MacRumors

Shanghai Daily reports that Apple is facing a lawsuit in China over Siri, with a company there claiming that Siri infringes upon its patent rights.

The Shanghai No.1 Intermediate People's Court will hold a pre-hearing at 2pm today to let Apple and Shanghai Zhi Zhen Internet Technology Co Ltd exchange evidence. [...]

"Siri is very similar to Xiaoi, a chat robot system we have been developing since 2003," said Mei Li, a spokeswoman of Shanghai Zhi Zhen which filed the lawsuit.

Mei said her company applied for patent rights for Xiaoi in 2004 in China and the patent right went into effect in 2006.

While the Xiaoi bot began life as a chat bot for MSN and similar networks, it has since migrated to a number of platforms including Android and iOS, and has evolved to look quite similar to Siri, although the iOS version of the app [App Store] uses a different style for the microphone icon and button.

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Android version of Xiaoi (left) vs. iOS version (center and right)

AFP reports that Zhi Zhen, which has over 100 million users of Xiaoi, is seeking a halt to sales of infringing products, as well as reserving the right to seek compensation in the future.

"The company will ask Apple to stop manufacturing and selling products using its patent rights, once Apple's infringement is confirmed," Si Weijiang, a lawyer representing Zhizhen, told AFP.

"We don't exclude the possibility of demanding compensation in the future," he added.

Apple's rumored television set project has a long history of claims from various sources, and while the "iWatch" has taken on a more prominent place in the rumor mill in recent months, an Apple television continues to be on the radar of a number of industry watchers.

Digitimes now reports on word from unidentified supply chain sources that Apple is working on an "Ultra HD" or "4K" television set that would carry a resolution of 3840 x 2160. The report claims that Apple's Internet-connected television set will support voice and motion control and is targeted for launch late this year or, perhaps more likely, early next year.

The sources said that Apple and Foxconn Electronics have been in discussions for quite some time in terms of the TV's mass production schedule, but that Apple has been considering where panel supply for the TV will come from, as Ultra HD TV panel makers, most of whom are based in Taiwan, are expected to be producing at nearly full capacity in 2013 in order to meet demand from China-based TV vendors.

Additionally, other panel makers in Apple's supply chain that may have the ability to produce Ultra HD TV panels are expected to allocate most of their panel production to the company's iPhone, iPad and iPad mini products instead, as ultra-mobile devices are expected to be popular in the market during 2013, the sources noted.

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Pricing is a major issue on the first Ultra HD televisions announced so far, with price tags generally starting around $20,000, although Westinghouse is planning to launch a line of "budget" Ultra UD televisions this year starting at $2500 for a 50-inch model. Additional equipment will, however, be needed to take full advantage of the 4K capabilities.

But unlike Sony and LG, Westinghouse’s models will be barebones displays with no on-board Smart TV features and no elaborate 4K up-conversion video processing technology.

Instead, [Westinghouse senior vice president of marketing Rey] Roque said, Westinghouse expects viewers to use the 4K video processing converters that come built into select Blu-ray Disc players, A/V receivers and other devices to handle that load. To present pictures from regular sources, the sets will have only simple 4K up-scaling circuitry and 120Hz refresh rates.

The most recent Apple television set rumor from a mainstream news source came last December when The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple and Foxconn have been testing prototypes, but a source noted that the effort was still in the early stages and wasn't yet a "formal project" for Apple.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Screen Shot 2013-03-26 at 6.26.38 PMFlipboard today upgraded its app to version 2.0, adding a Pinterest Pinboard-like "Magazine" feature, search, notifications, Etsy integration and more.

In an interview with Mashable, Flipboard CTO Eric Feng said that the update was "the most ambitious thing the company has ever done." Previously, Flipboard allowed users to subscribe to certain news and social media feeds and acted as a beautiful RSS reader. With the new Magazine feature, users can collect content, organize it into their own feeds, and share it with the rest of the Flipboard user base.

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The company also added notifications so that users can see when their friends like, comment or share their magazines. Flipboard has also integrated products and product descriptions from handmade goods e-retailer Etsy, allowing users to buy products directly from the app.


What's New in Version 2.0
- You can now collect and save content into your own magazines, tap the new “+” button to get started.
- Your magazines are public, but can be made private (viewable only to you).
- Use the new bookmarklet to add items to your magazines from your browser.
- Get Flipboard notifications when people like, comment or subscribe to your magazines.
- Easily email or share magazines to Facebook, Twitter, G+, etc
- Search is now front and center on your Flipboard, with new improved results.
- Faster page-loading and faster flipping performance.
- Personalized recommendations for more to add to your Flipboard.

Flipboard can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

iphone_5_black_whiteThe iPhone 5 that will be sold through T-Mobile is a modified version of the A1428 iPhone 5 that is currently produced for AT&T's network, among others. The new version of the A1428 has been tweaked on the hardware side by Apple to support Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) bands for T-Mobile's network.

According to an Apple representative that spoke to Engadget, existing A1428 phones cannot be updated to add AWS support.

Apple’s enabling support of the AWS bands from the factory on the new guy – and sadly, Apple affirmed to us that it's not something that can be enabled via a simple software update for A1428 iPhone units already in circulation. To say that another way, existing iPhone 5 owners on AT&T cannot simply apply a software patch to have AWS support added. You'll need to buy a new phone next month.

On April 12, which is the date that T-Mobile's iPhone 5 launches, Apple will be selling the new version of the A1428 iPhone. This phone will be available unlocked at full retail price through Apple, and will function with both the T-Mobile and AT&T networks, as well as on many LTE bands around the world.

Apple plans to phase out the existing A1428 hardware in favor of the new version, which means future phones from AT&T might also ship with AWS support included. While the current A1428 phone works with T-Mobile's network, it is notably slower than the modified version.

Apple's iPhone 5 with AWS included will be available at 12:01 a.m. on April 12 from 24-hour locations, and phones ordered from Apple's Online Store can be unlocked (after full payment) through T-Mobile.

T-Mobile announced that it will carry the iPhone 5 this morning at its "Uncarrier" event in New York City, alongside new pricing plans. Though the iPhone 5 is not a new device, several media outlets went hands-on with the device after the event to test out the phone's speeds, pricing, and feature set.

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Gizmodo tested the iPhone 5's HD voice feature, which takes advantage of the wideband audio on the iPhone 5 to deliver better sound quality. On a T-Mobile iPhone-to-iPhone call, the difference was notable.

Calling from one T-Mobile iPhone to another, my caller's voice came through loud and clear. You know how sometimes cell-to-cell voice calls can sound a little fragmented? Like little bits of sounds are being dropped? This didn't have that. It was a much more natural sounded call. It was a bit richer, and definitely fuller. I wouldn't say it was like night and day, but it's definitely a noticeable improvement.

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Engadget went hands on to test the T-Mobile LTE speeds of the Note II, the HTC One, and the iPhone 5, finding that T-Mobile's LTE network performed well.

Finally, we tested two separate iPhone 5s and, interestingly, saw different speeds. The first averaged 26Mbps down, the second 18 – despite being tested at the same time. [Upload] speeds hovered around 10Mbps and pings were always very good, typically under 50ms.

So, as ever numbers vary widely from test to test, but the network can certainly deliver some impressive numbers on average.

Engadget also clarified what happens if users buy an "Uncarrier" phone and then cancel service. As it turns out, a purchased T-Mobile iPhone must be bought out, but users also have the option of continuing to make monthly payments or trading it in for another device. When trading it in, T-Mobile will provide "fair market credit" for the phone.

Feature wise, T-Mobile phones typically ship with WiFi calling, which is designed to allow users to make and receive calls from a T-Mobile phone on any WiFi hotspot in the world. As Engadget points out, that feature will not be included when the iPhone 5 initially launches, but may be included in the future.

With T-Mobile's new UnCarrier plan, the total cost of the 16GB iPhone 5 is $579, with an upfront fee of $99 plus 24 monthly payments of $20. When payments are complete, the phone can be unlocked. In comparison, a fully unlocked iPhone directly from Apple costs $649.

T-Mobile's iPhone 5 will be in stores on April 12th and can be pre-ordered online beginning on April 5th.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has something of a mixed track record predicting Apple product releases, having expected an Apple television set for several years now. Regardless, in a research note today, Munster predicted an iPhone 5S will be released in June, and a low-cost iPhone in September.

He believes the 5S will have incremental upgrades with a faster processor, better camera, and "an outside chance" that the device will gain an NFC chip as part of a digital wallet initiative. He also notes that some kind of biometric security feature is a possibility, but believes that is more likely in a future iPhone 6.

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Regarding the lower-cost iPhone, Munster writes:

We continue to believe Apple will have a cheaper phone product to address the emerging markets. In recent public comments, Tim Cook noted that the original iPod cost $399 and eventually the company released a $49 iPod Shuffle which addressed a broader market. We believe Apple will likely introduce a cheaper device in the September quarter.

Earlier this year, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo -- who has a very good track record in recent years -- also predicted an iPhone 5S in June or July, with a lower-cost iPhone around the same time.

Twitterrific for the iPhone and iPad was updated to version 5.2 today, adding support for native push notifications for mentions, direct messages, favorites, retweets, and new followers.

Previously, Twitterrific did not include native push notifications, instead using third party notification app Boxcar. Not all users will receive immediate access to Twitterrific's push notifications as the service is being rolled out to groups of 1,000 over the next few weeks.

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In addition to push notifications, the update also adds several improvements to the app, along with a slew of bug fixes.

New Features
-Push notifications (enable in settings)
-User banners now display on profile pages
-Discussions can now be shared via email or Storify

Improvements
-Added Droplr thumbnails to the timeline
-Text size of muffled items scales according to theme settings
-The timeline can now display up to 600 tweets (was 400)
-Additional actions, like muffling, are available when avatars are hidden
-New compose shortcut: type “@” after username to prevent autocomplete
-Load more button now animates while loading new tweets in the timeline
-Improved behavior when restoring selected timeline with multiple accounts
-Improved formatting when emailing a tweet or group of tweets
-Improved performance when rotating display on iPhone/iPod
-Improved display performance when muffling many items
-Multiple in-app notifications no longer overlap
-Various changes to make VoiceOver less verbose
-Various other UI tweaks

Bug Fixes
-Mobilizer view can now display before page finishes loading
-Fixed problems where some web pages would display “Loading…” indefinitely
-Timeline syncing no longer causes the timeline to jump around while scrolling
-Fixed issues that caused the timeline to automatically scroll to the top
-Avatar button no longer flashes when dismissing a photo or modal view
-Fixed crashes that occurred when muffling a tweet that was already muffled
-Text entered on the compose screen no longer overlaps the reply reference text
-Fixed a crash that could occur when reaching the end of the timeline
-Replying to a retweet now puts usernames in the proper order
-Removed Img.ur thumbnails because they don’t always match the linked image
-Various other crash fixes

Twitterrific can be downloaded from the App Store for $2.99. [Direct Link]

TmobileT-Mobile, the only major U.S. cellular carrier to not sell the iPhone, will begin carrying the device on April 12th. The carrier will sell the phone under its new 'Uncarrier' policies as T-Mobile attempts to differentiate itself from other cellular networks with new 'customer-friendly' rate plans.

New iPhone customers will be able to purchase the 16GB iPhone 5 for $100 down, plus 24 monthly payments of $20. After the payments are finished, customers will see their monthly bills drop. On traditional subsidized plans from AT&T or Verizon, users pay $199 up front, and then see a subsidy payment invisibly built into their monthly plans. However, if the customer goes longer than two years without purchasing a new phone, the carrier continues to collect subsidy repayments as pure profit.

"This is an important day for people who love their iPhone but can’t stand the pain other carriers put them through to own one," said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile USA. "We feel their pain. I’ve felt the pain. So we’re rewriting the rules of wireless to provide a radically simple, affordable iPhone 5 experience — on an extremely powerful network."

Notably, T-Mobile says it will be the only U.S. carrier to support the 'Wideband Audio' feature of the iPhone 5, calling it 'HD Voice'.

T-Mobile is also offering the iPhone 4S for $70 down and $20 per month for 24 months, and the iPhone 4 for $15 down and $15 per month for 24 months.

The carrier will charge a base rate of $50 per month for unlimited talk, text and 3G data, plus 500MB of 4G data. Customers can add 2GB of 4G data for $10/month per line, or $20/month for unlimited 4G. Additional lines have a base rate of $30/month for the first, and $10/month for each additional. The company officially rolled out 4G LTE service today in Baltimore; Houston; Kansas City; Las Vegas; Phoenix; San Jose, Calif.; and Washington, D.C.

Customers can pre-order the iPhone 5 beginning April 5.

Related Forum: iPhone

The Economic Times reports (via iPhone Hacks) that Apple is tripling the size of its reseller network in India by 2015, growing to 200 stores.

These franchisees, who did not wish to be named, told ET that they have been asked to scale up operations in the country as the Cupertino-based company plans to grow aggressively in the country. In addition to increasing the number of Apple exclusive stores, called Apple Premium Resellers, that are owned and managed by 17 franchisees, the company also plans to expand its presence in multi-brand stores, they said.

Some of these plans are said to have been discussed during last month's Mumbai visit of Hugeues Asseman, Apple's vicepresident (sales) for Europe, Middle-East, India, and Africa. Asseman met key trade partners and franchisee owners to take stock of the company's India business and to outline the company's expansion plans.

We first noticed Apple's expansion plans almost exactly one year ago after the company posted a job listing seeking a new national manager for the Apple Premium Reseller (APR) program in India, with the listing describing a "significant growth plan for the future".

istore_hyderabad_india
Today's report also indicates that Apple has still been unable to find a way to open its own retail stores in India, given regulations requiring such single-brand stores to source 30% of their products from within the country.

Currently, the US company does not manufacture any of its products in India and the 30% sourcing clause could, therefore, deter it from opening self-owned stores. But it has asked its franchisees to upgrade Apple exclusive stores in India to global specifications, including designing, lay-outs, fit-outs, and is even sending its global suppliers to fit those stores. These outlets will have a lot of glass decor, which Apple uses at its company-owned stores in the US. The cost of refitting and redesigning each store is expected to be more than Rs 1 crore, which the company will reimburse the franchisee owners over a year, an Apple Premium Reseller franchisee said.

Late last year, Apple brought on two new distribution companies to assist with the company's iPhone business in India, an effort that resulted in a tripling of sales.

Apple has also been working to expand its content ecosystem in India, launching music and movies in the iTunes Store back in December and complementing that move with a February debut for the Apple TV.

Back in September, Google purchased Nik Software of Snapseed fame. In addition to being the team behind the iOS photo editing app that was named Apple’s 2011 iPad App of the Year, Nik Software also produces several plug-ins for professional image editing applications like Aperture, Lightroom, and Photoshop.

nikcollectionbygoogle

As of today, Nik's plug-ins are available as a single bundle, which is priced at $149, a significant discount from the original $499 price tag. Rebranded the "Nik Collection by Google," the bundle includes HDR Efex Pro 2, Silver Efex Pro 2, Sharpener Pro 3, Color Efex Pro 4, Viveza 2, and Dfine 2.

The collection, which is offered for all three popular photo editing platforms, includes tools for creating HDR images, reducing photo noise, producing black and white photos, and making minute color adjustments.

New users can purchase the bundle via the Nik Software website, or access a free 15-day trial. Existing Nik users will be upgraded to the entire Nik collection for free, through an email that will be sent out in the next few days.

QuicksilverAfter more than 10 years in beta, the open source launch utility Quicksilver has finally reached version 1.0.

The utility is a Spotlight-on-steroids type utility, that allows power users to open and manipulate files quickly from the keyboard.

After almost 10 years of testing, Quicksilver lays the beta tag to rest. (If the lack of an eszett brings a tear to your eye, you can always reminisce by hitting ⌥S on your keyboard). What does this release mean? It means more than just a change in the version numbering system - it signifies a maturity of Quicksilver and a sign of what’s to come.

For more info on this historic release day, you can read an interview with the lead developers where they discuss their thoughts on Quicksilver, but now it’s time to dive right in and see what Quicksilver’s getting on its release birthday.

Quicksilver is a free download, but the developers welcome donations from users who find it useful.

CNET reports that T-Mobile will finally announce plans to sell the iPhone at tomorrow's "Uncarrier" event in New York City.

T-Mobile, which is the only one of the four major U.S. carriers that does not currently offer the iPhone, originally confirmed that it would begin selling Apple products at some point in 2013.

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Image via @evleaks

In addition to an iPhone announcement, the event is expected to feature an announcement about T-Mobile's plan to end device subsidies and introduce contract free phones as part of an overall rebranding of the company.

The iPhone is critical to T-Mobile's plans to re-make itself as the "different" carrier. It will be the marquee product illustrating its new no-contract, no subsidy rules, where a customer pays a small fee upfront and pays a monthly charge on top of the service plan to cover the phone costs.

The carrier, which currently supports more than two million iPhones, is also said to be preparing to officially unveil its LTE network at tomorrow's event. iPhone pricing and availability has yet to be announced, though CNET's source notes that the phone will not be immediately available for purchase.

For the second time in a week, China's state-run press has published an article criticizing Apple over allegations that Apple's warranty in that country is significantly worse than in other countries, reports The Wall Street Journal. Apple had previously claimed the warranty it offers in China is nearly identical to that offered in other countries.

Previously, a number of Chinese celebrities criticized Apple on microblogging site Sina Weibo -- however, it is alleged that the messages were paid for and part of a coordinated attempt to stir up an anti-Apple backlash amongst the Chinese public.

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Today's article, published in The People's Daily newspaper, criticized Apple for declining journalists' requests for interviews, and called a press release the company issued "empty and self-praising". For years, Apple has been extremely selective when it comes to granting interviews.

Though it can be difficult to predict government behavior based on news coverage in China's state-run media, analysts said the string of attacks suggested that the government is considering doing more to encourage the growth of domestic smartphone companies and eat away at dominant foreign companies, such as Apple.

The criticism means "that in establishment circles, there is a level of acceptance that it is OK to go against this company, which can mean there's trouble down the road," said Jeremy Goldkorn, director of Danwei.org, which researches Chinese media.

The incidents reflect more on a changing Chinese approach to foreign companies, rather than some specific reflection on Apple itself. China is Apple's second largest market after the U.S., and the company has been aggressive in expanding there.

The Chinese government has targeted other foreign companies including Volkswagen and KFC in recent months.

Note: Due to the controversial nature of this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Apple today launched a new promotion for U.S. customers, providing free next day shipping on all of its iPhone models. While Apple typically provides free shipping for all orders over $50, the promotion also includes the iPhone 4, which is free with a two year contract.

The shipping promotion comes shortly after Apple released a new "Why You'll Love an iPhone" advertising campaign via email and the web and a secondary email advertisement that highlighted Apple’s 9th consecutive J.D. Power Smartphone Satisfaction Rankings win. Apple's advertising push follows the introduction of Samsung's Galaxy S 4 phone.

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Potential customers are limited to purchasing two iPhones with the newly released shipping offer, which is available immediately. Though no specific holiday is associated with the promotion, it does come a week before the Easter holiday.

Last month, Chevrolet announced that its 2013 Sonic and Spark had become the first cars to offer support for Siri's "Eyes Free" mode. The feature integrates Apple's personal assistant with the vehicle's entertainment system, allowing the driver to access information while keeping his or her eyes on the road.

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Chevrolet has now begun a national advertising campaign touting the feature on the 2013 Sonic, launching a new television ad called "Buttons".

iSpot.tv founder and CEO Sean Muller tells us that the ad first aired last Thursday on VH1's morning Jump Start block, with the site's tracking showing that the ad has already aired 82 times on national TV networks.

Chevrolet is not the only company to be making plans to support Siri's Eyes Free mode, with Honda working to roll out the feature to the Accord as well as the Acura RDX and ILX. Hyundai has also publicly stated that it will be bringing Eyes Free support to some of its vehicles, while Apple also highlighted partnerships with BMW, Mercedes, Land Rover, Jaguar, Audi, Toyota, and Chrysler at its introduction of the feature alongside iOS 6.

Google has updated its Google+ for iOS app, adding new photo editing features like filters, rotation, and crop, alongside a new profile design that makes +1, reshare, and comment buttons easier to access.

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Back in September of 2012, Google purchased Snapseed, which was created by Nik Software. The new photo editing elements that are in the Google+ update come directly from the Snapseed app, with many of the same award winning filters and simple gesture-based editing tools. Here's a full list of the enhancements:

-New photo editing features: add filters, rotate, and crop
-New profile design
-New notifications tray
-New set-up flow for new users
-Control the volume of posts that you see in your stream from individual circles/communities
-Filter search results by best or most recent
-Tell your friends about a community (by sharing it or sending an invitation)
-Re-share posts to communities
-Display counts for unread messages in your communities
-Additional community moderation features

Google+ for iOS can be downloaded for free from the App Store. [Direct Link]

A year ago, it was revealed that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration was reexamining regulations regarding the use of digital devices like the iPad or Amazon Kindle during taxi, takeoff and landing of commercial aircraft.

Today, The New York Times reports that the industry group working with the FAA to study the issue hopes to loosen restrictions by the end of the year. However, there are still details to work out regarding what devices will be acceptable during flight and what 'airplane mode' means.

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According to people who work with an industry working group that the Federal Aviation Administration set up last year to study the use of portable electronics on planes, the agency hopes to announce by the end of this year that it will relax the rules for reading devices during takeoff and landing. The change would not include cellphones.

One member of the group and an official of the F.A.A., both of whom asked for anonymity because they were not allowed to speak publicly about internal discussions, said the agency was under tremendous pressure to let people use reading devices on planes, or to provide solid scientific evidence why they cannot.

Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) promised at the end of last year to introduce legislation to force the FAA to loosen its restrictions if it doesn't choose to do so on its own. The senator was particularly frustrated because airline pilots can use iPads in the cockpit in all phases of flight, while customers are restricted to seemingly arbitrary altitude limits.

This weekend at a PAX East panel, Firaxis announced that it is in the process of porting its critically acclaimed strategy game XCOM: Enemy Unknown to iOS and that it will be available sometime this summer.

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While speaking with Joystiq, XCOM: Enemy Unknown Lead Designer Jake Solomon said that gamers can expect a similar experience to the console and PC versions of the game.

"It is a straight port. We have not made any gameplay exceptions," XCOM: Enemy UnknownLead Designer Jake Solomon told us. "You play the exact same game [as on PC or consoles], it's just now fully playable on an iPhone or an iPad."

Solomon also said that the game would include the Elite Soldier DLC and that the "full game" is being ported over to iOS devices. This would be a relatively major milestone for iOS gaming, as it represent a full port of a high-profile console and PC game that was released just six months ago.


The move comes a month after the game was announced for Mac with a launch date of April 25. XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a re-imagining of the classic 1994 strategy game "X-COM: Enemy Defense" and was developed by Firaxis and published by 2K Games for consoles and PC.

In the game, players are tasked with leading secret government organization XCOM to defend the world against aliens. They oversee base management in addition to combat strategies while maintaining relationships with countries to fund their organization and save the world.

Although no price has been announced, Soloman said that it will be at a "premium price point," which would likely put it in the $15 range.