Apple Inc.

[CityFarmer]

Xiomi in China, already launched its version of iTV...

Apple shifts its focus to iWatch, wearable devices

LONDON — Experts have said that Apple has turned its focus to wearable devices such as the iWatch, thus putting its long-awaited plan to release ultra-high definition televisions on hold, it was reported yesterday (Nov 12).

Some reasons for the postpone of the “iTV” includes consumers not replacing TVs enough and wanting to be certain in offering something beyond a traditional television. The 65-inch and 55-inch TVs were hoped by Apple to be released in the fourth quarter of next year, with price ranging from US$1,500 (S$1,872) to US$2,500.
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http://www.todayonline.com/tech/gadgets/...le-devices

[CityFarmer]

The global litigation case is part of their daily operations...

Jury picked as Apple and Samsung head back to court

SAN JOSE (California) — A jury was selected yesterday (Nov 12) for a retrial between Apple and Samsung, with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake between the two mobile giants.

Opening statements are scheduled to take place today, and the trial is expected to last about a week.
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http://www.todayonline.com/tech/jury-pic...back-court

[CityFarmer]

Tax issue in Europe will be on-going for a while...

Apple investigated for alleged tax fraud: Sources

MILAN — United States tech giant Apple is under investigation in Italy for allegedly hiding €1 billion (S$1.67 billion) from the local tax authority, two judicial sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Milan prosecutors say Apple failed to declare to Italian tax authorities €206 million in 2010 and €853 million in 2011, one of the sources said, confirming a report by Italian magazine L’Espresso.

“Checks on the size of the tax are under way,” the source said.

The Italian subsidiary of Apple booked some of its profit through Irish-based subsidiary Apple Sales International (ASI), thus lowering its taxable income in Italy, the source said.
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http://www.todayonline.com/tech/apple-in...ud-sources

[CityFarmer]

Apple is going to make mobile phone more and more interesting...

Apple buys maker of chips that enable 3D machine vision

JERUSALEM - Apple has bought PrimeSense, an Israeli maker of chips that enable three-dimensional (3D) machine vision, for US$345 million (S$430 million), the Calcalist financial newspaper reported on Sunday without citing sources.

PrimeSense has raised US$85 million from Israeli and U.S. venture capital funds such as Canaan Partners Global, Gemini Israel and Genesis Partners, Calcalist said.

“We are focused on building a prosperous company while bringing 3D sensing and natural interaction to the mass market in a variety of markets such as interactive living room and mobile devices,” a spokeswoman for PrimeSense said. “We do not comment on what any of our partners, customers or potential customers are doing and we do not relate to rumors or recycled rumors.”

PrimeSense’s sensing technology, which gives digital devices the ability to observe a scene in three dimensions, was used to help power Microsoft’s Xbox Kinect.

The acquisition of PrimeSense would be Apple’s second purchase of an Israeli company. It bought flash storage chip maker Anobit in January 2012. REUTERS
http://www.todayonline.com/tech/apple-bu...ine-vision

[CityFarmer]

Update on the legal battle...

Jury set to decide how much Samsung owes Apple

SAN JOSE (California) — A Silicon Valley jury is set today (Nov 19) to begin deciding behind closed doors how much Samsung Electronics owes Apple for copying key features of the iPhone and iPad.

Apple is demanding US$380 million (S$473 million). Samsung counters that it only owes US$52 million for using features such as “pinch-to-zoom” in 13 older-generation products. The jury is expected to begin deliberations today after lawyers deliver their closing arguments and the judge reads instructions.

The one week trial was held to determine only damages.

http://www.todayonline.com/tech/jury-set...owes-apple

[CityFarmer]

Update on the legal battle...

Jury set to decide how much Samsung owes Apple

SAN JOSE (California) — A Silicon Valley jury is set today (Nov 19) to begin deciding behind closed doors how much Samsung Electronics owes Apple for copying key features of the iPhone and iPad.

Apple is demanding US$380 million (S$473 million). Samsung counters that it only owes US$52 million for using features such as “pinch-to-zoom” in 13 older-generation products. The jury is expected to begin deliberations today after lawyers deliver their closing arguments and the judge reads instructions.

The one week trial was held to determine only damages.

http://www.todayonline.com/tech/jury-set...owes-apple

The jury decision is US$290 million, not too far from Apple's demand of US$380 million.

Samsung to pay Apple S$363m

SAN JOSE (California) — A United States jury awarded Apple about US$290 million (S$363 million) in a damages retrial against Samsung, the latest battle in global patent litigation between the two mobile giants.

The verdict was announced yesterday (Nov 21) in a San Jose, California, federal court after a weeklong trial. Apple had requested US$379.8 million, while Samsung argued that it should have to pay US$52.7 million.
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http://www.todayonline.com/tech/samsung-pay-apple-s363m

[CityFarmer]

The key Apple's partner is moving in tandem...

iPhone maker Foxconn invests US$40 million in US
22 Nov 2013 09:52
[WASHINGTON] Taiwan's Foxconn, the maker of iPhones, iPads and other electronics in China, said Thursday it would invest US$40 million in the United States to ramp up manufacturing of high-end products.

The world's largest contract electronics maker will create around 500 jobs in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania as it puts US$30 million into a plant to build precision tools, cables for electric cars and other advanced technologies, officials from the company and the state government said.

Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Precision, will commit another US$10 million at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, also in Pennsylvania, for research and development in robotics.

Terry Guo, the company's chairman and founder, said he welcomed President Barack Obama's talk of a US manufacturing "renaissance" and picked Pennsylvania in part because the company already has small operations in Harrisburg, the state capital.

Mr Guo decided to discuss individual contracts but indicated that Foxconn did not intend to shift to the United States production of iPhones or iPads, designed by iconic US company Apple but assembled overseas.

"We don't want to move the hand-to-hand worker jobs, we want to move the intelligent jobs - the skilled labor jobs," Mr Guo told reporters after a ceremony with Pennsylvania officials in Washington.

Mr Obama has vowed to put a top priority on reviving US manufacturing, which has steadily declined and cost millions of jobs in recent years as factories move to nations with cheaper labor.

The president frequently hails the creation of some 500,000 manufacturing jobs since the sector's low point in 2010, but he faces an uphill task in fulfilling a goal declared in his re-election campaign to create another one million manufacturing jobs by the time he leaves office in 2017.

Foxconn has come under a spotlight over labor unrest in its Chinese plants. At least 13 workers in China died in 2010 in apparent suicides, which activists blamed on tough working conditions.

The company has denied the accusations but raised wages by nearly 70 per cent at its China plants in 2010. - AFP

Source: Business Times Breaking News

[CityFarmer]

Will it make Apple a major competitor of Twitter?

Apple buys analytics firm for US$200m: report

[NEW YORK] Apple has acquired social media analytics firm Topsy for more than US$200 million, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

The newspaper, citing sources familiar with the deal, said it was unclear how Apple planned to use the firm but that it could be related to Apple's new streaming music service.

Topsy, according to the report, is among a handful of Twitter partners which has access to the full range of data from the fast-growing messaging platform - AFP

Source: Business Times Breaking News

[CityFarmer]

I am increasingly convinced that Apple will continue to be sticky...

Apple awarded facial recognition patent

LONDON — Future iPhones or iPads could use facial recognition technology to unlock when the devices recognise their user or block out information when they do not, according to a United States patent awarded to Apple.

The iPhone 5s already identifies users through their fingerprints, but it appears that Apple is looking to add a further layer of security to its mobile devices.

The patent, awarded on Tuesday for a “personal computing device control using face detection and recognition”, comprises three systems: A face detection decision application; a face recognition application; and an input/output control application.

The three systems will work together to determine whether a user is authorised to use a given smartphone or tablet, and will activate certain functions if he is, said Apple Insider.
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http://www.todayonline.com/tech/apple-aw...ion-patent

[CityFarmer]

One more good news for Apple Inc.

Apple, China Mobile Sign Deal to Offer iPhone

China Mobile Ltd. has signed a long-awaited deal with Apple Inc. to offer iPhones on its network, a person familiar with the situation said, an arrangement that would give the U.S. technology giant a big boost in the world's largest mobile market.

The rollout of iPhones on the world's largest mobile carrier by users, with over 700 million subscribers, is expected to start later this month, around the time of a Dec. 18 China Mobile conference in Guangzhou, according to two people familiar with the carrier's plans. China Mobile is one of the world's last major carriers that doesn't offer the iPhone.
- Dow Jones Newswires