Gadgets, Smartphone | featured news

More details about the presumably imminent release of the next iPhone have emerged, if the typically anonymous spate of Internet sources are to be believed.

A Samsung Electronics Co Ltd expert witness testified on Tuesday that Apple Inc's iPhone and iPad violate three of Samsung's patents, as the South Korean electronics company went on offense in the third week of a high stakes trial.

Google said today that it will cut about 4,000 jobs at its Motorola Mobility wireless phone business and will close or consolidate about one-third of Motorola's 90 locations. The reductions represent about 20% of Motorola Mobility’s 20,000 employees, and two-third of the job cuts will take place outside of the U. S. The company said today that Motorola Mobility has lost money in 14 of the past 16 quarters.

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.

Nokia agreed to sell its software-development business Qt to information-technology firm Digia, as the ailing Finnish handset maker continues to divest assets in a bid to return to profitability.

Lenovo unveiled a lighter, quicker ThinkPad notebook computer on Monday to appeal to customers who like the convenience of tablets and smartphones. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon will go on sale later this month, the Chinese computer maker said. Lenovo Group acquired the ThinkPad brand with IBM Corp.'s personal computer unit in 2005. Lenovo passed Dell Inc. last year to become the second-largest PC manufacturer after Hewlett-Packard Co.

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.