Apple

Samsung, TSMC and Intel competing for contracts to build A7 chips for Apple

Another report surfaced this morning that gives us more reasons to believe that Apple is indeed looking to diversify its chip making contracts which thus far have been an exclusive Samsung domain. The somewhat accurate Asian trade publication DigiTimes quoted "institutional investors" who believe that chip giant Intel has been contracted to produce about ten percent of Apple's planned capacity for a next-generation iPhone and iPad processor, the A7 chip.

Moreover, Apple is apparently spreading those orders across Samsung, Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). Samsung will reportedly build about half of Apple's A7 orders, TSMC should take care of an additional 40 percent while Intel will get the remaining ten percent of orders. Rumor mills have been reporting for at least a year that Apple has been looking to move its chip biz away from rival Samsung, which currently builds all iPhone, iPad and iPod processors at its Austin, Texas plant...

Apple posts new ‘Brilliant’ and ‘Discover’ iPhone ads

Apple has posted two new iPhone commercials this evening. The first one is entitled 'Brilliant,' and the second is 'Discover,' and both of them follow the Cupertino company's recent marketing trend for its iOS devices.

The spots start out with a slew of quickly flashing descriptive words, landing on a final one just before jumping into a quick app demo. And they repeat this a couple of times to an upbeat soundtrack. Check them out...

Viral video star ‘Sweet Brown’ suing Apple over copyright infringement

While she may not have time for bronchitis, it appears that Kimberly 'Sweet Brown' Wilkins has plenty of time for lawsuits. The viral video star has reportedly filed a copyright infringement suit against Apple for selling a track on iTunes that featured her voice.

The song was called "I got bronchitis," and it used several samples of Wilkins' catchphrases from an early 2012 interview that turned her into an internet sensation. She is suing Apple, along with the producers of the track, for some $15 million in damages...

HiddenApps lets you disable iAds and hide stock Apple apps, no jailbreak required

Occasionally, an app escapes the watchful eye of Apple's review team and gets released on the App Store despite ignoring Apple's stringent rules for third-party iOS development. HiddenApps by David Goelzhaeuser, a 15-year-old German iOS developer, is one such example.

The whole point of this free application is to let you hide Apple's stock apps from your Home screen, like Passbook, Newsstand or Stocks - no jailbreak required.

It can also disable Apple's iAds altogether and give you access to a Field Test mode which gives you precise readings of your cellular signal strength. You better download as it's going down in 5, 4, 3, 2...

This is China’s iPhone 5S

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82Xj-cfjuGU

With the iPhone 5S reportedly a few months away, ardent copycat vendors in Shenzen, China took it upon themselves to come up with an iPhone 5S of their own. Meet the GooPhone i5S, a total rip-off based on Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2 which sells for just $149 contract-free.

Now, imagine if Apple actually made a sub-$200 budget iPhone - or offered a $149 off-contract iPhone 5 for that matter (its cheapest contract-free handset is the $450 iPhone 4). GooPhone's cheap iPhone lookalike - and I'm using the term loosely here - goes on sale tomorrow and the first 1,000 buyers will pay only $99 for it...

Very early iOS device prototype surfaces

The monster 2012 Apple v. Samsung trial was a treasure trove of various iPhone prototypes that we had never seen previously. These not only gave us a glimpse into Apple's creative process, we also got to see the various bodies Apple had been exploring for its then still work-in-progress iPhone. But this is something entirely different from everything so far.

For the first time, at least to my knowledge, we are offered a look into an extremely early iOS device prototype. The thing looks like something engineers would duct-tape together after a brainstorming session in Apple's kitchen. As you can see, it has a bunch of chips, tacked-on ports and a massive screen measuring five by seven inches. A former Apple employee said that "at the time, it was really impressive seeing basically a version of OS X running on it"...

Apple may pay to use iPhone name in Brazil

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...

New Apple supplier concerns drag share down

Spring is just around the corner, the sun is shining and new concerns about Apple suppliers appear like so many dandelions. Never mind CEO Tim Cook said it's impossible to determine the health of the iPhone maker simply by looking at suppliers.

Just as Washington, DC trades in political rumors, Wall Street and Silicon Valley are back with new scuttlebutt about Apple's supply chain.

As a result, Apple's stock dipped lower Monday on word that orders to suppliers were the worst on record - at least for one analyst. Others believe higher sales of iPad minis versus the larger tablet is cause for concern, while still others forecast a slow summer and then return to profitability...

Rovio to air Toons series through Angry Birds apps

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_7JjB0At_s

As we told you, Finland-based Angry Birds maker Rovio continues to milk its franchise with the announcement of an animated series titled Angry Birds Toons. It's premiering on the weekend of March 16 and 17 and today Rovio revealed that it will be airing the episodes directly via its Angry Birds apps, in addition to other more traditional distribution channels.

That's a clever move considering more than 1.7 billion Angry Birds downloads across devices and operating systems. If they offered a standalone Toons app, I don't think many people would download it. The first episode titled 'Chuck Time' will be airing in the Angry Birds Toons channel this Sunday, March 17, with a trailer for it included right after the break...

Samsung leads Apple, Lenovo in China smartphone market

An interesting report on what smartphone brand is leading in China leaked over the weekend. It's interesting because most market updates are distributed far and wide. Instead, the South Korean news agency Yonhap published a private report indicating that country's Samsung leads Apple and others in the huge mobile marketplace.

According to the Strategy Analytics report obtained by Yonhap, Samsung is the number one brand in China with 17.7 percent of the market during 2012. Intriguingly, Samsung's rise coincides with a plummeting Nokia, which previously held the top spot...

Foxconn and TSMC recruit 5,000 workers each ahead of Apple product launches

Apple's contract manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry - also know in the Western world as the controversial Foxconn - and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's largest independent semiconductor foundry, will each add 5,000 new jobs just as Apple is conveniently expected to refresh its existing product families and possibly venture into the HD TV and smartwatch markets. If true, the report could also explain "the worst February" Topeka Capital has seen in terms of Apple's supply chain procurement of components...

Apple updates iOS Maps in Japan with bug fixes and other improvements

Back in February, Apple seeded a beta version of iOS 6.1.1 to developers. The update featured a lengthy change log of some much needed fixes and improvements for its iOS Maps application in Japan.

Of course, Apple forewent that release in order to push out bug fixes for the iPhone 4S, and later Exchange. But it looks like Japan users finally got their new Map data that they've been waiting for today...