According to the New York Post (viaBGR), Amazon is getting ready to launch their rumored Android-powered tablets with a price tag “hundreds less” than Apple’s current $499 base model iPad 2. “Hundreds less” sounds a lot like $299.
The devices, expected to launch sometime in October, will more than likely be the result of the entry-level tablet codenamed “Coyote” and it’s pro-model counterpart the NVIDIA T30 Kal-El powered “Hollywood”. We told you about these devices back in May, which will most likely be powered by a highly customized Amazon version of Android (bringing with it Amazon services like the Appstore, Kindle eBook store, Amazon Videos, music and possibly brought together by the Cloud Drive).
Amazon is clearly prepping a huge move into the tablet market. We reported this week that the company signed up a third touch panel supplier, and that was after recently becoming the second largest buyer of tablet-related parts – without yet having released a tablet. Expand Expanding Close
So I imagine there is a marketing meeting at the Sony Bravia offices a few months ago where they are brainstorming new ways to market this 46″ TV.
Someone steps up and says Apple is about to release a new OS and all of their boxes are going to have this ‘Galaxy Swirl’ thing on the cover. Perhaps we can confuse a few people into thinking this is Apple/type/quality products.
Sure, its a different angle and view, but it is pretty clear what the intention was. While this is probably legal and will certainly fool a certain part of the population, those who follow tech have to feel a little sorry for the once-great Sony, which is rapidly turning into an also-ran knock-off artist.
According to a report from Dutch publication Webwereld (via Computerworld), Apple has once again submitted doctored evidence related to their claims of design patent-related infringement by Samsung, this time to a court in Netherlands. This further supports claims by Bas Berghuis of Simmons and Simmons (Samsung’s lawyer) that Apple has been “manipulating visual evidence, making Samsung’s devices appear more similar to Apple’s.”
“It surprises me that for the second time incorrect presentations of a Samsung product emerge in photographic evidence filed in litigation,” said Mark Krul, lawyer and IP law specialist at Dutch firm WiseMen. “This is not appropriate and undermines Apple’s credibility both inside and outside the court room.”
If you aren’t up to speed with the legal disputes between Apple and Samsung in Europe… a court in Germany already granted a preliminary injunction halting sales of Samsung’s Galaxy tab 10.1 tablet in the EU (which has been since lifted pending an appeal). We already heard about Apple manipulating images in that case related to the iPad and Galaxy tab. This time, however, the report claims Apple doctored images of the Samsung Galaxy S smartphone in comparison to the iPhone 3G.
Apparently the changes made the Galaxy S appear smaller than it actually is to closer resemble the dimensions of the 3G, which is odd given the fact Computerworld reports Apple has confirmed the Galaxy S does include “some non-identical elements, such as the slightly larger dimensions.” This supports the idea that Apple isn’t trying to secretly submit this evidence to the courts. Many have noted a German court’s decision to grant Apple with the original preliminary injunction on the Galaxy tab didn’t take the doctored images into account. In fact, patent expert Florian Mueller noted “the court’s decision was based on both Apple’s motion and Samsung’s pre-emptive opposition pleading” and also stated “Samsung is in a legally weak position against Apple. If Samsung wants to inspire confidence, it has to understand that half the truth is sometimes tantamount to a whole lie.” Expand Expanding Close
It’s no secret patent-related legal disputes have become the subject of most media coverage lately…Whether it’s Apple halting sales of Samsung’s tablets, HTC going after Apple, or Google snatching up Motorola to beef up their patent portfolio, it’s clear the company with the most patents will have an advantage over others in the legal proceedings that we’re bound to continue encountering down the road. This is why we’re intrigued by the graphic above (via GigaOM)from mobile analyst Chetan Sharma charting the number of issued patents (in the US and Europe) between 1993 and 2011.
While these estimates of mobile communications related patents don’t take the quality of patents into account (which is obviously a huge factor in determining their long-term value), you can see from the breakdown below that Nokia and Samsung top the list, with the other expected players including IBM, Microsoft, Sony, Motorola, and Intel following.
Noticeably far down the list is Apple, the one company who seems to have had more success than others fighting patent-related issues recently. Again, these numbers in no way represent the quality of patents and the ability for companies to protect their IPs in the courtroom… which is also a good indication that perhaps we should be looking more closely at the quality of patents rather than the sheer number.
Recently patent expert Florian Mueller took to Twitter following the Google/Motorola acquisition saying he“would caution everyone against overestimating the strength of Motorola Mobility’s patent portfolio,” he continued, “Apple and Microsoft sued Motorola Mobility anyway”. Remember kids… all patents aren’t created equally. Expand Expanding Close
A report from Digitimes claims that, although touch panel orders from the iPhone and iPad 2 have increased significantly for the third quarter, Apple is allegedly placing orders at nearly half the cost of previous shipments. This leads us to believe they are either trying to reduce BOM (and increase margins) at the expense of suppliers, or they’re prepping for the usual price cuts in the wake of new product releases (iPhone 5, we’re looking at you).
The report notes:
Wintek has received touch sensor orders from Apple at prices nearly 50% lower than the ones previously offered by the client. The impact of Wintek’s low-margins is expected to ripple out to other downstream players
The move is expected to result in lower than usual profit-margins for the supplier and also affect other suppliers down the chain. The report is also quick to point out that “Wintek has previously rejected low-margin orders from Apple”. We’ll keep you posted as more becomes available.
We’ve independently heard that Apple has plans to begin selling the next-generation iPhone on Friday, October 7th; the date first reported by TiPB. According to our sources, Apple has been weighing between launching the new iPhone on October 7th or October 14th, but with the product’s latest stages of pre-mass-production currently moving along nicely, Apple is presently shooting towards a launch on the 7th. On top of this, unlike with the iPad 2, Apple plans to offer pre-orders for the new iPhone.
Apple currently plans to begin pre-orders for their next-generation smartphone in the final days of September. The company has still not finalized the pre-order start date, but is debating between Thursday, September 29th and Friday, September 30th. The 30th seems more likely at this point according to one of our sources.
Pre-orders for the new iPhone starting in late September will also mean that Apple’s fall event will take place in September; which would seem to counter NewsCorp’s Kara Swisher’s combative insistence of an October iPhone 5 event. Additionally, the first week of October date for the new iPhone’s availability, fits nicely with our report about AT&T’s major early October changes: data throttling and a new insurance plan for $199 devices. This release date would also jive with John Paczkowski’s report about the iPhone 5 becoming available in October.
There has been mixed chatter about the device’s exterior design, with cases, which we first revealed, pointing to a thinner form factor. Others, though, have said the design will be largely similar to the current iPhone 4. As with any launch date report, we have to note that Apple is constantly shifting their launch plans. As we noted earlier, the launch date was already moved up a week in the company’s recent launch planning. We are reasonably confident, though, that as of today, Apple is planning to unleash their next iPhone on October 7th and offer pre-orders starting on September 29th or 30th. The date could and likely will change again, but we feel it is necessary to report the company’s current plan.
It appears that Apple is now putting an LTE 4G-capable iPhone or iPad through the usual carrier testing. The proof comes from a .plist hinting at “LTE” (discovered by BGR) in an internal iOS test build that is allegedly from “one of Apple’s major carrier partners”. Of course at this point we don’t know whether this is the iPhone 5 (iPhone 4S variant?) or even a new iPad, but its a good sign that the company has plans to take advantage of 4G LTE networks in the future… even if it isn’t the iPhone 5 “worldphone” you might be hoping for.
This wouldn’t be the first time Apple prototyped a device to take advantage of the latest carrier networks.
It’s a glaring hole in Apple’s MacBook line: The ability to access 3G (4G?) networks without tethering or using a 3G hotspot. Apple CEO Steve Jobs told the USAToday in 2008 that the reason that he didn’t want to build that functionality into MacBooks was that it invited complexity and locked users into a carrier.
Air does not come with the built-in ability to connect to a speedy wireless data network run by various cellular carriers. Jobs told me last week that Apple considered it but that adding the capability would take up room and restrict consumers to a particular carrier. Through a USB modem, he says, you can still subscribe to wireless broadband with your favorite carrier.
When Jobs says “considered it”, this is what he means:
An Ebay auction today (via MacRumors) shows that Apple was getting ready to release such a MacBook Pro – all the way back in 2007.
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The prototype Santa Rosa MacBook Pro has a SIM card slot which is identified as a Dynastream ANT2USB card. In the US, that would have worked on T-Mobile or AT&T as well as many international GSM carriers. The seller originally bought it from a Craigslist ad as a non working machine for parts. Upon opening it, he realized that this was no ordinary MacBook Pro (if the huge antenna didn’t give it away!). He got the machine into working order (thought 3G is not tested) and is selling it as-is, “no guarantees”.
It isn’t certain why Apple never opted to go with a 3G option in any of its Macbooks. Perhaps the complexity and the numbers never made sense. Now that almost everyone carries a Personal Hotspot capable phone in their Pocket, it may not ever make sense.
Digitimes previously reported that manufacturers have already begun preparing for production of the iPhone 5 and iPad 3, which would be unveiled in September and reach customers as early as October. Now, adding more weight to these claims, Macotakara is reporting that an iPhone 4S variant along with a new iPad will arrive in the same timeframe.
According to the rough translation, it appears sources have provided information on a possible iPhone 4S based on the current CDMA iPhone 4. The report doesn’t rule out an iPhone 5 saying it “can not be confirmed”. It also briefly suggests a new iPad will be released in October as well. Could it be possible Apple is planning on releasing an iPhone 4S as the rumored entry-level model in addition to an iPhone 5?
Of course the mention of a new iPad is less than likely. Apple appears to be quite a long way from releasing a refreshed model, especially if you are counting on them including those new 28-nanometer, TSMC-built A6 chips that just started trials. Expand Expanding Close
A few more interesting Apple Inc-filed patents have surfaced today (viaPatently Apple) as part of the many applications published by the US Patent & Trademark Office recently. Perhaps the most notable include a design for an iPhone antenna clip, new finger reducing oil resistant coating, and a patent describing using solar energy as an alternate power source in portable devices (something we know Apple has been researching from patents and other sources in the past).
One of the more interesting patents with technology that could (and probably should) make its way to iOS devices in the near future is a the method of reducing “finger oils on touch surfaces”. The patent describes Apple’s method of “Direct Liquid Vaporization for Oleophobic Coatings”. Fingerprints have seem to become less of an issue to iPhone users over the years, but are definitely still a major annoyance to users in less than desirable lighting conditions.
From the report:
Apple states that to prevent the deposition of oils on an electronic device surface, an oleophobic ingredient could be bonded to the electronic device surface. The oleophobic ingredient could be provided as part of a raw liquid material in one or more concentrations. To avoid adverse reactions due to exposure to air, heat, or humidity, the raw liquid material can be placed in a bottle purged with an inert gas during the manufacturing process.
The image below shows what appears to be an antenna attached to a small device’s housing via an “attachment member”. Patently Apple reports Apple states the antenna invention could be used in “their iPod family (MP3 players), a radio, an audio/video recorder, a mobile telephone, personal digital assistant, tablet computing device, or other similar device”. They also speculate from the “exploded view above that it might even be an “iPhone-nano-like device”. Expand Expanding Close
Taiwan Economic News is reporting that local Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd (TSMC), the company slated to supply Apple with the A6 processor after a shift from Samsung, has begun trials of the new chip made with the company’s “newest 28-nanometer process and 3D stacking technologies”. However, dont expect to see the A6 in a new iteration of the iPad anytime soon, as the report suggests the processor wont be officially unveiled until Q2 of next year, at the earliest.
Included in the report:
TSMC has applied its newest 28-nanometer process and 3D stacking technologies to produce the next-generation processor A6, which is based on the ARM architecture and will undergo TSMC’s cutting-edge silicon interposer and bump on trace (BOT) methodologies. Industry insiders said that the manufacturing will help to pump considerable momentum into TSMC’s business growth starting next year, though the company has yet to comment on the deal for the moment.
This contradicts an earlier report thru Reuters which stated that test production had already begun in July. Both reports agreed that the final A6 processors would be complete and ready for iPad 3 in early 2012. EETimeshad reported the move back in March which was said to involve Apple’s current A5 chip but that never materialized.
An Apple switch to TSMC would obviously be a huge blow to ‘frenemy’ Samsung who currently makes the iPad CPU, DRAM and supplies Flash storage as well.
Pinch? Swipe? How about “dig a hole” or “open the window”? Another round of Apple Inc filed patents have been published today by the US Patent & Trademark Office. The most interesting of the latest patents (via Patently Apple) is one focused on “advancing iOS metaphors to a higher level”. What does this mean exactly?
Essentially it would see iOS including a number of new interactive UI elements, many of which will replicate the experience of being able to “manipulate and organize various graphical objects”, similar to the desktop-like environment of “conventional personal computers” (OS X). In other words, Apple wants you to have more control over what you can do with elements within iOS, presumably to close the gap between what’s possible on OS X compared to current iOS builds… which also highly supports theories of iOS and OS X becoming one in the future.
Perhaps the most clear example of how these new UI elements might appear to the end user comes from the “Example Interactions Digging a Hole in a Device User Interface” section of the patent…
From Patently Apple:
Apple is always looking for new ways to distinguish iOS from the pack and today Apple introduces us to a number of new GUI gestures and metaphors that are fun and Kooky – if not creatively insane. The first one describes the notion of “digging a hole” in your interface that will allow you to drop a file into it quickly or act as a garbage bin or other uses.
Apple also described a number of other interactions similar to “digging a hole” including opening a trap door or window via gestures. Expand Expanding Close
There are a lot of people who think Apple is going to eventually move its “Mac” line to iOS. In fact we found it curious when Apple turned ‘MacOSX’ to ‘OSX’ as of Lion earlier this year.
Steve Jobs and Apple in general are very sensitive to CPU power issues with their push to make high end devices thinner.
As part of the WSJ article on Intel spending $300 million on developing MacBook Air alternatives (a hint in itself – why does Intel need to create competition for its own Air), it was revealed that Apple was threatening to leave Intel’s ‘low power’ processors if they didn’t drastically cut power.
Welch said Apple informed Intel that it better drastically slash its power consumption or would likely lose Apple’s business. “It was a real wake-up call to us,” he said.
What are the alternative processors for the MacBook Air? AMD? Not likely (though not impossible).
The big alternative is a platform switch to ARM which certainly schools the Atom Chip in terms of power consumption. It would also mess with a lot of non-App Store Apps built on legacy code.
But, you know Apple would love to create a cheaper, thinner, more power efficient iAir type of hybrid device that still operated like a laptop. In fact, Lion seems to already be heading in that direction.
There certainly isn’t a shortage of Apple patents being published today (probably more fuel for a legal battle a year from now). We just told you about a new Map related (Placebase acquisition) patent, and now Patently Apple reports Apple has been granted a patent that will allow them to integrate tiny projectors into future mobile devices.
This latest patent describes, in rather clear detail, exactly how Apple could integrate projectors into iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks. It even suggests Apple cameras will be able to detect gestures and “shadows and/or silhouettes” (Kinect-style iOS games anyone?).
The patent also describes what Apple calls a “shared projected workspace”. This appears to essentially be the ability for users to share content with one another over two projected displays. For example, if I were to project an image from one iOS device, and you from another, we could then share content (via gestures?) between both displays. The patent explains: Expand Expanding Close
Gartner’s latest global smartphone numbers are out and if your name isn’t iOS or Android, the future looks pretty bleak. While iOS continues to gain share at pace even without a new model release (up one point for the quarter and over 4 points year over year), the bigger story continues to be Android’s outright theft of marketshare from Symbian. Just in the last quarter, 10 percent of the market shifted from Symbian to Android and for the year, the number is close to 20%
Meanwhile Blackberry continued its paced slide down another 2 points quarter over quarter while Samsung’s Bada made modest gains. In the “Other” category, Windows Phone 7 somehow lost market share falling from 2% to 1% and Windows Mobile is now off the charts. HP’s webOS is somewhere in the “other” as well with Meego and the ghosts of smartphone past.
In a report from Computerworld way back in 2009, we learned that Apple had quietly acquired Maps API company Placebase. Then, founder of Placebase and CEO, Jaron Waldman, started working at Apple on a new “Geo Team”, presumably helping to integrate Placebase mapping technologies into future Apple products.
Fast forward two years to a new patent application titled “Schematic Maps”, filed by Apple Inc. and published today with Waldman, along with Placebase co-founder Moran Ben-David, listed as inventors.
Essentially the patent describes new methods of modifying a map in order to highlight certain objects by distorting others. For example, Apple could provide more data to the user (especially those on smaller screens) by blurring useless data and highlighting what it predicts is most useful to the user at any given time. You can imagine this being particularly useful for navigation. If a user were to request directions to a specific location, the maps could dynamically blur data that isn’t helpful and modify objects or landmarks that would otherwise be difficult to locate.
A snippet from the patent summary explains:
The following relates to preparing and presenting schematic maps, which are maps that present information in a format that presents only information that is most relevant to a given situation in order to provide a simple and clear representation sufficient to aid a user in guidance or orientation. The schematic maps as described herein can be formatted based on the attributes of a display on which they are presented so that the map layout and presentation can be optimized for the particular display. The schematic maps can be “distorted” to better illustrate important maps areas in greater detail and using a relatively larger display area while deemphasizing less important map areas by illustrating them in less detail and using a relatively smaller display area, and thus the schematic maps can be devoid of adherence to a particular scale.
There was originally speculation that Apple might be acquiring Placebase in order to build their own native Maps application, rather than having to rely on Google Maps. With the patent wars heating up and relationships between smartphone makers weakening, the likelihood of Apple not wanting to rely on their rivals for key technologies is increasing. Expand Expanding Close
Variant of SSD that could go in future MacBooks Pros and Airs
We told you back in April that Apple was upgrading from Toshiba SSDs to Samsung-built drives in the latest MacBook Air lineup. Today a report from Anandtech notes the Samsung PM810 (a customized variant of the same drive currently ships in the 2011 Air) has received some substantial upgrades in its latest refresh.
Samsung has announced the PM830, the latest generation of the PM810, which is slated to pack a 6Gbps SATA 3 that provides up to 500MB/s reads and 350MB/s writes, according to Samsung. That 150% to double the real world speed of the current Samsung Air SSDs and easily beats Apple’s Pro line options.
The new drive will also be shipping with up to 512GB capacity, a nice bump up from the current 256GB offered in the MacBook Air.
Normally it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to think that Apple might naturally include this upgraded SSD in the next MacBook Air refresh. However, with tension growing between Apple and Samsung due to patent related lawsuits (if you haven’t heard by now), more and more questions are being raised about the sustainability of Samsung being one of their main competitor’s part suppliers.
According to a story from The Economist, Samsung might turn out to be a much more important supplier than you may have thought. While companies like Taiwanese-based Foxconn are known to provide many of the cheaper components that make up Apple devices, the report notes Samsung “provides some of the phone’s (iPhone) most important components” including flash memory, DRAM, and processor components. However, they are also quick to point out Apple is one of “Samsung’s largest customers”. Expand Expanding Close
According to Reuters, this is a high risk strategy for Apple maintaining its market share lead. The cases could take months, if not years to come to court and Apple will have to provide more substantial evidence in subsequent court cases that the design of the Galaxy infringed its patents or copied their designs in order to make any bans permanent. So, they aren’t done deals. And if Apple Loses, it will owe Samsung a lot of money.
If Apple loses it will be liable for the business lost by Samsung in the meantime.
“Apple has a strategy of filing patents, getting some protection and trying to prevent other people from entering the market in the short-term,” said Nathan Mattock, an intellectual property lawyer at Marque Lawyers in Sydney. “If Apple’s wrong it will have to pay Samsung a considerable amount of damages, so it’s potentially quite risky.”
Frankly, it feels like lawsuits are taking too much of our time and mind space lately – and they aren’t fun to think about. So here’s a roundup of the more exciting lawsuits news of the last hour:
A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Apple and 5 of the 6 major book publishers, alleging they “colluded to increase prices for popular e-book titles to boost profits and force e-book rival Amazon to abandon its pro-consumer discount pricing.”
On Lodsys (important if you are a App developer with an auto-updating app):
Apple insists to intervene in Lodsys lawsuit against app developers. Apple still requests a court hearing on its motion. Things may still take some more time, but there will be no more written pleadings unless the court asks the parties to address particular questions in more detail. At this stage it’s possible that the court decides very quickly, and I continue to be reasonably optimistic that Apple’s motion will be granted.
At some point, we should start referring to Lodsys by the name of its parent company, Intelectual Ventures.
Saturday, Apple will open its first Apple Store in the great state of Alaska which will be by far the most northernApple Store on the planet. It will be located on 320 West 5th Avenue (in the 5th Avenue Mall) in Anchorage, and doors open at 10 A.M.
You’d think this would make for an Apple Store in every state, but there are still seven (Arkansas, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming) without according to this map (thanks commenters).
Along with a store in Alaska, Apple will unveil four other stores worldwide Saturday:
From the “I would be shocked if it was successful” department (literally – a quote from one of the execs near the situation), comes news from CNN that Tribune Company is exploring the idea of building a tablet that would compete against Apple’s iPad and tablets from other manufacturers.
Tribune owns a handful of major US daily newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and The Baltimore Sun, along with 23 television stations.
Tribune aims to offer the tablet for free, or at a highly subsidized price, to people who agree to sign up for extended subscriptions to one of its papers and possibly a wireless-data plan with a partner cellular carrier, said five people briefed on the project.
The report states that this is the pet project of Eddy Hartenstein, Tribune’s chief executive, and they are working with manufacturing partners which may include Samsung.
The Tribune has faced threat of bankruptcy woes in recent years but it is noteworthy that only 8% of the US currently has a tablet, perhaps leaving the door open for other players.
Another suggestion: Subsidized iPad with subscription?
BGR posts a quick report on the launch of the next “Google Phone” which is said to carry Android 4.0 dubbed “Ice Cream Sandwich”. According to their sources, Google is planning to launch the new device in the same window as the iPhone 5, which we’re hearing is slated to start pre-orders in early October.
We have been told that Google is looking to push up the release of Ice Cream Sandwich devices as Apple’s iPhone 5 is expected in September or October, and the Mountain View-based company doesn’t want potential customers coming out of contracts (especially original DROID owners) and “drooling over the iPhone 5.
While ‘Droid’ owners are on Verizon, which hasn’t traditionally carried the Nexus devices, Google will likely want to keep people from leaving its platform. Also with the iPhone 5 in its crosshairs is the Galaxy S2 from Samsung which is said to be coming to all four big US carriers in the coming months. Cross posted from 9to5Google.com Expand Expanding Close
At the end of the day, the new Airport Extreme dramatically improves throughput in the best case and in a few regions where signal was previously unusable. In the worst case (location 4), performance improves from being essentially unusable to totally fine, and in the case of the 2010MBP goes from not being able to connect at all to pushing 23 Mbps.
The new Broadcom BCM4331 based WiFi stack replaces the Marvell 88W8366 WLAN solution of the generation 4. The results are more power usage on the downside but much better range on the upside as you can see in the figures, above and below. Specifically, the 2.4GHz network performed almost at almost full strength in some places where the previous model had barely a signal.
