Apple, Gadgets | featured news

Apple has reportedly given the okay to its retail stores to price-match iPhones sold by other, authorized sellers. Citing an unnamed source, MacRumors reported Thursday that Apple stores will price-match the iPhone 4 to as low as $49.99 and the iPhone 4S to as low as $149.99, posting a document that says customers can ask for savings of nearly $50.

Steve Jobs was receptive to Apple Inc making a smaller tablet, a senior executive said in a 2011 email revealed on Friday, fanning speculation that Apple plans to make a mini-iPad and take on Google and Amazon products.

Samsung Electronics is set to take the wraps off a sequel to its popular Galaxy Note smartphone at an event on August 29, about two weeks before the possible debut of Apple's new iPhone. The two arch rivals are bracing for a full-blown battle with the expected rollouts of the two key models coming as they lock horns in a high-stakes patent trial in the United States.

Samsung Electronics Co. defeated a bid for judicial sanctions against it by Apple (AAPL) (AAPL) Inc. related to evidence in the iPhone patent dispute now on trial in San Jose federal court in California.

Apple is said to be ready to introduce a new iPhone with an event on Sept. 12, according to a person with knowledge of Apple's plans.

Two tech titans will square off in federal court Monday in a closely watched trial over control of the U.S. smartphone and computer tablet markets. Apple Inc. filed a lawsuit against Samsung Electronics Co. last year alleging the world's largest technology company's smartphones and computer tablets are illegal knockoffs of its popular iPhone and iPad products. The Cupertino-based company is demanding $2.5 billion in damages, an award that would dwarf the largest patent-related verdict to date.

If Apple Inc's weaker-than-expected quarterly result is anything to go by, the global smartphone industry is a lot more vulnerable to economic shocks these days than during the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

This is Apple’s second earnings miss under Tim Cook. After the second miss, the scrutiny of Tim Cook’s leadership inevitably comes into play. The big question is, “Are Steve Jobs’ shoes too big to fill?” Steve Jobs was a master at managing expectations. He mastered the art of under promising and over delivering. Steve Jobs perfected the art of managing expectations by not giving good guidance regarding earnings.

AT&T Inc pulled back its outlook for business services this year, sending its shares down 3 percent despite its better than expected quarterly profit as it reduced costs from customer upgrades to smartphones such as the Apple Inc iPhone.

On Tuesday, Apple is set to report financial results for the second quarter. Analysts are expecting net income of $9.8 billion. But whatever figure Apple reports won't reflect its true profit, because the company hides some of it with an unusual tax maneuver.