Apple holding more cash than US

29 July 2011 Last updated at 12:55 GMT US President Barack Obama is known to be an iPad owner, along with 28 million other people Apple now has more cash to spend than the United States government.

Latest figures from the US Treasury Department show that the country has an operating cash balance of $73.7bn (?45.3bn).

Apple's most recent financial results put its reserves at $76.4bn.

The US House of Representatives is due to vote on a bill to raise the country's debt ceiling, allowing it to borrow more money to cover spending commitments.

If it fails to extend the current limit of $14.3 trillion dollars, the federal government could find itself struggling to make payments, and risks the loss of its AAA credit rating.

The United States is currently spending around $200bn more than it collects in revenue every month.

Apple, on the other hand, is making money hand over fist, according to its financial results.

In the three months ending 25 June, net income was 125% higher than a year earlier at $7.31bn.

Spending spree

With more than $75bn either sitting in the bank or in easily accessible assets, there has been enormous speculation about what the company will do with the money.

"Apple keeps its cards close to its chest," said Daniel Ashdown, an analyst at Juniper Research.

Industry watchers believe that it is building up a war chest to be used for strategic acquisitions of other businesses, and to secure technology patents.

Bookstore Barnes and Noble and the online movie site Netflix have both been tipped as possible targets, said Mr Ashdown.

The company may also have its eye on smaller firms that develop systems Apple might want to add to its devices, such as voice recognition.

Apple dipped into some of its reserves recently when it teamed-up with Microsoft to buy a batch of patents from defunct Canadian firm Nortel.

The bidding consortium shelled out $4.5bn for more than 6,000 patents.

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Apple overtakes Nokia and Samsung

29 July 2011 Last updated at 11:55 GMT Handsets from Apple (left) and Samsung (right) saw the biggest growth Apple has become the world's biggest seller of smartphones, according to industry analysts.

The US firm overtook both previous leader Nokia and Samsung in the second quarter of the year, when total smartphone sales hit a record 110m.

The figures from Strategy Analytics also showed that 361m handsets were shipped, up 13% on the previous year.

Nokia remained the biggest seller of all types of handsets, but the numbers shipped and its market share fell.

It shipped 20% fewer handsets in the second quarter - 88.5 million.

The Finnish firm's market share dipped to 25% - its lowest level since 1999.

'Star'

The report describes Apple as the "star performer" during the quarter, more than doubling its handset shipments to a record 20.3 million units.

All handsets Smartphones Total market share

However, its share of the overall market was 6%, making it the world's fourth biggest mobile phone seller behind Nokia, Samsung and LG.

Samsung shipped 74 million units, rising 16% from 63.8 million in the quarter a year earlier.

The company's market share rose to just above 20%, and Samsung is now "breathing down Nokia's neck", the report said.

Strategy Analytics said Nokia was plagued by problems.

"An unexciting touchphone portfolio, inventory corrections in Asia and Western Europe, wavering demand for the Symbian platform and limited presence in the huge US market continue to weigh on Nokia's near-term performance," the report said.

Third-placed LG shipped 24.8 million handsets during the three months, with volumes down 19% from a year earlier.

China-based ZTE shipped 18 million handsets, giving it a global market share of 5%.

Seperately, Taiwan's HTC said it had shipped 12m handsets in the second quarter of the year, helping its profits double to 17.5 billion Taiwan dollars ($607m; ?372m).

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Apple takes on HTC in patent war

12 July 2011 Last updated at 14:52 GMT Sales of HTC's smartphones have surged making it a big player in the industry Apple has accused the smartphone maker HTC of infringing its patents, in the latest phase of the legal battle between phone and tablet PC makers.

Apple has filed a complaint against the US International Trade Commission (ITC) seeking an inquiry by the panel into the matter.

The news comes just weeks after Apple and Samsung accused each other of copying designs and technology.

HTC is the world's third-biggest mobile phone maker, by stock market value.

However, HTC has denied Apple's allegations.

"HTC is dismayed that Apple has resorted to competition in the courts rather than the market place," said Grace Lei, HTC's general counsel.

Growing rivalry

The launch of products such as iPhone and iPad saw Apple become one of the market leaders in the global smartphone market, and the biggest seller of tablet PCs.

Apple's success in quickly securing a large slice of the market, with fashionable products enjoying good demand from consumers, prompted several rivals to launch their own gadgets hoping to win a share of the fast-growing market.

However, that resulted in relations between Apple and its rivals souring as the competition grew.

Last year the American technology company filed a similar complaint against HTC accusing it of infringing as many as 20 of its patents.

That prompted HTC to launch a counter attack, claiming that Apple was guilty of infringing patents held by the Taiwanese company.

HTC went to the extent of seeking a ban on sales of iPhones, iPads and iPods in the United States.

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Samsung seeks US Apple sale ban

30 June 2011 Last updated at 07:01 GMT Apple and Samsung are leading players in the fast growing smartphone and tablet PC market Samsung Electronics has filed a complaint with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) seeking to ban the sale of key Apple products in the US.

Samsung wants to stop iPhone, iPad and iPod models being imported and sold in the US.

The two companies have been involved in a legal tussle, accusing each other of copying designs and technology.

Apple produces the best-selling smartphones and tablet PCs.

"Samsung will vigorously defend our intellectual property to protect our role as a leader and innovator in the mobile communication business in order to better serve our customers," Samsung said in a statement.

Ongoing tussle Continue reading the main story

I can't imagine that Samsung will succeed in getting Apple's products banned from being sold”

End Quote Tim Charlton Charlton Media The success of the iPhone and the iPad saw many rival companies come up with similar products in an attempt to capture a share of the fast-growing market.

Samsung electronics tasted success with the launch of its Galaxy series in the smartphone and tablet PC category.

However, earlier this year Apple sued Samsung, accusing the company of "slavishly" copying its designs.

Apple's claims focused on Galaxy's design features, such as the look of its screen icons.

Samsung said its products were the result of research and development carried out by the company.

But in an unexpected twist to the legal tussle, days later Samsung filed suits against Apple in three countries accusing its rival of infringing its patents.

Analysts said the legal wrangling was an unnecessary headache for both firms.

"I can't imagine that Samsung will get Apple's products banned from being sold," said Tim Charlton of Charlton Media.

"Similarly, it will be very difficulty for a judge to decide how a company's products should be designed," he added, explaining that Apple may not be able to dictate how Samsung's gadgets should look.

Inter-dependence

Despite the legal claims and counter claims, the two companies remain dependent on each other.

Samsung provides microchips for Apple's products and the California-based company is also key client for the Korean manufacturer, with business between the two totalling $5.7bn (?3.5bn) in 2010.

Analysts said that although the legal tussle may sour relations between the two, it was unlikely that they would stop dealing with each other.

"I think they may be pragmatic," said Mr Charlton.

"At the end of the day, Apple will end up buying microchips from the supplier who can give them the best quality at the best rates," he said.

However, given the volume of microchips that Apple buys, it is highly unlikely the company would have many alternative suppliers, he added.

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Nokia and Apple settle patent row

14 June 2011 Last updated at 10:11 GMT Nokia claimed some technology in the iPad infringed its patents Nokia and Apple have agreed a technology licensing agreement that ends the long-running legal dispute between the two firms.

"The agreement will result in settlement of all patent litigation between the companies," Nokia said.

Nokia sued Apple for patent infringements in 2009 and extended the action in December last year.

Apple had countersued, accusing Nokia of infringing its patents.

Nokia said Apple had agreed a one-off payment, the value of which was not disclosed, and ongoing royalties to use its technologies.

Apple said the deal covered both companies' patents.

Counter claims Continue reading the main story

What this story really shows once again is how one phone, the iPhone, has proved the undoing of a company whose dominance seemed unassailable just four years ago”

End Quote Rory Cellan-Jones Technology correspondent, BBC News "We are very pleased to have Apple join the growing number of Nokia licensees," said Nokia's chief executive Stephen Elop.

"This settlement demonstrates Nokia's industry-leading patent portfolio and enables us to focus on further licensing opportunities in the mobile communications market."

Apple said the two firms had agreed to "drop all of our current lawsuits and enter into a licence covering some of each other's patents, but not the majority of the innovations that make the iPhone unique".

"We're glad to put this behind us and get back to focusing on our respective businesses."

'Positive news'

Nokia's various claims against Apple included alleged patent infringements of touch interfaces, caller ID, display illumination, and 3G and wi-fi technology.

Apple had also claimed that Nokia had infringed many of its patents.

Both sides had always denied each other's claims.

"This is the first positive news from Nokia for a long time. They can both focus on their businesses now, and the dispute was settled to Nokia's advantage," said Mikael Rautanen at research group Inderes in Helsinki.

At the end of last month, Nokia said it expected sales and profit margins for the current quarter to be well below its previous forecasts.

The company has been struggling to reposition itself in the rapidly-growing smartphone sector, where it is trying to make up ground lost to competitors such as Apple's iPhone and phones using Google's Android operating system.

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Beating Apple

2 June 2011 Last updated at 16:24 GMT By Puneet Pal Singh Business reporter, BBC News, Singapore Companies like HTC are leading Asia firms' quest for global dominance in the technology sector The HTC office on the outskirts of Taipei may look like any other corporate building, but if things go according to plan, it may well become the epicentre of global technology.

In a space of just under five years it has become the world's third-biggest mobile phone maker.

And the company has no intention of sitting on its laurels.

It is targeting to take on the might of Apple and become the number one player in the sector.

A look at how its products are holding up against its rivals indicates that their ambition is not too far-fetched.

According to Macquire Equities Research, HTC's phones are among the best-selling and top-rated gadgets across various service providers in the US, and also with Vodafone and Expansys in the UK.

'Continuity in innovation'

The growth has been brought about by the company's conscious change in focus.

While it has been manufacturing phones for a long time, HTC decided to launch its own brand in 2006.

Continue reading the main story

If they want to compete with Apple, they will need several thousand more software developers and they will also be competing against the might of Microsoft and Android”

End Quote Tim Charlton Charlton Media John Wang, the company's chief marketing officer, says HTC realised that for the next level of growth to happen, it had to interact with consumers directly.

"If we don't have a brand, there is no direct dialogue with the consumers and there is no continuity in innovation," Mr Wang says.

"The decision to launch the HTC brand was a very important one, not because of marketing, but because of innovation," he adds.

HTC currently employs 3,000 workers in its research and development wing - the "magic lab".

It is planning to add another 1,000 to the workforce to conceive and design what it wants to be the coolest gadgets in the world.

Analysts say the company has got its focus right, as innovation is key to turning a brand into a global phenomenon.

"Innovation is what made Apple and Blackberry successful," says Manoj Menon of Frost & Sullivan.

However, he warns that despite their initial success, Asian companies have a long way to go before they can catch up to their Western rivals.

"It would be fair to say that majority of the innovation continues to come from the US," Mr Menon says.

"That is the primary reason that we do not see many more become global brands," he adds.

Hardware vs software The BBC's Cindy Sui visits one very successful Taiwanese technology firm

While Asian firms have been able to come up with successful hardware, they are yet to take the big leap in software development.

Analysts say that if these companies want to become global players, this will have to change.

"Asian brands must go beyond hardware and make a meaningful entry to software, or failing that, the new holy grail of services," says Tim Charlton of Charlton Media.

"If they want to compete with Apple, they will need several thousand more software developers and they will also be competing against the might of Microsoft and Android," he adds.

Mr Charlton also adds that lack of software development is not only holding back growth, but is also hurting Asian firms financially.

"For example, HTC sells over 40 million handsets a year. But unlike Apple, it doesn't own the software but has to license it," he says.

"Just being the best at hardware is in itself an expensive undertaking," he adds.

'Tremendous potential' Continue reading the main story 1. LG Optimus T2. HTC HD73. Motorola Cliq 24. Samsung Gravity T5. T-Mobile Mytouch 3G

Source: Macquire Equities Research

(Excluding iphone sales)

Despite the hurdles, Asian firms have come a long way in the past few years.

Once merely contract manufacturers to leading players in the sector, their growth story has been phenomenal.

Analysts say that while there are still some issues that need to be ironed out, the potential for growth is enormous.

"There is tremendous potential to grow in the future," says Mr Menon.

He says that as the dynamics of the industry change in the future, the balance will tilt in favour of Asian firms.

"The technology sector, especially the hardware sector, will see some major market transitions driven by the internet," he says.

"As we see more and more consumer electronics devices get connected to the internet, we will see Asian brands potentially playing a bigger role in the future," he adds.

Given the headstart that they have, innovators in HTC's "magic lab" are ready for the show.

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