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Apple No Longer Pursuing “POD” Trademark

Seven years in the making, Apple is giving up on pursuing the POD trademark. While this doesn’t have an effect on on Apple’s iPod brand, it does open up the opportunity for competitors to brand their products using the POD nomenclature. Patently Apple makes this point clear:

Any competitor who wishes to brand a device with the word “Pod” is able to do so without any legal ramifications from Apple. That should make copycats like Samsung, very happy indeed. Will someone try to introduce something like an “ePod” device in the future? – Yes, more than likely.

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office has published Apple’s abandonment, citing April 13th, 2011 as the day Apple dropped the trademark. Although Apple is no longer pursuing securing the Pod trademark, do they have anything to worry about? The iPod is a household name, and consumers are every skeptical of “copycat” products in the marketplace. You only need to look at iPad and MP3 competitors to see how well Apple dominates, and I doubt anyone else using the word “POD” is going to confuse Apple educated consumers.

[via Patently Apple]

Kickstarter Project: Smart Shell - iPad 2 Case That Works with Smart Covers

Alex Britton of SnapCases.com has an idea to keep the back of your iPad 2 scratch free while letting you use the Apple Smart Cover you have purchased - the Smart Shell.

Apple’s Smart Cover doubles as a screen protector and a stand; it even turns your device off or on when hiding or revealing the screen. The Smart Cover doesn’t offer complete protection to the back of the iPad 2, so it is still exposed to scratches and dents. The Smart Shell helps out where the Smart Cover doesn’t, it’s a 0.8 milimeter thin shell and prevents those ugly scratches and dents. Additionally, it comes in a clear color so you can still show off that beautiful Apple logo. The Smart Cover snaps right onto the back of the iPad leaving space to attach the Smart Cover.

Video after the break. Read more

With iMac Orders Delayed, We’re Expecting a Refresh

CNET’s Brian Tong previously reported at the end of March that now would would be a bad time to purchase an iMac, as a refresh coming in May would bring no cosemtic changes, but Thunderbolt and Sandy Bridge would flesh out the range of Apple’s refreshed desktops. 9 to 5 Mac reports that the iMac is continually seeing supply restraints for the current generation of iMacs, and that a source revealed new iMacs should be shipping next week as Apple stops shipping to resellers this week.

Due to an unexpected delay, we are unable to ship the following item(s)
by the date that you were originally quoted:

Z0JP, IMAC 27\”/5750/SD
will now ship on or before
May 02, 2011

We’re keeping an eye out for May 3rd and 4th delivery dates, and we expect a MacBook Air refresh to include Sandy Bridge processors in June, with Thunderbolt products to hit the mainstream this summer.

[via 9 to 5 Mac]
Image via: MacRumors

Next Generation iPhone 4 Revealed to Have 3.7-inch Screen?

M.I.C. Gadget reports that they’ve gotten hands on with an iPhone they’re pretty sure isn’t an iPhone 4, but possibly an updated model that includes a 3.7” display, and the same proximity sensor as the white iPhone 4. The new display is nearly edge-to-edge, bumping up the screen size but not nearly large enough to be a 4” display as previously rumored. M.I.C. Gadget also speculates that it may have an A5 processor (a prototype model) that game developers are using to build games. Strings in iOS 4.3 revealed that the iPhone was slated to receive the updated processor, and recently a white iPhone was rumored being tested on T-Mobile’s network packing an A5 processor. A bigger screen has been seen floating around on leaked design documents in the past.

Read more

Lion May Sell on Combination of Reinstall Drives and Optical Media

With the MacBook Air refresh, Apple introduced the concept of installing the OS via a packaged thumb drive, leading us to speculate that Apple would make the transition from DVD to a new digital format with the distribution of Lion. John Brownlee from Cult of Mac reporting on AppleBitch notes that Apple may hold on to optical media a little bit longer, possibly offering consumers the choice of both disc and digital formats when they purchase a new copy of Lion to update their Macs. It’s possible Apple will continue to sell optical discs in stores (while bundling all new Macs with a copy of Lion on a thumb drive) as they transition away from optical media, and Brownlee notes that the speculation comes as a result of the disc version of Lion having shown up in Amazon of Germany’s listings.

You could ship Lion exclusively on thumb drives, but the biggest problem I see is in ditching the disc completely is cost. While thumb drives are inexpensive to produce, I’m making the assumption that the costs for producing optical media are cheaper, and as long as the current MacBook and Mac line of Apple computers still have an optical reader, there’s no reason not to utilize it. However, MacBook Air owners wanting to upgrade will either have to purchase the SuperDrive or install Lion from another Mac remotely if Apple doesn’t provide the option of selling the thumb drives on their own. Who knows? Maybe they’ll sell both as a part of this crazy transitional phase.

[AppleBitch via Cult of Mac]
Image via: http://www.maciverse.com/

Could iPad 2 Sales See a 200% Boon in Sales for Q3?

In Apple’s Q2 2011 fiscal results, Apple announced that only 4.7 million iPads were moved for the quarter, and Time Cook went on record for saying that the iPad 2 has the mother of all backlogs and that they’re working to resolve the issue to deliver backlogged iPad 2s to customers worldwide. Apple believes it can meet the increasing demand for Q3, and so does Asymco’s Horace Deidu. The analyst believes Apple could sell up to 9.8 million iPads in Q3, a 200% increase if Apple can meet current demand (which Cook later iterated was not a result of the recent natural and infrastructure disasters in Japan).

Read more

Apple Facing Regulatory Scrutiny In South Korea Over Location Log File

The commotion over that iOS log file, which can to some extent, track the movements of your iPhone or 3G iPad is definitally not fading away. Bloomberg, is today reporting that South Korea’s communication regulator is investigating the issue to see whether or not Apple is breaking South Korean law.

The Korea Communications Commission has issued Apple a series of questions over what information is collected and saved and whether users have a choice over whether it is saved or deleted. Furthermore it has asked Apple to clarify why such data exists and whether it is at all stored on the company’s servers. The Commission has also been formed to investigate how to increase privacy protection for smartphone users.

Earlier today we reported on an email from Steve Jobs in which he said of the issue “We don’t track anyone. The info circulating around is false.” It comes after US Senator Al Franken last week called for an explanation for the file, saying, “it raises serious privacy concerns”. The researchers who discovered the file demonstrated that the log file in question records an approximate location of an iPhone or 3G iPad based on cellular tower vicinity and is presumed to exist either for battery performance or as a reference for the device. Many believe that it is either a bug or oversight that the device does not periodically delete the log file.

[Via Bloomberg]

Barack Obama Seen Toting iPad 2, Smart Cover

Barack Obama is pretty enthusiastic about his iPad, but does he have the first iPad or does he have Apple’s latest iPad 2? A TUAW reader submitted a few photos found on Flickr on the subject, revealing Obama has picked up the new iPad 2 with one of Apple’s delicious grey Smart Covers. Not a bad choice Mr. President! We’re pretty sure he’s loaded his iPad with the usual suspects such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and maybe he’s utilizing Flipboard to keep track of anything related to the White House or events overseas via Twitter. The man is pretty tech savvy (you have to admit his YouTube channel is very impressive), and maybe he’s going so far as to FaceTime with his daughters while away from home. Now that? That’s magic with the Presidential seal of approval of course.

[via TUAW]

Steve Jobs on iPhone Location Tracking: “We Don’t Track Anyone”

When security researchers Alasdair Allan and Pete Warden revealed a file in the iPhone’s backup history that contained time and location data, the media broke into a frenzy as Apple, Android, and smartphones became a target of scrutiny for privacy. It’s believed that Apple’s location data exists to reduce the time it has to look for cellular towers and GPS data by caching your known location. The data is accurate but not pinpoint accurate, and Apple has taken significant strides to increase battery life by regulating wireless services on the device. Quite simply, this file is simply for reference and is stored locally, used by the phone to preserve battery life and connect to known wireless “hubs” faster depending on your location. The issue, however, is that the file is likely “leftovers,” meaning cache was accidentally saved as a persistent file. This morning, MacRumors reports that one of their readers reached out to Steve Jobs on the issue, and got a response.

Q: Steve,

Could you please explain the necessity of the passive location-tracking tool embedded in my iPhone? It’s kind of unnerving knowing that my exact location is being recorded at all times. Maybe you could shed some light on this for me before I switch to a Droid. They don’t track me.

A: Oh yes they do. We don’t track anyone. The info circulating around is false.

Sent from my iPhone

Steve Jobs slams Android (claiming Google tracks users while Apple doesn’t), and it’s possible a future update from Apple could fix the issue in question (permanent storage of temporary cache). While Jobs has likely started a firestorm  this week over Android’s integrity (think antennagate all over again), there’s nothing to be worried about here and this issue has been overblown. You can always turn off your iPhone’s GPS services if you feel compelled, but the evidence suggests that Apple has nothing to hide.

[via MacRumors]