Apple Removes Anti-Israel App from App Store; Prepares for Transition from MobileMe to iCloud

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
Apple pulled an app called “The Third Intifada” from its App Store which encouraged attacks on Israel, and highlighted anti-Israeli news and opinion from around the web. On Tuesday, the The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a group devoted to stopping antisemitism, issued a statement urging Apple to immediately withdraw the app from its collection. Apple complied, citing a policy that apps which are “defamatory, offensive, mean-spirited or likely to expose the targeted group to harm or violence will be rejected.”

New Products
iTV? Rumors are afloat the Apple is developing a TV that will succeed its current Apple TV set-top-box. The speculation seems warranted, as the U.S. Patent and Technology office recently put forth Apple patents dealing with TV technology. One analyst for Piper Jaffray believes the move will add big bucks ($2.5 billion in revenue) to Apple’s bottom line in 2012.

Apple just filed a patent for an invention that would automatically correct for tilt and perception on cameras. It would ensure for on-the-fly corrections, and photos that look still even when taken with a shaky tripod (i.e. your hands).

Ready to make the transition from MobileMe to the eagarly awaited iCloud? This morning, Apple posted a a frequently asked questions page for those looking to make the switch. Users still have some time, as MobileMe will not face its demise until June 30, 2012.

Business Deals and Developments
Sorry, Samsung Galaxy Tab and BlackBerry PlayBook. The news is in: the Apple iPad accounts for 97 percent of all web traffic in the U.S., beating out its competitors. In countries such as Japan, it’s even 100 percent of the market. Not surprising, as Apple sold 4.69 million tablets in the last quarter.

One man’s junk is another’s treasure? Apple received FDA approval on Thursday to bid on more than 6,000 patents belonging to bankrupt Nortel Networks Corp.. Beginning on Monday, both Apple and smartphone rival Google will be bidding on the patents. They span a wide range of technologies such as mobile phones, tablet computers and cellular infrastructure.