Posts tagged with "iPad"

Apple Wins Preliminary Injunction Against Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 In The US

Apple has today won a preliminary injunction against Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the US, just a day before Google’s I/O conference begins. Issued by US Disctrict Judge Lucy Koh, it means that Samsung can no longer sell their tablet in the United States.

Although Samsung has a right to compete, it does not have a right to compete unfairly, by flooding the market with infringing products. While Samsung will certainly suffer lost sales from the issuance of an injunction, the hardship to Apple of having to directly compete with Samsung’s infringing products outweighs Samsung’s harm in light of the previous findings by the Court.

The judgment from Judge Koh also came before Friday’s hearing that was meant to cover the preliminary injunction. She said in her order that the strength of Apple’s case left her no choice but to grant the injunction, deciding she didn’t need to hear further arguments on the issue in Friday’s hearing. As noted by AllThingsD, she had previously denied a preliminary injunction request against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 by Apple back in December.

Once Apple fronts up with a $2.6 million bond (for Samsung if it is later ruled the injunction should not have been granted), the order will become effective. Speaking to an Apple representative, AllThingsD got a familiar statement on the matter:

“It’s no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging

[via AllThingsD]

Brightcove Gives Developers A Tool To Create Dual Screen Apps With AirPlay

Brightcove today unveiled their ‘App Cloud Dual-Screen Solution for Apple TV’ which is effectively a development kit that allows developers and media publishers to easily create “dual-screen” apps that utilise AirPlay. It enables an Apple TV to effectively become a second screen in which different content can be showed, but synchronised to what is shown on the iPad or iPhone. As highlighted in the demonstration video below, this tool could be used to create interactive quiz games or perhaps an app that plays a video on a TV and display additional information on the iPad or iPhone.
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Court Approves Fine Against Apple For Misleading Australian Consumers With “4G” Claim

Apple will pay the AU$2.25 million fine for misleading Australian consumers by marketing the new iPad as “WiFi + 4G” after the Federal Court this morning approved the settlement that Apple reached with the ACCC on June 7th. Although Apple and the ACCC came to the agreement (which also requires Apple to pay AU$300,000 in court costs for the ACCC), approval was required from the Federal Court. In coming to the decision, Justice Mordecai Bromberg requested various sales, refund and other information from Apple to assess whether the fine was appropriate.

Although the exact numbers remain confidential, in his judgement, Justice Bromberg notes that the “number of new iPad cellular model devices sold by Apple in the relevant period was very substantial”. As for the number of consumers who took up Apple’s offer for a refund, he notes that “only a very small percentage of them took up the opportunity of a refund” - although this is tempered by a preceding paragraph in his judgement:

“Cant tell with any certainty how many consumers were mislead, nor is it possible to discern the level of disappointment (as distinct from proven loss or damage) involved for those consumers who were misled… many purchasers will have felt decidedly short-changed…”

Apple Pty Ltd (Apple Australia) Dominated by Apple Inc (Parent Company)

In what is largely unsurprising for those who are observers of Apple, the Australian arm had little control over the marketing message of the iPad. All marketing materials were provided to Apple (Australia) by Apple Inc and then passed on by Apple (Australia) to the “some one hundred and fifty resellers”. Justice Bromberg says “the same campaign was used worldwide by the Apple group of companies”.

“The most concerning aspect of Apple’s contravention of s 33, is the deliberate nature of its conduct. Apple does not seek to deny the deliberateness of its conduct and there are no facts before me which seek to excuse or explain the conduct, other than that the conduct occurred at the behest of Apple’s parent company, the second respondent (“Apple Inc”).”

This control by Apple Inc is further exemplified by the fact that Apple (Australia) became aware of the cellular iPad’s incompatibility with Telstra’s LTE network as early as 8 March, (the first day of pre-orders). “The controlling hand of Apple Inc” can be seen in that Apple “did not desist in its use of “iPad with WiFi + 4G” until 12 May 2012, when the product designator was changed globally.”

“Those who design global campaigns, and those in Australia who adopt them, need to be attuned to the understandings and perceptions of Australian consumers and ensure that representations made by such campaigns will not serve to mislead.”

The Factors Assessing The Appropriateness of the Penalty

There were a number of factors that led Justice Bromberg to accept the AU$2.25 million fine, starting with the fact that Apple did later clarify the incompatibility with Telstra’s LTE network and the fact that the whole spectacle had quite significant media attention in Australia. These two factors are likely to have substantially diminished the potential for consumers to be mislead by the product designator of “WiFi + 4G”. However beyond that, there were also some other factors including:

  • Senior management was involved
  • Education programs and disciplinary measures taken by Apple
  • Apple has never before engaged in conduct similar to this (significant weight attatched)
  • Gave credit to Apple for their cooperation with the ACCC
  • Apple acknowledged its liability
  • Media attention
  • Absence of loss or damage

In conclusion, Justice Bromberg said that the “proposed penalty is neither manifestly inadequate nor manifestly excessive”.

“I harbour a concern that the size and financial strength of Apple diminishes the meaningfulness of the penalty proposed. However, I do not perceive any further transgressions by Apple to be likely. The fact of the litigation and the media attention which it has drawn, will no doubt be a somber reminder to Apple, and others who rely on their brand image that, as well as a penalty, there will likely be an intangible cost involved in a contravention of the ACL.”

A Refresher on What Exactly Apple Did Wrong

Below are some key quotes I’ve pulled from the judgment that help explain why the ACCC went after Apple and why Apple ultimately acknowledged and accepted liability:

“No Australian carrier uses the term “4G” to describe any network which operates on HSPA, HSPA+ or DC-HSDPA networks. Those networks have always been referred to by Australian carriers as “3G” networks. Apple has also referred to those networks as “3G”.

 

“During the relevant period, Apple used the product designator “iPad with WiFi + 4G”, in relation to a device which could not directly connect with the only commercially available LTE network understood by Australian consumers to be a “4G” network.”

 

“Apple admits that by its use of the product designator “iPad with WiFi + 4G” during the relevant period, in trade or commerce, it impliedly represented that the new iPad cellular model could connect directly to the Telstra LTE mobile data network in Australia. Apple admits that by doing so, its conduct was liable to mislead consumers in relation to a characteristic of the new iPad cellular model, namely, its ability to connect to the Telstra LTE mobile data network. It is that representation about that characteristic, which resulted in the admitted contraventions of s 33 of the ACL.”

 

“The most concerning aspect of Apple’s contravention of s 33, is the deliberate nature of its conduct. Apple does not seek to deny the deliberateness of its conduct and there are no facts before me which seek to excuse or explain the conduct, other than that the conduct occurred at the behest of Apple’s parent company, the second respondent (“Apple Inc”).”

A Timeline of Events

  • On March 27th the ACCC announced it would initiate legal action against Apple for making misleading 4G claims in its marketing of the new iPad in Australia. The issue arose because although the new iPad supports US and Canadian 4G networks, the hardware in the new iPad does not support any of the Australian 4G networks.
  • Across Europe a few countries began to keep an eye on the issue and consider investigations into the issue after fielding complaints from consumers.
  • On March 30th, Apple clarified its iPad marketing in Australia by explicitly noting that “it is not compatible with current Australian 4G LTE networks and WiMAX networks.
  • On April 5th, Apple gave Australian customers the ability to get a full refund of the new iPad if they purchased it under the assumption of it supporting Australian 4G networks up until the 25th of April. They also informed Australian resellers to update marketing to explicitly mention the incompatibility with Australian 4G networks.
  • On May 12th Apple decided to rename the WiFi + 4G model to WiFi + Cellular - across the whole world (including the US and Canada), eliminating the confusion over whether the iPad supported 4G in a particular country like Australia, where it did not.

[via itnews]

You can read the entire judgment here, uploaded by itnews. 

“Do It All” Highlights the new iPad’s Features in a New June Advertisement

Following Microsoft’s announcement of their Windows 8 Surface tablets, Apple has posted their latest commercial for the new iPad titled, “Do It All.” Panning over the new iPad’s Retina display, “Do It All” highlight’s the iPad’s bullet points for sending email, reading magazines, watching movies, and learning, while also touching on content creation with slideshows, managing photos, and painting. Demonstrated earlier in the evening, Microsoft’s Windows 8 RT Surface tablet will come with Microsoft Office Home & Student 2013, while Microsoft’s Windows 8 Pro Surface tablet features a pressure sensitive pen stylus and palm recognition. While Microsoft’s event focused on bolstering the tablet form factor with the power of a touch-sensitive desktop OS, unfortunately Microsoft did not announce pricing or availability amidst the applause. Apple’s timing with their latest commercial is impeccable, and as a response, it’s as if to remind their competitor that you can already do quite a bit with a tablet that’s available right now thanks to the iPad’s broad app ecosystem. You can check out Apple’s commercial past the break, on YouTube, or on Apple’s website.

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Kickstarter: Hone for iPhone 4S: Never Lose Your Keys Again

 

During CES 2012 we were introduced to the BiKN, an iPhone case-dongle solution for finding and tracking your stuff. The BiKN was a hit at CES but it is expensive ($130 US) and burdened by a case that you must use. Louis Gerbarg and Geoff Litwack have come up with a much simpler and lighter solution called the Hone and now they have a Kickstarter project focused on getting it into the public’s hands. Video after the break. Read more

Apple Agrees It Misled Consumers With “WiFi + 4G” And Accepts AU$2.25M Penalty, Judge Yet To Approve Settlement

UPDATE: The Court has been adjourned and Justice Bromberg will receive confidential information from Apple (currently unclear what that will include, but presumably some sales and/or refund numbers) by next Wednesday. A decision about whether or not the penalty is appropriate can then be made.

In Australian Federal Court today, Apple has told the court it is willing to accept a AU$2.25 million penalty after agreeing it misled consumers by initially marketing the new iPad’s cellular capabilities as “with WiFi + 4G” in Australia. Apple accepted the penalty that the ACCC proposed which also requires Apple to contribute $300,000 to the ACCC’s legal fees. Colin Galvan, who is representing the ACCC noted that the ”substantial” penalty would amount to a warning to the computer industry that “such conduct will not be condoned”.

Although both Apple and the ACCC have now agreed on a proposed settlement, Judge  Mordy Bromberg must yet approve the deal. Judge Bromberg has said that he wants more information about the extent of misleading advertising after Apple has so far refused to provide any information about how many iPads have been sold, returned and how much revenue and profit Apple has earnt.

“I have some concern… that the agreed facts might be a little thin to allow me to do what I need to do and that is determine whether the proposed penalty is appropriate,”

Timeline of Events

  • On March 27th the ACCC announced it would initiate legal action against Apple for making misleading 4G claims in its marketing of the new iPad in Australia. The issue arose because although the new iPad supports US and Canadian 4G networks, the hardware in the new iPad does not support any of the Australian 4G networks.
  • Across Europe a few countries began to keep an eye on the issue and consider investigations into the issue after fielding complaints from consumers.
  • On March 30th, Apple clarified its iPad marketing in Australia by explicitly noting that “it is not compatible with current Australian 4G LTE networks and WiMAX networks.
  • On April 5th, Apple gave Australian customers the ability to get a full refund of the new iPad if they purchased it under the assumption of it supporting Australian 4G networks up until the 25th of April. They also informed Australian resellers to update marketing to explicitly mention the incompatibility with Australian 4G networks.
  • On May 12th Apple decided to rename the WiFi + 4G model to WiFi + Cellular - across the whole world (including the US and Canada), eliminating the confusion over whether the iPad supported 4G in a particular country like Australia, where it did not.

[Information via @NorrieRoss, @LucyBattersby, @_kate_osborn and The Australian]

Agenda 3.0: Fast Event Creation, Custom Repeats and More

Agenda, by Savvy Apps, is a fantastic and minimal calendar replacement for iOS (universal) with many built-in options. We’ve covered Agenda a few times already but the new 3.0 update adds some excellent new features and updates.

The first, and most important update is a custom event creation screen that’s much faster than the default iOS one. It has a simplified layout that lets you access event elements without going into second and third screens. This means you only need to tap once to access the event title, start & end time, alerts, location, and notes. You can swipe between calendar months and the animation is very slick!  The dots beneath the calendar identify what month you are in - past, present or future. Agenda now imports your contacts from iOS so once an event is created, you can attach them by tapping the calendar icon and choosing what contacts you want to add to your event for things such as text, email, calls, or status taps.

Another great feature that Agenda now has is a set of customizable repeat options. While on the event creation screen, tap the icon next to the repeat section to choose dates for ending repeating events, create repeating events for specific days or dates of the month, and much more.

Defaults, defaults, defaults! I wish more apps had a larger set of defaults — it makes data entry much easier if there is a predefined set of options. You can now pick defaults for calendar, event alert sounds, view, duration, alert, and all day alert time via Agenda’s built-in Settings > Defaults menu.

iPad users also get a few new options: swiping right or left will now change views, year and week view now move up or down instead of right or left and you can now change settings to a smaller modal view.

To read the complete release notes for Agenda 3.0, Savvy Apps has a listing for your viewing pleasure. They also have a great little Tips & Tricks section on the Agenda page to help you enter events even faster. If you don’t like the new “Fast Event Creation” screen you can always toggle back to the native iOS event creation from Agenda’s settings, but the new way is so much easier and more fun!

Agenda 3.0 is a great upgrade to a great product — anytime you can streamline manual data entry into one screen gets a big thumbs up from me. The Tips & Tricks are worth 2 minutes of your time to read so that you can fully understand the new “Fast Event Creation” screen. Agenda is a universal app and available in the App Store for 99¢, while existing users get the 3.0 update for free.

Airlines Increasing Fuel Efficiency By Adopting The iPad As An Entertainment Device→

Airlines Increasing Fuel Efficiency By Adopting The iPad As An Entertainment Device

Bloomberg reports today that startup airline Scoot Pte (their maiden flight is today) will save fuel and have increased profits by deploying the iPad as the passenger entertainment device. By cutting out old entertainment systems weighing more than two tons, they’ve saved fuel while still flying older airplanes and even expanding traditional seating capacity by 40 per cent. Increasing profit, the post-PC way.

The tablets helped the carrier cut 7 percent off the weight of planes obtained from parent Singapore Airlines Ltd. (SIA) even after a 40 percent increase in seating, Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson said. The savings will help Scoot, which makes its maiden flight today, cope with fuel prices that have jumped about 36 percent in two years.

Scoot Pte will rent the iPads for $17 a flight to economy-class passengers and offering them for free to those in business class. It follows moves by other airlines such as Jetstar, AirAsia and Qantas which have deployed the iPad in trials and small test runs since late last year.

Cutting costs and finding new sources of revenue will be key for Singapore-based Scoot as it seeks to make a profit flying older planes than other low-cost carriers and selling tickets as cheap as S$158 one-way to Sydney, a flight of more than seven hours. Singapore Air formed Scoot after budget operators led by Jetstar and AirAsia Bhd. won 26 percent of the city’s air-travel market.

By reducing fuel costs, parent company Singapore Airlines hopes that it can turn over a new leaf with Scoot after it tumbled 28 percent this year, exceeding the 14 percent decline for the Straits Times Index. It’s really crazy to think that something like the iPad can have such a huge impact on fuel efficiency of airplanes - today’s story is on top of  the existing trend of airlines replacing flight manuals with iPads that Tim Cook gladly shared earlier this year.

Scoot plans to increase its fleet to as many as 14 777s by the middle of the decade. The carrier will be able to pare maintenance costs by working with its parent, Wilson said.

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Inkflow Has One Great Idea

When we talk about hotly contested app markets for the iPad, we’re either talking about iOS text editors or sketching apps — today we’re focusing on the latter. Between Adobe, Autodesk, Paper, and Penultimate, something needs to be dramatically imaginative and different to make it stand out in a section of the App Store that is well contested and already populated with great apps. Sometimes an app like SyncPad stands out by providing new and interesting features (in this case it’s immensely useful for presentations), but very rarely does an app come along that can compete with these established tools on the iPad. Similar to how Instapaper and Pocket (once Read It Later) have captured the “read later” space, the aforementioned apps broadly cover everything you’d likely need or want when it comes to writing, drawing, and sketching.

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