Here are your Apple rumors and AAPL news items for today:
Foreshadowing: While most Apple (AAPL) executives have their careers grounded in the technology industry, the company’s latest recruit comes from one of Europe’s leading fashion houses, Bloomberg notes. The iPhone-maker has hired Paul Deneve, former CEO of Yves St. Laurent. Deneve will serve as a vice president overseeing special projects, reporting directly to CEO Tim Cook. The move comes as Apple is said to be readying the launch of a smartwatch, its first entry into the emerging field of wearable computers. While the poaching of Deneve received relatively little notice in the fashion press, technology-related publications have heralded the hiring as a signal that Apple is planning to integrate the iWatch and other wearable computer products into everyday fashion. While Deneve’s most recent experience is at leading fashion houses like Yves St. Laurent, Lanvin and Nina Ricci, he spent seven years during the 1990s as a marketing executive at Apple Europe.
More: Apple has moved to trademark the iWatch name in more countries, AppleInsider notes. The company filed to trademark the iWatch name in Japan in early June. Now it is reported that Apple has filed similar applications in Mexico, Taiwan and Russia. Apple has long been rumored to be working on a smartwatch that would integrate with other Apple devices, including the iPhone. The company is said to have allocated a team of 100 engineers and designers to the project. Estimates of when the company will release the iWatch range from later this year to late 2014. Apple has not confirmed the existence of the iWatch, but rival technology firms, including Samsung, Google (GOOG) and even Foxconn have announced similar projects.
Legacy: Next month, eleven “Steve Jobs schools” will open across the Netherlands, Spiegel notes. Students at the schools will possess an iPad in place of physical notebooks and textbooks. The schools will not feature blackboards, formal classrooms or fixed school days. Students will select the courses they wish to take. The schools will teach students between the ages of four and twelve. About 1,000 students are expected to attend the schools when they open in August. The schools will operate from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. every weekday. Students must remain on the premises from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., but can otherwise come and go as they please. Students will learn from multimedia apps installed on their iPads. Parents and teachers will be able to monitor a students coursework and progress through the iPads. So far, Dutch politicians appear to support the new schools, though one far-right party is calling for more structured classrooms.
For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories.
