Apple : Possible iPad Mini photos leak, production reported in Brazil

Possible iPad Mini photos leak, production reported in Brazil
AppleCare warranty under fire by European Union officials
Apple looking to escape 'Galaxy Tab didn't copy iPad' ads
The iPhone almost didn't have a Maps app to begin with

Possible iPad Mini photos leak, production reported in Brazil

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The world is supposedly only a few short weeks away from meeting Apple's iPad Mini, and just as the release seems impending, so are the perfunctory leaks, reports, and rumors surrounding the tiny tablet.

Photos surfaced Tuesday purportedly showing several components as well as the back of the 7.85-inch device.

First appearing on UkrainianiPhone, the snaps were reportedly taken inside a Chinese factory producing the tablet.

Among the info that can be gleaned from the clandestine pics are that it comes in a black case, offers 3G support, needs Apple's new Lightning dock connector, and provides a spot for a nanoSIM tray.

The back panel also looks to be made of the same anodized aluminum found on the iPhone 5.

International production

While the leaks were supposedly taken inside a Chinese factory, another report from Tuesday has the iPad Mini in production at a Foxconn factory in Brazil.

Macotakara, a Japanese Apple blog, brought the news to light and reported it wasn't able to confirm whether Chinese Foxconn factories are also producing the slate (though the leaks seem to offer all the confirmation needed).

The blog's sources also said the iPad Mini that's in production no longer has a microphone opening to the rear of the device.

In demand

One reason for the cross-continent production could lay with another new Apple device - the iPhone 5, announced Sept. 12 and unleashed on the world Sept. 21.

The 4-inch handset has sold like hot cakes, with retailers pushing delivery date for the phone out to three weeks.

Going to South America could ease production demands for both phones, BGR speculated, and, pending any major hangups, we could see all holiday wishes for a Mini come true.

Despite these high hopes, a financial analyst has claimed Apple is running into production problems with the new iPad, citing issues meeting Apple's demands for a thinner side bezel.

Though a hiccup, the same analyst said he doesn't expect too big of an impact resulting from the hiccups on the production line.

The last we heard on the tablet's price was that it would run somewhere between $250 and $350 (around UK£160-£230, AU$243-$331), though other reports have it at $249-$299 (around UK£154-£185, AU$242,$291).

AppleCare warranty under fire by European Union officials

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It looks like AppleCare, the extend protection program from Apple that fixes your Mac and iOS devices beyond the standard warranty, needs some fixing of its own, according to European Union officials.

Specifically, European Union Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding takes issue with the way in which Apple prominently advertises its paid AppleCare program, but fails to equally inform users of the EU Statutory Warranty.

"Apple prominently advertised that its products come with a one-year manufacturer warranty but failed to clearly indicate the consumers' automatic and free-of-cost entitlement to a minimum two-year guarantee under EU law," Reding said to ministers in the letter obtained by Bloomberg News. "These are unacceptable marketing practices."

The EU law states that consumers are protected for up to two years from defects that are present when they take delivery of their Apple device. It's up to the seller to provide this coverage at no additional cost.

The standard warranty covers defects that arise after consumers take the delivery for up to one year and the paid AppleCare Protection Program does the same for two to three years depending on the product.

AppleCare fine print lost in translation

Apple gets its message across very clearly in each of the 27 EU member states when it comes to the complementary and optional AppleCare warranties.

In Reding's home country of Luxembourg, for example, the Apple Protection Program website uses easy-to-read bar graphics to indicate both the standard warranty and extended warranty support.

It's not until consumers scroll down to the fine print and click a link to a new page that they are told about the EU Statutory Warranty.

Because there's no graphic for the EU law, understanding the country's language is essential to knowing about the free program.

Reding isn't the first to point out Apple's support message inconsistency. The same matter was at the heart of a € 900,000 ($1.16 million US; $1,117,365 AUD; £718,906 UK;) fine that Apple had to pay Italy last December.

Apple looking to escape 'Galaxy Tab didn't copy iPad' ads

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Apple and Samsung are back in the High Court in London as the former looks to escape a court order forcing it to publicly admit that the Galaxy Tab did not copy the iPad.

Back in July, the court absolved Samsung of allegations that it copied the iPad on the grounds that it was "not as cool" and decreed that Apple must place advertisements in UK media saying Samsung did not infringe upon its patents.

Cupertino is now attempting to wriggle out of what would be an galling, embarrassing, and shallow admission by contesting the original verdict.

Michael Silverleaf QC, representing Apple, said too much emphasis was placed on the Galaxy Tab's two-tone backplate, (compared with the silver-backed iPad) when clearing Samsung of wrongdoing.

'Decorating the same shape'

"I say he [the judge] was wrong to take these aspects [of colour] into account at all," Mr Silverleaf told three senior judges on Monday.

"This [the iPad] is a design about shape. You don't make a non-infringing design by making the same shape and decorating it.

"Too much weight was given to the features of the back and far too little weight to the features of the front."

In response, Samsung's lawyers reaffirmed the argument that Apple was simply seeking a monopoly on the most basic tenents of tablet design.

The company also reiterated claims that Apple exaggerated images to make the two devices look more similar when stating its original case.

Repairing reputations

Following the original verdict in Samsung's favour in July, Judge Colin Birss said Apple must place a notice on its UK website for six months clearing Samsung of wrongdoing.

Apple was also ordered to take out ads in T3, the Daily Mail, Financial Times and Guardian Mobile magazine, in an attempt to repair damage the allegations may have caused to Samsung's reputation.

The three judges have now retired to consider the appeal and, if Apple loses again, it could take one more shot at overturning the decision at the last chance saloon - London's Supreme Court.

There hearing follows the announcement on Friday that the sales injunction placed on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the United States would be reviewed by Juge Lucy Koh.

The global battle legal between the tech behemoths rages on, with no sign of a conclusion. Unfortunately.

The iPhone almost didn't have a Maps app to begin with

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Early iPhone 5 and Apple iOS 6 adopters have been moaning about the loss of Google's Maps app, but according to a new report the iPhone almost didn't have a Maps app to begin with.

The decision to include Maps on the original iPhone in 2007 came only weeks before the device's unveiling, claims the New York Times.

Apple's late former CEO Steve Jobs ordered that the iPhone's Maps app be developed at the very last minute, and two engineers put it together in just three weeks, according to the newspaper.

The Times got its information from a supposed former Apple engineer, though the source reportedly didn't want to be named (for obvious reasons).

Google wasn't the best choice

As 9to5Mac points out, Apple likely chose Google to provide its Maps data because the company had (and probably still has) the best data.

Apple must have been under considerable stress at this time, though, because the decision to go with Google - which purchased the Android OS a full two years prior - wound up coming back to haunt it when the iPhone 5 launched.

To be fair, at the time, Google's Android OS was considered "no major threat," even by Microsoft.

But that's clearly changed, and Apple - loathe to release yet another iPhone with a competitor's service bundled up with a bow on board - developed its own Maps app internally, unceremoniously dropping Google Maps altogether.

According to the Times' report, this decision took Google by surprise - or rather, the decision to drop Google Maps specifically at that time was surprising, since Google expected it would happen eventually (just not so soon).

Now Apple's apologizing

In light of how inferior Apple's own Maps app has turned out to be, the Cupertino tech giant has publicly apologized to its customers.

Apple CEO Tim Cook released a letter on Friday to suggest that iPhone 5 and iOS 6 users look to alternatives from Google and Microsoft while Apple works on its maps data.

"We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers, and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better," Cook wrote.

In the meantime, it seems 24 out of every 25 iPhone 5 and iOS 6 users have taken Cook's advice and gone with an alternative to Apple's maps.

Yahuui Blog

Tuesday, October 2, 2012