Apple Corporate

Editors' note: This is a guest column. See Larry Downes' bio below.

The U.S. Copyright Office on Monday granted an exemption to users who install unapproved applications or switch carriers on their smartphones. That act, when applied to the Apple iPhone, is often referred to as "jailbreaking."

Apple and others have argued that such activities violate provisions of 1998 revisions to federal copyright law known as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, specifically provisions that forbid the circumvention of security technologies a copyright holder uses to ensure that its software is not modified without permission.

The Copyright Office … Read more

Following a challenging several months after a string of plant suicides, manufacturing company Foxconn is poised to capture more than half of the market share in its industry.

Foxconn, which makes the iPhone and iPad among other devices, can thank the phenomenal growth of Apple for helping to boost its revenue and market share, according to a report released Tuesday by iSuppli.

The Taiwan manufacturer, part of Hon Hai Precision Industries, is set to capture more than 50 percent of the global sales in the EMS (electronics manufacturing services) market by 2011, up from 44.2 percent last year. EMS … Read more

Apple has updated the executive biography of Jeff Williams from vice president of operations to senior vice president of operations, explaining that the decade-plus veteran of the Cupertino, Calif.-based company is "responsible for end-to-end supply chain management and dedicated to ensuring that Apple products meet the highest standards of quality."

Williams, who will continue to report to Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook, had served as vice president of operations since 2004, and prior to that had been head of worldwide procurement. AppleInsider was the first to catch wind of the promotion.

There have been no explicit signs … Read more

Propelled by sales of the iPhone and iPad, Apple earned $3.25 billion in profit on $15.7 billion in revenue, its highest quarterly revenue ever.

The company reported its fiscal third-quarter results on Tuesday. Its reported earnings for the quarter represent an 88 percent increase in revenue over the same quarter a year ago, when Apple recorded revenue of $8.34 billion. The $15.7 billion figure is also on the high side of what Wall Street had been expecting: Analysts were anticipating between $13.82 billion and $15.74 billion in revenue, and earnings between $2.65 and $… Read more

Apple CEO Steve Jobs said Friday he has no intention of apologizing to investors for the stock drop resulting from "Antennagate." After Apple's third-quarter earnings are reported Tuesday afternoon, it's likely he won't need to.

Apple is expected to again report results that will please investors. Wall Street is expecting between $13.82 billion and $15.74 billion in revenue, and earnings between $2.65 and $3.74 per share. Apple has offered a typically conservative forecast: third-quarter 2010 revenues between $13 billion and $13.4 billion, and earnings per share between $2.28 and $… Read more

Apple CEO Steve Jobs likely quieted the outrage over the antenna issues surrounding the iPhone 4, but he sure didn't have fun doing it.

A clearly annoyed Jobs took the stage at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino Friday to announce that all iPhone 4 users would be receiving a free case to solve reception issues caused by the phone's exterior-antenna design. Apple's first response to the outcry was to change the way it displayed signal strength on the iPhone to give users more confidence in the accuracy of the signal, but Jobs acknowledged Friday that AT&… Read more

Updated at 12:08 p.m. with additional information.

Apple plans to give iPhone 4 users a free case in hopes of satisfying concerns about the design of its antenna and signal problems.

CEO Steve Jobs made the announcement (click here for the live blog) during a press conference at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., Friday morning in response to a public-relations crisis over signal issues reported with the iPhone 4, which was unveiled in June. iPhone 4 owners will apply for the free bumper (a case that protects just the outer rim of the phone) online at Apple'… Read more

In response to the uproar over spotty reception for new iPhone 4, Apple CEO Steve Jobs spoke Friday to defend the company's handling of the matter.

One takeaway: Buyers of the iPhone 4 will be getting free cases to help prevent users' grip on the phone from weakening the signals carrying conversations. Jobs said Apple cannot make enough of the bumpers that some people have been buying, so it is working with third parties to get the cases for users.

If you're still not happy, Jobs said, "you can bring your iPhone back within 30 days for … Read more

The bidding for Palm earlier this year apparently attracted interest from some prominent Silicon Valley companies, including some that were reportedly mostly interested in keeping the intellectual property out of the hands of their foes.

Hewlett-Packard ultimately turned in the winning bid, agreeing in April to pay $1.2 billion for the PDA pioneer. However, before that was announced, five prominent Silicon Valley companies kicked the tires on the company, including Apple, Google, and Research in Motion, according to a Business Insider report that cites sources familiar with the negotiations.

Interest in Palm's vast library of intellectual property and … Read more