Apple is opposing a shareholder proposal advocating a CEO succession plan for the company, while the VLC media player iOS app has reportedly been removed from the App Store over a licensing disagreement. Meanwhile, an Intel executive has revealed that his company tried unsuccessfully for a long time to get Microsoft to build a tablet operating system.
Strong sales of phones running Google Android throughout 2010 have managed to push the mobile platform past Apple's iPhone in total active subscribers for the first time, according to comScore.
Microsoft kicked off the Consumer Electronics Show Wednesday evening with a relatively subdued keynote that highlighted an upcoming update to Windows Phone 7 and demoed Windows on ARM's system-on-a-chip architecture.
Apple has recently been granted a patent for administering and maintaining a network-booted operating system, possibly laying further groundwork for a cloud-based version of Mac OS X.
A new report claims that software giant Microsoft will challenge the Apple TV and Google TV platforms when it introduces a stripped down version of Windows for set top boxes and connected TVs later this year.
A new report claims tablet sales will more than triple next year, but says Apple will hold on to its dominant position with the iPad, jumping from 14 million units in 2010 to 36 million next year.
Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 platform now has more than 5,000 applications written for it, well behind the 300,000 for Apple's iOS, but matching the total number of programs for Palm's webOS in just over two months.
Multi-billionaire and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has re-filed his patent suit against Apple, Google and several other major tech companies, adding specific examples of the alleged infringement.
Samsung, the world's second largest mobile manufacturer, intends to release a media player device aimed at Apple's iPod touch, and says it will unveil the new Galaxy Player at CES.
Microsoft has announced the shipment of 1.5 million Windows Phone 7 units into retail channel inventories, leaving the question of how well its new platform is actually selling unanswered.
Just like last year's Consumer Electronics Show, HP and Microsoft will be showing off their latest tablet competitors to Apple's iPad. This year however, the two PC partners will be tablet rivals.
Apple has apparently formed a joint venture with Microsoft, Oracle and EMC to purchase 882 patents from the recently acquired Novell.
A former Google employee predicted that the company's web-based Chrome OS for netbooks would be canceled next year while GNU founder Richard Stallman warned of its dangerous potential for users.
Microsoft will again present Slate PCs running Windows 7 at next month's 2011 Consumer Electronics Show, hoping to offer users an alternative to Apple's iPad.
Microsoft co-founder and billionaire Paul Allen's lawsuit against Apple and 10 other major tech companies hit a snag Friday when a judge dismissed the complaint for being too vague in its allegations. Allen has until Dec. 28 to file an amended complaint.
Time magazine awarded Apple four slots on its 2010 top 10 gadgets list, naming the iPad the No. 1 gadget of 2010.
Google's Android and Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 will compete for presence on handsets in a smartphone market "race to the bottom," one that could leave Apple's iPhone as the "last man standing," one prominent Wall Street analyst believes.
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak recently revealed that he has a white iPhone 4 that he modified himself using parts ordered online, while Apple has posted job listings for more engineers familiar with CDMA. Meanwhile, Microsoft moved up its pay date for Windows Phone 7 developers to January and added reporting tools for developers to keep track of app download statistics.
Microsoft VP Joe Belfiore declined to talk numbers Tuesday during his onstage interview at the D: Dive Into Mobile conference, but he did admit that the Windows Phone 7 platform might take as long as 2 years to catch up to Apple's iPhone and Google's Android.
Despite a reportedly healthy level of interest from developers, Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 debut appears to have flopped with consumers, leaving developers cautious about investing in the platform.
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AppleInsider Staff
Josh Ong
Daniel Eran Dilger
Sam Oliver
Slash Lane
Neil Hughes
