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News from category ‘Hardware’
New Photos of Camera-Equipped iPod Nano Casing Surface
Last April, Apple.pro posted a photo of what appeared to be an iPod nano with a hole in the rear casing that was said to be for a camera. A second photo showing a clipless design casing for the device and claiming that it would carry a 1.3-megapixel camera.
Apple ultimately made no changes to the design of the iPod nano in September of last year, instead opting to update the software and lower pricing on the 8 GB and 16 GB models. But the idea of a camera-equipped iPod nano was revived in November with the publication of a May 2010 patent application on speaker design that appeared to show a hole in the iPod nano's clip in the same location as the rumored camera hole seen in the leaked photos.
Leave a commentCourt upholds ban of Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany on new grounds
A German appeals court on Tuesday upholds ban of Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9 sales in Europe's biggest economy.
The decision by the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court (DHRC) upholds a ruling from last September but does so based on Germany's unique unfair competition law rather than the earlier court's finding that Samsung committed a violation of a Community design. As such, Apple won't have success replicating the decision in other European countries, according to legal analyst Florian Mueller, as Samsung succeeded in defeating design-right claims by Apple that could have contributed to a broader, more material ruling covering most of the European Union.
Taiwanese Site Sued by Supplier After Leaking Claimed iPad 3 Dock Connector
In July 2011 Taiwanese site Apple.pro published several photos of what was claimed to be the dock connector and ribbon cable for the next-generation iPad 3. Honestly, the connector didn’t provide much information about the full iPad 3 tablet. The only obvious fact was that the connector itself being white as opposed to black on the iPad 2, and it was one of the first reported leaks of iPad 3 parts. However, Apple's suppliers seem to have taken the leak seriously. Apple.pro now reports that it has been sued by the supplier responsible for the part leaked in last year's report.
Apple predicted to sell up to 40M iPhones on China Mobile, China Telecom in 2013
Analyst Katy Huberty from Investment bank Morgan Stanley believes Apple will partner up with both China Telecom and China Mobile "over the next year" to make its iPhone available on all three Chinese carriers. Such partnership could bring incremental sales of as many as 40 million units next calendar year that is only 10 percent of the 150 million "high-end Chinese subscribers".
China Mobile, the world's largest wireless carrier, holds the bulk of the country's high-end subscribers with an estimated 120 million customers who pay more than 100RMB ($16) a month. The final 10 percent of high-end subscribers are on China Telecom, the third-largest carrier in China. Huberty sees a base case of 26 million incremental iPhone sales in China during the 2013 calendar year with the addition of China Mobile and China Telecom. Her bull case suggests 40 million units for an increase of $10 in earnings per share.
Apple's sixth-generation iPhone is "likely to be compatible" with China Mobile's upcoming 4G TD-LTE network. Morgan Stanley expects the next-generation iPhone to arrive in the third quarter of 2012 and a China Mobile iPhone launch to occur in late 2012 or early 2013.
Wisconsin uses Microsoft settlement funds to buy iPads for schools
Wisconsin State Journal has reported that Wisconsin is buying 600 iPads this spring and plans to buy another 800 this fall. The state will pay for the tablets using the funds of the state's settlement with Microsoft related to consumer lawsuits claiming the company overcharged customers for its software. The Journal also presented rather strong argument that the tablets are simply cheaper, more portable and easier to use than conventional computers.
The new iPads will enable students to wirelessly share their work and enable schools to replace textbooks with digital apps or ebooks, referring to Apple's recent announcement related to iBooks 2, iBooks Author and digital textbooks as a "significant development."
District deputy superintendent Sue Abplanalp noted that Madison administrators had been impressed by the results of an iPad trial by Chicago Public Schools, which found the tablets were successful in keeping students more engaged in the classroom.
Apple Estimated to Retake Title of World's Largest Smartphone Vendor
A couple of days ago the research firm Strategy Analytics announced its estimates of the global smartphone market for the fourth quarter of 2011. The firm has found that Apple narrowly squeezed by Samsung to retake the title of world's largest smartphone vendor as measured by unit shipments. Apple's 37 million iPhones narrowly eclipsed Samsung's quarterly smartphone shipments of 36.5 million units.
Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics, added, “While Apple took the top spot in smartphones on a quarterly basis, Samsung became the market leader in annual terms for the first time with 20 percent global share during 2011. With global smartphone shipments nearing half a billion units in 2011, Samsung is now well positioned alongside Apple in a two-horse race at the forefront of one of the world’s largest and most valuable consumer electronics markets.”
In the second quarter of 2011 Apple passed Nokia and is holding off Samsung now. But in the third quarter Samsung easily passed Apple, and Samsung’s continued growth paired with a pause in iPhone sales ahead of the iPhone 4S launch. The iPhone 4S launch could help Apple to retake the lead from Samsung in the fourth quarter, although it was not able to top the charts for full-year 2011.
Apple Expected to Adopt 802.11ac 5G Gigabit Wi-Fi This Year
AppleInsider claims that Apple is expected to adopt and start supporting the new faster 802.11ac Wi-Fi specification into products this year.
The new 802.11ac standard achieves much faster wireless networking speeds than the existing 802.11n specification (in use on the latest Mac, AirPort and iOS devices) by using 2 to 4 times the frequency bandwidth (from 80 to 160MHz), more efficient data transfers through sophisticated modulation, and more antennas (up to 8; existing standards support up to 4, while Apple's Macs currently use up to 3).
This "Gigabit WiFi" offers speeds 3 times as fast as existing 802.11n wireless networks can with speeds of over 1 Gigabit per second.
NYTimes: Why Apple builds its products in China
The NY published an absolutely fascinating article, explaining why Apple builds almost all of its stuff in China. The short of it is that companies like Apple simply cannot manufacture products in the United States. The cost is not the reason, however. Years ago, the Chinese government subsidized building cities of factories that can hire 3,000 workers to live in a dorm in a day —or 8,700 Industrial Engineers in two weeks (it would take 9 months in the U.S.).
The most interesting tale might have been the last minute decision to make the iPhones display glass:
In 2007, a little over a month before the iPhone was scheduled to appear in stores, Mr. Jobs beckoned a handful of lieutenants into an office. For weeks, he had been carrying a prototype of the device in his pocket.
Mr. Jobs angrily held up his iPhone, angling it so everyone could see the dozens of tiny scratches marring its plastic screen, according to someone who attended the meeting. He then pulled his keys from his jeans.
German court tosses Samsung's 3G-related lawsuit against Apple
On Friday German Judge Andreas Voss rejected Samsung's numerous lawsuits against Apple in Germany, accusing the iPhone maker of violating a patent related to 3G/UMTS wireless communications. The lawsuit included 7 different patents; six of these patents are tied up in four other lawsuits. Though Voss did not provide a reasoning for his pronouncement, if he had determined that Samsung's 3G patent was invalid, the outcome of the lawsuit would have been a stay rather than a rejection.
"There are two reasonably likely possibilities: either Apple's products weren't deemed to infringe on the patent in a technical sense or the court believes Samsung's rights are exhausted and Apple has, by extension, a technical license," Mueller wrote.
New Apple suit claims Galaxy Nexus infringes on 'slide-to-unlock' feature
Mere hours after serving up a ruling on Friday for a failed Samsung lawsuit against Apple, the Mannheim Regional Court held a hearing about Apple’s complaint against Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus. It is the first time when Apple has named the South Korean electronics manufacturer's flagship Android handset in a lawsuit, claiming the device infringes the iPhone maker's "slide-to-unlock" utility model that was first introduced with the original iPhone in 2007 and subsequently patented with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in October 2011
Examinations of utility model registrations are not as stringent as patent filings and don't carry a presumption of validity which is necessary for a court ruling. Thus the Mannheim court does not foresee an immediate decision in the "slide-to-unlock" suit as it believes the validity or invalidity of the invention is too close to call.
Mac sales growing faster for Apple in China than US
Analyst Ben A. Reitzes with Barclays Capital said in a note to investors on Wednesday that Apple's growth in China now extends beyond the iPhone and iPad, with Mac sales there also continuing to outpace the U.S. Reitzes believes that Apple's total global sales will be up 22 percent year over year, thanks largely to rapid expansion in China.
"We believe Mac sales remain relatively strong even as the economy weakens, benefitting from new stores in China and strong sales of the MacBook Air," he said. "Even though the economy and HDD shortages are concerns that could limit upside, we remain comfortable with our estimate for 22% (year over year) Mac unit growth for (the fourth quarter of calendar 2011) given overseas momentum -- especially in China where growth is much higher."
Apple targets Galaxy S II, 9 other Samsung smartphones in new German suit
Apple has filed a new suit in the Dusseldorf Regional Court against Samsung. The suit cites multiple patented designs owned by Apple in Europe. This time the company asked a German court to ban the sale of the Galaxy S II and nine other smartphones, along with five tablet models, including the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and its redesigned version the Galaxy Tab 10.1N – Samsung's attempt to overcome ban on tablet sales. As far as you remember, Samsung redesigned the tablet and renamed it. Those changes were apparently enough for the court in Germany, which indicated last month that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is not likely to be banned from sale. The suit also targets Samsung's Galaxy S Plus in addition to the Galaxy S II.
iOS 5.1 beta 3 hints Apple is planning deep Facebook integration
iMore dug through the recently released third beta of iOS 5.1 and found evidence showing that Apple could add a deeper iPhone and iPad integration with Facebook into a future operating system update. In one screenshot shown for the iOS Contacts application, there is an option to enter a person's Facebook user name right below their Twitter account. The same deeper integration was provided for Twitter that was one of the most-touted features of iOS 5, which was publicly released last October.
Deep integration with the social networking service allows users to quickly post Web links from Safari or pictures saved in the Photos application to Twitter. Presumably, future iOS integration with Facebook would offer similar functionality, making it easier for users to share information with their friends on the popular website.
The pre-release build of iOS 5.1 also reportedly includes references to new iPad models that are named in the code such as "J1AP" and "J2AP." The references corroborate with rumored code-names of "J1" and "J2" that were first reported last November, when it was said that Apple was secretly working on two new iPad models.
iWork VP Roger Rosner Taking Charge of Apple's Digital Textbook Initiative
The Wall Street Journal reports that Roger Rosner is the executive in charge of Apple's digital textbook tools. Rosner is a Vice President for Productivity Applications at Apple, such as Pages, Numbers and Keynote. He joint Apple in 2001, prior he was CEO of Bluefish Labs, a software development firm that Apple purchased.
Prior to working on the textbook service, Rosner was in charge of Pages, Numbers and Keynote -- Apple's iWork suite of office applications. Jessica Vascellaro writes for the WSJ:
Mr. Rosner's involvement is a sign of how strongly Apple intends to emphasize textbook creation, in a move to change the type of educational content that exists on the market. It also underscores how as textbooks—and all media—goes digital, it is increasingly important for tech companies to get media companies to create digital content with their software or in formats compatible with their services and devices.
Whether Mr. Rosner, whose LinkedIn profile pegs him at Apple for more than a decade, will take the stage on Thursday remains unclear. If so, audiences may remember him from Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference this past June, where he demonstrated features of iCloud, the company's online syncing and storing service.
Rumor: Apple to hold 'iPad 3' & iOS 5.1 event in early February
Japanese website Macotakara reported today that Apple is planning to hold an earlier-than-expected special event to unveil a so-called "iPad 3" along with iOS 5.1 in early February. Despite a rumored early February introduction, the report claims that the new iPad would still launch in early March, much like the iPad 2 in 2011. Last year, the iPad 2 was unveiled in a media event held on March 2 and was released on March 11. Apple seems to want its customers to wait little bit longer for the next-generation iPad. The delay might be caused by the fact that Chinese factories will be shut down to celebrate that country's New Year. This year's festival is earlier than usual, and runs from Jan. 23 through 28.
Recent reports have suggested that Foxconn and Pegatron will begin shipping the first "iPad 3" units in early March. Rumors leading up to the anticipated iPad unveiling have generally pointed toward a March launch of the device, but a month long wait time between the unveiling and sale of a new iPad would be a change from Apple's approach in 2011.
Different sources have generally agreed that the next iPad will support a new high-resolution "Retina Display" and that Apple will continue to sell the current-generation iPad 2 at a reduced price.