Tech Industry

As Apple transitions its line from NVIDIA graphics cards to AMD (and opens up the OS to much more variety), we’re noting some strong words coming out of each camp on who makes the fastest graphics card in the world.  On the 8th of this month, AMD announced it had released the fastest Graphics card on the market, the AMD Radeon HD 6990.

NVIDIA fired back this week and said they had the fastest Graphics card.  Now it is getting real.

Dave Erskine, Senior Public Relations Manager for Graphics Desktop at AMD just fired this off:

We combed through their announcement to understand how it was that such a claim could be made and why there was no substantiation based on industry-standard benchmarks, similar to what AMD did with industry benchmark 3DMark 11, the latest DirectX® 11 benchmark from FutureMark.

So now I issue a challenge to our competitor: prove it, don’t just say it. Show us the substantiation. Because as it stands today, leading reviewers agree with us here, here, here, and here that the AMD Radeon HD 6990 sits on the top as the world’s fastest graphics card.

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Nokia sued Apple in May 2010, claiming the company infringed five of Nokia’s patents. The patents cover wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption and are infringed by all Apple iPhone models shipped since the iPhone was introduced in 2007, Nokia alleged. Nokia’s statment in May 2010 about the lawsuit:

Nokia has been the leading developer of many key technologies in mobile devices” said Paul Melin, General Manager, Patent Licensing at Nokia. “We have taken this step to protect the results of our pioneering development and to put an end to continued unlawful use of Nokia’s innovation.

Now, Reuters reports that the International Trade Commision has ruled that Apple in fact did not violate any of Nokia’s patents. Take that, Nokia!

A judge at the International Trade Commission, which hears many patent cases, said that Apple did not violate the Nokia patents.

Who’s next?

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The mythical Google Music service could be on the verge of unveiling as the search monster is alleged to have begun testing the service internally. They call it dog fooding, a tell-tale sign that a product has reached the critical phase prior to release when employees are using it in everyday work to figure out the bugs and smooth out the rough edges.

CNET broke the news quoting an unnamed music industry executive who reportedly said the product was nearly complete. As before, Google is still finding itself tangled in a complex web of music licensing deals, the source added, and has been unsuccessfully pursuing an agreement with four largest record labels:

Google is after cloud music rights and not just for songs acquired from Google Music.

Just like Apple, the search firm wants to create a digital locker in the cloud where users will be able to store their existing songs. Even that, however, requires rights holders to sign on the dotted line.

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Once partners, soon frenemies? Droid X launch (left to right): Android’s Andy Rubin, Verizon’s John Stratton, Google’s Eric Schmidt, Motorola’s Sanjay Jha and Adobe’s Shantanu Narayen

Motorola’s role in helping put Google’s mobile operating system on the map with Droid-branded smartphones cannot be underestimated. Even though Android has revitalized their phone business, it is now a risk factor for Motorola Mobility, formerly the mobile devices division of Motorola Inc. The company is reportedly developing its own smartphone software to reduce dependency on a single supplier.

They apparently hired a number of former Apple and Adobe engineers with experience in the mobile market, a source “familiar with the matter” told  InformationWeek. This includes Apple’s former head of rich media and applications group Gilles Drieu and former manager of JavaScript development Benoit Marchant. Motorola did not deny such plans beyond re-affirming its Android focus. Jonathan Goldberg, a Deutsche Bank analyst:

I know they’re working on it I think the company recognizes that they need to differentiate and they need options, just in case. Nobody wants to rely on a single supplier.

This is interesting on many levels.

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The New York Times has a carrot for loyal subscribers: A free one-year subscription for online articles accessed on the web and via iPhone and iPad apps, reports The Loop. The deal excludes the e-reader editions, Premium Crosswords and The New York Times Crosswords apps. The paper is reportedly pitching its long time users with the following line:

As a frequent reader of NYTimes.com, you’ve demonstrated an uncommon interest in a wide variety of today’s most important topics.

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Apple’s A5 chip has debuted with iPad 2, but the company’s already hard at work designing the A6, contemplating the A7 and thinking about the A8. Apple added more chip experts to their in-house silicon team and poached veteran engineers from Samsung and ARM earlier this month. A LinkedIn profile belonging to chip expert Eunseok Ji reveals he recently came on board as a senior Apple engineer, the role he played for years at rival Samsung. He counts advanced semiconductor skills in his profile, hard core stuff such as logic design, DFT, silicon testing and hands-on experiences on post-silicon bring-up and debugging of complex mixed-signal design for system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions.

Why antagonize your silicon manufacturer by poaching such an expert? Okay, Samsung is a frenemy. But why lure an engineer away from ARM? This fabless semiconductor firm makes designs that power Apple’s iOS gadgets and the vast majority of mobile gear, for that matter. ARM’s Steve Ravet, who also joined Apple in March as an SOC prototyping engineer, is a twelve-year veteran who worked as a system verification engineer at Compaq and verification engineer at International Meta Systems prior to joining ARM as an electrical engineer.

His competencies include CPU validation and design, focused on FPGA emulation, silicon and board bringup, top level simulation and debug for ARM microprocessor cores and SOCs. I’m just speculating here and your guess is as good as mine, but I think you’ll agree such a hiring spree might be a tell-tale sign of a greater number of unique hardware features in upcoming Apple gadgets. Look no further than Apple’s current lineup of iOS devices.

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Image via Engadget

Wow.

And then there were 3 big US mobile players.  The move would make AT&T-Mobile, the joint venture, a monopoly for GSM/EDGE/HSPA+ phones in the US.  It would also create the largest US carrier with 130 million subscribers blowing away Verizon’s 90+ Million.

The move isn’t necessarily good for US consumers who now have one less choice for mobile service and exactly 1 GSM carrier to choose from in the US.

We have a feeling there was a bidding war and Sprint lost out.  Speaking of Sprint, we’re hearing there is going to be a big Google announcement tomorrow.

Full press release follows:

AT&T TO ACQUIRE T-MOBILE USA FROM DEUTSCHE TELEKOM

Provides fast, efficient and certain solution to impending spectrum exhaust challenges facing AT&T and T-Mobile USA in key markets due to explosive demand for mobile broadband

Enhances network capacity, output and quality in near term for both companies’ customers

AT&T commits to expand 4G LTE deployment to an additional 46.5 million Americans, including in rural, smaller communities, for a total of 294 million or 95% of the U.S. population

Provides 4G LTE service for T-Mobile USA’s 34 million subscribers

More than $8 billion in incremental infrastructure spend by a U.S. company over seven years, enabling nation’s high-tech industry, innovation and economic growth

Creates substantial value for AT&T shareholders through large, straightforward synergies
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According to Redebomdia of Brazil, Foxconn is preparing to open up a new manufacturing plant in Jundiai – a city in Sao Palo, Brazil – for the construction of Apple products. Foxconn currently houses plants for HP and Sony in Jundiai and is preparing to open a third manufacturing line in 2013 after receiving millions of dollars of investments.

The report is unclear about where they got their information but the translation says the information comes from “studies” which probably means research or an internal source. Apple and Foxconn currently base their manufacturing plants in China. Apple declined to comment on the report.

In November 2010 Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista said he will pay 1.6 billion dollars to open up an Apple manufacturing plant in Brazil. Although this is unrelated to Foxconn opening up an Apple plant in Brazil, it does demonstrate that Apple may have been pushed to open plants out of China.

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As the debate over whether Apple will put an NFC chip inside iPhone 5 continues, a new report hints at interesting possible uses that go beyond contactless payments. Specifically, an iPhone 5 with this chip could double as a portable login system allowing you to run your purchased Mac App Store applications on a guest Mac system as well as access, edit and save your documents remotely via the MobileMe cloud, an unnamed insider told Leander Kahney in an exclusive Cult of Mac story:

According to our source, who asked not to be named, when a NFC-equipped iPhone is paired with a guest machine, part of the user’s profile includes the apps they’ve purchased through the Mac App Store. The icons for their apps appear on the remote Mac, but aren’t downloaded, our source said. But if the user opens an app, it is downloaded temporarily to the computer for use. When the NFC connection is broken, the apps are deleted and the computer returns to its previous state.

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iSuppli’s research and in-depth iPad 2 tear down has revealed that vital iPad 2 parts like the thin battery, display glass, and electronic compass may be directly sourced from Japanese plants. The earthquake and tsunami in Japan has caused many manufacturing plants to temporarily stop work and it is possible, that if certain iPad 2 parts are in fact from Japan, that some iPad 2 parts may be in tight supply.

The IHS iSuppli teardown analysis of the iPad 2 so far has been able to identify five parts sourced from Japanese suppliers: NAND flash from Toshiba Corp., dynamic random access memory (DRAM) made by Elpida Memory Inc., an electronic compass from AKM Semiconductor, the touch screen overlay glass likely from Asahi Glass Co. and the system battery from Apple Japan Inc. There potentially are other components from Japan in the iPad 2, however, the teardown analysis process cannot always identify all components’ countries of origin.

These potential supply issues obviously in no way connect to the short supply of iPad 2s on launch day and in the days since launch. The issue does come at the point in which Apple is trying to build as many iPad 2s as possible in order to meet “amazing” demand for the product.

Toshiba, an Apple supplier for flash storage, temporarily suspended NAND flash production in their Japanese plants. Apple obtaining flash storage drives for their iOS devices and other products like the MacBook Air is not as big of a deal as the iPad 2s battery, glass, and compass as the storage technology is also sourced from other other nations by other suppliers, notably Samsung.

The iPad 2 was released on March 11th and currently ships in 4-5 weeks from the Apple online store. Apple has been supportive of the terrifying situation in Japan with Steve Jobs offering his full support via an email to the company and iTunes taking donations for the Red Cross.

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We’ve seen a lot of parts allegedly pertaining to the mythical white iPhone 4 leaked by third-party service technicians and parts makers, but never from Apple. According to our reader Aaron who sent this in, he was greeted with the white iPhone 4 graphics when checking the status of his DIY repair request on Apple’s support website. He writes:

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“This year’s Zune hardware is Windows Phone 7”, says the Zune head.

The Zune team head debunked yesterday’s report about the Zune’s demise. Dave McLauchlan, senior business development manager for Zune, insisted that the iPod didn’t kill the Zune in a semi-official statement posted to the AnythingButiPod forums. He reminded that “all consumer electronics products have a lifespan, and the Zune HD is 18 months old” while promising new apps and games.

“This year’s Zune hardware is Windows Phone 7,” he said. McLauchlan wouldn’t confirm whether new standalone Zunes are in the works. The writing has been on the wall for a long time. But even if Microsoft kills off the Zune, the brand will be alive and kicking and here’s why.

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Al Franken, Senator from Minnesota, explains his thoughts and concerns about Net Neutrality ahead of a SXSW talk on the matter.
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iPad 2 is flying off the shelves due to higher than expected demand. If you waited in line for hours only to be instructed to visit the store another day, you should mark your calendar tomorrow as Apple is rumored to be opening its retail stores one hour early tomorrow for iPad sales. Tipsters told Apple Bitch that the stores are re-stocking today with new iPad 2 shipments as the company prepares for dedicated iPad 2 sales tomorrow.

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While we’re awaiting for a press release announcing a millionth iPad 2 sold, Fortune’s Philip Elmer-DeWitt has put together a nice summary of analysts’ estimates concerning iPad 2 weekend sales. The number range from 500,000 to one million units sold this past weekend, but Apple could easily blow conservative analysts out of the water with higher-than-expected sales as Apple’s spokeswoman calls iPad 2 demand “amazing”.

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Electronics experts over at iFixIt tore apart Apple’s Smart Cover “case” for iPad 2 and found out there’s much more to it than meets the eye. We’ve known that Smart Cover owes its magic to the use of magnets. What we haven’t been aware of is that each Smart Cover utilizes a whooping 21 magnets hidden inside its fabric that serve multiple purposes. The magical snapping and auto-aligning of the cover? That’s courtesy of 21 magnets inside the cover that interact with ten more magnets contained in the tablet itself. But how does the cover turn the iPad 2 on and off?

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The new A5 chip, cameras and high demand that caught touch screen panel makers on the wrong foot are all blamed for an increase in iPad 2 bill of materials compared to the last year’s model. On the flip side, comparable flagship devices cost more to manufacture as their vendors are having trouble matching the iPad’s popularity, Apple’s vast cash horde and its buying power enabling the company to squeeze the best deals out of Asian suppliers. Still, iPad 2’s touch screen costs $33 more and the new dual-core A5 processor is 75 percent pricier than the previous generation, or $14 per unit.

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Those new MacBook Pros – the ones released last month – are not only as fast as last year’s Mac Pros, they can also take 16GB of RAM.  That puts them a pretty rarified world of computing, at least as far as laptops are concerned.

OWC has the brand new OWC133DDR3S8GB  8GB modules currently at $100 per GB price of $800/each.  While some may be able to justify the price now, it will come down dramatically as production ramps up.  4GB modules were just as expensive when they debuted and now they can be had for under $50/each.  This may be the same part for $320 less (no guarantees!)

PS, they also work in last year’s 27-inch  iMacs and some PCs.

Best comment: “For $1600, they must be fashioned by Samurai sword makers.”
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Currently, Apple shoppers must visit AppleCenter in Dubai

According to Stuff Middle East, Apple is the final stages of opening an Apple Store in cash-drenched Dubai.  The Store – whether it is officially an ‘Apple Store’ or not, the distinction is dubious– will be a store within a store of Richard Branson’s Virgin Megastore.  It will be staffed by Apple geniuses/employees, however and will retain the Apple Store “look and feel”.

The store, in Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates, will be 100 per cent Apple, we’re told, complete with Apple staff and know-it-all Geniuses. It’s a real boon for Apple-lovers in the UAE, who in the past have had to deal with extra-long waits for Cupertino’s latest toys or suffer the hugely-inflated prices on the grey market. Bad news for other manufacturers though, who have no doubt capitalized on Apple’s lackluster presence in the region.

Apple has indeed been staffing-up on its retail employees for just such a move.  Just in time for iPad 2s.

Branson has also been working on an iPad magazine which might just be the best put out by a billionaire this year.

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same numbers!

We’re not sure if this has already happened, but EETimes reports on the rumors that Apple has shifted its A5 production from Samsung to TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company).  Since no one has seen a real A5 processor yet, we don’t know if Apple has already switched.

Perhaps most damning, the art that Apple has put out on its A5 Chips is actually just an A4 Chip with ‘A5’ superimposed over top(!) See same part numbers around the edges above.  Does this mean that Apple has something to hide? (They always do)

The move would make logistical sense as Apple’s current (former?) partner in processor manufacturing, Samsung, is increasingly becoming a competitor in both iOS devices and in PCs.  Apple was supposed to take $7.8Billion in parts from Samsung this year.  Might be time to adjust that estimate.

With little or no fanfare, Apple and TSMC have recently entered into a foundry relationship, sources said. As reported, TSMC will make the A5 dual-core processor on a foundry basis for Apple’s iPad 2. That can be read here and here.

We reported on Apple’s move to Qualcomm (from Infineon) who use TSMC’s process for GOBI chips in October.
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There has been some outrage in the Android community this week about how their ‘4G’ phones can’t upload data as fast as a 3G iPhone 4. (welcome to AT&T Android!). Even the ‘King of Android Phones’, the Atrix, gets schooled by the iPhone.  Word on the street is that AT&T hasn’t enabled the higher speed HSDPA+ radios on the Androids but since Apple controls the iPhone firmware, AT&T can’t mess with it.  That sounds like the AT&T we know and love.

At the moment, 3G iPhone still beats 4G Android.
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