Apple Pays User Damages in Data Tracking Case; the Newest 'Untangled' Product for iPhones

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 has tried to fast-track its briefing process in its suit against Samsung to July 21. But it had no luck:  The judge rejected its request, and now the case could be heard by a jury as late as next February. Apple’s suit alleges that fellow tech giant Samsung copied many of the physical and hardware attributes of the iPhone.

• Lately, some people have been miffed that Apple may be storing user location data. But one user in South Korea took the issue to court and won. This week, Apple paid $945 in damages to a South Korea court case. It claimed that a file on the iPhone stored a large amount of user location data.

New Products
• Many of us have the annoying issue of our headphones tangling after we stuff them into our bags. But Apple aims to change that, as it just secured a patent for “cable structure that prevents tangling.” Filed in November 2010, the patent would allow Apple to reduce the rigidity of a cable, preventing it from bending in certain spots.

Business Deals and Developments
• If you’re looking to score a domain name with "iPhone" in it, your options just became more limited. Apple just acquired the iPhone4.com and WhiteiPhone.com domain names. The much-awaited iPhone 4 was introduced on June 7.

• The Tablet’s growth has skyrocketed. In May, comScore reported that it gained the number one spot in May web tablet traffic. The Apple iPad also came out on top in 13 countries for its rankings of tablets as well.

• Apple’s share of the personal computer market has rose by 11 percent in the U.S. The Big Apple was the only company to exhibit growth in a market that contracted by 4 percent.