Weekend rumor roundup: Apple Retail event, new MacBook Airs, unlocked iPhones, more
Several rumors with varying degrees of credibility came up over the weekend. According to AppleInsider, Twitter user @chronicwire (reportedly a source of past Apple leaks) reports that Apple's retail stores are setting up to launch Apple's annual Back to School promotion on Wednesday.
The same source initially reported that the Back to School promo will coincide with the launch of new MacBook Airs, but he has since retracted that claim. Instead, Chronic claims the part numbers he initially thought represented new MacBook Airs indicate that Apple will start selling versions of the GSM iPhone 4 that are not carrier-locked to AT&T.
Although the MacBook Air is widely expected to have a refresh soon, this is the first we've heard of unlocked iPhones being offered for sale in the U.S., and it's something we'll file under "We'll believe it when we see it." The iPhone is already sold free and clear of carrier locks in several markets, but GSM model iPhones sold in the U.S. remain carrier-locked to AT&T unless you jailbreak.
Chronic has also released screenshots that supposedly come from an "internal build" of iOS 5. These screenshots show that Nuance voice recognition, expected to be integrated in iOS 5 but not discussed at WWDC, is still in development. Other sources have claimed these voice recognition features weren't ready to be shown off at WWDC but should be good to go by the time iOS 5 launches this fall.
Finally, a reader has informed us that New Zealand's online Apple Store is now showing shipping times of 5-7 business days for the 1 TB Time Capsule and 1-2 weeks for the 2 TB model. These extended shipping times are also showing up in Apple's Australian and UK stores, and the Canadian Apple Store is showing a 1-2 week delay for the 1 TB Time Capsule. The U.S. store and most international stores are not showing the same delay, but they're further indicative of the Time Capsule supply constraints we reported last week, which may mean a product refresh is imminent.
We'll be keeping a very close eye on Apple's online store on the Tuesday overnight shift, and we'll let you know if anything new comes up.
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Several rumors with varying degrees of credibility came up over the weekend.
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Unlocked phones in the USA are a good sign, if true. Who really wants to use their iPhone with a data plan from home when traveling?
I used a whopping 20MB of 3G data while in Boston last summer and that cost me in ISK (Iceland Krona) 40.000
That is around 350$ for 20MB of roaming data
Christ
I think there's going to be a lot of people on these blogs that get excited about the unlocked iPhones, but in the real world I don't think it's going to be a big deal. Somehow I don't think these unlocked phones are going to be sold at the subsidized 2 year contract price but the full $700 or whatever it is. You won't be getting one with an AT&T contract, and if it doesn't support T-Mobile's 3G network, I don't think a lot of people will want what's esssentially a 2G phone at full price.
June 13 2011 at 11:50 AM Report abuse Permalink -1 rate up rate down ReplyWhat about the freedom to choose what sim card you put in the phone? Is it worth a 2 year binding contract to get a 300$-400$ subsidy?
Would love to see a typical AT&T user travel to Iceland for 2 weeks and use 3G.
This is a serious handicap on a brilliant device.
But that's the problem with your statement. The "typical" AT&T user isn't going to travel to Iceland. The "typical" AT&T (or any cell phone user in the US) isn't going to travel very far at all from their "home area" of coverage. For the overwhelming majority of Americans, the $200 subsidized price of the iPhone (or the subsidized price of any phone) is much more appealing than the $700 or $800 "true cost" of the phone. Most people in the US don't even know what an "unlocked phone" is and explaining it to them, they still don't understand or even get the point. To a majority of Americans, a $200 phone locked to a carrier is much more appealing than a $500 or more phone is that only a very small minority of people would even have a use for.
June 13 2011 at 3:58 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate downSorry, I tried to "thumbs-up" your comment, but it did the opposite. My bad?
June 13 2011 at 3:02 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI have bought 3 unlocked iPhones from the apple store over the last 4 months. This is not an on the shelf item but all you have to to do is aks for it.
June 13 2011 at 9:15 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Replynope, not in the USA... either you are lying or you are lying
June 13 2011 at 2:12 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyThis is a great news...unlocked Iphones available .. in the stores..
June 13 2011 at 4:25 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyHey just come north to Canada and get your unlocked iPhones right from the apple store. Granted they would be 700$ but hey while your hear you can get some ham !
June 13 2011 at 12:50 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply"while your hear you can get some ham"
I hope you're not a native English speaker. Otherwise, Canadian schools are every bit as bad as U.S. schools. Or perhaps you're only four years old.
The post could have come via iPhone or iPad -- auto correction isn't all it's made out to be on the iDevices because it suggests spellings not grammar. I have a problem with people mixing up "they're", "there" and "their".
OR
Mischa is a personal name that can be male or female. In Russian, Mischa (Misha) is a diminutive for Mikhail.
I'm really hoping for new Macbook Airs. They are beautiful machines right now, but they could be so much better with just one or two modifications. Obviously Sandy Bridge would be a welcome upgrade. This is small, but for the sake of uniformity, a black bezel would make it look that much better. The part I really want is the Thunderbolt port. It seems like the perfect combo; a SSD powered laptop with an extremely fast port. One thunderbolt port could easily take the place of all other ports on this thing. I'm a student, so I really hope they update them before September. It just seems like the perfect machine for school. The free iPod deal would be nice, too.
June 13 2011 at 12:12 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyGetting rid of the moronic glossy screen should top everyone's wish list.
June 13 2011 at 4:00 AM Report abuse Permalink -1 rate up rate down ReplyWill (@chronic / @chronicwire) correctly described the iPod touch 4 to me before it launched. He also claimed to have seen the full-screen Camera app running on an iPad several months before there was even a scheduled iPad 2 press event. He has provided specs for unreleased Apple products before as well. I would believe him, but even from him, this seems outlandish (the iPhone thing).
June 13 2011 at 12:07 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Replywednesday would be 1 year to the day when the last mac mini was updated. i would love to see an i5 sandy bridge mac mini released next week. could next week be the final refresh to get the remaining mac products off core 2 duo? my fingers are crossed.
June 12 2011 at 11:52 PM Report abuse Permalink +1 rate up rate down ReplyA Mini with Thunderbolt would be pretty cool. Oh, and a $200 price drop. That thing is obscenely overpriced.
Get real, Apple.
Oscar, you really are a shining light in an otherwise bad day.
200$ off the Mac Mini? Really? Realistic are we?
I've been holding off on buying a new iMac in the hope that Apple's Back to School promo will save me a few pennies. I'm absolutely itching to order it though, so I certainly hope that the rumour mill is right about the Back to School promos!
June 12 2011 at 11:44 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyDeals of the Day
more deals- Unlocked iPhone 4S 16GB for GSM (AT&T, T-Mobile) for $619 + free shipping
- Apple iMac Core i7 Quad 3.4GHz 27" w/ 24GB RAM, 2TB HDD for $2,677 + $29 s&h
- Used Apple Magic Mouse for $36 + $4 s&h
- Apple TV Media Receiver for $90 + free shipping
- 9-Piece iPhone Bundle, includes 1,900mAh battery for $8 + free shipping
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