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CES 2012: LaCie Hub Connects eSATA Drives to Thunderbolt Macs
Jan 09, 1:29AM
CNet reports on a new eSATA Hub from LaCie which allows you to connect external eSATA drives to your Thunderbolt equipped Mac. The hub comes with two Thunderbolt ports and two eSATA ports. Users can connect up to two eSATA drives to the hub for use on their Thunderbolt equipped Macs. The additional Thunderbolt ports can also be used to daisy chain additional Thunderbolt peripherals off the device.
eSATA is a high performance drive connector used to connect external hard drives to your computer. eSATA has never been a standard option on Macs, but is a faster alternative to USB 2.0 and Firewire and is commonly found on high performance external drives and storage arrays. As noted by CNet, eSATA devices are also presently cheaper than their Thunderbolt counterparts. While Thunderbolt has a higher maximum speed than eSATA, if you are just connecting a single external drive (and not a drive array), it's not likely to exceed the upper limit of eSATA.
So, for those who are have existing eSATA drives or are waiting for Thunderbolt drives to drop in price, this could be a good interim solution. Unfortunately, LaCie hasn't released a price yet, but this eSATA hub is expected to be available during the first quarter of 2012.
CES 2012: AR Drone 2.0, OCZ External Thunderbolt SSD
Jan 08, 11:12PM
A few more interesting items are starting to leak out ahead of CES 2012.
AR Drone 2.0
Engadget publishes a press release for Parrot's new AR Drone 2.0 which sports a 720P HD Camera. The original AR Drone was shown off at CES 2010. It's an iPhone-controlled quadricoptor that uses a number of sensors, including a downward facing camera, to help stabilize its flight. You control the flying machine with the use of your iPhone.
The 2.0 upgrade now offers a 1280x720 resolution camera that can be used to record videos as well as new flight control modes to allow for easier handling. Per Gizmodo:
Perhaps best of all, it's now even easier to pilot. Before you had to rely on the camera to know which way the AR.Drone was facing, and then send commands from the drone's perspective. That option is still available for advanced users, but the AR.Drone 2 now senses where you are, so tilting your phone/tablet away from you will send the drone away, and tilting it to your right will make the drone go that way, too. It's incredibly intuitive.The 2.0 version of the AR Drone will be $299 and available in the 2nd Quarter of 2012. This video shows the original AR Drone in action:
OCZ Thunderbolt SSD
PCPer spotted this new external SSD coming from OCZ. The company had previously offered a similar external USB 3.0 SSD, but this new model brings Thunderbolt support.
According to OCZ, the Thunderbolt-equipped SSD should have transfer rates as high as 750MB/s and "improved latency and highly accurate time synchronization" for professional audio/video work. No timeframe on release, but more details may arrive at next week.
CES 2012 Kicks off Next Week: Gorilla Glass, Vizio, Windows Phone, Ultrabooks
Jan 08, 5:03AM
The 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) kicks off next week in Las Vegas, Nevada. The January show has traditionally introduced new products and trends in the consumer electronics market. The LA Times notes, however, that there seems to be no single theme for this year's show.
This year, though, the Next Big Thing remains elusive. Despite what is expected to be a record number of exhibitors and attendees, many analysts agree that no single device or technology has emerged to define the show.While Apple has never had a presence at CES, their general influence on the industry has been apparent in past shows. Third party vendors, of course, will be showing their Apple-related wares in the 80,000 sq. foot iLounge pavilion.
Here are a few early items of interest that we've seen in the news leading into the show.
Gorilla Glass 2
Corning will be showing off their next generation of Gorilla Glass at the show. Apple is known to have used the damage-resistant Gorilla Glass in its original iPhone, and the company is believed to still be using it for their iPhone products.
Corning was vague about what improvements have been made to the glass, but hinted that it would allow for thinner designs. A full product announcement is planned for Monday, Jan 9th.
Vizio
The Wall Street Journal reports that television manufacturer Vizio Inc is planning to enter the PC market this year to compete against Apple on both price and looks.
Vizio, which also produces Blu-ray players and a tablet, says it worked on its computer designs for two years in attempts to offer an aesthetic that competes with Apple Inc.'s popular products but at a lower price.The company plans on unveiling 24- and 27-inch desktop models, a 15" laptop and 14 and 15-inch ultralight models at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Engadget has a full gallery of their upcoming product line. The company claims that their products will be priced 'substantially less" than corresponding Apple products.
Vizio says it spent months, for example, shaving millimeters from its desktop computer so the central processing chip could hide in a sleek base while the screen stands attached to its thin aluminum neck.
Nokia's Windows Phone
Nokia is expected to unveil their new Lumia 900 Windows Phone.
A NYTimes article details some of the challenges and sees 2012 as a crucial year for Microsoft's Windows Phone strategy.
Ultrabooks
Intel's Ultrabook initiative is expected to be highlighted at CES with new models being introduced. The MacBook Air-like design is expected to make up a large percentage of laptop designs in the near future.
Mac App Store Turns One Year Old, Aspyr Shares Numbers
Jan 06, 7:00PM
Today marks the one-year anniversary of the launch of the Mac App Store, Apple's attempt to remake software distribution by offering an easy-to-use digital download store for Mac apps linked to the company's existing iTunes Store infrastructure. The Mac App Store gained prominence throughout the year as Apple added more and more of its own software to the marketplace, even opting to use the Mac App Store as the primary method of distribution for OS X Lion. Less than a year after the store's launch, Apple announced that the Mac App Store had seen over 100 million downloads, not including purchases of OS X Lion, app updates, or multiple downloads from a single transaction.
In an effort to assess the impact of the Mac App Store on established Mac software companies, we chatted with Aspyr, which offers over a dozen games through the store including the current top-grossing game and Mac App Store Game of the Year Civilization V: Campaign Edition [Mac App Store]. Other major titles from Aspyr include Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Call of Duty 4, and DOOM 3.
Aspyr is in a relatively unique position among Mac App Store developers in that it already offered a significant digital distribution platform of its own through its GameAgent marketplace. But the Mac App Store has still been able to attract a significant amount of business from Aspyr customers, with Aspyr telling us that the Mac App Store accounted for sales of roughly 500,000 units across all of Aspyr's titles in 2011, representing 50-60% of the company's digital distribution business.
In particular, Aspyr credits the Mac App Store with breathing new life into older titles, bringing them to the attention of more casual gamers who would not have otherwise sought out the games. Unsurprisingly, games that receive featured treatment from Apple in the form of banners and other promotional mentions are the strongest performers for Aspyr.
Even beyond the Mac App Store, Aspyr cites general growth of the Mac platform as another driver of increased software sales. The Mac has seen steady momentum in outpacing overall PC market growth every quarter for nearly six years, most recently setting a new high with 12.9% of the market in the third quarter of 2011.
Overall, the Mac App Store remains heavily skewed toward Apple's own software, with the top six most popular apps and the eight highest-grossing apps in the store being Apple software. But given the volume of downloads on the store, a number of other developers are clearly seeing success with the store as it is proving popular with Mac users looking for ease of purchase and installation. According to our sister site AppShopper, there are currently over 8,900 apps available in the Mac App Store, making for a substantial library of content easily found and downloaded through the marketplace.
Study Finds Wireless Data Consumption of iPhone 4S Doubled from iPhone 4 [iOS Blog]
Jan 06, 5:03PM
Reuters reports on a new study from mobile network consulting firm Arieso showing that iPhone 4S users consume twice as much data as iPhone 4 users, with new features such as Siri driving the increased demand.
IPhone 4S users transfer on average three times more data than users of the older iPhone 3G model which was used as the benchmark in a study by telecom network technology firm Arieso.The spike in data usage for iPhone 4S users is likely not fully explained by the debut of Siri on the device, as a study by Ars Technica conducted soon after the device's launch revealed an average of 63 KB of data used per query. With even high-use users reporting making an average of fifteen queries per day, that would equate to approximately 30 MB of usage per month if all queries were performed over cellular networks.
Data usage of the previous model, the iPhone 4, was only 1.6 times higher than the iPhone 3G, while iPad2 tablets consumed 2.5 times more data than the iPhone 3G, the study showed.
As noted by ZDNet, other factors such as iTunes Match, iCloud, device speeds, larger photos, and "new toy syndrome" are also all likely contributing to the increased data usage.
Data usage has become a major area of concern for carriers as they seek to deal with the surging demand from smartphone users that are growing rapidly in number and in their demands for content. While a number of carriers such as AT&T; and Verizon launched the iPhone with "unlimited" data plans, most carriers have now switched to tiered data plans for new customers as they seek to encourage more modest data consumption and extract additional revenue from the heaviest data users.
Consequently, customers have had to become more aware of their data usage needs as they determine which data plan to sign up for in order to avoid what can be significant overage charges.
Evidence of Quad-Core Chips Shows Up in iOS 5.1 Betas
Jan 06, 4:46PM
9to5Mac reports that evidence of support for quad-core processors has shown up in beta versions of iOS 5.1, lending support to claims that Apple's forthcoming A6 chips will see a doubling in the number of processing cores.
The references to quad-core iPhone and iPad chips come by way of a hidden panel that describes cores that are supported by iOS device hardware. The updated core management software includes an option of "/cores/core.3," and this represents a fourth available processing core…The report notes that single-core processors such as the A4 found in the iPhone 4 and original iPad fall under a "cores/core.0" designation, while dual-core processors such as the A5 in the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 are covered by a "/cores/core.1" designation. The "/cores/core.3" reference thus suggests compatibility with a quad-core chip.
Apple's A6 system-on-a-chip has been rumored several times to carry a quad-core processor, and has been presumed to be set for inclusion in the company's next-generation iPad and iPhone models. There have, however, been some questions about whether the production timeline for the A6 would support its inclusion in the iPad 3, which is rumored for a release around March of this year.
China Unicom Offering Free iPhone 4S On Contract
Jan 06, 3:37PM
Earlier this week, Apple announced that it would be launching the iPhone 4S in 22 new countries on January 13, with China being the highest-profile debut in the group. Bloomberg now reports that China Unicom, Apple's existing iPhone carrier partner in the country, has released details on pricing that include a free iPhone 4S for users subscribing to contracts coming in at as little as $45 per month.
China United Network Communications Group (CHTZ), the nation's second-largest wireless carrier, will give users an Apple Inc. (AAPL) iPhone 4S if they sign multiyear service contracts costing as little as 286 yuan ($45) a month.Beyond the contract price levels required for a free iPhone 4S, China Unicom offers a complex series of service plans and term lengths that carry varying levels of subsidy for the iPhone 4S. Contracts are available in terms ranging from 1-3 years and begin at 66 yuan ($10) per month, with longer and more expensive contracts obviously carrying higher subsidies and thus lower device costs for consumers.
The promotion starting Jan. 13 offers a 32-gigabyte model with a three-year plan, while a commitment to two years for a monthly fee of 386 yuan allows users to get the 16-gigabyte model, the company known as China Unicom said in a statement on its website yesterday.
Full details on the China Unicom's contract options are available in Chinese in the company's press release.
Bloomberg notes that China Unicom previously offered similar pricing for the iPhone 4, but ended the practice due to the high subsidies cutting too much into the carrier's profitability. The carrier is continuing its efforts to rein in subsidies as it works to boost its smartphone customer base, but seems willing to make an exception for the iPhone 4S in hopes of winning away customers from other carriers.
Apple Bringing Store-Within-a-Store Concept to Target?
Jan 06, 3:07PM
AppleInsider reports that Apple is planning to launch a test program later this year that would see the company open "store-within-a-store" concepts in 25 Target stores around the United States. The stores would be similar to the "Apple Shops" found in a number of Best Buy locations.According to a source familiar with Apple's plans, the company plans to begin operating Apple-branded areas within 25 larger Target stores in locations which can't support a standalone Apple Store.The report notes that Apple has had a long-standing arrangement with Target for the retailer to feature iPods in its stores, a relationship that has since expanded to include the iPad and iPhone. With the test program, these select Target locations may soon also begin selling Mac products in its stores in addition to providing other dedicated Apple product sales support.
The initial opening would be a small start, given that Target, the second-largest discount retail chain in the US, operates 1752 stores in the US.
Best Buy Apple Shop (Source: Best Buy)
Many Best Buy Apple Shops are run under the Apple Solutions Consultants, which utilizes Apple-employed consultants to provide expertise within the Best Buy stores, although Best Buy employees may also assist customers.
'iPad 4' Headed for October Launch with iPad 3 as Interim Upgrade?
Jan 06, 2:33PM
In an effort to continue throwing ideas at the wall to see what might stick, the only occasionally reliable Digitimes today reported that not only will Apple be releasing the iPad 3 with high-resolution "Retina" display in March as is widely expected, but that the company will follow that up with the release of the iPad 4 in October.
On the topic of the iPad 3, Digitimes suggests that the Retina display will be the main attraction of the new device, with better battery life also serving to entice customers. But other hardware upgrades for the iPad 3 are said to be rather minimal, as Apple is reportedly rolling out the iPad 3 alongside an iPad 2 price cut to $399 as an interim effort to set the stage for a bigger battle with the competition later in the year.
Apple will ship the so-called "iPad 3" with a full HD display in March and then "iPad 4" - named so by its component suppliers - with killer applications in October, according to industry sources in Taiwan. [...]The rumor is somewhat reminiscent of last year's round of claims, which suggested that the iPad 2's successor would appear in late 2011 as an interim upgrade carrying a Retina display. Claims of a late 2011 iPad came from several different sources in July and early August of last year before other sources including The Wall Street Journal put the claim to rest.
But a true battle for market share will arrive in the second half of the year when Apple ships its iPad 4 in October, about the time when Microsoft releases its Window 8 and Intel unveils its Clover Trail-W platform, the sources commented.
The 9.7-inch iPad 4 is expected to come with much upgraded hardware specifications and integrated applications so as to compete with an array of Android-, Wintel- or WoA (Windows on ARM)-based tablet PCs to be released in the fourth quarter, said the sources.
Digitimes has a proliferative record of Apple-related rumors and has occasionally offered accurate information. But its information is generally considered unreliable given a significant number of claims that have failed to materialize. Claims of two separate iPad launches this year are sure to pique interest though, and we'll be waiting to hear if other sources offer similar information going forward.
CloudOn Returns Cloud-Hosted Office for iPad to App Store [iOS Blog]
Jan 06, 12:44AM
Earlier this week, stealth startup CloudOn released a free iPad app that aimed to bring the functionality of Microsoft Office to the iPad. One day later, the company declared the app "sold out" and pulled it until they could expand capacity. It has since been relaunched for some users, and will be opening up to more over time. In a post about the first day of CloudOn's public availability, the company shares some additional information about its privacy and security policies.
We enable you to be productive without overstepping our boundaries as a platform. Our privacy policy can be found at: www.cloudon.com/legal/privacy. We follow this privacy policy diligently across every part of our system.To determine if the application is available for download and if the service is active, visit the Status page on CloudOn's website. The CloudOn for iPad app is available free on the App Store. [Direct Link]
>From a security standpoint, none of your files are stored permanently on any of our systems. Your files are pulled only when you need them. Once you've finished editing them, they are saved back to Dropbox and wiped from our systems. We encrypt your credentials and also have 256-bit encryption between our servers and your client. We take pains to audit our security processes and improve them on a regular basis.
Sprint Throttles Top 1% of Data Users, No "Truly Unlimited" Data For US iPhone Users [Updated x2]
Jan 05, 10:23PM
Though Sprint, the United States' newest iPhone carrier, has been running advertisements touting its "truly unlimited" network, the carrier is throttling smartphone customers who use "excessive" amounts of data, according to Dow Jones Newswires. For those that want to abuse it, we can knock them off," [Sprint CEO Dan] Hesse said at an investor conference Thursday. He said Sprint pares back data use for about 1% of users, a practice known as throttling.
[...]
"You'd be shocked how much data you use in a month," Sprint asks in a recent television advertisement. "What happens if you go over? With Sprint, you don't have to worry; only Sprint offers truly unlimited data."
Hesse did say there were no plans for Sprint to move to tiered data plans like Verizon and AT&T; have switched to in recent years, however it appears that there is no longer any US carrier that offers "truly unlimited" data plans for the iPhone.
Update: As pointed out by TechCrunch, Dow Jones seems to have misinterpreted Hesse. The throttling only applies to customers who use excessive data while roaming on partnered networks -- "a guy in his house in rural Montana" for example. Sprint's fine print notes the carrier will begin throttling after 300 MB of "off-network" data usage.
Update 2: Sprint has now clarified the situation with a blog post indicating the carrier does not throttle any customer's data usage, even for those with excessive roaming usage. The carrier does, however, have terms in place that permit it to terminate the contracts of users with heavy roaming usage, and it attempts to reach out to those customers and work with them before terminating their contracts.
Foxconn Profit Margin Remains Tight As Apple Flourishes [iOS Blog]
Jan 05, 9:19PM
This chart, put together by Bloomberg, shows the slim profit margins that Foxconn deals with to build millions of pieces of consumer electronics for clients like Apple -- which has seen its margins grow dramatically in recent years.
At the time of the iPhone launch in 2007, Apple's profit margins were at 15.4 percent, while Foxconn's was at 2.7. In the most recent quarter, Apple reported 30.8 percent margins -- double what it was 4 years ago -- with Foxconn at a mere 1.5 percent.
Foxconn has continued to grow with the tremendously successful launches of new iPhones and the iPad. The company has sacrificed margin growth so it can get volume and scale, something very important to Apple which puts extraordinary pressure on its suppliers for low prices.
While Foxconn's margins are extremely small in comparison to Apple, they do exceed those of a number of categories, including grocery stores and the global shipping industry.
iPad 3 to Gain Improved Cameras? iPad 2 to Carry On at Lower Price?
Jan 05, 9:11PM
iLounge offers a new series of notes sharing information from a source about Apple's plans for the iPad 3. Among the most interesting notes is the claim that the next-generation iPad will carry significantly improved cameras on the front and back, moving to a FaceTime HD camera on the front and a higher-resolution iPhone-like camera on the rear. The source also reiterates iLounge's earlier claim that the next-generation iPad will be slightly thicker than the iPad 2 while retaining the same general form factor.
1) A few next-gen iPad notes, ahead of the show. Both cameras are getting upgrades. Front goes HD, rear becomes iPhone 4/4S-like (bigger).iLounge's source also follows some other current lines of thinking in reporting that Apple will continue to offer the iPad 2 alongside the iPad 3, dropping the price of the current model in order to tackle increasing competition from lower-priced competitors such as Amazon's Kindle Fire. Horwitz offers a $399 base price for the iPad 2 as a possibility, although that number appears to be pure speculation.
2) Body of the next iPad is, as we previously reported, getting just a little thicker to accommodate new parts - little = 1mm give or take.
3) Curve radiuses on the body will change only a little to accommodate the added thickness, not dramatically. Think iPad 2 Pro, not a redesign.
Finally, the iPad 3 is said to be in line for another March release, similar to that seen with the iPad 2 last year.
Apple Patent Applications Look Toward Thunderbolt on iOS Devices
Jan 05, 7:46PM
An extensive report from Patently Apple today highlights three newly-published patent applications from Apple related in various ways to Thunderbolt technology. Among the topics gaining the most attention are mentions of Thunderbolt being used on iOS devices and the potential for faster charging enabled by better heat dissipation.Before going into the details of this main patent in their series of three, it should be noted that Apple states in their secondary patent application that "the present invention, connection may also be a new type of connection." For example, "a connection may be provided between a portable media player and a display, a computer and a portable media player, or between other types of devices."The three patent applications cover such aspects as the basic pinout of the Thunderbolt connector and how the various wires are arranged within a cable, as well as methods for handling heat dissipation. With Thunderbolt cables containing integrated electronics, a relatively significant amount of heat can be generated and Apple's patent applications discuss how cable braiding and material choices can help manage that heat load.
The applications also discuss handling different voltages on Thunderbolt cables, acknowledging that it may be desirable to pass along higher voltages to devices for faster charging but that lower voltages would be required for simply passing data signals. To handle these voltage differences, Apple's patent applications describe methods for integrating voltage reduction circuitry only on those devices requiring the stepped-down voltage.
Patent applications are typically written to be as broadly applicable as possible while still being able to win acceptance by the patent examiner, and thus Apple's mention of Thunderbolt technology on "portable media player" devices may not be specifically pointing to imminent product plans. But Apple has revealed in past patent applications that it is interested in including DisplayPort technology (upon which Thunderbolt is based) in its current dock connector format used on iOS devices.
Infinity Blade Revenue Tops $30 Million [iOS Blog]
Jan 05, 7:12PM
In June of last year, Epic Games reported that it had made more than $10 million from the sale of Infinity Blade on iOS devices. Now, with the addition of Infinity Blade II to the roster, which Epic says has made more than $5 million since it was introduced at the beginning of December, the Infinity Blade franchise has passed more than $30 million in total revenue. Epic Games, Inc. and its award-winning Salt Lake City-based development studio, ChAIR Entertainment, today announced that earnings from ChAIR's blockbuster Infinity Blade video game franchise have eclipsed $30 million in just one year since the introduction of the original game. One of the most popular gaming franchises to be launched on the App Store, the award-winning series has also created significant licensing interest in the underlying Unreal Engine 3 technology from developers worldwide.Infinity Blade II is a universal app, available for $6.99 on the App Store. [Direct Link]
Further fueling franchise momentum is the recent release of Infinity Blade II, which has seen net earnings in excess of $5 million in just one month since release on Dec. 1, 2011, a mark which took the original title three months to achieve. Infinity Blade II is on pace to exceed the record success of the original Infinity Blade game, which has grossed more than $23 million to date.
The original Infinity Blade is also available for iPhone and iPad, and is available for $5.99 on the App Store. [Direct Link]
Samsung Loses Motion for Preliminary Injunction Banning iPhone 4S in Italy [iOS Blog]
Jan 05, 5:58PM
The Tribunale di Milano -- the Italian first-instance court for patent cases -- has denied a request by Samsung for a preliminary injunction banning the iPhone 4S in Italy over a patent dispute. A similar request was denied in France last month, and the Netherlands in October. The bans in Italy and France were initially requested in October.
Florian Mueller points out that both Apple and Samsung are not having any significant success asking for preliminary rulings, and instead both companies are "going to have to focus on regular, full-blown proceedings rather than the fast-track proceedings triggered by requests for preliminary injunctions."
The lawsuits in all three countries will continue for years, along with dozens of other lawsuits across the globe, but neither Apple nor Samsung appears close to winning any sort of a major decision.
Apple CEO Tim Cook Set to Reap Nearly $100 Million in Vesting Stock This Quarter
Jan 05, 4:54PM
The Wall Street Journal reports that data from executive compensation tracking firm Equilar shows Apple CEO Tim Cook set to see a major windfall during the first quarter of 2012 with the vesting of two separate restricted stock unit grants currently valued at nearly $100 million.Of all the Silicon Valley executives who have a vesting event scheduled for the first quarter of 2012, the one who stands to reap the most is Apple Inc. Chief Executive Tim Cook, the study found.The majority of the amount comes from a grant of 200,000 restricted stock units awarded to Cook in September 2008 as part of a package of retention bonuses paid out to Apple executives. That grant will vest on March 24th and is worth $83 million at today's stock price.
Mr. Cook has portions of two restricted-stock-unit grants—including one he received for filling in for Steve Jobs when the co-founder was on medical leave—vesting in the first quarter. As of Apple's closing stock price on Dec 30, those vesting shares of Mr. Cook's were worth $96.2 million, according to the study.
The remaining portion comes from a grant awarded in March 2010 in recognition of Cook's service while Steve Jobs was on a medical leave of absence during the first half of 2009. That bonus included $5 million in cash and 75,000 restricted stock units. The second half of those stock units, worth $15.5 million at today's stock price, will vest on March 10th. The first portion of that grant vested on March 10th of last year and would have brought Cook approximately $13 million.
The vesting stock is separate from an award of one million share units given to Cook as he officially took on the role of CEO. That grant is worth $415 million at today's stock price, but will not vest for a number of years. Cook will receive half of the shares in 2016 and the remainder in 2021, with both events contingent upon Cook remaining CEO of Apple.
Apple's 'Red Friday' Sales Go Live in Several Asian Countries
Jan 05, 4:28PM
Earlier this week, we noted that Apple was planning to hold a "Red Friday" sale in a number of its Asian markets in celebration of the Lunar New Year. The sale has now gone live in those countries, and a quick examination of the Hong Kong promotion reveals similar discounts to those seen on Black Friday in much of the world back in November.
In Hong Kong, Apple is offering discounts of roughly 8% on Wi-Fi iPad models across the board, while 3G-capable models are seeing slightly smaller discounts of 6-7%. The iPod touch is seeing approximately 10% discounts on all models, while the iPod nano is seeing a flat HK$ 80 discount that equates to an 8% discount on the 8 GB model and a 6.7% discount on the 16 GB model.
On the Mac side, Apple is offering a flat HK$ 770 discount on all MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and iMac models. That discount translates to a 10% discount on the low-end MacBook Air, decreasing to 4% on the high-end MacBook Pro.
Apple's Red Friday sale is a one-day offer valid in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand.
Apple Threatens Legal Action Over Upcoming Steve Jobs Figurine
Jan 05, 4:07PM
The Telegraph reports that Apple has threatened legal action against Hong Kong company In Icons, which has been taking pre-orders for a realistic-looking Steve Jobs figurine set to launch next month. The 12-inch figurine, which is being sold for $99.99 plus shipping, is a posable, highly-detailed reproduction of Jobs' likeness wearing his signature black mock turtleneck, blue jeans, and New Balance sneakers.
The legal wrangle is over the likeness of the doll to the late Apple founder, the rights of which the company claims it owns.
Apple reportedly stipulates in a letter to the Chinese manufacturer that any toy that resembles the technology company's logo, person's name, appearance or likeness of its products is a criminal offense.
Personality rights in the United States are addressed on a state-by-state basis, with California's laws covering unauthorized usage of a person's likeness, voice, or signature throughout their lifetime and for a period of 70 years following their death.
Apple's Interest in English Premier League Streaming Rights Disputed
Jan 05, 2:39PM
Earlier this week, a report from the UK's Daily Mail made waves for its claim that Apple was interested in bidding for the rights to stream English Premier League football games. There was a significant amount of skepticism regarding the report given that it would mark a significant departure from the company's usual model of content distribution, and The Guardian now follows up with a new report denying that Apple will be in the running.The Premier League is preparing to go to market with its lucrative television contract in the second quarter of this year, but the technology company Apple is believed to have ruled itself out of the running for the rights. [...]The report goes on to note that live matches broadcast by Sky are already available on iOS devices via the channel's SkyGo app and that archived Premier League content is available through iTunes. Those outlets make it less likely that Apple would view an expensive outright streaming deal as a worthwhile effort for the company.
However, despite speculation it is understood that Apple has not discussed bidding for the rights and is unlikely to do so, despite rumoured plans to launch an Apple TV device.
Its model relies on taking a cut of the revenue from existing content producers by retailing its content through its AppStore or iTunes service.
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