An Apple TV - minus the box?

The rumour mill is exploding after a report is claiming that Apple is in negotiations to purchase German television manufacturer Loewe, fuelling speculation that this purchase could be used to make the long-awaited and much-hyped Apple TV.

According to AppleInisder, citing anonymous sources, Apple is offering 87.3 million euros for the company, which is apparently a tiny premium on its market cap of 58.79 million euros (based on the last closing share price). The company, started in 1929 and known for being a premium manufacturer of televisions, has workers across 50 countries but produces its sets in Germany.

The report also claims that a final decision will be made by the end of this week.

The last major hardware buys was P.A. Semi and Intrinsity – both semiconductor manufacturers which were used for their Apple A4 and A5 chips. So buying a company to help build hardware for its products isn’t un-Apple like for them.

It’s also a bit interesting since Loewe’s largest stakeholder is Sharp – which is also rumoured to be helping Foxconn to build a television set for Apple. So, could we see a closer partnership between Sharp and Apple to perfect the much-rumoured Apple HDTV?

It’s all speculation, and rumour – so don’t get your hopes up just yet.

Image: Mark Pegrum/OzMark17 via Flickr (Creative Commons)

Apple and Microsoft, among other tech companies, have been called to Canberra to explain why Australians are being charged much more on software, music and games in comparison to other nations, according to a new report.

Wait, Parliament doing something? (Okay, that might not be fair, they have done some good work – such as the R18+ laws)

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the Minister for Communications, Senator Stephen Conroy, has already signed off on a parliamentary inquiry that will examine the pricing policies of software and “other IT-related materials”. The exact terms of reference on the inquiry have not been finalised, but the price of e-books could be examined if any issues of price differences between Australia and other markets are raised.

Leading the charge for such an inquiry has been Ed Husic, a Labor MP in Sydney, who took issue with the “price discrimination” – citing Adobe’s pricing structure where a digital download for Photoshop CS5 Extended cost $999 in the US, but $1,671 in Australia.

Adobe hasn’t helped itself when it was revealed that the latest edition of Adobe’s Creative Suite programs would see Australians also being charged more – this is despite the fact that the Australian dollar is basically on parity with the United States dollar.

“From my perspective, the most commonsense approach would have been for the companies to set out in their own terms why they price their products in Australia differently from other parts of the world. Instead of doing that, IT vendors have not only remained mute, they keep aggravating Australian consumers,” he said in a parliamentary speech in March.

“Let us be clear about this: IT vendors are demonstrating they will price differently here because we will cop it or they think we will keep quiet about it.”

Talking to SMH, Choice’s spokeswoman Ingrid Just said that they welcomed the move.

“The excuses overseas technology companies used to justify the higher prices, such as the small size of the market, the cost of setting up support centres and the imposition of local taxes and duties, were not acceptable,” she said.

Well, if nothing is resolved, then we can all look forward in many Australians continuing to pirate the software that is overpriced. And trust me, if Australians are fed up of waiting for new series because broadcasters air them later than their American counterparts, or end up pulling them to air in the summer; then they’re sort of fed up with the overcharging as well.

Get ready to hear some Apple fanboy rage. CEO and founder of security vendor Kaspersky Labs, Eugene Kaspersky, has said that Apple’s security for its Mac OS X operating system is ten years behind Microsoft’s Windows.

“I think they [Apple] are ten years behind Microsoft in terms of security,” Kaspersky said in an interview with CBR. “For many years I’ve been saying that from a security point of view there is no big difference between Mac and Windows. It’s always been possible to develop Mac malware, but this one was a bit different.”

The comments come after the well-known Flashback malware outbreak, which had infected 650,000 computers at its peak. Apple was pointed out by many as, despite being a Java (owned by Oracle) exploit, it has full control of how Java is patched. It also is notorious in delaying key patches by months. When it was already released for Mac, Windows and Linux users were already patched.

He notes that Apple is entering what Microsoft previously had to go through ten years ago, when malware and virus infection became a major problem – especially with Windows XP. Now, Microsoft’s security has pretty much improved.

“They will understand very soon that they have the same problems Microsoft had ten or 12 years ago. They will have to make changes in terms of the cycle of updates and so on and will be forced to invest more into their security audits for the software,” Kaspersky said.

Kaspersky also added that he expects to see more malware targeting Mac OS X as cyber-criminals “learn from success and this [Flashback] was the first successful one”.

It looks like the idea that Macs are more safer than PCs has been utterly destroyed by the Flashback malware and the ensuing debacle on how to patch the system. Especially as since more and more malware writers are now targeting the PC, to some success.

Instagram was previously an iOS exclusive application, before it expanded to Android. And that is why you see crazy hipsters complaining and repulsed by the fact that their precious little app is now allowing people from a rival platform. So, in droves, many started to leave – and now you can add one high-profile person to the list.

Jesus Christ! What has the world become.

I guess I now have a reason to complain if, I don’t know, a Zune app is offered on Android or even on iOS – because that’s an exclusive app to Windows Phone 7. I don’t want those dirty iPhone and Android users accessing the same content and have the same features on my Nokia Lumia 800.

Image and story via: 9to5Mac

Germans won’t be getting push email anytime soon with Apple’s appeal to the Mannheim regional court failed. The court basically sided with Motorola Mobility, and agreed with an earlier decision that saw the company forced to remove the service in Germany earlier in February.

The court also is forcing Apple to pay damages to Motorola Mobility (and indirectly Google, since now they own the company), but the exact amount has not been revealed by the courts, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

This ban applies to all iOS users “within the borders of Germany”, according to its support page that also offers a workaround – which is basically setting it to get emails at a set interval of time (like every minute or five). However, all other push email services including Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync are unaffected by this ban.

Motorola, however, is having problems of its own. According to The Next Web, the company is being investigated by the European Commission to see if it was abusing its standard-essential patents (or really, really, really important technologies) to hamper competition with rivals. Both Apple and Microsoft filed complaints saying that Motorola was not offering a ‘fair price’ as part of the EU’s Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) policy.

Another Android manufacturer, Samsung, is also being probed by the EU with the same reasoning.

The case dealing with Motorola’s communications standards – which is also the heart of the European Commission’s case – was adjourned by the court with the judge not saying when he will issue a decision.

Australia might not be the only country having issues with the new iPad’s claim that it will have 4G, despite the fact that it doesn’t have it anywhere in the world except for the US and Canada (which we have explained before). European regulators are starting to take notice with such claims as well.

Pocket-lint is reporting that the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority have confirmed to them that they are assessing similar complaints from UK customers – though have not confirmed that they will launch any action against those claims.

“We are aware of the news from Australia regarding the iPad 4G marketing claim,” a spokeswoman told the site. “Without going through due process we can’t say whether the (UK) ad is likely to be problematic.”

The Wall Street Journal is also noting that the Swedish Consumer Agency is also considering launching their own investigation. “One may rightfully ask if the marketing of the new iPad is misleading,” Marek Andersson, a lawyer for the agency, told the paper. “The question is whether this information is clear enough in Apple’s marketing.”

The ACCC has already launched legal action, with Apple announcing that it will offer refunds to people who felt that they were misled thinking that they would be able to connect to a 4G network (namely, Telstra’s network).

via MacRumors

Apple has today claimed that Australia’s 3G networks are actually 4G networks if compared to international standards, and that our carriers have simply mislabelled them. And while we may ponder what was in their lawyer’s head when he made that statement, the 4G issue is, well, really complicated.

First, let’s explore what each carrier uses. At a base level, all carriers support UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) as their 3G standard. That standard is not deemed by the International Telecommunications Union – the peak international body – to be a 4G standard.

Telstra has also implemented the HSPA+ standard in some of its towers – and here is where we get to the tricky part.

HSPA+ is not officially recognised by the ITU as a 4G standard – so, win for the ACCC.

However, the ITU has pretty much opened up the definition of what 4G (all for the ‘sake of the consumer’) which allows carriers to promote it as a 4G network – like AT&T.

Saying in a statement:

As the most advanced technologies currently defined for global wireless mobile broadband communications, IMT-Advanced is considered as “4G”, although it is recognized that this term, while undefined, may also be applied to the forerunners of these technologies, LTE and WiMax, and to other evolved 3G technologies providing a substantial level of improvement in performance and capabilities with respect to the initial third generation systems now deployed.

Translation: HSPA+, LTE and WiMax are allowed to be promoted as ’4G’ despite the fact that the ITU will not recognise them as such.

But, wait? LTE and WiMax? Aren’t they 4G standards?

Well, no. The official definition of 4G, as set out by the ITU themselves, basically ruled out LTE and WiMax as ‘official’ 4G standards. This was because they did not meet the peak speed requirements of 1 gigabit/second speeds for “low mobility communication” (or, in other words, the speed you get if you were standing on the sidewalk and sending a simple Twitter message).

And the ITU was pretty strict on its definition on what should be called 4G, until it realised that every mobile operator – especially with Verizon, AT&T and Sprint – and every mobile phone manufacturer was going to ignore it for ‘marketing’. And hence, the much looser definition – meaning that the mobile operators can market LTE, HSPA+ and WiMax as a 4G network, despite the fact that the ITU will simply ignore it.

This also means that Telstra has essentially lied. Their 4G network running on LTE is not in fact a 4G network. Under the original ITU definition, this would simply be an addition to its 3G network. Thanks to the ITU’s looser definition, it can market LTE as a 4G network.

But what is a 4G standard under the ITU? Well, there are two standards that have been recognised as an official standard: LTE Advanced and IEEE 802.16m. These are basically more compliant versions of LTE and WiMax; but neither standard is expected to be commercially deployed for several more years.

Until true 4G is deployed, we’re stuck with this marketing fallacy.

Image: Droid Life

We all have seen/experienced Apple’s ever so ambiguous product announcement invitations, yes? And they seem to have worked well, especially at sparking off rumours amongst the associated fan-boys. Now Logitech Australia has uploaded quite a poor quality image to their Facebook page, which I think is a copy of Apple’s marketing strategy, specifically ‘the new iPad‘.

As you can read from the above image, Logitech appear to be announcing something ‘here’ (Facebook maybe?), at 10pm, next Tuesday. From the the rather blurry outline, it appears that this new product of theirs is going to be some sort of speaker dock, maybe with something to do with the iPad 3. Oh my, the Logitech fan-boys, a group which doesn’t exist, are going to be happy about that!

Maybe, just maybe, I am bring a tad harsh on Logitech. Though I still can’t help feel that they just copied Apple with this announcement. I will give them credit for trying something different, something other that the usual, boring “look at our new line of products that no one will ever notice”. But next time, try to be different. Please.

Logitech Australia has since removed this picture from their Facebook page. Maybe they saw this?

The Apple TV is getting a bit of an upgrade with support for full 1080p High Definition support and a brand new user interface that makes it easier – apparently, according to Apple – to access purchased content and stuff from iCloud and iTunes Match from the small device.

The push for 1080p will mean that all iTunes movies and TV shows, Netflix streaming (only in the US) and Vimeo content can be viewed in this resolution. So, if you have a sufficient-enough internet connection, then feel free.

The new Apple TV with 1080p will be sold at the same price as before on March 16. Those already owning the 720p version – the one on sale as of now – will be able to upgrade to the new user interface for free today. If you have a much older version, then you are out of luck and it should be time to upgrade.

Original Post – by Chris Southcott

A new Apple TV with 1080p, a new UI and iOS-style looks? Very shiny. More details as they come.

Read the liveblog and we’ll update this post later!

As always, Apple is finally putting us all out of our rumour-fed misery a few days before we explode, by announcing the real, official iPad 3 launch date. On March 7 at 10AM US PST at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco Tim Cook will likely take the stage to show off the new iPad, alongside other Apple conference regulars. In Australian time the even will start at the good-old time of 5AM AEDT (Sydney/Melbourne-time) on March 8 which is a Thursday (next Thursday).

The image sent to the press shows an iPad with a higher resolution (as long as Apple hasn’t ‘shopped it) and possibly no home-button. While it could be in landscape mode, the spacing between icons says otherwise.

TECHGEEK.com.au will be here with all the Australian coverage, such as Australian carriers, prices and details on things such as a possible LTE iPad coming down under, so tune in right here for the latest news and live coverage as it happens with a Live Blog. Don’t leave us lonely!

Image of Foxconn's facilities (Image by ttstam/Flickr, under Creative Commons)

You may have heard in the news that Apple has had a serious problem with building its products with China. Constant news reports from the main technology press, and soon the more mainstream press, have shined a light of the inner workings of its manufacturing partners. But, why are we so focused on Apple? We shouldn’t focus on them at all – we should be focusing on our own mass tech consumption as the reason why we let this continue.

Yes, Apple hires Foxconn to do its work. It has the contract to build out millions of iPhones, iPads and iPods every year. And yes, Foxconn has a history of problems – such as workers committing suicide, child labour and even exposing workers to dangerous chemicals. But Foxconn also has contracts to build the Kindle and the three major gaming consoles – the Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360. Its client list also includes Nokia, Intel and Samsung.

So why has Apple copped much of the flack? You can point the finger to Mike Daisey and his piece that featured on This American Life.

Don’t worry. I’m not going to attack him on that piece. It was an eye-opening feature that you should all listen. But what really annoys me is that everyone is focused on Apple – and I can understand it because it has been at the forefront of the scandals. However, this should be an issue for all tech companies in general who manufacture their products in China. Apple shouldn’t be the only ethical company – despite their campaign of “Think Different” – and make an ethical iPhone just to appease worried hipsters of mistreatment. All companies should do the same – be ethical.

Now we reached a conundrum. A more ethical product, where assuming there are safer working standards and conditions, will mean the price will rise to compensate. As we all know, any change will essentially be passed onto the consumer. HP and Dell has even confirmed that it will likely increase the price you’ll pay for your laptop.

Cheap labour is in the interests of Apple, Nokia and many other companies because it means it pays less to manufacture a high-quality gadget. And hence, it can sell it at a pricepoint which will mean consumers will buy the product. The trend in consumer electronics is to make it smaller, thinner and cheaper – and if you can’t do the last one, then it won’t sell as well as its cheaper competitor.

And for HP and Dell, they can’t afford to have increased production costs. While it may be ethical (and is the right thing to do), the PC market only offers small returns. And it is because of the trend – cheaper computers. Five years ago, laptops would have been at least $1,600. Now, most laptops are below the $1000 range. And its because of the number of competitors that are eating each other out with lower and lower prices, and in thinner form factors just to stand out from the crowded market.

Then what about pulling out of China altogether and find another place? Well, you’ve single-handily damaged the Chinese economy. Foxconn, with 13 factories, is the largest private employer in the country. That would mean massive jobs cut because you cannot retain the same amount of people if major international clients pulled out. Plus, another problem emerges: where to next? We can’t put it in the West because the price will increase heavily. And if we move to a developing or third-world country, we will have the same problem or even worse as companies with big profits would have a chance to influence policy.

We can all hope for better working conditions, but realistically – we’ll still have cheap labour, we will still have the poor working conditions and abuses. And we will all ignore it, because we want the goods at a price we deem is right for it. Effectively, that means the prices will remain low and ‘cheap’.

So, if we really, really want change; we all have to change our spending habits. Are you willing to pay more for something ethical?

Postscript (17 March 2012): The Mike Daisey’s piece has been retracted by This American Life after it has been exposed to have been fabricated some of its allegations. Apple, however, has had some problems with its suppliers – including unsafe working conditions. This opinion piece still stands, as it is focused on the problems with manufacturing technology problems in China for all across the spectrum.

Screenshot of the data dump (Image: 9to5Mac)

Controversial manufacturer Foxconn has been hacked in protest over its working conditions, with the group leaking login details of the staff inside the company. This comes as protesters are demanding Apple to make an “ethically-made iPhone 5″.

Yes, because they are stuck between two problems – remain hipster with the iPhone, or support poor working conditions. I know, it’s a really hard decision. (That was sarcasm, by the way – doesn’t really translate well into text).

The hackers, calling themselves Swagg Security, have claimed that the passwords leaked would allow individuals “to make fraudulent orders under big companies like Microsoft, Apple, IBM, Intel, and Dell” and that they wanted to expose Foxconn. After all, they “enjoy exposing governments and corporations.”

9to5Mac have managed to verify that the passwords are real, adding that the server has now closed by Foxconn.

It is unsure if any internal information was leaked out – though, we’ll keep an eye on it.

The full message is below:

Users of Cyberspace,

So Foxconn thinks they got ‘em some swagger because they work with the Big Boys from Intel, Microsoft, IBM, and Apple? Fool, You don’t know what swagger is. They say you got your employees all worked up, committing suicide ‘n stuff. They say you hire chinese workers ’cause you think the taiwanese are elite. We got somethin’ served up good…real good. Your not gonna’ know what hit you by the time you finish this release. Your company gonna’ crumble, and you deserve it.

Upon switching the radio from Nicki Minaj’s self-enforcing, lack of content, stereotypical song, “Stupid Hoe”; We switched on BBC Radio, the leading source of unbiased material. A short segment on the manufacturer giant Foxconn, came up reporting on the inhuman conditions the workers experience. A few days later an almost viral rumor about an Iphone 5 with a 4-inch screen being manufactured, as claimed by an employee from the infamous Foxconn. Now as a first impression Swagg Security would rather not deceive the public of our intentions. Although we are considerably disappointed of the conditions of Foxconn, we are not hacking a corporation for such a reason and although we are slightly interested in the existence of an Iphone 5, we are not hacking for this reason. We hack for the cyberspace who share a few common viewpoints and philosophies. We enjoy exposing governments and corporations, but the more prominent reason, is the hilarity that ensues when compromising and destroying an infrastructure. How unethical right? Perhaps for the layman who has conformed to a society raised by the government that actively seeks to maintain power and quell threats to their ventures. But to us and many others, the destruction of an infrastructure, the act of destruction that does not affect an individual, brings a sense of newfound content, a unique feeling, along with a new chance to start your own venture.

This is Swagg Security, we aim to to reshape your perspectives, our perspectives, by the inducing of entertainment. A unique approach to spreading a unique philosophy which brings the sought after tranquility. In a way we are “hacktivist”, but in our own views we are Greyhats. We believe there is no reality in hacktivism, even with good intentions. We know those who claim to be “hacktivists” that inside of you, a suppressed part of you, enjoys playing a part in the anarchist event of hacking of an infrastructure. One which at the same time presents a challenge, upon completing reveals an almost unknown feeling of a menacing satisfaction. We encourage not to continue quelling such a natural emotion but to embrace it. Only when embracing what society has taught you to hinder, is when you realize your own identity.

We encourage media, security experts, and other interested individuals to explore our leaks. Foxconn did have an appropriate firewall, but fortunately to our intent, we were able to bypass it almost flawlessly. Of course with funding ourselves we did have our limitations. But with several hacking techniques employed, and a couple of days in time, we were able to dump most of everything of significance. We now appropriately give consent to other individuals reading this release, to scavenge through the leaks acquiring usernames and passwords; while attempting to find if they use the passwords anywhere else. Remember damage is bliss. Without further undue, the leaks.

The Hackers with Swagger,

Swagg Security

Note: The passwords inside these files could allow individuals to make fraudulent orders under big companies like Microsoft, Apple, IBM, Intel, and Dell. Be careful ; )

Meanwhile, 250,000 protesters visited 6 Apple stores around the world and called for reforms on their overseas manufacturing after the working conditions have been in the mainstream press – though, incidentally when Foxconn workers were jumping off buildings, these people didn’t really seem to care. I think it was until it managed to make an appearance on This American Life that they started to protest.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not criticising their protests. It’s a valid point that Apple should start protecting their workers – especially when Foxconn has a history of overworking its employees and where minimum wage is significantly smaller than what we get here. It feels, however, opportunistic because of the lack of protest during the other Foxconn problems that were reported on.

Anyway, two groups – Change.org and SumOfUs.org, have managed to get 200,000 and 50,000 signatures respectively on their petition pages – and have already delivered them to Bangalore and London; with Washington DC, San Francisco and Sydney to be next. (Sydney, however, is on today).

However, what I have seen, a simple protest will not work to get people change their minds. If there is anything that seems more effective, it is direct action, as evident in the Netherlands where customers threaten to pull out their money from the bank over executive pay bonuses.

Basically, just stop shopping there, and turn everyone else away. Or better yet, ditch your iPhone or other Apple device.

Train Trapper

This app is nothing short of the best Melbourne public transport app. It is fast to load and picks the closest station to your current location and presents you with a list of which train will depart when, and to where. This is extremely handy when you are roaming around the city, wander into a train station and want to catch the next train without any hassle which we had plenty of experience doing during CES.

This app also displays whether the train is cancelled or delayed and a short explanation as to what happened. Unlike the Metlink, featured later, it is really easy to read and interpret allowing for easy commuting around the Melbourne Rail network.

You can download it for free here: http://tgau.co/traintrapper 

Metlink

This app, put nicely has a horrible UX (user experience). It is just horrible. It just feels overcomplicated, is ‘thick’ menu wise and looks like something made by an amateur. In terms of functionality, it is pretty good at telling you when a bus is leaving, when a train will arrive and so on. Though that is about it. I have tried using its Journey planner many a time, only for it to produce the most incomprehensible, unreadable, irrelevant garbage.  So please, for the love of God, don’t use this app for anything other than an interactive timetable!

Though, do note that this app is still in beta so fingers crossed this Metlink work on this app and improve it to something a little more usable.

You can download the app for free here: http://tgau.co/metlinkapp

Metro Trains Mobile Site

Breaking the unwritten rules of an app wrap-up, this is actually a mobile website. There is nothing new here but this is where you go for an overview of the status of the Metro train network. Basically, the website only contains one useful webpage, which is the summary page so I can’t blab on here too much. This website also links to the Metlink app; an online timetable; a news page; and a 404 page. How nice of them.

Unlike Metlink, Metro have done quite a nice job with this website, making it also very readable and interpretable on the move. This is something I can see coming in handy in a time of chaos and confusion.

You can access the website here: http://m.metrotrains.com.au/

Tram Hunter

This is an app, which I have played with, but haven’t used on the go. Like Train Trapper, it is able to detect nearby stops (well as far as I know), browse by tram route, search for stops, and view stops on a map.

I am not a regular tram commuter so I don’t think I will ever clock up much experience with this app. though from playing with it, it is able to tell you when the next tram will leave, where and at which stop. This app is on par with the Train Trapper app in terms of design and functionality. I decided to include this because a friend recommended it to me, and I can see it being useful for some commuters.

You can download the app for free here: http://tgau.co/tramhunter

So that is it for my public transport apps. It is a little disappointing that both Metlink and Metro Trains haven’t been able to produce something that I am happy to use and able to commit to. Then again, when has the government done anything properly that they haven’t been forced to do… NBN… Sigh. Anyway, hope this helps!

The Sony Walkman Z has a 4.3 inch touch screen with a 800 x 480 resolution, but sadly runs Android 2.3, meaning it’s already out of date before it’s even made available. It’s expected to arrive in mid-2012, in the US, but an Australian date and price has yet to be revealed. Based on US prices, it’s a fair bit pricer at US$249 compared to the 8GB iPod touch which is US$199.  Meanwhile the 16GB ($279), and 32GB ($329) models are also pricer, and there is no 64GB option.

Android is fully licenced and has all of the official Google applications. Sony also added a number of their services, such as Music Unlimited. The music application is also heavily customized with SenseMe channels, based on your mood, and a truckload of music enhancement technologies. You also get EX-HP in-ear headphones, which is a much better set than what Apple includes. It also has an FM radio, HDMI output, Bluetooth and DLNA streaming.

Remember to stay tuned tonight from 8PM for a runthrough of other Sony happenings on the CES Briefing. Also, you can check out our CES Hub.

The year 2011 was one year that we will all never forget. Even though they were all in the beginning of the year, the floods in Queensland and Brazil, the earthquakes in Christchurch and the tsunami in the north of Japan are still present in all of our minds. We also saw the death of a tech luminary, Steve Jobs; and the powerful News Corporation losing its influence over politicians in the UK after the phone hacking scandal took a drastic turn from celebrities to victims of crime.

This year, we’ve decided to recap the top 11 tech stories of the year – from security problems to business failures, and even the growing popularity of Windows Phone 7.

You can explore the choices below.

• The Revolutions Heard Around The Globe
• The Catastrophic Disaster of the PSN
• Steve Jobs: 1955 – 2011
• The Phone Hacking that killed the News
• A Global War – Apple v Samsung
• A 50 Day Hacking Campaign, for the lulz
• The Rise of Windows Phone 7
• An annus horribilis for RIM and Netflix
• Palm is dead, WebOS lives on
• Social: Google enters, LinkedIn goes IPO and Timeline
• Gone Viral: Friday – an instant success amongst the haters
• Credits

Image Credits: Al Jazeera English (Left) and David Shankbone (Right). All are licensed under Creative Commons.

So, Samsung’s attempt to make the Christmas shopping season is getting slimmer and slimmer with the Australian High Court extending the for its ban until next Friday. So, if you’re planning to get this tablet – you can send all your fury to Apple.

The extension was to allow Apple to have its case heard in the High Court.

Samsung, obviously, is annoyed by the result – as it had planned to start shipping the product one minute after the injunction was lifted.

“Samsung believes Apple has no basis for its application for leave to appeal and will vigorously oppose this to the High Court,” it said in a statement.

However, according to ZDNet Australia speaking to patent lawyer Dr. Mark Summerfield, it could be in vein. “If the High Court thinks [the full bench decision] has been misinterpreted, it may be disposed to hear an appeal,” he said.

“However, on the basis of the factual findings, it does not seem that it would make much difference, even if the High Court wants to correct the full Federal Court’s legal reasoning. Three out of four Federal Court judges who have looked at the case have found no prima facie case of infringement.”

So, Android lovers, you’ll have to wait another week.

The tablet that is in the middle of a patent war between Apple and Samsung - The Galaxy Tab 10.1 (Image: Samsung)

UPDATED: Apple’s injunction against Samsung has been overturned by the Federal Court of Australia, meaning that the South Korean electronics company can now sell their Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia.

The decision – a unanimous decision by the full bench – also sees Apple paying all costs for the appeal. It also does mean that Samsung’s long awaited tablet, which was meant to go on sale on Vodafone’s network, will not miss the Christmas shopping season.

Samsung has said it is pleased with today’s result.

“Samsung Electronics Australia is pleased with today’s unanimous decision by the Federal Court to lift the preliminary injunction on sales of the Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1. We believe the ruling clearly affirms that Apple’s legal claims lack merit,” the company said in a statement.

“We will make an announcement regarding the market availability of the GALAXY Tab 10.1 in Australia shortly.”

Apple won the injunction in October, after Justice Annabelle Bennett sided with Apple’s claim that it infringed on its patents. She told the court, according to ZDNet Australia, that Apple would likely walk out victorious based on the evidence if it was presented in a full trial.

Apple, however, unsurprisingly (and possibly unable to admit defeat) is taking this to the High Court. The company asked and was successful to get a stay of orders by Justice Foster so it could file its appeal. It is to last until 4pm Sydney time on Friday.

We’ve asked Apple for a comment. They have not replied at the time of publication.

15:31 – This post has been updated to add Samsung’s statement.

Is the MacBook Air going to get an upgrade soon?

Here’s a double whammy of Apple rumours to drool over. A report is claiming that the MacBook Air could have another redesign in the first-half of the year to compete with the new “ultrabooks”; while another is claiming that the iPhone could have a larger, 4-inch screen.

A MacBook Air ultrabook?

DigiTimes is reporting, from unnamed sources, that the MacBook Air will see an upgrade in the first quarter of 2012. It will also add a 15-inch model – which would be great for those looking for a lightweight, but not too small notebook. Also, expect to see price cuts on the existing MacBook Air on sale currently, according to the report. That is apparently a sign that Apple is planning to launch the new-look MacBook Air.

However, DigiTimes notes: “ultrabooks with Windows and document processing software will still be more attractive for the enterprise market.”

Though, like I said before from DigiTimes, don’t get your hopes up just yet. They have a somewhat bad track record when it comes to Apple rumours.

Next iPhone to get a screen upgrade?

Japanese blog Macotakara is reporting that the next version of the iPhone could have a 4-inch display. Citing an “Asian source”, both Sony and Hitachi have started to ship new LCD displays for a “new iOS device” – which could only mean two things: the iPod touch or the iPhone. I place my bets that it is the latter, since it always gets the upgrade first, then the iPod touch that are slightly reduced (like the camera, for example).

While the upgrade will most likely put the phone on-par with its Android rivals, who have been increasing the screen-size to borderline tablet-sized screens, it does mean that it lose something. As pointed out by Dustin Curtis in October, the 3.5-inch display allows the user to touch the screen with just a thumb.

The big important question is when will this device be launched? 9to5Mac is claiming that it will be in winter (our time) next year – though that would make the iPhone 4S less than a year old before being succeeded by a new-generation iPhone.

Like I said, take it with a grain of salt.

Mark this on your calendar, Apple’s annual Black Friday sale is on again. The company has announced quietly on its Apple Store online that it will hold a “special one-day Apple shopping event” on November 25 – which is Black Friday.

It has not revealed what are the discounts, but don’t expect it to be much. Apple is notoriously known for having minuscule discounts. Last year’s event saw the iPad reduced by $51, and the iPod touch by $25.

Yes, their deals are pretty crappy.

However, if you’re looking for accessories, they offer good deals. But that’s because they don’t really make money from third-party accessory makers.

For those new to this: Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and it is the “official” start of the Holiday Shopping Season since most retailers start their price discounts on that day. Online retailers, however, see a big boom the Monday after “Black Friday”  as people found it more convenient to shop from home.

Check back on November 25 to see any Apple deals that are worth getting.

Steve Jobs biography, written by Walter Isaacson, has detailed a number of details of Steve Jobs’ life, work and achievements, occasionally showing a darker side to the man who brought such innovative products to the world. But Isaacson has revealed to the New York Times that he had left out some of the upcoming Apple products details out of respect for Apple and Jobs.

According to Isaacson, Jobs had planned to reinvent television, textbooks and photography and was already in the process of creating the long rumoured Apple TV that was actually a full television and not just a set-top box. He even told Isaacson that he’d “licked it” and that “There’s no reason you should have all these complicated remote controls.”

The other two industries, textbooks and photography, could arguably be linked to the iPad and iPhone, but it sounds like Jobs’ had much deeper plans to recreate the idea of textbooks and photography.

The big question from these details is whether Apple will continue work on these projects and if so, how long away are they? If Steve Jobs had “licked it”, does that mean they are just a few years away? Or will the rumour remain a rumour? Some things we may never know.

Apple has begun its recall program to replace the first generation iPod nano, after determining that there is a problem with the battery. Any iPod nano that was sold between September 2005 and December 2006 could “overheat and pose a safety risk”.

The company has said that it traced it to a single battery supplier, and says that the likelihood of the battery overheating increases as the battery ages. Because of that, you should stop using your old iPod nano NOW and replace it.

Apple will give you a replacement unit, free of charge. However, most likely, you’re going to get one of the later generations of the iPod nano. We’re not expecting Apple to just give you another first-generation iPod nano, because its five-to-six years old and most likely doesn’t have any more stock. I do have a first-generation iPod nano that is eligible for this, so we’ll see what Apple gives in return since they are keeping it all hush-hush.

Apple’s recall program includes Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. You’ll also need to make sure your serial number matches between the dates of manufacturer, which you can find on this handy image below:

If you do use the online form, then you have ten business days to get the product sent to Apple. For Australians, print out the dispatch label and go to the nearest Australia Post. You should not include the power or USB cord, or manuals, as they will not be returned to you. Please also note that it could take five business days for your package to sent to Apple, depending on your region.Then you will have to wait up to six weeks from when Apple receives your iPod nano to ship out a replacement unit.

If you don’t want to use the online form, you can head over to the Apple Store or an Apple Authorised Service Provider to help you send the product over to Apple for validation and trade it in.

The new iPod nano, whatever it is, is “warranted to be free from defects for 90 days from the date of service.”

A German court has approved an injunction launched by Motorola against Apple and its iOS devices over two patents it claims . However, due to a legal loophole, Apple may not be forced to stop the sales of the devices.

The legal loophole is due to the lawsuit by Motorola filing a suit on two companies: Apple Inc in California, and Apple Germany, its local subsidiary. According to The Verge, the company has been focused on its lawsuit against Apple Germany and left the Apple Inc lawsuit to lapse, forcing a default judgement by the court.

“This is a procedural issue that has nothing to do with the merits of the case. This does not affect our ability to sell products or do business in Germany at this time,” Apple said in a statement to The Verge.

“We will continue to assert ourselves in the protection of these assets, while also ensuring that our technologies are widely available to end-users. We hope that we are able to resolve this matter, so we can focus on creating great innovations that benefit the industry,” Motorola said in a statement.

While some argue that the company’s victory is “symbolic” and doesn’t stop the sales of the iOS devices; FOSS Patents’ Florian Mueller argues that it is indeed stronger than just symbolic. He points to the fact that Apple Inc is barred from “offering and/or delivering, on the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, any mobile devices [practicing any of the patents-in-suit].” This includes shipping to Apple Germany, meaning new stock cannot be given to its German subsidiary.

In addition, Mueller says that all lawyers he contacted in Germany have said that:

All of the lawyers I talked to had consistent positions. In particular, all of them agree with me that the default judgment against Apple Inc. of Cupertino would have very near-term business impact unless Apple wins a suspension. They all agree that in one way or another, Apple’s German business also depends on Apple Inc. being unrestricted to do business in Germany. And they all concur that Apple is more likely than not to win a temporary suspension (for the period until a substantive decision following a second hearing by the same court). “More likely than not” is a conservative consensus position. An unnamed one of them told me he can’t imagine any other outcome.

It’s a bitter pill to swallow for Apple if it means that they cannot sell their devices to the German market – like Samsung, which they secured an injunction months before – especially when the company’s latest iPhone, the iPhone 4S, is a huge success.

Both are currently engaged in lawsuits. Motorola sued Apple in 18 different countries in October, and several weeks later, Apple responded. Motorola argues that Apple violated two of its patents related to mobile technologies, while Apple’s countersuit argues that Motorola violated its multi-touch patents.

Steve Jobs’ sister, Mona Simpson, has published a eulogy about her brother in the New York Times today. Simpson delivered  eulogy was given at a memorial to him on October 16 at the Memorial Church in Stanford University, the same university where Jobs gave a speech.

In the eulogy, she recounts her first meet with Jobs, his family life and the trials and tribulations during his ousting out of Apple in the 1980s and during his illness. The most impacting is definitely the last moments of his life, and the final words he said.

“I want to tell you a few things I learned from Steve, during three distinct periods, over the 27 years I knew him. They’re not periods of years, but of states of being. His full life. His illness. His dying,” Simpson, a renowned author, writes.

“Steve worked at what he loved. He worked really hard. Every day.”

The most powerful bits, I feel, were when he first became ill. I’ll let you read the full eulogy, but it shows how devoted that Steve was towards his family.

You can read the entire eulogy at the New York Times’ page.

We knew this was coming. In retaliation of the news that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet would be banned until the case was settled, Samsung has filed a preliminary injunction in the Federal Court that seeks to ban the sale of the iPhone 4S, claiming that Apple infringes on three of its patents relating to mobile technologies.

“Apple has continued to violate our patent rights and free ride on our technology. We will no longer stand idly by and will steadfastly protect our intellectual property,” the company said in a statement posted on their blog.

The company has also filed an appeal seeking to overturn the injunction granted by Apple just last week; and filed a similar suit in Japan over two patents – including over UI customisation and the UI indicator for “in flight mode”.

The full claims for Australia, according to Samsung, are:

Patent Claims in Australia:

1)  Method and apparatus for transmitting/receiving packet data using pre-defined length indicator in a mobile communication system (WCDMA)

2)  Method and apparatus for data transmission in a mobile telecommunication system supporting enhanced uplink service (HSPA)

3)  Method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving data with high reliability in a mobile communication system supporting packet data transmission (HSPA)

We have asked for a response from Apple, but they did not respond in time of publication.