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News from category ‘Financial’
Thinner MacBook Pro Models in 13-Inch and 15-Inch Sizes Coming in April
Sources in Apple's upstream supply chain indicated to DigiTimes that new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pros with a thinner and lighter design are expected to launch in April "at the soonest," with an initial shipment of just under a million units. A redesigned version of the 17-inch MacBook Pro is apparently not expected at launch.
Apple's upgraded MacBook Pro lineup along with new MacBook Airs and the forthcoming OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion Mac operating system upgrade are expected in the industry to pose a "significant threat" to notebooks. Moreover, earlier this week Intel indicated that the company's next-generation Ivy Bridge chips are expected to debut eight to 10 weeks later than previously planned.
Leave a commentApple rumored to be developing new audio format designed for iCloud streaming
Apple is reportedly working on a new audio file format for iCloud service. The new audio format will offer improved streaming and "high-definition" quality of music allowing users to access music they obtained from sources outside of iTunes over the iCloud service.
"A source with inside knowledge of the process says Apple has asked a London studio to prepare audio files for a new streaming format that will adapt to bandwidth or hardware capabilities," the report said. It quoted an unnamed person who said users' libraries would "improve in an instant," and nothing would need to be done to upgrade files from the current AAC format to high definition.
Proview accuses Apple of fraud and unfair competition
On Monday Proview amended its California lawsuit against Apple over its use of the "iPad" trademark, accusing the company of multiple instances of fraud and unfair competition.
"The complaint provides evidence that the December 23, 2009 agreement that Proview Taiwan entered into was fraudulently induced by the concealment and suppression of material facts by Apple's agents, and that, as a result, the 2009 agreement is void," the press release states. "Once the agreement is voided for fraud, the iPad trademarks in the European Union, South Korea, Mexico, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam will revert back to Proview Taiwan."
Apple Wins Long-Term Protection from Ban on Sales of 3G-Enabled Devices in Germany
As far as you remember, in December Motorola win a preliminary injunction against Apple in Germany which has resulted in banning on sales of Apple’s 3G-enabled products such as the iPhone and cellular-capable iPad models in the country. But a few hours later after the ban granted on such products, the court temporarily suspended enforcement of the injunction.
And now FOSS Patents reports that the court has ruled that Motorola can not enforce the injunction for the duration of Apple's appeal in the case that could take as long as a year or more, therethrough Apple is no longer at risk of having its products removed from sale.
Apple Now Selling Brazilian-Made iPhone 4
Apple’s efforts to diversify iPhone and iPad manufacturing locations and make the devices more affordable in the world's fifth most populous country by eliminating high import taxes has resulted in moving production into Brazil where Foxconn built its factory. The factory has already begun manufacturing the iPhone and Apple has indeed begun selling the Brazilian-made 8 GB iPhone 4 through its online store in that country.
The iPhone 4S and 8 GB iPhone 4 debuted in Brazil in mid-December, but early models were manufactured in China and carried very high pricing with the iPhone 4S starting at the equivalent of over $1400. With exchange rate fluctuations that figure is now over $1500, while the cheaper 8 GB iPhone 4 still comes in at a hefty $1050. The unlocked iPhone 4 is priced at $549 in the United States.
Apple production line shows iPhone is basically handmade
ABC's Nightline special episode offered an inside look at Apple’s supply chain revealing that the iPhone, with 141 separate steps that go into its production, is practically a handmade device, while an iPad takes five days and passes through 325 hands during production. Foxconn manages to produce 300,000 camera modules for the iPad daily.
Apple granted reporter Bill Weir permission to go inside Foxconn's factories to see the working conditions as its products were being made for the 30-minute broadcast. However, initial response to the story was that it revealed hardly anything new about the situation.
Apple wins German injunction against Motorola over 'slide-to-unlock'
Judge Dr. Peter Guntz of the Munich Regional Court on Thursday found that a number of Motorola products had infringed on Apple's slide-to-unlock patent that gives the iPhone maker the option to enforce a German injunction against any offending devices. Apple's first win against Motorola could result in a complete reworking of how Motorola devices handle screen unlocking.
The German court looked at three different Motorola implementations of gesture-based device unlocking and found that two infringed on Apple's patent, namely those used by the RAZR maker's Android smartphones.
iPad Issues in China
Yesterday the iPad had been pulled from sale at online retailers Amazon China and Suning.com. The Wall Street Journal now reports that the iPad had been removed at Apple's request rather than as a result of actions associated with the trademark dispute, but Apple's reasons for the request were unknown. However, Apple may request that Amazon China remove the iPad from sale, simply due to Amazon China not being an officially authorized retailer.
The Cupertino, Calif., consumer electronics giant asked Amazon in China to stop selling iPads because it is not an authorized reseller, according to people familiar with the matter. Amazon has since removed iPads offered by other resellers on its Chinese website as well.
Samsung Underestimating Apple's Potential Impact on Television Market
Not all TV manufacturers seem to be afraid of Apple’s rumored television. For example, Samsung is confident that its massive investment in picture quality improvements will trump anything Apple might be able to put together in other areas.
"We've not seen what they've done but what we can say is that they don't have 10,000 people in R&D in the vision category," [Samsung product manager Chris Moseley] said.
"They don't have the best scaling engine in the world and they don't have world renowned picture quality that has been awarded more than anyone else."
Apple earned $1 out of every $5 US consumers spent on electronics this holiday
NPD's Retail and Consumer tracking Services and Mobile Phone Track found that Apple accounted for 19 percent, or nearly one in five, of all U.S. consumer dollars spent on electronics, during the busy holiday shopping season. Apple, consequently, remained the largest consumer electronics brand for the second year in a row.
All of the other top five brands beyond Apple actually saw a year over year decrease in revenue in 2011. HP's sales dropped by 3 percent, third-place while Samsung dipped 6 percent, fourth-place Sony slid 21 percent, and Dell, in fifth, lost 17 percent.
ITV Warns Apple (Again) Not to Use Their Name
As rumors of an Apple television set continue to swirl, The Telegraph reports that the UK TV network ITV has written a letter to Apple to warn it against using the name "iTV" for its future television product. Though, ITV said that there has been "no communication" between it and Apple. The "iTV" name was previously rumored to be used for Apple's revamped iOS powered Apple TV in 2010, which was said to have made network executives "furious."
Apple anticipated television has been called the "iTV" by some pundits, following the same branding as Apple's other popular products like the iPhone and iPad. ITV, short for Independent Television, has been on the air since 1955, and is the broadcaster of the popular show "Downton Abbey." The network has also spawned three sister channels using its same name: ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4.
Apple reportedly assured the ITV network in 2010 that Apple would not use the "iTV" name. But the death of Steve Jobs is said to raise a serious concern of the network. ITV executives are said to be concerned that Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook could take a different stance from his predecessor.
Chinese Authorities and Retailers Removing iPads from Sale Over Trademark Issues
Last week, Apple was said to be facing a potential fine of approximately $38 million as a result of a trademark dispute in China between Apple and Proview Technology, which claims to have held ownership of the "iPad" trademark there since 2000. Noteworthy, Proview is seeking as much as $1.6 billion in damages. Apple believed that it had acquired the rights to the iPad trademark in China in an earlier $55,000 deal with Proview's parent company that also included European rights. But the Chinese arm of the company now claims that the Chinese rights could not have been part of the deal because those rights were not controlled by the parent company.
Now DigiCha and China.com. report that China authorities have begun taken steps related to the trademark issue, confiscating iPads from retailers' shops. DigiCha reports:
US Air Force may buy 18,000 Apple iPads for cargo aircraft
According to Nextgov, the U.S. Air Force's Air Mobility Command recently put out a notice that it plans to buy as many as 18,000 of Apple's iPad for use on cargo aircraft. Such order could be the largest single federal order for the iPad 2. The Air Mobility Command revealed on Federal Business Opportunities that it plans to buy a "minimum of 63 and a maximum of 18,000 iPad 2" units or "equal devices."
Though the iPad was the only tablet named specifically in the listing, Glen Roberts, AMC public affairs director, said the command seeks "a tablet device" but "not necessarily an iPad." The Air Force seeks proposals from tablet makers and seeks to obtain them at the lowest possible fixed price. A move to tablets, iPad or otherwise, would allow the Air Mobility Command to adopt an electronic flight publication system to save time and money, as well as boost efficiency.
First iPad was brought to the U.S. Air Force by the Federal Aviation Administration which started using Apple's touchscreen tablet as an electronic flight bag last July. Previously, commercial and charter airlines relied on cumbersome 40-pound paper manuals.
Apple now costs just about $460B, more
Yesterday AAPL briefly passed a record $460 billion market cap with new historical stock price high at $493.97 a share. Apple is the most expensive company, the second one is Exxon Mobil Corporation [XOM] with market valuation of $402.72 billion.
Apple to Stream Live Paul McCartney Concert to iTunes and Apple TV
Apple today announced that it would support Paul McCartney's new album release. The company plans to steam a special free video of the live concert on Thursday, February 9 via . The video will also be available directly on users' Apple TVs, signalling new efforts by Apple to increase the utility of its set-top box.
To celebrate the release of Paul McCartney's latest album — available now — we're streaming his exclusive performance at Capitol Studios on February 9 at 7 p.m. (PST). Watch the concert on on your computer, or stream it on your TV using your Apple TV — just choose iTunes Live from the Internet menu.