|  |  |  | | | | | MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 
Nortel announced that they had concluded an auction to sell of its patents and patent applications to a consortium consisting of Apple, EMC, Ericsson, Microsoft, RIM and Sony. The final winning bid was $4.5 billion and includes over 6,000 patents and patent applications covering wireless, 4G, networking optical, voice internet, semiconductors and more. "Following a very robust auction, we are pleased at the outcome of the auction of this extensive patent portfolio", said George Riedel, Chief Strategy Officer and President of Business Units, Nortel. "The size and dollar value for this transaction is unprecedented, as was the significant interest in the portfolio among major companies around the world." We had previously reported that Apple had been interested in buying up the patents off Nortel Networks which had filed for bankruptcy in 2009. The interest in the portfolio was significant due to the broad reach of the patents, especially in the area of wireless networking and LTE technology. Google was also said to be one of the early interested parties by placing an opening bid of $900 million on the patents.
One research firm has estimated that there are 105 patent families deemed essential to deployment of LTE (4G) technology, with Nokia controlling 57 of those families. Ericsson is said to control 14 families, while Nortel, Qualcomm, and Sony are each reported to control about seven families. The companies that are part of the winning bid will presumably provide access to these patents to those companies.
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Nortel announced that they had concluded an auction to sell of its patents and patent applications to a consortium consisting of Apple, EMC, Ericsson, Microsoft, RIM and Sony. The final winning bid was $4.5 billion and includes over 6,000 patents and patent applications covering wireless, 4G, networking optical, voice internet, semiconductors and more. "Following a very robust auction, we are pleased at the outcome of the auction of this extensive patent portfolio", said George Riedel, Chief Strategy Officer and President of Business Units, Nortel. "The size and dollar value for this transaction is unprecedented, as was the significant interest in the portfolio among major companies around the world." We had previously reported that Apple had been interested in buying up the patents off Nortel Networks which had filed for bankruptcy in 2009. The interest in the portfolio was significant due to the broad reach of the patents, especially in the area of wireless networking and LTE technology. Google was also said to be one of the early interested parties by placing an opening bid of $900 million on the patents.
One research firm has estimated that there are 105 patent families deemed essential to deployment of LTE (4G) technology, with Nokia controlling 57 of those families. Ericsson is said to control 14 families, while Nortel, Qualcomm, and Sony are each reported to control about seven families. The companies that are part of the winning bid will presumably provide access to these patents to those companies.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | During the keynote address at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this month, Phil Schiller noted that Apple's Mac App Store, launch in early January, has rapidly risen to become the top selling distribution channel for computer software, beating out Best Buy, Walmart, and Office Depot. According to Schiller:In the last six months, something incredible has happened. In the last six months, the Mac App Store has now become the #1 PC software channel for buying software. That's incredible. But questions have remained about just how successful the Mac App Store has been, given the smaller installed base compared to iOS and long-standing alternative methods for purchasing software.
Developer Martin Schultz has, however, now provided a look at sales figures for his Hard Rock Racing app, which managed to peak as the #3 paid game and #14 overall paid app in the U.S. earlier this month after being featured by Apple in the "New and Noteworthy" section on the front page of the Mac App Store. According to Schultz, that stellar ranking translated into only 743 sales on the peak day.
While that one-day performance resulted in a solid $2,500 payday for Schultz after Apple's 30% cut of revenue, it's clear that Mac App Store sales fall far short of those seen for iOS apps. We spoke with John Casasanta of iOS developer taptaptap, who shared that his Camera+ application typically pulls in 8,000-12,000 downloads per day when it is ranked around #14 in the overall paid apps for the iOS App Store. Of course, 743 sales on peak day may be better than Schultz might have done through traditional channels or direct online sales.
Apple is of course working hard to drive adoption of the Mac App Store, opting to distribute its forthcoming OS X Lion exclusively through the store. The company has also released its new Final Cut Pro X apps and other titles such as Aperture, iWork, and iLife through the store. With the Mac App Store set to take on an even larger role in OS X Lion with the addition of such features as in-app purchases and push notifications, Apple is clearly pushing forward in its attempts to replicate the success of the iOS App Store on the Mac platform. 
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | During the keynote address at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this month, Phil Schiller noted that Apple's Mac App Store, launch in early January, has rapidly risen to become the top selling distribution channel for computer software, beating out Best Buy, Walmart, and Office Depot. According to Schiller:In the last six months, something incredible has happened. In the last six months, the Mac App Store has now become the #1 PC software channel for buying software. That's incredible. But questions have remained about just how successful the Mac App Store has been, given the smaller installed base compared to iOS and long-standing alternative methods for purchasing software.
Developer Martin Schultz has, however, now provided a look at sales figures for his Hard Rock Racing app, which managed to peak as the #3 paid game and #14 overall paid app in the U.S. earlier this month after being featured by Apple in the "New and Noteworthy" section on the front page of the Mac App Store. According to Schultz, that stellar ranking translated into only 743 sales on the peak day.
While that one-day performance resulted in a solid $2,500 payday for Schultz after Apple's 30% cut of revenue, it's clear that Mac App Store sales fall far short of those seen for iOS apps. We spoke with John Casasanta of iOS developer taptaptap, who shared that his Camera+ application typically pulls in 8,000-12,000 downloads per day when it is ranked around #14 in the overall paid apps for the iOS App Store.
Apple is of course working hard to drive adoption of the Mac App Store, opting to distribute its forthcoming OS X Lion exclusively through the store. The company has also released its new Final Cut Pro X apps and other titles such as Aperture, iWork, and iLife through the store. With the Mac App Store set to take on an even larger role in OS X Lion with the addition of such features as in-app purchases and push notifications, Apple is clearly pushing forward in its attempts to replicate the success of the iOS App Store on the Mac platform. 
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  MacLife.de reports [Google translation] that the boxed version of iWork '09 is currently out of stock at a number of prominent German retailers, including Amazon.de, Cyberport.de, Gravis.de, and Alternate.de.
Apple of course began offering the individual iWork '09 applications via the Mac App Store from its launch in early January, pricing the three applications at $19.99 each. The company has, however, continued to sell the boxed version of iWork '09 priced at $79.99 for a single-user license or $99.99 for a family pack.
iWork '09 is two-and-a-half years old at this point, having been introduced in January 2009. Rumors had claimed that Apple was preparing to launch a revamped iWork '11 suite alongside the Mac App Store earlier this year, and iWork shortages at retail stores leading up to the Mac App Store debut had further fueled speculation, but nothing materialized.
Despite the recent iWork stock issues at German retailers, such shortages are not a consistent predictor of Apple product updates, particularly in the case of software, where the company's products have commonly gone out of stock temporarily only to reappear soon after. Nevertheless, it is interesting to speculate about whether the launch of OS X Lion could see Apple make changes to its other software offerings such as iWork by either releasing an updated version or simply moving to exclusive Mac App Store distribution for the current version. 
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Earlier this year, Apple rolled out In App Subscriptions for App Store applications, offering content providers a way to provide ongoing content within their applications. As part of that rollout, Apple required that providers offer their content via In App Subscriptions at at least the same rates as other purchasing mechanisms and also barred apps from including links to those alternative external mechanisms, such as "buy" buttons linking out to web-based stores. The regulations were set to apply to both purchased and subscribed content, and would go into effect on June 30th (today) for existing applications.
But with just a few weeks to go before the deadline, Apple backpedaled somewhat, adjusting its App Store terms to allow developers to provide content in their applications without also requiring that the content be made available through In App Purchases/Subscriptions. The company did, however, maintain its exclusion of "buy" buttons linking to external purchasing mechanisms, and presumably continued to demand a June 30th compliance date for existing apps.
Last week, Hulu Plus became one of the highest-profile apps to comply with Apple's new rules, simply removing an external link for signing up for the Hulu Plus service. The revised app complies with Apple's rules by playing outside subscription content without offering an In App Subscription option while also not providing users with a way to subscribe to the service linked from directly within the app.
At the time, it was noted that a number of other high-profile apps had yet to comply with Apple's terms and that some such as Amazon's Kindle app might have significant difficulties doing so given their focus on offering individual eBook purchases. Offering access to a catalog of eBook content with no way to link out for external purchases would mark a relatively significant inconvenience for users trying to make new purchases.
CNN Money reports that Kindle does indeed appear to be in Apple's crosshairs, along with similar eBook services from Barnes & Noble and Borders.The new rules explicitly prohibit apps that include "external mechanisms for purchases ... such as a 'buy' button that goes to a web site to purchase a digital book."
Amazon's Kindle app prominently features a "Shop in Kindle Store" link, which takes shoppers to Amazon's website. That's verboten under the rules set to take effect Thursday. Apple and the digital booksellers have remained silent on exactly what is expected to happen today as the new rules take effect, but none of the high-profile applications have yet received updates that would bring them into compliance with the rules.
Apple is not averse, however, to rejecting or removing such applications for non-compliance, as the company demonstrated by rejecting a Sony Reader application earlier this year for its ability to purchase external content without also offering In App Purchasing. 
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Earlier this year, Apple rolled out In App Subscriptions for App Store applications, offering content providers a way to provide ongoing content within their applications. As part of that rollout, Apple required that providers offer their content via In App Subscriptions at at least the same rates as other purchasing mechanisms and also barred apps from including links to those alternative external mechanisms, such as "buy" buttons linking out to web-based stores. The regulations were set to apply to both purchased and subscribed content, and would go into effect on June 30th (today) for existing applications.
But with just a few weeks to go before the deadline, Apple backpedaled somewhat, adjusting its App Store terms to allow developers to provide content in their applications without also requiring that the content be made available through In App Purchases/Subscriptions. The company did, however, maintain its exclusion of "buy" buttons linking to external purchasing mechanisms, and presumably continued to demand a June 30th compliance date for existing apps.
Last week, Hulu Plus became one of the highest-profile apps to comply with Apple's new rules, simply removing an external link for signing up for the Hulu Plus service. The revised app complies with Apple's rules by playing outside subscription content without offering an In App Subscription option while also not providing users with a way to subscribe to the service linked from directly within the app.
At the time, it was noted that a number of other high-profile apps had yet to comply with Apple's terms and that some such as Amazon's Kindle app might have significant difficulties doing so given their focus on offering individual eBook purchases. Offering access to a catalog of eBook content with no way to link out for external purchases would mark a relatively significant inconvenience for users trying to make new purchases.
CNN Money reports that Kindle does indeed appear to be in Apple's crosshairs, along with similar eBook services from Barnes & Noble and Borders.The new rules explicitly prohibit apps that include "external mechanisms for purchases ... such as a 'buy' button that goes to a web site to purchase a digital book."
Amazon's Kindle app prominently features a "Shop in Kindle Store" link, which takes shoppers to Amazon's website. That's verboten under the rules set to take effect Thursday. Apple and the digital booksellers have remained silent on exactly what is expected to happen today as the new rules take effect, but none of the high-profile applications have yet received updates that would bring them into compliance with the rules.
Apple is not averse, however, to rejecting or removing such applications for non-compliance, as the company demonstrated by rejecting a Sony Reader application earlier this year for its ability to purchase external content without also offering In App Purchasing. 
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As noted by MacStories, Apple's App Store has reached yet another milestone, now offering over 100,000 iPad-specific applications.Apple and third-party developers have set a new record: in 453 days since the original iPad came out on April 3, 2010, the App Store has more than 100,000 iPad-exclusive apps available. Either specifically targeting the tablet, or released as universal updates to existing iPhone apps, at the moment of writing this there are 100,161 iPad apps in the Store. How do I know? The App Store app itself on my iPad shows that. Our sister site AppShopper, which tracks iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac App Store apps, currently has the available iPad app count at just over 106,000, as it relies on a slightly different recording method supplied by Apple's API for tracking App Store apps.
Apple currently offers over 400,000 total apps in its iOS App Store, and over 5,000 more in its Mac App Store. 
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As noted by MacStories, Apple's App Store has reached yet another milestone offering, now offering over 100,000 iPad-specific applications.Apple and third-party developers have set a new record: in 453 days since the original iPad came out on April 3, 2010, the App Store has more than 100,000 iPad-exclusive apps available. Either specifically targeting the tablet, or released as universal updates to existing iPhone apps, at the moment of writing this there are 100,161 iPad apps in the Store. How do I know? The App Store app itself on my iPad shows that. Our sister site AppShopper, which tracks iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac App Store apps, currently has the available iPad app count at just over 106,000, as it relies on a slightly different recording method supplied by Apple's API for tracking App Store apps.
Apple currently offers over 400,000 total apps in its iOS App Store, and over 5,000 more in its Mac App Store. 
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