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Posts Tagged ‘Apple’

The U.S. International Trade Commission announced that Apple’s patent-infringement complaint against HTC will be reviewed.  The agency has the authority to review Apple’s allegation against a Taiwanese company which violated five of its patents. The patents include the scrolling operations, the double-sided touch-sensitive panel, and the programmable tactile touch-screen displays.

The review follows their initial decision in July 2011 that HTC has violated two of the Apple’s patents. Apple claims HTC has committed infringement in a complaint made last March 2010. Yet, the review rooted from a second complaint filed last July by Apple which directed at Android smartphones and its Flyer Tablet.

If HTC loses the case, HTC products will be banned from entering in US.  Apple only needs to obtain a favorable response on one of the patents for this to be possible.

For now, HTC is considered to be the most vulnerable in legal matter among the Android partners since it does not have a robust portfolio of patents which will serve as a possible shield. HTC bought S3 Graphics mainly for the reason that a collection of patents were used illegally by Apple.  Both parties refused to comment on the matter.

Acer, the Taiwanese PC maker has announced on press time its plans to acquire iGware Inc- a California-based cloud-computing technology developer for $320 million in cash. The deal includes an exchange of cloud-based products and other services. Acer also reveals its future plans of acquisitions.

Since 2007, iGware is Acer’s second acquisition in the United States market. Four years ago, it acquired PC maker Gateway Inc. for $710 million. In 2008, Acer acquired seventy-five percent of Packard Bell and E-ten Information Systems Co.- both are Taiwan companies. In 2009, they acquired 29.9 percent of Italy’s Olidata S.p.A.

The acquisitions were brought about by the major changes in their senior executives which include Gianfranco Lanci’s departure earlier this year. Afterwhich, the company appointed Jim Wong last April as their corporate president. Along with the company’s changes, they have announced last May that it will reserve $150 million as charge to earnings to settle disputed accounts in Europe which attacked their inventory management.

The idea of using cloud computing technology spurred from the increasing popularity of mobile gadgets like smartphones and tablets. The cloud technology technically allows their users to access the Internet and store these data on the internet without having to use their gadget’s internal memory. Other major tech companies have already been using such technology such as Hewlett-Packard Co., Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., and Intel Corp.

According to experts, this market is projected to grow 27 percent annually for the following five years and may reach $73 million in 2015.

Stocks is going to be challenged to show the tide of the latest selling in a few days as political jousting around is bound in bringing up the worsening debt ceiling of United States.

Investors have now become discouraged by the absence of development concerning the debate between the Republican-majority House and Democrat that controlled the White House. With this, investors choose to move around to a safer perception of cash assets.

S&P 500 index’s benchmark now noted its worst weekly deficit in five straight days.

As the squabbling of debt ceiling has become the focus, this season the earnings are projected to heat up right after a stable preliminary week.  Based on the data revealed by Thomson Reuters, thirty nine business companies have reported 74% earnings in the S&P 500 index’s benchmark. This outdone the estimation of Wall Street.

The House Speaker of the Republican in Congress, John Boehner stated that the Democrats together with Pres. Obama still did not lay down a solid debit plans. Boehner underlined the hostility in consultations to ward off the default status of the government.

S&P 500 concluded down by 2.1% as for the current week while Dow cut down by 1.4%. Nasdaq also went down by 2.5%.

Moreover, companies included in the index are predicted to illustrate a rise of 6.5% over the 2^nd quarter of the year 2010 when the entire reports are finally in.

In addition to the quarterly reports, ten Dow Companies along with major companies for finance such as Morgan Stanley (MS.N), Goldman Sachs (GS.N), American Express (AXP.N) and Bank of America Corporation (BAC.N) are also due to present their earnings. Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.O), Intel Corporation (INTC.O) and Apple Incorporated (AAPL.O) are also scheduled to report quarterly earnings.

For next month, a massive shipping vessel will be transporting the final four giant metal segments out of the 2 dozen modules needed for the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge. Each module will have a roadbed segment as huge as an average football field. These steel modules will be transferred 6,500 miles to Oakland and then the pieces will be assembled in order to accommodate the new Bay Bridge’s eastern span.

This venture is a component of the continual move up of China to the economic value chain of the world, aiming in becoming the civil engineer of the world; from producing cheap toys, endeavoring Apple iPads and then to commercial jetliners.

The California’s assembly work and the loading and transporting of the concrete road surface is poured down by the Americans, while the materials and bridge decks’ constructions were all made in China affair. Officials of California expressed that with letting China in will save the state hundreds of millions of dollars.

California Department of Transportation’s program manager Tony Anziano claimed that the Chinese laborers have produced quite a remarkable bridge for the state. He already visited the manufacturing site that covers 1.2 square mile, emphasizing that just 4 years ago, the site was just only covered with lots of orange groves and steel plates.

Just two years ago, the habit of Americans in buying phone changed. More consumers has opt owning not just a cell phone but two or a traditional landline. Last Thursday, according to Nielsen analytics, more Americans are now buying smart phones instead of traditional phones. Those who already purchase mobile phone also bought smart phones.

Based on the results of Nielsen’s survey, fifty-five percent of consumers who purchased phone for the past three months also bought a new smart phone. This is 9 percent higher than last winter’s sales. Although majority of the market still belongs to feature phones, the thirty-eight percent of buyers who has smart phones is expected to increase for the next months since Americans now thinks of upgrading their phones.

As this trend continues, it is important to track down if a phone is genuine or only stolen. According to Nielsen, Apple is apparently the primary driver. Yet, Android has been on top on security activations while Google is still the leader in OS. And although Apple is considered to be the fastest growing operating system when it comes to market share, Android owns seven percent of the more secured activations compared to Apple. This means that their share has reached stability. The smart phone market’s share is still on a twenty-one percent. With these information, one must be able to decide which phone should be bought in accordance to market share and security activations.

Apple products will undergo a new upgrade—and that means Apple is suggesting the latest mobile operating system iOS 5 should be running on it.

That of course is not a surprise since the company’s other devices like iPhone and iPod Touch have the same processors on their system and shares the same sport features.

But still, blogs about Apple are still full of speculation of what could be the first hint on the hardware of the next generation iPod touch. Engraved on iOS 5 code is iPod 4.2 reference. Knowing that the recent iPod Touch was known as iPod 4.1, this would mean that the next media player of Apple would be a new evolution. Yet, this may also mean nothing or just a simple code.

This year, Apple has broken an event tradition by not unveiling a new version of the iPhone during summer. For the past three years, Apple has consistently launched iPhone devices over summer. Rumors has it that on September, iPhone 5 will be presented along with the new iPod Touch.

The previous year, the two gadgets resided on a 1GHz A4 processor, shares the same “Retina” display, and had both front cameras. However, the Touch has a lower quality of camera than the iPhone. This 2011, the 5^th version of iPhone is said to be getting a dual-core processor and improved cameras. This may suggest that the iPod touch may undergo similar improvements.

The latest software is also expected to have a PC-free setup, better notifications, Twitter integration, and iMessage. The last feature lets iOS send out messages without having a service plan. Along with this software, Apple is also planning to reveal their version of iCloud, a web-based service for wireless support.

After the iPhone 4 phenomenon that swept the world by storm, Apple will be launching its newest member, iPhone 5. Its features are fully upgraded compared to the previous versions of iPhone. A lot of its features are new from most of the users. The applications in iPhone 5 are also innovative.

But, smartphones powered by Google’s Android can top iPhone 5. Android OS-powered mobile phones. This is because they have acquired prominence within the last 2 years and grown quickly for an extent where, by May 2011 as Google stated, 400,000 new Android products were being dripped every single day in comparison to 100,000 daily in the month May the previous year. Also a lot more than one hundred million Android products are already released in the market to this date.

Following the discharge of mobile phones powered by Android, Google continues to follow a pathway that Apple has fixed similar to approaching new and fresh features that entice a huge interest to customers.

Android powered mobile phones include elevated RAM memory in comparison towards the up-to-date version of apple iPhone to provide that supplemented advantage when it comes to speed.

The cost factor is essential since many customers often change their smartphone because the ages range and also the accessibility to cheaper and much more sophisticated Android phones (Motorola Atrix has become listed at 99 dollars) in a cheaper cost which makes it more practical than the others.

Based on Gartner research, Google’s Android operating-system paid for 36.two million mobile phones offered worldwide in first quarter of the year 2011 giving Android a share of the market of 36% in comparison to with 27.4% from Nokia Symbian.

The contender of Apple’s iPad 2, Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab is already out in the market. The tab brought by Samsung carries an OS Android 3.0 and comes out on a 10.1 inch display. Just this May of 2011, more than 5,000 pieces were dispersed free of charge to the attendees of Google I/O by Google.

Just as everyone is ready to set their hands to touch the Galaxy Tab 10.1, its competitor Apple has declared a legal stake against Samsung. Last April, the Cupertino Company already filed a case against Samsung with claims of patent infringement. And now, the lawsuit is revamped. The patent violation charges include the design of iPhone and iPad in rectangular shape as well as its touch-screen feature. The objection also charged patent encroachment.

The newly revised lawsuit used a more robust language and demands stronger charges against Samsung who is the closest competitor of Apple who copied the features of its products. From using the word “misappropriated”, Apple accused Samsung of “copying” their products.

Samsung star products like Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Tab 10.1 are indicted guilty of infringement.

Apple retort against its competitor by bemusing them through unveiling the new rendition of their iPad and iPad 2 last March. The new iPad 2 came out faster, lighter, and slimmer.

This threat was taken seriously by Samsung announcing that they are developing the parts which are still incompetent. Since Apple made it super thin, Samsung resulted to two ultra-thin Galaxy Tablets in 10.1 and 8.9 inch display.

Last week, Samsung asked District Court Judge Koh in the US to have Apple afford the Korean giant with its new iPad and iPhone samples. As noted in the motion submitted in California’s federal court, Apple has to provide samples of the final and commercial models of the next-generation iPad and iPhone, irrespective of whether the gadgets shall be called iPhone 4S, iPad 3 or some alternative names. Supposed Judge Koh will abide by Samsung, it only has before June 17 of this year to surrender Apple’s new iPad and iPhone.

Samsung’s move is a response to last week’s court decision in favor of Apple’s demand that Samsung give over sample products of Galaxy Tab 10.1, Galaxy Tab 8.9, Galaxy S II, Droid Charge, as included in the breakthrough period of the suit, so that they may determine if these ought to be part of the court action, and whether or not to obtain an initial injunction curtailing Samsung to sell these devices in the market. At the outset, Apple professed that Samsung’s products have ten Apple-patent infringement and violated 2 trademarks. Soon after, Samsung has counteracted with filed lawsuits against Apple in different countries. 

The company has not yet openly unveiled the iPhone 4 successor, yet a lot of analysts think that Apple’s latest iPhone is expecting a November release, breaking its typical June or July summer launch. Samsung recognized that the Apple devices are still unavailable and contended that the upcoming iPad and iPhone could be what its handsets and tablets would be up against and get compared to down the road. Based on Samsung’s motion, Apple’s legal representatives consented to reciprocal disclosure and Samsung claimed that it could adhere to the similar rules established by Koh for Apple.