Here are your Apple rumors and AAPL news items for today:
New Patent Claims: While Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) battles Samsung over patent infringement claims in a California court, Google‘s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Motorola unit has filed a second suit against Apple with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), claiming that Cupertino violated additional Motorola patents, Bloomberg reports. Motorola alleges that Apple infringed on its patents for mobile location reminders, video playback software and email alerts. The two companies have traded patent infringement claims since Motorola first filed suit against Apple in the ITC back in 2010 after licensing talks fell through. An Apple counterclaim was subsequently dismissed. If Motorola wins its case, some Apple product imports could be blocked from the U.S.
FaceTime Users Must Upgrade: iPhone users who subscribe to AT&T (NYSE:T) will not pay additional charges to use the FaceTime feature in iOS 6, but will need to upgrade their existing subscription plans to the company’s new Mobile Share plan, The Wall Street Journal notes. FaceTime use over Wi-Fi networks will remain free, AT&T pointed out. Which was generous, considering that the carrier doesn’t control Wi-Fi use. Rumors had circulated that FaceTime users on AT&T’s 3G and 4G networks would be charged an additional fee for the service. Sprint (NYSE:S) has said it won’t charge extra for FaceTime use on its networks, while Verizon (NYSE:VZ) has not yet revealed its plans for FaceTime use.
No Ceiling in China: Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO, told analysts that Apple faces an almost limitless market for its products in China, according to AppleInsider. He noted that while many Chinese citizens remain unable to afford a house or automobile, they are willing to spend money on consumer electronics goods like the iPhone or iPad. Apple is building additional retail stores in China, expanding its reach from large cities like Beijing and Shanghai to smaller ones like Chengdu and Shenzhen. Last quarter, Apple produced China revenue of $5.7 billion, up 48% over the same period in 2011. Still, only six Apple Stores currently operate in China.
For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories.
