Bryan Chaffin

LAS VEGAS – Samsung's booth in Central Hall at CES is huge. It's pretty cool, too. Lots of stuff, some massive screens, lots of TVs, a bunch of clean white tables holding Samsung gadgets that people can check out. Oh, and lots and lots and lots of people. It was jam packed full of folks…

A telecommunications consultant in Brazil is predicting that Apple will pony up for the “IPHONE” trademark in that country. That trademark is owned by IGB Eletrônica SA, which released an Android-powered 'IPHONE Neo One' under the Gradiente brand in December. The Glorious Gradiente IPHONE Neo One At that time, Gradiente said in a statement it…

 A Pauper's Grave That wheezing sound you hear is the last gasp of the once-beloved netbook. Asustek and Acer, the last two major OEMs still making netbooks, will both stop making devices in this category at the end of this year. Netbooks were once the golden future, or at least the 10 karat white gold…

Some rather unscientific, but equally interesting, data suggests that Apple's iPad crushed the competition this Christmas. Buzzfeed did some surface (::giggle::) level data mining on Twitter and found nearly four times as many people tweeting from their new iPad as the next three devices combined. The media outlet did a search in a 24 hour…

Finally, the news that tens of people have been waiting for: Microsoft is planning to open six new retail stores in 2013 in Texas, Florida, Ohio, California, Utah, and Missouri. The new locations will bring Big Redmond up to 37 full time retail stores in the U.S., with rumors of European expansion in the works,…

Investors simply don't appreciate the competitive advantage of Apple's superior customer service experience, according to a new research note from Wells Fargo analyst Maynard Um. He told his clients that Apple' customer service is, “a key differentiator & value driver for the company” that investors don't properly understand. “The ability to turn unhappy customers into…

You might think this is something Terry Gilliam worked up for a remake of Brazil, but it's real: IGB Eletrônica SA released a smartphone this week in Brazil called IPHONE Neo One under the brand name of Gradiente. But wait, it gets better because the device is powered by Google's Android. Irony Wars with Tragedy…

Samsung has dropped all of its requests for sales injunctions against Apple devices based on standards-essential patents (SEPs) in Europe. Bloomberg reported that Samsung claimed the move was for the sake of the people, though FOSS Patents noted that the withdrawal mirrors an antitrust investigation being conducted in Europe against the company. “Samsung has decided…

Guy Kawasaki had dumped his iPhone and iPad for Android devices. According to comments he gave columnist Dan Lyons, Mr. Kawasaki said that Apple has been slow to adopt new technologies and that there was nothing compelling about the iPad mini. If you're new to the Apple world, you may not recognize the name, but…

Samsung shipped many more units in the “connected device” market than Apple in the September quarter, but Apple crushed the market in terms of dollars. IDC issued a report on Monday that shows Samsung pushing more devices for a lot less money. We're well into December, and there's probably more interest in holiday sales than…

Shares of Apple Inc. resumed their downward trajectory on Friday, ending the week at US$533.25, off by $13.995 (-2.56 percent), on strong volume of 28.1 million shares. That's an 8.5 percent loss on the week, and the stock has officially passed the so-called “death cross.” $AAPL Chart for December 7th, 2012 Source: Yahoo! Finance The…

Apple Inc. led the media tablet market it created for the 10th straight quarter, but ABI Research issued a report that said iPad's market share declined 14 points during the September quarter to 55 percent. Android devices took 44 percent of the market and almost all of Apple's 14 point decline, and the firm believes…

Shares of $AAPL rose 3.15 percent on Monday, a day that saw mixed views coming from Wall Street. Barclays, UBS, and Piper Jaffray all offered clients positive outlooks on Apple , while Citi group issued a report saying that iPhone deceleration is likely in the next 6-18 months. Pacific Crest Securities also lowered its target…

Apple's plans to build the so-called “Spaceship HQ” won't be finished until 2016, a year later than the company had planned. Apple had hoped to break ground on the campus in 2012, but a required environmental impact report might not be completed until June of 2013, pushing the groundbreaking out to as late as early…

$AAPL's sell-off was “insanely insane,” according to Topeka Capital analyst Brian White. Mr. White told his clients on Monday that Apple's 24.8 percent decline in the last two months has neither rhyme nor reason, and helped by his comments, the stock rallied 7.21 percent, a huge one-day jump that left the stock at US$565.73 per…

“Gotta say love that SURFACE!” Oprah told her legions of fans on Twitter (14,870,825 as of this writing). How much does she love that Microsoft Surface? So much that she carves out time to tell us about it when using her iPad. Gotta say I love Surface, but I gotta type it on iPad Screenshot…

Intel announced on Monday that CEO Paul Otellini will be retiring in May. Mr. Otellini has led Intel since 2005, and was instrumental in working out a deal with Apple to bring that company's Mac product line to the Intel platform. “I’ve been privileged to lead one of the world’s greatest companies,” Mr. Otellini said…