IPAD

At a time when the 7-inch tablet space has suddenly become the talk of the town with already released devices like the Google Nexus 7 and those still under wraps like the iPad mini, a report surfaced Sunday saying that online retailer Amazon is gearing up to unleash its own challenger, a Kindle Fire successor, towards the second half of this year to compete against rival products.

Ever since Bloomberg first reported rumors of a new, smaller iPad, the internet has been ablaze with rumors over the expected announcement of the iPad Mini. While Apple hasn't yet made an announcement about the device, manufacturer reports suggest the rumors might be accurate.

When its partnership with Google for news search expired July 1, social networking site Twitter did not have any counter plan to pull out the latest tweets for real-time news it is hugely popular for. To revive its search results and improve its search functionality for latest tweets on breaking news, Twitter announced enhancements to the search function on its interface July 6.

Back in December, Twitter completely redesigned its site to make it more aesthetically-pleasing for users and advertisers. Seven months later, Twitter added a few more important tweaks to its microblogging platform on Friday to improve the way users search and discover content.

Whether it's a phone, or a tablet, or a music player, each and every new product released by Apple is thinner, lighter, faster and more powerful than its predecessor. With this in mind, the latest report about Apple's next iPhone, presumably dubbed the iPhone 5, should come as no real surprise: According to DigiTimes, Apple has chosen the powerful Exynos 4 quad-core processor built by Samsung to power its next-gen iPhone.

Amazon got into the hardware game in 2007 with its popular e-book reader, the Kindle. Five years, three Kindle generations and a tablet later, the world's largest online retailer is reportedly building its first-ever smartphone to compete with Apple's iPhone and Google's Android platform.

Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), the No. 1 e-retailer, could be on the verge of selling its own smartphones which would be made by the same Taiwanese contractor used by Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), the world's most valuable technology company, reports said.

Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), the No. 1 e-retailer, could be on the verge of selling its own smartphones which would be made by the same Taiwanese contractor used by Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), the world's most valuable technology company, Bloomberg News reported.

Apple is highly expected to release its sixth generation iPhone, presumably called the iPhone 5, at some point of time later this year and if ongoing rumors turn to be true, the handset will get major upgrade in terms of its current form factor.

Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), the No. 1 e-retailer, could ship as many as 17 million of its Kindle Fire tablets this year, said Victor Anthony, analyst with Topeka Capital Markets.

Take the iPad, the world's most popular tablet, and hit it with a shrink gun. Shoot down its $499 price tag, too, and that's exactly what officials, experts and analysts believe will be released later this year, likely around October. But Apple needs to nail the price on this. If the iPad Mini costs any more than $250, the company will have failed.

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), the world's most valuable technology company, may introduce a smaller version of the iPad to compete with products from Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), the No. 1 search engine, and Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), the No. 1 e-retailer and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), reports said.

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), the world's most valuable technology company, may introduce a smaller version of the iPad to compete with products from Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), the No. 1 search engine, and Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), the No. 1 e-retailer, a report said.

Rumors surrounding a potential iPad mini have been fueled anew after members of Apple's supply chain in Asia told the Wall Street Journal that mass production for the tablet would begin in September.

Despite an earlier dismissal of a 7-inch iPad by late Apple CEO Steve Jobs, rumors of an iPad mini have been around for quite some time now. Adding to the already churning rumor-mills, a new report surfaced Tuesday, saying that the Cupertino tech giant is indeed planning to launch a smaller and cheaper iPad by year-end.

Slowly but surely, Apple's operating systems are converging, but bonding these two separate systems together would be impossible without iCloud. On Monday, Apple introduced two new additions to the iCloud Beta portal for iOS 6 developers, including the Notes and Reminders apps, before it releases Mountain Lion this month and iOS 6 this fall.

Apple will pay a $60 million settlement to secure the iPad trademark in China, opening up sales to the Chinese market, Apple's most profitable after the United States.

Apple is set to unveil a 7.85-inch iPad mini, alongside the iPhone 5 in October, according to a Pacific Crest research analyst.

Apple's two-year-long trademark battle with Proview Technology over the use of the name iPad has finally come to a close. The Cupertino, Calif.-based computer giant has reportedly agreed to pay the Chinese electronics maker $60 million to settle the dispute of ownership, which will removes any further obstacles to selling its popular line of tablets in China.

In a series of big announcements including the launch of the new version of Android (4.1) called Jelly Bean with upgrade for the Galaxy Nexus and the introduction of the Nexus Q, Google also unveiled the Asus-made Nexus 7 tablet last week. Here's a comparison between the newest Nexus 7 and the current dominant device in the category, the third generation Apple iPad.

Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) scored its second major win of the week over Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Korea: 005930) in intellectual-property litigation on Friday, as Apple was granted a court order blocking U.S. sales of Samsung's Galaxy Nexus smartphone.