The American multinational corporation Apple, has posted a written apology on several British papers saying, “Samsung Electronics did not copy the design of Apple’s product.”

The written apology by Apple was posted on Financial Times on November 1 and on the Daily Mail and the Guardian on November 2. A British court made the decision that Galaxy Tab, Samsung’s tablet PC, did not infringe the patent of the design of Apple’s iPad.

In the papers, Apple introduced the sentencing by a British court and said, “A British court has reached a verdict that Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1, Tab 8.9, and Tab 7.7 did not infringe the patent of the design of Apple’s iPad, and the decision will be applied to all EU nations as well.”

The British courts already made this decision last July, ordering Apple to release official statement in the British papers to let people know the court’s decision.

Therefore, Apple posted an official statement on its British website on October 25, saying that Samsung did not infringe the patent of Apple. However, its official statement included controversial sentences such as, “The design of Galaxy Tab is not cool enough to differentiate it from iPad,” or “Some nations like Germany or the United States has admitted Samsung’s infringement.”

After Apple’s official statement was released, the British court ordered Apple to delete its statement in 24 hours and to release new statement by November 3, saying that Apple’s official statement was “not true and not correct.”

Over the court’s decision, Apple said that it would take at least two weeks to release a new statement, but the court did not admit Apple’s compliant.

The court also added, “The size of font should be 11 when Apple releases a new statement.” Apple’s original statement on its British website was too small to read and located down on the left.

The court warned that it can send some Apple’s executives such as Tim Cook, a CEO of Apple, Jonathan Ive, a chief designer at Apple, or Al Gore, the former U.S. vice president and a current member of board of directors at Apple, to jail, or it can confiscate their properties if Apple does not follow the decision of court properly this time. The court added that Apple is not allowed to appeal over this issue, and Apple should bear all costs that Samsung has spent for the legal dispute with Apple.

Meanwhile, it is expected that Apple will post more written apologies on other British media such as Mobile Magazine or T3 Magazine.

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Each successive Apple iPhone that rolls out is a nipped and tucked offshoot of the previous model – with modifications that keep getting more and more sophisticated. However, in its fifth installment, is the iPhone 5 merely a retouched version of its predecessor?

What’s New

At 7.6mm, Apple’s new baby is the world’s thinnest smartphone. And if you thought the 960×640 resolution of the iPhone 4 didn’t play up the subtleties in your photos and videos quite enough, the newcomer’s 4-inch screen features a 1136×640 resolution Retina display. Each pixel doubles as a touch-sensing electrode, a departure from the double-layered touch screens of old that feature touch sensors below the pixel display. It is this clever quirk that enables the iPhone 5 to weigh a wispy 112 grams.

The A6 chip and iOS 6 mobile operating system join forces to deliver “twice the CPU and graphics performance,” claims the press release. Always striving to be superlative, Apple has created the first smartphone with LTE wireless capabilities, which support speeds of up to 150Mbps – a godsend for those who enjoy streaming movies on the go.

Critics have marveled at the ‘Panorama’ feature of the gadget’s 8 megapixel iSight camera, which “stitches” sequences of shots together to form a 240 degree photograph by swiping the phone across a scene. Furthermore, the camera’s sapphire crystal lens is more scratch-resistant and dust-deflecting than the iPhone 4’s standard glass lens. The 1.2 megapixel front-facing FaceTime camera is supported by cellular wideband audio that cancels background noise for clearer video calls.

Apple has bumped off Google Maps, supplanting it for software of its own that features real-time traffic data and turn-by-turn navigation. 3D rendering of major cities and tourism hotbeds is, for the most part, reliable; however, picture quality tends to deviate as users navigate away from these sites.

What the World Says

Despite Apple’s uncanny ability to stretch the iPhone’s product life cycle, technology experts are divided between the impressed and the skeptical. As the first iPhone to feature a 4G network, the iPhone 5 is “playing catch-up with other smartphones on the market,” according to David Bottomley, Business Editor of TODAY. The Economist rates the iPhone 5 a “five out of ten,” dismissing its new advances as “incremental changes.”

The new ‘Lightning’ dock connector has also caused considerable contention, as it renders the charging cables, car adapters and docks of previous models incompatible – unless users purchase the cable or plug adapter for $39 and $29 respectively. “These adapters should not be a profit center for Apple; they should be a gesture of kindness to those of us who’ve bought accessories based on the old connector,” wrote David Pogue in The New York Times.

These minor grievances notwithstanding, analysts have predicted sales of 10-12 million units this September, with stocks for online preorders having depleted within the hour of its 12:01am opening on September 14.

Should users of the iPhone 4 switch to the iPhone 5?

Apple idolaters will no doubt trade their iPhone 4 for the newbie – by no means a shortchange – however, those who watched Wednesday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live may hesitate. ABC crew took to the streets to ask passersby to test the “new iPhone 5.” Subjects were handed the iPhone 4S, presumed to be the iPhone 5, and asked to compare. Not one person surmised the hoax. “Oh my God, it feels a lot lighter and more high quality!” one man enthused. Three others made remarks about its “superior” speed. One woman took out her iPhone 4, held it up next to the fake iPhone and nodded. “Yeah, that one’s definitely faster.”

While the spoof may have been a hilarious TV moment, audiences began to realize how media hype and trendsetting informs much of Apple’s brand loyalty. In a move that might seem self-effacing, Apple is enabling the iOS 6, the operating system which distinguishes the iPhone 5, to be downloaded for free onto previous models of the iPhone.

The iPhone 5 retails in the USA, UK and Canada on September 21.

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Gazelle (www.gazelle.com), the nation’s largest consumer electronics direct-to-consumer reCommerce service, announced January 13 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the results of a survey that polled show-floor attendees to reveal connections between mobile phone ownership and one’s outlook on life.

The survey aimed to draw a correlation between one’s level of optimism or pessimism and the smartphone and tablet one owns. The results were particularly telling and, amongst the juiciest of findings, the survey pointed to the fact that 29% of iPhone owners expect the best in uncertain times, 3% more than the next set of users (Android).

The study also showed that 33% of BlackBerry users hardly ever expect things to go their way, suggesting an overall malaise amongst BlackBerry users.  Research also found that iPhone users were particularly resilient in these tough economic conditions with 36% saying they don’t get upset too easily, even during difficult economic times.

Because Gazelle accepts hundreds of thousands of consumer electronic trade-ins each year, the company serves as a unique barometer of U.S. consumer electronics consumption habits.  Gazelle is using CES to celebrate collective consumer love for gadgets and to better understand, with a twist, the sociology behind certain Smartphone and tablet users.

Below is a more in-depth look at how Apple, Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone users view their life outlook:

iPhone and iPad users are optimistic, calm and also social

• In uncertain times, 29% of iPhone users and 60% of iPad users expect the best
• 52% of iPhone users and 58% of iPad users are always optimistic about their future
• 25% of iPhone users and 26% of iPad users don’t get upset too easily
• 65% of iPhone users and 52% of iPad users enjoy their friends a lot

Android users are generally optimistic and active

• 28% of Android smartphone users and 36% of Android tablet users are always optimistic about their future
• 48% of Android smartphone users and 64% of Android tablet users think it’s important to keep busy
• 31% of Android smartphone users and 55% of Android tablet users often expect more good things to happen than bad
• 18% of Android smartphone users and 27% of Android tablet users don’t get upset too easily

BlackBerry users are pessimistic and uneasy about their future

• 33% of BlackBerry users believe if something can go wrong for them, it will
• 33% of BlackBerry users rarely count on good things happening to them
• 16% of BlackBerry users hardly ever expect things to go their way
• 0% of BlackBerry users usually expect the best

“Who knew that Apple users had such a promising outlook on life, while BlackBerry owners hardly expect things to go their way?” said Israel Ganot, co-founder and CEO of Gazelle. “Our survey aimed to celebrate the passion many at CES have for their gadgets and the latest and greatest trends in consumer electronics.

One of the reasons for the rapid growth of the reCommerce industry is that many have recognized the value possessed by used electronics and the lucrative benefits of trading in one’s gadgets for cash.”

Image Courtesy of    http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivyfield/

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Five Chinese non-governmental organizations have accused Apple of adding to environmental degradation by using suppliers with known histories of environmental violations. The American company also faces strong criticisms for undermining social responsibility as its suppliers have been involved in serious work-related accidents and deaths.

A report released on Wednesday, which calls Apple out for taking “advantage of the loopholes in developing countries’ environmental management systems,” is threatening to cast a big shadow on Apple’s image.

One of the co-authors of the report Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, has been outspoken in several media outlets about Apple’s apparent disregard and unresponsiveness. The coalition of environmental groups has requested the help of businesses to map the companies’ impact on local communities;

Apple shied away from contributing to the report. Several electronics brands, including Samsung, Nokia and LG outsource all or part of their manufacturing. These orders are then picked up by suppliers with factories in, among other countries, China.

According to the New York Times, Apple spokesman Steve Dowling responded on Wednesday that the company had been aggressively monitoring its supply chain regularly.

“We require that our supplier provides safe working conditions, treat workers with dignity and respect, and use environmentally responsible manufacturing processes wherever Apple products are made,” Dowling said.

But at the same time, Apple has, according to GOOD magazine, defended its ranking in the environmental groups report as a result of their suppliers’ actions — not theirs. CNN reported that the Apple company found 80 facilities where storage and handling of hazardous chemicals was not done properly during the 2010 audit.

According to Apple’s own report, the company had requested the non-compliant facilities to correct their mistakes and document these processes but nowhere does it say if the request was granted.

Apple’s market share in China has grown exponentially and the busiest Apple store in the world is located there. Yet their presence in the mainland has caused controversy. Despite keeping their suppliers under wraps, the company has faced multiple production challenges.

The New York Times reports that one of Apple’s biggest suppliers was hit by a suicide wave among workers at several mainland facilities last year while an explosion at fire at another plant in southwest China in May killed two and injured more than a dozen.

Apple is not the only company to face harsh criticism for taking advantage of the Chinese system — several multinational corporations have, according to the New York Times, been accused of employing child labour, violating local labor laws and polluting water resources and land.

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Fake Apple stores have begun popping up in China, fooling not only the customers, but the workers as well. The quickly developing country is renowned for creating and selling remake products, however this is more than a step up from product recreation.

A blogger who goes by BirdAbroad found the store, located in China’s Yunnan province in the city of Kunming. The blogger says that the first giveaway was the glowing apple outside the storefront. Instead of standing alone as it should, the words Apple Store accompanied it, giving away its mirage of reality.

Inside all things would appear fine, exactly identical to any authorized Apple store found across the world. However, the blogger admits that upon closer inspection little things including paints jobs and intricate staircases appear to be unprofessionally done.

In a recent update from BirdAbroad, she explains that many different media outlets have been able to contact workers or managers from the fake store. The Toronto Star said they spoke with a manager who claims that while they now know they are unauthorized, the products they are selling are real.

BirdAbroad has also begun taking heat from the population of Kunming, as well as other cities across China. She has recieved many different complaints about her blog and posts commenting on the fake apple store.

Some are looking for a public apology for mudding their good name, while others are irritated at the ongoing attention to knockoff production in China. They are saying, “shanzai is unstoppable in China;” shanzai, meaning knockoff.

Regardless, while the store is unauthorized, and there remains to be confusion on whether the products are real or not, many citizens in Kunming are saying that they don’t mind the knockoff store.

BirdAbroad quoted someone saying, “Apple deserves to have shanzhai stores, since their products are absurdly expensive, despite being made right here in China.”

1000 Words / Shutterstock.com

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The general image of the Apple Store is to “do what you want so long as you don’t break or steal anything.” To see just how far he could go, comedian Mark Malkoff pulled some interesting pranks on one Apple Store.

“It’s amazing what the Apple Store will allow,” Malkoff said. “There are hundreds of videos online of customers singing and dancing in the middle of the store. Not only do they allow house pets, but I have heard of customers successfully bringing in snakes. I can’t imagine that being tolerated at any other store.”

His first plan was to see if he could get a pizza delivered to him while he was shopping on the second floor of a Manhattan Apple Store. He gained positive reactions from the staff, one of whom remarked that the stunt was awesome when the pie was delivered and was also shocked that the pizza place was willing to deliver to someone inside a large retail store.

Malkoff was later joined by his wife for a romantic in-store dinner, complete with waiter service and dancing under a mirror ball while a solo trumpeter played a song.

The stunts do not stop there. On another day, Malkoff was able to receive help for his broken iPhone dressed as Darth Vader. One employee even urged him to use the force.

Though, the latest stunt may be the best yet. To see just how far he could push his luck, Malkoff brought in a goat. While there were more strange looks than before, he still was not rejected from the store.

“The staff at the Apple stores could not have been any nicer.” Mark said. “The fact they let me bring in a goat still makes me laugh.”

1000 Words / Shutterstock.com

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