Apple Threatens Maker of Steve Jobs Action Figure with Lawsuit

Well, this isn’t much of a surprise. According to The Telegraph, Apple is threatening to sue In Icons, the Chinese company responsible for the world’s most eerily realistic Steve Jobs action figure.
The 12-inch doll is slated to be released in February. For $99, you get a black turtle-necked Steve Jobs complete with red apple props, product launch backdrop and optional to-scale iPad.


This, like M.I.C. Gadget’s Steve Jobs bobble head before it, did not please the suits in Cupertino:

Apple reportedly stipulates in a letter to the Chinese manufacturer that any toy that resembles the technology company’s logo, person’s name, appearance or likeness of its products is a criminal offence.

The In Icons website is still up and accepting orders and the doll is still available on eBay. It’s obvious that this isn’t something that will last, so if you’re desperate for a waxen Steve Jobs likeness that will creep out your neighbors and haunt your dreams, the time to act is now.

Yup, the iPad 4 Rumors Have Begun

iPad 3 rumors? Old and boring. The rumor mill is already moving on to talk of the iPad 4, which is apparently coming this October, six months after the supposed launch of its predecessor.
The source of this rumor, as expected, is DigiTimes, which reports that the iPad 4 will have “much upgraded hardware specifications and integrated applications” to better compete with Android and Windows 8 tablets.


But let’s back up for a moment. Keep in mind that DigiTimes sometimes debunks its own rumors. A week ago, the site reported that Apple was making a 7.85-inch iPad to combat Amazon’s Kindle Fire, and then shortly after that, reported those rumors were false. And now, DigiTimes is saying Apple will cut the price of the iPad 2 to $399 when the iPad 3 launches, days after the site conjectured that the iPad 2 may sell for $299. DigiTimes rumors are not so much facts as educated guesses that become more accurate with time.
With that in mind, I have my doubts that Apple would release a fourth iPad so close to the iPad 3. To justify it, Apple would need a major selling point, and I don’t think simple spec boosts — like a faster processor — would cut it. As for “integrated applications,” I’m reminded of a report from last year that Apple would launch an “iPad HD” with apps for creative professionals, such as Final Cut or Aperture. The rumor didn’t pan out then, and it doesn’t seem much more plausible to launch a niche device now, when the iPad has mass market appeal.
It’s fun to observe Apple rumor madness, but I wouldn’t take this one too seriously.

Designer Behind Apple’s Products Knighted in U.K.

Apple

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fans of the clean, inviting look of the iPhone, iPad and other blockbuster Apple products are legion, and that includes Queen Elizabeth II.
The British monarch has awarded a knighthood to Jonathan Paul Ive, a Brit and head of Apple Inc.’s design team since the mid-’90s.


Ive received a KBE, short for Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. The honor was announced Saturday for services to design and enterprise.
“To be recognized with this honor is absolutely thrilling and I am both humbled and sincerely grateful,” Ive said in a statement. “I discovered at an early age that all I’ve ever wanted to do is design. I feel enormously fortunate that I continue to be able to design and make products with a truly remarkable group of people here at Apple.”
Ive is credited with helping the late Steve Jobs bring the consumer-electronics company back from the brink of financial ruin in the late 1990s with his whimsical design for the iMac computer, which originally came in bright colors at a time bland shades dominated the PC world.
He later helped transform Apple into a consumer-electronics powerhouse and the envy of Silicon Valley with the iPod, the iPhone and, most recently, the iPad.


The knighthood is the second royal honor Ive has received. He was awarded a Commander of the British Empire honor in 2006 for achievements in British design and innovation.
Britain’s honors are bestowed twice a year by the monarch – at New Year’s and on her official birthday in June. Recipients are selected by committees of civil servants from nominations made by the government and the public.
Most of the honors go to people who are not in the limelight, for services to community or industry, but they also reward a sprinkling of famous faces.
Oscar-nominated actress Helena Bonham Carter and music producer Steve Lillywhite were among those included with Ive in the queen’s New Year honors list for 2012.
Ive started out far from Apple Inc.’s Cupertino headquarters. He grew up outside London and studied design at Newcastle Polytechnic (now Northumbria University) in Newcastle, England. After finishing school, he co-founded a London-based design company called Tangerine. There, he designed a range of products including combs and power tools. It was through Tangerine that he first got to work with Apple.
In 1992, while Jobs was still in the midst of a 12-year exile from Apple, Ive was hired as a senior designer.
After Jobs returned, he and Ive worked closely, ushering in products that are sleek and stylish, with rounded corners, few buttons, brushed aluminum surfaces and plenty of slick glass.
Apple’s pride in this work is evident even in the packaging: Open up any iPhone box, for example, and see Apple proudly proclaim, “Designed by Apple in California.” Six of Ive’s works, including the original iPod, are part of the collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Design, as well as software that makes the gadgets easy to use, is a crucial part of setting Apple products apart from those of its rivals. Apple didn’t make the first music player or smartphone, but it dominated the market by making ones that looked cool and worked well.
Now, Apple’s products are more popular than ever, vaulting it past rival Microsoft Corp. in 2010 as the most valuable technology company in the world.

Apple's Mac App Store downloads top 100 mn

San Francisco: Over 100 million apps have been downloaded from Apple's Mac App Store since its launch in January, Xinhua reported.
"With more than 100 million downloads in less than a year, the Mac App Store is the largest and fastest growing PC software store in the world," Apple said in a statement Monday, adding that "Mac App Store is changing the traditional PC software industry."
Apple launched the Mac App Store in January as a free download for Mac OS X users, allowing users to sift through free and paid applications and download them to their devices like Apple mobile App Store.

After 24 hours of release, there was a total of more than one million downloads. Apple said Monday that the Mac App Store now offers thousands of apps in education, games, graphics and design, lifestyle, productivity, utilities and other categories.
According to its policies, 70 per cent of the revenue generated from paid applications goes to developers while the remaining 30 per cent is kept by Apple.
Apple's first application store is the mobile App Store launched in 2008, which, in the tech giant's words, has "changed how people get mobile apps".
In October, Apple said, its mobile app downloads topped 18 billion and over $3 billion had been paid to developers since 2008.