Here’s your Cheat Sheet to the top tech business stories of the week:
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More iOS (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Android (NASDAQ:GOOG) products are typically activated on December 25th than on any other day of any year and this year was no exception. In fact, on this Christmas Day 2012, more iPhones, iPads, Galaxys, and Kindle Fires were activated than on any other day along with a record number of applications downloaded. While smartphone activations usually surpass those of tablets by a factor of four, on Christmas Day 2012, more tablets were activated than smartphones, with the winners being Apple iPads, Apple iPad Minis and Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7-inch tablets.
The telecommunications equipment maker ZTE Corporation (ZTCOY.PK) expects to step up its rivalry in the United States smartphone market with more expensive gadgets and closer links with carriers with a goal of becoming one of the top three smartphone brands in the world. Thus far, ZTE has around 5 percent of the domestic market, is known primarily for budget phones, and gets fierce competition from Apple and Samsung. The firm’s Executive Vice President He Shiyou said in an interview that ZTE hopes that the United States will pass China to become its main source of smartphone revenue, commenting that, “If you don’t get these two markets right then, you can be eliminated as a player.”
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is poised to introduce its virtual cable TV service and set top box and has a plan ready to combat licensing hurdles. A video industry source said that instead of launching nationwide, the intro will go city-by-city, giving the firm more flexibility in negotiating licensing with content providers. Further, the box could eliminate a core frustration with DVRs.
Some of the 11 games that the Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA) Chief Executive Mark Pincus would be pulled from application stores are turning off Monday as a part of a cost reduction effort. Resources will be reallocated to the more profitable titles and new ones will be created, but observers believe that the firm has overextended itself. In happier days on Facebook, the company produced dozens of games and then assertively introduced mobile games as smartphones gained traction.
A federal contract to provide wireless tracking of medical devices has been retained by Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ), even though in June, International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) had challenged the original awarding of the $543 million to HP. Initially, the latter won out over five other firms to win the contract, but then IBM said that the Veterans Administration failed to properly evaluate the proposals, and in October, the United States Government Accountability Office told the VA to reconsider the award. On Monday, Jo Schuda, a VA spokeswoman, said that after re-evaluating the bids, the department decided to stay with HP, commenting that it chose HP “again as the best value for the government.”
Research In Motion’s (NASDAQ:RIMM)’s intro of an unnamed BlackBerry device in January must have federal approval, and the FCC is cooperating. Regulators put such a handset with a RFF91LW model number through the standard tests, okaying it for AT&T’s LTE and GSM bands, along with a few international frequencies. The product’s label sample is censored, but FCC reports say that a minimum of three of the devices the firm provided were running OS 10.0.9. Some observers wonder if this could be the “L-series” BlackBerry Z10?
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) said that users impacted by an outage of its Cloud Saved Games feature will given a free month of Xbox Live, reports CNet. Additionally, the firm said that all problems associated with the feature’s outage have been repaired.
The new 10- story sales and research and development center for Samsung (SSNLF.PK), in San Jose will enclose 1.1 million square feet, if the company’s plans are realized. Other features include a layout meant to ”encourage interaction among staff” and “foster connections with the community,” as it ultimately improves Samsung’s “soft capabilities.” Altogether, the palace will just a bit larger that the recent expansion of Apple at Austin that will accommodate 3,600 workers.
Experts on computer security are increasingly pessimistic regarding antivirus software, conceding that the programs rarely, if ever, block freshly minted computer viruses because the virus creators are too fast. In a new study by Imperva, a data security company located in Redwood City, California, and students from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, the firm and a group of researchers collected and analyzed 82 new computer viruses and put them up against more than 40 antivirus products by top companies such as Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ:SYMC), McAfee and Kaspersky Lab. It was found that the initial detection rate was under 5 percent, prompting some companies to avoid the use of the term ‘Antivirus’ on their packaging and ads while they come up with solutions.
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It seems that the chip maker Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is taking a longer time to get an Internet-based television service and associated hardware ready to launch than was anticipated, say knowledgeable sources, who explain that delays in reaching content arrangements with media firms is the culprit. The company’s interest in the sector was reported last March by The Wall Street Journal, which said that Intel expected then to introduce a service by the end of 2012, but now one source predicts that it will be the middle of the new year.
Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC) had said that it would drop TV channels that received little attention by viewers, but has agreed for the time being to extend carriage of a number of such channels prior of the December 31st deadline for renewal. On Monday night, the carrier did let the independently-owned channel Ovation go as it had previously said it would, but agreed to temporarily retain two channels owned by AMC Networks, IFC, and WE TV on its lineup.
On Wednesday, InterDigital said that its patent-holding subsidiaries have reached agreement that extends the term of their global, non-exclusive, royalty-bearing patent license arrangement with Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM). Along with the extension of the patent license agreement for a multi-year period that is consistent with InterDigital’s licensing program, the parties will modify the patent license to add coverage for 4-gigabyte products that include LTE and LTE-Advanced products.
Vodafone (NASDAQ:VOD) introduces a ‘Nearly New’ program, as it exploits discounts on barely-used handsets as a method through which to lure more first-time smartphone users. The United Kingdom boasts one of the highest levels of smartphone ownership in the world, which a recent update by the telecoms regulator Ofcom puts at 58 percent. Even though it is quite unusual for a carrier to offer refurbished devices, and this appears to be extensive. Launched on Wednesday, Nearly New especially targets pay-as-you-go customers, permitting them to buy a refurbished, securely wiped handset at any Vodafone store; a slightly used 8-gigabyte iPhone 4 costs £250, rather than £319 for a mint version of the same product.
This week will probably see the Federal Trade Commission decide on its antitrust investigation of Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), which inside sources say will be a similar outcome to the one discussed before the December holidays. The Commission had been poised to agree to a non-binding resolution with the company in late December, but it delayed a decision after it appeared that the European Commission was still going for a stricter deal. However, Commissioner Thomas Rosch will be replaced by the George Mason law professor Joshua Wright on Friday, who will recuse himself from the case due to a previous relationship with Google, hence a decision is expected before that situation arises.
On Wednesday, Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE:AMD) appointed interim Chief Financial OfficerDevinder Kumar as senior vice president and chief financial officer, effective January 2nd. Kumar will report to President and Chief Executive Rory Read, and will have responsibility for leading the firm’s worldwide finance organization. He served as corporate controller since 2001 and as senior vice president since 2006.
Mobile adverting revenue is a challenge for Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO), which is expecting a change in 2013 of zero percent, while revenue from mobile ads at Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) is projected to rise from 11 to 25 percent. Chief Executive Marissa Mayer recently addressed challenges in this area and promised change. Analyst Brian Nowak at Numura believes that Yahoo! must address mobile monetization in its four most important display advertising categories of Finance, News, Sports, and Entertainment.
On Wednesday, United States District Judge Sue Robinson in Wilmington, Delaware barred Rambus (NASDAQ:RMBS) from demanding royalties from Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) related to 12 patents because it improperly destroyed documents linked with intellectual-property litigation. Robinson continued that the patents are unenforceable as a sanction against Rambus officials who engaged in a document-destruction campaign created to “gain a litigation advantage” in a patent-infringement lawsuit over tech for high-speed memory chips. The judge remarked that the only appropriate sanction was to find the patents unenforceable.
Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) will modify some of its business practices in order to settle Federal Trade Commission worries that those practices could hinder competition in the markets for popular devices like smartphones, tablets and gaming consoles along with the market for online search advertising. Through the terms of the resolution, Google will honor its previous commitments to allow competitors access on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms to patents covering critical standardized technologies required to produce popular devices.
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Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S) introduces its new “Sprint as you go” service (available January 25th) that offers customers an unlimited voice and data plan for a flat monthly rate without a contract. The service might be good for people who do not wish to pay full price for their smartphone nor get locked into one particular carrier for two years. Android Police says that Sprint will offer two versions of the plan — a $50 per month for feature phones such as the M400 and Array and a $70 per month non-LTE plan for the smartphones Optimus Elite and Victory.
Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) will launch a new line of Lumia Windows Phone devices in 2013, say sources who are familiar with the plans, who added that the firm intends to switch to an aluminum case for at least one pricy Lumia Windows Phone. Such a modification is distinct from Nokia’s traditional polycarbonate body for its Lumia products and should make the new device, codenamed Catwalk, lighter and thinner than Lumia 920.
On Thursday InterDigital (NASDAQ:IDCC) and Sony Corporation of America (NYSE:SNE) initiated a joint venture named Convida Wireless, to unite Sony’s consumer electronics expertise with InterDigital’s pioneering wireless machine-to-machine and bandwidth management research. The joint venture, will concentrate upon pushing new research in the field of M2M wireless communications, as well as other connectivity areas.
Presently the world’s biggest seller of mobile phones, Samsung (SSNLF.PK), announces that it will begin the sales in 2013 of smartphones sporting the Tizen operating system that is backed by Intel Corporation. The company said in an e-mailed statement Thursday that “We plan to release new, competitive Tizen devices within this year and will keep expanding the lineup depending on market conditions.”
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Shares of SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR) were done no harm by Berkshire Hathaway’s Wednesday acquisition of its Antelope Valley projects, as they gained almost 50 percent on the day Thursday. The stocks closed at $6.13 on Wednesday, and were upgraded from Neutral to Buy at Lazard Capital.
Analysts at BMO Capital believe that Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) will stay the dominant streaming video service provider, and that the firm should penetrate additional international markets, but they maintain their Market Perform on the shares, which rose almost 5 percent on the day.