Apple quietly bumping iCloud storage to 25 GB until the year 2050?

Twitter user @mgleet tipped me off that Apple appears to have bumped his iCloud storage plan to 25 GBs until the year 2050. Multiple people here at TUAW are seeing the same plan bumps, though none of us has upgraded our plans, not to mention paid 38 years in advance.

Apple has been known to offer cloud storage upgrades for free in the past when their online services didn't live up to expectations (MobileMe). Could this be a way Apple is apologizing for the Maps debacle?

To check to see what your storage plan is, go to Settings>iCloud>Account on your iOS device. Free 20GB storage upgrades for previous MobileMe members are set to expire today, but currently a bunch of us are seeing that those plans are now set to expire September 30, 2050.

It's possible this could be a bug on Apple's end as they transition MobileMe members down from the 25 GB plan to the 5 GB plan, though it's October 1st in New Zealand and one of our writers there is reporting he's still on the free 25 GB plan, which should have ended at 11:59PM September 30 New Zealand time. We'll keep you updated as soon as we hear more information.

[Source: TUAW]

Hong Kong’s second Apple Store now official, opening in Kowloon on September 29th

As reported earlier, Hong Kong’s second Apple Store will open this week in Kowloon Tong in the Festival Walk shopping center.  Another store is rumored for Hysan Place in Causeway Bay.

Apple is also planning its first massive data center in the New Territories region of Hong Kong for opening early next year.

[Source: 9to5Mac]

iOS 6 becomes 15 percent of Apple mobile device traffic within 24 hours

There's been some trepidation among Apple device users over the upgrade to iOS 6 given that it takes away some components while adding others. You wouldn't guess it from the initial upgrade rate, however. Both ChartBoost and Chitika have determined that about 15 percent of iOS data traffic was already coming from Apple's latest release within its first 24 hours of availability -- not bad, considering that it took Android 4.0 roughly eight months to reach a similar ratio and iOS 5 about five days to hit 20 percent. ChartBoost adds that iPhone owners were the quickest to upgrade, which is only logical when the iPhone 4S gets the most new features. The contrast between Android and iOS was entirely expected, knowing Apple's limited hardware pool and reduced carrier oversight. We're more interested in the differences between iOS versions: they suggest that whatever advantages people see in iOS 6, as well as a widespread over-the-air update system, have been enough to spur on many early adopters.

[Source: Engadget]

Apple updates Garageband, Keynote, Numbers, iPhoto, iMovie, Cards, Podcasts, Remote, iTunes U, & Find My Friends iOS apps

As expected, Apple is releasing updates to many of its iOS apps today including Garageband, Keynote, Numbers, Cards, iPhoto, iMovie, and Find My Friends with support for iOS 6 and other new features. We also expect to see a few more updates headed towards the rest of Apple’s own iOS apps today following the public release of iOS 6 earlier today.

[Source: 9to5Mac - Read the full article there]

Apple expanding North Carolina data center operations with $3M, 200-acre land purchase

According to a new report from Hickory Daily Record, Apple is expanding its data center operations in North Carolina with the purchase of $3 million worth of land in Conover, Catawba County. The purchase would include 218.885 acres and another 0.251 acres for a new solar farm. HDR cited “deeds and a plat book at the Catawba County Register of Deeds”:

CONOVER, NC — California-based technology giant Apple has spent nearly $3 million to buy more than 200 acres of property in Catawba County for another solar farm… It’s another step in Apple’s pledge to have its Maiden data center running on 100 percent renewable energy by the end of the year…Apple recently closed on the land purchase that includes a tract of 218.885 acres and another tract of 0.251 acres, according to deeds and a plat book at the Catawba County Register of Deeds. 

We recently showed you new aerial shots of the progress being made on Apple’s construction of the current data center and solar farm in Maiden, N.C. According to Apple, those installations account for a 100-acre, 20-megawatt installation on the Maiden data center site and another 100-acre site just a few miles away. The over 200 acres in Conover is Apple’s only land in the Catawba County area other than its main solar farm and data center installations in Maiden.

[Source: 9to5Mac]

iOS 6 jailbroken already, but only on older A4-powered iPhones and iPods

iOS 6 probably won't go down in history as a revolutionary update, but fortunately it's anti-tamper measures don't seem to have changed much either. The iPhone Dev-Team has already managed to get its redsn0w tethered jailbreak working, at least for the A4-powered iPhone 4, 3GS and 4th-gen iPod touch, and you'll find full instructions as well as a healthy list of caveats at the source link below. As to how long it'll take to get some Cydia action on the iPhone 5 and other fresher devices and without the hassle of tethering, place your bets here.

[Source: Engadget]

Navigon and StreetPilot Onboard update adds public transport, Apple Maps and iPhone 5 support

Navigon's gearing up for tomorrow's big day by updating its, erm, Navigon and StreetPilot Onboard apps. The refreshed software adds support for the iPhone 5's new 4-inch display as well as baking in public transport listings to Cupertino's presently underwhelming mapping offering. It's also gaining the promised "last mile" function to record the location of your car when finishing your journey on foot, sparing you the embarrassment of getting lost in the multi-storey lot when you return. The company's offering a $10 discount on its apps if you pick 'em up before October 3rd, while the in-app purchase of Urban Guidance has been reduced from $5 to $3 for the same period. We've had a note from Garmin to say that while Navigon update is now available, StreetPilot Onboard has been slightly delayed.

[Source: Engadget]

Samsung has BIG dig at iPhone 5 Queuers

Even though I love Apple products, the Samsung Galaxy S3 is with no doubt an awesome phone. Samsung seem to think so too, they also think iPhone 5 queues are funny. Check out their new advert below.

iOS 6 App Store tweaked to promote a one-tap installation of free Apple apps

It looks like Apple is putting the final touches on the redesigned App Store for iOS 6 ahead of the next-generation operating system’s public launch later this week. As of this evening, a new page greets first-time users to promote Apple’s own apps, providing an easy way for new users to quickly “get the most out of” their iOS device.

The promoted apps include only Apple’s free offerings, with no sign of paid apps such as the iLife or iWork suites. A “Download Free” button provides a one-tap installation of iBooks, iTunes U, Podcasts, Find My Friends, and Find My iPhone.

iOS 6 will be publicly available on Wednesday, September 19th as a free update for the iPhone 3GS and newer, the iPad 2, iPad 3, and the fourth-generation iPod touch, and will ship on the iPhone 5 this Friday as well as the upcoming fifth-generation iPod touch in October.

[Source: 9to5Mac]

Lightning to HDMI and VGA cables incoming, says Apple

Apple has already announced a 30-pin adapter for the iPhone 5's new Lightning standard, but its product page betrays a pair of limitations: "video and iPod Out not supported." That's nothing another accessory can't fix, of course. According to The Verge, Cupertino has plans to release Lightning to HDMI and VGA cables "in the coming months," giving early adopters something to pine for on day one. No word on pricing or specificavailability of course, but we wouldn't be surprised to see it hover around the existing adapter's $29 price tag. Fine by us, assuming it pulls its weight.

[Source: Engadget]

New iCloud website with Notes, Reminders and Mail, Find my iPhone improvements comes out of beta

Apple’s new iCloud.com web portal has come out of beta. The new website adds iPad-like Reminders and Notes web applications. In addition, the new website adds improvements to Mail such as VIPs. It also includes a revamped Find my iPhone application.

[Source: 9to5Mac]

Apple’s iCloud outage finally ends but some of those users left with malformed emails

The iCloud outage which began Tuesday that affected as many as 2% of Apple’s 200 Million iCloud users now appears to be over. However, some iCloud users are writing in to tell us that Apple just dumped all of their email into their Inbox with 12/31/69 dates and jumbled Subject lines.

[Source: 9to5Mac]