Apple Inc. - page 116

We told you yesterday that Apple had allegedly lost a next gen iPhone prototype in a San Franciscan tequila bar. Through a string of events, it was uncovered that Apple had purportedly tracked the prototype device to an apartment in Bernal Heights and sent a private security team on a recovery mission.

The San Francisco Police originally said that it had no knowledge of such an investigation, and it was believed that Apple’s security team could have posed as police for the purpose of searching the apartment of Sergio Calderón. Now, the SFPD is saying that officers did in fact help Apple in the attempt to recover the mysterious iPhone prototype.

AT&T expected it would have more time to argue its case for the $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA. However, just one hour after CEO Randall Stephenson expressed confidence the buyout would be approved in early 2012, Justice Department lawyers announced an antitrust lawsuit blocking the deal.

If its Friday, it must mean another headline-grabbing patent lawsuit against Apple. Wi-LAN, which has a penchant for patent dustups with high-profile tech companies, is suing Apple over Wi-Fi and other wireless transmission technology.

Eddie Cue, who helped create iTunes and the App Store, now will lead Apple’s push into online ads and iCloud, the tech giant announced Thursday. As senior vice president of Internet Software & Services, Cue reports directly to Tim Cook, who assumed the CEO post following Steve Jobs’ exit.

If you are already sick of the two U.S. political parties slugging it out for voters’ attention, get ready for a political drama closer to home: your smartphone. Yes, Apple and Android’s Google want you – specifically the ‘undecided’ amongst consumers yet to decide which smartphone to buy.

Apple could sell 20 million iPad 2 tablets the next quarter, more than doubling last quarter’s 9.25 million iPads snapped up by consumers. According to an industry publication, the tech giant may sell 25.5 million iPads during the second half of 2011, a 76 percent increase over the first half of this year.

Playhaven CEO Andy Yang calls it the ‘ranking roller-coaster,’ a lengthy process of app introduction and updates that can turn a hot download into an also-ran in the span of a few months – the time it takes for game developers to get slightly new versions through the Apple App Store. Yang thinks he’s found a way to shorten the app update process from three months to three minutes.

One of the most memorable ads of the Think Different campaign was Crazy Ones, Apple’s tribute to the rebels, the troublemakers, the ones who see things differently. And the ones who change the world.

In honor of Steve Jobs stepping down as CEO, AdWeek has released a revision to this heroes tribute.

When HP killed its TouchPad, dropping the price to $99, the PC maker set off a firestorm of interest in the tablet that nobody previously wanted. Now HP said it will restart manufacturing for a limited time to meet what it says is “unfulfilled demand.”

Chinese environmental activists are threatening to tarnish Apple’s image unless the tech giant reduces the amount of pollution coming from suppliers in this populous country. Five non-governmental organizations Wednesday released a report charging Apple uses suppliers which take “advantage of the loopholes in developing countries’ environmental management systems.”

Apple is reportedly working on a brand new new online diagnostics tool that could solve problems with your iOS device through your mobile Safari browser — saving you a trip to your local Apple store.

Remember that cool MacBook Pro with built-in 3G that one lucky surfer picked up on Craigslist? It got a lot of attention a couple weeks ago when it was listed on eBay, with bids in excess of $70,000. Unfortunately for its owner, Apple had the listing removed, and now it wants the machine back.

Apple released iTunes Match to registered developers last night, and many have been playing with the cloud service since then to figure out how it really works. We then showed you a video that demoed how Apple lets you “stream” music.

As it turns out, iTunes Match doesn’t actually ‘stream’ music in the purest sense of the word. Instead, Apple lets you download music on the fly, which basically means that you’re still locally storing songs on your device.

What have Apple and erectile-dysfunction drug Viagra got in common? They are both wildly-popular and hot items on the Chinese counterfeiting circuit. Little wonder then, that the iPhone maker hired the head of drug-maker Pfizer security to root out fake smartphones and tablets in China.

iEmu is a Kickstarter project from Chris Wade — one of the guy’s behind the first iPhone jailbreak — and his team, which is aiming to emulate iOS applications on Android, Mac and Windows devices. But is it really possible?

The HP TouchPad, which the company killed last week due to few sales and retailer rejections, might live again if the firm spins-off its PC manufacturing business, an executive in China said Tuesday.

For several weeks, rumors surrounding Apple’s iPhone announcement this fall have mentioned two devices: the iPhone 5, and the iPhone 4S. While we’re all expecting the iPhone 5 to look different, boast a thinner form factor, and have updated components; the iPhone 4S is expected to look just like the iPhone 4, but could be a cheaper ‘budget’ device.

The latest components sporting that famous ‘N94’ moniker seem to strengthen those claims of a budget iPhone 4.

We’ve seen Mac sales soar amid a flat PC market. Now its the iPad’s turn. Apple is expected to see back-to-back quarterly growth of tablet sales in September and December nearing 20 percent as rivals are rejected by consumers and clothes-lined by the courts.

When Apple announced iTunes Match at WWDC back in June, it was a little unclear whether the service would allow you to stream your music library to your iOS devices as opposed to storing it locally — allowing you to access your tracks without actually taking up any of your precious storage space.

Following the launch of the iTunes Match developer beta yesterday, it has been confirmed that streaming is possible with Apple’s upcoming $25/year service.

We recently told you that famous jailbreak hacker Comex had been hired by Apple. Comex, who’s real name is Nicholas Allegra, is known for creating the easiest and most user friendly jailbreak for iOS devices called JailbreakMe.

Comex was recently profiled by Forbes, but besides that one interview, he has declined to comment about the status of JailbreakMe and his new internship at Apple. Well, that is.. until now.

In one of those rare Cumbaya moments in the wild-and-wooly wireless industry, Samsung wants all Apple, Android, and BlackBerry to join hands in messaging togetherness. Okay, moment’s over. Samsung, which is locked in a legal mud-wrestling match with Apple and eyes BlackBerry-maker RIM the way a hungry tiger looks at a wounded gazelle, plans to announce “ChatON”, a messaging service compatible with all major mobile handsets.

Nobody can deny new Apple CEO Tim Cook is a business wunderkind. While co-founder Steve Jobs was out on temporary sick-leave (now made permanent), Cook repeatedly churned out record sales and profit. But some believe Cook will need help getting the ‘vision thing’ that was second-nature for Jobs.

In the news business, it’s called a non-denial denial. For the rest of us, it is just the latest indication we’re just months from having the iPhone 5 available on all major U.S. wireless carriers. Sprint is instructing employees to say “no comment” the latest Apple handset is coming to the carrier this fall.

A report from DigiTimes today dismisses rumors that Apple’s iPhone 5 will look identical to the iPhone 4, claiming it will instead have an iPod touch-like rear metal chassis with a 3.5 to 3.7-inch display.

Before he stepped down from the position of CEO last week, we can only imagine how busy Steve Jobs was while in charge of the greatest company in the world. But now he’s not so busy, what will he do with all this free time?

Call Tim Cook a lot, it seems.