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Apple just found itself on the receiving-end of some legal hurt. Motorola has successfully sued Apple in Germany, paving the way for a Europe-wise sales ban on basically all iOS devices. Better get those Apple stocking stuffers like nowish.

Motorola Mobility has won its first of two patent-infringement cases against Apple, both of which were filed back in April. This grants them an injunction against all of the products which infringe. No big deal, that only includes the iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, the original iPad 3G and iPad 2 3G. Oh damn. And if you’re feeling smug because you didn’t see the iPhone 4S in there, that’s only because the lawsuit was filed back in April, but it’s a pretty safe bet that the 4S includes the offending technology, too. Needless to say, this is potentially a major blow to Apple.

The patent in question relates to core cellular technology and is described in the court document as “method for performing a countdown function during a mobile-originated transfer for a packet radio system”. If the ruling is upheld, Apple must either remove this technology from their devices or pay a hefty licensing fee. There is also a question of payment for past infringement.

Motorola Mobility must now decide whether or not they will enforce this ban immediately. Naturally, Apple is going to appeal the case, but the injunction is already enforceable. If Moto opts to do so, they must cough up a $134 million bond, in case the verdict is overturned in appeal. Apple wanted the bond set at $2.7 billion citing the massive losses it would take, but here, too, the judge sided with Moto.

It seems that Apple is suddenly getting a taste of its own medicine after the whole Apple v. Samsung thing in Australia (and Europe, and the US). By the time all this shakes out the only tablets left on shelves will be refurbished Etch-a-Sketches. [Foss Patents via 9to5 Mac]

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This campus was Steve Jobs’ idea and vision when he acquired the old HP campus. This was mentioned in Steve Jobs’ biography:

He admired the way that Hewlett and Packard had built a lasting company, and he prided himself on having done the same at Apple. Now he wanted to showcase headquarters, something that no West Coast technology company had.

…

“I want to leave a signature campus that expresses the values of the company for generations.”

Below are some renderings of the campus.

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Image courtesy of AnimationMagazine.net

According to E! Online, screenwriter, producer and playwright Aaron Sorkin is “strongly considering” writing a screenplay for a rumored Sony movie about the life and work of Steve Jobs. Sorkin was quoted as telling the publication at the P.S. Arts Express Yourself 2011 event in Santa Monica:

Sony has asked me to write the movie and it’s something I’m strongly considering. [...] He was a great entrepreneur, he was a great artist, a great thinker. [...] He’s probably inspired my 11-year-old daughter Roxy more than he’s inspired me. She plays with all his toys.

Sony Pictures recently acquired feature rights to film a flick based on Walter Isaacson’s authorized bio. As we already informed you, someone from ER is likely to play Steve Jobs. The choice could come down to George Clooney (50) and Noah Wyle (40). The latter played Jobs in Pirates of Silicon Valley and recently said he would give his eye teeth, in the heartbeat, to play Apple’s charismatic co-founder.

Sorkin’s work includes the well-received television show The West Wing. He also wrote screenplay for the controversial movie The Social Network which covers how Facebook came to be while portraying its co-founder Mark Zuckerberg as a ruthless young entrepreneur  who stole an existing idea from the Winklevoss brothers, tweaked it and made it his own.

From 9to5Mac.

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Digitimes recently reported that their supplier-based contacts say that Apple is currently prototyping two versions of the third-generation iPad. The site says the iPad 3′s are codenamed J1 and J2 and Apple has not yet decided which model to launch. Based on code strings I have seen (shown in screenshot above), the J2 iPad mentioned in the Digitimes report is definitely a real device. Based on Digitimes accurately predicting the iPad 3′s codename, it seems at least somewhat plausible that the site’s attached rumors of a Retina Display and a dual LED-bar system to power this ultra-high-resolution display are accurate (or at least planned possibilities).

What Digitimes said about the J1/J2 (and more devices):

 

 

 

Since Apple demands that the new iPad model will need to be thinner than the iPad 2, while raising the machine’s screen resolution to 2048 by 1536, upstream component makers have been working aggressively to adjust the device’s LED and panel module designs to satisfy these demands, but the work has affected the launch schedule of the new tablet PC. Apple is currently giving two tablet PC projects codenamed J1 and J2 to its upstream partners for development. The sources revealed that the major differences of the new tablet PCs compared to the previous model are their size, specifications and technologies. Since the new tablet PCs have a higher resolution, Apple has demanded the design of the light source to be changed from a single LED light bar to two LED light bars on the left and right sides of the machine, but since the method of adopting two LED light bars has created difficulty in shrinking the machine’s thickness, some vendors have come out with designs that only adopt one light bar, but are packing two LED chips into one package. The sources pointed out that the J2 project seems to be an upgrade version of the J1 and although Apple has not yet decided which project will be used for the final launch, Apple is likely to make the final decision based on its needs. As for the upstream side, the component suppliers have already conducted pilot production and prepared for mass production.

The report said Apple is yet to choose between the J1 and J2 model, but it seems like the J2 is actually just the 3G model (the J2 reference was found alongside other CDMA iOS devices) and it is possible that there is a J1, but that has not been found in the iOS 5 code. The J2 iPad 3 being found in iOS 5 code means the device is actually in testing right now against an iOS 5 software release. In fact, the J2 codename has been floating around since the initial betas of iOS 5.0. In addition – as you can see in the screenshot above – there is an unknown T39 device also in testing. I’m not sure what the T39 is but it likely is a device that can connect to cellular networks.

From 9to5Mac.

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Bloomberg is reporting that the rumored Apple HDTV is being led by iTunes creator Jeff Robbin (introducing iTunes 9, above). Jeff Robbin led Apple to create both the original iPod and iTunes — so obviously he’s the man for the job.

Apple Inc. is turning to the software engineer who built iTunes to help lead its development of a television set, according to three people with knowledge of the project. Jeff Robbin, who helped create the iPod in addition to the iTunes media store, is now guiding Apple’s internal development of the new TV effort, said the people, who declined to be identified because his role isn’t public.

Bloomberg also quotes Piper’s Munster who believes that the HDTV is in prototype, due out late next year or 2013. He also postulates that the Apple TV will have Siri and iCloud functionality. Siri would act as the controller (think Kinect) and iCloud would help deliver user’s content.

In Steve Jobs’ biography, Jobs told Isaacson “that he cracked the code for building an HDTV.” Robbin is an interesting character. Bloomberg explains:

Robbin, the software engineer helping lead the TV effort, was hired in 2000 to develop iTunes after Apple bought the SoundJam digital music player he developed. iTunes, introduced in January 2001, became Apple’s digital hub for synchronizing music, video and applications across Apple’s devices, including the iPod, iPhone and iPad.

According to the biography, Jobs considered Robbin such a valuable employee that he wouldn’t let a Time magazine reporter meet him without agreeing not to print his last name, for fear that he would be poached by a competitor.

Robbin was among the Apple executives who helped persuade Jobs to allow computers running Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)’s Windows software to use iTunes, according to the biography, a move that helped the company add millions of new customers. The iTunes digital store, with more than 225 million registered users, generated almost $1.5 billion last quarter.

Robbin also was closely involved with the development of the iPod, including participating in a crucial 2001 meeting when Apple decided on the spin-wheel design of the digital music player and charted its expansion beyond personal computers to mobile computing, according to the book.

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Apple’s new MacBook Pro lineup is launching as early as next week. Today, we have all the details on the new notebooks and this looks to be a minor refresh with faster processors and more storage (for some models). The prices will be the same as the current model’s prices.

New 13 inch MacBook Pros: 

• 2.4 GHz dual core processor, 4 GB of RAM, 500 GB hard drive, SD card slot
• 2.8 GHz dual core processor, 4 GB of RAM, 750 GB hard drive, SD card slot

New 15 inch MacBook Pro:

• 2.2 GHz quad core processor, 4 GB of RAM, 500 GB hard drive, SD card slot
• 2.4 GHz quad core processor, 4 GB of RAM, 750 GB hard drive, SD card slot

New 17 inch MacBook Pro: 

• 2.4 GHz quad core processor, 4GB, 750 GB hard drive, SD card slot, Express Card slot

Built-to-order configurations:

• 15 inch: 2.5 GHz, 4 GB of RAM, 750GB hard drive (faster 7200 RPM)
• 17 inch: 2.5 GHz, 4 GB of RAM, 750GB hard drive (faster 7200 RPM)

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Steve Jobs may have passed away, but he will never be dead to those who were truly inspired by his powerful personality. He’ll live on and the technology he worked on and the products he created will continue changing people’s lives for many, many years to come.

Image credit: Jonathan Mark’s Tumblr

I remember the exact moment when I heard the news. It was 7:35 AM, I had just woke up after blindly hitting all button on my alarm clock. As per my usual routine, I opened up Google Reader to catch up on the latest news from around the world and I read the first news item: RIP Steve Jobs, You’ll Be Missed. I thought, no, no, it can’t be. Steve Jobs can’t die. It must be some sort of sick joke!

Then I opened up Facebook, Twitter, both networks were full of status updates and tweets sayingRIP Steve Jobs. Still not convinced, I opened up Redmond Pie and saw Today We Have Lost An Amazing Innovator. RIP Steve Jobs and Tim Cook’s official statement within the post. Knowing how our editors are so strict about covering authentic news, I realized that the news was true after all. Steve Jobs had passed away. Steve Jobs had, passed away.

It was a horrible way to start the day. I couldn’t think straight for a good ten minutes, it was really as if a loved one had passed away. I had never felt this way about some one going away before. The odd thing was, I did not even personally know him.

Steve Jobs was a true visionary, a true innovator and was truly the best in the business. He was truly passionate about what he did and that passion is why Apple is where it is today. He was truly dedicated to his company. Despite deteriorating health, he continued working at Apple until resigning on August 25th, 2011. I find it astonishing how, despite being so physically weak, he resigned only just over a month before his death. Now that is true dedication.

Steve Jobs’ basic role at Apple was to ensure that the company continued in the right direction, a role he successfully played throughout his career.

If you look at some of his earlier team members, you’ll find that they weren’t really the most experienced in the business. But he had faith in them. He had faith in their abilities and in theirpassion for innovative, trend-setting products. This unwavering faith inspired them to work beyond their limits and create truly amazing products. What I’m basically driving at (and some people may not agree with me here) is that Steve Jobs’ role at Apple was not technical. All he really, basically did was give his team a vision. A vision that involved simplification of existing technologies while making them more powerful. The objective was to ensure the best user-experience possible.

You can see this vision in the iMac, the iPod, iPhone and, most recently, the iPad, all of which have defined and truly revolutionized the category of computers they belong to.

While reading different articles on Steve Jobs’ life, his achievements, his legend, I came across some photos which I would love to share with you all:

Note: All photographs are copyrighted to their respective owners.

Steve Jobs at 14 years of age. (1969)

Steve Jobs at the age of 16 (1971)

Steve Jobs and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak with Apple-I (1976)

Steve Jobs with Steve Wozniak (1977)

A happy Steve Jobs (1978)

Steve Jobs with Apple-II (1979)

Steve Jobs with John Sculley (1984)

Posing with Macintosh (1984)

Steve Jobs with his daughter (1989)

Steve Jobs and Bill Gates meet up for the 10th anniversary of the PC (1991)

Steve Jobs posing in front of the garage where he started Apple (1996)

A healthy Steve Jobs at Macworld (1998)

Steve Jobs with the first iMac (1998)

Steve Jobs poses with the latest iBook and Power Mac G4 (1999)

Jony Ive and Steve Jobs posing with the iMac G4 (2002)

Steve Jobs introduces the game changing iPod (2001)

Steve Jobs at the Stanford Commencement Address (2005)

A series of photos Steve took in Mike Matas’ office testing Photo Booth filters in 2005

Steve Jobs at the opening of the New York Fifth Avenue Apple Store (2006)

Steve Jobs introduces the revolutionary iPhone (2007)

Introducing the MacBook Air (2008)

Introducing the iPad (2010)

Steve Jobs introducing iOS 5 and iCloud at his last keynote at WWDC (2011)

Steve Jobs shares a moment with his wife at WWDC 2011

Thanks to 9to5mac and RedmondPie for this compilation.

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The keynote went a little bad over in Hong Kong with both the Facial Recognition and the Quick Response features not working or crashing the device. Overall though, there are some interesting new features that certainly differentiate Android from iOS and Windows Phone 7.

As for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone, it has a 5-megapixel camera which has to be a letdown when compared to 8 megapixel cameras that are standardizing on the high end across the industry. Its most impressive feature (unless you are trying to squeeze it into your pocket) has to be the 4.65-inch 720P display. Although Pentile, which means not every pixel gets RGB dots, it does get close to Apple’s 326 PPI Retina display with a 316 PPI density. Like the as yet unpopular Honeycomb tablets, it doesn’t have any front facing buttons but has screen buttons that shift around as well as all of those new Android 4.0 features. From 9to5mac.

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Apple Inc co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs, counted among the greatest American CEOs of his generation, died on Wednesday at the age of 56, after a years-long and highly public battle with cancer and other health issues.

Jobs’ death was announced by Apple in a statement late on Wednesday.

The Silicon Valley icon who gave the world the iPod and the iPhone resigned as CEO of the world’s largest technology corporation in August, handing the reins to current chief executive Tim Cook.

Jobs, who fought a rare form of pancreatic cancer, was deemed the heart and soul of a company that rivals Exxon Mobil as the most valuable in America.

 R.I.P. 

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Less than an hour ago, Apple announced the iPhone 4S. It has an 8 Megapixel camera, 4G data connection, 1080p video recording, a dual core CPU and dual core GPU (Graphics). At the event a new iPod Touch was announced. It is available in White and Black, and are now cheaper. $199 for an 8GB model, $299 and $399 for a 32GB and 64GB respectively. NO 128GB model yet. There is also an update to the iPod Nano, it is only a UI update, but now the icons are bigger, making it easier to use.

Along with iOS 5, there is a new voice recognition program, called Siri.

We will keep you updated on everything announced at this conference.

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