Ex-Dixons boss leaves Apple after six months October 29, 2012 FORMER Dixons boss John Browett is leaving Apple after just six months, the technology giant announced yesterday. The departure of the UK retailer, who was hired to drive the global expansion of its stores, was announced alongside that of Scott Forstall, who oversaw Maps. Browett, who will leave immediately, only joined from Dixons in April [...]
No automatic happy ending for publishers that merge October 29, 2012 IT IS hard not to wince at the self-delusion of yesterday’s press release from Pearson and Bertelsmann. Describing the firms’ agreement to merge Penguin and Random House, Pearson’s outgoing chief executive Marjorie Scardino says: “Together the two publishers will be able to… be more adventurous in trying new models in this exciting, fast-moving world of [...]
Google and Microsoft unveil Nexus and Windows Phone 8 October 29, 2012 GOOGLE and Microsoft both unveiled challengers to the iPhone yesterday ahead of the crucial Christmas shopping period. Although Google’s proposed New York launch event was blown off course by Hurricane Sandy, it still announced a new smartphone and 10-inch tablet to its Nexus range yesterday, adding to the seven-inch device it unveiled earlier in the [...]
Merger talks for historic publishers October 25, 2012 PEARSON revealed yesterday it is in talks with German media powerhouse Bertelsmann to merge its book publishing arm Penguin with Bertelsmann’s Random House. A deal would see a combined company worth around £2bn, with Pearson likely to own a minority share. The merger would also create a company with greater clout when negotiating with technology [...]
Apple sales hit wall ahead of new launches October 25, 2012 HYPE surrounding Apple’s latest products meant the company recorded a fall in sales of the iPad and fairly flat iPhone retail figures in the three months to October. In a period that counted just two weeks of iPhone 5 sales and led up to this week’s launch of the iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad, Apple [...]
Microsoft pins its hopes on Windows 8 October 25, 2012 MICROSOFT last night took the wraps off Windows 8, the most radical redesign in the operating system’s history, in a bid to reignite consumer interest in the company ahead of today’s launch. Steve Ballmer, the technology giant’s chief executive, also showed off the Surface, Microsoft’s first tablet computer, at yesterday’s event in New York. “We [...]
Wall St treads water on weak earning reports October 25, 2012 US stocks eked out small gains yesterday in another uninspiring session on Wall Street, with worries about weak business spending keeping investors wary. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 26.34 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 13,103.68 at the close. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 4.22 points, or 0.30 per cent, to finish [...]
EE gains 250,000 more contract customers ahead of 4G launch October 24, 2012 RISING numbers of people signing up to expensive long-term smartphone contracts have boosted EE, the owner of Orange and T-Mobile, ahead of its launch of the UK’s first high-speed “4G” mobile network. The company said 250,000 extra people had signed up to phone contracts in the July to September period, while it lost just under [...]
US corporate results round-up October 24, 2012 AT&T revenue disappoints AT&T posted third-quarter revenue below Wall Street estimates yesterday and added fewer customers than expected, citing a shortage of the latest Apple iPhone. While profit was better than estimated, analysts were disappointed with slowing customer growth, which showed it was rapidly losing ground to rival Verizon Wireless. AT&T’s profit rose to $3.64bn [...]
Apple has a little something for you October 24, 2012 Great things come in small packages As the name would suggest, the mini is small. How small? Try 7.9-inches. It’s 1.3-inches smaller than its older sibling and while it’s still larger its competitors, the bigger size allows for 67 per cent more screen usage compared to the Google Nexus 7 when browsing the web in [...]