Iphone, Gadgets | featured news

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.

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.

It’s that time again. Apple’s new iPhone is always the subject of speculation, but the buzz around the next-generation of the iPhone is getting bigger and bigger. Here are the latest rumors about the iPhone rounded up for your reading pleasure, whether you’re calling it the iPhone 5 or just the new iPhone.

Nokia’s latest smartphones may be chasing the ubiquity of iPhones and Androids, but the Finnish phone maker hopes that vivid colors, simple form factor and the “instinctive” user interface on its latest Lumia range will help claw back thinning margins and faltering profits. The trick is to appeal to trend-setters, much like Apple‘s iMacs first did nearly 15 year ago. Are its designers and managers living in a parallel universe, or can they pull it off?

General Motors will be one of the first automakers to support Apple's Eyes Free feature in iOS 6, according to a report by GMAuthority. Eyes Free will put a dedicated Siri button on the steering wheel, allowing users to control their iPhones without moving their hands.

Co-founded in 2009 by Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey, Square enables people to accept credit card payments on iPhone, iPad or Android devices... In a move that positions the company for a potential initial public offering, Square has hired former Goldman Sachs and Salesforce.com executive Sarah Friar as chief financial officer.

Apple just unveiled a bunch of new iPhone and iPad features coming this fall in iOS 6, but no big surprises. The biggest new feature, as expected, is an entirely new Maps experience. Apple has taken over its maps back-end from Google, including a gorgeous 3D "flyover" mode, crowdsourced traffic information, Siri integration and turn-by-turn directions. (Public transit directions, a nice feature of Google Maps, seem to be missing. Perhaps Google will launch its own iOS Maps app now?)

The biggest new feature, as expected, is an entirely new Maps experience. Apple has taken over its maps back-end from Google, including a gorgeous 3D "flyover" mode, crowdsourced traffic information, Siri integration and turn-by-turn directions. (Public transit directions, a nice feature of Google Maps, seem to be missing. Perhaps Google will launch its own iOS Maps app now?)

Contract handset maker Foxconn International its loss in this year's first half to widen significantly from a year earlier as demand from major customers like Nokia weakened further in the period.