Apple and Walmart subsidiary Sam’s Club are discussing plans to widen their already existing partnership. Sam’s Club currently sells Apple’s iPhone, iPad, and iPod lines within its large retail chain. However, Appel and Sam’s Club are looking to take their business relationship to the next level.

According to sources and online reports, Apple is considering the idea of expanding its Apple Store-in-store program to the 47 United States retail warehouse chain locations.

Sources said that Apple has plans to expand its program beyond Best Buy and Target in the United States. Sam’s Club is one of the retail chains that Apple is in early discussions with. For those who are not familiar with the concept of Apple-store-in-store, it typically consists of a mini-Apple Store type setup within a larger store. For example, the store-in-stores in Best Buy consist of Apple-like displays and a large table with all of Apple’s products as typically seen in standalone Apple Stores.

Sam’s Club and Apple are also discussing a backup plan. This plan consists of Sam’s Club simply selling Apple’s Macs, but without the features of Apple store. Since the discussions are in an early stage, the predictions of the timeframe for such partnerships is not possible. However, definitely the store-in-stores will not be coming soon. If the discussions fail and disagreements occur, none of this would happen.

While Sam’s Club is said to be considered, at the moment, it is not known if Apple is considering its (Sam’s Club’s) parent company Walmart too.

Source: 9TO5 Mac

Apple And Sam’s Club Planning To Widen Partnership is a post from: The Apple Bites

Many times, when an app is popular, some developers develop some app that has name and features similar to the popular app. People would be confused and mistakenly download the impostor app. However, this is not going to continue any longer.

Apple has removed a number of copy-cat apps from the App Store. Most of the removed apps were those that had plagiaristic titles such as Tiny Birds, Temple Jump and Numbers With Friends replicated by developer Anton Sinelnikov. Apple has taken such actions against the apps made by shady developers in the past. In 2008, Apple removed 1,000 apps after noticing some fake 5-star reviews in the App Store.

However, the problem is greater than just a few scam apps from a few shady developer. Most of us know that these titles copy from the real deal, specifically Tiny Wings, Temple Run and Words With Friends. However, those who might be new users are likely to have confusion and get a nasty surprise after they have drop down money only to discover that they have been conned into buying a fake app. This creates a bad experience and might make them wary of the App Store in the future.

These scams make legitimate developers lose out on the income. It is difficult and expensive enough, especially for independent developers, to get a hit title on the App Store. When and if they finally do have a hit on their hands, they now have to worry about scammers trying to steal their sales, damage their brand, and turn off their customers. According to developer Kode80, scammers rely on the outrage that follows their copy-cat apps to actually gain attention and drive sales.

Apple needs to do more to prevent rogue developers from getting their apps listed on app store.

When it comes to copyright issues, Apple just wait for a complaint and then leave the developers involved to fight it out. Sometimes that works. Sometimes it lets bigger, more established brands bully competitors out of the App Store.

Likewise, Zynga, one of the biggest gaming companies on the planet, has been accused of copying NimbleBit’s Tiny Tower with their new game, Dream Heights. Dream Heights does not present itself as a copy-cat in the App Store the way Sinelnikov’s did, with similar naming and branding intended to cause confusion. However, it does duplicate the look, feel, and gameplay of a popular independent game.

Source: iMore

Apple Removes Copy Cat Apps From App Store is a post from: The Apple Bites

Apple presented a big teaching aid to teachers and authors writing on educative and academic subjects by introducing iBooks Author. The initial downloads of iBooks Author reached 600,000 in just one or two days.

iBooks Author is an asset to academics but its success may not be long if some issues are not addressed.

A good self-publishing platform would not be appreciated even by academicians and authors if authors are angry with its terms and conditions.

One of the key-issue that has antagonized authors is fee. If an author decides to charge a fee for their iBook, then Apple will claim exclusive distribution rights and prevent them from publishing their work anywhere else. Many writers refused Apple’s licensing agreement.

Now Apple has rewritten some terms and has come up with a new End-User License Agreement (EULA). The new terms and conditions clarify that Apple will only demand exclusive distribution rights over .ibooks files that are created with iBooks Author, rather than the book’s content itself.

The new EULA stated, “this restriction will not apply to the content of the work when distributed in [another] form.” Now authors must be happy as Apple would not have exclusive rights over their works.

Source: Engadget

Image Courtesy: Engadget

iBooks Author Gets New EULA is a post from: The Apple Bites

Last month, Apple had released iBooks, giving school students, easy access to textbooks on their iPad. Students all over United States must be thankful to Apple.

Now, iBooks is all set add more ease to academics. Apple has issued an update to iBooks 2 iOS application. The new update brings the software to Version 2.0.1. This update carries a fix for a major bug that prevented iBooks Textbooks from opening within the application.

Apple issued the following statement in its press release:

We’re aware of a small number of iBooks 2 users having issues with the playback of the introduction movies when opening iBooks textbooks. It will be fixed soon in an upcoming software update.

The problem started at the intro movie inside the textbooks and caused a failure to play. This left plenty of users unable to view the contents of the books. Kudos to Apple for quickly addressing this issue and bringing improved stability and software enhancements to iBooks 2.

The updated version of iBooks 2 is available here.

Source: Technology Tell

Apple Updates iBooks 2 is a post from: The Apple Bites

Ever since New York Times (NYT) has accused Apple and its business partner Foxconn of making workers in Chinese factories for long hours and under inhuman conditions, Apple desperately needs an image-makeover, not only in China, but in the international market.

CBS has decided to probe the relation between Apple and Foxconn. Now Apple should have some reason to cheer up a voice in the favor of Apple has been raised, in China itself. Chinese labour activist Li Quiang said that Apple was doing a better job auditing its suppliers than its competitors.

Quiang said that Apple was doing a much better job of monitoring factory conditions than Dell, Hewlett-Packard (HP), Nokia and many others. He said that after comparing Apple with many other companies like Nokia, he observed that in other companies, the working conditions were worse than Apple.

However, Qiang said that the conditions in supply chain were not the responsibility of the suppliers themselves or the Chinese government. Ultimately, Apple would have to bear the responsibility, and thus, it should spend some of its record profits in improving the conditions for workers.

Qiang is the founder of China Labor Watch, the leading advocacy group. This group had helped NYT investigate the working conditions in Chinese electronics factories. Investigation once complete, re-ignited the debate about conditions.

While talking to Laptop magazine, Quiang said, “Although I know that the iPhone 4 is made at sweat shop factories in China, I still think that this is the only choice, because Apple is actually one of the best.”

Qiang praised Apple for disclosing the problems it has uncovered at it suppliers despite the reports of Apple being highly serious and disturbing. He noted that competitors like HP and Dell had not been anywhere near as forthcoming.

Foxconn has been famous (or infamous) for the high number of suicides committed by its employees. However, despite this fact, Quiang showered praises on Foxconn. He said that Foxconn was actually one of the best places to work in the supply chain. Despite long hours, grueling deadlines and abusive management, Quiang praised Foxconn on the grounds that pay and benefits were higher. He pointed out that Foxconn workers received health and safety training. They were properly equipped, and the plants were checked daily for safety compliance, according to a China Labor Watch report (“Tragedies of Globalization: The Truth Behind Electronics Sweatshops”).

“Foxconn is not good,” Qiang told NYT. “But if we compare all industries, electronics, textile, toys, Foxconn is one of the best.”

Comparing Foxconn with Compal Electronics, which have poorer safety practices, Quiang said:

At Compal Electronics, a huge supplier that manufactures notebooks for Dell, HP, Lenovo and Toshiba, workers reported that the company does not provide face masks or ear plugs, despite loud noises. Apparently, there was not even a first-aid kit available. “In the event of an injury,” Labor Watch writes, “the workshop manager will give the injured worker some cotton to cover up their injury.”

Quiang argued that despite doing more than its competitors to give a much better working environment to workers, Apple was ultimately responsible for the conditions at suppliers’ factories.

Reading about the abusive managers, poor safety conditions, filthy living accommodations, long hours, and low wages, it’s tempting to blame the suppliers who run the factories or government authorities who are charged with enforcing China’s 2008 Labor Law. According to Li, China’s Bureau of Labor is limited in its abilities by local governments that receive tax revenue from the factories, but don’t have to provide benefits to what they classify migrant workers. The suppliers, he says, are also limited, because of price and production pressures from Apple and the other OEMs.

“If Apple still lowers their prices and doesn’t give enough profits to the factories, then the factories don’t have money to improve the labor conditions,” he said. “So it’s always the problem of Apple and not the problem of factories. We can see that Apple is trying to put all the responsibility on the factories by releasing the supplier factory list and trying to put the factories into the focus of the immediate public, but we think that Apple should do more to make a positive change in the whole system.”

Though he believes that Apple has done a better job of inspecting its factories than others, Li maintains that the public is right to put more pressure on Tim Cook’s company than its competitors who have the same problems. Because Apple makes the most profit, he reasons, it also bears the most responsibility for fixing a broken system. He maintains that it wouldn’t take more than 2-percent of Apple’s profits to dramatically improve workers’ lives in China while companies such as Dell and HP would have to spend more.

“Although we think Apple is among the best in terms of auditing, we still think that Apple can do more because it is the most profitable company in the world,” he said. “As soon as Apple is willing to give a small percentage of its profits, the workers can benefit a lot. But Apple is not willing to do that.”

If the statement from Quiang in the favor of Apple is true, then one should assume that all the criticism of Apple regarding eh condition of workers was a propaganda of Anti-Apple lobbyists. Or perhaps, media wanted to sensationalize something. If critics of Apple were genuinely concerned about the well-being of workers, they would have criticized Apple’s competitors with Apple or before Apple as the conditions of workers in the factories of Apple’s competitors are far worse.

Do you agree? Voice your opinion through comments.

Source: Cult Of Mac

Image Courtesy: Imagine China

Chinese Labor Activist Says Working Conditions At Apple Better Than Competitors is a post from: The Apple Bites

Why do you watch TV? You watch something that you like it. You like a movie or a TV show because you know about it or you have been recommended by someone to watch that show.

There maybe similar movies and TV shows that may suit your taste but you do not watch them because you have never heard of them.

What is something that new about all TV shows would recommend you TV shows and movies on the basis of your taste?

There has been a silent update to your Apple TV. This update has introduced the features of Genius recommendations for movies and TV shows to the Apple TV. Your little black box will recommend you movies or TV shows on the basis of the movies and TV shows that you watch. No user action is required to access this new feature, as it is not part of a device firmware update. Instead, Apple has updated its own servers that would send this information to the Apple TV from its iTunes Store equivalent.

This new feature appears identical to the Genius recommendation features already present in iTunes on the Mac and iOS devices. With access to your library and purchase history, the Apple TV can now recommend TV or movie content based on what you have watched before.

Suppose you like to watch fantasy and science-fiction TV shows like Smallville and Supernatural and use Apple TV to watch their old and new episodes. Thus, on the basis of these shows, Apple TV might recommend you TV shows and movies like Dark Angel and Star Wars.

Are you happy about this new update of Apple? Share your opinion about this new update.

Source: TUAW

Now Apple TV Can Recommend Movies is a post from: The Apple Bites

Are you listening to music from some artist like Snoop Dogg (wonder why he spells his name like this)? Surprised that the song does not have any offensive word? This is happening due to the bug in iTunes Match.

Some online reports have publicized a bug in iTunes Match that matches explicit tracks to clean versions (all offensive and derogatory words like the “F” word censored). The problem is with Apple’s iTunes Match software. Sometimes this software is unable to distinguish clean versions of a track from explicit versions due to slight differences. Apple is working to fix this issue.

Eddy Cue, the Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services in Apple received an email about the issue a couple of weeks ago. The mail-sender received a response from one of Eddy Cue’s engineers. The engineer said Apple was investigating the issue and working on a fix. Apple has no interim workaround for users of the iTunes Match service, the email elaborated.

For those who do know about iTunes Match, it is Apple’s $25 a year iTunes service that matches ripped tracks to iTunes quality and keeps everything in the cloud, saving the space of your Mac or iPod or any iDevice as you would not need to keep those songs in your device.

Source: 9TO5 Mac

Apple Working To Fix iTunes Match Bug That Matches Explicit Songs With Clean Versions is a post from: The Apple Bites

Yesterday we reported about an online petition urging Apple to improve the working conditions of workers in China. This week has ended and at the time of this news report being written, the online petition has garnered 162,000 signatures.

This petition came in the wake of an expose from New York Times (NYT) that exposed and highlighted the pathetic working conditions China in which the employees of Apple and its business partner Foxconn had to work in. After this report, CBS decided to probe the relationship between Apple and Foxconn.

The petition, at Change.org, also highlights the alleged poor working conditions at factories operated by Chinese companies that have contracts to build iPhones, iPads, and other popular products from Apple.

Mark Shields, a communications consultant in Washington DC, started this petition after hearing about working conditions in the Chinese factories on This American Life, a radio show.

The long story published by NYT alleged that there were unsafe and unhygienic conditions where the workers had to work and the workers had to work for long hours.

The radio report discussed repetitive motion injuries and other problems at Apple partner factories. Shields wrote in his petition:

“We ask that Apple release a worker protection strategy for new product releases, which are the instances when injuries and suicides typically spike because of the incredible pressure to meet quotas timed to releases”.

Apple has not responded to the reports so far. CEO Tim Cook says that he was “outraged” to see what NYT published. He promised to “dig deeper” and look into the matter. Cook maintained that Apple cared about its employees, all over the world.

Source: Mac World

Online Petition About Apple’s Factory Workers In China Gets 162,000 Signatures is a post from: The Apple Bites

Macotakara is back. Last time, the Japanese website was spreading the rumors of release date of iPad 3 to be announced in the last week of January.

This time, Macotakara has joined the chorus of online news reports announcing that Apple will hold “unusual” media event in February 2012. Some people say Macotakara had started this rumor.

It has been confirmed now that this rumor is not true and Apple has no plans to hold such event in February.

Rumor said that the February event would not be related to any Apple product and iPad 3 would be revealed in an event of March 2012. Loop Insight has rubbished this rumor.

Jim Dalrymple, who last time, debunked the rumor of iPad 3′s January 2012 release is back to quash another rumor. Dalrymple said that Apple would not hold any event in February.

Source: BGR

Rumors Of Apple Event Debunked is a post from: The Apple Bites

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• apple february event debunked

Digitimes is back with gossip about Apple and this time it is about the rumored TV set that Apple might be manufacturing. Seems like they chose a good time to circulate their rumor as the rumor of Apple buying TV components from a major supplier is still going strong.

Will it come in 2012 or not? Nobody knows as Apple is not even acknowledging whether they have plans to make such device.

According to a report by randomly accurate technology news website Digitimes, it appears highly unlikely that Apple will release its rumored integrated Apple TV set in the second quarter of 2012. Industry sources claim that Sharp is not in a position to ship the Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide (IGZO) panels that are required by Apple.

Apple reportedly has sought to source IGZO panels from Sharp for the production of iTVs as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, which unveiled their 55-inch Super OLED and AMOLED TV models, respectively, at CES, both have regarded OLED TVs are their killer products for 2012, and therefore the two Korea-based companies are unlikely to share OLED panel production capacities with Apple.

Digitimes has claimed that Sharp are able to produce 32, 46 and even 55-inch panels at the moment. However, yield rates in this course of action are still the major concern.

Source: iMore

Apple iTV Coming In 2012? is a post from: The Apple Bites

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• apple itv mit amoled

Few weeks ago, Apple and its partner Foxconn had been accused of forcing workers in their factories located in China to work in inhuman conditions.

Apple CEO Tim Cook asserted that Apple cared about its employees all over the world.

Possibly, reacting to that, SumOfUs has launched an online petition, urging Apple to create the iPhone 5 in a fully ethical manner. So far, the petition has garnered over 40,000 signatures. This petition is particularly critical of Apple’s use of n-hexane, a harmful glass cleaner which can cause neurological damage over long-term exposure. The petition also questions “Inhumanely-long working hours” for workers in the factories.

Apple CEO Tim Cook is adamant that the company is doing its best to ensure the well-being of manufacturing employees abroad. Even within the fast-paced technology sector, however, Apple is well-known for cultivating a high-stress culture. Those standards are imposed on just about everybody Apple works with. Under these conditions, the basic humanitarian standards taking a back seat to ship a product is somewhat understandable.

The petition can be signed here.

Do you think that such petition can make Apple improve the working conditions of workers.

Source: iMore

40,000 Petition Apple To Follow Ethics While Manufacturing iPhone 5 is a post from: The Apple Bites

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• iphone manufacture ethics

Apple Fanboys in Pasadena have a reason to smile. Their good old favorite retail store is coming back.

Apple has issued a notice that Old Pasadena retail district is re-opening this weekend, after an almost yearlong expansion project. The company even opened a temporary store a little bit down the street from the location. Apple is working to expand the main store, adding a second level and lots more space for showing off Apple’s products.

The store will reopen this Saturday at 10 AM. The people will be able to see how spacious it has become now. Apple has also said that the first 1000 customers to the revamped location will pick up a commemorative t-shirt. If you want one of those shirts, better be early to arrive there on Saturday.

The original Pasadena store dates back to 2003. It is one of the oldest Apple stores in California, possibly one of Apple’s most important locations.

What will you buy from this store? Post your comments.

Source: TUAW

Apple Store In Pasadena To Reopen is a post from: The Apple Bites

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In December 2011, Apple had been accused of misleading customers in Italy and it faced fine for that. Apple claimed to be complying with all Italian laws and appealed against the verdict.

Now it seems that good luck is still evading Apple in this regard.

Apple has apparently complied with a recent ruling by the Italian government that it did not do enough, when selling its extended one-year warranties in stores, to let customers know that its products already came with a two-year warranty, as per consumer laws in Italy. Apple has posted an official message on its website in Italy, designated a “Communication to Protect Customers”. This message outlines exactly what rights customers have to that two-year warranty, and that the Apple Store pushed its paid warranty onto customers anyway.

At this moment, it is not known whether Apple Inc will pay the around $1.2 million fine that Italian authorities have levied against the company for “misleading customers”. This notice could be Apple trying to get out of paying the actual money. So far there is no indication that fines have been paid. Nor there are any indications signifying whether the company has changed its tactics in Italian stores.

Source: TUAW

Apple Features ‘Communication To Protect Consumers’ In Italy is a post from: The Apple Bites

Recording artist Neil Young has revealed in an interview that once Apple had plans to launch a High-Definition (HD) music format that never came to fruition.

Young said that he had met Steve Jobs personally to discuss the service prior to his (Jobs’) demise, but “not much” happened with it in the end.

In the interview with All Things D, Young revealed that he approached Apple, and specifically Steve Jobs, about the HD music service, which he believed would have certainly happened had Steve not passed away:

When asked if Young had approached Apple about the idea, Young said that he had, in fact, met with Jobs and was “working on it,” but that “not much” ended up happening to the pursuit.

Of note, Young made mention that Jobs was a vinyl fan, despite having helmed the company that would spearhead the way people listened to and purchased digital music.

“Steve Jobs was a pioneer of digital music, and his legacy is tremendous,” Young told the crowd. “But when he went home, he listened to vinyl. And you’ve got to believe that if he’d lived long enough, he would have done what I’m trying to do.”

Young said that MP3 files only had around “5 percent of the data present in the original recording,”. He was concerned that there was no HD format available to consumers. Young acknowledged that HD music would make for much larger music files.

Tracks currently purchased through Apple’s iTunes music store are at a quality of 256 kbps, in the AAC format. Apple does offer a higher quality that is a lossless audio format. It is compatible with the iPhone and the iPod. However, these files are significantly larger than standard AAC files.

On the basis of Young’s interview, it seems that the plans Apple did have to introduce HD music are no longer being worked on.

Source: Cult Of Mac

Apple Scrapped Plans To Launch HD Music Format is a post from: The Apple Bites

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• hd music pic

Few months ago, there were reports that Apple maybe planning to manufacture and launch TV Sets. Now the latest news report adds more fuel to fire. We want to make it clear that this context is not about Apple TV, the set-top-box and media player. This is about an actual TV set that Apple is rumored to be intending to manufacture.

If an analyst from Piper Jaffray (PJ) is to be believed, Apple has contacted a major supplier about television display components.

Gene Munster, of PJ, told investors on Tuesday, 31 January 2012, that during talks with a “major TV component supplier” about Apple’s rumored HDTV, the supplier told Jaffray that Apple had reached out “regarding various capabilities of their television display components.”

Munster viewed this scoop as “continued evidence” of Apple’s exploration into television production. However, this seems to be far from concrete evidence that Apple will be releasing a television set soon. Munster acknowledged this citing the rumored roadblocks Apple has faced securing content from studios. It seems logical that Apple would secure distribution deals before ramping up production on an Apple HDTV. It does not make any sense to put something to market with nothing to show on it.

However, PJ predicts that if Apple did release a television set this year, it could sell 1.4 million of the projected 106 million internet-connected televisions to be sold during the year. Munster seems to know more than his parent company PJ, noting that Apple only enters mature markets to reinvent them. However, PJ is still making revenue estimates for 2012-2014 on a device that does not exist.

If and when Apple enters the HDTV market, Apple is likely to blind side current HDTV manufacturers and surprise a number of content providers as well. Apple would never release a TV with no content, but if their vision is to provide customized channel lineups for users, they are negotiating licensing deals that are needed to support a feature like that has no pricing precedent.

Source: Modmyi

Apple Shopping For TV Components From Major Supplier is a post from: The Apple Bites

On 31 January 2012, Apple announced that it was going to hire John Browett to serve as the company’s senior vice president of Retail – a position that he will fill from late April 2012.

Browett has been the CEO of European technology retailer Dixons since 2007 and has considerable experience in the field. He also holds executive positions at Tesco including CEO of Tesco.com.

“Our retail stores are all about customer service, and John shares that commitment like no one else we’ve met,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We are thrilled to have him join our team and bring his incredible retail experience to Apple.”

Apple and Dixon released Press Releases to confirm this development.

Apple’s Press Release:

CUPERTINO, California—January 30, 2012—Apple® today announced that John Browett will join the company as senior vice president of Retail, reporting to Apple CEO Tim Cook. Browett comes to Apple from European technology retailer Dixons Retail, where he has been CEO since 2007. Beginning in April, he will be responsible for Apple’s retail strategy and the continued expansion of Apple retail stores around the world.

“Our retail stores are all about customer service, and John shares that commitment like no one else we’ve met,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We are thrilled to have him join our team and bring his incredible retail experience to Apple.”

Prior to joining Dixons Retail, Browett held a series of executive positions at Tesco plc including CEO of Tesco.com. Earlier in his career he advised retail and consumer goods clients at Boston Consulting Group. He holds a degree in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University and an MBA from Wharton Business School.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

Dixon’s Press Release:

Dixons Retail plc, one of Europe’s leading specialist electrical retailing and services companies, announces the following Board changes:

John Browett will be leaving the company to take up the role of Senior Vice President of Retail at Apple, based in California, USA. John will step down from the Group Board on 20 February 2012 and will leave the company on 20 April 2012, following a handover period.

Sebastian James will be appointed Group Chief Executive and will join the Group Board on 20 February 2012. Sebastian joined Dixons Retail in April 2008 and is currently Group Operations Director. He has played a leading role in delivering the Renewal & Transformation of the UK & Ireland business. Sebastian has worked very closely with John and as Transformation Director, was responsible for the development and implementation of the new store formats and propositions across the UK & Ireland business, which have been a cornerstone in improving the shopping trip for customers and of the Currys and PC World turnaround. In addition he was the architect of the improvements to the delivery, repair and services infrastructure as well as of the significant reduction in the costs of these operations. Prior to joining Dixons Retail he held a number of CEO roles for private-equity backed ventures. Early in his career he was Strategy Director at Mothercare plc and worked for Boston Consulting Group.

Katie Bickerstaffe has been appointed to the new role of Chief Executive – UK & Ireland, and will also join the Group Board on 20 February 2012. With Sebastian, Katie has delivered the turnaround of the UK & Ireland business, with particular responsibility for the launch of KNOWHOW, the store portfolio strategy, marketing, customer relationship management and Human Resources functions. More recently she has also been responsible for the e-commerce operations in the UK & Ireland. Prior to joining Dixons Retail in June 2008 she was Managing Director of Kwik Save and Group Retail Director and Group HR Director of Somerfield plc.

The Group continues to trade in line with the trends as reported in its peak trading statement issued on 17 January 2012.

Commenting on the changes John Allan, Chairman said:

“I would like to thank John for the very considerable contribution he has made to the Group through the Renewal & Transformation plan over the last four years. The Group is now in a significantly stronger position and can look to the future with confidence. I wish him well for the exciting opportunity ahead. We are fortunate to have in Sebastian and Katie, two extremely strong retailers with tremendous experience who will bring continuity to the progress we are making as a Group. I know that Sebastian shares John’s relentless focus on improving the service that we provide for customers even further. I look forward to working with him in taking the Group through the next phase of its journey. Katie, with Sebastian, has transformed our business in the UK into a truly customer focused operation and I welcome her to the Board.”

John Browett said:

“Dixons Retail is a great business, and with the support of a very strong management team we have made excellent progress in transforming the Group into the leading customer focused specialist electrical retailer in its markets. The opportunity ahead of me is an exciting one and I leave knowing that the Group has a bright future under strong leadership.”

Sebastian James commented:

“I am very excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for Dixons Retail. While the economic backdrop in many of our markets remains challenging, our unswerving focus on the customer has put us in a very strong position. We will continue to deliver a market beating combination of Value, Choice and Service for customers as well as continually improving the operational efficiencies in the business. We have made great strides in improving the business for customers, but I believe there remain many further improvements we can achieve. I feel very lucky to have such a strong team and am delighted that Katie has agreed to lead our UK & Ireland business. I enormously look forward to leading the Group through the next phase of its development.”

What impact do you think Browett would make in Apple? Share your thoughts with us.

Source: Mac Stories

John Browett To Be Apple’s Senior Vice President For Retail is a post from: The Apple Bites

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• john browett
• john browett executive

It seems that some people want to share the spotlight with Adam Lashinsky whom all eyes are on due to the recent release of his book, Inside Apple.

Author and Fortune Magazine editor Adam Lashinsky’s new book “Inside Apple: How America’s Most Admired – and Secretive – Company Really Works” is available in bookstores now. Lashinsky has embarked on a publicity tour to drum up sales.

When arrived LinkedIn headquarters in Mountain View, CA, the first stop of tour, Lashinsky had a fascinating exchange with a former Apple employee who asked the author “What creates the perfect Kool-Aid drinker?”

The ex-employee noted that the book was quite accurate in its portrayal of the secrecy of the company and the rigorous interview process. Following is the video footage of the conversation between Lashinsky and LinkedIn Executive Editor.

Have you read Inside Apple, post your opinion and reviews in the form of comments. No spamming!

Source: TUAW

Question Raised On Adam Lashinsky’s Book is a post from: The Apple Bites

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• adam lashinsky book tour

Recently, New York Times (NYT) had conducted an expose, accusing Foxconn of making workers in its factories in China working in inhuman conditions. The blame was pinned on Apple’s supply chain in China and government subsidized factories. This news did not gain much attention, probably due to China’s “Iron Curtain” but the report from NYT drew the attention of many people to this news.

One of the key sources of NYT was Li Mingqi, a former manager at Foxconn. Mingqi is filing a lawsuit against Apple after his employment with Foxconn was terminated due to his refusal to relocate to Chengdu. He also gave NYT, a scoop about the death of a worker Lai Xiaodong in an explosion that took place in the Chengdu factory of Foxconn.

Apple CEO Tim Cook responded to the news report by saying that Apple cared about all of its employees across the world, whether in retail or in manufacturing.

You must be wondering why former manager of Foxconn is suing Apple and what is the relation between Foxconn and Apple. You are not the only one. CBS TV News channel is also concerned about that. Formerly known as Columbia Broadcasting System, CBS is sure that Apple’s relation with Foxconn must be deep and important because in Brazil, Foxconn is supposed to start the production of iPad in near future.

The expose from NYT and response from Tim Cook raise the question that media is focusing on Apple and not questioning any of the other electronics companies that manufacture with Foxconn in China?

This is because of the money, brand, prestige that Apple has in the world of technology. News related to Apple grabs eyeballs and attention. However, despite such news reports, Apple would not shut down its production units in China as the cheap labor from China is what attracts companies like Apple to China.

Source: 9 TO 5 Mac

CBS Probing Apple-Foxconn Relationship is a post from: The Apple Bites

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Steve Jobs was one of the co-founders of Apple. He was a part of the patriarch trinity of Apple. He may be gone now and but he would always be remembered for his contribution to Apple.

Apple paid homage Steve Jobs in different ways but Apple knows that the real tribute of Steve Jobs could only be something that would ensure the legacy of Steve Jobs would not die with him.

Apple is enculturating the legacy of Steve Jobs, this time by placing his memorable quotes and iconic images around their Cupertino campus. The images include everything from the original Mac to the MacBook Air, from Jobs’ earliest days to his final appearances.

Mark Gurman from 9to5Mac reported that images and quotes were meant to serve as guidance and motivation for the next generation of Apple employees.

“I think if you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long. Just figure out what’s next.”

Previously, Apple had recruited prominent business school professors to compile and teach case studies on Apple, for Apple, and to Apple. Apple Inc had done this to ensure future management would share the same vision — the same stance at the cross-roads of technology and liberal arts — that Apple was imparted under Steve Jobs. It had been named as Apple University and it was intended to keep the unique start-up-like mentality first and foremost at Apple.

What is your favorite Steve Jobs quote? What is your opinion about Apple’s move of posting Steve Jobs images and quotes? Share your opinion with us. You can also share your comments here on Facebook and Twitter.

Source: iMore

Apple Posts Steve Jobs’ Quotes And Pictures At Cupertino Campus is a post from: The Apple Bites

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A book titled, “Inside Apple”, written by Adam Lashinsky was released last week.

This book explores the inside world of Apple and shows how secretive Apple is about its functioning policies, trade secrets and marketing tactics.

Now that the book is available, stories from this book are catching everybody’s attention.

This book also provides some insight on the details surrounding Apple’s “acquisition” of the iPhone trademark from Cisco Systems.

To refresh your memory, we would like to tell you that when Apple announced the iPhone back in 2007, Cisco already owned the trademark. Cisco was famous for networking solutions and wireless routers, had an internet-based handset of the same name.

An excerpt from this book explains what Apple did to gain and own iPhone moniker.

“[Cisco executive] Charles Giancarlo fielded a call directly from Steve Jobs. “Steve called in and said that he wanted it,” Giancarlo recalled. “He didn’t offer us anything for it. It was just like a promise he’d be our best friend. And we said, ‘No, we’re planning on using it.’ “Shortly after that, Apple’s legal department called to say they thought Cisco had “abandoned the brand,” meaning that in Apple’s legal opinion Cisco hadn’t adequately defended its intellectual property rights by promoting the name. To Apple’s way of thinking this meant the name iPhone was available for Apple’s use. Giancarlo, who subsequently joined the prominent Silicon Valley private-equity firm Silver Lake partners, said Cisco threatened litigation before the launch. Then, the day after Apple announced its iPhone, Cisco filed suit.

The negotiation displayed some classic Steve Jobs negotiating tactics. Giancarlo said Jobs called him at home at dinnertime on Valentine’s Day, as the two sides were haggling. Jobs talked for a while, Giancarlo related. “And then he said to me, ‘Can you get email at home?’” Giancarlo was taken aback. This was 2007, after all, when broadband Internet was ubiquitous in homes in the US, let alone that of a Silicon Valley executive who had worked for years on advanced Internet technology. “And he’s asking me if I’m able to get email at home. You know he’s just trying to press my buttons—in the nicest possible way.” Cisco gave up the fight shortly after that. The two sides reached a vague agreement to cooperate on areas of mutual interest.”

The book can be purchased from iBookstore at $12.99. What is your opinion about this story and this book? Share your feedback with us.

Source: iDownload Blog

How Apple “Acquired” iPhone Trademark From Cisco is a post from: The Apple Bites

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The conflict between Apple and Motorola is as intense as it was between Apple and Samsung. For a while, no significant news surrounding Motorola and Apple hit the headlines as a lot of focus by international media was towards Samsung against Apple. However, after two consecutive victories against Samsung, Apple returns to fight Motorola’s lawsuits.

Motorola Mobility has filed a lawsuit against Apple in a Florida court on Wednesday, 25 January 2012, accusing the latter of violating 6 wireless technology patents found in the iPhone 4S and iCloud. The patents in question are related to antenna, software, data filtering, and messaging technology.

Google recently acquired Motorola for $12.5 billion and is in the process of merging with the company. However, Google is not directly involved with this specific case. Motorola’s lawsuit might be an attempt to protect patents (that are often used as weapons in court battles) for the ongoing legal war between the top smartphone manufacturers. In fact, this is the closest Apple and Google have ever come to fighting a court case.

Reuters reported:

Motorola said the patents cited in the latest lawsuit are the same ones it is fighting to protect in a different Florida lawsuit. This complaint is against two of Apple’s latest products, the iPhone 4S and Apple’s iCloud remote storage service for music and other media, Motorola said.

Google may not be a party in this lawsuit, but at the moment, Google is not the owner of Motorola Mobility. This lawsuit should not be interpreted as Google indirectly suing Apple. If anything, Google is letting Motorola protect its intellectual property because those patents will one day belong to Google.

Source: Cult Of Android

Motorola Sues Apple For Six Patents In US is a post from: The Apple Bites

As we reported earlier, on 25 January 2012, Adam Lashinsky’s new book Inside Apple became available for purchase at iBookstore.

Those who pre-ordered this book can now download it. The book explores the secretive company, revealing a number of tactics, strategies and systems that has allowed Apple to “churn out hit after hit”.

“Based on numerous interviews, the book offers exclusive new information about how Apple innovates, deals with its suppliers and is handling the transition into the Post Jobs Era. Lashinsky, a Senior Editor at Large for Fortune, knows the subject cold: In a 2008 cover story for the magazine entitled The Genius Behind Steve: Could Operations Whiz Tim Cook Run The Company Someday he predicted that Tim Cook, then an unknown, would eventually succeed Steve Jobs as CEO.”

The price of Inside Apple at iBookstore is $12.99. It is also available on Amazon. Give below, is a full description of this book.

“INSIDE APPLE reveals the secret systems, tactics and leadership strategies that allowed Steve Jobs and his company to churn out hit after hit and inspire a cult-like following for its products.

If Apple is Silicon Valley’s answer to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, then author Adam Lashinsky provides readers with a golden ticket to step inside. In this primer on leadership and innovation, the author will introduce readers to concepts like the “DRI” (Apple’s practice of assigning a Directly Responsible Individual to every task) and the Top 100 (an annual ritual in which 100 up-and-coming executives are tapped a la Skull & Bones for a secret retreat with company founder Steve Jobs).

Based on numerous interviews, the book offers exclusive new information about how Apple innovates, deals with its suppliers and is handling the transition into the Post Jobs Era. Lashinsky, a Senior Editor at Large for Fortune, knows the subject cold: In a 2008 cover story for the magazine entitled The Genius Behind Steve: Could Operations Whiz Tim Cook Run The Company Someday he predicted that Tim Cook, then an unknown, would eventually succeed Steve Jobs as CEO.

While Inside Apple is ostensibly a deep dive into one, unique company (and its ecosystem of suppliers, investors, employees and competitors), the lessons about Jobs, leadership, product design and marketing are universal. They should appeal to anyone hoping to bring some of that Apple magic to their own company, career, or creative endeavor.”

We are sure that this book would turn out to be a cult hit among Apple Fanboys. What are your expectations with this book? If you have read this book, feel free to post your comments conveying your feedback about this book.

Source: Mac Stories

Adam Lashinsky’s Inside Apple Available At iBookstore is a post from: The Apple Bites

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Apple has fan-base all over the world. Even in those countries where its stores are not there. For example, let us take a look at Netherlands. So far there is no Apple store in Netherlands. However, the popularity of Apple products in Netherlands is so much that they sell like hot cakes.

Probably, this is the reason behind speculations that Apple might be interested in expanding themselves in Netherlands.

Some bloggers in the Netherlands have witnessed the construction of a new Apple Store on the Leidseplein in Amsterdam. They could witness it because of a windstorm. The wind blew away part of the barriers around the new store, and Apple fans in the city quickly took advantage by clicking some pictures.

According to iPhoneclub.nl, the store is expected to open next month. Some bloggers are speculating that Saturday, 18 February 2012 might be the opening date. That speculation is based on finding out that a company that will take care of the building cleaning is expected to start work at the site in mid-February, and that training of employees has been scheduled.

Just like the Apple Store at the Louvre in Paris, the Leidseplein Apple Store has a pyramidal glass roof. A circular glass staircase will connect the two floors of the store. This store is going to be the first Apple Store in the Netherlands.

Source: TUAW

Apple To Open First Store In Netherlands is a post from: The Apple Bites

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Apple does not want to leave any stone unturned to ensure that iTunes U meets the education related requirements of students, teachers and scholars. Apple is trying to make iTunes U as helpful as possible.

Apple has recently published a set of special iTunes U support web pages to help with questions from users of the new iTunes U app, from teachers who are using the iTunes U Course Manager, and from administrators who use the iTunes U Public Site Manager.

The iTunes U app support pages provide information on how to use this new app or access iTunes U through iTunes on Mac or PC.

According to Apple:

“iTunes U Course Manager is a web-based tool that allows instructors to create and distribute courses on iTunes U. Instructors at K12 school districts as well as colleges and universities whose institutions have an iTunes U site can get access to iTunes U Course Manager through their iTunes U Public Site Manager administrator.”

The support pages for iTunes U Course Manager are more detailed than those for the iTunes U app. They cover everything from creating an instructor profile to editing a course.

The pages for iTunes U Public Site Manager (the tool used by iTunes U site administrators to manage their public content within the iTunes Store) cover the gamut from system requirements to marketing a public site and creating a properly-formatted feed.

These new support pages easily familiarize students, educators, and administrators with iTunes U and help them with the information they are seeking information iTunes U to start getting answers from the source.

Source: TUAW

iTunes U Support Pages Published By Apple is a post from: The Apple Bites

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We reported earlier that Kodak had planned to sue Apple, claiming Apple violated the patents related to digital photography.

There are rumors that Kodak is going to be bankrupt soon and is trying get some money from Apple by filing this lawsuit. Kodak has a lot to lose in this lawsuit.

However, Apple has countered Kodak’s claims.

Apple has urged a bankruptcy court to block Kodak from obtaining loans using certain patents as collateral. Apple has argued that it believes the disputed Kodak patents actually belong to Apple.

According to a filing, submitted to the US Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York, Apple stated that Kodak was seeking authority to “enter into a $950 million post-petition financing facility secured by security interests in and liens upon substantially all of Kodak’s assets, including certain patents that are subject to ongoing patent ownership and patent infringement disputes between Kodak and Apple.”

Apple claimed that Kodak has sued many companies like Samsung, JVC, LG and Sony and “claims to have reached a royalty-bearing licensing agreements with these companies”.

Source: Apple Insider

Apple Counters Kodak’s Claim To The Ownership Of Digital Photography Patents is a post from: The Apple Bites

Not only technology and phones, Apple is also a big name in the world of retail. Apple has its retail stores all over the world and now Apple has plans to open some retail stores in India, a country is a big market for Apple products due to its large population and one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

According to some reports published on Friday, 20 January 2012 Apple has plans to launch a physical retail presence in India in near future, most likely before the end of 2012. A source from India’s Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion revealed that talks with the Apple Inc were going on. Now it seems that all the decks for Apple’s entry have been cleared.

Apple Inc. has made this move following the Indian government’s decision to allow full ownership of single-brand retail stores by foreign companies.

There are 900 million users in India, according to some business estimates. India also sports one of the world’s biggest communities of Internet users (approximately 120 million). Thus, there is a huge revenue potential for Apple in India.

However, Apple has not commented on this rumor.

Source: Modmyi

Apple Eyeing Retail Entry In India is a post from: The Apple Bites

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The retail stores of Apple are various prime locations like Grand Central Station and Fifth Avenue in New York, Covent Garden in London and the Louvre in Paris.

The Beijing store of Apple has a 40-foot curved glass exterior. Those stores are large and beautifully architected. However, Apple is preparing a new store that will be even more extraordinary.

The new store of Apple is going to be in Harrods, London. Harrods is a magnificent department store in the heart of London. Like Target in USA, it is a giant in the retail world of UK. It covers over 5 acres of land and the store itself features over one million square feet of selling space. Across the million square feet, there are over 330 departments that cover clothing, technology accessories, and food.

Are you eager to witness Apple’s presence in Harrods? Post your comments.

Source: 9TO5 Mac

Apple To Open A Store In Harrods, London is a post from: The Apple Bites

If the news reports from NY Daily News are to be believed, the retail developer Yeheskel Elia is currently working with Apple to bring another “iconic store” to Queens, New York.

It is being said that Apple has plans to have this store at Austin Street in Forest Hills. Apple currently has one other Apple Store in New York City outside of Manhattan itself that is located in Staten Island.

At this moment, nothing is official because both Apple and Elia are need to iron out details. If Elia and Apple come to a conclusion and a deal is reached, the store could possibly open under a year. Elia had met an Apple broker few months ago and plans started to open a store.

Do you live in Queens? What do you say about this news?

Source: Modmyi

Apple May Open Retail Stores In Queens is a post from: The Apple Bites

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Apple’s education-focused media event is scheduled for this Thursday, 19 January 2012.

It seems that more details are leaking before the event. This past Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported that McGraw-Hill has been working with Apple on this project since last June. Now, ArsTechnica is claiming that one of the key components of Thursday’s announcement will be a new publishing tool for eBooks.

The current state of software tools continues to frustrate authors and publishers alike, with several authors telling Ars that they wish Apple or some other vendor would make a simple app that makes the process as easy as creating a song in GarageBand.

There is a possibility that Apple may announce support for the ePub 3 standard. Apple hopes to open the door for publishers to easily create interactive e-books. It is said and widely believed that when Steve Jobs was alive, he was intimately involved with this project for several years.

Apple’s media event will be held at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City on Thursday,19 January 2012. It is scheduled to begin at 10:00 AM Eastern / 7:00 AM Pacific. It has been reported that Apple senior vice president Eddy Cue will be a key figure in the presentation.

Source: Mac Rumors

Apple May Launch “Garageband For E-Books” On Thursday is a post from: The Apple Bites

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Earlier, if iTunes customers had to click on multiple pages to get to the product they wanted to buy. It was time-consuming and sometimes frustrating if it took you so long to find it or if you fail to find it.

However, now Apple has given iTunes a much-needed improvement to address this issue.

The new improvement will assist you to find apps and videos on iTunes Store, quickly. The new change would give you the ability to peruse the whole store in a “Quick View mode”. After seeing all items, you can decide what you want to buy. By the way, now you can see all items without leaving the current page.

When you click on the “info” button in the bottom right of each app icon, an option will appear that will give you a detailed description of the selected item along with the reviews, screenshots and price. According to several online reports, this option became available on both the main iTunes Store and App Store pages. It will also appear in the search results.

This new feature also works across all the content that can be found within iTunes, including songs, albums, music videos, movies and TV shows.

Source: Technology Tell

Apple Brings “Quick Look Preview” Feature For iOS Apps is a post from: The Apple Bites

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A global brand always wishes to expand its business and Apple Inc is no exception.

French magazine Aix en Dialogue has reported that Apple is planning to build an interesting new store in Aix-en-Provence, France.

In comparison to the usual standards of Apple, store appears to be small. The store is set back on a plaza and constructed almost entirely of transparent glass with the exception of the rear wall hiding the back-house operations area.

The store is set to be constructed at the site of the tourism office on the south side of Place du General de Gaulle. The store is expected to have glass walls. Online Reports indicate that the new store may have a low-profile fountain on the plaza. The store is expected to open either in late-2012 or early 2013.

Macprime.ch report to have obtained access to Apple’s plans for its retail store in Basel, Switzerland. Apple Inc recently revised its plans for the store to meet the requirements planning officials might have. Apple is planning to start the construction of a new store. This would be Apple’s fourth store in Switzerland.

Source: Modmyi

Apple Wants To Build More Retail Stores In France And Switzerland is a post from: The Apple Bites

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Apple is now the ninth most valuable brand in the world.

A recent report from Bloomberg has given this ranking to Apple in the list of top 100 global brands.

The brand rankings use five unnamed criteria and privately-held companies are excluded. Brand value includes the name, logo, image, and other intangibles that identify a company to a consumer.

This year (and almost every year), the top ten list is heavily dominated by technology firms including IBM, Microsoft, Google, Intel and HP.

Today Apple’s brand value stands at US $33.493 billion, up from $21.143 billion in 2010. Apple increased its value 58% year over year. The company’s momentum shows no sign of slowing down, and may climb even further up the ladder in 2012.

How many of you are optimistic about Apple reaching Number One spot someday? Why do you believe that? Share your thoughts with us.

Source: TUAW

Apple Now 9th Most Valuable Brand In The World is a post from: The Apple Bites

Motorola has scored a huge preliminary ruling today by The International Trade Commission (ITC) stating their Droid line of phones do not violate Apple’s patents.

Two years ago, Apple had filed a complaint with the ITC claiming that Motorola’s Droid phones infringed on a number of multi-touch patents that Apple held. After victory, Motorola issued the following statement in response to the ITC’s ruling.

“We are pleased with today’s favorable outcome for Motorola Mobility. Motorola Mobility has worked hard over the years to develop technology and build an industry-leading intellectual property portfolio. We are proud to leverage this broad and deep portfolio to create differentiated innovations that enhance the user experience.” — Scott Offer, senior vice president and general counsel of Motorola Mobility.

The ruling from ITC must be a big setback to Apple’s patent war efforts, which have not been particularly successful as of late. While, there is still a chance the ITC could rule in Apple’s favor it is unlikely the six-member commission will change their ruling which will bring an end to this particular complaint first levied back in October of 2010.

Source: Modmyi

Apple Loses Suit Against Motorola is a post from: The Apple Bites

Recently there were rumors that Apple was planning to open some mini-retail stores on some 25 Target locations. Now we are confirming to our readers that the reports are true.

This past Thursday, Target confirmed that it will have 25 stores featuring “special displays” of Apple products.

The details about the pattern of partnership was not provided by Target. However, it is being speculated that this partnership would be on the lines of partnership between Apple and Best Buy where Best Buy has Apple Min-Stores in more than 600 locations.

Source: BGR

Target Confirms To Have 25 Stores With Mini-Apple Store is a post from: The Apple Bites

Mercury News has reported that Apple is renting thousands of square-feet for its employees near Cupertino in Sunnyvale, California. According to the reports from Colliers International, Apple is ready to move into the 215,000-square-foot Sunnyvale Research Center.

Located 7 miles from the company’s current headquarters in Cupertino, the four-building complex in Sunnyvale is not the only nearby location that Apple is renovating. Two more buildings in Sunnyvale will help temporarily house up to 1,300 corporate employees.

“Apple seems to be gobbling up everything they can,” said Chad Leiker, a vice president with Kidder Mathews, a realty firm. “They are taking a ton of space.”

The report says that Apple wants to lease between 700,000 to 800,000 square-feet in Sunnyvale. Such area would allow room for between 2,800 to 3,200 employees.

This is not the first time Apple has rented space close to home.The incredible growth of Apple Inc due success of gadgets like iPhone 4S is visible and due to this growth, room for 1,300 more employees had to be made next to the main campus on 1 Infinite Loop last summer.

Apple is also working on its new ‘mothership’ campus in Cupertino to accommodate 13,000 employees. The company hopes to move into the new building by 2015.

Source: Cult Of Mac

Apple Renting More Space For Thousands Of Employees is a post from: The Apple Bites

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• Sunnyvale California

Apple has been accused of patents infringement many times. Recently it was also accused of compromising the privacy of iPhone users. However, this time Apple is facing a bizarre accusation of extortion.

Nuevas Tecnologias y Energias Catala, based in the eastern Spanish region of Valencia is accusing Apple of extortion. Nuevas Tecnologias y Energias Catala is a small Spanish firm that actually won an iPad-related patent battle against Apple just two months ago. Now this is a beginning of a new fight between two rivals,based on a serious accusation directed at the Cupertino-California based Apple Inc.

The company now says it is taking aim at Apple by filing an indictment against them. The move has come in response to what Nuevas Apple’s attempts of trying to stop Nuevas Tecnologias y Energias Catala from selling an Android-based NT-K tablet. This is what the Valencia based company has described as “extortion”.

Several industry and legal analysts, however, say NT-K’s argument is a bit excessive, specifically in that “extortion” denotes a criminal offense, something that is above and beyond the shape most patent-related cases would take.

Do you believe that NT-K has chosen a harsh word to describe Apple’s act? Or do you agree with NT-K? Voice your opinion in comments.

Source: Modmyi

Apple Accused Of “Extortion” is a post from: The Apple Bites

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We reported earlier about a hush hush move by Apple when they purchased Anobit, the Israeli company that makes flash-storage drives. It is one of the best companies in the field of technology in Israel.

Apple confirmed this past Tuesday, the news of purchasing Anobit.

Apple spokesman Steve Dowling confirmed to Bloomberg BusinessWeek that the purchase had been made recently. “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans,” he added.

There were news reports that Apple planned to acquire the company for as much as $500 million. A Hebrew-language newspaper claimed in late December that the deal had been finalized.

Apple has been using Anobit parts in its iOS devices and the MacBook Air for long. Anobit’s proprietary “Memory Signal Processing” (MSP) technology reportedly attracted the Apple’s interest. Anobit claims MSP can improve the reliability, performance, efficiency and endurance of flash memory.

This is not the only story about Apple’s presence in Israel. Though Apple has not confirmed this yet, there are speculations that Apple is planning to open a Research and Development Center in Israel.

Source: Apple Insider

Apple Confirms The Purchase Of Anobit is a post from: The Apple Bites

In a surprise to many, while planning the shareholders meeting to be held on 23 February 2012, Apple revealed the salaries of big shots in their company.

Apple released its proxy materials ahead of its annual shareholder’s meeting this past Monday. Contained in the fine print is lots of detail about the compensation of its most important executives and board members, including a note about the raise that CEO Tim Cook got in November.

Cook was earning $900,000 a year when he was appointed CEO in August. However, in November, Apple gave him a hefty raise that put his base salary (not including bonuses or other compensation) at $1.4 million. Cook was not the only one who got a raise either.

According to the proxy filing:

In November 2011, the Compensation Committee determined that it was appropriate to increase the base salary of Mr. Cook to $1,400,000 from $900,000 and to increase the base salaries of the other members of the executive team, including Messrs. [Eddy] Cue, [Peter] Oppenheimer, and [Scott] Forstall, to $800,000 from $700,000.

A salary of $1.4 million is far more than $1 salary that Steve Jobs received. However, this would have never bothered Jobs or his family, given the fact that Jobs was fabulously wealthy, thanks to his ownership and subsequent sale of Pixar to Disney. He also had plenty of other compensation from the company as well as tons of stock, though he sold none of it after he returned to the company in 1997, according to Apple.

The raise puts Cook’s base salary at the high end of fellow tech CEOs. Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer made $682,500 in base salary in 2011, Oracle’s Larry Ellison makes a Jobs-like $1 a year (again this does not include bonuses or other awards). Former IBM CEO Sam Palmisano’s salary was $1.8 million in 2011.

We want to remind our readers that Apple has also given some of its stocks to Tim Cook, to ensure his long stint with the company.

Source: Giga Om

Steve Jobs Salary In Apple $1? is a post from: The Apple Bites

Every corporate organization that has a standing and reputation in the business world holds a yearly meeting for shareholders to inform them where the company stood last year in the market and where it stands now. Such meetings help shareholders in understanding how valuable the shares that they are holding are and how much profit that they can make.

Apple is going to do that in February.

On Monday, 9 January 2012, Apple filed notice with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) that its annual shareholder meeting will be held at 10 AM Pacific on 23 February 2012. The meeting will include four shareholder proposals.

Apple Senior Vice President and General Counsel Bruce Sewell has issued a letter to the company’s shareholders inviting them to the meeting. The meeting will be held at its headquarters in Cupertino, California. Only shareholders of record as of 27 December 2011 will be eligible to attend and vote at the meeting.

The agenda for the annual meeting this year includes: the election of Apple’s board of directors and ratification of Ernst & Young as its independent registered public accounting firm for the year. Last agenda of this meeting is an advisory vote on executive compensation and consideration of four shareholder proposals.

Coincidentally, last year’s meeting was also held on 23 February 2012.

Apple’s board of directors underwent several changes last year after the sad demise of co-founder Steve Jobs in October. Jobs had been named chairman following his resignation as Apple’s chief executive last August. At that time, newly-minted Chief Executive Tim Cook was also named to the board.

In November 2011, Arthur Levinson was named chairman and Disney CEO Robert Iger was appointed to the board. The remaining board members include William Campbell, Millard Drexler, Al Gore, Andrea Jung and Ronald Sugar.

Apple’s filing with the SEC noted that the one million restricted shares granted to Cook to ensure his long-term tenure at the company were valued at a total $376.18 million. Half of the award will vest in 2016 and the remaining half will vest in 2021.

This meeting will also discuss some proposals from shareholders.

Source: Apple Insider

Apple’s 2012 Shareholder Meeting On 23 February is a post from: The Apple Bites

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Here is an exciting news for those who are waiting for iOS 5.1 Beta 3. The wait for the new operating system is set get shorter with the operating system already been released to developers.

If you are an iOS developer showing your skills on iPhone that has been registered for development and currently running an iOS 5.1 beta, you can open up the OTA (over the air) update section in your Settings application right now and download and install the new iOS 5.1 beta 3. The new beta version of iOS can be downloaded through Apple’s developer portal in the developer section of their Web Site if for some reason an OTA update is inconvenient for you, or if you want to hold onto the firmware file.

According to Apple’s claims, iOS 5.1 is promising to bring not only better battery life, but also improvements to the functionality of iCloud. For example, with iOS 5.1, it would be possible to delete individual photos from your Photo Stream, where right now you would need to actually delete all of them and go through the lengthy and time-consuming process of setting up Photo Stream again across all devices and start afresh with nothing in it. This feature was brought to the users with the last beta release of iOS 5.1, but it continues through iOS 5.1 beta 3.

For iPhone 4S users, the, “Enable 3G” toggle will mysteriously be put back into the network settings in iOS 5.1 beta 3. When iPhone 4S was released, it was made public that you could not toggle 3G off to enable E (Edge/2G) to save battery life. The iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS had the feature, even after upgrading to iOS 5. Shockingly, this feature turned out to be missing from iPhone 4S. People were infuriated that they did not have the ability to turn 3G off. The poor battery life of iPhone 4S made the matter worse.

Another feature for iOS 5.1 beta 3 is that it holds information for Siri to support more languages. Apple has promised that they would improve the usability of Siri for other languages at the unveiling of the iPhone 4S as they had promised, Siri was in, “beta.” According to some websites, there is information pertaining to the use of the Japanese language appearing in iOS 5.1 beta 3.

The update is for iPad, iPod touch, and iPhone.

Source: Modmyi

iOS 5.1 Beta 3 Released To Developers is a post from: The Apple Bites

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