iLounge

By Charles Starrett

Senior Editor, iLounge
Published: Friday, September 26, 2008
News Category: Mix

A lawsuit filed last July against Apple over the limited lifespan of iPhone batteries has been dismissed. Bloomberg reports that U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly in Chicago granted Apple’s request that the suit be dismissed based on the evidence and the law without a trial — a procedure known as a summary judgment. Though Apple only disclosed the original iPhone’s battery limitations to consumers immediately before the product shipped, “Apple disclosed on the outside of the iPhone package that the” battery has “‘limited recharge cycles and may eventually need to be replaced by Apple service provider,’” Kennelly wrote, quoting the iPhone’s packaging. “Under the circumstances, no reasonable jury could find that deception occurred.” AT&T remains a defendant in the case

The National Federation of the Blind and Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley today announced a cooperative agreement with Apple to make its iTunes software, iTunes Store, and iTunes U more accessible to the blind. Under the agreement, Apple will make iTunes U fully accessible by the end of 2008, and will ensure full accessibility of iTunes and the rest of the iTunes Store by June 30, 2009. In addition, Apple has agreed to contribute $250,000 to the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind to assist the agency in providing adaptive technology to blind residents of Massachusetts. This announcement follows Apple recent releases of iTunes 8 and the fourth-generation iPod nano, both of which feature significant accessibility improvements, and hints that legal action by the State of Massachusetts contributed to Apple’s enhancements to these products.

Marware has introduced its C.E.O. Flip Vue for the second-generation iPod touch. The C.E.O. Flip Vue is a flip-top, form-fitting case made featuring a Nappa leather exterior, microfiber interior, perforated design accents with contrast stitching, elastic sides for a better fit, and full-time access to the headphone jack, dock connector, and volume buttons. It ships with a Multidapt low-profile belt clip, screen protector, and cleaning cloth, and is now available for pre-order for $30.

Canadian electronics retailer Future Shop has announced that it will begin selling the iPhone 3G at select locations across the country on October 1. Previously, the iPhone 3G was only available at Rogers Wireless or Fido stores. Future Shop locations to carry the handset include the Broadway and Robson, Coquitlam Centre, and West Vancouver stores in the Vancouver area, Shawnessy and Northland locations near Calgary, the Edmonton West store, Downtown Toronto, Yonge and Eglinton, Eglinton and Laird, Vaughan, and Heartland locations in the Toronto area, the Ottawa South store, and both the Centreville and Marche Central stores near Montreal.