Samsung

iPhone 5 helps Apple grab a quarter of the world’s LTE device market

In less than three months the iPhone 5 has been available, Apple has laid claim to more than 26 percent of the LTE device market.  While rival Samsung still is the LTE leader, its position fell by nearly 11 percent following the iPhone 5's September 21 launch, researchers say.

Smartphones from by Apple and Samsung are leading an explosion in LTE use. While 2011 ended with nine million 4G subscriptions, 2012 will exit with fifty million LTE users, according to Strategy Analytics. Asia appears to be a hotspot for LTE use, the research firm noted...

Rumor: iPhone 6 with NFC, stronger battery, super HD camera, 4.8-inch screen in June 2013

So, are you tired of the iPhone 5 already? Feeling the after-announcement blues, sort of like the after-Christmas let-down? Cheer up, Apple fans, the iPhone 5S (or the iPhone 6 or whatever Apple calls it) is coming next June or July. According to one Wall Street observer, the new iPhone will include a "super HD" camera and screen, stronger battery and NFC.

What's more, the iPhone 5S will arrive in a rainbow of colors, or at least 6-8 different colors, according to Jefferies analyst Peter Misek. Also on tap: the iPad 5 with an IGZO screen and more colors...

IDC: Samsung leads shipments, Apple rules smart device profits

Research firm IDC again crowned Samsung and Apple the leaders in smartphones and tablets. The two rivals are taking different paths to the top as the South Korean company leads in sheer numbers while the iPhone maker leads profit per device.

It recently said Samsung has 21 percent of the so-called smart connected device market comprised of a collection of PCs, tablets and smartphones, while Apple squeezed $34.1 billion out of its 15.1 percent market share during the third quarter of 2012...

Apple accelerating plans to make a jump to TSMC for mobile chips

Last time we heard, Apple was going to move its mobile chip production from Samsung's $14 billion Texas facility to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's largest dedicated independent semiconductor foundry, some time in 2014. But according to Taipei Times, the company could make the jump earlier than expected as it's now looking to tap TSMC's fabrication capability to make next-gen processors for iPhones and iPads as soon as the second quarter of 2013, using TSMC's 28-nanometer process...

Samsung teases ‘something new’ for CES 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWoAxkMmOLk

Samsung, the world's largest maker of both cellphones and smartphones by volume, is gearing up for CES 2013, which runs January 8-11 in Las Vegas. A successor to the Galaxy S III is expected to debut at the show and the South Korean firm has put together a nice teaser suggesting "something new is coming". There are some indications that Apple may be looking to unveil a seventh-generation iPhone during the first quarter of next year, but no credible evidence of a manufacturing ramp up has surfaced yet...

The iPhone 5 hits Samsung’s home turf

As promised, Apple on Friday rolled the iPhone 5 out in Samsung's home turf of South Korea, home to population of 50 million people. Today's launch will be augmented by the global roll-out to an additional 50 countries later in the month as Apple works on fulfilling its self-imposed schedule of having the device available in a hundred countries and across 240 carriers by year's end.

The Cupertino firm appears to have caught up with demand as the online Apple Store now quotes 2-4 business days for online deliveries. The previous two-per-customer limitation has also been lifted so people can now order as much iPhones as they wish...

Judge calls for ‘global peace’ between Apple and Samsung

Call it a Rodney King moment, or a holiday Hail Mary, but one California judge is asking long-time judicial combatants Apple and Samsung to play nice. Apparently, the idea went over like last year's fruitcake. Judge Lucy Koh Thursday made the plea as the two rivals met for an appeal hearing where the South Korean smartphone maker objected to its $1.05 billion patent-infringement fine and Apple argued the penalty should be increased...

The next Galaxy smartphone may come with a bendable display

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZkU-GEZ72s

Samsung is on track to launch its next flagship handset, the Galaxy S IV, in April 2013 and reportedly the device will come with a "breakthrough unbreakable screen", as Reuters put it in today's report. You'd be forgiven for dismissing this news nugget as a pipedream of sorts, but bear with me for a moment.

We've been hearing that Samsung's been looking to incorporate flexible display into next-generation smartphones and tablets for over a year now. Plus, the South Korean conglomerate certainly has demonstrated its willingness to explore uncharted territories. At CES 2011, Samsung's mobile displays arm showed off a cool 4.5-inch flexible AMOLED display prototype based on electro activity polymer, seen above...

Samsung publishes redacted version of Apple-HTC settlement

Both Apple and HTC have been very quiet about the details surrounding their surprise patent settlement they announced last month. We don't know who paid who what, or what patents were included in the 10-year cross-licensing agreement.

But thanks to Apple's dispute with Samsung, we've been given a glimpse inside the accord. Following a court ruling that said patents in the deal must remain unsealed, Samsung has submitted a redacted copy of the pact into public record...

Is Samsung now king of cool? Galaxy S III ad tops iPhone 5 promo

Another arena has opened for Apple and Samsung to compete for the crown of 'most cool': advertising. For some time, the iPhone maker has had the ad market sewn up, producing luscious videos of products while creating family-friendly spots so sweet they make your teeth hurt. However, it appears the South Korea-based Samsung is giving Apple a run for the money, its Galaxy S III spot being named the most popular tech ad in 2012.

Apple's promo video of the iPhone 5 starring Jony Ive & Co. didn't even break into the Top 5, the seven-minute ad reaching #6 with 18.4 million views on YouTube and elsewhere. The #1 Galaxy S III ad takes Apple to task as a brand past its prime, drew 71.8 million views...

Apple: our policy prohibits licensing inventions to competitors

Apple has an anti-licensing policy in place that strictly forbids licensing its inventions, sans standard-essential patents, to its competitors. That's the gist of court documents patent blogger Florian Müeller uncovered today. He notes the upcoming hearing concerning the Apple-HTC settlement could bring some more clarity about how Apple structures licensing deals and which exceptions and carve-outs it actually imposes.

US District Court Judge Lucy Koh ordered that the patents Apple and HTC are cross-licensing as part of their settlement are to remain unsealed, though the general public won't be able to have a peek at confidential material.

While Apple's previous briefs did deny that its prized iPhone patents are in fact broadly licensed, Apple struck a far-reaching cross-licensing agreement with Nokia before and, as of recently, with HTC. And the plot thickens...

Judge says patents involved in Apple-HTC deal must remain unsealed

In a ruling late last night, US District Court Judge Lucy Koh ordered that the patents Apple and HTC are cross-licensing as part of their settlement are to remain unsealed, suggesting that the public will eventually get a look at this information.

The order comes two weeks after US Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal granted Samsung's motion to compel, forcing Apple to disclose the terms of its deal with HTC to its legal team. But now it looks like we'll all get a peek inside the pact...