Apple plans Nevada solar farm in clean energy push for data centers

By: No Author | 12:00am EST August 1, 2013

CUPERTINO, Calif., Tue Jul 2, 2013 — Apple Inc. said it plans to build a new solar farm with NV Energy Inc. for power supply to its new data center in Reno, Nevada, a major step towards its goal of having its data centers run on renewable energy.

Apple and other technology companies such as Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp, that build and run computer server farms have come under criticism for their high consumption of electricity and other resources.

These data centers cater to an explosion in Internet traffic, streaming content through mobile devices and hosting of services to corporations.

The new solar farm will provide power to Sierra Pacific Power Co.’s electric grid that serves Apple’s data center and when completed will generate about hours 43.5 million kilowatt of clean energy a year, Apple said in a statement.

Apple already runs its largest data center in the U.S. on solar power. The center in Maiden, North Carolina produces 167 million kilowatt hours, the power equivalent of 17,600 homes for one year, from a 100-acre solar farm and fuel cell installations provided by Silicon Valley startup Bloom Energy.

Apple CEO sees more ‘gamechangers’; hints at wearable devices

By: admin | 12:11pm EST May 29, 2013

SAN FRANCISCO, Wed May 29, 2013 — Apple Inc. Chief Executive Tim Cook defended the company’s record of innovation under his stewardship, saying he expected it would release “several more game changers” and hinting that wearable computers could be among them.
“It’s an area where it’s ripe for exploration,” Cook said on Tuesday at the All Things Digital conference, an annual gathering of technology and media executives in the California coastal resort town of Rancho Palos Verdes.
“It’s ripe for us all getting excited about. I think there will be tons of companies playing in this.”
His remarks come at a time when worries are mounting that the company which created the smartphone and tablet markets is ceding ground to competitors such as Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Google Inc., with a slowdown in earnings growth hitting its share price.
Cook stopped short of clarifying if Apple was working on wearable products amid speculation that it is developing a smartwatch, saying only that wearable computers had to be compelling.
He added that Google’s Glass — a cross between a mobile computer and eyeglasses that can both record video and access the Internet — is likely to have only limited appeal.
“There’s nothing that’s going to convince a kid who has never worn glasses or a band or a watch to wear one, or at least I haven’t seen it,” he said in the near one-and-a-half-hour question and answer session.
“So I think there’s lots of things to solve in this space.”

High stakes if Apple e-books antitrust case goes to trial

By: admin | 2:11pm EST February 13, 2013

NEW YORK, Wed Feb 13, 2013 — As the only remaining defendant in the U.S. government’s e-books antitrust case, Apple Inc. appears headed for a high-stakes trial that could significantly increase the personal computer company’s liability in related litigation.

Apple faces a June 3 trial date over civil allegations by the U.S. Department of Justice that it conspired with five publishers to raise the price of e-books and to fight the dominance of Amazon.com Inc.

On Friday, Macmillan became the fifth and final publisher to settle with the government. The Justice Department alleges that Apple came to agreements with each of the publishers meant to ensure that e-book prices at its iBookstore and other retailers would remain higher than those offered by Amazon.com.

At the Apple trial, to be overseen by U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan, the Justice Department will seek not monetary damages but a judicial decree that Apple violated antitrust law, court papers said.

Among other things, government lawyers want the judge to issue an order enjoining Apple from engaging in any conduct similar to that alleged in the case. Such a judgment could make Apple vulnerable to steep damages in related litigation.

Apple and the publishers also face a class-action suit filed on behalf of consumers and a similar suit filed by dozens of state attorneys general. Neither suit puts a figure on the exact amount of damages sought.

Apple’s Tim Cook meets with China Mobile chairman in Beijing

By: admin | 2:56pm EST January 10, 2013

CUPERTINO, Calif./SHANGHAI , Thu Jan 10, 2013 — Apple Inc.’s Chief Executive Tim Cook met with China Mobile’s Chairman Xi Guohua on Thursday to discuss “matters of cooperation,” a China Mobile spokesman said, raising hopes that a deal between the two tech giants may move forward.

“In the morning, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook visited China Mobile’s headquarters. China Mobile’s Chairman Xi Guohua and Tim Cook discussed matters of cooperation,” said Li Jun, a China Mobile spokesman, in an emailed statement.

No further details will be given due to a confidentiality agreement signed, the statement said.

Apple, which has deals with China Unicom and China Telecom to sell its iPhones in China, has yet to strike a deal with China Mobile, the world’s largest mobile carrier by subscribers.

Inking a deal with China Mobile will give Apple access to a massive subscriber base and help arrest the Cupertino firm’s sliding market share in the world’s biggest smartphone market.

In an interview with local media on Thursday, Cook told reporters that he is confident that China will become Apple’s largest market in the near future.

“Currently, Apple has 11 stores in the Greater China region, as well as many resellers. We will continue to expand in China and the number of retail stores we’ll have will exceed 25,” Cook was quoted as saying by news portal Sina Technology News.

Apple testing new iPhone, iOS 7, website reports

By: admin | 4:41pm EST January 2, 2013

CUPERTINO, Calif., Wed Jan 2, 2013 — Apple Inc. has started testing a new iPhone and the next version of its iOS software, news website The Next Web reported.

Apple shares were up 2.6 percent at $546.06 in premarket trading. The stock closed at $532.17 on the Nasdaq on Monday.

Application developers have found in their app usage logs references to a new iPhone identifier, iPhone 6.1, running iOS 7 operating system, the website reported.

Apple’s iPhone 5 bears the identifiers “iPhone 5.1″ and “iPhone 5.2″ and is powered by iOS 6 operating system.

Developer logs show that the app requests originate from an internet address on Apple’sCupertinocampus, suggesting that Apple engineers are testing compatibility for some of the popular apps, the website said.

“Although OS and device data can be faked, the unique IP footprint leading back to Apple’sCupertinocampus leads us to believe this is not one of those attempts,” the website said.

Apple launched iPhone 5 in September and it has been reported that the new iPhone will be released in the middle of 2013.

Google says Apple patent lawsuit dismissed

By: admin | 8:41pm EST November 5, 2012

SAN FRANCISCO, Mon Nov 5, 2012 – A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit by Apple Inc alleging that Google Inc.-owned Motorola’s patent licensing practices were unfair, Google said on Monday.

Apple had been set to square off against Motorola on Monday in a trial in U.S. District Court in Madison, Wisconsin, involving Google’s use of the library of patents it acquired along with Motorola for $12.5 billion in May.

“We’re pleased that the court has dismissed Apple’s lawsuit with prejudice,” a Google spokeswoman said in an emailed statement on Monday.

Dismissal of a case with prejudice means the case is over at the trial court level, though it can be appealed.

Apple could not immediately be reached for comment.

“Motorola has long offered licensing to our extensive patent portfolio at a reasonable and

non-discriminatory rate in line with industry standards,” Google said in its statement. “We remain interested in reaching an agreement with Apple.”

Apple sold more than 5 million iPhone 5 in first three days

By: SBN Staff | 1:42pm EST September 24, 2012

CUPERTINO, Calif., Mon Sep 24, 2012 – Apple Inc. sold more than 5 million iPhone 5 smartphones in the three days after the new device hit the marketplace on Sept. 21, the company said on Monday.

Apple said it sold out its initial supply of iPhone 5s, as demand for its latest smartphone exceeded initial supply.

While the majority of pre-orders have been shipped to customers, many are scheduled to go out in October, Apple said.

Samsung to add iPhone 5 to U.S. lawsuits vs. Apple

By: admin | 1:23pm EST September 20, 2012

SAN FRANCISCO, Thu Sep 20, 2012 – Samsung Electronics Co said on Thursday it planned to add Apple’s iPhone 5 to its existing patent lawsuits against the U.S. rival, a move that could lead to a preliminary sales injunction of the popular smartphone.

The fresh legal step by the South Korean firm comes as Apple booked orders for over two million iPhone 5 models in the first 24 hours and the model hits store shelves on Friday.

Samsung and Apple are locked in global patent battle in 10 countries and the stakes are high as the two technology giants vie for the top spot in the booming smartphone market.

Both companies are also aggressively raising marketing spending to promote their latest products ahead of the crucial year-end holiday season.

“Samsung anticipates that it will file, in the near future, a motion to amend its infringement contentions to add the iPhone 5 as an accused product,” it said in a U.S. court filing.

“Based on information currently available, Samsung expects that the iPhone 5 will infringe the asserted Samsung patents-in-suit in the same way as the other accused iPhone models.”

New iPhone boosts forecasts for Apple smartphone sales

By: admin | 1:26pm EST September 13, 2012

SAN FRANCISCO, Thu Sep 13, 2012 – Sales of Apple Inc.’s new iPhone 5 may be double those of the previous model in its first week on the market, and up to 33 million iPhones may be sold this quarter, brokerage houses forecast on Thursday.

Many expressed surprise at how quickly Apple planned to roll out the new model around the world, saying this suggested it would be able to keep up with demand for a bigger, faster and slimmer iPhone, which goes on sale this Friday.

Several analysts raised forecasts for Apple’s share price by as much as $60, to between $750 and $820. The stock closed at$669.79 on Wednesday.

“We are positively surprised that this iPhone rollout is Apple’s fastest yet,” Barclays Equity Research said in a note to clients.

Apple will continue to win sales with older models, brokerage William Blair & Co added.

“The iPhone 4 will be sold for free after subsidies, replacing the 3GS and providing a strong product to compete in the high-growth, low-end smartphone market,” William Blair said.

The brokerage raised its sales forecast for all iPhone models by 29 percent to 33 million for the July-September quarter, at the top of forecasts that ranged from about 20 million to about 30 million in brokerage notes seen by Reuters.

RBC Capital Markets said it expected Apple to ship 8 million to 10 million of the new models by the end of the month.

The brokerage said this could result in additional sales of $4 billion to $5 billion for the period. It increased its price target for the stock by $50 to $750.

The iPhone 5 sports a 4-inch “retina” display screen, can run on high-speed 4G LTE wireless networks and is 20 percent lighter than the previous iPhone 4S.

It ships on Sept. 21 in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Britain and will hit 100 countries by the end of the year in the fastest international rollout for an iPhone so far.

Barclays noted the rapid rollout as it increased its price target for Apple stock to $810 from $750.

Robert W. Baird & Co, which also raised its price target on the stock, now expects Apple to sell 24.4 million iPhones in the September quarter, up from its earlier estimate of 21.2 million.