Fake Apple Store Exposed; New MacBook Air Released; and a Historic Day for Apple

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
•An expat blogger exposed a fake Apple store in the southern Chinese city of Kunming. Photos of the counterfeit shop laced several Chinese news sites and attracted thousands of comments. Yet most of them offered praise that the store that accurately feigned the real deal. Yet while the owner admitted to the Wall Street Journal that the store was not on the official Apple retailer list, he said that all the products found in it are genuine.

New Products
•Want to eliminate the shakiness when you use your iPhone to watch a movie or have some face-to-face time? So does Tim Gushue, an engineer who created the “InfiniteLoop,” a metal and plastic stand that can hold up even heavy iPhones. The newly launched product is available online now for $19, $10 cheaper than it will be in retail stores.

•Apple released its new Macbook Air on Wednesday, which includes a backlit keyboard and Intel’s Thunderbolt display. The Thunderbolt port technology allows for super speedy data transfer, and tries to be eco-savvy: ambient light sensors automatically adjust the display based on external lighting conditions, only using as much light as necessary.

Business Deals and Developments
•Friday marks a historic day for Apple. On July 22, 1997, Apple Computers, Inc. announced a new operating system for its computers, OS 8. The move came at a time when Apple faced troubles with its finances and upper-level management.

•Apple just signed a lease for a 373,000 foot square office space in Cupertino. Deemed the “Results Way” Corporate Center, the complex is comprised of nine buildings, and would provide room for about 1,300 employees.  

•iPhone and iPod sales are surging in China and its surrounding areas. In fact, they’re up so much that Apple Inc.’s revenue may have surpassed that of Chinese computer company Lenovo Group Ltd. (992)’s for the first time in over a decade. Now Apple is so popular that it comprises one out of every three PCs.

•The Hulu online video service has received a slew of bidders, including Apple. The companies are currently in talks, and if Apple does foot the bill, it’s looking at a price tag of over $2 billion.