Panasonic and Sony struck by Fitch downgrade to junk status November 22, 2012 RATINGS agency Fitch downgraded the debt ratings of technology giants Sony and Panasonic to “junk” status, yesterday, citing weakness in their consumer electronics and TV operations and further diminishing the lustre of the once-great Japanese brands. The cut to below investment grade, the first by a ratings firm, comes as the floundering companies face weak [...]
Judge orders details of Apple’s HTC agreement to be revealed November 22, 2012 APPLE will have to disclose details of a peace treaty with HTC to its arch-rival Samsung, a US judge has ruled. In the latest development in the ongoing patent wars between the world’s two most successful smartphone makers, the Korean company’s lawyers will have special access to an agreement between Apple and HTC signed earlier [...]
ITC to review Samsung v Apple November 20, 2012 Samsung was handed a boost in its ongoing patent dispute with Apple yesterday when the US International Trade Commission (ITC) said it would review a judge’s decision earlier in the year that Apple did not copy Samsung technology in its products. The ITC has the power to ban sales of products if they are found [...]
Waiting for a special delivery to bring home the goods November 11, 2012 THE Royal Mail’s privatisation has been lost in the post for too long to get your hopes up right now. But if Royal Mail delivers first class half-year results tomorrow, it will pave the way for an initial public offering (IPO) next year. The state postal giant, which employs 159,000 people in the UK, has [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
iPad mini sales break records as Apple’s competition heightens November 5, 2012 APPLE sold 3m iPads in the first three days that the new iPad mini and fourth-generation model went on sale, the technology giant revealed yesterday. This figure was double the sales of the previous iPad launch in March, and chief executive Tim Cook said the company was already “practically sold out of iPad minis”. “We’re [...]
Apple slapped by UK judge on statement over Samsung case November 1, 2012 APPLE was yesterday reprimanded by a British judge for posting an inaccurate statement on its website associated with a UK Court of Appeal ruling that concluded arch-rival Samsung’s tablet device did not copy the iPad. After Apple lost an appeal last month against an earlier High Court ruling that Samsung had not copied the iPad’s [...]
RIM shares up on new handsets November 1, 2012 Shares in BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM) leapt as much as 10 per cent yesterday as it confirmed it was testing the next generation of handsets with operators, a big step towards the launch of BlackBerry 10, its soon-to-be-released smartphone software which has been repeatedly delayed. RIM has seen its market share significantly squeezed [...]