MacRumors

NearFieldCommunications World reports that Apple has recently hired Benjamin Vigier as its new product manager for mobile commerce. Vigier is described as an expert in near field communications (NFC) having been in the field since 2004.

Most recently Vigier was product manager for mobile wallet, payment and NFC at US mobile payments specialist mFoundry. There he conceived and managed both the PayPal Mobile service and Starbucks' barcode-based mobile payments service and was also responsible for the development of mobile wallet applications for two top US mobile network operators and an NFC wallet application for a top three US bank.

Near Field Communications is short range wireless communication technology (~4 inches) that is used in mobile phones for a variety of applications including mobile ticketing, mobile payments, interactive advertising and more. The same site had previously reported that Apple has had prototype devices already outfitted with the required radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips.

Apple has published a number of patent applications related to NFC technology. One even detailed the use of an iPhone as an electronic wallet and payment system that could be used to pay a bill at a restaurant. A host of other patent applications from Apple has demonstrated other possibilities including "Grab & go" file transfers between an iPhone and a Mac or PC. According to LinkedIn, Vigier joined Apple in July 2010.

The San Jose Mercury News reports that Paul Devine, a midlevel manager at Apple, has been arrested over his involvement in a scheme in which he provided Asian suppliers and manufacturers of iPod and iPhone accessories with confidential company information in exchange for over $1 million in kickbacks from the companies.

Paul Shin Devine, a global supply manager, and Andrew Ang, of Singapore, were named in a 23-count federal grand jury indictment for wire fraud, money laundering and kickbacks.

"Apple is committed to the highest ethical standards in the way we do business," Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said in a statement. "We have zero tolerance for dishonest behavior inside or outside the company."

The alleged scheme used an elaborate chain of U.S. and foreign bank accounts and one front company to receive payments, the indictment said, and code words like "sample" were used to refer to the payments so that Apple co-workers wouldn't become suspicious.

In addition to the criminal charges, Devine also faces a civil suit filed by Apple over the kickbacks he received from the suppliers, which have not been identified beyond their locations in various Asian countries including China, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. Devine is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals and is set to appear in federal court in San Jose, California on Monday.

Apple today seeded the first developer build of Mac OS X 10.6.5, the fifth maintenance release to the company's Mac OS X Snow Leopard operating system. According to those familiar with the release, which is termed Build 10H525, developers are being asked to focus their testing on iCal, Mail, Printing, 3D Graphics, QuickTime and X11.

The build reportedly contains two documented known issues related to activating user interface elements in Web Views such as in the iTunes Store and errors with connecting to Exchange servers. Apple also notes that Mac OS X 10.6.5 developer builds contain the latest graphics drivers being tested in parallel in the Snow Leopard Graphics Update.

We noted late last month that Apple appeared to be gearing up to begin seeding builds of Mac OS X 10.6.5, but it seems to have taken a bit longer than expected for Apple to push out the first of an unknown number of builds. Apple's seeding programs can be highly variable in length due to the uncertain nature of the testing and tweaking process, and thus we do not yet have an estimate of when Mac OS X 10.6.5 might be released to the public.

Mac OS X 10.6.4 was released in mid-June, shortly after the close of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference.

CrunchGear reports on the new Axon Haptic, an $800 tablet device carrying a 10-inch touch screen and capable of running not only both Windows and Linux, but also any Darwin-based operating system, including Mac OS X.

We give you the choice of easily choosing which OS you want to boot up to. Whether you want Linux one day, or Windows the next. Of course, we suspect that you'll be using Darwin the most. We've installed Darwin (kernel and system specific kexts) on a hidden EFI partition. That means you can effortlessly install your favorite Darwin OS, such as Pure Darwin.

The site is careful to note that while Mac OS X Snow Leopard is a Darwin OS, installation of the operating system on non-Apple hardware is a violation of the end user license agreement. It is obvious, however, that the company is targeting users who wish to run Mac OS X while attempting to absolve itself of any liability should Apple decide to take action against the company.

The two-pound Axon Haptic includes a 10.1-inch resistive touch screen running at 1024 x 600 pixels and supporting both stylus and finger input, and is powered by a 1.6 GHz Atom processor with 2 GB of RAM and a 320 GB hard drive. Also included are a 1.3-megapixel webcam, Wi-Fi, and a series of USB, Ethernet, and VGA ports, as well as a card reader. Support for a Verizon 3G data SIM card and Bluetooth is available as upgrades.

Pre-order pricing is currently set at $750 for single base units, with discounts available for customers ordering multiple units. CrunchGear notes that pricing will increase to $800 once the device launches, although there seems to be no word yet on when units might begin shipping.

Comparisons to the Modbook from Axiotron are certainly to be expected, although those systems are converted directly from Apple notebooks and carry a starting price tag of $1849, or $899 if the customer supplies the notebook. It also remains to be seen how the Haptic will perform given its simplistic resistive touch screen and a lack of Apple-supported modifications to assist with converting Mac OS X to a touch-friendly environment.

RetailWeek reports (subscription required, via 9 to 5 Mac) on Apple's retail store experience in the wake of the opening of its massive Covent Garden store in London. The report covers a number of details about Apple's retail store history and the Covent Garden store specifically, but also offers some interesting quotes from Apple's Senior Vice President for Retail Ron Johnson about the company's philosophy.

Johnson claims that the company embraced the retail store initiative as an opportunity to show off the company's sleek product designs and innovative technology. But even with the company now operating 300 retail stores, Johnson notes that most people still have never touched an iPad.

Explaining the stores' appeal he says: "10 years ago, we decided that, as a company that wanted to win in innovation, we wanted customers to experience the product at first hand."

That focus led Apple to its retail store concept, where stores function less like traditional shops and more like showrooms where people can play with Apple products as a destination in its own right, with sales taking something of a back seat in the store experience.

That meant the creation of a "gold standard" for Apple stores. While many retailers view stores by measures such as square footage and sales, Apple takes a different approach. "Our primary objective is to create a place that people will love," says Johnson. Covent Garden is the most significant iteration yet of that attitude. "We've not only created a store, we've created a place for people to be," he says.

With the fluid staffing and layout of Apple's retail stores, along with new technologies that allow staff members to execute sales from anywhere on the floor, the retail store becomes more about customers coming in to try out products, learning from sales staff, and then ultimately transitioning to sales in many cases.

Johnson says high-pressure sales techniques are alien to Apple's philosophy - and, in any case, the enthusiasm for Apple's goods from both customers and staff means there is no need for the hard sell. He says staff are taught "to look in the heart, not the pocket book" when dealing with customers. Staff, he says, are there "to help you buy".

Johnson noted last November that Apple was looking to employ a shift in its retail store strategy, looking to open larger stores to handle the increased traffic as the company's popularity has continued to surge while also placing more emphasis on "significant stores" offering iconic presences like the recently-opened Covent Garden and Shanghai stores.

Patent holding firm VirnetX yesterday announced that it has filed suit against Apple, Cisco, NEC, and Aastra, alleging infringement of five patents held by the company. As noted by Computerworld, Apple is being targeted for claimed infringement by the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch of a pair of patents related to virtual private networking (VPN) connectivity.

VirnetX, which derives almost all of its revenue from licensing fees and legal judgments related to its patent portfolio, previously sued Microsoft over similar violations, with the two companies reaching a settlement in May that saw Microsoft pay VirnetX $200 million and license the intellectual property in question. One of the two patents Apple is alleged to have infringed upon is that same as one cited in the Microsoft case.

Wednesday's suit claimed that Apple's iPhone -- all models, including the newest iPhone 4 -- iPod Touch and iPad infringed a pair of VirnetX patents.

One of the two that Apple allegedly infringed -- identified as Patent No. 6,502,135 -- was also one of the pair that VirnetX said Microsoft violated.

The patent cited in both lawsuits, titled "Agile network protocol for secure communications with assured system availability," describes technologies for creating and managing a virtual private networking (VPN) connection.

The suit was filed in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, a popular location for patent cases known for its plaintiff-friendly judgments. The judge in the case, Leonard Davis, also presided over the Microsoft case and is particularly known for his willingness to rule in favor of plaintiffs in patent disputes.

Mirror.co.uk reports that executives of UK television network ITV are "furious" over rumors that Apple will be changing the name of its Apple TV set-top box product to "iTV" as part of a major revamp later this year. Despite the fact that claim is only a rumor and that Apple has refused to comment on the issue, ITV is gearing up for a fight.

But ITV bosses are furious and meeting with lawyers this week to stop the move in the UK.

The broadcaster, who owns the trademark to the name ITV in Britain, will also weigh up its options on a global ban.

Noting problems with Apple's new iPhone 4, one "insider" at the network worries about possible damage to its reputation should Apple make the name change.

A channel insider said: "You only have to look at recent problems with the iPhone 4 to see not everything Apple produces is gold dust. We all take our ITV brand very seriously and we'll do everything in our power to protect it."

Apple initially revealed the Apple TV as the "iTV" in September 2006 at its now-traditional fall music-focused event, but changed the name to "Apple TV" by the time it officially launched at Macworld San Francisco in January 2007.

Oracle announced tonight that it had filed suit against Google over the use of Java in their Android mobile phone operating system.

"In developing Android, Google knowingly, directly and repeatedly infringed Oracle's Java-related intellectual property. This lawsuit seeks appropriate remedies for their infringement," said Oracle spokesperson Karen Tillman.

CNet provides the full legal document surrounding the complaint. According to the document, Oracle claims:

Android (including without limitation the Dalvik VM and the Android software development kit) and devices that operate Android infringe one or more claims of each of United States Patents Nos. 6,125,447; 6,192,476; 5,966,702; 7,426,720; RE38,104; 6,910,205; and 6,061,520.

The complaint also claims that Google has infringed on several Oracle copyrights surrounding Java's code, specifications and other materials.

Google's Android is seen as the biggest competition for Apple's iPhone and iOS platform.

Kotaku reports that during his keynote address at QuakeCon 2010 today, John Carmack of id Software showed off the company's forthcoming Rage game running at 60 frames per second on an iPhone 4, claiming performance beyond that of Microsoft's Xbox and Sony's PlayStation 2. The report includes a video clip showing Rage in action on the iPhone.

Carmack's demonstration, using the id Tech 5 engine, could possibly be the most impressive tech we've seen on the iPhone. Running on the iPhone 4 but easily run on the 3GS, the visuals indeed rivaled anything from the PlayStation 2 and original Xbox, and might even be able to give a few current-gen titles a run for their money.

The report notes that id will be releasing a minor "show off" title from the Rage franchise later this year, with a full version set to launch next year along with versions for other platforms.

Update: Smooth video:

Patently Apple takes a look at an off-the-wall Apple patent application published today describing methods to convert a computer user's video game play into a "book, e-book, or comic book".

In accordance with one disclosed embodiment, data may be recorded from a videogame executed on an electronic device. The recorded data may include character information, dialogue from the videogame, and results and metrics reflecting the performance of the user in the videogame. The recorded data may be inserted into a narrative data structure having pregenerated text. In some embodiments, the recorded data may be used as the basis for selecting among a plurality of pregenerated text. A book, e-book, or comic book may be produced from the narrative data structure.

The book content could then be viewed on an electronic device or printed in hardcopy form.

As an example of how this technology could be used, Apple offers a series of screenshots from the profile creation portion of the video game Mass Effect, showing how information selected or entered by the player could be used to create a narrative for a book based on the game play. Mass Effect in particular offers users differing game play experiences and endings depending on choices made in the game. Apple's suggested technology could allow users an easy way to share their experience in the game with others once the game has been completed.

The Los Angeles Times takes a look at Apple's iAd mobile advertising platform that launched on July 1st, speaking to both advertisers and app developers who have been pleased with the program so far.

From the perspective of developers, the iAd program is offering premium ad space for their applications, allowing for increased revenue through the iAd pricing structure and the big-name advertisers involved in the early rotation.

Dictionary.com said on Wednesday that the amount it could charge for its ad space had increased 177% since it enabled iAds in its iPhone app, and CBS Mobile Senior Vice President Rob Gelick said the company's six apps -- including apps for CBS Sports, CNET, and GameSpot, were seeing up to $25 CPMs (the cost advertiser's pay for an add to appear a thousand times.)

Advertisers are similarly pleased with iAd's performance, noting the level of engagement for users and their willingness to revisit ads multiple times, aiding in brand awareness.

Rob Master, the North American media director for Unilever, which put out one of the first iAds for its Dove shower products -- said his company would soon launch a second iAd for its Klondike dessert bar. The company's Dove ad featured videos and trivia games about baseball players Albert Pujols and Andy Pettitte.

The Dove ad resulted in a "double-digit" percentage of users seeking further information about the product, with 20% of viewers returning to check the ad out again. (Repeat viewers are marketers' favorite kind -- it indicates a clear interest in their brand.) That's a good start, Master said.

Master also notes that the company's early entrance into the iAd platform and the experience its advertising team gained with the initial launch have reduced the time and expense required for future ads in the program.

The report notes that Campbell Soup, DirectTV, General Electric and Sears are all preparing to roll out their own iAds, just as Citibank has gone live with its new ad with video and geo-location content built in to tout the company's credit cards and iPhone apps.

Research firm Gartner today published a report covering worldwide mobile phone sales to end users for the second quarter of 2010. Gartner's data shows Apple again placing seventh among all mobile phone manufacturers with the same 2.7% market share it held last quarter and up from 1.9% in the year-ago quarter. Motorola's continuing decline in sales dropped it to 2.8% share for the quarter, managing to stay fewer than 400,000 units ahead of Apple in the race for sixth place.

Noting constraint supplies and of course reduced customer demand ahead of the iPhone 4 launch at the very end of the quarter, Gartner reports that Apple seems well-positioned to ride the iPhone 4 momentum through the remainder of the year.

Apple's sales would have been higher if it had not had to face tight inventory management in preparation for the arrival of the iPhone 4 at the end of the second quarter of 2010. Apple also suffered from some supply constraint on the new device. We expect that a wider global rollout of iPhone 4 will sustain Apple's sales momentum throughout the second half of 2010.

In looking specifically at smartphones, which now make up 19% of total mobile phone sales (a figure that is up 50% year-over-year), Apple captured 14.2% of the market, up slightly from 13.0% in the year-ago quarter but down from 15.3% sequentially.

The big winner, however, was Google's Android platform, which surged past iOS into third place among smartphone platforms with 17.2% of the market, up from just 1.8% in the year-ago quarter and 9.6% in the first quarter of this year. Long-time market leader Symbian is continuing its slide as it has been unable to keep up with overall industry growth, down to 41.2% but still more than double its closest competitor, Research in Motion. Research in Motion is, however, also slipping a bit, with its 18.2% of the market just barely holding off Android.

Observers will of course be interested in Apple's performance during the third quarter, as it offers the company an opportunity for a full quarter's worth of sales with the new iPhone 4, although continuing supply constraints could hold the company back somewhat from its potential top-end performance.

Several tipsters previously pointed us to the similarities in the published promotional specs of Apple's new rechargeable AA batteries and Sanyo's Eneloop batteries, suggesting that Apple have essentially rebranded Sanyo's offerings for sale it its own packaging. New testing by SuperApple.cz [Google translation] published today seems to confirm the suspicion, despite the lack of any definitive physical markings inside the batteries to give away the link.

In all likelihood, this indeed is the Sanyo Eneloop cells, specifically the model of HR-3UTG because they correspond to physical parameters of the articles (new articles Eneloop tests show essentially the same value) but also measured the capacity - if you view the document producer , you'll find it is these cells are indicated by the minimum capacity of 1900 mAh, then the regular 2000 mAh and Apple in this case decided to set the guaranteed capacity, although it is less beneficial according to the manufacturer, and according to our measurements.

The discovery that has rebranded another companies batteries is not necessarily a surprise, as it was unlikely that Apple took on the task of reinventing rechargeable battery technology on its own. The disclosure does reveal, however, that the Apple's batteries are not based on a brand-new battery technology, as Sanyo first developed its Eneloop batteries in 2005 and launched them for sale in 2006.

But the other component of Apple's battery package, the charger, does appear to be an Apple-designed product, with SuperApple.cz finding no tell-tale branding on its internal components while obviously offering Apple's traditional styling. The charger is designed to automatically reduce power usage to 30 milliwatts once it senses that batteries have been fully charged, the lowest "vampire draw" in the industry and 10 times lower than the industry average.