DigiTimes claims that Apple will begin volume production of the 5th generation iPad in July-August 2013.

WhatsApp business development head Neeraj Arora has told AllThingsD that an earlier report claiming Google was on the verge of acquiring the company for $1 billion is not true. WhatsApp is the company behind the popular iOS app WhatsApp Messenger .

Apple has won the number one slot in Fortune 's annual "World's Most Admired Companies" list for the sixth year in a row. The ranking is based on a large-scale poll of corporate executives, directors, and industry analysts who were asked to rank companies by nine key attributes: Innovation, People management, Use of corporate assets, Social responsibility, Quality of management, Financial soundness, Long-term investment, Quality of products/services and Global competitiveness. Apple scored #1 in all nine categories

A UK judge who was involved in a case in which Apple was ordered to publish a notice on its website saying that Samsung's Galaxy Tab did not copy the registered design for the iPad has been hired by Samsung as a patent expert in a separate legal battle with Ericsson, reports software patent blog FOSS Patents . Sir Robin Jacob served on a panel of appeals court judges reviewing the case after Apple complied with the initial court order but in a rather playful manner, quoting judge Colin Birss's earlier comment that the Galaxy Tab was "not as cool" as the iPad. Sir Robin was unamused, and ordered Apple to change the notice , accusing the company of acting with a "lack of integrity"

Apple has added movie support to its iTunes in the Cloud service in 11 new European countries today, enabling customers in those countries to re-download content previously purchased from the iTunes store.

GigaOM reports that Major League Baseball is expanding support for Apple's Passbook app, announcing that the digital tickets will be accepted at 13 stadiums this season, up from just four last season. MLB was one of Apple's launch partners for Passbook in September, with mobile tickets accepted by the New York Mets, San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals. They are being joined this season by the Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland A’s, Pittsburgh Pirates, Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs

The New York Times reports that New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg today released crime data for the city as 2012 draws to a close, noting that a slight increase in the overall major crime index for the city can be entirely accounted for by an increase in iPhone and iPad thefts. As of Monday, the Police Department recorded 3,484 more major crimes in 2012 than for the same period last year. The increase in Apple product thefts: 3,890.

Brightwire summarizes a report [ Google translation ] from Taiwanese news site United Daily News claiming that Apple's supply chain partners will continue working through the traditional Chinese New Year holiday in order to keep up with demand for the popular iPad mini and iPhone 5. The holiday falls in mid-February in 2013, with many workers traditionally returning to their homes for two weeks or more in celebration

DigiTimes reports that Apple has signaled Taiwan-based suppliers that both the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air series will see revisions in June 2013. As noted by our buyers guide , this would put the updates in line within the expected timeframes. DigiTimes' sources also reveal that the new MacBook Airs won't have any major external design changes, but will feature a "new processor platform": The sources pointed out that the MacBook Air for 2013 will feature a new processor platform, but its industrial design will not see any major changes.

In the latest installment of its "iEconomy" series, The New York Times takes a look at the advances made by Apple and Foxconn to improve working conditions at the Chinese factories churning out Apple products since a major push began earlier this year. The report details many changes such as wage increases and shorter working hour limits that have previously been disclosed, but also takes a peek behind the scenes to offer a glimpse of how executives at both companies have reacted to the situation