Apple and HTC make peace in global smartphone patent war November 11, 2012 APPLE and Taiwanese rival HTC have settled a patent battle over mobile phone technology and announced a 10-year licensing agreement, putting an end to a global dispute that has dragged on for two years. The firms announced the deal in a surprise joint statement yesterday. They did not reveal details, except to say that the [...]
Samsung overtakes Apple as Galaxy S3 becomes a bestseller November 8, 2012 SAMSUNG’S Galaxy S3 overtook Apple’s iPhone 4S to become the world’s bestselling smartphone in the third quarter of the year, according to research firm Strategy Analytics. Samsung shipped 18m of its flagship model, compared to the iPhone 4S’s 16.2m. This was partly due to the fact that the latest version of Apple’s device, the iPhone [...]
US stocks fall further on fears over economy November 8, 2012 US stocks fell yesterday and could be in line for more weakness as worries about Washington’s ability to find a timely solution to the “fiscal cliff” dominate investor thinking in coming weeks. The S&P 500 dropped for a second day and closed below its 200-day moving average for the first time in five months. The [...]
Apple shares hit a five-month low as it loses Facetime battle November 7, 2012 SHARES in Apple slumped to a five-month low yesterday after it was ordered to pay $368m (£230m) over a US patent dispute over its Facetime video calling service. Although the fine, paid to Connecticut company VirnetX, is small compared to Apple’s $120bn cash pile, the ruling could affect future use of the technology in Apple’s [...]
Wall st plunges on fears over US economy November 7, 2012 THE Dow industrials lost more than 300 points in a sell-off yesterday that drove all major US stock indexes down over two per cent in the wake of the presidential election as the looming “fiscal cliff” debate and Europe’s economic troubles returned to the forefront. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index posted its biggest daily [...]
Small but perfectly formed: we put the iPad Mini through its paces November 7, 2012 Apple’s great skill lies in creating products you didn’t know you needed. Nobody thought they wanted a little metal box with all their music on it, but when it arrived, the world went all doe-eyed and declared its undying love. Tablets had been around for years and made no impact on the public consciousness. “Fingerprints,” [...]
How the 4th gen iPad measures up November 7, 2012 The surprise package in the Apple announcements last month was the news there would be an update to the 3rd generation iPad. Apple says it will continue to sell the iPad 2 (starting price £329) but will replace the “new iPad” (which is now the old iPad – this naming business is getting rather complicated…) [...]
So much for the election. Now America must regain its mojo November 6, 2012 AS ever, the actual voting was the easy bit. The truly epic task comes next: trying to mend the US economy. Contemporary America is a strange place: in some ways, it remains astonishingly successful; in others, remarkably weak. More than ever, the giant has feet of clay, a tragedy for those of us who love [...]
Brit chip giants Imagination and ARM buy American rival November 6, 2012 BRITAIN’S two biggest chip designers, ARM Holdings and Imagination Technologies, yesterday spent $410m (£256.5m) carving up US challenger MIPS. ARM is leading a consortium spending the lion’s share of the money – $350m – on buying a warchest of 580 patents from the Silicon Valley company. The remaining $60m has been spent by Imagination on [...]
Osborne pledges joint action over corporate tax avoidance November 5, 2012 GEORGE Osborne vowed to clamp down on corporate tax avoidance yesterday, calling for “concerted international co-operation to strengthen international standards for corporate tax regimes”. The chancellor’s statement, delivered in tandem with German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble at a G20 meeting in Mexico yesterday, came as officials from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) were grilled by [...]