Before the iPhone came along, the US smartphone market was dominated by a couple of major players. RIM, Palm, and the few third-party manufacturers that made Windows Mobile handsets ran the show.
But everything has changed over the last few years. Not only has Apple entered the market and overtaken the aforementioned companies, but so have handset-makers sporting Google's popular Android OS. So, who's the top dog in the US now?
Apple released a number of updates for its iOS products this week. It seeded the second beta for iOS 5.1 to developers, Apple TV 4.4.4, and a small iPhone 4S update.
The latter release was strange because it wasn't available to everyone (just those on iOS 5.0 or lower), and the version number didn't change. So, what was it for?
What's better than 30 million? How about 190 million. Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty has predicted that Apple is set to shatter its previous sales records in 2012, with 200 million iPhones expected to fly off the shelves.
Oddly, more consumers are expected to buy iPhones in the first quarter of next year rather than this holiday 2011 quarter. Demand for the iPad isn't weakening, either.
Just as was predicted earlier this month, Apple rolled out its latest handset to several new countries today. Even though the company didn't make an official announcement in advance, its website now reflects the additional regions.
The iPhone 4S launched here in the states back in October, along with a handful of other countries. Since then, Apple has been speedily rolling out the popular device to new areas on a month by month basis. So who got it today?
Steve Jobs' biographer Walter Isaacson is considering adding more content to his already-released book on Apple's late co-founder and former CEO.
The book originally went on sale not long after the iconic Jobs' death, but with so many questions left unanswered and some pundits suggesting that the book misses important events from the man's life, Isaacson has admitted that he may well need to add more content to his already-lengthy book.
In fact, during an interview with Fortune, Isaacson went so far as to call the best-seller a "first draft," which we are sure will no doubt not please everyone who spent their hard-earned money on it.
Some interesting news today if you like chips (and who doesn't?), especially those that go into the beating hearts of our iPads and iPhones. Samsung's Texan facility has historically been the source of NAND flash memory, but according to a new report by Reuters, it is also now responsible for the A5 chip used by Apple.
The A5 chip is what powers Apple's iPhone 4S and iPad 2, and bringing production of the part to the United States hasn't been cheap for Samsung.
It's not even January and we are already hearing iPad rumors on an almost-daily basis. Yesterday we told you about the purported "leaked" iPad 3 microphone component that recently surfaced on the web.
While admittedly "leaked" parts are rarely anything to get excited about, the gossip we have for you today is quite interesting. Apparently, the word on the street in China is that Apple is looking to get into the 8-inch tablet game sometime next year...
It appears that Apple is continuing its international rollout of iTunes Match today. Last night we told you that the music matching service's US-only restriction had been lifted, as users in other countries started reporting access to the feature.
However, a lot of folks have been complaining of issues with signing up for the service, leading some to believe that the iTunes Match launch was premature. But problems or not, the rollout continues with other countries now noting availability.
There's still 10 days left until Christmas, but Samsung has already gotten its holiday wish. Earlier this month, an Australian judge overturned an injunction that has kept the company from selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the country.
The ban has been in place since August of this year, and was a major win for Apple in its ongoing patent battle with the Korean manufacturer. The two companies have been in and out of courtrooms around the globe since April...
Apple has been on a roll this week with software updates, seeding iOS 5.1 beta 2 to developers and iTunes 10.5.2 to the masses. Now the company has just released two more software updates for iOS devices.
The first is for the Apple TV 2, bringing the device to iOS 4.4.4. The update appears to just contain minor improvements, as no new features have been discovered yet. And the second is for the iPhone 4S.
Another country is going to be getting its teeth into the iPhone 4S soon, with the news that Vietnamese carriers will begin offering the newest Apple smartphone as soon as tomorrow, Friday 15th of December.
The move comes as Thanh Nien News confirmed that both VinaPhone and Viettel will be offering the iPhone 4S to its customers starting tomorrow, with both locked and unlocked flavors available.
What is a little less clear is the pricing structure for the handsets, with the unsubsidized prices looking decidedly strange, to say the least.
Viral videos have become a popular form of online advertising over the last few years. A company can potentially reach a large audience for minimal production costs if YouTube aficionados deem their videos interesting enough to spread the word.
And since no other company does advertising like Apple, it's no surprise that the iPhone-makers have found themselves on a list of the most viral tech videos of 2011. The year's most popular handset stars in one of the year's most popular tech clips.