SMARTPHONE

Weakening economies and falling prices of rival smartphones are hurting sales of Apple iPhones across Europe, data from research firm Kantar Worldpanel ComTech showed on Thursda

Nokia's long-awaited Windows phones may be too little, too late in the smartphone war dominated by Apple and Google, despite positive reviews by handset critics.

iPhone 4S is the fifth generation of iPhone developed by Apple Inc. The latest smartphone retains the exterior design of its predecessor, the iPhone 4, but featured some important upgrades compared to the previous model.

It took seven months, but Research In Motion has finally delivered on a promise made by co-founder Mike Lazaridis. Angry Birds is available on RIM's PlayBook tablet.

I've tried my best to embrace Spotify. Ever since news broke of its collaboration with Facebook, I've done my best to remain an active user. That's what Mark Zuckerberg wants. He envisions a world of seamless sharing on the internet. I know this because he said so at his F8 presentation, the annual Facebook developers' conference. But of course, Zuckerberg just wants more users on his company's app platform.

Internet search engine giant Google has delivered the Christmas gift just now. To us? We wish but no.

iPad 3 should be available by March or April 2012, so in the meantime, 10-inch tablets like the Sony Tablet S may be they type of device that could hold you over until then. iPad 3 could come out with predictable updates like 4G, Siri and better resolution, but it could also surprise with 3D gestures or even a rimless build for a larger screen area.

Nokia's long-awaited Windows phones may be too little, too late in the smartphone war dominated by Apple and Google, despite positive reviews by handset critics.

Susquehanna raised its price target on Apple Inc's stock and increased its iPhone shipment estimates as it sees the company ramping up smartphone production, now that Thailand-related constraints have been resolved.

Research In Motion Ltd has turned down takeover overtures from Amazon.com Inc and other potential buyers because the BlackBerry maker prefers to fix its problems on its own, according to people with knowledge of the situation.

Nokia's long-awaited Windows phones may be too little, too late in the smartphone war and investment in the shares will increasingly be driven by takeover speculation.

Google appears poised to go after the Apple iPad. Schmidt described the iPad as amazing, according to The Telegraph, and said the late Steve Jobs should be credited with creating the tablet craze. Many tablets already use Google's Android operating system, but Google doesn't sell its own hardware as a signature product.

Smartphones are, increasingly, becoming quite common, particularly with several wireless carriers making feature-rich devices affordable through contracts. The key aspect of a smartphone, apart from its operating system, is its processor... something which determines the speed of the device and acts as its brain.

HTC Corp, the world's No.4 smartphone vendor, said on Wednesday it was already testing new phone models that work around technology cited in a patent lawsuit it lost against Apple Inc.

Layar, one of the pioneers of mobile augmented reality, rolled out on Tuesday Stiktu, an application allowing smartphone users to combine their digital postings with real images and share them with each other.

Apple is offering free next-day shipping on the majority of its popular gadgets, including the iPhone and iPad, leading up to Christmas.

No doubt 2011 was a major year for technology in part because it touched everyone differently. Following are some of the highlights and lowlights of the year:

The PS Vita was released in Japan on Dec. 17, and has already sold more than a quarter million units in the first two days available.

Anobit told employees today that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) had made an offer for the firm and it had accepted. Employees were told that once the deal is formally completed they will be employees of Apple, according to Israel's Calcalist. The deal is reportedly for nearly $500 million, which makes it Apple's largest acquisition. It is also the first acquisition in Israel for the Cupertino, Calif.-based company.

Apple Inc scored a narrow victory against Taiwan's HTC Corp in a patent lawsuit over smartphone technology that will set the stage for further battles between rival makers in the fiercely competitive market.

The California-based Apple is involved with numerous patent disputes world over with smartphone makers that run Android. Recently Samsung filed new claims against Apple over patent infringements in Germany.