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Xinhua reports on comments from a Proview lawyer claiming that Apple has for the first time put forth a settlement offer in the dispute over the “iPad” trademark in China. The offer came as part of settlement talks suggested by the court overseeing the case.

“We feel that the attitude of Apple Inc. has changed. Although they expressed that they were willing to negotiate, they have never taken any action before. But now, they are having conversations with us, and we have begun to consult on the case,” said [Proview attorney] Xie Xianghui in an interview with Xinhua on Sunday. [...]

Xie said the two sides have discussed a compensation package, and Apple Inc. has tabled an amount it thinks appropriate. But the Proview side has not agreed on a deal, and Xie would not disclose the amount of money offered by Apple Inc..

A settlement offer from Apple does not necessarily mean that the case is nearing a resolution, as Bloomberg notes that a “big gap” remains between Proview and Apple in their expectations of a settlement figure.

“The Guangdong Higher People’s court is trying to mediate this, and both parties are trying to negotiate and come to a settlement,” Xie said. “Right now, there is still a big gap between the two sides on the settlement amount.”

Apple contends that it purchased the Chinese rights to the iPad trademark from Proview’s Taiwanese arm in a December 2009 deal encompassing rights in a number of countries and carrying a $55,000 purchase price. But Proview has argued that the Chinese rights were controlled by its Chinese arm and that the Taiwanese unit had no ability to sell them to Apple, despite the fact that corporate officers common to both units were involved in the deal.

Reports on Proview’s damage claims have varied, but sources have indicated that the company has been seeking as much as $2 billion in compensation from Apple to turn over the iPad trademark in China.

Digitimes reports that Apple is planning to launch a cheaper MacBook Air in the third quarter of this year, dropping the entry-level price to $799 from the current $999. The move is reportedly being made to take on Intel’s “Ultrabook” initiative that is pushing low-cost, ultra-thin notebook PCs.

Although Acer has recently reduced its ultrabook shipment target, Intel continues to aggressively push ultrabooks and is aiming to have the devices priced at US$699 in the second half of the year. However, if Intel is unable to bring down ASPs to its goal, the price gap between ultrabooks and the US$799 MacBook Air may further postpone the time ultrabooks become standardized, the sources noted.

Ultrabook manufacturers have so far struggled to match or beat Apple’s MacBook Air pricing, leading to weak shipments. But Intel remains committed to the initiative, and is working with manufacturers to continue to bring prices down.

It is unclear just how Apple would achieve a $200 price cut on the MacBook Air, given the company’s focus on maintaining high profit margins. Certainly pricing on the solid-state drives used in the MacBook Air will continue to fall, but Apple likely has only limited flexibility to bring down pricing. And given the strong performance of the MacBook Air as Ultrabooks continue to struggle, it is not immediately obvious whether Apple would even see a need to lower pricing on its models.

Digitimes has a spotty track record with regard to Apple rumors, although it has on occasion offered accurate insight based on sources in Apple’s supply chain. The publication’s recent claims regarding Apple’s notebook plans including a report of production being underway on slimmer 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro models, as well as a suggestion that Apple is considering a 14-inch MacBook Air for Asian markets.