News

ITC Judge Thomas Pender has warned Samsung that he is calling for a complete sales ban on the company's products that infringe on four of Apple's design patents. He also told the electronics maker it will have to post a bond worth 88 percent of the value of the products it could sell during a…

A telecommunications consultant in Brazil is predicting that Apple will pony up for the “IPHONE” trademark in that country. That trademark is owned by IGB Eletrônica SA, which released an Android-powered 'IPHONE Neo One' under the Gradiente brand in December. The Glorious Gradiente IPHONE Neo One At that time, Gradiente said in a statement it…

 A Pauper's Grave That wheezing sound you hear is the last gasp of the once-beloved netbook. Asustek and Acer, the last two major OEMs still making netbooks, will both stop making devices in this category at the end of this year. Netbooks were once the golden future, or at least the 10 karat white gold…

Apple dropped out of the top five in ForeSee's annual holiday customer satisfaction survey for 2012, and the company's drop from 83 to 80 satisfaction points was one of the biggest the research firm saw this year. The annual ForeSee study surveyed 24,000 online shoppers between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and this year Apple lost its…

Some rather unscientific, but equally interesting, data suggests that Apple's iPad crushed the competition this Christmas. Buzzfeed did some surface (::giggle::) level data mining on Twitter and found nearly four times as many people tweeting from their new iPad as the next three devices combined. The media outlet did a search in a 24 hour…

Finally, the news that tens of people have been waiting for: Microsoft is planning to open six new retail stores in 2013 in Texas, Florida, Ohio, California, Utah, and Missouri. The new locations will bring Big Redmond up to 37 full time retail stores in the U.S., with rumors of European expansion in the works,…

The yacht Apple co-founder Steve Jobs commissioned, Venus, is free to leave dock and take to the seas now that a tentative agreement for payment has been reached with the craft's designer Phillpe Starck. Mr. Starck's attorneys had the yacht impounded after he claimed the Jobs' family paid him €3 million less than he was…

The yacht Apple co-founder Steve Jobs commissioned won't be leaving the dock any time soon thanks to a dispute over payment to the designer, Philippe Starck. Mr. Starck's lawyers had the yacht seized and it is now tied to a dock in Amsterdam until an agreement with Mr. Jobs's family can be reached. Jobs family…

Investors simply don't appreciate the competitive advantage of Apple's superior customer service experience, according to a new research note from Wells Fargo analyst Maynard Um. He told his clients that Apple' customer service is, “a key differentiator & value driver for the company” that investors don't properly understand. “The ability to turn unhappy customers into…

You might think this is something Terry Gilliam worked up for a remake of Brazil, but it's real: IGB Eletrônica SA released a smartphone this week in Brazil called IPHONE Neo One under the brand name of Gradiente. But wait, it gets better because the device is powered by Google's Android. Irony Wars with Tragedy…

Samsung has dropped all of its requests for sales injunctions against Apple devices based on standards-essential patents (SEPs) in Europe. Bloomberg reported that Samsung claimed the move was for the sake of the people, though FOSS Patents noted that the withdrawal mirrors an antitrust investigation being conducted in Europe against the company. “Samsung has decided…

U.S. Federal Judge Lucy Koh ruled Monday evening that there wasn't any jury misconduct in Apple and Samsung's patent infringement lawsuit. Samsung had accused jury foreman Velvin Hogan of intentionally withholding information about his relationship with partner company Seagate to get a spot on the jury. Judge to Samsung: No do-over for you The ruling…

Investors and analysts concerned about Apple's future based on reports of iPhone 5 parts order reductions are needlessly worrying, according to Topeka Capital's Brian White. Instead, he said Apple is just fine and the reduction in parts orders was expected, if not a little late. Topeka Capital's Brian White says consumers still want iPhones “We…

Drobo, founded in 2005 as Data Robotics, had one primary goal: make redundant external storage simple for average consumers. The company took its first steps to meet this goal in 2007 when it launched the first-generation Drobo, a four-drive device that could protect the data stored within from a single drive failure. There were admittedly…

From time to time, Apple will come out with a new version of OS X or iOS, or one of its own apps, and there will be missing features. Is Apple being obtuse? Are they out of touch? How can our favorite thing be just … gone? Here's what's happening. Over the years, Apple has…

Guy Kawasaki had dumped his iPhone and iPad for Android devices. According to comments he gave columnist Dan Lyons, Mr. Kawasaki said that Apple has been slow to adopt new technologies and that there was nothing compelling about the iPad mini. If you're new to the Apple world, you may not recognize the name, but…

Samsung shipped many more units in the “connected device” market than Apple in the September quarter, but Apple crushed the market in terms of dollars. IDC issued a report on Monday that shows Samsung pushing more devices for a lot less money. We're well into December, and there's probably more interest in holiday sales than…

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued a preliminary ruling declaring a key Apple patent covering touch screen devices invalid. Patent number 7,479,949, or the Steve Jobs Patent, is still in effect, but if the USPTO ruling is upheld, it could spell trouble for Apple's ongoing patent fights with Samsung and Motorola. The…

Shares of Apple Inc. resumed their downward trajectory on Friday, ending the week at US$533.25, off by $13.995 (-2.56 percent), on strong volume of 28.1 million shares. That's an 8.5 percent loss on the week, and the stock has officially passed the so-called “death cross.” $AAPL Chart for December 7th, 2012 Source: Yahoo! Finance The…

Is TV viewing only about consuming content? There was a time when Apple may have believed that the combination of content delivery, in the Apple TV style, and innovative ways to watch that content was the signature combination. However, that view may be changing. For a long time, there were rumblings that Apple was trying…

Apple dropped the ability to check for duplicate tracks with the release of iTunes 11, but that change is only temporary. The company said duplicate track searching is coming back in an app update, but didn't say how long users will have to wait before seeing the handy feature return. iTunes 11: You can have…

Former Rochdale Securities stock broker David Miller has been arrested on Federal wire fraud charges for allegedly using company money to buy US$1 billion in Apple stock for his own gain which ultimately left his employer with a $5 million loss. “As alleged, this defendant orchestrated the unauthorized purchase of approximately $1 billion of Apple…

Apple has been improving ship times for iPhone 5 orders with the company's website showing delivery in 2-4 days instead of weeks. That's due to improved parts availability instead of declining interest in the company's latest smartphone model, and could lead to more than 46 million phones sold during the December quarter, according to Sterne…

The music section of the iTunes Store may soon be available in Russia, according to an invitation-only iTunes event scheduled for the evening of Tuesday, December 4 in Moscow, reportedly obtained by TechCrunch. The move would bring commercial music content to the Russian iTunes Store — which currently distributes only apps, public domain books, and…