AppleCare+

Apple has also today announced a new AppleCare plan for iPhones called AppleCare+. The AppleCare+ will costs $99 and extends repair coverage and technical support to two years from the original purchase date of your iPhone and adds coverage for up to two incidents of accidental damage due to handling.

The AppleCare+ covers:

• Your iPhone
• Battery (battery depletion of 50 percent or more from original specification)
• Included earphones and accessories
• Coverage for up to two incidents of accidental damage from handling

AppleCare+ also comes with software support. The AppleCare+ will be available starting October 14th, same day as iPhone 4S.[9to5mac]

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Few days back, Samsung offered a quick settlement to Apple to resolve the Galaxy Tab 10.1 launch in Australia. However, today Apple refused to the quick settlement, making it difficult for the Korean giant to launch the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia. The probable reason to reject the settlement offer by Apple is that they might be sensing a victory in the court. Unfortunately for Samsung, the launch of Galaxy Tab was postponed from August to September and now there seems a further delay.

Earlier, Samsung also agreed to withdraw two features from the Galaxy Tab 10.1 bringing down the disputed patent to one. Since the launch of Android based tablets, there has been a threat to the iPad market share. However, iPad still leads the tablet market share.

Apple and Samsung have also locked horns in various countries and are suing each other for smartphone and tablet patents.
[SH]

Apple has reclaimed its crown as the producer of the ‘world’s thinnest smartphone’ after the iPhone 4 was deemed by the Advertising Standards Authority to be slimmer than the Samsung Galaxy S II.

Whilst the Android powered Samsung Galaxy S II is a mere 8.71mm thick at its slimmest point the handset’s “prominent bulges” at the base of its form factor see it exceed Apple iPhone 9.3mm thick benchmark.
[t3]

UPDATE: Samsung official statement below.

Sad news for German users waiting for Galaxy Tab 10.1. The Dusseldorf court maintained that Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 did infringe some of Apple patents and banned the sale of the tablet across Germany.

There’s no info on what will be the future of other Galaxy Tab devices but we’ll update as soon as we hear more.

Samsung will take all available legal options including continuing to aggressively pursue Apple Inc. for its continued violation of Samsung’s wireless technology patents around the world.
[SH]

Ever since iOS’ original release with the original iPhone Apple has been quite good at releasing new updates for the mobile platform giving us more features than ever before. Some of the features that have been added with software updates include copy & paste, the App Store and much more. However, if you’ve been paying attention you’ll probably know that there are still some user gripes with the platform such as the notification system which Apple will be updating with the release of iOS 5 at some point in the not so distant future.

If, however, you are urning for an udpate you’re in luck as it was just made known today that iOS 4.3.5 is now available for download. Of course, this update won’t be bringing with it many ground breaking features at all as the only update included within the update seems to be fix for a certificate validation vulnerability.

While the average user will definitely want to grab the update those of you who are partial to jailbreaking may way to stray away as no information has been released on an untethered iOS 4.3.5 jailbreak just yet. We’ll keep you posted.

Apple has been going to suing spree, and has another patent suit aimed at Taiwanese mobile makers. But the Taiwanes company is avoiding ligation (for now), and instead choose to rebuke Apple with a few choice statements.  ”HTC is disappointed at Apple’s constant attempts at litigations instead of competing fairly in the market,” said HTC general counsel Grace Lei in statement.

The Taiwanese mobile maker dismissed the fresh patent infringement claims by Apple. Cupertino filed a complaint against HTC with US International Trade Commission (ITC) which is already reviewing three disputes between the two, over patents linked to iPad and iPhone.

Apple accuses HTC of patent infringements, which amounts up to 16 devices. All of the devices are Android powered, and includes the HTC Flyer, the HTC Thunderbolt among others. Lei added, “HTC strongly denies all infringement claims raised by Apple in the past and present and reiterates our determination and commitment to protect our intellectual property rights.”

HTC is not the only company on Apple’s radar, those currently in ligation with Apple are Samsung, GetJar and Amazon. Whatever happened to the focusing those legal fees and time on the next iPhone?

Apple’s third-generation iOS tablet may not be called iPad 3, as almost everyone assumed until now, but iPad HD. That’s because, as rumored last month, the new iPad could sport a display with huge resolution. According to This is my next, the iPad HD’s screen may have a 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution – twice the current 1024 x 768 resolution.

If we think about it, it kind of makes sense. When iPhone 4 came out, it had double the resolution of the 3GS (960 x 640 vs. 480 x 320). And now the iPad HD could follow the footsteps of the fourth-generation iPhone. Doubling the resolution also means developers will have little trouble making apps for the new iPad.

This is my next’s undisclosed sources pointed out that the iPad HD is not the iPad 3, but merely a “pro” version of the iPad 2, “aimed at a higher end market.” Well, we’ll see about that.

As for the iPhone, the new model (which could called iPhone 5, or iPhone 4S, or something else) should be announced at the same time with the alleged iPad HD. The Wall Street Journal re-iterates some older rumors, reporting that that the new smartphone will be both thinner and lighter than the iPhone 4, featuring an 8MP camera on the back. A dual-core processor will likely also be among the novelties the iPhone 5 / 4S has to offer.

Most probably, September is the month when Apple will officially announce the new iPad and new iPhone (which, of course, will both run iOS 5).

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BusinessWeek is reporting that Apple is “probably” going to lose its case against Amazon over the latter’s use of the name “Appstore” for its Android smartphone application store, according to presiding U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton. Judge Hamilton is reported to have made the comment after a hearing in California today.

Judge Hamilton said that Apple has not proven that there is any real confusion in the market between Apple’s popular “App Store,” which is available only to iOS powered devices, and Amazon’s upstart “Appstore” for Android powered smartphones and tablets. The judge indicated that she will review court filings further before issuing a formal judgment.

Speaking to Apple in court, Judge Hamilton said “I’m troubled by the showing that you’ve made so far, but that’s where you’re likely not to prevail at this early juncture.”

While not going so far as to suggest the term “app store” is generic in nature, as both Amazon and Microsoft have asserted in the past, this would appear to strengthen the case for those sitting in that camp.

Here comes another rumor regarding the iPhone 5. According to folks from BGR, Apple is planning on using a “radical new case design”. A complete makeover on the device case. This definitely different from all the rumors we have heard regarding the fifth generation on Apple’s smartphone.

BGR added that Apple is preparing an event in early/mid-August to unveiled the iPhone 5. They also mention that the device will be available soon as the last week of August. We are all hoping to see the iPhone 5 as a big surprise with a great makeover.

Last week Apple started stocking Square’s iPhone credit card readers in its 235 US retail locations, and now, according to Reuters, Visa has put its plastic where its mouth is. The credit card giant has invested in the personal payments startup, scoring itself a spot on Square’s advisory board in the process. No word on how much Visa is actually dropping on the company, but one thing stands to reason: it probably didn’t make the deposit via Verifone. If you would like to invest in a Square reader, it’ll cost you a lot less — the company is still offering smartphone plug-ins for free on its site.