Microsoft has decided to skip a battle they’d have had to fight if they’d continued down the road with their cloud storage service SkyDrive amid a call to action by British Sky Broadcasting. That company, also known as BSkyB, planned legal means of ending Microsoft’s use of the “SkyDrive” brand name due to conflicts with
Tough loss for AT&T, which will lose some business from Starbucks thanks to a new deal with Google that will see 7,000 Starbucks locations replaced with Google WiFi in order to provide faster speeds. The transition will happen over the next 18 months, and Google claims coffee drinkers will experience speeds 10-times faster than AT&T’s
It goes without saying that HTC has been focusing on the top-tier phone market recently, with the release of the HTC One and HTC One mini, as well as the DROID DNA late last year. However, the company is wanting to focus more on releasing mid-tier devices, as the market in several countries has grown in that respect.
During the company’s Q2 earnings call, CEO Peter Chou said that HTC’s upcoming plans will “address some of our challenges of mid-tier product competitiveness.” Chou says that the company has suffered recently due to intense competition with flagship devices, but he thinks that focusing more on mid-tier products will get the company back on track.
Essentially, HTC is looking to diversify its lineup of products, and we’ve already seen evidence of that recently, with the unveiling of the Desire 500, which is the company’s newest low-tier smartphone that includes a 4.3-inch 800×480 display, with a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor clocked at 1.2GHz and 1GB of RAM on the inside.
Aside from focusing on more mid-tier devices in the future, the company also wants to focus on more partnerships, and Chou notes that he hopes this will help HTC make a big statement in the mobile market once 2014 rolls around. Chou is also hoping to finish out the year on a high note, following what the company is predicting to be a poor third quarter.
HTC is expecting Q3 revenue in the range of $1.7 billion to $2 billion, which would be down from the previous quarter’s revenue of $2.35 billion. This would as much as a 30% drop in revenue. However, the company says that Q4 will be much better, but didn’t mention financial outlooks that far ahead yet.
VIA: The Next Web
SOURCE: HTC
HTC mid-tier devices planned with poor third quarter expected is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Last month, we reported that – as part of an ongoing battle between Pandora and the music industry – the Internet radio company would acquire terrestrial radio station KXMZ in order to get an RMLC license. The ultimate goal in the business move would be scoring the lower royalty rates that its competitors enjoy. The ASCAP has long bucked against Pandora’s efforts, and this acquisition is no different: a request has been made for the FCC to block the purchase.
Says ASCAP in the filing: “Pandora is buying KXMZ for one reason – to argue that it is entitled to pay lower music performance royalties to composers, songwriters and lyricists for its billions of online-only internet music streams … Moreover, Pandora’s acquisition of KXMZ would not serve the public interest … The application should be denied.”
According to various statements made by Pandora, the purpose of purchasing a terrestrial radio station is to get the same lower rates that ASCAP provides for competitors, such as iHeartRadio, due to their ownership of terrestrial stations, which have different rates than Internet stations. As we stated last month, Pandora considers this a violation of the Department of Justice decree it is supposed to follow.
Later in June, Pandora’s founder Tim Westergren posted a lengthy statement on the company’s blog regarding the issue, including what he considers to be lies created by the music industry’s “hired guns.” Statements such as Pandora’s desire to decrease royalties by 85-percent, said Westergren, were complete lies created for the purpose of causing the company problems.
Following this, Westergren went on to discuss the issue between spins and plays, whereas a play on a radio station is listened to by many, while a spin is a song listened to by one user. As such, says Westergren, it could take many spins to equal a single play, and such is the nature of contention between what Internet radio stations should have to pay in royalties.
The Petition to Deny was filed by ASCAP on July 25.
SOURCE: TechDirt
Pandora acquisition of radio station KXMZ challenged with FCC block request is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
It is no secret that Zynga, maker of several popular Facebook games, has been having considerable financial trouble over the past months. Earlier this month, Microsoft’s Don Mattrick went on to become the company’s CEO, and following this three top executives have resigned from their position. The information comes from sources said to be familiar with the matter who spoke to Bloomberg.
According to these sources, the executives who retired are Senior Vice President of Games John Osvald, Vice President of Zynga’s Casino Division Jesse Janosov, and Vice President of Games Nathan Etter. As Bloomberg pointed out, Mr. Etter has since updated his LinkedIn profile to show his current job as being with Disney’s interactive division.
If true, this would be the latest in a long line of high-level employees who have left Zynga since late 2011, an unfortunate move for the company that further signifies its various financial trouble. Such is the result of a steady decline in demand for its games, of which includes the not-as-popular-as-they-used-to-be Mafia Wars and FarmVille.
The story of Zynga’s troubles began a bit after it made its initial public offering in December of 2011. At its top, the company was the maker whose games were most in demand on Facebook, something that helped prompt a massive $1 billion IPO. Since that time, other companies have moved in with their own games, of which several are now among the top most played on the social network.
In a somewhat bitter twist of irony, several of the workers who left Zynga have moved on to create their own online game companies that now compete with their former employer, among them being TapZen and JuiceBox Games. It is yet to be seen whether Mattrick will turn the company around, but if the rumor is true, it would seem at least three executives weren’t confident that would happen.
SOURCE: Bloomberg
Zynga reportedly had three top executives resign in July is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
ASUS has enjoyed a variety of successes with its Android tablets, perhaps most notable among them being the Transformer series and the Nexus 7. Despite this, it has little presence in the US’s smartphone market, something the maker aims to change in the coming months. Speaking to the folks over at All Things D, ASUS’s chairman said the company is looking at entering the stateside smartphone market in 2014.
ASUS has been particularly active with pushing its Padfone and FonePad, the first of which features a fairly impressive 4.7-inch smartphone that docks into a 10-inch slate, making it a complete tablet rather than just a handset. The FonePad is the inverse to that gadget, being tablet-sized with cell phone functionality, allowing for users to make calls.
While both devices are nice, they’re of the hybrid variety, and overall the smartphone aspect of the maker has been slight in the United States, though other markets have seen some impressive handsets from the company. Some reports began to surface this afternoon that the company will be changing this next year, something that was collaborated by statements made by ASUS’s chairman Jonney Shih in an interview.
According to Shih, ASUS has been networking with US retailers and carriers, something it says is a necessary component for experiencing success in the market. While not impossible, the maker certainly has its work cut out for it at this point, with Samsung and Apple both having a massive presence in the market, and with LG, HTC, Sony, and other companies battling to dominate the rest of it.
The 2014 timeline doesn’t seem set in stone, with Shih saying that 2013 isn’t a likely candidate for an entrance in the market, and that 2014 is instead “more reasonable.” Whatever the company does bring to market, it could very well be a high-end offering, if its recent devices are any indication. Rounding out the interview, the chairman hinted that there’s more coming in the Transformer series.
SOURCE: Android Community
ASUS plans to enter US smartphone market in 2014 is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
It should be clear at this point that Samsung’s profits in the mobile sector have not, as a report by Strategy Analytics last week suggested, taken over Apples’. According to Strategy Analytics, “Samsung’s operating profit for its handset division stood at US $5.2 billion in the second quarter of 2013″ while Apple “recorded an estimated iPhone operating profit of US $4.6 billion”. And that’s essentially the extent of their basic report – this is not just far too limited to have covered the claim they’ve made, it’s simply inaccurate.
Strategy Analytics claims “Global Handset Operating Profits” in converted US dollars for Samsung was $5.2 billion in the second quarter of 2013, while Apple’s was $4.6 billion. This is the quarter ending in June of 2013, which for Apple is fiscal Q3 and for Samsung is fiscal Q2.
According to Apple’s Form 10-Q for this quarter as filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Apple’s total operating income was $9.2 billion USD – this minus Apple’s $2.5 billion in taxes makes a total of $6.9 billion in net income.
As Apple Insider notes, it’s from that $9.2 billion in operating profits that Strategy Analytics appears to get their total “global handset operating profits” for Apple. This comes from the idea that the iPhone accounts for a total of 51% of Apple’s total business.
Meanwhile you’ll find that Samsung’s total reported operating income was (converted from Korean Republic Won) in at $8.56 billion, minus $1.84 billion for taxes, ringing in at $6.98 billion in net income.
Samsung’s breakdown of device sales and profits is done – for mobile – with one called “IT & Mobile Communications.” This includes everything from handsets to tablets, network equipment to PCs. Samsung reported that operating profits of (converted) $5.64 billion for this quarter came from this IT & Mobile Communications segment. Strategy Analytics “estimates” that $5.2 billion of this number accounts for non-network devices.
This number still includes Samsung’s tablets, PCs, and Chromebooks, while the competing number here is just Apple’s iPhone, and the iPhone alone. That comparison doesn’t make sense to report. It’s as simple as that.
Samsung vs Apple Mobile Profits: the big Strategy Analytics mix up is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Oracle has filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Northern District of California against two IT service providers, Maintech and Terix. According to the lawsuit, the two companies have provided illegal support for Oracle’s Solaris OS software, having encouraged customers to cancel their Oracle support subscriptions.
The filing from Oracle states that both of the service providers led customers to believe that they’re authorized to provide support for Oracle’s software, which includes software updates. Furthermore, says Oracle, the two companies acquire the software updates in an “unathorized” manner that includes the use of login information that has expired.
Not surprisingly, both Maintech and Terix have denounced such claims. Said Terix’s CEO Bernd Appleby: “Oracles [sic] complaint is without any basis in either law or fact. Terix fully respects and diligently strives to protect the intellectual property of any third party. Terix acts only as an authorized agent of the end-users, pursuant to their rights, to facilitate support services.”
Terix goes on to state that all the users named in the filing had valid Oracle rights and licenses, among others, with their login info only being used for their own issues. For its part, Oracle is seeking an injunction – both preliminary and permanent – against both companies, as well as payment in the form of damages, restitution, and return of any and all intellectual property.
This isn’t the first time companies have been accused of providing unauthorized support for Solaris software, and is a further push on Oracle’s part to stomp on third-party vendors that pose a threat to its support revenue stream. Such third-party vendors, however, feel that there is nothing wrong with their services, and contend that they work within the rights of the customers.
SOURCE: Network World
Oracle files lawsuit against companies offering illegal tech support is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Samsung has released its second quarter earnings report for 2013, showing an overall increase in sales, but with one hiccup in tow: a 3-percent drop over the previous quarter in its operating profit for its IT and Mobile Communications division. The sales numbers come in at 57.46 trillion won, which works out to about $51 billion USD.
The sales represent a 9-percent increase over the first quarter of this year, which came in at 52.87 trillion won, both of which trumped 2012′s Q2 sales of 47.60 won. The operating profit, meanwhile, was 9.53 trillion won for this quarter, which works out to about $8.5 billion USD. This was also a 9-percent jump over Q1, which came in at 8.78 trillion.
The sales numbers are up across the board, with the slightest gain coming in the Semiconductor business at 1-percent from 8.68 trillion won over 8.58. The largest gain came in the Display Panel business, which saw a quarter-on-quarter increase of 15-percent from 7.11 trillion won to 8.18 trillion. While the numbers went up for the year, both are still down compared to 2012 Q2′s 8.25 trillion.
As far as Mobile business sales go, the sales increased 9-percent from 34.58 trillion over last quarter’s 31.77, both being a large increase over 2012′s 22.43 trillion. Operating profit shows a 3-percent drop for the IT & Mobile Communications division, however, at 6.28 under last year’s 6.51, both of which still out pace 2012′s 4.13 trillion won.
As we pointed out when the first round of numbers were made available earlier this month, the results fell short of what analysts had anticipated, and because of this Samsung took a small hit on its shares. While the mobile business did see a dip, the overall picture is far from grim, with both sales and operating profits increasing over the last quarter is all the other areas.
SOURCE: Samsung
Samsung 2013 Q2 earnings show 9% growth while mobile division profits drop is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Having a meal alone is one of those incredibly appealing things that
often people are hesitant to do because they worry about public
perception since dining out is generally a social event. But, the
experience of dining alone can actually be incredibly calming, and just
give restaurant goers the opportunity to focus on the food.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
