SMARTPHONE

Just a day after the tech world was amazed by purported leaked photos of the motherboard of Apple's next generation iPhone, aka "iPhone 5," a new report surfaced Monday, suggesting that the release date of the highly anticipated smartphone of 2012 is just over a month away, with Apple to start taking pre-orders from the second week of September.

Shares of Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), the No. 1 search engine, set a five-month high Monday after the company advised the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of plans to fire 4,000 Motorola employees, two-thirds outside the U.S.

From the claimed photos of the next iPhone's back panel to the smaller dock connector, many leaked photos of the rumored iPhone 5 parts have created much buzz around the tech world over the last few months. And now, thanks to another set of leaked photos of the purported new iPhone, it's time to peep into the handset's motherboard.

Samsung's Galaxy S3 has become one of the leading smartphones on the market, hitting the 10 million-unit sales mark in less than two months after its launch. Although the device has been dubbed as the Korea-based company's flagship smartphone of 2012, it does come with its share of issues.

Last week’s successful landing of the Mars Science Laboratory, better-known as Curiosity, represented a triumph in aeronautical and electrical engineering. Now the nine-foot, six-wheeled rover will use its instruments to make “Mars-shaking” discoveries in geology, meteorology and chemistry.

Romney supporters were to download an app called Mitt's VP, which promised they would be the first to know of his running mate. So on Friday night, who was the first to break the news of Mitt Romney's VP? Well, whoever it was, it wasn't the Romney campaign.

With the Apple iPhone 5 release date reportedly looming on the horizon, information about the coming phone has been leaking everywhere. Now, new photos are allegedly showing the iPhone 5's battery, but could its comparatively small size cause big problems for Apple?

Retailers are using digital monitoring to sharpen their pitches of products and services to specific individuals, adjusting prices and strategically timing offers to catch us when and where we're mostly likely to spend.

A report from Rene Ritchie says Apple plans to release a brand-new "mini iPad" when it launches the iPhone 5 in September. Even though most people can assume a 7-inch "mini iPad" would be able to do most -- if not all -- of the same things a typical iPad can do, there are a few nuances of the tablet's alleged features and specs that may attract -- or repel -- potential customers. Here are seven features, specs, and price rumors we've heard from the iPad Mini so far.

BlackBerry developer Research in Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) has been approached by International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) about a possible sale of its enterprise services unit, Bloomberg News reported, citing two insiders.

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.

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.

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.