quarterly

iPad 3 is old news: 7.85-inch model due in Q3, says report

Enough about the iPad 3 already. The first iPad to come in a smaller size is due for production in the third quarter, an Asia-based report says.

Apple is likely to begin production of a 7.85-inch iPad in the third quarter of this year, Taipei-based DigiTimes said, citing sources, in a story dated Thursday.

And the price? It could go as low as $249-$299, the report said.

Before Apple goes that low, though, an 8GB iPad 2 priced below $400 is expected on March 7, when the company also announces the iPad 3.

The 7.85-inch iPad report … Read more

HP readies Windows 8 'X86' products for holiday, says CEO

Hewlett-Packard has a line of products ready to go for Windows 8, CEO Meg Whitman said today during the company's earnings conference call.

"We have a product line lined up in PSG (Personal Systems Group) on Windows on X86. We believe we're going to be well-positioned for holiday on Windows 8 X86," she said. X86 refers to the chip design that Intel and Advanced Micro Devices use.

Whitman made no mention of ARM, the other chip technology that Windows 8 will run on.

"The better Windows 8 is, the better off we are," she … Read more

Nvidia targeting dual-core phones that undercut iPhone 4S

Nvidia is eying a market for inexpensive dual-core smartphones that underprice the iPhone 4S by a wide margin.

That phone segment, which the graphics chipmaker calls the "1,000 RMB phone" in China, will use Nvidia's dual-core Tegra 2 processor paired with a 3G modem, according to Chief Executive Officer Jen-Hsun Huang, who spoke during the earnings conference call this afternoon. RMB refers to the Chinese currency.

RMB 1,000 is about 75 percent less than the price of an iPhone 4S, which currently retails for RMB 4,988 in China.

"That's a pretty exciting … Read more

Netflix pays $9 million to settle privacy violation lawsuit

Netflix experienced a bumpy year in 2011. Its shares spiked and plummeted, it lost thousands of subscribers then gained them back, it faced growing competition, and a class action lawsuit was filed against it alleging that the video subscription service violated consumer's privacy.

But things seem to be looking up for Netflix--not only did it do better than expected in the fourth quarter and now has more subscribers than ever, it also settled the lawsuit.

On Friday, Netflix filed an agreement to pay $9 million to settle the class action suit, which was originally submitted in January 2011.

The … Read more

HTC disappoints with financial results, forecast

Mobile-phone maker HTC today reported fourth-quarter results and first-quarter forecasts far short of analyst projections.

The company, which rose to prominence through its early success carrying Google's Android operating system to market, said its fourth-quarter revenue was 102.4 billion Taiwanese dollars, or $3.48 billion, with earnings per share of 13.06 Taiwanese dollars, or 44 cents per share. Analsysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected revenue of 144.6 Taiwanese dollars and EPS of 17.63 Taiwanese dollars.

In the year-earlier quarter, HTC reported EPS of 17.06 Taiwanese dollars on revenue of 104.0 billion Taiwanese … Read more

Apple reigns as world's top smartphone vendor in Q4

As smartphone shipments continued to surge throughout 2011, Apple reclaimed its chief position as the No. 1 smartphone vendor in the fourth quarter, according to research firm Strategy Analytics.

Throughout various countries, using dozens of operators, the iPhone family overtook Samsung with 24 percent of the market share in the fourth quarter. During this time, Apple's global smartphone shipments grew by 128 percent and it shipped 37. million phones.

Over the year, all global smartphone shipments increased by 54 percent and in the fourth quarter reached a record number of 155 million phones shipped.

"While Apple took the … Read more

Nvidia cuts revenue outlook, citing hard disk shortage

Nvidia has lowered revenue expectations for the period ending January 29, citing the hard disk drive shortage in Thailand.

Revenue for the fourth quarter is expected to be lower than the company's previous outlook provided with its financial results for the third quarter ended October 30, 2011, the company said this afternoon.

Revenue is now expected to be $950 million, plus or minus 1 percent, compared with original expectations of $1.066 billion, plus or minus 2 percent, provided on November 10, 2011.

"The global disk-drive shortage caused by the flooding in Thailand had more impact on the … Read more

More than half of Verizon smartphone sales in Q4 were iPhones

Holiday earnings reports are being posted, and Verizon's indicates that more than half of its smartphone sales were iPhones.

This resulted in a revenue surge for its wireless division, but because of heavy subsidies, an overall decline in profits.

Verizon's Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo said in a report by CNNMoney the loss is OK in Verizon's eyes, noting that Verizon's business deal with Apple to get the iPhone will likely be a losing effort until 2015.

Shammo otherwise assured investors that profit margins are on the rise and should continue to grow as current customers … Read more

Intel CEO: Windows 8 tablets 'being queued up' for production

Intel CEO Paul Otellini hinted that Windows 8 tablet production may not be that far off, while asserting that Android tablets won't be able to compete against the iPad until Ice Cream Sandwich becomes more widespread.

In an earnings conference call after the chip giant posted better than expected earnings today, Otellini said Android-based tablets don't have what it takes to compete against the iPad--yet.

"Tablets are a little bit about hardware and an awful lot about software," he said. "Until you get to Ice Cream Sandwich, the offering isn't as powerful as with … Read more