By Alejandra Cancino
Apple Inc. said Friday its formula to calculate signal strength is “totally wrong,” and that it will start using a new formula by AT&T to calculate how many bars to display to represent signal strength.
The announcement comes as customers continue to complain of a significant loss in signal when holding the iPhone G4 in a certain way that seems to interfere with the phone’s antenna. Unlike previous iPhones, the new phone’s antenna is a steel frame that wraps around the device. Get the full story »
By Wailin Wong
Motorola Inc. said its spun-off mobile devices and home company will be called Motorola Mobility, with the remaining business being named Motorola Solutions Inc.
The new names were disclosed in a Thursday filing with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission that outlined more details of Motorola’s planned separation into two companies. The split is scheduled for the first quarter of 2011, and the registration filing with the SEC marked an important step in the process. Get the full story »
By Reuters
Microsoft Corp. has pulled the plug on a new generation of smartphones less than three months after unveiling the devices that were part of its efforts to catch-up with Apple Inc. and Google Inc. in the fast-growing mobile market. Get the full story »
June 29, 2010 at 3:15 p.m.
Filed under:
Computers,
Consumer electronics,
Internet
By Margaret O'Brien
Cisco Systems Inc is launching a tablet computing device aimed at business customers, becoming the latest company to wade into the red-hot tablet market. The networking equipment maker unveiled the Cius Tuesday, a lightweight, 7-inch tablet based on Google Inc.’s Android operating system. Get the full story »
By Reuters
Apple Inc. had sold 1.7 million units of the iPhone 4 worldwide by Saturday, June 26, its most successful product launch yet, the company said Monday.
Sales of the touchscreen smartphone, which competes with devices from Nokia, Research In Motion and Motorola, surpassed some analysts’ expectations, as well as those of Apple itself, which has been having trouble keeping up with demand. Get the full story »
Chicago resident Matt Garlock celebrates after purchasing an iPhone 4 today at the Apple Store on Michigan Avenue. (Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune)
Several thousand people in a half-mile-long line waited outside the Apple store on North Michigan Avenue this morning to buy the new iPhone.
Some had waited patiently all night long. Others impatiently all night long. But all felt compelled to be among the first with an iPhone 4.
Get the full story »
From CNN | As iPhone 4 buyers prepared to unbox their new smartphones on Thursday morning, some screamed with joy. Others trumpeted vuvuzelas. But shortly after testing out the world’s new “it” phone, some of those consumers turned to the internet to report problems with the new Apple product.
On Web forums and on blogs, some consumers posted videos and rants about the iPhone 4’s new antenna, which is built into a metal rim around the phone and, some claim, causes the phone to get unnecessarily bad reception.
Get the full story »
June 22, 2010 at 2:51 p.m.
Filed under:
China,
Consumer electronics,
Manufacturing
By McClatchy Tribune Newspapers
The era of cheap manufacturing in China is coming to an end.
Rising wages spurred by a series of labor disputes at factories in China, coupled with the country’s just-announced decision to allow its currency to rise in value — making it more expensive to build things there – will lead to higher prices for tech gadgets, cut into corporate bottom lines and force companies to rethink manufacturing strategies anchored in China, the world’s assembly line. Get the full story »
June 22, 2010 at 8:15 a.m.
Filed under:
Consumer electronics,
Internet,
Media
By Reuters
Sears Holdings Corp. Tuesday became the latest retailer to partner with digital media company Sonic Solutions to sell movies and television shows through an online Web site. Under Sonic’s latest multiyear deal, the operator of Sears and Kmart stores has licensed Sonic’s RoxioNow platform to sell digital entertainment under the Sears and Kmart brand names. Get the full story »
June 21, 2010 at 8:12 a.m.
Filed under:
Consumer electronics
By Associated Press
Barnes & Noble is offering a lower-price Nook electronic reader with a Wi-Fi connection and it’s cutting the price on the original Nook reader, the bookseller said Monday. The Nook Wi-Fi is available now for $149 online at nook.com and bestbuy.com. Get the full story »
By Wailin Wong | Verizon Wireless has lifted the curtain on the next device in its Droid franchise, a phone by Motorola called the Droid X.
The carrier unveiled a teaser site for the new phone, which is expected to get its official launch next week. On the page, an image of the new phone is flanked on either side by two of its predecessors — the first Droid by Motorola, which was launched late last year, and Taiwanese manufacturer HTC’s Droid Incredible, which came out in late April.
Verizon Wireless uses the “Droid” moniker to describe its premiere line of smartphones powered by Google’s Android operating system. The Droid X will be Motorola’s second Droid device.
Get the full story »
June 16, 2010 at 5:05 p.m.
Filed under:
Consumer electronics,
Technology
An Apple Inc. employee shows the iPhone 4, June 7, 2010. (Photo Credit should Read /AFP/Getty Images)
Reuters | Sales of Apple Inc’s latest iPhone blew away expectations in its first
day on the market despite shortages and an embarrassing online ordering
glitch that thwarted many shoppers.
Apple shares rose nearly 3 percent on Wednesday after it announced sales
of more than 600,000 iPhone 4s, a record for just a single day of
pre-orders. That put the device on track to surpass sales of its
previous iPhone models as well as its iPad tablet computer, and sounded a
strong challenge to rivals like Nokia Corp, which warned of
weaker-than-expected sales at its phones unit.
But Apple apologized Wednesday for having to halt sales temporarily
after the surprising volume of online interest overloaded order and
approval systems and supplies ran out.
Get the full story »
June 16, 2010 at 10:06 a.m.
Filed under:
Cell phones,
Consumer electronics
From the San Jose Business Journal | Verizon Wireless and Motorola Inc. have set the launch of their next generation Droid smartphone for June 23, the day before Apple Inc.’s iPhone 4 hits stores. An invitation to the announcement of the Motorola Droid X indicates that Adobe Systems Inc. CEO Shantanu Narayen will be among those participating in the launch. This comes after his company’s public debate with Apple CEO Steve Jobs over the absence of Flash support on iPhones and iPads.
Get the
full story: sanjose.bizjournals.com.
June 15, 2010 at 2:52 p.m.
Filed under:
Consumer electronics,
Technology,
Wireless
Reuters | Customers attempting to reserve the next iPhone were thwarted by error messages on the websites of Apple Inc. and AT&T Inc. on Tuesday, the first day of pre-orders for the phone. AT&T, the iPhone’s exclusive operator, declined to comment, and Apple did not immediately respond to questions about the technical problems that provoked complaints by customers in several cities across the United States, including Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York.
Get the full story »
June 11, 2010 at 7:25 a.m.
Filed under:
Cell phones,
Consumer electronics,
Litigation
Associated Press | Handset makers Motorola Inc. and Research In Motion Ltd. said Friday
they have settled a patent complaint over mobile technology that
Motorola brought to the U.S. International Trade Commission earlier
this year.
The companies said RIM, the BlackBerry maker, will give Motorola an
upfront payment plus continuing royalties for the use of its mobile
technology. They did not disclose specific financial terms.
Get the full story »
