Dec. 27, 2010 at 1:25 p.m.
Filed under:
Technology
By Associated Press
Sony Corp. said Monday that it plans to invest about $1.21 billion to double its production of image sensors used in digital cameras and smart phones, as the popularity of those devices continues to rise worldwide.
The investment includes the electronics giant’s planned repurchase of a factory that it sold to Toshiba Corp. in 2007 for 90 billion yen. Until now, the factory has primarily been used to make processors for Sony’s PlayStation 3 game console. But Tokyo-based Sony said it will refurbish the facility so that it can meet growing demand for imaging sensors. The company hopes to double capacity to 50,000 wafers per month by the end of March 2012. Get the full story »
Dec. 22, 2010 at 8:09 a.m.
Filed under:
Cell phones,
Internet,
Wireless
By Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal
Verizon Wireless will distribute a smartphone made by Motorola Inc. to run on its new 4G network, the carrier’s chief operating officer, John Stratton, said in an interview Tuesday. The comments mark the first time the carrier has identified a handset maker for the closely watched launch and represent an important vote of confidence in Motorola. Get the full story »
Dec. 21, 2010 at 6:33 a.m.
Filed under:
Cell phones,
Litigation,
Wireless
By Associated Press
Competition among smart phone makers is heating up at retail, in advertising and, increasingly, in the courtroom as handset and software makers wield patent lawsuits to protect their turf and slow down their rivals.
Though Apple’s iPhone changed the categoryin 2007 and still leads the market, there are a flood of rivals and copy cats making it difficult for smart phone makers to stand out to consumers or persuade them to pay more for their devices.
In turn, that has prompted a slew of patent disputes over all aspects of basic phone use, from the way a user swipes a touch screen to perform an action to the method a phone uses to extend battery life. Nokia is suing Apple, Apple is suing HTC, Microsoft is suing Motorola and more. Get the full story »
By Reuters
Research In Motion reported results that mostly beat expectations Thursday, and the BlackBerry maker forecast strong profits for the current quarter, pushing its shares higher in after-hours trade.
RIM said net profit jumped 45 percent in its third quarter, which ended Nov. 27. It said results were boosted by strong sales of its flagship Torch smartphone, a new product that combines a touch screen like Apple’s iPhone with RIM’s trademark mini keyboard. Get the full story »
By Wailin Wong
Motorola Mobility is planning to make tablet devices in two different sizes, Chief Executive Sanjay Jha said Wednesday.
Jha has previously voiced interest in the tablet space, but offered a few more details during an investment bank conference. Motorola Mobility will make both a 7-inch and a 10-inch tablet because “we view both formats as being quite meaningful,” Jha said. Get the full story »
Nov. 10, 2010 at 11:49 a.m.
Filed under:
Consumer electronics,
Technology
By Associated Press
Global smart phone sales nearly doubled in the third quarter, and Apple is now one of the top five bestselling manufacturers.
Research firm Gartner says cell phone manufacturers sold 80.5 million smart phones in the third quarter. It says nearly 1 in 5 of all phones sold is a smart phone. Get the full story »
Oct. 22, 2010 at 10:27 a.m.
Filed under:
Consumer electronics,
Technology
By Reuters
Hewlett-Packard unveiled its first product for the fast-growing tablet market, a $799 device running Microsoft Windows that is aimed at business customers.
HP’s Slate 500 attempts to replicate the PC experience in a tablet form, providing a contrast to rivals who have brought more of a smartphone feel to their devices. The Slate runs the same version of Windows 7 used by many companies on their standard PCs. Get the full story »
Oct. 11, 2010 at 11:26 a.m.
Filed under:
Cell phones,
Consumer electronics,
Updated
By CNN
The new Windows Phone 7 is presented at the Windows Phone 7 launch press conference in New York, Oct. 11, 2010. (Reuters/Jessica Rinaldi)
See a photo gallery of the Windows 7 phones here.
Microsoft on Monday unveiled its plan to battle the iPhone, Android and BlackBerry smartphones with its new Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system.
At a press event in New York, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said that Windows Phone 7 smartphones would be available in the United States on AT&T’s network.
“When Microsoft first showed us Windows Phone 7, we knew it was going to be a winner,” AT&T CEO Mobility and Consumer Markets Ralph de la Vega said at the event. “It was different than anything we’ve seen.” Get the full story »
Oct. 8, 2010 at 5:23 p.m.
Filed under:
Cell phones,
Technology,
Wireless
By Associated Press
Motorola Inc. shares slipped Friday after a downgrade from Citi Investment Research on fears of increasing competition in the smart phone market.
By Dow Jones Newswires
Goldman Sachs downgraded Microsoft Corp. on Monday to neutral from buy, and lowered its price target on the software giant to $28 from $32.
Among the reasons for the move, the broker cited “increased caution near-term on a more elongated PC refresh cycle” as well as the threat that some of the notebook market could be cannibalized by tablet PCs, where Microsoft Windows doesn’t yet have a presence. Get the full story »
Sep. 13, 2010 at 10:40 a.m.
Filed under:
Cell phones,
Entertainment
By Wailin Wong
To see more photos of the Motorola Defy, click here.
Motorola Inc. unveiled a new Android mobile phone on Monday’s season premiere of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
The device, called the Motorola Defy, will be available through T-Mobile in time for the holidays, the Schaumburg-based communications equipment company said in a press release without releasing further details on pricing and dates. The phone uses Google’s Android operating system, which is the basis for almost all of the smartphones in Motorola’s portfolio.
The Defy has a 3.7-inch touch screen and is built to be scratch-resistant, water-resistant and dust-proof, Motorola said. Get the full story »
Aug. 20, 2010 at 3:35 p.m.
Filed under:
Cell phones,
Computers,
Technology
By Associated Press
The seemingly recession-proof smart phone is suffering from a side effect of the rough economy: Manufacturers simply can’t build enough of the gadgets because chip-makers that rolled back production last year are now scrambling to play catch-up.
The chip shortage means Apple Inc.’s rivals are having trouble making enough phones to compete with the iPhone, a problem expected to persist through the holidays. It’s also affecting wireless carriers, some of which are seeing delays in improving their networks, and it could even raise computer prices.
By Reuters
Research In Motion pledged to satisfy the security needs of customers and governments, a day after the United Arab Emirates threatened to cut off some BlackBerry services because authorities could not access encrypted messaging data.
In the latest of several disputes over BlackBerry security, the UAE said over the weekend that it would suspend BlackBerry Messenger, email and Web browser services from Oct. 11 until it could access encrypted messages. Get the full story »
By Reuters
Customers will not be able to get their hands on Apple Inc.’s white iPhone 4 until later this year, the company said on Friday, conceding that making the model has proven surprisingly difficult.
Apple, in a brief statement, said that its black iPhone 4 had not been affected. As for the white iPhone, the company said it has “continued to be more challenging to manufacture that we originally expected.” Get the full story »
