Apple Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Overturn Guilty Verdict in E-Books Antitrust Case

Apple is asking the United States Supreme Court to overturn the 2013 U.S. Appellate Court ruling that found the company guilty of conspiring with publishers to inflate the prices of e-books, reports Reuters.

Apple’s petition comes following the loss of a June appeal where the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the guilty verdict and maintained Apple violated antitrust laws and colluded with five publishers – HarperCollins, Simon and Schuster, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan, and Penguin – to fix e-book prices and unreasonably restrain trade.

Apple in its petition said the June decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York contradicted Supreme Court precedent and would “chill innovation and risktaking.”

“The Second Circuit’s decision will harm competition and the national economy,” Apple wrote.

Should the U.S. Supreme Court uphold the lower court’s verdict, Apple will be forced to pay $450 million as part of a settlement with class action lawyers and state district attorneys, with $400 million of that amount earmarked for consumers. Apple reached the settlement in June of 2014 to avoid a lengthy damages trial, but the payout hinged on the outcome of the company’s appeal.

Though Apple was found guilty, the company has maintained its innocence throughout the dispute. In its appeal, Apple said its efforts “kick-started competition” to deliver “higher output, lower price levels, and accelerated innovation.”

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‘The Weather Channel’ App for iPhone Gains Revamped Design, 3D Touch Support

The Weather Company is introducing a major update for its The Weather Channel iPhone app today, introducing a new visual design, longer-range weather forecasts, user-tailored weather updates, and support for 3D Touch on the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus.

When opening The Weather Channel app, users will be greeted with a personalized dynamic home screen that offers up custom weather information that’s based on user location. It includes current weather conditions and information that changes based on time of day, weather severity, and changing local weather conditions. For example, if rain is predicted later in the day, a user might get a rain alert, or during a storm, a severe weather alert might be visible on the home screen.

A completely new visual aesthetic is the chief change in The Weather Channel app, with a design that’s cleaner and more informative. Gone is the circle-shaped weather listing in the middle of the app, which has been replaced with a full screen image on the home screen overlaid with relevant weather information.

Drilling down into the app will show an easy-to-read list of more detailed weather information, like wind speed, humidity, pressure, and more, along with a new 15-day forecast, which is a full five days longer than the previous 10-day forecast. As with the current app, the new app includes information on local health alerts, pollen levels, airport conditions, weather news, and beach conditions.

It continues to offer Weather Channel news updates, breaking news on weather, local maps, interactive radar maps for rain and snow information, hurricane reports, relevant weather-related notifications, and social weather reports that aggregate weather reports from social networks. New to the app is The Lift, an Al Roker-hosted mobile-only morning show that combines weather-related news, nature stories, viral videos, and more.

iPhone users with an iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus can use 3D Touch on the app’s icon on the Home screen to enter one of four user-customized screens that include radar, saved locations, current location, search, or tools for sharing the weather.

For those who don’t want to see ads within The Weather Channel app, there’s a new $3.99 in-app purchase option that will remove all ads for one year. The $3.99 fee must be renewed each year to keep ads from being displayed.

The Weather Channel for iPhone can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

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Review: Sena’s Leather Apple Watch Case Easily Transitions From Home Dock to Travel Accessory

Though there are now hundreds of Apple Watch chargers and stands on the market, Apple is only selling a handful in retail locations – those that are designed with a clean aesthetic that matches the feel of the company’s products. The latest Apple-endorsed Apple Watch charging solution comes from Sena, and will be in Apple Stores in mid-November.

Sena’s Leather Watch Case, which is actually available from Sena’s website beginning today, is a hybrid stand and case product that can be used for charging, storage, and travel purposes.

The Leather Watch Case is designed to look like a traditional watch case that might come with any luxury watch. It’s similar in size to the box that comes with the stainless steel Apple Watch, with a round exterior covered in a quality black European leather and a microsuede-covered interior for the Apple Watch to rest on. It only comes in black, which might not be appealing to all users, primarily those with silver, gold, and rose gold Apple Watches.

As with most Apple Watch charging accessories, the Leather Watch Case requires you to supply your own Magnetic Charging Cable, but it does include a cord wrap to keep the cable hidden from view. There are four pieces to the Leather Watch Case, which snap together magnetically: a leather-covered bottom base, a plastic cord wrap that fits inside the base, a microsuede interior piece that houses the Apple Watch charging puck, and a leather-covered lid with a padded microsuede interior that fits over the whole thing to protect the Apple Watch when on the base.

Assembling the Leather Watch Case was a simple enough process that consisted of fitting the charging puck into the microsuede holder, guiding the cord through the cord wrap and out the base, and fitting all of the pieces together.

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Eddy Cue: Apple TV Remains ‘Add-On’ Device, Will Continue to Improve

Apple executive Eddy Cue sat down with CNN senior correspondent Brian Stelter this week to answer a wide range of questions about the new Apple TV, reiterating how Apple believes an app-based TV experience is the future.

Cue described the new Apple TV as an “add-on for most people,” rather than a true cable-cutting experience, since channels such as ABC, CNN and WatchESPN still require authenticating with a cable or satellite TV subscription.

That could change if Apple’s much-rumored streaming TV service launches in the future, but the company has reportedly faced difficulties and delays in ongoing negotiations with content providers. Cue did not discuss those rumors, but did speak vaguely about original programming.

Stelter: “There have been rumors that Apple is going to get into licensing, actually financing TV shows, basically what Netflix and Hulu do today. Can you clear it up for us? Is that true?”

Cue: “We love working with our partners. We’re great at technology, and they’re great at creating content, and we think that’s a great partnership to have.”

While still an “add-on,” Cue said that the new Apple TV is a “much better experience” for consuming content compared to traditional cable or satellite TV. Cue said TV has historically been a “closed” ecosystem, but the new Apple TV changes that by allowing content providers to create interactive app-based experiences.

Cue downplayed the need for “exclusive” content on Apple TV, and said that Apple’s goal is to “build technologies that let developers do things that they can’t do anywhere else.” He added that “we certainly don’t think there’s anybody that can do this on a TV today,” which “by sheer nature may be exclusive.”

Stelter said that authenticating with a cable or satellite TV subscription remains a problem with the current TV experience, and Cue said those are areas where Apple can “continue to innovate” and “make better” through future software updates, but he also stressed that services such as HBO GO, Hulu and Netflix already have a one-tap subscription process.

The new Apple TV is available online now and launches in stores on Friday, October 30.

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Eddy Cue: Apple TV Remains ‘Add-On’ Device, Will Continue to Improve

Apple executive Eddy Cue sat down with CNN senior correspondent Brian Stelter this week to answer a wide range of questions about the new Apple TV, reiterating how Apple believes an app-based TV experience is the future.

Cue described the new Apple TV as an “add-on for most people,” rather than a true cable-cutting experience, since channels such as ABC, CNN and WatchESPN still require authenticating with a cable or satellite TV subscription.

That could change if Apple’s much-rumored streaming TV service launches in the future, but the company has reportedly faced difficulties and delays in ongoing negotiations with content providers. Cue did not discuss those rumors, but did speak vaguely about original programming.

Stelter: “There have been rumors that Apple is going to get into licensing, actually financing TV shows, basically what Netflix and Hulu do today. Can you clear it up for us? Is that true?”

Cue: “We love working with our partners. We’re great at technology, and they’re great at creating content, and we think that’s a great partnership to have.”

While still an “add-on,” Cue said that the new Apple TV is a “much better experience” for consuming content compared to traditional cable or satellite TV. Cue said TV has historically been a “closed” ecosystem, but the new Apple TV changes that by allowing content providers to create interactive app-based experiences.

Cue downplayed the need for “exclusive” content on Apple TV, and said that Apple’s goal is to “build technologies that let developers do things that they can’t do anywhere else.” He added that “we certainly don’t think there’s anybody that can do this on a TV today,” which “by sheer nature may be exclusive.”

Stelter said that authenticating with a cable or satellite TV subscription remains a problem with the current TV experience, and Cue said those are areas where Apple can “continue to innovate” and “make better” through future software updates, but he also stressed that services such as HBO GO, Hulu and Netflix already have a one-tap subscription process.

The new Apple TV is available online now and launches in stores on Friday, October 30.

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