Apple is one of the best-known brands, so no wonder it paid Google just $18 million in 2011 for search traffic. By comparison, HP and Dell, which are breathing heavy to keep ahead of the Cupertino, Calif. tech giant ranked No. 1 and No. 2 for spending big bucks flogging their products online.
Apple’s iPad is not hurt by Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1, a Dutch appeals court just ruled. Apple had appealed an August 2011 decision that the South Korean tablet didn’t infringe upon the iPad’s design. Today’s ruling only answered whether the design of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 too closely resembled the Cupertino, Calif. tech giant’s product.
Verizon Wireless swung to a $2 billion loss, despite higher data revenue and doubled iPhone sales. Increased interest in the Apple smartphone was a double-edged sword. Higher iPhone demand resulted in steeper subsidies paid by the second-largest domestic carrier during the fourth quarter.
More signs pouring in the iPhone benefitted big time during the holidays. In particular, new research finds some 36 percent of consumers buying the iPhone 4S between October and December 2011 were abandoning other platforms, such as Android or the BlackBerry. The findings were doubly good news for Apple, as researchers found 21 percent of iPhone 4S buyers chose the 64GB smartphone model.
Tablets — especially iPads — were hot holiday gifts. A new survey finds that in about just one week, the percentage of U.S. consumers owning a tablet almost doubled to 19 percent, up from 10 percent prior to Christmas Day. That portion was even higher as you go up the income and education scale.
Research in Motion announced over the weekend that the company’s two co-founders have stepped down as co-CEOs of the embattled BlackBerry maker in favor of two relative unknowns. RIM’s Chief Operating Officer Thorsten Heins becomes the new CEO while Royal Bank of Canada executive Barbara Stymiest was named independent chair.
There’s continued speculation Apple will unveil its next iPhone with a 4-inch screen. A Wall Street expert lent his voice to the chorus, telling investors the new device will begin production in June. But how will Apple increase the 3.5-inch screen and retain the iPhone’s iconic style?
A German court Friday threw out Samsung’s patent-infringement lawsuit against Apple. The South Korean smartphone maker had claimed the iPhone maker violated a patent related to 3G wireless communications. Samsung had filed seven patent violation claims against Apple in Germany.
It sounds like a plot line straight out of Hollywood: washed-up cell maker teams with down-on-its-luck software giant to overtake a Silicon Valley tech behemoth. But researchers believe 2015 will be the comeback year for Nokia with Microsoft Windows Phone replacing Apple’s iOS as the No. 2 smartphone operating system.
The conference circuit is hot. Once the domain of nameless geeks to commiserate on why they can’t get dates, tech conferences now showcase high-profile CEOs, serve as the backdrop for big deals and are the new sign that you’ve made it. The latest addition to the list is an independent analyst with a reputation for keeping his wits about himself amid Wall Street’s Chicken Little routine.