Tech Industry

Samsung has fired right back at Apple and has sued the Cupertino, California company over Samsung patents filed in South Korea, Japan, and Germany. The lawsuit is said to involve five specific patents. Samsung provided the following statement to Reuters:

Samsung is responding actively to the legal action taken against us in order to protect our intellectual property and to ensure our continued innovation and growth in the mobile communications business.

Apple sued Samsung earlier this week over patent infringements relating to the iPhone and iPad. Apple claims Samsung copied the designs found in the Galaxy S series of phones and tablet devices.

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Typically, when Apple sets out to develop new products, they build a few prototypes to choose from for the shipping product. This is evident most recently through a report that claims Apple is currently toying with three different iPhone 5 prototypes. Apple also does this with its Mac hardware.

Looking at the Pro Mac design evolution, it is interesting to note that the Mac Pro’s current design first hit the market in the form of the Power Mac G5 in mid-2003. Nearly eight years after the Mac Pro’s current design debuted, Apple is toying with a re-designed version of the product. The new design is said to be narrower at just over 5-inches and a few inches shorter at around 19-inches.  One of the reasons that Apple might be making this particular Mac Pro prototype smaller is because it is able to fit on to a standard server rack.

This possible new design could alleviate some of the system administrator distress caused by Apple’s discontinuation of the Xserve. The new machine is said to carry “stacked” drives with two drives per sled which will allow a higher drive density than what’s already out there.  These stacks are not only built for conventional hard drives, but faster, more reliable SSDs in different configurations. The width of this system configuration is said to be 3U (U = 1.75 inches).

Beyond what we’ve heard, it would seem appropriate that these new Mac Pros would also have a Thunderbolt port and perhaps even BluRay options for the Final Cut Professionals.

With the new version of Final Cut Pro coming in June, we can’t think of a better time for Apple to update the 8-year old design of the Mac Pro (and the iMac!).

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The iPad 2’s A5 processor not only is a speedy, dual-core chip, but also works to provide nine times the gaming performance of its predecessor, A4. So, what’s Apple to do for their best-selling gaming phone? Give it the A5 chip with remarkably better gaming performance. We have already discovered, in the iOS 4 SDK, that Apple is bringing the A5 chip to the next iPhone, and now we have heard Apple is going to push this gaming performance and speed as one of the next-generation iPhone’s major marketing points.

Apple isn’t taking the next iPhone’s A5-power lightly.  They already have select developers working on versions of their iPhone applications that take full advantage of the next-generation iPhone’s speedier and much more powerful hardware. These developers, seemingly from high-level gaming outfits, have been given what is essentially an iPhone 4 but with an A5 processor instead of an A4. The device itself is virtually identical to the iPhone 4, and there is no way anyone can tell it’s not an iPhone 4 based on the phone’s exterior.

The person who chose to share this information with us calls it the ‘iPhone 4S’, though the device itself only has typical Apple prototype nomenclature.  He also shared that the device spends its evenings in a safe in the company’s offices.

To be clear: these prototype iPhone 4S devices are not necessarily the next-generation iPhone. These phones are simply prototype units for developers to get ready for the new phone, rumored to be launching in September. The next-generation iPhone may end up looking just like the iPhone 4 (iPhone 3G-iPhone 3GS sort of thing) but we cannot confirm this. If the next iPhone does end up looking like the iPhone 4, we would assume that Apple would pack in more than just an A5. Probably an 8 megapixel camera, a world phone Gobi chips, and a few other things to spice up the package.

The operating system running on these phones is a version of iOS 4 that supports the next-generation hardware, and this may be why we found the iPhone 5 with an A5 chip in the iOS 4 SDK at all. If past history repeats itself, the fifth-generation iPhone will ship with Apple’s fifth-generation mobile software, in this case iOS 5. iOS 5 will be announced at Apple’s WWDC conference in early June with a rumored launch in September of this year. If anything, this news backs up claims that the fifth-generation iPhone will have an A5 and that Apple is taking gaming very seriously.

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Apple has submitted a new patent application, explained in detail by Patently Apple, which could simplify contactless payments on future iPhones. Instead of fiddling with WiFi or Bluetooth pairing, a compass output could be monitored in order to determine your device’s magnetic field signature and consequentially initiate the pairing when needed.

This would cut down on power and network bandwidth consumption while making the pairing process faster and automatic. The publication explained other benefits of the patent application which surfaced in the United States Patent & Trademark Office’s database:

The newly proposed system utilizes a unique magnetic compass and encoded supersonic tone methodology. Apple notes that their new methodology will also allow you to share information on your iPhone easily with other devices like your iMac, MacBook or stereo system.

But why stop there, let’s add an e-wallet into the picture. Read on…

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Just a few years ago nobody had a phone with an Apple logo on it. Now, that phone equals about 50% of Apple’s business ($12.3b in Q2 alone). The chart of the day nails it:

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During Apple’s Q2 results conference call today, Tim Cook went on record to say that Apple is Samsung’s largest customer, and both companies value their strong relationship. This news comes amidst Apple’s lawsuit against Samsung over the Galaxy S line of phones and tablets. Apple claims that Samsung copied key design components of the iPhone and iPad lines. Apple COO Tim Cook also said that Apple worked with Samsung to try to settle their issues out of court, but had to go to court after Samsung’s mobile division “crossed the line.” Cook thinks Apple and Samsung’s strong relationship will continue.

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Right now, Foursquare’s co-founder Dennis Crowley, a PR representative, and a business and partnerships executive are enjoying burritos at Apple’s employee cafeteria on the 1 Infinite Loop campus in Cupertino, California. But why?Apple is known to be looking at key acquisitions to put them even farther ahead of their competitors, maybe Foursquare would be a good pickup? Apple is rumored to be working on a new, location based social networking system called ‘Find my Friends.

Foursquare is a new social network that is all based on location and “checking in” at locations. Foursquare even has a popular application for the iPhone, Android, Palm, BlackBerry, and Nokia’s Ovi platform. Perhaps Apple is getting some “assistance” on this new network – presumably coming in iOS 5 – from the Foursquare team. Looking at which executives are there, the possibilities are seemingly endless at this point. Thanks, Jim D.

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Click here for our live blog of the call

Apple just released their financial results for Q2 2011 that ended on March 26th, 2011. The Q2 revenue is $24.67 billion with a net profit of $5.99 billion. “These results compare to revenue of $13.50 billion and net quarterly profit of $3.07 billion, or $3.33 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 41.4 percent compared to 41.7 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 59 percent of the quarter’s revenue.”

Apple sold 3.67 million Macs (28% increase from last year Q2), 18.65 million iPhones, (113 increase), 9.02 million iPods (17% decline) and 4.69 iPads. Apple’s iPod sales and revenue has been declining since the advent of the iPhone, and most recently the iPad. With the iPad’s release last year, it’s still good to see that Mac sales are increasing. Many analysts and reporters have feared that iPad sales will effect Mac sales. That’s clearly not the case.

Apple’s second quarter 2011 results are lower than the previous quarter which netted Apple $6 billion off of $26.74 billion in revenue. Q1 was the normally higher holiday quarter, though. Apple sold 4.69 million iPads during Q2, which to us seems a bit low seeing the launch of the iPad 2. It sort of makes sense, though, due to the supply and stock issues of the new tablet with FaceTime cameras and faster processor.

Apple investors seem to like the Q2 results, though, with AAPL up over $10 (3% in after hours trading):

Apple CEO Steve Jobs comments:

With quarterly revenue growth of 83 percent and profit growth of 95 percent, we’re firing on all cylinders,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We will continue to innovate on all fronts throughout the remainder of the year.

Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer comments:

We are extremely pleased with our record March quarter revenue and earnings and cash flow from operations of over $6.2 billion,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “Looking ahead to the third fiscal quarter of 2011, we expect revenue of about $23 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share of about $5.03.

Steve Jobs says “we will continue to innovate on all fronts throughout the remainder of the year.” That sounds like Apple is planning a product refresh for every part of their lineup this year. We see every Mac getting a refresh this year, a new iPhone, a new iPad/iPhone operating system, all-new iPods, possibly a new Apple TV with an A5 dual-core processor, a new Mac operating system (Lion), new MobileMe, new iWork… it’s going to be an awesome second-half of 2011 for Apple.

Read our live blog of the call here. Catch the full press release after the break.

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Reuters reports that the iPhone 5 will begin production in July and ramp up for a September release.  This fits in with a lot of the chatter out there over the last few months. It isn’t certain why Apple chose to deviate from its previous June/July schedule, but perhaps iPhones are the new back to school items…or are going to be grouped with iPods from now on. Apple typically holds a fall media event at the beginning of September. This would be the perfect place to showcase their new iPhone.

The new smartphone will have a faster processor but will look largely similar to the current iPhone 4, one of the people said. They declined to be identified because the plans were not yet public.

The companies would begin production either in July or August before shipping components to Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, flagship of Foxconn Technology Group, for assembly, they said.

The next-generation iPhone is rumored to include the dual-core A5 processor and graphics enhancements found in the iPad 2, possibly 64 GB of storage, a larger screen, a metal back, and new cloud-based functionality through Apple’s upcoming iOS 5. We will most likely learn Apple’s thinking behind their fifth-generation handset at the upcoming World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) in early June. This is the event where Apple is promising the introduction of iOS 5.

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A good indication that an Apple product refresh is coming soon is when the respective product’s supplies begin tightening up. Most recently, this process happened with the iPad prior to the iPad 2 launch and with the MacBook Pro prior to the MacBook Pro refresh with Thunderbolt and quad-core processors. Now, it’s the iMac’s turn for a refresh. We have been told by three people familiar with the matter – all in different countries including the U.S. and an Asian country – that iMac supplies are tightening.

First, we have our friend Mr. X who provided us with the above screen shot and the following information. Mr. X says supplies for the iMac have tightened significantly, and this has never happened during the current model’s life-cycle. The data chart above shows that all four iMac models are “constrained” with no ETA for new shipments in a particular region; a very large one.

Tipsters in the United States have informed us that their iMac shipments are also very constrained. That’s not the full story though. Although actual iMac shipments are lacking, our U.S. tipsters report that actual iMac components are also very constrained. The most constrained pieces right now are the current iMac’s graphics processors and hard drives. A lack of replacement components is also a good indication of an upcoming refresh.

Next, our source in a major Asian country reports that the 21.5 inch iMacs are very constrained, more so the 3.06 GHz base model, and the other three models are very close to the constrained state. So, when are the new iMacs coming? Previous reports claim that new iMacs with faster, Sandy Bridge processing chips and Thunderbolt I/O ports are launching between late April and early May… bring them on! Thanks, Robert!

Update: Readers are asking about Mac minis and white MacBooks. Although those products are approaching the end of their life cycles, there are plenty of them still around.

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The WSJ points to a new comScore survey detailing who’s buying iPads. The most interesting piece to note is that iOS still trumps Android with 59% more people being exposed to iOS than Android.

The finding is incredible because it shows that Android being the most popular smartphone is not the whole story, said Mark Donovan, the senior vice president of mobile at comScore. Publishers, developers and advertisers are trying to understand how to reach audiences, and the study shows that users are using a range of devices.

56.1% percent of iPad owners are male and 49.4% of iPad owners have an income greater than $100,000 per year. 27% of iPad owners are between the ages of 25-34 and 41.4% of iPad owners do not have a college degree. Something interesting to note is that 6.2% of iPad owners are senior citizens. Even more interesting is the accompanying smartphone that iPad users carry: 27.3% of iPad users rock iPhones, 17.5% have Blackberrys, and only 14.2% have Android phones.

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Apple is Samsung’s second-biggest client after Sony, having spent $5.7 billion on components last year. After learning that their key account would sue them for copying the design, user interface and technology of iOS gadgets, Samsung is threatening counter-actions. A company spokesperson provided this statement:

Samsung will respond actively to this legal action taken against us through appropriate legal measures to protect our intellectual property.

In other words, you can expect the South Korean giant to file a counter-lawsuit and here’s why.

Update: Nilay Patel at This is my next put together a fantastic analysis of the case.

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Digitimes relays a report from the Commercial Times newspaper that claims Apple is exploring the possibility of adding yet another supplier to their tablet-making process. This time the new supplier is a company called Everlight and they have reportedly built and sent LED backlights to Apple for “verification.” Everlight’s LED technology is said to be bright at 2,000 millicandelas (mcd). Everlight has been producing these types of bright LED displays for tablet PC manufacturers since March of this year.

We will have to see if these LED backlights will make their way into iPad 2s produced in the later days of its product cycle, and if this LED technology is superior to the LED technology found in the currently shipping iPad 2. It wouldn’t be a surprise for Apple to silently start making their iPad 2s better about 6-7 months after the device’s initial release.
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MacRumors spotted an interesting report by Data Center Knowledge claiming Kevin Timmons, Microsoft’s former high-ranked exec in charge of their worldwide data center operations, is expected to take a “leadership” position. Prior to spending two years at Microsoft, Timmons worked at GeoCities and Yahoo for nearly a decade.

Data Center Knowledge explains:

The move strongly hints that Apple is stepping up its plans for an expansion of its data center infrastructure beyond its huge new facility in North Carolina.

MacRumors warns the development raises questions about Timmons’ capacity at Apple:

Don’t expect any press releases from Apple or Microsoft on this one. The position Kevin is going to fill is not known and is not the position vacated by the departed Olivier Sanche. Olivier’s position has been filled by another data center operations executive. Sanche, Apple’s previous data center boss, passed away in November from a heart attack. And given that that position has already been filled internally, it appears that Timmons may be taking on other projects related to data center operations or even outside that scope.

Apple must have offered big bucks to hire away Timmons from Microsoft…

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The man who famously said of the Palm Pre:

“You know the beautiful thing: June 29, 2009, is the two-year anniversary of the first shipment of the iPhone. Not one of those people will still be using an iPhone a month later.”

– Palm investor Roger McNamee

His Palm company was sold a year later to HP after lackluster sales backed the company near bankruptcy.

All of that being said, he’s bullish on Apple and of course the other companies he’s got a big stake in:

http://plus.cnbc.com/rssvideosearch/action/player/id/3000016655/code/cnbcplayershare

Via BusinessInsider

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iPhone, iPod touch and iPad owners will soon have access to Sony’s growing library of free movies and TV shows on Crackle.com.  We just saw the news when browsing to the service on our iPad.

Crackle is a growing collection of Sony’s library of TV shows and movies including some recent hits and well as B-listers.  The content is monetized with ads just like Hulu.  Currently, the service is only available via Flash.

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source: chipworks

EETimes deep dives into the new(ish) Apple A5 processor that debuted in the iPad 2 last month.  While there is a lot there and not much new information to take away, they do offer an interesting take on the large size of the processor:

Bold is the only word that can be used to describe Apple’s A5. It was bold to design such a large device. Certainly the CPU+GPU combination is significantly larger than the comparable portion of the A4. However, this is only the beginning of the story. Going beyond these basic elements leaves an additional 34 mm² or 64 percent of the whole A4 die. Yes, there are very likely additional IP cores there, but there might also be some clever custom design that leverages Apple’s integrated approach.

The much larger A5 incited some back and forth amongst analysts on Wall Street.  Discussions of die cost miss the point. This is a very determined step in the emerging A-series SoCs. Apple is well aware of the costs of such a large SoC, but decided the overall system performance gains justify the increase in silicon. Is it also possible that the design has lowered other silicon, system or power consumption burdens?  The point is that we need to consider the entire system.

To me, this increased size is all about GPU.  Sure you have another core and more DRAM, but you don’t just flip a switch and get 9X graphics.  Read more at EETimes.

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5o2xmJXrAY?rel=0&hd=1&w=640&h=510]

Adobe is demonstrating a new product at NAB which a Flash server broadcasts an iOS-readable HTTP stream…

We began previewing new video streaming technology today at the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) Conference in Las Vegas. Built on the Adobe Flash Media Server these new capabilities are another demonstration against our vision of helping content publishers stream protected video to more mobile devices, including the Apple iPad 2, Samsung TVs, and the Motorola Xoom tablet and Atrix smartphone.

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Whenever Apple decides to produce a new gadget, they usually commission suppliers and manufacturers a few weeks or months ahead. Deals have to be made, parts have to be purchased and the whole supply and production chain needs to align with Apple’s production roadmap before the actual manufacturing can begin. That Apple has not yet released iPhone 5 roadmap to Asian partners is an indication there are no immediate plans to manufacture the handset. Sources told Asian trade publication Digitimes:

Apple has not yet released a production roadmap for iPhone 5 as shipment volumes of iPhone 4 have continued to mount and related suppliers are not yet ready to shift their production lines for new products, according to sources at Taiwan-based touch panel makers.

The sources noted that touch panel shipments for iPhone 4 have remained steady and that suppliers have not been given a heads-up to begin preparations for a next-gen iPhone. Read on…

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Someone said that Canada-based BlackBerry maker Research In Motion is Microsoft of a decade ago. If true, then Mike Lazaridis, a RIM co-CEO and founder, has to be their version of Steve Ballmer (even though he wasn’t Microsoft CEO back then). Look no further than Lazaridis’ complaints that the users and media alike aren’t appreciating his company’s dominant position in mobile, in his view.

Despite shipping 52.3 million BlackBerrys in their last fiscal year – a 43 percent annual unit growth – he kinda slipped in that rivals like Apple are racing ahead and stealing the headlines. Changing his anti-Apple tune, he said in a New York Times interview:

No other technology company other than Apple has successfully transitioned their platform. It’s almost never done, and it’s way harder than you realize. This transition is where tech companies go to die.

I guess that’s what happens to RIM unless they successfully transition their platform to a more modern operating system, in their case QNX. The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, which will run approved Android apps via a virtual machine, is schedule to land on store shelves next Tuesday after an unwanted delay caused by the Apple-created shortage of touchscreens. Lazaridis also asked rhetorical questions about his company’s public perception:

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Pictured above: Third=party iPhone 4 metallic back sticker

Research firm Avian Securities issued a note to clients today that will dash hopes of those that have been keeping their fingers crossed for the iPhone 5 this summer. According to the note based on checks with a key supplier , their analysts believe that the handset will go into production in September, which means it won’t land on store shelves before the end of this year, possibly even Q1 2012, reports Business Insider. Here’s what the note reads:

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