MacRumors

Ars Technica highlights a new television commercial for the Sony PSP in which a character mocks the mobile gaming experience on a smartphone that looks suspiciously like an iPhone. In addition to claiming a superior experience on the PSP, Sony also touts $9.99 pricing for some of its older games, closer to the App Store typical high-end gaming price point than that of traditional PSP games.

It's interesting: the PSP is basically setting itself up as an alternative to iPhone games, which is the opposite of how that argument usually plays out. Sony is also promoting inexpensive, older games as a reason to enjoy the PSP instead of looking ahead to big-name upcoming titles.

As the report notes, sagging PSP sales appear to have led Sony to take on the Apple's App Store as a source for gaming on the go. But the strategy carries some significant risk of bringing the iPhone even further into the mainstream gaming world.

The traditional gaming hardware companies have increasingly been looking to Apple as a viable competitor, with Sony planning a new lineup of mobile gaming devices and Nintendo similarly viewing Apple as the "enemy of the future".

The Wall Street Journal reports that Taiwanese manufacturer Pegatron has confirmed that its subsidiary Kaedar Electronics did pay kickbacks to an "intermediate trading company" in order to help land contracts with Apple between 2005 and 2008. It was unable, however, to confirm that Apple global supply manager Paul Devine, arrested late last week over the scheme, was the ultimate recipient of the funds.

Paul Shin Devine, a global supply manager at Apple, was arrested Friday on charges that he received some $1 million in kickbacks from six Asian suppliers. In a federal grand-jury indictment in the U.S. outlining offenses that include unlawful monetary transactions, Kaedar, along with five other companies, were said to have paid kickbacks to Mr. Devine for receiving confidential information that would let the companies negotiate favorable contracts with Apple.

In an interesting twist to the story, Pegatron has been rumored by The Wall Street Journal and other sources to be working with Apple to manufacturer a CDMA-based iPhone 4 that could operate on Verizon's network in the U.S. The alleged kickback scheme, however, occurred prior to Pegatron's acquisition of Kaedar in late 2008 and a Pegatron spokesman claims that the issue has not affected his company's relationship with Apple.

While Foxconn has served as Apple's manufacturing partner for the iPhone since its initial launch over three years ago, Apple and Pegatron do have an existing relationship for production of other devices such as the iPod shuffle. Kaedar has reportedly supplied Apple with iPod packing boxes since 2005.

Update: Reuters reports that Devine today pleaded "not guilty" to the criminal charges filed against him in relation to the scheme.

Telegraph.co.uk publishes an interview with Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen in which he discusses his company's long-running dispute with Apple over the device maker's decision not to include support for Flash in its iOS devices such as the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. In the interview, Narayan appears to note that Adobe has given up on its efforts to convince Apple to adopt Flash.

They've chosen to keep their system closed and we'd rather work with partners who are interested in working with us.

We believe in open systems. We believe in the power of the internet and in customers making choices and I think a lot of the controversy was about their decision at that point. They've made their choice. We've made ours and we've moved on.

It's a business decision. With the energy and innovation that our company has, we'd rather focus on people who want to deliver the best experience with Flash and there are so many of them.

The dispute between the two companies came to a head in late April when Apple CEO Steve Jobs posted an open letter describing his "Thoughts on Flash" and outlining the controversy from his point of view. Narayan quickly responded in his company's defense, attempting to contrast Apple's "closed" ecosystem with the multi-platform, "open" stance taken by Adobe.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the European Commission are currently pursuing an investigation of Apple over its business practices with respect to Flash technology.

As noted by 9 to 5 Mac, Apple has announced what it is calling a "major upgrade" to its support forums, bringing increased social aspects to the site. The changes, which are simply said to be going live "very soon", will see the "Apple Discussions" forums rebranded as "Apple Support Communities".

Very soon a major change will be taking place here at Apple Discussions. To help you prepare we have created some documents to give some insight and instructions on this major upgrade.

Apple has also posted a series of documents highlighted by an introduction to the new support community. While many of the items seem to describe enhanced versions of features already present in Apple Discussions and no screenshots showing how the user interface will change have been posted, a focus does seem to have been placed on socializing and customization.

While users are currently able to fill out some basic profile information, it appears that Apple will be offering additional support to help users identify themselves within the Apple Support Communities. In addition, users will be able to take advantage of more customization options such as widgets that will offer them easy access to areas of the discussion forums that interest them most.

A discussion thread on the changes suggest that the new format has been in beta testing, although it is unclear just how widespread the testing has been.

Boy Genius Report claims that a source has revealed code in iOS 4 showing that new iPhone and iPad models may be set to begin field testing. The relevant code allows devices carrying the designations of iPhone3,2, iPhone3,3, and iProd2,1 to "auto-activate", a process said to allow carriers to test the devices without requiring manual activation through iTunes as is required for retail units.

Way down deep within iOS 4 is a pretty intriguing block of code. Our source says that the code queries the device, and if the device is either a CDMA iPhone or iPad 2, the device will auto-activate, thus bypassing the need for iTunes. We're told this block of code has appeared every year consecutively before a major iPhone / device release, removed right before launch.

These code names are not new, as they first appeared several months ago in iPhone OS 3.2 released for the iPad. Their presence in an "unreleased hardware" portion of code dealing with auto-activation does appear to be new, however, and the source claims that this presages field testing of the devices.

Software evidence of Apple's future devices tends to appear rather early in the development process, as evidenced by iPhone3,1 appearing in iPhone OS configuration files in March 2009. That device turned out to be the iPhone 4, released 15 months later. Evidence of field testing of the iPhone 4 appeared by late November 2009, more than six months before its public launch. Combined with claims that a CDMA-based iPhone 4 is in "engineering verification test" stage, this new evidence of software support for field usage of the new hardware continues to point to possible product releases sometime early next year.

The fact that the new iPhone models carry the iPhone3,2 and iPhone3,3 designations rather than "iPhone4,1" suggests that the hardware is a relatively minor revision to the existing iPhone 4, although it is unclear why there are two new iPhone models in testing. In addition, the assumption is that iProd2,1 is the next-generation iPad, as the current iPad began life as iProd1,1 before taking the name iPad1,1 closer to its release. An even earlier iProd0,1 is presumed to have been an iPad prototype.

A pair of surveys released last week reveal strong pent-up demand for a Verizon iPhone, which has been the subject of increasing rumors in recent weeks with claims of a release as soon as January.

Market research firm Morpace has published the results (PDF) of a survey finding 29% of surveyed consumers either very or somewhat likely to purchase an iPhone should it become available on Verizon, with existing Verizon customers showing particular interest in the handset should it come to their carrier of choice. In particular, the strong interest among current Verizon customers suggests that bringing the iPhone to the carrier could have the double effect of both opening the device up to new customers as well as drawing them away from other smartphone platform such as Android, which has proven very popular with Verizon customers.

Interestingly, the survey also shows that nearly half of AT&T iPhone customers "would consider" a Verizon iPhone, with over a third of AT&T iPhone customers actively holding off from upgrading their handsets while they wait for the iPhone to make its way to other carriers.

That last data point is echoed in a separate survey conducted by ChangeWave that found 31% of current iPhone 4 owners either very or somewhat likely to switch to Verizon should the iPhone become available there. Those users are obviously already under a new two-year contract with AT&T, however, as they have just upgraded to the iPhone 4, and so it is unknown how soon after a Verizon iPhone launch they would be willing and able to make the switch.

ChangeWave previously released data showing AT&T as the biggest drag on iPhone satisfaction ratings, with a leading 27% of iPhone 4 customers citing AT&T's exclusivity for the iPhone as a reason for disliking the device, and 24% of users specifically pointing to the performance of the carrier's 3G network as a top drawback.

Just a few days ago, we noted that early advertisers and developers participating in Apple's iAd program have generally been pleased with the results so far, with advertisers finding high levels of user engagement and increased brand awareness and developers seeing solid financial returns.

The Wall Street Journal reports, however, that not everything is running so smoothly. In particular, Apple's "tight control" over the entire process, including creation of the actual ads, has slowed the launch of offerings from a number of the program's publicized launch partners.

Of the 17 launch partners Apple named for iAd, only Unilever PLC and Nissan Co. had iAd campaigns for much of July. Of the remaining 17, Citigroup Inc., Walt Disney Co. and J.C. Penney Co. - which tied its campaign to the back-to-school-season - have since launched iAd campaigns and other companies are planning iAd efforts.

Part of the reason some marketers are experiencing delays in getting their iAds to market is that Apple has kept tight control on the creative aspects of ad-making, something advertisers aren't used to, according to several ad executives involved with creating iAds.

According to the report, the ad creation process is taking up to 8-10 weeks, with Apple spending up to two weeks longer than originally expected to build the actual ads, leading to the delays.

People familiar with the matter said Apple underestimated how tough the new business would be and is still learning the best tactics for dealing with ad agencies. At the same time, ad agencies are struggling to keep pace with new ad technologies.

With Apple handling the production of the ad unit, agencies don't necessarily know what it is capable of or how to use the technology, one ad executive said. The iAd is designed in HTML5 technology, and Apple has yet to distribute a "developer kit" to agencies so they can understand how it works.

In order to fill the void in the iAd program created by the delayed launches of the big-name advertisers, Apple has rolled out an "iAd for Developers" program that allows App Store developers to advertise their applications within other apps and provides users with the ability to download the advertised apps directly from the iAd without leaving the application that is running. Today's report claims that Apple is charging developers 25 cents every time a user taps on a banner ad for their application, a significant discount from the $2-per-tap rate charged to deep-pocketed advertisers for their more interactive ads.

While the iAd roll-out seems to have had mixed results so far with limited participation but strong results from those who have managed to make their ads available, Apple is no doubt still in the early stages of learning how to become a mobile advertising company. But with Citibank, Disney, and J.C. Penney beginning to roll out their initial ads for the program, we may soon begin to see more variety in ads and additional companies making entries into the program.

NearFieldCommunications World reports that Apple has recently hired Benjamin Vigier as its new product manager for mobile commerce. Vigier is described as an expert in near field communications (NFC) having been in the field since 2004.

Most recently Vigier was product manager for mobile wallet, payment and NFC at US mobile payments specialist mFoundry. There he conceived and managed both the PayPal Mobile service and Starbucks' barcode-based mobile payments service and was also responsible for the development of mobile wallet applications for two top US mobile network operators and an NFC wallet application for a top three US bank.

Near Field Communications is short range wireless communication technology (~4 inches) that is used in mobile phones for a variety of applications including mobile ticketing, mobile payments, interactive advertising and more. The same site had previously reported that Apple has had prototype devices already outfitted with the required radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips.

Apple has published a number of patent applications related to NFC technology. One even detailed the use of an iPhone as an electronic wallet and payment system that could be used to pay a bill at a restaurant. A host of other patent applications from Apple has demonstrated other possibilities including "Grab & go" file transfers between an iPhone and a Mac or PC. According to LinkedIn, Vigier joined Apple in July 2010.

The San Jose Mercury News reports that Paul Devine, a midlevel manager at Apple, has been arrested over his involvement in a scheme in which he provided Asian suppliers and manufacturers of iPod and iPhone accessories with confidential company information in exchange for over $1 million in kickbacks from the companies.

Paul Shin Devine, a global supply manager, and Andrew Ang, of Singapore, were named in a 23-count federal grand jury indictment for wire fraud, money laundering and kickbacks.

"Apple is committed to the highest ethical standards in the way we do business," Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said in a statement. "We have zero tolerance for dishonest behavior inside or outside the company."

The alleged scheme used an elaborate chain of U.S. and foreign bank accounts and one front company to receive payments, the indictment said, and code words like "sample" were used to refer to the payments so that Apple co-workers wouldn't become suspicious.

In addition to the criminal charges, Devine also faces a civil suit filed by Apple over the kickbacks he received from the suppliers, which have not been identified beyond their locations in various Asian countries including China, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. Devine is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals and is set to appear in federal court in San Jose, California on Monday.

Apple today seeded the first developer build of Mac OS X 10.6.5, the fifth maintenance release to the company's Mac OS X Snow Leopard operating system. According to those familiar with the release, which is termed Build 10H525, developers are being asked to focus their testing on iCal, Mail, Printing, 3D Graphics, QuickTime and X11.

The build reportedly contains two documented known issues related to activating user interface elements in Web Views such as in the iTunes Store and errors with connecting to Exchange servers. Apple also notes that Mac OS X 10.6.5 developer builds contain the latest graphics drivers being tested in parallel in the Snow Leopard Graphics Update.

We noted late last month that Apple appeared to be gearing up to begin seeding builds of Mac OS X 10.6.5, but it seems to have taken a bit longer than expected for Apple to push out the first of an unknown number of builds. Apple's seeding programs can be highly variable in length due to the uncertain nature of the testing and tweaking process, and thus we do not yet have an estimate of when Mac OS X 10.6.5 might be released to the public.

Mac OS X 10.6.4 was released in mid-June, shortly after the close of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference.

CrunchGear reports on the new Axon Haptic, an $800 tablet device carrying a 10-inch touch screen and capable of running not only both Windows and Linux, but also any Darwin-based operating system, including Mac OS X.

We give you the choice of easily choosing which OS you want to boot up to. Whether you want Linux one day, or Windows the next. Of course, we suspect that you'll be using Darwin the most. We've installed Darwin (kernel and system specific kexts) on a hidden EFI partition. That means you can effortlessly install your favorite Darwin OS, such as Pure Darwin.

The site is careful to note that while Mac OS X Snow Leopard is a Darwin OS, installation of the operating system on non-Apple hardware is a violation of the end user license agreement. It is obvious, however, that the company is targeting users who wish to run Mac OS X while attempting to absolve itself of any liability should Apple decide to take action against the company.

The two-pound Axon Haptic includes a 10.1-inch resistive touch screen running at 1024 x 600 pixels and supporting both stylus and finger input, and is powered by a 1.6 GHz Atom processor with 2 GB of RAM and a 320 GB hard drive. Also included are a 1.3-megapixel webcam, Wi-Fi, and a series of USB, Ethernet, and VGA ports, as well as a card reader. Support for a Verizon 3G data SIM card and Bluetooth is available as upgrades.

Pre-order pricing is currently set at $750 for single base units, with discounts available for customers ordering multiple units. CrunchGear notes that pricing will increase to $800 once the device launches, although there seems to be no word yet on when units might begin shipping.

Comparisons to the Modbook from Axiotron are certainly to be expected, although those systems are converted directly from Apple notebooks and carry a starting price tag of $1849, or $899 if the customer supplies the notebook. It also remains to be seen how the Haptic will perform given its simplistic resistive touch screen and a lack of Apple-supported modifications to assist with converting Mac OS X to a touch-friendly environment.

RetailWeek reports (subscription required, via 9 to 5 Mac) on Apple's retail store experience in the wake of the opening of its massive Covent Garden store in London. The report covers a number of details about Apple's retail store history and the Covent Garden store specifically, but also offers some interesting quotes from Apple's Senior Vice President for Retail Ron Johnson about the company's philosophy.

Johnson claims that the company embraced the retail store initiative as an opportunity to show off the company's sleek product designs and innovative technology. But even with the company now operating 300 retail stores, Johnson notes that most people still have never touched an iPad.

Explaining the stores' appeal he says: "10 years ago, we decided that, as a company that wanted to win in innovation, we wanted customers to experience the product at first hand."

That focus led Apple to its retail store concept, where stores function less like traditional shops and more like showrooms where people can play with Apple products as a destination in its own right, with sales taking something of a back seat in the store experience.

That meant the creation of a "gold standard" for Apple stores. While many retailers view stores by measures such as square footage and sales, Apple takes a different approach. "Our primary objective is to create a place that people will love," says Johnson. Covent Garden is the most significant iteration yet of that attitude. "We've not only created a store, we've created a place for people to be," he says.

With the fluid staffing and layout of Apple's retail stores, along with new technologies that allow staff members to execute sales from anywhere on the floor, the retail store becomes more about customers coming in to try out products, learning from sales staff, and then ultimately transitioning to sales in many cases.

Johnson says high-pressure sales techniques are alien to Apple's philosophy - and, in any case, the enthusiasm for Apple's goods from both customers and staff means there is no need for the hard sell. He says staff are taught "to look in the heart, not the pocket book" when dealing with customers. Staff, he says, are there "to help you buy".

Johnson noted last November that Apple was looking to employ a shift in its retail store strategy, looking to open larger stores to handle the increased traffic as the company's popularity has continued to surge while also placing more emphasis on "significant stores" offering iconic presences like the recently-opened Covent Garden and Shanghai stores.

Patent holding firm VirnetX yesterday announced that it has filed suit against Apple, Cisco, NEC, and Aastra, alleging infringement of five patents held by the company. As noted by Computerworld, Apple is being targeted for claimed infringement by the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch of a pair of patents related to virtual private networking (VPN) connectivity.

VirnetX, which derives almost all of its revenue from licensing fees and legal judgments related to its patent portfolio, previously sued Microsoft over similar violations, with the two companies reaching a settlement in May that saw Microsoft pay VirnetX $200 million and license the intellectual property in question. One of the two patents Apple is alleged to have infringed upon is that same as one cited in the Microsoft case.

Wednesday's suit claimed that Apple's iPhone -- all models, including the newest iPhone 4 -- iPod Touch and iPad infringed a pair of VirnetX patents.

One of the two that Apple allegedly infringed -- identified as Patent No. 6,502,135 -- was also one of the pair that VirnetX said Microsoft violated.

The patent cited in both lawsuits, titled "Agile network protocol for secure communications with assured system availability," describes technologies for creating and managing a virtual private networking (VPN) connection.

The suit was filed in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, a popular location for patent cases known for its plaintiff-friendly judgments. The judge in the case, Leonard Davis, also presided over the Microsoft case and is particularly known for his willingness to rule in favor of plaintiffs in patent disputes.

Mirror.co.uk reports that executives of UK television network ITV are "furious" over rumors that Apple will be changing the name of its Apple TV set-top box product to "iTV" as part of a major revamp later this year. Despite the fact that claim is only a rumor and that Apple has refused to comment on the issue, ITV is gearing up for a fight.

But ITV bosses are furious and meeting with lawyers this week to stop the move in the UK.

The broadcaster, who owns the trademark to the name ITV in Britain, will also weigh up its options on a global ban.

Noting problems with Apple's new iPhone 4, one "insider" at the network worries about possible damage to its reputation should Apple make the name change.

A channel insider said: "You only have to look at recent problems with the iPhone 4 to see not everything Apple produces is gold dust. We all take our ITV brand very seriously and we'll do everything in our power to protect it."

Apple initially revealed the Apple TV as the "iTV" in September 2006 at its now-traditional fall music-focused event, but changed the name to "Apple TV" by the time it officially launched at Macworld San Francisco in January 2007.

Oracle announced tonight that it had filed suit against Google over the use of Java in their Android mobile phone operating system.

"In developing Android, Google knowingly, directly and repeatedly infringed Oracle's Java-related intellectual property. This lawsuit seeks appropriate remedies for their infringement," said Oracle spokesperson Karen Tillman.

CNet provides the full legal document surrounding the complaint. According to the document, Oracle claims:

Android (including without limitation the Dalvik VM and the Android software development kit) and devices that operate Android infringe one or more claims of each of United States Patents Nos. 6,125,447; 6,192,476; 5,966,702; 7,426,720; RE38,104; 6,910,205; and 6,061,520.

The complaint also claims that Google has infringed on several Oracle copyrights surrounding Java's code, specifications and other materials.

Google's Android is seen as the biggest competition for Apple's iPhone and iOS platform.