Nov 05
According to an international financial statement filed by Apple, the company manages to pay just 1.9 percent income tax on its foreign earnings, meaning it pays a mere $713 million in tax on earnings of $36.8 billion. More »
Nov 01
The phablet: it’s almost too big to fit in your pocket, a tad too small to use as a tablet, yet it somehow hits the sweet spot in usability and comfort. Among the phablets available is the Galaxy Note II, which Samsung says has sold 3 million units worldwide. The smartphone was launched a little over a month ago.
The Galaxy Note II has a 5.5-inch screen, which as we noted in our hands-on review, fits into a space where a 5.3-inch display previously resided. This phablet has smaller top and bottom bezels than its predecessor, and has curved edges that keep it from looking as ginormous as it is. Overall, despite its size, the device is still pocketable.
The Galaxy Note II includes the S Pen, which is longer and thicker than the previous version, and features a rubber tip. There’s a slot for the S Pen in the bottom of the smartphone, and while the stylus is compatible with the original Note, its size change means it won’t fit in the original device’s pen slot.
As far as hardware goes, the Note II has a 1280 x 720 AMOLED display, which is slightly less than the original Note’s 1280 x 800 resolution. Inside you’ll find a 1.6GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and either 16, 32, or 64GB of memory space, depending on model. There’s also a microSD slot with support for up to 64GB of expansion.
[via Engadget]
Samsung Galaxy Note II sells 3 million units worldwide is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Oct 31
Apple has filed its 10-K with the SEC, displaying the company’s growth for all to see. The report shows fairly monumental growth on Apple’s part, with the company expanding its research and development (R&D) costs $1 billion, coming in at a total of $3.4 billion for 2012. Retail store numbers, per-store revenue, and workforce numbers have also increased.
Apple’s workforce increased to nearly 73,000 full-time employees, with another 3,300 temporary full-time employees. As of September 29, 42,400 of the employees worked for Apple retail stores. This is a jump from 2011′s overall workforce count of 60,400. Speaking of Apple Retail, 33 new stores were opened in 2012, 28 of which are outside of the U.S, bringing the total number of stores up to 390.
Apple’s retail building space has also grown, jumping to 17.3 million square feet over last year’s 13.2 million. Land ownership has increased to 1,770 acres over last year’s 584 acres, the total of which is in addition to the 2.6 million square feet for its new headquarters. Part of the newly added space is from the new data centers in North Carolina and Oregon.
Finally, there’s revenue, which increased 19-percent to $51.1 million in 2012, a fairly substantial jump over last year’s $43.3 million. Sales in Asia were particularly high, increasing 47-percent to $10.7 billion, most of which is accounted for in iPhone sales. In particular, Japanese sales jumped a huge 94-percent to a total of $5.1 billion in 2012.
[via TNW]
Apple’s 2012 annual report shows substantial growth is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Oct 29
A couple weeks ago, we reported that Google was threatening to exclude French media sites from search results if it passed a law that would require search engines to pay for displaying links to French media sites. Google retorted that such a law would be harmful to the Internet, and that it would be forced to stop indexing French sites as a result. Now things have heated up, with Google being told to either pay up or strike a deal.
According to Reuters, France’s president Francois Hollande told Google’s Eric Schmidt that the company has to start paying for the links it displays to French media outlets unless it strikes a deal with the companies. His office said in a statement, “The President…said he hoped negotiations between Google and press organs could begin quickly and conclude before the end of the year.” Schmidt and Hollande met in Paris at the Elysee Palace.
Earlier this month, Google stated that it would “be required to no longer reference French sites” if such a law as the one proposed was passed. The pay model, it said, would threaten Google’s existence. According to the company, the search engine giant redirects billions of clicks per month towards French media Web pages.
This issue has surfaced as a result of lagging newspaper sales in the digital age. France is one of several countries that have proposed such a law, or indicated that they find it favorable. Germany has released draft legislation that would force search engines such as Google to pay for linking to media websites. Said Fleur Pellerin, French technology minister, to Quartz, “What I would suggest — and what I’m going to suggest to Google and to the press — is to start negotiating, to start discussions for maybe three months, and try to find an agreement on a negotiated basis. And if they don’t, well we’ll see.”
[via Reuters]
Google is told to pay up or strike a deal in French Internet debacle is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Oct 26
Earlier this week, Apple notified developers that iTunes Connect would undergo scheduled maintenance on October 25 from 12pm to 7pm. Following this, an announcement went out stating that support for 8 new currencies had been added, as well as a handful of other features. Contained in the message was this tidbit: “Also, note that we have adjusted the retail price for the Mexican Peso, the Euro, and the Danish Kroner.”
Users noted yesterday that the pricing for several European countries had changed in the App Store, with the base price of €0.79 jumping to €0.89. Thus far, the price change has been observed for Germany, Denmark, France, The Netherlands, Italy, Slovenia, and Belgium, among others. It is speculated that Apple is adjusting the prices to deal with increased local taxes in the affected countries.
This is amidst the support for eight new currencies: Turkish Lira, Indian Rupees, Russian Rubles, Indonesian Rupiah, Israeli New Shekels, South African Rand, Saudi Arabian Riyal, and the UAE Dirham. The addition of these currencies means that App Store users in the related countries can now make purchases in the local currency rather than in USD. In the long run, this could increase the use of paid apps in specific locations and encourage developers to create more localized products.
According to the message Apple sent to developers, starting in November reports will be available for the eight new territories as their own regions. Revenue from sales made prior to this will be detailed in the “Rest of World” financial report in USD, while all future reports for those regions will appear in the local currency. Developers can find out more by checking out the “Rights and Pricing” section on iTunes Connect.
[via TNW]
Apple adds 8 new currencies to App Store, adjusts prices is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Oct 26
Samsung has beat Nokia again to take helm as biggest mobile phone seller for its third-quarter in a row, giving it 23.7-percent of the market. Nokia previously held the title of biggest seller for 14 years. Also bested was Apple, which came in third after Nokia. This is according to an industry study by research firm IDC.
Samsung sold 105.4 million phones in the third-quarter of 2012, a 21-percent increase over Q3 2011. This jump in sales allowed Samsung to hold its title as world’s biggest mobile phone seller over Nokia, giving the Korean company 23.7-percent of the market, a 3.6-percent increase from last year. Nokia lost its title back in the first quarter of the year.
More specifically, Samsung now holds 31.3-percent of the smartphone market, more than double Apple’s 15-percent. For the most part, the Korean company has its popular Galaxy smartphones to thank for the revenue it is currently enjoying. Want to see what the hype is about? Check out our hands-on review of the Galaxy Note II.
Nokia sold a total of 82.9 million phones in Q3 2012, a drop of 22.2-percent, giving it 18.7-percent of the market. Next up was Apple in the third position with a total market share of 6.1-percent. Finally, LG topped off the list, coming in at a mere 3.1-percent. Still, keep in mind that this information is from one research firm, and varies. Strategy Analytics, for example, has Samsung at 35-percent of the market versus 31.3-percent.
[via Bloomberg]
Samsung trumps Nokia again, is largest mobile phone seller is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Oct 25
Earlier this month, Samsung stated that it expected profits of $7.28 billion for its third-quarter. The Korean company has surpassed that number, however, with its Q3 earnings press release boasting $7.4 billion in operating profits and a net income of $5.97 billion. The company’s Q3 profit in 2011 was $3.8 billion.
According to the press release, Samsung’s revenue is due primarily to smartphones and a “stronger demand for display panels.” The company’s Mobile Communications Business accounted for over half of the company’s revenue, while a higher demand for LCD and OLED panels contributed significantly to the Korean giant’s overall profits. Samsung’s Digital Media and Communications experienced a 41-percent year-on-year increase.
Said Robert Yi, Senior Vice President and Head Investor of Relations at Samsung, “The business environment remained difficult with global economic uncertainties persisting amid the fiscal concerns in the US and Europe. However, we continued to break our quarterly profit records.” Yi went on to state that it is expected that market competition will grow, but that the company will attempt to sustain its earnings in Q4 by “implementing strategies we have developed for our businesses.”
According to the press release, demand for smartphones and tablets is expected to increase throughout the rest of the year. On the other hand, demand for PC DRAM is expected to drop due to excess supply, with Samsung’s Semiconductor segment reporting a year-on-year sales drop of 8-percent. Decreased digital appliance sales is also expected due to an “unfavorable market.”
Samsung exceeds expectations with $7.4 billion Q3 profits is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Oct 25
Research by Strategy Analytics via its Tablet & Touchscreen Strategies service, more commonly known as TTS, shows that Android received a record 41-percent share of global tablet shipments in the third-quarter of 2012. Apple, while still boasting 57-percent of the global market share, experienced a statistically significant drop in sales. This shift was caused for multiple reasons, not the least of which is the recently-announced iPad mini.
Total global tablet shipments in Q3 hit 24.7 million, which is a 43-percent increase from 2011 Q3’s grand total of 17.2 million. Apple shipped a total of 14 million iPads, resulting in a drop to 57-percent from last year’s 64-percent. While overall tablet sales have decreased due to a poor economy, Apple experienced a double-whammy due to consumers holding off on buying iPads in anticipation of the recently-announced iPad mini.
Apple’s sales slump was the edge Android needed to gain a record footing in the market. Said Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics, “Android captured a record 41-percent share of global tablet shipments in Q3 2012, jumping from 29-percent a year earlier. Global Android tablet shipments doubled annually to 10.2 million units. No single Android vendor comes close to Apple in volume terms at the moment, but the collective weight of dozens of hardware partners, such as Asus, Samsung and Nook, is helping Google’s Android platform to register a growing presence in tablets.”
The TTS research also revealed some other tablet-related data, the most relevant of which is perhaps the massive drop reported in global tablet shipments. While tablet sales grew 43-percent in Q3 of this year, it is a significant drop from the 289-percent annual growth in Q2 2011. For its part in the market, Microsoft snagged 2-percent of the global tablet shares this past quarter, which is expected to jump with the release of its Surface RT tablet.
[via Strategy Analytics]
Android boasts 41% share of Q3 global tablet shipments, sets record is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Oct 25
Square, maker of the nifty little commerce gadgets that plug into a mobile device’s headphone port, has announced the availability of its Mobile Card Reader in Canada. The Mobile Card Reader allows businesses and individuals to accept credit card payments directly from their iOS or Android smartphone or tablet. The device is free.
Square charges a 2.75% fee per card swipe, and brings in over $8 billion in annualized payments. The accompanying app, Square Register, is also free, making the system accessible to anyone who wants to convert to a mobile-based payment system. According to the press release, Canada is Square’s first foray outside of the US.
Said the VP of International for Square Alyssa Cutright, “We are focused on making commerce easy for everyone. Square builds free tools for local businesses of all sizes and types to thrive. We’re thrilled to introduce Canadian businesses and their customers to the most seamless and enjoyable way to do business.”
Payments issued through Square’s Mobile Card Reader and accompanying app are available within 1 to 2 business days. There are no setup fees or long-term contracts according to the company’s website. For those who bring in substantial business, there’s an optional $275 flat monthly rate rather than the 2.75% per transaction fee.
Square mobile commerce device launched in Canada is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Oct 24
The French government’s anti-P2P agency known as HADOPI, named after the HADOPI law, is set to lose 23% of its funding next year. Earlier this year, the agency took down its first offender under the law, which brings the banhammer (or a fine, situation dependent) on individuals who are issued three warnings regarding piracy. The HADOPI program will be extended into 2013 despite previous hints that this would be its last year.
Back in September, a French court said Alain Prevost had to pay a $194 fine for leaving his wifi network unsecured while ignoring warnings that were issued regarding piracy. The issue arose when his wife, who admitted guilt in court, downloaded two Rihanna songs. Prevost was the owner of the account used, and was thusly fined after stating that network was unsecured, incriminating himself.
According to the French government document “2013 Report on Indepedent Public Authorities,” HADOPI’s budget for 2013 is being cut from €10.3 million to €8 million. This is the third drop in a row, with the 2011 budget coming in at €11.4 million. This comes after a statement in August by the French Minister of Culture Aurelie Filippetti indicating that the program was going to get the kibosh.
The United States is slated to have a similar program in place this year called the Copyright Alert System. The CAS will utilize MarkMonitor to pinpoint piracy, and is funded by the five big ISPs: Verizon, AT&T, Cablevision, Comcast, and Time Warner Cable. Customers get six-strikes, and can appeal for a $35 fee, which is refunded if they win.
[via ars technica]
French anti-P2P Hadopi funding to drop 23% is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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