Hasta La Gadget!

Apple CEO Tim Cook will be required to testify for 4 hours on the eBook price-fixing scandal the company was accused of. Apple is the last company, out of 6, to be testifying in this case. The other companies, which include Hachette, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Penguin, and Macmillan have all reached a settlement with the Department of Justice. The companies had to terminate their agreements with Apple and other retailers, and follow a list of guidelines administered by the DoJ to ensure this issue would never happen again.

U.S. District Judge Denise Cote granted the DoJ its request today. The Justice Department believes that Tim Cook has relevant information to the case, as he is a high level executive. It believes that Tim Cook’s position and his close relations with the late Steve Jobs entitled him to private conversations and information about the eBook situation. Lawrence Buterman, the DoJ’s lawyer, stated Tim Cook “is the only potential source of information.”

Apple had tried to fight Judge Cote’s request, saying that Cook’s testimony would just be a reiteration of all of the other testimonies provided by 11 other Apple executives. Orin Snyder, a lawyer from Apple’s law firm, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, stated that “This effort to depose Mr. Cook, Apple’s CEO, reflect the fact the government cannot meet its burden of proof in this case.” She has called this request a “fishing expedition.”

The trial will be taking place in June. The government made it clear that it will not be seeking damages from Apple. It wants to find out if Apple had violated antitrust laws, and if it had fixed prices on eBooks, the government would bar Apple from being able to engage in any similar kind of conduct in the future. Things most certainly do not look good for Apple, especially since most of the companies immediately settled after being hit with the lawsuit. We’ll keep you posted on this case.

[via Reuters]

Government orders Tim Cook to testify in price-fixing lawsuit is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Tesla had made statements before about repaying its loan to the Department of Energy ahead of schedule, and that it plans on forgoing help from the government in the future in order to thrive as a stand-alone company. Tesla has now stated that it has changed its loan’s terms of agreement, and it expects to pay off the entire loan by 2017. That 5 years ahead of the anticipated December 2022 repayment target.

Tesla first acquired the loan 10 years ago. The U.S Department of Energy granted Tesla $465 million to develop its electric cars. The loan agreement Tesla had with the Department of Energy stated that if it didn’t pay off its loans by 2018, the government would be able to purchase 3 million of Tesla shares at a discounted price. Tesla’s Chief Financial Officer, Deepak Ahuja, stated, ” The terms of the original loan had a very good incentive for us to pay off the loan early.”

With the new amendment to the loan agreement, they will be able to avoid the “vesting of that warrant.” Any cash that Tesla makes that is above their $200 million threshold will be used to repay their loans. Ahuja also stated that if there is any balance remaining by the end of 2017, the company will pay it all off as a “balloon payment.” Things are looking optimistic for Tesla that makes the company believe it will be able to painlessly finish paying off its loan.

Tesla is expected to sell 20,000 of its Model S sedans by the end of this year. Sales of Tesla’s Zero-Emission Vehicle credits reached $40.5 million in 2012, which is a phenomenal increase from the $2.7 million it made in 2011. Due to a California regulation, automakers have to produce a certain amount of electric/plug-in vehicles a year, and those who are unable to meet those demands can buy credits from companies like Tesla in order to meet their quota.

Beginning in 2015, Tesla will begin making accelerated payments on its loan. It plans on producing its next all-electric vehicle, the Model X, late next year, and it also plans on building around 15,000 electric vehicles each year. The company is doing extremely well financially, especially considering 2,650 Model S sedans sold last year, which go for around $50,000 – $100,000+ each after the $7,500 tax credit provided by the government.

[via Bloomberg]

Tesla will repay loan 5 years earlier than expected is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Facebook has appointed another female member to its board of directors. Susan Desmond-Hellmann has just been initiated as a Facebook director. She, and COO Sheryl Sandberg, are the only two female directors in Facebook’s 9-member board. Desmond-Hellmann is also currently the chancellor of the University of California in San Francisco. She brings with her an impressive resume to Facebook’s group.

Desmond-Hellmann oversees UCSF’s medical center’s strategy and operations. In 2012, under her watch, UCSC was ranked #2 in clinical medicine and pharmacy. She is also a director at Procter & Gamble Co., a huge manufacturer of a variety of personal and healthcare products. She served as the President of Product Development for 14 years at Genentech Inc., a biotech company. Last, but most certainly not least, she is a trustee for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Desmond-Hellman brings a wide background of experience that will help Facebook in its future decisions. Mark Zuckerberg said, “Sue has a great track record of building and managing a diverse set of organizations, so her insights will be valuable as we continue to expand into new areas.” Zuckerberg says that adding her to the board will make Facebook a stronger company, and that she fits well with the other members of the board.

Facebook is certainly working extra hard to push its business to the next level. It’s improving its marketing campaigns with new features, and is making acquisitions to improve its services. It also created a mobile training program to better prepare its employees for mobile projects. The new training program is a strong step forward with Facebook planning on becoming a more mobile-centric company.

[via Bloomberg]

Facebook adds UCSF chancellor to its board of directors is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Tumblr is looking to implement advertisement on its mobile apps. The online-blogging service has seen its number of mobile users skyrocket in the past six months, and it plans on using that success as a monetizing tool. The Tumblr mobile-ads won’t be like those annoying pop-up ads featured in various free apps and games. Tumblr will instead just have “featured posts” for companies that join in on its program.

By monetizing its mobile app, Tumblr hopes that it will make its first annual profit. The service will let companies pay to promote their posts through Tumblr’s app. Lee Brown, head of sales for Tumblr, stated that the average advertising purchase on Tumblr is a little under six figures. By implementing mobile ads, Brown says, “We expect that the monetization will lead us to profitability this year.”

Though the “promoted posts” advertisement seems a bit unconventional, Tumblr is trying to keep its user-experience pleasant for everyone. Brown said, “We’re not really selling ads, we’re just promoting their content.” The promoted posts is a perfect medium to get companies more exposure to their products while also preserving the Tumblr experience. Brown says that the marketers will have to provide their campaign that, like any other Tumblr user post, will be circulated throughout the network. He says, “Marketers have become accustomed to buying scale as opposed to earning it.”

Tumblr gets over 16 billion monthly views spread around hundreds of blogs. The company can see a huge increase in revenue by implementing its new mobile ads feature. It’s very thoughtful of them to take its users consideration in mind when thinking of how they can generate revenue from ads. Brown stated that Tumblr, “is not going to get into the regular ad network.” It has found a win-win-win situation for itself, companies, and its users.

[via Bloomberg]

Mobile Ads are heading to Tumblr is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Word has it Samsung and Sharp are in talks over a possible investment on Samsung’s part into Sharp Corp. to the tune of $110 million. By doing this, both companies will benefits, with Sharp gaining a significant financial boost and Samsung gaining a 3-percent stake in the company. This information was provided by three sources said to be familiar with the situation.

According to the sources, the talks are in late stages, with Samsung likely to make the investment. Aside from the obvious gains, this partnership would be noteworthy on several levels, bringing together two companies from rivaling countries, both with their own consumer electronics powerhouses. Samsung is a Korean company, while Sharp is a Japanese company.

This would come at a time when Sharp has both suffered financially and has seen a drop in production of displays for the iPad as demand is refocused to the iPad mini, a device Sharp does not supply components for. Sharp’s spokesperson offered a decidedly ambiguous response to the rumors, reports Reuters: “This news is not something that has been announced by the company.”

Word has it the deal will officially be announced sometime today. This follows an investment into Sharp by Qualcomm late last year to the tune of $120 million. For its part, the two companies would join forces to develop energy-efficient IGZO-technology displays. Stay tuned, and we’ll be sure to keep you updated when we know more.

[via Reuters]

Samsung allegedly in talks with Sharp to invest $110 million is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.