Oil company Chevron has plans to expand its use of Apple Pay to gas pumps in the new year, according to a tweet the company sent out to a customer earlier today. In the message, Chevron says that it is working with Apple to bring Apple Pay payment solutions to pumps by early 2015.
@SingAsana We are working alongside Apple to develop solutions to integrate with Apple Pay at the pump by early 2015.
— Chevron (@Chevron) December 29, 2014
Chevron is an early Apple Pay partner, and was listed as one of Apple's supporters when the service first launched on October 20. Apple Pay is accepted at Chevron and Texaco gas stations at the current time, but it can only be used at the in-store cash register, which is considerably less convenient than a pump-side payment option.
Support for Apple Pay at the pump has been in the works at Chevron for several months, with a Chevron spokesperson stating that the company was working with Apple on developing pump-side options in mid-October. As the only gas stations accepting Apple Pay, Chevron and Texaco gas stations may be able to get a leg up on the competition by luring iPhone 6 and 6 Plus users looking for a more convenient way to pay for gas purchases.
Apple Pay is still in its infancy, but early numbers suggest Apple's payments service has the potential to be the first widely adopted mobile payments option. During the month of November, Apple was responsible for 1 percent of digital payment dollars, with 60 percent of Apple Pay customers using the service on multiple days throughout the month. Apple Pay is only in the United States at the time being, but Apple has plans to expand to multiple other countries in 2015.
Update 2:00 PM PT: Chevron has clarified that a potential timeline for the rollout of Apple Pay at the pump remains unclear, with no official early 2015 launch planned. The company also plans to continue to roll out in-store Apple Pay support to 3,000 stores in 2015.
Syfy is bringing the classic 12 Monkeys science fiction thriller to TV in a new series that will provide an immersive lighting experience for iOS device owners with a Philips Hue lighting system. For the first time ever in a TV series, viewers will be able to sync their household lighting to the action within each episode of the Syfy original series.
Syfy updated its iOS Sync app earlier this year with support for Philips Hue prior to the re-airing of Sharknado and the debut of Sharknado 2. The system requires users to install the Syfy Sync second screen app [Direct Link] to enable the feature.
Starting with the series premiere on Friday, January 16 at 9pm ET/PT, 12 Monkeys fans who pair the Syfy Sync app for phones and tablets with Philips Hue bulbs while watching the program will be treated to a specially designed “light track” – marrying the action on the screen to the lighting in your room – which will add a heightened engagement through a more immersive viewing experience. When combined, the app will detect audio cues from 12 Monkeys and translate them to the Web-enabled Hue system. Fans will then be enveloped in the onscreen action through ambient lighting effects designed to engage viewers in an entirely unique way.
Syfy will provide this immersive lighting in all 13 episodes of 12 Monkeys beginning in mid-January. The first episode will air Friday, January 16 at 9pm ET/PT.
The cover of Fortune's January edition showcases an interview with Disney CEO Bob Iger and his "Empire of Tech," focusing on Disney's growing media empire with acquisitions of brands such as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Marvel expanding the company's already considerable reach over the past few years. With Disney's and Iger's histories intersecting with those of Apple and Steve Jobs, Iger unsurprisingly takes a few moments to discuss topics such as his relationship with Jobs, his view on Apple and Disney's history, and Disney's attempt to stay relevant in a growing technological world.
In one anecdote, Iger recalls the moment in 2005 when he was about to be named as the new CEO of Disney, calling Jobs ahead of time to let him know what was coming. Disney's own animation was seen as "lifeless" in the years before the company's 2006 acquisition of Pixar, and amid reports of "bad blood" between former Disney CEO Michael Eisner and Jobs himself and an inability to come to an agreement for a continued distribution deal following the successful release of Toy Story, both studios' futures remained up in the air.
Even before the news became public, he called Jobs to let him know big changes were coming. “I told him I was well aware of how strained the relationship had become,” says Iger. “I said, ‘I know you think it’s going to be business as usual, but I’d like to prove to you that it’s not.’ ”
Jobs gave Iger the benefit of the doubt and told him to come up as soon as the dust settled. And that’s just what Iger did—not only because he knew Pixar was the key to revitalizing Disney’s lifeless animation studio, but also because he saw Apple’s CEO as a valuable technology partner. The sentiment, apparently, was reciprocated.
Ensuing fruitful years of a Disney/Apple alliance began immediately, with Iger flying out to Cupertino to officiate a deal to get Disney-owned content on the iTunes Store, a big deal for the still-budding platform.
“Steve recognized that in Bob he actually had a partner,” says Edwin Catmull, current President of both Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Animation Studios. “In the subsequent years they thought of each other as true partners. That’s what he wanted, and that’s not what he had previously.”
Two weeks after becoming CEO, Iger stood alongside Jobs to announce that Disney-owned ABC and its network of programs would be available on the iTunes Store, which only sold music at the time. Iger notes that Disney "got backlash from everybody -- from affiliates, retailers, and the guilds." He goes on to remark, however, that the experience "changed my relationship with him [Jobs] bigtime. And it led to a much better dialogue on Pixar.”
The Disney/Apple partnership continues to grow stronger, even in the wake of Jobs' death. Iger joined Apple's board just months after Jobs' passing, and Jobs' widow Laurene Powell Jobs remains Disney's largest individual shareholder thanks to Disney's acquisition of Pixar.
And Iger isn't afraid of the necessity to innovate, as highlighted by Apple CEO Tim Cook in a quote for the piece. “He has the courage to lose sight of the shore,” Cook says of Iger. “He understands the tradition of Disney but isn’t wedded to it.” But Iger also knows that both companies' pasts are important in looking towards the future, and remembers fondly brainstorming sessions with Jobs.
“Occasionally we would stand in front of a whiteboard and talk about ideas,” says Iger. “We’d just muse on business. When you think about it, media’s the intersection of content and technology—it’s all about storytelling, like photography and the camera. So we’d talk about that a lot, the intersection between the story and the gadget.”
The partnership isn't only growing strong behind boardroom doors, either. Just last week Apple Pay launched at Walt Disney World, its "Disney Movies Anywhere" app debuted exclusively on the App Store before expanding to Android recently, and even the upcoming Apple Watch is said to be including a Mickey Mouse-themed watch face option.
Apple is updating the terms and conditions governing purchases made by European Union consumers in the Mac App Store, iOS App Store, iBooks Store and iTunes Store. These changes appeared recently in EU countries such as France, Germany and United Kingdom (aia ifun.de).
Instituted across EU member states, the new terms provide consumers with 14 days to request a full refund of a purchase unless they deliberately choose to download the media and agree to forfeit their right to cancellation.
Right of cancellation: If you choose to cancel your order, you may do so within 14 days from when you received your receipt without giving any reason, except iTunes Gifts which cannot be refunded once you have redeemed the code. ...
To meet the cancellation deadline, you must send your communication of cancellation before the 14-day period has expired.
Effects of cancellation: We will reimburse you no later than 14 days from the day on which we receive your cancellation notice. We will use the same means of payment as you used for the transaction, and you will not incur any fees for such reimbursement.
Exception to the right of cancellation: You cannot cancel your order for the supply of digital content if the delivery has started upon your request and acknowledgement that you thereby lose your cancellation right.
This change is likely the result of the EU's new policy for Apps and Digital Games, which went into effect earlier this year. The new rules aim to protect consumers by establishing EU-wide guidelines for the sale of digital goods. Besides offering a 14-day return window, the policy also requires companies to provide detailed information about the products being sold.
These changes apply only to EU member states. The terms and conditions in other locations, such as the United States, remain the same with an "All sales Final" provision, although the company has traditionally offered some flexibility in that regard upon request.
Thanks to the annual App Store freeze that took place over the holidays last week, a new App of the Week missed its normal Thursday announcement date. As the shutdown lifts, however, the App Store team has now named physics platformer Icycle: On Thin Ice from Damp Gnat as this week's App of the Week, temporarily making the app free for all users.
Touted for its visuals and general "bizarreness" in various App Store reviews, the game tasks players with guiding its nude protagonist, Dennis, across eighty levels of various landscapes ranging from frozen tundras to "bizarre creations plucked from Dennis' subconscious."
From its jaw-dropping scenery to bizarre creations plucked from Dennis’s sub-conscious, award-winning studio Damp Gnat draws inspiration from art, film, and comedy to deliver an experience that is beautiful, sad, hilarious, compelling, and fun all at once. - A thrilling platforming adventure from award-winning studio Damp Gnat - Breathtaking worlds that are as beautiful as they are dangerous - Stunning soundtrack and unique surrealist visual design - Unlock a wardrobe full of garments to dress and humiliate Dennis - Upgrade vacuum cleaners and umbrellas to reach hidden items - Complete 80 missions to unlock bonus features including the original Icycle game!
Mobile analytics firm Flurry today reports Apple accounted for just over half of new mobile device activations for the holiday season, with 51.3 percent of worldwide activations going to the Cupertino-based company.
Using data from more than 600,000 tracked apps, Flurry focused on the week leading up to and including Christmas, from December 19-25. Trailing Apple in worldwide device activations was Samsung with nearly 18 percent and Nokia at almost 6 percent. Xiaomi, Huawei, and HTC all had less than one percent of device activations, which Flurry notes could be related to their popularity in Asian markets where the holiday season isn't the big gift-giving event it is in other parts of the world.
To put this in perspective, for every Samsung devices that was activated, Apple activated 2.9 devices. For every Microsoft Lumia device activated, Apple activated 8.8 devices. While, the holidays in general and Christmas in particular are not the sole indicator of the smartphone market share and trends, it is safe to say that Apple’s newly released iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have had a blockbuster holiday season, despite a lackluster holiday season for the consumer electronics industry.
Flurry also notes that on Christmas Day the number of app installs more than doubled compared to the early weeks of December, pointing to games and messaging apps as seeing the biggest jumps on Christmas morning.
The analytics firm also notes that "phablets" are gaining significant share in the market thanks to Apple's entry with the iPhone 6 Plus. "Medium Phones" such as the iPhone 6 still dominate the market as in years past, but the growth of the phablet in 2014 has taken share away from "Full-size Tablets" and, less drastically, "Small Tablets."
Looking at the year ahead, Flurry predicts iOS devices will continue to perform well alongside a continued shift in public opinion that will drive continued growth for the phablet form factor.
The Chaos Computer Club (CCC) claims that it can reproduce fingerprints to overcome security measures from simple photos of a user's fingers, reportsVentureBeat. CCC member Jan "Starbug" Krissler presented his method for recreating a fingerprint at the group's annual convention in Hamburg, Germany over the weekend, as he generated the thumbprint of German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen by using a public photo and computer program VeriFinger.
Instead, he explained how fingerprints can be snatched from persons at public events by simply using a “standard photo camera.”
The main source was a close-up picture of von der Leyen’s thumb, obtained during a news conference in October, along with photographs taken from different angles to get an image of the complete fingerprint.
The CCC demonstrated last year how it could bypass Apple's Touch ID fingerprint sensor with a photo of the original user's fingerprint. The newest method presented by the group does not require a hacker to obtain a physical object to recreate the fingerprint, although Krissler notes that other security methods like facial recognition can also easily be fooled through similar means. The group and Krissler hope to highlight the potential exploits in newer technology, and also noted that additional security layers like passwords should also be activated to secure information properly.
Apple today debuted a new campaign on its Japanese website called "Start Something New" (Google Translate) which showcases individuals using its latest products and apps to create art and take photos. Among the products highlighted include the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air 2, and iMac, as apps like Procreate, VSCO Cam, and iDraw are also highlighted.
The new section includes entries on individuals like digital artist Roz Hall, who primarily used the iPad and illustration app Procreate to create a set of university portraits with Apple's tablet. Apple also spotlights media artist Matt Pyke who used the iPhone 6 and iMovie to create an entire film project on a mobile device, and brings attention to others like art duo Craig & Karl who illustrate in Waterlogue and exchange sketches through iMessage. Apple also highlights a number of its own software features, including exposure control on the iPhone 6 and burst mode on the iPad Air 2.
"Start Something New" appears to be a section exclusive to Apple's Japanese website, possibly indicating that the company is beginning a renewed push for its products in the region. Apple is also beginning its annual Fukubukuro "lucky bag" promotion in Japan beginning January 2, which will allow customers to purchase a grab bag filled with an assortment of products at a steep discount.
Beats CEO Jimmy Iovine has been meeting with a number of music artists over doing exclusive album releases similar to Beyoncé's incredibly successful iTunes album last year, reports the New York Post.
Citing sources close to the matter, the paper notes that Iovine is using his close connections with popular musicians like Nicki Minaj, Pharrell, and Gwen Stefani to create new side deals that would bring exclusives, with Beats also said to be negotiating additional promotional deals after a successful campaign with AT&T earlier this year.
It’s been almost a year since Beats Music launched with a brace of Super Bowl spots starring Ellen DeGeneres and a big promotional backing from AT&T.
The promotional relationship ended a few months ago, and parties are discussing future deals. "They outperformed expectations in terms of the upsell," said one source of AT&T.
In February, it was reported that Apple's iTunes chief Robert Kondrk met with record label executives during Grammy Week in January about the potential of more exclusive album releases similar to Beyoncé's. Kondrk emphasized sales through digital storefronts like iTunes in those meetings, and asked executives if they could lock down individual track sales after a certain window of time to create greater attention for artists and their music.
Beyoncé's self-titled album broke a number of records after its exclusive release on iTunes last December, selling over 828,000 copies in just three days to become the fasting selling collection of music in the service's history. The album was backed by significant promotion on the iTunes Store and across various social media networks.
Top banks across the UK are currently negotiating with Apple to launch Apple Pay in the country during the first half of 2015, reportsThe Telegraph. Sources close to the matter note that the major banks have cited privacy concerns over the personal and financial information of users, but admit that they are positive about the impact the service has had in the United States.
It is understood the bank is uncomfortable with the amount of personal and financial information Apple wants to collect about its customers. Some executives fear Apple Pay and the data it delivers to Apple could serve as a beachhead for an invasion of the banking industry.
Sources accepted no major bank will want to miss out on Apple Pay, however, as early signs from the United States suggest it may be the service to finally convince consumers to pay with mobile phones.
The news comes after Apple posted a job listing for an "Apple Pay Intern" earlier this month, which revealed that the company is "working hard" to expand its payment service across Europe, the Middle East, India, and Africa. Visa also said in September that it would be working with Apple to roll out Apple Pay across Europe in 2015, and e-commerce giant Alibaba has also been in talks with Apple over a potential partnership that would bring the service to China.
Apple Pay has seen impressive early adoption numbers since first launching in October, with ITG noting that the service accounted for 1% of all digital payment dollars in November. Apple Pay has seen adoption at a number of popular retailers and restaurants in the United States, including Macy's, Subway, Walgreens, McDonalds, Whole Foods, Nike, and more.
Just a couple days after Sony Pictures made much-anticipated and controversial comedy The Interview available on Xbox Video, Google Play, YouTube and SeeTheInterview.com, Apple has made the film available on iTunes ($5.99 for rent, $14.99 for purchase), issuing a short statement to Re/code.
We're pleased to offer "The Interview" for rental and purchase on the iTunes store.
On Tuesday, it was reported that Apple had declined the offer from Sony Pictures to host The Interview on iTunes. There was no official answer on why Apple declined, although it was assumed the Cupertino company didn't want to move on Sony's quick timetable. One possibility is that the company did not want to disturb the iTunes Connect holiday freeze, which ran from December 22 to December 29 this year.
Earlier this week, Sony Pictures announced it was bringing The Interview to select independent movie theaters and online video distributors a week after canceling the wide theatrical release of the film after large theater chains pulled out of the release due to violent threats from hackers.
The film has been subject to controversy as it depicts two entertainment journalists attempting to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un under the guidance of the CIA. The hacking of Sony Pictures and the movie's cancellation prompted widespread reaction, with U.S. President Barack Obama calling the latter move a "mistake".
The Interview is available on to rent on iTunes for $5.99 [Direct Link] and to purchase for $14.99 [Direct Link]
During the New Year in Japan, many retailers often offer a Fukubukuro, also known as a "mystery bag" or "lucky bag", which is a grab bag filled with an assortment of products usually sold at a steep discount. Apple Japan has once again announced that it'll take part in the promotion, which begins January 2 in Apple Retail Stores across Japan.
Last year, Apple's Lucky Bags sold for 36,000 yen, or $345, and usually contained items like iPods, headphones and t-shirts. Purchasers of the Lucky Bags don't know what's inside the bag, and cannot get a refund unless a product is defective. Some fortunate customers have received big-ticket items like iPads and MacBook Airs in their Lucky Bags, which is part of why Lucky Bags have become so popular in Japan.
As with past years, Apple's Lucky Bag promotion is limited to Japanese customers. The company has not yet announced pricing for this year's Lucky Bag promotion, but it's likely to be in line with previous years' pricing.
Sony Pictures recently attempted to enter talks with Apple over distributing its highly-anticipated film "The Interview" on iTunes, reportsThe New York Times. The report notes that Apple showed no interest in the offer, which came shortly after Sony Pictures announced that it would be canceling the wide theatrical release of the movie after being threatened by hackers.
It remained unclear, however, whether any on-demand service would take "The Interview." According to people briefed on the matter, Sony had in recent days asked the White House for help in lining up a single technology partner — Apple, which operates iTunes — but the tech company was not interested, at least not on a speedy time table. An Apple spokesman declined to comment.
Sony announced yesterday that it would be showing "The Interview" at select independent cinemas, with Sony Entertainment Chairman and CEO Michael Lynton noting that the company is "continuing our efforts to secure more platforms and more theaters so that this movie reaches the largest possible audience.”
The movie has been the subject of controversy throughout the later half of 2014, as it depicts two journalists attempting to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un under the guidance of the CIA. The hacking of Sony Pictures and the movie's cancellation prompted widespread reaction, with U.S. President Barack Obama calling the latter move a "mistake."
Apple today shared cumulative lists of the best performing apps in the App Store across 2014 with various media sites and on iTunes, highlighting the iPad Top Paid, iPad Top Free, iPhone Top Paid, and iPhone Top Free apps that were most popular with consumers this year.
The number one free iPhone app in 2014 was Facebook Messenger, which continues to have a two and a half star rating in the App Store due to Facebook's unpopular decision to remove messaging capabilities from the main Facebook app in an effort to get users to download the standalone Facebook Messenger app. Other popular free iPhone apps included Snapchat, Instagram, and Google Maps, with the top 10 listed below.
The number one paid iPhone app in 2014 was popular party game Heads Up!, which was skyrocketed to fame thanks to its multiple appearances on The Ellen Degeneres Show. First launched in 2013, Heads Up! asks players to guess a word based on clues given by friends. Other popular paid iPhone apps included workout app 7 Minute Workout Challenge and photo editing app Afterlight.
The most popular paid iPad app was, unsurprisingly, Minecraft - Pocket Edition, which also ranked as one of the top paid iPhone apps. Minecraft first debuted on iOS in 2011, but since that time, the app has been updated more than 20 times with new features, better graphics, bug fixes, and more. Its constant updates and pervasive popularity have kept it in the top list of apps for several years running. Other popular paid iPad apps were Terraria, Notability, and Minecraft-style apps Survivalcraft and Terraria.
The App Store's most popular free iPad app for 2014 was Google's YouTube app, which is a standalone app that lets users watch YouTube videos on their devices. YouTube used to be included with iOS, but the dedicated app was removed with iOS 6, prompting Google to release an app in 2012. Netflix was the second most downloaded free iPad app in 2014, followed by a calculator app, Skype, and Microsoft Word. Facebook and Facebook Messenger, two of the most popular free iPhone apps, were also popular on the iPad.
Earlier this month, Apple released its iTunes Store awards, highlighting some of the best apps, music, movies, and TV shows that were released in 2014. Those winning apps included Elevate - Brain Training, Threes!, Pixelmator, and Monument Valley. Of those apps, only two made Apple's top charts for 2014 -- Threes! was the 25th top paid iPhone app while Monument Valley was the 46th top paid iPhone app and 35th top paid iPad app.
Demand for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus has been growing even as Apple has significantly boosted available supply, according to a new survey conducted by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. According to Munster, who surveyed 1,004 U.S. consumers about their upcoming smartphone purchase plans, demand for the iPhone has only increased since the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus launched in September.
Of consumers surveyed who plan to buy a smartphone in the next three months, 50 percent said they planned to buy an iPhone. In a similar survey conducted in September, only 47 percent were planning on purchasing an iPhone. In 2013, demand for the iPhone 5s fell following the device's launch, whereas demand for the iPhone 6 appears to be rising.
We conducted a survey of 1,004 US consumers. Of those looking to purchase a smartphone in the next three months, 50% said they plan on purchasing an iPhone vs. 47% in September, following the iPhone 6 announcement. By comparison, demand for the iPhone decreased from 50% in Sep-13 to 44% in Dec-13 following the iPhone 5S launch. Overall we believe this shows that consumers are extremely interested in the larger screen iPhone 6, a testament to the strength of the current upgrade cycle.
Munster also notes that supply checks have pointed towards increased numbers of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus devices in retail stores. As of last week, 77.6 percent of stores had iPhone 6 units in stock, compared to 56.1 percent two weeks ago.
Apple's online store shipping estimates also point towards a significant increase in supply, with Apple growing close to reaching supply/demand balance. Over the course of the last few weeks, iPhone 6 and 6 Plus shipping estimates have improved from 7 to 10 days to just a single business day. As of Thursday, December 18, 16 and 64GB iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models ship from Apple within a day, while the more constrained 128GB models ship within 3 to 5 days.
As the end of the year approaches, Apple today slightly altered its micro site dedicated to Apple Pay to update the status of several of its partnerships. Retailers that teamed up with Apple and plan to implement Apple Pay support in retail stores and apps in the near future are now listed under sections labeled "Coming soon" instead of "Coming later this year."
The minor change in language suggests that many of Apple's Apple Pay partners will not be able to implement Apple Pay support in the last week of 2014, instead rolling out support in the first months of 2015. Many retailers that have chosen to implement Apple Pay may still be working to train employees, update hardware, and swap out point-of-sale systems, leading to variable launch dates.
Just in the last few weeks, multiple partners who were initially listed under the "Coming later this year" category managed to implement support before the end of the year deadline, including Walt Disney World, which will begin accepting Apple Pay later this week, and Ticketmaster, which updated its app to support Apple Pay on Monday.
On Apple's site, retail partners listed under the "Coming soon" headings now include ACME, Albertsons, Anthropologie, Free People, and Urban Outfitters. Walt Disney World continues to be listed, as Apple Pay will not be available until December 24. Upcoming app partners include Starbucks, StubHub, and Tickets.com, with Ticketmaster continuing to be listed despite implementing support earlier this week.
Since its October 20 launch, Apple Pay has proven to be popular with iPhone 6 and 6 Plus users. Despite only being available for six weeks, Apple Pay was responsible for 1 percent of digital payment dollars in November, with the most money being spent at Whole Foods, Walgreens, and McDonald's.
Apple Pay is currently limited to the United States, but according to comments from Visa and a recent job posting, Apple has an Apple Pay team in London working on bringing the payments service to new countries in 2015.
CNN has named Tim Cook as "CEO of the Year" for 2014, pointing towards a hefty rise in stock price and some record-breaking product launches as the main reasons behind the award. Cook sits in first place ahead of a number of other high-profile CEOs, including John Chen of BlackBerry, Mary Barra of GM, and Meg Whitman of HP.
Though CNN mainly points to Apple being the "apple of Wall Street's eye again," with its stock up 40 percent this year, individual factors contributing to the rising stock price are taken into account as well.
CNN argues Cook did "an amazing job" this year, ushering the company through major events such as the successful launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, as well as the growing ubiquity of Apple Pay. The crescendo of excitement surrounding the Apple Watch's launch in early 2015 is also cited as a big win for the Apple CEO.
Cook has arguably the toughest CEO job in America. He's had to convince skeptics that Apple can still innovate after the death of Steve Jobs. He's proven all the naysayers wrong.
CNN's CEO of the Year isn't the only award Cook will walk away with this year. Earlier in December, he received the Financial Time's "Person of the Year" award, which cited similar reasons for the award, namely proving Apple can succeed in the wake of Steve Jobs' passing and his infusion of new and fresh ideas into the company. Cook was also nominated for TIME's 2014 "Person of the Year" award, but ultimately lost out to the Ebola Fighters.
San Francisco patent company RPX today announced it is purchasing more than 4,000 telecommunications patents from Rockstar, an Apple-led consortium that previously acquired the patents from bankrupt Nortel Networks. The sale will net Rockstar $900 million, a fraction of the $4.5 billion the conglomerate of technology companies paid for the entire patent portfolio in 2011, although many of the high-value patents were previously dispersed to the consortium's members.
As reported by The Wall Street Journal, RPX confirmed its subsidiary RPX Clearinghouse, will license the patents to a syndicate of technology companies that include Google and Cisco Systems. RPX is making the patents available with non-exclusive licenses to all syndicate members, whose funds helped pay for the purchase. RPX also will license the patents to outside companies under fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms, and members of the Rockstar consortium will retain licenses for the patents.
Rockstar was formed in 2011 when Apple, BlackBerry, Ericsson, Microsoft, and Sony joined together to purchase patents from bankrupt communications company Nortel. The consortium purchased 6,000 patents, with 4,000 patents being held under the Rockstar umbrella and the remaining 2,000 patents being distributed to member companies.
The sale of the patents follows Rockstar's rather unsuccessful attempts to license the patents. The consortium also filed patent infringement lawsuits against a variety of technology companies with Google and Cisco recently settling their disputes for undisclosed amounts. As part of this patent sale to RPX, Rockstar has agreed to drop its existing suits against Samsung, LG and HTC.
Just a couple days after Sony Pictures made much-anticipated and controversial comedy The Interview available on Xbox Video, Google Play, YouTube and SeeTheInterview.com, Apple has made the film available on iTunes ($5.99 for rent, $14.99 for purchase), issuing a 
Sony Pictures recently attempted to enter talks with Apple over distributing its highly-anticipated film "The Interview" on iTunes, 
CNN has 
