Burned by supply chain issues, Apple may again look to Sharp for future iPhone, iPad displays

Apple (AAPL) is learning that good help can be hard to find. In its eagerness to shed its reliance on Samsung (005930) as a component supplier, Apple has had difficulty in finding another vendor capable of producing displays as efficiently as its partner-turned-rival traditionally has. This past summer, the company began moving away from Sharp (SCHAY) a bit when it tapped LG Display (LPL) and AU...

Read More..

Tablet sales expected to surpass notebooks in 2013

While some have pegged 2013 as the year of the phablet, the latest report from NPD DisplaySearch paints a different picture. The firm estimates that shipments of tablet PCs will surpass 240 million units worldwide in 2013, topping notebook PC shipments, which are expected to reach 207 million, for the first time ever.[More from BGR: Corning demonstrates the strength of Gorilla Glass 3 [video]]Apple...

Read More..

Samsung's big push for 2013: content, corporates

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics, the global leader in consumer smartphones, is planning two major thrusts in 2013: bulking up mobile content and moving faster into the corporate market dominated by Research in Motion.The South Korean electronics company is investing in devices that enterprise users like corporations will endorse, with a higher level of security and reliability than general...

Read More..

New purported BlackBerry Z10 specs emerge: 1.5GHz processor, 2GB RAM, 8MP camera

Another week, another batch of purported leaks for Research In Motion’s (RIMM) first BlackBerry 10-powered Z10. BBin claims to have most of the Z10′s final specs confirmed and it is shaping up to be a powerful device. Rumored specs for the Z10 include a TI OMAP 4470 1.5GHz dual-core processor (Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8960 for the U.S. and Canada), a 4.2-inch display (1,280 x 768 resolution), quad-band...

Read More..

Apple still said to account for 87% of North American tablet traffic as Kindle Fire, Nexus 7 gain

Apple’s (AAPL) share of the global tablet market is in decline now that low-cost Android slates are proliferating, but the iPad still appears to be the most used tablet by a huge margin. Ad firm Chitika regularly monitors tablet traffic in the United States and Canada and in its latest report, Apple’s iPad was responsible for almost 90% of all tablet traffic across the company’s massive network.[More...

Read More..

iOS apps see Christmas sales spike shrink in 2012

Distimo just released its statistics on Christmas Day app downloads and revenue growth… and the download spike is far smaller than it was last year. Back in 2011, Christmas Day iOS app download volume spiked 230% above the December average. This year, the increase was just 87% — far below industry expectations. The revenue spike came in at 70%.[More from BGR: Google names 12 best Android apps of 2012]Interestingly,...

Read More..

Leaked BlackBerry 10 slides show video calling and screen sharing for BBM

Research in Motion (RIMM) recently updated its BlackBerry Messenger application to include free Wi-Fi calling. With the release of BlackBerry 10 just around the corner, RIM is looking to add even more features to its flagship messaging app. Slides from a purported internal BlackBerry 10 presentation that were originally posted on the CrackBerry forums suggest that the company is planning to update...

Read More..

Publisher Bonnier, Flingo partner to make Smart TV Apps

 Bonnier, the publisher of magazines like Savuer and Popular Science, and Flingo, the largest publisher of apps for Smart TVs, have partnered to create a series of apps extending Bonnier's titles onto Internet-enabled TV sets and set-tops boxes like the Roku.Together, they will release a new app for each magazine, offering videos, images and archival content for fans. Savuer has a couple of web...

Read More..

Facebook unveils new privacy controls

Facebook Inc began rolling out a variety of new privacy controls on Wednesday, the company's latest effort to address user concerns about who can see their personal information on the world's largest social network.New tools introduced on Wednesday will make it easier for Facebook's members to quickly determine who can view the photos, comments and other information about them that appears on different...

Read More..

U.S. gun website sued for alleged ties to slayings

A prominent U.S. gun control group on Wednesday sued a gun auction website it says is linked to a mass shooting at a Wisconsin spa in October and the stalker slaying of a woman near Chicago in 2011.The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence alleges that the design of armslist.com facilitates illegal online sales to unlawful gun buyers with no background checks, and enables users to evade laws that permit...

Read More..

Obama election tweet most repeated but Olympics tops on Twitter

An election victory tweet from President Barack Obama -- "Four more years" with a picture of him hugging his wife -- was the most retweeted ever, but the U.S. election was topped by the Olympics as the most tweeted event this year.Obama's tweet was retweeted (repeated) more than 810,000 times, Twitter said as it published a list of the most tweeted events in 2012. (http://2012.twitter.com/)"Within...

Read More..

China's CNOOC lauds Canadian approval of Nexen buy

BEIJING (AP) -- China's state-owned CNOOC said on Saturday that it is delighted that the Canadian Ministry of Industry has approved its $15.1 billion proposed takeover of Canadian oil and gas producer Nexen. Once finalized, it will be China's largest overseas energy acquisition, coming at a time when other Chinese companies such as telecommunications giant Huawei are encountering difficulties in...

Read More..

CNOOC pledge small step for China transparency, skeptics abound

SINGAPORE/HONG KONG (Reuters) - CNOOC's promise of transparency, pledged to win approval from Canada for its $15.1 billion purchase of Nexen Inc, looks like a positive step on the face of it but is unlikely to represent a sea change in Chinese business practices. To be sure, the details of commitment are not clear. The state-controlled energy firm has promised the Canadian government an annual compliance...

Read More..

Huawei duplicará personal en Europa

HELSINKI (Reuters) - El proveedor de equipos de telecomunicaciones chino Huawei Technologies planea duplicar su plantilla de empleados en Europa durante los próximos años e instalará un centro de investigación en Finlandia destinado a desarrollar nuevos teléfonos avanzados. Los planes de expansión para Europa se dieron a conocer dos meses después de que legisladores estadounidenses señalaron que...

Read More..

Huawei to double staff in European expansion

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies plans a hiring spree in Europe, seeking growth outside the United States where its prospects have been clouded by spying concerns. Huawei said on Monday it planned to double its workforce in Europe and would set up a research center to develop new smartphones in Finland, where former global leader Nokia Oyj is shedding thousands...

Read More..

Pa. woman sues Google over Gmail privacy, ads

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A Pennsylvania woman has accused Google Inc. of illegal wiretapping for "intercepting" emails she sent to Gmail accounts and publishing content-related ads. Her lawsuit echoes others filed around the country by class-action lawyers who say the practice violates wiretap laws in some states. They represent email users who do not have Gmail accounts and have therefore not signed...

Read More..