MacRumors

Apple executives Tim Cook, Eddy Cue, and Craig Federighi spoke to Apple Retail Store leaders about upcoming changes to Apple's iPhone marketing tactics during a summit at San Francisco's Fort Mason on June 27, reports 9to5Mac.

During the meeting, CEO Tim Cook noted 80% of iPhones are sold at third party locations, a figure that he would like to improve in the future with new iPhone promotional tactics.

The iPhone is Apple's central "gateway product" to other devices like iPads and Macs, so it is critical that the Apple smartphone is sold via an Apple Store so new customers are immediately exposed to iPads, Macs and other devices on the showroom floor. Even though 80% of iPhones are not sold at Apple Stores, 50% of all serviced iPhones are troubleshooted, repaired, or replaced at Apple Store Genius Bars. Cook reportedly hinted that he would like those numbers to be more in line.

Apple is planning to boost iPhone sales with various incentive programs, including the recently launched Back to School promotion that includes the iPhone for the first time and an upcoming in-store trade-in program. The company may also extend its price matching policies, which debuted in the U.S. last summer, internationally.

Along with new iPhone discount and sales strategies, Apple also plans to heavily market iOS 7 when it is released in the fall and introduce new retail locations in Europe.

According to store leaders who were at the summit, Apple has an "army of new products" in the works, which may include the upcoming iPhone 5S, a redesigned fifth generation iPad, a low cost iPhone, and a refreshed line of MacBook Pros, among other products.

Tim Bradshaw, a tech reporter with the Financial Times, received this poster from Apple celebrating the upcoming 5-year anniversary of the App Store.

The App Store, which originally launched on July 10, 2008, has seen more than 50 billion app downloads across nearly a million individual apps.

Apple sent a similar promotional item to reporters to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the iTunes Store, though that version included a gift card redeemable for 100 songs hand-picked by the iTunes staff.

Apple has been sued by Boston University over a patent for gallium nitride films that the University alleges is used in the iPhone 5, iPad and MacBook Air, amongst other products. The Boston Herald first reported on the lawsuit.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for Massachusetts, is for a patent awarded to a BU professor for which the university owns the rights.

U.S. Patent 5,686,738, titled "Highly Insulating Monocrystalline Gallium Nitride Thin Film" is related to a particular manufacturing process for LEDs and other semiconductor devices.

The lawsuit does not specify what inside Apple's products is alleged to be infringing, just noting Apple products in general. Boston University has sued a number of other companies over the same patent in recent months, including Samsung [PDF].

The initial filing is embedded below.

Moviefone has shared a new movie poster for the Ashton Kutcher's Jobs film. The poster features the tagline "Some see what's possible, others change what's possible."

"Some see what's possible, others change what's possible" are the words sprawled across this exclusive poster for "Jobs," which features a nearly unrecognizable Ashton Kutcher.

Kutcher is utterly transformed into late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in the colorful new poster (below). Sporting Jobs's signature round-framed glasses and beard, the actor certainly looks the role.

Jobs is set for an August 16th wide release.

Update: Open Road Films has also released several new stills from the film showing Kutcher as Jobs and Josh Gad as Steve Wozniak.

Thanks, samcraig!

This past weekend, Nowhereelse.fr shared photos of what could be the rear shell of Apple's rumored low-cost plastic iPhone in the colors green, red and yellow. While the site still acknowledges that the shells could be Chinese copies, certain features are still consistent with previous leaks and claims. Now the site shares [Google translation] a new photo that includes a blue rear plastic shell.

In mid-June, Reuters ran a report that stated that the low-cost iPhone would come in multiple bright colors, with Mac Otakara claiming that one of the colors would be blue. And while we have seen the possible shells for the green, red, yellow and white plastic iPhones we had not seen the blue one until now.

While the photo does not show the full exterior of the blue rear shell, it does show enough of the sides and the inside of the rear shell to imagine what a blue plastic iPhone could look like.

The blue shell is pictured alongside red, yellow, and green ones seen over the weekend, with a white shell also included. The white shell appears very similar to one leaked through a different source back in April.

The lower-cost plastic iPhone is likely to launch later this year in either September or October, presumably alongside Apple's flagship iPhone 5S. The plastic iPhone will offer consumers a more affordable iPhone choice, especially in markets where carrier subsidies are rare.

Yesterday, MacRumors published high-resolution mockups based on the previously leaked rear shell photos and other information, offering a look at the complete device's potential size, shape and texture.

According to a report from Bloomberg, Apple and Time Warner Cable are close to completing a deal that will bring a TWC app to the Apple TV.

A potential partnership between the two companies was first announced in early June, when Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt told investors that the company was in talks with Apple, Samsung, and Microsoft over streaming video deals that mirror the Time Warner Cable's existing partnership with Roku.

The TWC TV app available on the Roku set-top box allows Time Warner Cable subscribers to watch up to 300 live TV channels with any TV connected to a Roku. An Apple TV app would likely operate in the same way, providing cable access and live television channels to Time Warner subscribers without the need for a cable box.

Apple has been slowly expanding the content available on its Apple TV as rumors of a potential revamped set-top box or Apple-branded television set continue to gain traction. Earlier this month, the company debuted several new Apple TV channels including WatchESPN and HBO GO, both of which offer content on the Apple TV to existing cable subscribers. Apple is also said to be in talks with CW about a potential Apple TV app.

To complete the current negotiations with Time Warner Cable, Apple is said to be hiring Pete Distad, Hulu's former senior vice president of marketing and distribution. While no specific timeline is available for the release of the TWC content, a deal is expected to be announced "within a few months."

According to a tipster who spoke to AppleInsider, Apple may be planning to hire Paul Deneve, who recently left his post as CEO of French luxury label Yves Saint Laurent to "pursue a career in the technology industry."

Deneve, who has worked for a number of luxury labels including Courreges, Nina Ricci, and Lanvin, was previously employed at Apple Europe from 1990 to 1997, where he held several sales and marketing positions.

While no information was given on Deneve's possible role at Apple, his past experience suggests that he could be a potential replacement for former retail head John Browett, who was ousted from Apple in October of 2012.

Apple may want to draw upon Deneve's expertise in the luxury goods sector to help launch new products, including the rumored iWatch. The mere mention of Apple trademarking “iWatch” has driven up the company's stock by 6 percent across the last two days.

Recruiting an established member of the fashion and luxury goods sector could be a move to propel Apple's brand internationally, building upon the success and cachet of the iPhone, which dramatically opened up new demand for the company's products outside the United States.

Both Apple and YSL have declined to comment on the possible hire and no further information is available at this time.

Update: According to Bloomberg reporter Adam Satariano, Apple has confirmed that it has hired Paul Deneve, but not as the SVP of retail. Instead, Deneve will work on "special projects" and will report directly to Tim Cook.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Paul Deneve to Apple,” the Cupertino, California-based company said in a statement yesterday. “He’ll be working on special projects as a vice president reporting directly to Tim Cook.”

While Apple has been rumored for some time to be planning to launch a lower-cost iPhone available in multiple colors with a plastic shell, reports have been picking up steam in recent weeks, led in part by a claim that Apple will be adopting the bright colors it used for its iPhone 4/4S bumpers. That report was followed by leaked design drawings from a case maker showing the expected measurements and physical features of the device.

And just this past weekend, several new images were posted to Chinese forum site WeiPhone showing what may be rear shells from the lower-cost iPhone in yellow, red, and green.

Based on all of this recent information, we once again commissioned Ciccarese Design to produce some high-quality mockups intended to capture the lower-cost iPhone's size, shape, and texture given that it will mark a departure from the nearly all metal and glass bodies of recent iPhone models.

The renderings show a slightly thicker device than the iPhone 5, measuring at 8.5 mm thick compared to 7.6 mm for the iPhone 5. The lower-cost iPhone is also slightly taller and wider than the iPhone 5 to account for the thicker plastic shell.

Physical features are very similar to those of the iPhone 5, although the volume buttons appear to be shifting from the round design seen on recent iPhone models to pill-shaped, and the speaker and microphone holes along the bottom edge will also see a simpler design compared to the iPhone 5.

Apple is expected to launch its iPhone 5S flagship device later this year, most likely around the same September-October timeframe seen the past two years. The company's lower-cost iPhone is likely to make its debut at around the same time, offering an updated more affordable option for consumers, particularly in markets where carrier subsidies are uncommon.

Last year, we reported on a Dutch proposal to launch so-called "Steve Jobs schools" for children, offering a peek at of Jobs' vision of how the iPad could help remake the educational experience.

Spiegel now follows up (via AppleInsider) with a new report discussing the country's plans to open 11 such schools this August.

Some 1,000 children aged four to 12 will attend the schools, without notebooks, books or backpacks. Each of them, however, will have his or her own iPad.

There will be no blackboards, chalk or classrooms, homeroom teachers, formal classes, lesson plans, seating charts, pens, teachers teaching from the front of the room, schedules, parent-teacher meetings, grades, recess bells, fixed school days and school vacations. If a child would rather play on his or her iPad instead of learning, it'll be okay. And the children will choose what they wish to learn based on what they happen to be curious about.

The article highlights the flexible nature of the schools with a look at an upcoming school being prepared in the city of Breda. The school building itself will be open from 7:30 AM to 6:30 PM every day of the year except Christmas and New Year's Day, with children free to come and go as they please as long as they are present during the core school day that runs from 10:30 AM to 3:00 PM.

Under the model of individualized instruction, students will learn through iPad apps at their own pace, with teachers serving as coaches to help them reach goals and advance to subsequent levels.

As such, the school day never really ends. Pupils are welcome to keep working on their iPads at home, on weekends or on vacation. But as much as the program offers freedom and continuity, it also comes with a substantial monitoring component. The iPad keeps teachers and parents constantly informed about what children are doing, what they have learned and how they are progressing.

Teachers, children, and parents meet to discuss goals for each six-week period, setting up standards to help students gain the knowledge and skills to move on to the next level.

Dutch researcher Maurice de Hond, the man behind the initiative, believes that the number of schools should grow to at least forty next year, with the schools being publicly funded and open to all children and subsidies available to families unable to afford an iPad.

In line with a rumor from yesterday, Apple today launched its annual Back to School promotion offering qualified educational purchasers iTunes Store/App Store/iBookstore gift cards of up to $100 with the purchase of a new Mac, iPad, or iPhone. The program begins today and runs through September 6.

Buy a Mac for college, get a $100 App Store Gift Card - and also save with education pricing. Or buy an iPad or iPhone and get a $50 card.

As in past years, the Mac mini is excluded from the promotion, while all iPad (fourth-generation, iPad 2, and iPad mini) and iPhone (5, 4S, and 4) are eligible. Full requirements for eligibility are outlined in the terms and conditions (PDF).

The offer is available in the following countries, with gift card amounts varying based on local currency: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and United States.

Update: Photos of new window displays for Apple's retail stores:

Update 2: Photo of Back to School brochure: