Carl Icahn invests another $500M in Apple, promotes increased buyback in letter to shareholders Activist investor Carl Icahn revealed on Thursday that he just invested another $500 million in Apple, bringing his stake in the company to $3.6 billion. Coinciding with the announcement, he issued a new 7-page letter to investors encouraging them to vote in favor of his share buyback proposal. Neil Hughes 12 years ago 92
Apple's iPhone 5c boasts most available advertised memory, Samsung Galaxy S4 declared 'biggest memory hog' While many smartphones advertise 16 gigabytes of capacity, none of them actually offer that much storage to the end user. But both Apple's iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s offer among the most advertised space out of the box, while Samsung's Galaxy S4 comes in last place. Neil Hughes 12 years ago 86
Carl Icahn calls Apple a 'no brainer' investment as his stake grows to over $3B Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn took to his official Twitter account on Wednesday to reveal that he has purchased $500 million more shares of Apple stock in the last two weeks, and called his continued investment in the company a "no brainer." Neil Hughes 12 years ago 85
Amazon seeks licenses for new pay-TV service with live channels - report [u] Amazon is reportedly negotiating with major entertainment companies for the rights to rebroadcast content live over the Internet as part of a new pay TV service from the online retailer. Neil Hughes 12 years ago 15
China 3G subscribers grew 79% in 2013 with Apple poised to benefit from booming market While smartphone markets around the world are showing signs of maturity, China still posted 79 percent growth in high-speed mobile subscribers last year, reaching 417 million users. Neil Hughes 12 years ago 3
Verizon Wireless adds 1.7M subscribers in Q4, 70% now have smartphones As competition between U.S. wireless carriers heats up, Verizon Wireless on Tuesday announced the addition of nearly 2 million new subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2013. Neil Hughes 12 years ago 25
Review: SteelSeries Stratus portable wireless gaming controller for iPhone & iPad The SteelSeries Stratus is the first Apple-sanctioned, completely wireless gaming controller for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices running iOS 7. It comes in a super-portable size that's great for travel while still managing to pack in a full complement of buttons, but its diminutive form factor sacrifices some levels of comfort, while its high $100 price tag may be hard to justify. Neil Hughes 12 years ago 39
Google's smart contact lens tracks glucose levels for diabetics Google this week announced it has been working on a wearable device of a different kind than usual — a smart contact lens that could measure glucose levels from the moisture on a user's eyeball. Neil Hughes 12 years ago 70
Apple's iPhone now represents 42% of smartphones owned in the US - NPD The launch of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c helped propel Apple to a market leading 42 percent of smartphones owned in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of 2013, leading Samsung's 26 percent share, according to the latest data from the NPD Group. Neil Hughes 12 years ago 75
Apple agrees to pay $32.5M in refunds, settling App Store in-app purchase lawsuit with US government Apple and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced on Wednesday that the two sides have reached a $32.5 million settlement, bringing to an end a lawsuit over the ease with which children could rack up costly bills through in-app purchases on the iOS App Store. Neil Hughes 12 years ago 101
Tim Cook makes rare TV appearance to hype Apple-China Mobile deal In an effort to drum up enthusiasm among investors for his company's new agreement with China Mobile, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook participated in a rare TV interview on Wednesday, sharing the spotlight with Xi Guohua, the chairman of the world's largest wireless carrier. Neil Hughes 12 years ago 66
Blockbuster iPhone 5s & iPad Air propelled Apple to 80M+ holiday iDevice sales - report Total iOS device sales may have reached 80 million units in the just-concluded December quarter, driven by particularly strong demand for the new iPhone 5s and iPad Air, sales surveys conducted by Canaccord Genuity suggest. Neil Hughes 12 years ago 32
China Mobile guidance expected to be investors' focus in Apple's next earnings report When Apple reports its holiday 2013 earnings in a few weeks, investors are likely to be focused on the future, analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray believes, as the upcoming launch of the iPhone on China Mobile takes center stage. Neil Hughes 12 years ago 14
Mobile app use surged 115% in 2013, messaging & social apps saw most growth Led by an explosion in use of messaging and social applications, mobile apps for smartphones like Apple's iPhone saw a 115 percent increase in overall usage in 2013, according to new data. Neil Hughes 12 years ago 4
Cantor: Wearables now a 'legitimate' product category, but only an Apple 'iWatch' would drive sales While the glut of wearable devices introduced at this year's Consumer Electronics Show signals that companies hope to tap into the emerging market, analyst Brian White of Cantor Fitzgerald doesn't expect that sales will reach a "meaningful" level until Apple decides to enter the space with its rumored "iWatch." Neil Hughes 12 years ago 36
PC shipments continue to shrink as consumers embrace tablets like Apple's iPad While research firms Gartner and IDC have very different projections on how Apple's Mac lineup performed in the holiday quarter, both sides can agree on one thing: PC shipments continued to shrink over the holidays, as consumers once again opted for tablets over traditional computers. Neil Hughes 12 years ago 44
Apple's domestic Mac sales surge 28.5% as overall PC market shrinks 7.5% [u] U.S. Mac sales spiked 28.5 percent year over year in the just-concluded fourth quarter of calendar 2013, according to the latest figures from Gartner, giving Apple a 13.7 percent share of its home market while the rest of the industry continues to struggle. Neil Hughes 12 years ago 97
Building a cheap iPhone would be an 'insane idea' for Apple, Needham says It would be "impossible" for Apple to successfully build a cheap iPhone without doing lasting damage to the company's highly profitable and successful smartphone brand, analyst Charlie Wolf of Needham & Company believes. Neil Hughes 12 years ago 67
Wall Street's 'love affair' with iPhone unit sales, and not Apple's ecosystem, seen as misguided Investors place too great an emphasis on Apple's total iPhone unit sales every quarter, without giving enough consideration to the company's transition to greater monetization of its unique ecosystem of services, one analyst believes. Neil Hughes 12 years ago 35
Apple's 3D recording concept could allow user-generated 'street views' in Maps Apple was awarded a patent this week for a concept that could allow users to crowd-source street-level, three-dimensional mapping data by simply taking pictures on their iPhones and sharing them with the world. Neil Hughes 12 years ago 15
US grocery chains rolling Apple's iBeacon tech out to dozens of stores Starting Monday, dozens of grocery stores in three major cities across the U.S. saw the rollout of Apple's iBeacon technology, allowing customers to receive location-specific data, such as relevant coupons, while they shop. Neil Hughes 12 years ago 35
Meta announces new premium iPhone-connected smart watch lineup Meta, the smart watch maker formerly known as MetaWatch, has announced its next generation of iPhone-connected, wrist-worn devices, set to launch this spring with an all-new look and premium design from the brains behind Vertu luxury electronics. Neil Hughes 12 years ago 23
Critics take issue with lack of diversity on Apple Board of Directors Apple's primarily male Board of Directors is under the microscope, as critics contend that the iPhone maker should do more to diversify its governing body beyond white men. Neil Hughes 12 years ago 180
With Apple shareholder proposal pending, Carl Icahn turns his attention to Hertz Activist investor Carl Icahn, who has a history of using his money and power to influence publicly traded companies and most recently made Apple one of his targets, is now setting his sights on Hertz, buying as many as 40 million shares in the rental car company. Neil Hughes 12 years ago 122
