Apple

Apple Thinking of Acquiring Barnes & Noble?

BGR has reported that an unproven source has knowledge that Apple has had recent discussions of purchasing Barnes & Noble. This might seem odd at first, but it would be a good move. Apple would be able to use Barnes & Noble's expansive collection of eBooks for their iBooks store.

Apple is Number One Smartphone Manufacturer in US

A new report from Nielsen says that Apple is the number one smartphone vendor in the US, while Android remains the most popular mobile operating system. This research follows Apple's last earnings call, in which it was announced that 20 million iPhones were sold in the last business quarter.

Following Apple's dominance in the US is, surprisingly, Motorola. Samsung actually placed third, with both Motorola and Samsung owning a huge percentage of the Android market. Essentially, Apple moves more hardware while Android gets installed on more handsets.

Samsung Ups the Ante with the Galaxy S II

While Apple's smartphone line consists of only one model, the iPhone, Google's Android products are harder to keep track of. It seems like every week a new Android phone is launched by a different company with a catchy name and a set of "killer" specs.

With so many models touting top features, it's been difficult to name a front runner to match head to head with the iPhone— that is, until now. DroidMatters is reporting that Samsung's new Galaxy S II has reached the 5 million sales mark, and it hasn't even launched in the U.S. or China yet...

Purported iPhone 5 Case Leaked

Yesterday, we showed you some renderings of a purported iPhone 5 case, leaked by a Chinese accessory manufacturer. Today, we don't just have drawings- we have an actual product.

9to5Mac just published photos of what they believe to be an actual iPhone 5 case. The accessory matches previous reports that Apple's next smartphone will sport a thinner design, with a curved back and a larger display...

Apple Investigating Solar Cells For Future iDevices

Apple and one of its main smartphone competitors, Samsung, are looking into the idea of using solar power in future devices, according to the ever (un)reliable DigiTimes.

While it will probably be a long time before this becomes a reality, the technology would let solar cells become part of iPhones, iPads and other devices...

Apple Removes 3G iPod Touch Clue From Its Website, Slipup or Something More? [Updated]

This morning we told you about an interesting clue on Apple's website that hinted at a future iPod touch equipped with 3G data connectivity. An iPod touch with a 3G signal indicator in the status bar was displayed on Apple's own website, and we thought that it was maybe just an honest mistake by someone in Apple's web design department.

Apple apparently got word of this slipup, too, and they've just replaced the very same graphic with a Wi-Fi-only iPod touch!

With Stock Hitting the $400 Mark, Apple is Close to Becoming the Largest Corporation in the World

Apple's stock opened this morning at $400, and it is currently trading slightly over that mark, at roughly $403. Fueled by some incredible earnings for its 3rd financial quarter and the rumors of an iPhone 5 and iPad 3, Apple's stock value has never been this high.

With a current market capitalization (number of shares x value of share) of $373 billion, Apple is the second largest corporation in the world, right behind Exxon Mobile, whose market cap is currently at $416 billion...

Google Books is Booted From the App Store, Amazon Updates Kindle to Comply With Apple’s Terms [Updated]

Google Books is the first major app to be booted from the App Store for not complying with Apple's latest in-app purchases policy. Apple's new rules, which went into affect on June 30, state that no app can provide a link to purchasing additional content outside of Apple's ecosystem.

Unfortunately, Google decided not to remove the link to its own eBooks store from its app, and it is no longer available as a result.

Google's app first hit the App Store in December, and along with Amazon's Kindle, it's one of the major rivals to Apple's own iBookstore. However, whereas Amazon's Kindle and a number of other applications have been updated to comply with Apple's terms, Google has so far decided not to bother...

AT&T Staff Prepping for September iPhone 5 Launch

As we inch closer to August and then September, expect an influx of iPhone 5-related rumors. Not only is the gossip common for online tech blogs, but hoards of stock holders and consumers with eligible upgrades want to know when Apple's next smartphone will arrive.

Well, folks placing their bets on the new device dropping in September may want to double down. We've already heard today that Apple is readying themselves for a September launch, and now BGR has just confirmed the same thing with AT&T stores...

Apple Hiring Extra Employees This August for iPhone 5 Launch

Hot on the heels of reports that Apple Retail UK has been recruiting new staff for an unknown event in the next couple months, new claims have surfaced that Apple is undergoing a similar recruitment drive in the United States.

According to MacRumors, Apple has, in the past, turned to ex-employees to fill the gaps created by staff holidays, and it isn't unknown for them to be used during big product launches, too.  Now, one such ex-employee says they have been asked to do just that for what is believed to be the launch of the next iPhone...

Bluetooth 4.0 to Replace NFC in Next iPhone?

NFC has been a popular topic of discussion in the tech world over the last several months. Near Field Communications technology has already been introduced in several Android devices, and has been rumored to appear in the next iPhone.

While imbedding an NFC chip in Apple's next smartphone would help standardize the technology, ItProPortal thinks Apple has a different plan in mind for the iPhone. Have you ever heard of Bluetooth 4.0?

1 Billion Smartphone Sales a Year Expected by 2016

Smartphones are already growing to be more and more popular by the year, with marquee devices like Apple's iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy S proving popular with buyers across the globe.

With smartphone sales between the 298 million and 321 million marks, depending on who you listen to, it's fair to say that the industry is on the up already. But, according to new research, it is believed that smartphones could hit the magic 1 billion sales mark as soon as 2016.

That's a lot of phones....