Ed Sutherland - page 94

RIM is asking a court to permit it to hire former employees of hard-hit rival Motorola. The Canada-based handset maker claims Motorola is blocking its workers from joining the BlackBerry manufacturer.

The case revolves around a February agreement between RIM and Motorola which forbade the two companies poaching employees. RIM said the agreement expired in August and wants the court to invalidate the pact.

“RIM entities continue to grow and hire new employees within the United States and globally against a backdrop of recent public announcements by Motorola that it has and will continue to make massive layoffs,” according to the RIM lawsuit filed last week.

To combat lower handset sales, 3,000 Motorola workers were axed and the Schaumburg, Ill-based company recently announced it would cut pay and benefits.

Intel Tuesday introduced the Q9000, a 2.53 GHz quad-core chip designed to offer a cheaper alternative for notebook manufacturers. Acer becomes the first to use the $350 chip to power a product, its $1,800 Aspire 8930G-7665 for gamers.

Unlike its bigger brothers, the Q9000 sports 6MB of cache memory – half that of Intel’s Q9100 and QX9300. Intel also offers the 2.53 GHZ P8700, 2.66 GHZ P9600 and T9550, as well as the 2.93 GHz T9800.

Apple is among a number of computer makers that will use new Intel Core 2 Quad chips created for mobile PCs. Cupertino reportedly will use the new chips for an expected refresh of its line of iMac desktops, reports suggested Monday.

It didn’t take long for a French retailer to begin selling ‘unlocked’ iPhones, following a recent court ruling in that nation. FNAC Friday began selling the popular Apple handset without the usual carrier contract.

Despite the rather steep prices (an 8GB iPhone sells for the equivalent of $1,122), the FNAC offers seems to be the first to take advantage of a ruling by France’s Competition Council temporarily striking down the practice of requiring contracts tied to carriers.

Earlier this month, the competition board described Apple’s 2007 exclusive deal with France’s Orange carrier a “serious and immediate” threat to broader competition.

Besides an all-in-one design, new iMacs expected in January could sport new cooling technology for chips developed by chip giant Intel, two Asian-language publications are reporting.

Foxconn will create a “magnesium-aluminum alloy chassis,” according to the Economic Daily News. The Chinese-language pblication also claimed Foxconn’s Precision Components and Auras Technology will produce the iMac’s “cooling module.”

The news may dovetail with a previous report from DigiTimes that Apple was among a group of PC makers opting to use new quad-core processors from Intel expected to alter computer power requirements. The Core 2 Quad chips, ranging in speeds from 2.33 GHz to 2.83 GHz, require 65W rather than 55W for current iMacs, according to AppleInsider.

Apple’s iPhone now has 23 percent of the smartphone market, trimming RIM’s lead and showing signs of strong consumer demand even five months after the launch of the 3G, a new survey indicates.

The iPhone’s share of the smartphone market has more than doubled since June, when ChangeWave found the Apple handset held 11 percent of smartphone sales.

Although RIM’s BlackBerry remains leader, with 41 percent of the market between September to December, the Ontario company slipped by 1 percent.

Although some are questioning how long Steve Jobs will continue to lead Apple, the Cupertino chief executive ranks No. 2 in a list of most-like company leaders.

Jobs had a 90 percent approval rating by participants in the first-ever survey by review site Glassdoor. Jobs garnered 290 reviews, far above the 50 needed to qualify.

Art Levinson, CEO of biotech firm Genentech, was ranked No. 1 most-liked boss with 93 percent approval.

Jobs beat Eric Schmidt, CEO of Internet Google, who had 88 percent approval.

Office Depot CEO Steve Odland ranked as the least-liked CEO, obtaining just 4 percent approval from reviewers.

Add Garmin to the list of companies announcing plans to introduce Android-based handsets in 2009. Garmin said its nuvifone will link GPS features with Google Maps.

The handset is expected to be the first in a series from Garmin, according to the company’s head of Asia Pacific marketing, Tony An.

An said while the nuvifone will launch this Spring, a number of others based on Android will appear during the second half of 2009. The Garmin phones will be produced by another company, reports said Monday.

Friday, Samsung said it would launch its first Android phone in the U.S. sometime between April and June of 2009. Development of the handset has been accelerated to meet the “specific needs of local carriers,” an unnamed Samsung official told the South Korean ET News.

Palm, the down-on-its-luck Treo maker, announced Monday $100 million in new funding amid talk it will unveil new products at the January CES trade show.

In addition to the $100 million lifeline, the deal allows Palm to sell shares worth $49 million — or a 31 percent premium before April 1.

The much-needed funding comes as Palm reportedly has just two years before cash is depleted and the company is set to unveil a new handset and a smartphone operating system.

An unnamed Samsung official said the company is “accelerating” development of the handset in order to meet “specific needs of local carriers,” according to South Korean ET News.

Although few details are known, the handset may include a design similar to Samsung’s Instinct and Omnia phones, according to one report.

Steve Wozniak, Apple co-founder and designer of the Apple I and Apple II computers, has joined the advisory board of Axiotron, maker of the Modbook Mac tablet.

Wozniak “brings a network of personal and professional contacts and offers his insight into market trends,” according to an Axiotron statement.

In 1976, Wozniak cofounded Apple with Steve Jobs, now CEO of the Cupertino, Calif.-based computer-maker.

Earlier this month, Axiotron updated the tablet-based Modbook, improving its screen and dropping to 5.3 pounds the weight of the unit priced at $2,249. MacBooks can also be converted to a Modbook, using Modbook Service for $1,299.

RIM announced Thursday it sold 6.7 million BlackBerry handsets between September and November, a figure approaching Apple’s 6.9 million iPhone 3G sales.

The Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM referred to a “record” quarter that saw revenue climb 66 percent to $2.8 billion – despite an economic recession expected to slow handset demand.

RIM told analysts it is having trouble keeping pace with demand for the BlackBerry Storm, the company’s first touch-screen smart-phone.

Apple is being sued for patent infringement after a company alleges Cupertino used confidential data to launch Apple TV and other products.

EZ4Media is asking an Illinois court to grant an injunction and fine Apple for infringing on four patents on technology to stream video from a device to a television.

The company claims three employees with “confidential and proprietary information” about the patents were hired by Apple months before the computer-maker launched Apple TV, a product that streams video to home television screens.

The decision by CEO Steve Jobs to bypass a keynote speech in favor of marketing head Phil Schiller, sends “a clear message that a leadership shift is underway,” Munster wrote in a note.

This isn’t the first time onlookers have attempted to read Apple’s intentions through trade show speaker selection. In October, the inclusion of Schiller and Tim Cook prompted questions of a potential exit by Jobs.

The Apple Expo in Paris became the latest victim of Cupertino’s decision to scale back its participation in industry trade shows. The French show announced Wednesday next year’s show was cancelled.

Attendance at the 25 year-old Paris event had dwindled to 30,000 this year from a high of 90,000. Apple CEO Steve Jobs had skipped the event since 2004, when he underwent surgery for Pancreatic cancer. The trade show suffered another black eye in 2007, when Apple was unable to show the iPhone.

Tuesday Apple announced San Francisco-based Macworld Expo 2009 would be its last and that Jobs would not be keynote speaker. The company explained the move, saying trade shows had become ‘a very minor part’ of customer outreach.

Apple must end its exclusive iPhone sales agreement with France Telecom, a government agency ruled Wednesday. The 2007 deal created a “serious and immediate” threat to broader competition, according to France’s competition regulator.

The order could allow the No. 3 French carrier Bouygues Telecom SA to begin selling iPhones soon. For its part, Orange announced it would appeal the measure. The carrier said the decision puts France in a “radically different situation” than Germany, the U.S., Britain and Spain, where Apple has exclusive distribution deals.

The French Competition Council, which took up the Bouygues claim in September, said Apple’s five-year agreement with Orange was “clearly excessive.”

Treo-maker Palm has unveiled the Palm Software Store, the latest company to take a page from Apple’s successful iPhone Apps Store.

The new store allows Palm device owners to purchase and download either Windows Mobile or Palm applications directly to handsets. Palm users were required to download applications to a computer first and then transfer the software.

The Palm Software Store holds 5,000 applications.

Apple said trade shows, such as Macworld Expo, are a “very minor part” of how the company reaches customers. Instead 3.5 million Apple fans stream into Apple stores each week.

Macworld had been used as a platform to interact with developers and a way to talk to the press. However, Apple has created its own developer conferences and spread product announcement throughout the year to guarantee almost continuous press attention.

“So why pay IDG and be subject to its event requirements,” asked Apple analyst Avi Greengart of Current Analysis. “This will definitely weaken Macworld going forward.”

There may be a silver lining in Apple’s announcement it won’t attend future Macworld Expo trade shows. Despite the downgrades and talk of CEO succession planning, one analyst says Apple can only benefit from Tuesday’s decision.

“I see this as a major boon for investors, rather than a bust,” independent Apple analyst Andy Zaky said in an e-mail to Cult of Mac.

Only traders wishing to manipulate Apple stock through rumors and speculation could be hurt, according to Zaky.

Since 2007, Macworld events have seen “massive selling in Apple’s stock,” he said. In fact, every Apple media event has resulted in a drop in stock prices.

Despite Apple’s attempt to convince investors otherwise, Oppenheimer & Co. told clients new questions about CEO Steve Jobs’ health made the Cupertino, Calif. company a risky long-term bet.

The investment house downgraded Apple’s stock to “perform” from “outperform” following Tuesday’s announcement Jobs would not appear as keynote speaker at the Macworld 2009 tradeshow – the last year Apple would attend the annual event.

“Whatever the reason, the unexpected announcement has underscored the greatest risk to Apple’s long-term success — its dependence on Jobs’ health and its apparent lack of a succession plan,” analyst Yair Reiner wrote investors.

Nearly 70 percent of companies say they will permit employees to use Macs in the workplace – double the number just 8 months ago, a survey found.

Macs “could very well represent a viable alternative to PCs” in companies, Laura DiDio, principal analyst of the Boston-based Information Technology Intelligence Corporation.

A survey of businesses found the top reason was the “consumerization of IT,” followed by the increased availability of Windows applications through Boot Camp and other virtualization.

Amazon MP3, the DRM-free digital music store, is far from a rival to Apple’s iTunes, claims a Tuesday report. The MP3 arm of online retail giant Amazon.com has only 5 percent to 10 percent of the market, compared to more than 70 percent for iTunes, according to All Things Digital.

The report’s estimate cited an unnamed label executive.

The one year-old MP3 store “has failed miserably” as a rival to iTunes, Peter Kafka wrote. Amazon earned $39 million on $82 million in sales – the bulk going to Universal Music Group, the report suggested.

The faltering economy has caught up with Mac desktop sales. Sales of Apple desktop computers fell 38 percent in November, according to retail research firm NPD.

The figure compares to a 15 percent drop in U.S. sales of Windows desktop PCs and a 20 percent domestic cut for overall desktop sales during the past month.

Mac U.S. sales were flat in November, falling 1 percent as PC sales grew 2 percent, according to NPD. The numbers appear to reflect a consumer spending tightening and Apple’s reluctance to shift from premium prices.

Apple will unveil two netbooks at the upcoming Macworld Expo in response to the gloomy economy, an analyst predicted Tuesday. The devices would likely follow the path of iPhones’ dependence on the App Store and iTunes.

Ezra Gottheil, analyst with Technology Business Research Inc., believe Apple will introduce two low-priced computers at the January tradeshow, according to Computerworld Tuesday. The crumbling economy and growing consumer interest in netbooks is cited as spurring expected decision.

“It looks like netbooks are real, and getting a certain amount of traction,” the analyst told the publication. The netbook category grew 160 percent during the third quarter, DisplayResearch announced last week. Apple was described as the “lone exception” to computer makers entering the segment.

In a nod to reality, Apple Monday began listing worldwide carriers offering ‘unlocked’ iPhones. Just a year ago, Apple CEO Steve Jobs described the struggle between hackers and Cupertino as a “cat-and-mouse game.”

Now the Apple Website includes “Carrier offers authorized unlocking” on a support page.

Nearly 40 of the 105 countries listed offer unlocked iPhones. However, some handsets are unlocked through just one carrier.

The iPhone nano is back. The vaporware – part handset, part iPod – has re-emerged more than a year after first speculation. The newest iteration comes from China.

The latest rumor is that iDealsChina is producing a case for the unnamed product that supposedly will be unveiled at Macworld in January.

The Chinese company, which MacRumors says has “a very mixed track record” when it comes to leaking news of actual products, notes the case’s dimensions “have the same height as the just release Nano but wider and thicker and with the same iPhone 3G contours.”