Former Apple employee Don Melton has shared a unique look behind the scenes of the Safari development team. Melton was the team leader on both the Safari and WebKit products that are now used by millions of users on both iOS, the Mac, and Windows.
The name Safari, however, wasn't decided on until less than a month before the browser was originally launched. A number of different names were suggested, including 'Freedom', but none of them seemed right.
The name 'iBrowse' was used sarcastically within the team, though it was never used within the code. The development code name for Safari was 'Alexander'.
From that point on, we had a brief discussion about the product name at random HI design sessions every month. Again, I don’t remember any particular name we talked about. They all sounded so awful to me that I’ve purged from my mind the trauma of imagining the browser being labeled with any of them. And the candidate names seemed to get worse the closer we got to shipping.
I’m not sure if any of the names I heard came from Steve after that initial session. I think he doomed some group in Marketing to iterate on them for awhile. And the few names I proposed were stinkers too. No one was without sin here.
Finally I stopped thinking about it because of more important things to worry about — like actually getting the engineering done.
T-Mobile USA today announced that it has made significant enhancements to its 4G network in 14 areas, signaling continued efforts to support the iPhone on its fastest 4G networks. T-Mobile has announced that it will officially begin offering the iPhone sometime next year.
Today, we’re announcing technology advancements in 14 new metro areas to close out 2012, underscoring our rapid enhancements to the already powerful 4G experience we offer. This has been a busy year for T-Mobile’s network — we announced a $4 billion plan to advance the network, secured vendors and quickly got to work installing new equipment across the country. Only 10 months after announcing our plans, we’ve already enhanced coverage for more than 100 million people!
Alongside T-Mobile's announcement, mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Solavei, which operates using T-Mobile USA's network, has officially launched a major push to attract iPhone customers.
Launched on September 21, 2012, Solavei has already attracted more than 100,000 members nationwide to take advantage of the only mobile phone service offering a $49 per month unlimited voice, text and data plan, along with the unique opportunity to earn recurring monthly income by sharing with friends and family.
“The network enhancements give our current and future members the ability to use their unlocked iPhones and other AT&T/4G smartphones at the highest possible speeds in even more cities,” said Ryan Wuerch, founder and CEO of Solavei. “The time is right for the more than 4 million AT&T iPhone customers who initially signed contracts in 2010 to cut their phone bills in half and gain the opportunity to earn income by sharing Solavei with their friends and family.”
Solavei notes that T-Mobile's network enhancements now allow it to support the iPhone in 37 new markets.
The network enhancements allow Solavei members to use iPhones and other AT&T/4G smartphones to access its $49 per month unlimited voice, text and data in areas including New York City, Newark, Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Tampa, Baltimore, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Washington DC, Atlanta, Seattle, Minneapolis, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Diego, Central and Southern Arizona, San Francisco Bay Area, Central Valley California and South Florida.
T-Mobile is the last of the four major U.S. carriers to officially offer the iPhone, and while T-Mobile itself will not begin offering the iPhone until next year, Solavei's announcement suggests that T-Mobile's 1900 MHz 4G buildout is far enough along to support a major rollout of iPhone service.
Passbook was one of the major features to debut in iOS 6, allowing companies to deliver items like tickets, loyalty cards, coupons, and gift cards to a centralized digital wallet for the iPhone and iPod touch. While the feature is a welcome addition that incorporates handy time and location awareness to help users gain access to their Passbook passes when needed, it falls short of a true digital wallet such as could be accomplished with hardware advances like near field communications (NFC).
Despite the limits on Passbook's utility so far, Wired reports that it is proving very popular with developers and retailers, many of whom are seeing significantly increased activity from their users due to the feature.
“We were amazed at the high uptake,” Phil Easter, American Airlines’ director of mobile apps said. “Apple has allowed an app developer like us is to put features right in front of the user where before, that space was off limits.”
The report notes that American Airlines is now seeing 1.5 million active users of Passbook, with 20,000 passes being delivered to flyers every day.
Cosmetics chain Sephora is also seeing strong Passbook adoption among its customers, with 375,000 users having added their rewards cards to the digital wallet app and others taking advantage of digital gift cards through Passbook.
“From a gift card standpoint it’s very seamless,” Julie Bornstein, senior vice president of Sephora Digital, told Wired. “You can send a gift card to a friend, they accept it, hit a link to add to their Passbook, and then they have their gift card right there.” Customers also can scan a code on their conventional gift cards so they can add them to Passbook.
Some users are still experiencing difficulty getting familiar with Passbook, as in many cases they have to download a separate app to access their account with a given company and then push their rewards card, passes, or coupons over to Passbook, a process that isn't always intuitive.
Apple has long been rumored to be interested in integrating NFC technology into the iPhone, with patents and mainstream news sources providing strong evidence for the company's interest in it. But Apple has been taking a "go-slow approach" for the time being, opting to push Passbook as a middle ground while it watches to see how mobile payments evolve over time.
Crescent Moon Games' much anticipated RPG, Ravensword: Shadowlands was released tonight, after years of development. Shadowlands is the followup to the original 2009 Ravensword game and it features the same open-world gameplay of the first title.
Ravensword: Shadowlands is an exciting iOS release because of the enormity of the game world, the impressive scenery, and the immersive gameplay. Our sister site TouchArcade has posted a review of the app:
Just as the original Ravensword made its mark for bringing a sought-after genre to iOS, Shadowlands demonstrates just how far the genre has come on the platform, making it one of the most ambitious and enjoyable RPGs of the year.
It sounds cliched, but it's hard to believe I'm playing a game of this caliber on iOS. All too often we see games that sacrifice gameplay depth for visuals or vice versa. Other than a few minor glitches, Ravensword: Shadowlands is the real deal, and is an excellent open-world RPG with a decent story, ample content, deep character customization and beautiful visuals.
The game comes with an extensive list of highlights, including ragdoll physics, Game Center integration, iCloud support, original soundtrack, and reflex-based combat.
Although ESPN's popular ScoreCenter app for iPad recently received a refresh including a visual makeover, the iPhone version had remained the same and continued to lack support for the taller iPhone 5 display for nearly three months after the device's debut. That changed today as ESPN released a completely redesigned app that takes cues from the iPad version. ESPN released the following statement about the new app:
Today, ESPN launched new versions of its highly popular ScoreCenter app for iOS and Android devices. Completely redesigned and optimized for iPhone 5, iPad and new Android smartphones, ScoreCenter serves sports fans with personalized scoreboards, alerts, breaking news and video highlights of their favorite teams and leagues from around the world. With simplified navigation, as well as live, integrated Gamecasts and links to WatchESPN, ScoreCenter makes it easier than ever for fans to follow up-to-the-minute sports news and information wherever, whenever. Other key features:
- Expanded game views providing in-depth game coverage - Live scoring alerts for favorite teams and personalized match-ups sent directly to your device - Calendar navigation, enabling access to previous scores and upcoming games - Ability to share favorite games, videos and news with friends
A couple of weeks after showing offPudding Monsters for the first time, Cut the Rope creator ZeptoLab has now released the new title in the App Store. The puzzle game involves sticking blocks of desserts together to create larger and larger dessert monsters.
The Pudding Monsters are on a mission to save their friends from the cold-hearted fridge owner! Growing into an ULTIMATE MEGA MONSTER sounds like the most reliable plan.
Off the table, out of the house, and into the city – swipe to stick the Pudding Monsters together and save their friends!
Take advantage of different monster species and their powers (like Slime Monster, who leaves a trail of green goo), boost your growth using the cloning machines, wear pretty little cars on your head and much more!
Features:
- 75 levels with more to come! - Innovative stick-‘em-together game-play mechanics - Unique monster shapes, wacky personalities and attributes - Fun, mind-bending experience suitable for all ages
In an interview with Bloomberg about the release of the game, ZeptoLab CEO Misha Lyalin notes that the company plans to release five more games next year, including both new properties and follow-ups such as new Cut the Rope titles.
The popular blogging service Tumblr has updated its iOS app to work natively on iPad. The popular blogging platform had previously been designed only for the iPhone, only working in 2x-mode on the iPad. iPad support isn't the only addition, as the app now has an "Explore" tab to search other Tumblr blogs as well as landscape support for the iPad version.
What's New in Version 3.2.3 - Now optimized for iPad! - Markdown support! - Beautiful new Explore tab.
Another Apple patent is in the spotlight tonight, after the United States Patent and Trademark Office has preliminarily rejected all 20 claims of Patent No. 7,844,915, or the so-called "pinch to zoom" patent.
Patent '915 deals with technology that discerns whether a user is scrolling with a single finger or accessing several touch points at once, as in a pinch-to-zoom action. Apple successfully used Patent No. '915 against Samsung in its court battle earlier this year, and 21 of 24 Samsung devices in the lawsuit were found to be infringing on the patent.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Samsung brought the invalidation of the key patent to the court's attention in a Wednesday afternoon filing.
The agency declared invalid the entirety of Apple's so-called "pinch-to-zoom" patent on Wednesday, according to a court filing from Samsung. The Korean electronics giant said in a statement to the court that the patent had been struck down on re-examination due to previous patents on record.
Samsung said the development supports its request for a new trial.
Samsung has been fighting for a retrial in recent weeks, after Apple was granted more than $1 billion in damages when a jury decided that Samsung had willfully infringed on Apple's patents. Part of Patent No. '915 was an important factor in the calculation of the payment.
On Monday, Judge Lucy Koh, who has been presiding over the Apple vs. Samsung trial denied Samsung's motion for a new trial on the basis of juror misconduct.
As The Verge points out, however, the rejection of Patent No. '915 is preliminary and isn't yet the same as "invalidating" the patent. Apple still has the opportunity to file its counter-arguments:
The whole discussion is part of an ex parte reexamination; that means Apple is the only other party talking to the USPTO about the patent, and it will still have an opportunity to fight for keeping the patent valid or to amend its language so that it will stay relevant in the Samsung case. It's also important to note that while 21 individual claims within the patent were rejected, only one — Claim 8 — was used in the trial, providing Apple a very specific target when working with the Patent Office.
Redbox Instant by Verizon went live today, allowing people to sign up for a private beta to use the streaming service.
Interested users can enter an email address to receive a code that will provide eventual access to Redbox Instant on the computer or on a mobile device, using the accompanying Redbox Instant iOS app, which was released today for the iPad and the iPhone.
Redbox's video streaming service is priced at $8 per month, which is on par with the pricing of both Netflix and Hulu Plus. It also comes bundled with four physical DVD rentals per month from Redbox kiosks, which can be upgraded to Blu-ray for an additional dollar.
Like Netflix, Redbox plans to offer a variety of movies from sources like Warner Bros. and the pay TV channel EPIX, though the service will not have any television shows at launch.
Traditionally, Redbox offers top Hollywood hits, with the top 200 movies from major studios stocked in its retail locations. Its content library will be smaller than what Netflix is able to offer, but it will focus on providing more recent releases.
Redbox is planning to send invites to the new streaming service over the coming weeks via email, and each invite will come with one free month of access.
Our sister site TouchArcade is continuing its new promotion called "Free Play" in which they work with developers to offer highly rated games for free. The latest offering is the arcade-style space combat game Arc Squadron.
Arc Squadron from developer Psyonix is an arcade-style space combat game built using the Unreal Engine, so it's definitely a visual showpiece title.
Beyond its great looks, though, lies a visceral behind-the-back rail shooter with a heavy influence from the classic Star Fox series. An intuitive touch control scheme translates your taps, drags and swipes into firepower, barrel rolls, and deft ship maneuvers. The controls are what really appeal to me about Arc Squadron, as it feels like you have real hands-on control over your spacecraft, almost like it's an extension of your finger, and it's much more satisfying pulling off cool moves using a scheme like this as opposed to some plain old virtual buttons.
Arc Squadron was originally released this past October and received a 5 star rating from TouchArcade. The game is normally $4.99 and has never been free before. [Direct Link]
Google Maps was released for iOS on December 12, and in the five days after it hit the App Store, ad management platform MoPub noticed a 29 percent increase in unique iOS 6 users.
The data from MoPub, which supports 12,000 apps and monitors 1 billion ad impressions daily, suggests that quite a few iDevice owners were waiting for a better mapping solution before upgrading to Apple's newest operating system.
TechCrunch spoke to MoPub CEO Jim Payne, who had this to say:
"We observed since the launch of Google Maps for iOS 6 a 30 percent increase in unique iOS 6 users, and we think it's related to Google Maps. It verifies that hypothesis that people were actually holding back to upgrade until Google Maps was available."
MoPub's data does, however, conflict with another report from mobile ad network Chitika, which saw just a 0.2 percentage point increase in iOS 6 users in the first 36 hours of Google Maps availability. MoPub seems to include a wider set of data than Chitika and which was taken over a longer period of time, and MoPub's inclusion of weekend data in particular seems to have contributed significantly to the observed increase in adoption, as people may have been waiting to do the lengthy update to iOS 6.
An increased iOS 6 adoption rate following the launch of Google Maps not only benefits Google, but also Apple, which naturally wants as many users as possible on its latest operating system version. With Google's mapping solution now taking some of the pressure off of Apple's own flawed product, one major reason holding some users back from updating to iOS 6 has been addressed.
Following yesterday's announcement that Apple CEO Tim Cook had been named to the shortlist for TIME's annual Person of the Year feature, the magazine has published a lengthy profile of Cook today covering his runner-up status.
Much of the information in the profile has been discussed in other settings, but it offers a good overview of Cook and his time at Apple. The piece also offers a few fresh quotes from Cook about his perspective and his role in leading Apple. The report touches on Cook's combination of calm demeanor and intense focus, noting that he can just as easily lighten the mood with his manner as light fires under others to spur them to action.
Like Jobs, Cook suffers fools neither gladly nor in any other way (except when he has to, i.e., when talking to journalists). Behind the scenes, that measured calm can — if the legends are true — become a merciless coldness that roots out confusion and incompetence. “I’ve always felt that a part of leadership is conveying a sense of urgency in dealing with key issues,” he says. “Apple operates at an extreme pace, and my experience has been that key issues rarely get smaller on their own.”
Cook also addresses some of the uncertainty that has surrounded Apple in recent months, from a stock price weighed down by assorted factors to the Apple Maps situation to fears that Apple is losing ground to competitors in the mobile industry:
None of this appears to ruffle Cook particularly. “I’ve worked at Apple for 15 years,” he says, “so Apple’s not foreign to me. I don’t mean to sound like it’s all a predictable ride. It’s unpredictable. But it’s always been unpredictable.” He hasn’t altered his personal style any. He remains, like all great Apple products, a paradoxical combination of open and closed, polished and user-friendly but also sealed up tight against anybody who’s curious about what’s inside. You know there are reams of code churning away down there, just below the surface, but you’ll never know exactly what’s going on.
TIME notes that Cook has yet to truly be tested in terms of bringing innovative products to the market, with much of Apple's massive slate of 2012 product releases having already been in the works before Cook took full control of Apple and the company yet to enter a new market under his watch. But Cook acknowledges that he intends to continue the Apple tradition of entering markets with the full intention of disrupting the status quo.
[T]he test for Cook will be to seek out a new category that’s vulnerable to disruption and disrupt the hell out of it.
I ask Cook if he would do that — if that would continue to be Apple’s modus operandi going forward. He smiles, seductively as always, and says, “Yes. Yes. Most definitely.” When that happens, that’s when Cook will show his hand, and we’ll get a look below the surface.
Television has of course been rumored to be the next industry where Apple hopes to make a major impact, but progress has reportedly been slow as it seeks to reach content deals that will allow the company to offer the bundle of hardware and services it needs to make its desired impact. Apple has long dabbled in television through the iTunes Store and the Apple TV, with Apple executives repeatedly referring to the current set-top box as a "hobby" that the company would "keep pulling the string" on. In recent months, television appears to have been a bigger focus for Apple with Cook referring to it several times as an area of "intense interest" for Apple.
As noted by SetteB.IT, Apple has notified its European publishing partners for the iBookstore that it has suspended the "most favored nation" clause of its book-selling contract for a period of five years. The clause had prevented publishers from selling their books to other distributors at prices lower than those offered to Apple.
Apple hereby notifies you that, until December 18, 2017, with respect to any book sold in the European Economic Ares (EEA), Apple will no longer apply nor enforce any retail price parity (also know as retail price MFN) provisions in your eBook Distribution Agreement (e.g. Section 5(b) of the Agreement). The change is being made pursuant to a settlement between Apple and the European Commission to resolve case number 49847. The European Commission investigation of Apple's eBook business is now closed. The European Commission has signaled that it will not challenge any other term of our ebook distribution agreement.
Apple notes that the EEA where the new directive applies includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
Apple worked with publishers to facilitate a landmark shift in the business model for selling books, shifting to an "agency model" in which publishers set retail prices and distributors such as Apple receive a negotiated share of that retail price, similar to how the App Store operates. Under the previous wholesale model in which distributors were allowed to set their own retail prices, Amazon was able to hold a dominant share of the market as it sold books at or below cost in order to entice customers into visiting the site to purchase other products and services.
A key part of the agency model was Apple's "most favored nation" clause guaranteeing that Apple received the best possible pricing from publishers. The move effectively meant that all major distributors offered very similar pricing on books, but with the elimination of that clause publishers are now free to negotiate with distributors, a move that will likely to allow market leaders like Amazon to gain better pricing than smaller rivals.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission today updated the privacy rules related to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act which was originally passed in 1998. The new rules reflect new types of platforms that children are using, like social media and mobile apps.
However, though apps themselves need to be sure to follow guidelines, app 'platforms' like Apple's App Store and Google Play, are explicitly exempted in the law. App stores are not required to verify that the apps they sell comply with the law; instead, it's up to individual developers to verify compliance.
Apple and Google Inc. protested the idea that they might be responsible for the collection of kids' data by apps they offer through their app stores. Apple made that point in five meetings with FTC officials in the fall. The FTC responded by explicitly exempting the Apple App Store and Google Play, the app store for mobile devices running Google's Android software, from having to make sure that the apps they provided complied with Coppa.
The FTC also exempted plug-ins like Facebook's "Like" button and Twitter's "Tweet" button that are used on thousands of websites around the world. Those companies only need to comply with Coppa if the company "knows or has reason to know" that the plug-in is being used on a website or app aimed at children.
Earlier this month, the FTC revealed that it was investigating kids apps over privacy concerns, with SpongeBob Diner Dashnamed as one app that was singled out for investigation.
CNET reports on a research note from RBC Capital Markets analyst Doug Freedman claiming that Apple appears to be accelerating its plans for the second-generation iPad mini, although it remains unclear when Apple is looking to launch the device.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Doug Freedman -- who is in China visiting chip companies this week -- offered this ambiguous Apple note: "iPad Mini Gen-2: Apple's gen-2 iPad mini is getting pulled-in, and is likely to have several new suppliers, with TXN gaining content."
"Pulled in" would seem to imply that Apple is moving up introduction of the next iPad Mini. That would be helpful if we knew when the gen 2 Mini was actually slated to ship in the first place. As the current iPad Mini is still in short supply, we may be getting a little ahead of ourselves.
Apple introduced the iPad mini just under two months ago, and the company is still quoting one-week shipping estimates for new orders through its online store as supplies are expected to remain tight into 2013.
One of the most significant criticisms of the iPad mini has been the lack of a Retina display as found on the full-size iPad and on smaller devices like the iPhone and iPod touch. There has been a fair amount of discussion about just when Apple will add a Retina display to the iPad mini, depending on when technology allows the company to include the feature without too much in the way of price, size, or weight concessions. One rumor has claimed that Apple will indeed be including a Retina display in the next-generation iPad mini rather than waiting for a third-generation model at a later date.
With Apple's change to the Lightning dock connector for the iPhone 5 and its other mobile devices, customers have been struggling to find dock solutions compatible with the new standard. Users started with several workarounds and do-it-yourself mods, but gradually unofficial docks and some more official workarounds have appeared to meet customer demand.
One new entrant with some unique features is the OCDock, a Kickstarter project focused on a clean design compatible specifically with the iMac and the Apple Thunderbolt Display. The OCDock's features include:
- A Lightning connector officially licensed under Apple's MFi program, paired with a custom paper-thin cable that allows it to be run underneath the foot of the iMac or display, essentially hiding it from view entirely.
- Strong, residue-free adhesive to mount the OCDock to the foot of the iMac or display, allowing for easy one-handed undocking. One of the Elevation Dock's main selling points under the previous 30-pin standard was a custom low-friction connector that allowed for easy one-handed undocking, but that advantage has been lost with the move to the standard tight-fitting Lightning connector. OCDock solves the problem by using the weight of the iMac or display and a strong adhesive to allow for easy device removal.
- Multiple silicone spacer options for rear support of both naked and cased iPhones, as well as a spring-loaded plate in the bottom of the dock to help provide stability for devices in a broad array of cases.
We chatted a bit with Rait Ojasaar, co-founder of OCDesk, the company behind OCDock, who noted that unlike many crowd-funded Kickstarter projects that have considerable work left to do once the funding goal has been reached, the OCDock is essentially ready for mass production. The OCDesk team has bankrolled the product development and prototyping phases entirely on its own, and simply needs Kickstarter backing to be able to place a large enough order with its manufacturing partners to keep the dock affordable. As a result, OCDesk is currently estimating that the products will launch next month, just weeks after the close of funding later this week, and the team is confident with that stated timeframe.
We were especially interested in hearing more about OCDock's participation in the MFi program, given how slow the rollout of official third-party Lightning accessories has been, but unfortunately much of the information is covered by a non-disclosure agreement. Ojasaar did note that there are several approved MFi vendors to work with who can provide Lightning connectors, but that it still involved a considerable amount of work to build relationships, negotiate a deal beneficial to both sides, and deal with the bureaucracy of Apple's stringent licensing requirements.
The OCDock has already met its Kickstarter goal, nearly doubling the original $49,000 target, meaning that the project is ready to go once funding closes and the team knows how many orders it has. There are currently two versions of the OCDock available: the full-size OCDock intended for a wide variety of iPhone cases, and the OCDock Mini intended for naked iPhones and those in ultra slim cases. Each model is also available in both 30-pin and Lightning connector varieties, as well as silver and jet black color options.
The full-size OCDock is priced at $59 under the Kickstarter campaign, with the OCDock Mini priced at $55. Both docks will retail for $79 once they launch for broader availability. The Kickstarter campaign closes at 12:00 AM this Saturday, December 22.
In line with a report from earlier this month, Eastman Kodak today announced that it has reached a deal to sell its portfolio of digital imaging patents to a consortium of 12 companies organized by patent holding firms Intellectual Ventures and RPX Corporation for $525 million.
Under the agreements, Kodak will receive approximately $525 million, a portion of which will be paid by 12 intellectual property licensees organized by Intellectual Ventures and RPX Corporation, with each licensee receiving rights with respect to the digital imaging patent portfolio and certain other Kodak patents. Another portion will be paid by Intellectual Ventures, which is acquiring the digital imaging patent portfolio subject to these new licenses, as well as previously existing licenses.
TechCrunch cites a court filing naming the 12 members of the consortium, which includes both Apple and Google as had been previously reported.
Apple, Inc. Research In Motion Limited Google Inc. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Adobe Systems Incorporated HTC Corporation Facebook, Inc. Fujifilm Corporation Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. Amazon Fulfillment Services, Inc. Shutterfly, Inc. Microsoft Corporation
The consortium approach among rivals allows the companies to prevent a bidding war and helps ensure that each of them holds licenses to the patents at defined cost, eliminating the risk of later licensing negotiations or protracted court battles.
Taiwan's Central News Agency reports (via Patently Apple) that Apple's manufacturing partner Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Precision, is currently working with Apple to test several designs for an Apple television set in the range of 46-55 inches.
Hon Hai, the world's largest contract electronics maker, has declined to respond to the reports, saying that it never comments on specific business deals with any single client.
However, the Hon Hai source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the initial phase of tests on the TVs has kicked off.
Nevertheless, the source said it is unlikely that shipments of the appliances will begin as soon as the end of next year.
The source claims that Apple may be looking to show off its new television products at CES next month in Las Vegas, but that seems difficult to believe given Apple's penchant for avoiding trade shows and for holding its own media events to introduce its products as close as possible to launch. With the report apparently claiming that Apple's television sets are unlikely to launch in 2013 and other recent claims that Apple's television projects are being slowed by difficult content negotiations, there would be little chance of Apple showing off anything at CES.
The report notes that using displays in the claimed range of 46-55 inches gives Apple flexibility in deciding on one or more vendors to supply LCD panels for the television sets. Foxconn has worked closely with Sharp and has made an investment in a Sharp LCD factory, but the report's source indicates that it is unlikely that Sharp panels will be used in the Apple television set.