Apple iPhone 5 SIM FREE UNLOCKED – White (16GB, WHITE)
by Apple
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Buy new: £508.99
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Apple is looking to force Google to turn over its Android source code as part of the company’s ongoing patent lawsuit with Samsung.
Before a U.S. magistrate judge this week, Apple accused Google of improperly withholding pretrial information related to the mobile operating system, according to Bloomberg.
Specifically, the company is seeking all of the search terms that Google is using to discover documents that Apple has requested.
"It’s a question of transparency," Mark Lyon, a lawyer for Apple, to a U.S. magistrate. "We have concerns that they’re not doing a full search."
Google is caught up in the Apple vs Samsung lawsuit because it "provides much of the accused functionality," said the lawyer for Apple in a case filing.
True enough, Google’s Android mobile operating system runs the Samsung smartphones that have been at the heart of the trial, including the Epic 4G and Galaxy S2.
But Matthew Warren, an attorney for the Mountain View company who is also representing Samsung, didn’t see the fairness behind Apple’s petition.
Google, he argued before the judge, doesn’t have the same legal rights, like "reciprocal discovery," as a third-party to the case.
The search terms are "future discovery that we don’t think [Apple is] entitled to," and could lead to "ideas about how to proceed that they wouldn’t have had."
The judge has not declared whether or not Google will have to provide Apple with all of the Android information being sought in this second patent lawsuit between Apple and Samsung.
Samsung was found guilty of the first patent infringement case last year after a jury found that Samsung was violating six of Apple’s patents.
That jury awarded Apple $1.049 billion (£675 million, AU$1.03 billion) in August, but a judge halved that amount due to jury errors three months later and ordered the new trial, which ensures more back-and-forth legal squabbling between all of the companies.
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Apple’s iOS 7 could be ‘delayed’ as the company gives Sir Jonathan Ive time and space to completely overhaul the mobile OS.
People ‘with knowledge of the matter’ told Bloomberg that while Apple is still aiming to reveal iOS 7 at WWDC 2013 and launch it with the new iPhone in September, it has set internal deadlines later than for previous versions.
What’s more, workers from the Mac team have been drafted in to help finish work on iOS 7 in time for a WWDC 2013 preview.
We’ve already heard that Ive has been hard at work clearing all the skeuomorphism out of the software (all the app icons and design elements that take their cues from real-world objects, like the bookshelves in iBooks and the notepaper in Notes).
Bloomberg’s chatty sources added that Ive is also looking at major changes to the email and calendar apps, and fostering new working relationships between the soft- and hardware divisions at Apple. Synergy!
The new design direction is said to be flat as a pancake, meaning clean lines, vectors, gloss-free colours and an altogether more Windows Phone-esque look.
Delays are one thing but Apple can hardly afford another iOS disaster like iOS Maps, which launched alongside iOS 6 to the disdain of every iPhone user in the world. Hence why Ive is reportedly ‘methodically reviewing new designs’ himself.
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Now that automobiles are finally rolling off the assembly line with Siri’s "Eyes-Free" technology introduced with iOS 6, Apple may be eyeing even deeper integration for the next version of its mobile software.
9to5Mac reported Tuesday that Apple is working on new ways to integrate iOS devices into the automobile, an initiative that could be unveiled when Cupertino rolls out the latest iOS 7 later this year.
According to numerous sources, Apple is working with automakers to "deeply embed" services like Maps, which could provide turn-by-turn navigation on a car’s built-in display in place of proprietary GPS software installed at the factory.
The feature is said to be controlled by Siri, the voice assistant technology currently powering Apple’s "Eyes-Free" auto integration with partners such as Chevrolet, BMW, Toyota, Honda and Land Rover.
This isn’t the first time Apple has been rumored to jump into the driver’s seat, with a June 2007 report claiming the company was hard at work on an in-car satellite navigation only days before the original iPhone hit the streets.
The company has also left a sizable trail of auto-related bread crumbs in its wake thanks to the patent filings required to protect future technologies the company might incorporate into its products.
Only last week, reports surfaced that Apple filed a pair of auto-related patents for smart key and parking locator functionality, while earlier today a patent for automatically selecting the best number to call in case of an emergency was revealed.
While Apple’s own Maps and Siri integration may be ready for iOS 7, sources caution that there’s no guarantee the features will actually be released this year, since they require extensive testing as well as agreements with automakers in place.
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Apple has announced it will resurrect its Tech Talks roadshow later this year, after the annual WWDC developer conference sold out in a record time on Thursday.
The company shifted all 5,000 tickets, which cost a cool $1,599 (UK£1,035, AUD$1,556) a pop, in just two minutes, meaning most of the developers hoping to attend have been left out in the cold.
However the company says it’ll be bringing the Tech Talks to ‘a city near you’ this autumn, in order to give developers assistance with the new products they intend to unveil at WWDC.
In a statement on the company’s developer website, Apple wrote: "Enthusiasm for WWDC 2013 has been incredible, with tickets selling out in record time. For those who can’t join us in San Francisco, you can still take advantage of great WWDC content, as we’ll be posting videos of all our sessions during the conference. We’ll also be hitting the road this fall with Tech Talks in a city near you. Hope to see you there."
The Tech Talks last took place when Apple was pushing iOS 5 in 2011. The Next Web points out that those smaller events took place in Berlin, London, Rome, Beijing, Seoul, São Paolo, NYC, Seattle and Austin.
At those events, developers were given presentation on iOS 5 and attended lab sessions with engineers in order to address questions and problems.
The company is yet to announce the destinations for the 2013 iteration, which will likely centre around iOS 7, expected to be announced at WWDC in June.
Last year WWDC tickets sold out in two hours, but this year’s rush was prompted by Apple announcing the precise time they’d be going on sale.
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Ah, legal troubles. Does any tech firm not have a few?
A few tribunal tales have popped up today, but we’ll start with the firm that always seems to find itself on either end of a lawsuit.
Apple actually got some welcome news as the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) threw out the final "patent-in-suit" remaining from a grievance filed in 2010 by Google-owned Motorola against the Cupertino company, as reported by FOSS Patents.
The patent in question dealt with a "sensor controlled user interface for portable communication devices," but the ITC ruled it invalid.
What it means for Apple is that it can continue to import iPhones into the U.S. that have the sensor (which causes the phone to ignore touch gestures when the user is on a phone call, for example).
Google can appeal the decision to the same court currently reviewing another ITC ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Judging by its history, this is an option Google will likely take.
Across the pond in a little town called Amsterdam, the city’s District Court granted a request put in by Nokia to place a preliminary injunction on supplies of microphone parts invented by and made exclusively for the Finnish firm. This is according to a Nokia statement picked up by Engadget today.
The loser on the other side is HTC, which reportedly uses the components in its flagship One phone, a device that only recently starting shipping to customers after delays. The mics are said to be found in the Lumia 720.
"HTC has no license or authorization from Nokia to use these microphones or the Nokia technologies from which they have been developed," the statement read.
"In its marketing materials, HTC claims that its HDR microphone is a key feature for the HTC One, but it is Nokia technology, developed exclusively for use in Nokia products," it continued.
Apparently, HTC using Nokia parts without permission is an ongoing issue, and Nokia wants its competitor to "compete using its own innovations and to stop copying from Nokia."
HTC said it was disappointed by the decision and is looking at what impact it will have on its business as well as alternative solutions.
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Here’s an interesting turn of events in the ongoing flood of legal battles. Both Apple and Google’s Motorola Mobility have been accused by a US Judge of using their continued dispute as "a business strategy".
Miami District Judge Robert Scola reckons that neither of the pair are interested in ending the patent fight they’re embroiled in, instead using the conflict to attract media attention.
"The parties have no interest in efficiently and expeditiously resolving this dispute," said the District Judge. "They instead are using this and similar litigation worldwide as a business strategy that appears to have no end."
Of course, this may seem like speculation on the Judge’s part, but it certainly makes an interesting point. There doesn’t seem to be a day that passes that Apple isn’t quarrelling with either Samsung or Google over a new alleged patent infringement of some type.
The statement came as Apple and Google fought out over a patent involving wireless technology in a Florida court, which kicked off back in 2010.
Both companies were given four months to streamline the scope of the case. The Judge said that if they failed to do so, he would put the case on hold until all the patent terms are clearly defined. We reckon that could take a while.
He referred to actions of the companies as "obstreperous and cantankerous conduct," telling them that it was not a proper use of court time. Stick it to ‘em!
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There’s been more speculation that Apple is looking to ditch Samsung chips in its iPhone and iPad devices, as one paper claims that Samsung has been completely left out of Apple’s A7 chip development project.
The A7 application processors in the works now are expected to hit Apple devices in the first half of 2014.
The Korea Times’ sources tell it that the "deterioration of ties" between Apple and Samsung has "expanded to chips" having begun in the screen/display arena.
Instead, Apple is reportedly looking to Nvidia and TSMC to create its next-gen processors using 20nm processing tech – although we’ve heard Intel bandied around too.
If Apple does completely cut Samsung out of the chip game, it’ll be quite a blow to the Korean company which is reportedly hoping to fill the void with its own Exynos processors which it will use in its own Galaxy line-up.
It might surprise you to learn that the two companies work together at all, given the many, varied and escalating patent lawsuits between Apple and Samsung over the past year.
With all the sniping and griping that’s gone on both in and out of the courtroom, it’s no surprise that Apple is looking to sever its ties with Samsung – and the latest reports tie in with rumours that have been circling since October.
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Who said Google gets to have all the fun on iOS?
Word from the Wall Street Journal is that Apple is chatting with Yahoo on ways the latter’s services can have a more prominent role in iPhones and iPads.
iOS phone owners already have Yahoo Finance and weather apps baked into their handsets, while some data, like sports stats, circulate in Siri, but the Journal’s sources are talking about an even deeper integration.
One facet of the discussions reportedly centers around packing iDevices with info from Yahoo News and other Yahoo web properties or stuffing more Yahoo goods into Siri.
Increasing Yahoo’s presence in iOS isn’t too earth shattering, but apparently Yahoo has contemplated a loftier takeover, one that could get it into more mobile devices while also helping Apple put a longer arm between it and Mountain View.
Though "still a long shot," Yahoo has reportedly pondered ways it could provide search results to replace Google in iOS.
There are a few hitches to this happening, not least of which is Yahoo has 10-year deal in place with Microsoft for Bing to power its search service. Things apparently got closer when Apple turned to Yahoo for a Siri update last year, not to mention Apple’s axing of the YouTube and Maps apps, but so far there hasn’t been a search switch.
What’s more, Google has done its part to stay relevant – and in demand – on the competing platform by bringing a host of its apps to iOS, making unseating it and making Apple less antsy all the more unlikely.
One interesting wrinkle in the Journal’s report is that the publication noted Eddy Cue, senior vice president of internet software and services at Apple, has joined other execs in saying they aren’t willing to sacrifice the quality of Google search in the company’s products.
However, Bloomberg reported late Tuesday that Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and Cue have met to discuss a deeper relationship between the two firms, though those talks seemingly center around bringing more Yahoo services to iOS and not necessarily on search.
No deal is imminent and so far the discussions look like little more than hot air, but we’ll keep you posted on any and all updates.
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Apple iPhone 5 16GB Black Locked to Orange / T-Mobile / EE
by Apple
(1)
Buy new: £439.00
24 used & new from £345.81
(Visit the Bestsellers in SIM-free Mobile Phones & Smartphones list for authoritative information on this product’s current rank.)