Apple Snuck A New Feature Onto The iPhone Today

After all the hubbub surrounding Apple's decision to kill the YouTube app on the iPhone and iPad today, a lot of people missed what Apple added to the beta version of iOS 6, the company's next mobile operating system.
The most notable addition is something called "Bluetooth Sharing." Apple's change log for iOS 6 developers doesn't say what the feature will be used for, but we have some good guesses.
First, Bluetooth sharing may make it easy for you to swap photos, videos, links, and other media with nearby iPhones. Samsung has a similar feature in its Galaxy S III phone, but it's a pain to set up and use.
It's also possible Apple will want to incorporate Bluetooth Sharing with its new Passbook app. Passbook acts as a virtual wallet for your gift cards, concert tickets, boarding passes, etc. It's feasible Bluetooth Sharing could be used to make payments from Passbook. (Although this seems less likely as not many merchants accept payments from Bluetooth devices.)

Apple vs. Samsung: Every Patent Tells a Story

Apple and Samsung have won battles against one another in the marketplace and in courtrooms but so far, there's been no declared winner in their war. The patent front expands on Monday with $2.2525 billion at stake in a case set to take place in a San Jose, California., federal court.

While tablets and slab phones are certainly nothing new, it's nevertheless come down to a question of design between Samsung and Apple. Apple claims the cluster of Galaxy devices—including the Tab and the Nexus—are too similar in look and feel to the iPad and iPhone, respectively. As a result, the company says it has lost around $500 million in profits, with sales of Samsung phones overtaking iPhone sales worldwide.
The companies have taken their campaigns from courtroom to courtroom and country to country, with cases currently pending in the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands. Earlier this month, Apple was ordered to post a notice on the U.K. version of its website declaring that Samsung did not copy the iPad's design. Judge Colin Birss' reassuring words to Samsung in the case didn't come without some sting, though. Behind the decision was Birss' assertion that Samsung's Galaxy tablets are "not as cool" as the iPad. (As for who gave birth to the cool, well, that's something Apple might face competition on, too.)

A flurry of patent filings and other proof-of-design claims will be brought forth in this latest case. Here are some of the ones that will be (and others that should).

Apple Patent 889

The broadest-seeming of Apple's design patents, Apple Patent 889 seems to stakes a claim to any device that's a rectangle with rounded corners. 

Apple Patent 087

The design patent for the iPhone, Apple Patent 087, states that it is for "[t]he ornamental design of an electronic device. Like the iPhone itself, the description is minimalist. 

Apple Patent 790

The familiar Chiclet-shaped app layout is sketched out in Apple Patent 790, the "ornamental design for a graphical user interface for a display screen or portion thereof." 

Inkling Debuts Version 3.0, Bringing Its Interactive E-Books To The iPhone

After Inkling made its public debut more than two years ago, it quickly became known as the startup that made super well-designed interactive college textbooks for the iPad. But in recent months, Inkling has slowly but surely expanded significantly beyond that initial focus — branching out from educational textbooks to consumer-focused titles such as cookbooks, and from the iPad to other digital venues such as the standard web browser.

Today, Inkling is continuing in that progression with the debut of its Version 3.0, which brings the official launch of its e-book titles to the iPhone and the iPod Touch.

Since Inkling is such a visual product, it was great to have its founder and CEO Matt MacInnis come by the TechCrunch TV studio to show us how the company has translated its e-book platform to the relatively tiny form factor of the iPhone and the iPod touch — while keeping all the interactive bells and whistles for which Inkling has become so well-known.

Along with the demo, MacInnis also gave us some updated stats on Inkling: The San Francisco-based startup now has some 100 full-time employees, and during the last school year Inkling was used by students at more than 4,000 schools, with over 50 percent of the medical schools in the United States having active Inkling users. But as strong as education is at the moment, its consumer-focused titles such as Frommer’s travel guides are promising too, he said, and represent a big part of Inkling’s business going forward.
Watch the video embedded above to see how Inkling looks on the iPhone, hear MacInnis weigh in on what it’s like to compete with e-book giants like Amazon and Apple, learn why Inkling is moving into the platform realm with the debut of its publishing platform Habitat, and more.
Here are a few screenshots of Inkling for the iPhone: 

Sony Xperia Tablet leaked from internal slides: Surface-style keyboard and tentative $450 price tagSony Xperia Tablet leaked from internal slides Surfacestyle keyboard and tentative $450 price tag Sony's next-generation tablet appears to have leaked on internal slides spotted by German news site, Mobiflip. In short, it's thinner and lighter than the Tablet S, while internal specifications also trump it, including a Tegra 3 quad-core processor, Android 4.0 ("or later"), 3G connectivity and three storage options; 16, 32 and 64GB. The whole tablet follows the same folded magazine design of Sony's existing tablet, is splashproof and houses a 6,000mAh battery that the slides suggest will manage 10 hours of WiFi-based web browsing. There's even some tentative pricing, with the different-sized models marked up at $450, $550 and $650, respectively. The pictures also cover Sony's plans to add a lightweight keyboard to its next tablet, similar to Microsoft's Surface plans, but with some Smart Cover-esque kickstand skills thrown in for good measure. We've added a shot of the keyboard cover after the break, but you can take a tour of the rest of the slides -- which include a raft of accessories and docks -- at the source link below. Update: We've been in touch with a Sony spokesperson, who had "no comment at this stage." We may have to wait until next month, when European trade show IFA kicks off -- with Sony in attendance -- until we hear anything more concrete. Sony Xperia Tablet leaked from internal slides Surfacestyle keyboard and quadcore processor

Sony's next-generation tablet appears to have leaked on internal slides spotted by German news site, Mobiflip. In short, it's thinner and lighter than the Tablet S, while internal specifications also trump it, including a Tegra 3 quad-core processor, Android 4.0 ("or later"), 3G connectivity and three storage options; 16, 32 and 64GB. The whole tablet follows the same folded magazine design of Sony's existing tablet, is splashproof and houses a 6,000mAh battery that the slides suggest will manage 10 hours of WiFi-based web browsing. There's even some tentative pricing, with the different-sized models marked up at $450, $550 and $650, respectively. The pictures also cover Sony's plans to add a lightweight keyboard to its next tablet, similar to Microsoft's Surface plans, but with some Smart Cover-esque kickstand skills thrown in for good measure. We've added a shot of the keyboard cover after the break, but you can take a tour of the rest of the slides -- which include a raft of accessories and docks -- at the source link below.
Update: We've been in touch with a Sony spokesperson, who had "no comment at this stage." We may have to wait until next month, when European trade show IFA kicks off -- with Sony in attendance -- until we hear anything more concrete.

WHOA: 40% Of The Things Stolen In New York City Are Apple Gadgets

Over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal's Rolfe Winkler wrote a hair-raising story about how he chased after some guy who grabbed his date's iPad on the subway--only to get his jaw broken by an accomplice.
That incidident prompted a story on the "iCrime" that is sweeping the country, in which people are being mugged, beaten up, and even killed for their gadgets.
The cops call it "Apple picking."
And now, via Suzanne Kelly at CNN (and Paul Kedrosky), comes this extraordinary statistic from New York City police commissioner Ray Kelly:

40% of the items stolen in New York City are Apple gadgets

Yikes.
Using your iPhone in public really is like waving cash around.

Apple reportedly to unveil iPhone 5, iPad Mini on Sept 12

Apple consumers could see the debut of both the new iPhone and an iPad Mini come September.
Citing "sources who have proven accurate in the past," blog site iMore says that Apple will announce the two devices at a special event on Wednesday, September 12. The iPhone 5 itself will then go on sale 9 days later on Friday, September 21.
This latest report follows a tidbit last week from French site App4Phone.fr (English translation), which pointed to the September 21 release date based on intel from Chinese manufacturing sources. The timing itself jibes with last year's schedule when Apple unveiled the iPhone 4S on October 4 and then released it ten days later.
iMore's sources were apparently mum about a launch date for the iPad Mini, but the site says it could reach consumers on the same day, a logical assumption. The smaller iPad would reportedly be exactly like its 9.7-inch brother, but just on a 7-inch scale.
Reports have surfaced about a new iPod Touch in the works, which could also be announced on September 12 as part of the upcoming lineup. A new iPod Nano may also be part of the mix. That promises a busy day launch day for Apple, but the company typically spruces up its iPhone announcement with updates to the iPod and other products.
iMore's sources also passed along information already reported by others. The new iPhone would offer a 4-inch, 16:9 screen, while all new iOS devices would come with a smaller Dock connector.
This report is still firmly in the rumor category. But a September release date for the next iPhone would make sense financially for Apple.
Last year, the company launched the iPhone 4S in October. Demand for the new phone rewarded Apple with a gangbuster calendar fourth quarter. But the third quarter suffered as smartphone buyers held off purchases in anticipation of the new iPhone. Releasing a new phone in September ensures that Apple ends the calendar third quarter on a high note, with the expected heavy demand extending into the fourth quarter.

Apple Will Release The New iPhone And iPad Mini In September

September is going to be a busy month for Apple. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote in a research note Monday that Apple is planning to release the next iPhone in early September, followed by the new iPad Mini later that same month. "iPhone 5 to debut in September. But due to in-cell touch panel and casing yield rate limits, ability to offset older models' shipments decrease will be moderate," Kuo writes in the note, via MacRumors. Kuo has a pretty good track record when it comes to Apple's product schedule. He correctly predicted that Apple would kill off the 17-inch MacBook Pro, and he was one of the first to report on Apple using new in-cell technology to make the next iPhone thinner.
In his latest research note, Kuo says that Apple will introduce the iPad Mini later in September as well as a modified version of the third generation iPad around the same time to address heating issues. This confirms several previous rumors that Apple would tweak the latest iPad.
"Though shipments of iPad mini’s components will start in August, the new iPad line will end production, ready for transition to a modified New iPad line," Kuo writes in the note. "As such, component shipments will drop in August as iPad mini’s components shipments growth will be offset."