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Apple executive John Couch and Turkish President talk ‘second-class treatment’ of Turkey, tablet program, and keyboard layout

Élyse Betters Feb 1 2013 - 8:22 am PT

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Apple VP John Couch on the far right.

Apple Vice President for Education John Couch and other company executives met with Turkish President Abdullah Gül on Friday, according to the country’s presidential website that also posted a photo and video of the meeting.

MacRumors claimed—via Turkish website Elma Dergisi [translation]—the meeting concerned Turkey’s $4.5 billon tablet program and the incorrect layout of the Turkish F-keyboard:

Among the primary topics addressed during the meeting was Turkey’s tablet initiative, a $4.5 billion program to provide as many as 15 million tablets to Turkish schoolchildren. Apple has reportedly been pushing for the contract, but negotiations are said to still be underway. Also discussed was the layout of the older Turkish “F-keyboard” on iOS devices, which has several keys located in the wrong positions.

However, WorldBulletin.net, another Turkish website, specifically claimed the meeting involved Apple’s “second-class treatment” of Turkey:

President Abdullah Gül on Friday complained to officials from US technology giant Apple about the second-class treatment Turkey receives from the company, whose products reach the Turkish market several months after they are introduced in other countries.

The report said Gül asked Apple to stop its practice of launching products late in Turkey and requested the company open authorized stores in the country. Couch allegedly said he would speak with Apple CEO Tim Cook about the issues, while Gül further asked Apple to include the Turkish language and F-keyboard in products.

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Why is Apple gobbling up Maya’s 18-axis UI patents?

Élyse Betters Jan 31 2013 - 12:05 pm PT

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Canada-based Maya-Systems, Inc., announced Thursday that Apple acquired 18 of its patent properties related to “innovative axis-based user interface technology” in the third quarter of 2012.

“We are pleased to have secured the transaction with Apple,” explained Maya-Systems founder Mathieu Audet in a press release. “Our patents have been analyzed thoroughly by many potential buyers. We are confident that they are strong assets.”

Maya-Systems specializes in developing content management technology and ways to display virtual content through axis-based user interfaces. The Montreal company’s flagship product is an all-in-one platform that allows users to store, organize, view, and share files via the cloud, called “I am Organized,” as MacRumors also noted.

Maya-Systems did not clarify which user-interface patents Apple actually bought, but the deal could suggest Apple wants to continue advancing its cloud-based storage and document and file sharing endeavors. We’ll update this post if more information becomes available.

The press release is below with a promo video of I am Organized.

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Honda says Siri Eyes Free will land in 2013 Accord, Acura RDX and ILX vehicles

Élyse Betters Jan 30 2013 - 8:16 am PT

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Automobile manufacturer Honda just specified that the 2013 Accord, as well as the Acura RDX and ILX models, would support Siri’s hand-free integration, also known as “Eyes Free,” as a dealer-installed option later this year.

“iPhone has become so integral to people’s lives that they continue to use them in their vehicles,” said American Honda Assistant Vice President of Automobile Product Planning Vicki Poponi in a press release. “Offering Honda and Acura owners Siri and its Eyes Free mode via Bluetooth is an incredible opportunity to provide next-generation connectivity and meet our customer’s ever-changing needs.”

Apple announced at WWDC that Siri would gain an all-new “Eyes Free” feature as part of iOS 6. After five months of remaining quiet on the feature, General Motors said it was the first of nine automakers to adopt the tech in early 2013. The other manufacturers lined up for support, aside from Honda, include Audi, BMW, Chrysler, General Motors, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, and Toyota.

More information on pricing and availability for Honda’s Siri Hands Free integration is not yet available, but extra details are in the press release below.

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500px is live again with 17+ age warning, ‘Report this photo’ function, and improved search term filters

Élyse Betters Jan 29 2013 - 9:23 am PT

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500px is back.

The photo-sharing iOS app is now live in the App Store—exactly one week after Apple pulled it over concerns of nude photos and child pornography.

The updated app now has an age warning and suggests users are 17 or older to view content, and it includes a new “Report this photo” function that allows users to flag offensive content for possible removal. The app even kept its “Nude” photos category, but it changed search term filters and made the photos more difficult to unwittingly find.

Version 2.0.3 of the reinstated app features the following updates in the change log:

• Fixes an issue that would redirect a user after logging in
• Fixes an issue that resulted in partially downloaded photos
• Added “Report this photo” button (Tap the details icon on a photo and scroll to the bottom)

Oh, and TechCrunch spoke with 500px co-founder Oleg Gutsol. He said his team “worked closely with Apple over the last week to address their requests,” and an internal content audit found no pornographic images on the platform that needed removal. However, he is still waiting to see the original complaints received by Apple.

According to The Verge, 500px’s other co-founder, Evgeny Tchebotarev, compared the recent porn controversy to Vine’s similar debacle:

Tchebotarev draws a connection to the controversy over porn on Vine, which has been pulled from Apple’s “Editor’s Choice” list but remains up with a 12+ rating; the Twitter-owned service has far more clout than the smaller 500px. “If you look at other apps like Vine,” he says, “they don’t necessarily have the same rating we do.” He also says that while his team is investigating Apple’s child pornography allegations, he hasn’t found anything yet.

500px is free in the App Store, and it currently has a 4-star rating as of press time.

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Sprint adds 4G LTE to Boston, Austin, and more areas

Élyse Betters Jan 28 2013 - 7:36 am PT

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Sprint just announced the expansion of its 4G LTE data network to Boston, Mass., Austin, Texas, and other areas.

Sprint carries the iPhone, and recently began offering the fourth-generation iPad and iPad mini, but it still boasts a relatively thin LTE spread. The carrier has subsequently tried to thicken 4G LTE data coverage within the last year and even rolled out 4G LTE data to 100 additional U.S. cities in fall 2012.

According to Sprint’s press release:

Add Boston, Austin, Fort Wayne, Ind., and western Puerto Rico to the expanding list of areas receiving Sprint 4G LTE service. We are starting 2013 by building on the progress we made last year to introduce an all-new 4G LTE network.

The full list of new areas:

• Boston, Mass.
• Austin, Texas
• College Station/Bryan, Texas
• Columbia, Tenn.
• Emporia, Kan.
• Fort Wayne, Ind.
• Gettysburg, Pa.
• and Western Puerto Rico (including Aguadilla, Isabela, Cabo Rojo, Mayagüez).

Sprint was the first national wireless carrier to introduce 4G WiMAX service in 2008, and it now offers service in 58 markets. The carrier also revealed enhancements to its 3G network today and said improvements are immediately available to customers in cities like Baltimore, Boston, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C.

Sprint previously said it planned to complete the nationwide build out of its 4G network by the end of 2013.

This article is cross-posted on 9to5Google.

Get the full press release below.

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Archos unveils .2-inch Ultrathin Bluetooth Keyboard Cover for iPad for $79

Élyse Betters Jan 25 2013 - 8:58 am PT

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Archos recently showed off its latest product—a fancy, ultra thin Bluetooth keyboard cover for the iPad—and, boy, is it slim.

Coming in at only 5 mm thick, it is almost as thin as Apple’s Smart Cover and Microsoft’s Touch Cover. The keyboard fits the second-generation iPad and newer, and the sleek design features an adjustable kickstand, aluminum backing, white keys, full QWERTY arrangement with iOS-native keyboard shortcuts, and Bluetooth connectivity.

Archos said the Ultrathin Bluetooth Keyboard would land in March for $79. That’s an attractive price, considering 9to5Mac’s favorite Bluetooth keyboard covers by Logitech and Zagg go for $100 and $130, respectively. However, Logitech’s Ultrathin Keyboard Cover is currently on sale at Amazon for $79.40.

Get more details in the press release below.

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AT&T snaps up 700 MHz B band spectrum from Verizon for $1.9B in cash

Élyse Betters Jan 25 2013 - 8:04 am PT

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AT&T bought a chunk of 700 MHz B band spectrum from Verizon on Friday for $1.9 billion in cash to advance its 4G LTE deployment in the United States.

The acquisition notably consists of Advanced Wireless Services spectrum licenses in five markets, as well as 700 MHz licenses that blanket roughly 42 million people across the U.S. The full coverage area includes the following 18 states: California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming.

“This acquisition complements AT&T’s existing holdings in the 700 MHz B band and will allow AT&T to continue to deploy 4G LTE services to meet demand for mobile Internet services on a wide array of smartphones, tablets and other devices,” according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission report.

AT&T announced last fall that it plans to expand its 4G LTE network to 300 million people in the U.S. by the end of 2014. The carrier also said it hopes today’s spectrum deal will close “in the second half of 2013,” but the transaction is still subject to regulatory approval.

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Griffin unveils Snugg-like Papernomad cases perfect for doodlers

Élyse Betters Jan 24 2013 - 11:39 am PT

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Griffin Technology collaborated with Papernomad to make a unique paper case for iOS and Mac devices that folks can doodle on.

The European-made cases—which look strikingly similar to the leather Snugg line— feature patent-pending, water- and tear-resistant paper that is also organic and compostable. The materials used range from viscose fiber and biopolymer to hemp and wool.

“The paper used is made from sustainably forested trees and FSC Forest Stewardship Council certified,” said Griffin in a press release. “All other materials used are compostable and organic, such as the cotton stitching, hemp pull strap, and signature wool lining provided by happy sheep from New Zealand.”

Griffin said the line would be available “soon” for iPad, iPad mini, iPhone 4, iPhone 5, MacBook Air 11- and 13-inch, and MacBook Pro 13- and 15-inch for between $39.99 and $69.99 USD. Even the Samsung Galaxy S III is getting a sleeve.

Check it out:

• Griffin Technology | Papernomad

More details are available in the press release below, or just check out Griffin’s promo video.

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Samsung ‘persuades’ ITC to review decision in Apple patent dispute

Élyse Betters Jan 24 2013 - 7:54 am PT

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Bloomberg reported Thursday that Samsung has “persuaded” the U.S. International Trade Commission to review a preliminary ruling that deemed over a dozen of its smartphones infringed Apple-patented features.

ITC Judge Thomas Pender proposed a cease-and-desist order in October that would ban Samsung’s violating products already imported into the United States, but the U.S. Trade agency announced yesterday that it would review the preliminary ruling’s findings and ordered a judge to specify which issues on two of the four patents were copied.

Bloomberg elaborated:

The review means a final decision, originally scheduled for March 27, will be pushed back. The case is one of dozens in which the world’s two largest smartphone makers are using their patents to try to force each other into changing products or removing some models from store shelves. They are fighting for increased share of a mobile device market that researcher Yankee Group expects to double to $847 billion by 2016.

In related news, according to FossPatents, Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal, who helped Judge Lucy Koh in various Apple v. Samsung litigations in California, issued a ruling yesterday that temporarily denied a request by Samsung to “conduct certain discovery of Apple in California in order to use the produced material and obtained information against certain patent infringement claims brought by Apple in Japan.”

FossPatents explained:

Samsung can bring this request again in the United States, but the California-based court doesn’t want to interfere with the Japanese court. If the Japanese court issues a ruling indicating that it would consider this discovery effort useful, it appears that Samsung will be in pretty good shape to finally prevail on its motion. But as long as the Japanese court does not provide any indication that it’s interested, Samsung’s motion is doomed to fail.

Samsung specifically wants all documents that “evidence, reflect or refer to the sale, transfer, lease, or offer for sale of any iPhone” before June 29, 2007. It also wants “physical exemplars” of the following devices: any iPhone made available before June 29, 2007, the iPhone used by Steve Jobs at MacWorld 2007 on Jan. 9, 2007, and the iPhone found in the video ‘iPhone guided tour’ published on Apple’s website in June 2007.

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Apple’s Q1 2013 earnings by the numbers

Élyse Betters Jan 23 2013 - 2:59 pm PT

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Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook just talked about Apple’s services and numbers, as well as Maps, during its Q1 2013 earnings call.

Cook said Notification Center sent more than 4 trillion notifications, and iMessages sent over 450 billion messages (about 2 billion per day). The Game Center also has 200 million registered users, while the App Store is at 40 billion downloads (2 billion occurred in December alone). The company even sold 2 million Apple TVs during the quarter (up over 60 percent year-over-year).

Other notable numbers:

• Apple sold 10 iOS devices per second in the quarter
• Apple has sold 500 million iOS devices total
• iTunes generated  $2.1 billion in revenue.
• App Store now available in 155 countries
• Apple paid $7 billion to app developers last quarter
• 50 percent of all iPods sold were iPod touches
• Apple returned $4 billion in cash to shareholders
• Apple now has $137.1 billion in cash

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Tim Cook asks analysts to question the accuracy of supply chain rumors and their effect on sales numbers

Élyse Betters Jan 23 2013 - 2:31 pm PT

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Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook, during Apple’s Q1 2013 earnings call, just attempted to weigh-in on rumors about the company allegedly reducing iPhone 5 orders by half in recent weeks.

“I don’t want to spend a lot of time talking about rumors, because I will spend my life doing that,” he said, while noting it is good to doubt rumors in regards to Apple’s supply chain.

Earlier this month, several analysts and reports surfaced about Apple allegedly cutting component orders, such as displays, for the iPhone 5 during the January through March 2013 quarter, with an additional rumor that Apple already notified parts suppliers of the change last month.

The executive did not comment on any rumor specifically, but he seemed to suggest that analysts should question the accuracy of supply chain rumors and how they affect sales numbers.

“I’d stress that even if a particular data point were factual, it would be impossible to interpret for our overall business, ” he added. “ Yields can vary. Supplier performance can vary. There’s an inordinately long list of things that would make any single data point not a great proxy for what’s going on.”

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AAPL drops 10 percent in after-hour trading to near year-low on earnings miss and projections (Updated)

Élyse Betters Jan 23 2013 - 1:40 pm PT

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Apple’s Q1 2013 earnings report just sent the stock sliding 5 percent, or roughly 30 points, to a near year-low.

AAPL has lost some of its luster over the last few weeks, especially given its 11-month low earlier this month, as 9to5Mac detailed in our earnings preview from this afternoon. Apple’s stock closed at 514 today, but it seems investors do not like those new quarterly numbers.

Wall Street analysts estimated Apple sold between 47.5 million and 53 million iPhones in Q1 2013, compared to 37 million in the year-ago quarter, while iPad sales likely landed between 23 million and 25 million. However, Apple just reported 47.8 million in iPhone sales for the first quarter. That number hit the low-end of projections, but iPad sales fell below analyst expectations at 22.9 million.

Apple’s iPhone and iPad sales helped post a revenue of $54.5 billion, slightly below the $54.7 billion Wall Street expected, according to Philip Elmer-Dewitt’s quarterly list of analyst predictions, but above the $52 billion Apple forecasted in October.

Update: Apple is down 10 percent, or roughy 50 points, during its Q1 2013 earnings call.

Check out 9to5Mac’s live blog for full coverage of the earnings call.

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How Apple stopped Verizon’s Droid handsets from adding Siri

Élyse Betters Jan 23 2013 - 7:43 am PT

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Verizon once tried to add Siri’s technology to Droid smartphones long before Apple purchased the voice assistant app, according to a recent report by The Huffington Post.

The carrier inked a contract with the startup in 2009 to bring its functionality to devices, and it even went ahead and filmed commercials for the pre-installed product (Tipsters? Send it to us!). Then, Apple bought Siri. The deal with Big Red immediately went bust, as Apple now owned the rights to what has since become one of the iPhone’s most famous features and subsequently stopped the competition from adding the app to their devices.

According to The Huffington Post:

Verizon thought so, too. In the fall of 2009, several months before Apple approached Siri, Verizon had signed a deal with the startup to make Siri a default app on all Android phones set to launch in the new year. When Apple swooped in to buy Siri, it insisted on making the assistant exclusive to Apple devices, and nixed the Verizon deal. In the process, it narrowly avoided seeing Siri become a selling point for smartphones powered by its biggest rival, Google. (Somewhere in the vaults of the wireless giant, there are unreleased commercials touting Siri as an Android add-on.)

Its first and only app had barely been available for two full months. And now Siri — and its future — belonged to Apple.

“It was a storybook ending — or beginning, you can call it,” Kittlaus says.

Kittlaus is, of course, Siri’s cofounder, Dag Kittlaus, who also explained how he got a phone call from Apple CEO Steve Jobs asking to meet and discuss the future of his startup. After talking, Apple quickly made an offer to buy the technology.

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