market

Google today announced that it is now offering unlocked Galaxy Nexus handsets directly to consumers.

On the company's mobile blog, Android chief Andy Rubin wrote that the company has added a new Devices section to its Google Play store. Initially available only to U.S. consumers, the GSM Galaxy Nexus carries an attractive $399 price tag.

"We've worked with developers and content partners to launch Google Play, offering more than 500,000 apps, millions of songs and books, and thousands of movies. And we've implemented new customer support services to improve the purchasing experience on Google Play," Rubin wrote. "We've taken all of this into consideration in designing Devices on Google Play." … Read more

I'd like to discuss a new trend in online marketing that will make you exceptionally wealthy and be in a position to buy Facebook with your own personal funds.

But first could you answer this question: When you are in the bath, do you a) read a book about fangless vampires? b) smoke substances of an illegal nature and then get annoyed when a little hot detritus falls onto your naked chest? Or c) plot how you will murder your boss without anyone noticing?

I am, you see, homing in (as I so often do) on the latest marketing trend … Read more

Research In Motion introduced its latest low-cost BlackBerry for developing markets in India today as it tries to keep pace with its Google Android competitors.

The new BlackBerry Curve 9220 is an upgrade to a previous low-cost version of the BlackBerry and will soon be rolled out all across Asia. The phone itself is basic when compared to smartphones sold in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. It runs BlackBerry OS 7.1, has a 2-megapixel camera, and only operates on a 2G network. But the big deal about this phone is that it's affordable. At a retail price … Read more

Microsoft reportedly hopes to push Apple's worldwide iPad market share under 50 percent by the middle of 2013 with Windows 8-based tablets, Digitimes reports today, citing unnamed sources.

Microsoft is currently helping its many third-party vendors, including Dell, HP, and Acer, get their tablets out the door this year. Digitimes' sources say as many as 32 Windows 8-based tablets could launch by the end of 2012.

Apple has been the dominant force in the tablet market over the last couple of years. Even though it faces a host of Android-based devices, including the popular Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 … Read more

The bad news keeps piling on for Best Buy.

As if the resignation of CEO Brian Dunn and a rough quarterly report weren't enough, investment bank Canaccord Genuity said today that Best Buy may have actually lost market share for the first time in a decade.

This would marks a reversal share gains that Best Buy has made over the past years as other big-box retailers crumbled and faded away. While its advances haven't been as strong in recent years, Best Buy had continued to take business away from its competitors.

But the rise in online retailers such … Read more

PC shipments in the first quarter didn't scorch any growth charts, but they did avoid a predicted decline.

According to Gartner data, PC shipments in the first quarter checked in at 89 million units, up 1.9 percent from a year ago. Gartner has projected a 1.2 percent decline. IDC data shows PC unit growth of 2.3 percent in the first quarter.

In other words, the PC patient has a pulse despite a tablet onslaught.

However, there are plenty of things to worry the PC industry. For starters, India and China growth wasn't that great. Europe … Read more

Gartner Group is predicting Microsoft will control only 4 percent of the worldwide tablet market in 2012, trailing Apple and Google as a distant third player in the space.

Gartner estimates that Apple will sell 73 million tablets worldwide in 2012, and Android OEMs another 38 million. Tablet makers running Windows will sell 4.8 million devices, Gartner estimated in new data released this week. Gartner is expecting 119 million tablets to be sold worldwide in total this year.

It's not just because Windows 8, Microsoft's first truly touch-centric, tablet-optimized operating system, isn't expected to launch until … Read more

Apple's market capitalization crossed the $600 billion mark earlier today, setting a record for the company and nearing that of one of its biggest rivals.

Shares of the company's stock reached $644 in intraday trading. Per Dow Jones, the stock needs to close above $643.52 to reach the magic $600 billion number.

Market capitalization is defined as the value of shares times the number of shares outstanding. Apple passed previous market cap champ Exxon on that metric last year, and is now nearing the $619 billion market cap record set by rival Microsoft on December 30, 1999. … Read more

Almost everyone knows someone who has had their cell phone stolen. And most likely, there wasn't much that person could do about it. Some mobile carriers and the U.S. government are now trying to change that.

The Federal Communications Commission announced today that it is partnering with four major carriers to work toward curbing rampant cell phone theft, according to The New York Times. The plan is to jointly create a centralized database of lost or stolen cell phone information that will make it easy to track the devices and cutoff voice and data service.

"It's … Read more