A8 Chip From 4.7-Inch iPhone 6 Appears to Carry 1 GB of RAM

Last week, a wiring schematic said to be for the iPhone 6 was initially interpreted to be referring to the device's RAM, showing the same 1 GB of memory for the A8 as found in the current A7 chip. That was quickly determined to be an incorrect interpretation of component being shown in the schematic, however, and Apple's plans for RAM in the iPhone 6 have remained uncertain.

A new photo leak from Feld & Volk [Instagram page] and Sonny Dickson showing an assembled logic board from the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 has revealed a number of pieces of information already, and it appears from one of the photos that the A8 chip on the board does indeed include 1 GB of LPDDR3 RAM.

As pointed out by MacRumors forum member commander.data, a silk-screened part number on the A8 reveals that the package-on-package contains Hynix RAM. Based on Hynix's part number format, the character in the eighth position reveals the amount of RAM in the package, with an "8" denoting 8 Gb (1 GB) and a "B" denoting 16 Gb (2 GB). While it is a bit difficult to read the part number clearly given the distance and angle in the photo, our staff and several posters in our forum agree that the character very much appears to be an "8", indicating 1 GB of RAM.





Source : macrumors.com

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Why a “delayed” iWatch destroys all competitors

Apple’s wearable device, still code-named "iWatch" here in the days (or weeks) before its official reveal, has been tipped to be released in the year 2015. If Apple announces an iWatch on September 9th, then doesn’t ship the device until January (or any time after that), they’ll drop a bomb on the rest of the "wearables" industry.

Releasing devices almost immediately after announcing them has become Apple’s tradition. Only a few examples exist where Apple had weeks or months between announcement and release, the most recent being the Mac Pro. Apple’s reveal-and-launch method works great - they’ve got a ravenous fanbase that’ll buy what they deem worthy.

Some rival companies - like Motorola - have had weeks between reveal and release. Not because they want to, but because they don’t have the manufacturing clout to get things done with speed.

For the iWatch, this strategy would be intentional, not forced. Here are the
main reasons why a stringing-out of Apple’s iWatch reveal and release makes a whole lot of sense.

1. From @C_Davies (Chris Davies, SlashGear): "No "current gen" iWatch that people might avoid buying if they know it's coming 2015, only rival brands' wearables." Devices that may suffer:

•  LG G Watch R
•  Motorola Moto 360
•  Samsung Gear S
•  Sony Smartwatch 3
•  ASUS ZenWatch
•  Omate X
•  Meta M1
•  Gilt / HP smartwatch
•  OnePlus OneWatch

2. Chris adds: "announcing the iWatch but shipping in 2015 will probably work out; it’s not like Apple risks existing product cannibalization." Apple cannibalized their own iPad line when they released the iPad mini. Intentionally, but still - there’s no risk here.

3. Time to sort out the bugs. With the iPhone, Apple had to keep testing under wraps. They weren’t going to shock the world by doing beta testing in the public beforehand. With the iWatch, things could be a little different.

Smartwatches already exist. Unless Apple pulls out features we’ve never thought of (crossing our fingers they do), they’ll have a device that simply puts together the key features of all other smartwatches into a single, optimized package.

For that, they could bring on Beta testing like they’ve been doing with OS X Yosemite for the past few months. Why not?

Release those iWatch wallpapers early!

After the iWatch is released, things could change. As Woz suggests, the iWatch could make wearables in general "finally viable." Before then, though - watch out.





Source : slashgear.com

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Sketchy report claims photos show 5.5-inch 'iPhone 6L' display, logic board and 2,915mAh battery

Citing the usual "reliable sources," Taiwanese Apple blog Apple Daily says the images show 
three components bound for Apple's rumored 5.5-inch iPhone, which some predict will launch 
alongside — or shortly after — a new 4.7-inch version of the smartphone. The publication's 
sources refer to the phablet as the "iPhone 6L."

However, even a cursory inspection of the photos reveals two parts, the display and logic 
board, are nearly identical to those pictured in previous reports related to the smaller of 
Apple's next-gen handsets. 

With the display, architectural elements like screw bosses, circuit board anchors and 
circuitry are placed in the exact locations as a part revealed last week. In addition, flex 
cables are of the same size, located in the same position and feature proportionally sized 
connectors as the supposed 4.7-inch variant. 

It is highly unlikely that a 4.7-inch iPhone would share the same layout with a sized-up 
5.5-inch model, while at the same time sporting different sized connectors. 

As for the logic board, this part too lines up perfectly with a component unearthed 
yesterday, complete with identical EMI shields, fastener holes and connector design.

The report does, however, contain one never-before-seen part in a 2,915 mAh battery, which 
could feasibly be bound for Apple's jumbo-sized handset. Produced by known Apple partner 
supplier Huizhou Desay, the battery'a capacity is much larger than the 1,800 mAh unit seen 
in a supposed leak associated with the 4.7-inch variant. By comparison, the current iPhone 
5s uses a 1,500 mAh battery, while Motorola's 4.7-inch Moto X boasts a 2,200 mAh part.

Although the battery is a possible fit for Apple's 5.5-inch iPhone, not much is known about 
the phablet device. Most recently, photos of alleged wake/sleep flex cables and volume 
controls hit the Web in July.

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Samsung digs into Apple at airport wall outlets

This week we’re seeing Samsung extend their "wall huggers" campaign for those smartphone users who hang out around power plugs with some "wall hugger" advertisements. You may see these little signs appearing near or directly around wall outlets in airpots, showing consumers what they’re missing, so to speak.

Below you’ll see the advertisement spot that started this campaign. Digging in on iPhone users specifically, Samsung suggested that an extra battery and a power saving mode inside the Samsung Galaxy S5’s software made for a far better device than the Apple-made smartphone line.



Here we’re seeing the extension. Below you’ll find several photos taken by Samsung of their wall decals as they appear in a number of airports across the United States. These signs are ready to let those sitting at said plug stations know what they’re up against.

They’re letting Apple know what they’re up against, that is to say. Apple’s next-generation advertising is tipped to roll with an in-house crew rather than the same agency Samsung currently uses. Perhaps for the best.







Source : slashgear.com

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iPhone 6 5.5 and 4.7 mockups foreshadow size issues

Here we have yet another supposed iPhone 6 leak, this time in both the rumored 5.5-inch and 4.7-inch variants. While we have indeed seen these two devices before, having an actual solid, three-dimensional model shown and compared with previous generations and other devices really drive home the things that could unsettle the iPhone-loving crowd.

As a disclaimer, these models are noted to be fabricated by accessory manufacturers in order to give themselves a more thorough grasp of the form and size of the device when making things like cases and covers that are scheduled to be announced on the very same day Apple reveals the two devices. They are definitely not coming from Apple, as sloppy craftsmanship and disregard for detail do tell. As such, they are to be treated like any other leak or rumor, even if they look more or less real.

But if, for the time being, we do take them to be the real deal, we will notice some major differences from last year's model. Aside from the size, of course. The sleep/wake button, for one, has been relocated from the top of the device to the right side. Given the size changes, that might be a practical and smart design decision, since the top will be harder to reach with one hand. That said, it will definitely inconvenience some who have been quite used to Apple's previous designs. The top and bottom bars have also been stretched slightly, taking up more space than normal. Perhaps they have been designed so in order to fill up the new space afforded by the new sizes, and that is where things go downhill a bit.

4.7 inches is probably marginally acceptable for some people. A lot of mid to high end smartphones sport that size or something near it. It could be a bit larger from long-time iPhone users, used to Apple keeping devices to a smaller, more manageable size, but they will probably be able to adapt. 5.5 inches, however, might be considered unforgivable. It stands right in the middle of that oft ridiculed phablet classification that many of Apple's rivals seem bent on filling up. But that, however, is not the worse part. Based on this model, the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 will even be larger than the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 or the LG G3.

To be clear, the 5.5-inch here refers to the screen size, not the phone's size. The Samsung Galaxy Note 3's display measures 5.7 inches, while the LG G3 has a 5.5-inch one. And yet both are somewhat dwarfed by the iPhone 6 5.5-inch, exactly because of the aforementioned top and bottom bars, the latter of which housed the Touch ID sensor. At a time when manufacturers are scrambling to reduce bezels and margins around displays, Apple seems to be content to be contrary, at least according to this rumor.

Perhaps that is where the greatest source of disbelief in this rumor lies. While a 5.5-inch display for an Apple smartphone isn't something to dismiss, one that eschews all design sensibility that the company has become famous for is just plain ludicrous. And it's not just the design, but also the price. Rumor is that the 5.5-inch version will cost $100 more than the 4.7-inch variant, but will have exactly the same specs inside. If the iPhone 5c is any indicator, Apple's customers might not be so willing to finance that odd device. Of course, these are all just rumors and speculation, but it is one that we do hope does not come to pass at all.

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Apple rumor suggests chip production pulled from Samsung

A new Apple rumor is floating around today that could affect Samsung. This new rumor claims that Apple is set to take the chip production that Samsung currently operates and move it to another provider. Apple pulled some chip production from Samsung back in 2012 and sent Samsung stock prices plummeting.

In 2012, Apple placed chip orders with Elpida rather than Samsung and Samsung lost $10 billion off its market value. The new rumor suggests that Apple will be moving the production of its A series processors away from Samsung and start production up with TSMC.

The reason is said to be some concerns over low yields with Samsung's 20nm process for the next generation A8 processor. TSMC has had success with its 20nm process being described as smoother than expected.

The move will certainly hurt Samsung, whether or not it will have the same effect on market value as we saw back in 2012 remains to be seen. I continue to be surprised Apple uses Samsung since the two are bitter rivals on the electronics market and are seemingly constantly fighting in court. This rumor reportedly comes from the supply chain and is unconfirmed at this time.








SOURCE: MacObserver

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iPhone 5C demand lower than expected, says Tim Cook

It is rare for Apple, especially its CEO, to admit to some level of error so when it does, everyone is all ears. This has happened yet again as Tim Cook admitted that they might have overestimated the popularity of the iPhone 5C, whose market performance wasn't as they had expected.

To be fair, the brightly colored plastic-backed mid-range iPhone didn't flunk sales. At the end of the quarter, the iPhone 5C sold 51 million units. Unfortunately, Apple expected it to sell for around 55 million. Cook believes that this was because consumers gravitated towards a more interesting, but also more expensive, iPhone 5S.

Cook says that the features on the iPhone 5S, particular the Touch ID, ended up grabbing more attention and thus majority of the sales. The iPhone 5S is also a premium device with high-end hardware. The iPhone 5C, on the other hand, was almost similar to the iPhone 5 and its biggest marketing stunt was the colorful design, yet another Apple first since the company left the colorful iMac era.

This was also the first time that Apple introduced two new iPhone models at the same time, which could have led to a slight confusion among Apple fans. Apple doesn't usually reveal its per-product sales numbers, but it has reduced orders for the mid-range smartphone, prompting many to speculate on the veracity of reports about the iPhone 5C's weak sales.

Now the fate of the iPhone 5C remains unknown. Some think that Apple will soon scrap the device. Apple is also believed to be revising its iPhone strategy and might no longer introduce a plastic, mid-range variant when it unveils its next iPhone generation.











VIA: Apple Insider

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Apple iBooks Textbooks and iTunes U Course Manager expands into new regions

Apple has announced the expansion of iBooks Textbooks and iTunes U Course Manager into additional countries across Asia, Latin America, Europe, and more. With the expansion comes the availability of iBooks Textbooks in a total of 51 countries globally, while iTunes U Course Manager is now available in 70 countries across the world, expanding educational opportunities.

iBooks Textbooks are the digital variety of educational tomes, offering elements not available in traditional paper-and-binding textbooks. Among their offerings are interactive animations, such as diagrams that can be rotated, the ability to swipe one's way through image galleries, playable videos, and such. Apple boasts just about 25,000 textbooks of some sort, as well as covering all of the United States' core high school curriculum and the GCSE core curriculum in the United Kingdom.

Rounding it out is iTunes U Course Manager, which enables teachers to share content with students, both known and unknown, which is accessed via an app. The Course Manager boasts in excess of 750,000 bits of content for inclusion by teachers, as well as the ability to include textbooks from iBooks, apps from the App Store, and one's own materials.

IBooks Textbooks has rolled out to Japan, Brazil, and Italy, while iTunes U Course Manager is now also available in Thailand, Malaysia, and Russia.

Said Apple's Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue: "The incredible content and tools available for iPad provide teachers with new ways to customize learning unlike ever before. We can't wait to see how teachers in even more countries will create their new lesson plans with interactive textbooks, apps and rich digital content."









SOURCE: Apple

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iPhone 6 camera tipped to retain 8-megapixel sensor

It’s been suggested this week by suppliers overseas that Apple’s next iPhone will continue to work with an 8-megapixel sensor. While this - for those of you only counting these megapixels - means that the end resulting photos will be the same amount of pixels wide and tall, there’s still plenty of room left for improving the resulting images therein. It’s also been suggested that Apple’s current OIS - optical image stabilization - will be improved in their upcoming engine.

The tip comes from Nomura Securities in China where the China Post reports their chat with the team - apparently there’s been a rumor of similar parts being used in the next iPhone compared to the one that’s out right this minute. This bit of news apparently had adverse effects on Largan Precision, suppliers of Apple’s camera module.

Stocks “tumbled” for Largan once it was suggested in China that Apple’s next iPhone will not work with a 16-megapixel camera as it’s been anticipated by “industry observers”. Instead it could very well be that Apple’s improvements in the camera environment will be to the image quality, not the size of the image.

In other words - the misconception that the amount of megapixels you’ve got is the most important factor in the quality of your camera prevails. Apple’s mod recent camera works with larger pixels and a new and improved flash module - next we’ll likely see tweaking in the pixels and the delivery once again. Stick around as the iPhone 6 rumors and leaks continue for the next several months at least!





VIA: MacRumors

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Apple iWatch reportedly facing power problems

Apple is facing unexpected hurdles in its smartwatch design process, sources claim, with the much-discussed wearable - colloquially known as the "iWatch" - supposedly giving Cupertino engineers some sleepless nights. Issues include delivering sufficient battery life according to The Information, with Apple supposedly considering changing the display technology it initially intended to use in the hope of cutting power consumption.

Exactly what that might entail a switch to and from is unclear. Apple's iOS range uses LCD technology, though we've seen smartwatches from other companies that use e-paper, like Pebble, OLED, like Samsung's Galaxy Gear, and even unusual transflective technologies like the mirasol panel in Qualcomm's Toq.

More recently, though, we've seen even longer runtimes delivered by careful component selection, particularly when it comes to wireless use. Garmin's vivofit, announced at CES this week, can run for up to twelve months on a set of replaceable batteries.

What Apple might end up using is still a mystery, then - a deal with LG Display for flexible OLED was tipped late last year - though the company might look elsewhere in the wearable to save on battery use. That might involve a lower powered processor; the iPhone 5s, for instance, offsets its motion tracking to a more frugal M7 coprocessor.

Repeated is the idea that Apple has a sizable team working on the project, and indeed previous leaks have suggested in excess of one hundred people are involved. However, the report also points out that some of the more high-profile members of that group have recently left, such as Bryan James.

The report concludes with the assumption that Apple's product won't actually be delayed, though the chatter is certainly enough to get the company's name back in the headlines in a week when various other firms are trying to make waves with their own smartwatches and fitness trackers at CES 2014.

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Apple acquires SnappyLabs for quick-shot photography

This week the folks responsible for picking up companies at Apple have made a purchase - the SnappyLabs group responsible for quick-shot photos in iOS devices. This app was titled “SnappyCam” and can still be accessed for a short time - if you’re rooted. As for the real-deal app on the iTunes App Store, you’ may very well be out of luck. Until Apple incorporates the app’s abilities into their own naive camera app, that is.

What we’re seeing first is the disappearance of the SnappyCam app earlier this week. Their websites were erased from the earth, and anonymous sources spoke with TechCrunch on the matter, suggesting that Apple had scooped up the whole lot. It wasn’t long after this set of events that Apple confirmed with Re/code that they’d picked the site up with their usual note:

    ”Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do no discuss our purpose or plans.” - Apple

The SnappyLabs founder let it be known that their next-generation handling of JPG files. A blog post from the founder contained the following on the subject - until recently, of course:

    ”First we studied the fast discrete cosine transform (DCT) algorithms … We then extended some of that research to create a new algorithm that’s a good fit for the ARM NEON SIMD co-processor instruction set architecture. The final implementation comprises nearly 10,000 lines of hand-tuned assembly code, and over 20,000 lines of low-level C code. (In comparison, the SnappyCam app comprises almost 50,000 lines of Objective C code.)

    JPEG compression comprises two parts: the DCT (above), and a lossless Huffman compression stage that forms a compact JPEG file. Having developed a blazing fast DCT implementation, Huffman then became a bottleneck. We innovated on that portion with tight hand-tuned assembly code that leverages special features of the ARM processor instruction set to make it as fast as possible.” - SnappyCam founder John Papandriopoulos

The original app worked with HUD control connectivity, volume shutter connectivity, and high and low speeds. This app allows 60 photos a second, pushes through 6x zoom in fast lossless mode, and infinite shooting mode to boot. We’ll likely see some next-level photography action in the next iPhone - surprise!

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Apple reportedly acquires photo app developer SnappyLabs

Apple has acquired photo technology startup SnappyLabs, the one-man developer behind the SnappyCam app, according to a TechCrunch report.

The popular iPhone app, which recently vanished from Apple's iTunes app store, allows the smartphone to capture full-resolution images at 20 to 30 frames per second. The app sold for $1 at iTunes and had reportedly been a top seller in several countries.

The company, which was founded and run by John Papandriopoulos, attracted acquisition interest "from most of the usual players," sources told TechCrunch. The company's Web site was recently taken down and its Twitter accounts were locked down from public view.

Terms of the deal were not revealed. CNET has contacted Apple and SnappyLabs for comment and will update this report when we learn more.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Papandriopoulos had told Fairfax Media in September that he had been in talks with several companies about acquiring the app, and Apple was understood to be among that group.

"In terms of commercial interest in SnappyCam, there's been quite a bit actually, which has been great in many ways," Papandriopoulos reportedly told Fairfax Media, adding that there was a "spectrum" of Bay Area companies showing interest. "There are a lot of big ones, Internet giants as you like to say, and I've spoken to several of those as well as some smaller companies."

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Lumen TL800 Bluetooth 4.0 light bulb hits Amazon on way to CES 2014

In the battle of the smart bulbs, it would appear that the Lumen TL800 is about to be a big contender starting here in 2014. There's been little damage done to the likes of Philips Hue's efforts in the smart light bulb business since inception, but all that may be about to change now that the Lumen TL800 arrives at Amazon online before being given a full showing at CES 2014. This light bulb is both multi-colored and smart enough to know when you've walked in the room.

Of course you'll need a device working with Bluetooth 4.0, that being the sort of Bluetooth that works with Bluetooth LE (Low Energy) and Bluetooth Smart. With this sort of technology, Lumen is able to make their lightbulbs turn on when you've arrived in-range. For Bluetooth 4.0, that means as far as 50 meters away.

There's a single Android app and an iOS app for use with the Lumen TL800 range, this app making simple work of the full functionality of the bulbs. Tapping hot or cold brings you a range of colors as such, and (supposing you've got your lightswitch set to power) you'll be able to tap on or off whenever you please.

    The TL800 provides various modes for different occasions. Features include:

    - Call Alert Mode: Notifies users of incoming calls by flashing when the phone rings.
    - Music Sync Mode: Visualize your music by synchronizing your music and lighting effects. Music Sync Mode is customizable, allowing users to choose desired color combinations.
    - Party Mode 1 and 2: Transform any space into a dance floor with pre-programmed flashing beats that match the music.
    - Wake Mode: Mimics the sunrise in the morning, gradually brightening until it reaches maximum intensity at the stipulated wake up time. Users can customize how long the brightening process should take, from 5 minutes to 15 minutes.
    - Romance Mode: Creates the perfect condition for a romantic date or quiet evening at home with a warm atmosphere.
    - Relaxation Mode: Simulates calming moonlight, creating a relaxing ambiance.

For those of you worrying about power consumption - when off, this bulb consumes negligable power due to its use of Bluetooth LE. Put simply - you're not going to run up your power bill to monstrous levels just because you've got your switch set to on when this bulb is screwed in. Right this minute you'll be able to pick a single bulb up for a cool $69.99 USD. Have at it!

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Windows 8 and 8.1 combine for 10% of OS market

The latest numbers were recently published by Net Applications looking at the overall computer operating system market around the world. The report shows that the newest versions of Windows, Windows 8 and 8.1, are making inroads into the operating system market that is dominated by older versions of the OS around the world.

The numbers show that Windows 8 and 8.1 combined to pass 10% of the global OS market. The metrics show that Windows 8 and 8.1 climbed in December 2013 by 10.49% combined. Windows 8 gained a scant 0.23% during December with Windows 8.1 growing 0.96%.

Windows 7 grew by 0.88% during December. Windows 7 is the most common version of Windows in the world with 47.52% of the market. Windows Vista has only 3.61% of the market. Windows XP is the second most popular version of Windows with 28.98% of the market.

This is the first time XP has fallen below 30% of the worldwide OS market. The Mac OS has 7.54% of the global operating system market. Linux has a scant 1.73% of the market. Net Applications gets its data from 160 million visitors to 40,000 client websites each month.





SOURCE: The Next Web

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NSA seizes full control of targeted iPhones via DROPOUTJEEP malware

The NSA developed in 2008 a software program for iPhones that can selectively and stealthily deliver data from iPhones to the NSA. The program is called DROPOUTJEEP. News of the malware is the latest to come out of the ongoing Snowden document media bonanza.

DROPOUTJEEP can read and retrieve SMS messages, contact lists, voice messages, and the iPhone's location via GPS and cell phone towers. It can also remotely activate the microphone and the camera.

In short, DROPOUTJEEP can gain full covert "command and control" over any iPhone on which it is installed.

The method of installation is not entirely clear, but logic dictates DROPOUTJEEP has to be installed either remotely or with hands on. In light of last weekend's Der Spiegel Snowden document analysis showing the NSA has infiltrated a wide range of proprietary hardware throughout the tech industry, the latter is a distinct possibility. That is to say, some iPhones currently in use in the wild may have physically passed through the NSA before arriving, bugged, in users' hands.

The NSA document describing DROPOUTJEEP seems to imply exactly that:

    "The initial release of DROPOUTJEEP will focus on installing the implant via close access methods."

How many iPhones have DROPOUTJEEP installed? And how many iPads? There's no way of knowing that at this point. It could be considered alarmist to imply a pervasive NSA influence on the iOS ecosystem. Equally alarmist -- and unfair -- might be to imply that Apple knowingly cooperated with the NSA on DROPOUTJEEP.

But questions are being raised, as in the case of Jacob Applebaum's comments today at a Chaos Communication Project event. Among them: "Either [the NSA] have a huge collection of exploits that work against Apple products, meaning that they are hoarding information about critical systems that American companies produce and sabotaging them, or Apple sabotaged it themselves."

In either case, iOS owners won't find much comfort in this little revelation. But neither will anyone who owns almost any kind of device from any manufacturer. The NSA is now everywhere.







SOURCE: Forbes

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Apple’s Tim Cook demands bigger stock risk (and costs himself $4m)

Apple CEO Tim Cook has pressured the company board on pay, though not the way you might imagine: the chief exec has demanded his salary be more closely linked to Apple's stock price, as a result tumbling by $4m since the company failed to meet its targets. The Apple board had intended to base less than half of Cook's annual stock grants on the CEO performance-based metric it decided to shift to earlier this year. However, according to a preliminary filing with the SEC, Cook himself pushed for a greater chunk of his renumeration to be at risk, arguing that it would "set a leadership example."

The initial motivation for the board and the early numbers it collectively had in mind was to limit the risk placed on Cook's overall salary. The change in scheme won't see Cook paid more if Apple out-performs its stock goals - effectively to perform better than the other stock in the S&P 500 index - and so the "downside risk" is the only thing that could hit him.

However, Cook disagreed that he should be better insulated from Apple's overall performance, and that decision has cost him considerably this past year. The CEO argued that the scheme was an opportunity to set an example around "compensation and governance" and so requested a larger percentage than the board had in mind.

As a result, the Apple Compensation Committee opted to make a full 50-percent of Cook's stock grants dependent on how Apple performs.

With Apple's stock falling 26-percent in the August 2012-2013 period, compared to an 18-percent rise from the S&P 500 as a whole, that means Cook's entire at-risk portion of his vested stock was lost. That, CNN calculates, was worth almost $4m.

Nonetheless, that was still just a tenth of Cook's overall rewards over the past year. His salary at Apple is "only" $1.4m, but with cash and stock grant bonuses his total compensation is over $40m.

It's not the first time Cook has sacrificed more money than Apple wanted to give him. Back in 2012, he turned down a $75m dividend.




source : slashgear

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Apple vs Samsung patent talks to resume

Amid years of court battles, the likes of which have been public in a big way, Apple and Samsung have apparently agreed to begin talks of patent agreements. This chat would be a continuation of agreements made on patents on both sides of the rail, suggesting both companies would like to settle their massive sets of matters out of court. This could be the end of the epic years-long battle between the companies on mobile matters worldwide.

Speaking with the Korea Times, an “official at the FTC” has let it be known that Apple and Samsung have begun “working-level discussions” aimed at signing “a potential deal”. At the moment, he or she suggested, “they are in the process of narrowing differences over royalty payments.”

A Samsung source has gone so far as to suggest that the respective CEOs of both companies could meat to hash out matters quickly. This would be a one-on-one meeting between Shin Jong-kyun, CEO of Samsung, and Tim Cook, CEO of Apple. At the moment the companies are at a point where they’ve made an agreement with U.S. federal judge Lucy H. Koh to come to a settlement as of January 8th. So they’ve got precious time between here and then, needless to say.

The Korea Times says that the situation between the two has been described as “not desperate”, while they say that this same Samsung source says Apple is still asking “too much” when they’ve asked for $30 per device for the company’s patent violations.

The FTC official speaking this week pushed the idea that “this is all about money and pride.” He went on to say that “this is not a political issue,” continuing:

    ”That’s why U.S. President Barack Obama vetoed a ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission that had decided to place a complete ban on certain Apple products in the U.S. If Obama lets the USITC’s decision take effect, then concerns will be raised that the U.S. government cares too much about Samsung-owned patents” - FTC representative

This legal battle has been going on in many forms since all the way back in 2011. Judge Lucy Koh has been presiding over one case in the USA for this whole time, while a variety of cases have gone down around the world.



source : slashgear

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'Mac Pro teardown' reveals upgradeable processor

The 2013 Mac Pro has a removable CPU, Other World Computing has discovered in a teardown. By "removable", we mean the CPU can be pulled out of its socket by anyone. It can be easily replaced with a new one at some later point.

Every Mac Pro comes with an Intel Xeon E5 CPU. It's available in either a quad-core or six-core configuration. The quad is a 3.7 GHz chip with 10MB L3 cache, while the six is a 3.5 GHz with 12MB L3 cache. Both can take advantage of Turbo Boost to clock up to 3.9GHz.

In any case, the CPU can be replaced by a more powerful one in the future. This is made possible by the fact that the CPU is socketed. The socket in question is an LGA 2011, and it's the same one used in all 2013 Mac Pro configurations.

This means users will theoretically be able to upgrade their Mac Pros without having to buy a whole new Mac Pro. They can just buy a new CPU should the need arise. This is good news considering the base price for a Mac Pro is currently set at $2,999.




SOURCE: OWC

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Apple motion seeks to renew bid to ban some Samsung products in US

Apple filed a motion this week that seeks to renew the tech giants attempt to win a sales ban on certain Samsung products in the US. Apple wants to stop the sales of certain Samsung products in the US that were found to infringe on Apple patents for utility and design. These patents were at the heart of the Apple vs. Samsung trial back in 2012.

In November of this year, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ordered Judge Lucy Koh to look at the case again as far as how it pertains to the three utility patents at its heart. Those patents have to do with rubber-banding, tap-to-zoom, and pinch-to-zoom UI functions. The appeals court did reaffirm the denial of an injunction against the Samsung products on the basis of design patents.

Apple filed a motion to renew its bid to have the violating Samsung products banned as soon as the verdict was handed down. The products that the sales ban has to do with have been on the market for almost two years and are no longer big money makers for Samsung.

One of the patents at the core of this case, called the Apple '915 patent, covering pinch-to-zoom has had doubt cast on its validity. A Patent and Trademark Office examiner found the claims of the patent invalid in November. As a result, Apple field a notice of appeal with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board this week in response. Apple wants the court to renew the sales injunction proceedings as soon as January 30.





SOURCE: Apple Insider

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Evasi0n jailbreak group severs ties with Chinese app store TaiG

A few days ago, the Evasi0n group announced its latest jailbreak for the iPhone was available. The jailbreak was for iOS 7 and came with the Cydia app store tied in to allow you to download apps not approved by Apple. The developers of Evasi0n have now come out and said they refuse to distribute the Chinese app store TaiG.

This Chinese app store was reportedly developed alongside the latest iOS 7 Evasi0n jailbreak. Reports indicate that users had discovered hundreds of pirated apps on the TaiG store.

The revelation of the pirated apps forced the Evasi0n developers to come out and admit to having "dropped the ball" with the TaiG partnership. The Evasi0n Group says that it has terminated the relationship with TaiG.

The group also noted that it was disappointed with the people behind the TaiG app store because the app store had a cracked version of the Evasi0n jailbreak available that installs the TaiG app store. The Evasi0n Group says that it didn’t give the TaiG store permission to make their own version of the jailbreak and gave them no source code.






SOURCE: Techcrunch

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