Apple Introduces Education Pricing for iPad Air and Retina iPad Mini, Now Starting at $469 and $379

Apple has introduced reduced education pricing for the iPad Air and Retina iPad Mini, offering both tablets at starting prices of $469 and $379, reports MacGeneration (Google Translate). With both iPads still showing a standard retail price starting at $499 and $399, the new education pricing totals to a $30 discount on the iPad Air and $20 discount on the Retina iPad mini and marks the first time that Apple has included the iPad in the special program. Apple is also offering special education pricing on refurbished previous generation iPads.

Apple previously cut education pricing on the non-Retina 13-Inch MacBook Pro to $999 last year, and also offers discounts on the entire Mac line in its education store. The discounted education pricing is available to employees of K-12 schools as well as faculty, staff, students, and parents of students at higher education institutions.

Apple to Offer iPad Air and Retina iPad Mini on Japanese Carrier NTT DOCOMO Starting June 10 [iOS Blog]

Apple announced today that it will begin offering the iPad Air and Retina iPad mini on Japanese carrier NTT DOCOMO starting Tuesday, June 10. Both tablets will be compatible with the company’s nationwide Xi LTE service, as users will be able to pre-register for both devices beginning June 2nd at local DOCOMO stores and the carrier’s website.

“With the addition of iPad alongside iPhone, we now offer the complete lineup of Japan’s most popular mobile devices on the nation’s most reliable LTE network,” said Kaoru Kato, President and CEO of NTT DOCOMO, INC. “We know our customers will enjoy using iPad Air and iPad mini, and anticipate that new customers will look to experience these amazing devices on our high-quality network with our new billing plan.”

“We are extremely happy for iPad to join iPhone on NTT DOCOMO’s network,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “The results on iPhone have been tremendous, and we look forward to delivering iPad to NTT DOCOMO customers.”

The iPad Air and Retina iPad mini were originally launched in Japan and a number of other countries last fall. The move also follows the launch of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c on the carrier last September, marking the first time that Apple’s phones were offered on DOCOMO. Since then, Apple has seen its share of the Japanese mobile phone market rise above 36%, with the iPhone accounting for more than 40% of phone sales on the carrier.

Apple Denies iCloud Hack as Cause of Locked iOS Device Ransom Demands [iOS Blog]

Earlier this week, a number of iOS and Mac users reported iPhones, iPads, and Macs being remotely locked by hackers who then demanded a ransom for their recovery.

The attacks primarily affected those located in Australia. While there have been many theories about common points of attack, no one theme has emerged. Some users also deny that passwords were shared with other services.

ZDNet reports that Apple has issued an official statement denying that iCloud itself was hacked.

Apple takes security very seriously and iCloud was not compromised during this incident. Impacted users should change their Apple ID password as soon as possible and avoid using the same user name and password for multiple services. Any users who need additional help can contact AppleCare or visit their local Apple Retail Store.

A growing discussion thread on Apple’s support forums is following the issue.

Microsoft Demos Skype Translation Tool Coming Later This Year

At today’s Re/code Code Conference in Ranchos Palos Verdes, California, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Skype chief Gurdeep Singh Pall demoed an real-time language translation tool) that has been built into Skype.

During the demonstration, Pall conducted a conversation with a German-speaking colleague, with Skype providing real-time translation from German to English and vice versa. According to German speaking audience members at the conference, the translation software performed “pretty good” but not perfectly.

Nadella and Pall demo Skype Translator at the Code Conference

Skype Translator results from decades of work by the industry, years of work by our researchers, and now is being developed jointly by the Skype and Microsoft Translator teams. The demo showed near real-time audio translation from English to German and vice versa, combining Skype voice and IM technologies with Microsoft Translator, and neural network-based speech recognition.

Microsoft hopes to use the huge number of conversations that take place on Skype to improve its translation tools with real language and speech patterns, which could lead to much better back and forth translations. Pall says the company is “working through” potential privacy issues that surround the use of customer calls.

While Microsoft plans to debut Skype Translate on the Windows platform later this year in a beta capacity, the company says that it will expand to other platforms, including OS X and iOS, shortly after the Windows version launches.

Microsoft will start with a handful of languages and only for the Windows version of Skype, though Microsoft hopes to quickly add more languages as well as support for the many types of computers and mobile devices that Skype customers use.

At launch, the Skype translator will only work with a small number of languages, those that “it can do well” but Microsoft has plans to continually add additional languages to the app as development progresses.

Apple to Announce Beats Acquisition This Week, Drops Price to $3 Billion

Apple’s rumored acquisition of Beats will indeed happen, just for a slightly reduced fee, according to a report from the New York Post this evening. The acquisition, which was originally reported to be roughly $3.2 billion for both Beats companies — the headphone and consumer electronics division as well as the streaming music service — will now happen at $3 billion.

Since the acquisition was originally reported on May 8, Spotify — the leading player in the subscription music field — announced that it had 10 million paying subscribers, and this could have given Apple additional negotiating leverage.

Still, the company is understood to place a high value on the profitable Beats audio business which retails headphones — costing up to $450 — and speakers around the globe.

That business recorded sales of $1.3 billion in 2013.

“Apple hadn’t even begun its due diligence process when news of the number came out,” one source close to the talks said Tuesday.

The paper notes that both Jimmy Iovine and fellow Beats co-founder Dr. Dre are expected to attend Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference next week. Dre is expected to net somewhere around $750 million from the sale as he currently owns approximately 25 percent of the company.

Apple Tested USB Hard Disk Support for 2012 AirPort Express [Mac Blog]

Apple may have considered including USB hard drive support in the AirPort Express initially released in June of 2012, according to an early support manual unearthed by French site Journal Du Lapin (via iPhone in Canada).

Available in PDF format, the older manual references a section suggesting a USB hard disk or USB hub could be connected to the AirPort Express, allowing all computers on the network to access those devices.

Connect a self-powered USB hard disk to your AirPort Express. All of the computers on the AirPort network can access the information on the hard disk.

Connect a USB hub to your AirPort Express, and then connect multiple USB devices, such as printers or hard disks. All of the computers on the AirPort network can access those devices.

These references are not found in the final product’s manual [PDF], which only includes a section on connecting a USB printer to the device. USB hard disk compatibility would have potentially allowed the lower-cost AirPort Express to be function in the same way as the more expensive AirPort Extreme, suggesting Apple possibly once considered merging these two products before making the decision to release the AirPort Express without external hard drive compatibility.

While Apple’s AirPort Extreme retails for $199 and includes the ability to connect to a USB hard drive that can be accessed by all computers on the network for sharing and storing files, the AirPort Express, priced $100 less at $99, remains a no-frills entry level WiFi solution for consumers for the time being.

Apple Appears Set to Lose Bid for iPhone Display Chip Maker to Synaptics [iOS Blog]

Back in April, rumors indicated Apple was in talks with chipmaker Renesas Electronics over the potential acquisition of its Renesas SP Drivers division, which produces chips for smartphone displays including for the iPhone.

As it turns out, Renesas Electronics appears set to sell its stake in Renesas SP Drivers to Synaptics, another chip manufacturer, instead of Apple. According to Reuters, the talks between Apple and Renesas “failed to make progress”, leading Renesas to move forward with Synaptics. Apple was originally offering 50 billion yen or $479 million for Renasas’ 55 percent stake in the company, which is also partially owned by Sharp and Powerchip.

Apple Inc had also been in talks about a possible purchase of the stake in Renesas SP Driver in what was seen as a potential move to shore up its global supply chain, but the sources said those talks failed to make progress and Renesas had narrowed its consideration to Synaptics.

Apple currently uses chips from Renesas Electronics in its iPhone displays, improving both image sharpness and battery life. It is unclear how a failed acquisition would affect the ongoing relationship between the two companies.

While Reuters suggests that the deal between Renesas and Synaptics is all but certain, Nikkei claims that Apple is still interested but that pricing was a major obstacle.

Apple still seems interested in acquiring the unit. Renesas “hopes to reach an agreement with Synaptics on the sale and will continue to try to persuade Apple to give in,” a person familiar with Renesas’ plans said.

Renesas was also reportedly convinced by some of its non-Apple customers that their access to the company’s components could be cut off if Apple were to acquire the division, driving Renesas to give an edge to Synaptics.

Despite the possible failure to purchase Renesas SP Drivers, Apple’s effort is part of a trend that has seen the company take a keen interest in controlling its own production supplies and core technologies in recent years. Apple recently signed a deal with sapphire producer GT Advanced Technologies and has also purchased several chip firms in the past, including P.A. Semi and Passif Semiconductor.

WWDC Banners Begin Going Up at Moscone Center Ahead of Monday’s Keynote

Ahead of next Monday’s keynote kicking off its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple has begun preparations at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. As part of the preparations, banners are beginning to go up in the lobby of Moscone West, including one with the event’s tagline of “Write the Code. Change the World.”

More banners will undoubtedly continue to appear inside the lobby, some of which may tease hints of Apple’s announcement plans. Banners advertising specific details on keynote announcements will remain covered until after the keynote.

Apple’s WWDC keynote kicks off on Monday at 10:00 AM Pacific Time, and the company will be providing a live video stream of the event.

Thanks @KielO

WWDC 2014: What to Expect

WWDC 2014 will kick off on June 2nd with a keynote address from Apple CEO Tim Cook, which Apple will broadcast live. OS X 10.10 and iOS 8 will likely be the focus of the event, but there are a number of other possible topics that may be discussed, including a home automation platform and news on the Beats Electronics acquisition.

Read full article for more details.

iMac Shipping Times Slip to 3 -5 Days, Fueling Rumors of ‘Low-Priced’ Model at WWDC

Ahead of WWDC 2014, shipping estimates for Apple’s iMac models have slipped to 3 to 5 business days, fueling speculation of a possible announcement of new iMac hardware next week. As noted by AppleInsider, dwindling inventory is also evident at authorized Apple resellers, with some retailers selling the latest iMac models with steep discounts.

As we have seen with Apple may be clearing out inventory Amazon is completely sold out of the base-line 21.5-inch and 27-inch models, relying on third-party resellers who only have a handful of units left in stock. MacMall is also down to its last units on the 2.9-gigahertz 21.5-inch model, and the 3.4-gigahertz 27-inch model.

While movement in product shipping estimates is historically a hit-or-miss indicator of imminent updates, the slip to 3-5 days over the weekend is not the only factor contributing to speculation of iMac updates. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has been predicting for some time that Apple will launch a “low-priced” version of the iMac, and his extensive product roadmap published last month showed the new iMac debuting at the end of the second quarter, which would be next month. Kuo argues that this new iMac with cost-efficient hardware to keep the base price low would offer Apple a way to increase its market share in Asia and other critical foreign markets.

Mac updates have generally been somewhat in flux as Intel has experienced delays with its next-generation Broadwell chips. While the company has been releasing interim “Haswell refresh” chips in recent months, these chips offer minimal improvements over their predecessors. Just last month, Apple released a minor MacBook Air update using one of these new chips, but more importantly reduced pricing by $100. The company could make a similar move with the iMac in the coming weeks.

Exact timing for iMac updates remains uncertain, as it is still a bit early for a launch based on historical update cycles. The iMac has also not played a role in recent WWDC product launches, perhaps due to its consumer focus compared to the professional/developer emphasis for the conference. Consequently, an iMac price drop with minor spec bumps could come in the weeks after WWDC, similar to the quiet MacBook Air update last month.

Apple last refreshed the iMac in September 2013, following a major redesign in 2012. The current iMac model features Intel Haswell processors, faster PCI Express-based flash storage and 802.11ac Wi-Fi connectivity. Prices start at $1299 for the entry-level 21.5-inch iMac and climb to $1799 for the base 27-inch model.