Apple Files Injunction to Block Samsung Sales; Number of Jobs Created By Apple Revealed

Every week, makes news with technology developments, business deals and, more often than not, controversies.

That’s where our weekly "Core Bytes" column on Apple comes in. We’ll relay the past week’s news highlights from our favorite backyard tech giant.

Controversies
On Tuesday, Apple filed an injunction to block sales of Samsung’s Galaxy III smartphone, set to hit shelves June 21. They claim it’s a successor to the Galaxy Nexus, and therefore should be part of the patent infringement case already taking place.

Apple is forking over $2.25 million to an Australian consumer rights watchdog who stated it misled the public. The group alleged Apple made false advertising claims, hyping their new iPad as "with wi-fi and 4G” even though it was unable to access local 4G networks.

New Products
Watch out, Google Maps. On Monday, main competitor Apple is expected to announce its own mapping application. About half of Google’s map traffic hails from iPhones and iPads, but Apple is looking to change that with its new app, which will be unveiled at an annual conference for software developers in San Francisco.

Apple will add Baidu, the search engine that accounts for 80 percent of searches in China, to iPhones in China. It’s part of their twofold effort to broaden services and increase sales in the country, where people have been known to over Apple products.

Business Deals and Developments
Want a 17-inch MacBook pro? Act fast, as the company is expected to discontinue the lineup this year. Analysts state its the right move, as the product only accounted for 1.7 percent of the company’s sales in the first quarter of 2012. The company is planning to, eventually, discontinue its entire MacBook Pro lineup.

How many U.S. jobs were created by Apple? The company itself has an answer: 514,000 ranging from manufacturing to transportation. Of those, 210,000 are for “iOS app economy” jobs whereas 340,000 are for jobs ranging from engineering to transportation. Yet some say the numbers are understated, as Apple has created more jobs through prompting new activity, ie. forcing AT&T to upgrade its wireless network.