Microsoft objects to Apple’s "App Store" trademark application
Microsoft has filed an objection to Apple’s application for the "App Store" trademark, calling the term too generic to be fairly registered.
Apple filed for the trademark shortly after the launch of the iPhone App Store in July 2008, describing the App Store as "retail store services featuring computer software provided via the internet and other computer and electronic communication networks; Retail store services featuring computer software for use on handheld mobile digital electronic devices and other consumer electronics."
On Monday, Microsoft challenged Apple’s application by filing a motion for a summary judgment that would deny Apple the trademark, PC World reports. According to the filing, the Redmond, Wash., software giant objects to the trademark on the "grounds that ’app store’ is generic for retail store services featuring apps and unregistrable for ancillary services such as searching for and downloading apps from such stores."
The filing alleges that "undisputed facts" establish that ’app store’ is generic for retail store services featuring apps: "’App’ is a common generic name for the goods offered at Apple’s store, as shown in dictionary definitions and by widespread use by Apple and others," and "’Store’ is generic for the ’retail store services’ for which Apple seeks registration, and indeed, Apple refers to its ’App Store’ as a store."
The motion goes on to cite a recent quote from Apple’s own Steve Jobs as evidence of the term’s use as a generic name. "In addition to Google’s own app marketplace, Amazon, Verizon and Vodafone have all announced that they are creating their own app stores for Android," the filing quotes Jobs as having said. "There will be at least four app stores on Android which customers must search through to find the app they want and developers will need to work to distribute their apps and get paid."
According to Microsoft, Apple has unfairly prevented other companies from referring to their application retail stores as app stores. "Microsoft would like the ability to use ’app store’ to fairly describe its own retail store services for apps, but Apple asserts that such uses are infringements of its rights and it has sent demand letters to companies using ’App Store’ in their names," the motion reads. "Apple’s demands have apparently caused some competitors to change their use to ’Application Store’ or ’App Marketplace.’"
After years of losing smartphone market share to Apple’s popular iPhone, Microsoft released a new mobile operating system, Windows Phone 7, along with Marketplace, its answer to Apple’s App Store, last fall. At the end of December, it was revealed that the Windows Phone 7 platform had reached the 5,000 app milestone, well behind the more than 300,000 apps available for Apple’s iOS.
Last fall, several Windows Phone 7 developers expressed concern over development for the platform, complaining that Microsoft had yet to release any app store analytics and was delaying payment until February 2011. Microsoft quickly changed course, releasing reporting tools for its developers and moving up the first pay date to January 2011.
Some pundits had speculated that Microsoft’s delay in releasing Marketplace analytics was to delay the public revelation of Windows Phone 7 sales numbers. Initial reviews of WP7 were muted; reviewers praised the interface, while criticizing it as several years behind Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android mobile OS.
The U.S. launch of Windows Phone 7 was lackluster, with some stores reporting having sold just a handful of units.
In December, technology journalist Walt Mossberg pressed Microsoft VP Joe Belfiore for specific sales figures, but Belfiore repeatedly dodged the question. Belfiore later admitted to Mossberg that it could take at least "a couple of years" for Microsoft to "get back into the market."
Adding to the controversy over app store names, Apple recently opened a second app store, dubbed the Mac App Store. Developers, including Apple, have already seen early success with app downloads from the store.
Verizon iPhone available on February 10th
The Verizon iPhone will be available for everyone to order on February 10th, but existing Verizon customers will get the chance to pre-order the device on February 3rd. As expected, the models offered will be the 16GB iPhone 4 for $199 and the 32GB iPhone 4 for $299, both requiring a two year contract, this is the same pricing structure and contract requirements that AT&T offers.
Other than coverage, the main differences between the AT&T iPhone and Verizon iPhone are two data related features. One, Verizon’s offering will include a mobile hotspot that allows you to turn your VZW iPhone 4 into a wireless router for up to five device. And two, AT&T’s iPhone allows you to use data and voice simultaneously (meaning you can talk on the phone while using the internet), this is something the Verizon iPhone is incapable of doing due to CDMA limitations.
Intel and NVIDIA settle patent dispute with 6-year $1.5B deal
Intel and NVIDIA have announced a six-year $1.5 billion cross-licensing agreement that resolves a lengthy patent dispute between the two companies and could lead to close integration of NVIDIA GPUs with Intel’s processors.
According to the agreement, which was announced Monday afternoon, Intel will pay NVIDIA $1.5 billion over the next six years in exchange for access to NVIDIA’s patent portfolio, including technology related to GPUs and supercomputers, Ars Technica reports. In turn, NVIDIA will gain access to part of Intel’s patent portfolio, such as patents covering microprocessors and chipsets, though the deal excludes proprietary Intel x86 designs and flash memory.
"The cross-licensing agreement allows Intel to integrate NVIDIA technologies and those that are covered by our patents into their CPUs, such as Sandy Bridge, for example," said NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang. "And a cross-license allows us to build processors and take advantage of Intel patents for the types of processor we’re building—Project Denver, Tegra, and the types of processors we’re going to build in the future."
According to the report’s author, Jon Stokes, "Intel could use the licensing agreement to produce a Sandy Bridge successor with an on-die GPU based on NVIDIA technology."
Huang revealed Monday that the company has no plans to produce further Intel-compatible chipsets, despite the settlement. NVIDIA will instead focus on ARM-based processors such as its Tegra system-on-a-chip for mobile devices and the newly announced "Project Denver" CPU for desktops. Microsoft recently announced that Windows 8 will run on the ARM architecture, which could provide NVIDIA with the opportunity needed to challenge Intel in the PC market.
The deal settles a heated patent dispute between the two chipmakers. In February 2009, Intel sued NVIDIA to block it from developing compatible chipsets for next-generation Intel processors, claiming that a patent-licensing agreement between the two companies did not extend to processors with integrated memory functionality.
NVIDIA struck back with a countersuit, arguing that Intel had "manufactured this licensing dispute as part of a calculated strategy to eliminate NVIDIA as a competitive threat." Later that year, NVIDIA announced that it was placing development of future hardware on hold until its lawsuits with Intel were resolved.
The patent dispute has adversely affected Apple, which has preferred Nvidia’s discrete graphics chips over Intel’s integrated graphics. The Cupertino, Calif., Mac maker even developed its own proprietary graphics switching solution to alternate between the NVIDIA GPU for peak performance and the integrated Intel graphics for energy saving. Apple first abandoned Intel’s chipsets for NVIDIA’s in its MacBook line in October 2008.
Reports emerged in December of last year that 2011 MacBook models with screen sizes of 13 inches and under will use dedicated graphics on Intel’s Sandy Bridge processor instead of including an NVIDIA GPU.
Intel formally unveiled its new Sandy Bridge product line at last week’s Consumer Electronics show. In response to high interest from chip buyers, Intel has accelerated production of its Sandy Bridge chips. Apple is expected to begin incorporating the line into its Macs in the first half of this year.
Mac OS X gets installed on Sandy Bridge, instructions available for the willing
Mac OS X getting installed on the latest Intel hardware before it’s officially supported by Apple? Shocking, we know, but you can rest assured that some intrepid individuals have already taken the plunge and installed Snow Leopard on some brand new Sandy Bridge hardware, and they’ve thankfully provided some instructions so you can too. As you might expect, however, that’s not quite a quick and easy process -- it involves a patched kernel and, according to the tonymacx86 Blog, it isn’t recommended for long-term use. If that hasn’t scared you off, you can find all the details you need at the link below.
iPad 2 Rumors: Dual Core CPU, USB, Anti-Glare Screen, CDMA + GSM Version, etc
As the due date for iPad 2 approaches, the rumor mill conjecture continues to heat up. The latest rumors for the next iPad are as follows:
iPad 2 will have Dual-Core CPU
The basis of this rumor comes from a Senior Technology Analyst at the Rodman & Renshaw investment bank, Ashkok Kumar, who claims that Apple will update both the iPad and iPhone to have a dual core processor featuring two 1GHz ARM Cortex A9 cores. If true this could offer a significant performance boost on the devices. What’s the source of the information? Nobody knows for sure, but one can speculate it’s from contacts somewhere in the iPad supply chain, or perhaps it’s just an educated guess.
iPad 2 + USB Port?
Earlier alleged iPad 2 case designs gave some hints as to what the iPad 2 will bring, and as we pointed out there’s a mystery opening on the top of the case that could be appropriate for a micro-USB port. Now a new rumor is giving further credence to this claim, although we have also heard conflicting reports that the top case opening is actually for a light sensor. The source? A reportedly well-connected Russian man who allegedly spoke with an ODM vendor, who claims that iPad 2 will have a USB port. So someone told someone who told someone that the next iPad will have a USB port, hmm… it’d be a great feature but take this one with a grain of salt for now.
iPad 2 with a “Smudge Proof Anti-Glare Screen”
DigiTimes is hit and miss with it’s rumors, and now they’re claiming the next iPad screen will have “anti-smudge and anti-reflective treatments in order to compete against Kindle and attract more consumers.” Sounds good, although I’d be very surprised if the iPad lost the glass surface.
Three iPad 2 Versions: CDMA, GSM, Wi-Fi
A CDMA iPad rumor? Not too surprising. This one is DigiTimes again,who says that Apple will release up to three separate iPad 2 models that offer Wi-Fi, 3G cellular access, and CDMA compatibility (thus, Verizon).
Slimmer Body & Flatter Back
This is based on the cases that are popping up, the current iPad model doesn’t fit and there’s extra room floating around some of the edges. Assuming the cases are real, this obviously means the next iPad is going to be a bit slimmer. Judging by the cases, you can also assume that the back is going to be more flat and that the side bezels may be slightly slimmer.
Better Speakers
This is widely reported with no real source, but I think it’s common sense speculation just based on looking at the iPad 2 case leaks that are floating around: there’s a huge port at the bottom of the case where the speaker usually is, what else would it be?
Dual Cameras
This is nothing new and continues to be a widely anticipated feature of the iPad 2. The leaked case designs show an opening on the back for a camera, and FaceTime is a heavy selling point of the existing iPhone and iPod touch, it would only make sense to come to the iPad. The only thing that would be surprising here is if Apple didn’t release dual cameras for FaceTime support on the next iPad.
AT&T Lowers Price of Refurbished iPhone 4
Your family loves you. If however, that love was not enough to have them buy you an iPhone 4 for Christmas, you may still be able to snag one before the new year rolls around, as the telecom we all hate to love and love to hate has lowered the cost of purchasing a refurbished iPhone 4 handset from them.
The telecom giant has slashed $50 from the cost of a refurbished 16 GB iPhone 4, dropping the cost of the handset to $99, provided you sign up for a two-year contract. If you feel that looks aren’t everything, you can get away with an iPhone 4 for $20 cheaper--a price point of $79, to be exact--by opting to purchase a refurbished 16 GB iPhone 4 handset sporting a few cosmetic blemishes. If 16 GB of smartphone memory isn’t enough for you, you can also opt to super-size your pristine or cosmetically blemished refurb to a hearty 32 GB of storage by tacking $100 on to the price.
If you’ve been dying for a handset upgrade, we don’t think you’re going to see a better price come along than this for some time to come.