Silicon valley is being flooded through by a torrent of cash December 20, 2010 CALIFORNIA itself may be on the brink of bankruptcy, but its most famous Silicon Valley firms very much are not. By one estimate, the top 15 most capitalised technology firms have $316bn (£203.6bn) of cash and short term investments racked up. Apple, now the world’s second largest company by market capitalisation, has about $50bn in [...]
AT&T to pay Qualcomm $1.9bn in deal December 20, 2010 AT&T plans to buy wireless spectrum from Qualcomm for $1.93bn (£1.24bn) and boost its 4G network, aiming to counter criticism over iPhone service quality and a threat from rivals like Verizon Wireless. AT&T is the sole US carrier for Apple’s iPhone, but smaller rivals like Sprint Nextel and Clearwire have been adopting 4G, a new [...]
Google delays its TV sets December 20, 2010 GOOGLE has asked manufacturers to delay the launch of TV sets based on the internet company’s software. Google sent out word to some hardware makers last week asking them not to announce additional products yet, saying the delay may allow the company to improve its software. However, Samsung Electronics will go ahead with its launch [...]
BlackBerry sales rocket December 16, 2010 BLACKBERRY owner Research In Motion has beaten off concerns over the smartphone market to deliver record third-quarter results. Revenue rose 40 per cent on the previous year and 18 per cent over the quarter to $5.49bn (£3.52bn), above forecasts of $5.4bn, as customers flocked to its new touch-screen Torch model. Net income rose 45 per [...]
Five more charged in American insider information probe December 16, 2010 THE US probe into insider trading widened yesterday with the arrests of three technology company managers and a salesman on charges of leaking secrets about companies including Apple to hedge funds. A fifth person, a former Dell employee, pleaded guilty to charges of providing inside information about the company on 10 December. The executives charged [...]
Nokia opens new front in Apple battle December 16, 2010 NOKIA stepped up its patent war with Apple yesterday, filing 13 new complaints with authorities in Germany and Holland. Nokia claims the iPhone maker infringed its patents in its blockbuster mobile handset. The escalating battle between the two started more than a year ago when Nokia filed its first case in the US. Nokia’s new [...]
eBay snaps up Critical Path December 15, 2010 Web commerce company eBay said yesterday it acquired Critical Path Software, a mobile software application developer, as the company further embraces selling via mobile. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. US firm Critical Path Software has worked with eBay for over two years, most importantly developing its app for Apple’s iPhone, which eBay says [...]
Wall Street drops three days in a row December 15, 2010 US stocks suffered a third straight late-day sell-off yesterday suggesting it may be difficult to chalk further gains as the year comes to a close. After hitting two-year highs this week, a sustained rise in Treasury yields has sparked worry that rising borrowing costs could stifle the recovery. Banks, heavily dependent on loan demand, faded [...]
Imagination Technologies to snap up 3D company Caustic December 14, 2010 IMAGINATION Technologies, the British firm behind video chips in Apple’s iPhone, will acquire 3D graphics group Caustic for £17m. Imagination chief executive Hossein Yassaie said: “We have a proven track record of disrupting markets by bringing new and high-end technologies to consumer and embedded products. “The acquisition will enable us to accelerate our plans to [...]
App sales to hit $35bn December 14, 2010 APP sales are set to rocket to $35bn (£22.2bn) a year by 2014, according to new research by IDC. A staggering 10.9bn apps for devices including smartphones and tablets such as Apple’s iPad will be downloaded this year alone, with the number rising to 76.9bn annually in 2014 – a growth rate of around 60 [...]