Blank MBP displays; Maine Apple store; new iPhone retail prep

[AppleInsider]

Some MacBook Pro users applying Apple's most recent firmware are finding themselves with blank LCD screens. Also, the Mac maker is readying its first Maine retail store; Vodafone may carry the iPhone for India; and AT&T may be planning for a new emphasis on the iPhone in June.

MacBook Pro displays blanking out after update

Early adopters of Apple's latest MacBook Pro EFI update are finding themselves without a usable screen, according to a growing discussion in the company's support forums.

Some users applying the update, particularly those with an external display attached, find that their computer screen refuses to display an image even if the system itself is completely responsive.

"From as best I can tell, the MBP is booting up with no problem, I just have a black screen," says one report. "I let the computer start up, and run for several minutes. I then sent the keyboard command to log off, and I could hear the computer activity increase."

Most common solutions fail to resolve the problem, including resetting the PRAM. A small number have successfully recovered by finding workarounds to restore firmware and deleting display sleep preferences, though some also report trying the same without success.

Apple hasn't commented on the matter, which so far has affected mostly mid-2007 MacBook Pro systems.

Apple hiring for Maine retail stores

Covering one of the few vacancies left in its retail strategy, Apple is hiring for its first retail store in Maine, Portland's Press Herald reports.

Position listings both at Apple's official jobs site as well as at Monster.com ask for employees to staff a location at Maine Mall in the south end of the city.

Previously, the closest official store to most state residents has been a Salem, New Hampshire outlet.

iPhone for India rumored for September

Indian retail connections to Apple allege that the firm will bring a version of the iPhone to the south Asian country in the first week of September.

These purported sources also claim that international provider Vodafone will be India's sole distributor for the handset and that the price will vary between 27,200 and 28,000 Rupees ($680-700) for an 8GB model. A 16GB version is also due but may be delayed to as late as mid-2009 to accommodate demand.

Apple has declined comment on the very specific rumors, which may depend on Apple India working to introduce a more official presence in the country. The US-based company is teaming with local retailer Reliance Digital to open semi-official stores known as iStores; while one already exists in Hyderabad, a second in Bangalore is also expected and will be followed by a third in Chennai.

AT&T asked to prep for iPhone's second wave?

In what seems a repeat of its approach last year, AT&T appears to be asking its retail stores to emphasize the iPhone in June, AppleInsider has heard.

People familiar with the matter indicate that there are substantial plans to rearrange store layouts to better highlight Apple's device, including more attention given to the iPhone demonstration area and cardboard stands at the front of the locations.

The changes should ideally be completed by mid-to-late June, according to sources. Apple is scheduled to open its Worldwide Developer Conference in mid-June and has confirmed that it expects to launch its version 2.0 iPhone firmware the same month.

There is no word as to whether AT&T is taking extra steps to accommodate any new launches, and thus far has not called for temps to serve as crowd control as it did during last June's iPhone launch.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[strask]

It seems to me that Apple has grown larger and faster than it is prepared to support. Every time I perform a software update some new, debilitating problem arises with .mac or wireless connectivity or computer responsiveness. there is clearly insufficient testing occurring before these updates are released. I try to be a responsible consumer and operator. I have owned or still own 7 macs over the last 5 years and my partner has two others and we both are plagued by different issues and have been ever since upgrading to Leopard and religiously installing updates.

[ajay]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

iPhone for India rumored for September

Indian retail connections to Apple allege that the firm will bring a version of the iPhone to the south Asian country in the first week of September.

These purported sources also claim that international provider Vodafone will be India's sole distributor for the handset and that the price will vary between 27,200 and 28,000 Rupees ($680-700) for an 8GB model. A 16GB version is also due but may be delayed to as late as mid-2009 to accommodate demand.

Apple has declined comment on the very specific rumors, which may depend on Apple India working to introduce a more official presence in the country. The US-based country is teaming with local retailer Reliance Digital to open semi-official stores known as iStores; while one already exists in Hyderabad, a second in Bangalore is also expected and will be followed by a third in Chennai.

apple products have always been too expensive in India. every authorized reseller or service provider i've spoken to (in India) claims a Government imposed import duty of 40% on Apple products!!
I wonder why the other hardware/software companies (read: those selling / servicing) windows do not ever mention about this 40% tax!
i mean, how blatantly, selfish & shameless can apple be? it appears that they're just dumping all the left-over 8GB phones from the American / European markets in India - that too for almost double the price! WTF!
grey market iPhones are already, all over the country... needless to say, even the "official" iPhone is gonna be lapped up by customers!
it's a shame though about the prices they are claiming to charge for a soon-to-be-phased-out" model.

[commenter]

Small typo "The US-based country" should be The US-based company

[Bageljoey]

Originally Posted by ajay

it appears that they're just dumping all the left-over 8GB phones from the American / European markets in India - that too for almost double the price! WTF!

It seems a little early for this accusation. We don't know what model phone they are talking about, do we? Does India lack the 3G infrastructure that would support the expected 3G iPhone?

I agree that selling the surplus iPhones at high prices would be galling (though it would make awesome business sense if people would buy it like you say) but I think it is not likely to be the case.

[ncee]

Apple hiring for Maine retail stores

Covering one of the few vacancies left in its retail strategy, Apple is hiring for its first retail store in Maine, Portland's Press Herald reports.

Position listings both at Apple's official jobs site as well as at Monster.com ask for employees to staff a location at Maine Mall in the south end of the city.

Previously, the closest official store to most state residents has been a Salem, New Hampshire outlet.

WOW … Finally!

Maine at one time, (for what it's worth) - had a highest rate of Mac users to population in the country.

Maine was (I believe) the first state to purchase powerbooks for school students, and still does.

Maine DOES have a very large Mac base, and this will be a lot of fun.

As former President of Maine's (once) largest Users Group, I and many others will welcome them with open arms.

Heck we use to put on a Computer Expo, after MacExpo here in Maine, that was very well attended by those who couldn't get to MacExpo (NCEE)

Now "Largest Users Group, Largest base of users to population - I know is a bit deceiving seeing how small Maine is in general, but it will still be nice to have a Mac store closer then NH, or NY (Which is where I go a lot on Business).

I never made it to any of the stores in MA.


Skip

[Slewis]

Null.

[ajay]

Originally Posted by Bageljoey

It seems a little early for this accusation. We don't know what model phone they are talking about, do we? Does India lack the 3G infrastructure that would support the expected 3G iPhone?

I agree that selling the surplus iPhones at high prices would be galling (though it would make awesome business sense if people would buy it like you say) but I think it is not likely to be the case.

AFAIK, there's no 3G yet. even still, the 8GB phone, for all we know is the logical choice for getting bumped off, IF & WHEN there's an upgrade with increased storage capacity.

so the whole point of introducing a lower-end model that too at such astronomically high prices is just wrong - business sense can kiss my ass.
seems like some spiritual swami managed to piss off Steve Jobs - & that's why anything that comes out of Apple costs an arm & a leg in India.

the only reason the iPhone would still manage to sell is because there's a growing fan following in India, who have tasted the iPod & have seen the Mac side of personal & professional computing - most of these guys have money to spend & wouldn't think twice before investing in a mobile phone that comes with a "coolness factor" no matter what the price.

but Apple's biggest problem is still going to be people who would import the iPhone (illegally, of course) into India, hack/unlock it & then use it with other SIM cards.

[shawnathan]

yet again, i have the newest mbp, 2.5 ghz penryn.. have done all updates, not a single glitch.. is there something to say about what these users are doing with their laptops?

no idea, just have to say - lovin' my macbook pro.. best computer i've ever owned.

[mdriftmeyer]

Well nothing is more amusing than reading comments on the WindowServer not running properly and suggestions of zapping the PRAM--UEFI and OpenFirmware aren't the same folks.

Intel and PowerPC firmware systems are different.

Where are the comments on booting up in the verbose mode to see the output of the boot process?

[anantksundaram]

Originally Posted by ajay

AFAIK, there's no 3G yet. even still, the 8GB phone, for all we know is the logical choice for getting bumped off, IF & WHEN there's an upgrade with increased storage capacity.

so the whole point of introducing a lower-end model that too at such astronomically high prices is just wrong - business sense can kiss my ass.
seems like some spiritual swami managed to piss off Steve Jobs - & that's why anything that comes out of Apple costs an arm & a leg in India.

Calm down. Take a breath. That's not going to happen. If nothing else, the local Vodfone partner (Hutch-Essar?) will look like idiots. Before hyperventilating about swamis who may have pissed off Steve Jobs (??), perhaps you should ask your local provider? After all, they seem to be the ones leaking this info?

And, as Bageljoey points out, given that it's slated for Sept (assuming the rumors are true) it will be the 3G version (assuming those rumors are true).

[slicedbread]

Originally Posted by ajay

seems like some spiritual swami managed to piss off Steve Jobs - & that's why anything that comes out of Apple costs an arm & a leg in India.

Do your research. Is Apple responsible for the final pricing, or does it have to do with government-imposed taxes, import duties, fees?

Apple doesn't have some grudge against consumers in India. The whole idea is ridiculous. Apple wants to sell their products everywhere -- but they also want to maintain their standard profit margins on those product sales. If the government in a particular region adds a 40% tax to Apple products, you can't very well expect Apple to offset this by reducing their own wholesale price (and thus profits)!

As for your point about Windows products not having the same price differences: there could be many reasons for this, none of which are under Apple's control. The Indian government may set different tariff rates for different types of products/industries; software, for example, is not hardware. For example, for many years the U.S. set a 100% tax (yes, that's right, effectively doubling the price) on LCD displays imported from other countries. The U.S. government wanted to encourage the development of U.S.-based LCD manufacturing by protecting U.S. manufacturers from price pressures.

[strask]

Originally Posted by shawnathan

yet again, i have the newest mbp, 2.5 ghz penryn.. have done all updates, not a single glitch.. is there something to say about what these users are doing with their laptops?

no idea, just have to say - lovin' my macbook pro.. best computer i've ever owned.

No, there is nothing to say about that. Different users have different circumstances. Different machines behave differently. Mine is less than one year old and has responded quite poorly to Leopard and the successive updates. It's lovely that your experience has been trouble free. that is not the case for everyone.

[cnocbui]

Who needs a screen anyway. Just feel the force, let it guide you.

[quinney]

Originally Posted by ajay

seems like some spiritual swami managed to piss off Steve Jobs - & that's why anything that comes out of Apple costs an arm & a leg in India.

he didn't piss off SJ nearly as much as the Canadian swami.

[tmedia1]

What the he11 is going on Apple with the updates! Updates seem to be half baked lately. For a company that controls the software AND the hardware, this is unacceptable.

[gobble gobble]

On the India matter, I believe that the difference is that PC's are assembled in-country to avoid taxes while Apple products are brought in as finished goods and therefore subject to higher tariffs. Don't get made at Apple, get mad at the protectionist policies of the Indian government.

[ajay]

Originally Posted by anantksundaram

Calm down. Take a breath. That's not going to happen. If nothing else, the local Vodfone partner (Hutch-Essar?) will look like idiots. Before hyperventilating about swamis who may have pissed off Steve Jobs (??), perhaps you should ask your local provider? After all, they seem to be the ones leaking this info?

my local providers are AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile & the likes... I'm sure they're NOT the ones leaking all this...

And, as Bageljoey points out, given that it's slated for Sept (assuming the rumors are true) it will be the 3G version (assuming those rumors are true).

nah! there's no 3G in india yet... there's 2.5G CDMA, but no 3G GSM...

Originally Posted by slicedbread

Do your research. Is Apple responsible for the final pricing, or does it have to do with government-imposed taxes, import duties, fees?

&

As for your point about Windows products not having the same price differences: there could be many reasons for this, none of which are under Apple's control. The Indian government may set different tariff rates for different types of products/industries; software, for example, is not hardware. For example, for many years the U.S. set a 100% tax (yes, that's right, effectively doubling the price) on LCD displays imported from other countries. The U.S. government wanted to encourage the development of U.S.-based LCD manufacturing by protecting U.S. manufacturers from price pressures.

and

Originally Posted by gobble gobble

On the India matter, I believe that the difference is that PC's are assembled in-country to avoid taxes while Apple products are brought in as finished goods and therefore subject to higher tariffs. Don't get made at Apple, get mad at the protectionist policies of the Indian government.

i've seen a fair share of windows laptops - Acer, Compaq Presarios, HP Pavilions - all of which have the "Assembled in (some Asian country)" sticker tag - none of these have the 40% extra.
Secondly, all Apple products in India have the "Assembled in (Asian country)" tag & are mostly imported from East Asia. so how do you explain the "extra amount"?
it's absurd to think that the Indian Government has singled out Apple. & the so called "protectionist policies" have nothing do do here.

Apple doesn't have some grudge against consumers in India. The whole idea is ridiculous. Apple wants to sell their products everywhere --

seriously, did you miss my sarcasm? or did i forget the "[ SARCASM ] [ /SARCASM ]" tags?

[ajay]

post deleted

[Gm7Cadd9]

Go Maine! It's about time!

I live in LA, and there are 7 Apple Stores within a 30 mile radius of me. Back home in Maine they just didn't exist. This last time Iw as home for Christmas the Bangor Best Buy had adopted the Apple pilot program, I bought my family an imac then and there.

Maybe there is hope yet for work in Maine.

Lastly, the link in the article directs you to Portland, OR not Portland, ME.

[Fairly]

As long as not many people are affected - why worry? Devoting time to solve this issue only takes away from resources needed to promote and sell new products!

[drayzr]

DIRECTLY FROM AT&T!!!! POSSIBLE 3G IPHONE DATE!!!!!! MAY 18TH!!!!!

A guy at the AT&T store told me that THE NEW IPHONE(3G) will be announced on MAY 18TH by AT&T, and that apple made a deal with AT&T to let them announce the 3G iPhone, with a rollout planned for June. The date in June was not specified. This came from an AT&T store employee at the AT&T store. At least AT&T guys are able to tell you stuff, because I couldn't get ANYONE at the apple store to say anything. One guy just said "My job is important to me." But May seems right because if the 3G iPhone was to be announced in june, the discounts would be done in may instead of april. But at least we have a good date other than June 9th.

[IQatEdo]

Originally Posted by shawnathan

yet again, i have the newest mbp, 2.5 ghz penryn.. have done all updates, not a single glitch.. is there something to say about what these users are doing with their laptops?

no idea, just have to say - lovin' my macbook pro.. best computer i've ever owned.

What a useless comment! There is nothing that I can do to get my screen back up when this happens, short of re-booting. Now, why don't you tell me what sort of user I am!

Go away!

[k squared]

Originally Posted by drayzr

DIRECTLY FROM AT&T!!!! POSSIBLE 3G IPHONE DATE!!!!!! MAY 18TH!!!!!

A guy at the AT&T store told me that THE NEW IPHONE(3G) will be announced on MAY 18TH by AT&T, and that apple made a deal with AT&T to let them announce the 3G iPhone, with a rollout planned for June. The date in June was not specified. This came from an AT&T store employee at the AT&T store. At least AT&T guys are able to tell you stuff, because I couldn't get ANYONE at the apple store to say anything. One guy just said "My job is important to me." But May seems right because if the 3G iPhone was to be announced in june, the discounts would be done in may instead of april. But at least we have a good date other than June 9th.

May 18th is a Sunday. A no AT&T employee knows shit on when Apple's going to announce new products. Apple Store employees wouldn't know either. And why would Apple release the 3G version before v2.0 of the software is ready? And if they did pre-announce it, current sales would drop to about zero.

And seriously, what's up with the super big font size? And the more exclamation points a post has, the less reliable it is.

[funkfeend]

I just warned a friend of mine with a MBP from late 2007 about this update but it was too late, he had already seen the blank screen of death. He said all he had to do to fix it was turn up the screen brightness on the keyboard. It did scare the crap out him tho... I'm not sure where he got that solution from or if it will solve everyone's issues, but regardless, if you're reading this you don't have the problem!

[strask]

Originally Posted by shawnathan

yet again, i have the newest mbp, 2.5 ghz penryn.. have done all updates, not a single glitch.. is there something to say about what these users are doing with their laptops?

no idea, just have to say - lovin' my macbook pro.. best computer i've ever owned.

When you read things like this: "Mac OS X 10.5.3 build 9D22 adds 15 new bug fixes to a laundry list now spanning over 170 items long." what do you think that means?

[doh123]

I had a similar issue on mine, and it is not a black screen, just it has no backlight. Not sure its the same issue, but it happened quite often switching in apps (mainly games) switching between full screen and window mode... the machine would lock up sometimes, and when i rebooted, the OS would just look like a black screen. I found out looking closely, the screens backlight was just off, but the screen brightness keys wouldnt work until i logged in. I typed in my user name and password, as if i could see the screen (which i kinda could with a flashlight), and it logged in then i hit the brightness up on the keyboard... and the screen came right back on...

weird, not sure if its related to this problem or not...

[drayzr]

Originally Posted by k squared

May 18th is a Sunday. A no AT&T employee knows shit on when Apple's going to announce new products. Apple Store employees wouldn't know either. And why would Apple release the 3G version before v2.0 of the software is ready? And if they did pre-announce it, current sales would drop to about zero.

And seriously, what's up with the super big font size? And the more exclamation points a post has, the less reliable it is.

I am just saying what he told me. I know the sales would drop to zero which is why it doesnt make sense to me. But on the subject of the 2.0 software, it would be released in june, when the 2.0 is released. I dont exactly believe this story because usually apple introduces their products and not a partner, but I am just telling you what he told me.

[drayzr]

Originally Posted by k squared

And seriously, what's up with the super big font size? And the more exclamation points a post has, the less reliable it is.

The exclamation points are to get people to notice this

[djsanta]

My wife has a MacBook Pro purchased late fall 2007. We've applied all the updates and have had ZERO problems with the screen or any other functionality.