Apple could actually start repairing faulty iDevices in June

By Christian Zibreg on May 24, 2013

A letter Apple allegedly sent to Brazilian Authorized Service Providers signals significant changes to how the company handles iPhone and iPad repairs. Specifically, rather than replace faulty devices with their good-as-new refurbished counterparts, Apple should finally start performing device repairs in-house as early as next month, reports AppleInsider which got hold of Apple’s letter to distributors.

We heard earlier in the month that major changes are coming to Apple’s AppleCare warranty this fall so the development could signal Apple’s intent to test the new policy in Brazil ahead of a broad roll-out later this year… Read More

 

Apple may pay to use iPhone name in Brazil

By Ed Sutherland on Mar 11, 2013

Apple may be able to use the iPhone trademark to sell its smartphone in Brazil. Lawyers have requested 30 days to reach an agreement outside of court, according to a weekend report. Brazil’s largest daily newspaper reported the two parties have dropped the lawsuit seeking ownership of the ‘iPhone’ trademark and plan a “pacific” agreement – likely to include a cash payment from the iPhone maker… Read More

 

Facebook launches free or discounted Messenger access in 14 countries

By Christian Zibreg on Feb 25, 2013

Facebook on Sunday announced a new promotion that will allow users of Messenger for iOS and Android to exchange instant messages for free or at heavily discounted data rates in select international markets. Partnering with more than eighteen operators in fourteen international markets, the social networking giant said Facebook for Every Phone, basically a bare-bone service for feature phones that is now optimized for chat, is also included in this promotion.

The move arrives just after the company flipped the switch on the in-app VoIP calling feature in its mobile client for iOS and Android devices. Facebook first rolled out VoIP calling in Canada earlier this year, and some parts of the US, via the Messenger app… Read More

 

Here’s your math behind a budget iPhone

By Christian Zibreg on Feb 22, 2013

After meeting with Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer recently, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty issued a report proclaiming so-called budget iPhone a no-brainer. Huberty joins what is now a growing list of analysts calling for such a device so Apple could better target emerging markets where cash-strapped folks mostly buy unlocked sub-$200 handsets – unlike the United States where carriers subsidize smartphones handsomely.

Thanks to these generous subsidies, US consumers don’t pay full price for the hardware – provided they agree to a long-term service agreement, of course. Now, with the penetration level for the iPhone approaching a limit in the high-end segment, the untapped low-end represents an estimated $135 billion opportunity.

Even with Apple’s margins peaking, an iPhone mini – as the media dubbed it – should triple Apple’s addressable market in China and add nearly $2.4 billion to its handset business… Read More

 

Brazil lawsuit claims iPad 3 made intentionally obsolete

By Ed Sutherland on Feb 22, 2013

Did Apple withhold features from the third-generation iPad, then make the tablet obsolete just six months afterwards by unveiling the iPad 4 – with the missing items? That’s the accusation being made against Apple in a class-action lawsuit filed Thursday in Brazil. At the heart of the lawsuit brought by the Brazilian Institute of Politics and Law Software (IBDI) is the charge Apple released the “new iPad” in May 2012, then in October introduced the iPad 4 alongside the iPad mini. By updating the processor and other features Apple has produced planned obsolescence… Read More

 

Apple appeals Brazil’s iPhone trademark ruling

By Christian Zibreg on Feb 13, 2013

In a repeat of the ProView situation, Apple today lost exclusive rights to the ‘iPhone’ trademark in Brazil to a local company called IGB Electronics S.A. that sells an Android cheapo with ‘iPhone’ in its name. While this means both IGB and Apple are allowed to market ‘iPhones’ in the 200 million people country, Apple – keen on avoiding user confusion and public humiliation – has now appealed the decision by the Brazilian Institute for Industrial Property (INPI)… Read More

 

Apple loses iPhone trademark in Brazil to an Android maker

By Christian Zibreg on Feb 13, 2013

Earlier this month came a rumor that Apple was in jeopardy of losing its ‘iPhone’ trademark in Brazil to the local electronics maker IGB Eletrônica SA, which applied for exclusive rights to the name back in 2000, winning the rights to the moniker. In 2007, Apple asked the Brazilian Institute for Industrial Property (INPI) to make iPhone its exclusive trademark, but a report lats week suggested the request won’t pass muster. Today, Brazilian regulators have ruled that Apple does not have exclusive rights to use the “iPhone” trademark in the country… Read More

 

How Apple sales are hitting a language barrier

By Ed Sutherland on Feb 10, 2013

Do you need another metric to follow in the race between Apple and Android? How about language?

That’s the focus of a new report suggesting Apple’s iPhone is predominantly focused on English-speaking nations while Android-powered Samsung smartphones are popular in Asia, Africa and South America, where English-speaking consumers are a minority.

After sifting through the Twitter accounts of both Apple and Samsung, a Saudi Arabian researcher at King Saud University (KSU) found 75 percent of Apple’s followers spoke English, while about 35 percent of Samsung’s online fans were non-English speakers… Read More

 

Copyright regulator to strip Apple of its iPhone trademark in Brazil

By Cody Lee on Feb 6, 2013

On Monday, we passed along a report claiming that Apple is in jeopardy of losing its ‘iPhone’ trademark in Brazil. It applied for exclusive rights to the name back in 2007, and is expecting to hear a decision from the country’s copyright regulator next week.

The problem is that the iPhone trademark has belonged to electronics maker IGB Eletrônica SA since 2008. And rumor has it that the Brazilian Institute of Intellectual Property is going to rule in its favor, meaning Apple couldn’t use the term anymore… Read More

 

The iPhone moniker is in jeopardy in Brazil

By Christian Zibreg on Feb 4, 2013

When Apple acquired rights to the iPhone moniker from Cisco ahead of the 2007 iPhone launch, the company probably never dreamed that it could face losing naming rights in Brazil. Reuters in December 2012 relayed a local report explaining that the Brazilian electronics maker IGB Eletrônica SA owns a trademark for the “IPHONE” term in Brazil. And now, another report has it that IGB could indeed be the rightful holder of the iPhone trademark in the country… Read More

 

Analyst: sales of iPads and iPhones to skyrocket over the next six months

By Ed Sutherland on Nov 15, 2012

It appears Apple’s marquee products – the iPhone 5 and iPad mini – are just hitting their stride. After initial questions over suppliers and build quality prompted sputtering sales, demand for the two devices is expected to skyrocket over the next two quarters. After talking with Apple suppliers, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty told investors Thursday that she believes the Cupertino, California company will beat Wall Street expectations, fueled by lower-priced parts, the growth of China and the addition of upcoming Apple Stores in Brazil, a first for the country… Read More

 

Brazil approves iPhone 5 for sale, may see Portuguese support for Siri

By Cody Lee on Oct 9, 2012

In addition to this morning’s story that the iPhone 5 will launch in India at the end of the month, another report has surfaced regarding international availability of Apple’s latest handset.

The report claims that Brazil’s telecommunications regulatory authority has just approved the iPhone 5 for sale in the country. And word is, Siri has learned how to speak Portuguese… Read More

 

Rumor: iPad mini production kicks off in Brazil

By Christian Zibreg on Oct 1, 2012

Apple’s favorite manufacturer Foxconn runs plants in Brazil, among them facilities that churn out some iPhones, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that Japanese blog Macotakara is out with a new report claiming that Apple’s rumored mini iPad will be made in Brazil, just as we’d first heard back in January. The story conveniently coincides with another report from this morning calling for a media event for the iPad mini early in the second half of this month…
Read More

 

iPad mini: made in Brazil, has 3G, almost as thin as iPod touch

By Christian Zibreg on Jul 7, 2012

Following up on a string of recent reporting which revives the iPad mini rumor, the usually accurate Japanese blog Macotakara claimed that the device will be produced in Foxconn’s new manufacturing facilities in Brazil. Manufacturing is apparently set to ramp up in September, just in time for mass availability around the holiday shopping season, as indicated in other reports… Read More

 

Brazil commemorates Apple’s co-founder with Steve Jobs Avenue

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 11, 2012

Jundiai city council in Brazil has confirmed Steve Jobs Avenue, a moving gesture aimed at commemorating Apple’s late co-founder, a local blog reported yesterday.

It’s interesting that the city of Jundiai is located near São Paulo where Foxconn runs a new manufacturing facility that produces iPhones in Brazil… Read More

 

Apple rounds on critics by claiming over 500,000 US jobs are tied to its products

By Oliver Haslam on Mar 2, 2012

Apple has been the subject of much ire and speculation over its perceived lack of support for the United States and its scarcity of jobs, but now the company is hitting back with a few choice numbers it believes shows that the opposite is in fact, true.

Apple notoriously gets all its products from Foxconn in China, with Brazil now also becoming a source for all those devices with an Apple logo on the back. This has led to Apple being on the receiving end of much bad press over labor conditions at Foxconn’s factories as well as the question being raised of why doesn’t Apple build its products on US soil.

But as Apple is keen to point out, the iPhone and iPad maker does actually have its fingers in many US-based pies, creating and sustaining over 500,000 jobs in the process… Read More

 

Brazilian-made iPhone 4 units now on sale, still expensive

By Cody Lee on Feb 24, 2012

We’ve been talking about Foxconn’s new Brazilian factory for several months now. The plant is not only expected to help the manufacturer meet overwhelming demand for iPads and iPhones, but also make the devices cheaper for Latin American customers.

Due to outrageous import taxes, the two-year old iPhone 4 costs a staggering $1000 in Brazil. And the iPhone 4S is nearly $1500. Apple fans in the country are hoping that those prices will drop substantially, now that Foxconn is making them in Brazil… Read More

 

Foxconn Planning to Build Five Factories in Brazil to Keep Up With Apple Demand

By Oliver Haslam on Jan 31, 2012

Apple heavily relies on Foxconn for producing its hugely popular iPhones and iPads, and the more business booms for Apple, the better Foxconn does, too.

Foxconn’s huge production facilities are apparently not quite huge enough, and now the company is looking at building a further five facilities in Brazil, with the aim of helping it to keep up with demand for Apple devices.

According to AppleInsider, the five new facilities will employ about 1,000 people each… Read More

 

Foxconn Looking to Start iPad Production in Brazil Soon

By Cody Lee on Jan 26, 2012

After a rocky start in negotiations, it appears that Foxconn, a major Apple supplier, has finally received the tax terms it needed from the Brazilian government to start producing iPads in the South American country.

Believe it or not, getting Foxconn’s Brazilian factory to start producing iPads is a big deal for both Apple and Apple fans in South America — it removes the need for costly important taxes that can sometimes double the cost of the tablet… Read More

 

Brazil Sells the Most Expensive iPhone 4 in the World

By Sebastien Page on Nov 28, 2011

The new 8GB iPhone 4 was supposed to be a low cost iPhone. At least that’s what it’s like here in the US. It’s a whole different story in Brazil, where the device is selling at a hefty price, making it the most expensive iPhone in the world, as reported by TNW.

Indeed, carriers Vivo and TIM just started selling the iPhone 4 8GB in Brazil for a whopping R$1,799 (US$970) without a data plan. [...] As for their competitor Claro, it only does slightly better with a Rs$1,650 price tag (US$888). [...] While subscriptions make smartphone prices go down dramatically in most countries, it is not the case there either; at Claro, subscribers will have to pay no less than R$270 per month (US$145) to get their phone for free.

That’s even more expensive than India’s iPhone 4S!