Money

Android apps revenue now growing quicker than iOS apps revenue

Oliver Haslam ∙ November 30, 2012

Owners of iPhones and iPads have historically pointed to the App Store's plethora of quality produce as the reason for the platform's dominance. It's always been the reason many have chosen iOS devices over those powered by Android, but things may be beginning to shift in a whole new direction.

While app developers have always suggested that getting Android users to buy apps is an exercise in futility, a new report claims that things are changing, with Android developers now finding a much improved landscape, as revenue from Android devices grows quicker than that of the App Store.

And not just by a little bit, either...

CEO says HTC is happy with Apple settlement, but denies details

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

On Saturday, November 10, Apple and HTC announced that they had reached an unprecedented settlement that would effectively end their nearly 3 year-long patent war. The deal also included a 10-year cross-licensing agreement.

Other than that though, details surrounding the treaty have been fairly scarce. Analysts have opined that HTC agreed to pay Apple between $6-$8 per Android handset sold. But according to the company's CEO, that's not the case...

Judge approves Google’s $22.5M Safari tracking fine

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

It looks like Google may have to start writing out that $22.5 million check soon, to cover the fine it agreed to pay in order to settle the FTC claim that it illegally bypassed user privacy settings in Safari.

US District Judge Susan Illston approved the fine in a San Francisco federal court late Friday, which will go down as the largest penalty ever levied against a company by the Federal Trade Commission...

Why did Apple’s recently-minted hardware boss cash in $11M in stock?

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 12, 2017

Dan Riccio, Apple's recently promoted Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, sold 20,726 shares of stock in the last two days. The transaction netted him a cool $10.7 million, with a thousand shares worth approximately half a million going to an unnamed charity. That another SVP of Apple is unloading shares (though he didn't touch his stock options) doesn't mean he's potentially being fired, as some critics have jokingly speculated...

Never lose your wallet again with Wallet TrackR

Cody Lee ∙ November 13, 2012

Losing your wallet can be a pretty taxing event. In addition to the cash and other valuables you lose, you're forced to call and cancel your credit cards, and have to replace your drivers license, insurance cards and other items.

But what if there was a way you could be sure that you wouldn't ever lose your wallet again? That's the dream that the folks over at Phone Halo are selling with its new app-connected Bluetooth card known as Wallet TrackR...

Apple ordered to pay Samsung’s legal fees in failed UK patent suit

Cody Lee ∙ November 11, 2012

Apple's legal team has had a rough go of it in the UK over the past few weeks. After losing a patent suit against Samsung, and then the ensuing appeal, the company was forced to write a public apology on its UK website.

Of course, Apple complied and posted the apology, but the judge wasn't impressed with its snarky tone. So in addition to asking the iPad-makers to correct it, he's also ordered them to pay Samsung's legal fees...

Apple ordered to pay $368 million in FaceTime patent case

Cody Lee ∙ November 7, 2012

VirnetX Holding Corporation is a patent holding firm that has a pretty impressive portfolio of IP (Intellectual Property) related to wireless networking and LTE technology. And as you'd expect, it's not afraid to use it.

The company is currently entangled in legal battles with the likes of Cisco and Siemens, and it actually took more than $100 million from Microsoft in court. And according to a new report, it just took Apple for 3x that...

Apple rumored to be investing in Sharp

Cody Lee ∙ November 5, 2012

Sharp, who makes TVs, displays and other electronics, is in serious trouble right now. The company is bleeding money, its stock price is plummeting and it says that it's not sure that it can continue to operate.

In fact, the dyer situation has Foxconn worried enough that it's thinking about pulling out of its deal to buy an 11% stake in the company. But according to a new report, Apple may be looking to help out...

Apple dodges its taxes outside the United States

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated March 29, 2017

The subject of large companies paying their taxes is something of a hot button topic in the UK right now, which is why the likes of Starbucks have already found themselves thrown to the wolves over their accounting practices. Today, the latest multinational firm to be on the rack is Apple, with the news that it paid just 2% tax on its profits outside the US last year, leaving international taxmen considerably out of pocket.

Paperwork filed in the United States shows that Apple paid around 2% tax on its pre-tax earnings of $36.8B outside the US. That's down on the 2.5% paid the year before.

Oddly though, it's all perfectly legal...

Teardown finds iPad mini cost at least $188 to build

Cody Lee ∙ November 4, 2012

The iPad mini went on sale around the world on Friday, and though the official numbers aren't in yet, it appears to be selling rather well. This in spite of its lack of a Retina display, and its higher-than-average price tag.

In fact, Apple's had to defend the mini's pricing a couple of times now, claiming that its profit margins on the device are lower than on any of its other products. And according to a new teardown, that seems to be the case...

Apple increases app prices in some European App Stores

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

Bad news for iTunes users in Europe this afternoon. Several reports are coming in that Apple has upped the pricing on App Store apps, with base prices increasing from €0.79 to €0.89 in several markets on the continent. The change has been confirmed in Italy, Germany, France and several other European countries...