Posts Tagged ‘contract’
Nokia Asks U.S. Court to Dismiss Apple’s Court-Related Claims
Earlier today, we learned that the first trial to resolve the patent infringement issues between Nokia and Apple is expected to happen until the middle of 2012. What we didn’t know (and we have learned just now) is that Nokia filed yesterday a Motion to Dismiss document asking the U.S. District Court in Delaware to dismiss all of Apple’s contract-related claims against them. Nokia says those claims have been filed by Apple to distract from the patent dispute.
Here’s what Nokia stated in the introduction of the filing:
“Apple also alleged six non-patent counterclaims, each of which Nokia now moves to dismiss because they are implausible, conclusory and self-contradictory and, therefore, fail to state a claim under current Supreme Court precedent. These non-patent counterclaims are designed to divert attention away from free-riding off of Nokia’s intellectual property, a practice Apple evidently believes should only be of paramount concern when it is the alleged victim.”
As you can see, things are getting worse between the two companies. The fight is not just about patent infringements, but it’s also extending to terms of contract now. It will be interesting to see what Apple’s response to this Motion to Dismiss will be though
We have embedded the full Motion to Dismiss document by Nokia, you can check it out after the break. More »
Apple Defends AT&T – Could This Mean AT&T Will Keep iPhone Exclusivity?
We have been hearing many rumors, claims, and speculation for quite a while now stating that Verizon and even other major US carriers could finally get the Apple iPhone this Summer due to the fact that AT&T’s iPhone exclusivity contract is to expire this year. It all makes sense if you put the pieces together: AT&T’s network is bad, customers are not satisfied with the coverage, and other carriers offering the iPhone could double/triple the number of units sold. The only problem is that Apple seems to like AT&T — a lot.
During Apple’s Q1 2010 Earnings Call on Monday, Apple COO Tim Cook defended AT&T when he was asked whether the carrier’s network and coverage issues could have a negative impact on the Apple brand. Cook stated the following:
“First of all, AT&T is a great partner. We’ve been working with them since well before we announced the first iPhone. And I think it is important to remember they had more mobile broadband usage than any other carrier in the world. And in the vast majority of locations we think that iPhone customers are having a great experience, from the research that we have done. As you know, AT&T has acknowledged that they are having some issues in a few cities and they have very detailed plans to address these. We have personally reviewed these plans, and we have very high confidence that they will make significant progress toward fixing them.” More »
Verizon Wireless Confirms Leaked Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus Pricing
Last weekend, pricing was leaked for the Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus destined to make their way to Verizon Wireless this Monday, January 25th. It appears that the pricing stated by the tipster were right on. You see, Verizon Wireless announced official pricing for the two devices today in a press release, which match the leaked pricing perfectly.
We can safely and officially say today that the Palm Pre Plus will be priced at$149.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate and a 2-year contract with Verizon Wireless. The Palm Pixi Plus, on the other hand, will cost $99.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate and a 2-year agreement with Big Red. Additionally, Verizon will be offering its famous buy-one get-one [BOGO] deal. This means you will get a Palm Pixi Plus free after mail-in rebate when you buy either a Palm Pre Plus or Palm Pixi Plus. The deal will last until February 14. More »
Verizon Wireless Announces Unlimited Talk and Text Messaging Plans
Verizon Wireless is now catching up with the times and introducing unlimited talk and text messaging plans. For starters, Big Red has announced an Unlimited Talk plan for $69.99 per month. No overages — just pure unlimited voice calling! If you’d rather pass along a message with your fingers, Verizon Wireless is offering the Unlimited Talk and Text Plan for $89.99 per month — ten dollars cheaper than Sprint’s unlimited plan.
As far as Family SharePlans go, you’re looking at coughing up $119.99 for Unlimited Talk and $149.99 for Unlimited Talk and Text for the first two lines. Additional lines are priced at $49.99 on SharePlans. More »
Nexus One Launching in France for €450 in Q1
Just hours before the Android Press Event where the Google Nexus One phone is expected to be unveiled, we learn from French website Le Point that the Android-powered smartphone will be priced at €450 with no contract in France and in much of Europe with an expected launch in the next few weeks.
Also, if le Francais prefer to go with the subsidized option and signing a 2-year contract, Vodafone will offer the Nexus One for €200. Leaked documents suggest that the Nexus One will be priced at $529.99 with no contract here in the United States, and $179.99 with a 2-year contract from T-Mobile. We expect Google to confirm today if those are indeed the prices which the Nexus One will sell for.
[ via Engadget ]
T-Mobile Resumes Sidekick Sales
After the big Sidekick outage last month, T-Mobile discontinued the sales of the mostly popular-among-teenagers device, the Sidekick. Well, T-Mobile finally resumed Sidekick sales yesterday. They released the following statement:
“T-Mobile is pleased to announce that Sidekick sales have resumed. New pricing for the Sidekick LX 2009 will be $149.99 with a two-year contract and the Sidekick 2008 will be $49.99 with a two-year contract.”
Rumor Alert: AT&T Preparing $99 8GB iPhone 3GS
We’re throwing out the old-fashioned Rumor Alert for this one, guys. Two Boy Genius Report sources have tipped that Apple and AT&T are preparing an 8GB iPhone 3GS, which will be available for $99 (presumably with a two-year agreement). Apparently, from what we know (if true), this would be set to happen some time before Christmas of this year. One of the sources mentioned that this was Apple’s answer to Verizon’s Motorola Droid Android device.
Again, we can’t confirm the validity of this, but if true; this will surely sell some more iPhones and put the Droid to shame. Not surprisingly, many consumers are staying away from Apple’s iPhone because of the steep price point.
We’ll definitely keep an eye on this story and will report back if it develops.
Verizon to Raise Its Early Termination Fee?
Rumor has it that starting November 15th, Verizon will raise its early termination fee for high-end smartphones to $350. The ETF will then see a reduction of $5 every month. The reason? Well, Verizon is trying to combat scammers who buy new high-end phones like the DROID or Storm2 on contract, cancel the line by paying the early termination fee, and then sell the phone for double or even triple the price they paid for. The rumor has not been confirmed yet. Though, it is understandable if Verizon goes through with this. Unfortunately, it might affect innocent customers who need to terminate their contracts early for any other reason.
[ Source ]
Los Angeles Adopts Google Apps For The 30,000 City Employees
The City Council of Los Angeles, California [as if you didn't know], approved a $7.25 million contract today to move the 30,000 city employees to Google App’s email system. This deal is of course a great thing for Google who has been in a very heated battle against archenemy Microsoft to win more enterprise customers.
The deal was passed after more than 2 hours of debate, where several members expressed security concerns. In the end, the deal was passed 12 – 0. Los Angeles will start a pilot period, in which only a small number of employees will test the system.
The City of Los Angeles becomes one of the largest cities in the United States to adopt Google Apps.