Devices
Apple Apologizes in China After Service Criticism
April 2, 2013 9:41 am | by Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press | News | CommentsApple apologized to Chinese consumers after government media attacked its repair policies for two weeks in a campaign that reeked of economic nationalism. A statement Apple posted in Chinese on its website Monday said the complaints had...
Apple Patents iPhone with Wraparound Display
April 1, 2013 9:41 am | by Peter Svensson, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsApple is seeking a patent for an iPhone that has a display that wraps around the edges of the device, expanding the viewable area and eliminating all physical buttons. The patent application reveals that Apple has put some thought into a device that takes advantage...
Galaxy S 4 Available for Pre-order April 16 from AT&T, U.S. Cellular
March 29, 2013 1:02 pm | by Ben Munson | News | CommentsBoth AT&T and U.S. Cellular have confirmed April 16 as the date when they’ll start accepting pre-orders for Samsung’s new flagship smartphone. AT&T has set the price at $249 with a two-year contract while U.S. Cellular has yet to reveal pricing details. Neither carrier has set a release date.
BlackBerry Posts Profit in 4Q, Ships One Million BB10 Devices
March 28, 2013 9:32 am | by Ben Munson | News | CommentsBlackBerry posted profit in the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2013, notching $98 million GAAP income on $0.19 per share diluted. The Canadian phonemaker posted a loss of $125 million in the same quarter for 2012. BlackBerry also reported shipping six million smartphones in the quarter, one million of them being BlackBerry 10 devices.
Featurephone Upgrades Hold the Key to Smartphone Growth in the US in 2013
March 28, 2013 9:25 am | by Mary-Ann Parlato, Global Insight Director, Kantar Worldpanel ComTech | Articles | CommentsWith many products sharing the same OS platform, and with OS loyalty high among existing smartphone users, marketers in the U.S. will need to focus on growth drivers other than OS affiliation if they hope to come out on top in 2013. Chief among these considerations...
BlackBerry CEO Says iPhone Is Outdated
March 22, 2013 9:01 am | by Rob Gillies, Associated Press | News | CommentsApple's iPhone is outdated, according to the chief executive of BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion Ltd. Thorsten Heins made the comment Thursday on the eve of the much-delayed launch of the new touchscreen BlackBerry in the United States. AT&T begins selling the Z10...
Report: DOD Writes Order for 600K iOS Devices
March 21, 2013 10:07 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsIn yet another blow to BlackBerry's core customer base, the Department of Defense (DOD) may be readying an order of 600,000 iOS devices. According to a report from Electronista, the DOD has finished extensive testing of BlackBerry's new...
HP Develops Glasses-Free 3-D for Mobile Devices
March 21, 2013 9:25 am | by Associated Press | News | CommentsResearchers at Hewlett-Packard Co. have developed a way to put glasses-free 3-D video on mobile devices with a viewing angle so wide that viewers can see an object more fully just by tilting the screen. Glasses-free 3-D is not unique. Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s 3DS handheld allows video game...
Report: Smartphones Account for 93 Percent of Gross Handset Profits
March 20, 2013 10:01 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsSmartphone margins are where it's at if you're a handset manufacturer these days. According to a new report from IHS iSuppli, smartphones accounted for 87 percent of handset industry revenue in 2012 and a staggering 93 percent of gross profits...
ZTE Taps Intrepidus for Smartphone Security
March 19, 2013 10:18 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsChinese smartphone manufacturer ZTE today said it is partnering with Intrepidus on providing security for its devices. ZTE said it seeks to become a "leader in smartphone security." As part of the agreement, Intrepidus will evaluate the security mechanisms of ZTE...
Review: Tech in Galaxy S 4 Doesn't Come Together
March 18, 2013 9:46 am | by Peter Svensson, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsThe Galaxy S 4, Samsung's latest and greatest, has a cute feature we'll probably see in a lot of phones soon: You can shoot both yourself and your surroundings at the same time, using the front- and back-mounted cameras. It's a bit like having a two-camera film crew follow you around...
BlackBerry to Extend Security Software to Android, iOS
March 14, 2013 9:38 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsBlackBerry continues its efforts to insert itself in the middle of the smartphone today with news that it will bring security software to market for third-party platforms, including Android and iOS. Secure Work Space for iOS and Android will extend BlackBerry security capabilities...
BlackBerry Gets Biggest Order Ever
March 14, 2013 9:20 am | by Associated Press | News | CommentsBlackBerry, formerly known as Research In Motion Ltd., says it has received an order for one million of its new smartphones, marking the largest ever single purchase in the company's history. The Canadian company is relying on the redesigned BlackBerry to fuel a comeback...
Report: More youth Use Smartphones as Route to Web
March 13, 2013 9:03 am | by Martha Irvine, AP National Writer | News | CommentsKeep computers in a common area so you can monitor what your kids are doing. It's a longstanding directive for online safety — but one that's quickly becoming moot as more young people have mobile devices, often with Internet access. A new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project...
Adobe: Tablets Beat Smartphones in Global Website Traffic
March 7, 2013 10:09 am | by Ben Munson | News | CommentsWebsites around the world are now getting more visits from tablets than from smartphones. The Adobe Digital Index, after analyzing more than 100 billion visits to more than 1,000 websites worldwide, estimates that 8 percent of that traffic originates from tablets while 7 percent comes from smartphones. The rest is attributed to laptops and PCs.
Review: Despite Flaws, Voice Search Has Potential
March 7, 2013 9:16 am | by Anick Jesdanun, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsI never thought I'd be telling my phone what to do. But I often find myself talking to various digital assistants — Siri on the iPhone and Google Now on Android devices — to request driving directions, restaurant recommendations and answers...
Report: iOS Growth Beats Android in 4Q
March 6, 2013 2:39 pm | by By Andrew Berg | News | CommentsAs much as Apple has been taking it on the chin from Wall Street, the iPhone maker still takes the top OEM spot in U.S. smartphone market share for the three-month period ending in January, according to the latest numbers from ComScore...
Rebel Dell Shareholder Demands More Information
March 6, 2013 10:41 am | by Associated Press | News | CommentsDell's largest independent shareholder is turning up the pressure against the proposed $24.4 billion sale of the struggling personal computer maker to a group of investors that includes its CEO. In a letter Tuesday, Southeastern Asset Management demanded that Dell...
Schools Shift from Textbooks to Tablets
March 6, 2013 8:51 am | by Philip Elliott, Associated Press | News | CommentsWell before the cleanup from Superstorm Sandy was in full swing, students could read about the weather system that slammed the East Coast in their textbooks. Welcome to the new digital bookcase, where traditional ink-and-paper textboo...
Report: Samsung Galaxy S IV Will Include Eye-Tracking Feature
March 5, 2013 11:15 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsSamsung has officially sent out invites for a Samsung Unpacked event on Thursday, March 14th at Radio City Music Hall, where the company is expected to unveil the Galaxy S IV smartphone. Multiple reports have surfaced that the new Android-based smartphone will have eye-tracking...
BlackBerry Developer Support Still Shaky as Netflix Bows Out
March 5, 2013 10:21 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsIt's all about the apps for any mobile platform hopeful and it seems BlackBerry 10 just continues to prove that it can't attract the heavy hitters. In the wake of Yahoo! reporting yesterday that it will kill support for its dedicated BlackBerry app, Netflix says it too is steering clear of the platform...
Yahoo! Kills BlackBerry App, Other Services
March 4, 2013 9:58 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsAs part of CEO Marissa Mayer's extensive revamp of Yahoo!, the company says it will be streamline its mobile offerings, eliminating apps, including its Blackberry offering. Jay Rossiter, executive vice president of Platforms for Yahoo!, said in a blog post...
Samsung's $1B Bill in Apple Case Reduced by $450M
March 4, 2013 9:25 am | by Paul Elias, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe two biggest — and bitterest — rivals in the smartphone market will have to endure another bruising trial after a federal judge ruled that jurors miscalculated nearly half the $1 billion in damages it found Samsung Electronics owed Apple Inc. for patent infringement.
Report: Smartphone Shipments to Overtake Feature Phones in 2013
March 4, 2013 9:12 am | News | CommentsGlobal shipments of smartphones will exceed feature phone shipments for the first time in 2013, according to an annual report from IDC. OEMs will ship 918.6 million smartphones this year, or 50.1 percent of the total mobile phone shipments worldwide...
Momentum Grows for Alternative Phone System Tizen
February 27, 2013 9:30 am | by Peter Svensson, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsThe junior league of smartphone operating systems is getting more competitive. Phones from yet another contender — Tizen — will go on sale this year with a view to eventually competing with the industry leaders, Apple's iOS and Google's Android...
