Nokia and Apple settle patent dispute
Finnish phone maker Nokia has announced in a press release that it has finally settled all of their patent disputes with Apple. The settlement has resulted in an agreement that withdraws all complaints filed by Nokia and Apple to the US International Trade Commission.
The agreement requires a one-time payment, as well as the continued payment of royalties, payable by Apple to Nokia for the term of the agreement. The specific terms of the contract are confidential. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop says:
“We are very pleased to have Apple join the growing number of Nokia licensees, said Stephen Elop, president and chief executive officer of Nokia. This settlement demonstrates Nokia’s industry leading patent portfolio and enables us to focus on further licensing opportunities in the mobile communications market.”
The case has been dragging on since October 2009, when Nokia sued Apple over ten patents relating to wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption, and demanded that royalties be paid on iPhone sales since 2007.
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Apple begins selling unlocked iPhone 4 in the U.S.
Looks like the rumors of Apple selling an unlocked model of its iPhone 4 smartphone this week has come to fruition as the handset has gone live on the US Apple Store, letting customers purchase both 16GB and 32GB devices.
The unlocked phones would currently only work on GSM carriers, suggesting that Apple may be already flushing out stocks of the iPhone 4 to make way for the next iPhone refresh. There are speculations that this move could possibly prompt unlocked versions of the upcoming iPhones not just in the U.S. but in other countries as well.
Prices for the 16GB model begin at $649.00, with the 32GB costing $749.00 – both devices are available in black and white.
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Apple to sell new Macbook Air late this month?
Taiwan’s Economic Daily is reporting that Apple will begin selling its latest Macbook Air in late June with 380,000 units as the first shipment. The newspaper said together with the existing model of Macbook Air, 460,000 units were expected to be shipped this month. The report also claims that the third-generation iPad will include a display that is six times the resolution of the iPad 2 – something observers say is highly unlikely.
Talks are that Apple’s upgraded ultra-thin notebook will probably include Intel’s Thunderbolt I/O and new Sandy Bridge processors.
