Apple may block Samsung Galaxy SIII sales in US

An Apple lawyer said the iPhone and iPad maker may seek a legal order stopping the launch of Samsung Electronics's Galaxy S III phone in the United States later this month. 

At a hearing on Thursday in a San Jose,California federal court, Apple attorney Josh Krevitt said the company could file for a temporary restraining order against Samsung as early as Friday. 

"Once sales are made, the harm is irreparable," Krevitt said. 

However, US District Judge Lucy Koh said she has many other cases. If Apple decides to seek a restraining order, it would likely delay a July trial date over different Samsung phones, as well as the Galaxy Tab 10.1. 

"I cannot be an Apple v. Samsung judge," Koh said. 

Apple sued Samsung for patent infringement last year, accusing the South Korean electronics maker of "slavishly" copying the iPhone and iPad. Samsung denies the claims and countersued. 

Apple's comments on Thursday came a day after Samsung Electronics, the world's largestsmartphone vendor, expanded its CEO's role to include oversight of corporate strategy across the entire Samsung Group - a conglomerate of more than 80 companies. 

Choi Gee-sung, 61, spearheaded Samsung's ascension to smartphone and TV leadership and his elevation signals that the storied South Korean conglomerate is grooming its next leader. Apple filed papers this week seeking to ban Samsung's new Galaxy S III, along with the Galaxy Nexus. Samsung has already booked over 9 million preorders of the Galaxy S III, which is set to be sold by carriers in the United States on June 21, Apple said in its court filing. 

Samsung, however, argued that Apple should not be allowed to seek such a fast injunction against the Galaxy S III. 

Samsung attorney William Price also said the technology covered by Apple's patents - such as auto-correcting typed text - are not responsible for sales of Galaxy phones. 

"There is no advertising or marketing on these features at all" by Apple, Price said. 

Samsung's Galaxy products run on the Android operating system, developed by Google. In addition to Samsung's legal team, several Google attorneys attended the hearing before Koh on Thursday. 

Apple has also accused Google's Motorola Mobility unit of infringing its iPhone patents. However, a Chicago-based federal judge on Thursday tentatively scrapped a trial between those two that had been scheduled to begin next week. 

"Neither party can establish a right to relief," Judge Richard Posner wrote. 

In California, Koh did not rule from the bench on Thursday on Apple's request for an injunction on the Nexus. 

The Samsung case in US District Court, Northern District of California is Apple vs Samsung Electronics et al, 12-cv-630.

Source:TOI

Samsung Galaxy SIII beats iPhone in UK: Survey

Samsung's new Galaxy SIII has now become the UK's most popular handset based on live searches and sales, according to a survey. 

According to the uSwitch.com Mobile Tracker, more Britons are looking online for Galaxy SIII than any other device. 

Last month, the iPhone 4S replaced the previous model, the Galaxy SII, but the SIII pushed it down to second place on its first appearance in the online chart, The Telegraph reports. 

Apple's iPhone 4S is at two, while the iPhone 4 is at seven. 

HTC's One Series handsets now feature three times in the top ten, while Sony retains just one phone on the list, with its Xperia S at number ten. 

Ernest Doku, technology expert at uSwitch.com, said that 'the SIII is living up to expectations.' 

"But what is interesting this month is the arrival of the HTC One series as a major player in the smartphone market alongside Apple and Samsung," Doku added.
Source:TOI

Apple CEO hints at iTV

 Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said technology for televisions was of "intense interest" but stressed the company's efforts would unfold gradually amid speculation the iPad and iPhone maker was on the brink of unveiling a revolutionary iTV. 

In one of his more revealing interviews since assuming the helm of the world's most valuable company, Cook also said he hoped someday to see Apple products manufactured in the United States and outlined his approach to managing an organization long-associated with its late founder Steve Jobs. 

"Another thing that Steve taught us all is to not to be focused on the past," Cook told this year's All Things Digital conference, an annual gathering of A-list technology and media executives in the upscale California coastal resort town of Rancho Palos Verdes. 

Industry insiders and executives say Apple may unveil a TV-based device in late 2012 or 2013 that has the potential to shake up the cozy television content and distribution industry the way the iPod and iPhone disrupted music and mobile content, but Cook has steered clear of commenting on that issue directly. 

"This is an area of intense interest for us," Cook said, referring to Apple's existing television set-top box product. 

"We're going to keep pulling this string and see where it takes us." 

When asked specifically if Apple was making a television set, Cook said he was not going to answer that question. Apple already sells a $99 set top box called Apple TV that streams Netflix and other content. Cook, who has previously said the Apple TV product had a hobby status inside the company, noted the company was sticking with it despite not being known as a "hobby kind of company." 

"Here's the way we would look at that, not just at this area but other areas, and ask can we control the key technology?" he said in response to a question about how Apple thinks about improving the television experience for consumers. "Can we make a significant contribution, far beyond what others have done in this area? Can we make a product that we would want?" 

Apple has been in negotiations with content companies for its devices. It began talks earlier this year to stream films owned by EPIX, which is backed by three major movie studios. 

The company has a good relationship with content owners and doesn't see the need to own a content business, Cook said, adding he has met with several people in that business recently. 

Made in USA?

In wide-ranging remarks, Cook said he would like to see more of the company's products assembled at home than in China and contain more US components such as semiconductors. 

Apple has been criticized for relying on low-cost Asian manufacturers to assemble its products and for contributing to the decline of the US manufacturing sector. 

Cook, who took the helm of the world's most valuable technology company in August shortly before founder Steve Jobs died, said manufacturing in the United States was difficult because of declining tool-and-die manufacturing expertise, among other things, but he was working on it. 

"There are things that can be done in the US, not just for the US market but that can be exported for the world," Cook said. "On the assembly piece, could that be done in the US? I hope so, again, one day," he added. 

Apple's final assembly is done through Asian contract manufacturers, particularly Taiwan's Foxconn Technology Group and its listed entity Hon Hai Precision. Cook noted that Apple does some component manufacturing in the United States, including the main microchip that runs the iPhone and iPad. 

Apple makes the A5 processor in a 1.6 million square-foot factory in Austin, Texas, owned by Korean electronic giant Samsung Electronics. 

Cook also said some of the glass for the iPhone and iPad is made in a plant in Kentucky. 

The CEO talked about how the iPad was just in the "first innings," but declined to say what was in store for it next. 

He reiterated his belief that many consumers will use the iPad more than computers. In response to a question about PC software-maker Microsoft's efforts to enter the tablet market, Cook brushed off the threat. 

"The more you look at the tablet as a PC, the more the baggage from the past affects the product," he said. 

Apple released the iPad in 2010 and it has quickly defined the tablet computer market, selling more than 67 million units so far. 

Doubling down on secrecy

The 51-year old Cook said he spends less time focused on marketing and design as CEO than his predecessor, who Cook said spent "virtually all of his time on those two things." 

At a company the size of Apple, Cook said, having a strong team is critical. 

"You could have an S on your chest and a cape on your back and not be able to do everything," said Cook, who later cited Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr as well as Walt Disney Co Chief Executive Bob Iger as figures that he looks up to. 

Cook also discussed efforts to make the company more transparent on certain issues, such as supplier responsibility and environmental matters, but stressed he was committed to preserving Apple's culture. 

One Jobs legacy that Cook flagged is Apple's well-known penchant for going to great lengths to keep details of new products under tight wraps, noting that he planned to "double down on secrecy" on products. 

But he suggested Apple would not be constrained by its past. "I love museums, but I don't want to live in one," he said.

Source: TOI.IT

Samsung displaces Nokia from top spot in cellphone market

Nokia has been bumped off its 14-year top spot as the world's largest cellphone company by Samsung, according to a British research firm. Gartner said that Samsung Electronics Co sold 86.6 million cellphones in the first quarter, inching past Nokia Corp's sales of just over 83 million units.

Apple Inc sold 33 million iPhones, with a global market share of some 8 percent. Last month Boston-based Strategy Analytics said Samsung had overtaken struggling Nokia as the world's largest seller of cellphones by volume in the first quarter, grabbing a 25 percent global market share against Nokia's 22 percent. Both agencies have rated Nokia in third place in terms of smartphone sales behind Samsung and the iPhone.

Source: TOI.IT

HTC-Apple fight delays launch of One X, EVO 4G LTE

US sales of two new smartphones from Taiwan's HTC Corp will be delayed due to a patent dispute with Apple Inc, a fresh blow to the company as it tries to turn around declining sales in what was once its largest market. The news knocked its shares down 5 per cent. Apple scored a narrow victory against HTC in a patent lawsuit in December over technology in the smartphones, one of many such disputes in the fiercely competitive smartphone market.

HTC said in a statement on Wednesday that "the US availability of the HTC One X and HTC EVO 4G LTE has been delayed due to a standard US Customs review of shipments that is required after an ITC ( International Trade Commission) exclusion order". Under that ruling, HTC phones with the disputed technology would be banned from entering the US from April 19. HTC has said that it has a workaround in its new phones to avoid the technology. The shipments still require inspection however.

Some shipments of the One X model had reached the US before the ban date, enabling the model's launch, but further shipments are being delayed, an HTC official in Taipei said.

US operator AT&T, which has been carrying the One X model in store since May 6, says the smartphone is "out of stock" on its website. The launch of the EVO 4G LTE by Sprint, originally scheduled for Friday, will be delayed. Sprint has been taking pre-orders on its website.

In its statement, HTC said it believes it is "in compliance with the ruling and HTC is working closely with customs to secure approval". 

Sprint and AT&T both declined to comment.As of 0405 GMT, HTC shares were down 4.6 per cent in a broader market down 1.3 per cent. "Previously, it was expected that general exclusion order from the patent infringement referred to only old models from HTC. However, the latest news suggest otherwise with all models (new and old) potentially at risk," Goldman Sachs said in a trading note to clients seen by Reuters.

It said the US market was expected to account for 15-20 per cent of HTC's second-quarter shipments, and this delay might hit the company's earnings this quarter and possibly in the third quarter, depending on how quickly HTC could resolve the issue. Last month, HTC Chief Executive Officer Peter Chou said HTC would not return to the days when more than 50 per cent of its revenue came from the United States, a market where it saw a big drop last year because of the fierce competition from Apple's iPhone 4S.

Former contract maker HTC had a fairytale ride in 2010 and early 2011, when its shares more than tripled in the 14 months to April 2011. The company's sales grew four-fold in 1-1/2 years as consumers snapped up its innovative phones with their distinctive large clock numerals.

But it suffered an equally rapid fall from grace as its phones failed to keep up with Apple's iPhones and Samsung's Galaxy range.

In late February, HTC announced its One series of models with fast graphic chips and advanced music and photography functions, to generally positive reviews from analysts and tech bloggers.

Source:TOI.IT

Apple fixes Siri bug calling Nokia Lumia 'best smartphone'

Apple has fixed a bug that caused personal assistant app Siri to declare that Nokia Lumia 900 was the best smart phon eever. Last week, some users reported that Siri said 'Lumia' when it was questioned about the best smartphone ever, Stuff.co.nz reports. 

However, Apple has appeared to fix the problem, because after repeated attempts, Siri now only answers with either "You're kidding, right?" or "Wait ... there are other phones?" Siri uses search engine Wolphram Alpha to calculate the best response to any given question. Based on customer reviews from across the web, WolphramAlpha ranked the Nokia Lumia 900 as the "best" smartphone currently on offer. 

Apple's own iPhone 4S, the only model that Siri appears on, did not feature on the WolphramAlpha's list of best smartphones. Despite the fact that the quirk appears to have been resolved, Apple has not publically confirmed that it has altered Siri's response.
Source:TOI.IT

Apple: We are turning Green, not rotten

When Greenpeace went to town with its " Rotten Apple" accusation last week in India, the maker of best-selling gadgets iPad and iPhone was not amused.

Particularly because it had already refuted what it called was the Green guerrilla warrior's "over the top" hysterics in the US.

The latest accusation followed by demonstration in six countries, including India, in which Greenpeace singled out Apple for some environmental stick drew Cupertino, US-based Apple out of its usual shell to refute the charges.

An Apple spokeswoman was at pains to explain how before the survey Greenpeace representatives had been told their premise was erroneous. And yet, Greenpeace chose to focus on Apple, perhaps because using Apple's name would get it the required attention.

The American environmental NGO's report, 'How Green is your Cloud' pertains to the use of energy in running the data centres of top technology companies. The campaign - like most Greenpeace campaigns - was signed by lakhs of online users.

The Greenpeace report also castigated Microsoft, Amazon and Twitter with poor ranking.

"We love our iPhones, they make our lives better; but they shouldn't make the planet worse," a Greenpeace spokesman was quoted as saying.According to Greenpeace report, Google, Facebook and Yahoo were among those who got a good ranking. Apple was given a 'D' ranking based on efficiency of datacenters, sharing information about power use, and lobbying utilities to provide clean energy. But the company got 'F' grading in terms of location of its datacenters in places where electricity to power them still comes largely from coal.

Two of Apple's data centres located in Maiden, North Carolina and Prineville, Oregon which were mentioned in the Greenpeace report, are being used to host its iCloud service.


"Our data center in North Carolina will draw about 20 megawatts at full capacity, and we are on track to supply more than 60% of that power on-site from renewable sources including a solar farm and fuel cell installation which will each be the largest of their kind in the country. We believe this industry-leading project will make Maiden the greenest data center ever built, and it will be joined next year by our new facility in Oregon running on 100% renewable energy," the Apple PR spokeswoman told The Times of India.


The world over, the mushrooming of data centers has led to huge electricity consumption by them. Organisations like Greenpeace keep tab on them every year in a bid to force them to use renewable sources of power.Normally media reticent Apple refused to share exactly how many data centres it runs, citing competitive reasons, but claimed its other facilities located in Cork, Ireland; Munich, Germany; Austin, Texas; and Elk Grove, California are using 100 percent renewable energy resources.


In its 'Facilities Report,' Apple also talks about a tiered, three-step approach to achieving a 'net zero' goal including: ensuring its facilities are as energy efficient as possible; generating clean, renewable energy onsite and meeting the remaining need."In terms of the crucial off-site renewable energy, Apple pursues grid-purchased renewable energy from newer projects to provide energy developers with incentives to create more renewable energy resources. We also favour projects located within the same state or grid region as our facilities, to positively influence local renewable energy development," according to the report.


Interestingly, Apple pointed out that the 2011 grid mix for Duke Energy, its utility provider in North Carolina, showed coal usage at 45%, rather than 61% as reported by Greenpeace. It claimed it was the first company to report its total carbon footprint and that its facilities only accounted for 2% of that while the product lifecycle accounted for 98%.Apple is building what it said is the largest directly-owned, onsite solar array in the US. When completed, this 100-acre, 20-megawatt facility will supply 42 million kWh of renewable energy annually.


It is also building a fuel cell installation that goes online later this year and will be the largest non-utility fuel cell installation in the US. This 5-megawatt facility will be powered by 100% biogas, and provide more than 40 million kWh of 24x7 baseload renewable energy annually. 

However, many industry observers say that hydrogen fuel cells and even solar energy tech are yet to mature as a full-fledged alternative to non-renewable fossil fuels that currently power most of the world's humongous power-hungry facilities. This is obviously not the first, nor likely the last, skirmish between the world's best known Green warrior and the world's best-selling gadgets maker.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes

Apple to drop Google Maps in iOS 6

Apple will drop Google Maps from its upcoming mobile platform iOS 6in favour of its own mapping system, it was reported Friday. 

The application design is said to be fairly similar to the current Google Maps programme on the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, but it is described as a much cleaner, faster and more reliable experience, said technology news website 9to5mac, citing its sources. 

Over the last few years, Apple has been acquiring mapping companies like Placebase, C3 Technologies and Poly9. The acquisitions enable Apple to create a complete mapping database of its own instead of relying on Google's solutions, reported Xinhua. 

The most important aspect of the new Apple Maps application, according to the report, is a powerful 3D mode, which is technology straight from C3 Technologies, a Swedish company Apple bought last year. 

Apple has been gradually pushing Google Maps away. Last week, Apple acknowledged that itsiOS iPhoto app, a photo-sorting tool for the iPad and iPhone, had switched from Google Maps data to Open Street Map data since March. The app uses mapping data to display the shoot location of geotagged photos. 

Apple is scheduled to hold its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco from June 11 to 15. The key announcement at this year's conference is expected to be iOS 6, the sixth generation of its mobile operating system. 
Source :timesofindia.indiatimes  

Apple to pay huge amount for iPad settlement: China Lawyer

Apple is offering an undisclosed amount of money to Chinese firm Proview Technology to settle its dispute over the iPadtrademark, Proview's lawyer has said. Apple came under pressure after the Chinese Commerce Ministry publicly backed the local firm, sources said. 

Proview's attorney Xie Xianghui told the official media that the two companies had discussed a compensation package, and Apple offered an amount it deemed as appropriate. But theProview side has not agreed on the deal yet. 

Apple's case in Chinese courts is that it bought off the iPad trademark, originally coined by the bankrupt Proview, from its office in Taipei. But Proview's claim is that it was a different entity from its Taipei brother and thus not bound by the deal between Proview Taipei and Apple. 

The US giant received a jolt in late April when Fu Shuangjian, deputy director general of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce under the Ministry of Commerce, told a press conference that Proview (Shenzhen) still reserved the right to use the iPad trademark in China in accordance with the Chinese Trademark Law. 

The case is an anti-thesis of the common accusations levelled by the US manufacturers and government agencies about copyright violations by Chinese companies. Now, a Chinese company has accused a US giant of copyright theft. This could be the reason why official agencies in China are backing Proview's case. 

There are signs Apple coined the "New iPad" name for its latest version hoping to avoid being entangled by Chinese law. But it might still have to cough up huge amounts of money if the company wants to access the vast Chinese market. The New iPad has not been released in China yet. 

"We feel that the attitude of Apple Inc. has changed. Although they expressed that they were willing to negotiate, they have never taken any action before. But now, they are having conversations with us, and we have begun to consult on the case," Xie told the official Xinhua news agency. 

Apple has reasons to worry because China is not only one of its biggest markets, but it is also the place where more than half of its products are made. A court ban on the use of the iPad trademark will affect both its production and sales capabilities. 

Proview also claims that it had registered the iPad trademark in a number of countries and regions in 2000. Its lawyers have earlier indicated the company is prepared to take the trademark battle to other countries.

Via :Timesofindia.indiatimes