Jury Rules Samsung Infringed On Some Apple Patents, Ordered to Pay $119.6 Million Posted: 02 May 2014 05:11 PM PDT After three days of deliberations and several weeks of testimony, the jury reached a unanimous verdict in the second Apple vs. Samsung trial (via CNET). The jury found that Samsung willfully infringed on two of five patents involved in the lawsuit. As a result, Samsung has been ordered to pay $119.6 million, far from the total that Apple was hoping for. In this second lawsuit, which began on March 31, Apple argued that Samsung owed it $2.2 billion in damages for infringing on five separate iPhone patents. Samsung argued that Apple had infringed on two of its own patents, asking for $6.2 million in damages.
While Samsung focused on proving that Apple was actually targeting Android in its suit, calling multiple Google witnesses like former Android chief Andy Rubin, Apple presented the jury with testimony from its own employees on the design, development, and marketing of the original iPhone. During the trial, news broke that Google is covering lawyer fees and potential damage awards related to four of the patents in the lawsuit. Four of the five patents Apple has accused Samsung of infringing on are part of the Android operating system, and Google will presumably help pay damages for the '647 data syncing patent Samsung was accused of violating. This damages award adds to the damages from the original Apple vs. Samsung trial, in which Samsung was ordered to pay Apple $890 million. This suit focused on newer devices, including the Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note II, Galaxy Tab 10.1, the iPhone 4/4s/5, the iPad 2/3/4, the iPad mini, and fourth and fifth generation iPod touch. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Physical iPhone 6 Mockup Compared to Galaxy S5 in New Images Posted: 02 May 2014 03:15 PM PDT Earlier this week Italian site Macitynet shared images of a high-quality physical mockup of the iPhone 6, based on earlier design drawings and renderings. The site has now shared [Google Translation] a new series photos comparing that mockup to a Samsung Galaxy S5 display model, showing how Apple's larger iPhone might stack up to Samsung's flagship offering.
Several design elements that have been seen in other case models and mockups are present in this high-quality mockup, including rounded edges, rectangular volume buttons, a rounded rear flash, a protruding camera, and a power button located on the right hand side of the device for easier one-handed use. ConceptsiPhone (via BGR ) has compiled many of Macitynet's photos into a video, showing the mockup next to an iPhone 5s and an iPhone 4s. Apple's 4.7-inch iPhone is expected to launch in the fall months, possibly as early as September. Along with a thinner frame and a larger display, it is also expected to include an A8 processor and camera improvements. A second 5.5-inch iPhone is also rumored to be arriving several months later due to production delays. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Apple Acquires Low-Power Display Company LuxVue Technology Posted: 02 May 2014 12:26 PM PDT Apple has purchased LuxVue Technology, a company that develops low-power microLED-based displays, reports TechCrunch , citing sources with knowledge of the acquisition. Micro-LEDs have the potential to improve battery life while offering brighter screens than competing technologies.
LuxVue's VP of technology, Kapil Sakariya, has ties to Apple, having previously worked as a Display Architect and iPhone Operations and Procurement Manager at Apple. Sakariya was employed at Apple from July of 2006 until November of 2011, when he joined LuxVue. According to TechCrunch, Apple has made the acquisition to add to its hardware innovations area, which the company has been aiming to bolster in recent years to bring more of its production in-house. Last year, Apple acquired low-power wireless chip provider Passif Semiconductor and is said to be in talks to acquire Renesas SP Drivers, a division of Renesas Electronics that develops chips for smartphone displays. Update: Apple has seemingly confirmed the purchase to TechCrunch, issuing its usual statement for such circumstances: "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans." Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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2014 MacBook Airs Demonstrating Slower Flash Storage Speeds Than 2013 Models Posted: 02 May 2014 11:55 AM PDT The newly released 2014 MacBook Airs are seeing improved processor performance thanks to updated Haswell chips, but storage performance appears to have declined. In a series of performance benchmark tests performed by Macworld , tests of the flash storage suggested the new MacBook Airs are performing slower than the 2013 MacBook Airs. The comparison, which included a 2013 11-inch MacBook Air with a 256GB SSD and a 2013 13-inch MacBook Air with a 128GB SSD vs. a 2014 11-inch model with a 128GB SSD and a 13-inch model with a 256GB SSD, found that the 2014 models were twice as slow as the 2013 models at some tasks.
Compressing 6GB of files also took longer on the 2014 MacBook Air, and Macworld described unzipping as "just plain slow" with the new 11-inch version taking three times as long to unzip files as the 2013 model.
The Blackmagic Disk Speed Test also showed the new models running slower than the older models, with write/read speeds as follows (in MBps): - 2013 13-inch with 128GB SSD: 445/725 All four of the drives in the MacBook Airs tested came from different manufacturers, with two from Samsung, one from Toshiba, and one from SanDisk, which accounts for the performance discrepancies. Speed differences between SSDs used within Apple's MacBook Air computers have been highlighted before in previous models and as suggested in the past, while the speed variations may be noticeable in some high-intensity tasks, they are unlikely to be noticed during day-to-day usage. Released earlier this week, the new MacBook Airs are available from Apple's website beginning at $899. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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No Revamped Apple TV or iWatch Expected at WWDC Posted: 02 May 2014 10:31 AM PDT Apple does not have plans to use the company's upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference to debut new Apple TV hardware, its related software, or the iWatch, reports John Paczkowski of Re/code . Citing sources familiar with Apple's plans, Paczkowski confirms that Apple's big announcements will focus on OS X 10.10, iOS 8, and possibly Healthbook, an app Apple is said to be developing to aggregate fitness and health information.
An Apple TV concept via Curved
Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, which starts on June 2, has historically been used as a platform for unveiling new operating system software. Apple has, however, occasionally debuted new hardware at the event, including new MacBook Airs in 2013 and the Retina Macbook Pro in 2012. Though the company does not have plans to unveil an updated Apple TV set-top box at WWDC, the product is said to be in the works. The revamped box is rumored to include an App Store, gaming support, iOS 7 controller integration, and possibly new content deals. Apple may have had plans to debut the box earlier in 2014, but according to a recent product roadmap from often reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, we may not see an updated Apple TV until the third quarter of 2014. As for the iWatch, which also remains in development, a late 2014 release date is expected. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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