Reuters is reporting that Apple has responded to the Justice Department's accusations that the company colluded with publishers to increase e-book pricing, saying that it negotiated with the publishers separately and reached different agreements with each. But Apple said the publishers had decided, independent of Apple, to eliminate discounts on wholesale book prices of e-books, to sell lucrative hardcover books first to bookstores in a practice called windowing and to take other measures to push Amazon to raise prices. In a court filing dated April 26 but released on Tuesday, Apple said it had approached publishers to create an online bookstore that would eventually become the iBookstore and had demanded a 30 percent commission, that publishers would not undercut prices paid to Apple, and that "windowing" be scrapped

Apple has created a 'waiting list' for law enforcement requests to unlock seized iOS devices, according to a report from CNET . The article notes a case in Kentucky where the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was the lead agency, and investigators contacted Apple for assistance after they were unable to locate any law enforcement agency in the country with the forensic capabilities to unlock an iPhone crucial to the case

CIO reports on an Interop keynote presentation yesterday by PayPal chief information security officer Michael Barrett in which he discussed the future of account security and suggested that passwords and PINs will soon be a thing of the past. Barrett currently serves as president of the Fast Identity Online (FIDO) Alliance that is seeking alternatives to these traditional security methods. The FIDO Alliance protocol allows users a choice of authentication method while shifting control to providers who can make authentication user-transparent and limit the risk of fraud

Amazon is developing a number of new hardware products to complement its Kindle line, The Wall Street Journal is reporting . Amazon hopes to release the devices, which are being developed at an Amazon lab in Sunnyvale, California , in the coming months, but the WSJ is quick to note that some or all of them may be killed at the last minute for a variety of reasons. One of the devices is a high-end smartphone featuring a screen that allows for 3-D images without glasses, these people said.

Pegatron, a contract manufacturer for Apple that makes the iPad mini and the iPhone 4S, among other products, said today that its second quarter consumer electronics revenue will drop 25 to 30 percent from the previous quarter, reports Bloomberg . The company says there is a decline in revenue from iPad mini production is "more on demand, while price has been stable", but CEO Jason Cheng also noted that "almost every item is moving in a negative direction" for the quarter. "Not just tablets, also e-books and games consoles"

Apple is well known for the simple, no-frills product photos that highlight its lineup of mobile devices and as it turns out, a lot of work goes into capturing those images. The Verge interviewed Peter Belanger, a photographer who has worked with Apple for years, to shed some light on Apple's creative process. In the interview, Belanger reveals that Apple exercises extreme attention to detail when it comes to product photos, providing him with both sketches and a comprehensive shot list

According to a new report from Japanese newspaper Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun [ Google Translation ] (via AppleInsider) Sharp, one of Apple's primary display partners, will begin manufacturing LCD panels for the iPhone 5S beginning in June at its Kameyama Plant No. 1 in Japan. The site notes that Apple also sent orders to both Japan Display and LG Display, with mass production already under way, which confirms a report last month from The Wall Street Journal that suggested iPhone 5S production would begin in the second quarter

A German court has ruled that eight provisions in Apple's privacy policy are inapplicable because they run afoul of German consumer protection laws , reports Bloomberg .

Apple has been cracking down on app discovery resources in recent months, removing high profile apps like AppGratis for violating guideline 2.25 , which states the following: "Apps that display Apps other than your own for purchase or promotion in a manner similar to or confusing with the App Store will be rejected." A report from AllThingsD in early April indicated that AppGratis' rejection from the App Store was just the first phase of a much wider crackdown, which was today confirmed by Pocketgamer after Apple began rejecting apps that feature tools for "filtering, bookmarking, searching, or sharing recommendations." We've been contacted by one developer whose app discovery tool has recently been blocked by Apple because it includes such features, with App Store regulation 2.25 - which restricts apps that could be confused by consumers as app stores in their own right – cited within the reasoning.

According to a new report from media research firm TDG (via GigaOM ) 14% of households with broadband internet owned an Apple TV, Roku box, or similar streaming platform during a study in 2012. While that sounds like an impressive number, Smart TVs have been slowly taking over the connected TV market. 25% of households owned a smart TV that comes equipped with apps, such as those offered by manufacturers like Samsung and LG