Apple, Samsung make final pitch to jury

Closing arguments were delivered at trial between Apple and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd in a federal court in San Jose, California. The jury will begin deliberating on Wednesday.

Samsung attorney Charles Verhoeven countered by urging jurors to consider that a verdict in favor of Apple could stifle competition and reduce choices for consumers."Rather than competing in the marketplace, Apple is seeking a competitive edge in the courtroom," Verhoeven said. "(Apple thinks) it's entitled to having a monopoly on a rounded rectangle with a large screen. It's amazing really."

Apple and Samsung are going toe-to-toe in a patents dispute that mirrors the struggle for industry supremacy between the two companies, which control more than half of worldwide smartphone sales.

A win for Apple could have a major impact on the industry because the South Korean company's mobile products are run on Google Inc's Android operating system, popular software that is used by many other manufacturers. Before he died, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs told his biographer he intended to go "thermonuclear" on Android, saying it had copied Apple.

If the jury determines Samsung violated Apple's valid patents, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh could impose sales bans against the Korean company's products.

In court on Tuesday, Apple attorney Harold McElhinny urged jurors to consider the testimony of a South Korean designer who said she worked day and night on Samsung's phones for three months."In those critical three months, Samsung was able to copy and incorporate the result of Apple's four-year investment in hard work and ingenuity -- without taking any of the risks," McElhinny said.

Apple is seeking more than $2.5 billion in damages from Samsung. An Apple expert said Samsung earned 35.5 percent margins on the tablets and phones at issue in the lawsuit from mid-2010 through March 2012, on $8.16 billion in U.S. revenue. Samsung has disputed that figure.

Apple accuses Samsung of copying the design and some features of its iPad and iPhone, and is asking for a sales ban in addition to monetary damages. Samsung, which is trying to expand in the United States, says Apple infringed several patents, including some for its key wireless technology.

Both Apple and Samsung used a series of internal emails, witness testimony from designers, product demonstrations and mockups to present their case.

CROWD OUTSIDE THE COURTHOUSE
McElhinny laid out what he said was chronological evidence that showed Samsung copied Apple's designs. He also told the jury that, while Apple brought many of its top executives to testify and face cross examination, Samsung had presented no major decision makers."From the very beginning, Samsung has disrespected this process," he said.

McElhinny said Samsung's internal documents compared its products with Apple's -- and determined it had a crisis of design.Scores of journalists, lawyers, analysts and observers turned out to watch the arguments. By 7:30 a.m. (1430 GMT) on Tuesday, the line outside the courthouse was nearly a block long. The nine member jury spent over two hours listening to granular legal instructions before Apple's McElhinny began his presentation just after lunch.

McElhinny focused on a meeting between Samsung and Google executives in February 2010, where Google asked Samsung to stop imitating the iPad so closely."Samsung executives chose to ignore that demand and continue on the path of copying," he said.Apple said the products looked so similar that it led to confusion in the marketplace.

Samsung's Verhoeven said Apple had not shown any evidence that consumers were actually deceived into buying Samsung products instead of the iPhone or iPad."Consumers make choices, not mistakes," he said. Verhoeven also went on to tell the jury that Apple's damages claims were not calculated correctly, calling them "ridiculous."

On rebuttal, Apple attorney Bill Lee said Apple was not trying to keep Samsung out of the smartphone market. "All we're saying is, 'Make your own,'" Lee said.

This article comes from:http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/22/us-apple-samsung-trial-idUSBRE87K02320120822?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=71

Apple offered Samsung a licensing deal at $30 per smartphone

APPLE AND SAMSUNGmight have avoided their high-profile court case, as it has been revealed that the Iphone maker tried to strike a licensing deal with Samsung in 2010.

According to Allthingsd, Apple offered to license its design patents to its arch-rival Samsung, asking for $30 per smartphone and $40 per tablet. The cappuccino company was also willing to give Samsung a 20 per cent discount if it would cross-license its standards essential mobile technology patent portfolio to Apple.

Otherwise, Apple has offered pennies to license Samsung's mobile technology patents."Samsung chose to embrace and imitate Apple's iPhone archetype," Apple said in a presentation to Samsung dated October 2010.

"Apple would have preferred that Samsung request a license to do this in advance. Because Samsung is a strategic supplier to Apple, we are prepared to offer a royalty-bearing license for this category of device."

Of course, clearly these negotiations didn't work out, as the two companies are now embroiled in the biggest patent infringement court case of all time. Apple is claiming that by not licensing its patents, Samsung is "slavishly copying" its Iphone and Ipad devices and is seeking £2.5bn in damages.

Samsung, on the other hand, is arguing that Apple is trying to stop competition in the market, saying that it can't claim merely a 'black rectangle' as a design patent.

The court case between Samsung and Apple is expected to continue until the end of Augus.

This article comes from:http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2198265/apple-offered-samsung-a-licensing-deal-at-usd30-per-smartphone

Apple Requests Sanction for Samsung

Apple Inc. AAPL +0.16% asked a federal judge to sanction Samsung Electronics Co.005930.SE -2.85% and an attorney for releasing disputed evidence to the media, as a squabble in their patent case continued for a third day.

In a filing made public on Thursday, Apple said "Samsung and its counsel engaged in bad faith litigation misconduct by attempting to prejudice the jury." Apple further said the court "should not condone this behavior" and should "severely sanction Samsung."

The harsh words followed Samsung's unusual move on Tuesday to send evidence blocked by the court to reporters. Earlier in the day, John Quinn, the lawyer representing Samsung, said he was "begging" U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh to allow evidence the company believes is integral to the case but that she rejected several times. Judge Koh was nonplused, telling Mr. Quinn, "Don't make me sanction you."

Mr. Quinn then approved the release of that evidence to reporters. Samsung believes the documents show the iPhone was "inspired" by Sony Corp.'sSNE -7.41% products. Judge Koh demanded Samsung explain the move, prompting a response Wednesday from Mr. Quinn, founding partner of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP.

Mr. Quinn said in the declaration that the move was "lawful" and "ethical" in part because the materials were already in the public domain. He added they weren't designed to influence jurors.

Even for Mr. Quinn, known for sometimes using a bit of flamboyance to good effect, the move caused raised eyebrows among other patent lawyers. Attorneys involved in the case said they had never seen anything like it.

In California and many other states, ethical rules prohibit lawyers from making press statements that could prejudice a judge or jury, said Stephen Gillers, a law professor and legal-ethics expert at New York University.

Mr. Gillers called Mr. Quinn's maneuver "a bold move, to put it kindly," adding that Judge Koh now will have to determine whether Mr. Quinn violated the rules and, if so, what sanctions might be warranted.

This article comes from:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443866404577564922926800912.html

Hulu Plus Debuts on Apple TV

For those of us who have long been awaiting an Apple-based television subscription service, well, this may be the closest we get for a while. On Tuesday, Apple quietly added support for Hulu Plus to its Apple TV set-top box, bringing access to ad-supported television episodes and movies for paid subscribers of that service. The addition was first noted by MacRumors.



Hulu Plus subscribers get access to the service’s content, while new users have the option of signing up for a free one-week trial or subscribing to the service via their iTunes account, as with Netflix. Once you’ve logged in, you’ll have access to your favorites and your queue, as well as a catalog of TV episodes, movies, and popular clips.

The Apple TV interface for Hulu is very similar to Netflix's and that of the other video services; the top menu provides access to Popular and Recommend items, Recently Watched videos, TV, Movies, Trailers, and Search. Videos are ad-supported, as in other Hulu’s Web and mobile offerings, but you can still skip around, and pause and play as you’d expect. You can resume a video from where you left off, even across platforms, allowing you to start watching a video on your iPad and continue later on your Apple TV.

This article comes from:http://www.pcworld.com/article/260091/hulu_plus_debuts_on_apple_tv.html

Apple and Cisco rise, but chips weigh on techs

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Shares of Apple Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc. rose on Monday, but semiconductor stocks weighed down the tech sector.

Apple (US:AAPL) shares rose 1.7% to close at $595.03 after the technology powerhouse said downloads of its new Mountain Lion operating system topped 3 million in four days, the most successful operating system launch in its history. Read more on Mountain Lion's popularity.

The patent infringement legal battle between Apple and Samsung also goes before a U.S. federal court in San Jose on Monday. Apple has accused Samsung of violating patents related to technologies used in the iPhone and the iPad.

Shares of Cisco (US:CSCO) gained 1.2% to close at $15.87, one of the top gainers on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (US:DJIA), which was down 3 points at 13,076.



“I think both are seeing relief rallies today,” Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu said in emailed comments. “Both stocks were under pressure last week, Apple with earnings and Cisco with the VMware acquisition of Nicira ... At the end of the day, they are still two of the better companies in technology.”

Cisco lost 4.1% last week after analysts speculated that VMware’s acquisition of Nicira could pose a threat to the networking giant. Apple fell 3.2% last week after the company missed Wall Street’s earnings estimates for its fiscal third quarter.

The VMware acquisition, followed by Monday’s announcement from Oracle Corp. (US:ORCL) that it has agreed to buy Xsigo Systems, a network virtualization technology company, heightened the focus on the so-called “software-defined networking” and the impact on other software players like Citrix Systems.(US:CTXS)

Shares of Citrix (US:CTXS) slumped 5.9% to close at $73.25, while VMware (US:VMW) slipped 3.5% to close at $92.37.

Mizuho Securities analyst Gabriel Lowy said in a note, “We believe investors are overreacting to the hype and acquisition flurry around software defined networking, most recently with Oracle’s acquisition of Xsigo. The weakness in shares of both VMware and Citrix is an overreaction in our view, presenting a buying opportunity in both, particularly Citrix.”

Meanwhile, the chip sector was in the red, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index(US:SOX) down 1%.

Wedbush analyst Betsy Van Hees cited investor worries related to the third-quarter forecasts from the sector.

“We think Q2 earnings for the most part have been in-line with some notable beats, but Q3 guidance has been well below seasonal,” she said in emailed comments.

“I think investors may be taking some profits today given the big move in the last two weeks of the Philadelphia Index vs. the S&P as concerns over Europe and the strength of the broader market may be moving off the back burner and back to forefront of investors minds,” she added.

Highlighting the decline was SanDisk Corp. (US:SNDK), shares of which lost 3%, closing at $41.17

This article comes from:http://articles.marketwatch.com/2012-07-30/markets/32932699_1_agee-analyst-shaw-wu-cisco-systems-apple

Apple earns a place on Chinese blacklist

The consumer watchdog based in the southern province of China, Guangdong, has included technology giant Apple on a "company integrity" blacklist.

The company's after-sales service policies has come under fire from the China Consumer Association (CCA), who researches and monitors company and consumer policies affecting Chinese customers. Described as "unfair", National Business Daily reports that strong customer dissatisfaction within aftercare has resulted in numerous complaints.

The China Consumer Association released a report documenting an investigation into the support structure and policies of the popular technology developer last week.

The report focused on a number of complaints made during the first half of 2012, including the case of a customer named Wang -- who needed his iPhone 4 repaired. Although it was within the official warranty period, Apple replaced the parts but refused to renew the warranty.

The Chinese report singled out a number of electronics companies that maintain "poor" after-sales care -- including some that refuse to offer such a service altogether.

The CCA has previously branded Apple's policies as "unfair", and some critics suggest that recent policy changes made by the company to alleviate some of their customer's dissatisfaction is not enough. Pointing to a clause in Apple's repair policy, according to National Business Daily, it apparently states that the technology giant is able to use old, spare parts to repair dysfunctional devices -- and as users must hand defective parts back to Apple, suspicion exists that these parts may be repaired as part of the system, to be used once more.

The China Consumer Association raises the point that potentially, Apple's current policies may impede on Chinese consumer rights and protection laws. Apparently, there has also been cases of complaints made against the company due to product damage occurred in transit -- which Apple takes no responsibility for.

There are currently no official Apple stores within the southern province of Guangdong, although recent rumors have suggested that new stores may soon be appearing within Shenzhen and Guangzhou. The nearest outlet is currently located in Hong Kong.

This article comes from:http://www.zdnet.com/apple-earns-a-place-on-chinese-blacklist-7000001781/

Apple to release new Mac operating system 'Mountain Lion' Wednesday

Apple Inc. will release its new operating system for Mac computers on Wednesday, with features borrowed from mobile devices and a tighter integration with online file storage.

Dubbed Mountain Lion, the new software narrows the gap between the PC and phone software packages, making Mac personal computers work more like iPhones and iPads.

It's similar to what Microsoft Corp. is doing with its forthcoming Windows 8 system. That system, to be released Oct. 26, will bring the look and user interface of Windows Phone to PCs.

Mountain Lion will cost $20 and will be sold only as a download. Only computers running the two most recent versions of Mac OS, Lion and Snow Leopard, can be upgraded.

Macs bought on or after June 11 can be upgraded for free.

Apple previously announced Mountain Lion's features, but it hadn't disclosed the exact availability date until Tuesday's release of its earnings for the April-June quarter. Apple provided no new details in that release.

Among the features of Mountain Lion:
-- The new software will have better integration with social networks such as Facebook Inc.'s. It will have built-in features to facilitate sharing on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and other services. For instance, you'll get notifications when you get a message or a mention in a Facebook or Twitter post. You need to sign in only once, and you can share directly from other apps you are using.
-- Power Nap keeps your Mac updated even while it's in power-saving "sleep" mode. It will get your email messages, back up your files and download software updates automatically. It will work with recent MacBook Air computers and the higher-end MacBook Pro model, the one with the sharper, "Retina" display.

-- A new Messages app, copied from Apple's mobile operating system, will replace iChat. It will allow you to send messages to other Apple users, whether that person is on a Mac or an Apple mobile device.

-- Mountain Lion will be integrated with iCloud, the new Internet storage service designed for the mobile devices.

-- The software will bring dictation to Macs, essentially allowing the computer to type as you talk.

-- Game Center will store high game scores and help users find opponents on both Macs and Apple mobile devices.
This article comes from:http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2012/07/24/apple-to-release-new-mac-operating-system-mountain-lion-wednesday/

Why An iPad Mini Will Crush Google's Nexus 7

We don’t know when it will arrive. We don’t know what it will cost. We don’t even know — for certain — if it will ever materialize.But we do know this: Google’s $199 Nexus 7 is quick, slick, and pocketable. The fact Google’s 7-inch tablet has done so well since its earlier this month only ups the odds Apple will respond. And if, as rumored, Apple does launch a compact version of its iPad tablet computer, it will almost certainly crush Google’s Nexus 7.

Here’s why:
More content — The Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple has done more deals. Result: Apple’s iTunes music store has more songs. Apple can offer more movies: unlike Google, Apple offers movies from Fox. And Apple’s TV offerings include more than a half-dozen major channels that are absent from Google Play. And that’s a big deal, considering that once you own a piece of content purchased from Apple, it’s easy to move it to your other Apple devices.

More applications — Yes, there are plenty of apps available for Google’s Android smartphone software. Very few, however, are optimized for tablets. By contrast there are hundreds of thousands of apps available for Apple’s iPad.
Better distribution — Visiting the Forbidden City in Beijing? An Apple Store is just a few steps away. Apple operates hundreds of retail outlets in more than a dozen countries. Its products are sold at Best Buy and on Amazon.

Apple won’t screw up — The Google Nexus is the most polished Android tablet yet. It’s got a zippy four-core processor with a knack for slick graphics from Nvidia. The ASUS-built device’s round edges and soft-touch back panel feel more expensive than the device’s $200 price would suggest. And yet polish and price are what Apple does best. None of the devices it sells are clunky, and — outside of its line of Macintosh computers — it doesn’t leave its competitors a ‘price umbrella’ where it can undercut Apple’s product line. In other words, nothing will get in the way of Apple pressing its three other advantages — more content, more applications, and a better distribution — hard.


This article comes from:http://www.forbes.com/sites/briancaulfield/2012/07/23/why-an-ipad-mini-will-crush-googles-nexus-7/

Australia Judge Calls Apple-Samsung Dispute Over 3G ‘Ridiculous’

Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc. (AAPL) (AAPL)’s patent dispute over wireless transmission technology is “ridiculous” and might be best settled in mediation, the judge overseeing the case in Australia said.

Samsung sued Apple claiming the maker of iPhones is infringing three patents covering data transmission over the 3G wireless spectrum. The suit was in response to Apple’s claim that Samsung stole its design ideas for computer tablets and phones. A trial scheduled to run for three months began today before Federal Court Justice Annabelle Bennett.

Apple refused to pay a license fee for the technology that allows phones to conduct multiple tasks including taking calls while uploading photos to the Internet, Samsung’s lawyer Neil Young said at the start of the trial. Apple was willing to pay and Samsung refused, the Cupertino, California-based company’s lawyer Stephen Burley said.

“Why on earth are these proceedings going ahead?” Bennett asked the lawyers in court today. “It’s just ridiculous.” A similar dispute between any other two companies would be immediately ordered to mediation, she said.

“Why shouldn’t I order the parties to mediation?” she asked. She said she would expect an answer before the end of the week.

The Australian trial is part of a global dispute between the two companies and a prelude to proceedings in the U.S. and U.K.

$312 Billion
Samsung, the biggest maker of smartphones, and Apple, the largest seller of tablet computers, are fighting for an increased share of a handset market that Bloomberg Industries said was worth $312 billion last year. Apple has won a ban on the sale of Samsung’s Galaxy 10.1 tablet in the U.S. and failed to win a ban in the U.K., pending patent infringement trials in those countries.

“Both companies are fighting every single battle, no matter how small, with great intensity,” John Swinson, a partner specializing in intellectual property at King & Wood Mallesons in Brisbane, said in a phone interview.

Whatever the outcome of the trial, the losing side will probably appeal, Swinson said.“You could say, they’re working out the issues for the appeal court.” Fiona Martin, a spokeswoman for Apple in Sydney, declined to comment on the trial.

This article comes from:http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-07-22/samsung-and-apple-global-patent-fight-moves-to-australia-trial

Fotopedia Launches China iPad App on iPad-in-China Day

Just in time for the new iPad’s arrival in China, Fotopedia, which publishes iOS-based photo and travel apps, has introduced a new iPad app geared toward China.

The free app, called Fotopedia China, features high-res photos of various provinces, regions and cities throughout the nation, as well as descriptive captions, maps, Wikipedia entries and recommendations for other destinations.

Like another one of my favorite apps, Here on Earth, Fotopedia’s app is part travel porn and part travel planning. In addition to the 5,000 crowdsourced photos currently available within the app, users have the ability to add, with one click, images and stories to a “My Trips” folder. Through a new partnership with Expedia, users can actually book travel — and not just put photos in a daydream folder.

Based on some light browsing through Fotopedia China, the Expedia integration doesn’t feel totally seamless right now, popping up as full pages in between photos and taking you out of Fotopedia entirely when you click on an Expedia ad. If you’ve already got the Expedia app on your device, you’ll be directed to that app, and if not, you’re prompted to download the app.

But for users so inspired by Victoria Peak in Hong Kong, Temple of Heaven in Beijing or the Huangpu River in Shanghai that an immediate booking is in order, the detour to a travel site could be a coup.

The China app marks the 11th iOS app for Fotopedia, which was created in 2008 by five former Apple employees under a company named Fotonauts Inc. Jean-Marie Hullot, the company’s founder and CEO, says its 10 previous apps have been downloaded more than 12 million times, with more than 20 percent of app downloads coming from China, followed by the U.S. The iPad audience, in particular, is growing, with 30 percent of users now checking out Fotopedia from the tablet device.“China is our No. 1 market; over the past 18 months, it’s the market that’s growing the fastest,” Hullot said. “So we’re excited to finally bring an app about China to that market.”

This article comes from:http://allthingsd.com/20120719/fotopedia-launches-china-ipad-app-on-ipad-in-china-day/

Does Obama think Steve Jobs didn't build Apple?

 
“To say what he said is to say that Steve Jobs didn't build Apple Computer or that Bill Gates didn't build Microsoft or that Henry Ford didn't build Ford Motor Company or that Ray Croc didn't build McDonald's or that Papa John's didn't build Papa John's Pizza,” Romney said today at a town hall in Ohio. “This is the height of foolishness. It shows how out of touch he is with the character of America. It's one more reason his policies have failed. It's one more reason why we have to replace him in November.”

It’s not a new line. Here’s what Romney said yesterday: “The idea to say that Steve Jobs didn't build Apple, that Henry Ford didn't build Ford Motor; to say something like that is not just foolishness. It's insulting to every entrepreneur, every innovator in America. And it's wrong.”

It’s part of the Romney campaign’s latest condemnation of the president, who it says is anti-business. The Jobs charge is based on the Romney campaign’s reading of President Obama’s speech on Friday in Virginia, in which he said, in part: “If you’ve got a business -- you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.”

But does that mean the president doesn’t believe Steve Jobs built Apple? Here’s what Obama said in his statement after Steve Jobs died:

“By building one of the planet’s most successful companies from his garage, he exemplified the spirit of American ingenuity.”

This article comes from:http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/18/12815514-does-obama-think-steve-jobs-didnt-build-apple

Checkmark for iPhone

While Apple may have complicated the field of to-do and reminder apps with the introduction of its own Reminders app in iOS 5, that doesn't mean other developers have given up. Checkmark, a new app from developer Snowman, has upped the ante with a superior implementation of one of Reminders's key features, location-based reminders.

My biggest problem with Apple's Reminders is the sheer frustration that comes with actually using the app. The process of entering items is slow, many of the features aren't fully fleshed out--for example, you can set a priority, but that priority doesn't show up anywhere--and you can set location-based reminders only for places listed in your Contacts. Checkmark addresses most of these issues and packages its features in a sleek, efficient interface that doesn't put the skeuomorphic cart before the horse, as it were.

The app is broken down into two handy lists of reminders: Where, for location-based reminders, and When, for time-based reminders--you switch between the two using Where and When buttons at the bottom of the screen. You won't find custom lists here; every reminder is tied to either a place or a time. Also note that there's no system of "priority" as in other apps of this ilk. I'm of the mind that assigning priorities is a time-sink, but if that's a feature you rely on, Checkmark isn't for you.

Checkmark's location-based reminders trump those of the Reminders app from the get-go. The app uses custom iOS-Home-screen-style pages of frequently visited locations. You add a location by using your current location, searching for a point of interest on a map, importing an address from your Contacts, or manually entering an address. This means that not only can you easily add locations such your home or work, but also other arbitrary places, such as your local drugstore, grocery store, library, post office, and so on. In my testing, this worked pretty well, although Checkmark occasionally failed to match locations such as my local coffee shop, or even my neighborhood Target, when I searched for them as points of interest; I had to instead add them via their street addresses.

When you trigger a location-based reminder by entering or leaving the geofence around the location, Checkmark sends you a reminder. In addition to onscreen notifications, you can choose for your reminders to include an alert sound, and you can opt to display an app-icon badge showing the number of pending reminders.

You can also view all your location-based reminders in a single list, delineated by location; if you choose to create a new reminder from this screen, you'll be asked to choose a location. When viewing the list, you can choose whether to view reminders that are currently active or those you've marked as completed, but there's no option to see both in the same list.

This article comes from:http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9229270/Checkmark_for_iPhone?taxonomyId=77

Apple's Ive is building the "most important and best work"

Apple is famous for its marketing and getting leading newspapers to print it for free. This week Jonathan Ive, the company's senior vice president of industrial design, pulled a swifty with the British media.
Ive came back from the colonies to pick up a knighthood from the queen for services to religion, er, design. He hinted that he was working on something that "feels like the most important and the best work" Apple has done.

He could have been referring to anything. The iBoat. The iTV. A very nice sandwich he made for lunch - or even the very satisfying dump in the office iBog. It is not a real quote.

If David "I am an Ordinary Bloke" Cameron told the Telegraph the Coalition is "working on a brilliant programme to cure unemployment and will shake up British history," readers would want to know what it was he was doing - and the Telegraph, we would hope, would ask on their behalf. If Cameron said "I can't tell you because it is a big secret", the reporter would have the public's permission to punch him in the face or not print the comment.

But in the case of Apple, this quote set off PC Week which felt the need to publish tons of speculation and marketing guff based on that one quote.
Ive has been working on the "hotly anticipated iPhone 5", the magazine pointed out. Who is "hotly anticipating" shelling out more cash for another update?

The Jellygraph enthused that it will have a screen larger by one inch. Not even an Apple cultist would claim that would make it the best work Ive has ever done.
Ive is also working on "the Apple TV," gushed PC Week. It does not take a genius to design a telly and Ive could not say it was the best work he has done.

Ive, like many people in Apple, gave nothing away, and yet the Tame Apple Press prints his marketing with fervent enthusiasm.

This ritual is seen so often in the trade press. Reuters is doing it now. How many stories about PCs do you see which has the mistaken comment that the PC has been killed by the iPad? Reuters said it twice in one story about Dell. Nowhere did Dell say its PC business was being killed by the iPad. Instead, it quite rightly said that its business was being done in by the European economy. Regardless, Reuters felt the need to throw in a free advert for Apple.

This reporter has asked the ethics staff at Reuters why the news agency is showing a marked Apple bias. TechEye heard that it wasn't, so that is the end of that. But when you see words like "eagerly anticipated" used to describe a product, then the reporter is editorialising in favour of the company's marketing department.

In the good old days, a hack would have been fired for that. It was unethical to talk up one company - that was up to the paper's advertising department. Now, it seems that it is the job of the media: to hawk products at the expensive of their readers.

This article comes from:http://news.techeye.net/software/apples-ive-is-building-the-most-important-and-best-work

Why Google and Microsoft want to emulate Apple

It's clear as retina display. Microsoft and Googlewant to do an Apple. The time for bluster, arguments and experiments has passed. The situation has turned desperate in the iPad, er,tablet market. All the 'Transformers' 'Galaxies' and 'Playbooks' haven't humbled the iPad. Worse, research firm IDC forecasts that by 2016, iPad and iPad-Mini (moniker for rumoured 7-inch version) will still control over 60% of the market. If you can't beat Apple's game, what do you do?

Play by its rules and share the spoils. Don't just code, weld. Microsoft went all the way, Google found a Taiwanese partner, Asus, to chip in. Two companies which swore by "open systems" took the first step towards controlling the entire user experience.

Of course, neither admits to the strategy change. Carefully worded scripts say the same blah-blah: adapting to market and giving consumers something they hadn't seen before.

Like the two weren't going green in their gills with Apple envy. Or weren't worried that a whiz-bang for Apple was vending out pennies for them. What if the Cupertino guys thought of "one more thing" before they got a chance to understand the slate market?

From this perspective, the hardware route wasn't a choice for Google and Microsoft. It was a compulsion, not just because of Apple but demons in their backyards.

Survival issues
Google's operating system (OS), Android, is all over the place. The big complaint: most devices don't do justice to the tablet version of the OS. As a result, smartphone apps perform poorly and dilute user experience on the tablet.

For Microsoft, the problem is more existential. The tablet and smartphone markets are growing at the expense of laptops and PCs. Tech advisory firm Gartner predicts that by 2016 tablet sales will total a whopping 665 million units. Microsoft is staring at a shrinking source of bread-and-butter revenue.

Yet, it remains a laggard in the smartphone/tablet market. Latecomer Windows Phone 7 hasn't been able to lift the fortunes of Nokia or Microsoft. Nokia's Windows 8 tablet was due this summer but has been delayed.

Microsoft couldn't afford the wait. It needed a product bang. So it imported the only strategy that has proven successful in the market - hardware plus software. But imitating a business model doesn't guarantee that Surface will make money. Look at Kindle Fire.

Math behind hardware
Google earns nothing from Android as the OS comes without licence fee. Last year, it even gave up its share of glory when Kindle Fire pipped Samsung, Asus, etc, to become the world's second largest, and Android's highest-selling tablet-cum-e-book reader between October and December 2011.

But Amazon doesn't make money out of Kindle Fire. In fact, some say it suffers a net loss to sell at $199. Yet Google wants to snuff out Amazon Fire. For the Nexus 7 may be a long-term bet against iPad Mini, but immediately, it bulldozes Kindle's territory. Same price - $199 - similar looks, more features.

This article comes from:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/personal-tech/computing/Why-Google-and-Microsoft-want-to-emulate-Apple/articleshow/14988446.cms

iPad mini: How much would you pay for one?

If the blogosphere is anything to go by, it seems that while the iPhone it too small, the iPad is also too big.The endless speculation that Apple is planning to shrink the iPad while at the same time make the iPhone bigger continues. While I believe that there is a strong case for making the iPhone bigger, it's harder to make a compelling case for a larger iPad.

According to Patrick Moorhead, president and principal analyst of Moor Insights & Strategy, Apple needs a 7-inch tablet because without one the Cupertino-based giant face the prospect of losing market share and profit dollars."The Google Nexus 7 will sell well," writes Moorhead, "which is good for Google, Android, ASUS and NVIDIA, but bad for Apple, unless they act before the holidays".

The problem though, is price. "Apple may have redesigned some of the innards of the new iPad 2 as they lowered the price," writes Moorhead, "but not nearly enough to offset the $100 price reduction, so a mini-iPad would be additive, not dilutive like the $399 iPad 2".

The problem is massaging the numbers to make it work.Take a look at the bill of materials estimate for the iPad 2 and iPad 3 drawn up in March by iSuppli Research:

Let's take the cost of a 16GB Wi-Fi iPad 2, listed as a little over $245 as a starting price for the mythical iPad mini. We can make a few common sense assumptions about any smaller iPad, for example, that it would have a smaller screen, a smaller touch screen and, one would assume, a smaller battery.

Problem is, it's hard to see this shaving much more than about $40 off the bill of materials. Let's push the numbers further by assuming that the component costs have dropped by some $20 since the original bill of materials was drawn up in March and we come up with a device that has an overall materials and manufacturing cost of around $185. This figure excludes costs associated with R&D, marketing and so on.

If the iPad mini costs around $185 to make, how much should Apple slap on the price sticker? $299 is the logical price point, pegging it at $100 cheaper than the current 16GB Wi-Fi iPad 2. On the face of it that seems like a healthy $115 above what it would cost to make.

However, scanning through the cost analysis we find that this would mean the iPad mini would have the smallest gap between the bill of materials plus manufacturing costs of any iPad.

In other words, this would mean that by releasing a 7-inch iPad Apple would be risking cannibalizing the sale of iPads with a better profit margin.

That doesn't sound like the Apple we know.

There's another problem with that $299 price point. Would the market stand a $100 price premium for the Apple logo on the back of the tablet when Amazon and Google already sell cracking tablets for $199? And what if Amazon slashes the price of the existing Kindle to $149? Where does that leave the iPad mini at $299?

In theory, a smaller and more portable iPad sounds great, but in practice, unless Apple is willing to massacre its profit margins to bring one to market, it's just not going to happen.


This article comes from:http://www.zdnet.com/ipad-mini-how-much-would-you-pay-for-one-7000000694/

Google Could Pay $22.5 Million for Safari Violation

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Google are reportedly close to agreeing on a $22.5 million settlementstemming from charges that the search engine giant bypassed the security settings in Apple's Safari browser. This will be the largest penalty imposed by the FTC on a single company, but is seemingly chump change compared to the nearly $38 billion in revenue Google earned in 2011 alone.

This won't be the first run-in with the FTC. The company previously had to settle with the commission over complaints regarding the now-defunct Google Buzz and the "misuse" of personal data. The agreement, established in March 2011, forced Google to adopt a comprehensive privacy program as well as submit to an independent privacy audit every two years.

One year later, the FTC caught wind of an article by the Wall Street Journal which claimed that Google linked Safari's browsers to its servers in order to see if account holders were signed into their Google accounts. This linking not only bypassed Safari's privacy settings, but also established additional cookies on the users' computers.

Unlike other Web browsers, Safari's default settings prevent sites from slipping cookies on the device, whether it's a smartphone or desktop. However the one exception enables users to engage in social media on other sites such as clicking the "like" button above an article. Google's temporary cookie allowed surfers to interact with the "+1" button, but the side effect was that it also allowed Safari to accept other tracking files from Google's ad network. Thus, Safari users saw ads based on their browser history which is a direct violation of Apple's privacy settings.

At the time, the FTC said that it was investigating whether Google had misrepresented itself when informing users that it would abide by Safari's privacy settings. It was also investigating whether Google violated its own Google Buzz consent decree as well. Google said that the user-tracking was inadvertent and didn't cause any harm to users, but so far both the FTC and Google have declined to comment on the investigation's status. Insiders claim the two are close to reaching an agreement.

"We cannot comment on any specifics," a Google representative said. "However we do set the highest standards of privacy and security for our users. The FTC is focused on a 2009 help center page published more than two years before our consent decree, and a year before Apple changed its cookie-handling policy. We have now changed that page and taken steps to remove the ad cookies, which collected no personal information, from Apple’s browsers."

The Wall Street Journal reports that Google could face other government actions outside the FTC probe. A group of U.S. state attorneys general are currently investigating the issue, and could fine Google $5,000 per violation. Overseas, the European Union is still investigating the Safari incident as part of a wide-ranging examination of whether Google's new privacy policy actually complies with Europe's data-policy regulations.

This article comes from:http://www.tomsguide.com/us/FTC-Google-Safari-Privacy-Settings-Cookies,news-15829.html

Microsoft to Apple: Bring it on

A detail here, a tidbit there: we're finding out the specifics of Windows 8 a little bit at a time. We know how much Windows 8 will cost (a penny under $40 for most upgraders) and now we have a date, or at least a timeframe: the first PCs running Microsoft's latest OS will be available in late October.

Microsoft announced the release at its Worldwide Partner Conference in Toronto on Monday, coyly declining to give the exact date Windows 8 will be available. No surprise that it'll drop in October: that's what most analysts were expecting, given that the Windows 8 Release Preview came out in late May (an October release also means Windows 8 computers, tablets, and smart phones will be ready in time for the holiday shopping season). The final version of the OS will be released to manufacturers at the beginning of August.

Microsoft has placed much of its future on this new release. As Apple gobbles up 25 percent of the American computer market with its MacBooks and around 60 percent of the tablet market with the iPad, Microsoft hopes the new OS can pull double duty. Windows 8's Metro interface will aid PCs, become the sole OS for tablets, and take on a modified form with Windows phones.
This article comes from:http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Horizons/2012/0709/Microsoft-to-Apple-Bring-it-on

Apple releases fix for DRM-related iOS, Mac app crashes

Apple has rolled out a fix for a bug that caused several iOS and Mac apps to crash."We had a temporary issue that began [4 July] with a server that generated DRM code for some apps being downloaded," Apple said in a statement.According to an Apple spokesman, those affected can re-download the apps from the App Store.

Reports of trouble in the App Store cropped up on 4 July when Instapaper developer Marco Arment complained that users with the latest version of the company's app were reporting immediate crashes on launch.

Among the 114 affected apps listed on Arment's blog were Angry Birds Space Free, Dolphin, Yahoo! Search and GoodReader.

Arment confirmed in an update to his original blog post that the issue has been resolved. "Go to the App Store and redownload any affected apps — they should show up in the Updates tab. Do not delete and reinstall: it's no longer necessary and you may lose data in those apps," he wrote.

This article comes from:http://www.itproportal.com/2012/07/09/apple-releases-fix-for-drm-related-ios-mac-app-crashes/

Best Buy Tries On Apple's Sleek Look

RICHFIELD, Minn.—Best Buy Co. BBY -0.05% is testing a new turnaround strategy: making its cavernous electronics emporiums look more like Apple Inc.'s AAPL +1.73%sleek retail outlets.

The heart of a test store near Best Buy's headquarters here is a Solution Central help desk, rimmed with chairs and manned by the company's black-tied Geek Squad. It strongly resembles the Genius Bar at Apple's stores.

Best Buy's prototype has taken another cue from Apple, letting customers pay for products in several locations, rather than forcing them into checkout lines at the front of the store.

Best Buy said its slimmed-down store, which opened a few weeks ago, is focused less on displaying every conceivable gadget and more on connecting customers with employees who can answer questions or help program equipment.

Skeptics already are asking whether the new format goes far enough to attract customers and fight "showrooming," in which shoppers who browse in stores buy merchandise more cheaply elsewhere, usually online.

Best Buy, the nation's largest electronics retailer by revenue, has been particularly vulnerable to the trend; it says half the shoppers in its stores use cellphones or tablets to check competitors' prices, up from 10% in 2010. Sales at its stores open at least a year fell 1.7% last year after a 1.8% decline in 2010. The company's stock has dropped 33% over the past two years.

This article comes from:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303684004577507033027128596.html

Intel, HTC, Apple, Honeywell: Intellectual Property

Intel Corp.’s 1.06 billion-euro ($1.3 billion) fine for using rebates to block rivals is based on an “utterly hopeless” and untenable case by European Union regulators, company lawyers told an EU appeals court.

The 2009 decision by the EU’s antitrust regulator was based on claims that are “utter nonsense,” an Intel lawyer told the EU General Court in Luxembourg. Claims that Intel made payments to Lenovo Group Ltd. (992) to cut Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) (AMD) out of the market are baseless and should be overturned. Intel and AMD have engaged in patent and antitrust battles with each other since the early 1990s.“This case is utterly hopeless and should never have been brought,” Nicholas Green, a lawyer for Intel, told the EU’s second-highest court on the third day of hearings.

The EU probe concluded Intel impeded competition by giving computer makers rebates from 2002 until 2005 on the condition that they buy at least 95 percent of their chips for personal computers from the Santa Clara, California-based company. Intel imposed “restrictive conditions” for the remaining 5 percent, supplied by AMD, which struggled to overcome Intel’s hold on the PC processor market, the EU said. The infringement continued until at least December 2007, the EU said.

Accusations that Intel paid Lenovo, the world’s second- largest computer maker, in 2006 to delay AMD-based notebooks and gave the manufacturer rebates in 2007 under an agreement not to buy from AMD were wrong and the commission ignored evidence that showed otherwise, Green told the court yesterday.

The 2006 payments “were to win business, not to cancel a launch” of AMD-based notebooks, Green said. Lenovo also told the investigators the 2007 deal wasn’t exclusive and “there was serious concern that AMD was not a reliable supplier and business partner,” Green said.

The EU began investigating after AMD complained in 2000. Intel agreed to pay AMD $1.25 billion in 2009 to end all civil litigation. Sunnyvale, California-based AMD is no longer involved in the case and won’t intervene at this week’s hearing.

The antitrust fine was the EU’s biggest, more than double the 497 million-euro penalty against Microsoft Corp. in 2004. It represented about 4 percent of Intel’s $37.6 billion in sales in 2008, below the maximum penalty of 10 percent of annual sales.

Any decision by the EU General Court can be appealed to the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg.

This article comes from:http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-07-06/intel-htc-apple-honeywell-intellectual-property

Apple Preps for its New Tablet iPad

Apple Inc.'s AAPL +1.15% component suppliers in Asia are preparing for mass production in September of a tablet computer with a smaller screen than the iPad, people familiar with the situation said, suggesting a launch for the device is near.

Two of the people said that the tablet's screen will likely be smaller than eight inches. The iPad's screen measures 9.7 inches, unchanged since the first model was released in 2010.

Officials at the component suppliers, who declined to be named, said this week that Apple has told them to prepare for mass production of the smaller tablet. The Wall Street Journal reported in February that Apple was testing such a device but hadn't yet decided whether to proceed with production.

The iPad's screen measures 9.7 inches, unchanged since the first model.One person said the screen makers Apple is working with include LG DisplayCo. LPL +4.44% of South Korea and Taiwan-based AU Optronics Co.AUO +1.24%An Apple spokeswoman in California declined to comment.Analysts said a smaller tablet could help Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple maintain its dominance in a market that keeps getting more crowded. Competitors includeSamsung Electronics Co.005930.SE -0.50% and Amazon.com Inc.,AMZN +0.09% while Microsoft Corp.MSFT +0.65% and Google Inc.GOOG +1.25% recently unveiled tablet devices.

Last year, the iPad held a 62% share of the world-wide tablet market, according to market research firm IHS iSuppli, which expects overall tablet sales this year to surge 85% to 126.6 million units..

As the market continues to expand, consumers' choices—in size, technical specifications and price—are growing more varied. Last week, Google started taking orders for the Nexus 7, a tablet device with a seven-inch screen that will sell for $199. That matches the price of Amazon's Kindle Fire, which came out last year and also has a seven-inch screen.

Microsoft's Surface tablet, expected to debut this fall, has a 10.6-inch display, larger than the iPad. Microsoft's Windows Chief Steve Sinofsky said that it will be "priced like comparable tablets."

This article comes from:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304141204577506471913819412.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Apple volume production new iMac this month

It is said by the supply chain upstream Taiwan manufacturer, Apple volume production this month new iMac, and it will come up on the market on October this year, it is also said that Apple will use Retina Display screen to all products, it also means that the new iMac will use Retina Display screen.

Apple wants to deploy in the Retina Display screen to all products, which hope to be beyond the competitor's products in on the screen resolution.

At present, the main rivals use Full HD screen, because the Retina Display screen is expensive, and targeted content is less. Therefore, most PC manufacturers currently have no plans to purchase the Retina Display screen.

At present, apple is the world's largest all-in-one PC manufacturers, which is also one of the five desktops manufacturers. IDC data shows, in the first quarter of this year, apple iMac sales for 1.22 million departments, accounting for 3.1% of the global desktop sales.

Apple Shutters MobileMe, iWork Next

Apple's subscription-based online storage function MobileMe breathed it last breath Saturday, forcing cloud users who want to stay in the family to turn to iCloud.Last summer, Apple unveiled its iCloud and iTunes Match products, and said it would discontinue MobileMe. On May 31, users began receiving 30-day reminders to transfer stored filed before all data was lost forever.

Still, some users have, of course, failed to do just that. So Apple is giving them one last chance, with a message on its me.com site saying that "for a limited time," you can still move your account to iCloud, download photos from Gallery, and download files from iDisk.

In an attempt to ease MobileMe users' pain, Apple set up an information website, complete with Q&As and links to more in-depth articles about the changes.Despite Cupertino's huge technological successes, MobileMe was not an Apple triumph. It launched in 2008 to a number of bugs and an email blackout for thousands of subscribers.

That failure didn't sit well with Steve Jobs. According to a May 2011 Fortune profile, Jobs berated the MobileMe team during a town hall meeting. "Can anyone tell me what MobileMe is supposed to do?" Jobs asked the MobileMe team after gathering them in an Apple auditorium. After someone provided the correct answer, Jobs reportedly said, "So why the f**k doesn't it do that?"

The Apple iCloud's domino effect also hit Apple's iWork.com, which will shutter on July 31, three and a half years after opening as part of an iWork software update that allowed users to share documents online and collaborate with third parties. Again, Apple reminded users to download all documents to your computer before the site closes."With a new way to share iWork documents between your devices using iCloud, the iWork.com public beta service will no longer be available," Apple's website said.

In March, Apple reported that millions of iWork customers had stored more than 40 million documents on iCloud.A revamped iWork was introduced earlier this year, including new 3D charts and animations, builds, and transitions. The Keynote, Numbers, and Pages applications were updated to take advantage of the Retina display option.

This article comes from:http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2406634,00.asp

Apple, Amazon, Google and Oracle: Are These The New Robber Barons?

What gets lost in the reality distortion field that surrounds these technology moguls is that, in the end, they are fanatically ambitious, competitive capitalists. They may look cool and have soothing bedside manners, but in the end these guys are in business not just to make money, but to establish sprawling, quasi-monopolistic commercial empires. And they will do whatever it takes to achieve those ambitions.
….

Thus began the era satirised by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their novel The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today, which was published in 1873. Twain and Warner were struck by the rampant greed and speculative frenzy of the times – not to mention its pervasive political corruption. But in that febrile milieu a smallish group of ingenious, ruthless and visionary entrepreneurs created a modern industrial state. Leland Stanford, EH Harriman, Jay Gould, Charles Crocker, Henry Plant, Henry Flagler, Cornelius Vanderbilt and Charles Yerkes built railways; John D Rockefeller created Standard Oil and brought his distinctive brand of oligopolistic order to the oil business, eventually controlling 90% of the industry;Andrew Carnegie, Henry Frick and Charles Schwab created a vast steel industry; and bankers such as JP Morgan, Joseph Seligman, Andrew Mellon and Jay Cooke organised the finance that funded these huge ventures.

The yes is that yes, Jobs, Ellison, Gates, Bezos, Brinn and Page, they are indeed very like Vanderbilt, Carnegie and Rockefeller. But this does not make them anything like the Robber Barons.

For there were really two groups of entrepreneurs who made it big in the American economy of the 19th century. There were those who simply did thing better, cheaper, than their competitors and thus were able to stake a claim to large parts of an economy that was becoming a national economy for the first time. Rockefeller in oil. Vanderbilt in steamships, Carnegie in steel. Sure, they competed very hard against all comers: but they did it with better technology and cheaper prices. Well, by and large they did: Rockefeller was known for cute dealings at times, as they all were, but it was still true that Rockefeller was the most efficient oil company and offered the lowest prices to consumers. Carnegie was technologically streets ahead of his competitors and so on.

The robber Barons were a rather different group: this was more a description of those who organised themselves into trust, cartels to keep out competition, and at a slightly later date too. The point here was not to win the market by beating the competition but to raise profits by restricting competition: a very different thing indeed.

I would argue that the Apples, Googles, Oracles and Amazons of this current world are more like the former. Yes, there is that sad use of IP in fighting, but by and large they are fighting each other through market competition, technological advance and ever lower prices to consumers.

There are other sectors of the economy more like the Robber Barons: those who conspire with politics to restrict entry into their markets for example. Like those 30% of jobs where you need an occupational licence these days. Or Milton Friedman’s example of the way that the AMA restricts the number of doctors in order to keep wages for doctors high.

In short, we have both groups still, those who wish to profit from restricting competition and those who wish to do so by beating the competition. But our technology gurus strike me as being more those on the good side, as with Carnegie and Vanderbilt, than on the bad.

This article comes from:http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2012/07/01/apple-amazon-googe-and-oracle-are-these-the-new-robber-barons/

The coming of iPhone 5 maybe support China mobile 3G Net work

We have saw many smart phones, but the most popular is Apple’s iPhone, iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s have published, we have used them for several years.

However, the 4S still did not support China Mobile’s proprietary 3G network which made the iPhone inaccessible to a majority of Chinese mobile phone users despite availability on China Unicom and China Telecom.

iPhone 5 is coming and the most change is iPhone 5 likely to support China mobile 3G Net work. For Apple, it is a huge market share opportunity, Apple’s iPhone 5 will support Chinese language, and they are considering combine with Baidu and Sina weibo, these two platform are very popular in China. If the new phone can include these two platform, it can take back big revenue for them.

It is also a good message for Chinese people, it can avoid some trouble and become more convenient to individuals. Believe that iPhone will be take more market share when iPhone 5 is published, and it will bring a big surprise to us!

iPad is facing challenges

As far as we know, the dominance place of tablet computer is iPad, iPad is published by Apple, It was given a warm welcome when iPad came out! Of course, it is still popular now, but it is facing challenges!

Recently, several companies will release their own tablets, like Microsoft, Google and Samsung, Microsoft has published its “Surface”, Google will publish its Nexus 7 and Samsung will also publish its own tablet computer, then, the tablet computer market will be hot.

It is hard to say which company will win in the battle, and each of them has new characters, Microsoft’s Surface is with windows 8 operation and other technology which are different from iPad.

The Google Nexus 7 is a tiny little beast of a tablet – where the iPad is an iconic piece of machinery, the Nexus 7 seems to be a bit more of a solid set of elements pounded together with a hammer into a device that’s meant to be perfect for the several specific purposes it was made for. The Nexus 7 was made to be a device with which you download and consume media from the Google Play store – movies, television shows, music, books, and magazines – and of course games. The iPad, on the other hand, was made to be a companion for you in all situations where the iPhone is too small.


Samsung is also very popular with its smart phones, it moves to tablet computer field, it is obvious that it has a powerful technology, and it will take some market shares in tablet field, however, it is competitive for each company.

It is true that iPad is facing challenges, but as our customers, we take care is the functions of their products, if they can bring joy and happiness and if they are convenient! iPad is facing challenges now, we are looking forward to seeing other products!

Torture-testing the new iPad

I'll leave a little mystery for you: I won't tell you exactly what we did to the iPad in our first-ever Always On torture test, but generally speaking, we tried to simulate some of the toughest tests that real life throws at our devices, like say, when we leave them in cars in inclement weather, or they fall, or ... well, darnit, now I'm verging on spoiling the tests.

What I'm trying to say, though, is that we weren't just stunt joyriding by shoving the iPad in an ice chest -- darnit! And I think there were times when it hurt me more than it hurt the iPad! That said, I think I can safely say that our $500 was well spent on this device.

Obviously, your mileage may vary. Interestingly, the idea for starting with the iPad came from a conversation I had with CNET Reviews Editor in Chief Lindsey Turrentine, who told me her story about simply laying in bed reading her third-generation iPad and having it fall forward, hit her wedding ring, and crack on impact. So, I was sure the iPad wouldn't make it past even the most light-touch drop tests. (Darnit!) And yet, here it sits, none the worse for wear other than a dead battery.

Don't believe we were that hard on it? Watch the video for yourself, and find the complete Always On episode and clips here. And tell me your terrifying tales of iPad (or other gadget) destruction in the comments -- maybe we can re-recreate them! In the meantime, rest assured: the third-generation iPad, already a CNET Editors' Choice, is probably safe to leave in the car, give to your kids, and even spill a glass of water on.

This article comes from:http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57461001-1/torture-testing-the-new-ipad/

Stolen iPhone Used to Track Down Thief

Police say a burglar on a crime spree was stopped in his tracks overnight when he stole the wrong thing.A stolen iPhone helped officers track the burglar's every move and arrest him.Jeri Fletcher says she came within moments of facing the thief. "When I saw the console up and the dome light was on, that's when I knew and I was like oh my gosh," she said.Fletcher had gone out to her car to find her missing phone. She considers herself very lucky today.

The burglar rummaged through her car and back utility room before trying to take off on her boyfriend's bike."The bike was parked right along here and he carefully maneuvered the bike out without waking anyone up," she described.

But the burglar threw the mountain bike on the ground and took off running when she stepped outside."I started yelling for him and he had to throw his clothes on real quick and run outside and he jumped on his bike to go and pursue the guy," Fletcher said.The man did make off with Jeri's cell phone, her boyfriend didn't see him and quickly returned after searching by bike. "I grabbed his phone and I said, well I'm going to call my phone, and he goes, don't call it, we can track it," she described.

Her boyfriend grabbed his phone and logged on to the app called Track my iPhone, it was able to track Jeri's phone down literally to the minute.Police arrived quickly, took the phone, and used the theft against the thief. "He looked at me and asked me, do you want me to take your phone with me," Josh said, "I said please, by all means and as quickly as I handed him my phone, they busted a u-turn and they were on their way after him."

In just minutes police caught up to him and identified the burglar as 34-year-old Vincent George Williams."They said he was violent, he was ready to fight and they said I was very lucky I did not come face to face with him downstairs," Fletcher told us.Instead police came face to face with him. Fletcher says her fortune did not end there, the officer came back with Josh's phone - and hers - in hand. "I was just like are you kidding me, this never happens, it never happens, I had already assumed, I had already taken a loss," she said.

Police not only recovered Jeri's stolen phone, but, they also found a bag full of makeup, a CD player and some loose change on Williams.Officers are not sure yet who owns the other stolen items.Back in December, Williams was detained by two customers at the Joe's Crab Shack along the Corpus Christi bayfront.

In that incident the victims saw a man ransacking their car, so they dragged him out and held him for police.He was found to be in possession of a radar detector, cell phone and hand soap that did not come from the victims' car.

This article comes from:http://www.kristv.com/news/stolen-iphone-used-to-track-down-thief/

what do you know about iPhone 5?

iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s have been published for months,and we are looking forward to seeing iPhone 5,what do you know about iPhone 5?

We can often heard the rumors about iPhone 5,last week,we heard that we can see a thinner iPhone 5,iPhone 5 will replace the 30-pin connector with a smaller 19-pin connector.This rumour about a new “mini” port has been around for at least a year. What’s new is that TechCrunch’s John Biggs claims that it is now “confirmed.”

The 30-pin port has been Apple’s standard since the company released the third generation iPod, according to Biggs. “The connectors offered structural stability when connecting to most accessories but it’s clear – especially with the introduction of the MagSafe 2 port [announced for the new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with Retina Display] – Apple is more concerned with space savings inside each device,” Biggs writes.

Whether the rumour is right or not,it is great for us,we care much about its functions,and it will be true that it is better than iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s.did you heard that rumours? In fact, it is not that important for us to know iPhone 5,we just need to wait for its publishing,and buy it!

Microsoft Unveils ‘Surface’ Tablet in iPad Challenge

Los Angeles. Microsoft on Monday unveiled a Surface tablet computer as the technology titan steps in with its own hardware to take on Apple’s market-ruling iPads.Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer described the iPad challenger as a tablet that “works and plays” when he showed it off at a press event in Los Angeles.


Surface is also the name of table and poster-sized touch screen computers that Microsoft has pitched to the business market for use in restaurants, shops, bars and other venues.A tablet demo video online at microsoft.com/surface/ promised the tablet was “coming soon.”

A version of Surface running on Windows RT software tailored for ARM mobile device chips measured 9.3 millimeters thick and weighed 676 grams.It boasted a 26.9 centimeter high-definition screen and will be available with 32 or 64 gigabytes of memory, according to Microsoft.

A tablet model powered by Windows 8 Pro software measured 13.5 millimeters thick, weighs 903 grams and will be available with 64 or 128 gigabytes of memory.“It’s a whole new community of computing devices from Microsoft,” Ballmer said. “It embodies the notion of hardware and software really pushing each other.”
Surface featured a flip-out rear “kickstand” to prop it up like a picture frame and a cover that, when opened, acts as a keypad so tablets could be switched into “desktop” mode for work tasks.
Microsoft did not specify when the tablet would be available but it is likely to be timed with the release of Windows 8 software later this year.“This product marks a crucial pivot in Microsoft’s product strategy,” said Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps.

“It puts the focus on the consumer rather than the enterprise,” she continued in a blog post. “And it lets Microsoft compete with vertically-integrated Apple on more even ground.”

Microsoft could be “its own worst enemy” in the tablet market if it overwhelms people with gadget options and specs such as chipsets instead of following Apple’s lead and keeping choices simple, the analyst warned.“Consumers aren’t used to thinking about chipsets,” Rotman Epps said.

“Choice is a key tenet of Windows, but too much choice is overwhelming for consumers,” she continued. “Apple gets this, and limits iPad options to connectivity, storage, and black or white.”

Microsoft, which built its fortune by specializing in software and leaving the job of making computers or other devices to partners, has had mixed results from its hardware ventures.

This article comes from:http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/consumertech/microsoft-unveils-surface-tablet-in-ipad-challenge/525230

Galaxy Strong Contender To IPhone

The Galaxy's screen measures 4.8 inches diagonally, compared with 3.5 inches for the iPhone. That translates to a display area that's nearly twice the size. Yet the Galaxy is thinner and lighter.

Apart from that, the Galaxy shares the iPhone's curvy and shiny design, along with a center button that wakes up the device from power-saving mode or takes you from whatever you're doing to a home screen.
Unlike the iPhone, the Galaxy runs on faster 4G cellular networks (AT&T markets its iPhones as 4G, but the network is based on older technology). The Galaxy also comes with a new wireless technology called near-field communications, which can be used to share files and make purchases.

Pictures taken with the Galaxy were sharper and had better light balance than those with the iPhone, based on a handful of test shots I took. The Galaxy's tool for measuring data usage — for those of us no longer on unlimited plans — surpasses what comes with the iPhone.All that makes the Galaxy a strong contender to Apple's popular device.

I understand the comparison isn't entirely fair. The iPhone 4S is about eight months old, and there's a new model expected this fall. Last week, Apple previewed changes to the phone's operating system, promising improvements to its Siri virtual assistant, a mapping service with voice navigation and more.But the reality is the new Galaxy is available this week — not in September or October.

All four national wireless companies and regional carrier U.S. Cellular will sell the Galaxy, which runs the latest operating software from Google, a flavor of Android known as Ice Cream Sandwich.

The basic model with 16 gigabytes of memory will cost $200 with a two-year contract through AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint and U.S. Cellular. That's comparable to the iPhone's $199. A 32 GB model will cost $250, which is cheaper than a comparable iPhone at $299. T-Mobile will charge at least $30 more than others, though it may still be cheaper overall with lower monthly data fees over two years.The Galaxy phones will be available in white or blue. AT&T will also have a red version this summer, but it won't carry the 32 GB model.Now back to Galaxy's screen.The Galaxy shines when displaying widescreen video. That's because much of the display's increase is in width rather than in height when the phone is held on its side, or landscape mode. The iPhone wastes some display real estate to make wider videos fit. There are unused strips of black above and below those videos.

When watching a foreign movie through a Netflix app, the Galaxy's larger screen makes the subtitles much easier to read. I can read them fine on the iPhone, but my eyes kept zeroing in on the text to do so, making me miss the action.The colors on the Galaxy also appeared richer, thanks to a screen that uses organic light-emitting diodes, rather than a standard LCD.All that video can deplete your data allowance in no time.On the iPhone, the tool for measuring data usage isn't easy to find. You have to choose "General" in your settings, then "Usage," and then "Cellular Usage." There's info there on the amount of data sent and received, but no total. You have to remember to manually reset the counter each month on the day your billing cycle starts.

On the Galaxy, "Data usage" is the third item from the top under "Settings." You can tell the phone when to warn you that you're about to reach your cap for the month. You can also automatically disable data usage when you've reached a pre-specified point to avoid extra charges. You don't have to do any math to get the total used, and the counter automatically resets each month. You can also see which apps use the most data.

Before I go further, I'll say a few things about where the iPhone still excels.— The iPhone has more software from outside parties, extending the device's functionality. Many apps are written only for the iPhone and other Apple devices. Versions for the Galaxy and other Android phones sometimes come months later and lack all of the features.— The iPhone works better than Android devices in corporate settings. Android, for instance, lacks the tools needed to access Wi-Fi at my office or the corporate email system (though some might consider that a plus for Android).— The iPhone has Siri, the virtual assistant that hears your voice commands and talks back.

The Galaxy introduces a voice assistant, but she's best described as Siri's forgotten stepchild. The Galaxy couldn't find an Indian restaurant just a block from me, and she gave me the name of a doctor when I asked for Thai restaurants. The Galaxy also lacks Siri's attitude and sense of humor.

Me: "What is the best smartphone?" Siri: "Wait, there are other phones?"The Galaxy replied with the grammatically incorrect and boring, "Opinion vary but I think Samsung Galaxy is the best of them all."Here's where the Galaxy prevails:— As with other Android devices, the Galaxy syncs well with Google services. By signing into a Google account, names, emails and phone numbers from my Gmail contacts are automatically transferred to the phone. The same happens with calendar entries. Apple uses a separate contact and calendar system, not the one I already use through Google.— You can remove the plastic back cover to switch the battery or insert a microSD card for additional storage of up to 64 gigabytes. The iPhone's battery can be replaced only by a technician, and there's no slot for more storage.

This article comes from:http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=155403533

Popular iPad 3 helps Argos out of trading slump

Gadget fans who flocked to Argos to buy the new iPad 3 gave the troubled chain a welcome sales lift.Improved sales of electronics goods, driven by the highly-anticipated release of the latest iPad in March, eased the recent decline at the catalogue stores.

But the wash-out weather proved a dampener for Home Retail's other chain Homebase, which saw soggy sales in the past few months.

Popular gadget: iPad 3 drives forecast-busting sales at ArgoBoss Terry Duddy was nevertheless upbeat about the group's summer prospects, saying he had already detected signs of some consumer cheer ahead of the Olympics.'One of the things that may be coming through here is a bit of a feelgood factor as far as consumers are concerned - people are getting out there and continuing to enjoy themselves,' he said.

Gazebos sold well over the wet Jubilee weekend as Britons looked for cover from the rain, while Union Jack items such as deckchairs were also in demand.Argos saw like-for-like sales decline by a much better than expected 0.2 per cent in the three months to June 2. Analysts had expected Argos first quarter sales to fall by around 4 per cent.

The improved trading followed an 8.7 per cent decline in the previous six months as Argos struggled amid a tough consumer electronics market and dire high street trading conditions.

Two Argos stores were shut in the past quarter, leaving it with 746. Home Retail plans to close 10 this year, but continues to resist calls for widespread closures, claiming its stores support its presence online and that only seven are loss-making.

Meanwhile, DIY chain Homebase suffered an 8.3 per cent slide in like-for-like sales. Seasonal products, which account for around 40 per cent of sales in the 341-strong business, plunged by around 15 per cent after the wet start to the summer.The dismal weather in April accounted for 80 per cent of the first quarter sales decline at Homebase, but it outperformed competitors in a difficult market, according to Home Retail.

Kingfisher-owned rival DIY chain B&Q recently unveiled a 12 per cent slide in sales due to poor demand for outdoor products and building materials.Duddy claimed they were 'victims' of the weather, with Homebase heavily weighted towards garden products.

THis article comes from:http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-2161471/iPad-3-helps-lift-Argos-trading-slump.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

iPhone 5 vs Galaxy S3″ to get most phone profits this year?

So, this year is the clash of the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the iPhone 5? Research group said Apple and Samsung will eat the whole 90 per cent of the smartphone profits this year.

Similar to the prediction made byUBS analyst’s Maynard Um, ABI Research said on Friday that Samsung Mobile, maker of the new Samsung Galaxy S3 Android smartphone, and Apple inc, the “iPhone company,” will bag the whole 90 percent of the smartphone market profits this year.

Citing the strong and growing demand for smartphones worldwide, ABI revealed that shipments alone grew 41 per cent (year-over-year) after recording 144.6 million units during the first quarter of this year.

55 per cent of the total smartphone shipments last quarter were generated by Samsung and Apple, and surprisingly, the two companies also accounted for more than 90 per cent of the smartphone profits, beating other mobile makers like Nokia, which ships Windows Phone-based smartphones, and RIM, maker of BlackBerry phones.

The research firm also revealed that the South Korean company shipped 43 million in Q1 2012, while Apple delivered nearly 35 million. Finland-based phone maker, and the former mobile phone leader, Nokia, occupied the third spot after shipping 11.9 million and Research in Motion’s shipment was down 20 per cent after shipping 11.1 million only.

This year, Samsung is selling its new “high-end” smartphone which includes the latest version of Android out of the box, the Samsung Galaxy S3. The device will go on sale this month in North America, and currently attracting new customers in Europe and Asia with its quad-core CPU and large display.

Meanwhile, Apple inc is expected to unveil its latest smartphone this coming October, the long-rumored iPhone 5. According to sources of multiple tech outlets and analysts, the iPhone 5 will support Long Term Evolution, and will include a new design, a larger display, and will ship with the latest version of iOS, Apple’s mobile operating system, out of the box.Via Arirang.

This article comes from: http://www.popherald.com/news-abi-smartphones-samsung-galaxy-s3-vs-iphone-5-17953/

Daily iPhone App: Pocket Planes flies high

Odds are that if you read our quick interview with NimbleBit, you already went to check out Pocket Planes, the new freemium title from brother David and Ian Marsh. If you were a big fan of Tiny Tower, you've probably been counting the days until it arrived, already knowing just how addictive these deliciously grindy games can be. But if you've never heard of NimbleBit or played Tiny Tower, maybe you need me to tell you: Go play Pocket Planes.

The one caveat is that it is a time-based freemium title: The gameplay consists of a series of small bursts on various cycles rather than a full-fledged traditional game. But just like Tiny Tower and Pocket Frogs before it, Pocket Planes is polished to a brilliant shine. It features the Tiny Tower bitizens, and this time, they're flying planes around a real world pixel map. Using coins and bux, you can set up airports, fly passengers and cargo around the world, and slowly build up your tiny little (gigantic) airplane empire.

A lot of people have noted that the game's more complicated than NimbleBit's previous titles, but only in that there are slightly more interesting choices to be made: You get to set your planes out on routes you choose, and given that fuel costs gold every time you fly, it's always possible that you'll spend more on gold than you are able to earn by delivering your cargo. Some cities are snowed in or otherwise blocked off, too, so making the right choices about where to send your planes for the most money isn't immediately apparently. Experienced gamers will probably like the extra complexity, however, and I have a feeling that even casual players will learn that making the right choices can be more fun than just tapping away for profit.

And there are plenty of fun extras in the game, too. NimbleBit has clearly learned a lot from Tiny Tower and its various patches. You can take on flights to a randomly selected town every three days to earn extra money and items, and you can even join a "flight crew" with other players, which allows for some very light, very anonymous multiplayer gameplay. The "BitBook" fake social network is back from Tiny Tower, and the citizens post some hilarious updates.

With tons of planes to build and collect, hundreds of airports to open and upgrade, and lots and lots of great characters and production value, Pocket Planes is a great iPhone title. It's another jewel in NimbleBit's very profitable crown, and unless freemium titles cause you to break out in hives, it's a must-play game. Download it now for free in a universal build. Oh, and join the "#schramm" flight crew -- we're #311 in the world and growing!

This article comes from:http://www.tuaw.com/2012/06/14/daily-iphone-app-pocket-planes-flies-high/

Mountain Lion: Making Friends By Bringing Us All Together

Across every announcement made by Apple during their 2012 WWDC Keynote, from new Retina Display Macs to new Maps in iOS 6, one element remained: Unity.

In every Keynote and in every press event, there are always little holes Apple leaves in their stories to be filled later with new advancements or products. And yet, this year’s keynote seemed more like they were gathering all of their things together and stacking them by the door so when the time comes, they’ll be able to leave at a moment’s notice.

This year’s Keynote was a calm and subtle warning to us all: We’re on the move, and if you want to come along, best you follow our lead.

From the beginning, Tim Cook made mention of 400 million iTunes accounts, complete with credit card information, used to purchase things like apps in either store, music, movies and more. Craig Federighi boasted Apple’s 66 million Mac users, a number which, according to him, is 3 times greater than what they had just 5 years ago.

Since Lion released electronically last summer via the Mac App store, it’s sold more than 26 million copies. In fact, 40% of all Mac OS X users are now running Apple’s latest and greatest, and it only took them 9 months to get there.

Scott Forstall hailed the mobile operating system, saying more than 80% of all iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch users are running iOS 5. With these pieces in play, Apple’s newest software offerings are able to do much more than they currently can. What’s more, they will begin to work together and become even more seamless, thanks to the glue that is iCloud.

Apple has long strived to be more than a computer and electronics company, but an ecosystem. In the early years, Steve Jobs talked about the Mac becoming the “digital hub” for all your media, allowing it to be stored elsewhere, such as the iPod. Now that iOS and OS X are becoming more and more like one another, one can’t help but look at the holes in the story and wonder where Apple is going next and what new things they will add to their ecosystem.

As it stands, they are pushing the Mac hard into iCloud, making sure everything syncs and works “like magic.” In addition to bringing over a few familiar iOS apps to the wildcat’s lair, they’re also trying to teach the Mac a few new tricks they’ve been learning during their growth spurt in mobile.

It’s a brilliant move, really. Apple has more than once released a great product or innovation into the world, only later to reveal that they’ve been viewing it less as a way to make money and more as a form of informal education. For instance, Apple has plenty of reasons to run and operate their own stores: They control the content, the experience and the message. But as they run these stores, their also able to see how customers interact with their products, learn what customers are asking for, and even quietly test out new technologies on their retail stores before rolling it out elsewhere.

For nearly 5 years, we’ve been playing with our iPhones, taking them everywhere we go and putting them through their paces. We didn’t know Apple was learning about how we like to interact with our devices, how we like to get information to these devices, and how we like to consume our content. Mountain Lion is the product of all this research and rolls some of iOS’ best features into our Macs.


This article comes from:http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112554397/mountain-lion-making-friends-by-bringing-us-all-together/

An iPad for every student at Grand Island high school

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — The Northwest Public Schools board voted board voted unanimously this week to provide iPads for all high school students.

The proposal adopted by the Grand Island school board was different from the one discussed in May, which anticipated starting with the high school before expanding to provide iPads throughout the K-12 district. The idea was to move down one grade per year, until students in all grades had an iPad.

The price cited at the May meeting for a six-year program was $533,000.The proposal considered this week was to lease 730 iPads for two years at a cost of $154,000.

After the meeting, Northwest Public Schools business manager Sharon Placke said the technology is changing so rapidly that many people thought it did not make sense to commit beyond a two-year lease.

Brian Gibson, technology coordinator for the school district, said iPads have the potential to reduce the cost of textbook purchases.He said some teachers use a textbook as a guide, but then have students use the Internet or free apps on their iPads to learn the principles being taught in the textbook.

Gibson said Northwest High would be one of about nine central Nebraska schools that will receive iPad training from Educational Service Unit No. 10, which will also reduce costs for the district.

After the meeting, Placke said each student will probably pay a $35 fee for use of an iPad. She said the fee would help defray the cost of buying insurance, called AppleCare, for the iPads. Low-income students who receive free or reduced-price school lunches could request a fee waiver.

Superintendent Bill Mowinkel noted that all students — regardless of whether they got the fee waived — would be responsible if their iPads were lost or damaged, just as they are responsible for damaged or lost textbooks.

This article comes from:http://www.omaha.com/article/20120613/NEWS01/706139923

Apple taking aim at Chinese market with Mountain Lion, iOS 6

The sharp focus that Apple has brought to bear on the Chinese market was evident on Monday during a keynote presentation to kick off the Worldwide Developers Conference. While talking up new additions to OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, head of Mac Software Engineering Craig Federighi presented a segment on "Features for China" in OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.

"One area I want to highlight especially are some features we're adding for China," he said. "The Mac has been growing fantastically in China and we have some wonderful features that we think are going to make it even more popular there."

The additions included an improved Chinese Pinyin input method, a new dictionary and eight Chinese fonts. Safari in OS X Mountain Lion will also add the popular Chinese search engine Baidu as a search option, support for micro-blogging via Sina Weibo and video sharing selections for Youku and Tudou. Federighi also mentioned the inclusion of easy setup of popular Chinese email services coming to Mountain Lion.

"It's going to be important. Get your apps ready for China," he said to the assembled crowd of developers.

Later in the presentation, Scott Forstall, Apple's president of iOS Software, talked about upcoming Siri support for Mandarin and Cantonese in iOS 6. The new language support will make good on a promise that company made last year to teach Siri Chinese in 2012. Siri's Chinese language abilities will include Mandarin, tuned for both Taiwan and the Chinese mainland, and Cantonese, tuned for Hong Kong and the mainland.

"As part of making Siri more international, we're now taking local search, which was U.S.-only in iOS, around the world. So you can now do local search even in China," Forstall said.

Responding to Monday's keynote, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty called Apple's China-specific features "significant investments" that the company is making to reach the market. She believes that focus on China will be "key to long-term growth." The investment bank expects increased sales of the iPhone in the region to contribute 33 percent of incremental revenue for Apple in calendar 2013.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said in April during a quarterly earnings call that the company's revenue in China has been "mind-boggling." The region brought in $7.39 billion in revenue during the March quarter, driven largely by iPhone sales, which were up five times that of the year ago quarter. The executive said the iPhone and iPad are creating an "incredible" halo of demand for Macs, which were up more than 60 percent year over year during the quarter. Cook noted that an "enormous number of people" in China are moving into the middle class and Apple is doing everything it can to understand the market and capitalize on the opportunity.

This article comes from:http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/12/06/12/apple_taking_aim_at_chinese_market_with_mountain_lion_ios_6.html