The ongoing, back-and-forth legal fight that is the Apple/Samsung patent dispute today took on a new dimension in one of its key battlegrounds, when the European Commission launched an antitrust inquiry into Samsung’s technology licensing practices.

As the uproar over New York Times public editor Arthur Brisbane’s “truth vigilante” question continues, it’s worth noting that North Korea’s official newspaper, Rodong Singmun, launched an English-language digital version this week. The home page includes a large picture of Kim Jong Un inspecting a construction site and headlines such…

Unlike its local rival Samsung, the Korean handset maker LG (SEO: 066570) has lately had more of a mixed bag when it’s come to Android devices and its mobile growth. Now it’s looking for Mr Right: a partner to help it grow and remain competitive in an ever-crowded market.

Android is trouncing the competition when it comes to platform domination in the smartphone market—over half of all smartphones being used today—but that rising tide is not lifting all boats. Sales figures out today from the two largest Android device makers, Samsung and HTC, present two different pictures, with Samsung…

The smartphone and tablet buying rush over the holidays spilled over into a corresponding deluge of app downloads, with the total weekly number exceeding one billion for the first time.

It looks like Samsung Electronics, the flagship and biggest division of the Samsung Group conglomerate, is restructuring its organisation. With a view to creating “independent operations”, the company is to divide its digital media business, including mobile devices and TVs and related services, from its device solutions business, which includes…

Two more advances in the ongoing, international fight between Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) and Android tablet maker Samsung over alleged patent violations, this time in France and Australia, plus one more appeal from Apple in the case being heard in a U.S. district court in California. With no obvious overall “winner”…

A reversal of fortunes, of sorts, for Samsung in its ongoing case against Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) in Australia: today, an appeals court unanimously decided that it can go ahead with sales of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet, possibly as soon as Friday. But even with sales getting the all-clear, some…

Kyobo, South Korea’s largest bookstore chain, is launching the first e-reader to use Qualcomm’s Mirasol technology. It has a color screen that can apparently be read even in bright sunlight, with a long battery life. E-books make up around 15 percent of trade book sales in South Korea, second only…

One more development in the legal fight between Samsung and Apple: a court in Australia has granted a March date for a case being brought by Samsung against Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) for patent infringement, with Samsung’s aim being to get the iPhone 4S banned from sale, unless the two sides…

Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) has gained another victory in its ongoing worldwide legal battle against Samsung. The Korean giant says it will not seek to block sales of the iPhone 4S in its home market, for fears of attracting bad PR.

Ever wondered whether Google (NSDQ: GOOG) has plans to tack more revenue-generating services on to Android? If it does, one of them doesn’t look like it will be a licensing fee. Eric Schmidt, the chairman of Google, yesterday reiterated to an audience that Google has no plans to charge for…

Yesterday, figures out from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech underscored how Apple’s share of smartphone sales in several key countries had actually declined compared to last year. Today, Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) put out some news that points to how it hopes to reverse that trend: it announced the rollout of its newest…

Earnings out today from Samsung show the Korean handset maker posted record sales and profits for its telecoms division, driven primarily by strong sales of its Galaxy line of Android-based smartphones and tablets. The importance of its mobile business was highlighted even more by the sluggish results in display panels…

Samsung’s competitive threat to Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) and Nokia (NYSE: NOK) in the smartphone space—being played out not only among consumers but in the courtrooms, too—looks like it has taken on a new reality. According to new figures from Strategy Analytics, the Korean handset maker in Q3 became the world’s…

More artillery build-up in the battle between Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) and Samsung. Just days after Apple released its newest handset, the iPhone 4S, to waiting crowds and strong demand, Samsung made good on its word (and our own prediction) and added another two cases to its growing list of injunction…

Less than 24 hours have passed since the iPhone 4S was introduced by Apple, and Samsung is taking no chances. The company has already announced that it is filing for injunctions on the device in France and Italy, requesting the courts block sales of the device because of patent infringements,…

If it sounded like Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) might just agree to some kind of deal with Samsung in Australia—which would have let Samsung launch its legally-disputed 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab tablet in the country—you might need your hearing checked. Today, Apple formally rejected Samsung’s compromise offer, presented in court last week,…

There’s no question that apps have become a global phenomenon in the mobile world—and who doesn’t want to catapult a cute red bird onto some logs to kill a pig? But not all apps are as wildly successful as Angry Birds. So just as importantly, when it comes to what…