Apple Indeed Talking with Cable Operators Ab

Following up on yesterday's report suggesting that a launch of a new Apple television product may be "imminent" based on cable operators assessing infrastructure needs to support such a device, AllThingsD notes that Apple is indeed talking with cable operators but that characterizing any launch as "imminent" would be premature.

For starters, Apple has already steered analysts away from the notion that it will have something to say about a TV solution soon. More important: If Apple were close to launching a new service, it would almost certainly be in touch with TV programmers about new arrangements, and we haven’t heard anything along those lines. 

In other words, there are still a lot of missing pieces here, and while a major cable provider running what-if scenarios on a rumored Apple product is certainly interesting, it’s not necessarily a trumpet fanfare announcing its imminent arrival.

Apple continues to refer to its existing Apple TV set-top box business as a "hobby", even as sales doubled year-over-year to 5 million units in fiscal 2012. More ambitious plans for either a new set-top box supporting live television or an Internet-connected television set are reportedly being slowed by difficult content negotiations.

Apple's Major U.S. Carrier Partners Officially Launch LTE iPad Mini and Fourth-Generation iPad

Following yesterday's delivery of some early pre-orders of the LTE versions of the iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad to U.S. customers, Apple's three major U.S. carrier partnersAT&T, Verizon, and Sprint have all announced that they are beginning sales of the devices today. 


Apple has not made any official announcement about availability of the LTE models, and users in our forums are so far reporting scant availability of the devices, particularly the iPad mini, at the company's own retail stores. We did hear from one reader who was able to purchase an LTE fourth-generation iPad at an Apple store late yesterday, but many others are not having luck so far. 

Most of Apple's retail stores do not open until 10:00 AM, but some readers have received reports from employees already on-site indicating that availability is very limited, and one reader reports that the company's 24-hour flagship store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan does not have any LTE iPad mini models at the moment.

Bloomberg reports that a new court filing in the ongoing patent dispute between Apple and Google's Motorola Mobility unit reveals that both sides are interested in using binding arbitration in order to resolve the issues related to standards-essential patents at a minimum, if not the entire dispute.

The companies have been exchanging proposals on using binding arbitration to reach a licensing agreement over patents that are essential to comply with industry standards on how phones operate. Such an agreement could lead to a global settlement of all of their patent disputes, Apple said in a filing yesterday. 

“Apple is also interested in resolving its dispute with Motorola completely and agrees that arbitration may be the best vehicle to resolve the parties’ dispute,” Apple said in the filing.

Arbitration would avoid the need for a further protraction of the ongoing court cases, moving the dispute out of the courts and into the hands of a neutral third third party who would review evidence and render a decision that both parties would be legally obligated to accept. 



The willingness to engage in arbitration is another sign that the mobile companies involved in a vast web of lawsuits may be seeking to wind down their confrontations, with Apple and HTC having announced a settlement in their dispute over the weekend. Apple's major foe is, however, still Samsung and it appears that there may be no settlement in sight for that dispute.

Apple Indeed Talking with Cable Operators About New TV Product, But Launch Not Imminent

Following up on yesterday's report suggesting that a launch of a new Apple television product may be "imminent" based on cable operators assessing infrastructure needs to support such a device, AllThingsD notes that Apple is indeed talking with cable operators but that characterizing any launch as "imminent" would be premature.

For starters, Apple has already steered analysts away from the notion that it will have something to say about a TV solution soon. More important: If Apple were close to launching a new service, it would almost certainly be in touch with TV programmers about new arrangements, and we haven’t heard anything along those lines. 

In other words, there are still a lot of missing pieces here, and while a major cable provider running what-if scenarios on a rumored Apple product is certainly interesting, it’s not necessarily a trumpet fanfare announcing its imminent arrival.

Apple continues to refer to its existing Apple TV set-top box business as a "hobby", even as sales doubled year-over-year to 5 million units in fiscal 2012. More ambitious plans for either a new set-top box supporting live television or an Internet-connected television set are reportedly being slowed by difficult content negotiations.

Apple's Major U.S. Carrier Partners Officially Launch LTE iPad Mini and Fourth-Generation iPad

Following yesterday's delivery of some early pre-orders of the LTE versions of the iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad to U.S. customers, Apple's three major U.S. carrier partnersAT&T, Verizon, and Sprint have all announced that they are beginning sales of the devices today. 


Apple has not made any official announcement about availability of the LTE models, and users in our forums are so far reporting scant availability of the devices, particularly the iPad mini, at the company's own retail stores. We did hear from one reader who was able to purchase an LTE fourth-generation iPad at an Apple store late yesterday, but many others are not having luck so far. 

Most of Apple's retail stores do not open until 10:00 AM, but some readers have received reports from employees already on-site indicating that availability is very limited, and one reader reports that the company's 24-hour flagship store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan does not have any LTE iPad mini models at the moment.

JBL Launches First Lightning-Compatible Speaker Docks

Harman today announced the launch of the first two Lightning-compatible speaker docks under its JBL brand, offering owners of Apple's latest iOS devices direct support for the new connector standard for the first time. 

 
JBL OnBeat Micro
The two speaker docks include the OnBeat Micro ($99.95) for the iPhone 5 and other small devices, and the larger OnBeat Venue Lightning ($199.95) supporting the full line of Lightning devices including iPad, iPad mini, iPhone 5, iPod touch, and iPod nano. 

 
JBL OnBeat Venue Lightning
Engadget has a brief review of the new speaker docks:

Based on a quick listening session, we can report that the Venue LT sounded very full and clear. Even with the optional bass- or vocal-boosts enabled, it didn't seem like the speakers were having trouble pushing out a high level of volume. The Micro on the other hand sounded decidedly tinny, which we're frankly not surprised about given the size. Both systems are compatible with JBL's MusicFlow app as well, giving you some extended options for tweaking the EQ.

Engadget also noted a couple of issues with the Lightning connector itself on the docks, including the observation that the docks will not work with many common iPhone cases and that flexibility in the connector on the docks feels somewhat wobbly, allowing flexibility while docking to lessen the risk of breakage but leading to concerns about stability. 

JBL was one of the vendors highlighted by Apple during the Lightning connector's introduction in mid-September as having received advance access to the standard. Other vendors included Bose, B&W, and B&O, which should all be announcing their own speaker products shortly.

U.S. Cable Companies Reportedly Assessing Potential Infrastructure Impact of 'Imminent' Apple TV Product

Barron's reports on a new research note from Jefferies & Co. analyst James Kisner noting that he believes the launch of an unspecified Apple television product (presumably either a new set-top box or a connected television) is "imminent". Kisner's belief comes from information he has received indicating that at least one major U.S. cable company is assessing the potential impact on its network infrastructure from such a device.

Our discussions with industry contacts suggest that at least one major N. American MSO is working to estimate how much additional capacity may be needed for a new Apple device on their broadband data network. We believe this potentially suggests an imminent launch of the Apple TV, a positive development for ARRIS, who is directly exposed to data traffic growth from incremental IP video streams on cable networks

Kisner's research note is actually addressing the impact on ARRIS, a major communications technology that handles much of the network infrastructure for U.S. cable companies, most notably Comcast. Kisner believes that a forthcoming Apple television product would bode well for ARRIS, as it would force cable companies to increase their network capacity to handle such demands as on-demand HD streams from users of the new Apple product. 


Rumors of an Apple television set peaked approximately a year ago with Steve Jobs having briefly addressed the topic for Walter Isaacson's authorized biography published shortly after Jobs' death. At the time, follow-up rumors suggested that the set could be announced in late 2012 ahead of an early 2013 launch, but talk of such a product has quieted down in recent months amid reports of difficult content negotiations.