Apple

NTT DoCoMo hurt by iPhone wait, iPhone 5c too pricey for India’s prepaid market

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated February 9, 2016

Did Japan's largest carrier wait too long to offer the iPhone? That's the impression after NTT DoCoMo lost a record 66,800 net users in September, dropping its market share to 46 percent. By comparison, KDDI and SoftBank, which sold iPhones soon after its 2007 introduction, gained ground adding 270,700 and 237,700 users respectively.

DoCoMo blamed customer loss on inventory shortages and consumers who waited until Apple's iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c September 20 sale date. Hoping to regain some momentum, the nation's largest carrier announced opening online sales of the iPhone 5s to all customers. Meanwhile, in India things have gotten a little tricky for Apple's $100 cheaper colorful iPhone 5c...

New Galaxy Gear ads attempt to make the case for smartwatches

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 7, 2013

Samsung may have beaten Apple to the smartwatch punch, but poor reviews across the board have quickly dampened consumer enthusiasm for the $299 product. ArsTechnica, for example, noted the device "has sacrificed substance for the sake of timing". That's not stopping Samsung from advertising the Galaxy Gear as its next big thing, however.

Three Gear television commercials attempt to educate consumers on the benefits of using the product, with one particular ad seemingly drawing inspiration from Apple's iPhone teaser spot aired during the Oscars in 2007, have a look below...

Phil Schiller, Scott Forstall could testify in Samsung damages trial

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Since Apple announced his exodus last fall, we've seen and heard very little from Scott Forstall. Actually, we haven't seen him at all, and the only time we've heard his name mentioned has been in skeuomorphic jokes.

But that could change next month. According to a new report, Mr. Forstall could finally be forced out of hiding to appear as a witness alongside Phil Schiller in a partial damages retrial between Apple and Samsung...

Apple plans 100 stand-alone stores in India, including store-in-store locations in small cities

Ed Sutherland ∙ October 4, 2013

Apple has told India's top retailers it plans to open 100 locations in India during this fiscal year. The meeting Monday was held by Apple's top India executives who have tripled the iPhone maker's team targeting the burgeoning smartphone market.

The plans outlined include entering the top 50 markets in India, selling phones, tablets and other branded gear. The report, from the Economic Times, follows a news earlier this year that Apple wants to increase three-fold its number of India franchise stores to 200, up from 65...

iPhone 5s is top-seller in the US with iPhone 5c close behind

Ed Sutherland ∙ October 4, 2013

Apple's new iPhone 5s became the top-selling smartphone in the US during September. New numbers show the 5s and 5c were among the top three smartphones sold by all four major domestic carriers.

Helped along by record sales, the iPhone 5s also replaced Samsung's Galaxy S4 as the best-selling smartphone among AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile, according to Canaccord Genuity Friday...

Apple seeks sanctions against Samsung for sharing patent license terms

Cody Lee ∙ October 3, 2013

In a new twist to their ongoing legal battle over patents and other intellectual property, Apple has filed a new motion for sanctions against Samsung in a California court for sharing confidential information.

According to the filing, Apple is accusing the Korean tech giant of illegally disclosing sensitive details of its 2011 patent licensing agreement with Nokia in order to better negotiate licensing terms for itself...

It’s not just Samsung: everyone games benchmarks except Apple and Motorola

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 2, 2013

Nobody reviews hardware more exhaustively than chip gurus over at AnanadTech - for these guys, no detail is too small and nothing escapes their scrutiny. When the publication set out to review the Galaxy Note 3, it shamed Samsung by spotting some tweaked code which artificially inflates the device's scores on popular benchmarks by anywhere between twenty to fifty percent.

Not only did it provoke a reaction from Apple's marketing head honcho Phil Schiller, the discovery has prompted AnandTech to really scrutinize other device makers. Shockingly enough, turns out most Android OEMs pad their results by increasing CPU/GPU clock speed during benchmarking to make them look good.

So, who are the cheaters? Almost everyone, except Apple and Motorola. Samsung, HTC, Asus, LG and many others are all dirty and guilty of gaming the benchmarks.

If that's not the biggest wake-up call the benchmarking industry has ever seen, I don't know what is. I myself feel dirty even blogging about this, but the numbers don't lie and that's the sad state of things. Just who are the cheaters? Go past the break for the full disclosure...

TSMC could account for bulk of A8 production

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 30, 2013

The sometimes-reliable Taiwanese publication, DigiTimes, has been saying for years that Apple was shifting its chip manufacture away from Samsung and towards its rival, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

In its new report Monday, the trade publication now claims that TSMC will be responsible for the bulk of orders for Apple's next-generation processor, the A8 chip, with Samsung taking care of about one-third of orders...

Apple surpasses Coca-Cola to become world’s most valuable brand

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Apple has overtaken Coca-Cola as the new most valuable brand in the world, according to a new report from brand consulting firm Interbrand. The move puts an end to the beverage company's 13-year reign as #1.

The firm calculates that the Apple brand is worth in upwards of $100 billion. And it says that its 'ethos' played a big factor in why the iPad-maker was able to beat out other tech companies like Google and Samsung...

In response to copycat claims, Samsung posts history of gold phones

Cody Lee ∙ September 29, 2013

Last week, Samsung beefed up its marketing efforts for the Gold Edition of its Galaxy S4 smartphone. The handset technically launched back in late August, but the timing of its new advertising push spawned some negative PR.

The company's highlighting of the gold S4 a week after Apple unveiled its gold iPhone brought about 'copycat' accusations—something the tech giant has been found guilty of on several occasions. But Samsung says that's not the case...

Apple and fellow tech titans expand fight against patent trolls to EU

Ed Sutherland ∙ September 27, 2013

Apple and more than a dozen other titans of technology have written to European Union officials, expressing concern that a unified patent court system could encourage patent trolls to expand their lawsuits overseas.

New rules now being developed could create "significant opportunities for abuse" allowing patent owners to "extract substantial royalties," according to the letter obtained by the New York Times.

Starting in 2015 trolls could take infringement cases to non-member countries or nations without much experience, creating a European version of the Eastern District of Texas. Courts in that U.S. district are notorious for rulings favorable to companies suing tech firms, according to the letter...

Apple hasn’t lost its coolness, declare UK brand experts

Ed Sutherland ∙ September 27, 2013

Apple once again leads the list of brands viewed as cool in the UK. In its twelfth annual CoolBrands Top 20 survey suggesting an improving British economy, the iPhone ranks No. 1 among luxury brands such as Aston Martin, Rolex and Bang & Olufsen.

The California-based gadget maker was able to shrug off stiff competition from 10,000 independent brands to retain the top spot. Android's Google dropped to the fifth spot with YouTube and Twitter also falling position. Microsoft's Skype even dropped out of the top 20, according to the Coolbrands rankings...