re “upgrade eligible” (log into your AT&T account to see if you are), you’ll be able to buy the new iPhone for the discounted price of $199 for the 8GB version or $299 for the 16GB model. (AT&T is somewhat vague about the eligibility criteria, although your credit history and the time remaining on your contract are factors.) You’ll also have to pay an $18 “upgrade fee.”

If you’re not eligible for the discount, you’ll have to fork over extra for an “early upgrade”-$399 for the 8GB iPhone 3G or $499 for the 16GB model. Ouch.
AT&T also says that a “no-commitment” (read: no contract) iPhone 3G will be available soon, at $599 for the 8GB version and or $699 for the 16GB handset. Pricey, but hey-no two-year contract.

Unfortunately, AT&T won’t offer the new iPhone on a prepaid basis, at least not at launch. [Yahoo! Tech]

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A rare Mac OS X Trojan has been spotted on the internet. The AppleScript-THT Trojan horse exploits a vulnerability within the Apple Remote Desktop Agent to load itself with root privileges onto compromised Mac machines. The malware, which is capable of infecting Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5 boxes, surrenders control of compromised systems to hackers.
Keystroke logging on compromised systems, taking pictures (using the built-in Apple iSight camera) or capturing screenshots are among the hacker exploits enabled by the malware, Mac security outfit SecureMac reports. The malware weaves its malicious spell while attempting to remain undetected by opening ports in the firewall and turning off system logging.
View: The full story @ The Reg

July 11 the 3G iPhone will reach the snatching hands of the crazed public. The new iPhone supports new features such as 3G wireless (surprise!), GPS mapping, enterprise features like Microsoft Exchange, and the new App Store. Keeping in line with the original iPhone, you get the same major features: widescreen iPod, and desktop-class web browser. It also includes smart sensors that help save battery life by adjusting the backlight based on ambient light.
The 3G iPhone is presented with the lines: “Twice as fast. Half the price.” The price will start at $199. [Neowin]
View: Apple 3G iPhone Features

We have no confirmation or sourcing of our own on this, so, we don’t vouch for its accuracy. But we will be watching the clock at 10 am Crecente time tomorrow, as CrunchGear is rumormongering that Microsoft will announce Blu-Ray Xboxes will be shipping by Christmas, at that time. Rumor has it they’ll cost less than an Elite.
The announcement would apparently be timed to upstage Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference which kicks off an hour later in San Francisco. Here’s the full rumor from CrunchGear’s tipster:

I’m told MS will upstage Apple with a Monday 9am PDT announcement (1 hour before WWDC) via press release that the Xbox 360 will get Blu-Ray before Christmas. Price was “under the current Elite,” but i could get any more details. [Kotaku.com]

The era of officially sanctioned iPhone applications should kick off on Monday.
That’s the same day Apple CEO Steve Jobs is expected to take the stage at the Moscone Center to unveil the next-generation iPhone at the company’s annual Worldwide Developers’ Conference. A source at a software company that has been working on a native iPhone application tells us the company is getting ready to launch that application on Monday, which could also imply that Apple’s App Store will be up and running that day.
The App Store is going to be the only way to get official third-party iPhone applications onto your device. Developers have been submitting their applications to Apple for testing and verification since the iPhone SDK became available, and in exchange for hosting and distributing the applications Apple is taking 30 percent of the revenue generated by sales of that application. [cnet]

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Apple’s iPhone, a new model of which is widely expected this summer, took 19.2 percent of the U.S. market for smart-phones sold in the first quarter of 2008, according to research firm IDC’s  vendor survey. That was down from 26.7 percent of smart-phones sold in the fourth quarter of last year, which included the holiday shopping season. Much of the slack was picked up by Research In Motion’s BlackBerry, which took 35.1 percent of the market in the fourth quarter and then 44.5 percent in the first. IDC analyst Ramon Llamas said the BlackBerry is now strong in the “prosumer” segment, as RIM has successfully widened the appeal of the device beyond the professionals who have been its core customer group.
View: Full Story at SiliconValley.com

Apple has filed a patent which could help users to track down easily lost objects such as a Bluetooth headset. The document with the title “Location discovery using Bluetooth” surfaced yesterday suggests that an iPhone could de used to ping a Bluetooth-paired device that would react with a high pitched sound or light.
A Bluetooth signal is much more sophisticated than your $5 sound-tracking device you can buy for your keychain, which means there are added benefits. For example, the time delay between sending and receiving a signal can be used to determine the distance between two devices. This information could be displayed in the iPhone’s display.
“The distance between the devices can be calculated by comparing the amount of time delay between the transmission of the signal sent from the master device to the slave device and the reception of the return signal from the slave device. With a precise timing system, the master device can be capable of performing such measurements.
Since the speed of the radio waves is known, the distance can be calculated using the time information,” the filing states.
Another discovery method Apple proposes the use of directional antennas to determine the directive of a lost device relative to the phone. [TG Daily]

Employees at computer, phone and software company Apple have filed a patent to place solar cells on portable devices.
Outfitted with such technology, Apple’s devices, like the iPhone, could have photovoltaic cells stacked underneath LCD touch screens, thus maximizing the area available for harnessing the sun. The filing said that information regarding the performance of a device’s solar cells could be displayed on the main screen next to info for battery power, text message alerts and time of day. Or this information could also appear on top of the solar cells themselves, which are likely to display some version of the Apple logo.
In any case, Apple’s new technology could herald the next generation of wireless mobility. Without the need to electrically charge devices–either via outlets or USB cables–users could at last start to break free from on-the-grid power connections.
Apple is certainly not the one in this field. Mobile product manufacturers have looked at solar energy for some time, as consumers demand more battery power from portable devices.
One related product is the 6.4-ounce Solio Mg, $200, from Better Energy Systems. Its three magnesium blades fan out to reveal solar panels, which can store enough power to charge most phones and PDAs twice; an hour of clear sun will give most cell phones 25 minutes of talk time or an iPod an hour of playing time. It takes ten hours of direct sun to fully juice the device.
Also, the world’s first solar bag–the Voltaic Systems’ Generator laptop bag–is covered in solar cells and can charge a laptop. It generates up to 14.7 watts after a day of direct sunlight, can carry a 17-inch Apple Powerbook and comes with adapters that allow other electronics, such as cell phones, to be charged. [Forbes]

With WWDC around the corner, the blogosphere is aflutter with talk of the 3G iPhone. But what else does the mothership have in store for us next? Try 3D gaming.

Earlier this month, AppleInsider reported that Apple had published its patent for a 3D remote-control system. The report suggests that the remote-control system will be able to detect the absolute position of the remote on an X, Y and Z axes, similar to Nintendo’s Wiimote.

AppleInsider suggests that Apple TV would serve as the game console. Supporting AppleInsider’s speculation, PopCap vice president of video game platforms Greg Canessa said in a Wired interview that he would be “customizing [PopCap's] user interface and display for Zune, ipod, [and] Apple TV.”

Details on the 3D-gaming experience itself are scarce; when questioned about gaming in interviews, Steve Jobs has been tight-lipped as usual. But keep in mind that Apple is an overachiever and strives to be revolutionary. Jason Schwarz, a writer at Seeking Alpha, suspects that Jobs is going to blow us away with true 3D gaming: “You actually want to learn to fly a plane, to sail, to race Nascar, or to improve your golf swing? 3D Apple could bring these real life simulations to the mainstream,” he wrote in a Mar. 14 blog.

Among Windows-PC enthusiasts, the most echoed criticism of Apple is its relatively diminutive grip on the gaming industry; despite the ability to run Windows on Apple’s Intel machines, gaming remains a concern. Will the digital-music giant strive to conquer new territories by revolutionizing 3D gaming? Or will Apple TV just let us play crappy iPod games like The Sims Pool? We’ll keep you posted. [AppleInsider]

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