Greetings from high above the face of the Earth—37,102 feet, to be exact. It may only be Monday as I wing my way back to the East coast, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to talk about, whether it’s rumors about the next generation iPhone 5, an exciting real estate investment for Apple, or a surprise visitor at the Apple Store. The remainders for Monday, May 23, 2011 have returned their tray tables and seat backs to the upright, locked position.
Phishing and Malware Emails Posing as Apple and the iPhone 5 Launch (MacRumors)
An enterprising scammer has started sending out e-mails about the purported iPhone 5. It invites the recipients to enter their personal information so they can be among the very first to buy their very own terrible Photoshop mockup (some models even include a bonus piece of malware thrown in for free!). It’s a clever trick, but remember, folks: The real Steve Jobs will never ask for your credit card information.
Because he has it already.
Grand Central Apple Store Seed Planted (Wall Street Journal)
Rumors of Apple’s interest in a retail spot at New York’s Grand Central Terminal have been whispered before, but now The Wall Street Journal says Cupertino’s actually involved in negotiations with the chic shopping center. Sure, it’s a great location for foot traffic and high-end customers, but I still think it’s all just a publicity stunt for one of Apple’s less sexy technologies.
Apple said to introduce curved-glass iPhone 5 (Digitimes)
Yeah, your iPhone 4 is good-looking and all, but flat screens are so 2010. Rumor has it that the iPhone 5 will sport a curved glass display. Why? Who knows! We’d love to tell you more, but apparently that involves sending our bank account information to some Nigerian prince.
Caption Contest: HTC Chairwoman Cher Wang drops by Apple’s Palo Alto Store (Engadget)
HTC co-founder and chairwoman Cher Wang reportedly stopped into the Palo Alto Apple Store, and got her picture snapped while she was there. On the one hand, it just goes to show you that you can still be civil when your companies are engaged in cutthroat litigation. On the other hand, she probably didn’t engender a lot of goodwill by jumping up and down on that iPad 2 and then asking a Genius to fix it with magic.
iPad 2 Smart Cover Drop Test (SquareTrade)
What happens when you drop your shiny new iPad 2 onto concrete? Well, if you’re a Smart Cover owner, the news is pretty good, according to tests by independent warranty provider SquareTrade: Apple’s magnetic accessory will take the brunt of the impact. By contrast, an unprotected model shattered in four places. That’s all well and good, but I still prefer my safety procedure, which involves attaching a piece of buttered toast to the iPad’s back. Take that, universe.