SMARTPHONE

The release date for Samsung’s Galaxy Note 2 is set to come at the end of this month, but those expecting the smartphone-tablet hybrid to come with Android’s Jelly Bean may be disappointed. The Galaxy Note successor will reportedly launch with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Ailing Finnish phone maker Nokia Oyj (NYSE: NOK) said it agreed to sell an application tools unit acquired in 2008 to a local partner as well as 500 wireless patents to Vringo (NYSE: VRNG) of New York City in a bid to raise cash.

According to a new IDC report, Android and iOS together accounted for 85 percent of all smartphones shipped in the second quarter of 2012, establishing a new combined high for the mobile operating systems from Google and Apple.

No surprise. Smartphones operating on the Android OS from Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), the No. 1 search engine and the iOS from Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), the world's most valuable technology company, now power 85 percent of all new smartphones, IDC estimated.

Mojang, the developers of the hit indie videogame "Minecraft," has more than doubled its profits since last year, according to a recent interview with the company's CEO. The company's success suggests a larger trend occurring in the game industry towards smaller scale localized projects as massive AAA titles continue to underperform for major publishers.

Apple’s iPhone 5 release could account for 170 million total iPhones sold in the next year, experts say. According to analyst Horace Dediu, who has quoted Apple’s own marketing chief, the iPhone 5 will comprise 85 percent of total Apple smartphone sales in the next 12 months, CNET reported.

Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX), the No. 1 chain of coffee shops, said it had invested $25 million in Square, the start-up specialist in mobile payments, which values the company at $3.25 billion.

Nearly two weeks after AuthenTec Inc. (Nasdaq: AUTH) advised the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission it had agreed to be acquired by Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), the world's most valuable technology company, for $350 million, Apple still hasn’t made an announcement nor filed its own SEC report.

Google’s newly announced Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system may be making its way to two of the most popular Samsung devices this fall, lining up with Apple’s iOS 6 release date.

With the iPhone 5 rumored to be released in this September, Samsung is taking a new approach in encouraging customers to switch by offering a rebate of up to $300 for old smartphones.

Lenovo, the second largest PC manufacturer, unveiled a lighter and faster ThinkPad laptop Monday to appeal to users who prefer the convenience of tablets and smartphones.

The release date for Apple’s iPhone 5 may be drawing near, as rumors and speculations about the smartphone have been at an all-time high in the past couple of weeks. Yet another bit of evidence has surfaced, which indicates that Apple may be testing its next-generation smartphone, the iPhone 5.

Just about nine out of 10 adults (88 percent) in the U.S. owns a cellphone and according to a new research from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, a vast majority of them report experiencing problems like dropped calls and slow data with their devices.

Samsung has confirmed that its Galaxy Note 2 will be unveiled this month. A representative from the company told Reuters that the device will be announced at a Samsung Mobile Unpacked event on August 29, similar to the way the Samsung Galaxy S3 was unveiled.

Premium handset manufacturer Samsung has confirmed that the next version of the popular Galaxy Note tablet will be released Aug 29.

Quite interestingly, almost all sources associated with the purported iPhone 5 components have pointed to the same form factor -- a two-tone design. And a new report, surfaced Thursday, provided more evidence with images, claiming them to be of "a prototype finalized design casing of the iPhone."

Tucows, a provider of domain names and other Internet services, announced Thursday that its mobile phone service, Ting, has made the new Samsung Galaxy S3 available for pre-order on its website.

Apple’s iPhone 5 is expected for a release date this fall, and another indication that production is in full swing has surfaced. Japan’s Sharp Corp. will begin shipping screens that will be used for the upcoming iPhone 5, according to Reuters.

Sony reported far greater losses than the struggling company initially expected in its latest quarterly report. Still mired in the process of restructuring the company, how will Kazuo Hirai still carry through his vision for "One Sony?"

While earlier reports suggested that the Cupertino tech giant might be switching to a smaller port with 19 pins from the traditional 30-pin dock connector, a latest report Wednesday suggested that Apple could shrink its connector dock even further to just eight pins and that it could also receive a new name altogether.

A rumor that the new Apple iPhone -- commonly called the iPhone 5 -- will cost $800 upon its release shocked Apple fans hit Twitter early Thursday morning.