iPhone

Bloomberg claims to have some info on how Apple plans to spend some of the $10.5B it has set aside for capital expenditure over the next year, saying that the investments will span everything from lasers to robots.

Apple is spending more on the machines that do the behind-the-scenes work of mass producing iPhones, iPads and other gadgets. That includes equipment to polish the new iPhone 5c’s colorful plastic, laser and milling machines to carve the MacBook’s aluminum body, and testing gear for the iPhone and iPad camera lens … 
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(via <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/reticulating/5288349613/sizes/o/in/photolist-94jb6B-9nWwdZ-8qTS3t-7Z3gDW-8fY1Y8-bYQcKs-bZ7ptY-dcQLrg-bV5PJy-8d4XB3-8BybHw-8d4Xtj-8d4Xvw-8du5Lt-ayPrTq-bfbQpz-7DhbKd-8jpUeE-8jmEZV-aZEXQn-8jc6xf-b1etjT-8dtWHM-fksCDu-9gYEuB-9gYEpz-bkcgEK-8e7rMS-aXAC9c-8eizhZ-b1esWg-9gYEi8-eM9JYi-dgrzR7-dcZSLg-b43Pqk-bkHPjB-8TQyba-aXjZ46-fbBvLu-fbBvJ5-fbBvS3-8zwgH8-8tGQkE-8tGYj9-8dDVby-aXdMxH-cS3t2L-fbDbKr-82ENDG-fbTt1L/" target="_blank">Flickr</a>)

Following a lawsuit filed three and a half years ago by NetAirus Technologies LLC, Apple is preparing for a legal battle in Los Angeles federal court over a patent regarding the iPhone and smartphone technologies, Bloomberg reports.

California man Richard L. Ditzik filed for a patent in 1997 that describes smartphone technologies and behavior, but Apple believes his claim should be invalidated based alone on capabilities of its Newton message pad three years prior.

“The technology at issue was so well known at the time NetAirus filed its patent, that independent patent watchdogs have made NetAirus’s patent a poster child in the movement to limit the proliferation of facially invalid patents,” Apple said in its July 2011 request to throw out the case.
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The headline news in the latest IDC stats might look like bad news for Apple: iOS Q3 market share dropped from 14.4 percent last year to 12.9 percent this year. But it’s a number that is unlikely to lead to too many sleepless nights in Cupertino, for four reasons.

First, Apple isn’t competing with most of the Android market, which spans all price-points, only the top end of it. Samsung has been struggling to make money from its flagship handsets, with most of its profits coming from low-end models, while HTC has been in all kinds of trouble. Looking at Apple’s market share in the smartphone market as a whole is the most academic of exercises.

Second, while market share is down, shipments are up: from 26.9M in Q3 last year to 33.8M in the same quarter this year.

Third, for most of Q3 savvy iPhone buyers were holding fire, waiting for the new models Apple launched almost at the end of that quarter. The iPhone 5s and 5c between them notched up a record 9M sales in just the opening weekend. Q4 is where it’s really at … 
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From 9to5Toys.com:

Yesterday it was Target. Today the Best Buy and Walmart Black Friday / Thanksgiving deal advertisements are now official. Both ads feature heavy discounting on iPads, iTunes cards, iPods, Macs, and more. The most impressive deals at Walmart include an iPad mini for $299 with a free $100 gift card, and free gift card offers with the purchase of an iPhone 5c/5c. Best Buy offers up to $200 off a new Mac laptop, 15% off iTunes cards, and an Apple TV for $85.

While we haven’t seen Apple’s Black Friday deals for this year, it’s pretty safe to assume they won’t stray too far from the ‘education pricing for all’ strategy implemented at preceding Black Friday promotions.

Head over to 9to5toys for complete coverage of these ads and all others that have leaked thus far as well as best deals as they happen.
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Suggestions that Apple is looking to chipmaker GlobalFoundries to reduce its reliance on Samsung chips are rather wide of the mark, according to sources cited by AllThingsD. The rumors followed a story in the Albany Times Union that Apple might be looking to the Malta, New York, chipmaker to make iPhone and iPad chips.

In the most likely scenario, Samsung will still be the primary manufacturer of Apple’s chips for the iPhone and iPad, they said, continuing the role it has played since the earliest days of the iPhone: Building the chips that Apple designs under contract […]

Samsung will use GlobalFoundries for what is known as “flex capacity.” This is a long-standing industry practice under which a chip manufacturer pays to occasionally use another company’s factories when demand on their own factory is running higher than they would like, and they need a little help … 
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Photo: japantimes.co.jp

Apple’s share of the smartphone market in Japan has hit 37 percent, greater than the 36 percent share in the USA, reports the WSJ.

Sales got another boost in late September when NTT DoCoMo Inc., Japan’s largest wireless carrier, began offering the iPhone for the first time to its 61.8 million customers. Even before that, the iPhone was Japan’s best-selling smartphone, with a 37% market share in the six months ended Sept. 30, according to Tokyo’s MM Research Institute. That’s comparable to the iPhone’s 36% share in the U.S. in the third quarter, according to Kantar Worldpanel ComTech … 
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Concept render by <a href="http://news.softpedia.com/newsImage/Brilliant-iPhone-6-Design-with-Fingerprint-Scanner-and-Curved-Glass-Envisioned-Video-5.jpg/">Federico Ciccarese</a>

Bloomberg is reporting that “sources familiar with the plans” say Apple is planning to release two new iPhone models next year with curved displays. The two phones would have 4.7 inch and 5.5 inch displays respectively, both substantially bigger than the 4 inch Retina Display currently offered in the iPhone 5s and more in line with Samsung’s S4 and Note 3.

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From 9to5Toys.com:

As we’ve noted on a few occasions, Sprint pre-paid subsidiaryBoost Mobile is now carrying the iPhone for the first time in its history. Launching today, the iPhone 5s and 5c are $100 off of Apple’s retail price if ordered online. However, Boost is running a special promotion until November 24th where you get an additional $100 off if you switch in store from another carrier. I confirmed the deal with a PR rep who said:

Yes. Now through Nov. 24 new customers who come into a participating Boost Mobile store and switch to Boost Mobile from another carrier will be eligible for a special in-store promotion of $100 off any device bringing new customers  additional cost savings.  The link below will help consumers find participating stores in their area that are selling iPhone.

Boost Mobile plans start at $55/month but drop significantly as you make payments on time. Find the nearest Boost Mobile here.
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Bloomberg has a lengthy piece illustrating just how great a challenge it is for Apple and other multinational companies to ensure the fair treatment of workers in complex supply chains.

When one of Apple’s suppliers like Flextronics wins a new contract, it needs to take on additional workers – lots of them, and fast. Those workers are recruited through employment brokers, which are required to adhere to Apple’s rules. But many of them are brought in from other countries, like Malaysia and Nepal.

Alok Taparia, the managing director of Transworld Manpower, another of the four Nepalese brokers retained for that drive, says he was given clear instructions: Workers shouldn’t be charged; Flextronics would pay the brokers. But Taparia and the other Nepalese brokers say Flextronics demanded so many men so quickly that there was no way to do it without tapping the country’s network of subagents, stretching into Himalayan villages reachable only by foot. As Apple itself has described in reports on its supply chain, the subagents always charge…

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iWatch concept by Stephen Olmstead

An Apple patent filing filed today suggests that Apple may be working on a way to make its long-rumored iWatch slimmer than existing offerings by reducing the size of the battery required.

One of the barriers to widespread adoption of smartwatches is that existing models are not exactly sleek. Technology lovers might be willing to put function ahead of form and put up with chunky devices, but the wider market buys on style first, technology second.

While the Bluetooth LE protocol used by existing smartwatches uses around half the power of classic Bluetooth (peaking at 15mA instead of 30mA), a constant connection in a device you won’t want to charge daily still requires a reasonably chunky battery. What Apple’s patent proposes is for an on-demand creation of a Bluetooth connection between two devices, one with radio capabilities (aka an iPhone), one without … 
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iPhone 5s Teardown via <a href="http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPhone+5s+Teardown/17383">iFixit</a>

Apple is gearing up to soon begin hardware repairs for the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c in its chain of retail stores, according to sources with knowledge of the upcoming initiative. These sources say that Apple Stores will be able to replace several parts of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c on-site, meaning that Apple will no-longer need to fully replace iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c units with damage or other problems…

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The handy Apple Tracker site that allowed people to check Apple Store availability for new products has closed its doors after receiving a DMCA takedown notice from Apple.

I’ve decided to turn off the site. I’m not doing this because I want to, but rather because I received a DMCA takedown notice (you can see the full text below) from Apple. I’m not really interested in picking a fight with apple so … I guess it time to just say good bye … 
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Apple’s share of the U.S. smartphone market grew by 0.7 percent in the last quarter to reach 40.6 percent, according to comScore data.

Sales of low-cost handsets mean that Android’s position as leading mobile platform is safe, with a marginal drop to 51.8 percent of the market, but Apple remained top of the vendor rankings …

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