For the majority of the world, the Black Friday sales have yet to commence, but thanks to the varying time zones, some countries have already begun to see one-off discounts on a range of products. Naturally, we're focusing on the savings in the technology field, and although the sales have yet to begin in the USA and other nations, those in Australia and New Zealand are already capitalizing on Apple's Black Friday offers.
Many of us view our ringtone choice as a reflection of us, and as such, we find ourselves spending hour upon hour in deliberation, meticulously selecting one that adequately takes our fancy. Although we appreciate the production that goes into our favorite music tracks, we tend to see ringtones as little more than random jingles, but as Nokia has kindly demonstrated, much work is put in behind-the-scenes in order to create these complex alerts.
We have seen instances in the past of resourceful developers throwing together various pieces of work and technologies to create clever ways of controlling lighting levels at home or office as well as creating make-shift home automation systems that may not have the same power as a premium system, but still gets the job done. The SiriProxy-Hue project is yet another example of how community driven projects can interact with Apple's own software and hardware to create a usable system for the average user.
It was approximately ten days ago when Apple and HTC announced that they had come to a global settlement that would eventually see their ongoing legal dispute come to an extremely welcome end. Both Peter Chou and Tim Cook expressed their delight in reaching the agreement that they hoped would see their respective companies focusing in innovation and customer satisfaction rather than pumping endless resources into fighting one another in a courtroom. Although both HTC and Apple refused to publicly reveal the intricate details of the agreement, a US based Magistrate judge has ruled that Apple will be required to let Samsung in on the bigger picture and inform them exactly what deal has been reached between Apple and their Taiwanese rivals.
It may have been relatively quiet on the patent front in comparison to the no-holds barred playground that we have been used to over the last twelve months, but Samsung is ensuring that the litigation surrounding alleged patent infringements will continue well into next year. We all remember the major Apple victory earlier this year in a San Jose courtroom, but it appears that Samsung is now going on the offensive side by ensuring that a number of Apple's recently released products are added through a court filing that should see the two technology powerhouses duking it out once again in another bitter legal battle.
The September 14th ruling that saw Samsung ordered to pay Apple a cool billion dollars may be set for review by the ITC, but that hasn't stopped one of Samsung's top men letting loose with a volley that is sure to sting many at Apple HQ. According to the head of Samsung’s mobile and IT division, Apple's iPhone would be impossible if Samsung didn’t license its patents to its fierce competitor.
We're just two days away from Black Friday, and as retailers prepare for a frenzy of shoppers this weekend, some of the deals on offer are just starting to be revealed. Many of those looking to grab one of the specials this weekend are in search of an Apple product. Aside from the general popularity of the iPads, iPods and Macs, it's one of the very few occasions where Apple's prices budge, and with the holiday season looming, it's the perfect opportunity for everybody to stock up on gifts for friends and loved ones.
iTunes 11, which, among other new features and implementations, is set for a major design overhaul of the store, was supposed to have arrived at some point last month, but thanks to numerous delays, has not yet seen the light of day. It's scheduled to finally be shipping at the end of this month, and a post over at the MacRumors forums suggest Apple may have finally gotten iTunes sorted out. The post screenshots an email that was sent to artists by German music distribution service Feiyr, which says iTunes 11 is "about to be released within the next days."
Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto franchise is one of the most iconic on any gaming platform, and to commemorate the tenth anniversary since the release of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, a port for iOS and Android is set to arrive on December 6th. As we reported last month, Rockstar will be rolling back the years for the nostalgic GTA fans, and as well as confirming the release date in a press statement today, it also added the title will cost $5.
Apple's ongoing patent spat with Samsung has been particularly interesting over the past week due to the involvement of HTC. The Cupertino company reached a licensing agreement with the Taiwanese outfit ten days ago, but Samsung has since demanded Apple hand over details of said agreement, claiming they could be relevant to its own case with Apple.
