United States Department of Justice files lawsuit against Apple and e-book publishers over pricing

The United States Department of Justice announced today that it has a filed a lawsuit against Apple and several e-book publishers over the pricing of the electronic books. The DoJ claims that Apple and publishers took part in illegal activity by lowering the prices of e-books for the iBookstore, but raising them for competition. The lawsuit involves the following publishers:

• Hachette
• HarperCollins
• Macmillan
• Penguin
• Simon & Schuster

Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster have all agreed on settlements and if approved, the companies would be forced to allow other retailers, such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble, to reduce the prices of its e-books as well.

In addition, the companies will be prohibited for two years from placing constraints on retailers’ ability to offer discounts to consumers.   They will also be prohibited from conspiring or sharing competitively sensitive information with their competitors for five years.   And each is required to implement a strong antitrust compliance program.   These steps are appropriate – and essential in ensuring a competitive marketplace.

Microsoft acquires 800 patents from AOL for $1 billion

AOL announced today that it has reached an agreement with Microsoft where the software giant will acquire more than 800 patents from AOL in a deal worth $1.056 billion. Microsoft will also be licensing more than 300 additional patents from AOL as part of the deal.

Following the sale, AOL will continue to hold a significant patent portfolio of over 300 patents and patent applications spanning core and strategic technologies, including advertising, search, content generation/management, social networking, mapping, multimedia/streaming, and security among others. AOL also received a license to the patents being sold to Microsoft.

The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2012, pending approvals.

Facebook acquires Instagram for $1 billion

Earlier today, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the social network will be acquiring popular photo upload and filter service Instagram, for $1 billion. Zuckerberg says that the Instagram team will be joining Facebook, and that the two will begin working on integrating Instagram features onto the world's most popular social network.

For years, we've focused on building the best experience for sharing photos with your friends and family. Now, we'll be able to work even more closely with the Instagram team to also offer the best experiences for sharing beautiful mobile photos with people based on your interests.

Just last week, Instagram launched its Android app after a long wait from users. The app was downloaded over one million times in the first 24 hours of availability.

AT&T to begin unlocking off-contract iPhones tomorrow

According to Engadget, AT&T has confirmed that it will begin offering customers with off-contract iPhones and accounts in "good standing" the ability to unlock their iPhone for use on other carriers tomorrow, April 8, 2012. Once that happens, any carrier's micro-SIM card can be used in the iPhone, as long as the device supports the specific frequency.

Beginning Sunday, April 8, we will offer qualifying customers the ability to unlock their AT&T iPhones. The only requirements are that a customer's account must be in good standing, their device cannot be associated with a current and active term commitment on an AT&T customer account, and they need to have fulfilled their contract term, upgraded under one of our upgrade policies or paid an early termination fee.

Sprint unveils HTC EVO 4G LTE smartphone

At a press event in New York City that has just wrapped up, Sprint and HTC announced the EVO 4G LTE smartphone heading to Sprint's network sometime in the second quarter of this year for $199.99. Pre-orders for the device begin May 7, 2012 and a release date will be announced at a later time.

The HTC EVO 4G LTE touts Android OS 4.0 (a.k.a. "Ice Cream Sandwich") with the new HTC Sense UI 4.0, a 4.7-inch HD display and a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor. The smartphone also features an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera for video chatting.

Other specifications of the HTC EVO 4G LTE include:

• 2000mAh battery
• Kickstand integrated on the back of the device
• Beats Audio integration

Alongside this announcement, Sprint also unveiled plans to become the first U.S. carrier to build a nationwide HD Voice network. The rollout process will begin sometime in late 2012, and the network will attempt to improve voice quality and remove background noise. The EVO 4G LTE will be Sprint's first device capable of running on the new network.

Google unveils “Project Glass”

Google has unveiled a new project that it has begun working on, dubbed "Project Glasses." It has begun asking for people's feedback on what they want to see in heads up display glasses, which is something similar to the things found in old science-fiction movies. The company has revealed that the glasses run a version of Android OS, and will be for sale sometime later this year for the cost of a smartphone.

Fair Labor Association finds major violations at Foxconn facilities

Today, the Fair Labor Association (FLA) announced more of its findings during audits at Foxconn facilities in China. Apple asked the organization back in February to perform complete audits on nearly all Foxconn facilities to address concerns over working conditions and child labor.

The FLA revealed that it has found serious violations at the plants, which include illegal overtime and safety concerns. As a result of the findings, Foxconn as agreed to hire thousands of new works, improve living and working conditions for employees, ban illegal overtime, and more. Illegal overtime for employees included unpaid time as well.

[UPDATE: CTO and COO both out too] Research in Motion reports poor Q4 2012 earnings; Former co-CEO Jim Balsillie resigns from board

Research in Motion has just announced its financial results for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2012. The BlackBerry-maker has once again reported poor results, which is highlighted by the 19% decrease in revenue from the previous quarter (Q4 2012 revenue was $4.2 billion). The company revealed that it shipped 11.1 million BlackBerry smartphones and 500,000 BlackBerry PlayBook tablets during the quarter. Net loss for the year is being listed at $125 million for RIM.

In addition to the bad news, RIM announced that its former co-CEO, Jim Balsillie, has resigned from his position on the company's board of directors. "As I complete my retirement from RIM, I'm grateful for this remarkable experience and for the opportunity to have worked with outstanding professionals who helped turn a Canadian idea into a global success," he said.

‘Draw Something’ creator OMGPOP acquired by Zynga

Earlier today, Zynga announced that it has acquired OMGPOP, the creator of the incredibly popular iOS and Android game "Draw Something," where users are challenged to draw pictures based on a given word and have their partner guess the word. The deal is worth $180 million, alongside an extra $30 million for employee-retentions. The game is six weeks old and currently holds the top paid and free app on both the iOS App Store and Google Play market.

Draw Something sports 35 million users, 10 million users active daily, and nearly 1 billion ad impressions per day. The app has already become the most popular Facebook Connect game as well.

Zynga is well known for its partnership with Facebook, and for developing other mobile games such as Words With Friends and Scramble With Friends.

Beats Audio acquires music streaming service MOG

According to All Things D, Beats Audio has acquired the music streaming service MOG. MOG is a mix between Spotify and Pandora, both of which allow music to be played across the Internet, but has its unique features as well. At this time, it's unclear whether the deal has been closed, and what MOG will be sold for if the deal follows through.

We'll keep you posted with new information.

[UPDATE] Apple sells three million new iPads since launch

Apple has just announced via a press release that it has sold three (3) million new iPads since the tablet's launch last Friday, March 16, 2012. The Cupertino-based company first unveiled the next-generation iPad, which sports a high-resolution "Retina" display, 4G LTE connectivity, improved performance, and an upgraded rear-facing camera, earlier this month, with pre-orders being opened earlier.

“The new iPad is a blockbuster with three million sold―the strongest iPad launch yet,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Customers are loving the incredible new features of iPad, including the stunning Retina display, and we can't wait to get it into the hands of even more customers around the world this Friday.”

UPDATE: AT&T released a very brief statement this morning, simply stating that it saw record-breaking sales and activation numbers during the iPad launch.

Apple to hold cash balance-related conference call tomorrow morning

Apple has just issued a press release announcing that it will be hosting a conference call tomorrow morning (March 19, 2012) at 9:00 AM Eastern. The call will be regarding Apple's current cash balance and "announce the outcome of the Company’s discussions concerning its cash balance." The Cupertino-based company, which currently has nearly $100 billion in cash, has said that the call won't discuss any current quarter numbers, nor anything other than cash.

The call will be led by CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer, and will be available via a live stream on Apple's website as well.

Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, and Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO, will host a conference call to announce the outcome of the Company’s discussions concerning its cash balance. Apple® will not be providing an update on the current quarter nor will any topics be discussed other than cash.

Twitter acquires blogging platform Posterous

Today, Twitter announced via its blog that it has required the simple blogging platform Posterous, which was founded in May of 2008. "This team has built an innovative product that makes sharing across the web and mobile devices simple—a goal we share. Posterous engineers, product managers and others will join our teams working on several key initiatives that will make Twitter even better," Twitter explains.

The microblogging service has also confirmed that Posterous Spaces will remain up and running for users, and that should changes occur, users will be given "ample" amount of time for preparation. Those looking to move away from Posterous will be able to in the coming weeks once Twitter provides instructions on how to do so.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Apple announces updated Apple TV with new interface, 1080p HD content

Alongside the announcement of "the next iPad" today, Apple also announced an updated version of its Apple TV set-top box with a redesigned user interface and the ability to play 1080p HD video content from the iTunes Store, which is already available to the public. The user interface is now heavily icon-based, clearly taking influence from iOS.

Apple® today announced the new Apple TV® featuring 1080p programming including iTunes® movies and TV shows, Netflix, Vimeo, photos and more in HD. With iTunes in the Cloud, customers can purchase and play their favorite movies and TV shows from the iTunes Store® and watch them instantly on their HD TV. The new Apple TV features a simpler, refined user interface making it easier than ever to access your purchased movies, TV shows and music with iTunes Match℠ right from iCloud®. With AirPlay®, users can stream or mirror their favorite content from their iPad® or iPhone® 4S to Apple TV.

The new Apple TV will be available beginning March 16, 2012 for a price of $99.

Apple announces “the new iPad”

Apple unveiled the all new third-generation iPad at its media event today alongside an updated Apple TV.

The new iPad is named by Apple as "the new iPad" and features a Retina display, newer iSight cameras, a A5X processor with quad-core graphics and 4G LTE. The Retina display on the new iPad has a resolution of 2048x1536 with over 3 million pixels while being on the same size display as the iPad 2.

Next to the Retina display, the largest addition to the new iPad is 4G LTE connectivity from Verizon and AT&T in the U.S. Apple says the iPad can take max download speeds of 73 Mbps on LTE networks. Additionally, the iPad is now available for mobile hotspot use, also know as a form of tethering. The iPad is slightly thicker and slightly heavier than the iPad 2 but features the same amount of battery life. Ten hours or nine hours while on LTE.

The A5X processor of the new iPad features quad-core graphics processing and impressed nicely as several demos showed the speed at which highly intense applications run. On the backside, Apple has put a 5 megapixel iSight camera with Apple standard optics like autofocus and autoexposure. The same camera also can capture 1080p video. Alongside the camera several iLife applications also received updates, such as Garage Band and iMovie. Apple also announced an all new part of iLife for iPad, iPhoto. iPhoto brings editing, brushes, photo  journals and easy ways to share images, such as Photo Beam.

Finally, the new iPad comes with an iPhone 4S like Dictation feature. Just like the iPhone there is a microphone button on the pop-up keyboard now that translates speech to text. The microphone is now standard throughout all keyboards on the new iPad.

The all new iPad will be available March 16 and pricing remains the same for capacity and connectivity as before. Beginning at $499 for 16 GB Wi-Fi only up to $829 for 64 GB Wi-Fi + 4G LTE. Pre-orders for the new iPad begin today. The iPad 2 is also still available with a $100 price drop in place with each model.

Google rebrands Android Market as “Google Play”

Today, Google announced that it will be rebranding the "Android Market," which consists of app downloads, music, movies, ebooks, and more to a more general name, "Google Play." The service is cloud-based, meaning all of your data will move with you device-to-device. It allows users to store up to 20,000 songs for free, buy ebooks, download over 450,000 apps, and purchase movies.

The web giant says that over the next few days, users will be upgraded from the Android Market to Google Play, including the individual apps as well.

AT&T clarifies smartphone data throttling policy – 5 GB for 4G LTE, 3 GB for everyone else

Today, AT&T announced a revision to its smartphone data throttling policy that was first established last year for customers who elected to keep their unlimited data plan, even after the carrier stopped selling it. Prior to the changes today, AT&T said that it would throttle the top 5% of data users on its network, but it was never clear how much data a user had to use per billing cycle to be considered in the top 5%.

The carrier revealed today that, from this point on, it will now be throttling data speeds for 4G LTE device owners after 5 GB of usage, and after 3 GB of usage for non-4G LTE users (3G or 4G).

• Customers with a 3G or 4G smartphone – who also still have our unlimited data plan – will see speeds reduced if they use 3GB (gigabytes) of data or more in a billing cycle. Speeds will return to normal at the start of the next billing cycle. For context, less than 5 percent of smartphone customers use more than 3GB per month.
• For customers with a 4G LTE smartphone – who also still have our unlimited data plan – data speeds will be reduced if usage is 5GB (gigabytes) or more in a billing cycle. Speeds will return to normal at the start of the next billing cycle.

Before seeing a change in data speeds, AT&T will send a text message to customers to warn them.

Apple granted injunction against Motorola Mobility Android-based phones in Germany

According to FOSS Patents, Apple has been granted an injunction against all of Motorola Mobility's Android-based devices in Germany after a judge ruled that the company infringed upon an Apple-controlled patent dealing with a "portable electronic device for photo management." In short, the patent deals with performing certain tasks when photos are in "zoomed in" mode, but not when they are "zoomed out."

If Apple elects to enforce the granted injunction, Motorola Mobility would be forced to recall any devices that infringe upon the patent in Germany, at its expense.

Microsoft launches Windows 8 Consumer Preview – over 100,000 changes from Developer Preview

Today, Microsoft announced the launch of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview build, the next step in releasing its next-generation operating system to the world. The release contains over 100,000 changes from the Developer Preview of the OS, which was released last year, and is available for download from the links below.

The Consumer Preview is designed to give what its name implies - the ability for consumers to try out Windows 8. The previous seed was for developers and only provided a locked-down version of the next OS out of Redmond.

Download link for Windows 8 Consumer Preview: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/iso

Nokia announces Lumia 610 Windows Phone 7 smartphone

At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Nokia announced the Lumia 610 smartphone that is powered by Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 mobile platform. The phone is geared toward lower price points and emerging markets, and was made possible by a software update to Windows Phone 7 that added support for new markets.

The Nokia Lumia 610 was made possible thanks to a new software release from Microsoft delivering enhanced capabilities to the Windows Phone 7.5 platform.  The software release, available from April optimizes Windows Phone to support lower memory and processor requirements, while still delivering the same great experience for more affordable products.  In addition, Windows Phone will now include the network and language requirements for China. As a result, Nokia announced plans to make a range of Lumia smartphones available in China, covering both CDMA and WCDMA technologies, in the coming months.