EU antitrust regulators stated on Friday that British media group Pearson's Penguin unit has offered to scrap e-book deals with Apple that imposed price restrictions on Amazon and other retailers. Penguin's concessions include ending "most-favoured nation" contracts for five years. Such clauses bar rival retailers from selling e-books more cheaply than Apple.

Taiwan's DigiTimes confirms this morning that the next generation of Ultrabooks launching shortly won't be limited to the Windows 8 operating system. The surprising news is that Android will play a huge role in these new convertible notebooks starting with one launching in May from Lenovo.

DigiTimes is reporting this morning that Apple occupied 71.6% of consumer tablets sold in the China market during the fourth quarter of 2012. The statistics were compiled by China-based Analysys International. This is a commanding lead in the largest market in the world.

Apple's iPad saw its first month-over-month gain in Web traffic share since December, marking an end to the decline which began with the December holiday season. Apple's iPad users generated 81.9% of US and Canadian tablet Web traffic in March, a 1.4% basis points increase since February.

Yesterday Apple's stock price took a nose dive on the news that consumers were likely holding back on iPad mini purchases in the hope of gaining a better deal with Apple's next generation product. Apple's upstream supply chain sources pointed to a 20-30% decline in shipments. What we didn't notice yesterday was that a second report published later in the day pointed to a nasty hiccup in Apple's Mac hardware inventory too.

On April 18, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a series of patents relating to next generation audio and data connectors. Apple has already begun to move to more modern efficient connectors like "Lightning" for the iPhone 5. Apple's patent delves into future versions of connectors that could eventually replace the traditional iDevice audio connector that employs traditionally rounded TRS connector jacks with something flatter and possibly shallower as noted in our cover graphic. Apple's proposed data connectors are being designed to address USB 4.0, DVI, Display Port and HDMI and work with everything from the Mac to an iPhone and right through to possible future devices such as a gaming system and a holographic projector, states Apple. Our report also touches on two Apple patents covering new spring loaded connectors that won't overheat.

On April 18, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals the nuts and bolts behind Apple's Virtual University known as iTunes U. Apple's invention is about systems, methods, and computer program products for accessing e-learning courses from an online resource. Particular implementations of the e-learning application disclosed, provide one or more of the following advantages: The e-learning application provides simple and intuitive GUIs that allow students to browse, select, enroll and interact with online courses, including facilitating data input by the student, giving the student better manual control to navigate the course and providing the student with better visual feedback for interacting with the course.

Microsoft's top mobile-phone executive Terry Myerson has reportedly stated that its Windows Phone operating system has an opportunity to lure away Apple and Google users because it offers a more exciting and smoother experience. It appears that Myerson is desperately trying to make waves for their Windows phone which currently sits in last place. Myerson's tactic however is mirroring the very same one deployed by both BlackBerry's CEO Heins and Nokia's CEO Elop weeks earlier, so he can't even be original on that point. Cheap shots such as those made recently just make these CEO's out to be clowns.

A new report this morning states that upstream sources in the iPad mini supply chain expect a 20-30% decline in shipments for the device during the second quarter of 2013 due to lacking demand in the market. The lacking demand stems from consumers waiting for the release of the next generation iPad mini, said the sources.

Smart Watches have been around for the last decade yet has failed to take off for one reason or another: they looked ugly, were too bulky, had weak functionality, or the battery life was not good enough. Market intelligence firm ABI Research projects more than 1.2 million smart watches will be shipped in 2013.

While Macites await the coming of the iWallet revolution, another bank in Canada is moving ahead with a new app from Apple's App Store called "Deposit Anywhere." While the new app is best for small businesses that need to make deposits quickly, securely and conveniently – it's available to anyone that has an iPhone. Canadian users can deposit a cheque anywhere, anytime, in less than a minute, without having to visit a branch or find an ATM.

A new report out this morning will have both iOS and Android fans delighted. Instead of making an argument for either side based on a single data point at a time, we're able to now see several data points where iOS and Android really square off on. Our report pulls together the best iOS stats in one handy graphic that you can keep on hand when you're squaring off with your buddy who owns an Android phone. All in all, the stats in my view still favor Apple where it matters. The one stat that honestly floored me was the one that showed how well Apple's iOS is doing in business. It was pretty impressive.

Apple and Samsung are battling it out toe to toe in India, reports the Wall Street Journal. They're trying to outdo one another by offering various discounts to convince consumers to switch smartphones. Apple launched a promotion in early April that allows consumers to exchange any of their older smartphones—whether it's an iPhone, an Android-based phone or a Blackberry– for a cash discount of at least $128 US on the purchase of a basic iPhone 4. In Q4 2012 Apple only held 5% market share in India in contrast to Samsung's 40%.

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 19 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. Those granted include an iPhone's industrial design, three facets of iOS including one that covers folder management and the famed "jiggle" effect associated with moving apps around on your iDevices. Our report also lists 14 additional patents granted to Apple today which cover a wide spectrum of technologies including antennas, databases, calendars and wireless matters.

Taiwan's HTC Corp. said Monday that it is considering legal action against Samsung Electronics Co. after the government decided to investigate recent accusations that the South Korean company deceptively attacked its rivals' products online.

Intel began the year strongly at CES in January by delivering a keynote about 2013 being a game changing year for Intel. It was all about a game changing product on the way called the Ultrabook Convertible. Last week in Beijing, Intel's IDF was in full gear once again to excite their developers in China about the coming new product category. The theme echoing throughout their main keynote was that the next generation Ultrabooks in the form of convertibles and detachables were going to deliver the very best 2 for 1 computer deal for consumers that they won't be able to ignore. The new devices will deliver the best powered notebook and the best featured tablets in one device. Intel believes that this this is the game changer they need to breathe life back into the PC market which just experienced its worst quarter in more than twenty years. Will they be able to pull it off? Time will tell.

Apple's board member Bill Campbell, who was close to the late Steve Jobs, has a reputation of being a chief executive whisperer. Speaking at a recent internet event he generally revealed that Apple is looking to wearable computers as the next frontier.

With the i5s Knock-off of the iPhone 5 from China's Goophone being so openly promoted, you know that every design patent that Apple can obtain from China's various Patent Offices will assist their efforts in bringing such companies to court. Today, the Patent Office in Hong Kong has granted Apple six new MacBook Pro design patents. In total, the patents cover a whopping 46 images including line drawings and photographs of every imaginable angle and size of the MacBook Pro. Apple's designs also extend to highlighting the MacBook's hinge and heat-vent systems.

An unknown Company by the name of Wyncomm has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple. A simple Google search reveals nothing about this company which is usually a sign that the company is a patent troll or from their perspective, an "IP Defender." What makes this case somewhat interesting is that Wyncomm has recently acquired an AT&T patent for the sole purpose of suing Apple and likely others in the future. Considering that AT&T is a major Apple iPhone partner, how did an AT&T patent of this nature just happen to fall into the hands of this troll who is now suing Apple by claiming that the iPhone infringes upon their patent? I don't know about you, but I think that there's something awfully wrong with this scenario. With that said, the case moves on.

Two Taiwanese Companies known as CpuMate Inc. and Golden Sun News Techniques have filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple. The patent infringement lawsuit concerns Apple's iMac and MacBook Pro. The patent listed in their formal complaint before the court relates to heat sinks. The formal complaint presented no specifics.

Wow, has the PC industry been KO'd by the mobile revolution that Apple began with their iPhone in 2007? It appears so. Microsoft didn't see it coming and they never thought it would ever come to this point in time so quickly. A new study out by IDC states that the PC industry is tanking faster than anyone could have ever imagined and Wintel just can't grasp how to stop their ship from sinking. They may have one last crack at turning this around later this year with new Ultrabook Convertibles or hybrid notebook-tablets. I think the concept is right, but the nagging doubt about Windows 8 may eventually kill the enthusiasm for this category. Wintel is down for the count with consumers, and with Google's Glass on the way this fall, it doesn't look hopeful.

On April 11, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a couple of patent applications from Apple that relate to optical and optical hybrid device connectors. The latter is described as an electro-optical connector. Apple's main engineer behind this latest connector is the very same engineer who was behind Apple's "All-New Hybrid DisplayPort/USB 3.0 Connector" patent which was granted to Apple exactly two years ago. This guy eats and sleeps all things connector related and the patent illustrates his passion for this intricate world of connectors. But at the end of the day much of the patent is really about explaining the technology that's behind Apple's new Lightning connector and perhaps its road map of development which includes an eventual move to a next generation lightning connector based dock.

Yesterday we posted an in-depth patent report titled "Advanced iDevice Flex Display Features" which covered a grand overview of flexible display constructions and features that Apple may implement in future iDevices. Today's patent report covers a second distinct invention regarding flexible displays that may be a little more realistic in the medium term. In this invention, Apple is focused on introducing flexible edge displays that will be able to use active virtual repurposing controls depending on the needs of individual users. Apple also illustrates simple Gaming controls that could be activated on these new displays when needed. Apple indicates that these next generation flex displays could be used in future iDevices, wearable computers (like an iWatch) and even MacBooks. We close out our report with a list of 10 other minor patent applications that were published by the US Patent and Trademark Office today.

A new patent application from Apple was discovered in Europe this morning that reveals advanced iDevice flex display features. Apple's patent application covers a lot of ground including both flex screen designs and flexible components to make these designs work. One such component is a unique flex battery design. Apple's patent filing also enlightens us with the fact that bending a future flexible centric iDevice may also allow users to open a specific application, control a game function and so much more. In the end, the patent filing provides us with and overview of the the whole future flexible device concept that could eventually cover wearable computers, the iPhone, iPad and even aspects of a MacBook. Our report covers fourteen major patent figures. NOTE: The Entire Report was Updated at PM MST

In new data released on Tuesday, the iPhone reigns supreme in the hands of nearly one out of every two users in a vitally important demographic. According to marketresearch.com, there are approximately 25.6 million people in the 12-17 demographic that spends $110 billion a year.

While we covered this story back in January, there seems to be a new indirect confirmation this morning out of Asia that Apple is shifting their A7 processor business to TSMC. A new Asian report published this morning states that the "chasm between Samsung Electronics and Apple is expected to widen further as Apple has excluded its Korean rival from a project to develop A7 application processors, due to be released in the first half of next year. One of Samsung's local partners in Korea stated this morning that ''Apple is sharing confidential data for its next A7 system-on-chip (SoC) with the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). TSMC has begun ordering its contractors to supply equipment to produce Apple's next processors using a finer 20-nanometer level processing technology."

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 41 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we cover a major multitouch patent along with others that touch on editing iPad centric apps and stabilizing a FaceTime video conferencing session. We close out our report by providing you with a list of the remaining 31 granted patents that were granted to Apple today. 

On April 9, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a new granted patent from Apple that reveals a new feature that has yet to come to market. As such, Patently Apple will present this granted patent in the form a new patent application report that goes deeper into the technology presented. Apple has been razzed for a while now for not having a technology for the iPhone that is similar to Samsung's Beam that lets users share large files from one smartphone to another using NFC. Apple's newly granted patent provides such an interactions and so much more. Apple's solution works between a Mac and iPhone and provides editing software to crop, scale and adjust images. Apple had the technology mapped out in January 2010, or about 30 months prior to Samsung's public release of this feature for the Galaxy SIII.  

Last week the US Patent & Trademark Office published a series of patent applications from Apple covering some of their manufacturing processes, minor tweaks and more. Our patent report covers more than eight patent applications covering such things as Apple's pressure sensors that may be found in a next generation of their EarPods, display fracture and deformation systems regarding iDevices, a tampering detection system, an iDevice laser texturizing process and much more.

On April 4, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals a new iWallet transaction patent covering a method for conducting a financial transaction. In February we posted a report asking the question could this be the year that Apple introduces their iWallet. Apple's latest patent application revelations reveal that they're still working on new specifics of this future application. Apple is closer to finalizing their iWallet project but the timing of its debut remains a mystery.

The US Patent & Trademark Office have recently published a patent application from Google that reveals their intention of upgrading Google Maps with a series of new user interface refinements including a new compass navigation control interface. If you're a fan of Google Maps' Street View feature like I am, then you'll be happy to know that turning corners will be made a lot easier whenever Google gets this upgrade out the door.

Back in late March Apple acquired indoor-GPS Company called WifiSLAM signaling that Apple could be entering the indoor mobile location services business sometime in the future. WifiSLAM's software allows a user's smartphone to pinpoint its location (and the location of friends) in real-time to 2.5m accuracy using only ambient WiFi signals that are already present in buildings. Today, a key patent application from Apple titled "3D Position Tracking for Panoramic Imagery Navigation" was published by the US Patent and Trademark Office. On one hand, the patent is about bringing detailed street-views to Apple's Map application. On the other hand, we get a smidgen of understanding as to why Apple acquired WifiSLAM. Apple's patent filing is very stingy in providing us with details about the second half of their invention. Apple states that "In some implementations, forward and backward translation enables the user to enter an indoor panorama of a structure (e.g., a commercial venue), " like a store for making a purchase. Although Apple has recently taken a bruising over their Map application's turn-by-turn navigation inaccuracies, it's crystal clear that they're charging ahead with determination to bring newly advanced services to Maps in the future.

On April 4, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals a possible new retail packaging system. The system is designed to provide an Apple Store customer with the ability to conveniently customize an iDevice's content while it's still in its original packaging. The customer picks the iDevice and brings it to an in-store kiosk so that they could connect the device to the kiosk and be able to customize its content with iTunes, Apps and more. This is great for gift giving situations. The customer will also be able to print out a custom label with a message on it such as Happy Birthday. It's a smart idea plain and simple.

On April 4, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals a new quick access feature allowing users to access a specific set of applications without having to enter an unlock security code on their future iDevices. In some cases the new user interface provides an animated feature that will roll the Unlock slider feature out of the way so as to reveal one or more rows of quick access apps. The invention also reveals that Apple is likely to adopt a new virtual home button that will extend the user interface right to the bottom of the iDevice. All in all, this is another cool feature that we could likely expect to see in future iDevices.

Patently Apple has been the only one that has been pounding the table for a notebook tablet hybrid going all the way back to 2008 and prior to any talk of this from the Intel camp who is now preparing their Ultrabook Convertible for release this summer. In February we posted another report that discussed integrated touch displays coming to Macs eventually and the naysayers surfaced once again to say that it was a brain dead idea. Well, today the US Patent and Trademark Office revealed Apple's patent that is in fact about a true hybrid notebook tablet in all its glory. The patent filing includes details of a very cool display with a retractable magnetic mechanism that hides itself once detached from the MacBook's main body. Today, on paper at least, Apple has finally revealed their first patent filing about a hybrid notebook-tablet with actual details.

One of Samsung's latest patent applications reveals various aspects of their ongoing work with walking motions for next generation robots. What the patent doesn't tell you is that Samsung is creating an army of their next generation D-Copycat robots that will incorporate a Siri-like feature.

Mobile Telecommunications Technologies (MTEL), the company behind SkyTel, has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple claiming that they've allegedly infringed upon seven of their patents. The patent infringement lawsuit concerns Apple's iMessage, Airport Express, Airport Extreme, Time Capsule and devices such as the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Apple stated yesterday that a patent it successfully used against Samsung in its 2011 U.S. Lawsuit is not dead yet despite a recent decision that it's invalid by the US Patent Office. Apple's attorney Michael Jacobs wrote that "A 'final' office action does not signal the end of reexamination at the USPTO, much less the end of consideration of the patentability of the claims under reexamination. Rather, 'finality' is primarily a procedural construct that limits the right to amend claims and introduce evidence as a matter of right in reexamination."

A new study of Mac OS X web traffic shows that Snow Leopard is still the leading version of OS X as of March fourteenth 2013. The stats breakdown to Mountain Lion sitting at 28%, Lion at 27% and Snow leopard as the leader at 35%.

It's being reported today in Taiwan that The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) have officially stated that they'll be investigating allegations that Apple Inc. has been interfering in the pricing of iPhones sold by Taiwan's telecom operators.