Apple says that the eBook lawsuit filed by the Justice Department is fundamentally flawed and could harm consumers. Apple finally filed its official retaliation against eBook antitrust claims in U.S. District Court in Manhattan late Tuesday. The company stated that the lawsuit filed by the Justice Department back in April is a “fundamentally flawed” endeavor that could discourage competition and harm consumers.
“Apple’s entry into e-book distribution is classic pro-competitive conduct [that created competition where none existed],” Apple said in its court papers. “For Apple to be subject to hindsight legal attack for a business strategy well-recognized as perfectly proper sends the wrong message to the market. The government’s complaint against Apple is fundamentally flawed as a matter of fact and law.”
The Justice Department accused Apple of colluding with five publishers to boost e-book prices at the launch of the company’s iPad tablet in 2010. At the time, Amazon was offering eBooks at discounted wholesale prices in order to help move Kindle eReader units. But publishers wanted more money for their eBooks while also fearing Amazon’s dominance in the eBook sector.
That’s where the collusion comes in. Apple supposedly offered to sell their eBooks on the iPad based on their own set price while taking a 30-percent cut in the process. However Apple supposedly would only agree to the deal if the publishers offered the same pricing across the industry, including rivals Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Thus once the agreement was made, eBooks jumped up in price between $12.99 and $14.99 in a matter of days. Apple now argues that its entry into the eBook sector has fueled the demand for eBooks by forcing Amazon and other rivals to compete more aggressively. This means releasing new hardware and raising eBook prices.
In the April 11 lawsuit, the Justice Department provided quotes taken from the late Steve Jobs himself that were lifted from emails and the biography, seemingly sealing the antitrust case against Apple. But the iPad company dismisses any wrongdoing on behalf of Jobs in Tuesday’s filing, denying that the government “accurately characterized” the comments.
The Justice Department also stated that the alleged collusion cost consumers millions of dollars on the most popular e-book titles. Fearing court costs and a possible large settlement, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and Hachette Books settled out of court. Macmillan and Penguin Group have chosen to back Apple.
The news arrives by way of a “reliable source” who told BGR that Microsoft is targeting November for both launches. The source claims to have seen the software running on Apple’s iPad “first-hand” and that it’s almost identical to the previous leak seen a few months back.
There’s also indication that Microsoft’s Office suite will eventually land on the iPhone and iPod Touch. The source said the loading screen in the Office app clearly said “Office for iOS” instead of identifying the Apple tablet specifically.
News of Office for iOS originally appeared back in November 2011, claiming that Microsoft was actively working on adapting the suite for iOS. Reports also stated that Microsoft planned to release an updated version of Office for Mac on Apple’s digital distribution Mac App Store.
Microsoft eventually spoke up regarding the prototype and said the accompanying image was fake. The report itself was based on “inaccurate rumors and speculation,” the company said.
Currently Microsoft offers OneNote, Bing, SkyDrive, My Xbox Live, and the game Kinectimals for the iOS platform. OneNote, Bing, Kinect Star Wars, Halo Waypoint, Lync 2010 and Hotmail are available on Android.
Remember Apple’s new iPad WiFi + 4G? Well, forget that moniker, as this variant of the company’s latest slate has been quietly re-dubbed as the iPad WiFi + Cellular. As noticed by 9to5Mac, the change occurred within the last “24-48 hours” across many of Apple’s region-specific webstores (update: and retail locations), including (but not limited to) those for the US, UK, Australia, Canada and various countries in Asia. If you’ll recall, in many regions the best you’ll get out of the slate is HSPA-connectivity, even though it’s also equipped for LTE — something that Apple itself had considered good enough to market it as 4G despite offering refunds to customers in Australia who (like many others) couldn’t officially partake in its LTE. Interestingly, 9to5Mac also notes that a similar change hasn’t made its way over to the iPad 2, which still has its cellular-equipped variant named, iPad 2 WiFi + 3G. We’ve reached out to Apple for comment, but the meantime, feel free to hit up the source links below for more insight.
Been itching for Facebook’s iPhone-dedicated Messenger app to make its way over to the iPad? ? Maybe for the iPhone variant to finally reap the benefits of Skype video chat integration as well? Well, according to 9to5Mac, Camp Zuckerberg is testing both in-house, with the latter planned to hit iPhones this summer. According to the site, one of its trustworthy tipsters was able to grant it access to beta versions of the new apps, and it has the pictures to prove it. Unsurprisingly, the Messenger app for iPad is described as simply a sized-up port of the iPhone version, but surely the bump would be appreciated by many if it ever gets officially released. Perhaps more interesting, though, is having Skype video chat baked into the iPhone version — tapping an arrow next to a contact initiates your video session, and 9to5Mac reports that it’s “smooth most of the time.” Of course, it’s always worth taking such leaks with a grain of salt, but hit up the source link below if you’d like to find more information and screenshots of the apps in question.
Who knew some funky capitalization could cause so much trouble? Proview — the purveyor of that 90s-era all-in-one called the iPAD — hasn’t let up in its fight to wrestle the rights to the iPad name from iPad maker Apple. The legal antics started in China, where Proview temporarily managed to get Apple’s tablet booted off store shelves before being rebuffed by a Shanghai court — after which the company promptly brought the case stateside. It’s been all quiet on the iPad trademark front for a solid month now, but a report from All Things D indicates that the squabble is still going strong. Today the Chinese vice minister for the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) declared that Proview is, in fact, the rightful owner of the iPad trademark. The SAIC has so far kept mum about the iPad trademark spat, so its decision to break that silence is sure to carry some weight when it comes time for the Chinese higher court to hand down its verdict.
After the most recent quarter Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer was proud to let us all know that there are now 365 million iOS devices “in play,” with over 50 million sold just in Q2. With the iPhone now available in 100 countries on 230 carriers and the new iPad shipping in over 40 countries, the continued growth isn’t much of a surprise. Obviously, as the number of devices in the hands of users increases, so does the number of apps, and in this quarter the iTunes app store topped 600,000 apps — including over 200,000 specifically designed for the iPad. The iPad in particular was singled out as being a driver for growth. Tim Cook said that 67 million iPads have been sold since the first model debuted. By contrast, he claims it took 24 years to sell that many Macs. Oppenheimer said that the education market was increasingly turning to the tablet, purchasing them by a margin of almost two-to-one over Macs. The San Diego school district in particular ordered 10,000 this quarter and has plans to purchase 15,000 more. Even the government is getting in on the action, with the air force using them as flight guides.
Ever thought to yourself that those Smart Covers would be so much better if they somehow had a keyboard built in? Perhaps not, but Logitech is looking to fill the void anyway. The outfit has announced its Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for this year’s iPad. On the business side of the accessory, you’ll find a full Bluetooth keyboard with function keys that will last up to six months on a single charge — that is, if you can manage to limit your use to under two hours a day. Securing your slate during those heavy typing sessions is a built-in stand that sits atop the keypad; however, it appears that you’re stuck with only one viewing angle. Around back, the cover will protect that precious Retina display while providing instant on / off functionality like the original Smart Covers did, complete with magnetic clip. Don’t fret, it’ll also play nice with the second-gen model, just in case you haven’t committed to the latest Apple tablet. Available later this month in both the US and Europe, the keyboard cover will cause you to fork over $100 before employing either of its services.
This has gotta be uncomfortable for the iPad. Now, Windows 8 tablet developers — or anyone, for that matter — can test their apps and play with the Microsoft’s Metro interface from within the confines of Apple’s ubiquitous tablet. The functionality is made possible by Splashtop, which is known for its remote desktop apps that are currently available for Android and iOS. It seems that a good amount of effort went into this application, known as the Win8 Metro Testbed, which offers the same swipe capabilities that will be available on a native system. This includes the ability to swipe from the left to switch apps, swipe from the right to reveal the Charms menu, and pull down from the top to close an application. Splashtop’s Win8 Metro Testbed is currently available for a promotional $24.99 in the iTunes App Store, whereafter it will sell for $49.99.
Cupertino’s latest Apple TV has already been torn asunder and had its guts revealed to all the online world. And, we’ve already told you of the many ways that it differs from its predecessor. Despite that in-depth examination of Apple’s media streamer, turns out it had another secret that was recently unlocked by the folks at Chipworks, who discovered it’s packing a new, smaller A5 chip that’s masquerading as a single-core unit. Turns out, that’s the same 32nm dual-core SoC found in new iPad 2s — elder iPad 2 units pack 45nm chips — but the 3rd-gen Apple TV only uses one of those cores to give you your 1080p fix. We don’t know if the second core’s simply sitting idle or if Apple’s using up some defective A5s it had laying around, but we do know that you can see some more close up shots of the silicon in question at the source below.
The unique privilege of jumpsuiting up and prowling the Foxconn factory floor may be reserved for the likes of Tim Cook and Nightline’s Bill Weir, but thanks to American Public Media’s Marketplace, we can all take a peek at the iPad production line. The above video is part of Rob Schmitz’ ongoing look at Foxconn’s factory conditions. Schmitz is partially responsible for debunking Mike Daisey’s “theatrical” deception, and now hopes to educate readers on the reality of Foxconn’s Longhua facility.
“When I gave examples of some of the American media coverage of the working conditions at Foxconn, many workers laughed, telling me it’s not really that bad” Schmitz writes. “But that doesn’t mean the workers don’t have complaints.” Through a series of interviews, Schmitz unveils how workers feel about their supervisors, jobs, pay, family back home and their dreams for the future. So, how’s that iPad made? Check out the source link below, and find out.
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