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The weekend is here, and with comes the final installment of our daily recap for the month of March. But hey, don’t be sad or blue — there will be plenty more tech news coming on Monday, when we jump head first into the month of April and see what new and delightful surprises the spring season might bring us. In the meantime, sit back and ride out the rest of March by catching up on the news for Friday, March 30, 2012.
Nano-SIM Standards Vote Delayed by ETSI Due to Apple, Nokia Bickering
AppleInsider is reporting that the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ESTI) has chosen to delay voting on the new nano-SIM standard. A meeting to decide the fate of the SIM card’s future was held on Thursday and a vote was expected today, but a decision was made to postpone for “a minimum of 30 days” while Apple and Nokia continue to argue over whose proposal is the right one, according to FOSS Patents. While Apple is pledging to license its proposed standard free of royalty payments, Nokia has dismissed the offer as “an attempt to devalue the intellectual property of others,” threatening to refuse licensing as many as 50 patent families owned by the Finnish cell phone giant which could be relevant to Apple’s design. Siding with Nokia is Android smartphone maker Motorola Mobility and BlackBerry maker Research in Motion, who are equally concerned about Apple owning vital nano-SIM patents. The nano-SIM is essentially a traditional SIM card trimmed down even further than the micro-SIM, which Apple introduced to the world in 2010 with the iPhone 4 as a way to save precious space inside their devices.
Got Your Eye on Nokia’s Lumia 900? Now You Can Preorder One
AT&T is unleashing their first significant Windows Phone handset on Sunday, April 8, but eager buyers can nab their virtual space in line starting today as the carrier begins accepting preorders for the black and cyan models only. As reported earlier, the handset carries an amazing $99.99 price with a two-year agreement, but the AT&T website also teases a $449.99 no-commitment price for those who want to slide it into an existing plan without disrupting an existing contract. Online preorders will be shipped free of charge, although the website doesn’t say exactly when they will arrive. For those of you holding out for the white model, it’s slated to arrive on April 22, so you’ll have to hunker down and wait just a little bit longer.
Tim Cook Ranked as Top Dog on Most Beloved CEO List
AllThingsD is reporting that Apple CEO Tim Cook is off to a great start with his first year at the helm, landing squarely at the top of Glassdoor.com’s Top 25 Highest Rated CEOs with a 97 percent approval rating. The ranking covers all industries — it’s not limited simply to tech, and Cook sits with the same rating his predecessor Steve Jobs held when he relinquished the reins as CEO — and even a couple of points higher than Job’s last year as captain of the ship. The rankings are collected from each respective company, with Cook ahead of Qualcomm, Ernst & Young, Google and American Express.
Apple’s Biggest Store Yet Is Coming to Somewhere You’ve Never Heard Of
M.I.C. Gadget is reporting on some interesting activity going on at the Parkland Mall in Dalian, China, described as “a rich Chinese city with a lot investment coming from Korea and Japan.” Apparently, Apple is planning its largest flagship store yet at that location, but the nearby Dalian Department Store isn’t too happy about it — so they sent their security team in to pull down Apple Store posters, and a fracas ensued. So what’s the big deal about Dalian anyway? M.I.C. Gadget explains: “Dalian is a touristic city, very appreciated by Chinese people, especially for its non-polluted environment, the beaches, seafood and comfortable weather.” Sounds quite nice actually, if Apple can get the thing built without the competing mall tearing it down first.
Apple Updates Australian Website Over “Misleading” 4G, Europe Still In a Tizzy
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) decided to wage war with Apple this week over what they cite as “misleading” marketing claims related to the new iPad’s 4G LTE, which is incompatible with networks there. After first offering refunds to dissatisfied buyers, Cupertino has now updated their website and other marketing materials to include “This product supports very fast cellular networks. It is not compatible with current Australian 4G LTE networks and WiMAX networks.” While that may be good enough down under, MacRumors is reporting that European watchdogs are now scrutinizing Apple over the same issue in Norway, Sweden and the U.K. as well — so it’s not likely to end anytime soon.
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(Image courtesy of M.I.C. Gadget)
