Apple has been teasing users/developers with their iOS 5.1 betas for weeks and weeks now, causing many to wonder when will users get the opportunity to download the latest iOS software onto their mobile devices. Now, reports are surfacing that Apple’s iOS 5.1 software update will be released publicly about one month from today. Leaks of operator profiles set to be sent out to various iPhone carriers point directly towards a March 9th release date.

According to YourDailyMac, those profiles were aimed towards the mobile operators in Japan, France, Greece, Finland and Sweden, and the updates aim to ensure network compatibility with the new iOS version. The report stated that, “Since iOS updates are normally rolled out at the same time worldwide, so everyone should expect iOS 5.1 to become available next month.”

For a while now, Apple’s iOS 5.1 has remained in a beta testing mode. Based on several leaks from the iOS 5.1 beta, it will include upgrades and bug fixes and also promises to bring support for additional languages to the Siri software on the iPhone 4S. Let’s see if the iOS 5.1 update will finally resolve the bug issue that’s been plaguing iOS owners when it comes to the battery drain on the iPhone.

Many bloggers are speculating that if those dates are accurate,t Apple could be paving the way for the March release date of the next generation of the iPad 3. Apple has been known to unveil new iDevice products alongside new iOS update. So, its possible Apple was holding out on this update to time up nicely with the launch of the iPad 3.

When Apple decides to rolled out with this iOS 5.1 update, it will be fully compatible with the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod Touch 3G/4G, iPad, and iPad 2.

Via [Your Daily Mac]

New reports from Appleinsider claim Apple might be preparing to launch the next wireless standard 802.11ac across all of their Mac computer product line-up at some point in 2012. The current range of Apple products—such as the Macintosh, AirPort and iOS devices—all utilize the current standard of 802.11n specification, but if Appleinsider rumors pan out we will soon be seeing a new network of 802.11ac chips that would feature better range and power efficiency than the existing chips.

According to Broadcomm, this new standard for wireless networking technology will be capable of reaching three times faster speeds than the existing wireless networks, and have a maximum speed of over 1 Gigabit per second.

Appleinsider explains the benefits of these kinds of networks:

“5G WiFi is the next generation Wi-Fi standard required for today’s mobile and video era. The new 802.11ac standard could achieve more efficient data transfers through sophisticated modulation, and more antennas (up to 8; existing standards support up to 4, while Apple’s Macs currently use up to 3).”

Despite this new standard lacking any official certification, many manufacturers unveiled products at CES 2012 with components supporting the 802.11ac standard that we should be seeing by the second half of this year.

Back in 2006, Apple was amongst the first companies to adopt the 802.11n standard, long before receiving the final certification. Apple has become well-known within the tech industry for adopting new technologies in the past and making them a standard across the market. So, there is a possibility the company might roll-out this new specification to Apple devices this year.

Thunderbolt is a new technology that allows data transfer speeds at 20 times faster than regular USB ports, 12 times faster than the Firewire 800. It also offers the ability to power ultra high resolution displays. And according to the patent applications discovered by Patently Apple, Apple might be working to bring Thunderbolt technology to mobile devices.

Apple has filed patents that indicate the Cupertino company may be experimenting with incorporating the Intel Thunderbolt technology in future generations of iOS devices such as the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. One patent application mentions “… a connection may be provided between a portable media player and a display, a computer and a portable media player.” This will certainly pave the way for new kinds of data transfer technologies, speedier charging times, and, more importantly, the capability to use display output for presentations.

The patents in this set cover several aspects of how Apple plans to create its own cabling technology to handle Thunderbolt connections such as heat dissipation, and EMI shielding to provide a faster connection without suffering any wireless network signal loss. It’s still unclear if we will ever see this technology on new iOS devices. The patents were submitted by Apple between the months of February and June in 2011.

The patent descriptions are usually loose in terms, and don’t necessarily refer to a actual product, but it does show Apple’s interest in adding Thunderbolt to their iOS devices.

Via [Patently Apple]

Rumors of the iPad 3 have been pointing towards a March/April release, approximately one year since Apple introduced the iPad 2. According to several leaks popping up around the Web, Apple’s iPad 3 is rumored to carry a Retina Display resolution (2048 x 1536), a quad-core A6 chip, and (possibly) 4G LTE support. And now, new rumors making their way around the Web are focusing on the launch date. If the reports coming out of Asia pan out, it may only be a couple of weeks before Apple shows off their latest creation to the world.

A report from the Japanese blog Macotakara claims Apple may be making the final preparations to unveil the iPad 3 in February. The site has a pretty spotty record regarding some of Apple’s product plans, but is citing sources from Asian supply chains stating that the iPad 3 will go on sale in early March.

Ever since Apple decided to exclude themselves from Macworld Expo, the company has run on its own schedule. Only Apple makes the decision on when the iPad will be released, and since the company never makes comments on speculation, the launch date will be debated and talked about until the day of the Apple event.

Read [Macotakara] Via [9to5Mac]

Ars Technica has the details via a report from Bloomberg, who has the sources.

One of Bloomberg’s sources claims LTE support is coming to the iPad before the iPhone because “the tablet has a bigger battery and can better support the power requirements of the newer technology.” As for the quad-core chip, references were recently found within the iOS 5.1 betas that indicate that Apple is planning to roll out quad-core iOS devices sooner than later. When we wrote about those discoveries last week, we said it would be plausible that the next version of the iPad could support such a thing, and now the rumors seem to be converging on that detail.

A report from December of leaked iPad 3 parts pointed towards a “major redesign,” which doesn’t necessarily gel with this new rumor. Ars Technica anticipates only a “slightly thicker body,” although they do anticipate front- and read-facing cameras. It’s a logical assumption, as it brings it line with the iPhone 4/4S, and would continue to push their FaceTime technology on the gorgeous Retina Display.

And for anyone who owns an iPad 2, it was painfully obvious that a better (i.e., usable) camera would follow as quickly as Apple could push one out.

Hopefully, this won’t just be rumor for too much longer. By March or April, we should have the iPad 3 in our hands and be able to move on dissecting those iPhone 5 rumors.

Not everyone is fortunate to live in areas that have a large enough population to warrant an Apple store being built. You can always buy online, but what if you want to see the product before you make your purchasing decision? If there’s a Target nearby, you may be in luck; Apple is rumored to be opening a store-within-a-store inside Target at certain locations later this year.

AppleInsider received this information from a “source familiar with Apple’s plans” who said Apple will start by opening 25 stores inside larger Target stores in areas that can’t support an Apple store. If this goes well, perhaps Apple will open more stores at some of Target’s other 1,752 locations in the United States. No information was provided as to where the initial 25 stores would be located.

Target already sells many Apple products, including the iPod and iPad, as well as the iPhone in stores with Target Mobile sales centers. With the Apple store-within-a-store, they would also be able to sell other Apple products such as the iMac, MacBook, and Cinema Display. Unfortunately, the source didn’t share any knowledge as to what the stores would be like.

Currently, Apple has stores within over 600 Best Buy locations, which could make one wonder why Apple would expand to Target as well. Perhaps Apple wants to add some competition, or maybe it’s because of the rumors that Best Buy is going out of business. It could also be that Best Buy doesn’t have stores in locations Apple wo which Apple wants to expand.

Regardless, it’s always good to see Apple products in more stores because being able to see the products in person is the best way to sell them to someone who may be considering moving over from Windows or Android.

Via [AppleInsider]

The New York Times is reporting that Apple is secretly working in a prototype device that can be worn as a wrist-strap watch. According to sources within the company, the “… new curved-glass iPod that would wrap around the wrist,” will have the built-in functionality of Siri, allowing users to control the device with their voice. The inspiration seems to come from third-party accessories that make wrist watches of the iPod nano.

The New York Times article reveals that Apple may have some of these wearable prototypes already built and going through the experimental stages. These devices will become the “first network-enabled wearable computers,” capable of sharing information to all of our devices via wireless technology. New York Times writer Nick Bilton wasn’t clear in the article on what wireless technology Apple might want use on these devices, but we can presume technology such as Bluetooth.

Google seems to be competing Apple, building their own future wearable devices. Sources claim that Google may be teaming up with Nokia engineers, among others, to create their own wearable watch technology to counteract Apple’s attempt to dominate the market. Such devices from Google will have technology built into them that will enable communication with their line of Android smartphones.

The report from the New York Times envisions a future in which all of our mobile devices are connected, and wearable devices—including spectacles and contact lenses with built-in displays—will have the capability of sharing information with other users.

Via [The New York Times]

Apple uses solid-state drives (SSD)—which consist of flash memory—in the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch/nano/shuffle and MacBook Air, as well being build-to-order options in the Mac Mini, iMac, and MacBook Pro. It would make sense that Apple would want to have the best SSD technology for low price and stability, which is why it’s rumored Apple is interested in purchasing Anobit, a maker of flash controllers.

While SSD is much faster than traditional hard drives in both reading and writing data, their long-term stability is not as good, and writing data has a tendency to degrade performance, which can lead to data loss. Anobit can’t change the underlying physical structure of flash memory, but their controllers reduce errors, which increases performance and long-term stability and reduces power usage.

If Apple continues relying on SSD and flash memory (and that seems more than likely at this point), having Anobit’s expertise would be highly valued.

Via [ZDNet]

The iPad 3 has been rumored to launch sometime around March of 2012, and now alleged parts from the iPad 3 circuitry have started to appear in the wild. The photograph above is reported to be a part belonging to the third generation of the iPad. The part got identified as being the microphone flex cable ribbon replacement for an iPad 3, which was posted on a Chinese retailer TVC-Mall, along with other supposed iPad 3 parts. Cydia Blog, who noticed the product, reported that, “The new part, when compared with iPad 2, shows a different arrangement in internal circuitry, hinting a major re-design. The tail end of the part makes a “U-turn”, whereas the iPad 2′s Microphone Mic Flex Cable makes almost 90-degree turn both ways.”

While the source of the image cannot be confirmed as legitimate, this information falls perfectly in line with what previous reports have being saying about parts and components. If this new cable does belong to the iPad 3, what changes could we see with the third generation of Apple’s tablet? The crop of chatter on the web suggests that the iPad 3 will come with a Retina Display, Apple’s next-gen A6 chip, and the slight possibility of LTE 4G support.

Let’s bear in mind, though, that until Apple comes out with their official statement announcing such product, everything until this point should be taken with a healthy dose of skepticism.

Via [Cydia Blog]

Rumors have been pointing to a higher resolution display in the iPad 3, set to arrive in spring of 2012. Now, word is surfacing the technology will propagate to the Apple’s Mac computers, as well. Reports from DigiTimes say Apple may have plans to incorporate into their MacBook Pros Retina Display-like resolutions of 2,880 x 1,800 (261ppi), starting at the very first few months of the Q2 in 2012.

DigiTimes sources claim the information came from a supply chain within the Asian market, suggesting that a new MacBook Pro models may be unveiled by Apple sometime in 2012. The very nature of this decision mainly deals with a strategy from Apple to better differentiate future MacBook model line-up from other Windows-based notebooks competitors. If Retina Display lands in the MacBook it will double the resolution from the existing 15-inch MacBook Pro models from the current default 1,440 × 900 pixels by super-sizing it to 2,880 x 1,800 pixel density.

DigiTimes reports: “Apple is likely to launch its new MacBook Pro lineup with a display resolution of 2880 by 1800 in the second quarter of 2012, setting a new round of competition for panel specifications in the notebook industry, according to sources in the upstream supply chain.

This follows previous reports that a MacBook refresh is in the pipeline, and that next-generation Ivy Bridge processors are capable of handling resolutions as high as 4,096 x 4,096. There are plenty of possibilities that Apple could implement such technology into their future MacBook models, given the recent hidden discovery of HiDPI modes support within the OS X Lion software. However, we most likely we won’t see those products until next year.

Via [DigiTimes]