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Apple Retailers Preparing for Black Friday Sales
Nov 21, 10:28PM
BestBuy Black Friday sales for Apple Products
Online and retail stores are already starting to promote their upcoming "Black Friday" sales. Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving in the United States and marks the traditional start to the holiday shopping season. The day brings early store openings and deep discounts from many retailers, and ranks as one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
BestBuy has posted a preview their Thanksgiving/Black Friday sales advertisement already showing the following discounts on Apple products:
- $45 off an iPad 2
- $150 off $1199 MacBook Pro
- $150 off $1199 iMac
- $10 off $99 Apple TV
- $100 iTunes Card for $80
Apple also typically participates in Black Friday sales with more moderate discounts. Last year, Apple offered $101 discounts on their iMac, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air lines, with $11-$41 discounts on the iPods and iPads.
Online retailers MacMall and MacConnection also offer similar online sales, typically offering the deepest available discounts. We'll provide more coverage on specific discounts as Black Friday approaches.
Ron Johnson Says People Come to Apple For The Experience [Mac Blog]
Nov 21, 9:39PM
Ron Johnson, the architect behind the Apple Retail Stores, has moved on to be CEO of JC Penney. But, he still remembers the lessons he learned while at Apple. Writing for the Harvard Business Review, Johnson reflects on what makes the Apple Store unique:
People come to the Apple Store for the experience — and they're willing to pay a premium for that. There are lots of components to that experience, but maybe the most important — and this is something that can translate to any retailer — is that the staff isn't focused on selling stuff, it's focused on building relationships and trying to make people's lives better. That may sound hokey, but it's true. The staff is exceptionally well trained, and they're not on commission, so it makes no difference to them if they sell you an expensive new computer or help you make your old one run better so you're happy with it. Their job is to figure out what you need and help you get it, even if it's a product Apple doesn't carry. Compare that with other retailers where the emphasis is on cross-selling and upselling and, basically, encouraging customers to buy more, even if they don't want or need it. That doesn't enrich their lives, and it doesn't deepen the retailer's relationship with them. It just makes their wallets lighter.Perhaps as a hint toward the direction he intends to take JC Penney, Johnson ends by noting that "the retailers that win the future are the ones that start from scratch and figure out how to create fundamentally new types of value for customers."
iOS 5.0.2 Not Coming This Week? [iOS Blog]
Nov 21, 8:50PM
Macerkopf.de follows up their original iOS 5.0.2 report and now says the 5.0.2 update won't be coming this week, as originally reported.
According to the German site, ongoing issues with memory leaks are going to require further testing. The site had originally claimed 5.0.2 would be coming this week to address battery bugs that persist in iOS 5.
App Store Holds 85-90% Share of Mobile App Dollars Says Analyst [iOS Blog]
Nov 21, 8:40PM
Apple has frequently promoted how much money has been paid out to developers selling apps via the App Store. The latest pronouncement was during the iPhone 4S introduction when Scott Forstall announced that Apple had paid out three billion dollars for app sales. The point Fostall is making when sharing these totals is that developing for iOS is more profitable for developers than other platforms, most notably Android.
According to analyst Gene Munster at Piper Jaffray, Apple commands 85 to 90 percent of mobile app dollars, with Google's Android Market Place generating just 7 percent of the gross revenue of the App Store. Munster anticipates Apple will continue to hold more than 70 percent of mobile app dollars going forward.
Munster says Apple developers have made more than $3.4 billion since the App Store opened, compared to just $240 million for Google developers. As with all analyst estimates, these numbers should be taken with a little skepticism, but by all accounts the App Store is a tremendous success.
Image courtesy The Verge
Apple Switching Back to NVIDIA for Next-Generation MacBook Pro Graphics Chips?
Nov 21, 4:55PM
SemiAccurate reports that Apple will be transitioning back to NVIDIA from AMD as its graphics chip supplier for the next-generation MacBook Pro models offering discrete graphics. The move comes after Apple just recently completed a multi-year effort to switch its entire Mac lineup from NVIDIA to AMD.Yes, your read that right, Nvidia has won the next round of Macs, likely starting with the Ivy Bridge models next spring. About three years after the decision to boot Nvidia out of the company was made, and two years after the first ATI/AMD Macs in recent memory hit the shelves, you will see Nvidia macs reappearing. I guess 'never' at Apple means single digit years.The report notes that discrete graphics for notebooks are a shrinking market as notebooks become smaller and thinner and integrated graphics solutions from the likes of Intel and AMD continue to improve.
Graphics performance has indeed been an issue for Apple's smallest machines over the past several years as it has sought to balance both CPU and GPU performance. Licensing restrictions from Intel prevented third-party graphics manufacturers such as NVIDIA from building integrated graphics solutions for Intel's most recent processors, forcing Apple to choose between subpar integrated graphics from Intel and older Intel Core 2 Duo CPUs that could still be paired with third-party integrated graphics.
With Intel's integrated graphics improving significantly over the past year, Apple has finally been able to transition its small notebooks to all-Intel solutions, while its larger notebooks continue to offer switchable graphics using the integrated Intel and discrete AMD options. It now appears, however, that Apple will be moving back to NVIDIA for those discrete options.
As integrated graphics continues to improve, they may also eat into the discrete GPU market in larger machines. Apple is also said to be preparing to launch a thinner 15" notebook, although it is unclear at this time whether it will be positioned as a MacBook Pro revamp or a new MacBook Air size. There is no word yet on Apple's plans for the new machine's capabilities, but it seems reasonable that Apple may at some point begin transitioning larger machines in the thinner form factors that have proven very popular with consumers to integrated graphics alone.
The report from SemiAccurate does not address Apple's GPU plans for its desktop models, which also currently utilize AMD for their discrete graphics after also having been included in the recent transition from NVIDIA to AMD.
Apple's Grand Central Terminal Retail Store to Open as Soon as Black Friday?
Nov 21, 4:31PM
Rendering of Apple's Grand Central Terminal retail store
9to5Mac reports that Apple is set to announce tomorrow its plans for opening the company's new retail store in the historic Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. Apple had been said to be trying to get the store open by mid-November for the holiday shopping season, but it still appears to be unclear whether it will have the store open in time for Black Friday later this week.
From what we have now heard, Apple will be filling the store with stock and applying the finishing touches this week putting the the actual opening of the store on Black Friday or shortly thereafter. The goal all along has been to get the store open for the holiday shopping and to make a big splash with Apple's new crown jewel of retail.The store's 300 staff members have been in training for some time now, and are currently dispersed to other New York City stores for final training ahead of the store opening.
Photo from techfootnote
techfootnote grabbed some photos of the black screening surrounding the under-construction store, which reveal some large panels on the front of the barrier that are said to potentially be hiding large video display boards to highlight the store's opening.
Sprint Touts Unlimited Data in New iPhone Ad
Nov 21, 3:24PM
Sprint has released a new television commercial for the iPhone, pushing its unlimited data plan as an advantage over its rivals.There are over half a million apps and counting on the iPhone. Apps that can take you anywhere, do anything. You might say there's no limit to what this amazing device can do. So the question to ask is, "Why would anyone want to limit the iPhone?" We don't.The ad does not specifically promote the iPhone 4S, with the carrier instead opting to focus on the generic iPhone line given that it offers both the iPhone 4S and the new 8 GB iPhone 4 that serves as a low-end option priced at $99 on contract.
Truly unlimited data for you iPhone...only from Sprint.
Both AT&T; and Verizon initially offered unlimited data plans for the iPhone but have since transitioned to tiered plans, although customers on those carriers who had previously signed up for unlimited plans have been allowed to keep them.
Apple Poised to Become World's Top-Selling PC Vendor with Tablets Included
Nov 21, 2:24PM
Research firm Canalys today noted that Apple appears set to become the world's largest PC manufacturer by volume if the iPad and other tablets are included in the figures. The company already ranks second behind HP by that measure, but Canalys is unsure whether Apple will take the lead in the fourth quarter of this year or if it will require a boost from the iPad 3 launch early next year in order to surpass HP.
"Apple has seen its PC market share expand from 9% to 15% in just four quarters, though iPad shipments in its core market – the United States – are likely to come under pressure in Q4 due to the launch of the Fire and Nook at extremely competitive price points," said Canalys Analyst Tim Coulling. "HP and Apple will fight for top position in Q4, but Apple may have to wait for the release of iPad 3 before it passes HP."Apple already ranks as the #1 mobile PC vendor when the iPad is included, but HP's lead over Apple in desktop sales has been enough to hold off Apple in the overall market.
Apple's iPad actually carries a higher average selling price than Windows PCs, resulting in some comparisons between the two in consumers' minds when making purchasing decisions. Apple has acknowledged that the iPad is cannibalizing Mac sales to some extent, but notes that it is happy to make that tradeoff given that PC users in general are undoubtedly making similar decisions to opt for the iPad. Consequently, Apple's relatively small share of the PC market indicates that significantly more Windows PCs than Macs are being left on the shelves in favor of iPads.
VMWare Fusion Now Allows Virtualization of Mac OS X Leopard and Snow Leopard
Nov 20, 4:18PM
With the release of OS X Lion, Apple updated their licensing agreement to allow the virtualization of Mac OS X under programs such as VMWare Fusion and Parallels. This functionality allows you to deploy different sandboxed installations of OS X on a single machine. The change, however, appeared to only apply to OS X Lion and not to previous non-server versions of Mac OS X such as Leopard and Snow Leopard.
So, when the Lion optimized version of VMWare Fusion was released, it allowed users to run additional virtualized copies of OS X Lion, but continued to prohibit running older versions of Mac OS X under Lion.
Those rules seem to have changed a bit in the latest version of VMWare 4.1 which was released on Friday. As first noted by Macworld, VMWare's Fusion no longer strictly prohibits the virtualization of client editions of Mac OS X Leopard and Snow Leopard.
But one big change with this update isn't documented anywhere: The software has been modified so that it will run the non-server versions of Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6) and Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5). Previously, VMware Fusion supported virtual Macs running Lion, Lion Server, Snow Leopard Server, and Leopard Server.The change in support, however, is a bit subtle. Instead of prohibiting the use of non-server Snow Leopard and Leopard, VMWare prompts the user to verify that they are licensed to run such copies:
Macworld's Jason Snell confirmed that simply agreeing allowed him to to install and run non-server Mac OS X Snow Leopard and Leopard under Lion. Now, whether end users actually have such a license is less certain. When questioned by Macworld, Apple simply reiterated that virtualization is allowed for Mac OS X Lion, Snow Leopard Server and Leopard Server.
The main advantage for end users of such a configuration is the ability to run older PowerPC-based applications on demand. Apple removed Rosetta PowerPC emulation support in Mac OS X Lion, stranding some users who depend on legacy PowerPC applications. By running Snow Leopard in a virtual machine under OS X Lion, those users could continue to run their PowerPC applications on occasion while otherwise using OS X Lion.
Nationwide Study Shows AT&T Has Fastest iPhone Data Speeds, Sprint Most Dropped Calls
Nov 18, 10:02PM
According to a study by Metrico Wireless, a mobile performance measurement company, AT&T; has the fastest iPhone 4S data speeds for both upload and download. Sprint's data speed is roughly five times slower, echoing earlier anecdotal reports of poor Sprint data connections.
In all, Metrico performed 21,000 Web page downloads nationwide with the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 over the networks of the nation's largest three carriers. Metrico also ran more than 8,000 data download and upload tests and generated about 6,000 voice calls with recorded human voices. The tests were performed in a certified lab as well as several locations in five unnamed cities that Metrico called "representative of [network] conditions nationwide."Metrico claims Sprint has the highest voice call quality on the uplink -- when the iPhone owner is speaking -- while AT&T; had the highest quality on the downlink.
For dropped calls, something for which AT&T; has been consistently criticized, Sprint comes out worst. Metrico claims Verizon experienced a 2.1% call failure rate while AT&T; had 2.8% and Sprint was worst at 3.7%.
Computerworld noted that part of the intention of the nationwide study was to show "how performance problems in one city reported by the news media and bloggers shortly after a phone is launched can be less relevant over the entire network over time."
AT&T Raises Subsidized iPhone 3GS Price to $0.99
Nov 18, 9:30PM
In a curious move, AT&T; has raised the subsidized price of its cheapest iPhone to $0.99, up from free. When the iPhone 4S was announced in October, Apple specifically mentioned in its press release that the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS would be available in 8GB capacities for subsidized pricing of US$99 and for free, respectively.
During AT&T;'s Q3 2011 earnings call with analysts on October 20th, AT&T; Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega twice mentioned the iPhone 3GS's $0 price point, saying during the introductory remarks:
Our lower price plan continues to be a good entry point for many subscribers and now that we offer a free iPhone with a 2-year contract for the first time ever, the iPhone 3GS, we expect to broaden the smartphone base even more.De la Vega again mentions the 3GS during question-and-answer portion:
I also mentioned in my notes that we have another device that I think is going to dramatically change those people that are on smartphones and quick messaging devices, the 3GS, which is free with a 2-year contract. We've seen a tremendous, tremendous demand for that device even though it's a generation old. And actually, we're getting more new subscribers coming on the 3GS on the average than other devices.
It is unclear why AT&T; has elected to raise the price of the iPhone 3GS by a negligible but still notable amount a month and a half after it became free on contract, particularly given the fact that both Apple PR and AT&T; Mobility's CEO had specifically touted the free nature of the device. In response to a request for comment on the price increase, AT&T; declined to offer a specific reason:
iPhone 3GS is still available at an incredibly low price and we're confident consumers will agree that this remains one of the best deals for a leading smartphone.For its part, Apple continues to offer the iPhone 3GS, subsidized on AT&T;'s network, for $0.00 on the Apple Online Store.
Update: MacRumors forum user Metcury46l had one possible explanation for the price change: I work at AT&T;, this is being done to help prevent fraud as the 99 cents cannot be billed to your bill. It must be charged to a credit or bank issued debt card. Fraudsters are using stolen identities to steal these handsets ... been an issue since they went free.
(Image courtesy Flickr/MrVJTod)
Financial Times' Mobile Site Broadens Readership to Morning and Evening Hours [iOS Blog]
Nov 18, 9:12PM
The Financial Times' web app has drawn more than 1 million readers since June, growing by 300,000 readers since late September. However, the raw numbers don't tell the whole story.
In its press release about breaking the 1 million mark, the FT staff built an infographic with data from its mobile website. 20 percent of FT page views are from mobile devices, and 15 percent of its digital consumer subscriptions initiate on mobile, showing that the paper is having good luck attracting readers to its pricey business-focused readership.
But most revealing is this chart showing the distribution of readership broken out by time-of-day and whether readers were using a smartphone, tablet, or reading on a desktop. As a financial paper, this data reflects the behavior of a higher-income, white-collar readership.
Smartphone and tablet readership spikes in the morning, then drops as readers use their desktops to keep up with the news during the day, then tablet use rises in the evening as users commute and arrive home.
March Launch for Slightly Thicker iPad 3? iPhone with 4-Inch Screen in Summer?
Nov 18, 8:10PM
iLounge offers a series of tidbits from its "most reliable source" regarding Apple's product plans for 2012, reporting that the iPad, iPhone, and MacBook Pro will all be receiving redesigns.
- iPad: The source indicates that the iPad 3 is planned to launch in March and that it will be approximately 0.7 mm thicker than the iPad 2 due to the need to incorporate a dual light bar system for the higher-resolution display. The iPad 2 currently checks in 8.8 mm thick, which would make the iPad 3 approximately 8% thicker than the iPad 2 but still substantially thinner than the 13.4 mm original iPad.
Previous "iPhone 5" mockup based on leaked case designs
- iPhone: iLounge's source claims that the next-generation will not resemble the teardrop "iPhone 5" design that circulated ahead of the iPhone 4S introduction last month. The next iPhone is, however, said to carry a 4-inch display (up from 3.5 inches in the current iPhone) and be 8 mm longer than the current form factor. Apple is said to be targeting a summer launch for the device, which would mark a short interval from the iPhone 4S launch last month.
- MacBook Pro: The source indicates that 2012 will indeed see the launch of a thinner MacBook Pro form factor, barring any last-minute problems. We've been hearing for some time that Apple has been finishing up work on just such a redesign, although the company did sneak in one last minor refresh using the current form factor just last month. Recent reports have claimed that an ultra-thin 15" Mac notebook, whether it be a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air, is on target for a March launch with small volumes of components already making their way through the supply chain.
Apple Claims Potential Injunction Against iCloud Could Result in $2.7 Billion Loss
Nov 18, 7:43PM
FOSS Patents reports that a pending court case in Germany could have significant ramifications for Apple, with a potential injunction shutting down the company's iCloud service there over infringement of a Motorola Mobility patent being pegged as a $2.7 billion risk to Apple. In brief, Motorola asserted last year that Apple's MobileMe service infringes upon a Motorola patent related to data synchronization. Motorola amended the suit to include iCloud once that service was introduced later in the year. While an official ruling on an injunction isn't due until February, Motorola has already won an initial default judgement involving the patent and FOSS Patents reports that the presiding judge is not looking terribly favorably on Apple's defense so far.
The court doesn't appear to buy any of Apple's defenses at this stage. It may still change mind until the ruling, which is scheduled for February 3, 2012, 9 AM local time, but if it had had to rule today, I have no doubt that Apple would have lost.If Motorola wins its case and an injunction is granted, Apple could be forced to pull all of its products in Germany that contain the infringing iCloud integration. It is typical in German courts to require winning parties to post bonds in order to guarantee repayment of lost income should the defendant win an appeal of the ruling, and Apple has asked that Motorola be required to post a 2 billion euro ($2.7 billion) bond in this case.
The court was wondering whether that hefty amount truly reflects the economic damages Apple would suffer from enforcement, given that the iCloud is only one Apple offering and doesn't correspond to the entire value of its products. But Apple's lawyers insisted that an enforcement against its product sales in Germany could result in damages of that magnitude.The judge raised the possibility of Apple developing a workaround for iCloud to avoid infringing Motorola's patent, but Apple's lawyers pressed their case that the risk to Apple's business was indeed still severe.
Apple obviously has a vested interest in setting as high a bond as possible, forcing Motorola to put up a significant amount of money if it wishes to press forward with an injunction. The figure represents a substantial commitment on Motorola's part and makes clear that Apple will move to recover that money should an injunction be granted and later overturned, thus increasing Motorola's own risk in the proceedings. But while Apple may be artificially inflating its risk somewhat, it does still have to justify the figure to the court and is clearly working to do just that.
"A Charlie Brown Christmas" Comes to the iPad
Nov 18, 7:22PM
Childhood classic A Charlie Brown Christmas has made its way to the iPad as an interactive book that Mashable describes as "spectacular" and "like magic". The app turns the 1965 television special into an interactive children's book, giving kids (and nostalgic adults) the chance to "play Schroeder's piano, finger paint with the gang, go carolling with the Peanuts choir, and participate in the Spectacular Super-Colossal Neighborhood Christmas Lights and Display Contest".
A Charlie Brown Christmas was built by Loud Crow Interactive, an app development firm in Vancouver that specializes in turning book content into interactive digital apps.
This isn't Loud Crow's first experience turning a classic children's tale into an iPad app. Last year, the company created interactive interpretations of Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit and The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, and William Wallace Denslow's The Night Before Christmas.
A Charlie Brown Christmas is a universal app, designed for both iPhone and iPad, and is $6.99 on the App Store. [Direct Link]
George Clooney and Noah Wyle Vying to Play Steve Jobs on Film?
Nov 18, 6:00PM
Last month, we noted that Sony Pictures was reportedly courting Aaron Sorkin to write the screenplay for a film adaption of Walter Isaacson's authorized biography of Steve Jobs. At the time, former ER star Noah Wyle, who played Jobs in the 1999 made-for-TV movie Pirates of Silicon Valley, reported that he would love to reprise the role in a new film.
Clooney and Wyle guest starring on Friends in 1995 (Source: Comedy Central)
According to British magazine NOW, Wyle is indeed in the running to play Jobs in the forthcoming film, with his former ER co-star George Clooney reportedly also in the mix.
George Clooney, 50, is battling it out with his former ER co-star Noah Wyle, 40, to play Apple founder Steve Jobs in a new movie.Isaacson's biography of Jobs has been one of the biggest-selling books of the year despite having debuted just last month. Amazon projected just after the book's release that it could become the company's #1 seller for 2011, and the title currently stands at #2.
The biopic, which is expected to start filming next year, will chart the life of the tecchie guru, who died last month from cancer at the age of 56.
Steve Jobs on an Apple Television: No Need for 'All These Complicated Remote Controls'
Nov 18, 5:08PM
The New York Times publishes an interview with Steve Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson which among other topics may touch a bit further on Apple's plans for a connected television set. Isaacson had quoted Jobs in his biography as saying that he had "finally cracked" the difficulties in building an Apple television set, describing "the simplest user interface you could imagine" and iCloud integration for content. In the wake of the book's release, it was reported that Apple is indeed working on a Siri-enabled TV, an innovation that would fit with Jobs' description of his rethinking of the television.
The new interview with Isaacson suggests that input methods were indeed one of Jobs' primary concerns regarding a TV set, lending credence to the idea of a Siri-enabled device.
I didn't go into details about these products in the book because it was implicitly Apple's creations and it's not fair to the company to reveal these details. But, he did talk about the television. He told me he'd "licked it" and once said, "There's no reason you should have all these complicated remote controls."Essentially reiterating comments shared last week at a Fortune meeting, Isaacson notes that beyond television, Jobs was also working on textbooks and photography as his next areas of focus, but it remains to be seen whether and how Apple pursues those areas of exploration without Jobs at the helm.
AppleCare+ Now Available for Sale Within 30 Days of iPhone Purchase
Nov 18, 4:43PM
Alongside the launch of the iPhone 4S, Apple also debuted a new $99 AppleCare+ program offering an extended warranty with accidental damage coverage. The AppleCare+ package replaced the previous $69 AppleCare for iPhone offering that did not offer accidental coverage.
Some confusion about the AppleCare+ program arose in its early days, stemming in large part from Apple's requirement that the coverage be purchased at the same time as the iPhone, a requirement that seemed to conflict with the legal text of the agreement which stated that AppleCare+ must be purchased within the device's one-year standard warranty period. Regardless, a number of customers were not offered the AppleCare+ option at the time of pre-ordering, and Apple addressed the issue by offering a temporary exception to allow any early iPhone purchaser to obtain AppleCare+ through November 14th.
With that deadline for delays AppleCare+ purchases having now passed, Apple appeared set to revert to the original policy of requiring that the plan be purchased at the same time as the iPhone. But Apple has now updated its AppleCare+ page to indicate that users can purchase it in-person at an Apple retail store or over the phone any time within 30 days after the iPhone purchase.
How to get AppleCare+Apple has also revised the AppleCare+ terms and conditions to remove the previous mention of the option to purchase any time within the one-year standard warranty period.
* Add it to your shopping cart during the checkout process when you purchase your new iPhone.
* Buy it within 30 days of your iPhone purchase:
- At Apple Retail (requires a Genius Bar appointment, inspection of the iPhone & proof of purchase).
- Or call 1-800-275-2273 (requires proof of purchase).
In addition to the new 30-day window, SprintFeed reports that it has received an internal Sprint notice indicating that the original amnesty period for early iPhone 4S purchasers has also been extended through December 15th. The wording does suggest, however, that the 30-day limit still applies to these customers, so customers who purchased the iPhone 4S on launch day would still be out of luck given that the window has now passed for them. But the policy does offer some continuing retroactive coverage for customers who purchased their devices less than 30 days ago.
iPad 3 Display Shipments Nearing 3 Million Units with Assembly Set for January Start
Nov 18, 4:20PM
Just yesterday, Digitimes noted that Apple had reduced its fourth-quarter orders for iPad 2 display components in order to accommodate production of iPad 3 parts. Apple's strategy has apparently involved boosting production of iPad 2 parts during the third quarter and stockpiling them as it begins the transition to the iPad 3 this quarter.
Digitimes now expands upon that information in a new report claiming that Apple's iPad 3 display panel suppliers Samsung, LG, and Sharp will have delivered approximately three million units to Apple's manufacturing chain by the end of this month.
Samsung Electronics, LG Display and Sharp reportedly shipped a total of one million units of high-resolution flat panels for next-generation iPads to Apple in October and will ramp up shipments to two million units in November, according to industry sources.The report notes that the touch module component that is comparable to the one found in the iPad 2 should begin shipping from TPK and Wintek imminently as Apple's iPad manufacturing partner Foxconn is apparently targeting a January 2012 start for assembly. That timeframe appears to be in line with rumors of an early 2012 launch for the iPad 3, potentially around March or April as with the past two generations.
The report also reiterates claims of display manufacturers having sampled 7.85-inch screens for Apple, but it is unclear how independent Digitimes' claim is from the earlier report.
App Store Updates: iPad Swiping, Chinese Yuan, Kindle Fire Added to Amazon Lawsuit
Nov 18, 3:23PM
There have been several bits of App Store-related news over the past day, so here is a roundup of some of the more prominent items:
- iPad Swiping: As noted by MacStories, Apple has improved navigation of the iPad App Store, now allowing users to swipe between pages of featured apps and other listings. Users had previously needed to tap navigation arrows to move between pages, but moving to swipe-based navigation makes for a more natural interface and faster page changes.
- Yuan Now Accepted in China: Penn Olson reports that Apple is now accepting renminbi, the local Chinese currency, for App Store purchases in China. With the new pricing in yuan, Chinese customers will no longer be required to make purchases funded by credit cards in U.S. dollars. Apple has also begun accepting payment via local bank cards, with customers able to top-up their iTunes Store accounts with prepaid amounts from their bank accounts to fund their App Store purchases.
- Kindle Fire Added to 'Amazon Appstore' Lawsuit: Despite the fact that Apple has not yet won a trademark registration on the term "App Store", it sued Amazon back in March over the company's use of the term in its Amazon Appstore for Android. A judge declined to issue a preliminary injunction against Amazon in July, and the full trial is not set to take place until October 2012.
With Amazon having just launched its new Kindle Fire tablet, Apple has expanded its lawsuit to address the fact that Amazon is promoting its "Appstore" in conjunction with the device. As reported by paidContent, Apple has also included new claims of false advertising in the lawsuit.
Apple's revised complaint is intended to show that Amazon has continued to use the "Appstore" term even in the face of Apple's prior claims of trademark infringement, hoping to establish a pattern of willful misrepresentation on Amazon's part leading to customer confusion over the app marketplaces. The courts and trademark examiners have yet to look favorably upon Apple's claims regarding "App Store" being an allowable trademark for the company, but it is clear that Apple is still trying to press its positions.
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