Apple licenses $10 million worth of patents filed by Palm and others

By Cody Lee on Apr 10, 2013

This is kind of interesting. Access, a Japan-based software company, published a release on its website this morning noting that it had entered a licensing agreement with Apple for a number of its patents. The firm’s portfolio is quite large, featuring IP from Bell, Palm and others.

The particular patents that Apple is said to have acquired the rights to came from PalmSource, the company behind Palm’s original mobile operating system. In 2003, it spun off of Palm as an independent company, and in 2005, Access acquired it and its intelectual property… Read More

 

Nearly half of U.S. teens own an iPhone, 62% are planning to buy one

By Ed Sutherland on Apr 10, 2013

Although it sometimes seems like every teen has an iPhone, we are not quite there, according to new research. Some 48 percent of teens say they own the Apple smartphone with 62 percent expecting to buy an iPhone as their next handset.

The 48 percent of teen-owned iPhones is up from 40 percent registered during fall 2012, according to Piper Jaffray’s 25th bi-annual teen survey. Meanwhile, just over 20 percent of teens surveyed said they either own or plan to purchase a smartphone powered by Google’s Android mobile operating software… Read More

 

Apple to announce Q2 2013 earnings on April 23

By Cody Lee on Apr 1, 2013

It looks like folks wondering how Apple did financially last quarter will find out in just a few short weeks. The Cupertino company announced this afternoon that it will be releasing its financial results for Q2 2013 on April 23.

Apple’s earnings reports are typically a major affair in the tech world, and this one is particularly important. The iPad-maker’s stock is at its 52 week low, and it needs to post some big numbers to change the conversation… Read More

 

Apple launching redesigned ‘Report a Problem’ tool for iTunes purchases

By Cody Lee on Mar 28, 2013

Earlier this month, Apple started rolling out a new ‘Report a Problem’ tool to a select group of customers. The feature, for those who haven’t used it before, allows iTunes users to report a problem with a recent purchase of an app, song or other iTunes content.

And the tool’s been redesigned this month to be easier to use, and more accessible to users. The previous version was only available in the actual Mac/Windows iTunes app, and the new edition will be available through any device with a web browser… Read More

 

WhatsApp to bring subscription model to iOS this year

By Cody Lee on Mar 20, 2013

WhatsApp, the popular cross-platform messaging service, is going to be bringing its subscription model to iOS this year, according to CEO Jan Koum. Koum recently spoke with a Dutch news outlet about the company’s near-term plans.

Currently, iOS users can download WhatsApp for a one-time fee of $0.99. In the new model though, which it already uses on other platforms like Android and Windows Phone, the app will be free, with users having to pay an annual fee… Read More

 

LinkedIn reportedly buying Pulse for up to $100 million

By Cody Lee on Mar 12, 2013

When word started spreading around yesterday that Pulse was about to be acquired by a “major platform” company, I would have guessed it was either Yahoo or Microsoft. The popular news reader app seems like it would be a great fit for either firm.

But according to the latest reports, the buyer is actually the social networking site for business professionals LinkedIn. The company has allegedly already sealed a deal with Alphonso Labs, the maker of Pulse, worth between $50-$100 million… Read More

 

Lowball royalty offers said to be causing delay in Apple’s streaming music service

By Cody Lee on Mar 7, 2013

Multiple reports are out this morning, claiming that the reason we haven’t seen Apple’s streaming music service—which was expected to launch as early as Q1 of this year—yet is due to negotiation woes with record labels.

As usual, the problem stems from money. Apparently Apple is only offering the labels half of the royalty rate that they are receiving from Pandora. And the service could be delayed until the summer, or possibly longer… Read More

 

Apple executives required to hold 3x base salary in AAPL stock

By Cody Lee on Mar 1, 2013

If you wanted to make sure that your business’ executive team was deeply committed to making it thrive, it’d probably be a good idea to make sure they held a lot of company stock. That way, their livelihoods directly depended on its success.

And that’s exactly the way it works at Apple. The company has amended its corporate bylaws to require that executive officers hold three times their annual (base) salary in AAPL stock, and it’s even higher for Tim Cook and his board of directors… Read More

 

Cricket seeing much weaker than expected iPhone sales

By Cody Lee on Feb 28, 2013

Leap Wireless, the US telecommunications company that owns and operates the regional carrier Cricket, just submitted a rather alarming filing with the the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

It seems that Cricket is only on pace to sell through half of its first-year commitment with Apple, which goes to June, leaving it on the hook for some $100 million in remaining iPhone purchases… Read More

 

Tim Cook talks new Apple campus, new products and more at shareholder meeting

By Cody Lee on Feb 27, 2013

Apple held its annual shareholder meeting this morning on its Cupertino campus. The company used the gathering to address concerns of investors, offer up some insight into its future, and of course to vote on a number of proposals.

Tim Cook did a lot of the talking, and fielded some pretty difficult questions from shareholders who are obviously disappointed with Apple’s recent stock slide. As usual, we have a roundup of all of the interesting stuff after the fold… Read More

 

This is what an $11,000 iPhone 5 case looks like

By Cody Lee on Feb 26, 2013

In case you were wondering, this is what an $11,000 iPhone 5 case looks like. Well, it’s actually more of a bumper than a case since it doesn’t wrap around to cover the back of the phone. But that’s beside the point.

What you are looking at is the new Haven iPhone 5 case from Brikk, a designer and manufacturer of couture products and accessories. The line starts out at $11,610, and goes to $14,235 and beyond, depending on the model… Read More

 

Apple settles in-app purchasing lawsuit with iTunes credits and refunds

By Cody Lee on Feb 25, 2013

Apple today has agreed to settle a nearly two year-old lawsuit with a group of parents over unauthorized in-app purchases made by their kids. The parents complained that the process’ lack of password requirement led to massive iTunes bills.

As part of the preliminary deal, which has yet to be finalized by a judge, Apple will pay eligible class members with a $5 iTunes gift card or the same amount in cash. And for those users who spent more than $30, it’s offering a full refund…  Read More

 

Sharp and Foxconn deal has all but fallen apart

By Cody Lee on Feb 25, 2013

For a year now, we’ve been hearing that Foxconn was going to buy a large stake in Sharp Corp. Speculation of the deal has run rampant, going so far as to implicate that the partnership was part of Apple’s plans to build a TV.

But over the last several months, Sharp’s business has started to falter, causing Foxconn to rethink things. Since then, the companies haven’t been able to come to an agreement. And according to a new report, they won’t… Read More

 

Apple spent less than $2M on D.C. lobbying last year, Google spent $18M

By Cody Lee on Feb 18, 2013

Among the many moves monitored by tech company watchers is who is spending what money, where. Whether it be on R&D, acquisitions, or patent litigation, knowing where a company spends its cash is important to understanding its business.

A new report, for example, takes a look at how much each of the big tech firms spent on D.C. lobbying in 2012 (trying to influence politicians and their legislation to work in their favor). And surprise, surprise, Google spent more than everyone else… Read More

 

Would you pay more for an iPad mini with Retina display?

By Cody Lee on Feb 18, 2013

Apple is widely expected to do some major updating to its tablet line this fall. The latest reports allege that the company is going to give its 9.7-inch iPad a complete makeover, and squeeze a high resolution Retina display into its smaller sibling.

The latter scenario is particularly interesting, because screen resolution has been the one complaint users have had with the current iPad mini. But according to new data from iSuppli, consumers may end up paying more for the extra pixels… Read More

 

Apple makes more on iTunes and accessory sales than most companies do on phones

By Cody Lee on Feb 12, 2013

Well known and respected Asymco analyst Horace Dediu is out with a new report this week entitled ‘Counting stool legs.’ The piece takes a look at Apple’s newly-introduced revenue categories—mainly iTunes, which now includes sales from OS X, iWork, and Apple’s other pro tools.

The big takeaway here is that, under this new structure, iTunes can no longer be considered a ‘break even’ business. Because, as Dediu points out, the combined sales from iTunes and accessories is now bigger in terms of revenues than any other phone vendor, except for Samsung… Read More

 

Apple called to testify before Australian Parliament in pricing probe

By Cody Lee on Feb 11, 2013

Over the past year or so, members of the Australian Parliament have been investigating whether or not its country’s residents pay higher-than-average premiums on electronic products and services. And it looks like it’s now prepared to speak directly to the makers.

The Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communications in Australia’s House of Representatives released a memo yesterday, stating that it has called upon Apple, Microsoft, and Adobe to speak at a public hearing regarding its probe at the end of next month… Read More

 

The exodus continues: Home Depot drops BlackBerry for iPhone

By Cody Lee on Feb 9, 2013

It hasn’t even been a week since we reported that Australia’s Treasury Department would be trading in their BlackBerry devices for iPhones, and there’s already a new story on the Canadian handset-maker losing another major enterprise customer.

The word is that Home Depot, a home improvement retail chain and the 5th largest retailer in the world, is also looking to drop their BlackBerrys in favor of Apple’s popular smartphone. And the account is a big one, worth over 10,000 handsets… Read More

 

Apple responds to recent calls for it to return cash to shareholders

By Cody Lee on Feb 7, 2013

Apple has just issued a statement regarding its commitment to return some of its extremely large—now more than $130 billion— cash pile to shareholders, saying that the company and its Board of Directors are in “active discussions” on what to do with its money.

The comment follows a press release sent to Apple investors this morning by Greenlight Capital, a major Apple shareholder, calling for the Cupertino-based iPhone maker to stop ‘hoarding its cash,’ and start returning some of it to its large base of stock holders… Read More

 

Apple’s ‘disappointing’ holiday quarter compared to other companies

By Cody Lee on Feb 7, 2013

When Apple announced the results for its 2012 holiday quarter, the reaction from Wall Street was extremely negative. Despite selling a record 48 million iPhones, and recording a record $54.5 billion in revenue, the company’s stock dropped more than 10% following the news.

A lot of folks have tried to explain the phenomenon—investors are worried about its slowing growth, or its ability to handle stronger competition from the likes of Google and Samsung. But the truth is, Apple is performing better than it ever has, and better than everyone else… Read More

 
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