Tim Cook gets 1,000,000 AAPL shares if he stays through 2021

As noted by MacRumors, Apple has filed a form 8-K with the SEC to announce this week’s changes to Apple’s executive board. Notably, Apple has awarded 1,000,000 stock shares to new CEO Tim Cook.

In connection with Mr. Cook’s appointment as Chief Executive Officer, the Board awarded Mr. Cook 1,000,000 restricted stock units. Fifty percent of the restricted stock units are scheduled to vest on each of August 24, 2016 and August 24, 2021, subject to Mr. Cook’s continued employment with Apple through each such date.

That comes out to around $383 at the current stock price.

Apple seeds OS X Lion 10.7.2 Beta 3 (11C43), iCloud beta 9 and iPhoto beta 3 to developers

Apple has just begun seeding OS X Lion 10.7.2 Beta 3 to developers this afternoon. Along with 10.7.2B3 (11C43), Apple has released iCloud Beta 9 and iPhone Beta 3, all of which are available on Apple’s Developer site.  Focus areas include: AirPort, AppKit, GraphicsDrivers, iCal, iChat, Mac App Store, Mail, Spotlight and Time Machine.  There are no known issues.

Two days after Steve Jobs resigns as CEO, AAPL passes XOM again to become most valuable company

Perhaps you can add “succession planning” to the list areas where  Steve Jobs has revolutionized the industry.

My theory is that Jobs’ resignation has been baked into the AAPL stock price all of this time (how couldn’t it be?) and the smooth transition and long term planning being revealed is being applauded by investors.

At the time of this writing, AAPL is at 352.63B while XOM is at 351.04B.

Samsung no longer exclusive chip supplier as Apple turns elsewhere for A6 processor?

Samsung, a producer of critical parts for Apple’s gadgets, may be on the verge of suffering another financial blow from Apple. A new report alleges that the Cupertino, California-headquartered personal electronics maker began lining up alternative suppliers for the A6 chip. The in-house designed processor should debut in iPad 3 next year and eventually make its way into iPhone 6 .

Trade publication DigiTimes has it on good authority that Apple recently visited an assembly line of packaging and testing firm Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL). Based on what they saw, they concluded that officials from Apple are reportedly willing to discuss the possibility of working together on the upcoming A6 processor:

Apple recently conducted a visit to SPIL’s assembly line, and both parties discussed opportunities for cooperation, the sources revealed. SPIL stands a chance of becoming the first packaging and testing service provider designated by Apple, cutting into the supply chain of the vendor’s processor line, the sources said.

The report explains SPIL is likely to “snatch outsourcing orders” for the A6 chip. Needles to say, SPIL is denying the story, which is what companies caught up in juicy Apple rumors always do.

iPhone ‘N94′ prototype images leak

We just posted images that allegedly show the ‘iPhone 4S’ body, an entry-level iPhone that Apple is rumored to release alongside the iPhone 5. Now, MacPost (via MacRumors) has published images of what they describe as the “iPhone 5 EVT prototype (N64) back cover”.

The report notes that we found references to the “N94″ in the iOS 5.0 SDK earlier this year, which we suspect could be an A5-powered next-gen iPhone (whether it’s the iPhone 4S or iPhone 5 is still unclear). While it’s obvious  this is an “early development prototype” thanks to the “’07-June-2011″ markings, we can’t help but notice it bears a striking resemblance to the iPhone 4 variant that BGR reported was being tested for T-Mobile.

The leaked images today back up rumors of an A5 processor, antenna redesign, and more than likely support for T-mobile. There is still no way of telling whether we’re looking at an upgraded iPhone 4 that will act as an entry-level model, or perhaps an iPhone 4S variant that will become the iPhone 5. However, the prototype in the image, at least, doesn’t seem to support mocks ups based on evidence from leaked case designs pointing to a more streamlined design for the next-gen iPhone.

iPhone ’4S’ frame found, antennas differ

We initially detailled what developers were calling an iPhone 4S’ way back in April.  It was essentially an iPhone 4 with an upgraded processor.  Then an iPhone that was supposed to be running on T-Mobile USA’s 3G network turned up shortly thereafter with an interesting antenna design.

Today, iPatchiPods.com and MacRumors stumbled upon some of what they think might be ‘iPhone 4S’ bodies. Both sides of the frame are shown above and feature a slightly different antenna design than the iPhone 4 with the only breaks being at the bottom of the phone.

Interestingly, the frame also deviates from the iPhone 4 in where the home button lies (below), leaving them to speculate that there might not be a home button, there could be a capacitative home button or some sort of other redesign.

JailbreakMe founder Comex hired by Apple

Comex, the founder of JailbreakMe, has just announced on Twitter that he’ll be joining Apple as an intern next week. From the sound of his tweet, it looks like Comex will be taking a break from the jailbreak community. It’s sad to see him go, but we’re pretty sure he’ll hand over the reins of JailbreakMe to someone else. We wish him the best of luck at Apple!

Tweet 1: It’s been really, really fun, but it’s also been a while and I’ve been getting bored.
Tweet 2: So, the week after next I will be starting an internship with Apple.

Interestingly, we heard this just a few weeks ago:
  Forbes concludes, Apple should be offering up an internship to Allegra.