Apple pushing for e-book trial, deems DoJ settlement with publishers unlawful

As you know, the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) in April filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple and five publishers for alleged price fixing related to digital books. Though the Government proposed a settlement with Hachette SA, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster, Apple is now calling that deal “fundamentally unfair, unlawful, and unprecedented”, arguing that litigation is needed.

Claiming the Government has “unwittingly placed a thumb on the scales in favor of Amazon”, Apple says that the proposed settlement would “terminate and rewrite Apple’s bargained-for contracts” before the company has a chance to defend itself

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iOS devices could gain NFC and fingerprint sensors from AuthenTec

Apple’s unexpected $356 million acquisition of mobile security and smart sensors experts AuthenTec was finalized with an unusual urgency as the transaction will likely result in future iOS devices getting advanced built-in fingerprint and NFC sensors. Furthermore, it would seem Apple’s offer to AuthenTec even included an IP agreement giving Apple rights to use AuthenTec’s patents on an exclusive basis and even license them out to third-parties

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Samsung designer: work on Galaxy Tab 10.1 preceded iPad unveiling

Today, Samsung’s new 10-inch Galaxy Note tablet goes on sale in the United States, priced at $499/$549 for the 16/32GB version. The device comes with a stylus and has some interesting multitasking functionality. Samsung also has another 10.1-inch tablet, the Galaxy Tab. The device sports more traditional design akin to iPad and as such has caused contention between Samsung and Apple, resulting in Apple’s copycat accusations.

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Sharp confirms display shipments for iPhone 5

Sharp president Takashi Okuda today confirmed to Reuters that his company will begin shipping displays for Apple’s sixth-generation iPhone this month. This is the first time to my knowledge that a major supplier officially confirmed an unreleased Apple product, even if he didn’t give a more specific date for shipments beyond this month. The panels will be four inches corner to corner, 30 percent bigger than current iPhones, sources told the news gathering organization…

Okuda told Reuters:

Shipments will start in August,” Sharp’s new president, Takashi Okuda, said at a press briefing in Tokyo on Thursday after the company released its latest quarterly earnings.

The report notes that Sharp will be delivering in-cell panels, in line with earlier reports:

The iPhone screens will also be thinner than their previous incarnations with the use of so-called in-cell panels. The new technology embeds touch sensors into the liquid crystal display, eliminating the touch-screen layer found in current iPhones.

In addition to Sharp, the other two suppliers of the panels are LG Display and Japan Display, the report has it. The story also states that the next iPhone will be released in October:

Japan’s Sharp Corp. said it will start shipping screens destined for a new Apple iPhone that is widely expected to be released in October ahead of the pre-Christmas shopping season.

This contradicts claims by Bloomberg, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and others that Apple will be holding a media event on September 12 to talk iPhone 5, with release date pinpointed to September 21.

The confirmation is also surprising given Tim Cook’s acknowledgment at the D10 conference that Apple would absolutely double down on security to prevent leaks and hints about upcoming products from hitting headlines.

Another report from today cited a Display Search analyst who estimated that panel production for a rumored mini iPad will commence later this month, with production ramping up to more than a million units per month in the fourth quarter.



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Rumor: iPad mini display production to start this month

Alongside the new iPhone that everyone keeps talking about, Apple’s other big announcement this fall is expected to be a smaller tablet. Dubbed the “iPad mini,” by the media, the slate is believed to house a 7.85-inch screen and fall in the $200 price range.

Although there’s no actual evidence that such a product exists, it’s been confirmed by a number different news outlets. In fact, a new report is out this evening claiming that Apple is set to start production on the smaller tablet’s display sometime this month…

Citing an analyst, CNET reports:

“We expect panel production to start in August, with production ramping up to high volumes (more than a million units per month) in the fourth quarter,” said Paul Semenza, an analyst at NPD DisplaySearch, in response to an e-mail query.

Semenza said this is Display Search’s “understanding of the activity for the 7.85 [inch] panel expected to be used in the iPad Mini.” If this production schedule plays out, it could indicate a late 2012 launch, he said.”

Interestingly enough, this echoes recent reports that put the iPad mini’s release sometime in the last quarter of this year. We’ve heard it could launch as early as September 21st, along with the new iPhone, or as late as November.

But release date aside, Apple is expected to show off the tablet at a media event in the second week of September. It’s said to have a 7.85-inch, 1024×768 display, an extremely thin profile, and a price tag under $300.

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