O'Grady's PowerPage

Tag: San Diego

  • Class action suit concerning iPhone 4, iPhone 4s, and iPhone 5 power buttons goes to trial

    A class action suit filed against Apple in 2013 regarding broken iPhone 4, iPhone 4s, and iPhone 5 is set to proceed to jury trial in San Diego state court.

    The trial is set to begin on October 25th.

    The lawsuit alleges that Apple knowingly sold the aforementioned iPhone models with “defective” power buttons and refused to properly remedy the issue. For this, Apple is accused of “deceptive” or “fraudulent” business practices, breach of warranty, and violating multiple California consumer laws.  

    The proposed class includes California residents who purchased an iPhone 4, iPhone 4s, or iPhone 5 from Apple or a third-party retailer, and is described via the following complaint:

    iPhone 4 and 4S Class: 

    All California citizens who purchased one or more iPhone 4 or 4S smartphones from Apple or a third-party retailer, from June 24, 2010 through October 10, 2011 for the iPhone 4, and from October 11, 2011 through September 20, 2012 for the iPhone 4S, and whose sleep/wake (power) button stopped working or worked intermittently during a one year period from date of purchase. 

    iPhone 5 Class: 

    All California citizens who purchased one or more iPhone 5 smartphones from Apple or a third-party retailer prior to April 1, 2013, and whose sleep/wake (power) button stopped working or worked intermittently during a three year period from date of purchase.

    Apple initiated a free repair program in April 2014, offering free repairs of a “small percentage” of iPhone 5 units with power buttons that may “stop working or work intermittently.” The suit alleges that the program went “unnoticed” and was initiated “ten months after the initial complaint in this matter.”

    The lawsuit seeks damages in an amount to be decided upon and proven at trial, as well as restitution, injunctive, and declaratory relief. Apple has denied all of the allegations in this complain, and has denied improper or unlawful action.

    As with any class action lawsuit, proposed members can do nothing to remain part of the class, or opt out to retain the right to sue Apple individually. 

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors

  • Apple announces U.S. expansion, forthcoming $1 billion campus in Austin, Texas

    If you were hoping for Apple to bring new jobs to the United States, your wish is about to come true.

    Apple announced on Thursday that the company is building a new 133 acre, $1 billion, campus in Austin, Texas. The company also stated that it will build new spaces in Seattle, San Diego, and Culver City. Furthermore, it will expand its operations in cities such as Pittsburgh, New York and Boulder, Colorado over the next three years.

    The Austin campus will be located less than a mile from its current Austin base and have an initial staff of 5,000 employees working there, with the capacity to eventually accommodate 15,000. Staff at the new facility will have jobs in engineering, R&D, operations, finance, sales, and customer support with Apple investing $1 billion into the project.

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  • Apple currently hiring former Qualcomm engineers to work on wireless modem hardware, focusing on San Diego area

    Per an article published on Thursday by Bloomberg, Apple has begun aggressively hiring engineers in San Diego, the headquarters of Qualcomm. The company is said to be looking for designers in San Diego who will help develop wireless components and processors for its iPhones, a move that would further weaken Qualcomm.

    Apple has posted 10 job listings in San Diego over the past month, the postings searching for engineers to work on Apple’s Neural Engine artificial intelligence processor and wireless modems. This marks the first time Apple has publicly recruited for these types of jobs in San Diego.

    It’s thought that Apple is working on creating its own wireless chips for future iPhone models, which Apple has relied on firms like Qualcomm and Intel in years past.

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  • AT&T, Qualcomm to test expanding cellular networks via drone

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    This is a pretty neat idea.

    Communications companies Qualcomm and AT&T today announced plans to start testing Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS, also known as drones) on cellular networks later this month. The goal is to analyze how drones can operate safely and more securely on commercial 4G LTE and future networks such as 5G.

    The trials will take place at Qualcomm’s UAS Flight Center in San Diego, where engineers will work to mimic commercial, residential and uninhabited areas.

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  • AT&T to begin national rollout of 3G MicroCell device in April

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    After months of promotion, AT&T announced that the company will begin the formal national rollout of its 3G MicroCell service next month.

    Per AppleInsider, the company announced that there would be no additional costs, other than the purchase of the 3G MicroCell device, for using the 3G MicroCell service, as minutes used through the hardware affect the account of the phone making the call. Individual or Family talk subscribers can pay US$19.99 per month to make unlimited calls through the special femtocell hardware device.

    The 3G MicroCell hardware itself will retail for US$149.99, but comes with a US$100 mail in rebate for customers who select a MicroCell calling plan. In addition, customers who purchase a new line of broadband service with AT&T are also eligible for a US$50 mail-in rebate. Those who select both could receive the hardware for free.

    The hardware blankets a 5,000 square foot area, about a 40 foot radius from the device, to provide voice, data and text service coverage in areas that might otherwise be a “dead zone” for cell phone reception. The hardware supports up to four users making simultaneous calls, and up to 10 on 3G standby available for incoming calls and messages.

    Last September, Charlotte, North Carolina served as the first test market for the femtocell device, which provides 3.2Mbit/sec 3G service from the home. In order to support that bandwidth, the device must be connected to an appropriately fast broadband connection.

    AT&T was expected to expand its 3G MicroCell service to other markets in 2009, but until this week availability was limited to Charlotte. In that test, the device was said to cost US $150 and carried no monthly fees.

    In February, AT&T expanded its trial of the 3G MicroCell service to five markets, adding select counties in Georgia, South Carolina, San Diego and Las Vegas.