MacRumors

Though Sprint, the United States' newest iPhone carrier, has been running advertisements touting its "truly unlimited" network, the carrier is throttling smartphone customers who use "excessive" amounts of data, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

For those that want to abuse it, we can knock them off," [Sprint CEO Dan] Hesse said at an investor conference Thursday. He said Sprint pares back data use for about 1% of users, a practice known as throttling.

[...]

"You'd be shocked how much data you use in a month," Sprint asks in a recent television advertisement. "What happens if you go over? With Sprint, you don't have to worry; only Sprint offers truly unlimited data."

Hesse did say there were no plans for Sprint to move to tiered data plans like Verizon and AT&T have switched to in recent years, however it appears that there is no longer any US carrier that offers "truly unlimited" data plans for the iPhone.

Update: As pointed out by TechCrunch, Dow Jones seems to have misinterpreted Hesse. The throttling only applies to customers who use excessive data while roaming on partnered networks -- "a guy in his house in rural Montana" for example. Sprint's fine print notes the carrier will begin throttling after 300 MB of "off-network" data usage.

Update 2: Sprint has now clarified the situation with a blog post indicating the carrier does not throttle any customer's data usage, even for those with excessive roaming usage. The carrier does, however, have terms in place that permit it to terminate the contracts of users with heavy roaming usage, and it attempts to reach out to those customers and work with them before terminating their contracts.

iLounge offers a new series of notes sharing information from a source about Apple's plans for the iPad 3. Among the most interesting notes is the claim that the next-generation iPad will carry significantly improved cameras on the front and back, moving to a FaceTime HD camera on the front and a higher-resolution iPhone-like camera on the rear.

The source also reiterates iLounge's earlier claim that the next-generation iPad will be slightly thicker than the iPad 2 while retaining the same general form factor.

1) A few next-gen iPad notes, ahead of the show. Both cameras are getting upgrades. Front goes HD, rear becomes iPhone 4/4S-like (bigger).

2) Body of the next iPad is, as we previously reported, getting just a little thicker to accommodate new parts - little = 1mm give or take.

3) Curve radiuses on the body will change only a little to accommodate the added thickness, not dramatically. Think iPad 2 Pro, not a redesign.

iLounge's source also follows some other current lines of thinking in reporting that Apple will continue to offer the iPad 2 alongside the iPad 3, dropping the price of the current model in order to tackle increasing competition from lower-priced competitors such as Amazon's Kindle Fire. Horwitz offers a $399 base price for the iPad 2 as a possibility, although that number appears to be pure speculation.

Finally, the iPad 3 is said to be in line for another March release, similar to that seen with the iPad 2 last year.

An extensive report from Patently Apple today highlights three newly-published patent applications from Apple related in various ways to Thunderbolt technology. Among the topics gaining the most attention are mentions of Thunderbolt being used on iOS devices and the potential for faster charging enabled by better heat dissipation.

Before going into the details of this main patent in their series of three, it should be noted that Apple states in their secondary patent application that "the present invention, connection may also be a new type of connection." For example, "a connection may be provided between a portable media player and a display, a computer and a portable media player, or between other types of devices."

The three patent applications cover such aspects as the basic pinout of the Thunderbolt connector and how the various wires are arranged within a cable, as well as methods for handling heat dissipation. With Thunderbolt cables containing integrated electronics, a relatively significant amount of heat can be generated and Apple's patent applications discuss how cable braiding and material choices can help manage that heat load.

The applications also discuss handling different voltages on Thunderbolt cables, acknowledging that it may be desirable to pass along higher voltages to devices for faster charging but that lower voltages would be required for simply passing data signals. To handle these voltage differences, Apple's patent applications describe methods for integrating voltage reduction circuitry only on those devices requiring the stepped-down voltage.

Patent applications are typically written to be as broadly applicable as possible while still being able to win acceptance by the patent examiner, and thus Apple's mention of Thunderbolt technology on "portable media player" devices may not be specifically pointing to imminent product plans. But Apple has revealed in past patent applications that it is interested in including DisplayPort technology (upon which Thunderbolt is based) in its current dock connector format used on iOS devices.

The Wall Street Journal reports that data from executive compensation tracking firm Equilar shows Apple CEO Tim Cook set to see a major windfall during the first quarter of 2012 with the vesting of two separate restricted stock unit grants currently valued at nearly $100 million.

Of all the Silicon Valley executives who have a vesting event scheduled for the first quarter of 2012, the one who stands to reap the most is Apple Inc. Chief Executive Tim Cook, the study found.

Mr. Cook has portions of two restricted-stock-unit grants—including one he received for filling in for Steve Jobs when the co-founder was on medical leave—vesting in the first quarter. As of Apple's closing stock price on Dec 30, those vesting shares of Mr. Cook's were worth $96.2 million, according to the study.

The majority of the amount comes from a grant of 200,000 restricted stock units awarded to Cook in September 2008 as part of a package of retention bonuses paid out to Apple executives. That grant will vest on March 24th and is worth $83 million at today's stock price.

The remaining portion comes from a grant awarded in March 2010 in recognition of Cook's service while Steve Jobs was on a medical leave of absence during the first half of 2009. That bonus included $5 million in cash and 75,000 restricted stock units. The second half of those stock units, worth $15.5 million at today's stock price, will vest on March 10th. The first portion of that grant vested on March 10th of last year and would have brought Cook approximately $13 million.

The vesting stock is separate from an award of one million share units given to Cook as he officially took on the role of CEO. That grant is worth $415 million at today's stock price, but will not vest for a number of years. Cook will receive half of the shares in 2016 and the remainder in 2021, with both events contingent upon Cook remaining CEO of Apple.

Earlier this week, we noted that Apple was planning to hold a "Red Friday" sale in a number of its Asian markets in celebration of the Lunar New Year. The sale has now gone live in those countries, and a quick examination of the Hong Kong promotion reveals similar discounts to those seen on Black Friday in much of the world back in November.

In Hong Kong, Apple is offering discounts of roughly 8% on Wi-Fi iPad models across the board, while 3G-capable models are seeing slightly smaller discounts of 6-7%. The iPod touch is seeing approximately 10% discounts on all models, while the iPod nano is seeing a flat HK$ 80 discount that equates to an 8% discount on the 8 GB model and a 6.7% discount on the 16 GB model.

On the Mac side, Apple is offering a flat HK$ 770 discount on all MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and iMac models. That discount translates to a 10% discount on the low-end MacBook Air, decreasing to 4% on the high-end MacBook Pro.

Apple's Red Friday sale is a one-day offer valid in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand.

The Telegraph reports that Apple has threatened legal action against Hong Kong company In Icons, which has been taking pre-orders for a realistic-looking Steve Jobs figurine set to launch next month. The 12-inch figurine, which is being sold for $99.99 plus shipping, is a posable, highly-detailed reproduction of Jobs' likeness wearing his signature black mock turtleneck, blue jeans, and New Balance sneakers.

The legal wrangle is over the likeness of the doll to the late Apple founder, the rights of which the company claims it owns.

Apple reportedly stipulates in a letter to the Chinese manufacturer that any toy that resembles the technology company's logo, person's name, appearance or likeness of its products is a criminal offense.

Personality rights in the United States are addressed on a state-by-state basis, with California's laws covering unauthorized usage of a person's likeness, voice, or signature throughout their lifetime and for a period of 70 years following their death.

Earlier this week, a report from the UK's Daily Mail made waves for its claim that Apple was interested in bidding for the rights to stream English Premier League football games. There was a significant amount of skepticism regarding the report given that it would mark a significant departure from the company's usual model of content distribution, and The Guardian now follows up with a new report denying that Apple will be in the running.

The Premier League is preparing to go to market with its lucrative television contract in the second quarter of this year, but the technology company Apple is believed to have ruled itself out of the running for the rights. [...]

However, despite speculation it is understood that Apple has not discussed bidding for the rights and is unlikely to do so, despite rumoured plans to launch an Apple TV device.

Its model relies on taking a cut of the revenue from existing content producers by retailing its content through its AppStore or iTunes service.

The report goes on to note that live matches broadcast by Sky are already available on iOS devices via the channel's SkyGo app and that archived Premier League content is available through iTunes. Those outlets make it less likely that Apple would view an expensive outright streaming deal as a worthwhile effort for the company.

Reuters reports that Taiwanese company Elan Microelectronics has issued a statement announcing the settlement of a patent infringement dispute with Apple regarding multi-touch technology. According to Elan, Apple has agreed to pay $5 million and the two companies will cross-license certain patents to avoid future issues related to the intellectual property in question.

Elan Microelectronics Corp, a Taiwanese touch design company, said on Thursday that Apple Inc will pay $5 million as part of a settlement in a patent infringement case.

The statement said the two companies would also exchange authorizations to use each other's patents.

The patent dispute between the two companies dates back to 2009, when Elan sued Apple over alleged infringement of a patent related to the detection of multiple-finger input as on the company's iOS devices, notebooks, and several accessories. Apple had also counter-sued Elan in 2009 in an attempt to gain leverage in the dispute.

Elan turned to the U.S. International Trade Commission in 2010, seeking a ban on imports of Apple's products, but the ITC ruled in Apple's favor last year.

Earlier this week, an app called GameStore was accidentally made available for purchase on the App Store. The app, which appeared to be a test or development app of some sort, offered several racing-themed in-app purchases but without any actual functionality. The app was quickly removed from the store, and now Apple is issuing refunds to users who purchased the app.

We received this email from iTunes Support, claiming that the GameStore app was "made available for sale prematurely."

You recently purchase the GameStore app. The app was made available for sale prematurely. We apologize for the problem and have refunded the purchase amount back to your account. These funds will be applied to your original payment method within 5 business days.

Sincerely,
iTunes Store Customer Support

Verizon Wireless Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo today participated in Citi's Global Entertainment, Media & Communications Conference, and as part of his presentation revealed some iPhone sales numbers for the carrier. As noted by StreetInsider.com, Shammo announced that Verizon sold 4.2 million iPhones during the fourth quarter of 2011, a quarter which saw the launch of the iPhone 4S.

That performance more than doubled the previous quarter's sales of 2.0 million iPhones. Overall, Apple sold just over 17 million iPhones during that third calendar quarter, and while it is difficult to extrapolate Apple's total fourth quarter sales from the performance of a single U.S. carrier, the 4.2 million number could at least put Apple in the range of 35 million iPhones for the quarter across all carriers and markets. Apple today announced that it will report its holiday quarter sales and earnings numbers on January 24.

As a result of the strong performance of the iPhone 4S, Verizon is projecting a reduction in its profit margin as it absorbs the upfront subsidies paid to Apple for the device. Those subsidies will, however, be recouped over time from subscribers' service contracts.

Bloomberg's Adam Satariano reports that Apple has hired Adobe executive Todd Teresi to head up its iAd mobile advertising unit. Additional information on the hire will be forthcoming.

Apple has hired Adobe's Todd Teresi to head iAd. Story coming....

Teresi has served as VP of Adobe's Media Solutions division for the past nine months, having previously held positions with Quantcast, Yahoo, and PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

iAd, which has reportedly struggled to gain momentum due to high pricing and Apple's demands for substantial creative control, was launched in July 2010 following Apple's acquisition of mobile advertising firm Quattro Wireless earlier in the year.

The iAd division was led by former Quattro founder and CEO Andy Miller, who then left Apple in September 2011 to take a venture capital position. iAd has since been overseen by Eddy Cue, who is also responsible for the iTunes Store, App Store, iBookstore, and iCloud.

Update: Satariano has now filed his full report on Teresi's hiring.

Apple Inc. hired Adobe Systems Inc. executive Todd Teresi to lead its iAd mobile-advertising business, three people with knowledge of the matter said, filling a role in an area where the company has struggled.

Teresi, who was vice president of Adobe’s media solutions group, has already started at Apple as vice president of iAd, said two of the people, who declined to be identified because the move hasn’t been announced. Teresi is reporting to Eddy Cue, a senior vice president who also oversees Apple’s iTunes and the App Store.

USA Today takes a look at the effect rumors of an Apple television set are having on expectations for next week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, with the industry's existing players working hard to avoid to being caught flat-footed by Apple as mobile phone manufacturers in many cases were by the iPhone.

While rumors have pegged the Apple television set as offering Siri-powered voice recognition and control, the new report offers a few other tidbits of information on the project including claims that the company is working to launch models of at least 42 inches and that a 50-inch model is currently in the works in the its design studio.

Apple is said to be looking at a 42-inch or larger LCD TV with built-in Wi-Fi. Inside the locked-down studio of Jonathan Ive, senior vice president of industrial design at Apple, there's a slick 50-inch TV, according to the source who worked at Apple.

Early reports had claimed that Apple was looking at TVs in the 40-55" range, but a recent report from Digitimes claimed that suppliers were preparing components for smaller 32" and 37" models.

USA Today's report also summarizes some of the other expectations for an Apple television set, including Siri, an iOS-compatible processor supporting apps, AirPlay, and iCloud. But Apple reportedly continues to struggle with how to bring content to the new television set as it attempts to break free of the traditional cable TV model.

But a major roadblock for Apple along the way has been securing content needed to make an iTV succeed. The problems Apple is having securing content deals were described in an interview with a person who worked in the Apple TV group and verified by two television industry sources. All declined to be identified because of the confidential nature of the talks.

They say Apple has been unable to cut deals that would let it offer first-tier TV network programs for an à la carte iTunes TV service. That's seen as a key element to launching a revolutionary iTV.

With so many rumors pointing towards Apple's work on television sets, it's not surprising that company co-founder Steve Wozniak also believes that an effort is underway.

"I do expect Apple to make an attempt," says Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, "since I expect the living room to remain a center for family entertainment, and that touches on all areas of consumer products that Apple is already making."

Even as Apple's plans remain under wraps and the subject of considerable rumors and speculation, it is clear that competitors are taking note of where the company is likely to go with its project, with today's report citing executives from Samsung, LG, and Microsoft all acknowledging the threat.

"We do not discount what they are going to do in the space — they are going to come on strong," says [Microsoft general manager of content acquisition and strategy Ross] Honey.

Apple early today updated its investor relations page to officially state that it will announce its earnings for the first fiscal quarter of 2012 (fourth calendar quarter of 2011) and host a conference call regarding the release on Tuesday, January 24.

Apple’s conference call webcast discussing Q1 - 2012 financial results will begin at 2:00pm PT/5:00pm ET on Tuesday, January 24, 2012.

Please note that comments made during this call may include forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements. For more information on the factors that could influence results, please refer to Apple’s SEC filings.

The conference call at 5:00 PM Eastern / 2:00 PM Pacific will follow the earnings release itself, which typically comes around 4:30 PM Eastern. MacRumors will provide running coverage of the earnings release and conference call.

The highly-anticipated results from a holiday quarter that also saw the launch of the iPhone 4S follow the company's typically conservative guidance that has already pegged the quarter as a blockbuster with predicted revenue of $37 billion. The company is also predicting all-time record iPhone sales as industry sales estimates have been pointing toward a similar record for Mac sales.

iPad sales are also expected to be strong with a record number of sales likely, although there have been some concerns that Amazon's Kindle Fire may have tempered iPad demand slightly. Finally, while iPod sales have been slowing over the past few years as customers have continued to shift toward smartphones for their music player needs, the holiday quarter remains the company's strongest by far for iPod sales due to their popularity as lower-priced gifts without expensive service contracts associated with them.