Dixons chief Browett quits to join Apple January 31, 2012 Dixons chief executive John Browett has quit to join Apple. He will be responsible for Apple’s retail strategy and the continued expansion of the technology giant’s stores and will be based in California. Browett has been at the helm of Dixons Retail since 2007 and is in the middle of a turnaround plan for the [...]
Apple accounts for a quarter of smartphones shipped globally January 30, 2012 APPLE has regained its place at the top of the global smartphone shipments table with almost a quarter of the market share, booting Samsung to second place, according to Juniper Research. Of the 149m smartphones shipped in the fourth quarter, 37m were iPhones, while Samsung followed a few million handset shipments behind. Juniper puts Apple’s [...]
UK tech sector is positioned for a global challenge January 30, 2012 BY THE end of this year, the US technology company Apple could see its cash reserves outstrip those of the US government. While the UK hasn’t yet produced an equivalent, there are signs that technology might be the key sector in Britain’s future. Last year, the sector outperformed the broader equity markets, with investors being [...]
THE TIPSTER OMAHA’S ORACLE FEASTS AT THE BARGAIN BUFFET January 30, 2012 THE shares of Tesco plunged in mid-January after the retail giant announced an unexpected fall in Christmas sales. The sell-off took the price down through support at 350p and also broke the long-term up-trend. News that Warren Buffett increased his holding to 5 per cent from 3.2 per cent helped to lift the shares, but [...]
Scents for beating the chill January 30, 2012 Fortitude is needed when stepping into the chilly grey city day after day. Everyone has their own way of combating winter blues, from Krispy Kremes to extra exercise. For me, it’s scent. A waft of patchouli or a burst of deep red fruit has the power to wake me up and make me smile, for [...]
The Rib Room is okay… but that’s it January 30, 2012 The Carlton’s eatery turned 50 last year, celebrating with a refurb and new chef. But has it worked? Jumeirah Carlton Tower, SW1X 9PY FOOD ** SERVICE **** ATMOSPHERE *** Cost per person without wine: £65 Elderly restaurants can be a bit like grandparents – demanding of respect without doing very much to deserve it. They [...]
Record profits at Samsung on handset sales January 26, 2012 SAMSUNG, the world’s top technology firm by revenue, reported a record quarterly profit this morning, aided by its best-ever sales of smartphones, and hiked 2012 capital investment nine per cent to 25 trillion won (£8.9bn) to boost chips and flat-screen production. The South Korean firm reported a 5.3 trillion won operating profit for the last [...]
Nokia reports a loss January 26, 2012 DESPITE selling over one million Lumia handsets since mid-November, Nokia has struggled to scratch the surface of the Apple dominated smartphone market. Fourth quarter operating earnings at the Finnish telecoms group swung to a loss of €954m as Nokia’s $250m partnership with Microsoft failed to make waves. The Christmas quarter brought in €10bn from net [...]
2011: THE YEAR OF THE TABLET January 26, 2012 GLOBAL tablet shipments in 2011 soared to 66.9m units – over triple the previous year’s number – with Android increasingly encroaching on Apple’s market domination. Last year Android, used in Amazon and Samsung tablets among others, upped its share of the market by a third to 39 per cent, while Apple’s supremacy declined over ten percentage [...]
No consoling Nintendo on poor results January 26, 2012 A SET of bleak third quarter results from Nintendo, flanked by a drastic increase in expected losses for the year, could drive the final nail into the coffin of its game consoles. The Japanese company reported a nine-month net loss of 48.4bn yen (£400m) – compared to the 49.6bn yen profit collected by this point [...]