Ed Sutherland

Apple prevails in UK’s Samsung 3G suit

Apple scored another legal victory against rival Samsung. In a UK court, a judge Wednesday ruled that the iPhone maker does not infringe patents held by the South Korean-based Android smartphone manufacturer. The court's decision marks more than two-dozen failed attempts by Samsung to claim it is owed royalties on standard-essential patents.

The company had alleged Apple did not pay royalties to use its 3G wireless technology patents in the iPhone...

Apple exploring ways of letting users loan and resell “used” iTunes purchases

In a world of digital media, ranging from e-books to movies and music, consumers have often questioned the difficulty of loaning or selling their originally purchased items. In an exciting development, Apple has now developed a way to transfer digital content while also protecting the rights of the publisher.

In three patent applications filed in 2011 and 2012, Apple outlines a method similar to selling a house by transferring ownership of the front door keys, only for iTunes purchases. Driven by digital rights management (DRM), the process gives owners of apps, e-books, music and other digital items rights to loan and resell "used" items to other people...

T-Mobile to AT&T: if our network sucks, why did you try to buy us?

Everyone loves a good fight, especially in the highly-contentious mobile carrier arena. Not to disappoint, spunky T-Mobile is expected to wallop one-time suitor AT&T in a series of upcoming newspaper ads.

The ads feature the corner of AT&T's recent 'Truth about T-Mobile' advertisements, asking readers whether the rival carrier may be getting nervous. In another, a snarky T-Mobile asks if their network performance is so bad, why did AT&T try to acquire the smaller network in 2011...

Apple asks judge to dismiss iPhone monopoly lawsuit

Is Apple operating a monopoly? That's the question before an Oakland, California judge. Tuesday, the iPhone and iPad maker urged the court to dismiss a lawsuit filed in 2011, alleging the company runs a monopoly by offering apps for the smartphone only on the App Store. Apple underscores it doesn't set prices for third-party software and argues charging developers 30 percent to distribute items for iPhones, iPods and iPads on its App Store does not violate antitrust laws...

Apple researching squeezable iPhones

Consumers are used to poking and swiping to interact with touch screen devices, such as Apple's iPhone and iPad. But a new patent could turn your entire future iDevice into a control surface - even for small gadgets such as the much-rumored iWatch.

Apple was granted a patent Tuesday on squeezable technology of sorts that might enable iPhone use while wearing gloves, permit screen bezels to shrink and theoretically enable the company to sell devices with much smaller screens...

Tablets may consume one-third of mobile traffic in 2013

The tablet is taking an increasingly larger bite out of smartphones' share of mobile content. Devices such as the iPad consumed a respectable eighteen percent of mobile traffic in 2012. By the end of this year, tablets are expected to hit nearly one-third of all mobile device traffic, cutting into the dominant position now held by iPhones and similar smartphones.

According to mobile ad network Jumptap, tablets will consume 29 percent of mobile traffic this year, lowering the percentage of content delivered to smartphones to 70 percent, a drop from 2012's 78 percent...

AAPL dips below $400B, Buffett tells Cook to ignore cash complaints, buy back stock

You can't get a better financial advisor than Warren Buffett. The so-called 'Oracle of Omaha' Monday weighed in on what Apple should do, faced with low stock prices and one investor's call to use the iPhone maker's billions in cash. Although Buffett's appearance Monday morning on CNBC lasted three hours, the short version is this:

Apple CEO Tim Cook should buy his company's stock while cheap. It's uncertain whether the financial whiz will have any luck, seeing Cook's predecessor Steve Jobs supposedly ignored similar advice. Coincidentally or not, Apple’s market capitalization dropped below $400 billion in early trading Monday, the first such drop since January 2012...

Bloomberg: iWatch will run iOS, is due by Christmas

A few months ago, you couldn't move without encountering yet another Apple television rumor. But if you are interested in profit - and what company isn't - the execs in Cupertino should cancel any HD TV and focus on wristwatches. Turns out, the wristwatch business could be way more profitable than Apple-made TVs.

Rival firms lust after Apple's huge profit margins. In a potential stroke of good timing, massive margins from the much-rumored iWatch could replace the iPhone - even slacking PC sales, one Wall Street analyst forecasts Monday...

ABI: Android is the smartphone app winner, but Apple will rule tablets

In the never-ending quest to handicap the iOS vs Android horse race comes a new flash analysis for 2013 forecasting Android will dominate smartphone apps, while Apple remains the clear leader with tablets. According to ABI Research, Google's mobile operating system will control 58 percent of smartphone app downloads.

On the other hand, just 33 percent of apps will be for Apple's iOS. But with only two months into year, the research firm's findings are being questioned...

This year, smartphones should outship feature phones for the first time

It has already happened in the United States and now comes word 2013 will mark the date when smartphones outsell simpler so-called feature phones globally. More than 918 million smartphones such as Apple's iPhone will ship this year, for the first time outnumbering feature phones.

According to research firm IDC, a nice 50.1 percent of mobile phones shipped this year will be smartphones, most destined for China. However, that small lead should widen greatly by 2017 as more emerging nations increase adoption of the powerful mobile devices...

FCC questions ban on unlocking cell phones

The federal government is expressing concern about the recent criminalization of unlocking cell phones. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said Thursday his office will look at the subject to see if and what the agency can do. Earlier this year, an exemption in a digital copyright law expired, prompting outrage from some mobile phone owners.

The head of the FCC said he is "concerned" that a return to the ban on unlocked cell phones could stifle competition or limit innovation. As Cody reported last month, a White House petition calling for again allowing unlocking drew more than 100,000 signatures...

iPad mini sales overtaking full-size iPad faster than Apple envisioned

Yesterday came more evidence that the 7.9-inch iPad mini is outselling Apple's larger tablet. The findings show increasing sales of the iPad mini amid declining demand for the 9.7-inch iPad. Between December and January, shipments of 9.7-inch panels (such as the iPad) fell from 7.4 million to 1.3 million units. In contrast, shipments of 7.9-inch display panels rose to more than five million units, according to the findings by hardware research firm NPD DisplaySearch that echo recent supply chain chatter.

The changing levels of demand suggests consumers prefer the smaller footprint of smaller tablets. However, this faster adoption of the iPad mini over its big brother is causing analysts to revise expectations for 2013 tablet sales...