In a note to clients -- as reported by "AppleInsider" (www.appleinsider.com) -- Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore says this weekend's launch of the iPhone 5 will push Apple stock to US$850. He thinks the company will sell five to eight million units of the smartphone this weekend. Whitmore has upped his iPhone estimates for calendar 2012 from a previous prediction of 133 million to a new projection of 138 million. For calendar year 2013 he's raised his forecast from 170 million to 180 million in iPhone sales.

The "iFixIt" gang has torn down the iPhone 5. You can find the complete teardown at http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPhone-5-Teardown/10525/1 . "Once we got the iPhone 5 on the operating table, the iPhone practically flew apart under our nimble spudgers," says "iFixIt." "Good news for all the phone droppers out there: the front glass/display is the first thing that comes off the iPhone 5! Replacing a cracked front panel is significantly easier than the iPhone 4/4S. "And the further we delved, the more excited we got — even though we had to remove two pentalobe screws to get inside. The oft-broken and hard to repair home button now sports an integrated metal support bracket that should reduce the chance of failure, and the battery comes out just as easily as in last year's model. Overall, the iPhone 5 received a very solid 7/10 repairability score!" Here are some highlights of the teardown: ° "Because the iPhone 5 is opened front-to-back, replacing a cracked screen is going to be...

Marcelo Leite has introduced Did I Click 1.0 (didiclick.wordpress.com), an utility for Mac OS X (10.8.2). It costs US$0.99 and is available worldwide through the Mac App Store in the Utilities category. Did I Click provides visual and audible feedback for your mouse clicks. You'll see, and optionally hear, a target effect on the cursor right after the click. Users can show visual feedback for left and right clicks, choose from small, medium and large pointer sizes, set the visual effect duration, set custom colors for left click and right click, and more.

ResearchMoz.us has published a new study, "Tablets: Market Shares, Strategy, and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2012 to 2018." The 2012 study predicts the worldwide tablet market will reach US$181.5 billion in sales by 2018. "The tablet market promises to eclipse the PC market, providing vivid images on modern displays," says Susan Eustis, lead author of the study. "Tablet devices are used to write an e-mail, send a text, search the web, or create a note. Portability and ease of use is featured. Units are evolving the capability to be controlled all with the voice, providing the ability to embed more capabilities that people have not even thought of yet. The ecosystem is a significant part of the tablet market." All computer makers have to switch to making tablet computers, she adds. Computers aren't going away, but they become significantly less important in a relative manner. "Tablet and smartphone shipments have already eclipsed PC shipments and the trend is anticipated to continue," says...

Netgear (www.netgear.com) has released the Netgear Centria, an all-in-one automatic backup/media server and high-speed WiFi router. The Centria is a dual band high-performance router that offers automatic data backup for both Macs and PCs. If your computer goes down or is lost, you can still access your data from Centria using another computer. The Centria is available in two models. The US$229.99 Netgear Centria WNDR4700 (pictured) allows you to insert your own hard drive into its internal storage bay. The $349.99 Netgear Centria WNDR4720 comes with an internal 2TB hard drive. You can upgrade the internal hard drive yourself anytime. Both models come with two USB 3.0 ports and an SD card reader. The Centria is also a 900 Mbps (450+450 Mbps) Dual Band WiFi router. Combined with simultaneous dual band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) technology, it provides extended WiFi range and superior coverage, according to Sandeep Harpalani, senior product line manager for wireless networking, Netgear.

Guess Apple's timing was good in adding LTE support for the iPhone 5. LTE handset sell through is expected to reach 490.5 million in 2017, a 73% CAGR [compound annual return rate] over 2012 levels, and will account for 20.7% of all handset sales, according to a new report from Pyramid Research (www.pyramidresearch.com). The research group says that, for now, the majority of LTE subscriptions are for computers, computer add-ons and tablets. However, by the end of the forecast period Pyramid Research expects handsets to account for the bulk of LTE subscriptions, especially in North America, Europe and developed Asian markets. By 2017, 82%of handset sales in South Korea, and 79% of handset sales in Japan, are expected to be LTE. In the U.S., LTE handsets will be 71% of total mobile handset sell-through, according to Pyramid Research.

According to a new report by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI)l the personal computer division rated an all time score of 80 out of 100. Could it be partially due to the fact that more folks are buying Macs? Perhaps. But the iPad also plays a part. As the personal computer market continues to undergo its transformation toward smaller, more mobile computing and away from stationary desktop solutions, customer satisfaction with the PC industry as a whole gains further traction—up 2.6% to an all-time high ACSI score of 80. The improvement over the past year blasts away the industry’s former high point of 78 that was earned in both 2010 and 2011. ACSI measurement of the industry includes customer satisfaction with all types of personal computers: desktops, laptops and tablets. "The recent stall in demand for desktop computers comes in conjunction with a surge of interest in small, mobile computers; in particular, devices that are ultrathin or lightweight," says Claes Fornell...

IK Multimedia says its US$39.99 iRig Pre (www.irigpre.com) universal XLR microphone interface for iOS devices is available from retailers worldwide and from the IK Multimedia online store. The iRig Pre boasts an adjustable gain control, 48-volt phantom power and an audio/headphone output jack for real-time monitoring. It comes with two free apps for download from the Apple App Store: iRig Recorder Free, an audio field recorder, and VocaLive Free, a real-time vocal-effects processor for stage or studio use. The iRig Pre is designed for capturing live performances on-the-go with professional stage or studio microphones. Songwriters can use it to capture demos of their compositions at the moment of inspiration.

Elgato (http://www.elgato.com) has cut the price on its Game Capture HD, a solution for recording and sharing PlayStation or Xbox gameplay using a Mac or PC. It's been reduced from US$199.95 to $179.95. With Elgato Game Capture HD, gameplay videos are easier to record, edit and share than ever before thanks to its innovative hardware design, powerful H.264 encoder, and software that is specifically tailored to gamers' needs, says Adam Steinberg, vice president of Marketing at Elgato. It records in HD quality, all without burdening the computer hard disk with large files, he adds. At the same time, gameplay is passed through to the TV via HDMI. The hardware connects directly to the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 using a single cable. Elgato Game Capture HD comes with a Quick Start Guide, a USB cable, an HDMI cable, and a PlayStation 3 cable. It accepts the input of Xbox 360 (unencrypted HDMI) and PlayStation 3 (A/V In) video signals at 480p, 576p, 720p, and 1080i. Mac OS X 10.7 and a 2.0GHz...

Here are the latest Apple rumors from the blogosphere: "Physical mockups of Apple's rumored 'iPad mini,' presumably based on leaked design specs from case manufacturers, have appeared with increasing frequency in recent weeks, and Gizchina.com has now obtained one of the dummy units to share new photos and a video giving an impression of how the device might look and feel. The dummy units are widely available through Chinese online marketplace Taobao for roughly $15." -- "MacRumors" (www.macrumors.com) "Just hours after Apple released iOS 6 to the public on Wednesday, users are already complaining of Wi-FI connectivity issues on the company's Support Communities website, possibly stemming from a network verification system flaw." -- "AppleInsider" (www.appleinsider.com) "Less than one month after a hacker discovered an SMS spoofing flaw within iOS, Apple has apparently patched the vulnerability in its newly-released iOS 6 mobile operating system." -- "AppleInsider" (www.appleinsider....

Some employees of Apple's French stores voted to strike on Friday, "aiming for maximum impact by timing the walkout to coincide with the debut of the iPhone 5," reports "Reuters" (http://macte.ch/otRR1). The strike was called by the SUD, one of the main unions representing workers at Apple's stores in Paris and other French cities after the breakdown of talks over working conditions, the article adds. The union's demands include the installation of water fountains, providing meal vouchers and paying a thirteenth month of salary as is common at French companies.

The Apple iPhone 5 has generally met with overwhelmingly positive reviews. The company's Maps app in iOS 6 ... well, not so much. Apple has ditched the Google Maps application offered in previous versions of iOS and included its homegrown app. However, the response hasn't been kind. To wit: ° "Unlike the old version, the new Maps app doesn’t include transit directions. Instead, it points users to transit routing applications that they can download from Apple’s App Store. Unfortunately, there are no transit apps right now that are compatible with the newMaps app." -- "CSMonitor" (http://macte.ch/ebiWk) ° "Inaccuracies and misplaced towns and cities in Apple's new map software have provoked anger from users." -- "BBC" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19659736) ° "Search results in both Japanese and English seem severely limited, especially when navigating in the latter. Major Tokyo landmarks and tourist spots can’t be found through search. English speakers won’t be able to find the...

In a note to clients -- as reported by "The MacObserver" (www.macobserver.com) -- Ironfire Capital founder and analyst Eric Jackson says Apple's stock will hit US$1,650 by 2015. He says this is due to Apple's commanding lead in the mobile world with its iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices. Jackson even thinks sees competition from Google will help drive Apple's stock higher thanks to competition pushing both companies to build better and even more innovative products.

Another day, another lawsuit. Unwired Planet, through its Nevada-based subsidiary, Unwired Planet LLC, has filed patent infringement complaints against Apple and Google in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. The suits involve ... you guessed it ... patent infringement. In two separate complaints filed in Reno, Nevada, Unwired Planet -- which calls itself " "the inventor of the mobile Internet" -- charges Apple with infringing 10 of its patents, and charges Google with infringing 10 different patents. Together, the two cases charge infringement of a total of 20 patents related to smart mobile devices, cloud computing, digital content stores, push notification technologies and location-based services such as mapping and advertising. In the case against Apple, the complaint specifically alleges that infringing Apple products and services include, among others: ° Mobile devices (including mobile phones, tablets, and music players with the iOS operating system including...

Samsung plans to add Apple's iPhone 5 to existing patent lawsuits against its U.S. rival, reports "Reuters" (http://macte.ch/sqgz2). "Samsung anticipates that it will file, in the near future, a motion to amend its infringement contentions to add the iPhone 5 as an accused product," the company said in a U.S. court filing. "Based on information currently available, Samsung expects that the iPhone 5 will infringe the asserted Samsung patents-in-suit in the same way as the other accused iPhone models." This is all part of the ongoing, global legal battle. Apple and Samsung have filed more than 30 lawsuits against each other across four continents. For example, Apple alleges that Samsung copied the slide-to-unlock technology of its iPhone and iPad devices.

Artlandia SymmetryMill is the newest member of Artlandia's family of pattern design tools. It's designed to "make the pattern creation process simple for the rest of us." SymmetryMill is a web application, integrated with Pattern Central, a new web repository of repeating patterns. Recent versions of Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and other popular browsers are supported. The new application creates repeating patterns of all 17 mathematically possible symmetry types from essentially any JPG, PNG, or GIFF image. The built-in blending algorithms ensure the creation of patterns even when the result may otherwise show visible boundaries between pattern motifs, according to the folks at Artlania. The standard color adjustment filters and the sharpen and blur filters modify the patterns in place. Viewing saved pattern snapshots automatically executes the exact recipes for creating the patterns and sets the appropriate values of all SymmetryMill controls. Users can share their...

StubHub (www.stubhub.com, a ticket marketplace, says its free app for the iPhone and iPod touch (available at the Apple App Store) supports Apple’s Passbook. The integration allows fans to store select event tickets purchased on StubHub into Passbook, enabling them to use their iPhone or iPod touch as their ticket into events. "Through our integration with Apple’s Passbook, fans will not only be able to use their iPhone or iPod touch to store their tickets, but to enter an event as well," says StubHub President Chris Tsakalakis. Last year StubHub introduced mobile barcode tickets with select sports team partners, and the integration with Apple’s Passbook will give iPhone and iPod touch users another option to access mobile tickets. The University of Texas and Purdue University are StubHub’s first clients to integrate Passbook into their mobile ticket offering. Through Passbook, users have the convenience of keeping all of their boarding passes, event tickets, coupons, loyalty cards...

Jining High School in China has equipped its senior students with iPads in a bid to replace textbooks and help students in their studies, reports "M.I.C. Gadgets" (http://macte.ch/l2cGc). What's more, the move had helped reduce the burden of school bags from at least five kg to less than one kg while saving book expenses by "thousands of yuan a year," the article adds. However, the school is not allowing students to use social media on the iPads, according to Meng Qun, a teacher at the school who’s in charge of the China-US Class. "The school has set access privileges on the iPad," she told "M.I.C. Gadgets." "Students can surf the official websites of foreign universities, browse English-language newspapers and download English original novels and biographies but not chat with QQ [China's most popular instant messaging service] or some certain social networking services such as Renren.”

"The Hollywood Reporter" (http://macte.ch/jqit3) says that Time Warner Cable is "hard at work at a cloud-based [TV] guide experience" and is open to giving up control of the user interface as it looks to make its service accessible via new devices, including Apple's iPhones and iPads. This is reportedly what president and COO Rob Marcus told an investor conference in New York on Wednesday. However, this doesn't mean that Time Warner Cable is willing "to give up the customer relationship" as the company is committed to ensuring that people know its TV services are provided by TW Cable and not any device maker or other third party, the article adds. Deal details will depend on the partner and circumstances though, Marcus said at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference in New York.

Software and Computer Systems Company has released a free eBook in PDF format titled "Hard Drive Troubleshooting." It targets Macs and includes not only basic troubleshooting, but tips on how to properly analyze a system that is exhibiting problems that may be mistaken as drive failures when they are, in fact, system problems. The book traces the data flow all the way from the I/O controller on the logic board to the read and write heads actually exchanging data with the drive platters. The book is intended for those using systems running Mac OS X 10.5 or higher on either a PowerPC G4 or Intel-based system Although the book is clearly targeted at users using Apple Macintosh based systems, the general theory is applicable to almost any Mac or PC based system. SCSC invites anyone interested to download the book from their website. You can obtain the book at http://www.scsc-online.com/Downloads.html .

Tello, a SaaS and mobile application company, has announced PassTools (www.passtools.com), a product designed to help businesses build and manage passes for the new Apple Passbook. PassTools allows any business to create passes quickly and easily -- from independent store owners looking to create a simple coupon to established airlines looking for industrial strength electronic boarding passes for Passbook, says Joe Beninato, CEO and founder of Tello He adds that PassTools' Pass Builder is the first visual pass builder for Apple Passbook and lets businesses see their passes come to life as they build them. Anyone can build passes by clicking to choose colors, images, text fields and more. Passes are delivered via email with a click of the Send button. The Template Builder in PassTools lets businesses create templates for high volume personalized passes. It has the same visual interface as Pass Builder with a few extras. Once the template is just right, businesses specify which...

Apple has released iOS 6, which the company says has over 200 new features. It's available to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users as a free software update. You can upgrade your iDevice to iOS 6 by launching the Settings app, choose General, choosing Software Update, then following the on-screen prompts. Or you can connect your iDevice to iTunes and use your Mac or PC to download and install the OS update. Note that some older devices that can run iOS 6 may not be able to use all of the features available in the new OS on a new iPhone or iPad. New iOS 6 features include: an all new Maps app with Apple-designed cartography, turn-by-turn navigation and a Flyover view; new Siri features, including support for more languages, access to sports scores, restaurant recommendations and movie listings; Facebook integration for Contacts and Calendar, with the ability to post directly from Notification Center, Siri and Facebook-enabled apps like Photos, Safari and Maps; Shared Photo Streams via...

Eurobrand (www.eurobrand.com) -- the European independent experts for brand, patent & IP valuation & strategy -- has announced the "euroBrand Global Top 100," which ranks the top global companies in 16 industries. Apple tops the list with a brand value of EUR 100,239 bn. It's followed by the Coca Cola Company, representing a value of EUR 59,978 bn and Microsoft with a brand value of EUR 53,973 bn. The Global TOP 10 are all US-based.   LVMH remains Europe`s most valuable brand corporation representing a brand value of EUR 34,306 bn (global rank is 14), followed by Vodafone with a value of EUR 28,578 bn and the brands of AB INBEV representing a value of EUR 28,021 bn. China Mobile with a brand value of its portfolio of EUR 43,983 bn (global rank 11) remains No.1 in Asia.

The new iPhone 5 carries a bill of materials (BOM) of US$199 for the low-end model with 16GB of NAND flash memory, according to a preliminary virtual teardown conducted by the IHS iSuppli Teardown Analysis Service (www.isuppli.com). When the $8 manufacturing cost is added in, the cost to produce the iPhone 5 rises to $207. For the 32GB version of the iPhone 5, the BOM cost increases to $209, while the 64GB version is estimated at $230. Note that these teardown assessments are preliminary in nature, account only for hardware and manufacturing costs and don't include other expenses such as software, licensing, royalties or other expenditures.    "With the base model carrying a $199 BOM, the iPhone 5’s components are expected to be slightly more expensive compared to the iPhone 4S model," says Andrew Rassweiler, senior principal analyst, teardown services, for IHS. "The low-end iPhone 4S with the same memory density as the base-model iPhone 5 carried a BOM of $188.00, according to a...