Obama Vetoes iPhone 4 Ban in US and How Strong is Apple

Yesterday some reports mentioned that a potential iPhone 4 and iPad 2 3G ban in US will be applied and it is because of patent fight of Apple and Samsung. As the time passed the rumors got stronger that by last night I was expecting the ban to be applied by Monday. But surprisingly today when I woke up I found out that Obama administration released a statement to veto the upcoming ban. Here is the official statement:

In addition, on January 8, 2013, the Department of Justice and United States Patent and Trademark Office issued an important Policy Statement entitled “Policy Statement on Remedies for Standard-Essential Patents Subject to Voluntary FRAND Commitments” (“Policy Statement”).2 The Policy Statement makes clear that standards, and particularly voluntary consensus standards set by standards developing organizations (“SDO”), have incorporated important technical advances that are fundamental to the interoperability of many of the products on which consumers have come to rely, including the types of devices that are the subject of the Commission’s determination. The Policy Statement expresses substantial concerns, which I strongly share, about the potential harms that can result from owners of standards­essential patents (“SEPs”) who have made a voluntary commitment to offer to license SEPs on terms that are fair, reasonable, and non­discriminatory (“FRAND”), gaining undue leverage and engaging in “patent hold­up”, i.e., asserting the patent to exclude an implementer of the standard from a market to obtain a higher price for use of the patent than would have been possible before the standard was set, when alternative technologies could have been chosen. At the same time, technology implementers also can cause potential harm by, for example, engaging in “reverse hold­up” (“hold­out”), e. g., by constructive refusal to negotiate a FRAND license with the SEP owner or refusal to pay what has been determined to be a FRAND royalty.

It is the first veto against ITC by the President since 1987 and it just proves how strong is Apple.
The ban rumor just started circulating for 24 hours and within that time Obama managed to issue a statement and stop ITC from banning them. While Apple issued an official statement and said:

We applaud the Administration for standing up for innovation in this landmark case. Samsung was wrong to abuse the patent system in this way.

and this decision didn't make anyone mad more than it did Samsung by responding:

We are disappointed that the U.S. Trade Representative has decided to set aside the exclusion order issued by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC). The ITC’s decision correctly recognized that Samsung has been negotiating in good faith and that Apple remains unwilling to take a license.

You agree or not, Apple is strong enough to deal with US Government within a few hours and it was a lesson to Samsung: "When you are fighting the big guys, don't use kids' toys."

*Quotations from 9to5mac.com 

The Next iPad Mini without Retina Display will be Ridiculous

So according to 9to5mac.com Apple has an iPad Mini with an A6 chip (which is same as iPhone) and STILL without Retina Display, a few months back some rumors showed that Apple also has an iPad Mini WITH Retina Display on the work. Well basically these two differences show that Apple took both into consideration but releasing two different iPad Minis (One with Retina and one without) is kind of far from my expectations. It is predicted that the cost of an iPad might exceed than what Apple wants it to be and decrease the profit for them but in a competitive market sometimes you are just forced to do it. 

But while having different options from different tablet makers for 7'' size while the quality of Apple is far better than Kindle and Galaxy, the fact that iPad mini does not have a retina display is disturbing but if in the next generation of iPad mini we still don't see the Retina Display then it is ridiculous! 

Meanwhile WSJ reported that Apple ordered a shipment of Retina Displays in iPad Mini sizes and also new back covers in different colors which is similar to iPod Touch are also being ordered. 

TAIPEI—Apple Inc.’s AAPL -0.17% suppliers are gearing up for mass production of a new iPad mini in the fourth quarter that will likely feature a high-resolution screen from Samsung, 005930.SE +0.08% people familiar with the matter say, an indication of the difficulty the U.S. company faces in its attempt to reduce its dependence on its biggest rival. Apple is working with suppliers in Asia on its next iPad mini with a high-resolution “retina” display, unlike the current iPad mini that comes with a lower-resolution screen, the people said. The size of the new tablet will likely be the same as the current 7.9-inch model, which was released in November last year. Apple has also been contemplating multiple color back covers for the new tablet, they said.