Apple

Android, iOS combine for 91 percent of market

Android and iOS completely dominate the mobile market, according to new data from research firm IDC.

IDC revealed today that Android owned 70.1 percent of the smartphone OS market in the fourth quarter, on 159.8 million shipments. Last year during the same period, Android owned 52.9 percent of the space, on 85 million shipments.

Android's popularity was similarly strong throughout 2012, as the operating system scored 68.8 percent ownership, on 497.1 million shipments.

Apple's iOS proved to be a distant second during the fourth quarter and throughout 2012. According to IDC, Apple's … Read more

iOS 6.1 hack lets users see your phone app, place calls

Some sleight of hand will allow iOS 6.1 hackers to access your phone application, listen to your voice mails, and place calls.

A YouTube video showing users how to "bypass iPhone 5 passcode" on Apple's latest iOS releases, including iOS 6.1, has been published. The person who uploaded the video shows how anyone can access the phone application on a passcode-protected iPhone.

In order to achieve the hack, users must come close to turning off the iPhone, place an emergency call, and keep their finger on the power button. CNET was able to re-create the … Read more

Rumor Has It: Time to preorder your Apple iWatch

Dear Rumor fans,

Don't cry for me, readers, just because I am moving away from you and my partner in rumor sleuthing, Karyne Levy, to voluntarily shovel snow in Massachusetts for the rest of my life.

OK, cry a little bit (aww shucks, guys, I'm going to miss you, too!) but then dry those tears and rejoice because Rumor Has It is continuing on without me. And it's going to grow and change and highlight all the amazing talent CNET has to offer and make me so proud.

The concept for Rumor Has It popped into my … Read more

Cell phone sales dip globally, Gartner says

Mobile phone sales declined across the globe by 1.7 percent last year, according to Gartner.

The research firm's latest report suggests that difficult economic conditions, shifting consumer interest, and intense market competition resulted in a worldwide drop in sales, which had not declined since 2009.

Worldwide sales reached a total of 1.75 billion units in 2012, a 1.7 percent slump from 2011. However, record sales of 207.7 million smartphones in the fourth quarter of 2012 -- a 38.3 percent hike year over year -- helped drive up the overall figure.

Demand for feature phones … Read more

A&E brings full-length episodes to iPhone -- for free

Apple iPhone owners can now stream full episodes of popular A&E shows.

The network updated its iOS application this week, allowing iPhone owners to watch everything from "Duck Dynasty" to "Storage Wars" to "The First 48." A&E's other networks, Lifetime and The History Channel, have also received updates supporting the iPhone.

A&E initially launched its app in December for the iPad. The company allows viewers to watch full episodes of the current season of shows for free. As with the iPad application, only Comcast customers will have … Read more

iTunes now Apple's fourth-largest business, says analyst

Apple's iTunes generated revenue of $13.5 billion last year, making it the company's fourth-largest business, according to Asymco analyst Horace Dediu.

A business that simply broke even a few years ago has been rising "steadily and rapidly," Dediu said in a post yesterday. iTunes has averaged growth of more than 30 percent over the past two years. The $13.5 billion in sales in 2012 was up from $10.2 billion in 2011.

At the same time that iTunes is adding a greater chunk of sales to Apple's overall results, the Mac and iPod … Read more

Apple has paid $8B to developers, Cook says

The amount of money Apple has paid to developers continues to soar, with the company having already distributed $8 billion to app makers, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said today.

Cook, speaking during a Goldman Sachs conference, said Apple has "enormous momentum" in the smartphone market, and a big reason for that is the ecosystem around the company's devices.

"We built an ecosystem that is the best customer experience on the planet," Cook said.

The $8 billion compares to Apple's comments in January that the developers had made more than $7 billion from Apple'… Read more

Apple's Cook calls Einhorn suit 'a silly sideshow'

The recent lawsuit filed by David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital hedge fund is a "silly sideshow" and a waste of time and money, Apple CEO Tim Cook said today.

Cook, speaking during a Goldman Sachs conference in San Francisco, disputed Einhorn's claims that Apple has a Depression-era mindset and said the company makes "bold and ambitious" bets on products while being conservative financially. He noted that Apple invested about $10 billion in capital expenditures last year and that it will spend a similar amount this year along with investing in retail stores, distribution, R&… Read more

iPad to face greater challenges for market share, says analyst

The market share for Apple's 10-inch tablet will continue to shrink this year despite the debut of a fifth-generation model, predicts Citi analyst Glen Yeung.

The larger iPad has already been hurt by demand for its own smaller sibling. Following the launch of the iPad Mini in October, fourth-quarter sales of the 10-inch version dropped by 9 percent in the U.S. and by 26 percent in Japan year over year, Yeung said in an investors note released yesterday.

But the Mini wasn't the only thorn in the side of the 10-inch iPad.

Consumers gravitated toward other 7-inch … Read more

Apple releases iOS 6.1.1 to fix iPhone 4S issues

Apple has put out a supplemental update to iOS 6.1 for iPhone 4S owners following issues with cellular performance.

iOS 6.1.1, which was released to developers last Wednesday, went out to iPhone 4S owners as a free update this afternoon. In the release notes, Apple says the update "fixes an issue that could impact cellular performance and reliability for iPhone 4S."

The update did not go out to owners on other iOS devices, including newer versions of the iPhone, or cellular-enabled models of the iPad.

Apple's release of iOS 6.1 near the end … Read more