Apple

Apple's 24th annual developers conference kicks off next week, and will be the company's first event in more than seven months.

The conference lasts the entire week, but the highlight is Monday's keynote address, where Apple typically announces new products and services. This year, Apple has only said it will give developers new versions of iOS and OS X software, though there's likely to be a surprise or two.

Expectations are high, in no small part because it's been so long since Apple has released … Read more

Apple is eyeing yet another way to dabble in the mobile payments market.

Dubbed "Method and system for managing credits via a mobile device," the application published Thursday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office envisions a system whereby mobile users would receive credits or coupons to be stored in their account. Acting as virtual currency, such credits could be used to help pay bills or buy items at a point of purchase.

Apple already offers a digital coupon system through its Passbook app. But the service highlighted in the patent application would take the concept a … Read more

Apple may get a bit colorful with its much-rumored low-cost iPhone.

In an investors note out Thursday, analyst Brian White cited research suggesting that the low-cost iPhone, aka "iPhone Mini," would come in five different colors. White told CNET that he believes four of the five colors will be white, black, pink, and blue.

The analyst also expects the low-cost phone to arrive before the iPhone 5S, which is likely to debut in September assuming Apple follows its usual schedule.

Rumors have run rampant over the past several months about a low-cost iPhone, with several analysts and Apple … Read more

Tim Hickman, founder and CEO of Gumdrop Cases, has made it a tradition to announce cases for major Apple products ahead of their launches. He's currently batting 4 for 5, only whiffing badly in 2011 when another of his companies -- Hard Candy Cases -- released an iPhone 5 case in advance of the iPhone 4S launch and it didn't fit. It wasn't even close.

Now Hickman is stepping up to the plate again, trotting out new cases for the iPad 5, which he expects Apple to unveil at next week's 2013 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) … Read more

NEW YORK -- Amazon acted like a bully and threatened the publishers when discussing a new e-book sales structure, according to two publishing CEOs who testified during the Apple e-book price-fixing trial over the last two days.

David Shanks, CEO of Penguin Group USA, and Carolyn Reidy, CEO of Simon & Schuster, said Amazon's e-book pricing, in which the publishers had little power, was the main factor that drove them to pursue deals with Apple that allowed them to set their own prices. But when the publishers attempt to change their agreements with Amazon to fall more in line … Read more

NEW YORK -- Two publishers testified this week that their e-book deals with Apple played a key role in their decisions to change digital book terms with Amazon and other retailers, giving weight to the government's antitrust case against Apple.

David Shanks, CEO of Penguin Group USA, and Carolyn Reidy, CEO of Simon & Schuster, said the price-matching clause in their contracts with Apple would have hurt them financially had they not also moved all other e-book retailers to a model where publishers set prices. The publishers had previously sold books at a heavily discounted rate on a wholesale … Read more

Apple and the George Lucas-founded audio-and-visual tech firm THX are attempting to settle a patent spat between the two companies, recently filed court documents revealed.

A legal filing late Tuesday noted that the two companies were "currently attempting to resolve this matter outside of this ligitation," Bloomberg reports.

THX filed its suit against Apple in March, accusing Apple of infringing on a patent covering sound direction from small speakers. In its complaint, THX said Apple's iPhone 4, along with iPads and iMac computers, were using that technology without a license, and were causing the company "monetary … Read more

Apple has filed for a trademark on the "iWatch" brand in Russia, a new report out of that country claims.

Russian newspaper Izvestia reported on Wednesday that Apple filed for the trademark with the country's patent and trademark office, Rospatent. Not surprisingly, the news has sparked more speculation on when Apple's long-rumored iWatch might finally launch.

For its part, Apple has not confirmed that it'll launch a wearable watch. However, a slew of reports over the last several months have suggested that the company is indeed working on such a device, and it will be … Read more

A 16-year-old programmer named Ash Bhat is attending Apple's WWDC next week for free. How? He created an iOS app that earned him one of 150 scholarships.

Tickets to Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference sold out within two minutes after going on sale in April. But the company held out hope for student developers, promising scholarships for 150 of those able to create an app that would knock Apple's socks off.

The scholarship awarded one free ticket to join the conference, which runs from June 10 to June 14 in San Francisco.

Those qualified to enter the competition … Read more