This week the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published 26 newly granted patents for Apple, and among them were the Cupertino company's take on a push-to-talk feature and a double-sided touch-sensitive panel, both of which could possibly appear in future iPhones.

Embroiled in controversy over alleged tax avoidance, Apple is jumping into the fray in Washington, as the iPad maker is reportedly on track to double the amount of money it spends lobbying politicians.

Mailbox, the Gmail-based iOS email client that encourages a tidy inbox, was updated on Wednesday with native support for Apple's iPad lineup.

A patent application published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday reveals Apple is actively researching methods to ensure a video's multi-channel audio is always played back correctly, no matter how a user holds the device.

An Apple invention filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office describes a method in which a single app provides multiple user interfaces that can be modified according to the type of device being used as a display.

Near ubiquitous microblogging service Twitter on Wednesday released an updated Mac app with built-in Notification Center integration and, more importantly, a system-wide two-factor authentication solution for heightened account security.

At the CTIA conference on Wednesday, mobile device case maker OtterBox announced that it has purchased TreeFrog Developments Inc., DBA LifeProof, known commercially as "LifeProof," for an undisclosed sum and has officially dropped allegations of patent infringement against the company.

A recently aired Microsoft ad pits a tablet running the company's Windows 8 against the iPad, with the spot featuring an unlikely narrator: Apple's Siri virtual assistant.

In what seems to be a response directed at rumors saying upcoming smartphones, including Apple's iPhone, will switch from Gorilla Glass to sapphire as a cover material, Corning put its latest generation product to the test in a bid to show the material is comparatively superior.

Noted KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes Apple's much-rumored iWatch will hit store shelves late next year, not in 2013 as many market watchers expect, with a 1.5- to 2-inch screen, focus on biometrics and deep integration with existing iOS devices.

Nearly a year after Apple introduced its own Maps service in iOS 6 with Flyover 3D satellite views, Google is expanding its own online Maps to support similar 3D satellite imagery, with the same sorts of buckled roads and visual distortions Apple was castigated for last summer.

In a post to its Chrome blog on Wednesday, Google announced plans to bring intuitive voice searches directly into the Chrome Web browser for iOS.

Apple on Wednesday pushed out a new version of QuickTime 7 for Windows users, bringing improved security features.

Ireland is in the spotlight following the U.S. Senate's investigation of Apple's alleged tax avoidance, and the low-tax nation is now calling for an international crackdown on tax dodging by multinational corporations.

Michael Gartenberg, a longtime industry analyst who most recently covered technology for Gartner, has taken a job on Apple's marketing team working under executive Phil Schiller.

Despite growing competition from other tablets, Apple's iPad still accounts for a whopping 89.28 percent of e-commerce website traffic, and also rakes in more money on a per-user basis than any other platform.

Book publisher Penguin announced on Wednesday it has reached a $75 million "comprehensive agreement" with U.S. State Attorneys General and private class plaintiffs over e-book price fixing allegations connected to Apple and its iBookstore for iOS.

In its ongoing litigation against Samsung, Apple has added five new patents to its claims, targeting both the company's new flagship Galaxy S4 smartphone, as well as the Google Now service for Android.

Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate Sony could drop one of those divisions in the near future, as the company's board will soon discuss spinning off its entertainment division in order to help its electronics arm better compete against Apple and Samsung.

Though they weren't grilled before a U.S. Senate subcommittee on Tuesday like Apple, Google and Yahoo rely on Irish subsidiaries to avoid taxes on billions of dollars in income, and they go one step further than Apple by utilizing offshore accounts.