After years of failing to do much more than embarrass Samsung Electronics in legal battles over patent infringement, Apple has rapidly obliterated Samsung's mobile division profitability, rendering it as barrenly unprofitable as every other Android or Windows licensee with razor thin margins in the phone, PC and tablet market.
In November, the Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi had earned $556 million based on "internal documents." Reuters is now reporting that the company actually earned an order of magnitude less, based on the firm's public filings.
When Apple's chief executive Tim Cook came out as gay, jokes flew that Samsung might rush to announce it "was even more gay." In reality however, Samsung Electronics is a step further behind Apple, having yet to officially name a successor to its ailing leader Lee Kun-hee, who at 72 remains hospitalized following a heart attack in May.
At least one device from upstart Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has been found to transmit user data — including SMS messages and photos — back to servers in mainland China without the user's permission, according to reports from Hong Kong.
Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi — known for its disruptive high-spec, low-cost Android handsets — appears ready to make a move upmarket with the launch of an all-metal device after inviting members of the media to an event with invitations stamped from steel.
Apple's dominance in the tablet market with the iPad will be challenged by a new competitor in Xiaomi, a Chinese smartphone maker that plans to take on the iPad with a nearly identical look and a product name that simply adds one letter and a space to Apple's trademarked name.
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Daniel Eran Dilger
Sam Oliver
Neil Hughes
