Apple, Samsung outdo Nokia in smartphone sales

Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co zoomed to the top of the list of global smartphone makers in the second quarter, blowing past Nokia Corp and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd.

South Korea's Samsung made the biggest jump, from No 4 in the first quarter to No 2 in the second, on the strength of its Galaxy phones, which run Google Inc's Android software.

It sold 17.3 million smartphones in the second quarter, up from 10.8 million in the first, according to research firm IDC.

Apple rose to No 1, taking the spot from Nokia, by selling 20.3 million iPhones, up from 18.7 million in the first quarter.

That relegated Finland's Nokia, the long-time leader, to third place. Apple has yet to top Nokia's high-water mark of 28.1 million phones in a quarter.

"But given Apple's momentum in the smartphone market, it may not be a question of whether Apple will beat that milestone, but when," IDC said.

Remarkably, Apple's sales record comes nearly a year after it released its latest model, the iPhone 4, and it's still selling millions of the even older iPhone 3GS. Competitors such as Samsung put out new models every few months.

Nokia sold 16.7 million smartphones, a sharp drop from 24.2 million in the previous quarter. The company has struggled to come up with an answer to the iPhone.

Nokia is now transitioning to smartphone software from Microsoft Corp, but it's first Windows Phones won't be on sale until late this year, at the earliest.

Canada's RIM fell from third to fourth place, as it saw a decline in BlackBerry sales from the first quarter to the second.

Like Nokia, it has been struggling to update the high end of its line to compete with touchscreen phones such as the iPhone. It unveiled five new models with updated software this week.

HTC Corp of Taiwan remained in fifth place, but it's seeing rapidly growing sales. Like Samsung, it has bet on Google's Android software for its phones.

Apple, Samsung outdo Nokia in smartphone sales

Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co zoomed to the top of the list of global smartphone makers in the second quarter, blowing past Nokia Corp and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd.

South Korea's Samsung made the biggest jump, from No 4 in the first quarter to No 2 in the second, on the strength of its Galaxy phones, which run Google Inc's Android software.

It sold 17.3 million smartphones in the second quarter, up from 10.8 million in the first, according to research firm IDC.

Apple rose to No 1, taking the spot from Nokia, by selling 20.3 million iPhones, up from 18.7 million in the first quarter.

That relegated Finland's Nokia, the long-time leader, to third place. Apple has yet to top Nokia's high-water mark of 28.1 million phones in a quarter.

"But given Apple's momentum in the smartphone market, it may not be a question of whether Apple will beat that milestone, but when," IDC said.

Remarkably, Apple's sales record comes nearly a year after it released its latest model, the iPhone 4, and it's still selling millions of the even older iPhone 3GS. Competitors such as Samsung put out new models every few months.

Nokia sold 16.7 million smartphones, a sharp drop from 24.2 million in the previous quarter. The company has struggled to come up with an answer to the iPhone.

Nokia is now transitioning to smartphone software from Microsoft Corp, but it's first Windows Phones won't be on sale until late this year, at the earliest.

Canada's RIM fell from third to fourth place, as it saw a decline in BlackBerry sales from the first quarter to the second.

Like Nokia, it has been struggling to update the high end of its line to compete with touchscreen phones such as the iPhone. It unveiled five new models with updated software this week.

HTC Corp of Taiwan remained in fifth place, but it's seeing rapidly growing sales. Like Samsung, it has bet on Google's Android software for its phones.

Apple, Samsung outdo Nokia in smartphone sales

Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co zoomed to the top of the list of global smartphone makers in the second quarter, blowing past Nokia Corp and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd.

South Korea's Samsung made the biggest jump, from No 4 in the first quarter to No 2 in the second, on the strength of its Galaxy phones, which run Google Inc's Android software.

It sold 17.3 million smartphones in the second quarter, up from 10.8 million in the first, according to research firm IDC.

Apple rose to No 1, taking the spot from Nokia, by selling 20.3 million iPhones, up from 18.7 million in the first quarter.

That relegated Finland's Nokia, the long-time leader, to third place. Apple has yet to top Nokia's high-water mark of 28.1 million phones in a quarter.

"But given Apple's momentum in the smartphone market, it may not be a question of whether Apple will beat that milestone, but when," IDC said.

Remarkably, Apple's sales record comes nearly a year after it released its latest model, the iPhone 4, and it's still selling millions of the even older iPhone 3GS. Competitors such as Samsung put out new models every few months.

Nokia sold 16.7 million smartphones, a sharp drop from 24.2 million in the previous quarter. The company has struggled to come up with an answer to the iPhone.

Nokia is now transitioning to smartphone software from Microsoft Corp, but it's first Windows Phones won't be on sale until late this year, at the earliest.

Canada's RIM fell from third to fourth place, as it saw a decline in BlackBerry sales from the first quarter to the second.

Like Nokia, it has been struggling to update the high end of its line to compete with touchscreen phones such as the iPhone. It unveiled five new models with updated software this week.

HTC Corp of Taiwan remained in fifth place, but it's seeing rapidly growing sales. Like Samsung, it has bet on Google's Android software for its phones.

Quick review of New MacBook Air

The latest model of Apple's ultra-light MacBook Air is scheduled to hit the market by the end of this month, media in the computer manufacturing hub of Taiwan reported.

The first shipment of the next-generation MacBook Air - the thinnest line of Apple's notebook computers, shorn of a hard drive and optical disc player - will be 380,000 units, the Taipei-based Economic Daily News said.

An 11.6in model will account for 55% of the units in the first batch, and a 13.3in model the rest, according to the paper.

It said that about 90% of MacBook Airs would be assembled by Taiwan's Quanta Computer, a leading contract computer manufacturer

Quick review of New MacBook Air

The latest model of Apple's ultra-light MacBook Air is scheduled to hit the market by the end of this month, media in the computer manufacturing hub of Taiwan reported.

The first shipment of the next-generation MacBook Air - the thinnest line of Apple's notebook computers, shorn of a hard drive and optical disc player - will be 380,000 units, the Taipei-based Economic Daily News said.

An 11.6in model will account for 55% of the units in the first batch, and a 13.3in model the rest, according to the paper.

It said that about 90% of MacBook Airs would be assembled by Taiwan's Quanta Computer, a leading contract computer manufacturer

Quick review of New MacBook Air

The latest model of Apple's ultra-light MacBook Air is scheduled to hit the market by the end of this month, media in the computer manufacturing hub of Taiwan reported.

The first shipment of the next-generation MacBook Air - the thinnest line of Apple's notebook computers, shorn of a hard drive and optical disc player - will be 380,000 units, the Taipei-based Economic Daily News said.

An 11.6in model will account for 55% of the units in the first batch, and a 13.3in model the rest, according to the paper.

It said that about 90% of MacBook Airs would be assembled by Taiwan's Quanta Computer, a leading contract computer manufacturer

What is iCloud ?

A cloud is actually just one cloud. It is the cloud (sometimes even seen with a capital C). As one wry observer put it recently on Twitter, the cloud is basically a fancy term for the Internet. It’s the space up out there in the ether that doesn’t exist on your computer or your mobile phone but on some mega servers stored in undergroud, climate controlled conditions in places like Texas with more real estate than fertile land.

So, when Steve Jobs talks about iCloud, he means a space waiting on Apple’s servers for you to use as you will; somewhere to store files, back them up or actually just use as a bridge between all your devices.




What can I put on iCloud
Well, it’s not quite as simple as that. iCloud isn’t just a free locker of space for you to bung in all your gubbins until you have to lean on it to get it closed. It’s not like that at all. It’s more about having a space available for nine of your apps to automatically work with, without you having to bother, manage or organise the toings and froings of pretty much any of it.

Which apps ?
Good question. These are they - Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Photo Stream, Backup, iTunes, Books, Apps and Documents in the Cloud (Keynote, Pages & Number - commonly known as iWork). That’s your lot.

And what do they do?
Sync, largely.

Sync...?
As in “synchronize”. The crux of it is this. You have a phone. You also have a computer. You might even have another computer, and maybe even a tablet and it’s what’s technically known as a massive ball ache when you have to get cables out and start shifting files you’ve bought or downloaded from one to the other.

Instead, iCloud works with those apps so that anything you have on one of them, you’ll be able to call down onto another device over the air. No cables. So long as you have a Wi-Fi or 3G connection.

Documents in the Cloud

It works in slightly different ways for each of them. For your iWork, any documents you’re working on automatically save up to your iCloud space as you’re editing them. Turn on another device in your collection and your iCloud will then push down these files and save any changes you make to them before getting synchronised again across all the devices you own via the iCloud once more. Capiche?

Contacts, Calendar & Mail

It’s a similar story with Contacts and Calendar. Any dates and meetings you add in, remove or edit; any new people whose details you take; all of this will be sent up to the iCloud automatically and synchronised across all your devices - laptops, tablets, phones etc - so long as they support iCloud, of course. As for Mail, what you send, receive, draft and delete will match up across the board too.

Music, Books & Apps

It’s slightly different with Music, Books and Apps. You might not necessarily want all of your music synced up on all of your devices. You might have some massive collection on your laptop and not enough space for it on your phone. So, instead, iCloud will sync the fact that you own these files by listing them on all of your devices but not actually hosting them.

Next to them on the lists, you’ll see a cloud symbol. Tap on that symbol and it will pull down the entire book, song or app for you to use on that device. If this seems a pain for music, you can select to automatically download any track bought on any other piece of kit that you own.

Camera Roll

Your Camera Roll is a slightly different kettle of fish. Naturally, videos and photos that you take on your iPhone and iPad are quite big, so to sync every single one and keep it up there in the iCloud space and on all your devices could be a bit of a storage issue. So instead, iCloud will keep hold of and push out your last 1,000 shots. That means you can have your last 1,000 iOS device taken snaps and vids with you on your laptop, phone, tablet and even Apple TV wherever you are.

iCloud will store new photos for 30 days before forgetting about them and not pushing them out any more. They will still exist on the device you took them on and on any other if you remove them from the iCloud synchronised album that they turned up in. On a Mac, that’s a specific album in iPhoto and on a PC it’s a folder in Pictures.

Backup

Last of all is the Backup app. Backup saves your device settings, app data, SMS and MMS messages, ringtones, home screen and app organisation as well as the files from your iOS device into the iCloud space. Should you change phones or tablets, you can call it all down automatically without having to set everything up from scratch again along with your apps, books and music.

Is that it?
Not quite. There's also the small matter of iTunes Match. iTunes Match is a service where the iCloud computers can scan your iTunes library and detect not only music that you’ve bought from the iTunes Store but also tracks you’ve got from elsewhere and added yourself.

Anything that you’ve got that is also sold in the 18 million track-strong iTunes Store is automatically accessible on any of your other Apple devices in the same way as your iTunes bought music, and that's without having to upload it. Any song it can’t match, however, it will upload to your iCloud for you.

The idea behind this is to save you having to spend weeks uploading your massive personal music library as well as saving Apple storage space at the other end.

All the music that you pull down from the iCloud onto your devices will come in as a non-DRM AAC file at 256kbps bitrate regardless of the type or quality of the original file that it matched from your machine. Great if you have a bunch of shoddy, badly compressed tunes. Not so good if own some superstar FLACs.

How much space do I have?
The short answer is 5GB, but it’s not as simple as that. Your music, photos and videos, books and apps don’t take away from that. It’s really just for your Mail, Docs and Backup preferences and it should be plenty for the average user.

Which devices does iCloud work on?
You can sync with iCloud on your iPhone (3GS & 4), iPod touch (3rd & 4th gen), iPad (1 or 2), Mac (OS X Lion), and even Windows PC (Vista and Win 7) to an extent too, as well as your Apple TV - again to a degree.

When is iCloud available?
Some of the features are available now but you’ll have to wait for Autumn 2011 for the lot. Those available in beta are - Books, Apps and Music but without iTunes Match. You’ll need iOS 4.3.1 running on your devices and iTunes 10.3. The arrival of iOS 5 will bring the rest.

How much does it cost?
All of the iCloud features apart from iTunes Match are absolutely free. Match will set you back $24.99 per year but that’s for as many songs as you own to a limit of 25,000, not including those purchased from the iTunes Store.

What about MobileMe?
MobileMe is no more. It’s done. Finished. The three apps it represented - Mail, Calendar and Contacts - have all now been re-written from the ground up and subsumed into the larger iCloud set up, and the idea of MobileMe as a $99 per year paid for has been service thrown out onto the streets as one of Apple’s few mistakes. Bereft of life, it rests in peace.

What is iCloud ?

A cloud is actually just one cloud. It is the cloud (sometimes even seen with a capital C). As one wry observer put it recently on Twitter, the cloud is basically a fancy term for the Internet. It’s the space up out there in the ether that doesn’t exist on your computer or your mobile phone but on some mega servers stored in undergroud, climate controlled conditions in places like Texas with more real estate than fertile land.

So, when Steve Jobs talks about iCloud, he means a space waiting on Apple’s servers for you to use as you will; somewhere to store files, back them up or actually just use as a bridge between all your devices.




What can I put on iCloud
Well, it’s not quite as simple as that. iCloud isn’t just a free locker of space for you to bung in all your gubbins until you have to lean on it to get it closed. It’s not like that at all. It’s more about having a space available for nine of your apps to automatically work with, without you having to bother, manage or organise the toings and froings of pretty much any of it.

Which apps ?
Good question. These are they - Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Photo Stream, Backup, iTunes, Books, Apps and Documents in the Cloud (Keynote, Pages & Number - commonly known as iWork). That’s your lot.

And what do they do?
Sync, largely.

Sync...?
As in “synchronize”. The crux of it is this. You have a phone. You also have a computer. You might even have another computer, and maybe even a tablet and it’s what’s technically known as a massive ball ache when you have to get cables out and start shifting files you’ve bought or downloaded from one to the other.

Instead, iCloud works with those apps so that anything you have on one of them, you’ll be able to call down onto another device over the air. No cables. So long as you have a Wi-Fi or 3G connection.

Documents in the Cloud

It works in slightly different ways for each of them. For your iWork, any documents you’re working on automatically save up to your iCloud space as you’re editing them. Turn on another device in your collection and your iCloud will then push down these files and save any changes you make to them before getting synchronised again across all the devices you own via the iCloud once more. Capiche?

Contacts, Calendar & Mail

It’s a similar story with Contacts and Calendar. Any dates and meetings you add in, remove or edit; any new people whose details you take; all of this will be sent up to the iCloud automatically and synchronised across all your devices - laptops, tablets, phones etc - so long as they support iCloud, of course. As for Mail, what you send, receive, draft and delete will match up across the board too.

Music, Books & Apps

It’s slightly different with Music, Books and Apps. You might not necessarily want all of your music synced up on all of your devices. You might have some massive collection on your laptop and not enough space for it on your phone. So, instead, iCloud will sync the fact that you own these files by listing them on all of your devices but not actually hosting them.

Next to them on the lists, you’ll see a cloud symbol. Tap on that symbol and it will pull down the entire book, song or app for you to use on that device. If this seems a pain for music, you can select to automatically download any track bought on any other piece of kit that you own.

Camera Roll

Your Camera Roll is a slightly different kettle of fish. Naturally, videos and photos that you take on your iPhone and iPad are quite big, so to sync every single one and keep it up there in the iCloud space and on all your devices could be a bit of a storage issue. So instead, iCloud will keep hold of and push out your last 1,000 shots. That means you can have your last 1,000 iOS device taken snaps and vids with you on your laptop, phone, tablet and even Apple TV wherever you are.

iCloud will store new photos for 30 days before forgetting about them and not pushing them out any more. They will still exist on the device you took them on and on any other if you remove them from the iCloud synchronised album that they turned up in. On a Mac, that’s a specific album in iPhoto and on a PC it’s a folder in Pictures.

Backup

Last of all is the Backup app. Backup saves your device settings, app data, SMS and MMS messages, ringtones, home screen and app organisation as well as the files from your iOS device into the iCloud space. Should you change phones or tablets, you can call it all down automatically without having to set everything up from scratch again along with your apps, books and music.

Is that it?
Not quite. There's also the small matter of iTunes Match. iTunes Match is a service where the iCloud computers can scan your iTunes library and detect not only music that you’ve bought from the iTunes Store but also tracks you’ve got from elsewhere and added yourself.

Anything that you’ve got that is also sold in the 18 million track-strong iTunes Store is automatically accessible on any of your other Apple devices in the same way as your iTunes bought music, and that's without having to upload it. Any song it can’t match, however, it will upload to your iCloud for you.

The idea behind this is to save you having to spend weeks uploading your massive personal music library as well as saving Apple storage space at the other end.

All the music that you pull down from the iCloud onto your devices will come in as a non-DRM AAC file at 256kbps bitrate regardless of the type or quality of the original file that it matched from your machine. Great if you have a bunch of shoddy, badly compressed tunes. Not so good if own some superstar FLACs.

How much space do I have?
The short answer is 5GB, but it’s not as simple as that. Your music, photos and videos, books and apps don’t take away from that. It’s really just for your Mail, Docs and Backup preferences and it should be plenty for the average user.

Which devices does iCloud work on?
You can sync with iCloud on your iPhone (3GS & 4), iPod touch (3rd & 4th gen), iPad (1 or 2), Mac (OS X Lion), and even Windows PC (Vista and Win 7) to an extent too, as well as your Apple TV - again to a degree.

When is iCloud available?
Some of the features are available now but you’ll have to wait for Autumn 2011 for the lot. Those available in beta are - Books, Apps and Music but without iTunes Match. You’ll need iOS 4.3.1 running on your devices and iTunes 10.3. The arrival of iOS 5 will bring the rest.

How much does it cost?
All of the iCloud features apart from iTunes Match are absolutely free. Match will set you back $24.99 per year but that’s for as many songs as you own to a limit of 25,000, not including those purchased from the iTunes Store.

What about MobileMe?
MobileMe is no more. It’s done. Finished. The three apps it represented - Mail, Calendar and Contacts - have all now been re-written from the ground up and subsumed into the larger iCloud set up, and the idea of MobileMe as a $99 per year paid for has been service thrown out onto the streets as one of Apple’s few mistakes. Bereft of life, it rests in peace.

What is iCloud ?

A cloud is actually just one cloud. It is the cloud (sometimes even seen with a capital C). As one wry observer put it recently on Twitter, the cloud is basically a fancy term for the Internet. It’s the space up out there in the ether that doesn’t exist on your computer or your mobile phone but on some mega servers stored in undergroud, climate controlled conditions in places like Texas with more real estate than fertile land.

So, when Steve Jobs talks about iCloud, he means a space waiting on Apple’s servers for you to use as you will; somewhere to store files, back them up or actually just use as a bridge between all your devices.




What can I put on iCloud
Well, it’s not quite as simple as that. iCloud isn’t just a free locker of space for you to bung in all your gubbins until you have to lean on it to get it closed. It’s not like that at all. It’s more about having a space available for nine of your apps to automatically work with, without you having to bother, manage or organise the toings and froings of pretty much any of it.

Which apps ?
Good question. These are they - Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Photo Stream, Backup, iTunes, Books, Apps and Documents in the Cloud (Keynote, Pages & Number - commonly known as iWork). That’s your lot.

And what do they do?
Sync, largely.

Sync...?
As in “synchronize”. The crux of it is this. You have a phone. You also have a computer. You might even have another computer, and maybe even a tablet and it’s what’s technically known as a massive ball ache when you have to get cables out and start shifting files you’ve bought or downloaded from one to the other.

Instead, iCloud works with those apps so that anything you have on one of them, you’ll be able to call down onto another device over the air. No cables. So long as you have a Wi-Fi or 3G connection.

Documents in the Cloud

It works in slightly different ways for each of them. For your iWork, any documents you’re working on automatically save up to your iCloud space as you’re editing them. Turn on another device in your collection and your iCloud will then push down these files and save any changes you make to them before getting synchronised again across all the devices you own via the iCloud once more. Capiche?

Contacts, Calendar & Mail

It’s a similar story with Contacts and Calendar. Any dates and meetings you add in, remove or edit; any new people whose details you take; all of this will be sent up to the iCloud automatically and synchronised across all your devices - laptops, tablets, phones etc - so long as they support iCloud, of course. As for Mail, what you send, receive, draft and delete will match up across the board too.

Music, Books & Apps

It’s slightly different with Music, Books and Apps. You might not necessarily want all of your music synced up on all of your devices. You might have some massive collection on your laptop and not enough space for it on your phone. So, instead, iCloud will sync the fact that you own these files by listing them on all of your devices but not actually hosting them.

Next to them on the lists, you’ll see a cloud symbol. Tap on that symbol and it will pull down the entire book, song or app for you to use on that device. If this seems a pain for music, you can select to automatically download any track bought on any other piece of kit that you own.

Camera Roll

Your Camera Roll is a slightly different kettle of fish. Naturally, videos and photos that you take on your iPhone and iPad are quite big, so to sync every single one and keep it up there in the iCloud space and on all your devices could be a bit of a storage issue. So instead, iCloud will keep hold of and push out your last 1,000 shots. That means you can have your last 1,000 iOS device taken snaps and vids with you on your laptop, phone, tablet and even Apple TV wherever you are.

iCloud will store new photos for 30 days before forgetting about them and not pushing them out any more. They will still exist on the device you took them on and on any other if you remove them from the iCloud synchronised album that they turned up in. On a Mac, that’s a specific album in iPhoto and on a PC it’s a folder in Pictures.

Backup

Last of all is the Backup app. Backup saves your device settings, app data, SMS and MMS messages, ringtones, home screen and app organisation as well as the files from your iOS device into the iCloud space. Should you change phones or tablets, you can call it all down automatically without having to set everything up from scratch again along with your apps, books and music.

Is that it?
Not quite. There's also the small matter of iTunes Match. iTunes Match is a service where the iCloud computers can scan your iTunes library and detect not only music that you’ve bought from the iTunes Store but also tracks you’ve got from elsewhere and added yourself.

Anything that you’ve got that is also sold in the 18 million track-strong iTunes Store is automatically accessible on any of your other Apple devices in the same way as your iTunes bought music, and that's without having to upload it. Any song it can’t match, however, it will upload to your iCloud for you.

The idea behind this is to save you having to spend weeks uploading your massive personal music library as well as saving Apple storage space at the other end.

All the music that you pull down from the iCloud onto your devices will come in as a non-DRM AAC file at 256kbps bitrate regardless of the type or quality of the original file that it matched from your machine. Great if you have a bunch of shoddy, badly compressed tunes. Not so good if own some superstar FLACs.

How much space do I have?
The short answer is 5GB, but it’s not as simple as that. Your music, photos and videos, books and apps don’t take away from that. It’s really just for your Mail, Docs and Backup preferences and it should be plenty for the average user.

Which devices does iCloud work on?
You can sync with iCloud on your iPhone (3GS & 4), iPod touch (3rd & 4th gen), iPad (1 or 2), Mac (OS X Lion), and even Windows PC (Vista and Win 7) to an extent too, as well as your Apple TV - again to a degree.

When is iCloud available?
Some of the features are available now but you’ll have to wait for Autumn 2011 for the lot. Those available in beta are - Books, Apps and Music but without iTunes Match. You’ll need iOS 4.3.1 running on your devices and iTunes 10.3. The arrival of iOS 5 will bring the rest.

How much does it cost?
All of the iCloud features apart from iTunes Match are absolutely free. Match will set you back $24.99 per year but that’s for as many songs as you own to a limit of 25,000, not including those purchased from the iTunes Store.

What about MobileMe?
MobileMe is no more. It’s done. Finished. The three apps it represented - Mail, Calendar and Contacts - have all now been re-written from the ground up and subsumed into the larger iCloud set up, and the idea of MobileMe as a $99 per year paid for has been service thrown out onto the streets as one of Apple’s few mistakes. Bereft of life, it rests in peace.

Apple launches iCloud

Apple officially launched its much-hyped iCloud suite of services at its Worldwide Developer Conference Monday, and although the capabilities are sure to be the talk of the town among consumers, it’s Apple’s cloud infrastructure that makes it all work.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs said as much during his WWDC keynote by closing with an image of — and shout-out to — the company’s new iDataCenter in Maiden, N.C.

Details about the technology that will power iCloud have been sparse, but those who’ve been watching it have uncovered some interesting information that sheds some light on what Apple is doing under the covers.

The service acknowledges a well-known fact - that most music on iPods, iPhones and iPads was ripped or swapped. Apple reached a deal that gives recording companies more than 70% of the new fees, addressing a dark secret that has crippled the music industry, and provides them with some economic payback.

Where Apple is able to identify and match songs from its 18 million-song database, it will transfer them into the user's iCloud, a storage area housed on servers, including those at a massive new datacentre in North Carolina.

Apple launches iCloud

Apple officially launched its much-hyped iCloud suite of services at its Worldwide Developer Conference Monday, and although the capabilities are sure to be the talk of the town among consumers, it’s Apple’s cloud infrastructure that makes it all work.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs said as much during his WWDC keynote by closing with an image of — and shout-out to — the company’s new iDataCenter in Maiden, N.C.

Details about the technology that will power iCloud have been sparse, but those who’ve been watching it have uncovered some interesting information that sheds some light on what Apple is doing under the covers.

The service acknowledges a well-known fact - that most music on iPods, iPhones and iPads was ripped or swapped. Apple reached a deal that gives recording companies more than 70% of the new fees, addressing a dark secret that has crippled the music industry, and provides them with some economic payback.

Where Apple is able to identify and match songs from its 18 million-song database, it will transfer them into the user's iCloud, a storage area housed on servers, including those at a massive new datacentre in North Carolina.

Apple launches iCloud

Apple officially launched its much-hyped iCloud suite of services at its Worldwide Developer Conference Monday, and although the capabilities are sure to be the talk of the town among consumers, it’s Apple’s cloud infrastructure that makes it all work.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs said as much during his WWDC keynote by closing with an image of — and shout-out to — the company’s new iDataCenter in Maiden, N.C.

Details about the technology that will power iCloud have been sparse, but those who’ve been watching it have uncovered some interesting information that sheds some light on what Apple is doing under the covers.

The service acknowledges a well-known fact - that most music on iPods, iPhones and iPads was ripped or swapped. Apple reached a deal that gives recording companies more than 70% of the new fees, addressing a dark secret that has crippled the music industry, and provides them with some economic payback.

Where Apple is able to identify and match songs from its 18 million-song database, it will transfer them into the user's iCloud, a storage area housed on servers, including those at a massive new datacentre in North Carolina.

Apple update fixes iPhone tracking "bugs"

Apple released updated software for iPhones to fix "bugs" that resulted in location data being unencrypted and stored for up to a year.

A note included with the update said that the cache of saved data on devices was reduced and that location information would no longer be backed up at iTunes on people's computers.

Turning off the location services feature on an Apple gadget will cause location data to be deleted, the update promised.

The changes came in an iOS 4.3.3 software update for iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch devices.

According to British researchers, iPhones and iPads running iOS 4, the latest operating system, were storing latitude and longitude coordinates in a hidden file along with a time stamp and the data was easily retrievable.


"By passively logging your location without your permission, Apple made it possible for anyone from a jealous spouse to a private investigator to get a detailed picture of your movements," they said.

The Cupertino, California-based company has staunchly denied tracking iPhone users, maintaining that location data gathered by the smartphones was used for services such as navigation or targeted ads.

Apple said the iPhone was not logging a user's location but maintaining a database of nearby WiFi hotspots and cell towers to "help your iPhone rapidly and accurately calculate its location when requested."

Apple said the location data the researchers were seeing on the iPhone is "not the past or present location of the iPhone, but rather the locations of WiFi hotspots and cell towers surrounding the iPhone's location, which can be more than one hundred miles away from the iPhone."

Apple update fixes iPhone tracking "bugs"

Apple released updated software for iPhones to fix "bugs" that resulted in location data being unencrypted and stored for up to a year.

A note included with the update said that the cache of saved data on devices was reduced and that location information would no longer be backed up at iTunes on people's computers.

Turning off the location services feature on an Apple gadget will cause location data to be deleted, the update promised.

The changes came in an iOS 4.3.3 software update for iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch devices.

According to British researchers, iPhones and iPads running iOS 4, the latest operating system, were storing latitude and longitude coordinates in a hidden file along with a time stamp and the data was easily retrievable.


"By passively logging your location without your permission, Apple made it possible for anyone from a jealous spouse to a private investigator to get a detailed picture of your movements," they said.

The Cupertino, California-based company has staunchly denied tracking iPhone users, maintaining that location data gathered by the smartphones was used for services such as navigation or targeted ads.

Apple said the iPhone was not logging a user's location but maintaining a database of nearby WiFi hotspots and cell towers to "help your iPhone rapidly and accurately calculate its location when requested."

Apple said the location data the researchers were seeing on the iPhone is "not the past or present location of the iPhone, but rather the locations of WiFi hotspots and cell towers surrounding the iPhone's location, which can be more than one hundred miles away from the iPhone."

Apple update fixes iPhone tracking "bugs"

Apple released updated software for iPhones to fix "bugs" that resulted in location data being unencrypted and stored for up to a year.

A note included with the update said that the cache of saved data on devices was reduced and that location information would no longer be backed up at iTunes on people's computers.

Turning off the location services feature on an Apple gadget will cause location data to be deleted, the update promised.

The changes came in an iOS 4.3.3 software update for iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch devices.

According to British researchers, iPhones and iPads running iOS 4, the latest operating system, were storing latitude and longitude coordinates in a hidden file along with a time stamp and the data was easily retrievable.


"By passively logging your location without your permission, Apple made it possible for anyone from a jealous spouse to a private investigator to get a detailed picture of your movements," they said.

The Cupertino, California-based company has staunchly denied tracking iPhone users, maintaining that location data gathered by the smartphones was used for services such as navigation or targeted ads.

Apple said the iPhone was not logging a user's location but maintaining a database of nearby WiFi hotspots and cell towers to "help your iPhone rapidly and accurately calculate its location when requested."

Apple said the location data the researchers were seeing on the iPhone is "not the past or present location of the iPhone, but rather the locations of WiFi hotspots and cell towers surrounding the iPhone's location, which can be more than one hundred miles away from the iPhone."

Nokia sues Apple again over patents

HELSINKI: Nokia Corp is suing Apple Inc in the United States for allegedly infringing patents in its mobile phones, portable music players, Tablets and computers.

The complaint, filed with United States International Trade Commission, ITC, is the latest in a string of lawsuits by Nokia of Finland and comes as the world's largest handset maker struggles to keep up with smartphone rivals such as Apple.

Apple and Nokia have been locked in a long-running legal battle over patent claims, with each side accusing the other of infringing on patents that cover features such as swiping gestures on touchscreens and the built-in "app store" for downloading updated programs.

The major phone makers - including Apple, Nokia, Microsoft, Motorola and Taiwan's HTC - are increasingly turning to patent litigation as they jockey for any edge to expand their share of the rapidly growing smartphone market.


Companies such as Nokia are also seeking to protect their business as the popular iPhone encroaches on the rest of the industry.

The lawsuits cover all aspects of basic phone use, from technology used to synchronise e-mail, calendars and contacts, to methods to extend battery life.

Although these legal disputes generally don't stop products from reaching consumers, litigation can be used to extract licensing fees from competitors. It can also help distract rivals and even discourage them from entering a particular market.

Nokia said the seven patents in the new complaint relate to its "pioneering innovations" that Apple allegedly is using "to create key features in its products, including in multitasking operating systems, data synchronisation, positioning, call quality and the use of Bluetooth accessories."

Lawsuits aplenty

Last week, the United States International Trade Commission found no violation in an earlier complaint. Nokia said it "is waiting to see the full details of the ruling before deciding on the next steps in that case."

Last year, Nokia also sued Apple in Britain, Germany and the Netherlands for allegedly infringing its patents with technology used in the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Those followed earlier lawsuits by Nokia claiming that a broad swath of Apple products violate its patents. Apple had earlier responded with its own infringement claims against Nokia.

"Our latest ITC filing means we now have 46 Nokia patents in suit against Apple, many filed more than 10 years before Apple made its first iPhone," said Paul Melin, vice-president of intellectual property at Nokia.

"Nokia is a leading innovator in technologies needed to build great mobile products and Apple must stop building its products using Nokia's proprietary innovation."

The legal disputes come amid increasing competition in the fast-growing smartphone market. Tech companies are scrambling to win over the growing number of consumers buying handsets that come with e-mail, websurfing and scores of apps for checking the weather, updating Facebook and other tasks.

Nokia has been struggling against stiff competition, especially from the iPhone and Research in Motion's BlackBerry.

Nokia said that during the past two decades it has invested some 43bil euro in research and development to build "one of the wireless industry's strongest and broadest IPR portfolios," which includes more than 10,000 patent families.

In addition to the two ITC complaints, Nokia said it has filed cases on the same patents and others in Delaware, and has further cases proceeding in Mannheim, Dusseldorf and the Federal Patent Court in Germany, the British High Court in London and the District Court of the Hague in the Netherlands.

Some of these will come to trial in the next few months. - AP

Nokia sues Apple again over patents

HELSINKI: Nokia Corp is suing Apple Inc in the United States for allegedly infringing patents in its mobile phones, portable music players, Tablets and computers.

The complaint, filed with United States International Trade Commission, ITC, is the latest in a string of lawsuits by Nokia of Finland and comes as the world's largest handset maker struggles to keep up with smartphone rivals such as Apple.

Apple and Nokia have been locked in a long-running legal battle over patent claims, with each side accusing the other of infringing on patents that cover features such as swiping gestures on touchscreens and the built-in "app store" for downloading updated programs.

The major phone makers - including Apple, Nokia, Microsoft, Motorola and Taiwan's HTC - are increasingly turning to patent litigation as they jockey for any edge to expand their share of the rapidly growing smartphone market.


Companies such as Nokia are also seeking to protect their business as the popular iPhone encroaches on the rest of the industry.

The lawsuits cover all aspects of basic phone use, from technology used to synchronise e-mail, calendars and contacts, to methods to extend battery life.

Although these legal disputes generally don't stop products from reaching consumers, litigation can be used to extract licensing fees from competitors. It can also help distract rivals and even discourage them from entering a particular market.

Nokia said the seven patents in the new complaint relate to its "pioneering innovations" that Apple allegedly is using "to create key features in its products, including in multitasking operating systems, data synchronisation, positioning, call quality and the use of Bluetooth accessories."

Lawsuits aplenty

Last week, the United States International Trade Commission found no violation in an earlier complaint. Nokia said it "is waiting to see the full details of the ruling before deciding on the next steps in that case."

Last year, Nokia also sued Apple in Britain, Germany and the Netherlands for allegedly infringing its patents with technology used in the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Those followed earlier lawsuits by Nokia claiming that a broad swath of Apple products violate its patents. Apple had earlier responded with its own infringement claims against Nokia.

"Our latest ITC filing means we now have 46 Nokia patents in suit against Apple, many filed more than 10 years before Apple made its first iPhone," said Paul Melin, vice-president of intellectual property at Nokia.

"Nokia is a leading innovator in technologies needed to build great mobile products and Apple must stop building its products using Nokia's proprietary innovation."

The legal disputes come amid increasing competition in the fast-growing smartphone market. Tech companies are scrambling to win over the growing number of consumers buying handsets that come with e-mail, websurfing and scores of apps for checking the weather, updating Facebook and other tasks.

Nokia has been struggling against stiff competition, especially from the iPhone and Research in Motion's BlackBerry.

Nokia said that during the past two decades it has invested some 43bil euro in research and development to build "one of the wireless industry's strongest and broadest IPR portfolios," which includes more than 10,000 patent families.

In addition to the two ITC complaints, Nokia said it has filed cases on the same patents and others in Delaware, and has further cases proceeding in Mannheim, Dusseldorf and the Federal Patent Court in Germany, the British High Court in London and the District Court of the Hague in the Netherlands.

Some of these will come to trial in the next few months. - AP

Nokia sues Apple again over patents

HELSINKI: Nokia Corp is suing Apple Inc in the United States for allegedly infringing patents in its mobile phones, portable music players, Tablets and computers.

The complaint, filed with United States International Trade Commission, ITC, is the latest in a string of lawsuits by Nokia of Finland and comes as the world's largest handset maker struggles to keep up with smartphone rivals such as Apple.

Apple and Nokia have been locked in a long-running legal battle over patent claims, with each side accusing the other of infringing on patents that cover features such as swiping gestures on touchscreens and the built-in "app store" for downloading updated programs.

The major phone makers - including Apple, Nokia, Microsoft, Motorola and Taiwan's HTC - are increasingly turning to patent litigation as they jockey for any edge to expand their share of the rapidly growing smartphone market.


Companies such as Nokia are also seeking to protect their business as the popular iPhone encroaches on the rest of the industry.

The lawsuits cover all aspects of basic phone use, from technology used to synchronise e-mail, calendars and contacts, to methods to extend battery life.

Although these legal disputes generally don't stop products from reaching consumers, litigation can be used to extract licensing fees from competitors. It can also help distract rivals and even discourage them from entering a particular market.

Nokia said the seven patents in the new complaint relate to its "pioneering innovations" that Apple allegedly is using "to create key features in its products, including in multitasking operating systems, data synchronisation, positioning, call quality and the use of Bluetooth accessories."

Lawsuits aplenty

Last week, the United States International Trade Commission found no violation in an earlier complaint. Nokia said it "is waiting to see the full details of the ruling before deciding on the next steps in that case."

Last year, Nokia also sued Apple in Britain, Germany and the Netherlands for allegedly infringing its patents with technology used in the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Those followed earlier lawsuits by Nokia claiming that a broad swath of Apple products violate its patents. Apple had earlier responded with its own infringement claims against Nokia.

"Our latest ITC filing means we now have 46 Nokia patents in suit against Apple, many filed more than 10 years before Apple made its first iPhone," said Paul Melin, vice-president of intellectual property at Nokia.

"Nokia is a leading innovator in technologies needed to build great mobile products and Apple must stop building its products using Nokia's proprietary innovation."

The legal disputes come amid increasing competition in the fast-growing smartphone market. Tech companies are scrambling to win over the growing number of consumers buying handsets that come with e-mail, websurfing and scores of apps for checking the weather, updating Facebook and other tasks.

Nokia has been struggling against stiff competition, especially from the iPhone and Research in Motion's BlackBerry.

Nokia said that during the past two decades it has invested some 43bil euro in research and development to build "one of the wireless industry's strongest and broadest IPR portfolios," which includes more than 10,000 patent families.

In addition to the two ITC complaints, Nokia said it has filed cases on the same patents and others in Delaware, and has further cases proceeding in Mannheim, Dusseldorf and the Federal Patent Court in Germany, the British High Court in London and the District Court of the Hague in the Netherlands.

Some of these will come to trial in the next few months. - AP

Kodak patent complaint against Apple, RIM revived

ROCHESTER (New York): A federal agency is reviewing Eastman Kodak Co's high-stakes patent-infringement claim against technology giants Apple Inc and Research in Motion (RIM) Ltd.

The US International Trade Commission in Washington, D.C., agreed to examine a judge's finding in January that Apple's iPhone and RIM's BlackBerry don't violate an image-preview patent the photography pioneer obtained in 2001.

The decision revives Kodak's hopes of negotiating royalties worth US$1bil or more. The agency's six commissioners will decide by May 23 whether to alter the initial determination by its chief administrative judge, Paul Luckern, or let it stand.

Kodak spokesman Gerard Meuchner said "we are pleased with the decision and we look forward to the next step in the process."

The company has amassed more than 1,000 digital-imaging patents, and almost all digital cameras rely on that technology. Mining its rich array of inventions has become an indispensable tool in a long and painful turnaround.

That campaign was stalled by the recession, which began just after Kodak completed a three-year, US$3.4bil digital overhaul in 2007. Its payroll has plunged to 18,800 people, from 70,000 in 2002.

Messages seeking comment from RIM were not immediately returned. An Apple spokesman said the company had no comment.

Kodak's moment

After failed negotiations, Kodak filed a complaint against Cupertino, California-based Apple and Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM in January 2010 with the commission that oversees US trade disputes. It also filed two lawsuits against Apple in federal court in Rochester, but it has not specified the damages it is seeking.

In December 2009, the commission ruled that cellphones made by Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc infringed the same Kodak patent, and Kodak received a one-time US$550mil royalty payment from Samsung and a US$414mil deal was reached with LG Electronics.

The 131-year-old camera maker has said it expects to continue to generate an average of between US$250mil and US$350mil annually through 2013 from licensing its digital technology. Over the last three years, it outpaced that figure, booking US$1.9bil in revenue.

Kodak has banked on replacing hefty profits it once made on film, with promising new lines of home inkjet printers and high-speed inkjet presses. It expects to generate its first profits from consumer printers this year and its commercial line is targeted to turn profitable next year.

No infringement

Separately, ITC judge E. James Gildea has issued an initial ruling in a dispute between Apple and Nokia Corp, saying Apple did not infringe on five of Nokia's patents.

Nokia, the world's largest maker of cellphones, filed a complaint with the ITC in December 2009, alleging Apple's iPods, iPhone and computers violate Nokia's intellectual property rights.

At issue were key features found in Apple products, including aspects of user interface, cameras, antenna and power management technologies, Nokia said at the time. The company claimed that the technologies in question help cut manufacturing costs, reduce gadget size and prolong battery life.

The cellphone maker began its patent fight with Apple in October 2009, filing its first patent infringement claim against Apple in Delaware. Apple filed a countersuit, claiming Nokia was infringing on a variety of its patents.

Apple countersued Nokia in the United States, and also filed a counter-complaint with the ITC.

Nokia has also filed patent lawsuits last year against Apple in Britain, Germany and the Netherlands.

Apple had no comment on Gildea's ruling. A spokesman for Nokia did not immediately respond to requests for comment. - AP

Kodak patent complaint against Apple, RIM revived

ROCHESTER (New York): A federal agency is reviewing Eastman Kodak Co's high-stakes patent-infringement claim against technology giants Apple Inc and Research in Motion (RIM) Ltd.

The US International Trade Commission in Washington, D.C., agreed to examine a judge's finding in January that Apple's iPhone and RIM's BlackBerry don't violate an image-preview patent the photography pioneer obtained in 2001.

The decision revives Kodak's hopes of negotiating royalties worth US$1bil or more. The agency's six commissioners will decide by May 23 whether to alter the initial determination by its chief administrative judge, Paul Luckern, or let it stand.

Kodak spokesman Gerard Meuchner said "we are pleased with the decision and we look forward to the next step in the process."

The company has amassed more than 1,000 digital-imaging patents, and almost all digital cameras rely on that technology. Mining its rich array of inventions has become an indispensable tool in a long and painful turnaround.

That campaign was stalled by the recession, which began just after Kodak completed a three-year, US$3.4bil digital overhaul in 2007. Its payroll has plunged to 18,800 people, from 70,000 in 2002.

Messages seeking comment from RIM were not immediately returned. An Apple spokesman said the company had no comment.

Kodak's moment

After failed negotiations, Kodak filed a complaint against Cupertino, California-based Apple and Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM in January 2010 with the commission that oversees US trade disputes. It also filed two lawsuits against Apple in federal court in Rochester, but it has not specified the damages it is seeking.

In December 2009, the commission ruled that cellphones made by Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc infringed the same Kodak patent, and Kodak received a one-time US$550mil royalty payment from Samsung and a US$414mil deal was reached with LG Electronics.

The 131-year-old camera maker has said it expects to continue to generate an average of between US$250mil and US$350mil annually through 2013 from licensing its digital technology. Over the last three years, it outpaced that figure, booking US$1.9bil in revenue.

Kodak has banked on replacing hefty profits it once made on film, with promising new lines of home inkjet printers and high-speed inkjet presses. It expects to generate its first profits from consumer printers this year and its commercial line is targeted to turn profitable next year.

No infringement

Separately, ITC judge E. James Gildea has issued an initial ruling in a dispute between Apple and Nokia Corp, saying Apple did not infringe on five of Nokia's patents.

Nokia, the world's largest maker of cellphones, filed a complaint with the ITC in December 2009, alleging Apple's iPods, iPhone and computers violate Nokia's intellectual property rights.

At issue were key features found in Apple products, including aspects of user interface, cameras, antenna and power management technologies, Nokia said at the time. The company claimed that the technologies in question help cut manufacturing costs, reduce gadget size and prolong battery life.

The cellphone maker began its patent fight with Apple in October 2009, filing its first patent infringement claim against Apple in Delaware. Apple filed a countersuit, claiming Nokia was infringing on a variety of its patents.

Apple countersued Nokia in the United States, and also filed a counter-complaint with the ITC.

Nokia has also filed patent lawsuits last year against Apple in Britain, Germany and the Netherlands.

Apple had no comment on Gildea's ruling. A spokesman for Nokia did not immediately respond to requests for comment. - AP