For the sixth year in a row, Apple was named the most-admired company in the world. In spite of a stock free fall and the Apple Maps gaffe, the iPhone maker topped rivals Google and Amazon, Fortune announced Thursday.
Described as a "financial juggernaut" which became the most profitable company on the globe, Apple was named the over-all most admired firm while also topping the list as the most admired technology firm of 2013...
The world of smartphones can essentially be divided into two camps: iPhone and Android. Sure there are some BlackBerry and Windows Phone users out there, but Apple and Google handsets make up most of the market.
And as in any situation where there are two dominant players, each platform has their own army of loyal fans. And I'm sure both sides have plenty to say about Samsung's Galaxy S III being named the Best Smartphone of 2012...
Remember a UK judge who took at face value the ruling that Galaxy devices didn't infringe any of Apple's patents because Samsung's tablets "are not as cool" as the iPad? The one who recently chastised Apple for lack of integrity and opined for the appeals court it should be ordered to apologize in newspaper ads for asserting Samsung's tablets had copied the iPad? Yeah, that guy.
A well-known patent blogger revealed Thursday that same judge is now receiving paychecks from Samsung as a legal expert through a law firm which represents Samsung Electronics in its case against Ericsson. Conflict of interest, much?
If you thought Apple had already been through a rough period, just wait. That's the message from one Wall Street analyst who predicts the iPhone maker is "facing a very rough two-year period."
Although Apple's chief executive Tim Cook spent Wednesday defending his company's horde of cash, those concerns could evaporate as Apple spends billions to prop up slowing iPhone sales and works to improve demand in emerging markets.
Apple could see capital expenditures double, according to Jeffries' analyst Peter Misek, forecasting billions in payments for supplier upgrades, emerging-market payment plans and expensive technology updates all while iPhone sales plunge...
Samsung has lost its patent lawsuit over Apple's iPhone and iPad in Japan as a Tokyo court ruled Thursday in favor of Apple. Needless to say, Samsung said it was disappointed by the court's decision and promised to conduct a thorough review of the ruling and "take the measures necessary to protect our intellectual property rights", Reuters reported this morning.
The Tokyo District Court said Samsung hadn’t negotiated “sincerely” with Apple over patents, also ruling the Galaxy maker now cannot seek damages from Apple...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXSQicmVOtg
Samsung on Wednesday unveiled its own mobile payment solution called Samsung Wallet that looks quite a lot like Apple's Passbook app which is part of iOS 6. Just like Apple's Passbook, Samsung's Wallet too lets you manage your coupons, boarding passes, various tickets and loyalty cards all in a single app and redeem these at a point of sale by showing the digital barcode to a clerk.
Again, just like Passbook, Samsung's solution supports real-time notifications when, for example, event details change or your flight gets rescheduled. Even the Samsung app's icon resembles the look and feel of the Passbook icon...
Remember the days when corporate IT departments looked at the iPhone as some kookie West Coast toy bound to mess up their networks? You know, when RIM - that is, BlackBerry - had a lock on big biz. Those days are definitely gone. Today, more than three out of four mobile phones in enterprises bear the Apple logo.
What's more, Android's presence in business has fallen to the point where Microsoft is nibbling at its heels. During the fourth quarter of 2012, Apple's corporate presence rose to 77 percent of mobile device, up from 71 percent during the same period in 2011, according to Good Technology. Even better for Apple executives, the iPhone and iPad took five of the top five mobile devices in businesses...
The South Korean conglomerate Samsung has confirmed that a major media event will take place on March 14 in New York, about two weeks after the currently-running 2013 Mobile World Congress wraps up in Barcelona, Spain. The company confirmed to Reuters that the press conference is a launchpad for a Galaxy S III successor, the Galaxy S IV.
Samsung Monday morning sent out invites to select members of the press to "come and meet" the next Galaxy at the March 14 Unpacked event. The somewhat reliable Jefferies analyst Peter Misek estimates Samsung's enormous build plan calls for a hundred million Galaxy S IV shipments from a March-April launch until the end of the year...
As you've probably noticed by now, we're huge fans of the Apple TV here at iDB. Apple's set-top box is inexpensive, easy-to-use, and it integrates perfectly with our iOS devices. Plus, older versions of it can be jailbroken.
The device has been doing remarkably well for Apple, despite the fact that it has several competitors. But we'll see if that hot streak can continue now that Samsung's throwing its hat in the ring with its new HomeSync...
After describing India as having less potential than China, Apple is increasing efforts to compete in the world's second-largest cellphone market. The iPhone maker is now hoping installment payments, coupled with increased marketing can turn single-digit market penetration into a weapon against low-cost Androids.
In full-page ads in the Times of India, Apple calls its unsubsidized $840 iPhone 5 "your dream phone" available for a $93 first payment. Why the big push? The nation's smartphone market is expected to grow five-fold by 2016, setting the stage for the next battle between Apple and Google's free mobile software...
Oh, what a difference a month makes. That could be the message from new research giving Android the lead in U.S. smartphone sales during the three-month period ending in January 2012.
Apple's iOS had held the U.S. smartphones sales lead up through December. The new data gives Android 49.9 percent of domestic smartphone sales, with iOS taking second place with 45.9 percent.
The new standings means Google's mobile software added 6.4 percent of U.S. sales, compared to a year ago. Meanwhile, the lock on U.S. smartphone sales fell 4.7 percent from the same period in 2011. The flip-flop on the No. 1 and No. 2 spots was linked to a Sprint price cut for Samsung's Galaxy S3 during the final three months of 2012...
Talk of an Apple phablet dates back to March 2012 when a pretty credible Japanese blog mentioned an unreleased iOS device with a five-inch 1,600-by-960 Retina screen which may or may not be the 4.8-inch iPhone 6 some analysts see coming in 2014.
The phablet, I'm sure you know, was popularized against all odds by Samsung of South Korea, its jumbo-sized Galaxy Note devices selling millions of units (ten million as of August 2012).
Just yesterday, the company released its latest iPad mini contender, the eight-inch Galaxy Note. In addition to the S-Pen, an IR blaster and a quad core processor, Samsung's baby outsmarts the iPad mini with its ability to make phone calls over cellular networks. The question is, would you dare use such a giant 'cell phone' - and I'm using the term loosely - in public?