Monday, November 12, 2012

Apple : Apple could earn hefty yearly sum thanks to HTC deal

Apple : Apple could earn hefty yearly sum thanks to HTC deal

Apple could earn hefty yearly sum thanks to HTC deal

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Apple could earn hefty yearly sum thanks to HTC deal

Apple will pocket hundreds of millions each year as a result its newly-minted licensing agreement with rival firm HTC, according to one analyst.

Over the weekend, the warring duo called a halt to all global legal hostilities by announcing a new 10-year licensing accord.

The terms were undisclosed, but analyst Shaw Wu of the Sterne Agee group has been told by insiders that HTC will be forking over up to $8 (UK£5.03, AUD$7.67) to Apple for every device it sells.

With HTC projected to ship 30-35 million phones around the world in 2013, Apple could earn anything from $180 million (UK£113, AUD$176) up to $280 million (UK£176, AUD$268) from the peace agreement, Wu estimated.

Lower than proposed

"This is apparently lower than the range AAPL initially proposed," Wu told investors. "But to put this in context, this compares to press reports indicated HTC pays (Microsoft) $5 per phone running Android." (UK£3.14, AUD$4.75)

An HTC representative had, over the weekend, stated that the licensing agreement would do little to negatively affect the company's bottom line, but $280 million a year is notable chunk of anyone's money.

Wu also believes that the 10-year agreement could be a "blueprint" and result in a similar fate for the likes of Motorola and Samsung, who're also embroiled in bitter disputes with Apple over alleged patent infringement.

He wrote: "We think it is fair that Apple will get some licensing revenue for the intellectual property it has developed (in particular multitouch gestures) in making the modern smart phone and tablet with touch screens.

"Prior to the iPhone and iPad, there were arguably no products that were close in functionality and appearance."

Reports claim LTE iPad 4 ship date set for Friday

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Reports claim LTE iPad 4 ship date set for Friday

The last two weeks or so have been a bumpy ride for Apple customers who bought an iPad 4 or iPad mini with cellular LTE capabilities.

Apple neglected to nail down a solid release date for the LTE iPads, instead proclaiming vague time frames like "mid-November."

But on Monday morning, a report claimed that some customers had been notified that they would receive their LTE iPad 4 tablets Friday, Nov. 16.

Apple initially promised to ship the Wi-Fi + Cellular versions of the iPad 4 and iPad mini within two weeks of the Wi-Fi models going out on Nov. 2, and a Nov. 16 arrival date fits within that projection.

LTE iPad ship date has arrived

Apple's initial promise to ship the new LTE iPads within two weeks of Nov. 2 seemed like it would prove inaccurate in late October when some customers reported expected arrival times as late as Nov. 23.

On Halloween, customers reported that those new iPad ship dates disappeared, replaced by the noncommittal "mid-November."

Then, on Friday, Apple reportedly began notifying customers that LTE-enabled iPad mini models would begin shipping within five business days, while Apple offered a "seven business days" time frame for the LTE iPad 4.

With Monday's claims pointing to Friday as the day customers will see the LTE iPad with Retina display, those reports wouldn't be too far off.

LTE pricing

The new iPad mini and iPad 4 went up for pre-order in late October, and Apple reported in the first week of November that three million of the new tablet models had already been sold.

However, reports late last month also claimed that iPad mini screen shortages could possibly limit supplies for some time.

The Wi-Fi + Cellular model of the iPad 4 costs $629 (UK£499, AUD$679), $729 (UK£579, AUD$789) and $829 (UK£659, AUD$899) for 16GB, 32GB and 64GB, respectively.

The iPad mini with LTE, meanwhile, comes in at $459 (UK£369, AUD$509), $559 (UK£449, AUD$619) and $659 (UK£529, AUD$729) for the same storage capacities.

Swiss clock design cost Apple £13 million, report claims

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Swiss clock design cost Apple £13 million, report claims

Apple has reportedly shelled out a whopping £13 million (USD$21, AUD$20) to license the clock design for iOS 6.

The clock was designed by an employee of the Swiss Federal Railway service in 1944 and has been used in train stations around the country ever since.

Following the launch of iOS in September, the network complained that Apple had used the identical design, once honoured by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, without permission.

"We're rather proud that a brand as important as Apple is using our design," said a spokesperson for the service back in September.

Time is money

A month ago, it was revealed that Apple and the Swiss had come to terms on a licensing package, although the details remained confidential.

Now a report from French news agency AFP claims that Apple coughed up a £13 million lump sum for permission to use the clock in iOS 6.

Surely, that has to be the most expensive clock ever?
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