MacRumors

The U.S. Department of Justice today announced its proposed remedy in the e-book price fixing case that saw Apple found guilty last month. The proposed remedy includes nullification of Apple's existing "agency model" deals with a number of major publishers, as well as a requirement that competitors such as Amazon allow direct links to their own e-book stores from within their iOS apps.

The department’s proposal, if approved by the court, will require Apple to terminate its existing agreements with the five major publishers with which it conspired – Hachette Book Group (USA), HarperCollins Publishers L.L.C., Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC, which does business as Macmillan, Penguin Group (USA) Inc. and Simon & Schuster Inc. – and to refrain for five years from entering new e-book distribution contracts which would restrain Apple from competing on price. [...] To reset competition to the conditions that existed before the conspiracy, Apple must also for two years allow other e-book retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble to provide links from their e-book apps to their e-bookstores, allowing consumers who purchase and read e-books on their iPads and iPhones easily to compare Apple’s prices with those of its competitors.

Back in February 2011, Apple rolled out in-app subscriptions, also instituting a new App Store rule preventing developers offering both subscription and purchased content from including in their apps direct links to their own stores that would allow user to bypass Apple's in-app purchase system. Amazon complied with the requirement by removing links from its Kindle app in July of that year, and Barnes & Noble made a similar move with its NOOK app.

Under the proposed remedy, Apple would be required to allow those direct links to return to competitors' apps for a period of two years. A hearing on the proposed remedies is scheduled for August 9.

Following an update to its Apple Store iOS app late last month, Apple has now begun offering the reported free iTunes Store, App Store, and iBookstore content through the app (via Flo's Weblog [Google translation]).

As in the leaked sample screenshot, the initial offering is Color Zen, a puzzle game typically priced at $0.99. The free content is accessed by visiting any of the pages for individual Apple retail stores in the app. Users do not need to be physically present in the store for the offer to appear.

Codes for Color Zen distributed through the app are valid through August 27.

Following a report from yesterday that appeared to show photos of the iPad 5's silver rear shell, FanaticFone has posted new photos of the alleged silver casing of the next generation iPad mini. While the photos highlight typical features such as a rear facing camera, speakers and the Lightning port, it does feature an embedded black Apple logo, which is a change from the current iPad mini that uses a printed mirrored logo.

Aside from the change to the Apple logo, the shell appears essentially identical to the current iPad mini.

Apple is expected to launch the next-generation iPad mini with a potential Retina display sometime in the fall, while the fifth-generation iPad may appear as soon as next month.

Motorola today announced its new 4.7-inch Moto X smartphone, which comes equipped with a number of impressive features like a 720p AMOLED Display, Touchless Control via Google Now integration, multiple customization options, and unique camera controls. The phone has been described as Google and Motorola's flagship iPhone competitor.

The Moto X is the first phone where Google is in control of both the hardware and the software, giving the company greater control over the end user experience. Google's Moto X does not utilize a skin like other Android smartphones, but Google does allow carriers to add pre-loaded apps and other software. There will, however, be a Google Play edition available for users who prefer a stock Android experience.

The phone includes the Motorola X8 Computing System, with a Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 1.7Ghz dual-core Krait CPU and quad-core Adreno 320 GPU. It offers 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, a 10-megapixel rear camera, and a 2,200mAh battery that offers up to 24 hours of battery life.

To support its Touchless Control feature, the phone includes a dedicated processor that listens for voice commands while preserving battery life. This feature allows users to obtain weather information, directions, and more with hands-free controls.

Though the Moto X is available through multiple carriers, customers purchasing an AT&T version of the phone will be able to customize it, choosing a black or white faceplate with sixteen different back case color options and accents.

The Moto X is set to launch in late August or early September and will be priced at $199 with a two-year contract.

Apple is only looking at outside candidates for the head of its retail division, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The position has been empty since last fall when John Browett was let go after less than a year on the job, with the retail division reporting directly to CEO Tim Cook.

Potential external candidates have been wary about taking charge at Apple Retail, largely because the company has not been clear about its future plans for the division, and many outsiders were seen as a poor fit for the job.

Apple's search for a replacement, handled by recruiters Egon Zehnder International, has gone slowly, people familiar with the matter said, and the company has yet to settle on a finalist after interviewing several external candidates. Among those interviewed but rejected as a poor fit were wireless and telecommunications-industry executives, one such person said. A CEO of a privately held retailer in France spurned Apple's overtures, believing it would be hard to change Apple's culture as an outsider, another person said.

Apple doesn't consider internal candidates to be an option, according to a third person familiar with the matter.

The article does note that a focus on customer service has returned to the stores after, during Browett's tenure, the company began aggressively focusing on sales with a drop in customer satisfaction ratings reflecting that change.

Prior to Browett, Ron Johnson was the head of Apple Retail for more than ten years, making Apple's stores into one of the most profitable retail chains in the world. Johnson left the company to be the CEO of JC Penney, though he was fired from that position earlier this year.

Apple has purchased Silicon Valley-based wireless chip developer Passif Semiconductor, reports technology writer Jessica Lessin. The company, which Apple has reportedly been after for several years, specializes in low-power communication chips that could be used to improve battery life in wearable devices such as Apple’s rumored iWatch.

Passif develops communication chips that use very little power. Its technology, which includes a radio that works with a low-energy version of Bluetooth called Bluetooth LE, is promising for health-monitoring and fitness devices that need extra-long battery life. (Apple, of course, is working on one of those.)

Apple has confirmed the acquisition, with Apple spokeswoman Amy Besette giving AllThingsD the following statement: "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."

According to rumors, battery life is one area where Apple has struggled in its iWatch development. A report in March suggested that the batteries in Apple’s iWatch prototypes were only lasting a couple of days, with the company targeting at least 4–5 days of battery life.

After trademarking the iWatch name in a number of countries, Apple has been pouring its resources into the smart watch in recent months. The company hired a number of new employees to join the iWatch team, including health sensor experts, as the iWatch is said to focus on health related applications and biosensors.

Passif's low-power chip technologies could also be used in other Apple products going forward, improving battery life across the board. In addition to Passif, Apple has acquired a number of other small companies in recent months, including Locationary and HopStop.

Apple's upcoming low-cost iPhone, perhaps called the iPhone "5C", may come equipped with the same 8-megapixel sapphire crystal-covered camera found in the iPhone 5, reports Chinese site IT168 [Google Translation]. The site has shared an image of what is claimed to be the iPhone 5C camera module, which appears similar to the existing iPhone 5 camera module.

While the low-cost iPhone will potentially incorporate the 8-megapixel camera of the iPhone 5, Apple's iPhone 5S is expected to get an upgraded 12-megapixel camera that will offer improved low light photography.

Though the 5C is labeled as the low-cost iPhone, it appears that it will share other characteristics with Apple's existing iPhone 5 and upcoming iPhone 5S, offering some of the same components in a cheaper polycarbonate shell. Using similar parts prevents Apple from having to source new materials and rumors have suggested that the iPhone 5C could even be intended to serve as a replacement for the iPhone 5.

Based on leaked specs and purported casing images, the iPhone 5C is expected to feature a plastic shell in multiple bright colors. The case design appears to be more rounded than the existing iPhone 5 and it is expected to be slightly taller and larger to accommodate the thicker plastic shell, as seen in renderings commissioned by MacRumors last month.

According to the most recent report, the iPhone 5C is expected to launch in early September, alongside Apple's upcoming iPhone 5S. Estimates have suggested that it could be priced between $450 and $550, which would likely lower the price to $99 or below with carrier subsidies.

(Thanks, Mobilespie!)

In 2011, when iCloud replaced MobileMe, Apple gave paying MobileMe customers an additional 20GB of iCloud storage as a thank you for their purchase. That storage was to be discontinued in September of 2012, but Apple ended up giving MobileMe users another year of storage for free.

Now, however, the complimentary iCloud storage plan will be expiring at the end of next month, on September 30th.

For customers using more than 5GB of storage, they will be required to purchase an additional 10GB of storage for $20/year, 20GB for $40/year, or 50GB for $100/year, or a number of iCloud features -- iCloud Backup, Documents in the Cloud, and iCloud Mail -- will stop working on the 30th until the issue is resolved.

According to BlackBerryOS.com, the beta version of BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) has started rolling out in the Beta Zone for Android and iOS devices. The Beta Zone, which is similar to Apple's Developer Center, started sending out the invites to select registered users today, with more expected to follow in the coming days and weeks. BlackBerryOS.com has also leaked several screenshots of the Android version of the app, but screenshots of the iOS version do not yet appear to be available.

The beta will require iOS 6.0 or later, according to Vivek Bhardwaj, the head of the BlackBerry Software Portfolio who spoke to Trusted Reviews a couple of weeks ago. Announced in May for a summer release, BBM is expected to hit Google Play and the App Store sometime next month, although there has been no official date confirmation as of yet following an erroneous announcement from T-Moble UK having claimed a June 27 launch date.

BBM is the proprietary messaging solution among BlackBerry devices and requires the use of a "PIN" – an eight character hexadecimal identification number that is uniquely assigned to every device. Currently there is no information about how BlackBerry users will add iOS or Android devices to their contacts, though the most obvious solution would be through either a phone number or e-mail address.

This is the first time that BlackBerry software has been available on other smartphones and marks a radical shift in the management of the Canadian-based manufacturer. From 2012 onwards, BlackBerrys have gradually been dropping in popularity – the latest statistics show that BlackBerry OS worldwide accounted for just 3.7% of smartphone usage in July 2013, compared with 38.3% for Android, 24.8% for iOS and 14.4% for Nokia's S40 platform.