Crazy to recall this now, but back in the the summer of 2010, the Apple world was briefly obsessed with the design of the iPhone’s antenna, and whether it did or didn’t contribute to the phone’s call quality problems. The furor eventually prompted Steve Jobs to hold an unprecedented press conference to defend the phone’s design. The issue eventually went away, but not completely, due to the inevitable class action suits. But now those are gone, too. A settlement will give iPhone 4 buyers who never exchanged their phones for a new one, and didn’t take up Apple’s offer for a free “bumper” back in 2010 a chance to get a new bumper, or take a $15 payout. CNET has more details, and Apple PR rep Natalie Harrison offered this comment over the phone: “This settlement relates to a small number of customers who indicated that they experienced antenna or reception issues with their iPhone 4 and didn’t want to take advantage of a free case from Apple while it was being offered in 2010.” From what I can tell the settlement applies to anyone who’s ever bought an iPhone 4, including people who are buying them at this very moment — there doesn’t appear to be any kind of end-date. If you’re looking for ways to spend that $15, by the way, Apple just happens to have iTunes gift cards , in two very nice designs, in that exact denomination.
Read MoreCrazy to recall this now, but back in the the summer of 2010, the Apple world was briefly obsessed with the design of the iPhone’s antenna, and whether it did or didn’t contribute to the phone’s call quality problems. The furor eventually prompted Steve Jobs to hold an unprecedented press conference to defend the phone’s design. The issue eventually went away, but not completely, due to the inevitable class action suits. But now those are gone, too. A settlement will give iPhone 4 buyers who never exchanged their phones for a new one, and didn’t take up Apple’s offer for a free “bumper” back in 2010 a chance to get a new bumper, or take a $15 payout. CNET has more details, and Apple PR rep Natalie Harrison offered this comment over the phone: “This settlement relates to a small number of customers who indicated that they experienced antenna or reception issues with their iPhone 4 and didn’t want to take advantage of a free case from Apple while it was being offered in 2010.” From what I can tell the settlement applies to anyone who’s ever bought an iPhone 4, including people who are buying them at this very moment — there doesn’t appear to be any kind of end-date. If you’re looking for ways to spend that $15, by the way, Apple just happens to have iTunes gift cards , in two very nice designs, in that exact denomination.
Read MoreCrazy to recall this now, but back in the the summer of 2010, the Apple world was briefly obsessed with the design of the iPhone’s antenna, and whether it did or didn’t contribute to the phone’s call quality problems. The furor eventually prompted Steve Jobs to hold an unprecedented press conference to defend the phone’s design. The issue eventually went away, but not completely, due to the inevitable class action suits. But now those are gone, too. A settlement will give iPhone 4 buyers who never exchanged their phones for a new one, and didn’t take up Apple’s offer for a free “bumper” back in 2010 a chance to get a new bumper, or take a $15 payout. CNET has more details, and Apple PR rep Natalie Harrison offered this comment over the phone: “This settlement relates to a small number of customers who indicated that they experienced antenna or reception issues with their iPhone 4 and didn’t want to take advantage of a free case from Apple while it was being offered in 2010.” From what I can tell the settlement applies to anyone who’s ever bought an iPhone 4, including people who are buying them at this very moment — there doesn’t appear to be any kind of end-date. If you’re looking for ways to spend that $15, by the way, Apple just happens to have iTunes gift cards , in two very nice designs, in that exact denomination.
Read MoreIt’s difficult for users to stop Web trackers that take advantage of a loophole in Apple’s Safari browser — at least for now. Apple says it is working to put a stop to the practice. And Google, which had been tracking users after exploiting this loophole to put Google +1 buttons in ads, stopped the practice after being contacted by The Wall Street Journal. But in the meantime, to stop such tracking by other advertising companies, the only options available to Safari users are problematic. Read the rest of this post on the original site »
Read MoreProview's iPad, which bears an uncanny resemblance to another famous Apple product. Proview, the foundering Chinese company battling with Apple over the iPad trademark , originally wanted millions of dollars for the rights to the mark in China. Now it wants billions. At a press conference in Beijing on Friday, Li Su, chairman of Hejun Vanguard Group, a consulting company representing Proview’s creditors, said the company is gearing up to sue Apple in the U.S. to collect what it feels it’s owed. “Right now we are selecting from three American law firms to sue Apple in the United States for $2 billion in compensation,” he said. As for allegations that Proview is breaching its iPad trademark deal to squeeze Apple for more money, Proview CEO Yang Rongshan says that’s not the case at all. “We own the iPad trademark in China,” Yang said . “If you were in my position … you would try to protect your rights.” Apple, however, argues that it’s not Proview’s rights that need to be protected. Apple insists that it acquired the iPad mark fair and square from Proview several years ago, and that Proview refuses to honor their agreement. As documents first published by AllThingsD show , Proview in December of 2009 agreed to transfer to Apple all rights to the iPad trademark in a number of countries, including China. (Ironically, an email from a Proview executive to the Apple agent negotiating the trademark transfer concludes, “As you know my company is an international company and always keep[s] its promise.”) Apple has sued Proview once, in the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court, arguing that the iPad trademark in China should be transferred to it per the original agreement, but the court dismissed that lawsuit, “due to the lack of facts and legal proof.” Apple subsequently appealed that ruling to the Higher People’s Court of Guangdong province, and will argue its case once again in a Feb. 29 hearing. RELATED POSTS: Proview to Apple: You Owe Us $2 Billion Take a Look at Some of Apple’s Evidence in Proview iPad Dispute Here’s the Chinese Court Ruling Backing Apple in iPad Trademark Tiff Apple: China’s Proview Trying to Weasel Out of iPad Trademark Deal All Apple coverage
Read MoreProbably the last thing you’d expect from Hewlett-Packard and Dell right now is a set of positive quarterly results, but that’s exactly what Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore is expecting from the two companies when they report quarterly results next week. (Dell reports Wednesday; HP on Thursday.) Is Whitmore just seeing the world through some rose-tinted shades? After all, consider the state of the industry — PC sales are suffering generally from a prolonged case of iPad envy among the consumer set, the ongoing shortage of hard drives brought on by the flooding in Thailand, and a global economy that has Europe flat on its back, the U.S. recovering but wobbly, and every other region tenuous. Meanwhile, HP and Dell aren’t exactly their old selves. And yet here’s Whitmore explaining his positive expectations from both, in a note to clients today: “Investors appear to be positioned for solid results from both HP and Dell as recent data suggests enterprise IT spending finished 2011 well. We expect IT spending to gain momentum through 2012 due to an improving US macro backdrop and forthcoming product cycles.” Pretty good, relatively speaking. Whitmore goes on at length on each company. About HP, he says its recently lowered expectations — CEO Meg Whitman has designated 2012 as a rebuilding year — will be easy to beat. Revenue might even come in below expectations of $30.1 billion, but per-share earnings will probably beat the consensus of 87 cents. The reason? Corporate demand for IT hardware, specifically PCs and servers, remains healthy in the face of weaker demand for PCs among consumers — the iPad is sapping demand — and a weakness in sales of printers. Recent cost-cutting, favorable prices on commodity components, and other changes made in recent restructurings will combine to give HP a slight edge on the EPS front, Whitmore says. That’s not to say there isn’t still some messy business yet to finish at HP. While its official guidance forecasting a per-share profit of $4 in 2012 still stands, there’s still the ongoing strategic question of addressing its weakness in the consumer PC business with a tablet that can take on Apple’s iPad. Also, results from Lexmark and Canon, Whitmore says, show continued weakness in the printer business, which will hit HP right where it hurts. Then there’s the longer-term questions, like Whitman’s ultimate plan to save HP, and how the $10.6 billion acquisition of Autonomy is going to further that goal.
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