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As is almost always the case, the Apple-focused blog world is humming with activity.
This week, some of the most interesting topics include the revelation that HBO has somehow managed to break Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) 
longstanding US$1.99 price lock on TV shows sold via iTunes.
Also making waves are the sales figures for Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Office 2008 for Mac -- it's selling three times faster than any previous version -- AT&T's (NYSE: T) plans to deliver 20 Mbps (megabits per second) 3G wireless speeds, and the possibility that Apple may be building a miniature tablet multi-touch device.
HBO iTunes Pricing Gives Room to Rome
Apple and HBO jointly announced that HBO programming would finally be available for purchase from iTunes. While that's interesting news in and of itself (wonder what took HBO so long to jump aboard?) the fact that some shows will sell for $2.99, breaking Apple's usual $1.99 price, is close to astounding.
Here's why: Anyone who's followed iTunes song and TV show pricing knows that Steve Jobs has consistently drawn a hard line in the sand over iTunes pricing, fending off pressure from television networks as well as record labels to offer tiered or flexible pricing models.
This isn't the first time this rule has been bent -- Apple started offering songs with a higher 256 kbps bit rate and without digital rights management (DRM) protections for $1.29 a little over a year ago.
Still, the news piqued the interest of many bloggers. Some shows, like "Flight of the Conchords," "Sex and the City," and "The Wire" will sell for $1.99 per episode, while "The Sopranos," "Deadwood," and "Rome" are going for $2.99.
"This is exactly what Apple was supposed to be fighting when NBC left iTunes late last year," noted Editor Michael Murphey on Apple Gazette post.
Unlike NBC, HBO is a premium channel that subscribers have to pay extra for -- there's no way to see HBO broadcasts for free like there is with NBC. In this situation, some commenters can see some logic behind the increase.
"The difference in quality between HBO shows and NBC shows is staggering. Sure, there are good shows on NBC, or enjoyable shows, but not on the same production level as HBO," noted Tim on the Apple Gazette post.
"Like others have said, its a case of value. HBO and Showtime command subscription prices, higher dvd prices, and now higher iTunes prices. I don't think other networks will be able to," he added.
So does this mean that Apple is softening on price? Can we expect a veritable free market of shifting prices in the future? There's a difference between tiered pricing and variable pricing, Mike McGuire, a vice president of research for Gartner (NYSE: IT) , told MacNewsWorld. With tiered pricing, the prices are still relatively fixed based on some criteria, like an high-definition movie rental being priced at $4.99 while the standard definition version is $3.99. Variable pricing, where a newly released or popular show or song could cost more than an older song, may still be off-limits for Apple.
"My guess is this has something to do with rights," McGuire said, noting that the directors or content owners associated with "Deadwood" and the other higher-priced shows may have some sort of rights associated with resale of the shows. As for the real reason behind the price shift, McGuire said Apple and HBO just aren't talking about it.
Office 2008 Gets a New Mac Life
Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac has always been one of the most popular applications for Mac owners, despite coming from a company that many Mac-lovers enjoy loathing. Despite all criticisms, Microsoft clearly has a world-dominating word processor and office application suite. It's been four years since the company released the last version for Mac, and in that time Apple's iWork with Pages application suite has been chipping away at Microsoft's market share.
Despite iWork, Office 2008 for Mac has been selling three times faster than any previous version of Office in the last 19 years, Microsoft said, though the company declined to note specific numbers. The Microsoft Mac Business Unit has 200 employees, which speaks to a sizable investment in the application. Microsoft announced the sales at the same time as it released Service Pack 1 for the office suite.
Lots of commenters took the news as a chance to poke at Microsoft and Office for Mac, and many noted that because Mac sales have been doing well lately, it's not surprising that Office for Mac is selling faster. Others simply wanted to know if SP1 improved performance of the application.
"For me on my Core 2 Macbook, Word and Excel launch a couple of seconds faster and can handle some of my larger documents and spreadsheets with out bogging down near as bad. More usable, but no where near the performance of OFC 07 in Winblows on the same Mac w/bootcamp," noted jayman30 on the AppleInsider.com post on the subject.
AT&T's 3G to Fly at 20 Mbps
Ralph de la Vega, AT&T's mobility chief, said at Morgan Stanley's Communications Conference that AT&T is upgrading its 3G wireless network so that it'll be able to deliver speeds at 20 Mbps, which is fast -- really fast.
The news raises some questions about pricing and usage, of course, many of which won't be resolved until the upgrade is actually is available in 2009. Still, speculation abounds, particularly around a glut of iPhone users and enterprise data needs.
"If every iPhone is blowing through data at 20 Washingtons per month, I'll be seriously ticked if I get asked to pay 3 times that amount for data. And, a more reasonable data cap when the time comes," commented bonesbautista on the CNET News.com News Blog post on the subject.
As for enterprise usage, the new speed won't make much of a difference in terms of mobile device users' interaction with applications that reside on the device as a mobile clients, since most mobile apps are still client-based, Tony Rizzo, director of mobile software analysis for The 451 Group, told MacNewsWorld.
"However, that bandwidth will make it much easier to both upload and download large amounts of data -- a lot of mobile applications can be auto-set to upload or download data whenever useful bandwidth is available -- for example, when a user goes from EDGE to a WiFi hotspot," Rizzo explained.
"With that much cellular bandwidth, it'll be much easier to do uploads and downloads on the fly. From that perspective it will make a difference. Of course, browser-based apps will also be much crisper overall," he added.
Apple Working on a Mini-Tablet?
Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) may have spilled the beans about a new Apple multitouch-based device. Intel Germany CEO Hannes Schwaderer has apparently
confirmed that Apple will use Intel's Atom processor in a future version of the iPhone that has a larger screen, according to ZDNet.de.
"While Schwaderer calls the larger device a 'version of the iPhone', it seems clear that it refers to the rumored mini-tablet device. Some rumors have suggested that it would be introduced at WWDC (World Wide Developer Conference)," reported MacRumors.com.
Later, though, Intel stated that the executive has no knowledge of future Apple products and was only speaking hypothetically. Imaginations were ignited nonetheless.
Apple's last attempt at a PDA , the Newton, bit the dust a long time ago, but that was well before the renaissance Apple has been enjoying for the past several years. Still, is there a growing niche for devices that are larger than smartphones but smaller than laptops?
"It seems like the iPhone is as big of a device as anyone would want to carry in their pocket. A larger screen would cross the line into the world of carrying it in a bag (like a laptop bag). But the screen seems too small for that, and they do already have the MacBook Air for that market of ultra-portable laptops ... I guess we'll see where Steve takes this one?" commented Korolen on the MacRumors.com post on the subject.
There's been enough evidence to suggest that Apple is working on such a device, MacRumors.com Editor Arnold Kim told MacNewsWorld. "As always, whether or not they bring it to market or not might become a marketing decision," he said, noting that Apple seems willing to branch out into smaller, more experimental markets represented by niche products like the Apple TV and MacBook Air.
"Despite the remarkable lack of success of the mini-tablet form factor, there's a group of individuals that it strongly appeals to. I think the hope and expectation is that if Apple were to enter the market, they would bring it to the next level to make it a really useful and appealing product, like the iPod and iPhone. There were MP3 players and smartphones for years before these devices were introduced. But both of them raised the bar enough that people paid attention," he added.
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