New iMacs Still Expected to Ship in November-December

Last week, a report from french site MacBidouille claimed that Apple may not be shipping their new iMac until early 2013, despite Apple's official promises that the new iMac models would ship before year's end. 


9to5Mac now reassures us that Apple's original plans are still intact for the iMac. The new 21.5" iMacs are said to already be shipping to distribution centers, while the 27" iMacs are due in December. Supplies, however, are likely to be very short through the rest of the year. 

Apple continues to list November and December availability dates for the new iMacs in their online store. Pre-orders are not yet available but are expected by the end of November.

Apple Posts Black Friday 'One-Day Shopping Event' Teaser

Apple has posted a teaser page on their Australian online Apple Store for a "one-day Apple shopping event" on Friday, November 23rd.

The one-day Apple shopping event is Friday, 23 November. 

Get ready to give. Shop online or visit your favourite Apple Retail Store. 
We'll help you make the most of the day, no matter how you shop.

This Friday represents Black Friday in the United States. Black Friday is the day afterThanksgiving that marks the start of the Christmas shopping season. Traditionally, retailers offer major sales on that day. 

Apple's international online and retail stores also participate in these sales, though Apple's discounts tend to be very modest. Last year's discounts for Apple's core products were as follows (in USD): 

iPad 2 - $41 to $61 Off 
iPod nano - $11 off 
iPod Touch - $21 to $41 off 
MacBook Air - $101 off 
MacBook Pro - $101 off 
iMac - $101 off 

For absolute savings, customers will have better luck with 3rd party merchants that tend to offer steeper discounts on Apple products on Black Friday.

Next iPad and iPhone Due in "Middle of 2013"?

Digitimes reports that Apple's suppliers will enjoy a particularly strong 1st Quarter of 2013. The reason cited is due to new iPad and iPhone products "around the middle of 2013".

Apple is expected to introduce its next-generation iPad and iPhone series around the middle of 2013, which will boost demand for ICs in particular communications related chips during the latter half of the first quarter, according to the observers. Component orders placed by Apple, which climbed to high levels prior to the iPhone 5 rollout, will rise again between March and April, the observers indicated.

The "middle of 2013" claim is offered very matter-of-factly despite Apple's recent history of offering fall releases for the iPhone and now the iPad. For example, the iPhone 5 and iPad 4 launched in September and October, respectively. 

The claim is somewhat consistent with another report that reported that Apple is already starting trial production of the iPhone 5S with volume production planned for early 2013. 

Still, we are hesitant to read too much into this report just yet. Digitimes has had a mixed record in the past with its share of both hits and misses. If the iPhone and iPad launch will indeed be accelerated, we are certain to hear more in the coming months.

Facebook Rolling Out New iOS Photo Sync Feature

Facebook is slowly rolling out a new Photo Sync feature to its iOS users that automatically uploads all photos taken on the iPhone to a private photo album on Facebook. The idea is to make it easier and faster for users to share photos with their friends.TechCrunch has more on how it works:

Here’s how Facebook Photo Sync works, at least for those lucky enough to be in the test. You go to the Photos app in the Facebook For iOS app’s sidebar navigation or the photos section of your Timeline and scroll to the bottom. There you may find an option to check out Photo Sync and then enable it, as seen in this photo sent in by tipster YoloFahad (an Instagrammer-extraordinaire).

Facebook will then automatically upload photos you shoot to an unpublished album only you can see. From there you can authorize which photos you want posted.

Facebook's support site has much more about Photo Sync, as well. Facebook is using background uploads within the Facebook iOS app to move the photos, not anything special with location APIs or Apple's iOS 6 Facebook integration.

The app is very clear that all photos uploaded automatically are marked as private and cannot be viewed by others until specifically shared by the user. Users get 2 GB of complimentary photo storage.

iPad Mini Keyboard Cases Hitting the Market

Belkin and iPadMiniMod have each released iPad mini cases with integrated keyboards, adding to the collection of accessories for the new tablet.

Belkin's $80 case connects to the iPad via Bluetooth and features a removable keyboard with shortcut keys to play or pause music, as well as change tracks.


iPad Mini Mod's $40 aluminum case also connects via Bluetooth and uses Smart Cover magnets to turn the iPad on when the case is opened. It comes in both black and silver to match the iPad mini.
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$1.5 Million Worth of iPad Minis Stolen from Airport Warehouse

The New York Post reports that thieves managed to steal $1.5 million worth of iPad minis from a warehouse at Kennedy Airport in New York City on Monday night. The heist, which appears to have been an inside job, netted the criminals two pallets containing 3,600 iPad minis.

The crooks arrived at Building 261 around 11 p.m. in a white tractor trailer marked with the name CEVA on the side, according to the sources. They pulled up to the side of the airport building that faces onto a street and has less security than the other side, which is accessible from the airport tarmac. 

Sources believe someone let them into the area and then let them out after they grabbed the iPads. 

They grabbed about 3,600 of the minis that were being shipped by a company called Cargo Airport Services, which said the iPads had just arrived from China and were destined for locations around the US.

Three other pallets were left behind when the thieves fled after being approached by a warehouse worker. 

The report does not specifically identify which types of iPad minis were stolen in the heist, but with pre-orders of the new cellular-capable models on their way to customers over the next several days, it seems possible that the units were LTE models in the process of being distributed for launch-day sales.

Twelve South's BookBook for iPhone 5 Ships Monday

Twelve South's popular BookBook iPhone case has been updated for the iPhone 5 and will launch on Monday November 19th, MacRumors has learned. We don't have any details about pricing, but the new BookBook should begin shipping on Monday as well. 

Interested users can sign up for a notification list to learn when the BookBook for iPhone 5 launches. The current BookBook for the iPhone 4 and 4S is $59.99 and is available in both brown and black. 

Update: Twelve South has now posted an information page on the BookBook for iPhone 5, noting that it does indeed launch on Monday and is priced at $59.99.