Apple Weekly News Roundup: Unlocking Cellphones Legalized, iWatch Patent Filed and more

The biggest news last week was the approval of the Unlocking Consumer Choice Act legislation by the the House of Representatives. Up until now, wireless carriers having been "locking" their devices, forcing customers to sign a new contract with them after their current one expires, rather than going to another carrier. The penalties for unlocking your phone are stiff, including fines and, believe or not, jail time. No longer though, once Obama signs the bill into law, which he is happy to do, cell phone owners will be able to change carriers and keep their phones when their contracts are up.

Apple's Q3 earnings report was issued on Tuesday. Even though they dipped from Q2, it was a record third quarter for iPhone sales. Much of the success was attributed to the 55% year-over-year increase in sales in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China).

On the other hand, iPad sales slipped once again. The drop off in tablet sales is industry wide however and, according to Chitika, Apple still maintains a commanding lead in tablet usage share. 78% of tablet usage is attributed to Apple's iPads. Amazon ranked a very distant second, with just 7.3%.

Though rumors have been swirling for over a year now and analysts have pinned down October as its release date, there has been very little hard evidence concerning the iWatch. Something tangible surfaced last week in the form of a patent for a "Wrist-worn electronic device and methods therefor." Recently there have been rumors that the iWatch is facing a production delay, but it is still widely believed that it will launch sometime in October.

On the subject of production delays, it is now rumored that production of the 5.5" phablet size iPhone 6 will be delayed. It was supposed to go into mass production in August but that has apparently been pushed back to September. It was previously thought that both models would launch concurrently in late September, but it seems that is no longer the case. Production of the iPad Air 2 and and next generation iPad mini has been pushed back as well.

Apple is reportedly in discussions with major payment industry companies. This is the last big step involved in creating a mobile payment system. The groundwork has been laid, as iBeacons have quickly been adopted by many major retailers, and the iPhone 6 is expected to be equipped with an NFC chip that will facilitate fast and secure payments. Some analysts are speculating that iOS 8 may include Apple's version of an "e-wallet."