MacRumors

Apple's patent licensing deal with Nokia may have some additional consequences beyond the immediate effects of the settlement. By agreeing to a long-term licensing agreement with Nokia, Apple gets a lengthly, defensive legal fight out of the way. This allows Apple to focus all its legal energies on major battles with Samsung, HTC and Motorola.

Speaking with the NYTimes, Apple indicates that the settlement is actually a cross-licensing one:

Apple and Nokia have agreed to drop all of our current lawsuits and enter into a license covering some of each other’s patents, but not the majority of the innovation that makes the iPhone unique. We are glad to put this behind us and get back to focusing on our respective businesses.

There a larger, much more strategic victory here as well. By agreeing to pay royalties for Nokia's patents, Apple has set a market price -- and given Nokia's patents serious legitimacy. Apple wouldn't pay anything if they didn't have to, and other companies may not want to fight over turf Apple has already acquiesced to Nokia.

Other companies, notably Android handset manufacturers, may now have to play ball with Nokia on these patents -- and they don't necessarily have the margins to send 1% of gross revenues to Nokia as easily as Apple can. In fact, because Apple has so many of its own patents (some of which it cross-licensed to Nokia) other manufacturers may have to pay even more for the same licenses.

Florian Mueller has suggested just that at FOSS Patents:

Given that Android is in many ways a rip-off of Apple's operating software, Android-based devices are highly likely to infringe on largely the same Nokia patents that Apple now felt forced to pay for.
[...]
This is a sweet defeat for Apple because its competitors -- especially those building Android-based devices -- will also have to pay Nokia, and most if not all of them will likely have to pay more on a per-unit basis because they don't bring as much intellectual property to the table as Apple definitely did.

Apple pays off Nokia, but exposes the competition as well. Competition that doesn't have as much money or intellectual property to barter with.

(Photo by Acaben/Flickr)

Deutsche Bank analyst Kai Korschelt today estimated that Nokia will be receiving on the order of a 420 million euro ($608 million) lump-sum payment from Apple as part of a patent litigation settlement between the two companies.

The estimate, based on previous patent-related settlements in the industry, assumes a 1 percent royalty rate on all iPhones sold through the first quarter -- 110 million phones at an average selling price of $550. Korschelt also says that Apple would likely send Nokia recurring revenue payments covering future iPhone sales at the same rate, payments that would come in at around 95 million euros ($137.6 million) per quarter based on current sales, to cover ongoing licensing.

It's a significant sum for Nokia. The Finnish company is feeling tremendous pressure in the market as it abandons its old Symbian-based smartphone strategy and transitions to Microsoft's new Windows smartphone OS.

A report from Japanese analyst house Nomura, which got quite a bit of coverage yesterday, stated that the situation at Nokia was so poor that Samsung -- and perhaps even Apple -- would pass the Nokia in smartphone shipments this quarter. Of course, Nomura's numbers are based on an expectation of a massive drop in sales from Nokia as it transitions operating systems -- think the entire continent of Europe suddenly not buying Nokia phones -- plus a near doubling in smartphone sales by Samsung over the previous quarter. Samsung's mobile phones have been booming on the strength of Android, but that much growth in one quarter seems unlikely. Nokia is in trouble, but almost certainly not that much trouble.

Robert Cozza, mobile devices analyst at Gartner, poured water on Nomura's report, telling MacRumors:

In 1Q11 Nokia smartphone sales were double those of Samsung, so it seems optimistic to see this overtake in 2Q. If Nokia's new Symbian devices will fail with consumers over the next couple of quarters then we could see this overtake from Samsung on Nokia happening in 3Q.

MacRumors also spoke to Ramon Llamas at IDC about Nokia's chances:

Nokia is very fast at turning things around. They're currently in transition mode, and anytime you're going to be transitioning from the way things have been to the way things are going to be, it's not going to be without some series of dips in revenue.

Nokia has just provided the overall smartphone market with a gift: it's exposed itself and its vulnerabilities to everyone else. Lots of vendors are going to be able to turn up the heat.

And now Nokia gets to enjoy a little bit of the spoils from Apple's success as well. Time will tell if they can turn it around themselves.

Japanese blog Mac Otakara reports that Apple is apparently set to launch its new Final Cut Pro X offerings next week, to be accompanied by the release of a number of new Thunderbolt-equipped accessories from third-party vendors.

Apple demoed Final Cut Pro X back in mid-April, announcing that the professional video production software would launch on the Mac App Store in June priced at $299. Apple has yet to release any official word on the other components of its Final Cut Studio package or its lighter-weight Final Cut Express software. A number of screenshots from Final Cut Pro X and related applications have also leaked in recent days just ahead of the software's launch, but the full details remain unknown.

Apple debuted the new Thunderbolt high-speed data and display connectivity standard on revamped MacBook Pros back in late February, extending the feature to its iMac line just last month. Third-party vendors have been showing off new Thunderbolt-equipped peripherals, but few have made it to market so far. If today's report is true, it seems that Apple will be taking advantage of the Final Cut Pro X debut to also roll out new Thunderbolt peripherals, devices that video professionals will almost certainly find useful in moving large files around quickly.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple Senior Vice President of Retail Ron Johnson is leaving the company to take the position of president at department store chain J.C. Penney, a move that will put Johnson in position to become CEO at the company within the next few months.

J.C. Penney Co. is tapping Ron Johnson, head of Apple Inc.'s iconic retail stores, as its new president and eventual chief executive, people familiar with the situation said.

The company is expected to announce Mr. Johnson's appointment later today. Mr. Johnson will become CEO in the next few months, succeeding long-time leader Myron "Mike" Ullman.

Johnson, who came to Apple eleven years ago from Target, has been credited with being the driving force behind Apple's runaway success in its retail store initiative that has grown to include 325 stores worldwide. Johnson has also been a fixture at many of Apple's highest-profile retail store openings around the world.

Johnson's philosophy for Apple's retail stores has been to "create a place that people will love", focusing on the customer experience rather than simple square footage or sales metrics, although Apple's retail stores are of course performing extremely well by sales measures as well. During his tenure at Apple, he oversaw the entire retail store development process, from the original stores in Tysons Corner, Virginia and Glendale, California to the iconic buildings now located in a number of cities around the world.

Update: J.C. Penney has officially announced that Johnson will assume the CEO position on November 1st and that Johnson will personally make a long-term $50 million investment in J.C. Penney as a sign of his confidence in the future of the company.

Mr. Johnson said, "I've always dreamed of leading a major retail company as CEO, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to help J. C. Penney re-imagine what I believe to be the single greatest opportunity in American retailing today, the Department Store. I have tremendous confidence in J. C. Penney's future and look forward to working with Mike Ullman, the Executive Board and the Company's 150,000 associates to transform the way America shops."

Update 2: J.C. Penney's stock is up over 10% on news of Johnson's appointment. Apple's stock has been fluctuating a bit, but is only down slightly since the news broke.

Update 3: Apple has issued a statement to All Things Digital wishing Johnson well and noting that the company is "actively recruiting" for his replacement.

"Ron is excited about this opportunity and we hope it goes well for him," a spokesperson said. "We've got a great retail team in place and are actively recruiting for his replacement."

Late last month, Samsung attempted to escalate its patent dispute with Apple by requesting to see Apple's next-generation iPhone and iPad models, ostensibly to help it defend itself against Apple's charges of copying and other infringement. The request was made after Apple requested and was granted access to unreleased Samsung hardware, although that hardware had already been extensively advertised and demoed by Samsung.

FOSS Patents now reports that Apple has filed a response to Samsung's request, referring to the move as an "improper attempt to harass" Apple by requesting to see secret hardware that bears no relevance to Apple's claims against Samsung. From Apple's filing:

Samsung's Motion to Compel is an improper attempt to harass Apple by demanding production of extremely sensitive trade secrets that have no relevance to Apple's likelihood of success on its infringement claims or to a preliminary injunction motion. Apple made a compelling showing in its motion to expedite discovery that Apple needs samples of products that Samsung has already announced, distributed, and described, so that Apple can evaluate whether to file a preliminary injunction motion against those products, which look strikingly similar to the distinctive trade dress of Apple's current products. Samsung has made no such showing about Apple's future products. Therefore, Samsung's Motion to Compel should be denied.

Samsung has until this Friday to produce the samples of unreleased hardware to Apple, after which time Apple will decide whether to proceed with a request for a preliminary injunction barring Samsung from selling the new products, a move that could give Apple significant leverage in extracting a settlement from Samsung. This Friday should also see a ruling on whether Samsung will be permitted access to Apple's next-generation hardware.

As predicted, Apple has started selling unlocked (GSM) iPhone 4 devices in the U.S. early this morning.

If you don't want a multiyear service contract or if you prefer to use a local carrier when traveling abroad, the unlocked iPhone 4 is the best choice. It arrives without a micro-SIM card, so you'll need an active micro-SIM card from any supported GSM carrier worldwide.

Pricing starts at $649 for a 16GB model and $749 for 32GB model. Both White and Black models are offered.

The main advantage of buying an unlocked iPhone is for international travel, as the device is not dependent on any particular carrier. The U.S. only has one network (AT&T) which fully supports all the features of an unlocked GSM iPhone. T-Mobile is compatible with voice calls, but the 3G network is not compatible. The higher price of the iPhones reflect no-contract pricing as well as the unlocked status of the device. While the iPhone 4 had been sold unlocked in other countries, this is the first time Apple has offered them in the U.S.

Reuters and Engadget report that Nokia has entered into a patent license agreement with Apple. From the press release:

Nokia announced that it has signed a patent license agreement with Apple. The agreement will result in settlement of all patent litigation between the companies, including the withdrawal by Nokia and Apple of their respective complaints to the US International Trade Commission.

The financial structure of the agreement consists of a one-time payment payable by Apple and on-going royalties to be paid by Apple to Nokia for the term of the agreement. The specific terms of the contract are confidential.

Nokia first filed a patent suit against Apple in October 2009 and the dispute has escalated since then with the two companies filing multiple new claims against each other. This should end one of the Apple's biggest patent disputes, but many others remain active.

While FOSS Patents sees this as a clear win for Nokia, they also suggest it may help Apple a bit as Android manufacturers are likely to also be affected.

Nokia emerges victorious, but this is a sweet defeat for Apple because its competitors -- especially those building Android-based devices -- will also have to pay Nokia, and most if not all of them will likely have to pay more on a per-unit basis because they don't bring as much intellectual property to the table as Apple definitely did.

Following a couple of missed rumored launch dates, a report surfaced over the weekend indicating that Apple will finally be launching its annual Back to School promotion this Wednesday. A new report from 9 to 5 Mac corroborates that claim and adds a new wrinkle -- instead of a free iPod as in years past, Apple will be offering $100 iTunes gift cards to education customers purchasing new Macs.

In year's past, Apple's Back to School promotion offered students their usual educational discount plus a free iPod with any purchase of a Mac. This year, 9to5Mac has been told, will be very different. In fact, Apple will not be offering free iPods during this promotion but will instead offer a $100 iTunes gift card.

Such an offer will likely be a letdown for a number of users who have been holding out on Mac purchases in hopes of picking up a free iPod. The free iPod offer has typically been good for the low-end iPod touch, which usually comes in in the $200-$230 range, meaning that this year's offer would contain considerably less value and be for media rather than hardware.

While Apple's iCloud introduction at WWDC offered a lot of new information, Apple has been quiet as to exactly what this means to the future of MobileMe's web apps such as email and calendar. In fact, it took a Steve Jobs email to find out the fate of Apple's iWeb hosting services.

Today, ThisisMyNext posted a somewhat controversial clarification they received from Apple PR indicating that MobileMe's web apps will no longer be maintained come June 30th, 2012.

Let's be clear about what happens when iCloud goes live -- according to what was described on stage at the event, and what I've confirmed with Apple PR —--the service will effectively replace the current web offerings of MobileMe. That means that when the cutoff date of June 30, 2012 comes around for users, the web-based email client, calendar, contacts app, and other components of the web suite will cease to exist.

But it seems that isn't the entire story. Apple has already started mirroring at least some of the existing MobileMe functionality on iCloud.com as well.

One reader was able to send themselves a Calendar invitation in iOS 5 and found themselves linked to the iCloud.com domain. The invite (pictured below) is visually identical to current MobileMe invitations but carries the iCloud branding and is hosted on the iCloud.com domain:

Following this iCloud link shows an iCloud based error page in the same theme.

So, Apple does appear to be working on the web support interface for iCloud but isn't ready yet to talk about it, and at least some of the functionality appears to be based on the existing MobileMe codebase.

Fifty percent of iPhone owners who have iPhones swapped at the Genius Bar have never plugged them into a computer to backup or sync. That's according to a "little birdie" that former Macworld Associate Editor David Chartier (now at AgileBits) knows. It also suggests iCloud will save a lot of headaches and lost data.

This is a big reason, according to this birdie, for why Apple Store Geniuses are excited about iCloud.

Backupophobes can get away with never touching iTunes after activating an iOS device. But folks obviously need to plug them into some kind of power source to recharge which, combined with a reachable WiFi network, is what triggers iCloud's automatic backup feature. Sure, these customers can manually reinstall apps one by one from the store, but they have no way to recover any of their data or media purchased on the device. That holds true for contacts, too, if users didn't sign up for MobileMe or even Google's free (and, in my experience, terrible) contact sync.

Apple's iCloud, with automated wi-fi sync and instant backup to the cloud will be a welcome feature for those millions who never sync or backup their current iOS devices.