Apple fights for the right to call iPhone an iPhone in Brazil

Nigam Arora – Forbes, 02/15/2013

It is true that you can buy an iPhone running Android and not iOS.  The phone comes unlocked and can be bought for about $300.  The phone features a 700MHz processor, a 5 megapixel rear camera, a 0.3 megapixel front camera, dual SIM support, and a 3.7 inch display.

Of course, Apple is having a fit over an iPhone running Android.  This particular iPhone is not manufactured by Apple but by a company by the name of IGB Eletronica domiciled in Brazil.  IGB was formed after the restructuring of a Brazilian electronics firm Gradiente Eletronica.  Gradiente had applied for exclusive rights to the name iPhone in Brazil in 2000.  Gradiente claims that it had foreseen the revolution of smartphones in 2000 long before Steve Jobs ever dreamed of iPhone.

Read more…

Apple challenges loss of iPhone trademark in Brazil

Reuters – 02/14/2013

Apple Inc, which lost the rights to its iPhone trademark in Brazil on Wednesday, is challenging the ruling by Brazil’s copyright regulator to prevent local firm Gradiente Eletronica SA from using the “iphone” brand name.

The regulator, Inpi, ruled on Wednesday that the rights to the trademark belong to Gradiente, prompting California-based Apple to request that the decision be reviewed in Latin America’s largest market.

Consumer electronics maker Gradiente had filed its request to use the “iphone” brand in 2000, seven years before Apple launched its smartphone, but received approval to use the trademark only in 2008.

Read more…

Steve Jobs Avenue exists in Brazil

Edwin Kee – Ubergizmo, 04/11/2012

Steve Jobs Avenue highlighted in yellow at the bottom. Credit: Ubergizmo

If you happen to be Brazilian and love all things Apple, you would definitely be proud to know that there is now a ‘Steve Jobs Avenue’ in your country, according to Brazilian blog MacMagazine. Steve Jobs Avenue was announced just a day after the Apple co-founder lost his fight against pancreatic cancer last year, and what was once an idea has been declared as official by Jundiai’s city council. The location of the Steve Jobs Avenue is definitely not anywhere near as glamorous as the vibrant cities in the US, but there is a reason why Jundiai has had the honor. This is because Jundiai is located near São Paulo, which in turn hosts the Foxconn factory that has churned out millions of iPhones in Brazil to date.

Read more…

Apple’s Brazil-made iPhone S and iTunes to drive a new growth story

Johnny Evans – Computerworld, 12/14/2011

Confirming the importance of Latin America as a key element to Apple [AAPL] and its future growth strategy, this week’s launch of iTunes services in Brazil and 15 additional Latin American countries is significant and timed precisely to match the introduction of ‘Made in Brazil’ iPhones on Friday (December 16).

Brazil matters a lot. The world’s ninth largest music market music sales there totaled $210.6 million in 2010. Piracy is prevalent. The IFPI describes Brazil as one of the markets “with the highest number of users accessing unlicensed services.” 45 per cent of Brazilian Internet users download music illegally in a single month.

This could be an iTunes opportunity. In summary: a la carte downloads in Brazil have not yet hit prime time, despite digital music sales climbing an impressive 43 percent in 2010 (IFPI). That’s because just 14 percent of these digital sales were in the form of full track downloads, the majority (60 percent) were via streaming.

Read more…

Apple Brazil to sell unlocked iPhones

Sarah de Sainte-Croix – Rio Times, 12/10/2011

Unlocked iPhones available in Brazil from December 16th, photo by William Hook/Flickr Creative Commons License.

 According to Apple’s Brazilian website, unlocked iPhone 4S handsets will be available to buy, direct from the manufacturer, on December 16th for the first time ever in Brazil. Until now, the coveted cell phones have only been available to buy through mobile network operators, often as part of a pricey and long-term call plan, but Apple’s announcement looks set to change all that.

Its website says, “When you get your [unlocked] iPhone from Apple’s online store … you will be able to sign up to services from an operator of your choosing, and even change your operator whenever you please.”

Although the official price tag has yet to be released, a Brazilian financial publication, Valor Econômico, is predicting prices will start at R$2,100 for the 16 gigabytes model, and R$2,700 for the 32GB version.

Read more…