Keeping you in the loop on some of the things, big and small, that happened around Apple this week.
A person of the year. Time magazine named Apple CEO Tim Cook one of its four runner ups for person of the year. (President Obama is Person of the Year, again, in case you haven’t seen the issue yet.) Cook, who says he gets up at 3:45 a.m. to do email for an hour before heading to the gym, Starbucks and then the office, talks about how he approaches decision-making. It’s in contrast to his image of low-key, laid back Southerner. “I’ve always felt that a part of leadership is conveying a sense of urgency in dealing with key issues. Appleoperates at an extreme pace, and my experience has been that key issues rarely get smaller on their own.” And Cook says that he’s definitely -- “Yes. Yes. Most definitely.” --
Apple CEO Tim Cook was one four runner ups for Time's Person of the Year (Image credit: Getty Images... [+]
going to seek out a new product category to disrupt the hell out of it. If I were you, I’d hold off buying that new TV until you see what Apple dreams up.
China status. Apple took the unusual step of announcing opening weekend sales for the iPhone 5 in China, with Cook saying in a press release Sunday night that an “incredible” and “record” 2 million iPhones were sold. “China is a very important market for us and customers there cannot wait to get their hands on Apple products.” How important? It’s fast-growing market now accounts for 15 percent of revenue. Well, maybe it’s not so unusual that Apple decided to talk up iPhone sales there, given that Apple shares were slammed last week after reports out of China that few people were standing in line outside its stores in Beijing (One reason: Apple put an online pre-order system in place after January’s riots for the iPhone 4S). In any case, some analysts say they expect the iPhone 5 to do better than its older sibling. Even with the early riots, demand for the iPhone 4S wasn’t spectacular in part because Chinese consumers weren’t as interested in the form factor (same as the iPhone 4) and because Siri -- the big innovation in the 4S -- did not speak Mandarin, according to Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets. That changes with the iPhone 5, with many iPhone 4 and 4S customers predicated to upgrade. “The key reason is status. In our view, a new form factor shows the world that you have the latest and greatest iPhone, a sign of status in China.” As for how big a deal China is: Apple has about an 8 percent share of the market there, according to Canalys. As more Chinese consumers buy smartphones – 3G subscribers are expected to total 230 million by the end of 2013 – there’s a lot of opportunity for Apple to grow iPhone sales there. Or as White says, “The opportunity for Apple’s iPhone in China is enormous.”
Pinch-to-zoom patent rejected – for now. The U.S. Patent and Trademark office, in a preliminary ruling, rejected all the claims in Apple’s “pinch-to-zoom” patent, which Foss Patents calls “the most valuable multitouch patent asserted by Apple” during the Samsung patent trial. It’s U.S. Patent No. 7,844,915 in case you’re wondering, and was filed on Jan. 7, 2007. This ruling is non-final and you can bet Apple will appeal. But still interesting doings all in all.
Win some, lose some. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh, who has presided over Apple and Samsung’s patent battle this year in a San Jose, Calif. federal court, issued two post-trial rulings. In a nutshell, she denied Apple’s request for a ban on U.S. sales of eight Samsung phones, including it’s popular Galaxy S II, and it quashed a Samsung request for a mistrial over alleged jury misconduct. Her orders can be read in their entirety here and here, if you’re looking for a little light holiday reading. Apple has already filed a notice that it will appeal Judge Koh’s ruling on the injunctions. Here are excerpts from her rulings
On no sales injunction. “Apple has not been able to link the harms it suffered to Samsung’s infringement of any of Apple’s six utility and design patents that the jury found infringed by Samsung products in this case. The fact that Apple may have lost customers and downstream sales to Samsung is not enough to justify an injunction. Apple must have lost these sales because Samsung infringed Apple’s patents. Apple has simply not been able to make this showing…The phones at issue in this case contain a broad range of features, only a small fraction of which are covered by Apple’s patents. Though Apple does have some interest in retaining certain features as exclusive to Apple, it does not follow that entire products must be forever banned from the market because they incorporate, among their myriad features, a few narrow protected functions.
On the lack of jury misconduct: “At the hearing on post-trial motions, Samsung repeatedly praised the jury, noting the care, precision, and consistency with which the jury calculated damages based on trial damages evidence. Samsung cannot credibly claim that the jury’s conduct was simultaneously worthy of such great praise and so biased as to warrant a new trial.”
Apple spend. Buying something from Apple for yourself or someone else this holiday season? You’re not alone. Today’s interesting stats comes from Katy Huberty of Morgan Stanley who said the average U.S. household spent $444 on Apple products in 2011, up from $295 in 2010 and $150 in 2007. She predicts that spending will rise to $888 by 2015, if Apple introduces a smart TV in the next year or so.
Another e-book settlement. Penguin Group has settled with the U.S. Department of Justice over claims it conspired with Apple and other e-book publishers to control prices (and prevent Amazon from discounting its books.) The DOJ filed its case against Apple, Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin and Simon & Schuster in April. Everyone has settled with the DOJ, except Apple and Macmillan. Penguin says it doesn’t believe it’s done anything wrong, but that it wanted a “clean sheet of paper” as it prepares to merge with Random House. ““Since the department’s settlement with Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster, consumers are already paying lower prices for the e-book versions of many of those publishers’ new releases and bestsellers,” said Jamillia Ferris, Chief of Staff and Counsel at the DOJ’s Antitrust Division said Dec. 18. “If approved by the court, the proposed settlement with Penguin will be an important step toward undoing the harm caused by the publishers’ anticompetitive conduct and restoring retail price competition so consumers can pay lower prices for Penguin’s e-books.”. Not up on this particular plot? Here’s some background, including the DOJ’s 49-page civil suit, which is its own fun read.
Freedom to surf the Web? Don Melton, who worked on the Safari project at Apple, wrote a blog post as the 10-year anniversary of the Apple’s browser approaches (it was announced Jan. 7, 2003). And what he says was that it wasn’t the first name bandied about. “I don’t recall all the names, but one that stands out is “Freedom.” Steve spent some time trying that one out on all of us. He may have liked it because it invoked positive imagery of people being set free. And, just as possible and positive, it spoke to our own freedom from Microsoft and Internet Explorer, the company and browser we depended on at the time.” Melton says the browser was called “Alexander” and “iBrowser” internally as it was being developed. And when he was told it was going to be Safari? “I honestly didn’t know what to think. My mind was a blank because I just didn’t expect it. The name seemed to come out of nowhere. It sounded more foreign at that moment than its actual origin. “It doesn’t suck,” I finally offered.”
Apple Loop is taking off next week to enjoy the holidays. Best wishes to all!
