iPhone camera job; Vancouver store and iPhone; Logic 8.0.2

Apple hiring camera engineer for iPhone

Apple earlier this week began its search for a Lead Camera Design Engineer for the iPhone.

The hire for the company's Cupertino headquarters would study present and future CMOS camera technology with an eye to implementing it in the iPhone, making clear that the firm hopes to upgrade the camera past the 2-megapixel model in the original.

Notably, the company is also searching for an engineer who is an "expert" in image processing techniques such as auto-exposure and auto white balance — adjustment techniques that are absent from the current iPhone, which so far limits users to as-is shots.

Vancouver Apple store to open, mentions iPhone

Apple on Wednesday confirmed the opening of Apple Store Pacific Centre, its first Canadian store to open west of Ontario.

The store will open its doors at the Pacific Centre Mall on May 24th at 10AM with Apple's customary prize giveaways.

In an unusual move, however, both the company's announcement and the official store site make references to letting customers sample and learn about the iPhone, despite no firm date having been announced for the iPhone's release in Canada. None of the four other stores in Canada make this reference.

Rogers Wireless, the official iPhone provider for the country, has remained mum on release details so far and says only that it will launch the handset later this year, though rumors have it as part of a simultaneous worldwide iPhone launch in June.

Logic 8.0.2

Pro musicians can now download Logic 8.0.2 (139MB), the latest update to Apple's audio production suite.

The fix mends customer-specific and compatibility issues and also includes updated versions of Impulse Response Utility (1.0.2) and Waveburner (1.5.2) that address problems in those specific components.

The patch requires Mac OS X 10.4.9 or later.

Refurb iPhone back at AT&T

After a brief drought over the past several days, AT&T's refurbished phone section is once again carrying reconditioned iPhones.

Stock, however, is dropping quickly. After early reports that both 8GB and 16GB models were available, a check on Wednesday evening reveals that AT&T has already run out of 8GB models. The 16GB version is still on sale for $350, or $150 less than its asking price when new.

The carrier has seen supplies of both fresh and refurbished iPhones dwindle rapidly in recent weeks, prompting the company to temporarily limit sales to one per customer and require a card transaction for the purchase.